Chapter Three
"Catalyst" noun *something which increases the rate of reaction without itself undergoing permanent change *a person or thing which precipitates an event
"Commander Zavala?"
We need more guardians.
It had become such a recurring thought he had made an active effort to stop it. The Vanguards leader studied the various holo projections rotating before him in the towers command centre, tactical maps of every active area where their forces operated.
Luna, the site of their greatest failure, the slaughter of Mare Imbrium. The Hive owned it. The invaders had the numbers, the territory already entrenched with defensive positions and were little challenged by the Fallen. There was almost nothing to gain from any assault, the best he could hope for was to maintain a stalemate.
Mars, the ever present threat of the Cabal. Their conflict with the Vex had blunted their effectiveness but they were still formidable. Organised, brutal, unrelenting. Strikes against their command could only do so much. The weight of their aggression would eventually break through, or at the very least spill out into the rest of the system.
Then Venus. The destruction rained down on the Vex by the last Warmind had been breathtaking, yet still they advanced. Losses were meaningless to the machines. They felt no pain, no fear, no regret. To cut them down meant only that another dozen would take their place. He didn't want his thoughts to linger on Venus, on the events of the Ishtar sink.
So what of home, Earth? The Last City. The Tower. The Fallen were an ever present threat but foremost on Terra. The Eliksni had come closest to ending the Vanguard, their many houses eyes forever bent on recovery of the Traveller. Zavala watched the map move over the Cosmodrome, flagging priority targets and active deployments. Where was Cayde? he wondered. Somewhere down there now, ignoring orders, searching for one of his missing hunters. The loss of that fireteam had been a bitter blow, three of their best sacrificed for just two hive targets.
We cannot afford these losses.
Around him the giant machine that was the Vanguard operated, fuelled and directed from the tower. Committed to an endless sacrifice, to save what little remained of their species.
They will all fight to the very end, he thought, if it comes to that.
If I can't find a better way.
No matter how he viewed it, no matter the strategies they planned and executed, no matter how flawlessly, it always came back to that same thought.
We need more guardians.
"Commander Zavala?"
"Yes?" the Titan exhaled, stepping back from the display and raising his eyes to one of the towers many support personnel.
"We have an inbound jumpship on tracking. It's registered to a member of the missing fireteam."
"Comms?"
"Nothing, sir. Although the craft has been damaged."
Zavala switched displays, as curious as he was concerned.
If the team survived, why hadn't they made contact already?
"Alert fighters?"
"Lauched and closing on target, Commander. 5 seconds till intercept."
Zavalas eyes flicked between the tactical map and the visual. The two alert fighters rapidly closed the distance, then fell into formation behind the approaching jumpship.
"Still no comms Commander. I'm getting one life sign onboard. They are heading down for the main landing platform."
"Anything else out of the ordinary?" something was wrong here, Zavala could feel it, "Radiological alarms? Explosive detection?"
"Nothing, Commander."
It was possible, he thought. Ghost and comms damaged, a guardian barely making it back alive. Unlikely, but possible.
"Fighters are requesting clarification sir, are they to fire on target?"
No.
We need every guardian.
We cannot afford these losses.
"Hold fire, escort her in." Zavala breathed deeply, fighting down his unease.
"Security, this is the Commander. Quarantine that ship and evacuate the hangar bay. Fast response teams to platform 1, I want a sitrep on that craft in 30 seconds."
The jumpships descent continued, silent and steady.
"It's landing now, sir. Response teams moving in."
Losing 3 guardians was a tragedy, he thought. At least the return of one was something.
"Sir, I've lost tracking on that life sign."
No.
"Security this is Zavala, sitrep now."
"This is Response 1, the cargo bays doors are open, sir. Whoever was aboard has gone."
No no no.
"Commander, we have a security breach on level 7, lower hangar maintenance access."
Someone has jumped from the ship. They must have caught the side of the Tower and found an entrance.
"Commander Zavala. We have weapons fire on level 7."
"To avoid a punch, we do not watch the fist. To avoid a bullet, we do not watch the barrel. All creatures have tells which give away their intent, and such signs are rarely found at the tip of the spear. Do not believe you are exempt from this. You must seek the heart of agency for every action, in both yourself and others. To avoid the bullet of our enemy we cannot simply watch the hands, the body, the eyes. We must study our opponents words and actions. See their desires. To avoid the coming strike we must know their very souls. To avoid the coming war we cannot simply study troops, weapons, commanders. We must study their people. And to instigate war? We must control our own."
chapter 6 "Anticipation and misdirection" from "Advanced Combat Tactics" by (TEXT REDACTED)
YOU ARE READING
Inlustris
Science FictionThis is my confession. Sometimes Guardians turn to the dark. They must be stopped. They must be killed. This is my duty. This is my last confession.
