[b]Episode Three[/b] A pair of Guardians fell as bullets of Arc energy burst from their chests in a sizzle of blue electricity. Three Vandals, shock rifles in arm, rushed the last member of the fireteam who had fallen from a wound, but Lakshmi-2 would not let them deliver death. Death was hers. The Exo dug in her heels and launched into the air, letting the hyper-mechanized springs within her legs lift her up and over a barbed barricade. She landed in a crush of concrete. The Vandals whipped around. Too slow. Lakshmi gouged their skulls in with the heels of her palms and finished the last one off with a bullet from her own hand cannon. Ether sputtered into the air. The rescued Guardian, belonging to New Monarchy, dipped his head in gratitude knowing they were all united in these uncertain times. “Thank you,” he said, simply, watching the Ghosts begin to revive his teammates. His own Ghost hovered above him, discharging mending beams of Light that stitched up his injury and smoothed over his flesh like new. Lakshmi shrugged. “You were in danger.” For a second, she forgot they were in a battle zone as Arc bullets whizzed past them in a storm. Other Guardians hid behind makeshift barriers. Some lay on the ground in puddles of their own blood, Ghosts drowned. The Twilight Gap had been under siege for so long that her pale face, dyed with swipes of color that mimicked war paint, was smudged with mud and nicks caused by flying shrapnel. “Adept Hideo!” cried a voice from across the fortress. [i]Oh great[/i], said the Ghost in her head. The man scrambled to his feet. “Executor Nam Ra!” His face went ashen, fear of this woman plain on his face despite having been near death just moments ago. “I apologize for my ineptitude!” Nam Ra, Executor and faction leader of New Monarchy, strode toward them with a squadron of her own troops at her back. A scarlet head-wrap swathed her head and her pointed features were glossed with bronze. “I say, what are you doing with…the Exo?” Lakshmi’s aqua eyes narrowed. “This Exo saved his life.” “Is that so?” The woman moved her gaze to Hideo. “You let these Fallen hogs almost wipe out your entire fireteam? I left this quadrant to you and they’re almost half-way inside the damn base! Then you get saved by a [i]nonsensical[/i] cult member! You should be ashamed of yourself.” Hideo paled further. “I am, Executor,” he said. “Forgive me!” Lakshmi squeezed the grip of her hand cannon. “What are you fools going on about?!” yelled another voice behind them. Murdock, a giant of a man, lumbered towards them holding an auto rifle, garbed in black and white armor. He was merely human, but he was the largest human Lakshmi had ever seen. He wasn’t even a Guardian. He rose through the ranks of Dead Orbit through skill alone and was universally respected in the Tower. Except for one individual. “Well if isn’t Murdock,” said Nam Ra. “I thought you and yours were too spineless to go to war. That’s your motto, though, right? Survival by cowardice?” She laughed. “You don’t belong here.” Murdock ignored her insults. “Dead Orbit will be here to defend the City,” he said. A shadow slowly passed over them. Lakshmi looked up and found a Ketch descending low upon the misty mountains of Twilight Gap, unleashing a turbulent swarm of dropships that blacked out the sky. Fear rose in her metallic throat. There were too many, even for the defenders here. They were in deep trouble. “Guardians!” roared Murdock. “Hold your ground!” The soldiers of Twilight Gap rallied as Wards of Dawn were raised by Titans, taking in the unprotected within their violet shields. Mounted turrets shot down dropships like swatting down insects, but it didn’t destroy enough. The Fallen crawled out of the Skiffs wave after wave, overflowing the fortress. They clawed their way up the cliffside. They jumped the barbed walls and barricades. Ignored the gun positions. Lakshmi did not like drawing her blades. The innate power of her body and her fire arms were enough to kill whatever stood in her way, though this was a different matter entirely. Too many of her own were dying. She suffused the energy of the Arc within her and flashing electricity rippled across her person when she drew her serrated long blades. Swift in foot, the Exo dashed across the floor and through the air, passing her weapons through the Fallen lines. Even to her, she appeared a blur. The razor pieces of iron slipped into necks and skulls, disintegrating any who dared cross her path. Dregs knew better and ran from her the sight of her, though the Vandals were more stupid. They died by the droves. This went on for some time, so long that the sun crested the mountain and the heavens turned into pallid carnation. One Fallen Captain lunged into her way and got beheaded for underestimating a Bladedancer. He spun to the ground as his head ran free. A violent ejection of ether exploded from the stump of his neck and into her face. The damp substance clouded her vision, but she saw enough to catch another Captain raise his cutlass above her head. Another large figure charged into the Fallen beast, taking the bite of metal with his arm. Murdock sprayed bullets into the Captain’s chest, though before it died, a single claw raked across Murdock’s neck. Blood spurted from the man’s carotid artery and the light left his eyes. Lakshmi-2’s vision cleared and she noticed that she was one of the only Guardians left standing in the entire area. Nam Ra was impaled on her own sword, while Hideo led the survivors away to safety. The Dead Orbit forces were decimated. Lakshmi got to her knees and as Dregs pushed towards her, an arm grabbed her. She spun around and realized it was her own Guardians of Future War Cult. “We have to go,” said one, shooting a Dreg in its eye. Lakshmi nodded and looked back at the hordes. The Twilight Gap has fallen. *** [b][url=http://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/92779240/0/0/1]EPISODE ONE[/url][/b] [b][url=http://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/93092612/0/0/1]EPISODE TWO[/url][/b] [b][url=http://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/95269586/0/0/1]EPISODE FOUR[/url][/b] [b][url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/96203881/0/0]EPISODE FIVE[/url][/b] [i][b]DISCLAIMER: THIS SERIES IS A WORK OF FAN FICTION, SO CREATIVE LIBERTIES HAVE BEEN TAKEN. DO NOT TAKE THIS STORY AS CANON. DUE TO A LIMITED AMOUNT OF LORE, I HAD TO SPECULATE ON WHICH CHARACTERS BELONGED TO WHICH CLASS AND SO FORTH.[/b][/i] [b][url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/100362914] DESTINY FAN FICTION ARCHIVE[/url][/b] [b][url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Clan/Forum/823422]JOIN CLAN FOR FAN FICTION UPDATES[/url][/b]