Show of Force.
The Guardian stands before the door and takes a deep breath. "If I'm not back in about a half-hour, expect the worst."
Eyran listens intently and nods in understanding.
"And if that's the case, hold out down here as long as you can. When I'm outside, I'll ping the Vanguard with your location so they know where to find you when they get the chance. Until then, stay put and if they bust in here, you'd best make use of all the fancy hardware in this place."
"If it comes to it, we will fight as long as we can," Eyran assures the Guardian.
"Marin… if I don't make it-"
"Don't say shit like that…" she interrupts.
"If I don't make it," he restates. "Keep looking out for these people, always. Shahid is right, I may have the Light, but you're the real guardian here. Always have been. Don't ever give up."
Marin stares at the man. Tears well in her eyes. "I know you want to help, Klutz. Just don't do anything stupid."
He smirks behind the dark glass of his helmet. "No promises."
The door slides shut behind him as he reenters the dark cellar. A narrow beam of light shoots out from the emitter above the door and locks on to the exotic bow in his hand.
Spark immediately assaults the source of the light with her own hissing beam of energy. The light turns off and the Ghost returns to her Guardian's side. "I've disabled the alarm for now, but I wouldn't stay near if you don't want it going off."
Klutz climbs the stairs and peaks through the door. The room seems clear, so he advances into the hall. "Got through to the City yet?" he asks his companion.
"Virtually all major channels are busy, and we don't have priority access. I've left a distress beacon on this location, so they know where to send help when they find the time. Until then, we're on our own…" Spark's voice is stressed but focused. "All the friendly communications I've been able to tap into are intense but still organized. I think they are putting up a good defense."
"Here's hoping we can do the same." Klutz pulls an arrow from his quiver, approaches a skinny window, and sees the machine. It's huge and walks on six powerful legs. A massive cannon is mounted on the back of its armored chassis. The sound of the Fallen tank is loud and distinct, the clunking of heavy machinery as it moves around the abandoned village, the earthshaking thud in each of its steps.
"It's a Fallen Walker. I think its weapon is best suited for long range engagements, but that won't stop it from blowing either of us to pieces if it gets the chance…"
"So how are we supposed to blow it up?" the Guardian asks bluntly.
"Vanguard reports indicate they are plated in very durable armor, but they do have a weak point, a motor core hidden under the topside armor. In the event that the tank overheats, it will uncover the motor core to cool down," Spark explains.
"So we gotta turn up the heat on it first?" Klutz lights a small flame in his free palm.
"First we should deal with its entourage." Spark directs the man's attention to a large group of Fallen gathered behind the Walker, as well as a few smaller groups scattered about the village. "Those are just the ones we can see from this window, but my sensors indicate at least another dozen… This will be a hard fight."
"Thirty on one and they've got a big ol' tank? Don't seem too fair for those poor Fallen," Klutz jokes and nocks an arrow.
When the pair approach the door, Spark stops her companion for a moment. "This is it, Klutz. You need to act as quickly as possible, because they will call for reinforcements if they get the opportunity. I suggest stealth for the initial engagement. That won't be an option for long when it comes to battling that Walker, so do your best to use surprise to your advantage."
"I'll do my best," he replies. "Can't afford anything less." He looks up at his Ghost. "And we can't afford to lose you, Spark."
She looks at him with her shell askew.
"Odds are I'm gonna get hurt out there. I don't want you coming out unless it's safe," he says sternly.
Spark spins her shell. "We can't afford to lose you either! Even for a small amount of time! If you go down, I need to pick you up! It's my job."
"I get it, Spark. But if you get hurt…"
"I was too slow to heal you when we faced that Captain with Marin. I was too slow and Marin was hurt because of that. I won't let that happen again. I will keep you on your feet as best as I can. That Captain got a lucky shot on me, and look! I'm fine!" She twirls her damaged shell. "Us Ghosts are made of strong stuff. I'm in this fight just as much as you are!"
