Chapter 7: Proving Grounds
Author's Note: First of all, thank you all so much for all your reviews, patience, and other support!
Sorry that this chapter has had so many delays, but I don't get much time to write any more what with work, friends, and Xbox (I've become addicted to Batman Arkham Knight, So Many Me, Titanfall, and Terraria- all must have Xbox One games- and so I'm waiting on The Taken King to get back into Destiny again, but I promise I won't give up writing about it!)
I think the next few chapters will be shorter and more about character than plot, so they will be out at a much quicker pace than two weeks or so.
Also, I am aware that I only have a few line breaks. I tried to add more, but the Doc Manager screwed up their placement, so for the time being I've added a line break with the phrase "VVVVVV" while I try to figure out how to fix this.
Kolee sighed, the young Fallen Dreg's arms limp at his sides as he shifted nervously on the lunar regolith. He'd tried to convince his insane friend Variks that joining up with Archon Vokuna, the very individual who had hunted him across the Moon after he freed the Guardian from being executed, was insanity.
"You found out he is having a meeting, and we need to know what he is planning, yes?"
Kolee had nodded timidly.
"Then go. All Dregs look alike, yes? You will blend in."
Most Fallen knew they were going to die. They never knew the precise day or hour, and it could come at any moment while valiantly fighting a Guardian, or simply because a piece of a ship accidentally squished them. Kolee, however, never thought he was going to die because he didn't stand up to this idiotic Captain and say that no, in fact, not all Dregs looked the same. Scars, tattoos, piercings, and even boot size could be used to track down missing Dregs. And now he would be recognized and flayed alive on the spot.
In fact, he'd spotted wanted posters with his exact face on it, and so came to the meeting with a dull grey cloak he'd found on a dead Dreg, pulled it up over his head, and made himself as small as possible.
The entire floor shook along with the slender Dreg as the priest, in his heavy robes and armor, stomped onto the stage.
"People of the New Empire!"
Oh, so that's what they were calling their idea of going out in a blaze of glory. The "New Empire." Kolee crossed his arms tightly in place of his usual habit of rolling his eyes.
"We bring great and portentous news from the Darkness itself!"
As the others applauded and cheered and jumped up and down, Kolee was barely able to avoid getting swept up in their tidal wave of collective delusion himself
"I have found a new ally in our struggle to find the Causeway, destroy the Traveler, and bring about the Last Age!" More rabid, patriotic cries. "The Cabal have decided to aid us in the search for our sacred passage. In return, they ask for us to carry out...a favor."
This confused Kolee. He had heard that the Cabal was to be crushed by the Archon Order. Why this temporary alliance then? And this Last Age stuff was news to him as well. It amazed him how they managed, in such a short span, to make people forget that Skolas and the Kell of Kells prophecy had ever even existed, and that the Cabal were everyone's buddies now.
As he craned his ears to hear more about what Vokuna was cooking up in his mad brain, guards herded all of them into a single file line. That was being moved towards a ship. Which was probably about to go to battle. Probably with the Guardians.
Scratch that, Kolee thought. THIS was how he was going to die.
If he'd eaten anything that day, he would have thrown it up.
Six little Guardians going on a Raid
One went off and got shot in the head
The Ghost called the doctor and the doctor said
No more Guardians going on a Raid
Five little Guardians going on a Raid
One went off and turned into an Oracle's snack
The Ghost called the doctor and the doctor said
No more Guardians going on a Raid
Four little Guardians going on a Raid
One went off and jumped a little too late
The Ghost called the doctor and the doctor said
No more Guardians going on a Raid
Three little Guardians going on a Raid
One went off and got by a Minotaur REKT
The Ghost called the doctor and the doctor said
No more Guardians going on a Raid
Two little Guardians going on a Raid
One ran off and saw his friend get stomped
The Ghost called the doctor and the doctor said
No more Guardians going on a Raid
One little Guardian running from a Raid
He went off and stared into the Void
The Ghost called the Epic Waffle and THE EPIC WAFFLE SAID
You've been a very naughty boy running from a Raid NAUGHTYNAUGHTYNAUGHTYNAUGHTY...
"He must be talking about how he trapped in there, the poor guy," Ayiana said as Epic Waffle guy stared at a corner wall and shouted "NAUGHTY" to himself over and over again.
She was kicking a soccer ball between her and Tikva as they were kept in a waiting room until they would meet their fate.
"At least he's changing up his vocabulary," Tikva squeaked with a shrug of her shoulders. This was the first time anyone had ever heard him speak full sentences in months.
"He really shouldn't be joining us."
"I agree, but we needed a full six person party to face off against the other six Guardians, and they said they couldn't make any changes at the last minute."
"Lord Shaxx knows what this guy is like. Why he continues to put that poor man through the Crucible, I'll never understand. You could've been substituted as well. I know how much the Crucible hurt you in the past, and if anybody shouldn't have to go in again, it should be you," the Awoken woman smiled at her human Fireteam companion and rubbed her shoulder.
Tikva tried not to keep her knees from knocking as she thought of experiencing hell afresh.
"With Calore suspended and everything, I just wanted to make sure you weren't alone out there."
"Thanks for volunteering, but I'll have Dakar protecting me," Ayiana said, slightly confused while her toes tapped the stationary ball.
