Destiny: Fireteam Euphrati

Chapter Six

For a month, Euphrati and her sister team were on Mars. Vae had died four times already, and she cursed in anger as her vision blurred and her hands instinctively clutched at the gaping hole in her abdomen.

Falling to her knees in the sand, blood splurting from her stomach, she saw Kall scramble away, picking up his weapon from the sand. It had been an action of instinct to take the hit for her fellow Guardian. She hadn't stopped to think that it would end in yet another death for her.

Struggling to stay upright, she coughed up blood into her helmet, the strong, copper smell assaulting her. Grey and black spread farther across her vision, and the Warlock watched as the Thunderer went down, bloodstained green armor throwing up plumes of sand as the Cabal Colossus threw her like a ragdoll.

"Hang in there," she heard Kall's grating voice as her vision failed. She felt herself falling, hitting the sand with a soft thud. "Warlock, we'll get you out of here."

With Vae and Amalia down, the chain of command fell to Kall. The Exo scowled behind his helmet as he poured round after round into the shields around the Colossus' head.

"Iscariot and Persha," he barked over the team's channel. "Get them! Gibbs, you're with me!"

A chorus of acknowledgements hit him, and the Titan leapt forward, grabbing the inert form of Vae by the collar. Her Ghost whipped past him, his red shell blending in with the sand dunes and shale.

The Titan fired from the hip, the shots from the Scout rifle were erratic and wild, most of them missing.

He saw Gibbs throw the Thunderer over his shoulder, Iscariot covering them with a spray of fire from his machine gun.

Kall cursed Victus' plan. It was impossible, there was no way to approach the Cabal without a conflict. He considered ordering his team, Damocles, to abandon the mission, but he was aware that most Guardians would openly rebel at the idea of leaving The Thunderer behind.

The fallen Titan's green armor was caked in sand and blood, the fur around her collar heavily matted as Gibbs dropped her in the dirt, firing at the incoming Legionaries.

They were caught in the center of the no man's land, a flat stretch of small dunes and shale between the Cabal's fortifications and the relative safety of rock outcroppings.

Both the The Thunderer's Ghost and Victus' were hovering over their Guardians, mustering up what energy they had to revive them. The longer they were away from the Traveler, the weaker they were. If a Ghost were to die, it spelled the permanent end of their Guardian.

"Gibbs, get ready, they'll rush us." He looked down to the two Ghosts, dropping his weapon. "Work fast, little Lights."

He felt the surge of power tear through synthetic muscles and metal skeleton, pounding into the ground and exploding outward, forming up around them.

It always awed him, the power of the Traveler that he held, that the Light would always defend him. It left him winded, already fatigued from the constant fighting.

Both Ghosts set to work as the Guardians formed up firing positions around the two fallen, their shells expanding, revealing their Light within.

Amalia had three clean shots through her chest and her right leg was only held together by armor and clumps of torn tendon and muscle. Blood continued to ooze from her wounds even as they were stitched back together, little by little.

Vae would take longer, her Ghost was tired and her wounds were much bigger. Muscle and sinews rewove themselves as the air around their shield of light grew hazy, and smoke seemed to rise from the ground.

The exchange of fire lessened as it became harder to see, and the Guardians all felt that haunting presence at the same instant.

"Taken!" Kall roared, scrambling back as the Thunder propped herself up on her knees.

Grabbing her by the front of her chestplate, he hauled her up to her feet, and the hero shook her head, stumbling after him. Vae still lay inert, her Ghost working madly.

"Kall," Gibbs yelled, rising from his crouched position by the Warlock, the protective bubble of Light now gone. "We can't just leave her!"

The Exo looked over his shoulder, stopping. His fellow Titan took a shot to the shoulder blade through the haze, and he stumbled forward.

Rushing forward, he caught the Awoken, gripping his shoulders. "We can't fight through this, we can always come back! She'll still be here!"

The Titan shared a look with Steven, who was backpedaling, firing blindly.

The first of Oryx's minions shimmered into existence, and the Exo turned, not allowing the other two any further argument.

Gibbs swore, pulling the long blade from its sheath across his back. Driving it into the shale beside the Warlock, he nodded to Iscariot, who followed the others.

"Traveler's blessings, little Light. Keep her safe," Gibbs turned, sprinting to catch up as his Ghost set to work on getting him his Sparrow and shots whizzed by his head.