Showing posts with label Phreelancerz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Phreelancerz. Show all posts

Jul 23, 2015

Phreelancerz: Skolas's Revenge pt. 2

Read this first.

"Prison of Elders welcomes you..." Variks' voice booms over some external comm system in the airlock as FreakyBalloon, Zwazo and I drop in from our ships. It's a simple circular room, four large doors dispersed around it at even intervals. As I check my weapons, my HUD links up with Freaky and Zwazo and I catch the tale end of a conversation.

"We're gonna get it done," says Freaky. Zwazo is nodding his head.
"Should have killed him when they caught him," Zwazo say. I agree. A lot of good Guardians went down trying to capture Skolas.
"Let's finish the job," I say as one of the doors opens to reveal a large glowing servitor.

Variks says something about undead Hive and then the servitor disappears. I turn towards the door and begin to jog down a tunnel that ends in another door. Freaky and Zwazo catch up to me as I move down the tunnel. We reach the far door and it opens onto an arena that reminds me of parts of Crota's Abyss. The ground is littered with bones, and debris from past battles. There is a murky haze in the air which makes me glad my helmet has air filters and purifiers built in.

My ghost gives me a quick layout of the space, there are three other doors in the arena, each of them registering enemy activity. I can hear the unnatural sound of thrall screaming and clawing behind a closed door I run past. There are a lot of them. We jump onto a ledge in the left corner of the arena and prepare for engagement. My ghosts begins to say something to me, but I can't hear it. The two closest doors open, and thrall  and acolytes come pouring out in a swarm. Void energy shots careen off the ceiling and floor as the Hive locate us and begin to hone in. We return fire, My Abyss Defiant spits bullets, rapid fire, cutting down thrall as they attempt to take us down using their claws. We don't let them get that close.

Suddenly, there is a roar. "Ogre!" Freaky yells over the fray. Large beams of void energy strafe my body pushing me back and down. An ogre, the Hive's heavy artillery, has appeared. I check for damage and realize my shield has taken the brunt and withstood it. Odd. That many direct hits from an ogre should have put me down. I'm not complaining, it's just strange.

I crouch behind cover waiting for my shield to recharge. "Wizards too," says Zwazo. I never know how he manages to sound so calm. My shield isn't recharging. Now I'm concerned.

"Check your shields. Make sure it's working," I say. My ghost speaks up again and explains that shield recharge has been suppressed, but will take more damage before breaking. Also, apparently, our melee strikes are stronger. Typical. As if fighting hordes of enemies isn't enough of a challenge, Variks has added modifiers. Oh, and there are web mines. I'm a little pissed off.

We fight through three waves of enemies, each one getting progressively harder. I'm not sure if my shield will ever recharge, and these thrall don't quit. I snipe an acolyte from across the map. Next to me, Freaky stabs a thrall. Suddenly, Variks is speaking to us, his voice wheezing through the translator device over his mouth.

"They are dead... You are not..." Variks says. "Need you back in the airlock, Guardian," he finishes.

We run towards the airlock.

"How many more rounds of this?" I ask no one in particular. Zwazo answers.
"Five."

F#$k....

Jul 20, 2015

Phreelancerz: Skolas's Revenge

I'm F@#ked.

Every alarm in my HUD is going off. I've been poisoned, my shield is down, and I'm low on ammo in my primary. I'm sprinting, running for my life across the Fallen arena. Sand kicks up in my wake, both from my sprint and from the Shanks and Dregs firing at my back. I duck in between rusted old ships, planes, I think they're called, centuries old Earth aircraft. Where does Variks find this stuff? A solar explosive goes off a few yards to my left and throw myself into a boost jump aimed at a ledge in the corner of the arena. I land in a crouch and slide into cover.

F@#%king Skolas.

