Feeling rusty when it comes to long battle scenes so bear with me if this feels like a slog.
The Dust Palace
Cayde-6: "So it seems Sora's little hunch was correct. Or at least correct enough to warrant attention. Otherwise, I wouldn't have to be here. But plenty of time for me to moan about the job I signed up for later. Now, over the past few weeks, Cabal aggression has been reported as high...eh, higher than normal. And over the past few days, it spiked. Only around the Dust Palace though, something that Big Blue and the Boss Lady both found rather strange. Maybe the Cabal are getting tired of us selfishly not allowing them to just have Mars or maybe, they have a V.I.P. coming in. Either Valus Ta'aurc, the slippery minx, has finally decided to show his face and challenge us directly...or it's the Psion Flayers. And if the Psion Flayers are here, that means there's something inside the Dust Palace that requires a buttload of technological power and something they really don't want us interfering with.
Take a wild guess what you're about to do…"
"How long?" Katrina asked, breaking the hours-long silence. Even then, her voice stayed just above a whisper.
Sora doesn't look up from her scanner. "How long what?" she asked back.
"How long have we been squatting in this building?"
It was Jessie, from her spot in the shadowed corner of the room, who answered. "Three days," she said. The building they were squatting in, as the Hunter bitterly but accurately put it, was dark and decrepit, methods of powering long since gutted by the Cabal or lost to age and rot. It provided no heating, no lighting but it did provide protection from the elements, from the moaning Martian winds and the abrasive waves of sand they whipped up, often into peoples' faces.
It also faced the Dust Palace and was all but ignored by the Cabal. Perfect for what they needed to do.
The "what" was easy. It was the "when" that was cause for agitation. Katrina had positioned herself near the window, so she could have some measure of entertainment. Not that there was much going on. Five days ago, the Vanguard had given orders for the area outside the Dust Palace to be cleared, essentially giving Guardians leave to give the Cabal stomping up and down the dunes even more of a thrashing than usual. Two days into that continuous thrashing, Katrina, Jessie and Sora snuck in, planting themselves where they were. The Cabal would send reinforcements and their team would already be tucked away in the area, the soldiers none the wiser.
Katrina watched the Cabal meander about through the scope of a sniper, aimed through a small, broken hole in a sealed window. Sora was opposite of her, back against the wall, her face was glued to the scanner, meant to track energy readings in the Warmind's systems. Jessie stayed in her corner, content to stare at the wall for the time being, though Sora knew she would often have her Ghost read to her.
"Three days," Katrina repeated. "Three burning days, three freezing nights. All of it spent just watching. I could accept that…" she said, "If I could take...just...one...head." Her finger tapped against the trigger, emphasizing each word.
"We need to know they're there," Jessie reminded her, "For sure. We go barrelling in without confirmation, we could scare them away."
Katrina released the breath she had been holding and for a second, one had to wonder if she had actually planned to shoot. But her shoulders untensed and she said, "I know, I know. Just complaining."
"I love complaining. Good for the soul."
"Cayde's here," Sora mumbled belatedly.
"How are we, ladies? Keepin' busy? Keepin' entertained?"
"I am about to kill someone."
"We're managing," Sora responded.
"Well, Katrina might get her wish," Cayde said, "Some of the Cabal's more secure radio channels are seeing a rise in chatter. Our translators have heard the word 'Flayer' multiple times."
"They're here?" Jessie began to stand.
"They're on planet, that's for sure."
As if on cue, the waves crawling along the scanner jumped. So did Sora, nearly bumping her head into Jessie's chest when the Titan came to stand over her. "They're here!"
"Finally!" Katrina's sights moved back to the sniper scope. She needed only a half-second to aim before the rifle kicked in her arms with a bark. A strangled cry could be heard from outside. Outraged roaring followed suit.
"You girls know what to do. Knock 'em dead. Literally."
Jessie moved out from next to Sora and started for the window. Breaking into a hard run, the Titan threw herself into it, glass and steel slowing her only as much as a strong breeze would. She dropped. Katrina fired off one more shot before slipping off the edge and joining her.
Hurriedly, Sora packed away the rest of her tools, scattered about around her. "I can track the Flayers from this point," Aya told her, "Let me send the things back to the ship."
Sora gives her the silent go-ahead before making for the opening left in Jessie's wake. She jumped, out of the darkness and into the harsh desert sunlight. She timed the speed at which the red Martian sands sped up towards her and with her Light, she halted her descent. A bit too soon; she landed and stumbled when she hit the ground harder than expected.