Klutz looks down for a moment before returning his gaze to his defiant Ghost. "I know you're tough. Just be careful."
Spark nods and disappears.
Klutz readies his weapon and slowly opens the old door. He spots a pair of Fallen standing out front.
The creak of the door catches one's attention. As the Dreg turns to investigate, its interest is rewarded with an arrow planted firmly in its skull. The alien falls backward, startling its comrade. The second Fallen jumps in shock as it sees the body hit the ground. Before it gets the chance to piece together what is happening, an arrow finds itself lodged deep in the back of its head. The pair of corpses reunite in the dirt.
"Good work!" Spark praises via the Guardian's private comms. "There is a group on the opposite side of the building from the Walker. Best to deal with them before you face the larger group standing guard around it."
Klutz heeds the Ghost's advice and quickly takes cover behind a building with a good line of sight on his enemies. A group of Vandals laze about as the Walker repositions on the other side of the community hall. Klutz spots one, isolated from its peers. He pulls the string back and uses the rangefinder on his weapon to line up the shot. The trio of arrows fly free and the center arrow hits its target with lethal quickness. He prepares for another shot before his attention is drawn upward.
A human fighter ship speeds overhead with a Fallen Skiff in hot pursuit. Black smoke pours out from the fighters engines. It races in the direction of the besieged city, but the Skiff corrals it back around toward the village. The huge Fallen Walker arms its weapon and tracks the fighter as it gets closer. Once its target is in range, the Walker shoots its massive cannon and cripples the human ship. The flaming wreck comes crashing down toward the village. It collides with the earth in a dramatic explosion that obliterates several of the Fallen posted near the Walker. The wreck continues its crash, tumbling through a few of the village's quiet homes, turning them to little more than splinters. The flaming wreck finally comes to a stop, in the remnants of the surgeon's home.
Klutz watches as the group he was preying on leave to inspect the carnage. Klutz follows them while remaining hidden. When he finds a good position, he sees the destruction and the totaled fighter laying in the middle. He notices a Ghost appear and separate its shell in an ethereal blue glow as it attempts to revive the pilot.
A few Dregs move close, until the roar of the group's Captain warns them away. The Fallen Captain points one of its long arms at the desperate Ghost, directing the tank to take aim.
"Oh no…" Klutz mumbles. He stands and aims his weapon at the tank.
"Careful, Guardian! It's already-" Spark is cut off by the booming sound of the Walkers cannon.
The cannon hits its mark and the dead pilot's Ghost is caught in the radius of its powerful munition. The Ghost explodes into a huge wave of tragically beautiful Light. The Light bursts out through much of the village.
The wave of Light passes over Klutz, his jaw drops. He lowers the bow and loosens the string.
"It's too late, Klutz. They are gone…" Spark says mournfully. "Let's make sure that Walker can't hurt anyone else.
"Agreed," the Guardian says with both fear and anger in his voice. "We've gotta hit them hard."
"Most of the Fallen here are now grouped up to… celebrate. It may be a good opportunity to deal with many of them!"
Klutz runs to the side of the large building in the center of the village. He uses the Light to launch himself on top of the old roof. Careful with his steps, he crouch walks over the roof to get a good view of the brutal invaders.
Vandals cheer and thrust their rifles in the air to celebrate the final death of the Light-Warrior and the Ghost. Dregs squeal and throw their arms high in excitement. The Captain stands proud and merely gloats with a soft chuckle.
"Ready to pay them back?" Spark asks.
"Ready to give them everything I've got." Klutz slings the bow over his back with his rifle. He breathes deeply and summons the power of the Void between his palms. The orb of violet energy starts small, but swells with every breath. Soon it becomes difficult to contain, even catching the attention of a few unfortunate Fallen down below. As the Fallen grow aware of his presence, the Guardian jumps forth from the roof and hurls the Nova Bomb at the Walker and the group surrounding it.
