The Huntress drew a long, deep breath in, sniper rifle keenly aimed. She did not move a muscle, and she made no sound. After a long pause, her finger squeezed down hard on the trigger.
The shot rang out, and she watched as the bullet shattered a Vex Goblin right in the belly, shattering it into several pieces. Smiling to herself, she aimed down sights again, preparing to take another shot as the remaining Goblins scattered, trying to locate the source of the gunshot.
"Lucy? Urgent transmission. From Cayde." Her Ghost piped up suddenly, making her jump.
"Jesus, Dinkle." Lucy rolled off her belly and onto her side to glare at her tiny robot. "Play it." She sighed as the Goblins moved well out of her sniper sights.
"Hunter, we need to see you in the Hall of Guardians as soon as possible. A high priority mission has come up, and we need you on this immediately."
"End Transmission." Dinkle beeped.
Lucy sighed, and got up from her perch. She carefully climbed down, and slung her weapons over her back.
"Well, we'd better get to it, Dinkle. Get us out of here." She said quietly as she climbed into her ship, which was docked nearby.
After exchanging a few greetings with fellow guardians upon her arrival, Lucy made her way down to the Halls, where Cayde was engaged in a heated, and frankly one-sided, argument with Eris.
"HOW can you possibly hate candy?" Cayde was indignantly waving gummy bears under her nose.
"I do not understand this... candy. What is the point?"
"It's...it's delicious!" Cayde spluttered, and Zavala glared at him from down the table.
"Would you mind keeping it down, Cayde?" His low voice boomed through the room.
"Ah, Lucy, you're here." Ikora was the first to notice the Hunter's presence.
"That I am." She smiled at the Warlock.
"Hunter. Good, you finally decided to show up." Zavala turned his attention to the Hunter.
"Finally?" Lucy muttered to Cayde as she moved beside him, and Cayde giggled.
"We've located some interesting activity up high on Venus. There's intel to suggest that one of Oryx's Echoes is working from up there." Zavala continued.
"We need a Hunter up there immediately, to do some recon work." Ikora interjected.
"I'm on it." Lucy went to turn away, but Cayde grabbed her by the arm.
"Not so fast, Hunter." His tone changed, and she stopped in her tracks.
"You won't be going on this mission alone." he finished and her eyes met his with a furious glare. She yanked her arm out of his grasp.
"Are you kidding me, Cayde?" her voice rose half an octave, and even Zavala took a step back. "You know I don't serve in fireteams. Not anymore." her voice dropped to a low growl and her eyes darkened.
"You're just going to have to deal with it, Hunter. I'm sending a Titan along with you. He's the best in our field and those Echoes have a reputation for being very powerful."
"A Titan? You want me, to take a freaking Titan on a recon mission." Her aggravation was apparent in her tone, and her question came out as more of a statement as she started pacing around. "I mean, the least you can do is let me take a Warlock... at least they're more useful..." her voice dropped to a grumble and she kicked her feet along the ground. Ikora shot Zavala a triumphant smirk.
She became so engrossed in kicking the ground that she failed to notice the presence of the Titan summoned to work with her. He had been present for most of the conversation, waiting for the right moment to interject. The moment never came, as the Hunter so intent on kicking the floor, managed to walk headfirst into his chest.
"Crap!" She was startled by the presence of the Titan. She immediately took a few steps backwards to survey the human standing before her.
He was tall. So, so tall. But then again, she was extremely short with a very small frame. Still, he must be clear of six feet, she thought to herself. He had scruffy short brown hair and big chocolate brown eyes. His expression was not cold, but he did not smile, either.
He met her suspicious gaze and held it there for a long time. His eyes pierced through her, and she almost faltered. Hmmm, maybe he wouldn't be so difficult to work with, she mused, seems like the kind of guy to keep to himself. Good. She didn't want any kind of emotion involved with her work.
"Storm, Lucy, now that you've both met, you have your assignment." Zavala had moved from his end of the table to stand beside the two Guardians. His voice broke their intense gaze upon one another, and after hastily nodding at Zavala, Lucy turned on her heels and disappeared.
"Wow." The Titan muttered under his breath.
"Yeah. Sooooo, that's Lucy, my best Hunter. Master of stealth and cunning, quick as lightning with a lockpick, and one of the best hackers of her time." Cayde's voice popped up beside him, making him jump. Freaking Hunters, too damn quiet, he thought to himself.
"What on earth is her problem?" the Titan enquired, looking down at Cayde.
"Ah, she's a complicated wee thing. Doesn't play too nice with others anymore." Cayde gazed at the doorway where Lucy had disappeared. He was silent for a moment before continuing. "She led the first successful team to defeat Crota."
The Titan gasped. "Wait...seriously? She was in Fireteam Alpha?" he paused for a moment. "Didn't they..."
"Get ambushed and wiped out? Yes." Cayde interrupted. "She was the sole survivor." Cayde began walking forward, and the Titan followed suit. "To this day, we have no idea what went on down there. How she lived at all is a miracle."
It wasn't like Cayde to be so sombre, and Storm almost felt uncomfortable.
"I'm sorry you have to be in this situation, Titan. But I can guarantee you there is trouble waiting up there, and she's going to need all the help she can get." Cayde turned to him and shook his hand. "Get some rest, Guardian. You depart in the morning."