My ghost informs me that the poison will kill me in twenty seconds. Typical. I'm not sure where Ti Zwazo, or FreakyBalloon are, possibly on the other side of the arena? It's hard to hear over the cacophony of Scorch Cannon shots Skolas is firing at me. I hear him laugh, it's a strange sound that grates on my ears. Why do Fallen sound so odd? Ten seconds left on the poison. I take a breath and exhale slowly, checking the clip in my Oversoul Edict. Nine rounds, that's three bursts.

 I can hear Fallen captains shouting and moving closer to my position. Skolas is trailing behind them. There is no way I'm going to survive this, and I'm not sure I care at this point. I ready a sticky grenade and lob it over the low wall I'm hiding behind. The grenade explodes twice; Dregs scream in pain. five seconds until the poison kills me. Might as well take a few of them with me. As I step from behind cover, readying Oversoul Edict, I ponder how I got into this situation.

Jul 18, 2015

Phreelancerz Defeat Skolas

Yesterday, Phreelancerz, Dash, Ti Zwazo, and FreakyBalloon descended into the depths of the Prison of Elders to face Skolas and his Revenge. It was no simple feat; it was a test of endurance, skill, and teamwork.
There were a lot of kills... and deaths as well as several moments of questioning both strategy and commitment. Round three caused much consternation within the fireteam.
The team stayed the course and battled through to the end. They were rewarded with Elder Ciphers and bragging rights. A full accounting of their trial is coming soon...!

Jul 15, 2015

Phreelancerz Destiny Episode 2: Orbiting

Open scene on clan (Dash12044, Missezzkittyy, Bostonwins, Ti Zwazo, FreakyBalloon) finishing a raid and in a celebratory mood. Fade into “Rewards/Activity screen.”

Boston
Great job, guys. That was like a 20 minute run, start to finish.

Kittyy
I know! We really flew through it. That Eris lady won’t shut up about how Crota killed everyone, but he didn’t seem that hard.

Dash
Obviously, we’re a better fireteam than whatever group she came with.

Freaky
Maybe it’s on easy mode…. Everyone stares at Freaky. This ghost I found told me there are different difficulties and that… Never mind

Zwazo
…epic takedown. Check  out all this gear we… up.

Boston
Yeah, because I needed more shards to take up space in my vault. I swear I never find anything good!

Dash
I found a Gjallarhorn.

Kittyy
What’s that? Your third one?

Dash
Fifth.

Kittyy
And I can’t get one! F@$king ridiculous! Let’s get out of here. I need to decrypt all these blue engrams before I can break them down for glimmer and components.

Boston
This might be the worst part, Waiting to orbit after finishing up.

Zwazo
I use the time… talk... ghost… verify my kills…

Freaky
I check my weapons for upgrades. You know, put all these component materials to good use.

Dash
Yeah but both of those things take, like a few seconds. After that, you’re just stuck waiting for the fireteam leader to complete the transfer. Like, come on! I gotta hit the Tower, flip this gear and shards, see if there are any decent bounties and maybe jump in the Crucible. I don’t have time to just sit here waiting on someone who’s taking their sweet time.

Boston
Yeah, man, absolutely.

Zwazo
Hehe, true…

Freaky
Good point.

Long pause while everyone waits.

Kittyy
So, Dash, are you gonna take us to orbit, or what?

Dash
S#%t, my bad.

Jul 14, 2015

Phreelancerz pt 3

Begin here, then read this.

Being revived sucks. Boston tells me it feels like coming up for air after being under water for so long that your lungs are about to burst. He says it almost burns. I never really understood Sunsinger warlocks. To me, it feels like being kicked in the chest repeatedly until you wake up screaming from pain which is always how I feel. This time is no different. There is a flash of blinding white light, and suddenly, I'm on my feet, coughing inside my helmet, and disoriented. I'm inside Zwazo's bubble. Safe.