Sora quickly recovered, pulling free the rifle holstered to her back. Most of the Cabal that had been roaming the Hollows had already been killed. Helmets and Cabal slug rifles littered the sands, as did bodies, bullet-riddled and burned. Sora followed the trail of carnage to the Dust Palace, making for a hole the Cabal had torn into the side of the building long ago.
Before she could cross the threshold, Sora jumped back. Jessie went hurtling past where she would've been standing and slammed against rusted metal grating. The Phalanx she had challenged barrelled after the Titan, lifting its shield to bring down on her fallen body. Likely repeatedly, as many times as it took to keep her from getting back up again.
Sora jumped forward this time, as soon as the Phalanx had passed. She unloaded the auto's clip into the Cabal's unprotected back. Its thick armor protected it from most of the damage but the impact had it stumbling. It was enough. With just the force of her Arc Light, Jessie stood and shot forward, ramming her shoulder into the Phalanx. Its frontal armor plating cracked under the force and the enemy soldier was sent hurtling back the way it came, Sora having to roll out of the way to avoid being hit. It was dead before it stopped, as were most who ended up on the wrong end of Jessie's shoulder.
The taller woman nodded her thanks. To her comms, she asked, "Katrina, are we clear?"
"You guys might wanna get up here," came her reply.
The two shared a look before Jessie started for the broken platform that could take them to the level above. Katrina was near the doorway that would lead further inward. At her feet lay a Psion's corpse. Slightly bigger than normal, this one wore dark green armor accented with black. The only bright bit of color on its body was a beeping, red light.
"SOS signal." Sora recognized it immediately. "They know we're here."
"What's the scanner say?" Katrina asked.
"Readings remain high," she told them, repeating Aya's words. "Either the Flayers are unaware or they plan to stand their ground. Either way, we should expect reinforcements."
"Let's not keep them waiting then."
Katrina pulls out a hand cannon from behind her cloak, reloads it and then makes for the doorway behind them. Sora followed closely behind. Jessie, as well, after stopping to crush the signal beneath her heel. Katrina led them down the indicated path, weaving deftly between the ancient, sand-filled corridors until they were led into another wide open room.
"Cici tells me the door has a lock on it," Katrina said, indicating the large metal doors at the head of the room. "She also says we have Cabal incoming."
Sora pushes past. "I'll start on the door." Aya flew forth from the palm she held out when she crossed the room.
"Easy," the Ghost said once she had begun. "Just give me a few-"
A battle cry cut her off, rough and familiar. From the entrances on both sides of the room, marching lockstep, the Cabal began to enter. Katrina, barking orders to Sora to remain near her Ghost, ran for the far side of the room. Charging at the first Phalanx through the door, she fired a round beneath its shield, catching its foot. Dropping into a smooth slide when it staggered back, her second round caught its head. Using the Cabal's flailing body as a springboard, the Hunter kept her momentum, jumping over and dropping down on a Psion, her knife finding its neck a moment later.
Two Legionnaires shoved past each other, gunning from her. Katrina rolled backwards, out of the way of the closest Cabal's incoming strike. Her knife came spinning up, carving a thin line along the face of its helmet.
It did little to harm but it served as a distraction. Katrina, standing upright again, fired off shot after shot as she made her way back towards their exit. Sora, with her body between the fighting and her Ghost, turned her attention and her weapon from the Cabal challenging Jessie to the ones chasing Katrina.
The Cabal ran in, fell to either gunfire or Light and continued to run in anyway. One of them, with slightly more sense than bloodlust, threw itself out and around the line of its fellow soldiers, its furious roaring drowning out all but the scream of gunfire as it attempted to charge at them from a different angle.
Sora ensured its attempt failed. Putting her hand to the ground and sweeping it forward, Solar flames sparked where her fingers touched the concrete and flowed. The traveling river of fire crawled along the ground and struck the Legionnaire at its feet. At the same time, with one hand cannon still trained on the army in front of her, Katrina took out a second one. She didn't even bother to turn her head. Her gun took off its helmet all the same.
"Door's open!" Sora and Katrina could feel the draft before Aya made the announcement. After making sure Jessie was right behind them, Sora leapt up from kneeling and crossed through. Katrina ripped her blade from the Psion's torso she had buried it in and followed suit.
