Down Into Heights
(A/N: Still alive. Followers - odd that I have those - will get an explanation next time I update Twin Humanities: Distant Future)
Banshee-44, Tower Gunsmith, stood before a large shrouded package in the Vanguards' hall. Vanguard Commanders, several leading Vanguards, and many Crucible participants were jammed into the room for the presentation. Banshee raised a hand for silence and waited.
"In light of recent events, a lot of research has been brought to me. Our foundries have been working harder than ever. Today I'm going to present a few of their newest creations. At the end of my presentation, I will be showing a new class of weapon; something I'm surprised none of us thought of before, and is a call-back to the Golden Age…"
He turned and reached under the shroud.
"First, from Cassoid…"
The presentation was a short one. A few lines of new guns were introduced, all of the same types Guardians were used to. Nothing of terrible interest until a few weapons based on Fallen technology were introduced. Modifications of the shrapnel launcher, wire rifle, and shock pistol were shown off but announced to still be under research and development. A large object remained under the shroud.
"Finally, I present a collaboration of Omolon and Crux/Lomar. Using Tower Prime's ether, inspired by the wire rifle, and modeled after a Golden Age legend, this is the Siegfried Rising."
Banshee pulled away the shroud to reveal a gatling cannon. There were two of them. One of a manageable size for a Guardian, attached to an ammunition backpack. The other, completely independent, looked far too big for even a ballsy Titan. Whispers broke out in the crowd immediately.
"The Siegfried Rising is the first Tower-made weapon built for use by both traditional Guardians and our new Fallen allies who've outgrown our weapons. For now, these prototypes are labeled Exotic-class. They use an ether imitation created through research, maintained in Omolon's foundry, to power the rotating barrel. It's much more efficient than electricity, and requires a refill only after firing either 100,000 rounds individually or a continuous burst of 10,000 rounds. In betweens do exist, so a fuel gauge is included near the upper handle. The traditional size uses a backpack and includes a Ghost program package for converting heavy-class ammunition, and will feed ammunition counts to a Guardian's heads-up display. The 'Archon-class' version includes a Ghost program for directly synthesizing ammunition into the gun. Finally, both versions use a firing mode based on the technology of the wire rifle used by the Fallen. The ether power source charges thin wires in the ammunition source, bars of an advanced metal we've imitated using Spinmetal, shearing off the very edge and firing it out of the barrel with unheard of accuracy and velocity. Because of the firing mode, this weapon has practically no recoil, but because of the size required for the systems to work properly, it is unwieldy and will slow down any Guardian carrying it. Consider it useful for sustained suppressing fire or powerful strikes on large targets. These prototypes aren't capable of producing a targeting aid on a Guardian's display; you'll have to just start shooting and correct your aim from there until the weapons are further analyzed and fine-tuned."
Lord Shaxx came forward up the stairs.
"A demonstration," he announced, "Will be held at the firing range shortly. For now, the Crucible recognizes this weapon as a light machine gun, heavy-weapon class. It will be allowed for use to those Guardians who complete the necessary tasks to earn it."
Commander Zavala came forward as well.
"To conclude, the Tower presents the first official Siegfriend Rising to our Kell, Morik, for his and his fellow Vanguards' contributions to creating this fearsome weapons platform."
He motioned to Morik, who had been sitting on the ground off to the side flanked by Azariah and Blytz. They looked surprised, and Morik stood. He approached the table, noting the extra handles meant for a Fallen with four arms. The way it was designed, the trigger seemed meant to be used by a lower arm while the upper arms stabilized the gun. A lever, attached on both sides, adjusted the fire rate by limiting the spin of the barrels. As advertised, there was a fuel gauge facing up at an angle near the handle on top of the gun. It was built with three handles so as to be wielded by even southpaw users.
"Humblest thanks. This gift honors me. It will be used well."
Just to him, Zavala said, "Actually, we have a mission lined up for your team as soon as you can be ready. But you'll be the one giving the weapon demonstration, along with me. Come to the firing range first. I'll brief you and your team afterward."
Morik nodded, hefting the Siegfriend Rising so it rested on his right shoulder, cradling the back of it with his right arms.