"Yeah, but- but, I, I think he'll be busy working with his new squadmates," Tikva stammered. "I think their names are Sarti and Misraj, right?"
"That makes sense," Ayiana said.
"So good to finally meet you, Dakar!" a big bulky blue Awoken covered in Titan armor and sporting puffy orange hair and orange face tattoos cried as he gave the fellow Awoken man a bear hug.
"Good to meet- cough- you too," Dakar choked out, his arms and lungs struggling to get free.
"Oh, sorry about that."
"The big galoof is Sarti," said a human Warlock woman with midnight hair and raven warpaint across her eyes. "And I'm Misraj, your new Fireteam leader."
"Good to-" Dakar started to say, extending his hand.
"Cut the chatter. I don't care how much of a hot shot you were on your previous Fireteam. If you want to get out of the Crucible alive, you will do exactly as I say."
Then the doors opened and the shield whirred to life and enveloped the training area on Mercury, protecting it from the horde of Vex that had turned the entire planet into a machine.
"The enemy is everywhere," Lord Shaxx snarled over the mic as he announced a free for all match without any warning.
"You can start by dying," a surprised Misraj said, then instinctively shot both of her Fireteam members in the head and disappeared.
"The enemy is everywhere."
"What in the world does he mean by that?!" Tikva cried as she and Ayiana hid in one of the stairwells by the broken bridge at the center of the arena.
"I think he wants everybody to fight everybody else," Ayiana replied over the incessant grinding of the huge partial stone wheel that circled a beam of light. "But maybe he could have told us that BEFORE we thought we were going to have teams?"
"I don't want to fight you, do you?"
"Nope. You?"
"No ma'am."
"So it's just us against the world, huh Ayiana?" Tikva wondered. She slouched against the stairs, shoulder to shoulder with her friend
"I suppose so."
"We're probably going to die, aren't we?"
"A lot."
"I thought as much."
"I've never understood why we have this training mode in the Crucible," Cayde-6 puffed back on the Tower as he watched the match unfold. "Why have everyone work in teams in other modes and in missions, only to turn on each other here?"
"It's because of something that you can see Misraj has understood, and that I hope she can teach Tikva, Calore-14, and all of the others who constantly break protocol and cause havoc and unnecessary headaches for the Speaker and for everyone," Lord Shaxx growled. "Friendship, camaraderie, even loyalty between team members is important, but only to a point."
"And why do you think so? So they make a few mistakes. We make sure to punish them. They've never done any real harm, though."
"Two things," Lord Shaxx said, the muscular man easily looming head and shoulders over his Exo counterpart. "One, if they so much as give an inch, the Guardians could have information on the Causeway ripped from their very minds."
"What's so important about this Causeway that it's got the Fallen in such a tizzy?"
"I don't know. I have faith that the Speaker will find out about this, and about what Archon Vokuna is using to enslave so many of the Hive. Let's hope he does before your misfit Tikva gets herself captured or consumed by the Darkness and the City rips itself apart."
"I don't know about you, but I was a misfit once, if you remember, and I turned out pretty alright myself, I reckon," Cayde grinned.
Lord Shaxx grumbled as he remembered how easily Cayde had gotten through the Crucible with barely any training, grinning like an idiot the whole time, treating his carefully constructed proving grounds as just another game.
Still, what his old mentor said gave Cayde pause. Perhaps that was the reason why, after Petra Venj had left the City yesterday, the Speaker had pretty much secluded himself in the Library and seemed so sullen lately.
"And two, we still have to consider the return of Oryx as an imminent threat, and any weakness in our ranks must be corrected for. If Guardians grow too dependent on each other, then they'll hesitate to kill any of their number if he corrupts them, as we know he is capable of doing. In both cases, Guardians need to be able to operate on their own more efficiently."
"Have you been listening to Eris again? By the Traveler, that woman needs to lighten up sometime. Besides, Oryx's return is a myth told to scare newborns."
"We cannot take the possibility lightly, especially since I don't know if you remember, but the Guardians murdered Crota, who kind of happens to be his son!"
"Well, what's your proof? Your girlfriend's gut feeling?"
"She is not my...you...you...argh. There is no getting through to you, is there?"
"Nope," Cayde-6 chuckled.
"Well, it's been five minutes and nobody's killed you yet," Tikva's Ghost chirped at her. "I'd consider this to be the best outcome if I were you."
"Shut up," Tikva snapped as she raised her rifle, her back pressed against Ayiana's as they covered both entrances.
"Shutting up," the Ghost whirred before disappearing into her armor.
"It's probably just because the other Guardians are completely ignoring us, but I have to agree," Ayiana sighed.
"Yeah, me too." Tikva didn't want to admit it yet, but something worrying in Ayiana's gaze forced the truth out of her. Like her friend, she hoped that they wouldn't be dying repeatedly, that maybe they could even win and then never have to
"HELLO THERE!" a male Hunter cried as he hung from the ceiling in front of Ayiana. Ayiana used her super, but he dodged out of the way and said, "I'm Zixxster!"
Other voices that sounded identical from five other identical looking Guardians yelled at the same time:
"I'm Clixxster!"
"I'm Flixxster!"
"I'm Pixxster!"
"I'm Kixxster!"
"And I...ammm...Looord...Kick Sombutt! TA DA!"
Ayiana and Tikva were frozen by fear as they watched these six enemy Guardians surround them, Thorns pointed right between their eyes.