In that time, one of the Legionnaires still standing had managed to get around Jessie while she was distracted. It seemed to know who to prioritize, the smallest Guardian and her exposed Ghost. Sora didn't notice it until just before it was too late. The Cabal lunged at her, forgoing its gun and reaching out with its thick, stubby fingers.
It stopped just shy of crossing the threshold, its roaring mouth letting out a confused grunt.
Jessie, hands wrapped around its wrist, yanked back with all her strength and threw her knee forward with a yell. The Cabal's armor screeched from the sudden impact and it staggered down to one knee.
Jessie took her hands from its arm and grabbed at both the border of its armor surrounding its neck and the belt around its waist. It struggled wildly in her grip. She ignored it. With a heave, Jessie lifted the Cabal's body over her head. Her arms trembled with the tremendous strain but her back remained straight and stable. With a roar, she twisted and threw it down, headfirst along the concrete. The full weight of its body fell on its skull and neck with an echoing crunch of metal and bone. Jessie released her hold and the body crumpled, melting into a pile of limp limbs and a puddle of growing black oil.
Jessie leapt over the new corpse and joined her team past the door. Katrina let fly two rounds into the door's already damaged mechanism and it fell, cutting off the last of the Cabal, who threw themselves against the metal in rage and in vain.
Sora finally breathed. "Thanks," she said.
The Titan waved it off. "Was gonna pick up your tab for earlier but now we're even." A smile could be heard in the Exo's voice.
"Day's not over. Get down!" Katrina grabbed the both of them by their arms and dropped to her belly. Only Sora was yanked down with her, Jessie dropping only of her own accord.
Explosives went off just above their heads, showering them in rubble and hot sand. The room they had broken into was much larger than the last. A first set of stairs broke off into a dual second set, splitting both ways but both towards the second floor. And at the junction, where the first set became the second, stood a Colossus. The massive Cabal soldier slammed its foot against the ground in recognition and challenge. It was flanked by two Legionnaires and from what the Ghosts could tell, more were on their way.
The repeater in the Colossus' hands began to spin. Katrina was already on her feet and moving again. Sora felt an arm wrap around her torso and lift her up. Jessie, with the Warlock in tow, followed Katrina as they ran for the closest of the dead display pillars that dotted the facility. Bullets kicked up sand and rock behind their feet. When Jessie threw herself into cover, the impact was jarring.
She let Sora go. "Next door is up on the second floor," Jessie said, "Security tightening up."
Katrina dared a peek around the corner. Just as quickly, she pulled back, a stream of bullets striking the side of the pillar where her head had just been. She grabbed the side of her hood and pulled it forward to her visor, taking in the tear in the fabric, small but black and smoking. "So how do we get past Small Paul back there?"
A launcher transmatted into Jessie's waiting hands. "I'll draw their fire. You cloak and go around. Sora, on me."
The Titan stepped out from behind cover and took aim. Katrina was already gone. The payload smashed into the wall just above the Cabal's head. They ducked away from the explosion, the Colossus' repeater already spinning up again before it fully recovered.
Sora stepped out from behind the first pillar and ran for a second one, shooting as she did. A dozen small but fast-moving missiles ejected from their ports in the back of the Colossus' armor and Sora dropped into a slide as half the volley broke off to chase her down. Most slammed into the ground near her feet while others exploded against the pillar she had taken refuge behind. Bits of metal and stone were torn free by the impact, pelting her helmet. The bigger ones missed, Traveler be praised.
Katrina reappeared. Close to the Cabal and now a shining figure of sharp steel and sharper lightning., she ripped through the first Legionnaire, damn near slicing it in half. She jumped over the vaporizing body, over the Colossus who hurried to turn and face her and dropped on the second Legionnaire, dragging her Arc Blade down its back.
The Colossus prepared another volley of missiles. Katrina closed the gap. Her first strike sent the Cabal staggering. A second strike and the repeater fell from its hands to land with an echoing thud. Katrina lashed out a third time and with it, her blade slid clean through, the Colossus falling into ash.
Sora moved out from behind her cover after Jessie did. Forgoing the second set of stairs, the Guardians jumped up the ledge that overlooked the first floor and hauled themselves up to the second. Jessie reached the locked door first and let Delos out to examine it.
The quiet Ghost grunted. "This one will be harder," he rumbled in his usual deep tone, "Time I don't think we have."
"Hold off the Cabal," Jessie told her teammates. Delos disappeared and she began to backtrack from the door. She bolted forward and rammed herself into it with a yell. It was smaller than the first and made of a material weaker than steel. She'd get it down, if they could buy her some time.
