S1-143
Savathûn's Song
2:36 PM
09/18/3272
Saturn's moon, Titan - New Pacific Arcology
The Rig
Music
Destiny 2 - Titan
Michael landed on Saturn's moon of Titan, ready for the next Strike that he had been assigned. Blisk and Hayden-10 had accompanied him.
Zavala was on the radio. "Operation Caliban online. Guardians, you're here for a top-priority extraction. We have multiple Fireteams missing."
Sloane joined in. "They went into the Arcology to investigate a heavily guarded Hive ritual. We've had zero contact for the last several hours, which is why we need you."
"Blisk, how have you been?" Michael asked.
"I've been better, Michael. Found some rogue Taken polluting the water supply in the EDZ, and I reported it to the Shadow. He was actually surprised that the Taken could add to their own ranks, seeing that one of the Red Legion had been 'recruited'."
"I'm guessing that's not something even he expected, or was actually aware of."
Treading past the segmented bridge, the Fireteam headed to the Arcology.
Saturn's moon, Titan - New Pacific Arcology
Solarium
There were a few Fallen up ahead, and Blisk made short work of them with the Golden Gun. With the threat gone for the time being, Rocco appeared and scanned a door of the Arcology... that had Hive locks on it. "{I've never seen the Hive put locks on human doors. What are they doing down there?}"
"It's beyond me." Michael shrugged.
Music
Destiny - The Hive
Suddenly, Michael felt a chill down his spine, and it was a pretty bad one, causing him to shudder.
"Something wrong, Michael?"
"We've got Hive incoming!" He was right. Swarms of Hive came out of hiding.
