Excerpt 001: Enquiring Minds

[rekindledtitan]

TYPE: Patrol log

LOCATION: Ishtar Sink, Venus

PARTIES: Three [3]. One [1] Ghost-type, [1] Guardian-type, designate Blaze-37, Class Titan [

rekindledtitan ], One [1] Unconfirmed, designate Aran, Samus [onemorebounty ]

 

ASSOCIATIONS: Multiversal Nexus; Samus Aran; Chozo; Ishtar Sink; Hezen Protective; Pelsor; House of Winter; Drevis; Blaze-37; Ishtar Academy



They land in a clearing on the city outskirts with grass under their boots and a heavy overcast above. The breeze that greets them is hot and humid, a little acidic. Around them is a densely-grown treeline, with broad leaves that are near-luminescent shades of green. Their rustle is echoed by the distant wash of waves from beyond the ruins.

Blaze turns to scan the area, hopeful of opposition even though her Ghost already checked the site. The broken towers and city blocks are quiet within the overgrowth. But then it’s not the human ruins which really stand out. To the north a massive volcano takes up much of the sky, belching out a noxious plume of ash and gas. Small wonder that each shift in the breeze makes the scent of the air waver between sulfurous and salty. Over the hills to both south and east loom dark geometric structures. Look at them with anything other than the optical spectrum, and they emit some very peculiar readings.

“At last,” the Exo remarks, feeling a thrill that doesn’t break her readiness. Her head’s turned up to check the skyline as she speaks. Then she's moving for the buildings. “We’re in Guardian territory, more or less. Doesn’t stretch too far yet. Won’t take long to find some trouble.”

Comments

[rekindledtitan]

//Well, that's a reassuring idea.//

When the blocky structures open out into the platform, it's to reveal about four dozen Vex units. They're drawn up in ranks on the near side, little goblin infantry and snipers and a full dozen minotaurs, all standing motionless, weapons raised... although not at the intruders. Their attention seems trained on the platform ahead. Which itself appears to be perfectly flat and empty.

In any case, their wait is interrupted when Blaze hits their ranks. Odd behavior nothing - she comes down among their center with the Fist of Havoc without missing a chance. Either side, those not stunned or destroyed by that or fire from Samus immediately swing backward. Their formations wheel smoothly to put their backs at each side of the platform, returning fire all the while. That leaves the Guardian between them, apparently unconcerned for the moment as she puts down the berserking cripples.

[onemorebounty]

Huh. Not an ambush--at least not meant for us.

*Samus sets her sights on the snipers, first. Blaze seems to enjoy the scrum of the close-in fighting, so the Hunter makes it her priority to see that no one feels free to end her fun with a well-placed shot at range. If they want to kill her, they'll have to earn it up close. Pinning them down until she can get close has worked so far, so she tries it again.*

[rekindledtitan]

//Guess their quarantine takes priority- hah! Took priority.// Blaze works her way past the smaller units to engage a minotaur close-up, endeavoring to circle so it's between her and its sharpshooting kin. This is much easier thanks to Samus pinning down one sniper after the other.

In answer, a pair of minotaurs and their lesser brethren break off, making staggered teleports to close with the Hunter before she can eradicate their support.

And while both sides are nicely engaged, the empty platform shimmers, the air sparkling with white light as objects start to form from it. Around the far end of the platform, a set of great circular arches - and between them, a pair of floating orbs that make the minotaurs look undersized.

The Ghost's voice is urgent in the alert, //Look out! I think we have servitors!//

[onemorebounty]

Ghost, I'm going to need a data dump on servitors, when you have a moment.

*To be fair, she's still dancing with the snipers, picking them off as quickly as she can while trying to keep ahead of the teleporting pursuit.*

Or at least targeting data. I'm guessing they aren't friends?

[rekindledtitan]

//Nah, they're just fun to break. Explains a lot though.//

//Data's coming right up!//

The data burst is fairly terse - the Ghost has stripped it down to the essential points. Servitors are Fallen machines - short on sentience, long on processing power, responsible for interstellar navigation and hacking. The Fallen worship them, with the Prime servitor of each House functioning as its machine-god.