More Cabal charged into the room. Without a hint of hesitation, Katrina rushed to meet them. Sora could not say the same. She was slower to act and while she tried to keep her distance and keep behind whatever cover she could find, the Cabal that came after her still managed to land some hits. The Warlock empties and reloads, empties and reloads. Slowly, she whittled the Cabal's numbers down as best she could without getting hurt or killed.
The group before her suddenly parted and a trio of Phalanxes moved to the head of their line. Dropping their shields, they formed a wall between her and the rest of the Cabal and fired over the top with their weapons.
Sora's first instinct was to fire at their feet instead but found herself unable to stick her head out long enough to take proper aim. She instead holstered her gun and threw herself out of cover entirely. Jumping into the air, violet Light gathered around her body, bathing the Cabal in its deep glow as she glided overhead. Their weapons turned upwards. Void coalesced in her hand.
And then Sora saw it; something big and fast coming closer. By the time she could even begin to turn, it was too late. A Centurion, using its jets, jumped up and shouldered her. The force of the impact sent her flying and falling. She hit the ground hard, stabbing pain shooting up her side as she did.
Sora ignored it all, rolling over and away from where the Centurion landed just a second after. A hail of slug rockets exploded around her as Sora ran for cover.
Aya repaired her as quickly as she could manage, sealing together cracked bone and torn sinew in Sora's mangled right arm. The Warlock had pulled out a hand cannon with her left, twisting the uninjured limb and firing blindly around cover, frustration overriding her caution.
The Centurion launched itself forward again when Sora stopped to try and reload. It swiped its arms at the pillar, raining down chunks of debris. Her arm repaired, Sora scrambled away, twisting and lashing out as she did. She flung a Fusion Grenade into the cloud of dust the Centurion had kicked up and the ordnance found its mark. The fiery explosion, combined with the violent reaction of the Cabal's Solar shielding, sent the Centurion reeling, dizzy from the combined explosions happening so close to its face.
Sora traded her weapon again, this time her hand cannon for a shotgun. Burned by the fire and blinded by the light, the Centurion lashed wildly out at the small, blurry figure charging it head-on. Sora fell into a slide, pointed the long, heavy barrel of the weapon forward and fired off, aiming for its helmet.
She caught the beast in the chest instead but when it spun around and fell over, she found little cause to complain. Then she heard her name. Just barely over how hard her heart was pounding. She looked in the direction of the voice and from the corner near the ledge overlooking the first floor, Katrina beckoned her to follow. She was surrounded by the bodies of dead Cabal and Sora only just remembered that the Centurion she had been fighting with had come with a platoon behind its back. Katrina had killed them all, as well as the group she had faced first, all in the time it had taken Sora to kill their leader.
Sora pulled away from the Centurion's body and went to her, following her back to Jessie and trying not to flinch with each step. Small injuries her Ghost was still fixing. At the exit, it seemed Jessie had managed to weaken the door enough that the locks had disengaged. She shoved her hands through the small opening and pushed, situating herself in between and beckoning them to go through. She let it go once everyone had passed. Katrina had them stop there, take some time to recover. "Cici, update on the Flayers."
"Energy readings remain the same. The Flayers are sticking around, despite the commotion."
"What they're doing here is important." Sora pushed off the wall she had been resting against. "They must be rushing to finish. We need to intercept them before they do."
"Agreed." Cayde's voice made everyone start. "That terminal you'll need to force them out of the Warmind's systems is in the next room over. As are more Cabal."
"We move on then," Katrina decided.
It was Jessie who moved ahead to take point this time. Quietly, with their comms silenced, she asked Sora, "You doing alright?"
Sora just shook her head, dismissing the question. "I'll be fine once we're home."
Before the first Legionnaire to spot them could raise the alarm, Jessie's body burst. The buzz of static could be felt dancing along the skin as the Titan threw her lightning-encased body and caught the Cabal square in the chest, like a Hive Ogre shot from a cannon. The effect was less messy, Arc Light dissolving its broken body almost on contact.
Jesse kept up her rampage, ramming herself into any Cabal who had the misfortune of being in her path and bringing down her arms in a thunderous overhead slam when several found themselves facing her. Katrina and Sora followed her trail of carnage, picking off the stragglers, survivors or those who managed to stay out of the Titan's wake, As Cayde said, the terminal they needed would be in the next room over and it was Sora who most needed to reach it. Once they had cleared the doorway, Katrina split from the group. She drew attention away from them as Jessie and Sora made their way inside.
