Blitzz
A Friendly Brit
Dante smiled as a fresh magazine clicked into place in his auto-rifle. He had never been good at clearing jams, but at least he got this one sorted. When it mattered. He could hear them on the other side of the wall, scurrying and clicking and crying shrill cries to one another. From the sensors in his helmet, he could tell there were at least four on the other side. And right now, the only thing separating Dante and the Fallen was a few inches of concrete.
There was no door, but he was going to go through regardless. The room was lit only by a single strip light dangling by its wires from the cracked ceiling. The green water that swirled around his ankles was stagnant, having flowed from a broken pipe running along the walls in the boiler room. The water supply had long since dried up. An old coal-powered boiler, huge and ancient, sat watching in the far corner of the room. There were still a few coals sitting inside, black and crumbling. They had been there for years. This building had been there for even longer. During the Golden Age buildings like this had been demolished and great new structures erected in their place. This one however... no one cared enough to knock it down. They figured it would come down on its own eventually.
A red light flashed on Dante's HUD, and when he glanced up at his motion sensor he saw that it had come alive with movement. At least 8 dots now were dancing around on the other side of the wall. He heard a shriek and what sounded like running footsteps, and then his HUD was quiet once again. Now he had second thoughts about going through the wall. "Tower Control, this is Dante, come in." His voice was hollow with a sort of vibratory quality, high-pitched even for an Awoken. He wanted to remove his helm and wipe the sheen of sweat from his bald head, but his sensors hadn't quite figured out if the air was safe yet.
"Dante this is Tower Control, we hear you. What's your status?" The woman that responded, a human, had a deeper voice than Dante.
"Not good, Tower Control. I have no way through from here but to blow the wall, and I have mixed reports on the number hostiles on the other side. How should I proceed?"
"Do what you must, Dante. That Ghost carries information pivotal to repelling the Fallen if our reports are to be believed. You must reach it, no matter the cost."
"Understood, Tower Control. I'll radio in once I have the target," he said with a sigh.
"Roger that Dante. Good luck. Tower Control out."
Then Dante was left alone with his thoughts once again. They hadn't actually answered his question, and now he had to formulate a plan. He had never been good with plans. There was only one way forward and that was through the wall, that much he knew, Now it was just about doing it the right way. He saw a hole in the corner, large enough if he crawled through on his stomach. It would have to do. Dante placed his auto-rifle against the wall and checked to make sure his shotgun was loaded, before pulling out a small rounded explosive. He found a weak point in the wall and attached the device, before collecting his rifle and moving to the hole.
On the other side, things were worse than he had suspected. A Fallen Captain stood on a high perch at the far end of the cavernous room, with around four snipers on the surrounding catwalks. At least a dozen Dregs were roaming the floor, scrapping and scavenging. Dante had picked the wrong day to leave his machine gun at home, and now he would pay for his carelessness. On the bright side, he could see the target. The Captain was throwing the crumpled AI back and forth between his lower pair of hands, holding a cruel-looking hand-cannon and a blade in the upper pair. Just Dante's luck.
A massive boom filled the room as rubble and chunks of concrete flew into the crowd, killing three of the Dregs. They were all focused on the source of the explosion as Dante made his way quietly to the bottom of the stairs leading up to the Captain's perch. He shuffled up, until he was just behind the Captain. Just as he got behind him, the Captain whirled. The barbed claws on either side of Dante's shotgun barrel sliced deep into the Captain's stomach, and held onto chunks even as the shot sent the rest of the Captain flying from his perch. All of them turned and looked at him, surprised as their captain fell. A shriek went up, and then the room erupted into gunfire. Dante killed two sniper with his auto rifle before they got their guns up, and the other two missed under the pressure. Dante rolled back to dodge a shot from a Dreg, and crouched behind some barrels. From his belt he pulled a flashbang grenade and hurled it into the crowd. As the Dregs stood startled and screaming, Dante stood and unloaded into the two snipers on the far side of the room, and then threw a frag grenade into the shrieking horde. A few arms went flying as Dante's black armor got a new crimson coat.
When the gunfire ceased a few moments later, only bodies remained of the Fallen. Dante strolled over to the Captain's mauled corpse, its lower arms and most of its ribs blown apart by the force of the shotgun. The Ghost was still curled up in his fist.
"Tower Control this is Dante. I've secured the target, repeat, the target is secure. Requesting immediate extraction." A sigh of relief came from the other end, the same human woman still there.
"Glad to hear it Dante. Sending your extraction now. Make your way to the primary LZ, ETA 10 minutes. Tower Control out."
"Understood. Dante out." He hated being called Dante on the radio. All of the 'proper' Guardians got a callsign. Dante hadn't reached that stage yet. Being called by his name made him feel so powerless. Hopefully they would see after this, his fourth successful mission.
There was no door, but he was going to go through regardless. The room was lit only by a single strip light dangling by its wires from the cracked ceiling. The green water that swirled around his ankles was stagnant, having flowed from a broken pipe running along the walls in the boiler room. The water supply had long since dried up. An old coal-powered boiler, huge and ancient, sat watching in the far corner of the room. There were still a few coals sitting inside, black and crumbling. They had been there for years. This building had been there for even longer. During the Golden Age buildings like this had been demolished and great new structures erected in their place. This one however... no one cared enough to knock it down. They figured it would come down on its own eventually.
A red light flashed on Dante's HUD, and when he glanced up at his motion sensor he saw that it had come alive with movement. At least 8 dots now were dancing around on the other side of the wall. He heard a shriek and what sounded like running footsteps, and then his HUD was quiet once again. Now he had second thoughts about going through the wall. "Tower Control, this is Dante, come in." His voice was hollow with a sort of vibratory quality, high-pitched even for an Awoken. He wanted to remove his helm and wipe the sheen of sweat from his bald head, but his sensors hadn't quite figured out if the air was safe yet.
