Fireteam Zeta, consisting of two hunter Sarc-4 and Ilias and a single warlock Lenka. They were a formidable trio, been through hell and back. But maybe today they had bit off a bit more than they could chew. They were in the Plaguelands, fighting off Maya Sundareshs forces. At first it was going alright, but they vastly underestimated their intensity. Now, cornered in a small cave they are fighting for their lives, literally. 

Sarc-4: Fuck, I am running low on ammo. 

Lenka: Just how many of them are there?! 

She fired with her assault riffle at the entrance as the puppets just kept on coming. It was bad with the Red Legion, but now her Vex began to join in. There is an end to the Red Legion forces, but there is none to the Vex. Ilias cast his golden gun and fired three shots, hitting three heads and causing the bodies of the enemy hit to explode. The first to click was Lenka, then Sarc-4. Ilias had some ammo remaining. Lenka cast Chaos Reach, a beam of energy shot out from her hand, obliterating her foes. Then, Ilias soon followed, his gun clicking, signaling that there is no ammo. They looked at each other, their face showing fear behind their masks. They slumped behind the boulder they used for cover. 

Ilias: I guess this is the end, huh. 

Sarc-4 pulls out a flask from his pouch and takes off his helmet. 

Sarc-4: I brought this for occasions such as today. 

They all took off their helmets and started drinking. 

Lenka: It was fun.

Sarc-4: We had a wild rodeo. But every party comes to an end eventually. 

They leaned back against the boulder and sighed, preparing themselves to accept their fate. However, outside, chaos erupts. Explosions sound, soon followed by loud crashes and even louder explosions. The ground itself shakes. They hear gunfire and all slew of noises. They hear the unmistakable sound of a Walker. Could it be the Fallen? Maybe their luck had turned slightly. 

Lenka: It seems the Fallen aren't too fond of Maya's forces here. 

Ilias: It seems so. 

Then, they hear the sound of rapid cannon fire. Sarc-4 peaks around, from the cave entrance he can't see outside well, but there are no forces there. He stands up and walks to the entrance, grabbing one of the Cabal guns and treads carefully. The other two tell him to get back. 

Ilias: What are you doing?! 

Sarc-4 steps outside and witnesses the chaos. Robotic, almost Exo like soldiers fighting against the Maya's forces. He sees tanks, not like their Drake's, no, these are, different. Smaller and sleeker in design, something you would find abandoned all around Cosmodrome and Earth in general. He saw chubbier armored tracked vehicles, firing with smaller but more rapid cannons. The effectiveness far greater than the Drake's. Begging you to ask why they stopped making such vehicles and went for the Drake. The other two ran up to him, their eyes widened. They finally saw the Walker. But, it was heavily modified. It's cannon was not of Eliskni origin, it was much more complex and man made. Feld by a belt system, enabling it's a more rapid fire rate compared to a normal walker. It's launcher had been replaced by a autocannon. The armor on it's legs was reinforced, since they were a known weakness of these behemoths. This was of no Eliksni doing, this was something else. They watched in horror as the Walker began to walk up the cliff, it's legs digging into the stone surface. A normal Walker could never hope of this. The rumbling of jet engines filled the sky as Thrashers fell from the sky, shot down by aircraft. 

Lenka: What in the world? 

Sarc-4 pulls them down behind a boulder. 

Sarc-4: I got no fucking clue. Who do these things belong to?

Ilias: I have never seen such forces. Such weaponry. 

Sarc-4: But they seem to be preoccupied by Maya's forces. 

Ilias: Those aren't Vanguard, are they?

Lenka: When did you see the Vanguard employ such sophisticated machinery. We don't have the means to produce them. 

Ilias: They are dealing with that bitches forces like nothing. Look, the Walker isn't even phased by being shit. That thing is modified, but in a really good way. 

The forces push past them, with even more following. This looks like a full blown army. Once they passed, the trio makes their move. They make a run for a clearing and summoning their ships. They don't stop to think if they should stay, they just leave. One their radars they detect that they are being followed so they soar into the sky, hoping to lose their pursuers. Thankfully, they don't follow and once free, the trio heads back to the city. 

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.

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At the city 

They landed in the hangar, the commanding officer talking to them. They did not disclose anything to him, they wish to speak to the commander Zavala directly. They walk into the main hub and see him in his usual spot overlooking the city. 

