Chapter 7: Rivalries
Everyone, both spectators and combatants, felt like their eyes deceived them. Red Lightning and Hurricane had fired at the same time. The Awoken and humans simply gazed in hope and fear while calculations and imagery were passing through the Exos' processors.
The Death Hunter fired his Golden Gun shot at the Awoken's foot, the latter already pointing his own weapon at the former's chest, his shot a few milliseconds behind. Both shots hit their targets simultaneously, two Ghosts popping up a second later.
Shutting off the ending ballad, Lucks was the first to break the silence, "Did that just happen?" Everyone nodded an affirmative.
"Now what do we do?" Dmitri bluntly asked.
A small moment of silence was broken by Triton. "Titan versus Titan."
20 gave his immediate support, "Strikers, juggernaut, same distance, and first to kiss the dirt loses." While the Dragon Exo recalibrated his Light, Lucks was given all the attention.
"Fine," he grumbled.
It wasn't long before the tie-breaker was reset and the Guardians followed their Hunter brethren. The signal was given and 20/20 and Lucks rocketed towards each other, their juggernaut shields forming. The next everyone else saw was a Titan still running with his opponent steamrolled into the ground.
When the dust settled, Lucks was sitting on the ground far to Dmitri's right, as 20 just laid in front of Triton, staring at the blinding sky. The two leaders helped the fellow Dragon up, Lucks slowly following.
"No mistake that time," the white-and-red Titan said to his team medic, "you got bulldozed." He turned to the Warlock. "Triton, I concede the match to you." His hand shot out to meet with Triton's. A firm handshake and reviving the humbled Hunters found them heading to the Tower a minute later.
When they landed, the plaza was unusually full of Guardians. The new group knew they had watched the Crucible match. Within seconds, everyone was talking over the results. Most were happy to see both teams in action; others were not as overjoyed since they lost several bets.
Firewing tried to sneak away, but got caught by Amelia and Channel. Karma's got me today. He did his best to cover the exhaustion in his voice as he greeted them, "Amelia. Channel. Surprised to see you two here."
The Awoken Warlock merely scoffed, "Had to do some work for Ikora. We were just about to leave when you showed up."
"Uh-huh. Let me guess, that was finished half an hour ago and you stayed to watch our match."
"Yup," Channel confirmed. His reward was an elbow in the gut from Amelia.
Firewing merely smirked, "Amelia, I didn't know you had feelings for me." He moved his hand over his heart.
She gave a frown. "Oh, please. I'd sooner kiss an Exo." Channel looked at her with a bit of hurt.
"Like you haven't done that already." The Hunter was immediately slapped in the face.
The Titan threw his hands in the air, "I don't want any part of this." He backed off to the hangar.
"Smooth moves, Red Lightning," A mottled-brown Hunter said as he approached the bickering group, slowly clapping. Firewing gave a tired groan as he rubbed his forehead.
"Ryyk, leave me alone." The last thing he wanted was to run into the Bladedancer. He was wearing a full set of New Monarchy gear with a Kings' Cloak draped over his back. More often than not, people did their best to avoid his ego.
"What? And miss the family reunion here?" Ryyk let out a chuckle as Amelia gave him her 'I will kill you' look. "Really, you two make a great couple." He was given two simultaneous punches in the face for that remark. "My point exactly."
A nearby Warlock glanced at the three Guardians. "Lovebird alert."
Firewing retorted with a hostile glare, "I don't have time for this. See you later." Get me out of here, Sundial.
"I know I will." Ryyk was punched yet again.
Fireteam Death's Quarters, The Last City
Somehow, Lucks managed to get home before Firewing did. The Exo was laying down on the couch, waving his hand in tune with the music coming from his helmet. Firewing walked over to the kitchen area, Sundial popping out along the way.
"Alright, Sun. What do we have on Skanas?" The Hunter spoke while preparing a sandwich.
"Let's see. Skanas, Winter Guard. One of the few Fallen that did not bow to Skolas during his uniting of the Houses."
"That's a good trait; loyalty." He put away the leftover foodstuffs and cut his dinner.
"He has been offered a promotion to Baron twice, but refused both times."
"Odd," Firewing said around a bite of meat. Most Eliksni would jump at the opportunity to increase their status.
"Yes. Apparently, Skanas cares about the lives of his men deeply."
"That would explain his mood when he and I talked," Triton interrupted. The human and his Ghost merely turned to look at him. "I'd say those two Fallen were his team's first losses in quite a while."
"Makes sense," Lucks chimed in, still moving his hand.
"How would you know? You weren't there," Firewing barked.
The Titan tapped his nearby helmet, "Video feed, guys."
He finished his sandwich. "Whatever. I'm getting my sleep." The Hunter walked off to his room.
Firebase Epsilon, Meridian Bay
The Harvester landed and Ta'aan's team disembarked. He was seething in anger. The Destroyers had hit again and he was too late. Giant's Pass was in ruins, meaning a reconstruction team would be out there, if they haven't left already.
The door in front of him opened to reveal his two lieutenants, Ar'kug and Qe'bre. Both were legionnaires, but held a high status in Epsilon. Ar'kug donned his superior's legion colors; his compatriot wearing the Blind Legion's white. Both gave a stiff salute.
"Sir, what happened out there?" Qe'bre asked first. Ta'aan glared at him through his helmet. "Sorry, sir." He took a step back.
The Centurion turned to Ar'kug, "Has a reconstruction team left yet?"
"No, sir. We were waiting for you to come back with the damage report."
Ta'aan growled, "Rkife should have it. Find him, get your team together, and get out there."
Ar'kug gave another salute. "Yes sir." He walked off to find the Psion.
"Qe'bre, I want you to take a Sand Eater squad to Freehold. Find their hideout." The Legionnaire was about to say something, but was cut off. "I don't care how you do it, just get it done."
"Yes sir."
Ta'aan turned around to see Ar'kug climbing onboard a Harvester, the engineers already inside. The lieutenant saw his superior and gave a farewell salute before his vessel took off. He waited until the Harvester was out of his sight, then went inside. He grabbed a nearby Psion and told him, "Tell Rubicon they're on stand-by until further notice." The messenger nodded and dashed off.
(AN) - There you are, guys. Hope you liked it.
Now I have some stuff to say about Epsilon. It's set as the primary base for the Seige Dancers in the area and therefore has a crap-ton of defenses. AA, long range artillery, mortars, the works. And sitting on top of it all is a really ticked off Centurion.
Do feel free to comment guys. Oh, a shoutout to SonofForossa, who has done a very good job with the Cabal. I suggest you read both of his stories and give him a like.
That's all for now, folks. See you next chapter.