//------------------------------// // Jagged Lance // Story: Little Light // by InfinitySlayer //------------------------------// "Jumper, what's the status on that Gate?" The masculine voice spoke quietly over the internal communications systems, alerting the strike team to the ominous structure fifty meters downrange. An Exo in ornate Titan armor painted with gold and white patterns trained his sniper rifle steadily on the stone Gate. "Twenty or so Goblins patrolling a few meters west, reinforced by snipers on the high rise. Five by my count. Wait, Minotaur spotted behind the formation. Might be a Precursor. What do you make of it, Squad Lead?" The squad leader readied his auto rifle, checking and double-checking external components to ensure their proper function. "Nothing we can't handle. Fireteam Delta, are you in position?" Approximately half a kilometer southwest of the Gate, a team of three Titans readied their menacing sniper rifles, finding cover behind jagged rocks and ancient buildings. The center most Titan leading the fireteam readied her intercom, responding swiftly to the squad leader's question, "This is Havoc. We're in position. Waiting on your mark." The squad leader made a gesture with his right hand, moving from behind a suntanned wall to a large, oddly designed support column a few meters to the right. Two of his fellow fireteam members followed closely behind, scanning the foreign surroundings with the weapons at the ready position. Now just forty meters from the Vex patrol team, the Titan observed the alternating patterns that the metallic creatures employed, quickly deciding upon an action plan. "Listen up, squad. I want Fireteam Charlie and Bravo to perform a pincer maneuver from the east and northwest. Cut off their means of escape. My team will punch straight up the middle. Delta, you have permission to engage." The three snipers trained their sights on the Vex Hobgoblins positioned strategically on top of various columns and support beams. Aiming directly into the crimson eye drive glowing in the center of the strange mechanism, the snipers flicked a switch on their rifles, notifying the others that they were in position to fire. Seconds later, all lights went green. The Titans released their payloads into the unsuspecting Hobgoblins simultaneously. The irradiated bolts tore through the metal beings easily, causing them to collapse in crackling heaps of broken parts. "Go!" In response to the squad leader's command, all three fireteams rushed forwards at once, medium ranged weapons in hand. The various Vex units, now alerted to the Guardian's presence, concentrated their forces in front of the gate to the Vault of Glass. The well-positioned snipers continued to provide supporting fire upon the flabbergasted Goblins, each piercing round disintegrating an unsuspecting machine. In a few moments, Fireteam Charlie collided with the Vex forces from the west, each Titan wielding a powerful shotgun. Ill prepared for the assault, the Goblins could do little but be decimated by the short range weaponry. Fireteam Bravo flanked the Vex defensive positions from the east, unleashing a hailstorm of bullets at five Goblins and two Hobgoblins positioned on an elevated position. They retaliated in force, firing upon the fireteam of three Titans with red bolts of death. The blasts that connected with the Guardian's armor were absorbed, doing little to slow their steady advance. Screaming a metallic battle cry, one particularly ambitious Hobgoblin landed a critical hit on a stubborn Defender Titan known by his alias, Twos. His shields compromised, the Guardian did what any rational person might do, hurling himself at the Hobgoblin in question. Ignoring the pain of incoming blaster fire, the Titan in blue and gold plated armor struck the startled Vex machine in the center of its eye drive with a Barrier Melee, reducing it to little more than broken hinges and rusted screws. "Twos, you never fail to amaze me!" The encouraging statement had been made by Twos' most trusted ally and fellow wing-man, an Awoken Titan known as Lights. Continuing to rush forwards towards a group of frightened Goblins, Twos replied slyly, "No kidding, it's just me doing all the work out here. Remind me, why did we bring you along again?" As Fireteams Charlie and Bravo executed the pincer maneuver, the gap between themselves swiftly grew narrower. In response to the threat approaching on two fronts, the remaining ten or so Goblins and the reserve Precursor Minotaur grew close together, creating the bottleneck the squad leader had intended for. "Alpha, ready Gjallarhorns!" Distracted by the two fireteams approaching from the east and northwest, the remaining Vex forces were all to unaware of the last three Titans left to engage. As they charged up a steep incline leading to where most of the enemy soldiers held their ground, they each readied the weapon that the Darkness fears above all others. It is the rocket launcher that the strongest Guardians covet, capable of decimating entire legions of Cabal warriors. The three Titans cleared the hill, coming face to face with the entire Vex defense force. Simultaneously, they released the power held within their Gjallarhorns at the surprised minions of Darkness. An explosion reverberated for kilometers around, felt by every crawling beast and winged animal in the nearby vicinity. One flash of fierce orange light later and there was little left of the Vex but three gigantic craters in the stone and piles of sooty ash raining from the sky. In a few moments, Fireteams Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie gathered outside the circular gate to the Vault of Glass, followed swiftly by Fireteam Delta by utilizing short range teleportation systems. The twelve Titans admired their handiwork, speaking to one another in excited, proud voices. The leader of the squad smiled under his golden helmet. As expected, the First Titan Squadron, known affectionately by City-dwellers as the Disciples of Death, produced outstanding results. With the Vex defensive perimeter