"Dante this is Tower Control, we hear you. What's your status?" The woman that responded, a human, had a deeper voice than Dante.
"Not good, Tower Control. I have no way through from here but to blow the wall, and I have mixed reports on the number hostiles on the other side. How should I proceed?"
"Do what you must, Dante. That Ghost carries information pivotal to repelling the Fallen if our reports are to be believed. You must reach it, no matter the cost."
"Understood, Tower Control. I'll radio in once I have the target," he said with a sigh.
"Roger that Dante. Good luck. Tower Control out."
Then Dante was left alone with his thoughts once again. They hadn't actually answered his question, and now he had to formulate a plan. He had never been good with plans. There was only one way forward and that was through the wall, that much he knew, Now it was just about doing it the right way. He saw a hole in the corner, large enough if he crawled through on his stomach. It would have to do. Dante placed his auto-rifle against the wall and checked to make sure his shotgun was loaded, before pulling out a small rounded explosive. He found a weak point in the wall and attached the device, before collecting his rifle and moving to the hole.
On the other side, things were worse than he had suspected. A Fallen Captain stood on a high perch at the far end of the cavernous room, with around four snipers on the surrounding catwalks. At least a dozen Dregs were roaming the floor, scrapping and scavenging. Dante had picked the wrong day to leave his machine gun at home, and now he would pay for his carelessness. On the bright side, he could see the target. The Captain was throwing the crumpled AI back and forth between his lower pair of hands, holding a cruel-looking hand-cannon and a blade in the upper pair. Just Dante's luck.
A massive boom filled the room as rubble and chunks of concrete flew into the crowd, killing three of the Dregs. They were all focused on the source of the explosion as Dante made his way quietly to the bottom of the stairs leading up to the Captain's perch. He shuffled up, until he was just behind the Captain. Just as he got behind him, the Captain whirled. The barbed claws on either side of Dante's shotgun barrel sliced deep into the Captain's stomach, and held onto chunks even as the shot sent the rest of the Captain flying from his perch. All of them turned and looked at him, surprised as their captain fell. A shriek went up, and then the room erupted into gunfire. Dante killed two sniper with his auto rifle before they got their guns up, and the other two missed under the pressure. Dante rolled back to dodge a shot from a Dreg, and crouched behind some barrels. From his belt he pulled a flashbang grenade and hurled it into the crowd. As the Dregs stood startled and screaming, Dante stood and unloaded into the two snipers on the far side of the room, and then threw a frag grenade into the shrieking horde. A few arms went flying as Dante's black armor got a new crimson coat.
When the gunfire ceased a few moments later, only bodies remained of the Fallen. Dante strolled over to the Captain's mauled corpse, its lower arms and most of its ribs blown apart by the force of the shotgun. The Ghost was still curled up in his fist.
"Tower Control this is Dante. I've secured the target, repeat, the target is secure. Requesting immediate extraction." A sigh of relief came from the other end, the same human woman still there.
"Glad to hear it Dante. Sending your extraction now. Make your way to the primary LZ, ETA 10 minutes. Tower Control out."
"Understood. Dante out." He hated being called Dante on the radio. All of the 'proper' Guardians got a callsign. Dante hadn't reached that stage yet. Being called by his name made him feel so powerless. Hopefully they would see after this, his fourth successful mission.
+++
"There were more then ten Fallen on the other side of the wall, sir. There was a Captain with them. There were a few on the way, but nothing too troubling. The Captain wasn't a pleasant sight."
"Damn them. If they're deploying Captains in areas as desolate as that, there must be something there worth protecting, or finding." The General was looking at a holo-map on the enormous table, the Ghost's intel being projected into the air in front of his face. "If what this Ghost has is true... the Fallen are establishing a base in the Mothyards in Russia. And another, in Northern Russia, in an old hydroelectric power dam. If they're making two, chances are there will be more."
"We need to take them out quickly, before they manage to establish too threatening a presence," said the Titan Vanguard at the far end of the table.
"We have no-one capable of such a feat," said the Warlock Vanguard from behind her bowl-shaped helmet.
"With all due respect sirs, and ma'ams, allow me to do this. I'll head to the dam in Northern Russia and wipe them out, and from there we can launch a larger assault on the one in the Mothyards. There has to be something there for them to bother setting up a base. Allow me to find it." They all looked at him with contempt, something Dante truly hated. The General sighed.
"Very well Dante, you may go to the Dam." Dante felt his heart soar. "But not alone." It hit the ground hard. That would mean being part of a veteran Guardian's team, and they all looked down on him.
"Who will I be with, sir?"
"That is not my call to make, Dante. You will gather a fireteam and lead them to the dam and you will wipe out the Fallen." Dante's heart rate reached a whole new level.
"Sir... I'm to captain a fireteam? Are you sure?"
"Are you attempting to dissuade me, Dante?" Dante shook his head feebly. "Good. Then it's settled. You have two days to gather up a team, or I'll give the command to someone else." Dante nodded, bowed, spun on his heels and left. He clung to his helmet loosely with his hand, trying to come to terms with the situation he had just been thrown into.
The walk back to his quarters was silent, ignoring everyone and just contemplating his new mission. How on Earth am I meant to gather a fireteam in two days? For an operation like this? It's just not possible. He threw his helmet down on the bed when he eventually arrived, but kept the rest of his armor on. He locked his rifle in its locker but kept his shotgun across his back, and set out from the Tower down into the City. If there's one place I can find the team I need, it's the bar.