[b]Episode Three[/b] [b][url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/98283573/0/0/1]Episode One[/url][/b] Toland grimaced and opened the well of his rage. He slipped his hand into a distant galactic crevice, cutting reality open in a line before him. His fingers pulled the black portal open and the hapless pirates, as well as the burnt grass of Old Russia beneath them, whipped into the vacuum of space. Toland left it open for a second longer, then closed the sliver of infinity. More Fallen fell from the Skiff—the dropship Toland [i]needed[/i]. The Vanguard had not allowed him his possessions when they exiled him from the City. Which meant no jumpship. Which meant he had no way to get to Luna to continue his investigation of the Hive. The only thing he could think of was to raid a Fallen dropship, merely for its space-faring capabilities, of course. A single glowing form burst through the clouds. It tore through the Skiff and crashed into the ground, splitting the earth and dissolving the Fallen in a crackle of blue cinders. Toland stumbled, but barely noticed the intrusion. He stared at the burning cavity gaping from the fore of the hanging dropship where the engine should have been. Toland shook his head. The dust settled and a slim Titan emerged from a crater. “You blundering fool!” screamed Toland. “You’ve ruined my plan!” The Titan removed her helmet to reveal a female of Asian descent. She laid a hand on her hip. “Excuse me?” Toland repeated himself verbatim as the Fallen dropship smashed into the ground. The Titan flexed her hands and static licked across her armor in violent waves, just when another spacecraft sunk out of the clouds. Two more Guardians materialized in the grass. One looked familiar. “Are you Toland?” asked the female Exo. “Is that an existential question or a general one?” The Exo sighed. “I’ll take that as a yes,” she said. “I am Eriana-3, disciple of the Praxic Warlocks. The Titan is Wei Ning. The Hunter behind me is Sai Mota. We have come operating as agents under guidance from Ikora Rey. She requires your assistance.” “After she banished me?” “She had no choice.” “That’s what they all say.” The nerve the woman had. Ikora may not have decided to execute Toland, but she had helped kick him out of the City. His home. Now she sends her lowly associates to come begging for his help. He was no longer bound to the Traveler, for now he was a renegade Guardian. This was ridiculous. Eriana noticeably ground her metal teeth. “Ikora needs you to come with us to the Moon for the upcoming offensive strike,” she said. “You’ll be useful for whatever awaits us.” “Find yourself another foremost intellectual on Hive knowledge,” said Toland, turning around to leave. “I will not participate in a doomed battle.” He lowered his voice. “They started this fire, they can [i]burn[/i] in it.” Toland began walking away, but his Ghost’s warbling voice gave him pause. [i]Did you forget you need a ride to the Moon?[/i] he asked. [i]It’s the fastest way. [/i] Toland groaned. *** This battle would be catastrophic. Toland knew it. Hundreds of thousands of jumpships swarmed around him, threading their way through space debris as they headed toward the Moon. This is what the Hive wanted. He had heard their plans in the screaming echoes of the Hellmouth. “Put this on,” said Eriana, approaching him with a robe and helmet. The helmet seemed to be forged of a lesser metal and notched by combat. The robe was not made by fortified filaments like his own, but from regular, grey cloth. They were supposed to be worn by a plebeian. “Are you insulting me?” asked Toland, turning his nose up at the garments. Eriana shoved the battle wear closer. “Nobody must know you are Toland,” she said. “You are banished, remember? Your…clothes are a dead giveaway. Now put them on before I make you put them on.” Toland grabbed them out of her hands. He looked down. She might have had a point. He hadn’t changed his appearance in some years, with his own robe tattered and streaked with darkened green. His own helmet was marked by Hive symbols. So he put on his new clothes, unwilling. “We are getting closer,” said Eriana. “Are you familiar with Hive battle tactics?” Toland nodded. “Tell me, then.” “Thralls, as many as they can muster, will be first to charge into battle,” he said. “There will also be Cursed Thralls among the ranks, so I do not advise close quarter combat. Next, Acolytes will emerge, though they will not stampede so recklessly. Some will stand back to attack at a distance. The next wave will be Knights. After that Wizards. Once the Wizards emerge, the battle will only get more difficult, as they will conceal their forces with darkness and fire. “I cannot wait,” said Wei, seated across from Toland inside the repurposed VTOL troop carrier. “I haven’t killed Hive in some years, though they’re bodies are like paper to me. It will be fun.” Sai Mota sharpened her blades. “You say the same against most enemies.” The Titan grunted. The troop carrier finally entered the Moon’s atmosphere of sodium and potassium, over the bases at Mare Cognitum. Some Guardians had already landed to rout the Acolyte watchers along the lunar surface. Toland’s body burned white as Eriana activated the teleportation pads. He materialized on the moon beside the others. Hundreds of Guardians made their way toward abandoned military bases, reclaiming them for technical stations or improvised hospitals. Toland was tempted to escape, now that he had arrived, though, he might learn some new things about the Hive during the battle. So he would watch. And watch he did. His prediction was correct. Three giant holes set against the curved wall of a basin one kilometer away exploded with the feral, twisted frames of Thralls. Thousands of them. Toland had not expected that many. [b][url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/98889624/0/0/1]EPISODE TWO[/url][/b] [b][url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/99974909/0/0/1]EPISODE FOUR[/url][/b] [b][url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/100582279/0/0/1]EPISODE FIVE[/url][/b] [i][b]DISCLAIMER: ALTHOUGH THIS SERIES HAS SOME BASIS IN LORE, THIS IS A WORK OF PURE FAN FICTION, ONLY TO BE TAKEN WITH A GRAIN OF SALT. I WRITE THESE SERIES FOR PEOPLE WHO LIKE TO READ, SO IF YOU ARE SOMEHOW OFFENDED BY WORDS, DON'T READ MY STORIES[/b][/i] [b][url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/100362914]DESTINY FAN FICTION ARCHIVE[/url][/b] [b][url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Clan/Forum/823422]JOIN CLAN FOR FAN FICTION UPDATES[/url][/b]