As Prometheus lead the team through the darkened tunnel that they had entered moments ago, a shiver worked its way down his spine. It had been years since he felt something like, the last time he felt it, he had been killed by the Fallen. Not a fun day.
The team had moved into the tunnel so far and taken so many turns they no longer had sight of the light that entered with them to guide them.
"Night vision on, we're going silent for as long as we can." He heard his friend order. Sha'ria always was one for safety. His vision was tinted green by his new goggles.
Lo and behold, in front of him lay a large room with a central pillar. But what was truly shocking to the squad was what was in the room with them.
Nothing.
Nothing but a faint tinge of green and an empty room met their thorough inspection.
"Okay, I'm not saying this is a trap, but I'm starting to think that this maybe have a slight possibility to be a small trap." He heard one of the Titans say. This played on his mind also. The Fallen were not so stupid as to leave a wide open insertion point like this unguarded. "Keep quiet, we continue, but keep an eye out for anything fishy." He said, his authoritative voice showing no sign of the unease he felt. He was met only with nods from his team mates.
No sign of anything living having ever been here since the original hit took place. The general unease of the group was palpable.
"Hunter team, Assault team, we're heading out, no sign of any life whatsoever. Copy?" Prometheus radio. Silence met his broadcast. "Hunter team, come in." No answer. "Hunter team, radio check." Again, no response.
He looked over to Sha'ria, hoping that his comm was simply broken. She shrugged her shoulders.
"Great, jammed, with maybe an army waiting on our return." He thought to himself. "We're leaving, this place is either trapped or empty, I'm not willing to waste time or lives." He said, his voice echoing down the desolate wasteland of the compound.
As one, the team turned around with Sha'ria leading the way back. It took a lot less time to leave than it did to enter, only fifteen minutes were spent wandering the maze searching for the entrance turned exit. When it was found, to the general relief of Sha'ria who had a fear of being underground, the team assembled into a formation that would allow for minimum casualties and maximum chance at a counter-attack should they be assaulted once they leave.
With a thunderous sound of feet pounding the concrete floor, they exploded into the clearing, weapons raised only to find Septus and his two Hunters walking towards the entrance themselves, who abruptly stopped, and looked confused.
"What was wrong? Why didn't you contact us?" Septus asked as he walked up to the group and began assessing the situation.
"We couldn't. We tried, but there was no response. Only static. Likely a jammer, but there was no sign of tech anywhere. It looked abandoned since it was first left abandoned. I think we should move to a more secure location before we talk." Prometheus supplied. Thankfully Septus seemed to understand his reasoning and moved back to where they originally made the plan of attack.
Septus, Sha'ria and Prometheus all sat down on their respective rocks while the others were socialising with each other, no doubt recalling tales of how they defeated this enemy, or how many Vex they've killed.
Septus, Sha'ria and Prometheus were doing something completely different however.
"I'm telling you, this place was empty, no light, no tech, hell, not even a sound. If this ain't a perfect setup for a trap, I don't know what is."
"I fail to see how this affects us now however, we have left the building and avoided the possible trap, why persist with this reasoning?" Sha'ria asked in her overly formal manner.
"Because they now we're here, they probably monitored us entering and leaving, then followed us to where we are now via camera." Prometheus defended.
"Okay, that is a possibility, but a long shot, I've got Sol monitoring the skies, so we'd know if they got any ships near here, they don't by the way. Even then, he would be able to tell us if there was a horde of angry Fallen approaching us."
"Have you forgotten about the stealth Vandals? You know, the invisible assholes? He can't track them! Even if I'm wrong, there's nothing here, so we might as well as go back to the tower!" Prometheus moaned, his voice rising slightly.
"Then why were they here? This is right on our border, yet there is nothing here." Septus said, always the voice of reason.
"Because they might be getting ready to assault the tower, ever heard of this before?" He said in desperation.
Sha'ria interrupted. "I must agree with Prometheus here, there is no longer any reason why we should remain here."