The file doesn't elaborate on that. Ghost thought it more important to say this: aim for the central 'eye', watch out for the Void blasts they fire, and note that they can teleport to evade fire.

By this time the pair of floating orbs have materialized, smooth and black. They open fire indiscriminately into the melee, forcing the Vex to regroup and Blaze to make a boosted jump to break contact. She lands near a couple of Samus' pursuers and take a moment to knock them out of the running. So to speak.

And while the servitors draw eyes and optics, there's a tell-tale shimmer as cloaked forms drop over the glistening Vex blocks and onto the platform below. They move fast and silent amid the noise of battle, twin swords at the ready. They're aiming for the greatest threats: minotaurs and Guardians, in which category they think Samus falls.

[onemorebounty]

Thank you.

*Samus abandons her crusade against the snipers--she suspects they have more inviting targets right at the moment, and the stealth units seem like the more immediate threat. She'll be cycling through her visors in search of one that the active camouflage doesn't cover.*

They're going to keep spotting for reinforcements as long as they're alive, aren't they?

[rekindledtitan]

//Reinf- aw, vandals?// Blaze sounds exasperated as she finds a sword biting into her back and spins to deal with its wielder. //Yeah, they'll keep coming for their servitors. There'll be more behind these- gotta be at least one captain.//

//The servitors make them stronger. We have to take them out!// Although concentrating any fire on them might be tricky, especially since- yes, there are cloaked sharpshooters perching on the blocky Vex architecture.

On the other hand, the cloaked Wolves are at least as busy taking out the Vex as their fellow invaders. A blast from a servitor drops a minotaur's shields and two sets of blades crackle as they descend on it. The servitors themselves fire intermittently in between protective maneuvers, teleporting from side to side or turning to hide their vulnerable spots. Blaze will toss a grenade their way, catching one in the flashbang effect and temporarily disabling it.

And on top of that, either the electric potential in the vandals' shock blades or the reflection of microwaves from their armor will show them up quite well - and with all the bolts of high energy and exotic particles flying, there's plenty of those around.

[onemorebounty]

Hm. We could drop back, let both groups fight it out between themselves.

*Who is she kidding? They're going to kill all these people-things.*

I'd say one of us needs to draw a lot of attention while the other closes with those servitors and takes them out. Any preference?

[rekindledtitan]

Between stepping aside from a Fallen grenade and drawing her fusion rifle to blast some stealth cloaks off their owners, Blaze finds time to make a disappointed 'awww' at that first suggestion.

But it's okay! Her friend's real plan is much more dangerous (and fun). Both options are tempting and she hums for a second as she works, but she knows her part. //Drawing fire is what I'm here for. Ghost, if you spot that captain, flag her for me.//

[onemorebounty]

Good hunting.

*Samus drops into her morph ball mode, the better to fade into the violence and work her way closer to the servitors unnoticed. When she can get close and catch one looking in her direction, though, she'll pop up and unload with the void fire--it's served her so well here, so far.*

[rekindledtitan]

Too bad for the nearest servitor, it's briefly very interested in the smaller sphere rolling its way. Under Samus' fire it flinches, too overwhelmed to fire back. By the time it musters a teleport to her right, there are cracks showing on its hardened shell. The other makes a sound as if it's speaking in a deep, heavily distorted voice and targets Samus for its own blasts.

If taking them down requires some dancing, at least she'll have room to work. The Fallen are tearing into the Vex lines, evading any attempt by robotic reinforcements to pin them down. With her Ghost's help, Blaze finds the officer now hammering the incoming Vex with a scorch cannon. She works her way close enough to crash down on them with the Fist of Havoc - and now she gets to shoot explosive balls of solar fire at everyone.

