Authors Note: CrowWingedWolf- Hi! Thanks for taking the time to give this a read! This is a collaboration between myself and a close friend, CloseDaLight. The both of us started throwing around the idea of an RP, which morphed into this. You may note, the writing style fluctuates a bit. We take turns writing part of the story, so the whole thing is pretty much a 50-50 split. We hope you enjoy this epic tale of two Guardians and their (sometimes) helpful Ghosts.
The Mothyards were once the greatest airfield that the Cosmodrome had ever seen. Golden Age aircraft would shuttle in military, civilian, and other visitors to what was the largest orbital launch platforms the Earth had ever seen. That was then, now the area was nothing but ruin and misery. The aircraft lay broken and dismantled in the dirt, doing nothing more than collapse and house the enemy that were responsible for their demise. Every day, Guardians would clear out the Mothyards, but the Fallen were persistent. Today was no different. When the sun rose there were over thirty Fallen patrolling the wasteland. Now there was only silence. Silence broken only by the occasional scraping sound. The sound of a knife carving a symbol into the engine of an ancient craft. Sitting in the engine was a Guardian, a Titan to be exact. Laying down and using his weathered knife to carve the exact symbol that was tattooed on his hand into the metal. It was something that he did on every mission. He would find something to carve the curves and edges of the symbol he did not remember the meaning of. With a soft hiss his Ghost appeared and broke his concentration and the silence.
"I know you're bored, but it will only be a bit longer till the target arrives. The chatter on the Fallen comms indicate that he will break orbit any minute." The soft robotic voice of his Ghost was always a reassuring and welcome break to the silence that began every mission.
"I'm not like her. Just sitting around not doing anything just makes me anxious. I need to be out there doing something." The frustrated Titan put his knife back into his chest sheath. His Ghost floated outside and looked out into the distance to monitor any new incoming signals or heat signatures. "Soon." was all that she said back to her Guardian.
The ridge overlooking the Mothyards was jagged and well hidden from view. There couldn't be a better position to provide cover for a Fireteam. If you were to look at the ridge from a satellite you wouldn't really think it was anything special. Just some grass and a long way to certain death. It wasn't until she stretched her tense muscles and looked away from her scope that the ridge became interesting. That's when the stealth of her rifle wore off and revealed a Hunter waiting for what was to come. She was completely isolated, with clear lines of sight for miles. That's the way she liked it. She prided herself in her stealth and her marksmanship. It was the reason that she chose the path of the Hunter. Hunt in the shadow, never let them see you coming. That was the motto her mentor Cayde had taught her. "Ghost, is there any new information on when the target will be arriving?" Though she didn't see her Ghost, she knew he was there cloaked along with her. Revealing himself, "Not at the moment. The target is due to arrive any minute now. Which is good for us because your partner is one echo of silence away from punching that ship into oblivion. Titans are such brutes." the Ghost scoffed. Giving a slight chuckle, the Hunter opened comms with her partner. "How are you holding up down there?"
"You know damn well how I am. You've been watching me for almost an hour. I can FEEL you watching me. It's unsettling."
"Just because I can put one of these rounds through your heart from over a mile away doesn't mean that I know how you're feeling. I know you're bored, it will be all over soon. As soon as we kill Draxis we can go home and collect the bounty." She smiled and looked back through her scope, activating her weapons special ability. A cloak of stealth enveloped her again.
Rolling his eyes, the Titan stood up and jumped down from the engine. Weapon in hand, he walked toward a nearby cave. He checked the special cache of weapons he had left there in case he had to fall back to a defensive position. He was an impatient man, but he wasn't a fool. He had studied under the Titan Vanguard, Zavala. The brilliant tactician would always poke holes in all his plans to the point of frustration. That frustration lead to him being alive, even after many others had been drained of their light.
"James, you're going to want to come outside. I believe our guests have arrived."
The cave began to rumble as he exited the cave and saw the Fallen Skiff pass over his head. Today would be the day that the bounty on Draxis would be cashed in and the debt to the Queen of the Reef would be repaid. Ejecting the magazine from his weapon, the Titan triple checked that it was full and ready to be used. The Skiff hovered over the landing zone and prepared to drop it's passengers. "If you want to do the honor of taking the first shot we can get this started." Came his partner's voice in his helmet. With a smirk on his face he took a knee and aimed down his sights. Having done this so many times since the day he was brought back, he didn't even hesitate to breath. He pulled the trigger of his auto rifle and sent his payload down range.
As they landed in a tight formation, the Fallen looked at their captain and awaited his instructions. With a growl he told them to fan out and being the extraction of the minerals they needed to keep their ships running. Usually the soldiers would immediately begin their tasks, but they all stood still as one of the Vandals suddenly went down in a pained scream. Turning their heads, they saw their sworn enemies and coveter of their precious Traveler jumping down towards them. Draxis screamed to attack as two more Dregs went down. Vandals aimed their rifles to return fire when one fell to it's knees. It's head was no longer there, only the spray of blood and the twitch of a life being extinguished. Three more Fallen fell as sniper rounds found their marks.