With surprising agility, the Walker scuttles backward in an attempt to avoid the great ball of energy. It's escape is not entirely effective, both of its front legs and much of its front facing armor are damaged badly by the explosion as the bomb hits the ground. Most of the Fallen are far less fortunate, including the Captain. Reduced to atoms as the explosion of Void Light tears them apart. Many Fallen, outside of the blast radius, desperately flee from seekers of Void energy. The seekers fly out from the explosion and chase down the stragglers with destructive focus until they meet their targets with deadly effect.
Klutz lands on the ground in a powerful stance. He sees the damaged tank walk backwards, over multiple small buildings, as it aims its cannon. He jumps to the side to avoid the blast. Instead, the cannon lands a devastating hit on the large building behind him. Klutz curses as he watches the wall come crashing down, along with much of the roof. One of the old rugs that hung from the ceiling joists flies out and falls to the ground as it burns.
"Stay focused, Guardian," Spark says. "They know you're here, so there's no need to hold back!"
Klutz re-equips the marvelous bow and charges it with a quick jolt of Arc energy. Electricity courses through the string as he pulls it taught and takes aim at the Walker.
When the arrows land, one digs directly into the tanks front covering, the two parallel arrows stick into the damaged front legs. All three arrows link together with bright arcs of powerful lightning, stunning the machine and seemingly disabling it. The Walker's powerful legs collapse under its weight and its cannon hangs downward.
"That's your opening!" Spark shouts as the tank slides back a panel of thick armor to cool down its overheating core.
The Guardian nocks a trio of arrows for a follow up shot on its exposed components. Less than a second before he frees the arrows, a distant sniper lands a shot on his shoulder, knocking him off his aim and sending the arrows flying way off target. Klutz bites through the pain and switches weapons to his rifle when he spots the marksman. He sees the glow of another charged shot and feels the impact as it skims his helmet. Hoping to avoid further interruptions, Klutz returns fire with a burst of shots. At least one of the bullets connects and the sniper falls. Turning back to the stunned Walker, the Guardian is forced to escape again when the Skiff returns and assaults his position with a few blasts of powerful plasma. Klutz rolls out of the way and takes cover behind the ruins of what was once a home. He finds his bow, grabs a bundle of arrows, and peeks out at the Skiff above.
Hovering over the space between the Guardian and the Walker, the Skiff keeps its guns ready and extends spring boards for its crew to descend from. A dozen Vandals and Marauders emerge from the ship and prepare to jump.
Veiled in a cloak of Light, Klutz jumps from cover and shoots a set of charged arrows at the Skiffs guns. The electricity surges through the ship mounted weapons, causing them to overload. In a follow up attack, Klutz releases another trio of arrows at the reinforcements hanging from the underside of the Skiff. Only one of the arrows hits an enemy, but the powerful lightning chains between the rest of the squad, disintegrating those closest, and electrocuting the rest. Various bodies and weapons rain down as the Skiff retreats.
"You're running out of time, Klutz!" Spark alerts. "The Walker has finished cooling and is covering its motor core!"
Fire builds in the Guardian's chest. He launches toward the tank as the fire burns out from within him. When he reaches the machine, he manifests a sword of Solar Light, bounds on top of the tank, and jams it between the gap in the closing armor. The blade is not deep enough to damage the sensitive components underneath, but it stops the panel from fully closing. Klutz prys at the armor with all the strength he has in him, desperate to reveal the Walker's weak spot. He feels life start to return to the mechanical monster. Its legs begin to stand and its cannon aims forward. The metal stretches and strains under the heat of the sword and the strength of the Lightbearer. Klutz leans into the sword with all his might. Slow, gradual progress until… Success. The panel pops off from the machine, exposing its delicate insides permanently. When the armor breaks off, Klutz tumbles from the top of the machine and lands on the ground in front. The sword fades away and Klutz stands before the massive war machine for a moment to revel in his accomplishment. The revelry does not last long.
Once the Walker gets to its feet, it releases a powerful, dome shaped blast of Arc energy from its core. The blast obliterates a few buildings nearby and sends the Guardian flying backwards.