[onemorebounty]

*Leaping and tumbling to keep a half-step ahead of enemy fire might well be Samus' natural habitat. She certainly takes to it now with alacrity. When she has time to notice the kind of luck Blaze is having, she chuckles over the comm line.*

Tell me you're keeping that.

*She wants to close with the cracked servitor again, if at all possible. She's watching it, trying to anticipate where it will teleport next and fake it out by being close to that spot when it does.*

[rekindledtitan]

//It'll burn out too fast. Nice though, isn't it?// Perfect for making everyone on the field pay attention to you. Although the late captain's comrades seem extremely upset with her anyway. Blaze plants one of the scorch bombs and bounces out of their way as they close on her. It's built up a good charge in the couple of seconds before she lets it detonate in their midst.

The servitor has a lot of space to teleport within. But it consistently jumps sideways from incoming fire, so firing on it when it's close to its twin makes it fairly easy to guess where it'll go next. Its gurgling voice takes on an urgent note when it finds itself facing the hunter, and it tries to float backward.

Not all their opponents are distracted by the larger brawl. Especially as the Vex reinforcements are slowing. There's a howling roar from atop one of the Vex structures, and a cloaked figure (in both senses) leaps down. Beneath the stealth tech it stands more than eight feet, bigger than any of the other Fallen so far. And it's coming for Samus with a grenade launcher.

[onemorebounty]

You can't take it home and reload it later?

*Once she has a handle on its pattern, that damaged servitor will be falling fast. She'll have to think of something else for the other one, but it seems she has a new dance partner while she mulls it over. She turns to face the new enemy, hopping side to side to evade its grenades while she scans it for any vulnerabilities.*

I appreciate you keeping everyone occupied, by the way. Hope you're having fun?

[rekindledtitan]

//No-one's worked out how-// although she cuts off with a thoughtful sound. They do have some resources her fellow Guardians lack...

//You kidding? I live for this! How're your servitors?// Aside from the fact that one just went boom into a spray of scrap and energy-charged ether, soaking the air briefly.

The big officer teleports to the other servitor's side, acquiring a white glow of transferred ether in the process. What it loses in marking its position, the Wolf gains in enhanced physical resilience and strength: soaking in ether, it feeds as it fights. Both its muscular upper arms are taken up with the launcher, but that leaves two to grapple as needed. It has an energy shield around it that seems to be electrically-based. The most obvious weak point is its head, but presumably its skeletal structure is basically the same as the pint-sized dregs Samus scanned earlier.

[onemorebounty]

Got one. I'm going to focus on this guy for a moment, though. Any advice, Ghost?

*Charging up a super missile, Samus aims it not at the Wolf, but at the ground between it and the servitor--the blast wave should, hopefully, knock it out of range of the energy feed and sever the link. Or hurt, she'd settle for hurting.*

[rekindledtitan]

//Most Fallen shields are Arc-based. If you have any electrically-based weapons, they'll knock it out quick.//

Not that the missile did it any good: the big officer's stealth field overloads and reveals it fully. But the Wolf beneath seems largely unscathed as it's sent skidding away from the servitor. Also angry. It growls something wrathful (and presumably deeply uncomplimentary) at her. For all its size, it's plenty agile: unless Samus keeps it separated, it can be back at the servitor's side in a swish of its tattered blue cape.

//With a big one I normally break a couple of arms first. You know, so they get in its way,// Blaze comments helpfully. //And I think we just ran out of Vex.//

[onemorebounty]

I have just the thing.

*Samus' smile in her helmet is predatory and cruel, as her arm cannon shortens and widens, the seams glowing purple and brightening quickly as she charges it up.*

When all eyes are on me, take out that servitor. I can only keep this up for a little while, I want him to lose his support before I run out of power.

*As the Wolf is about to learn, stealth and agility mean very little to the electricity-based wavebuster. Her predatory laugh is similarly hard to evade.*

[rekindledtitan]

//Got it. Just don't stand too close to it.// She beats her way free of the nearest vandals, saving the last couple of scorch rounds as she maneuvers to get a clear shot.

