S1-55
Chamber of Night
7:29 PM
02/16/3201
Planet Earth - The last City
Tower North
Music
Destiny - The Tower
Michael was talking with the Speaker while his Fireteam went out on their own. He was learning how to control his powers at a greater extent. "Do you understand now?"
"I do, Speaker. I feel the Traveler's Light, the flow of power and wisdom."
"Very good. Now, let us test your powers." Michael's eye glowed pure white with Light before the skull-like entities he has used twice before appeared, comprised entirely of Light. "Remarkable. What do you hear?"
"I hear a name. I believe it is what these are."
"What are they?" The Speaker asked.
"Andromeda Cannons, the weapons of the Eye of the Traveler."
"{Andromeda Cannons? I'm sensing a lot of power within them.}" Michael's Ghost remarked.
Suddenly, something happened. The Andromeda Cannons destabilized, then exploded as Michael fell to his hands and knees, the Eye of the Traveler dimming. "What's happening, Michael?"
"I... I don't know... I feel... like my Light... is fading..."
"{Hang on!}" Michael was then filled with Light, and his strength returned.
"Are you still mission-ready?" The Speaker asked.
"I think so. Where to?"
"Head to the moon."
7:29 PM
02/16/3201
Planet Earth - Low orbit
Music
none
Samus was searching the Cosmodrome for any sign of any other Titans, until her Ghost got something. "{Urgent transmission incoming, on all channels... from the Speaker.}"
The message began playing. "Nothing is more important now. We believe the Hive are engaged in a ritual that is draining the Traveler of its Light. Whatever power they wield must be understood... and destroyed."
Samus charted her course to the moon. Along the way, she was joined up by Mark-18 and her fellow Pilots.
Earth's moon - Ocean of Storms
Hellmouth
Music
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - Phaaze
They all arrived, ready to destroy the ritual, and Michael was already there. "{This ritual could be happening in any one of their thousands of chambers. If we can find cracks deep enough, I can map the entire Hive fortress.}"
Before they could move out, a carrier flew in and dropped off another Titan. Tone-class Titan EM-9156. "[Thanks for the ride, Amanda!]"
"EM?"
"[Good to see you again, Michael. For some unknown reason, our neural link seemed to have shut off. It's back up now. I received the urgent message from the Speaker, and I'm ready to go.]"
"Let's do this."
The Pilot hopped up as the Tone reached out to grab him, opening the cockpit to place Michael inside. The Titan diagnostic reports were... not what any Pilot would ever want to see. "[Unfortunately, my Reactor was exposed over the centuries from being chased down and fired upon by Fallen.]"
"Crud. Ghost, think you can make an Amped Battery?"
"{A what?}"
"[Ghost, I have the blueprint for an Amped Battery.]"
Once the Ghost acquired a copy of the blueprint for an Amped Battery, a Titan Battery Pack with yellow lights lining it appeared in Michael's hands. He then installed the Amped Battery in the mechanism behind the Pilot seat.
"[My Reactor's stable now, and my critical systems are now functioning normally.]"
"Alright. We need to map the Hive fortress to find the ritual site that's draining the Traveler of its Light."
"[Maybe I could help.]" With EM-9156 restored, the Fireteam started on their way to the first location, which was surprisingly nearby.
Michael disembarked as his Ghost floated over it and started scanning the cracks. EM-9156 used her Sonar Lock on the break in the terrain. "{What are you doing?}"
"[Scanning it with you?]"
"{I'll give you a data transfer link so you can help scan for the ritual inside the fortress.}" The Ghost then finished the scan. "{OK, good scan, but not enough to locate the ritual yet. Let's keep looking.}" The group went on to find the next crack in the moon's surface, which was a way's away, near a small abandoned establishment.
Once they arrived, Fallen attacked, and were wiped out.
"There. The crack." Jack stated, pointing the way.
Michael's Ghost and EM-9156 began scanning it. "{Hold on. We got it, but we have to go deeper into the Temple of Crota.}"
"Sorry, EM. You and the other Titans will have to wait outside."
"[Why?]"
"[You won't fit.]" Jeeves stated.
With the destination clear, the group went on their way.
Earth's moon - Ocean of Storms
Anchor of Light
A certain Exo was heard on the comms. "Looks like another Titan's been found, but it's unresponsive. I think it's too late for this one."
"What's the chassis number, Cayde?" Anthony asked.
"DL-2671."
"That's my Vanguard-class Titan!" Michael exclaimed.
Zavala was on the line. "Now we have to find a new name for Ikora, Cayde, and I?!"
"I have an idea for a new name. How about the Counsel?" Mark-18 suggested.
