Destiny 2: Putting "Horse" Into "Horsepower"

Chapter 19: Escape Plan

Screeches and roars of all kinds can be heard as the entire hive nest built into the arcology building comes to life, and with Taiki holding on to the CPU Suzuka was saddled with the responsibility of defending him.

"Get out of there guardians! I'm detecting massive movement from all sides!" Holliday shouts as the two book it with half the entire nest on their asses. Suzuka only stops briefly to fire off bursts with her fusion rifle but even that barely does anything to stop the enormous swarm that wants their heads for ruining their beauty sleep.

"Do you have the CPU?" Zavala asks. "Please tell me you do!"

"We do have the CPU but the entire nest is going after us!" Taiki replies. "It feels like the entire nest is after our ass!"

"Try to reach the center of arcology and we can have someone pick you up from there!" Zavala says. "Amanda, you know what to do."

"I'm on it." Amanda replies as the feed goes quiet.

"Not even my grenades are stopping them!" Suzuka shouts as she tosses a grenade behind her but still hears thralls nipping at her heels.

"I think you're only pissing them off more- what are those?" Taiki asks as he looks up ahead and notices a large treaded vehicle. It looks like a tank but it doesn't sport any weapons aside from a forward mounted machine gun. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Let's hop in!" Suzuka replies as the two hop into the tank. Taiki carefully sets the CPU on his lap as he takes the machine gun and Suzuka begins driving their way out, turning most of the attacking hive into roadkill along the way.

"Yup, this definitely gives us a breather." Taiki chuckles. "Ghost, any idea where this path leads?"

"It should lead us to the center like Zavala wants us to be at, but it's not going to be a trip down easy street." Ghost replies.

"Well, let me know when you're there, I'll be waiting." Amanda says.

"Amanda! Fly fast, fly safe!" Zavala replies over the comm.

"Yes sir!" Amanda says before the feed cuts off, allowing Taiki and Suzuka to focus on escaping the hive infested arcology building.

"There are walls of hive gunk here!" Suzuka says to Taiki.

"I wouldn't worry, just ram right through them." Taiki replies as the tank plows straight through the wall of gunk like a battering ram, opening up the hole out of the building- but also pelting Taiki with pieces of the broken gunk. Immediately the exo's olfactory sensors are hit with the smell of rotting flesh, and he looks like he wants to throw up.

"Taiki? Are you okay?" Suzuka asks, deeper inside the tank and not smelling what Taiki is smelling.

"Urk! Yeah... I'm fine... I think... Ack!" Taiki replies as they near the center of arcology where Amanda's ship is waiting.

"Hop in!" Amanda shouts as Taiki and Suzuka get out of the tank with the CPU and hop into the ship, safely away from the grasp of the very angry hive.

"Good work, all of you." Zavala says. "Now let's get back here." And with that the three are dropped off at the control center where a very eager Spe-7 awaits them.

"Yay! You're back!" Spe-7 says as she nearly tackles Suzuka to the ground with a hug.

"All right, here we go." Taiki says to Zavala. "This is what we were looking for. Now to decrypt this signal before it somehow changes and we need something even stronger to crack it." It takes a good few minutes to crack the signal but once it's cracked it reveals just what the Red Legion have in plan, and what they do have in plan leaves everyone save for Zavala absolutely horrified as the signal turns out to be a message from Ghaul to his legion.

"My people, we have done it." Ghaul's voice says. "We have imprisoned the great Traveler in our cage and stripped those pesky guardians of their power. This is exactly what we want... No, what I want. This "light" that the guardians hold, I must find a way to take this light for myself. If they don't comply, well, we do what we have always done with the hundreds of other worlds that refused to comply with us. Our glorious ship, the Almighty, a piece of work that I dedicated my entire life to, is our answer to their resistance. We shall destroy their precious star if they don't give us their light, and if they think I'm only doing this as an empty threat, they best look at their star. Nothing will survive ME! If these pesky beings think they can stop us, they can't. Just ask the people that tried- oh wait, they don't exist anymore. We have won, and they have lost. Dominus Ghaul, out." A pin could be heard as everyone processes what they just heard: win or lose they are royally screwed as the Red Legion will completely annihilate the entire Sol system one way or another. Only Zavala has not changed- if anything he looks even angrier than he was before.

"They think they've won?" Zavala growls, balling his hands into fists on the table. "We built our home under the protection of the Traveler. When our enemies attacked, we built a wall that stood for centuries, but now that wall means nothing..."

"Commander? Are you okay?" Spe-7 asks, but Zavala is too stirred up in his emotions to hear her.

"This enemy has taken our home, taken our light, and now they threaten our entire existence!" Zavala snarls as he looks at Sloane. "We're going all out on this Almighty! Sloane, when will the fleet be combat ready?"

"Zavala wait-" Sloane is cut off and Spe-7 jumps back in fright as Zavala punches the table with all his might, nearly breaking it in the process.

"IF WE WAIT, WE DIE!" Zavala suddenly yells. "But if we attack together, we can take back our home! Our light! Our hope! Or we will die trying!" Nobody says a word. "But in order to make this succeed, I need my fireteam... I need Ikora, and Cayde."

"If it's your fireteam you need, then we will be the ones that reunite you with them." Taiki says, "We will do our best to find them. Hopefully we will meet again Zavala."

"Hopefully. Good luck out there guardians, may the light be with you." Zavala replies as Taiki, Suzuka and Spe-7 leave.