It was a positively balmy day. The birds were singing and the sun was shining, and the distant sound of gunfire reached the very edge of the Last City as the Guardians inside of the outpost fought each other.
It was a crucible game like another other, one of Clash where there were two teams and no objective.
Eclipse, a Titan Exo, quickly slid into a room and whipped around to turn his shotgun on the Warlock that had just charged inside. His Invective quickly snaps off two rounds, one into his chest and the other into his head. The Titan wastes no time in leaving the room once the Guardian dies. A shattered Nova Bomb booms behind him and the Titan quickly switches out his weapons and lets off a flurry of bullets from his Auto Rifle. The Warlock curses angrily right before falling sideways and dying.
"That's fourteen..." Eclipse mutters, his eyes darting out the room. He glances up to his radar in time to see a contact very close behind him. The Titan side-steps and watches the fist of another Titan sail past him. Once the attacker realizes his mistake, he plants his foot and slams his shoulder into Eclipse who hadn't been suspecting the maneuver. Eclipse stumbles to recover, and takes a devastating blow from the attacker. His shields are shattered and his body bruised. But he quickly pulls out his shotgun to take him down. The second Titan is quick, however, and his hand darts out to grab his shotgun. Without much thought, Eclipse rears back his head and slams it into his attacker's.
The second Titan reels back in shock and grabs his helmet in pain. Eclipse is about to finish him off when a Warlock comes out of nowhere and tackles him to the ground. The Warlock pins him with a boot to his throat and holds his shotgun to his head, the barrel almost touching his helmet before Eclipse rolls out from underneath the Warlock and goes for his Shotgun which the second Titan then kicks away. Seeing another target approaching, Eclipse curses and makes a break for it. Once the bullets start flying, the Titan swerves left and runs down the hallway. He comes to a stop underneath the upper room, crouching next to the door. He practically grins once he sees his super meter reading full.
The third attacker passes him, and then he breaks cover and launches himself into the air. He can just imagine the look of rage on the two's faces as he slams into the ground and his Fist of Havoc incinerates them.
The two had definitely been a late addition to the game. For the past two minutes, he hadn't seen them before. And seeing as how his kill counter was already at seventeen, it was impossible to miss them.
He had found that he enjoyed their little skirmish. And was looking forward to facing them again.
The Warlock and Titan clashed with Eclipse a few times after the first, but nothing major. Cross-map snipes, shotgun battles, but the final battle came just two minutes before their match ended.
Eclipse was running with his shotgun and keeping a hard eye on the radar when the Titan from before suddenly stepped out from behind cover and stuck out his arm. He was attempting to clothes-line Eclipse. But the Titan reacts swiftly and drops into a slide. He kicks out his feet and changes direction to face his attacker. The Titan lunges forwards, his fist arcing with energy. Eclipse did the same and feels his bones crunch as both fists hit.
Backing off to avoid further attacks, he attempts to draw his Shotgun only to find the Warlock from before opening fire with his weapon. Eclipse is forced to run behind a wall and hide for a moment to let his health and shields recover. Once they had, he finds the two nearby and quickly takes down the Warlock who curses very loudly.
The attacking Titan roars before going into a frenzy. Eclipse is sad to say he was actually killed. His first death in the game.
After the match is over, Eclipse has his ghost locate the two Guardians who bested the Titan.
He found them conversing on one of the platforms with their ghosts at their sides. Once he approaches, the Titan grins and gave a call. "That was awesome!" he laughs. The Warlock only nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you sure know how to play."
Eclipse nods humbly. "My name is Eclipse-16. I am a Lord in the Iron Banner. I was only wondering how you acquired such skills. I have not seen moves like that in quite a few years." Eclipse usually never speaks to Guardians outside of his group of allies. But these Guardians intrigue him.
"We taught each other with handed-down traditions and tactics," the Warlock says, shifting which hand he held his helmet in. The Warlock sticks out his hand and Eclipse takes it. "Lois Ando. And this is my son, Chezno," the Awoken says. "You can call me chief," the Titan adds. Eclipse nods in acknowledgement to both of them. "Would you be interested in joining me for a patrol soon? The Vanguard have reported of missing Guardians near the Skywatch sector. They suspect Hive Involvement," Eclipse asks them.
The two Guardians look to each other and then shrug. "Haven't got anything else to do," Lois says. "Lets go!" Chief says with enthusiasm.
A few moments later, the ships of each guardian swoop down and pick them up.
Eclipse darts into orbit and the other two follow close behind.
"We're dropping off in the Steppes. Safest area right now," Eclipse says through an open channel. "Right. Meet you there," Lois says, pulling away to drop back down to Earth. But just as he pulls away, the space around the three are suddenly filled with ships. Fallen ships.
Five Skiffs and a Ketch. They're surrounded.