Hidden Sun, High Noon (Part 2)
"You guys can handle things here, right?" said Cayde, slapping a hand cannon on his hip and jumping over the desk in the Vanguard Hall.
"Where are you going?!" said Zavala.
"I'm sick of watching this. They're getting pushed back, and it's been hours. They're Guardians, not Vex. They're tired. Either we go down there, where we belong, give them a boost and some help, or they're finished. Which, by extension, means so are we."
"We have a duty to those Guardians to manage all the data from them. Here!" said Ikora Ray, throwing her hands wide around her in emphasis.
"Yeah… Well… I never liked the desk job anyway," said Cayde. He jumped out the shattered window.
The sun was dipping lower, long shadows forming. The Darkness reached out, closer and closer to the Tower. Where the House of Light went, its fingers were cut, arms severed, claws ripped out. But with so few of them across the wide field, where they could not be, Guardians were overwhelmed every so often. Relatively few had died, mostly those who had been taken down and hadn't been revived before the enemy advanced over their positions. The Fallen had cloaked units mixed in specifically targeting Ghosts. The Cabal Centurions hopped from battle to battle, maintaining their shields and shutting down Guardian advances. Their Valus and Val remained behind enemy lines with the siege engines, waiting to attack when the time was right.
On the Ketch, high above, the Kell of Kings held audience. His High Archon remained with the Pilot Servitor, but six others knelt around his throne. The Winter, Devils, threadbare Wolves and Exiles; every House's Kell had been in attendance. With their meeting over, Skiffs left the Ketch one by one and vanished into space. The last Skiff, painted black, took off and cloaked, flying over the battlefield.
With the enemy gaining ground, and the Wall pressing against the Guardians' lines, Cayde appeared. He held his gun high, his cape flowing from his landing, and he made a statement.
"This won't be the end of the City! The Light! Guardians, advance!"
He ran away from the wall, where the ground sloped up toward the wall, and joined the fight. Like a magnet run over metal dust in water, Guardians followed in a knot, Titans rushing to move ahead of him, both to support and protect. The movement was spotted by the Cabal and they struggled to prepare their formation, calling Fallen and forcing their Val to move. When his feet thundered to the earth before Cayde's advance, Gravian blinked in behind Cayde.
"My apologies, Commander," she said as they ran, "But my Kell is occupied. Allow me!"
She picked up her pace, sprinting ahead of the advancing Titans, stowing her weapon and starting to glow with ether and Void Light. She threw a magnetic grenade at the Val's face before he could take a step, but he threw up his arm and braced. The grenade stuck to his vambrace, exploding twice and nearly knocking him over. Off balance, he couldn't stop Gravian and she barreled into him. His allies, Fallen and Cabal, turned to shoot and attack, but Gravian used her Ward of Dawn. Her Armor of Light coated her body and any Guardian who entered after her, which several Titans did, and she proceeded to clash with the Val. His stocky limbs slammed into her, and he fought using his weight as an advantage, trying to push her out of the Ward. Gravian blinked behind the Val and kicked him in the back. He stumbled out of the Ward and two Titans shoulder-charged, sending him back in.
The Val fired his jump-jets, attempting to disrupt the assault and get away. Before the jets did more than warm, however, Cayde was on his chest, knife flashing. The Val had been looking up to see where his jets would take him, exposing his neck. The lining of his suit was sliced open by Cayde's knife, releasing the pressurized gas. The Val flailed, trying to crush Cayde, who jumped away and fired, clearing the Ward and staring into it. The Val, his suit losing pressure fast, regained his composure and triggered something on his suit. The fuel for his jets and all his ammo primed, some rounds going off early. Gravian braced, but she underestimated the force of what was about to happen. A brilliant flash ignited. A second later there was a clean scoop taken out of the ground and Gravian's Ghost appeared, idle and awaiting a Light-infusion. She had been the only one inside the Ward. The two Titans who had used their shoulder-charge moved in to revive her while the others pushed through the opening in enemy lines, on Cayde's heels.
