[url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/246624086/0/0]Table of Contents[/url] [i]”You think that was the last one?” Hayden whispered, pressing his back against the cold concrete wall and holding his rifle to his chest. He watched the corpse in front of him warily, as if the man could spring up at any moment despite the bullet hole in his head. “Yeah…” Natalia nodded, peeking carefully around the corner. “Well, go on then,” the blonde woman urged impatiently. But her bravado was only a facade, and she stayed at the back of the group. No one moved. “Well I’m not goin’ first,” the man with long black hair hissed, shifting impatiently between Hayden and the woman, “There could be more.” “Oh, but aren’t they just rats with guns?” the woman taunted, mimicking the man’s voice almost perfectly, “No match for us! Not the great Fargo Louse!” The black-haired man, Fargo, scowled at the woman, “What if there’s still a dozen men back there? Maybe they have a secret weapon? Maybe they stole some Fallen tech that turns us into dust.” “They can do that?” Natalia inquired, looking back at Fargo with wide eyes. Fargo shrugged nonchalantly, as if the answer didn’t matter, “Not sure.” Still no one went around the corner. The four of them sat in awkward silence until they heard the echo of footsteps bouncing down the hall behind them. They spun, aiming their weapons at the end of the hall. Oliver rounded the corner, practically skipping. Hayden was only partially relieved to see that it was the stout man and not another of Fairmont’s defenders. Oliver flashed a smile as he drew near, unperturbed by the sight of his allies prepared to shoot him. “Little tense, eh?” He chuckled, strolling towards them as they lowered their guard, “What’s the problem?” “This is the end,” the woman muttered, clearly irritated by Oliver’s upbeat attitude, “We don’t know if there’s any left. “I’ll check it out then,” Oliver chirped, walking right past them and around the corner into the next branch of the hallway. Natalia moved to follow, but Hayden grabbed her wrist and pleaded quietly, “Wait.” Oliver noticed and paused a moment, his lips slowly stretching into an idiotic grin. Then he curtsied, using his free hand to mime the action of lifting an imaginary dress, “M’Lady.” Having finished making a fool of himself, Oliver strode to the end of the hall. Hayden watched over Natalia’s shoulder as the stout man reached the end without incident, coming to a stop at the doorway to the final room. Sliding his foot along the ground, Oliver slowly pushed the door open. Instead of stepping inside, Oliver held his gun sideways and extended his arms into the room. The dim hallway lit up as he pulled the trigger, unleashing a volley of bullets into the unseen corner of the room. “What is that bolvan doin’?!” The woman spat. “He’s smarter than I thought,” Fargo muttered, sounding mildly impressed, “If anyone was hidin’ there, they’re dead now.” Oliver leaned into the room, checking the corner he had just shot into, then stepped inside. He gripped the door handle with one hand and held his gun at the ready, then swung the door out of his way. It slammed shut right as gunfire erupted in the room. Hayden and the others didn’t dare go to see what had happened. They stayed at their corner, weapons aimed at the closed door, and waited. Two more bursts of gunfire sounded, and Hayden’s heart jumped into his throat, then there was silence. A few seconds passed, enough time for the knots in Hayden’s stomach to double. “Told you there were more,” Fargo muttered. “Yeah,” Hayden scolded, “An’ now our best fighter’s dead. Happy?” Admitting that Oliver was helpful made Hayden wanted to bite his tongue, but he knew he couldn’t deny the truth. Oliver had been one of the first to follow Natalia. From the get-go Hayden didn’t like the stout man -who happily murdered and acted as if it were all part of some grand performance- but Oliver had proven that he was a deadly warrior. Hayden knew that Natalia needed people like him to wage her war, and losing him would only make things harder. “Anyone have any ideas?” Natalia asked, bringing Hayden’s worries back to the gunmen hiding in the room. “Got any explosives?” Fargo suggested. “Oh, explosives!” The woman echoed, oozing sarcasm, “We ‘ave plenty o’ those! Good idea! I was gonna suggest you bludgeon ‘em to death with that huge ego!” Fargo hissed at her, but everyone’s attention snapped back to the door as it swung open. “Two down!” Oliver cheered from the doorway, holding up two fingers, “Second guy was a crap shot! Mighta been Hayden’s long-lost brother!” Hayden considered shooting Oliver right then, but the thought passed in an instant. Natalia pumped her fist in the air and hollered with Oliver, “We did it!” Her arm sunk back down as Oliver rejoined them, and they all stood in awkward silence. Hayden was relieved that it was over, but didn’t know what to do with himself. He certainly didn’t feel like celebrating after all this death, and the others seemed to feel the same. “Let’s go back then…” Fargo muttered, turning and shuffling back the way they came. Everyone followed. Bodies littered the floor at the corner, and they had to take careful steps to avoid tripping. Hayden tried not to look, but couldn’t stop himself from seeing. They were the bodies of those that had rallied to Natalia, volunteers from all over the sector. They were regular people, wearing their warmest winter coats and carrying whatever weapons they could find. Hardly an army, and certainly not prepared to fight Warlords. Hayden’s boot hit metal, and he shied away from the body of an armored man. It was one of the gunmen who had ruled over Fairmont until now. Hayden didn’t know how many of them there were, but he expected there had been no more than a dozen. So few defenders, but Hayden knew that the death count of this battle was far higher. Word had spread of Natalia quickly: the new Warlord of Flats, the conquering queen who went from town to town helping the people of the sector rise against all their oppressors and take their lives into their own hands. Hayden didn’t know what had driven her to declare war against all those Warlords, and had tried to dissuade her many times to no avail, but had never left her side. Each victory gained Natalia new supporters, and some followed her as she made her way through the region. Many people wanted to fight for their freedom -or even the freedom of others- and she was their beacon. Fairmont was the last stronghold. It was a fortress, held by the largest force of Warlords in the sector, and the only ones Natalia had yet to defeat. They were dangerous, coiled in their castle like a dragon guarding its treasure. Natalia needed help to take it, and many had answered her call. Hayden hadn’t expected so many to come -could never have imagined it- but here they were. They had won, and finally had control of the entire region. And there was a trail of bodies behind them.[/i]