It may have taken a while, but the Hive onslaught was repelled, and Rocco cracked the locks. On the other side of the door were Acolytes, Knights, a Wizard, and an Ogre. Hayden-10 used the Shadowshot on the Ogre, followed up by Michael unleashing a Nova Bomb.
Music
none
The way forward was clear... for the moment.
As the Fireteam pressed on, their communication signal was fading. "I'm consulting Counsel archives on Hive rituals. I'm getting a lot of hits about... death experiments. I̸ ̶d̸o̶n̶'̸t̶ ̴k̸n̴o̸w̶ ̸w̷h̴a̶t̸ ̶y̸o̵u̷'̷r̷e̴ ̶w̵a̶l̸k̵i̶n̴g̵ ̵i̸n̵t̷o̴,̵ ̴C̸a̵l̵i̵b̷a̸n̶,̴ ̶b̸u̶t̷ ̴k̷e̵e̵p̷ ̴y̵o̸u̵r̶ ̴e̸y̷e̴s̷ ̴u̴p̵.̸ I̸̦̯͎͈͍͛̃̈̈́͊͊̈́̓̊̑͠͝ ̴͕͋̍́͂̄̈w̸̧̢̢͔̻͇͓̱͔̥̼̭͗̌͐̍͊̾̍͐̅͛̒͝͠a̶̢̺̙͈̱͚̠̺̾͂̂n̸̨̛̘͖͕̪͈̝̖̲͔̻̅̋͋̐̈͐͂̄̓̈́̌t̷̳͚̱̱̰͎̯̖͖̯̺̲̔͂͂̈͛̓͜ ̶̨͍͔̞̗̣͍͍͕̾̋̈͛́̄̀̓͋̿t̷͇͍̝͎̮̦̖͚̿̔̍̽̈͂͆̔̿͆ͅͅọ̴̡͉̻̰̝̲͓̦̳͙̰̰̼͒̾̄̑̉̚̚̕͜͝͠ ̸̩̩͇̤̫̼͖̘̪̿͂̅̓͌͗͐̈́̾̔͒̚s̷͚̜͎̗͕̳͕͋͒͑̈́̐e̸̡̯̠̝̘̰̭̘͙̠̟̋́̐̚͜ę̷̛͓̞̖̜͙̗͖͔͎̜͛͋̍́͂̎̓̊̀͒́̏̚̚ ̴̡̗͇̠̝̻͉̳̞̖̫̀̓̿͜y̵͓͇͇͎̦͍͙̲̫̼̺̺͑̈́̀̓͆o̷̢̡̬͇͈͈͚͎̐̄̅͘͜͝u̶̐̇̄͊̃̈͜ ̶͙̼̞̮̦̓̑͂̍̀̚a̷̖͙̻͈͇͍͙̜͎̥͈̪̬̱͈̎̈́̔̀̒̆͌̍̉͝l̵̫̞̳̎̿̓̄̋̅̍̊͠͝l̵̡̘̟͔̲̤̑̾͒͑͑̔̓̋̋̒͘ ̴̨̨̰̥̭͍̝̻͔̝̱̉̔͌͒̌̇̑̋́̒̒̚͝͝͠ą̶̨̨͓͎̩̰͇͓̗͎͎̜̼̖̃̌l̷̘̭̮̳̀ǐ̷̢̻̼̭̲̜͈̼͈̟̎͠v̴̡̛͓̮̥̠̆͗ȩ̶̛̛̫͎̱̣̺̯̈́̂̎̈̓̾̒̕̕͠ ̶̡͖̤̯̻̭͒̃͂a̵̳̘͂͑͛́t̷̫͙͖̬̏̔͋̾̽͑͘͝͝ ̷̣͚̲̇̄̆̾́̄͝t̵̡̡̧͚͈̙̥̤̿͒̚h̶̢̘͇̩͈̳̖͛̉̔ȩ̷͙̣̼͔̘̥̇̓́̍̓̓́̀͝͝ ̴̙͚̒ę̵̡̗̯͔̼̣͓̬̮̺͒͌ͅͅͅǹ̶̮͚͂̾̈̉̓̊̽̚̚͝d̶̨̡͚̰͚̠̤̠̤͔̜͂̓̆̽̈́̀̂͂̍̇͘ͅ ̶̥͓̺̬͐̃́̓͂͒̀͑̋͛͆̏͘ȯ̷̱͕̻̱̋̅͌̾̂̀͊̿̍͐̓̈́̕͠f̴̨̢̨̢̨͖̹̱̣͔͉̗͎͍̿͑̈́̇̈́̋̈́̀͑̕͝͝ ̷̮̼͕̤̤͚̣̽̄́͋̂͐͒͐̇̎̀̒̚ͅt̶͕̝̜̄̓͝h̶̦͕̣̹͇̖͍̜̖̟͔̿̽͊̾͊͂͑́̋̿̎̅̀̔̚i̴̧̤̖̱͙̺͙͕̬͈̖͕͖͙̔͛̀̅͗̾͐͐͆̓̋̿͛ṡ̷̛̰̮̠̲̓͋̈̏͋̓̓̉̓͘̕.̸̡̪̫͈͕̤͔̹̹͚́̌̂̋͆̏" Sloane's voice was dissolving into static.
"{I think 'alive' is the bare minimum we should shoot for. Sloane? Are you there?}"
"IMC Pilot Michael W Johnson to Sloane, do you copy?"