"Well…" said Zavala. "We can't say he was a disappointment."
He and Ikora watched as Cayde's effect on morale caused a full-scale counterattack. The initial advance had to slow to avoid pushing too far ahead and getting surrounded, but once a pace was established, the Guardians began carving through the enemy.
"Enemy Valus confirmed on the field," reported a Frame. "Multiple Guardians' visuals compiled. Approximate location ready to transmit."
Zavala gave it the go-ahead, going back to his console. Ikora watched a moment longer, feeling out the Light.
"Cayde's right… Our place is with them," she said to herself. She turned and went back to her console, controlling the unexpected urge to follow him. Rash action was behind her, she decided.
"Valus!" announced a Warlock, outfitted for Crucible and on the front lines. She jumped high in the air and fired a Lance Nova Bomb at the hulking Cabal, who had been trying to advance unnoticed. He was in a dip in the land between two hills, almost hidden from sight by other Cabal. A Phalanx jumped, boosters carrying him right into the path of the Nova Bomb. He blocked it and tumbled back onto the ground. The Warlock hit the ground, cursing under her breath when she noticed, for a split second, the rear slice of her radar light up. She spun too late and a cloaked Captain gutted her with shock blades. The contact with another undid the cloaking, but it was enough time for the Captain to seize the Warlock's Ghost, crushing it in his hand with a surge of ether. Guardians turned on the Captain, again too late, and it blinked then vanished again.
"There are Silent Fang here!..." choked out a Crucible Hunter. She contained her anger, the dead Warlock a long-time partner, and fell back to coordinate a counter to the enemy assassin units.
"My Kell!" said Ramiks aloud, in English. "The Silent Fang have come! The enemy Valus is approaching as well!"
Morik, reviving a Guardian, nodded. He responded in Eliksni.
"If you insist on still calling me Kell, you will find the Silent Fang. I have sent Kaara and Soren to prepare our trump card. I will confront the Valus. When he is dead, we will leave."
"Apologies, Kell, but such confidence may be dangerous," said Viksis, walking up beside Morik.
"With so much aid, I can afford my confidence," said Morik. "We are surrounded by Light, and allies. We share the same goal. They will follow me, I know, into battle with the Valus. You are coming too."
Viksis dipped his head to acknowledge, looking to Ramiks.
"The Fang will come for you, my Kell," said Ramiks.
"And you will stop them. We move together. I will contact the Tower and alert them of our assault. Viksis, call for Gravian. We will need her help in our assault, and I intend to leave her here on the battlefield. She will be the only Archon left behind."
"As you wish, my Kell," said Ramiks.
The three huge Eliksni formed a reverse V formation, Viksis and Morik ahead of Ramiks. Morik contacted the Tower, in English.
"Please alert our fellow Guardians: Kell of Light and his Archons will prepare an assault on the enemy Valus. If possible, update our waypoint."
A Frame's voice responded. "Message received. Priority 2 assigned. Commencing relay shortly."
To his Archons, in Eliksni, Morik said, "We should not wait. Advance on the Valus' last known position!"
"Gravian!" growled Ramiks over comms.
"Yes?" said Gravian, quiet, aiming down her scout rifle's scope and picking off two Vandals with wire rifles.
"Your Kell summons you. We attack the enemy Valus."
"I will meet you there. My Ghost has just set the waypoint."
"The Tower is struggling to keep up with data, but as long as you know where to go… Let us carve a path for our Light together!"
"Try not to have too much fun," said Gravian, using Eliksni to better enunciate her joking tone.
Ramiks scoffed and responded in kind. "No such thing as too much fun. Only too few enemies."
Gravian switched back to English. "Or enemies too weak."
Ramiks laughed and cut off comms.
Gravian broke from her long range duties and ran for the front lines.
