Towerfall

Despite the storm raging outside, things inside the Tower had been quiet. The previous few days, the home of the Guardians had been louder than usual, people excited about new developments, but then the storm rolled in. A more somber attitude reigned now, the weather keeping people indoors, the heavy and oppressive clouds lending a sense of gloominess that kept activity to a minimum. That was fine with Warlock Scott-20, as the sedate atmosphere was perfect for studying uninterrupted.

He'd been pouring through Guardian records, looking for any mentions of a Warlock named Darcel Bellamy. Apparently, the Warlock had gone rogue and a fireteam that Scott was associated with had been ordered to track him down. Claney, the leader of the team, had tasked him with gathering up any information that they could about their quarry. All he had known about Bellamy going in was his class, that he was known to associate with Dead Orbit, and had an unhealthy appreciation for the Taken. So far, he had turned up little else Scott drummed his fingers on his desk, a sure sign of his frustration. There had to be more in the records, he just had to look in the right place.

"Casper," he said to his Ghost, "take over the search, please. I'm going to step out for a moment."

"Of course," the Ghost replied.

Scott-20 rose from his desk and stepped out of his study. Being an exo, the act of "getting fresh air" or "stretching his legs" was not really anything that could help the same way it might have if he was still human, but the human portion that remained still enjoyed it every now and again, and it could still be helpful to take a break when trying to solve a difficult problem. The Warlock moved aimlessly through the connecting hallways, letting his thoughts wander as he did so.

Eventually, he found himself standing near an open section with a view of the Last City. Scott turned his optics outward, watching as heavy raindrops bombarded it from the low-hanging cloud formations. There was one place where the rain conspicuously did not fall, directly beneath the Traveler. Sure, water from the rains flowed through there and soaked the ground eventually, but nothing fell directly there. Once more, the silent bulk of the Traveler shielding those below it.

Impulsively, Scott climbed up on the railing meant to keep people from walking off the edge of the platform. He removed one glove, pushed up his sleeve, and held out his hand, letting the rain fall on the offered appendage. He watched the water splash against the metal of his hand, pool in his palm, and run in rivulets around the sides of his hand. When some started to run down his arm, he pulled his hand back, shaking the water from it. He wiped the remaining dampness onto his cloak, put his glove back on, and returned to his study.

As he entered, Casper turned his single optic toward the door. His Ghost was much less talkative than others he had encountered, particularly Claney's Ghost, Elgan. Casper was more of a thinker, generally only speaking out loud out of neccesity or when he had something important to convey. That suited Scott just fine, as a constant narrative or string of one-liners would have grown wearisome over the years.

"Find anything?" Scott asked, striding to the desk.

"Yes," the Ghost replied, bringing up certain listings on the screen. "I believe I have found where Bellamy stored all of his files. They are deeply encrypted, it will take some time to get into them."

"Then let's get started," the Warlock said.

The Ghost had not exagerrated. Bellamy was very good at trying to cover his tracks and keep his secrets. Unfortunately for him, Scott and Casper were better at ferreting them out. Eventually, the Warlock had access to everything the other had been doing when connected with Guardian mainframes. Which turned out to be a whole lot that the Consensus would not be happy about.

The date contained file after file recording results of experimentation on the Taken. On attempts to discover the source of their energy. Attempts to use it. There were also records of his communications with Jalaal regarding his findings and leaving the Tower. Two lines would have chilled Scott to the bone, had he bones or a regular nervous system.

"I heard their song, for just a moment. I will hear it again."

That sounded very similar to things that had been spoken about the Hive by the old exiled Warlock Toland. Not an obsession like Osiris', one that wanted to seek out and put an end to a threat, but a near worship of the thing they were supposed to stand against. Time to let Claney know what was going on.

"Casper, connect me to Claney."

Casper beeped in affirmation and attempted to open a direct line to Claney's Ghost, but found it more difficult than expected.

"I'm getting heavy interference," the Ghost told his Guardian. "Something seems to be wrong with long-range communication satellites. Trying again."

It took several attempts, but the Ghost finally got through. Once the Titan answered, Scott tried to get directly to the point.

"Claney? I found somethings about Bellamy I think you should know."

There was a burst of static through the line. Caspere's shell bunched in frustration and the Ghost supplied more power to keep the signal open.

"Claney?" Scott tried again. "Hello? Can you hear me?"

"...tt? You... king... I can't... thin... ing," came the garbled reply.

"Claney?"

"I lost the signal," Casper said. "There is too much interference. Might be from the storm."

"Keep trying," the Warlock instructed. "Until then, we should probably let the Speaker know what we found, since he assigned this mission personally."

Scott gathered all of Bellamy's files that connected to his study of the Taken and forwarded them to the Speaker. He also sent them to Claney in the off chance that it was able to reach him somehow even with voice communication not working properly. Satisfied he had done what he could for now, the Warlock leaned back in his chair. He interlaced his fingers, raised his arms, and brought his hands to the back of his head, closing his optics for a moment of quiet contemplation.