"Ỷ̵̧̤͖̭͌͋̌̒͛͂̍͊̐̒͒͘ǫ̵̮̼͕͚̩̩̼͔̺̇̎͑̋́͑̈́͘u̸̧͍̪̒̏͝ ̵̢̫̩͎͍̦̝͕͂͛̿̉̈́͗̈́͊̕̚͠͝͝͝͝ͅͅh̷̗̰̑̎̾̂̈́̇͛͑̐͛̑̕̕ĕ̶͓̠̠͓̋̉̎̓̓͐̕ä̴̤͙̹̦̗͍̟͉͍͖̥́͛͒̽ŗ̴̛̠͓̟̖̼͉̳͚̘̎̍̿́̈̑͛̏̇́̉̈́̑ ̵̧̨̛̫̖̪̥̺̼͇̦̩̀̅̍͝m̵͓̥̞̜͂̎̀̈́̅̀͝ë̸̛͙̠̫̗̲͔̬͕͎͉́̀͆͑̍͊͜͝?̷̨̪̣̟̯̤̞̙̮͒̓̿́̓̇̓̐̂̐̍͆ͅ ̷͙̬͚͇̀̌̅̔͐̒̅͘C̴̜͈̙̀̎͊̆͆ą̴̱̲̖̘͚̺̙̭̱͇̩͎͌̂̿̒͛͑͝͝l̴̨͇̙̭̠̣̭̻̟̟͆̀̍̍̓̎̀̀̆̀͐̿̀͘͝ͅi̸̧͚̪͓̝̳͇̲͙̊̽̂͑̈̇̿̐̈́̕͠ḇ̵͖͙̻̣̮͎̹̱̻̤͉̝͒̈́̎́̓̉̏̎͘͜a̵̻̎̓̌̓̏͊̊͗́̄̓͋͠n̵̛̹͎̽̾̌̅͘̕̚?̸̜̖̻͔͍̝̮̟͓͚͖̙̟̍͒͂̓͆̐̆͆̀̌̈̈͂͠ ̵̧̝͈̰̪͍̭͛͗̈́̔̀͜C̸̡͖̲̱͔̻̞̣̥̥͈̳͔̿́͑̓̌̿̒̉͘͠a̶̡͓͈͇̳̠̞̬̗͔̒̇̐͆͝͝͝l̶̼̥̞̙̠̻̖̬̀̄̽̾̚ȉ̴̲̪̼̣̿̆̃͋̌̔͑̽̉̒̉͒ͅb̷̢̢̙̟͈̱͎̠͚̲̬͇͕̍̾̈̌̈́̐͒ȧ̷̢͚̳̫̟̤̲̈́͒̇̃̓̈́̾͠ͅn̶͔̖͕̲̰̪͔͇͍̜͇͗̀̿̆͐̽͊͂͒̈́͆̆̓̎̕͜͜ͅ,̶̛̯̺̩͙̤͇̪̝͐͋̈́͆̓̀ ̸̰̀̍͒̈͊͑̀̽́͋̋̔̀͂̚a̴̧̡̛̼̮͙̩͙̤̜̝͍̦̯̿̆͐͂r̴͉͍̳̙͎̬̬̱̻̲̍̈͒͠ͅe̴̹͂͗͋̍̀͆̄̍͝ ̸̢̢̪̣̩̼̱̜̭͓̗̭̞̲̈̀̇̑̐͠ý̷̟̼͉̳̄̅́͐͛̓͐̅͛̚̕͠͝ͅơ̶͓͎̺̫̱̼̊͂͐͗̄̌́̀̊͋͋̏͝ȗ̶̧̧͖̰̘͓̠̼͉͊͒ ̸̢͇̭̤̻͇̹̤̠̥̙̞̃͂̿͛̿̃́̍́̊̚͜͝t̴̢̡̰̬̖̙̅̂͐̆̅͂̅̎̽̋͝͝͝h̵̛̯̘͖̣̼̺̞̦̘͙͇͇̎́̋͝͠è̴̥̳̜̏̾̀̈́̍̇̑́͛́̒̈́́͘ŗ̷̡̛͎̹̝͚̤̊̀́͝e̵̡̺͔̺͆̋͌̃̓̂͑̈́͂́̕͠?̵̜̠̰̆̓͊͘ ̶̢͍̺̜͕̖̘͖͔̳̅ͅS̶̡̡̛̻̱̲̞̲͙͈̣̻̭̤͔̾͋̅̀̽̽̄̉̾̾̍̕i̷̢̻̬̦͎̺̬̼͕͍͊̎̄̏r̷̢̯̖̲̞̳̔,̸̭͚͕̜͙̦̇ ̶͈̺̼͇̤̘̙́̔́̽͂̃͑̆̒͝ẗ̶͉̭́̑̈́̇͆̚͝͝h̶̪̜͙̟̞̺̓̊̂́̾̅̌̄̂̏̽̒̕͜͝e̸̲̭͈̝͂̔̓̄̈̓̓̈́ỵ̸̨̘͇̖͓̣̮̖͇̙̖̟̿̓̏̾̄̍̀̕͜'̴̨̺̬̭̞̰̖̣͕̼̹̙̲͝r̶̨̥͍͉͑̓̎͊̾͊͘͜͝e̵̪͛̒̈́̽̊͂̊̋ ̴̡̖̜̠̠͕̟̰̞͎͛̇n̶̦̫̮͓̜̏̂̃͜ǫ̴̢̪̯̣͇̝̱̤͍̘͌̋̓͂̏̃̆͗͝͝ͅt̴̢͓̥̗̉̉͑̅͋̒͊̎̊͑͘ͅ ̷͇͎͓̳̹̘͈͕̣̭̲͇̈́̀̌̉͋̈́̀̓͂̂͘͘̕͜͜r̵̢̮̼͖̠͙͑̅͒́̍́͝͠e̴̳͎͎̖̩̹͓̿͛̊͐͠͠s̶̪̪̫͐̈́̓̐̃̆̽͛͛̾̾̃̚͠ṕ̸̬̪̩̹̟͎̪̥͉̗͈̳̿̌̑͆͗̎͝ͅǫ̶͖̤͔͍̻̫̦̱̭̗̤͖̔͒̽ͅͅn̶̗̩̹̾̓̈́͗͌̍͑͆͑͝d̷̠͓͕̈́̇̽̚͜͝i̶̫̼̻͍̼͕̇͊͗̓̏n̴̛̬̤͋ǵ̶̗̭̜̈́̓̑̈́͗͒͐.̶̨̤̞̣̜̠͎̳̼̳͈̄"
"Looks as if the Hive are jamming our communications."
"Yeah, I think you're right, Hayden. Blisk, got any ideas?"
"What about your yin yang link?"
"My link with the Shadow? Oh yeah. Good idea!" Michael put away his Spitfire LMG and sat down to commune with the Darkness of the Shadow that was eternally intertwined with his Light.
Music
none
"By the cosmic balance of yin and yang, I call upon the power of the Shadow." Michael then sat down in a meditative position, communing with the unique Darkness tied to his Light. Not long after, a Taken rift appeared, with the Shadow walking out.
Music
Destiny - The Hive
"What seems to be the problem?" The Shadow asked as Michael got back up to hit feet.
