Kei stared out through the slots in the vent the three Guardians were hiding behind, "We're never gonna make it out of here…" The hangar was swarming with Fallen. All unloading had been halted and now one of the most massive Fallen armies in the system was blocking their only escape from the Ketch. A combination of Captains and Vandals stood in a rigid line, weapons raised and ready for a fight. Behind them stood the Kell almost seven feet taller than any of the other Fallen soldiers. On one shoulder it held a giant scorch cannon with two of its four arms, the other two clung to a shrapnel launcher.
"That's a whole lot of nope that I'm picking up from over there." Xor spoke from his place beside the Warlock.
"We have no choice. Either we punch through their lines or we detonate the ship now while we still can." Xor and Kei looked at her like she was crazy. The titan tilted her head, "What?"
Kei put his head in his hands while Xor explained, "Well, Trinity, no offence but… Well… Both of those plans suck in various ways." He paused, glancing down at the floor of the ventilation shaft before lifting his head and facing the other two again, "But they do give me an idea…"
The three guardians crouched behind a pile of Fallen cargo containers, using them as a means to hide from the army of Fallen that opposed them.
"Xor that's crazy…"
"No it's not! It makes perfect sense!"
"I for one believe that his strategy may work. From a strategic standpoint of course."
"Fine but if I die I swear I'll come back and shove a grenade up your ass."
The Exo laughed and patted Kei hard on the back, "Yeah, yeah. I'm sure you will."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Xor rose to his feet and drew his hand cannon, clipping in a new 7-round magazine and locking it back into place before peering around the crates they were using as cover. "Okay, there are a few Skiffs between us and our four-armed buddies over there, the cloaks I gave you have a time limit so I'll try and clear the path as best I can." He turned back the his companions, "Remember your only priority is to grab a ship and get the hell out of here, I'll make sure to grab another one and follow you out as soon as I can." Trinity and Kei nodded before rising to their feet. Xor once again pulled out a spherical object and threw it at the ground. The device shattered on the ground and cloaked the three guardians in Xor's personal cloaking tech.
Kei opened the comm channel and spoke quietly into his helmet, "Good luck Xor, have fun being a temporary distraction buddy."
Kei pulsed his light and saw the Exo nod from where he stood before disappearing around the crates toward the Fallen masses. Trinity placed a hand on his shoulder, "The mission is almost complete, let us do our part.", she said softly in her helmet.
Kei nodded and they began to slowly make their way to the Skiffs.
Why am I doing this?
What do I possibly have to gain from dying?
I'm not one of them…
I don't have to help them…
Trinity's stoic facial expression flashed in his mind.
That's why…
Dammit…
The hangar was a mess, crates were strewn about as Fallen dropped what they were doing and flocked towards lines of Vandals and Captain's at the entrance. Kei sent out a pulse of light energy, confirming that Trinity was still about two meters ahead of him, making good progress despite her heavy armor.
They reached the first Fallen Skiff without confrontation and Trinity crept around the backside to find a panel to try and hack. Kei was to stay where he was and warn Trinity if any Fallen got too close.
Bang!
Kei's attention was suddenly jerked to the giant Fallen Kell, for a moment not noticing any difference. Then, all at once, it's giant helmet exploded, showering the remaining army of Fallen in blue-black blood and liquid from the the airtight suit. For a moment the Fallen stood and stared in shock as their once glorious leader sank to it's knees and crumpled to the floor. Silence filled the room.
"Well that was fun!"
Kei turned to see Xor standing atop a pile of crates, a large sniper rifle in hand as he released and slapped in another magazine. All at once, the Fallen charged him. Vandals and Captain's alike pulled out their shock swords and rushed at the hooded Hunter. Xor laughed and flipped backwards behind the crates, his active camouflage hiding him from sight. The army of aliens stopped and glanced around cautiously as the Hunter's laughter echoed ominously around the room.
Crack!
What appeared to be one of Xor's arc grenades exploded in the middle of the Fallen army, sending Vandals and Captain's flying into the air, killed instantly by the blast that fried them inside their suits with the electricity that the small bomb had emitted. With the numbers of Fallen significantly decreased, Xor reappeared and began lighting up the enemy with fiery rounds from his hand cannon. The Fallen chased him, moving farther and from Kei and Trinity as the two worked to get access to the ship.
