The Escape

BOOM! The room shook as the explosion rang out through the complex. "The Fallen are closing in on us!" exclaimed the ghost. "Can you fight?" he asked his new companion.

"All systems appear to be functional", replied the exo.

"Good. That's good. There are weapons in this room." The ghost led Delta to the open crate he found earlier. "This… Mida, should still work."

Delta picked up the weapon as well as the ammunition that lay beneath it. He stuffed the magazine into its slot and locked it into place. "This will do just fine", he said, looking down the gun's sights. BOOM! The explosion was closer now.

"They are opening the vaults one by one", said the ghost. "It's time to go." The two made their way into the entry room where the ghost opened the door to the hallway. Then, to Delta's surprise, the ghost disappeared before his very optics. "Don't worry I'm still here." assured the ghost.

Delta nodded his head in acknowledgement and slowly peeked through the door, Mida armed. Down the hall towards the central hub, two creatures stood guard at a vault door that had been blown wide open. Delta evaluated the threat that would no doubt stand between him and his exit. These aliens were smaller than he was, humanoid in appearance, save for their multiple glowing eyes.

"Dregs", observed the ghost. "You can take them."

The exo took a deep breath and slowly stepped into the hallway, aiming his weapon at the Fallen. Delta couldn't remember much of anything, but the gun felt familiar in his hands, as if he had done this a million times. Without a second thought, Delta double tapped the trigger and both dregs fell to the floor, spewing ether from their heads.

"Impressive!" said his ghost.

Delta smiled the best way his mechanical face could. He didn't know how, but he was a really good shot. The satisfaction was short lived however, as the sound of crackling electricity could be heard from the vault. Through the gaping hole another alien adversary stepped into the hallway. It roared at the sight of its fallen companions and turned to see Delta at the end of the corridor. This particular Fallen was larger than the others and had four arms, two of which holding blades that pulsed with electricity. Delta aimed his weapon at the creature, but was surprised when it vanished.

"That can't be good. I've seen this before", said his ghost. "It's cloaked. Keep your eyes peeled."

Delta stood motionless, watching for any sign of movement. It was only mere seconds, but to him it felt like minutes.

The anticipation annoyed Delta, and sparked a series of cognitive procedures in the deep recesses of his programming. He began to wonder how it was he was even in this situation. Questions began to flood his artificial brain. Where is he? What is he? Why can't he remember anything? Delta began to become aware of more than just his surroundings. He was so quickly consumed in thought that he almost didn't catch the electric spark in the corner of his optics. He reacted as fast as he could, jumping back as the Fallen's blades passed inches from his face. The surprise attack caused Delta to drop his weapon.

"Look out!" warned his ghost.

'Right' Delta thought to himself. 'Fight now, questions later.'

The bloodthirsty alien wasted no time in attacking again. The creature swung one blade after another. It was all Delta could do to dodge them, unable to retrieve his gun.

However, something strange began to happen. Delta was learning the alien's moves. With each swing it became easier to dodge and more predictable. Little did Delta know that his own combat protocols were hard at work, tracking his opponent's every strike. In no time at all, Delta had discovered a pattern in the Fallen's fighting style. It always kept its left foot forward, and its attacks were a random combination of three different types of swings. Delta compiled the data and waited for the opportune moment.

Sure enough, the Fallen's very next attack was a charging thrust. With one simple side step the blade completely missed, and Delta took his chance. He kicked the Fallen square in the chest. The creature fell on its back, shocked by the hard, sudden strike. While it was in a daze, Delta knelt over the Fallen, and killed the beast with one powerful punch into its face.

"Wow", commented his ghost. "Good job."

With that Delta picked up the Mida and began to make his way to the hub.

"You ok?" asked his ghost. "For a moment there it seemed you were zoning out on me."

The exo nodded. "I'm fine. I seem to still be booting up my background cognitive protocols." If they survived this, Delta had more than a few questions for whoever might have answers.

"Fascinating," observed his ghost. "You must have an impressive system of intelligent functions."

This confused Delta. "What is that supposed to mean?" he asked.

His ghost chuckled a little. "It means you're really smart."

Soon the pair reached the exit of the northwest wing. Around the corner was the hub, and Fallen chatter could be heard not too far away.

"Alright," started the ghost. "Unfortunately we don't have many options here. The place is crawling with Fallen, but if we can make it to the hanger there are several operational warships that can get us out of here."

Delta readied himself and primed his weapon. "I will get us there." He wasn't sure where this sudden confidence came from, but it was almost as if he knew he was going to succeed. Something was growing inside him. Something strange. Something powerful. Now was the time to act. "Let's do this," he said, and he dashed from behind the corner to face his foes.

Delta immediately identified a group of Fallen near the center console, and unloaded into them. In a matter of seconds all enemy combatants laid in a pool of their own ether. It was impressive marksmanship, but Delta had no time to admire his handiwork as arc lasers flew past him from the snipers stationed above.

One by one, Delta took out the snipers as he rolled from cover to cover. After the last Fallen sniper fell to the bottom floor without its head, Delta collected his bearings. He stood near the center of the hub, the power inside of him practically bursting at the seams.

Before he could make a move towards the hanger, several more Fallen dropped in from the skiff hovering above the hub. Dregs and Vandals now surrounded him, weapons drawn, but they did not fire. 'What are they waiting for?' thought Delta.