"We gotta move. Now," Zwazo says to me. "Vex teleported in behind Fallen defense line. We never saw it." I nod.
"Must have been the bombardment and the mines that got me," I say. He just looks at me. No need to answer a rhetorical questions.
"Boston and Kittyy?" I ask. He points off the way we came in. They are crouched behind a cracked barrier firing in different directions at dregs and goblins.
"Heads up," Zwazo says. Two dregs leap inside the bubble, intent on knifing through us. We side step and let the bubble work to our advantage, blinding the dregs as they land. We each melee one of the dreg and watch them scatter into arc and void damage dust. Then we sprint out of the bubble towards Boston and Kittyy who have cleared our retreat path.

There isn't enough space for all of us to find cover behind the barrier. We need a new plan. They aren't saying anything, but everyone is waiting for me to give orders. Comes with being Clan Leader. My HUD begins to light up with enemy presence. My ghost tells me that more Vex are inbound along with Fallen. Not looking good.
"Where are reinforcements?" I ask no one in particular.
"Bailed," Zwazo answers. "Drop zone is too hot. They can't land safely" he finishes. I curse to myself.
"Ok, we're heading west. There is a bridge a few clicks that way, we can try to flank," I say. Boston and Kittyy just stare at me. I repeat myself, but get the same reaction. Boston taps the side of his helmet.
"...lo? Can you... ear me" He asks. I shake my head. My ghost says there is interference on the comms due to all the electricity in the air. Great. I point west then summon my Time Breaker speed bike. Everyone follows my lead and we jet off westbound towards the bridge.

We speed off through the outer edges of the abandoned settlement, bombed out buildings hulk and crumble on both sides, grim reminders of golden ages long past. Along the river, the Fallen and Vex exchange gunfire and explosions. If we can get to the bridge, we can flank all of them and push them back off the river. It's a gamble, but if it works, and we secure the area... My mind boggles at the potential strategic advantage.

We pull up to the bridge just in time to see a squad of Fallen get blown up by a group of Vex Hobgoblins and Minotaurs. This just keeps getting better. We ditch our speed bikes in a small grove of trees and make our way towards the bridge. As we move closer, it becomes obvious that the Vex are taking control of the area. Fallen bodies lay strewn about the streets. They threw tons of dregs at the Vex with no success. From our approach, I see vandals and captains attempting to retake the bridge, but instead, they are being pushed back, forced to retreat in our directions.

"The Fallen are trapped," I think out loud. Kittyy responds.
"We can cut them down, as they fall back." Comms must be working again.
"Yeah, ok, let's set up here," I say. "Heavy weapon volley, Kittyy, clean up the stragglers by sniping."

We get in to formation, Zwazo, Boston, and I crouch in front of Kittyy. When the vandals and captains come into range, we let loose. Lighting rounds from Thunderlord as well as Gjallarhorn and Truth rocket rounds seek their targets. No Fallen survive. We reload and advance towards the bridge. The Vex have taken notice of us and the Hobgoblins begin to fire, their single-shot Line Rifles gauging the distance. Boston takes a shot in the chest, cracking his shield. He laughs over the comm and takes a knee. We circle up to protect him while his shield regenerates and return fire. An old mantra pops into my head as I aim through my scope. Something we used to say when I was in training, To kill a Vex, the chest is best. It brings a smile to my face as squeeze the trigger and watch goblins shudder, twitch, then burst with a sizzling pop as my bullets pass through their central processor.

Boston is back on his feet and sprinting ahead, shotgun in hand. He makes quick work of the Hobgoblins who attempted to hide behind their energy shields. Kittyy lays down cover fire with her sniper rifle, keeping the Minotaurs from getting too close. Zwazo and mop up. It's over almost as soon as it starts. We reload, I check our coordinates and begin to setup an uplink so other Guardians can lock onto our signal and drop in on our location. It's just in time too. As soon as I finish, the air gets dim and there is an odd energy that causes interference with my HUD. It can only mean one thing. Vex are teleporting in.

