Hey all, lately I've felt my writing has not met the quality I feel it should. So I will be putting some extra effort into the installments following this to try and improve on that. Hope you continue to enjoy the story line. Ophelia kept her eyes closed, the throbbing of her body causing her vision to blur. She felt weightless, like she was flying. Deep breaths burned her throat and hurt her chest, but the clean, crisp, mountain air of Venus refreshed her lungs. The acid rain must have lifted, she thought. Gravity pulled her down and her weightlessness disappeared. The adrenalin shock sharpened her senses but she still did not open her eyes. She braced herself preparing to hit rock and metal. When she did not, she opened her eyes and felt her face burn slightly. His gentle arms cradling her, protecting her from fire. Alexander quickly moved Ophelia to cover. He could feel the static as five Line Wire shots barely missed their mark. He laid Ophelia down, propping her against the rock. She moved slightly, the world still spinning. “How are you feeling,” he asked. “That monster is tough,” she wheezed “Reloading!” Raven shouted over the coms. Peering over the rock, Alexander saw Aksor blink toward Raven. It was a short fluid movement, and it fired blazing shrapnel as it moved. Raven ducked the shrapnel and jumped down from her perch. Darting into a small alcove, she shade-stepped incoming Line Wire fire, and melted into the shadows. For an instant, silence covered the plateau. Aksor looked around and the constant barrage of arc and solar fire halted. A high pitch scream broke the brief calm as Holly raced around, a Shank hot on her tail. The Fallen all cocked their heads in confusion, their eyes fixated on the spectacle. “Leave me alone!” Holly shouted blindly shooting her scout rifle behind her. Only one shot hit, but it did not deter the Shank. Its eyes burned and it fired wildly. Shaking off the brief confusion, Aksor roared and the fire began again. “Switch me weapons,” Alexander said looking down at Ophelia. She held her auto rifle up without a fuss. Alexander traded his shotgun and vaulted over the cover of rocks. Sprinting at Aksor, he saw the slipstream form around his body; jumping into the air, he kneed Aksor in the side as it brought its shrapnel launcher to arms. Knocking it over, he emptied the magazine into Aksor. Alexander jumped back as it hit the ground, the shockwave carried him a few feet back. He could feel his knees shaking in anticipation. His heart raced and his blood boiled. His shields flickered to less than half as sniper rounds hit him mid air. Raven came back from the shadows tracing the lines of the sniper rounds in the air. She pinpointed each of the Vandal’s locations and took aim. The scope hovered over their head only for a moment before she pulled the trigger. Steadying her breath and firing between heartbeats, the pull was light and there was virtually no kick. Explosions of ether and roaring screams echoed as the Vandals fell. She grinned in satisfaction and switched to her hand cannon. Its sleek black frame came to to sharp points at the end of the barrel. Aiming down the sight, she fired a few rounds into Aksor’s leg. A chill ran up her spine, something she had not felt in a long time. Murderous intent scared her into dropping the weapon. Ophelia sat up, sharp pain pinching her side. Low growls and hums of shock blades perking her ears. The Next Big Thing was locked and loaded as she scanned her radar for movement. A red ping blipped briefly before disappearing. Invis, she thought. Radar is useless. Pulling the weapon to bear, she carefully swept her field of vision. A glint of light reflected of something, distorting the landscape behind it. She fired twice, the first shot buckling the Vandal the second putting it down. “Ila,” she asked. “I need ammo can you synthesize some?” “Already on it,” Ila responded. A green brick formed next to the body of the Vandal. Ila floated over and fetched the brick. Ophelia caught it in her hand and crushed it. Feeding new ammo into her gun she awaited the next wave of enemies. Over and over, Alexander ran toward the Archon Priest. The second the slipstream formed, he assaulted the monster. Aksor beat him back repeatedly, like waving off a pestering fly. Alexander’s muscles burned with lactic acid. He