In terms of modern warfare, the use of information was nothing short of beautiful. The Tower used the Ghost network to set a series of waypoints for Morik and his Archons, which any Guardian could see. The way Guardian formations modified, split to make room, provided covering fire, created cover with Wards, blasted dirt and dust into the air to obscure the rushing Eliksni; coordination was almost perfect, and so fluid that their appearance on the front lines shocked the enemy. With an echoing roar in the dying sunlight, Ramiks entered the blade trance, drawing his shock blades. A wide formation of Guardians pushed forward, with Ramiks at the head and his fellow Eliksni behind him.
Most of the House of Light had also responded, with Captains and Vandals in white Tower-made armor covering the advance. Their Light created an enormous resonance, and a group of advancing Warlocks took great advantage of the gathering Light. Stepping lightly, a wave of them jumped off the shoulders of their running comrades, high into the air. Void and Solar Light exploded in the air like the contrasting stars and blackness of space. The Voidwalkers threw Shatter Nova Bombs, killing weaker Fallen and softening the defense of the Cabal, while the Sunsingers remain suspended in the air, scattering fire everywhere and breaking up enemy formations. Not a single Centurion in the way had shields after the attack, and many keystones in the Cabal formations attempting to resist were felled by the sudden appearance of Bladedancers who crawled out of their shadows. The Sunsingers glided deftly down, left behind by the advancing lines.
"Save your energy for the Valus," reminded Morik, mostly for confirmation rather than out of need.
When Ramiks' Arcblade trance wore off, Morik took the head of the formation. By now the enemy Valus was advancing, abandoning his defense of the siege engines. As a whole, the enemy army was retreating. When the Valus finally thundered onto the battlefield, outfitted with a Solar shield and a massive Slug Thrower. Two Light Vandals ran to Morik's side, both holding fusion rifles.
"We will support you, Kell. Our weapons will counter his shield," said one, aiming her fusion rifle at the Valus.
Morik glanced back to see four others of his House, three other Vandals and a Captain, stowing fusion rifles of the other two types. Morik nodded his approval and took aim with his auto rifle.
A translation played over Morik's Ghost, the Valus speaking in very low frequencies and thrumbing with confidence.
"Finally, the ... arrived. Our battle, make fun, I wish to make. No disappointment."
The missing word, where the overlaid translation had failed, Morik reasoned to be his title. The rest was simple enough. Without asking if his Ghost could do the same in reverse, Morik responded in English.
"I am not here for fun. You and yours have attacked our home. Flee or die."
A moment of silence, then more untranslated sounds.
"He's laughing at us, I think," said Morik's Ghost.
"So give him something to laugh about!" came Soren's voice over comms. "We're ready and waiting on our end, Morik. We're launching now! This had better w-"
All sound was drowned out. The ground shook, forcing almost every soldier to their knees. The first hint of what had happened were the huge chunks of man-made stone crushing Guardians. Glances shifted back, Guardians turning in confusion, some with enough composure to ignore the happenings and revive their fellows. Two chunks of the Wall were crumbling, blown away by the Fallen Ketch hovering over the battlefield. Never before had one been able to even get close, let alone attack the City. Morik thought he heard the Kings laughing at him as he looked at the two breaches in the Wall. On his watch, the City had been breached. A disgrace to every Titan, whose ancestors had held the Six Fronts during the Collapse and Twilight Gap. The retreat of the enemy had been a ruse, which became obvious as they ran completely around the main Guardian force and straight at the holes. Impossibly, more Skiffs appeared from orbit, dropping more units just outside the wall. One got too close and the Guardians saw firsthand why the Traveler's barrier was to be respected. A bolt of pure Light, like lightning, struck the Skiff that strayed too close, ripping it to pieces and flinging those pieces over the mountains.
That scene broke Morik from his stupor. He gained his feet, closely followed by all those around him. Fury boiled through him, his ether and Light following suit. Aloud, he gave his order.
"Kill the Valus. Then, my true fight."
He looked up.
"Making that Ketch mine."
Twilight Torsion coming soon...