"The Counsel..."
"Zavala, if you're not sure about it, just know that I approve of it." Cayde-6 stated.
"I, too, am in favor of the new name." Ikora added.
"Hmm... The Counsel of Guardians. It may be a better name for us, but we've changed the subject."
"Michael, your Vanguard-class Titan doesn't seem to be showing any signature." Ikora reported. "The Fallen probably got his Battery Packs."
"City Hawk 491 is already hunting them down. Once these 'Titan Battery Packs' have been reclaimed, the Titan will be picked up and moved to the City, and we'll be waiting for you."
"Thank you, Zavala." Michael responded. "Let's move, team!"
Once they got to the deformation in the moon's surface, Carlos's Ghost spoke up. "{Someone's trying to establish contact. Could be the Speaker.}" Through their radios, the same thing was heard. A heavily distorted voice, but mostly white noise. "{Let's get out in the open. I'll have a better chance of locking this signal.}"
"Sounds good." Michael said.
Earth's moon - Ocean of Storms
Temple of Crota
Music
Destiny - The Stranger
Once they were in position, Jeeves's cockpit opened, with Michael and his Ghost coming out, his Ghost going in to try and lock the signal.
"You're interesting. Not entirely interesting, but... you have promise." A voice was heard loud and clear.
"That's not the Speaker."
"You're right about that, Samus. It sounds like an Exo. A female one." Mark-18 added.
"Who is that?" Michael asked.
"{I don't know. I'm losing the signal.}"
"Guardians, I know what you're about to do. It's brave, but there are enemies out here you would not believe."
"Out where?" Michael wondered.
"Go down, and face the Hive, and if you live, come find me." The Ghost's shell closed, with the radio going silent.
"{Signal dropped. I got some broken coordinates. Venus. Northern hemisphere. Ishtar region.}" A roar was heard from within the fortress, getting their attention. "{Great. What do we do now?}"
"We go down." In surprise, the blue-shelled Ghost looked at him. "Don't look at me like that. We have a ritual to stop down there!"
"[We know what to do.]"
"[Engaging Guard-Mode. 40mm armed.]"
"[Guard-Mode engaged.]"
"[Guard-Mode activated. Weapons energized.]"
"[Engaging Guard-Mode.]"
With the Titans waiting outside, the group went into the temple of Crota, looking for the Hive ritual.
Music
Destiny - Temple of Crota
Before they could get any further than the entrance, an Ogre was there waiting for them. "[Burst Core activated.]" A stream of electrified bullets bolted straight into the Ogre's forehead... eye... face (I DON'T KNOW), effectively killing it. BT-7274 then released several homing rockets from his Acolyte Pods, taking out the rest of the Hive in the chamber.
"Great job, BT!" Jack commended.
"[Thank you, Pilot.]"
The group went into the lower levels of the Hive fortress, with the 'welcoming committee' being composed of Thralls, cleared out by an Axion Bolt from Mark-18. "You've got some style. I like it." Anthony stated.
"Thanks. I try my best to get the job done."
Within the structure in the middle of the chamber were Thralls and Acolytes. Still cannon fodder.
A Wizard appeared and attacked, getting absolutely destroyed, same with the Knight. The group went ahead, encountering and killing more Hive. Upon entering the next chamber, they were nearly ambushed by a Cursed Thrall, the explosion only blowing one of them back. "OK... ow. Now I know how you felt when those tripmines blasted you into a wall, Michael." Carlos stated as he picked himself back up.
In the center of this chamber was a strange Hive craft. "{Hive Seeder, just like the ones invading Earth. If we don't finish this, there'll be more of these hitting home.}"
"We can't let that happen!" Samus declared.
Three Knights came in, only to get pulverized by Samus's Seeker Missiles, revealing a single Cursed Thrall behind them, which was killed by Michael's Spitfire LMG. They still had longer to go, and more to kill before they got to where they needed to be.
Earth's moon - Ocean of Storms
The World's Grave
(!) Darkness Zone (!)
A Hive Tomb Ship came out of a wormhole, dropping more Hive into the chamber. Thralls, Acolytes, and Knights attacked and died relatively quickly, with a Wizard being no different.
"We're getting close, but we need to hurry." Michael was right; he was beginning to falter as his unique Light was being further drained by the ritual they needed to stop.
More Acolytes and Knights were killed, then the roar of a Hive Ogre was heard, meaning trouble. Thralls were racing in to attack with their claws as a Knight joined the fray. For some reason, this Knight was different, and it had tougher Hive armor encrusted into its skin. It died nonetheless.
