Chapter 96: Hellmouth(2)
A/N: Enjoy Chapter
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Beyond the illusory veil, fiendish winds swept the lunar plains. The Hive fortress situated within an ocean of storms marked their keep.
It guarded a crudely dug crater that stretched for miles towards the lunar core. The crater itself served as an inverted fortress to the Hive's brood.
A wicked and cruel smog festered within the crater, obscuring any light from piercing inside. All that was left was darkness.
The Vanguard's drones surveyed Hellmouth, transmitting live data back to the colony ship.
On the other side, the Vanguard had finally realized how deep the Hive infestation truly was. Hellmouth was an enigma, completely obscured by surface scans and only visible within distance.
An evil magic that could dissuade the eyes and senses- the Hive's veil was deceitful, and effective.
"How many are there?" Ikorra sucked in a breath, her eyes glued to the screen.
Asher paused and took in a deep breath. Finally, he spoke.
"I don't know."
The ship went eerily quiet as all eyes fell on Hellmouth. The cradle of the despot, Crota the hive prince.
Hellmouth seemed cursed- barren and destitute. Festering cruelty and wickedness, stripped from every grace in the world. Void's eyes widened as he witnessed it all- He felt, that If there truly was evil in this world, that would be its cause.
The Guardians had fought many wars in the dark ages; trying to conquer the gift of the Traveler. But no one, was ready for the war that was about to come.
They could feel it, that it was bigger than everything they stood for. Bigger than just them. As if the universe itself had thrown its burdens upon their shoulders.
Now more than ever. They needed to succeed.
Suddenly the Vanguard's comms rang. All forces were now enroute to the lunar orbit. It had begun.
"Mark that location, we'll setup camp nearby and plan out our assault" Zavala commanded.
"Got it." Asher replied
Zavala glanced back at the Nightstalkers, "For now, we'll need some more reconnaissance and scouting, I think I can count on you guys for that."
Asher pulled back his drones-lingering beside Hellmouth wasn't wise. Hive wizards were far more perceptive than some Ogre, and he wasn't willing to be found.
"We know the drill, we'll map out the camping spots." Levi nodded.
Just then, Zavala's wrist buzzed as he spared it a glance.
"Good, your captain will take the lead. Godspeed guardians."
As the Vanguard turned their focus towards guiding their armada, the Nightstalkers unceremoniously transmatted out and raced to meet up with the rest of their team.
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"Do you four read? Status?" Tevis broke the radio silence as four Jumpships zipped through Colony ship's hangar.
"Copy, we'll meet you at lunar orbit." Void answered.
"Brief me at rendezvous, we'll meet soon." Tevis swiftly disconnected the call.
"You know, I thought we'd get a bit of rest after all that. But we're really gonna go down there again?" Bandit languidly groaned.
"Yeah, well there's no tea parties at war, princess." Cory rolled his eyes.
"What did you say?" Bandit barked back.
Cory being an imbecile, kept chirping up, "Hmm?"
Enraged, Bandit couldn't help but scoff "That's what I thought."
"Let's hope you do that more often." Cory nodded and briskly disconnected from the call, manging to evade the record breaking slurs Bandit immediately recited from memory.
--
[A few minutes later]
"So we've got eyes on their base?" Tevis leaned back in his cockpit, mentally tallying up all he had heard.
"Something of the sorts. No clue on the numbers, but the Vanguard wasn't excited by the revelation, so I can't assume its good." Void chimed.
"They'll probably release the word soon." Levi added on.
Tevis tapped the ships dashboard as he saw the new coordinates being passed to his team, his eyes narrowed.
"Good job, all of you." He paused and glanced at the new orders, "Look's like we've got our work cut out for us."
The Nightstalkers buzzed about the orbit for a few minutes, and suddenly their ships flared and shot towards the dreadful surface.
Their squad of fifteen, split into three groups, each targeting to scout out one crucial perimeter of their so called "camp" position.
Cory, Bandit, Levi, Void and Tevis chose to scout from the campsite closest to the Hive's illusory veils, a distance of only ten kilometres.
But due to the odd and misshaped lunar terrain, their line of sight wasn't entirely uninterrupted. In fact, it could be said that the Hive wouldn't be aware of them until they decided to strike.
Tevis squinted, looking towards the Hellmouth, a faint light gathered around his eyes. Seconds later, dark lines filled his face.
"I'll be damned, those crafty bastards. I can't see a thing." No matter how hard he tried, after a while it was all but a blur.
Yet he knew his sight had betrayed him, because in his bones, he could feel the chill and dread seeping through the Hive's forsaken fortress.
Though, unlike the others, Void didn't find it difficult to see the veil. In fact, for him, it was more so a pellucid curtain- translucently clear.
"What's the status on the follow up?" Tevis dusted off his hands.
"Titans will be here to setup a wall. We've scoured the place, turned every goddamn rock inside out. We're safe." Levi answered.
Tevis shook his head, "Or.... that's what they want us to think."
"Find some high-ground for our squad. We'll need it when the war breaks loose."
Void had surveyed the map and outlined many spots already. He knew why Tevis had asked for it.
"I've saw a few spots. We'll check em out as fast as possible" He answered.
The reasoning was simple, Nightstalkers weren't the damage dealers. They weren't the frontliners. But one thing was for sure. Their abilities allowed them to be control freaks on the battlefield.
Reinforcing any side as they please, weaving in and out of battle. Not to mention their Shadowshots that served as their attack and defence- A cataclysmic blast that chained down enemies with tendrils.
A Nightstalkers greatest asset was their ability to remain unseen. High ground would allow them to abuse all their abilities to the max.
"Good. One last thing, tell the Vanguard we'll need some hard hitting firepower." Tevis nodded.
Tevis shot one last glance to the veil, "Trying to fight the Hive in their own illusion is a death sentence. Whatever that thing is, we'll blast it to kingdom come."
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A/N: Hope you enjoyed.
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