Three Psions guarded the terminal, all similar to the one from before. Jessie shot down one and slammed into the other. Sora quickly handled the last. "How much time do you need?" Jessie asked.
"Few minutes." Aya transmatted her pack into her hand. "Kayla gave me the blueprints for her old amplifier, the one she tried to use before Sloth attacked. I repurposed it into a disrupter. It won't bolster the Warmind but it'll make things hell for the Flayers."
"Forcing them out to where we could face them." An explosion sounded from the previous room, accompanied by the screams of Cabal. "I've got a bit of ways to go before I can give you a dome. I'll stay close and hope Katrina can keep them occupied out there for long enough."
Sora pulled out a tablet, twice the size of her hand and deceptively light. A bright cone of light flowed from Aya's eye over the wiring, manipulating the internal mechanisms. After a few seconds, the scanner came to life. Immediately, the energy readings came into view and showed higher than they had been when this all started. The Flayers were rushing now.
Sora flinched when a Cabal slug exploded against the wall over her head, more in annoyance than actual fear. She did not like to be disturbed when she had set her mind to something. While Aya sought out a pathway directly to the Psion Flayers, Sora worked on attaching and syncing the disrupter. Her hands moved over the screen of the scanner, smooth and deft; so unlike her fight with the Centurion. She and her Ghost shared few words, none of them out loud. The chaos of battle seemed so distant to her now. She had eyes for none of it, her attention remained solely on matching the disruptors settings to the output of the Flayers. Like two magnets of the same polarity, forcing the waves of one against the other in the hopes they would go flying apart.
"Three Flayers in total," Aya thought, "And they work in sync. Can the disruptor handle all three?"
"One way to find out." More missiles exploded overhead, showering her with rubble. Sora twisted to look back and saw Katrina sprinting into the room. Behind her, Jessie and Sora could see another Colossus running after her.
Katrina comes to a sliding stop just past the terminal. As soon as she did, Sora could feel the Void begin to hum along her back. Jessie let it flow to the surface and then threw it outward, covering her team in a Ward of Dawn. Another volley of missiles struck the dome a moment later as the Colossus stomped into the room.
"How are we?" Katrina called over the noise.
Sora worked even faster. "Nearly there…" Despite the added pressure, the rockets blowing up overhead, the pervasive humming of the Void, Sora kept her mind set on her goal.
"Pathway open, Sora."
She jammed her thumb against the execute function as soon as it appeared on screen. The reaction was almost immediate. The energy readings of the Flayers wreaking havoc in Rasputin's systems grew just a short but steep bit. And then it spiked, nearly flying off the charts of the scanner. Sparks flew from the disruptor but the sudden humming and heating of the terminal told her it was working.
Then energy readings dropped to zero. "They're out," Sora breathed to herself. Louder, she announced, "We're clear!"
The Ward of Dawn disappeared. Sora ripped the auto rifle off her back while Aya sent her things back to the ship. She twisted and with Jessie, she let fly at the Colossus. Katrina ran out from behind her, firing off each shot as quickly as she could cock the next.
Bullets and buckshot ripped tiny holes in the Cabal's heavy armor by the hundreds. The force of the gunfire staggered it though it still tried to force its way through the tide the best it could. When Katrina's shotgun ran empty, she tossed it away. When her hand came back up, sunfire had filled it.
Two Golden shots impaled the Colossus, through the chest and forehead. Its deafening shouts fell to weak gurgles. Then silently, it pitched forward.
Katrina eyed the corpse she had made. Then she fired off the last Solar round, just out of spite. "They're in the next room?" One could hear the exhaustion beginning to creep in.
"They will be."
Delos moved towards the lock of the last door. With no Flayers to hinder him, it opened quickly. The next area was bigger than any that had preceded it and was exposed to the outside world. Sora could feel the heat of the sun on her face, hear the sand on the wind scratching her armor. She almost wanted to take off her helmet and breathe it in.
But she could wait. The Flayers wouldn't. Sora pointed at the corner of the expansive room nearest where they had entered. "There." She walked towards it, pointing out a small node in the ground. Then she pointed down from where she stood, across the room. "There…" She twisted ninety degrees, towards a platform that overlooked the dunes of Mars. "And there," she said, "Access nodes. The Psion Flayers will appear from these three." The sound of engines captured the Guardians' attention. They look over towards the platform to see three Cabal Harvesters making their way to their location. "We don't have a lot of time."