The Wolf shows no fear at Samus' shift in weaponry - but under the lash of that beam, his taunting abruptly turns to a howl of pain. His shields don't even have a chance to flicker before they're stripped away. He staggers and tries to lunge aside, fur-trimmed armor blackening as inbuilt systems fight to stop him roasting inside it.

Blaze can't stop to admire the show, alas. She lands a boiling orb of solar energy under the servitor. She lets it detonate fast and succeeds in planting the second bomb right on the smooth black shell. A high whine builds as it charges, turning nearly white.

[onemorebounty]

*Lunging is no help--Samus matches the Wolf, move for move, and the beam of the wavebuster bends and writhes to remain attached. If the Wolf is angling back toward the servitor, then Samus is angling away, circling to keep out of the blast radius of whatever Blaze is going to do. Which looks spectacular, by the way.*

Nice shot.

[rekindledtitan]

//Thanks. Think these rounds track a little.// That was her last one, so she holds it until the last second before letting go off. Afterwards, though it's webbed with glowing cracks, the servitor's still up. She drops the cannon and closes in, hitting it with a blast from her fusion rifle to finish it off. //Tough servitors. Must be important.//

The Wolf is on his knees when it shatters. But the machine's destruction brings his head up, four eyes burning blue beneath the bent wings of his helm. He roars in fury and pain, surging back to his feet through sheer willpower. He's weakened - he's failed - but he intends to rain explosives on them for this blow.

//His friends seem pretty mad at us... and I'm detecting a strange signature in the Vex network. Great.// Not that there are more than a handful of cloaked Fallen left, at this point.

[onemorebounty]

It's their beachhead inside a Vex stronghold. That sounds important to me.

*As the Wolf forces itself to its feet, Samus stops the wavebuster, opting to conserve heavy weapon energy for the moment. Her enemy gets a moment's respite as she charges up a more mundane shot from the wave beam. She hopes, though doesn't expect, that the abrupt end of the wavebuster will throw him off balance long enough for her to stun him with the charged wave beam. It's nice to hope.*

We've cleaned up their houseguest problem, they're probably hoping to step in and roll over us while we're still tired from the fight. Thanks for the heads-up.

[rekindledtitan]

//...You're welcome. Incidentally, I'd just like to point out that we've been cleared to drop this section of the Citadel.//

The Wolf rocks as he's first released and then hit again. He powers through it, holding down the trigger on that launcher and throwing blast after blast at them- but he is on his feet through sheer willpower now, and it can only take him so far. His surviving crew rally to try and draw Samus' fire from him; even the last snipers have descended from their perches to get a clear shot. Blaze has her rifle lifted to meet them, since Samus has their boss on his last legs.

//Okay. Once I get you into these machines, pull any more data the Wolves left and get us set to drop.//

The Vex don't intend to let anyone recover, let alone hijack bits of their architecture again. Well past the servitors' former position, at the very end of the platform, the black mist forms once more. Did anyone want to see some Vex prototype weapons?

[onemorebounty]

*Samus springs aside, leaping and tumbling to make herself a difficult target for the Wolf, firing back with rapid pulses from the wave beam. She knows by now that she can trust Blaze to cover her, and so angles her dodges to carry her closer to her foe--into grapple line range. She latches on to his weapon, looking to either pull it from his grasp or pull him off his feet and to her.*

*The black mist forming gets barely a glance, though, as she needs to focus on the battle at hand for another moment.*

You'd think they could thank us before killing us.

[rekindledtitan]

//Guess gratitude wouldn't be efficient.// With targets appearing on both sides, Blaze works on taking down the Wolves before she has to keep the Vex busy. Although even as they start materializing, the machines don't move to advance, so they have a few more seconds of respite.

In the meantime, the Wolf Samus is dueling loses patience with this maddening and blasphemous foe. He spreads his clawed fists in challenge- and then her grapple line all but plucks the big launcher from his hand, leaving him momentarily off-balance in both senses.