"Oh come on. That is NOT your codename!" Zixxster grumbled. "We agreed when we were all resurrected at the same time that we'd have similar sounding code names. And now that XXtreme has won the Trials of Osiris, raided the Vault of Glass, and become THE best Guardian group ever, you want to break that team spirit? We decided on this by a majority vote."
Of people with no taste, Tikva thought with a grin.
"You don't get to do that to me, to us!"
"But, but my name is better than...than Sixxster. That makes me sound like I'm sick all the time."
"His new name is definitely clever," Tikva pretended to laugh to herself as she backed away slowly from these clearly very mentally deranged people.
"And funny, without a doubt," Ayiana nodded while doing the same thing.
"Finally! Somebody who understands where I'm coming from," Lord Sombutt replied.
"Sixxster..." Zixxster sighed.
"That is not my name!"
"Now look what you've made me do, Brian," Zixxster replied to his friend as he killed Brian instantly with a single shot to the head with his concealed Thorn pistol, then did the same to Ayiana and Tikva. "And I didn't even get to say, 'And we're THE XXTREMES!' like we've been practicing for months. Idiot."
Once they respawned, both the Human Hunter and the Awoken Warlock sat in a dark and dank crevice of the stone structure, pressed up against each other while gunfire echoed everywhere, the both of them scanning the ceilings, floors, walls, and even small vines that protruded from all of those surfaces for any of the Xxtremes.
"Well, that could have gone...worse I guess," Ayiana smirked.
"Yeah, I suppose so."
"Thorns are incredibly cheap, though."
"Yeeep. So. What's the plan?" Tikva wondered after a few minutes of awkward silence.
"Hmmmm..."
VVVVVV
"Dammit, I'm out of ammo!" Misraj snarled as she tossed her rifle past the when one of those moronic Hunters with two xx's in their names for no apparent reason dodged her shot.
"THE EPIC WAFF-" Epic Waffle Guy shouted as he charged on ahead of them.
"Looks like we're pinned down by enemy fire," she said.
"Maybe we wouldn't be in this predicament IF, and I'm just putting this out there, you hadn't shot at us!" Sarti shouted, his voice barely registering over the hail of bullets and rockets that was headed their way.
"This is meant to be a way for the City to find out which of us has what it takes to face down the Darkness itself without any flinching. I love you like a brother, Sarti, and I'd die for you on any mission, but this is a free for all, so I followed the rules of engagement. If you want to run away to the Tower and cry because you're losing, then you can. I, however, want to actually WIN."
"Against the winners of the Trials of Osiris? Are you insane?" Dakar snapped, like Sarti still a little sore that he had been turned on by his own Fireteam leader.
VVVVVV
"Hmmmm..."
"You've been hm'ing for the past five minutes. Do you have a plan or not?!" Tikva demanded, shaking in the claustrophobic and freezing environment they had been subjected to.
"Well, a.) getting out of here alive when ten people want to kill you isn't as easy as it looks, and b.) if it was so easy, then YOU come up with a plan!"
"I have, for your information!"
"Oh yeah! Tell me what it is then."
"It involves not dying."
"Yes- I take it any successful plan would involve us getting out of this hole alive, Tickie. What's next?"
"Um..." Tikva stuttered when Ayiana gave her the odd but interesting nickname. "We break for the heavy ammo box and mow them all down with machine guns.
"But," Ayiana replied and peeked her head around the corner, "they each have a rocket launcher and are camping the boxes."
"Oh. Well, they weren't a minute ago. Now I've got nothing else."
"You know what? You're not being very helpful at all!"
"Then maybe I shouldn't have volunteered to help you if I'm, you know, holding you back, oh great and mighty one!"
"Maybe you shouldn't have!"
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
The two of them sat down, backs to each other, both more furious at each other than anything or anyone they'd ever been angry at, but neither of them really knew the reason why.
VVVVVV
"Is anybody else excited that we just arrived in Mercury?" a Dreg sitting next to Kolee in one of the Fallen pirate skiffs wondered as he raised his hand. "No? Just me?" He then pulled his hand back down.
An exasperated female Dreg cried out, "Are they ever going to explain why we're so far out from Fallen territory?"
"A Guardian base," another male replied. "At least that's what I heard. Look, there, in the distance. That stone structure."
"You're right- that is very peculiar looking to say the least. It could be a Guardian base," she shrugged. "But why do we need to have an entire fleet attack this place?"
"Trust me, you do NOT want to underestimate the Guardians! I once was part of a thousand man ambush against three Guardians and only a few of us got out alive- barely. We're going to need all the help we can get."
Kolee gulped, wishing more than anything for his old set of drawing tools to help steady his fidgeting hands that almost juggled his shock rifle from midair to his lap and back again.
"The blue shimmer there," the Dreg woman said. "Is it protected by some sort of force field?"
"That would make sense. This entire planet is crawling with Vex, so if the Guardians have a foothold on this planet, they have to make sure it's a strong one."
"Ugh. I forgot about the Vex. Those things are...unsettling. They never blink or anything," Kolee shivered. He'd only
"The new meat speaks!"
Kolee chuckled and pretended to take a bow. "Anyway," he wondered, "how are we going to break this force field AND escape all the Vex?"
"Here's the thing, actually. I've heard that we're not going to escape the Vex."
"What? We're all going to die?!