Suddenly there was a flash of light from the skiff as a transmat was initiated. Behind the ring of aliens, a large Fallen warrior materialized. It was a Captain, and he was angry. For several seconds Delta and the Captain locked eyes, waiting for one another to make a move. The Captain roared, and the ring of Fallen opened fire.

What happened next could only be described as impossible. All of the Fallen fired their weapons, but none of them found their mark. As the Fallen had landed from their ship, Delta had immediately taken note of the trajectory of their weapons, and calculated the exact maneuvers to avoid them. All of them.

In an impressive display of reaction time and acrobatics, Delta dodged and rolled out of the oncoming fire. After that it was a matter of combat. He spun around on his heel and let loose with his MIDA, taking out several Fallen.

The rest of the monsters charged, but Delta was ready. He shot down two more and then tackled a dreg. A Vandal swung its arc blade down at Delta, but he quickly rolled over, gripping the Dreg, so that the blade sank into the alien's back instead of his own. He then threw the body aside and kicked the Vandal in the face.

As Delta got to his feet, another Vandal lunged in with its blades, but he was prepared. Delta sidestepped like he had done before, but this time he grabbed the blade by the handle and plunged his Mida into the Fallen's head and pulled the trigger.

The alien fell to the ground and Delta approached the remaining Vandal he had kicked, arc blade in hand. His adversary swung from the right, but Delta simply parried and skewered the Fallen with his blade. He let the body fall to the ground, blade still in deep, and turned around. All that remained was the Fallen Captain, who had been watching the whole altercation transpire.

It began speaking furiously in its own language. Neither Delta nor his ghost could translate, but the tone was clear. This Captain meant business and this was going to be a fight to the death. The alien roared and drew its own arc blades, much like the ones the Vandals carried only these were bigger.

Delta reloaded his rifle and took a defensive stance. He wasn't sure how or why, but he could feel his body surging with power and he needed to unleash it. 'Screw this,' he thought. Delta was originally going to wait for the Captain to make the first move, but he felt an innate desire to test his own limits. 'It's now or never.'

Delta let off several shots directly into the Captain's head, but the arc shield that surrounded it stopped the bullets in their tracks. The Captain took its opportunity and slashed forward with its blades. Delta barely rolled out of the way. He did not anticipate an arc shield.

The Captain continued to swing at Delta, and it was all he could do to dodge the blows. The Captain was extremely agile for its size and Delta quickly realized that he wasn't going to win this fight by simply trying not to die. He glanced at the weapon in his hands. 'This will do.'

On the Captain's next strike, Delta held out his Mida and let the arc blade sink into the rifle's frame. This was his chance. With the Fallen's blade caught in the Mida, Delta thrusted his hand outward as if it were instinct.

To his amazement, his hand erupted into purple energy and the Captain flew backwards several feet. "What was that?!" Delta asked aloud.

"That," replied his ghost, "was the power of the void."

Delta smiled. He could get used to this. He noticed the Fallen Captain was getting back up, but this time without an energized glow. 'Its shield is down!'

Delta decide it was time to end this fight. He had experienced the void, and now he knew how to use it. He focused on the great power inside of him, and called forth every ounce of it.

The Captain regained its footing and prepared to charge, but it was too late. Delta had built his power, and with one powerful lung he unleashed a devastating nova bomb. He watched as the void engulfed his opponent and then… nothing. The Captain was dissolved into the void.

"Impressive," marveled his ghost.

Delta was overjoyed with his newfound abilities. It wasn't long though before he heard the sound of descending ships. He looked up to see two more Fallen dropships coming in from the ketch. Delta braced for an onslaught.

BOOM! One of the dropships violently exploded and a Guardian's ship barreled over the hub, shortly followed by several more ships that proceeded to shoot down the rest of the Fallen combatants.

"The Vanguard is here!" exclaimed the ghost. "Quickly, grab your rifle and get to the hanger before the place comes down on us!"

Delta nodded and obeyed. He swept up his Mida and ran for the hanger as debris came crashing down all around him.

As they neared the hanger the ghost materialized next to Delta. "I'll open the hanger doors, you start the ship."

Delta acknowledged, then crashed through the entry door and bolted for the nearest warship. He boarded through the side hatch and made his way to the cockpit.

Delta took the pilot's seat and began flipping the ignition switches. He wasn't sure how, but he knew how to operate a warship. All systems were online in a matter of seconds and Delta primed the engines as the complex shook around him.

Sirens began to wail as the massive doors before Delta sprang to life and the moon began to show itself from beneath. There was the brief sound of a transmat.

"I'm back," said the ghost. "Let's get out of here."

From there the ghost took control of the ship's thrusters and the warship blasted out and up into the night sky. It wasn't long before a radio call came through to the warship.

"Warship respond. Respond. This is Daelic of the Last City. Identify yourself."

"Designation Resurrection," replied the ghost. "Requesting cover fire so I can bring my new Guardian home."

"Acknowledged," replied Daelic. "Hang tight."

The Fallen ketch was unloading all of its firepower on the jumpships that circled it. Daelic and his crew bombarded the bridge so as to keep the Fallen's attention on them. The tactic soon worked, as Delta's warship flew away to safety and the Fallen were in full retreat.

Daelic came through the coms once again. "Have a safe flight, warship. We will clean up here."

Delta leaned back in his seat in relief. "Where to now?" he asked his ghost.

"Home," it replied. "We are going to the Tower."