panted, straining his endurance. He landed, knees bent, calves and quadriceps bulging in his armor. His ligaments stretched and a bead of sweat rolled down his temple. Shields flickering, Alexander dashed forward. White streams of air conned in front of him and when he was in range, he shattered the sound barrier once more. Knocking Aksor back slightly he was met with an unexpected amount of leeway. The monster roared loudly and reeled back clutching its leg. A hole was burrowed just under its knee joint, where the armor was lacking. It bled slightly but dark green, glowing veins branched out over its leg. Alexander panted heavily and collapsed to one knee. Everything burned and was stretched to its limit. He felt sluggish, his turn radius widening. But as he turned about, he stopped, an ear shattering roar echoing across the mountains. The green veins migrated up Aksor’s leg twisting into a dark web of poison. Alexander was stunned, statuesque amongst the fray the battle field. A bright flash lit up the corner of his eye. Ophelia stood, shaking slightly. Bathed once again in fire, she took a deep breath pulling the Hammer of Sol from its fiery keep. Alexander’s eyes widened, he could feel the rage emanating from the fire. “Everything burns,” she said over the coms. A typhoon of fire twisted from the ground around her. Each step she took, left another sun spot melting the rock into molten glass. Alexander backed away as quickly as he could, just in time to see the first hammer explode on Aksor. Crackling flames erupted into a vortex of pure solar energy that quickly engulfed the Fallen monster. Another hammer came crashing down setting ablaze another typhoon. Ophelia limped along the way, gripping the hammer tight. She stood over the creature, its screams muffled completely by the roar of the fire. She brought up the hammer once more. “I don’t know how we caught this break,” she said bringing the heavy metal onto the creature’s helmet. “I don’t care that we did.” Ophelia struck it again. “But, you die here.” Aksor lay flat, his body partly encased in glass. The flames dissipated and the creature’s armor was melted. Its body was charred, broken, and mutilated. Burnt flesh wafted over the battle field as the Fallen began to retreat. For a moment, peaceful silence petrified Alexander, Raven, and Holly. Petra stood, her weight on one leg, arms crossed with the biggest grin across her face. “Good job guardians,” she said eyeing down the four that stood before her. “My Queen is pleased with your performance and has agreed to let you go.” “You don’t have to tell us twice,” Alexander said. “She has contacted your Speaker. The Queen has agreed to open the Reef to guardians for now, so please Atlas and Aphrodite, visit again.” The four turned and walked away. Passing Variks, Holly stopped, and tapped Ophelia on the shoulder. “How did you become so strong?” she asked earnestly. “I don’t really know how to answer that…” Ophelia answered surprised. “During that whole fight, all I did was run around being chased by some low ranked enemy. Compared to you, I was useless.” “Don’t compare yourself, that’s not fair to you.” “I just want to become stronger, to be helpful in the future.” “Strong you say?” A raspy Fallen voice said behind them. “Then challenge Prison of Elders, yeeeeesssss?” “Excuse me?” “Queens guard trained in Prison. Maybe you can earn House Judgment mark? Reef open to guardians, yeeeessss? Then so is Prison of Elders.” Ophelia put her hand on Holly’s shoulder. She nodded before turning and heading to the ship bay. Alexander and Raven had gone on ahead. Holly could feel her nerves shaking. “What do I need to do?” Holly said finally. Variks narrowed his eyes and laughed a beastly laugh. In orbit, Alexander Raven and Ophelia hovered in their ships for a moment after inputting the destination to the Tower. “Ophelia…” Raven said nervously over the coms. She looked down at the cloth wrapped hand cannon sitting in her lap. “Yes?” “I need a break.” “What?” “I cannot be part of the fire team for a while.” Before she could ask why, Raven’s ship entered slip space and disappeared from the Reef. “What are you going to do Alexander?” He paused a moment before answering. “Why not discuss that back at the tower.” A silent agreement was made as white and blue lights conned around their ships.