"Incoming," Zwazo says. I look up and watch as a Vex Cyclops appears at the north end of the bridge surrounded by Goblins, and Minotaurs.
"Hydra and Harpies approaching from south," Kittyy says.
"Plan?" Boston asks me. I check the uplink and start to laugh. Everyone stares at me.
"Relax, guys, we've got help coming," I say.

On cue, as if dropping into the Crucible, Guardians appear and drop to the ground, locked, loaded, and ready. They take up defensive positions, each fireteam leader directing their crew. A lone Hunter drops in near me, salutes, and approaches. His name is Demonbreun, he's in the clan. He joines our comm channel.

"Greetings, Phreelancerz. Minding the small fry, are we?" He asks.
"Demon," I say. "Here to lend us a hand?"
"No, I've been put in charge of the bridge defense," he responds. "I also have a message from the Vanguard for you."
"Oh really?" I'm skeptical. These always involve retrieving something for them.
"Yeah, they need you to take your team to Venus. Skolas sighting."
"F@#$king Skolas," Zwazo spits. I know what he means. Demon presses on.
"Uplink with Petra from the Reef when you hit orbit. She has details. Good luck."

I nod and tell my ghost to bring us to our ships. No one has caught Skolas yet. It would be a major triumph for Phreelancerz Clan. Let's go to Venus.

Jul 11, 2015

Phreelancerz pt. 2

Start here

At the Tower, I have a few stops to make. I talk to my Vanguard rep, Commander Zavala, to bring him up to speed on the situation. He nods and tells me to get back out there. Typical. Next, I give my engrams to Master Rahool. He gives me back a Strange Coin and some guns I break down into glimmer and weapon parts. Last, I check my vault to store those extra materials and see if there are any guns I want to take with me. My vault is full, I need more space. Zwazo is arguing with the Frame that runs the bounty board. I think he's losing. I turn away and walk towards the railing that runs along the edge of the Tower, as I approach, Boston and Kittyy drop in from their ships.

Phreelancerz Clan. Greetings are exchanged. Zwazo and I wait while they grab supplies, check for available bounties, and prep for what is coming. I do a quick tally, two Titans, one Defender Class, one Striker Class, One Warlock, Sunsinger Class, and a Hunter, Gunslinger Class. A solid load out of power, defense and recovery. Once back in low orbit, I bring Boston and Kittyy up to speed on the mission brief and our new strategy of hard contact to force the Fallen away from the river. Boston is all for it, Kittyy, naturally more cautious, has questions.

"Do you have a count on how many Fallen are present?" She asks. I don't.
"My ghost says several hundred, all ranks including servitors," I reply. Kittyy is quiet on the comm and Boston speaks up.
"Won't be a problem, Dash and I will take point, Zwazo is mid coverage and Kittyy, you can tail and snipe from distance," he says. It's as good a plan as anything I've thought of.
"Fine, just don't get so spread out that we can't revive each other," she warns.

We dive in low through the atmosphere over the open plain, as we hit the ground, all of our ghosts go crazy blaring warnings about incoming enemies. The sky darkens as several Skiffs, Fallen drop ships, appear overhead. One of them is carrying a Walker, a six-legged tank with a mounted plasma cannon. The Walker drops to the ground with a thunderous impact, releasing Shanks. We scatter, trying to find what little cover is available. Zwazo creates a protective bubble made of pure energy. Boston, Kittyy, and I all slide inside to avoid getting cut down by Shank fire.

Enemy fire echoes off the bubble as we cower inside. I crouch next to Boston who is laughing. I look at him.
"So, that didn't go so great," he chuckles. I can't help but smile inside my helmet. His enthusiasm for battle is contagious.
"Yeah," I say. "New plan: Kick Fallen ass." Boston nods, stands and steps out of the bubble, firing Red Death, the staccato bursts are loud compared to the "pew, pew, pew" noise of the Shank firing mechanism. I step out of the opposite side of the bubble from Boston, level Vision of Confluence at the same leg he is shooting and squeeze the trigger. The gun pushes against me in a steady rhythm. The Walker staggers, emitting a burst of electricity, then bows its head to reveal its weak spot along its "neck." Zwazo's bubble dissipates and I hear familiar sounds. Thunderlord, Zwazo's heavy machine gun, whines and rattles off several arc rounds. The high-pitch whip crack of Icebreaker, Kittyy's favorite sniper rifle, completes our well-orchestrated take down. The Walker never stood a chance.

