Link to Chapter Index: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/164556054 Chapter One: Sudden Disturbance The King was dead. Any remnants of the Taken had fled, never to return. The fireteam that claimed Oryx’s head had returned to the Tower, and a celebration was in order. Each Guardian of that fireteam would be given special recognition for the entire Tower to see. Cayde-6, Zavala, Ikora, and the fireteam of Guardians stood on the platform, just behind and above the Bounty Tracker. Each Guardian was congratulated by his or her respective Vanguard. Commander Zavala approached the two Titans of that fireteam. “Theron Halifax and Raya Maraya, I hereby grant you both the Vanguard Medal of Honor for slaying the Light’s greatest threat. You’ve done well, Guardians.” Ikora Rey gracefully walked up to the Warlocks. “Tiktra-4 and Kathryn Arkton, you two have far exceeded my expectations. You have grown so much in the past year, the Vanguard is very proud of you. You are gifted the Vanguard Medal of Honor.” Last, but not least, Cayde-6 casually strolled over to the Hunters, of course. “Hey, Guys. Uhh… Annika Triton and Rekar-257, right? Damn, that’s a lot of wipes… Anyways, you two work well together. Wish I could have been there with you. Here, take these shiny pins. Good work.” Commander Zavala stepped to the center and announced, “Fireteam Stiletto has defeated Oryx. It is a day of celebration.” The Tower cheered with excitement and joy. The Taken King had finally fallen. There was nothing left to do but rejoice. However… the celebration would be short-lived. Suddenly, a behemothic explosion erupted down in the Last City. The Guardians rushed over to the edge of the Tower to see what was occurring. Explosions after explosions were completely obliterating the City. Chaos had struck. “Get a fireteam down there now!” Zavala yelled. “Cayde, you go too!” Cayde-6 nodded, grabbed some Guardians, and hurried down to the City. Fireteam Stiletto nearly followed, however, the source of the problem had arrived at the Tower. Several Cabal Harvesters warped in overhead and loomed ominously. “What the Hell?!” Raya exclaimed. “Why isn’t the Traveler stopping them?!” “It is reasonable to assume that the Cabal have devised a method in which to bypass the Traveler’s defenses,” Tiktra-4 stated in response. Kathryn slowly walked towards the Cabal ships with her hands in the air. “Please,” she implored. “Don’t fight us! There is no need for more innocent people to be harmed! Let us resolve our differences peacefully and diplomatically!” This was a tactic she used every time before a fight. It had never worked, but her extreme devotion to morals compelled her to try. Just as precedent had hinted, the Cabal responded to Kathryn with exploding bullets. The Harvesters dropped off several waves of Cabal troops onto the Tower. “Stiletto,” Zavala announced. “Hold off the Cabal. The Vanguard needs to move all non-combat personnel to a safe location. Give us time, Guardians!” The fireteam complied and fortified its position. “Alright, Stiletto,” Theron bellowed. “Fend off the attackers! Let’s show these pushovers how a real military operates!” Cabal Legionaries and Phalanxes slowly approached them, with Centurions and Colossi bringing up the rear with rockets and grenades rising into the air and crashing down like suicide bombers. “Oh great,” Rekar-257 uttered. “Looks like we’re all about to be slaughtered.” Raya quickly laid down a Ward of Dawn, blocking the incoming fire. “Nice timing!” Annika exclaimed in response. “What can I say,” Raya replied. “Titan master class.” The Hunters gave her a disapproving look as several Phalanxes inched into the Ward, and were immediately blinded. Tiktra-4 floated up into the air and activated Stormtrance, letting a devastating lightning bolt dart down from under him, obliterating the advancing Phalanxes. He pushed outward, disintegrating any Cabal that dared stand in his way with Kathryn covering his back. Rekar-257 and Annika rushed out and flanked around left and right respectively, allowing the Titans a clear path to the center. Theron dashed to the center, jumped up in the air, and fired three rockets into the crowd, effectively eliminating dozens of Cabal. Then, he shifted his attention to a trio of Imperial Colossi with a detachment of Psions. “Tiktra, Annika, come with me!” Theron ordered. The three of them charged into the scene. Annika fired a Shadowshot into a Psion’s skull; immediately ending its life and tethering the rest of the Psions. Tiktra-4 fired one sniper bullet directly in between one of their eyes, instantly killing it. With the tether in place, the damage was chained to the remaining Psions, eliminating them all. Then, the trio of Imperial Colossi roared and started haphazardly firing their chainguns. Bullets sped past Theron as he relentlessly unleashed a flurry of flaming hammers onto the trio of Colossi. Tiktra-4 rapidly fired his sniper rifle into each of their heads as Annika pumped the Cabal with The Last Word. The Imperial Colossi were inevitably slaughtered. The Tower was laid to waste, but all was quiet. Fireteam Stiletto regrouped and high-fived each other, except for Rekar-257 who really couldn’t care less. “Good work, Team!” Theron congratulated. Then, there was an anomalous echo that emanated from the distance. The fireteam looked over the edge of the Tower, and saw three Imperial Land Tanks accelerating towards the Tower. “What is happening?” Kathryn whispered to herself. “Why can’t the Traveler fight back?” The Land Tanks ceased advancement as railguns emerged from their topsides. The railguns were aimed at the Tower, directly at Stiletto. “Run!” Theron shouted. The fireteam turned to retreat as several explosions covered them and shattered the Tower. [b]That's the first chapter! Short, I know. They'll be longer next time! I just wanted to see what you all thought of it, and any suggestions you might have! Be sure to leave what you liked, what can be improved, and any spelling/ grammar errors I may have made. Thanks for reading![/b]