[u]Episode 5: Yes Land Beyond[/u] Debriefing with the Vanguard council went much more smoothly than I would have expected. Although, the details were massaged a bit. Winston's death went without mention, as did Teddy's bubble party. The mentors accepted our report with a few questions about the Cabal fort location and their numbers, and gave us a new assignment. Once we were well supplied for the trip we headed out, destined for Venus. None of us particularly cared for Venus, but orders were orders. We had no choice in the matter. En route, Teddy went to double check our supplies to make sure we had everything we needed while Harley and Winston discussed the mission at hand. [b]Harley:[/b] This is such bullshit. Those d-bags in the Reef lose a prisoner, and [i]we[/i] have to track him down. Ugh. [b]Winston:[/b] I know, right? Why the hell can't they go get their own damn prisoner back? It's not like they have anything better to do. [b]Harley:[/b] I would give up Blink for this day to just end. [b]Winston:[/b] Speaking of- [b]Harley:[/b] Oh for the last time, NO! I'm not teaching you my Blink technique. [b]Winston:[/b] Wha- I [i]taught[/i] you how to Blink! [b]Harley:[/b] And? [b]Winston:[/b] You could show a little appreciation! [b]Harley:[/b] You gonna teach me Self Res? [b]Winston:[/b] No. [b]Harley:[/b] Well then, sucks to be you. [b]Winston:[/b] Ya know- As the two were arguing, Teddy had returned from the cargo hold with a large bag and slammed it down on the table in between them. Through the opening in the bag, a considerable pile of red metal glinted in the light of the main deck lamps. [b]Teddy:[/b] Harley, what the -blam!- is this? [b]Harley:[/b] Ummm... looks like Relic Iron to me. [b]Teddy:[/b] I know what it is! [b]Harley:[/b] Then why the hell did you ask? [b]Teddy:[/b] Why do you have it? [b]Harley:[/b] I bought it. [b]Winston:[/b] You had Vanguard marks the whole time!? We could of just went and bought that shit! [b]Harley:[/b] Nnnno. [i]I[/i] could have went and bought that shit. Not you two. [b]Teddy:[/b] So we went all the way to Mars for NOTHING? [b]Harley:[/b] I wouldn't say [i]nothing[/i]. Winston learned an important life lesson about the value of hydration in hot climates. [b]Winston:[/b] You- [b]Ratchet:[/b] Inbound on Venus. E.T.A. 3 minutes. [b]Teddy:[/b] Oh this is far from over. Our guardians donned their gear and equipped their weapons. Merv chose the ideal landing zone for our drop onto the planet, and we made our landing. [b]Merv:[/b] It's approximately 2.8 miles to target. We'd better move. [b]Winston:[/b] 2.8 miles!? What the hell man? We know exactly where the target is, and time is kinda of the essence here! [b]Merv:[/b] Oh, did you wanna navigate? Do you have an internal GPS subroutine designed specifically for pinpointing an ideal drop location amidst hordes of hostile forces? No? That's what I thought. [b]Gibbs:[/b] He's actually right...for once. Any closer and we run the risk of being shot down by Fallen dropships. [b]Teddy:[/b] Let's just go. We don't have time to argue about this. [b]Merv:[/b] Yeah, [i]Winston[/i]. [b]Winston:[/b] Merv... [b]Merv:[/b] Shutting up. We summoned our guardians' sparrows and set out. Reaching our target would be no easy task. Scans showed multiple enemy mobs and rough terrain ahead. It wasn't long before we reached the first enemy encampment. [b]Ratchet:[/b] Multiple enemy combatants ahead. I count ten or more Vandals, multiple Dregs and Shanks, and one Major Captain. [b]Teddy:[/b] Great. Harley, tell me you brought a sniper with you. [b]Harley:[/b] Nooo, I left it at home next to the coffee pot. Yes, idiot I brought a sniper rifle. *Pow*Pow***Pow**Pow*****Pow*Pow* [b]Winston:[/b] ....Seriously? You missed every shot? [b]Harley:[/b] Give me a break this thing is brand new. I haven't had a chance to sight it in yet. [b]Teddy:[/b] Oh for -blam!- sakes. Screw this. Teddy engaged his sparrow's boost drive and headed up the hill. Just before reaching the Captain, he jumped off of his vehicle and slammed his fists into the ground. The force of his Fists of Havoc sent every Fallen within the blast's radius flying back, disintegrating in a flash of Arc energy. He turned and fired his rifle into the remaining mob, dispatching the last of the Fallen combatants. [b]Teddy:[/b] Sometime today would be nice! [b]Harley:[/b] Holy shit. [b]Winston:[/b] Right? Who knew that asshat actually had a few skills up his sleeve? Winston and Harley raced to catch up to Teddy, who was already making his way to our next checkpoint. By the time they reached him, he was already taking care of the few Fallen on the path and, surprisingly, some Vex Goblins. [b]Gibbs:[/b] Vex? What are they doing here? [b]Harley:[/b] Do we care? Around the next corner there was another small force of Fallen and a considerable amount of Vex. A few Golden Gun shots and a very well placed Nova Bomb made quick work of the enemy. Teddy's Lightning Grenades took care of the stragglers. A short time later we reached a large open area full of Fallen and Vex gripped in a furious battle. Rather than risk being caught in the crossfire, we waited it out. Once the enemy had thinned each others number out a bit, Teddy smirked and drew a large silverish rocket launcher with ornate gold filigree and fired two rockets into the fray. The initial blasts killed the majority of them, and tracking cluster bombs took care of the rest. [b]Teddy:[/b] Hahaaaa! Goddamn this launcher is awesome! [b]Winston:[/b] Dude! What the -blam!