"Ever since the House of Wolves rebellion and the capture of the Devils, the other Fallen have gotten more strategic. They've been learning from our tactics, and they've started scouting in smaller, faster parties. They've also expanded to Mars. House of Kings has expanded to take over the Devils' old territory, and they are certainly much better stewards of the area. They've got tighter security, they scavenge much more efficiently, but most worrisome is that they don't conduct nearly as many raids on our territory. The Kings know they can't uproot us so easily, and they seem content with biding their time and gaining strength. That leaves the Exiles and Winter. House of Winter has their foothold on Venus, and they've been gathering strength again, but we have that under control. The Exiles, though, have done something unexpected. As I mentioned earlier, we've received reports of Fallen on Mars. Their colors are green, lots of Dregs, and no Servitors in sight. They've been spotted diving into the skyscrapers of Freehold, searching for Light-knows-what. This is a golden opportunity for us. We've been wanting to dig into that city ever since the Cabal Exclusion Zone was broken, and now we have a Fallen House trying to beat us to it.
You three will be the tip of the spear. Fly to the listed coordinates outside the city, follow the subway lines under the dunes - recent scans show several clear tunnels to your destination - and sneak into the city center. From there, set up a lookout and a beacon, which you will be provided with, and wait for the Exiles to drop off more scouts. Tail them into the ruins and report what you find. Any questions?"
"Several," said Azariah. "I thought the Exiles were dug into the moon, trying to compete with the Hive. Why go to Mars?"
"We're not sure of the exact reason. They've always seemed like a broken House. Thanks to having contact with Variks, and with Morik on our side, we've been able to infer that they must be strictly rationing ether. That means they have very little. With the moon quickly becoming stripped of anything usable, they must have struck out looking for a new source of salvage. Freehold is the largest city on Mars, and it's right next to Cabal bases that are constantly resupplied. If there were anywhere free of competition with plenty of fresh salvage and space, it's there."
"So, basically, we're going there to keep them from making a permanent base there," said Blytz.
"And, of course, do some salvaging of our own. I would think, as a Warlock, that would have been foremost on your mind…"
"Nah, I'm not one for secrets of light and all that. The Traveler just has so many ways to break 'the rules' that I couldn't resist trying."
Zavala paused a second to process the statement, smirked a bit, and continued.
"Regardless, I'm choosing your team for this for several reasons. Azariah's records show a sharpshooter with wit, and this will be a prolonged recon mission. Sharp eyes and a lighter mood will both help. Blytz, on the other hand, has few battle records and even fewer loses. His research, though also limited, provides evidence that he is good at flashes of perfect insight, if unorthodox. Finally, Morik is our best source of information on Fallen, and in just a few short weeks has proven himself a prime example of what a Striker should be. Once again, your backup will be Enki, Kaara, and Soren. Keep in mind that, this time, they'll be standing by doing patrols or waiting here at the Tower. It could take several hours for them to even reach Mars, let alone answer a distress."
"Makes sense," said Blytz.
"This will also be the first live test of the Siegfried Rising, so make sure you have a fallback weapon. Lastly, we'll have a drop of ether and ammo standing by. Keep your sups to sustain yourself. The drop will be our synthetic ether to refuel the Siegfried, but if you're running low for some reason, it should be usable as a replacement."
Morik nodded.
"If you have no more questions, you're to leave as soon as possible. Your ships are prepped and ready to go. Good luck, Guardians. Light go with you."
After a recent sandstorm subsided, two Guardians and a Kell emerged from a building near the center of Freehold. Climbing out of a window that must have been tens of stories off the ground originally, they stepped into the shifting sands and began exploring the city. Shattered digital billboards hung limply from buildings that still towered high into the sky, broken windows adorned every side of every skyscraper, and the windows that still remained were clouded over with the red dust of Mars.
"Jeez… After that dust storm, there's not gonna be any signs of anything being here," said Blytz.
"Our best bet will probably be to check the windows most easily accessible for any Fallen tech," said Azariah.
"Ghost can detect ether. Blytz and I, we search for ether. Asariah would be better in high place."
"That's… A better idea. I'll head back inside, then. I'll call out anything I spot."
She jumped through a nearby window and ran toward the stairs.
To Blytz, Morik said, "She is Awoken, yes? Why does she not aid her 'Queen?'"
"You're asking that now? Dude, she's been a Guardian longer than I have. The Awoken with the Queen aren't Guardians. Were you confused about that all that time?"
Morik looked away from the window. "Never thought of it until now."
Blytz tilted his helmeted head. "You… Don't sweat details much… Do you?"
Morik just looked at Blytz for a moment and started walking. Blytz shook his head and jogged after Morik.