"{We came down here to investigate three missing Fireteams beneath the Arcology on Titan, and we've just lost contact with Sloane.}" Rocco reported.
"I see. Hmm... I'll do what I can to help out." With that, the Shadow surrounded himself in Ascendant energy. When the energy dissipated, Death was wearing the Desolate Warlock armor and wielding the Touch of Malice.
"Death, your bones are literally indestructible. You don't need armor." Michael stated.
"True, but I just like having this Taken armor when I go into combat."
"This should be interesting."
Suddenly, a transmission was picked up over the comms. "N̷o̶!̷ ̷N̸o̵!̸ ̸P̷l̸e̵a̸s̸e̸!̸ ̶Y̸o̸u̷ ̵a̵l̷r̴e̷a̵d̵y̷ ̴t̶o̵o̶k̴ ̷m̶y̶ ̷G̴h̸o̶s̷t̵!̷ ̴P̷l̵e̵a̷s̶e̵!̵"
"{That must be one of the missing Guardians. Tracing his broadcast now.}" Up in the next room were quite a lot of Hive, along with two shielded Shriekers, but no sign of the Guardian they just heard. "{I don't understand. That Guardian should be right around here.}"
A Wizard was up above, doing something with a strange crystal. Blisk took down the Wizard with his CAR, allowing Hayden-10 to break the crystal with an explosive throwing knife. A familiar purple energy burst from the broken shards. "That's... Void Light in there...! How?!" The Exo questioned.
Seeing an opportunity up ahead, Michael cloaked, grabbed the Void Charge that remained of the purple crystal, and slammed it into a small Hive spire, somehow destroying the Shriekers. "Void Light can only be created by Guardians. I don't understand how the Hive got their claws on it." He wondered, brushing his ablative armor off.
Rocco appeared and called out. "{Hello?! Is anyone in here?! We're here to help! This doesn't add up. Where's that Guardian we heard?}"
Music
none
Up ahead was a bit of a drop, and the team jumped down. There was some strange Hive rune stuck in the ground and connected by chains. "Wait. Hold on." Hayden-10 examined the rune. "It's some kind of summoning seal. There's a network of magic running deep into the Arcology, powered by... Void Light. They're using Void Light to summon something down there!"