"No, we're going to wipe out their entire force on Mercury- or at least a large portion of it."
"But how?" The planet was crawling with Vex, and had been impenetrable for centuries.
"The Cabal seem to be helping out on that front."
"So THAT'S what the Cabal wanted our- I mean, their help with," thought Kolee. He had to keep reminding himself that he was not one of them.
It was obvious what the Cabal wanted out of this arrangement- the Vex were their sworn enemies, and if a major blow, the Vex would be forced to pull out of Mars and the Cabal could have the entirety planet themselves, aside from the Crucible training camps the Guardians held.
"Was that?" Kolee briefly wondered.
What the Cabal was willing to provide was clear as well- the location of this Causeway that Vokuna was rambling on about. What wasn't clear was how the Cabal planned to help the "New Empire" of the Fallen defeat a largest and nearly unstoppable time traveling killer hive mind made up of ruthless organic machines, and find the Causeway.
And more importantly, how in the Solar System Kolee was supposed to stop any of it.
VVVVVV
"Listen, Ay," Tikva said softly as her friend sighed and leaned her exhausted back against the Hunter's shoulders. "I'm sorry. What I said earlier, that was- AH!"
Ayiana was about to respond, but gasped when Tikva seemed to disappear and she fell down on the dirt. Someone was holding Tikva in midair by the leg and used another beefy blue hand to reach into the hole after her but Ayiana scampered away.
"Don't you DARE hurt her!" Ayiana yelled and then charged out towards whoever held her friend, only for the brute to sidestep the Warlock and slam her helmet into a wall, the entire world spinning around her prone form.
"Wait, guys!" Dakar cried out. "These are my former Fireteam mates. And my friends! Please don't kill them!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we give," Tikva squeaked as the blood rushed to her head.
"Fine- for now. Who are you?" Misraj demanded.
Once everybody had introduced themselves, Misraj nodded and then said, "You may be with Dakar, but you try anything funny and I'll make sure you regret it. The other reason that we haven't put bullets between your eyes is that we all have to fight the crazed circus troupe and that rambling madman. Check your corners, stick together, and maybe we'll get out of here without having to drag our tails between our legs on the way back to the Tower."
Ayiana pursed her lips, thinking that Misraj was taking the Crucible way too seriously when she stormed off to try and clear the path ahead.
Sarti patted her and Tikva on the back, trying to ease both of their nerves. "She really can be friendly, once you get to know her," he added, forcing a smile.
"I'd rather be friends with a rabid Thrall than her," Ayiana snorted.
As Misraj snapped, "I heard that!", Tikva said, "Well, we'll need her help to not die horribly. After that, we never have to see her again."
"But what about..."
"Dakar?" Tikva asked back, as if she'd read her friend's mind. "He's his own person. We can all see him sometime."
"Yeah, I guess."
And so they trudged in single file through the vine and moss covered stones of the machine, nearly shoulder to shoulder and back to back, guns bobbing and weaving wildly through the air as they searched for Epic Waffle Guy and the Xxtremes.
They soon had more to worry about, however, as something exploded behind them and a stern robotic voice grimly said, "Shield has been breached by enemy forces. The Burning Shrine Crucible training facility must be evacuated now."
VVVVVV
"See, this is what happens when you build one of your little arenas so far from the City's influence! But did you listen to me? Ohhhh noooo."
"Would you shut up for once in your life?" Lord Shaxx demanded and slammed his fist on the table. "Fine, you're right, okay? I made a mistake by not having more security around the Burning Shrine, which is now putting the Lighthouse at risk as well. Are you happy that you're right yet again?!"
Arcite 99-40, the Crucible Quartermaster, walked over to his master, "Sir, remember what the doctor said about your blood pressure."
Lord Shaxx ignored him and demanded, "Do you seriously think that I don't care about the lives of these Guardians? We had to have a foothold on this planet. But I knew full well that any Guardians sent there would at risk when we built this place, so I spared no expense in protecting them. If a single one of them dies, it's on me. ALL on me. That's what you don't realize when you prance around and complain about..."
"Shut up," Cayde-6 said firmly. "This isn't how the man who found me and saved my scrawny idiot self from so many scrapes talked. I know you're worried. I am too. I'm responsible for every Hunter in the entire Solar System. Every time one of them dies, I- I remember their face. Their smile, their laughter, their sorrow, their...everything. It's like losing a brother or sister. So don't think it isn't on me too."
"The Vanguard has been convened," the Speaker growled, his hands shaking. His helmet and robes seemed disheveled as he entered the Vanguard's briefing room with the bulky Commander Zavala, the Titan Vanguard, and the slender Ikora Rey, the Warlock Vanguard. "What is the present situation?" he asked as he leaned over the table.
"Sir," Commander Zavala barked, "we've lost all communications with our forces on Mercury. Surveillance footage from scout satellites"- he then turned to a holographic presentation of a recording of the situation- "shows that a large EMP was detonated just above Mercury's surface by ships led by Archon Vokuna and his forces. This resulted in knocking out the shields surrounding the Burning Shrine and the power to the Lighthouse, as well as taking out any Guardian ships in the area and a significant number of Vex patrols, possibly even a Gate Lord."
"How is that possible? We've done everything we could to shield against every type of EMP that the armies of the Darkness could throw at us. It's why they gave up trying to use them against the Traveler centuries ago."