The quiet was short-lived, however. From somewhere came the distinctive sounds of explosions and the entire Tower shook. Books fell from shelves, scattered. Scott's chair tipped and he was thrown to the floor. Alerts began sounding all through the Tower. Another round of explosions shook the room hard, and a bookshelf fell heavily onto the Warlock. After his surprise wore off, Scott pushed the furniture aside.

"Casper, what was that?" the Warlock called, scrambling to his feet.

"Checking," the Ghost said. "The Tower is currently under attack by an unknown force that emerged from the storm in immediately opened fire. There has been a call for all hands to battle stations!"

Scott scrambled to his feet and made his way to the door. It opened, but slowly. He pushed it hard to get it to clear out of his way, and heard a protesting sound from somewhere in the wall. Guardians were running up and down the corridor, heading to various posts. Scott himself did not have an specific post to man, so he headed for the plaza, the most obvious place for invaders to drop in. He held out his hand and Casper transmatted an auto rifle into his grip, brought his helmet into existence around his metallic features, and then phased into his armor.

The hallways were dimly lit, emergency lights shining all over. The Tower shook again as he ran forward, causing the Warlock to stumble briefly. Here and there he saw non-Guardians huddled, eyes filled with fear, but he moved past them for now. He emerged near the opening he had wandered to earlier in the day just as a Cabal ship drifted past. The sight caught him off guard and distracted him so that he almost did not see the approaching danger.

Motion from the corner of his optic drew his attention and he turned. Three massive shapes charged at him, blades extended from their forearms. Cabal. The large aliens feet thudded against the ground as they closed the gap. Scott slapped his auto rifle against his back then whipped his hands forward, Arc energy springing from his fingertips. It quickly enveloped his form, lifting him from the ground. The Cabal hesitated from the briefest of moments, and that gave the Warlock all the time he needed.

Echoing the storm outside, lightning burst forth and tore through the three Cabal, killing them instantly. The immediate danger over, Scott's Stormtrance dissipated. As it did, Scott's optics drifted to the view of the city, taking in the sight of dozens of Cabal ships hovering overhead, firing at the City, the Tower, and Guardian ships that were attempting to rise to meet them. It was difficult to believe it was the same view he'd taken in only hours before.

"Casper, let me hear what is happening."

Various radio signals began playing through the speakers in his helmet. Calls for help filled his audio receptors from Guardian and civilian sources. Casper cycled through channels until they heard the voice of Commander Zavala.

"Tower defenses are down; there are Cabal dropping in at will. We need to get everyone out now! Get all non-Guardian personnel to the evac shuttles immediately!"

"We saw some civilians a minute ago, let's get them out of here. Casper, show me a path to the nearest evac zone."

"Calculating," the Ghost responded. "Be advised, I cannot accurately tell yet where Cabal forces may be, nor do I have any updates on damaged or destroyed passages."

"I'm aware."

A marker appeared on Scott's HUD, showing him where he needed to be. Satisfied, he turned back the way he had come. He found a handful of civilian contractors, a family of three, and a mother with two children of her own and two other children she had been watching when the attack came. She had not heard anything from their parents yet.

Each time Scott-20 found someone, the relief in their face at seeing a Guardian made a major impression on the Warlock. These people were counting on him to get them out of a situation they had no control over. He silently vowed to pull them through it.

Following the destination pin, Scott lead his ragtag band through the darkened corridors. An explosion rocked the Tower nearby, blowing a door open a few feet ahead of them, a gout of flame chasing after it. Scott held them up until it subsided a bit, then carried on. There were a few times they had to climb over or under some rubble, but managed to avoid the worst of the destruction.

At one point they rounded a corner and found two Cabal trying to pry open a sealed doorway. One of the people following Scott let out a gasp that the two aliens heard. They turned as one and grabbed their slug-throwers, but Scott opened fire first, gunning the two of them down.

Later, they came across a scared young man. He had managed to escape from some Cabal who had killed the rest of his family. One of the mothers attempted to reach out to him, to convince him to come with them, but he refused. Terror in his eyes, he ran deeper into the Tower.

Finally they reached their destination. The two children who were separated from their parents cried and had to be forced onto the shuttles. Scott watched each person board, and continued to watch until each shuttle had departed. They got the shuttles out just in time. A series of Cabal rockets slammed into the shuttle bay, destroying it entirely.

The last thing Scott-20 saw was a massive explosion before his body was tossed like a smoking ragdoll across the room, slamming hard into the opposite wall.

…

AN

This is Sarcasm - You probably would have had room for this dog. He's half chihuahua, half Shi Tzu, so he's pretty small. Bad thing is, it means he can crawl inside the couch when you have the foot rests up, so we have to have someone check to make sure he's not up in there sometimes before putting them back down.

Eprince200 – Thank you for the kind words. Glad you're enjoying them.