Zavala: Fireteam Zeta, how was your expedition? Did you stop Maya's forces?

Sarc-4: Nope. 

Zavala: What do you mean? 

Ilias: There were too many of them, we barely managed to escape. 

Zavala: I see. I will have to send more Fireteams to stop her. 

Sarc-4: I think she is slightly too preoccupied right now. 

Sarc leans against the railing, looking down into the city. 

Zavala: What do you mean? 

Lenka: Well, there seems to be another player in this game. 

Zavala: What do you mean?

Ilias: We would have died if Maya's forces weren't distracted by another force that just showed up and started cleaning house with them. 

Zavala: What do you mean another force? 

Zavala asked, crossing his arms. He doesn't like the sound of that. 

Sarc-4: Well, we heard the sound of a Walker being dropped and thought, oh, well the Fallen must have come. But then we heard explosions and autocannon fire, which is not usual for Fallen. I went out to check on what was going on and saw strange Exo-like army with tanks fighting Maya's forces. 

Zavala: Excuse me? Exo-like? Tanks, like the Drakes? 

Lenka: No, these vehicles were different. They looked more like what you would find abandoned and overgrown in the EDZ and Cosmodrome. 

Zavala looked to the side, thinking. Things are adding up, it has to be his forces. 

Ilias: The Exo's, well, they were more like robots than Sarc here. 

Zavala: What does the Walker have to do with all of this? 

Lenka: Well, it was there, among the troops. But it was heavily modified. It was more armored, better armed by our weapons, not Eliksni. And most shocking, it could climb walls and hang off of them. 

Zavala looked shocked, in his many years of experience he had never heard of such a thing. Walker's are normally slow and cumbersome machines, good for flat terrain. For one to climb it would need to go through a lot of modifications which the Fallen wouldn't have in the field. 

Sarc-4: Oh, yeah, there were also aircraft at play, but we managed to escape. 

Zavala turned around and looked at the city once more, gripping onto the railing. 

Zavala: This has S0L written all over it. 

Sarc-4: Sol? 

Zavala: S zero L. He is the next big possible danger. 

Lenka: Who is he? 

Zavala: Promise me you won't spread this around? 

Ilias: We promise. 

Zavala nods. 

Zavala: S0L had been detected not long ago, his presence made known. By an unknown informant we were told that it was a Golden Age AI. 

Lenka: Like a warmind? 

Ilias: But aren't all Warminds dead?

Zavala: No, he isn't a Warmind, well, not like Rasputin was. You see S0L, he was the Dead Man's Hand.

Ilias: What is that?

Sarc-4: If I go down, you go down with me. 

Zavala: Like Sarc said. If humanity fell, he would ensure that whatever took us out, would go down with us. 

Lenka: That is ominous. 

Zavala: That is his original concept. But, he had somehow gained sentience. I don't know how, but he did and has become unpredictable. 

Sarc-4: And you think that those forces that we saw are his doing. 

Zavala: Has to be. It can't be a coincidence, the timing fits perfectly. 

Ilias: He must be then experimenting with other tech, to see how he can improve it. What is he able to do even?

Zavala: He has, with our failure, access to almost everything. Our people have been doing well keeping him out of the Last City. But he has access to every facility known and unknown. A

Sarc-4: And it seems he has been producing stuff. 

Zavala: Correct. 

Lenka: Is he a threat to humanity? 

Zavala: I don't think so. His goal was to ensure our fall wasn't in vain. But, if we had not fallen, then, he probably wants to ensure our existence. And I am willing to guess through any means necessary. 

Elsie walks up to Zavala, looking worried. 

Elsie: Hello commander, have you seen Ana? 

Zavala: No? Is she not in the city? 

Elsie: I can't pick get to her. 

Ilias: Maybe she got drunk. 

Elsie: No. We had a fight last night, she was blabbering about S0L....oh shit. 

Zaval: It's alright, they know. Keep going. 

Elsie: Well, I am pretty sure that she probably went out to try and talk to him. I am still hoping she isn't that stupid, but, I am starting to think that she is stupid and naive. 

Zavala: We will find her. But we have even bigger issues. Sarc-4, write me the full report of what you saw. 

Sarc-4: Yes commander. 

Zavala: You are free to go.