"This is a new type of EMP," Ikora said as she zoomed in on a brief, frozen frame depicting the bomb itself. "Possibly of Cabal origin based on known Cabal design attributes."
"Perhaps this temporary alliance of the Cabal and the Archons is related to this Causeway business," the Speaker said solemnly. He was so, so close. "Never mind. Just a thought. Anyway, what are our options?"
"It would appear so," Commander Zavala said. "And, it would also appear that, that..."
"That what?"
"That in excess of a million Vex units are rising up from the metallic honeycomb beneath the planet, commanded by several minds. The Fallen stirred up the hornet's nest, in other words. And a dozen Guardians in the Burning Shrine and a few hundred in the Lighthouse are now caught in the middle."
The Speaker froze, any words dying behind his sterile helmet.
"Any ships that we send to rescue them would have to go through an entire fleet of Fallen completely undetected," Cayde sighed.
"And, like we said before, we can't reach the Guardians in the Lighthouse. They'll have to hold out on their own," Lord Shaxx replied.
"They could. Perhaps we will come back for them. As for the Burning Shrine?"
"Without their ships, they're sitting ducks," Ikora said. "And who knows how long they can hold out for? Even our best Guardians have trouble with a few hundred Vex in the Vault of Glass. Sir, we may have to abandon Mercury entirely."
"No! I refuse to accept this," the Speaker snarled. Everybody stood there, taken aback. He was certainly much more emotional than usual. But why?
"Speaker, their sacrifice would be worthy of legend," Commander Zavala tried to soothe him.
"It's not like we have any assets on the ground that could extract them," Lord Shaxx said.
"Wait a minute. Assets. That's it!" the Speaker yelled, then went off to one side. When he came back, he muttered, "I've...called in a few favors."
"What do you mean?" Cayde wondered.
"Well, depending on what happens next, the card I've played might be a foolish gamble or be the decisive factor in the strangest victory we've ever managed to eke out."
VVVVVV
"Emperor Vokuna- may I call you that?" Captain Batacul said to Vokuna deferentially.
"You may. The universe will soon enough," Vokuna grinned. Once he'd murdered- excuse him, "martyred"- the rest of the pathetic Archon Brotherhood and crowned himself as ruler of the New Empire.
He could barely contain his mirth. His brother Skolas had made great headway against all of the enemies of the Fallen but ended up dying in chains in the Queen's little makeshift zoo (oddly named the "Prison of Elders"). Now he'd stew in the afterlife, jealously looking upon his brother as his armies crushed the Traveler itself. That's what Skolas got for pushing him around all those years.
"I'm not so little any more," he growled to himself. Then he turned to Captain Batacul. "So, it would appear that things are going well."
"Drop our units in. Send the Hive to chew through the Vex and converge on any Guardians you can find. Bring them back alive if possible- we need them to tell us where the Causeway is."
"But we haven't been able to successfully interrogate them as to its whereabouts thus far. How will you succeed this time? N-Not that I'm questioning your brilliant gift for strategy and tactics, my master. I simply require enlightenment as to the cunning methods by which you hope to achieve victory for the Empire."
"Do not worry, Batacul. We have been friends for a long time. You can ask me anything. And when I make you Grand Vizier, you will be able to speak freely to me. In due time, I will reveal the next phase of our plans."
VVVVVV
Kolee started panicking as he saw dozens of Fallen, along with he could have sworn was a waterfall made of thousands upon thousands of shrieking Hive AND, what's more, hundreds of heavily armored Cabal soldiers jumping from the top of the atmosphere all the way to the surface of the Guardians' base.
"Looks like we're about to die," the female Dreg shrugged nonchalantly.
Suddenly, chunks of the planet that dwarfed an entire Fallen Moon fortress started rising away from the rest of the aging machinery below.
"Is that...are those..." one of the male Dregs replied. "Vex ships! I thought they only used their time travel thingies to get across space. Maybe they're turrets?"
"Does it matter? They're huge, and they're firing on us. Now we're really going to die!" said another in despair as one ship was torn in half by a single blast and then crashed into another, causing both to explode.
"But at least we're doing it for the Empire!" Kolee cried, a twinge of a foreign tone, what the humans called "sur chasm" underlining his words as another blast whizzed just over the ship.
VVVVVV
"It would appear that there are a hundred Fallen ships appearing in Mercury's orbit, and commencing an invasion that hasn't been seen since the Fall of Earth," Tikva's Ghost echoed in her mind. "What do you suggest that we do?"
"Can we get to the ships and get out of here?" Tikva yelled out loud as blue plumes of electronic smoke dropped all over an angry horde of Vex that for now, thankfully, were focused on counterattacking the invading force rather than the Guardians.
"No. Their systems were shut down by the Fallen EMP blast."
"Then how are we supposed to get out of here alive?"
"I'm...not sure." The little light usually was sure of everything, and didn't know how else to say this in any way that wouldn't terrify her Guardian.
"So, that's just it then? We're dead? I hated the Crucible before now, but this..." Sarti sighed.
"C'mon, you big baby. I haven't let you die before now, and I don't intend to start now," Misraj replied with a stern wave of her hand.
"So, what's your plan?" Ayiana wondered.
"We get on our Sparrows, get as far away from here as possible, and shoot anything that stands in our way," Misraj said.
