[u]Chapter Two: Encounters[/u] (Part 2) "Are you ready to use that gun?" My Ghost asked. "Ready as I'll ever be," I said, then raised my gun and stepped away from the building, aiming into the oncoming group of Fallen. The closest one fell with a bullet to the stomach, the next collapsed holding its side, and another went down clutching its leg. They reached their firing range and began letting loose bolts of blue energy that seemed to curve towards me. I waited until last second before diving to the side, causing the bolts to turn a bit as they tried, and failed, to seek me out. This proved that they were target-seeking. I landed in a roll and came up on one knee, firing rounds off more rapidly now that I was getting used to the gun and they were closer. Some of their bolts were hitting me now, but there was some sort of shielding I had that wasn't taking a whole lot of damage, at least according to the gauge in my helmet display and the lack of pain I felt. The Fallen weren't so lucky. My shots were aimed low and a barrage of bullets went at their legs, making them fall over on top of each other and leaving most crippled. As the few that were unharmed struggled to escape from the pile of injured Fallen, I sprinted down the street, keeping my head down to minimize the chance of being seen or hit by the fresh Fallen rushing towards the fight. Bolts from the Fallen's long ranged guns, wire rifles according to the scan displays my Ghost kept putting up, shot past me. I turned into an alleyway for temporary relief from the snipers, but found myself face to face with a couple of Vandals that held electrified swords in each of their four hands, Ghost scan identified them as shock blades. Instinct kicked in. My gun was pointed down, and without the time to raise it I pulled the trigger and the closest Fallen fell to one knee, its leg bleeding. The other leaped over its injured comrade and swung its swords at me. Turning my back to the side the swords were coming from and ducking led to only two of the swords hitting me. It hurt and did considerable damage to my shield, but I was down with my shoulder facing the Vandal and slammed into it immediately after taking the hit. The Vandal went down with me on top of it and I punched it in the head before it could try to recover, knocking it out cold. Then I heard the crackling of the other Vandal swinging its shock blades. I couldn't move off of the downed Vandal in time and my gun was under my body, so I grabbed the closest object to hand and held it up between me and the incoming blades. Then there was the clang of metal against metal and a sharp crackle of electricity, and I realized that I had picked up one of the shock blades. I was blocking two of the Vandal's blades as I stood up and holstered my gun on my back. The Vandal raised its other two swords and I reached for another shock blade from the downed Vandal, using it to block as well. We stood there for a moment, glaring at each other's illuminated faces through the six locked blades, then I kneed it in the gut. It doubled over and I brought the hilts of my shock blades down on its back, knocking it to the ground. I stepped over the two unconscious Vandals and began running down the alley, but stopped at the sound of many small turbines drawing near. Several metal, box shaped things hovered down into the alleyway, sporting small guns and mini jet turbines to keep them afloat. Ghost scan designated them as Shanks, and they completely surrounded me. "Ghost," I asked quietly, "What's the deal with these Shanks?" "They're machines created by the Fallen," he answered, "Relatively weak in armor and firepower, you should be able to handle them easily." I grinned under my helmet. And replied, "You had me at machines." My fist shot out at the closest one, taking it down instantly, and then I raised my gun and began exchanging fire with the others. My Ghost was right about them being easy to handle, for they were all down within a minute. But that was too long, even without counting the time it took to fight the two Vandals, and by the time I escaped the alleyway, the end I had entered from was crowded with Fallen. "We're dead if we can't find a ship or some other way out of here!" My Ghost exclaimed. "You're not picking anything up in your scans?" I panted, occasionally firing rounds over my shoulder as I ran. "Nothing but the empty husks of cars from the Golden Age." "You'd expect the human race to leave behind more decent vehicles from the peak of our society." "They probably did, but the Fallen are pirates and scavengers. Not many pieces of decent tech are left unclaimed." "Bloody pirates," I muttered under my breath as I continued running. I was barreling down the highway, trying to get some distance since evasion was no longer working, hoping that speed could get me out when all else had failed. My Ghost let me know how well that last effort worked. "Guardian, you can stop running..." He said, a cautious tone to his voice. ______________________________________ Link to ToC:https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/212710816/0/0 Link to chapter 2 part 1: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/209968073/0/0 It's still too long, so here's part 3: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/209968528/0/0