[5] The Skirmish of Enedra [FF]

First Entry: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/251823855?sort=0&page=0 Previous Entry: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/252015054?sort=0&page=0 [i]The Moon is dead. Her surface bared no life, no Guardians, Fallen, or Hive. Since the time of Oryx's defeat, his brood was sentenced to a slow demise from starvation. Crota’s Temple was in even worse shape than the rest of the shattered rock. The Cluster was underneath a shattered archway.[/i] [b]*************************************************************************************[/b] [b][Entry 5: I witnessed the hand of Death.][/b] The day that started with exhilaration and ended in disaster began in the South American Recovery Zone. The RZ was an infamously dangerous place, the worst portions of which were filled to the brim with tight rocky outcroppings that reminded me of sharp teeth, along with the suspected existence of starving Hive dens lurking beneath the surface. The most hostile segment of the already brutal land was known as The Enedra Folds, and unfortunately that was where me and five others were deployed. There had been a Dead Orbit supply ship carrying several months worth of habitation cargo that had taken an ill-fated route over The Folds, and the recovery of its wreckage was our original objective. But things only ended up escalating even more when a scouting drone surveyed the area ahead of our arrival, and its discoveries only painted an even worse picture. The crash site was flooded with Fallen scavengers, and it wasn’t just the House of Devils, for they also appeared to be joined by members of the Winter and Wolves branches of Eliksni society. The updated surveillance footage caused The Vanguard to increase the priority of our mission significantly, increasing the operation clearance to the capacity of six Guardians. I suspect they were fearful of another alliance between the Houses, so it was no surprise when the news came in that the objective had changed from a simple recovery Op to a full on extermination request. We had divided into two groups of three, which allowed for an easier stealth landing and a wider initial control of the surrounding area. I was a member of the team designated Bravo, and our role in the plan was to wait for Alpha to mark any priority targets before the engagement began. With their reconnaissance, we could quickly take out the Fallen commanders while the other team worked on recovering the Dead Orbit stash. It was a simple enough plan, mostly just spot big Fallen, take a few shots, mop up the little ones, yet it still left everyone anxious. Maybe it was the giant spires of stone that blocked out most of the sunlight, or maybe it was a general fear of waking up any Hive that might’ve been sleeping under our feet. My personal concern was accomplishing the mission without any unwanted consequences, so I had Aydin preemptively check our ship’s Transmat responders incase hell broke loose and things got overwhelming. I had been caught unaware twice before, and I was uninterested in experiencing that peril a third time. As we waited, I remember having glanced at the other members of my fireteam. There was an annoyingly chatty Hunter named Welden-5, and another Titan known as Brendal. I didn’t know Welden all that well, I think he was one of those lonesome types that spent most of their time off the grid, but he was known to be a solid shot with a prototype Linear Fusion, so Cayde-6 pulled a few strings to have him come. I imagine he spoke so much because the opportunity for conversation was mercifully rare for him. Brendal in contrast was a true man of silence, only ever responding with the briefest emotes or the occasional one word answer. I found his quietness to be relatable, and grew to like him almost immediately. Welden was ranting about the edible difference between two subspecies of Hive Worms when Alpha transmitted their signal, causing a series of red markers to appear on my hud. The rest of Bravo and I grabbed our weapons and got into position. We had four targets, two Captains clad in Devil colors and one other in the blue of Wolves. The final marked pirate was a Dreg from the House of Kings, which Alpha argued had to be important because it was the only Fallen wearing gold that they could find. Brendal said the word “Last”, and I agreed. The Captains were obviously our first priority, so each of us split up to take them all out at once. I went after the Wolf. I had traded my Pulse for a Scout a few days earlier, and regretted the decision with every ounce of my being. It turned out I was a rubbish shot at the longer ranges, my skills being better suited for close quarters. I still had brought a shotgun, however, so I readied it and pre-aimed at the red marker that stood on the other side of a large stone. I could already hear the Captain's respiratory apparatus as he sucked fresh Ether into his lungs, the noisy sound of which disgusted me greatly. Brendal signaled that he was ready, and Welden did the same shortly after. We began a countdown that started at three, and ended when the shrieks of our collective shots tore through the air. The Wolf Captain didn’t even have the time to turn around before I removed him from the world of the living. I spun to face any other Fallen that might have been close enough to engage, but then the corner of my eye caught a peculiarity. After making sure the coast was clear for the moment, I knelt next to the body of the Captain. His armor had streaks of red mixed in with the blue signature of the Wolves, and upon closer inspection I realised why this was. His equipment had been only recently painted to match the distinctive colors, meaning he hadn’t been a Wolf at all, but rather a Devil that had disguised as one. I put the pieces together as Welden spoke over the Comms. “This stupid gun malfunctioned, my Captain got away. Who the hell designed this trash?” the Hunter reported angrily. “Can’t find that Dreg either.” “It doesn’t matter, my Captain wasn’t a Wolf.” I responded, my thoughts spinning. “I think they’re all just Devils.” “Why would they play dress up? All that did was bring more of us here to kill them.” I couldn’t see Welden’s face, but I could still picture his visage of horror as he realized the same thing I had. If the Fallen wanted to intentionally lure as many Guardians as they could, then The Folds was the perfect place to set a trap. I wasted no time attempting to contact Alpha, but by that point it was already too late. The Fallen fled with a speed that had to have been rehearsed, scurrying away like a nest of locusts as they climbed a nearby mountain. At the peak of that mound was two cloaked Spider Tanks, carefully positioned in just the right spot as to avoid being visible from the location of the Dead Orbit wreck.