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Edited by AlantheBlob:
3/11/2015 3:37:51 PM
1
Twilight Gap: Prologue
There is no such thing as a fearless Guardian. At least, not one that I’ve met. Even knowing that if I die, my Ghost will bring me back, I always get the shakes before combat. Sometimes, it’s so bad, I put my ship on auto-pilot, close my eyes, lean my chair back and sit there shaking, clenching and unclenching my fists until I feel the first tendrils of energy spiking through my body, transporting me to the terra firma below. But once my boots hit the ground, it stops. I’ve never had the shakes in the midst of combat before. Even when the shrapnel pierces my armor and I feel the pain of my abdomen being shredded, I accept it calmly. There is always my Ghost to return me.
The doctor at the tower said it’s an overdose of adrenaline. My body is preparing for stress and allegedly, a rush of adrenaline before the fighting starts helps my muscles accept the flow once I get to work. And I suppose the doctor is right. I’ve seen the readouts and talked to others about it. Every Guardian that gets the shakes says the same thing. It’s the adrenaline. My Ghost, on the other hand, she thinks it’s an influx of the traveler’s light. And maybe she’s right too. There’s a fine line between science and the supernatural and who’s to say where the two meet? All I know is the doctor said there’s nothing he can do for me and neither can the Speaker. So I’m stuck with the shakes.
Some Guardians manifest their fear differently. I worked with a fire team on Venus once. We scouted a small research facility deep in the Jungle of the Ishtar Sink. It was me, a Titan, Katerina, a Hunter, and Drakar, a Warlock. Dead Orbit commissioned us to find a box they had heard about, containing thousands of maps of the universe. We never did find the box but we sure found plenty of enemies. After three days camped in a small, rocky crevice, just under the canopy, we knew our enemies movements and we planned to attack that night.
I was nervous, as usual, and the shakes started an hour before full night, when the sky of Venus is a sun-burned yellow and the flashes of lightning seem to come from the blue rips in the stone and not the other way around. Once the shakes start, there’s no use in trying to stop them, so I got as close to the rock as I could, and tried to make my random jerks look normal. The others saw, I know they did, but thankfully, they never mentioned it.
Katerina was a loner, like most Hunters, and she sat quietly to the side, perfectly still. As I watched, she seemed to blend into the stone and canopy behind her. She didn’t have her active camo on, but it was like the eye just kinda slipped right off her, as if she wasn’t important enough to notice. I’d seen her in combat a few times before and I knew that was a lie. She was as harmless as a raging Ogre and ten times as precise. I figure that’s how she dealt with her fear. She was quiet and contemplative, whether making peace with the Traveler or just repeating the battle plans, I don’t know but when Drakar tried to talk to her, Katerina didn’t say a word.
So inevitably, he decided to talk to me. Drakar was a good guy, as far as Warlocks go. As a Titan, I tend to rush into combat, throw some punches and generally make myself known to the enemy so my team mates can take them out without return fire. Drakar had a little Titan in him, I think. I’d seen him in combat before too and he never hesitated to run full force into a horde of screaming Thralls or float down among a group of Dregs, launching Nova bombs as he went. But when he was afraid, when the battle was about to start, he talked. And he talked. And he talked.
He talked so much, I thought about punching him and that’s hard to make me do because I’m usually congenial. But I didn’t think he would appreciate it and I wasn’t sure if the shakes would throw my aim off anyway, so I just let him ramble, inserting the obligatory grunts and questions here and there. Drakar talked about the Traveler and about the Darkness. He espoused some of the different theories, listing the merits of each one. Then he talked about the City and the Tower and the Factions. Again he listed the merits of each group, going into detail about the Consensus and the Speaker. Come to think of it, he talked about a lot of stuff. If I ever get the chance to go back in time and relive that moment, I think I’ll ask him what he thinks about the shakes. I’m sure he’ll like my Ghost’s theory. At least he’ll have something to say about it either way.