"See that? Now THAT is someone who knows how to come up with a plan quickly and execute it just as decisively," Tikva said, putting on a fake grin as she tried to get past all of the fear in her heart to put a positive spin on this.
"Shush you," Ayiana said and rolled her eyes.
The entire area surrounding the Burning Shrine was packed full of Fallen, Hive, Vex, all while a veritable cornucopia of blasts emanated from dozens of exploding ships, stabbing the ground with craters.
"OK, Plan B...Plan B...what's Plan B?" Misraj wondered. No, no, this could not be happening for her! She was Misraj, a strong and powerful Warlock who had led her Fireteam to victory through all sorts of perilous and impossible circumstances. Why was her brilliant brain refusing to provide her with a way out of this? She could NOT be losing control right now!
"Plan B is we hold the Burning Shrine," Dakar said.
"Against a million enemies? Are you insane?" Misraj screeched. "MAYBE we might have a chance of that if we had help from that Waffle House guy or whatever and the Xxtremes! But they appear to have turned tail."
"They fled for the Lighthouse," said a new voice. "How typical of them! I thought that they were my friends."
"Who are you?"
"I am Lord Kick Sombutt!" When that proclamation was mostly met with confusion, he stated instead, "Just call me Brian."
"Welcome, Brian," Ayiana said. She added, desperate NOT to have to go through with her brother's insane plan, "Do you know if there's still a way we can get to the Lighthouse?"
"Its entrance is sealed to anyone who hasn't won nine matches of Trials of Osiris, so even if I did know, only I would be able to get in," Brian explained.
"Well, then holding-" Dakar started to say.
"I AM THE EPIC WAFFLE!"
"So you are," Dakar said as the deranged Hunter joined their motley crew. "Let's count our assets. We have me, Misraj, Sarti, Ayiana, Tikva, Brian, and the Epic Waffle. That's a total of seven Guardians. There's going to be quite an unfair fight."
"I'll say," Misraj muttered.
"FOR THEM!" Dakar yelled. "You want to know why?"
Silence, even from Misraj.
"Here's why," he started to elucidate. "I've fought beside each and every one of you and I know that all of our qualities can give every single one of these aliens a good drubbing.
"What we'll do is camp out in the hallway by the heavy ammo crate. Misraj, you'll be in charge of planning and coordinating the overall defense, since you're very practical and level headed. Sarti, you'll be in charge of cutting off the left entrance since one of your arms could probably block it. Epic Waffle, you'll be in that corner with Sarti since you're...frightening."
"WHERE?!"
Misraj and Sarti both chuckled at that.
"Ayiana, you and I will be able to cut off the right entrance without even saying a word. And, last but certainly not least, Brian and Tikva. You both have been sorely underestimated in the past, I feel. Brian, I saw the way you fought with the Xxtremes- you know all their tactics. They may not care about you, but they certainly wouldn't have won Trials of Osiris without your help! And Tikva, you are brave, loyal, and can think outside the box. I can say truly that I could never have found a better person to take my place on my sister's Fireteam, or be her friend. You and Brian will call out when the heavy ammo box is available and will be the last line of defense."
"I see what you're getting at here," Misraj mumbled. "The narrow entrances will force any Vex or Fallen into nearly single file formations, and they'll be easier to deal with. If we're careful, we could hold out for hours like this."
"Well, luckily it seems that the Fallen and Vex are keeping each other busy for the moment, but yeah, that's what I was thinking," Dakar replied. "And even if we do die, Misraj, we'll go down in history for laying waste to the Vex and standing up to the Darkness with every last ounce of our strength, fortitude, and team spirit!"
"Sounds like...a plan," Misraj admitted with a small smile. "Although, you need to work on your rhetorical skills. 'Team spirit,' really?"
Dakar shook his head. "Anyway, we should probably start to get ready."
"Agreed," Misraj nodded.
"Hey, Tickie, I have to say something," Ayiana cleared her throat as the others prepared to take their places.
"What is it, Ay?" Tikva wondered.
"I didn't mean any of what I said. You confronted your worst fear to be there for me and I was ungrateful. I was just...worried about you and I didn't exactly say that in the nicest way. If today does end up being our last day, then I'm glad you're here with me."
"Well, Calore would find a way to kick my ass in the afterlife if I let anything happen to you," Tikva said. When Ayiana laughed in that way that soft and dulcet way that massaged away her fear, even for just a moment, Tikva continued as she clasped her friend's hands, "You've been the friend and Fireteam mate that I needed when I thought I'd always be alone- kind, patient, and braver than I'll ever be. I promise that I'll do everything that I can, for as long as I'm still breathing, to make sure that you're safe."
Then the Awoken woman closed her eyes, scooped her smaller Hunter friend up into her arms, and squeezed her into a hug, her hands on Tikva's back while Tikva's rested on her shoulders. For a few moments, all the gunfire, yelling, and explosions faded away into a dull and indistinct background thrum, and all that remained was the sight of each other as their helmets touched and the feeling of warmth that coursed between them both.
"Hey, you know what? If we make it out of here, how about I take you on a second trip to the Moon? Maybe we'll have a picnic lunch under Archer's Line, once we clear out the enemies nearby," Ayiana suggested.
"Sounds like fun!" Tikva smiled up at her friend.
"Here they come!" Dakar yelled.