"Jessie, take this one," Katrina ordered, indicating the closest. "I'll take the far side."
Sora started moving, preparing to head towards the third node at the center of the platform when Katrina stopped her. She gestured towards the stairs and told her, "Head to the top and provide cover fire from there. Whoever the third Psion goes for, you can intercept them from the high ground."
Katrina didn't want her facing any of the Flayers directly. Both weariness and self-honesty kept Sora from arguing any further. With only seconds before the Harvesters came within range, Sora made for the top.
The three Cabal dropships came to a halt above the platform. At the same time, sounds of humming began to emanate from the walls. From the three nodes, a bright well of energy discharged and spouted upwards, like a geyser. They pulsated once, twice and then burst.
The Flayers took on corporeal form. Three similarly armored, taller than normal Psions, with bright, colored trails flowing from their ringed helmets. The only distinction between the three was their colorations, different from each other and from the other Cabal, who made their landing.
They had names, Sora remembered reading that about them on the way to Mars but she couldn't recall them, nor did she have time to. Katrina engaged the blue one and the violet, coming from the central platform, began to move in on her flank. Sora fires on the Flayer and the Cabal accompanying it.
Most of the group turned off towards her, bypassing Katrina, who was chasing down the Blue Flayer as it attempted to flee. Sora shot as many down as she could manage as they clambered their way up the stairs. One of them, another Centurion, takes aim not at her but at the space below her.
The rocket takes out the old pillar supporting the ground beneath her feet. It crumbled at the impact. Sora slid towards the ledge when the entire platform angled downwards and then jumped, gliding down to the ground floor. She landed on her feet. Before she could turn to face the Cabal chasing after her, she sees Jessie get knocked onto her back by a blast of psychic energy from the last Flayer, a red one. The Violet Flayer, in the confusion of the collapsing floor, had broken off from the group chasing Sora and started moving in on Jessie.
Katrina paused only for a moment in her chase around the field to tell her to go help but Sora had already been moving before she had finished. The Blue Flayer, running up the stairs to the now-destroyed platform, joined with the Cabal still firing down from above. Then, as a group, they turned on the Hunter.
The Blue Flayer lashed out with its mind. Katrina tucked and rolled, just narrowly avoiding a psychic attack that cracked the ground where she had been standing. Her dodge put her near the edge of the stairs. She didn't see the Phalanx until it was too late.
It struck out. Katrina felt the air leave her lungs and tumbled over the edge and fell, hitting the ground hard. The Blue Flayer jumped down after her, using its power to slow its descent and advanced on Katrina, who was still getting to her feet.
A blue sphere of light dropped from Katrina's hand. The Arc energy discharged and bolted towards the Flayer, causing it to flinch. Katrina took the opportunity to begin running for the central platform where Sora and Jessie had moved their own fight. Sora had been knocked to the ground by a telekinetic blast, Jessie attempting to help her to her feet with one hand and firing her weapon with the other. The Blue Flayer caught up to the Red and Violet, as did the rest of the Cabal. Phalanxes marched to the front. As they did before, the Cabal soldiers locked their shields and all opened fire. The Guardians dashed for cover as bullets riddled the ground around their feet, ducking behind heavy crates near the edge of the platform that overlooked the ground far below.
"Hey, Guardians?"
"Not now, Cayde!" Katrina shouted, struggling to return some measure of fire at the Cabal while their slugs blew up the world around her head.
"Yeah, I can tell! But there's something moving towards your position and moving fast. Dropped from low orbit. We're not sure what it is," he said, "Wrap this up and get out of there before things get worse."
"How could they possibly-" A slug rocket exploded against the railing, cutting Katrina off. She tapped her palm against the side of her helmet facing where the projectile had landed. The explosion had taken out the ear. Then she said, her voice low and angry, "I'm going around. Hold their attention."
Katrina didn't wait for a response before she faded from sight. Sora takes her rifle and rounds the corner, shooting at whatever gaps in the Cabal's shield wall she could find.
The wall parted. The Red Flayer dashed through the gap. With its powers, it reached out and grabbed hold of the crates shielding the Guardians. Then with a heave, it sent them flying apart. The shockwave rocked Jessie and caused Sora to be knocked over.
