Previous episode https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/113512733/0/0 ****Rated "R". Readers under 17 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian**** (See what I did there?) [u]Episode 4: A Line in the Sand[/u] After an incredible amount of careful planning and incessant bickering we were finally ready to go. The Cabal had extracted all of the weapons and armor that Ratchet, Merv and I had stored and uploaded them to a light drive I assume they'd ripped from the ghost of a guardian they'd killed. We would need our guardians' gear if we were going to pull this off. Teddy would have to be careful with the placement and timing of his Ward of Dawn, Harley had a full charge of invisibility ready to go, and Winston....well, Winston wasn't overly thrilled about his part. [b]Winston:[/b] Are you guys sure about this? [b]Harley:[/b] You're charged, right? [b]Winston:[/b] Well, yeah. But- [b]Harley:[/b] Then shut your mouth and let's get this done. Teddy? [b]Teddy:[/b] And the knife that Winston said made me look like a complete jackass makes a timely and important appearance. How about that? Teddy strolled across the cell, a wry smile on his face, and plunged the knife into Winston's neck. Winston dropped to the floor with his hands on his throat, coughing up blood and gasping for air before slowly slipping away. [b]Teddy:[/b] OK so, don't read too far into this, and don't tell him I said it either... but that felt really, REALLY good. [b]Harley:[/b] I bet. OK Merv, you're up. [b]Merv:[/b] Winston! WINSTON!!! NOOOO! Don't leave me Winston!! Why!? WHY?! You were my best friend! You were my only friend! What am I gonna do without you! Ahhhhh! [b]Harley:[/b] Jesus, Merv. I said make a scene not dump out your purse in the jail cell. [b]Merv:[/b] I'm just trying to make it convincing. [b]Ratchet:[/b] Here they come. 3 Cabal Legionaires, drawn by the sound of Merv's screams, arrived within seconds. Before they got to the door, Merv quietly dematerialized into Winston's internal system files and lay dormant to avoid detection. They opened the cell door with guns drawn and commanded us to face the wall and remain still. They picked up Winston's lifeless body and carried him off down the corridor, setting the locks on their way out. [b]Gibbs:[/b] Nothing to do now but wait. [b]Teddy:[/b] Man I hope this works. Winston is a good dude and all, but he's not the shiniest turd in the punch bowl. [b]Harley:[/b] That's rich coming from you. [b]Teddy:[/b] Meaning? [b]Harley:[/b] Umm.. [i]Titan[/i]. [b]Teddy:[/b] You're kind of a bitch, you know that? [b]Harley:[/b] Listen, asshole. I was dead for over 400 years until this flying soup can -[b]Ratchet:[/b] Hey, come on. - decides to wake me up and tell me the whole galaxy has gone to shit. I've been shot, stabbed, blown up, run over, and revived more times than I care to remember. And the outstanding beauty of every planet I visit is overshadowed by the fact that they're crawling with thousands of douchbag aliens hell bent on killing me again and again and again. So excuse me if my attitude is less than positive. [b]Teddy:[/b] Point taken. [b]Merv:[/b] Shhh. Do you hear that? It was the sound of gunfire coming from somewhere beyond the end of the corridor. Every second it grew louder and closer. The sound of explosions filled the hall. All of a sudden there a was deafening blast and the wall of the cell blew apart. There, in the midst of the rubble stood Winston. Fully armored, sheathed in flame, wings of solid fire erupting from his back. [b]Winston:[/b] What's up, mother -blam!-ers? We gotta go. Winston reached in his pocket and withdrew the light drive the Cabal had loaded our weapons onto. He tossed it to Harley, and Ratchet got to work extracting the armor and weapon files and uploading them to mine and Merv's internal drives. [b]Gibbs:[/b] You want Saint-14, or Armamentarium? [b]Teddy:[/b] Do you even have to ask? I loaded his Saint-14 and the rest of his gear to his augmentation system and gave him his rifle. Ratchet was busy similarly outfitting Harley. It was time to make a break for freedom. [b]Teddy:[/b] Alright, stick to the plan. Stay on my ass, and don't get lost. We're gettin outta this shitheap. [b]Harley:[/b] I thought we agreed I was taking point? [b]Teddy:[/b] Oh you are adorable. Squishy wittle Hunter wants to pway with the big boys. I don't think so kid. [b]Harley:[/b] -blam!-. You. [b]Winston:[/b] Can we go now, please? If I die again I won't be coming back. And I kinda like being alive. [b]Gibbs:[/b] Scanning all Cabal frequencies. They know we're escaping. We have to move. [b]Teddy:[/b] Well no shit. Winston just tore through the base like a blundering moron. I thought I said be quiet about it? [b]Winston:[/b] Yeah, ok. I suppose I could have of just went invis and quietly slit the throats of all the Legionaires and Psions on my way here to break your bitch ass outta jail. Oh wait, no I couldn't cause I'm a -blam!-ing Warlock, idiot. We slipped through the hole in the wall and made our way to the main hall. The Cabal seemed to be under the impression we'd escaped through the main corridor leading to the cells because there wasn't a soul in sight. We exited through the north blast doors and into a large circular alcove overlooking the front gates. [b]Ratchet:[/b] We have to find a way down. I'll scan the area for an exit. This could take some time. [b]Gibbs:[/b] "I would have had that door open in less than 90 seconds." And yet, needs extra time to map out a blueprint of the base. [b]Ratchet:[/b] I didn't ask for your input, dickhead. [b]Merv:[/b] They found us! Cabal forces coming in through the south doors! The Cabal flooded into the alcove. There were dozens of them. The room erupted into a hail of gunfire. There were too many. And their constant jetlift maneuvers were making it difficult for our guardians to get a bead on them. [b]Teddy:[/b] Everyone group up! Blessing of Light incoming! Teddy threw up his Ward of Dawn, and everyone scrambled to get inside. [b]Teddy:[/b] Ooms, ooms, ooms. Yeahhhh. Get it. Get it. [b]Harley:[/b] What the -blam!- are you doing!? [b]Teddy:[/b] Isn't it obvious? Bubble dance party, baby! Mmmm. Mmm. Get served, son. [b]Winston:[/b] Really!? Now!?!? Throw a goddamn suppressor so we can kill these -blam!-ing turtles! [b]Teddy:[/b] Ugh FINE! Teddy pulled out a suppressor grenade and tossed it. Apparently forgetting that his bubble prevents any projectile from entering or exiting. [b]Harley:[/b] Oh you have GOT to be kidding me! Now none of us have any abilities you jackhole! [b]Teddy:[/b] Yeah so, about that. Kind of green of me. Not my best moment. [b]Ratchet:[/b] Ok, I found a way out. I've opened all the doors on our route to the front gates. Should be a straight shot. [b]Harley:[/b] I'm taking point since this toolbag can't seem to focus. Let's get the hell outta here! Teddy took the rear flank, providing suppressing fire with his MG as Harley led the way through the east blast doors and out into the hall. We made our way down to the ground floor and through the courtyard to the front gate. The Cabal had run through Teddy's bubble and gone blind, covering our escape. We fled through the gates and summoned our sparrows, putting as much distance as possible between us and the giant cluster-blam!- that we had just barely survived. Once we were sure the Cabal weren't following, we called down our ship and returned to orbit. For obvious reasons, we never acquired the Relic Iron we went down there for in the first place. [i]Episode 5: Yes Land Beyond[/i] https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/114567348/0/0