The group then entered a short hallway and ended up at a large Hive door that seemingly opened itself. "{Here it is. The darkest of all the Hive's chambers...}" Inside the chamber were three more Wizards focusing dark energy on a giant object. Before the Wizards could sense the presence of the group, they were killed off.
This caused something to happen, and a lot of Hive entered the chamber.
"Destroy them!" Michael ordered.
Taking down a few Cursed Thralls and Acolytes, Mark-18 managed to save Sarah from a Knight that was about to attack her from behind.
With the first wave of Hive wiped out, a large door opened, releasing the second wave. Michael, in his weakened state, narrowly managed to kill an Acolyte with his Spitfire LMG, while Samus was keeping a Knight off his back. He tried forming a Golden Gun, but he could only manage a few weak cinders in his right hand.
A Wizard came in, and was blasted to smithereens by Jacquelyn's Golden Gun. The second wave was eventually defeated. Suddenly, a Hive Ogre's roar was heard, echoing through the chambers. A large door opened, with the source of the roars coming out.
SCANNING...
NEW ENTRIES
1: Telthor
Unborn
"EMBRACE THE VOID! WELCOME TO OBLIVION!" Mark-18's Nova Bomb did moderate damage to the enhanced Hive Ogre, but it wasn't enough to kill it. "OH MY HOLY FREAKING STUPID CRAP! AGAIN?!" The Pilots then brought out their Anti-Titan weapons and opened fire on the abomination, bringing it to its knees, but not killing it.
One Pilot scored the kill.
Jack rushed up to the Ogre, threw a live Frag Grenade into its gaping maw, then ran as the small explosive did the rest.
Jack [Frag Grenade] Telthor, Unborn (Spawn of Crota)
Earth's moon - Ocean of Storms
The World's Grave
Music
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - Phaaze
Michael, running out of Motes of Light, wearily walked to the Hive terminal near the strange object and let out his Ghost. "{What is this thing?}"
"I... don't know. Can you... figure this out, Ghost?"
"{It's a shard of the Traveler!}" The dark energy covering the shard dissipated, with its Light no longer draining.
Michael suddenly pulsed with strong Light, being completely restored.
"How do you feel?"
"Much better!"
"{They were using it against the Traveler, devouring its Light. But we freed it. And our new friend said there are enemies on Venus worse than this? Great.}"
"OK, now that our mission here is done, I think we should go get DL, don't you, Michael?" Samus suggested.
"Right."
7:53 PM
02/16/3201
Planet Earth - The last City
Tower Plaza
Music
Destiny - The Tower
With the group back at the City, a severely damaged Vanguard-class Titan was easily spotted, with the armor looking as if it was put through an industrial shredder. Twice!
The lights on the Titan's chassis weren't glowing, not even the Datacore, which seemed undamaged and was protected by three small plates of optical protection. Three Frames stood next to it, each holding a green-glowing Titan Battery Pack.
Michael took one Battery, walked to the side of his offline Vanguard, and slotted it onto one of the three slots on the left side of the abdomen. The lights slowly came on, with the power bringing the Titan back online, but it wasn't enough. "[Power low. Insufficient power.]"
Michael took a second Battery and installed it, further restoring his Vanguard-class Titan. The Titan attempted to get up to its feet, but was too weak and fell on one knee. "[Power at two-thirds. Datacore reinitialized. Ocular system online. Program Omni-10 reactivated and resynchronized. Adjusting focus.]" He then looked around. "[Where am I?]"
"DL!"
"[Michael! Good to see you again! Where are we?]"
Zavala came up to inform the Titan of their current whereabouts. "This is the last safe city on Earth. It seems we have much to discuss... another time."
Music
Titanfall 2 - Link to Pilot
Michael grabbed the third and final Battery, then slotted it in. "[Power at full capacity.]" The XO-16 was laid nearby upon transporting DL-2671 into the City, allowing him to reach over and pick it up.
With his systems restored, DL-2671 scanned the area, confirming no hostiles.
"[Michael, our neural link seems to be damaged. In order to uphold the mission, we must repair our neural link.]" As the missile launchers were placed in the small holding racks behind the Vanguard's shoulder servos, DL-2671 moved his XO-16 to the right Acolyte Pod, then knelt down into Titanfall landing position. "[Please embark when ready.]"
The Titan's hatch released a brief puff of steam and flung open as Michael approached, allowing him to easily climb into the cockpit. DL-2671 then stood up and closed him in.
"[Hmm... Our neural link's not as damaged than I thought. That's good, but it will have some detrimental effects if not repaired.]" Expecting the feeling of a tiny twinge in the back of the skull, Michael was completely caught off-guard by something he has not felt since he with linked with Vanessa... centuries ago.
