Title: Rejoin
Characters: Pharah. (Widowmaker, Winston.)
a small out of story note: Just letting you know that characters that are in brackets are ones that usually have minor or unmentioned roles, in case there was confusion. Also whilst I'm at it, I'll mention that you're welcome to pitch in any kind of scene or idea you'd like to see or explored, even if I may not be able to write all of them. I have almost covered every character at this point now. Hanzo, Widowmaker and Symmetra have yet to have a more prominent role/their own drabble. - Guixi
The Temple of Anubis, nestled within ruins of the Giza Plateau on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt, remained an area of much mystery for the average citizen. Many waved it off as merely being a dig site for archaeologists and treasure hunters, though came up blank when questioned why Helix soldiers milled around in the compound, strictly securing it. Nobody was allowed into the temple grounds without their inspection.
Beyond the public eye, the temple once housed a god program – an incredibly dangerous rogue artificial intelligence – which now remained defunct and deactivated, although outright destroying it would have proved too destructive given it's deep rooted connections. The original Overwatch had quarantined the program with the aid of Helix during it's prime.
Yet soldiers get transferred, discharged or simply retire or pass away; and the knowledge of their purpose within the temple had slowly faded into obscurity, to the point where they did not know why they had to guard the area, but simply followed the orders of the brass up top.
Pharah was thankfully no such individual. She had been privy to the secret research base beneath the temple, had received specialized training suited for the job. Sitting post high up to oversee any who might approach the main or side gates, she absent-mindedly stroked the bird-like visor and helmet resting in her lap, thoughts drawn back in memory as it often did to pass the long waits.
It was through this classified information she had heard of Overwatch. Hell, she had been excited about their involvement, and at one point she had the top priority to enlist in the peacekeeping force, but the organization's bickering with each other had ended that dream before it could even begun. The Egyptian soldier scoffed – that's how she came about the name 'Pharah.', thinking it was an adequate call sign befitting of the force's naming conventions.
Yet all the memory she had left of that broken establishment were a chance meeting with the original members gushing about how proud her mother would have been. The grip on her helmet tightened, and her lips twisted in a sneer.
They really did not know her well, then.
Unfortunately for the security chief, this was merely the calm before the storm. Little activity usually happened when keeping watch – encounters with enthusiastic treasure hunters were few and far between, and almost never escalated to the point of violence. As the wind picked up and gushed grains of sand and hot air, the Egyptian woman pulled up her chequered scarf up over her mouth and nose, before placing her helmet back on to protect her eyes. Everything lined up to be just a regular watch day.
A bullet sliced through the air silently, the sound from it's gun too distant to alert the guards, however the screams from the dying men was more than enough to cause alarm. Pharah immediately jolted, standing up and hoisting up her fallen rocket launcher. A brief glance to the side gate revealed two Helix guards bleeding out – too late to save, even if she radioed for medical assistance. The entire compound suddenly buzzed with activity; a siren going off distantly.
Yet from her vantage point, the chief could not see a thing. All that stretched before them were desert, sun-coloured dunes and the odd scenic ancient ruin. Fareeha did not panic, however, even if inwardly she grimaced and shoved all of her fear in a little box in the back of her mind. Now was the time for action.
Several more shots sailed in the air; removing the guards stationed at the front. A moment passed before the sands appeared to explode with a multitude of Talon agents decked in full desert camouflage opened fire on the steady stream of Helix's response force. The quiet plateau now erupted into a deadly battlefield, bricks scorched by the heat of the plasma rifles and the wind picked up to further a harsher environment. Though it was the least of their worries now, a sandstorm was brewing and thus making Talon's window of opportunity small, and Helix's safety unlikely once it came.
"Talon must not gain entry!" the chief yelled over the communication system, eyes glued to the scene of the battle as her mind worked overtime. "Block off the side entrances and fall back to the bridge – create a choke point!"
