[Opening music. Deep bass strings rapidly play driving notes. Higher toned strings come in, arching over the deeper notes. Horns punctuate the music then build before fading away.]
[SFX: Rocks crack and thud.]
TITAN VO: I shot myself across the room and into the stone wall. Not the hardest thing I’ve ever launched myself into, but it actually hurt when I made contact.
[SFX: THUD.]
TITAN VO: I landed on the platform in a shower of rubble and blue light, surrounded by crackles of my success. She had probably been standing there for a while trying to figure out why her datapad was pointing her to a big wall. Like most Warlocks, she overthinks everything instead of just… believing her eyes.
TITAN: You’re welcome. Now, let’s report back to Ikora.
TITAN VO: And, of course, she couldn’t leave well enough alone. Curiosity killed the cat and apparently a few Warlocks because she started fiddling with the gate. Why do Warlocks always have to prove that they’re the smartest Guardians in the room?
WARLOCK: Wait a minute.
[SFX: The Vex gate opens, followed by sounds from the Vex on the other side, almost like metallic growls or snarls, intimidating vocalizations. ]
TITAN VO: Before I could say anything, the familiar bright lights and rushing air of Vex teleportations filled the entire room. I could tell this wasn’t just a small patrol like the ones near Exodus Black. The Vex were pissed off that we found their secret gate.
[SFX: Guttural roars, a cacophony of trouble.]
TITAN VO: The roar of Hydras and the deadly charging of Cyclops resounded in my ears. This was a massive Vex force, and they were intent on keeping their secret.
[SFX: Titan’s weapon powers up, high pitched beeps as it scans. Energetic horn and string music comes in.]
TITAN VO: I drew my shotgun and scanned the room. Snipers, Minotaurs, Goblins, and Exploders all began advancing. I was in a terrible spot right in the middle of it all, so I dropped my grenade in front of me to make a hole and launched myself up onto the platforms above me. If I keep a wall on one side of me, I could manage this.
[SFX: He runs.]
TITAN VO: I glanced back to see my companion racing over for cover near the door.
TITAN: DROP A RIFT!!
TITAN VO: I made my way along the upper area disposing of snipers with my shotgun.
[SFX: He blasts his gun.]
TITAN VO: I was blowing through ammo quickly, but this wouldn’t be a sustained fight. I was trying to pull the group to one side of the room to make a quick escape.
[SFX: More shots.]
TITAN VO: That’s when more portals opened in front of me. Hydras and Minotaurs poured through. The snipers across the room were starting to connect, even with all my movement. It hurts a little, but that was the least of my worries. This was getting worse by the second.
[SFX: He continues running amidst the fight.]
TITAN VO: I tried to find her again as I kept circling. I saw her pinned down between two Hydras behind a small wall with her sidearm.
[SFX: Small shots go off.]
TITAN VO: She fired wildly into a group of goblins advancing on her position. The Hydras peppered the wall with blasts keeping her in place as the rest of the ground troops surrounded her. (scrutinizing) A sidearm? I pulled out my rocket launcher with the only round I had left. I had to make this count.
[SFX: His weapon beeps, trying to lock on. ]
TITAN VO: I slid to a stop and sighted onto one Hydra. I waited for a second to let its shield rotate and pulled the trigger.
[SFX: Click. The launcher goes off.]
TITAN VO: I was praying that Chain Reaction would do enough collateral damage to the other Hydra so I could make a gap large enough for us to escape.
[SFX: BOOM.]
TITAN VO: The Hydra exploded into a mass of radiolaria and metal. I sprinted along the wall building up speed, and quickly switched back to my shotgun.
[SFX: The weapon powers up, clicking into place.]
TITAN VO: Two shots left. I hoped it would be enough as I leapt into the air and dove into the mass of goblins with my ground pound.
[SFX: A roar from the Hydra.]
TITAN VO: The other Hydra was slightly damaged from the rocket and the arc shockwave from my powered melee. I slid under the chassis and pumped the last two shotgun slugs into its belly. She was still firing into the goblins pushing our position as I scrambled to my feet. Then a terrifying sound filled my ears.
[SFX: A rush of moving metal, a scraping shriek.]