On the hill, Sam hummed to herself as she pulled her trigger. It was a song she longed to remember but knew that she never would. Her bullets were hitting precisely where she was aiming for. "Guardian, I'm picking up a strange signal on my sensor. Something isn't right." the Ghost broke stealth and moved forward, scanning the battle ground for something it did not understand. The Titan charged at Draxis, who opened all four of his arms and grunted in anger. Lowering his weapon he charged at the Captain, and with a jump, James used the momentum to lay a massive shoulder charge into the chest of his opponent. The Fallen Captain stumbled back in shock and gave the Titan an opening to unleash two shotgun shells into the Captain, draining him of his overshield. Swiping back, the Captain missed as the Titan rolled out of the way and shot him a third time in the back. Then came the last three sounds that he ever heard. Three soft pops that would end his life of murdering Guardians. Three bullets hit his chest in a tight grouping, dropping him to the ground. Draxis was no more.
With a sigh of relief, the Titan raised a thumb up toward the ridge that he knew his partner was on. "You got him, he's done for." Was all the confirmation that she needed. She stood up and raised her thumb back at him, even if he couldn't see it. Her rifle, almost as tall as she was, smoked from its barrel as she checked it and then safetied it. "Guardian, I'm picking up Hive signatures all over this valley. I don't get it. I don't see any of them!" Kneeling and looking back through her scope she saw her Titan friend running towards his cave sliding into it for safety. That's when she heard it. The loud shrill death song that she heard on the moon. "Omnigoul!" she gasped as she searched the field for the Wizard.
"What the hell are the Hive doing here? That shriek, where have I heard it before?" The Titan quickly pulled out his Heavy Machine gun and walked toward the entrance in a frenzy of confusion. His Ghost floated in his way. "Stop. That's Omnigoul. You can't go out there and fight her, she too powerful for just you."
"There has to be something I can do. She's here for something that can wake Crota. I have to stop her." He put his hand to his helmet to contact Sam and inform her of the change in plan.
"Sam we have a problem, we have hive all over this place and worse, Omnigoul is their leader. I can take the grunts but I'm going to need help taking her out."
"Yeah I know, I'm on my way to you now on my Sparrow. I'll be there in one minute. I have my Super ready to go. Let's end her."
It began with a thunderous roar. If the Mothyards were beyond silent before, they were deafeningly loud now. The slow advance of a Titan with his Heavy Machine gun cut through the fodder. All around him was death and agony. Thralls that weren't mowed down clawed at his armor with razor sharp swipes. His armor, though battle tested, began to show the signs of their attacks. As his weapon became dry James dropped it and pulled out his blade. With his left hand he would land punches that disintegrated his enemies, with his right hand his blade found their necks and soft areas, killing them instantly. He was surrounded but he would not give up. Then again he didn't have to. A white bolt of lighting landed besides him, turning everyone around him to ash. A Hunter Arc grenade. His backup had arrived. Even off of her rifle, the Hunters aim was amazing. Like a boxer, she bob and weaved through the masses making sure that each movement ended with a bullet leaving her weapon and entering the skull of an enemy. If an enemy got too close, then they had the misfortune of meeting her blade. A blade that when used would grant her brief invisibility. The next enemy, surprised at her sudden disappearance, searched around, giving her the chance to shoot through it's head and into the head of another behind it. A cheeky double kill that didn't even phase her.
Together they walked side by side and laid waste to the grunts that the Wizard had brought with her. Glaring and moving back knowing that this would not end well for her, she began to fly towards the nearby structure. She sang her death song, an enchantment that she would soon use on the two unexpected Guardians. "She's getting away!" the two Ghosts informed the two Guardians. The Hunter ejected her magazine and refreshed it with a new one. The Titan instantly pulled out his shotgun. A shotgun that hungered to be fed with death. "Come on I'll lead." the Titan ran ahead. This annoyed the Hunter.
"He never plans anything, he's always so gung ho." Sam thought to herself, running after him they entered the structure. Inside stood the Wizard, both hands together as if she was praying. Flanking to the left of the Wizard, the Hunter took a position that she felt would grant her better line of sight. The Titan walked slowly towards her, shotgun pointed at her, and began to unload. The building echoed with two sounds. The blast of a shotgun and the pecking sound of a scout rifle as the Titan and Hunter converged on the beast. The Wizard screamed in agony as it quickly tried to finish its song. The song became louder and louder the closer the two came to the Wizard. Then came the flash. As if a bolt of lightning had hit the center of the room, the two Guardians unleashed their final attacks. The Hunter pulled out her knife, now charged with the electricity that gave the first humans fire, and the Titan pulling a hammer from the ether that shone and burned like the sun itself. Together they jumped at her and laid their attacks on her.
As it were, the two attacks should have sent her to oblivion. However, killing a Wizard as powerful as the right hand of Crota would not be so easy. The moment their attacks hit her was the same moment that her song ended. With that, the energies of their attacks sent each of them flying to opposite sides of the room, each hitting the wall with back breaking force that instantly knocked them out. The end of the song also sent the Wizard fading back to the moon with a laugh. Though she was defeated, she had been able to try her new song. A song, if successful, would help bring down the Guardians.