The Sea of Oblivion Mission 2: Lord Help Me... [spoiler]Want to read what came before? [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/234208454]Master Post[/url][/spoiler] The mission begins with a cutscene. It takes place in the Consensus board room, however the City bureaucrats aren't present, save from Poe-3. You, the Vanguard, Sloan, and Asher are all in the room. Ghost: "... and then we got out." Zavala: "Something doesn't make sense." Ikora: "Agreed. They are hiding something." Cayde: "Well yea. Why would they attack us like that. We could help them if all they need is a place to live." Asher: "I suggest an intelligence operation." Zavala: "We have to. Every hour we divert resources to the Titan quarantine is a week's worth of fighting forfeited to our enemies." Cayde: "And what about tubba tubba? Can we ask his highnesses anything?" Poe-3 (angrily): "I will try to contact Emperor Calus, however he has proven himself to be... less than complacent." Ikora: "Anyone disagree with the plan?" Nobody speaks up. Zavala: "Than it is settled. Ikora, send someone to contact Calus and see what he knows about the Bloom. Asher, Sloan, and I will prep our Guardian for the intel mission. Cayde... don't screw anything up." Cayde: "I am offended that you don't trust me enough to give me a task." Poe-3: "Cayde, you can go and confiscate Ararch Jalaal's plasteel extractors. Cayde (to himself): "Me and my big mouth..." Zavala: "Lets get to it." The scene ends. On your way to Titan Zavala: "Sloan will guide you through the terrain. Asher will help you with the intelligence gathering. I am at standby if anything goes wrong. Remember. Be careful. I don't want you to be the first Guardian we lose to the Bloom." You fly in through the top of the Arcology and land in the middle of Shayun Park. It is a barren place where most of the wildlife has been killed off. Asher: "Get into to one of those larger sclerolattice structures." You are sent to the nearest one. The doorway is a tall, thin, shapeless hole in the side. The inside of the ship is crossed with strange technology made of the black rock and a deep orangish fluid that runs through opaque pipes. There are several rooms like this. You are met by several Fallow. Asher: "Get into a control room. Hopefully that can explain something." You are designated to go to a smaller room to your right. This one in particular is filled with those orange tubes that seem to lead to nowhere. You scan what appears to be a control panel. Asher: "This seems to be of a different dialect based solely through olfactory senses. Zavala, patch me into a cryptarch." Rahool: "Hello." Asher: "Indeed hello fellow man of intellectual pursuit. We have come across a language based on scent. Can you assist us in deciphering some of it?" Rahool: "In a minute. Right now I have to ruin this kid's dreams. He thinks he has a legendary! If only." Asher: "Is he kidding?" Rahool: "Only shards for you!" Ghost: "No he isn't." Rahool: "Okay then. So imagine every molecule is a letter or word. The bonding of these molecules implies a correlation between them. How they are bonded further implies their meaning. I shouldn't be long." You are tasked with defending the panel. You are met with three waves of Fallow and Effete. Effete are slightly larger than Fallow with fire coral (https://imgur.com/a/DghsX) like structures on their body. They are more willing to take cover than Fallow, can throw Cryo grenades like Fallow, but also shoot clouds of Solar plasma from their coral. These clouds move slowly and don't seek but are sent out in large groups. They play similarly to Fallow, with the same critical spots, but there is the addition that shooting their coral with the matching element (solar) will break it off and prevent them from utilizing that ability. Once the three waves are dealt with, Rahool: "I have developed a 1:1 key. You are getting it now." Asher: "Thanks... now let's see. There isn't too much here on the Bloom or what they are doing. Something about a dense organic matter concentration in the lower levels of the arcology." Sloan: "The Hive were definitely building something down there. Enough organic matter for the Bloom to build whatever they want. Can you find something more specific?" Ghost: "Let's get into one of those black buildings." You are sent to a nearby black structure on a causeway defended by some Bloom. Inside are a lot of those orange tubes that converge into a point of sclerolattice on the floor. You scan it. Asher: "Now this is interesting. Apparently the Bloom reproduce asexually through budding. In spite of this, their offspring's genome differs more so than one produced. Imagine the biodiversity under this very roof! I digress. There is also mention of a Banal being constructed on deck 8 sub 4." Sloan: "I have good news and bad news. Bad news is that is a long haul and pretty deep. Good news is that you can pick up one of those construction tanks." You are designated to follow the causeway to the end of the forest, over a lake. You encounter some Bloom along the way. Asher: "These Bloom are fascinating! They are extremely resilient. They can thrive in almost any fluid or aqueous solution, as long as there is organic matter present, no matter the density or proton ratio!" As you reach several construction tanks that have careened off the road. You take one. You begin to descend into the the arcology. Initially you are met with huge electronic billboards and neon lights expected from the arcology along with those weird black structures filled with Bloom. You reach a large empty elevator shaft. Sloan: "There's no way forward but down." You jump down into it and fall a good couple hundred feet. You land and if you drove the tank over, it is destroyed. Ghost: "I detect another one nearby. However it is a bit broken. I will have to get into it." You approach the tank and scan it. Ghost: "I can make it work, however the acceleration is broken and the radio is stuck to on and... wow that's old. I hope you don't mind a classic." You get into the tank. You can hear "Cause I'm as free as a bird now, and this bird you cannot change." [url=https://youtu.be/3P4-Q3ZdX6Q]Free Bird[/url] (by Lynyrd Skynyrd) starts blasting as you fly through a Hive and Bloom battleground in a tank that moves way too fast for its own good. Shriekers and Drivel battle for control as you zoom across a platform keeping you from falling hundreds of feet to your doom. You indiscriminately smash through everything in your path until you reach your target, a huge Banal being constructed from an even bigger Hive growth. A cutscene begins. With Lynyrd Skynyrd still playing in the background, near the Banal is a Titan. He is dressed in bronze Mad Max like armor using the Red Death with a Steal Witch ornament applied. He is attacking the Bloom with everything at his disposal. Ikora: "Lake, do you know the meaning of the word Hidden?!" The Titan, named Lake, catches a cryo grenade and throws it back at the Bloom that threw it, killing several Fallow and Effete. Lake (with the voice of a gruff exo): "Can we discuss my ruined cover if I live?!" He shoots one Fallow in the leg, but while reloading his Red Death it throws a cryo grenade at him, to which he throws his mag at and they blow up mid air. Meanwhile Free Bird is playing the background still. Lake: "It's alright. I don't need any assistance." He summons his Sentinel Shield and throws it, killing 4 Effete before careening off and hitting the glass, cracking it and getting the interest of some huge sea creature behind it. He uses his other shield to block incoming Hive Boomer shots. Lake: "Guardian, get ready to floor it." He gets behind some cover, jumps up and throws a magnetic grenade at the crack, and hides behind it again. It explodes causing methane to come pouring in. Lake: "Floor it!" Suddenly he comes running towards you and behind him a huge Hive Worm, at least a hundred feet long, comes crashing in through the crack and bites the Banal in half while methane is rushing uncontrollably in to flood the room. Lake hops on the back of the tank, still shooting. The scene ends and you are now in control of the tank. You have to come back from where you came, with Lake acting as a gunner. You have to outrun the angry Bloom and Hive along with rising methane until you reach the elevator. The elevator begins to rise as the music finally fades out. Ikora: "Lake, I want you at the Tower ASAP! [she takes a deep breath] Guardian, the Emperor has said that he will only commune with 'one of his champions' so I need you to go to the Leviathan." Zavala: "Sloan, I need you to assess the damages Lake has done to the arcology. And Asher, continue to you can gleam from this expedition." The mission ends.