[u]INTRODUCTION[/u] I’ve played the Destiny games rather religiously for the past few years, and I’m a bit of a lore fanatic. I love thinking about new enemies that could possibly be included to fill out the game’s contentless corners, and I was thinking about loose ends from D1 that hadn’t been resolved in D2 yet, specifically the old Skyburners Legion, when I came up with a strike idea. I’d love to hear feedback on it! Apologies in advance if this is formatted oddly, Google Drive sometimes doesn't copypaste well. [u]QUICK NOTE[/u] The strike, “Victory or Death!”, would be a story mission before you could play it as an actual strike, much like the Osiris or Warmind recycled missions. I believe that this would allow for a single player to take in the details and story at a more leisurely pace, rather than having a pair of teammates spoil the experience for you by speedrunning through everything and skipping dialogue/enemies. After completing the mission once, you may access it from the director and get matchmade into it as a proper strike. [u]PREMISE AND STRUCTURE OF STRIKE[/u] The Vanguard have received a Guardian distress call from the upper reaches of the Hellmouth on the Moon. (For those of you who did not play D1, the Hellmouth was a giant fortress-cavern built by a Hive god known as Crota. It was, lore-wise, THE MOST dangerous place in the Solar System while Crota still lived.) Today, the Hellmouth is all but abandoned, even by Guardian patrols, so the Vanguard dispatch you to investigate this signal and offer aid to whichever Guardian is in trouble. Shortly after your arrival on the Moon, the signal cuts out. As you approach the Hellmouth, you see some Fallen troops also rushing toward the Hellmouth’s Gatehouse. You investigate (blam, bye-bye Fallen) and see the tail end of a procession of Cabal soldiers in armor you don’t recognize, (Veteran dialogue would mention “No, it can’t be THEM”) just as they march deeper into the Hellmouth (and out of your sight). Ikora commands you to follow them, and you proceed. There’s a bit more ruckus with the Fallen, during which the strange Cabal troops continue to elude you, one room ahead, until you come to the armory in the Gatehouse (where the Sword of Crota was once kept, for you D1 players). Upon arrival in this room, there’s a moment of silence, then loud Cabal laughter. The door behind you closes, and a large Cabal Gladiator, wearing the same unfamiliar armor steps into your sight. He brandishes a detonator, shouts, and sets off some Cabal bombs. (Veteran ghosts now fully recognize it as Skyburner regalia, and this guy’s an officer, to boot.) The Gladiator escapes through a newly-blasted hole in the wall just before debris falls and closes it, and Skyburners, wielding D1 Cabal arms and armor, pour into the room from all sides. The explosions have created fiery, ruined spots that will damage you if you step in them. You must obtain a Cabal explosive from an elite Centurion to clear away the exit path’s debris and pursue the Gladiator. (AT THIS POINT IN THE STRIKE, WE ARE IN NEW, UNSEEN ROOMS IN THE HELLMOUTH.) The Gladiator is waiting for you in this room, and sets off a second round of explosions, escaping with a laugh. Two Centurions appear on opposite ends of the room, along with plenty of Phalanxes and a few Colossi to reinforce them, and you must kill them as well. Two piles of rubble later, you enter the next room. The third room is long, cathedral-like, and slightly curved, situated on a lower ring of the Hellmouth. The wall is open, supported only by chitinous buttresses, and you can see a very large Skyburners carrier (NOT one of the standard Thresher dropships) hovering in the Hellmouth with guns focused on your location. This section of the strike requires you to fight through a bunch of Cabal while sustaining fire from the carrier. The Gladiator at the far end of the room (at this point, still unnamed and undamageable) will raise his hand and shout every so often, commanding the carrier to fire a missile barrage. Use cover, stay out of the barrages, and clear out all of the Skyburners to advance. Upon killing the last of the troops, the carrier will decrease altitude and the Gladiator will jump off of the ledge/room that you’re in, onto the hull of the carrier. Prevent him from escaping by following him onto the carrier, the carrier will pull away to the center of the Hellmouth, and THE BOSS BATTLE SHALL BEGIN. When the battle begins, the Gladiator brandishes his previously-sheathed machetes, and his name and HP appear. He is Bracus Kra’ahl, Last of the Skyburners. As he is a Skyburner, rather than Red Legion, he has no weak point on his back. The fight against Kra’ahl is mostly a matter of avoiding his potent melee attacks. The carrier isn’t necessarily a hazard, since it’s just hovering in the middle of the Hellmouth, but jumping or falling off of it will kill you. To compensate for Kra’ahl’s powerful attacks, large health pool, and dangerous, almost-devoid-of-cover arena, he will not have invincibility phases and will spawn only a handful of adds. [u]A MORE IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION OF KRA’AHL, FOR THOSE WHO CARE[/u] Kra’ahl is a Gladiator, but he’s also a Skyburner, so, unlike a Red Legion Gladiator, he wears the Skyburners’ classic crested helm. His armor displays the D1 Cabal insignia, and he is, of course, armored in the teal-and-red of the Skyburners. He’s about the size of Valus Mau’ual or Tlu’urn from D1. His machetes aren’t squared at the end, unlike a Gladiator’s Severus, and they don’t have the notch between hilt and blade that a Severus does. Kra’ahl’s attacks are as follows: A forward, dashing attack with his machetes that closes distance. A slam with both machetes after a windup. This attack kills an unshielded Guardian instantly, but may be dodged very easily if you’re paying attention to Kra’ahl. A sweeping slash all around him, first with one machete, then the other. This attack has light knockback and replaces the standard stomp, because nobody wants to get stomped off of the back of a carrier into the Hellmouth. If nobody is within dashing distance, Kra’ahl will advance slowly while shooting explosive bolts from a wrist-mounted Projection Rifle. Once back in dashing distance, Kra’ahl will attempt to melee again. He will also summon adds, which climb up from hatches on the ship’s hull. [u]SICK LOOTS[/u] Kra’ahl’s machetes would be the strike-specific weapon, and would count as a heavy-frame sword, such as Crown-Splitter. The animations would be for paired machetes, however, and would not be the same as Crown-Splitter. [u]EXPLANATIONS[/u] -This strike occurs because Kra’ahl wants vengeance on the Guardians for breaking the Skyburners. -The distress signal was a Cabal decoy, and that’s why there were no words to it. -The strike specific weapon will explain the above facts on its lore tab. -This strike doesn’t even necessarily have to take place in the Hellmouth, and could occur in an overrun Cabal base on Mars, the ruins of the Almighty, or any other out-of-the-way venue that the Skyburners could access and set up an ambush in. -I just really like the image of this battle taking place down in the Hellmouth, with the giant cliffs of Hive architecture all around you. -Kra’ahl uses demolitions because the Skyburners are a “celestial demolitions” legion according to the Grimoire -Kra’ahl is a Gladiator because a Gladiator’s fighting style really complements the back of a carrier as an arena, and we haven't had a Gladiator strike boss yet.