As soon as they were exposed, Katrina pounced. Reappearing behind the Cabal line, her body erupted in Arc lightning. She brought the fury of her Light down upon their wall, cutting through the Cabal before her like a blade through cloth. The line broke. The Flayers and their fellow soldiers scattered and Katrina chased them down anyway.
Jessie helped Sora to her feet, for what felt like the umpteenth time. With the three Flayers setting their sights on Katrina, it was the best time to strike.
It would have been. Perfectly and with terrifying speed, the Psion Flayers linked their minds. It could be seen in the lockstep way they moved and in the power roiling through the air, so palpable, it could be felt through armor. The Flayers lashed out at Katrina and she was sent hurtling; her and everything around her, bolted down or not.
They heard Katrina scream on the comms. They heard the air leave her lungs when she slammed into the back wall and fell to the lower level, filled with red sand. It was only Cici's assurance that she wasn't dead that told them as much. One wouldn't be able to tell, what with the way she crumpled to the ground in an unmoving heap.
Unmoving. She was alive but just barely and likely in an extraordinary amount of pain. The Red and Blue Flayers broke off to go after her. The Violet Flayer twisted to face the other two Guardians and when it did, it grabbed one of the crates with its mind and launched it.
Sora and Jessie rolled apart to dodge it, the weighty boxes taking out the railing as it sailed over the edge of the platform and fell to the ground far below. Both had avoided the attack but where Sora had dodged put her closer to the Violet Flayer. It began to move in on her and when she saw Jessie preparing to ram into it from behind, she jumped up and began to attack it. "Leave us!" she shouted over the roar of her rifle, "Go help her!"
Jessie paused, her fist opening and clenching again in frustration and indecision. She made the right one in the end, turning on her heel and running for Katrina, who had just then made it back to her feet, with painful effort.
Delos' warning that whatever the object that had dropped from orbit was getting closer fell on ears deafened by battle and rage. Jessie's run turned into a sprint and then a charge. She targeted one of the Phalanxes that had joined the Red and Blue Fayers in finishing Katrina off and threw herself forward with a fearsome yell. The last time she had done this, the Cabal's armor bent. Now, it shattered, as did the heavy spine underneath. The Phalanx went hurtling bodily through the air to be stopped when it slammed into a wall. Just like before, it was dead before then.
The Flayers turned on Jessie but she was already moving. Taking up the Phalanx's discarded shield, she swiped at the Flayers, sending the Red tumbling away. The Titan lashed out again with the shield at the Blue Flayer. It reached out with its mind and caught the shield in a field of psychic energy. The Flayer's mind pushed back against Jessie's might, the shield frozen in its descent.
Jessie won out. She broke the psychic hold and struck the Blue Flayer across its body with the massive Cabal shield. It swayed, dazed by the blow. Jessie gave it no quarter to recover. With another yell, she lifted the shield over the Blue Flayer's head and brought it down, again and again and again. Between every thundering blow, one could hear armor being rent. The ring atop its head had been shattered to pieces. The Flayer's gun fell from its limp hands.
Another blow, the Blue Flayer fell to its knees. Another and it dropped onto its back. Jessie delivered two more, one to ensure it stayed down and then another, out of spite. She enjoyed the sound it made. Then a wave of pure force struck Jessie from the side, knocking her over. The Red Flayer was rushing at her, screaming, its weapon discarded, the ring around its head shining with barely contained power. Power it prepared to unleash all at once on the downed Titan.
In its haste, the Red Flayer made the mistake of taking its eyes off of Katrina. It only heard one footstep before Katrina ran it through with the tip of her knife, elongated by Arc Light. Its shaking hands came slowly upwards to touch the blade of pure lightning jutting through its neck. Katrina yanked it out before it could and then Blinked forward, striking the Red Flayer through as she passed it by. A line of glowing red bisected its torso and it fell forward without another sound.
The continued sounds of fighting keep the two from taking in their victory. Both climbed back to the upper level and ran for the central platform, where Sora was just barely holding her own against the last Flayer. But it had paused in its onslaught, its eye aimed down and its free hand pressing to the side of its head. It made noises that were surely some form of speech into its comms, from which there was no reply.
Jessie and Katrina circled around it. Back to Sora who was helped, once again, to her feet. The Violet Flayer had turned away from them, back to where its fellows had disappeared. It took a few steps in the direction and took in the sight before it, not making a single sound as it stared at the remains of its comrades.
