"And you say there were none left?" The Speaker asked, hands folded behind his back as he looked thoughtfully toward the Traveler.
"Correct," Tisiphone nodded. "Our Ghosts couldn't find anymore movement within the facility, and a visual check confirmed. If there were any left, it would be too few to make a difference. The Fallen may even have taken them out by now."
"Hmm. I see. Still, I've gotten more troubling reports regarding Fallen activity. That they seem agitated. It may be that they've discovered another nest." The Speaker let out a sigh. "We need to establish a presence in the Cosmodrome." Tis felt Megaera shift next to her, the word "we" clearly making her uncomfortable. "We haven't gotten any eyes on the ground yet, so you three will be a bit unprepared. I have faith in you, though. I will have another team set up a base of operations, temporary though it may be. While they are doing so, it will be your job to keep the Fallen distracted, and perhaps root out the other Hive nest. It is good to see that you have returned to us, Alekto, now I wish you three luck."
Clearly dismissed, the three exited the vaulted chamber, Megaera stalking her way across the walkway first.
The building the vanguard team had chosen was small, and rickety, but then, so were most of the buildings that dotted old Russia. They had kicked most of the snow out and stamped down the dirt to make it as even as possible, before Tis, Megaera, and Alecto were sent outside. "Sweep," the massive Titan had said, motioning to the snow-dusted area before them.
The building was a good distance from Skywatch, safe enough to prevent any large waves from being able to overwhelm their defenses. They would have to weave through a narrow canyon and then back up a fairly steep cliff. But there were Fallen on this side of the ravine, and they had to be taken care of before anything else could be done.
Megaera scuffed her boot, sniper rifle cradled in her arms. "I'll take a spot up top," she indicated the top of the building they were converting into their new headquarters. Tis nodded as Meg leapt up top with a loud bang.
"Guess she'll take out anything too big and scary. Think we can handle the rest?" Tis tilted her head away from the building. They would be doing a sweep in growing concentric circles to weed out any Fallen in the area, including those who might be hiding in the small caves and rusty buildings that were hidden here and there.
"Yeah, we can do this. A few shanks, couple dregs. Nothing to worry about." Alecto held out a hand, and she bumped his knuckles with hers.
The sky darkened, mirroring night in a matter of seconds, and Tis' Ghost appeared on her HUD. "I think we're going to want to check into this," he said, tone ominous. But try as she might, Tis could find nothing of interest around them. Looking over to Alecto, she found him looking up, and she tilted her head back too, just in time to see a streak of smoke and blazing light come crashing from the sky, exploding as it hit the ground.
"WARSAT," Megaera called out. "That'll draw them out. Get to it."
Luckily enough, it had dropped only fifty yards or so away from their new home base, and a quick sprint put Tis and Alecto there before anyone else. "The Fallen will come and try to reclaim the satellite," her Ghost explained. "There's invaluable data in this thing. I and Alecto's Ghost will upload it to the city as long as you stay within three meters. Be ready." Tis nodded, setting her expression beneath her helmet as Alecto's Ghost phased out and began to scan the WARSAT, her own doing the same. They danced around the sphere, lights flickering across the sharp, reflective surface.
"Here they come," Alecto warned, lifting his scout rifle up to his shoulder. Tis watched as her motion tracker lit up on both sides, and she turned, covering Alecto's back, at least for the time being. Dregs weren't typically brave creatures, and she figured they would use the downed satellite to cover themselves, allowing them to jump out in small, failed ambushes.
The first pair of glowing eyes appeared, and met a short end in Tis' crosshairs. She could hear the dry bark of Alecto's rifle and the wails of the Fallen. It was just Dregs at first, with a couple of Shanks making for more of a nuisance than anything resembling a challenge. A deeper voice carrying over the frigid fields indicated a bigger threat, and a Captain quickly showed its crested head from behind an outcropping. Its markings were different, though, and its walk more exaggerated.
"Captain," she warned her teammates, and it was only seconds later that its head jerked back, one of Megaera's bullets lodging in its helmet. Tis brought her rifle up, aimed atA its chest, a volley of bullets causing it to stumble backwards before another loud explosion indicated a second shot by Megaera, and it dropped.
"He won't be the only one," Megaera warned, "There's a drop ship incoming, and they've probably got a Servitor on board. Or two." Her tone was bored, almost, but then, she wasn't the one with the war-shrieks bouncing all around her and bullets flying past her head. Maybe this was why she didn't have any teammates.
Tis jerked her magazine from its place, switching it out with a fresh one, watching as the Fallen leapt down from their ships. "Servitor," she announced, the purple orb floating lazily toward the ground, it's black eye centering on Alecto and herself as it spun in the air. Its deep tones could be heard from a distance, and Tis took a moment to wonder if they controlled the machine, or it was controlling them. But her moment of deep thought was shattered by a quick clattering of bullets, poorly aimed from the gun of a Dreg. Still, a few slammed into her shields, and she rolled to the side, aiming her rifle from a crouch and taking him down. A few more pounding shouts rang out, Megaera taking her shots carefully from her distant position.
Another Captain had landed, striding toward the WARSAT with unfailing confidence. A horde of Dregs appeared behind him, with at least a dozen Vandals. "Alecto!" Tis called, hurling a grenade into the mass of alien creatures. It stuck to the leg of a Dreg, taking it out along with a handful of others. The large man turned, but one hand left his gun and he began to charge, swinging his rifle behind his back he leapt, both hands clasping together before he came down, slamming his fists into the ground and sending a shockwave out from his hands. This sent the Fallen exploding out from him, the weaker Dregs cartwheeling through the air, the Vandals stumbling or collapsing, while the Captain itself was merely knocked back. Alecto pulled his weapon back into his hands, but wasn't quite quick enough.
The Captain swung his fist, slamming the back of its hand into Alecto's helmet with a sickening crack. The Titan went down, his shields already somewhat weakened by the bullets of the previous attackers. Tis was moving, clearing the smaller and already weakened vermin out before it was her and the Captain, her Ghost moving to Alecto's body where his own ghost hovered, working to revive him.
Her bullets seemed to be having little effect on the large alien, so she gave it up, slinging her rifle around in exchange for her shotgun. Its strides were carrying it toward her and a quicker and quicker pace, but she pulled the trigger and it stumbled; she pumped, and an empty shell sprung out, replaced in a second flat. She pulled the trigger again and it fell; she pumped, and fired one more time and its body went limp.
Alecto stumbled to his feet, and the Ghosts rushed back to the WARSAT, fluttering over it for a few more moments. "It's done," her Ghost said, his tone matter of fact, maybe even pleased with himself. "And I think that's all the Fallen in the area. But another check wouldn't be a bad idea."
"That is very easy for you to say," Tis answered, her tone pointed as she reloaded her shotgun and gave it one last pump before replacing it.