guarding the Vault of Glass shattered, the strike team's chances of successfully pulling off the operation increased dramatically. A voice filled with static entered the ears of the squad leader, "Squad lead, this is Cayde. How's it goin' down there?" "Assault on the entrance to the Vault of Glass went without complications. Breaching the door now." A small chuckle erupted on the long-range communicator, "I didn't expect anything less. Get to it, Guardian. The sooner we secure that Vex machine, the sooner we get to the bottom of whatever they're planning." The squad leader took heavy steps across the blackened stone, approaching the now opened doorway. An ancient path winded down the Vault and into inky blackness. Turning to face his team, he said loudly, "Most of you are already familiar with what lies deep within the Vault. Nonetheless, keep your guard up, Titans. The successful completion of Operation Jagged Lance is absolutely vital to the City's security. I want Fireteam Charlie to take point, Fireteams Bravo and Alpha will assume support positions. Fireteam Delta, provide strategic cover from the rear. Let's move, Guardians." The veteran team acted swiftly and professionally, following their leader's orders without hesitation. The three Titans of Fireteam Charlie approached the Vault first with shotguns at the ready position, scanning the nearby surroundings for a few moments before giving an all clear signal and entering the gate. Alpha and Bravo followed close behind with a wide assortment of Scout, Auto, and Pulse rifles scanning the dark catacombs. Delta kept a safe distance behind, slowly approaching with sniper rifles ready to level anything that moved. For the first few minutes of their descent, the squad encountered little resistance beyond the stray Harpy or Goblin. Squad Lead kept eyes on his HUD, directing the rest of his team towards the appropriate path to follow. The light began to fade as they twelve Titans pushed deeper into the Vault, causing their Ghosts to engage their flashlights. A chill running down her spine, the Striker Titan known as Havoc spoke into her short range communicator, "I don't like this. If whatever they're protecting down there is so important, then why haven't we encountered more resistance?" "Dunno, maybe they got scared or somethin'." Twos' hasty reply was more or less dismissed by the rest of his squad members as banter. "Most unlikely. Feels more like we are walking into trap." The reply came from a voice heavily laced with the old Russian accent of a Scorch Titan known simply as KG. The squad leader held up his right hand, halting the Titans' steady advance. He stood in a dark metal doorway, blocking the rest of the squad's view to whatever lay beyond the dark stairway. "What is it, Lead?" Jumper's question came as the squad leader tentatively stepped through the doorway, beckoning the rest of his team to follow closely. After a few moments, they stood in an unbelievably expansive room, more than a football field's length high and four across. Most of the room was a featureless plateau of stone, with no signs of Vex units or tech nearby, save the gigantic glowing spire extending to the top of the catacomb. "I've seen a lot of things in my day, but that's pretty cool." The statement came from a rather young Scorch Titan who stood gaping at the incredible Vex structure. "Cayde, are you getting this?" The squad leader activated his visual feed to link with the Tower. "Guardian, I'm certainly seeing what's there, but whether or not I'm believing it is another question entirely. See if you can get a closer look, but take caution." The squad lead turned to address his team, "Keep your guard up, Titans. We don't know what that thing is, but it's almost certainly Vex tech. Stay behind me." The team did as they were ordered, retaining combat formation as they grew close the mysterious Vex machine. The closed the gap with no sign of Vex resistance, swiftly coming within ten meters of the device before their visuals and radar became distorted. A banging sound startled the team, causing all of them to turn around to face the source of the noise. A thousand crimson eyes peered from the darkness on all sides, each one accompanied by a blood chilling screech. As soon as they identified the threat, the Vex forces teleported into attack position, thousands upon thousands of Goblins, Hobgoblins, Minotaurs, Harpies, and Hydras converging upon the lone twelve Titans clustered just in front of the machine. "Squad lead, what's the plan? I don't mind me some killin, but I think now might be the time for a different course of action!" The leader pondered his options with concerned sweat dripping down his face. He didn't doubt his team's combat capabilities, but he did understand that perhaps literal thousands of menacing Vex soldiers might outlast them in a firefight. The only viable exit to the room was already sealed off by the quickly approaching minions of Darkness with their weapons raised and ready to decimate the team. There was only one course of action that remained. "Squad, we're going to use the machine to get out of here. Follow my lead." Hardened veterans as they were, to say that they were a little bit perplexed by their commander's decision would be a vast understatement. The other eleven Titans watched in silent horror as their leader put his hand on the massive Vex spire, vanishing in a flash of white light. "Ya'll sure bout' this? I've done a lot of crazy stuff in my time, but I'm not so positive about this one..." Scorch Titan Nooner said, his old southern American accent full of apprehension. Havoc approached the Vex machine, her gold and black armor glistening in the otherworldly white light. "If that's where squad lead wants us to go, then we go." She entered the portal, dispersing as her leader did. The Vex forces opened fire, a barrage of red death slamming into the team. With little else in the form of a plan, they made up their minds with a swift nod to one another, entering the portal into whatever unknown lay before the veteran Titan squad.