Then it threw down its gun, cracking it against the ground. The Guardians looked on as it reached up to its head, grabbed the ring at its top and pulled. The ornament cracked and came loose. It was thrown to the ground along with its weapon and the Violet Flayer let out a loud, echoing screech.
It spun around towards the Guardians and before any could react, it struck out hard. The psychic shockwave it sent was so heavy and forceful, it scoured long-settled sand off the ground in its wake, like a jet of water through dirt.
Everything else went soaring. The crates that had been scattered were sent flying through the air and over the ledge. The Guardians were as well. Katrina and Jessie, closest to the Flayer, felt their feet leave the ground and their backs touch nothing but air. Sora, furthest away, grabbed at Katrina's flying body but could not maintain her grip. Her arm was twisted and yanked in the process and the Warlock was forced to watch in horror as her teammates sailed through the air and disappeared over the ledge to the long fall below.
The drop would be unsurvivable; Jessie and Katrina were dead. Sora was alone with the last of the Flayers, who stalked towards her, shimmering with raw power and an unbridled lust for blood. Sora could see it in its stomping walk, its balled fists, its unblinking eye, and she backed away. She was stopped by the platform's railing, caught between an enraged Psion Flayer and a painful demise.
Sora's Ghost suddenly cried out, "It's here! Get down! Get down now!"
"What? What's here, Aya?" Sora shouted back, refusing to take her eyes off the Flayer. But it was the Flayer who answered her question. Its single bloodshot eye turned upwards to the sky and Sora dared to follow it.
Light filled her eye as fiery pieces of the sky fell towards them. Sora ran for the ledge and jumped, grabbing on to the lower railing and hanging over the ground far below as the world seemed to explode just above her head. The projectiles rammed into the Dust Palace's towers, each strike nearly shaking Sora off the railing she gripped so tightly. The biggest one struck the central platform directly. The railing Sora clung onto broke from the impact and she fell slightly with a terrified yell, stopped only by the rest of the rail remaining intact.
Only when everything had settled down, her heart especially, did Sora begin trying to climb. One hand after the other, she lifted herself up the broken railing like a ladder, refusing to look at the long way down until she reached to top. She grabbed the ledge of the platform and with a heave, pulled herself over and back onto solid ground. Cayde called in, questioning what had landed. Cabal and Guardian report some kind of meteor falling from the sky.
The guesses had been close. A Warsat lay before her, massive and smoking. The ground beneath it was black and sunken. Sora didn't see the Flayer.
Footsteps from behind had her ripping her gun out. She relaxed as Katrina put up her hands. "You alright?" she asked, distracted by what was before them.
Sora gave a laugh at that, weary and rattled. Jessie, who had been revived as well after the Warsat's landfall, reported the identity of the object to Cayde. "Aya, readings on the Flayers?"
A few seconds passed. Then Aya confirmed they were all dead, the last crushed beneath the falling satellite. Sora released her Ghost from her palm and initiated a scan, cone of light bathing the Warsat's exposed wiring. Aya returned. "This Warsat was semi-operational pretty recently. I'm seeing in the logs commands to kill its systems, wipe its data and disengage any mechanisms that kept it in low orbit."
"How recently?" Katrina asked.
Sora already knew the answer. "The same time we forced the Flayers from the Warmind's systems."
All three took in the smoldering satellite. Rasputin had been freed from its grapple with the Flayers and within seconds of being so, had knocked a Warsat off its course and dropped it directly onto their heads. They wanted to believe that it was pure luck that the satellite had caught the Flayer directly but with what was known about Rasputin, the belief would be debatable.
"Fireteam, I've reported what happened to Ikora. She wants you to pull what you can from there and send it to her as soon as you can."
Delos and Cici moved in to handle it. Sora and Aya rounded the Warsat slowly, reaching out towards it. The heat was still sweltering. Sora kept walking until she felt something crunch beneath her foot. She lifted it to look and then squat down, her Ghost gliding closer.
"That...harness," Aya murmured, "The ring the Flayers had on top of their helmets."
Aside from being shattered, the ring was still in salvageable condition. The Violet Flayer had ripped it off in its fit of rage, just before it had blasted them with the full force of its mind. That alone told Sora what the harness was likely used for but the need to know more burned her to her core.
"Send it back to my ship. We'll examine it later."
Aya did just that. At the same time, Jessie came around the Warsat to let her know they were done pulling the data. Sora returned to the central platform to see Katrina waiting for them and their ships descending from the sky.