The Cabal Thresher proceeded to lower its altitude below the forest canopy in preparation for the ambush. Seeing his chance, Delta planted a foot on the root of the nearest tree and catapulted himself up into the lower branches, where he grabbed hold and pulled himself up. From there he quickly climbed branch after branch until he reached the top, level with the roof of the Thresher. Just as the ship’s launchers aimed to fire at the incoming guardian, Delta leapt from his perch onto the metallic wing. He stumbled a little because of his missing arm, but he managed to stabilize himself atop the ship. Then he whipped out the sidearm he had taken from Adriar’s body and unloaded into the right engine’s unprotected ventilation chute. There was an unpleasant grinding sound and a small explosion as the internal mechanisms collapsed, sending a plume of smoke shooting into the sky. Just as the ship fired its rockets, it dipped from the sudden loss of an engine. The missiles careened off toward its target, but the change in the ship’s stability was just enough to send them slightly off course. They barreled into the ground just beside the surprised guardian’s sparrow, creating a series of explosions. Though it was not a direct hit, the force of the blow was enough to send the guardian flying off the sparrow and into the dirt. Now unable to remain in the air, the Cabal Thresher leaned right directly into the forest. Alarmed, Delta sprinted the opposite direction across the ship’s wingspan and dove off the other end as it crashed violently into the nearby trees, rendering it unflyable. The exo hit the dirt and tumbled a few feet before sliding to a rest on his back. He sat up and groaned. He was not used to so much strain on his body. Not having the light was a lot more taxing than he previously thought. Delta sighed and haphazardly lifted himself to his feet with his only arm, then swept up the sidearm that had escaped his hand in the fall and stowed it away. He made his way across the road toward the area where the guardian fell to see if they were alright. Luckily, he heard a groan as a female Titan in scorched red armor sat up and wiped the dust from her shoulders. Once she was sure that there were no severe injuries, she stood to assess her situation, finally noticing the battered exo hobbling towards her. She glanced at the orange glow of the crashed ship in the trees, then back at Delta, pointing at the wreckage. “You did that?” Delta stopped a few feet away and nodded. “Not bad…” she observed. “I suppose I owe you my thanks. You saved my life.” Delta shook his head. “I was just assisting a comrade.” The Titan tilted her head curiously at the exo’s choice of words. “I see. My name’s Alice. You’re a Warlock, by the look of it. What’s your name?” Delta opened his mechanical mouth to answer, but paused when he saw a small red light appear on the woman’s forehead. To the Titan’s surprise, the exo dove forward and tackled her at the waist as the blast of a sniper rifle resounded through the forest. The exo had pulled the Titan away against the nearby hillside that separated the road from the forest. Carefully, Delta sat up and peeked over their minimal cover to get a look at their attacker, and immediately ducked as another sniper round flew directly over his head. “A Psion,” he deduced. “We are pinned.” A short moment of silence went by before Delta realized that Alice wasn’t answering. He looked down at his side to see that she laid in the dirt unresponsive, a trickle of blood crawling down her arm. “Damnit!” Delta growled as he shifted her position with care off of her right shoulder where the Psion had found its mark. The exo tore the armor from her shoulder and arm to get a good look at the wound. Luckily it was a clean shot, but she was unconscious and the bleeding could prove fatal. Without a second thought, Delta used his robotic strength to rip a long strip of cloth from the right side of his coat clean off and wrapped it as tightly as he could around the Titan’s shoulder. Once he was sure the bleeding was subdued for the time being, Delta eyed the hand cannon strapped to Alice’s waist. It wasn’t his weapon of choice, but it would have to do. The exo slid the gun from its holster and weighed it in his hands, getting a feel for it. A plan immediately began to form in his head. “Sorry,” he said to the immobilized Titan. “I promise I’ll give it back.” Quickly, he set the hand cannon in front of him and picked up the shoulder plate he had torn from Alice’s arm. Having only one arm would make this difficult, so he had to be quick. He took a deep breath, then leapt into action. Delta tossed the shoulder plate into the air above him and dashed to the left, grabbing the hand cannon as he went. As suspected, the armor was immediately shot out of the air. Seeing his chance, Delta stepped out from cover and raised the gun at his slender opponent perched atop the crashed thresher across the road. He would only have one shot before the Psion repositioned. If he missed, they would both die. In the short span of half a second, Delta’s superior combat processors and marksman protocols shifted into high gear, calculating the distance, wind speed, gravitational effect, and bullet velocity. As the information compiled, a red beam materialized on his forehead, indicating the Psion marking its target. Delta grinned. “Too slow.” He pulled the trigger and the hand cannon launched a speeding bullet through the smoke-filled air and directly into the Psion’s skull, just as it too pulled the trigger. Delta stood absolutely still as the sniper round careened by just a few inches from his head, and watched as the little alien’s body fell. Delta sighed with relief and thumped his fist against his aching servos. “Come on,” he said to his robotic legs, “Don’t give out just yet.” He stowed the hand cannon next to the sidearm on his belt and made his way back to Alice. “Lila,” he called, “I need a medical assessment.” “Understood,” said the maroon ghost, bobbing tiredly into existence above the Titan’s body. “The shock rendered her unconscious, but the bleeding is stable for now. However, she won’t last without medical attention.” “I see,” said the exo, “can you…?” “No,” Lila said solemnly. “Even if I had the juice to do it, I can only heal the guardian I’m bonded with.” “Right… sorry.” Delta thought for a moment before arriving at the best course of action. “Then we need to find someone who can give Alice the help she needs, the old-fashioned way,” he said. Lila dipped her shell in the imitation of a nod. “Agreed. City data indicates a farming settlement farther south, some distance away from the main road.” “Perfect,” said Delta. He knelt beside Alice and turned her over, sliding his arm beneath her. Then, using all of his leg strength, he hoisted the Titan over his shoulder and began trekking south as a roll of thunder cascaded across the dark sky. “Let’s hope they have a doctor,” he muttered to himself. [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/248923858]Chapter 2[/url] [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/224417569?page=0&sort=0&showBanned=0&path=1]The Hub[/url]