After the sun set, we went to work. It had started to rain, and the pitter-patter of hydrogen on the leaves made enough noise to cover our approach. I say our, but I really mean mine and Drakar’s. I think Katerina could have walked on broken glass and still not made a sound. In any case, we quietly descended from the rock face, using a very long and nearly silent rope of silk. The rope was expensive but Dead Orbit fronted the glimmer. It’s hard to be quiet using jump jets and teleportation. Flames and rips in the fabric of space-time have a tendency to make noise.
Once on the jungle floor, we spread out into a wedge formation with Katerina at point, me on the left, and Drakar on the right. It was dark beneath the canopy, so I turned on my night vision with a click of my tongue. Even moving with night vision and my hyper-senses, it was still hard to see Katerina, slowing stalking from tree to tree. She seemed to blend into the environment when she stopped and flow like water when she moved. Drakar on the other hand, was choppier, moving through the jungle instead of with it. Not that I was any better. I felt like a Colossus in a glass house. But we managed to make it to the research station while avoiding the Fallen patrols.
At the research station though, the strategy changed. The Fallen had set up work lights around the area so there was nowhere to hide. The station was laid out in a semi-circular format, facing a small cave. There were two steel towers on each side of the entrance and the Fallen had placed two Vandal sentries each per tower. The towers were too far from the crevice we camped in to see the details but I was certain the sentries had Wire Rifles. There were two smaller buildings closer to the apex of the semi-circle, probably used as barracks and a command post in the past. The Fallen were using them as such now and from our count, there were at least ten Dregs, five Vandals, and a Captain inside.
Then, there was the cave itself. There was no recon on the inside layout, but we knew there was a Servitor in there, another Captain, some more Dregs working, although the actual count was uncertain, Shanks, and some more Vandals as well. Over all, the numbers weren’t worrisome. There were three of us and probably only forty or so of them. Drakar and I crouched on the edge of the tree-line. The plan was two-fold. Katerina would sneak up to the right tower and subdue the two guards there, then quickly eliminate the other two in the tower next to her. If the Fallen noticed her before she disabled all the sentries, then I would charge the barracks and eliminate as many Fallen as I could before they spilled out into the fight. Drakar would be looking for their communication equipment and disable it before they could call in reinforcements.
Katerina was already on her way across the work area when we set ourselves in the tree line. Her active camo was on and while it wasn’t perfect, sentries tend to ignore it unless it’s firing at them. She slipped inside the tower and I counted ten seconds, the time she said it would take her to make it to the top. Right as I reached ten, I saw a slip of watery light slip onto the top of the tower from a door in the back. The Vandal on the right turned and then slumped to the floor. The Vandal on the left however, managed to charge his rifle briefly before it winked off and he too fell down. Too late for Katerina though. The other two Vandals steadied their rifles and fired into the tower.
“I’m pinned,” I heard through my headset. Time to move. Drakar lifted his sniper rifle and two loud pops rang beside me. I launched myself for the door to the first building and crashed through it as someone on the other side was opening it inward.
“Moving to disable communications,” Drakar said. And I saw his marker on my HUD move around the building I was in and head towards the second structure. I pushed myself off the floor and looked into the eyes of a very angry Captain, surrounded by screaming Dregs and hooting Vandals. I did what I do best and I punched the four armed leader right in the face. There’s a satisfying crunch when I punch a shielded enemy, like eating a handful of popcorn with water in your mouth. It seems weird until you try it, then it feels right.
The Captain howled and swung back, grabbing his rifle and loading it with two of his other arms. I caught the arm with my own and pivoted, ramming my elbow into his face again, grabbing my knife from my shoulder sheath in the process. He punched my abdomen with his other arm and even through the armor, I felt a bit of pain. I quickly brought my knife down and stabbed him in the gut. He screamed this time, different from the first howl, like a razor blade on piano wire. I let go of the first arm, spun back around and stuck a lightning grenade in his open stomach. He looked at me then, and even on a Vandal, I know the look of terror. I blocked it from my mind and kicked him in the sternum, sending him sprawling into the group of Dregs.