As the soldiers began to obey her orders, Pharah launched off from the high platform with the help of her jets, hovering in the air and keeping mindful of her fuel before lining up her weapon and letting loose a steady stream of rockets down at the entrance, offering cover fire for Helix as they fell back and held off the footsoldiers of Talon. Some caught wind of her presence, turning to aim their rifles at her, but an airborne target was often a tricky one to hit, using it to her advantage.
Her armour alerted her of it's fuel status, and she returned to the platform, allowing it to recharge, utilizing the towering pillars that reached to the sky as her cover. Now that guards of Helix were back in position, she returned to her radio. Although they had the upper hand, the force securing the temple were few, and judging by the looks of Talon, they vastly outnumbered her. The terrorists were not stupid – eventually they would try to find a way around the choke point by breaching the sides.
"This is Security Chief Amari," she said the moment the device connected to headquarters. "The temple is under attack by agents of Talon. I am requesting backup."
"Your – unstable, Chief," a static-filled voice said from device, cutting on and off. "We – repeat – us?"
"Headquarters, do you receive me?" Pharah tried again, trying not to allow desperation sink into her voice as she risked a glance back to the battlefield. Talon had abandoned attempting the front entrance again, and their mystery sniper assistant was picking off the securing forces at the sides quite nicely. Switching to the local channel, the Egyptian barked orders to get under cover, even if it meant compromising the entrance. She did not want any more men and women dead under her watch.
The other channel beeped, and switching back to it once again gave her a fuzzy, unintelligible call. She muttered curses under her breath, as the request for backup would have to wait. The growing sandstorm picked up further; and the air began to fill with more grains of hot sand that pelted against her visor. Perhaps she would have better reception after it momentarily subsides, for now, they were on their own.
To think, an hour ago, everything was quiet.
Once more the woman took to the skies, raining down rockets upon the forces of Talon, though she could spot that their blockade wouldn't last long. The soldiers themselves had wisely chosen to cover, and whilst the splash and shrapnel from her weapon's explosion was mighty, to offer aerial support was placing her directly in the sights of their sniper. It was only by the graces of the ruin's pillars that she had not been shot down yet.
Pharah decided that she may be more useful on the ground behind the blockade with direct support, yet she had thought too soon about their sniper's ability. As she began to descend and briefly offer an unimaginably small window for them; the bullet sailed and pierced into her armour, specifically surrounding her right jet. She thanked Helix's amazing foresight in design, as had it been made by lesser hands, she would've been set ablaze by fuel leakage, which was likely the sniper's intent. A brief scan of her armour showed no outlasting damage, and she was still able to use her jets.
The battle toiled on for a while, remaining at that impasse. The token force lasted impressively, long enough for the sandstorm to kick in fully and force Talon back into deeper cover and Helix further into the compound. It was a much needed break to tend to the wounded and restock their ammo. Pharah also briefly repaired the damage to her suit from rifle fire and the sniper's attempts, though could not do much without getting a qualified engineer out in the field.
Time passed in tense readiness, yet as the storm began to wane into an uncomfortable yet safer heat, the agents of Talon appeared to have vanished into the thick of the sandstorm. Pharah's mind was quick, believing they had retreated to try a more underground attempt at breaching the compound, but continuous patrols and searched came up nothing. It was an intense moment that lead to a handful of causalities and many wounded, to which she absent-mindedly instructed to be priority.
The woman relaxed just a margin as they likely would not attempt again, but she couldn't help but shake of the feeling that the assault was merely attempting at what kind of defence Helix had set up for the temple. Their attack did not seem to have any method or strategy, and thus she concluded they were gathering intelligence. That was what frightened her the most out of it – a second fight could be devastating, especially if they come better equipped, now that they knew what lay in wait.
Communications beeped lightly, signalling it's online status, though it was not headquarters that she called. Her eyes closed briefly, steeling herself. A single tone indicated she was now connected.
"This is Security Chief Fareeha Amari of Helix Security International." she intoned. "I would like to schedule a meeting with Agent Winston of Overwatch."
"Speaking – and regarding?" a surprised rumble of a voice sounded from the other side. She recognized it to belong to the aforementioned gorilla.
"Talon … and a renewal of my application."