"Blimey..." Apparently, Blisk was lost for words, and for good reason.
Just then, a comm signal was intercepted, and it was mostly filled with static. "H̷e̴l̶l̵o̶?̴ ̷I̷s̸ ̴a̸n̸y̶o̶n̶e̵ ̸t̶h̵e̸r̵e̷?̵ ̷I̶ ̶j̸u̶s̸t̷ ̸h̵e̷a̷r̷d̷ ̴s̴o̸m̵e̸b̶o̴d̸y̴.̸.̷.̵ ̸C̷o̴m̴m̸a̵n̶d̵e̵r̴ ̴Z̶a̵v̶a̴l̸a̶,̵ ̷c̸a̸n̸ ̵y̵o̸u̵ ̷h̶e̵a̵r̴ ̷m̵e̵?̷"
"{Yes! We can hear you!}" Rocco exclaimed.
"T̴h̶a̷n̸k̵ ̵t̸h̴e̴ ̷T̵r̴a̶v̵e̷l̴e̷r̸.̷.̵.̵ ̶I̵ ̶c̵a̸n̵ ̷b̷a̴r̷e̷l̶y̵ ̸h̶e̶a̵r̵ ̵y̴o̵u̸.̸ ̴L̸e̴t̷ ̷m̴e̷ ̷g̸e̵t̷ ̸t̷o̶ ̴a̶ ̶b̸e̶t̸t̵e̴r̶ ̴p̶o̸s̵i̷t̸i̵o̴n̶.̸"
Music
Destiny - The Hive
Further along was more Hive, and more of those crystals. "{We can't let the Hive use these to fuel their magic!}" With the Hive having been killed by Michael's Nova Bomb, the IMC ace used his Spitfire to blow out all six of the crystals in the room. "{Feels good to watch you smash stuff. This place makes me nervous.}"
Up ahead in the next room was an Ogre, and the Shadow added it to his Taken. "I don't know what I was expecting. Hive Ogres are literally brainless, so no memories or knowledge for me to absorb from them."
"T̵a̶e̷k̶o̶-̵3̷ ̴h̶e̵r̶e̸.̴ ̸U̸n̶k̶n̵o̵w̷n̵ ̷F̷i̴r̷e̶t̸e̸a̷m̶,̴ ̴d̸o̸ ̷y̷o̴u̸ ̸c̴o̴p̷y̸?̴"
"Michael W Johnson of City Hawk 723 to Taeko-3 of lost Fireteam. Are there others with you?"
Taeko-3's voice cleared up on the comms. "No. Just us down he- Wait a minute... City Hawk 723? Michael W Johnson? THE Michael W Johnson?! By the Traveler, I didn't think I'd actually get the chance to meet you in person!"
"We're on our way!" Michael said, performing a Lethal Strike against a Hive Knight.
As the Shadow corroded a second Ogre out of existence with a Blighted Andromeda Cannon, Taeko-3 was heard again. "Real talk. I don't know how much more my Ghost can take, and I'm running out of ammo."
"Just lie low. We're coming for you." Michael ordered.
"'Lie low' is not in my playbook. I'm gonna do what I can to help you from here."
"{Taeko-3, this is Rocco, Michael's Ghost. What happened to the other Guardians?}"
"We came down here as a squad of nine, got picked off one by one, watched a Wizard rip the Light out of my best friend and funnel it into some kind of crystal."
Realization hit them. "{These are all Guardians... They're harvesting Guardians! I can't believe I was so cavalier about destroying these. Just remember, better to release this Light than let the Hive misuse it.}" The crystals in the next room were destroyed.
"Anythin' else, Taeko?" Blisk asked.
"I'm looking at a hell of a summoning ritual. Biggest Shrieker I've seen in all my lives. Mark my words, something real mean and real old is gonna use that thing to lay eyes on this planet." Taeko-3 replied, the static clearing up.
Further along, it was the same drill. Kill a Wizard, grab a Void Charge, clear a path, then destroy shielded Shriekers.