"Trinity, are you close yet?" Kei whispered into the comms.
"The Fallen technology is proving to be far more complicated than anticipated, I may need a few more minutes." Kei nodded to Trinity's response and brought his attention back to Xor and the Fallen. The Hunter was now doing flips and rolls in order to avoid the many glowing projectiles fired from Fallen weapons. He had dropped his hand cannon and had pulled out his scout rifle, the MIDA Multi-tool fired merciless armor-piercing rounds into the rapidly closing line of Fallen, tearing through their armor and leaving several of them to bleed to death on the cold metal floor of the hangar.
"The Skiff is now accessible to Guardians.", Trinity reported as her invisible form made it's way up the side of the Fallen dropship and slowly opening a hatch on the ship's roof. She lowered herself down carefully and began to flip switches and hit buttons like she had been flying Fallen craft for years.
Kei turned to Xor and raised his hand to his head, opening the comm channel, "Okay Xor, we're heading out on the Skiff, we'll be expecting you to follow us out soon."
The Exo's voice came back loud and clear, "Okay, see you two on the other side!" Kei grinned at the casual tone in the Hunter's voice. "Oh and tell Trinity to set the nav system to autopilot, if she puts in the right coords, which we both know she will, it'll warp you directly to that point in space."
The Warlock nodded, "I'll make sure she knows. Good luck getting off this bucket."
"You too buddy…"
The rooftop hatch to the Fallen Skiff closed with a hiss as the cabin pressurized. Kei skipped the last few rungs of the rusted ladder and landed on the floor with a soft clank. His boots repeating the sound as he walked quickly across the dimly lit cabin to where Trinity was sitting. "Xor said it would be faster to use-"
"The autopilot, I know…" Trinity interrupted as she pushed a few more buttons in preparation for their getaway.
Kei raised an eyebrow in his helmet, "Ooookay… how long until we can get out of here?" Kei asked the Titan. Trinity only continued to work on the ship's controls.
"Trinity?-"
"I would appreciate it if you would remain silent while I do this…", the Titan replied sternly, stopping only to cast a glance over her shoulder, her stern expression was revealed as she undid her helmet and lifted it over her head.
Kei sat in silence while Trinity furiously typed the coordinates of Earth into the Skiff's navigational computer. Suddenly the Titan sat up and placed her hands on the pilot's main controls.
"Here we go…"
Xor stopped momentarily when he heard the roar of a Fallen engine. He glanced over the wave of Fallen and saw a Skiff beginning to rise off of the floor of the Hangar. He smiled softly under his helmet, "took ya long enough…" He thought to himself as he allowed his body to instinctively flow like liquid between the Fallen plasma bolts. He closed his eyes and let out a breath as his glided through the air, flipping backwards and landing in a crouch before rolling rapidly to the side. He opened the comm channel as he saw the Skiff turn and rush out of the hangar, engines roaring and burning with a bright orange light. "You guys got the nav computer set?"
Kei answered him, static beginning to break up the short-range transmission, "Yup, we're locked on and heading out now, sending you instructions on how to hack the Skiffs so you can get out of there too."
Xor sighed, still instinctively dodging the Fallen shots being fired at him, "That, um… That won't be necessary…"
The comms were silent for a moment.
Then it was Trinity who spoke, confusion lining her words, "Xor… Please clarify on your previous statement."
Xor pushed away from the ground again, gracefully flipping backwards to avoid the sword of a Captain. He cloaked as he flew through the air and hid himself among the Fallen cargo containers. "Plans have changed… I'm not going to make it off the ship. Sorry about that…" The Exo chuckled softly to himself, "Y'know, Trinity… It's kinda funny. When we landed I thought you were the most unbearable person I had ever met." He sighed to himself, "Now it seems I've actually taken a kind of strange liking to you…"
Trinity was frozen, not even blinking as she listened to him through the communications device in her ear. Her jaw worked silently as she tried to find words to say to the Hunter. Finally she managed out a few weak words, "Xor... why are you telling me this?"
Xor's only response was to sigh, "I don't know…"
Then the Ketch behind them became the solar system's smallest sun, most likely visible in the skies to all Guardians who happened to be watching...
End Part One...
(Yes, there is more on the way… I'm not that heartless you guys…)