"Fine, we'll go back to the Tower, but damn if I ain't happy about it." Septus said. For all his reasoning, he can be pretty stubborn when faced with what he considered failure.
The nine total Guardians called their ships, and were soon racing across the globe, the land nothing but a blur beneath them.
"Attention, all Guardian ships, Fallen attack vessels have been spotted on an approach run with your vector." Sol, Septus' Ghost informed them over the comm units.
Septus took immediate command. "Evasive maneuvers, don't let them get a lock, head back to the Tower, we can let the Sentry turrets deal with them." He said, voice authoritative as the day Prometheus met him.
Eight signs of confirmation, and they were spiraling across the azure blue sky, as several black splotches appeared on the horizon. With a great burst of speed, they began to catch the fleeing ships, and were soon in firing range.
Large bullets zipped by, leaving a harsh Zipp sound and scratches across the paint of Titan's ships.
"Titans, get a move on, you're lagging behind." Sha'ria spoke, her voice wavering with worry for Prometheus. She had been in his squad for a long time, and she cared for her friend.
More clapping sounds rang out as more shots were fired upon the group. A stray bullet clipped Warlock Two's engines, and as they screeched, trying to stay alive, a great billowing plume of smoke was emitted. Her altitude began to fall as she lost control.
"I'm going down, my engines are messed!" She yelled over the comms before her ship crashed and plowed an impressive gouge into the earth.
The rest of the ships began spinning and turning more rapidly, attempting to avoid the incoming rounds. Prometheus performed an alerion roll (A/N: Don't say: "Do A Barrel Roll.") as a hail of bullets passed where he was moments before, his engines burning away furiously as they attempted to get their driver to safety.
Hunter Three crossed his path, weaving his way across the sky. Prometheus shuddered as a round clipped his undercarriage and left wing, obliterating it. The ship spiraled out of control, dipping lower and lower until it pitched nose first into the hard rock terrain, exploding on impact.
Farewell, Hunter. Prometheus thought sadly. He was always saddened by the death of a friend and Guardian.
There were few too many as it was.
The Fallen ships, hulking mess of metal that they were, could not cope with the agility of the Guardian ships, and instead adopted a new tactic. A single ship sped forward with an incredible sonic boom, and rammed into Titan Two, the heavier Fallen ship crushing and piercing the smaller ships cockpit, killing the pilot instantly. The Fallen ship, having lost serious momentum from the collision, slowed down as the downed ship fell towards the earth.
The remaining six ships focused on surviving the remaining journey, having only completed half of it, and having lost a third of the party's members.
The wind could be heard around the glass that separated the pilots from the buffering, high speed wind. The hearts of the Guardians were racing, never before were they ever caught in such a perilous position. They were leading the enemy to their home, a crime punishable by execution, yet they were trying to survive.
How Ironic Septus thought, having more than enough processing power for the small train of thought.
His processes were soon tasked to capacity, however, when a barrage of bullets slammed into his landing gear. It would make it difficult to land, but not impossible.
The towers were coming into sight, yet the Fallen pursued them relentlessly.
"Tower Control, Devil Squad coming in hot, hostiles on our six, prep the turrets!" Septus transmitted, warning the city of their imminent arrival.
"Turrets beginning activation phase, five seconds until fire solutions are locked, Speaker has been warned of your arrival. Good luck Devil Squad." The automated message rang out.
The remaining squad, kept ducking and weaving through the air, bullets hissing maliciously as they whizzed passed.
"Squad, free to enter the city, the automated turrets will shoot the Fallen." Septus updated as he got the message confirming the configuration of the turrets.
The ships roared into the city limits, the Fallen following them relentlessly, at least until the turrets turned in their direction, and opened up. Massive calibre rounds shredded the air and the Fallen ships, several of them exploding as the rounds pierced their thrusters. The celebratory shouts of the small squad echoed across the comm line as they were confirmed safe from the Fallen.
But not from the Speaker.
It was going to be a long day for all involved, for never before has anyone survived bringing harm upon the Tower, direct or indirect.
A long day indeed.
