Legend Untold Chapter 19 Blank Slate Chapter 33 [i]Freehold Part 11[/i] Our force of fourteen Guardians smashed into the Cabal line, which had barely had time to scramble into any form of defensive position after they saw us coming. Legionaries fell by the drove, unable to advance past the groups of Phalanxes without being dropped instantly. And the Phalanxes themselves couldn’t hold with grenades, rockets, and Titans shoving gaps into their lines. Captains were picked off before they could direct their troops and the Psions were forced to cower behind the supply crates and defensive barricades. I stood on a dune with Yvan and Crag, who had found a spot far enough away to use their rifles but close enough to be targeted by the enemy. But with a dozen other Guardians in front of us, we were the last thing on their minds. There were dozens of Cabal, some still left from the group that had been at the supply drop and others that were coming in from nearby, but with so many of us shooting and wielding Light, they couldn’t keep up. “Uh, Drew,” I remembered that he was almost completely unprotected, “Cabal ammunition is all micro-missiles, which are good at tearing things up. So I would advise trying not to get-“ “YEEEEEOOOOOOOOOW!” Drew yelped. “…shot…” I finished with a sigh. “WAR IS THE ONLY CONSTANT!” Drew roared angrily, throwing a Phalanx into a Legionary. “I love the way you think, purple!” Fehri laughed, shooting a hole in another Legionary’s helmet. “This is so easy!” Nat exclaimed, punching out a Centurion. “They’re not used to handling more than a couple Guardians at a time,” I noted. “Come on, Will!” Drew called, “There’s plenty to go around!” “I think I’ll stay over…” I trailed off as a giant vehicle came around a nearby building. It was a huge blocky figure with four engines keeping it hovering above the ground, a top-mounted rotating cannon, and several other smaller weapon systems hooked up to its two segments. “I’m coming,” I stated, and ran out to help. “Goliath Tank!” John warned, calling everyone’s attention to the vehicle. The main cannon turned to where Trixie and Ilya stood amongst a group of Cabal, and an orange glow began to grow in the barrel. “GET DOWN!” I shouted. Just in time, the two ran out of the way and avoided the blast, but some of the Cabal they had been fighting got tossed into the air like confetti, their bodies burning. Friendly fire was no concern. Welkine was the next person to fall under the gaze of the tank, but was too busy with a couple Phalanxes to notice. Finally reaching the heart of the battle, I made it to Welkine and tackled him to the ground. The burning orange ball of energy soared just over us, heating my back but passing to hit the ground several meters away. I scrambled up and gave Welkine space, taking out the Phalanxes he had been busy with. The Titan got to his hands and needs and inspected himself. “Hey! I didn’t get hit that-!” he was cut off by a Centurion coming in with its jet back and landing on his back, crushing him. Acting quickly, I tackled the Cabal and ended it with a few rounds to the throat, then looked to see a fresh wave of troops had come in with the tank. Welkine stirred behind me. “Why is it always me?” he grumbled as he rose to his feet. “How are we going to handle that tank?” Null asked, pumping sniper rounds into it, “It takes bullets like a sponge!” “I got it!” Drew declared, then sprinted past some Cabal straight towards the tank. “Drew, wait!” I tried stopping him. But it was too late, and Drew only made it a dozen or so meters away from the tank before it shot again, sending his corpse careening through the air until it plowed into the side of a dune. Drew was revived and up again in no time, but the rest of us were in a mad scramble to avoid the Goliath while also battling ground troops. “Aim for the thrusters!” I told everyone. “What part is that?” Trixie questioned. “The four engines that make it hover!” I took a moment to facepalm, “We need to be able to get close to do some real damage!” “It’s mine!” Nat called, and I watched as she charged exactly as Drew had. Luckily, when its cannon turned on her she was smart enough to turn and run, but her apparent panic was just embarrassing. “Somebody do something!” the Titan cried as she made the Goliath follow her in a wide arc. “Fehri!” I spotted the Warlock nearby and got his attention, “With me, while its distracted!” “Party time,” Fehri twirled his hand cannon around his finger. Together we charged, but to our surprise the Goliath angled its front side towards us instead of trying to drift away. That was when I noticed the turret snuggly tucked against its underbelly. “Split up!” I shoved Fehri to alter his course. A stream of glowing red Cabal rounds flew between the two of us, following Fehri as we moved further apart. We definitely had it chasing too many targets now. As I neared the tank, its rear left turbine exploded under the fire from our snipers, making it list slightly before straightening back out. Some of the others cheered, but it was short lived as the vehicle resumed firing. At last I reached the Goliath and tried grabbing at its forward right turbine to find a way to mess with it, but it began spinning away from me and my arm was burnt. I kept myself pressed up to the side to keep out of shooting range, so only the occasional shot from a foot soldier would get me. After a moment of racking my brain for options, I balled up my Light in my hand and slapped a Magnetic grenade onto the engine, but the explosion wasn’t enough to destroy it. “I’m stuck guys,” I jogged lightly to keep up with the movements of the tank. “I thought you were going to use a Nova Bomb or something!” Sierra criticized. “I blew all of my Light on that earlier!” I argued, “I’m still recharging!” A sniper round pinged off of the armored thruster and ricocheted right past my head. “Hey! Check your aim!” “You check your head!” Yvan yelled back, and another shot hit right next to me, “I’m being useful!” Muttering under my breath, I jumped up on top of the Goliath. It surged forward, trying to shake me off and hit some of the others that were now shooting at its engines. They had picked off most of the other Cabal now. I fell to one knee and grabbed onto the tank to keep balance, but I did not fall and everyone else managed to keep from being run over. As it slowed again I got to my feet and dove under the cannon barrel as it rotated to swat me off, then came up pressed against the top section. “What now?” Rush asked. “Now you fly away and fix me up after,” I told him. “Oh I’m gonna love this,” Rush chuckled, then appeared in front of me and flew up and away. “Yes you are,” I sighed, forming a grenade in my hand. Hearing the hum of the cannon charging up, I took a few quick breaths to prepare myself for the pain, then stepped out along the barrel and plunged my arm in. Searing pain rode up my arm as I let the bomb fall in, and before I could even pull myself out I was tossed by the explosion. I spun through the air, some moments seeing sky and some seeing ground, but was suddenly dragged to a halt as my head and then the rest of my body hit sand. No sound left my mouth aside from a soft groan, and I could only imagine that it was because my throat couldn’t express the pain I was in. To my relief I felt my body begin to heal after several moments. Broken bones fell in line and burnt flesh was restored. Rush was floating next to me when I was finally able to sit up. “That just made my day,” Yvan commented on the channel. “Why do you love the suffering of others so much?” Welkine questioned. “That thing’s still floating!” Quintel warned. I spun around to find the Goliath still puttering along, all of its thrusters and its main body spewing smoke, but to my relief the entire cannon section on the top had been shredded by the explosion. “It’s gotta be only a few shots away from blowing up,” I assured the others, “And it has one gun left.” “Alright, stand back sissies,” Sierra ordered, and I looked to see her on a dune, raising her rocket launcher to her shoulder. Pt10: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/245635383/0/0 Pt12: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/245636028/0/0 ToC: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/212710816/0/0