[u]ERRANDS[/u] The inevitable had happened. Of course, if you infiltrate a Firebase by blowing up a quarter of the hangar, you can expect to have security on your back very soon. The five Guardians (Avesk was still in the hangar) had been slowed down, and the Cabal kept coming. Echo was hiding in a small niche, and he had developed a routine: he popped out of cover for a few seconds, than immediately got back to let his damaged shields recharge. With the help of four others, he was able to keep the Cabal somewhat at bay. Yet, because they only had a few seconds out of cover each time, they couldn't focus down the Phalanxes. An impenetrable wall just kept slowly closing in. Echo got a bit of a déjà vu feeling*. Eventually, the Guardian advance stopped, and when a couple of Colossi joined the Cabal, the two Fireteams were forced to retreat. They ran for their lives, and barely made it to a door, which they immediately entered. Echo then shot the lock mechanism. "That'll stop them for a while. Not for long, though. We need some kind of distraction", Echo said as he tried to catch his breath. Validus looked around in the room they were in, and saw that it was an empty storage area. "A couple of Guardians can hold them off here. Only one way in. They need to get past that bottleneck to get here. If we want to buy us time, we'll have to do it now" Echo thought about it. "Only one way in' also means 'only one way out'. How are we going to get out of this place?" Alzer suddenly joined the conversation. "Why not use the ventilation system? You told us you already did that once" Echo laughed. "That's why I don't want to do it again. But Alzer is right, it could be our way out" Validus, who had been examining the hatch, by which they would enter, returned to the group. "Then all that's left is appoint volunteers to hold the line. I'll be honest, it's a suicide mission. You probably won't survive this" Colin stepped forward, and said: "Hey, this whole thing is suicidal anyways. I'm itching for a fight, so I'll stay here and try to hold the line" Ava-3 followed him, making clear that she would stay as well. "You don't have to do this, Ava...", Echo protested. "I don't want to lose you... again" The Huntress laid a hand on his chest, and whispered: "It'll be fine, Echo. Colin and I are a good team. He's the best fighter I know of. I'll stay around, don't worry" Echo nodded, and Ava-3 turned around, and aimed her hand cannon at the door. He then noticed that the others were already leaving, and he quickly ran towards them, but then heard a loud explosion, turned around, and saw that the door was gone. Colin, who stood right at the door. loaded a shell into his shotgun, and said: "LLLLLLET'S GET RRREADY TO RRRUMBLEEEE!" He then unloaded his fully automatic shotgun, a Conspiracy Theory-D, built (and manufactured) by Häkke, into the Cabal crowd. Echo pulled himself up, into the ventilation shaft. He could still see the battle that was raging below him. The last thing he saw before leaving the storage area, was Colin using his Ward of Dawn, and Ava-3 dispatching Legionaries left and right with unbelievable precision. Echo dropped down to join the others just outside of the room they were just in. As they walked away, towards their target, he heard Colin shout: "WELCOME TO THE THUNDERDOME!!!" With a slight smile on his face Echo continued. Now that the Cabal had to divide their attention between several groups, Echo and the others could make progress again. There was still resistance, but they could easily avoid the major groups of Legionaries, who were running to reinforce their comrades at the storage area. After a couple of minutes, Echo halted in a hallway where, to change things up, were no enemies around. "Something's wrong. The Cabal should have sent some forces to us" Alzer shrugged. "Better for us, I suppose. Less resistance" Validus joined the discussion. "Definitely not. Echo's right. If the Cabal don't send anything to hold us back, they're working out some evil plan. Echo, you said that a lot of the hallways come together in one big room. They might have laid an ambush there. Can we avoid it?" "We lose too much time if we do that. Colin and Ava can hold out for some time, but not forever. We already took a risk by leaving the ventilation shafts. I think we can risk this as well", Echo said, after checking his holo-map. Validus looked very skeptical. "We could risk the whole mission. If we fail, everyone will die" "The mission will also fail when Ava and Colin get overrun", Echo countered. "I suppose you're right" Validus already started walking towards their destination. After a while, they arrived at a huge, unguarded door. When the gate spontaneously opened, and they carefully entered the dark hall. Visibility was next to none, and the three Guardians were standing in a defensive circle, back against back, slowly advancing through the darkness. Echo nervously looked around. "I have a really bad feeling about this" Suddenly, a single red light was lit, all the way in the back, and the silhouet of an enormous Cabal could be seen. "Primus Sha'aull. This is the throne room of Primus Sha'aull!", Echo whispered. A laugh that could never be human echoed through the room, and the Primus descended, as the whole room was now lighted by the red lamps. He waved his hand, and a platoon of Legionaries jumped towards them. Every Guardian reacted the same. They pulled out a gun and started to shoot the enemy. Then, Echo, who was firing a heavy machine gun, shouted: "Val, Alzer! Take cover! I'll try to stagger the Primus!" He turned his head, and saw the Titan and Warlock running for cover behind him. He then looked back, but the Primus was gone. Suddenly, something heavy landed nearby, knocking him out of balance. Echo fell on the ground, his machine gun laying next to him. He stayed this way for a couple of seconds, and then felt like he got lifted by something. He opened his eyes, and saw that the Primus had picked him up and held him in his hand. As Echo was struggling to get out of the deadly grasp, the Primus said, in fluent English: "You are pitiful. I could crush you right now. You are nothing. Yet you have the [i]audacity[/i] to challenge [i]me[/i]! I, Primus Sha'aull, commander of the Blind Legion, slayer of Vex!" Echo grinned painfully. "What is a commander... to a god?" "What is a god to a non-believer?!?" His grip tightened, making Echo groan. "But you are no god. You are a dead thing created by a dead power, whose only person is to kill. How could you be a god? You, who has no honor, no loyalty!" Echo looked behind him, and saw that Validus and Alzer were safe, under a platform, shooting the Legionaries. He had distracted the Primus long enough to give his friends time to take cover. And he would pay for that with his death, the ultimate price. He didn't expect his Ghost to survive. The Warlock gave up on his tries to escape from the Primus. "I am more honorable than you will ever be, Sha'aull. As for loyalty, I am loyal, and my men are loyal to me. Out of respect, not out of fear. The-" Echo groaned in pain. "The Legion you're commanding obeys you out of fear. Your whole reign is based on fear! The Blind Legion isn't the fearless army you desire it to be. You're a failed commander, Primus. It is you, who is pitiful, not I" Primus Sha'aull roared, closed his fist, making Echo's world fall apart around him. He then threw him towards one of the walls. Echo, flying through the air, saw the wall coming closer and closer and closer and closer and then, suddenly, everything turned black. TO BE CONTINUED [spoiler]More stories will be added onto the main page, which I will link here. https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/226647634?sort=0[/spoiler] [spoiler]*Read "Errands" #4 || Nightmare[/spoiler]