-
1 ReplyA few seconds later, there was a flash of light and the sound of thunder. Lightning burst from the dead Captain and consumed the Dregs. I grabbed my pulse rifle from my back and started mopping up the Vandals. A couple retreated through the doorway on the other end while their friends screamed the shrill death note of ether addicts. But I knew their fate was no better as I heard the pop, pop of Katerina’s sniper rifle on overwatch. I looked around real quick and saw nothing of interest except a couple green and gold house banners, which my Ghost quickly picked up. “Building clear,” I stated. “What’s the status of the communications equipment Drakar?” I moved out the other end of the building, rifle at the ready. I clicked my tongue again and my night vision receded, useless in the glare of the flood lights. To my left, I saw Katerina’s marker and the tell-tale red glare of a Guardian in her scope. Across the mouth of the cave, two Vandal bodies lay in a pool of ether at the bottom of the other tower. Rain obscured the entrance of the cave, but I couldn’t see any enemies moving in the darkness. “It’s down brother,” Drakar responded. “I’m scanning their equipment now to try and grab some data for the Tower. It’s got some strange readings.” “Well don’t be too long,” I grunted. “The workers down in the cave had to have heard us if they’re anywhere near the top and I want us all out here when they come up to fight.” I jumped and then activated my jets, moving me to the top of the command post. Then I took a knee and reloaded my rifle, checked my shotgun and loaded my rocket launcher. When the Fallen came out of the cave, I was hoping to give them a little present. “Crap,” I heard Katerina say in my headset. “I’m tracking movement but I can’t see them. They’ve got stealth Vandals somewhere. They’re coming out of the cave. And from the jungle, and from - Wait, those aren’t Fallen.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a spinning metallic shape, like a flower with a red center. Then I was taking fire, bursts of solar energy hitting my shield. I rolled forward, behind an obstruction on the roof and went prone. I pulled up my pulse rifle and sighted on the new enemy. A shot from Katerina hit the petals and the lotus spun side-ways. I started placing rounds on target and the floating flower collapsed, looking now like an octopus. It trilled a weird machine sound like a bird but made of circuitry. From the back of the enemy, a few tails spun around, floating like tendrils of hair in water. The flower thing was also floating, in mid-air, with no discernible method of levitation. Then I started receiving fire from behind, more solar energy. My motion tracker was going crazy. I rolled side-ways this time, right off the edge of the roof. As I slipped of the metal surface, I grabbed the edge of the building and swung face first, full bodied into the window on the side of the building. Glass shattered and I landed on my back, the wind rushing from my lungs. Drakar was on one knee, his scout rifle raised and pointing at the window. Three Vandals lay dead around him, headshots in every single one. “What’s going on?” He asked, almost nonchalantly. I rolled over, grabbed my rifle and pushed myself off the floor. “We’ve been ambushed by some enemy I’ve never seen,” I said. I placed my rifle on my back and produced my shotgun. “Machines with red eyes that look like flowers.” “Harpies,” Drakar responded. “That explains the strange readings. The Vex are coming. And when they arrive, the motion systems go haywire. Katerina, do you see any smoke?” “Yeah,” she responded. “There’s some blue light inside it too. Wait just a moment. Now I see shapes, humanoid but with that same red eye.” Drakar nodded. He stood up and his ghost disappeared inside his armor. He headed towards the door stepping over the dead Vandals, glass crunching underneath his feet. “Stay hidden Katerina,” he said as he walked. “We might need an ace in the hole.” He motioned to me and I followed him, stacking up on the door. “What should I know?” I asked. My legs started to shake and I squeezed the fore grip of my shotgun tighter. “The red eye is just an optical tool. If you really want to do damage, hit them in the glowing white part. It’s some kind of processor.” He glanced down at my weapon of choice. “Or just do your Titan thing and hurt them all over,” he said laughing. “Got it.” He grabbed the door handle and quickly opened it. As soon as the space was big enough, I slipped through, checking my left side. It was clear and I pivoted on my foot to my right. A Harpy was staring at me and it trilled, the petals opening as it prepared to fire. I put two rounds of buckshot laced with arc energy in it’s face. It exploded in a burst of sparks and ozone. I moved to the front of the building, hugging the wall. To my left, I could see a group of the humanoid machines Katerina had mentioned. They were staring at the tower, weapons raised, but not firing. To my right, another group was doing the same thing. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve said they had scoped out the camp just like we had. Then again, I don’t know better. They probably did. “I got left,” Drakar said. He was hugging the wall of the barracks. As he spoke, the group of Vex turned towards him. “Dang, they’ve hacked our comms.” Drakar jumped in the air and from his hands, Nova bombs flew, void damage hitting the ground all around the Vex gaggle. A few solar shots went off before the machines met their end, but the energy dissipated against Drakar’s shields. I turned to the right and charged the other group. Bolts of energy started heading my way, but my shield flared and then I was among them. I jumped slightly, arc lightning crackling around my fists. I landed and punched the ground. An explosion of arc lightning ripped the small group of Vex apart and a shockwave went sprawling across the camp. “Boys,” Katerina said with a sigh. I stood up and did a little dance, laughing in the headset. From the shadow of the tower, I saw what seemed to be a Hunter distinctly shaking her head in disbelief. “I think I can block the hack,” Drakar’s Ghost said over the comms. “But I’ll need an intact Vex CPU.” “They’re gone,” I replied. My HUD started fuzzing then and smoke filled the air along with a blinding blue light. “Nevermind.” I moved to the bottom of the other tower and brought my pulse rifle to bear on the shapes appearing in the cloud at the center of camp. Drakar did the same on Katerina’s side. But as soon as the first group landed, more smoke started and another shape appeared in the middle. It was still humanoid but very large. The smoke cleared and the light faded and in the center of the Vex stood a monster. “Well shoot,” Drakar said over the comms. The Vex turned towards him and he ducked behind the corner as solar energy started his way. “It’s a Minotaur. They’re the heavies for the Vex. Same deal though.” I let loose with my pulse rifle but the rounds were intercepted by a void shield. They barely made a scratch before the Minotaur turned my way. He raised his left arm and volts of void damage pumped out of his weapon. The ground shook around me and my shields dropped dangerously low. I slipped inside the tower and started running up the steps. “Katerina, get his shields down. I’m going to launch a payload his way.” I switched to my rocket launcher and double timed it up the stairs. I could hear the crack of Katerina’s sniper through the walls. I busted through the top floor door and leveled my rocket launcher. The Minotaur’s shields dissipated and I fired two rounds in quick succession. To my surprise though, the rockets did not hit their mark. The Minotaur flashed out of existence for a second and then reappeared at the bottom of Katerina’s tower. I heard a yell from Drakar and then saw his body flying across the camp, landing with a sickening crunch against the barracks building. My HUD displayed his vitals as none. The rest of the Vex had died in the blast though and I jumped out of the tower to land with a slight boost of my jets on the ground. I looked for the Minotaur but he wasn’t beside the tower. Then I looked up and saw Katerina turned around, her auto rifle aimed at the door. “We still need that CPU?” she asked, her voice cold but calm. I didn’t have time to answer as the Minotaur burst through the door with a machine roar. I whipped up my pulse rifle, although I knew the damage would be too little to save her in time. Then arc lightning shot out of Katerina and she started glowing white, knife in hand. The Minotaur pumped two shots of void energy her way but she was no longer there, moving as fast as arc lightning herself. First, she removed it’s head, a clean sweep of her blade, then the arms and then the legs. Oil poured out from the appendages and pooled on the floor around her. In her hand she held a still glowing processor. I turned and quickly knelt beside Drakar. His body was mangled and his helmet was caved in. I summoned the Light inside me though and slowly poured some of my light into him. His body jerked a little, like electricity playing through a corpse and perhaps it was, I’m no scientist. Then his helmet reformed and his bones went back to the right angles and he coughed. It’s weird that Light, both a particle and energy can restore life, rework metal, and destroy Darkness all at the same time. “How ya feeling?” I asked, grabbing his arm and pulling him up. “Jittery as always after a revive.” He laughed and reached up, catching the CPU in his hand. “Think you can crack this?” “Of course, just give me some time,” His Ghost responded. Just then, a blob of void energy landed in our midst, crackling our shields. Drakar and I turned and ducked behind the barracks building. “Another Minotaur?” I asked, unbelieving. “No,” Katerina responded. “Looks like the rest of the Fallen have come to play.”