"Be sure to conserve your ammo and make the most of your grenades, throwing knives, supers, and whatever else can recharge!" Misraj cried, and soon Ayiana and Tikva reluctantly separated and went to their assigned positions.
VVVVVV
"Yes, Your Majesty. I'll be sure to give the Speaker my regards," somebody familiar sounding muttered behind Kolee. As he pricked his ears up to hear more, Kolee really got an earful from the mysterious stranger when he added, "It looks like we are taking a detour, yes?"
Kolee recognized Variks just in time to hang on to something, knowing his driving skills.
"Who are you to- AHHHH!" one of the male Dregs yelled along with most of the others as they were dumped.
Even though they were the enemy, Kolee couldn't help but feel sorry for them as they tumbled through the air choked with ships and blasts and other troops. Even if they managed to thread that needle, as the humans would say, they still had to somehow survive. He'd been like them once, and so he hoped that they would turn up OK even though his rational brain had consigned them to the Darkness.
"What you're doing here better be worth it," Kolee snarled. "What I'M doing here better be worth it too." The phrase, "Worth all the lives of my brothers and sisters" didn't cross his lips.
"This is Grand Vizier Batacul. Get back in formation or you will be destroyed!" a gravelly voice proclaimed over the intercom.
Variks shot the console with a snort as he still processed the idea that Kolee had snapped at him, then said, "Hang back on to your seat, Captain Kolee of House Judgment," as he opened fire on some nearby ships, causing them to careen into the metallic planet and set off colossal explosions. "We're going on a rescue mission. To save the Guardians from being captured by Vokuna and foil his designs on the Causeway, yes? The most worthwhile thing of all."
CAPTAIN Kolee (the word felt odd but fitting somehow) didn't have a retort for him, even smiled underneath his helmet as they began diving towards their destination.
VVVVVV
Tikva's lucky streak was continuing, it seemed. She hadn't had to fire a single bullet. Even after her friends slaughtered thousands of Fallen and Vex, they still had more than enough ammo. Part of that was due to the fact that Tikva and Brian tossed out heavy ammo packages to anyone who needed it.
It was also due to Epic Waffle guy strangling five hundred Vex with his bare hands. She hadn't even known that Vex COULD be strangled, since they were mostly mechanical (as far as everybody knew to breathe).
Then he'd murdered three Minotaurs at once before running off cackling, "RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN gently down the stream merrily merrily merrily THE MULTIVERSE IS BUT A DREAM!"
This unfortunately had left Sarti to defend the entire left entrance by himself. Thankfully for everybody else, he'd done an excellent job of that until he'd cleared enough of a path for Misraj to take Epic Waffle guy's place.
But in any event, her and Brian had managed to stay safe, and during a calm period, he said, "You must be glad to have...actual friends."
"You mean to say that you don't feel you do?" Tikva wondered. This was about as delicate a statement as she could make in her adrenaline infused state at the moment.
"Well, I didn't before today. I thought the Xxtremes were my friends, but I realize now that they just wanted me to talk and act exactly like they did."
"That doesn't seem like a very friendly thing to have done," Tikva said, and rubbed his shoulder reassuringly through his cloak and armor.
"You're right," Brian smiled up at her.
Then a shock rifle blasted her directly in the chest and she slumped over and spasmed repeatedly.
"Tikva, stay with me!" her Ghost cried out. "Your chest has been fibrillated. Just, just don't take any damage and you'll heal soon."
"Tikva, NO!" Ayiana yelled. Then she went on her knees too and held her head in her hands.
"Ayiana, what's going on? You're gonna need to get up. I know she's hurt, but I can't hold them all off for much longer! If you get up she'll be fine, I promise!" Dakar yelled as he got hit by a few Fallen bullets and
Ayiana couldn't hear him through Tikva's deafening cries of pain. Meanwhile, visions of every single possible future, millions of them involving Tikva and everybody else dying in horrible agony, flashed in her mind. And shadowy tendrils crowded out her thoughts until suddenly a single, pointed, acidic phrase erupted from her throat
"GET AWAY FROM MY FRIENDS!" Ayiana roared, her body engulfed in purple Light for a moment before a sudden Void shockwave erupted from her eyes and then emanated all around her, obliterating the entire Burning Shrine and thousands of enemies nearby while leaving her friends untouched.
However, this destroyed the rotten walls as well, leaving the entire group exposed as a tsunami of Vex Goblins, Hobgoblins, Minotaurs, Praetorians, Harpies, and many many more charged them, swallowing up the Fallen in their way
Within seconds, warmth and strength flooded over Tikva's body again and she stood as if the lightning had not affected her in the slightest. But her bones broke and then reformed, her guts ached to contain the power moving within her, and then, suddenly, she glowed light blue, her eyes beacons of turquoise as well while she smiled crookedly.
"I WONDER WHAT YOUR SOULS WILL TASTE LIKE WHEN I SAUTEE THEM!" Tikva laughed maniacally before activating Arc Blade, an ability she hadn't even touched before, and then dancing gracefully through a wave of Vex, mowing them down with the slightest of ease.
Everybody else's super abilities were augmented as well, enabling the group of Guardians to cut a swath of destruction with ease.
"Great, now look what you've done," Misraj grumbled as everybody backed into a small corner, down to their last bullets while thousands of Vex kept coming. "We have no walls to protect us and now we're completely outflanked and outgunned."