"{I might have an idea. Let's find Taeko.}"
Returning to the summoning seal, Michael killed a couple Wizards with his Andromeda Cannons. Taeko-3 was heard over the comms, along with a Hive screech. "BACK OFF, YOU UGLY PIECE OF WORK!"
"{I know what to do. We have to turn the crystals against the Hive.}"
"But there are no powered crystals in this chamber. What's plan B?" Taeko-3 asked.
Saturn's moon, Titan - New Pacific Arcology
Arboretum
Down the hole they went, but before Rocco could respond, Taeko-3 spoke again. "You're right. There is a way out of this."
"What is it?" Michael questioned, killing off the approaching Cursed Thralls.
"Embrace the Praxic Fire." She was gonna let the Hive turn her into a crystal!
The Shadow stepped in. "Taeko-3, do not sacrifice yourself for this! I have my own plan."
"Is that... the Shadow? OK, I take it back! I'm stepping away!"
With that, City Hawk 723 made it to Taeko-3's position. She was right. There were no crystals in the chamber, and there was one heck of a Shrieker floating in the center.
SCANNING...
NEW ENTRIES
1: Savathûn's Song
Blisk spotted Taeko-3 immediately, under attack by three Hive Wizards. "Oi, Taeko! Over here!"
Taeko-3 ran over to the Fireteam as Blisk used his Golden Gun on the Wizards. "I still can't believe you're actually here."
"We're not out of the woods yet, Taeko." The Shadow stated, exhaling Ascendant energy, thus awakening the Shrieker.
Music
Metroid: Other M - Nightmare Battle
"We have our target! Weapons free! FIRE!" Michael ordered.
Everyone opened fire on the Shrieker, dealing significant damage. The Shrieker's shell closed as it warped to the side of the chamber.
The Hive reinforcements were killed off, forcing the Shrieker to open its shell and attack, taking even more damage. A few well-placed Charge Rifle beam shots caused Savathûn's Song to warp to the other side of the room, where it was relying on Hive Ogres for defense. Didn't do much.
Savathûn's Song retreated to over the platform in the back of the chamber, with two Wizards appearing for defense. The Shrieker was then surrounded in a seemingly unbreakable shield.
"What now?" Taeko-3 asked.
It was then that one of the Wizards were 'recruited' into the Taken army. "Reverse phycology. Fight fire with fire!" The Shadow stated, forming an orb of Ascendant energy with his newly acquired skill. Michael took the Dark Charge, activated his Pilot Cloak, and jumped up to the Hive structure underneath the shielded Shrieker, slamming the orb into it.
Savathûn's Song had been left vulnerable to attack.
With the Shrieker out of options, Michael and the Shadow formed three of their Andromeda Cannons and Blighted Andromeda Cannons respectively, blasting Savathûn's Song with Light and Darkness. That still wasn't enough. The Shrieker kept attacking, forcing the Shadow to project the shield of a Taken Vandal around the group.
Just then, the Shrieker was destroyed.
Music
none
Hayden-10 [Charge Rifle] Savathûn's Song (Savathûn's Hive)
"Mission accomplished." Hayden-10 reported, putting away his Charge Rifle.
Taeko-3's Ghost appeared. "{Let's get back to command. We need to tell Zavala and Sloane about what happened down here.}"
"Taeko, your Light's drained. Let me help with that." Michael let some of his limitless Light flow through the surviving Exo, restoring her Light.
"Thank you. I... I don't know what to say. I don't know what to do now..."
Michael then handed her a note with coordinates. "Head here. That place always calms the nerves when you relax at the highest point." The coordinates Michael gave Taeko-3 were to Felwinter Peak, the Iron Temple, where Michael commonly goes to meditate and calm the storm within his mind. It was there that he unlocked the secrets of his own special Light, including the ability to create Ghosts.
In the actual Strike, Taeko dies, but I decided to act as the judge in the events of the Strike going through this world. My judgment: survival. Next we meet her in this story... Well, she'll have a different number.
Unlike his brothers, Hayden went in with his Pilot loadout.
See you next time, where we're heading into the Pyramidion on Io.