He felt the Jupiter-sized headache of first establishing a neural link, and it ended as immediately as it normally does.
"[Neural link: repaired. I've connected to your helmet, and the Guardian databases.]" Numerous lines of information appeared on the Titan cockpit display, which was not currently projecting the Titan's visual feed.
VANGUARD-CLASS TITAN: DL-2671
MAIN PROTOCOLS
1- LINK TO PILOT: MICHAEL JOHNSON - LINKED
2- UPHOLD THE MISSION: DEFEAT THE DARKNESS / RESTORE THE TRAVELER / PROTECT HUMANITY
3- PROTECT THE PILOT
Music
Destiny - The Tower
"[Through this network, I can connect to the satellites, then I can search for and relay the current coordinates of all remaining Titans.]"
"Do it."
Michael disembarked as his Ghost started scanning the Titan. "[Performing damage assessment. My critical systems are functioning at only 13%. My Datacore appears to be entirely undamaged.]"
"{DL, could you eject your Datacore while I fix your chassis?}"
"[Right. Datacore removal ready.]" The Titan's Datacore disconnected and was ejected, allowing Michael to pull it out.
The Titan's armor plating dissolved away, revealing the damage underneath. Eventually, it was all back, and the damage done to both the armor and the Titan's 'bones' was undone.
Michael then reconnected the Datacore, putting DL-2671 back in his chassis. Installed, processed, then accepted. "[My critical systems are now functioning at 100%.]"
"Now, about the other Titans. Where are they?"
"[Stand by, Zavala. I'm getting to that. I've sent a message to all of them. Any Titans that are still online are heading to those that aren't. Looks like just one of them is offline; RD-1539, Michael's Ronin-class Titan.]"
Amanda's voice was heard over the Tower's PA system. "Look alive, Guardians! Looks like we've got heavy signatures movin in all around!"
Just then, Jeeves overrode the PA system. "[It's the remaining Titans. They've been given the order to come to the Tower. Don't worry. They're with us.]"
Titan Light infusion
{[SN-6726 / Vanessa]}
Quad Rocket - Kinetic
Slaved Warheads - Kinetic
Particle Wall - Kinetic
{[VF-2968 / Sid]}
XO-16 Chaingun - Arc
Cluster Missile - Arc
Particle Wall - Kinetic
{[CZ-9247 / Jeeves]}
Plasma Railgun - Void
Rocket Salvo - Void
Vortex Shield - Kinetic
{[DL-2671, BT-7274, and MOB-1316]}
XO-16 - Kinetic
Multi-Target Missile System - Kinetic
Electric Smoke - Arc
Vortex Shield - N/A
Burst Core - Arc
{[PN-8638]}
T-203 Thermite Launcher - Solar
Firewall - Solar
Incendiary Trap - Solar
Thermal Shield - Solar
Flame Core - Solar
{[XS-9365]}
Splitter Rifle - Kinetic
Laser Shot - Kinetic
Laser Tripwire - Kinetic
Vortex Shield - Kinetic
Laser Core - Kinetic
{[TE-5138 and RN-3092]}
Predator Cannon - Kinetic
Power Shot - Kinetic
Mode Switch - N/A
Gun Shield - N/A
Smart Core - N/A
{[ZJ-7349]}
Plasma Railgun - Void
Cluster Missile - Void
VTOL Hover - N/A
Tether Trap - Kinetic
Flight Core - Void
{[EM-9156]}
40mm Tracker Cannon - Kinetic
Tracking Rockets - Kinetic
Sonar Lock - N/A
Particle Wall - Kinetic
Salvo Core - Kinetic
{[RD-1539]}
Leadwall - Kinetic
Broadsword - Arc
Arc Wave - Arc
Phase Dash - N/A
Sword Block - N/A
Sword Core - Arc
{[OV-3206, YL-9075, and VH-9571]}
XO-16 - Arc
Rocket Salvo - Arc
Rearm - N/A
Energy Siphon - Arc
Upgrade Core - N/A
{[ZV-9372 / Arc-Rod]}
Arc Cannon - Arc
Multi-Target Missile System - Arc
Electric Smoke - Arc
{[TZ-1636 / Mr. Mortar]}
Quad Rocket - Solar
Cluster Missile - Solar
Particle Wall - Kinetic
{[CQ-4729]}
40mm Cannon - Solar
Multi-Target Missile System - Solar
Particle Wall - N/A
Yeah, Michael's Ghost was using Motes of Light to keep Michael's Light from dying.
With the Titans coming to the City, it's hard to imagine what'll happen.
I'll see you next time.