Sorry I've been gone so long, but I've been occupied with Destiny and Battlefront! Anyway, here it is!
Chapter 3: A Light in the Dark
"So, they really are gone?" Torrent asked sadly. "Yep. I'm sorry..." I told him. "It's fine. I just-" "Torrent.." I blurted. "What?" "Don't dwell on the past. That's the worst thing you can do." "..alright." "Uranium. Over here. We need to sign up for a new fireteam member." Alpha interrupted. "Ah, yes. See you soon, Torrent." "Seeya." "Alpha, where to?" "Come on. Sign-up sheet is this way."
At the bounty tracking board
"Fireteam- missing one member- requesting new one." Says the robotic bounty tracker. "Yep," I reply. "Fireteam name is Spark." "Fireteam name: Spark- confirmed. Searching for new members..." "Do you really think anybody else is crazy enough to be doing this?" I ask Alpha. "Only as crazy as the one leading them." "That is true... But why do they do this?" "Do what?" "Continue to fight against whatever threatens us." She's silent for a second, then says,"Maybe they see a light in the dark. Maybe this is all temporary." "New fireteam member- found. Sunbreaker Titan- with long history of- high value target eliminations- impressive show of strength- able to disarm Fallen- Cabal- and Taken. Accept?" Says the tracker. "Sure. Accept." I say. "Confirmed."
Meeting the Titan
"So your name is Hammer-54, correct?" I ask the Titan. "Yessir. My friends call me Ham for short." "Alright. How long have you been a Guardian?" "About 264 years now. Running strong." "Impressive." He seemed like the perfect fit for the team. Strong, charismatic, light-hearted... Maybe he could improve our lives just enough to lift our spirits! "How about you? How long have you been a Guardian?" He asked me. "Oh, around 740 years. 700 added because of the Vex." "Oh, they got ahold of you?" "I guess. It all went by in a blur." "Damn. I once knew a guardian before the Ghosts died out. Human. Bladedancer Hunter. She had a few run-ins with the Vex. I think her name was... Alex?" Alpha had another nervous twitch. "E-excuse me for a sec." She stuttered. "Alpha, where are you going?" She already left. "What's up with her?" The big, burly Titan asked me. "I dunno. She's been acting a little strange lately. I'll talk with her later." "Ok then." The Tower intercom beeped, then blared, "Fireteam Spark, you've been designated for Strike mission codenamed, S.A.B.E.R. Repeat. Fireteam Spark, you've been designated for Strike mission codenamed, S.A.B.E.R. Report to ship docks in 30 minutes. E.T.D. is in 35 minutes." "That's us?" Ham asked me. "Yeah. Wherever Alpha is, it isn't anywhere close to the Vanguard Hall." "Why?" "Dunno. C'mon, let's gear up."
30 minutes later
"Alpha! Let's go! E.T.D. is in 5 minutes!" Alpha is laying in her bed, rocking back and forth. "Alpha, I don't know what your problem is, but we're assigned to a strike! You're not even geared up!" "I dunno, Uranium. Why do we have to do it now?" I glared at her. "Vanguard orders." She groans, and reluctantly gets up. "Alpha.." "What do you want?" "What's going on? You run away at random times, you're shy around the Vanguard, and you're sitting here pouting about someone who died 700 years ago! You don't even know this person!" She turns at me suddenly, with her Exo eyes glowing red with anger now. "You don't know what happened 700 years ago..." "Alpha, I WAS THERE! I WAS THERE WHEN IT HAPPENED!" Why am I so angry? She's been pulling the same shenanigans ever since I met her. It gets real old real fast. "Alpha, I don't know why you're dragging your feet, but we have to take out a Fallen Shank bigger than this room, and we're running out of time! They're attacking the Warmind, dammit!" "WHAT IF I DON'T WANT TO BE THE HERO ANYMORE?!" Those words shook the room. "...what did you say?" I'm lost for words. "Every single fucking day, it's, 'go kill this','go kill that','go collect some of this useless fucking spinmetal, we might even give you a couple Glimmer!' I'm over it! Done!" "Do you remember what you said? About 'A light in the dark?'" "Who cares? We're just holding out as long as we can before some big, bad, scary monster is gonna swoop outta the sky and kill us, right? The Vanguard will probably expect us to kill that, too!" "Alpha, just stop for a second. Think about what you're saying." She stops yelling, and her eyes go back to that cool, icy blue that's normally there. "There. Better? Now, let's go do this Strike. Get your mind of things. You're a Hunter. You like to kill shit, right?" She laughs a little. "Yeah. I guess you're right." Ham busts in. "10 minutes overdue. Do you guys want the Warmind to belong to the Fallen?" "Oh shit. We gotta go!" She realizes. She gears up faster than I've seen her do it before. She throws on her boots, stuffs her arms in her gauntlets, and pins her ATS/8 Tarentella chest armor on as fast as Cayde would make a bet. "Let's roll." She says, her helmet still lopsided from rushing." I chuckle, and we head to the hangar.
In the hangar
"Where the hell were you guys? I thought the Ghosts would come back to life before you reported!" Platinum laughs. "Not funny." I snarl. "Oh, whatever, ya big baby." I never liked Platinum. His ego gets to him a lot, and that pisses me off more than it should. "I'm sorry Platinum, I just stalled. I take responsibility for it." Alpha speaks up. "Apology accepted. You guys ready?" "Yep." I reply. "Woah now, Uranium. I said guys!" I'm losing my temper with this smart-mouthed fucker. "Sorry. I'm just giving you a hard time. How about something easy, like Alpha over here?" That's it. I don't remember what happened next, but no one got hurt. Not my original plan. Instead, my arm was held back by Alpha. I was gonna right-hook a Vanguard? What's wrong with me?! Platinum didn't move an inch. Nerves of steel. "Stand down, Uranium-3. It's not worth getting arrested." "What? Were you gonna hit me? Let me have a try!" Jesus Christ. That. Fucking. Hurt. Using Alpha as an advantage, he hit me in the gut with only the strength Titans have. Now I know it's not all ego. He's Vanguard for a reason. I keeled over, and leaned against the railing of the hangar. I'm beginning to see Alpha's point here. Alpha and Ham did nothing. What could they do? Assault a Vanguard? "Now, THAT'S a punch, little squirt. Take your magic tricks somewhere else." Ham had the nerve to do this, and I still don't know how. He walked straight up to Platinum, and pushed him back like a bully in a playground. He got up right in his face, and said, "Vanguard Platinum, you have no right to be assaulting a Guardian under anybody's behalf. I could report you now, and have you fired and arrested. Insult my fireteam again. Go ahead. Try me." "Hammer-54, I see you know your rights. Carry on. Good luck." Platinum looked legitimately scared when Ham confronted him. We take off in the ship as we're headed to the Cosmodrome to aid the Warmind from a Fallen Shank the size of a Fallen Walker. What a wacky fucking world we live in.
That's it for now! Sorry I've been gone so long. I kinda forgot I was writing this! SEEYA!