"Now's not the time for naysaying," Dakar replied, even though in his heart he knew that she was right, as usual. "It's been an honor fighting alongside you all."
Everybody nodded slowly, without the slightest trace of optimism on their faces.
Without warning, an EMP blast knocked out their heads up displays, silenced their Ghosts, and froze the Vex directly in front of them, slowing the enemy advance as they pushed aside a forest of their dead fellow machines.
When Ayiana and Tikva both ran out of bullets, Tikva waited for her abilities to slowly while she hugged Ayiana with all her might, both to comfort her shaking friend and to do the same for herself.
Then she said, fighting back tears, "Ayiana, I, I'm sorry. I tried to save you, but I failed. I should have done more. I should have-"
"Don't be sorry. I'm here. And, and..."
"Yes?"
"I always will be. Even in the Darkness, I'll be next to you. I promise."
"I promise too."
VVVVVV
"We've got to hurry, Variks! The Guardians probably don't have much time!" Kolee yelled as they narrowly avoided being caught in the explosion that destroyed the
"Do you think I am stalling, yes?" Variks cried as six other Fallen ships pursued him and he tried to shake them.
"Well, fine then, I'll just do things myself, as usual!" Kolee yelled again. Then he found a confiscated Gjallarhorn Guardian rocket launcher that got caught in some netting. He aimed that at a ship and fired. It instantaneously hit a critical area of the ship's engines, causing the craft to spin out of control and crush a thousand Vex below. The other five ships scattered in panic.
Moments later, Emperor Vokuna's ship shot down the fleeing ships for desertion and he muttered, "Traitors, all of them" as he and Batacul chased Variks the Great Deceiver down.
"Sir, are you sure this is the wisest course of action?" the Captain told his Emperor. "The Vex are annihilating our forces, and we are running out of EMPs, so perhaps we should retreat."
"Direct all of our power against that stationary defense system," Vokuna said, having had time to study the Vex fleet up close. "It contains several Vex Minds and Gate Lords. If it is destroyed, I estimate that up to a quarter of the remaining enemy forces could shut down, giving us enough time to kill the Great Deceiver, capture a Guardian or two, and bring them back to the Cabal so that they may assist us in extracting information from them."
"Are you sure, my lord? The Great Deceiver is eluding us while we sit here."
"DO IT NOW!" Vokuna snarled. "We will have time to destroy him later. I will not ask you again."
"As you wish."
"Fire!"
All of the remaining EMP energy stored on the ship was directed towards the main Vex ship as it loomed over them all. It seemed as though all that energy was wasted as the ship continued to decimate the majority of the remaining Fallen ships. But with a great groan the ship stopped in its tracks and then keeled over, then gave off a metallic death screech like the rest of the Vex were prone to do and crashed into the Mercury's steel surface.
VVVVVV
"Wrap this around your waist, yes?!" Variks said to Kolee as he handed him a thick cable.
"Why?"
"Just do it! Then jump and have the Guardians grab on to the cable. It's the only way! Go!"
Kolee nodded and wrapped the cable as tightly as he possibly could, but then was frozen in fear as he saw a field of unblinking, unthinking red eyes staring at him.
"Go, YES?!"
"Go!" Kolee cried, closed his eyes, fired his Gjallahorn randomly to clear the immediate area, and bungee jumped over the Guardians who were now pressed back against each other as still more inched slowly and readied themselves to counterattack.
"I am Variks, friend to Queen, Guardians. Grab on!" Variks yelled.
None of the Guardians gave his proposal a second thought before they double jumped in midair and latched onto the cord. With a jerk of the throttle, Variks accelerated as hard as he could, dodging Fallen and Vex ships alike, until he was nearly free
"AAAAHHHH!" Brian cried when he looked down and his nervous hands slipped. Kolee attempted to grab his hand as the human struggled to find purchase, but the Hunter flew past him and tumbled hundreds of feet to his doom.
"Brian!" Tikva yelled while the cable was reeled in by an automatic mechanism that Kolee had hooked it up to before jumping, and then the ship's doors closed behind all of them.
"There was nothing we could do," Ayiana sighed.
Tikva wanted to debate her on this point, but her heart was still beating too fast. She, the other Guardians, and Kolee soon passed out from exhaustion.
VVVVVV
"The Guardians and the Deceiver have gotten away," Batacul lamented while they slinked away to near orbit as the rest of the Fallen ships also retreated from the overwhelming might of the Vex. "They are headed for the Queen, no doubt. We could never catch them in the Reef if we had a hundred thousand ships, let alone the ten that our current battle group has."
"I wouldn't overestimate the Queen's strength," Vokuna chuckled. "Besides, today we have destroyed much of the Vex's fighting strength, gained the allegiance of the Cabal, and in the process we have gained something far more valuable."
"What is that, my lord?"
"Hundreds of Guardians in one place, each with at least a piece of the location of the Causeway in their heads." He then gestured to the Lighthouse a seemingly endless mass of Vex swarmed at the gates of the, and Vex ships bombarded it to no avail.
"You're not saying what I think you're saying, are you?"
"I am."
"You're insane! We'll all die trying to capture them, even IF we get past the Vex!"
"And you have are a greater fool than I thought," Vokuna growled before lifting Batacul up by his collar and hurtling his once friend out into the cold embrace of deep space. "I, however, will succeed, where you were too short-sighted to see that our victory is nearly at hand."