A minute or so later Azariah came over the radio to report that she didn't see any sign of Fallen, but that there was a building that seemed to have a deliberately created hole in the wall. Morik and Blytz followed her marker and got faint ether readings.
"I'll head down into the building. Gimme a sec," said Blytz.
Morik stood outside the twenty foot hole in the skyscraper, scanning the sky and holding the Siegfried at the ready. About a minute passed in silence before Blytz reported.
"Yup. We have our proof. I'll take some scans."
"What'd you find?" asked Azariah.
"Some storage. It's recent, but they aren't here now. There's some empty sups in here, shock cores in a box, all the office equipment has been pushed against the walls, that sort of thing. They've definitely been down here."
"Any idea if they still are?"
"I can't tell from what I see, and this is where the ether readings are coming from. No others, so they're either a lot deeper in and this is their original base, or this is abandoned and they're in other buildings now. I didn't see any computers, chairs, anything made of metal on the way down either."
"You two could go deeper in. I'll keep watch out here for ships and see if I can find anything else worth looking into."
"Nah, it'd be a waste of time. Better to find somewhere they haven't been that's nearby. I don't wanna get stuck down here or surrounded."
"If you say so. It's still clear. Come on back."
"Be right there."
The day passed with Morik and Blytz waiting outside the tower Azariah was in. At one point, Blytz went about halfway to the top and placed one of their beacons, boosting signal strength and transmitting his scans back to the Tower. It wasn't until night began to fall that something eventful occurred.
"Guys, inside! We've got Skiffs, moving in from the other side of the city!"
Morik and Blytz climbed through one of the bigger windows and hid.
"Definitely House Exile. Get ready to tail them."
Blytz and Morik double-checked their weapons, waiting in the dim brown light of the distant sun almost over the horizon.
"I've got their landing zone marked. I'm coming down."
As soon as Azariah came down the stairs, the fireteam set off at a run.
"They landed outside one of the tallest buildings still standing. There was at least one captain-class. Only two Vandals, though. The rest were Dregs and Shanks. No Servitor either."
"Exiles still have little ether," said Morik. "Very desperate for salvage. Desperate for more ether."
"If that building I checked means anything," said Blytz, "They're finding it. We might just end up stopping them from scrounging. They're not crazy enough to have a base out here already, are they?"
"Desperation… It makes all things unpredictable," said Morik.
By the time they reached the marked building, the only sign the Fallen had been there were the footprints in the sand. Following quickly, Azariah sprinted ahead, down the stairs first. She caught up in moments, reporting over the radio that the Fallen weren't stopping for salvage, just heading further down at a calm pace.
"Stay a few floors up. Morik's heavy, so they might hear him coming."
The fireteam followed their targets down, down, passing floor after floor, even into the basement of the tower. It wasn't until the bottommost floor that the Fallen finally ventured away from the stairwell.
"Guys! Get down here! They're going into the subway! There's high ether readings coming from the tunnels, too."
"I'm surprised the Fallen haven't tried coming to Mars sooner. With all the Vex, who needs salvage? Just stand around a conflux and blast em when they show up."
"Exclusion Zone? Less talking, more running! They've got a Walker down here on some huge cart-looking thing. Modified transport, I think. I need to get close and put one of our beacons on it. How close are you?"
"Just one more floor, hang on."
Silence for a moment.
"Aagh, I can't wait! They're gonna leave!"
"Wait!"
Azariah broke cover and ran low away from the stairs. She dropped off the train platform and crept up on the transport. Her Ghost transmatted a beacon into her hand and she wedged it under the transport's platform.
"I got it…!" she whispered into her comms. "Wait in the stairwell. They'll see you!"
"It's pitch black in here, how would they see us?"
The stairwell lit up with soft blue light.
"They have spotlights on the transport."
Blytz stepped further from the corner. "I see."
The spotlight swivelled around a bit more, then faced forward and the transport began to float and move down the tunnel.
"We need to report this. This is really different from what we expected," said Azariah.
"What we need to do," said Blytz, "Is run after them! We've gotta find out where they're going! So we know they're in the tunnels. So what? There's gotta be more valuable information to send back than just that! Worst case, we just break off and get out of the tunnels."
"I agree with Blytz. We have learned nothing of value. Might also discover major threat. Best to plan when the real threat is known, yes?"
"Then get down here… I guess we're chasing them down."
Terror Kell coming soon...