TITAN VO: A Cyclops teleported on top of the wall we were behind and began charging up.
[SFX: A steadily rising pulse.]
TITAN VO: There’s no way we’d survive a direct hit at point-blank range. (echoing) I only had one move left. I grabbed her by the waist as I deployed my Towering Barricade inches in front of the Cyclops.
[SFX: A pulse of the barricade. Digital chirps.]
TITAN VO: I whipped out my Ghost.
TITAN: GET US TO THE CISTERN DROP POINT. NOW!!!!
TITAN VO: The Cyclops released its blast just as everything went white.
[SFX: A short rising tone followed by a small boom.]
TITAN VO: We teleported back to our first drop point in the Cistern. I landed on my right shoulder with a thud, followed quickly by her body crashing into my head.
[SFX: Rocks move beneath them.]
TITAN VO: She slid off my chest and onto the dirt below, and I rolled onto my back.
TITAN: (breathing heavily) You ok?
[SFX: Rocks move.]
TITAN VO: I rolled across the stone slab to check on her. She was sitting there tapping on her datapad. She turned to show me the screen.
[SFX: Fuzzy crackling from Warlock’s datapad.]
WARLOCK: Check out these readings. The energy required to transport that many Vex is tremendous, and the fact that they pulled it off using just the local radiolaria is amazing. We should definitely do more research into how they did it. Could be a huge breakthrough in energy production for the city.
TITAN: You brought a sidearm? That’s it? That’s all you thought to use?
TITAN VO: I couldn’t believe it. She was the most exasperating fireteam member I’ve had in a long time. She never even looked up from her damn pad! I couldn’t believe it.
[SFX: A soft thud.]
TITAN VO: I sat up and smacked the pad from her hand.
TITAN: ALL YOU BROUGHT WAS A GODDAM SIDE ARM?
[SFX: A digital click.]
TITAN VO: She ripped her helmet off…
[SFX: Thunk.]
TITAN VO: … and threw it to the ground looking at her hand and then back to me.
WARLOCK: (furious, intense) What the hell is your problem? Don’t you ever hit me unless you mean it.
TITAN: My problem? My problem is you. You have got to be the most arrogant, selfish Warlock I have ever had on my fireteam. I just pulled us out of a huge mess all because you can’t leave well enough alone. You had to see if that gate was active. You had to mess with something beyond our capabilities just to satisfy a vain curiosity you had to prove to Ikora how smart you were? Lemme tell you something, little girl. Ikora Rey has forgotten more about the secrets of this universe than you or I will ever pretend to know. You and your little young light are merely a tool she uses to accomplish the goals of the Vanguard, and that’s protecting humanity. Your boneheaded move today pretty just put that whole mandate in jeopardy.
TITAN VO: She stood there for a moment, just staring at me. She had no idea what she had just unleashed on this planet. I could tell the point was completely lost on her.
WARLOCK: If you want a cookie for just doing your damn job, then you are on the wrong team. I thought Titans were thick-headed idiots, but you are the king of the crew. We had a job, and we did it. (mocking) You want me to pat you on the head like a good little dog for obeying orders? You want me to give you a treat for being a good boy? Does the tough Titan need his belly rubs? Go back to Saint-14 and share stories while you smack each other on the chest. I’m not here to validate your constant need to prove how big and strong you are to the rest of the Guardians, who are working overtime to make life better for everyone else with more than just a shotgun-and-bulldozer mentality.
TITAN VO: I shook my head. I couldn’t believe it. She has absolutely no idea of what it means to be on a fireteam.
[SFX: Titan’s Ghost powers up, quick digital chirps.]
TITAN VO: I pulled out my Ghost and transmitted back to orbit. We had to report back to Ikora and then pull something together to handle this new Vex threat.
[Ending theme music. Longing horns and melodic strings. A choral of voices harmonize over the instruments then fade away.]
Credits
Titan: James Marinari
Warlock: Giselle Marbello
Titan Ghost: Whitney Holland
Sound Engineer: Matias Torraca
Chapter Art: Zion Zeta
Chapter music: From available Destiny 2 playlists on Youtube
Transcripts: Eli Barraza