- was [i]that[/i]!? [b]Teddy:[/b] What this ol' thing? I call it a Ballerhorn. [b]Harvey:[/b] Holy shit. I need to get me one of those... [b]Teddy:[/b] Yeah I got this from the Crucible a few weeks ago. Just finished upgrading it with that Cabal Major bounty I turned in today. You wanna hear something funny? I went 2 and 16 that match! Hahahahaaaa! Suck it tryhards! [b]Winston:[/b] Get the -blam!- outta here.. [b]Teddy:[/b] No, really. It was the worst match I've ever played, haha. [b]Gibbs:[/b] Guys, could we focus please? Ratchet, can you get that door open? [b]Ratchet:[/b] I swear that's all we do. Revive guardians, open doors. Revive guardians, open more doors. What the hell is the point? [b]Gibbs:[/b] I didn't ask to hear about your internal struggle with existence, Ratchet. Open. The door. [b]Merv:[/b] No seriously, he has a point. Why are we- [b]Gibbs:[/b] MERV! [b]Merv:[/b] Shutting up. As Ratchet was busy working on the door, I detected an anomoly. We were about to have company. [b]Gibbs:[/b] Vex incoming! Guardians! [b]Teddy:[/b] Winston, guard Ratchet! Gibbs, Merv, come with me! Harley, get up on that outcropping of rock with your sniper! And maybe, I don't know, try and land a shot or two this time. [b]Harley:[/b] You know what?.. [b]Teddy:[/b] Just do it. I'll hold them here. The Vex materialized in a cloud of darkness. The Goblins were easy to handle. The Major Minotaurs provided a bit of a problem. Teddy whipped out his shotgun and went to work, with Harley providing excellent sniper cover from her elevated position. Winston threw his void grenades, taking down the Minotaurs' shields and allowing Harley and Teddy to quickly dispose of the enemy threat. As the next wave of Vex began to materialize, Teddy took cover behind the nearest boulder. [b]Teddy:[/b] Gibbs! Switch me to Defender and give me my Jolder's Hammer, now! [b]Gibbs:[/b] You'll have to recharge for your Ward! [b]Teddy:[/b] *smirk* I won't need my Ward. Winston get down here! I switched Teddy to Defender, replaced his launcher with his machine gun, and loaded a heavy synth into his weapon. As soon as the Vex spawned, Teddy jumped out from behind cover and fired into the weaker mobs, generating an orb of light for every kill. He took a couple of Hobgoblin shots and retreated back. [b]Teddy:[/b] Ow, ow, ow, ow , ow , OWWW! That shit hurts like a bitch! Winston, now! Winston ran to Teddy and absorbed the light he had generated and unleashed a devastating Nova Bomb into the Hobgoblins, generating some orbs of his own. Harley was busy handling a secondary spawn of Hobbs that was trying to sneak up behind Teddy. A few well placed shots from her sniper made quick work of them. Teddy gave her a short salute and prepared for the next wave that was already arriving. [b]Harley:[/b] You owe me one, fatboy! [b]Teddy:[/b] It's not fat, asshole it's power! [b]Harley:[/b] Yeah, OK. Keep tellin yourself that, tough guy! Teddy picked up Winston's orbs and dropped his Ward of Dawn just as the next mob showed up. Teddy and Winston strafed in and out of the bubble, pot shotting the trash mobs so they could focus on the Hydras that had appeared without sustaining additional flanking fire. When the bubble disappeared, Winston and Teddy advanced on the Hydras. They pulled out their shotguns and took turns circling the Hydras, jumping to get over their shields and blasting their crit spots while Harley continued to fire sniper rounds into them. They went down surprisingly easy. [b]Ratchet:[/b] OK, door is open. [b]Teddy:[/b] Well it's about damn time! Let's get this done. [b]Gibbs:[/b] Think they'd mind if we take their Pikes? [b]Harley:[/b] Pffft. I wouldn't be caught dead on one of those pieces of shit. The three hopped on their sparrows and continued on. Rather than fight the additional Vex along the way, we decided to simply boost past them. We took a few rounds, but escaped mostly unharmed. The second group was a bit more difficult to a maneuver around, but Winston kept the Hydras distracted while the rest of us went around behind them. Winston caught up with us just as we reached our destination. It was time for the final fight. Part 2 https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/114776145/0/0