When the Walker explodes, it's just a matter of clean up with the Shanks. We collect some glimmer and other materials and then it's back to the river mission. We move in formation towards the river, ready to cut through Fallen and establish a beachhead. We arrive just in time to see another Fireteam of Guardians make an attempt at breaching the Fallen defenses. They have some success and we follow close on their heels to support their efforts. Then the sky lights up. We're all caught by surprise.

Web mines and shock grenades go off, as we stagger back and try to regroup. My head is ringing and everything sounds far away. Kittyy is waving her hands frantically at me. I can't tell what she means. My ghost says my shield is down. Suddenly, my left shoulder lights up with pain from impact. I go to one knee. Shoulder stings and burns at the same time. Arc damage. Kittyy raises a rocket launcher to her shoulder and lets loose. Something behind me screams in agony. Everything starts to fade.

Jul 9, 2015

Phreelancerz pt.1

The mission brief is always simple, go defeat this, or collect this material. This one was no different. The Vanguard requires tactical knowledge of the area near the river for strategic deployment...  Recon mission. As straightforward as it gets. You hardly ever listen to the end, it's always something about Reputation and glimmer. My ghost handles those details. There was something different about this brief, though. Hold and fortify position at river. Wait for reinforcement arrival at 22:30 hours Interesting. Scout and Control. I contact Ti Zwazo to see if he wants in on the mission. He's gearing up at the Tower. We link up in low orbit, then it's dropping in through the atmosphere, scanning for a space to park, and locking in the descent trajectory.

We're boots on the ground around 15:00 hours, plenty of time to trek to the river, scout out a spot and hold position before reinforcing Guardians arrive. After a quick gear check, we head off across an open plain, used to be some type of grassy common area.  We make it close to the river before we contact the enemy. Fallen have have setup a blockade. Squads of captains and vandals patrol the area around the river, making it impossible to recon without being seen. Neither of us have cloaking and we can't afford direct engagement; their forces are too strong.

Tactical retreat, nothing wrong with that. Zwazo and I move back to the open plain and set up an uplink with the Tower to appraise the Vanguard of the developing situation. We're told to sit tight and wait for reinforcement. Typical. My ghost informs me that some of the Fallen have moved away from the river and towards our location. Maybe we were spotted. The plain is too open, we need to find a better place to fight. My ghost says the Fallen are two minutes away. I look at Zwazo, he nods and points off to the southwest.

"Abandoned settlements that way," he says. "Probably find a burned out house. Make for good cover." I nod, his idea makes sense. Fallen are less then a minute out and closing fast. My ghost is getting nervous.

"Let's move," I say. "Leave the uplink active. We can draw them away with gunfire." We take off in a dead sprint towards the abandoned settlements as the Fallen enter the far side of the plain. They spot the uplink and head towards it. Can't let them scavenge our tech. I boost jump, turning in midair and fire off three quick shots. The Vision of Confluence thumps against my shoulder. Twisting as I descend, I land in a run and follow Zwazo into the settlement. I can hear the Fallen unleash battle cries. I think I got their attention.

We find shelter in one of the buildings. The front has been sheared off by bombings and time, leaving overturned tables. It will work for our needs. I crouch next to Zwazo behind a table and reload. He's checking the rounds in Fatebringer. My ghost begins to tell me how close the Fallen are when their movement pings on my radar. Six Fallen, two dregs, three vandals and a captain. I nod to Zwazo, this won't be an issue.

As the dregs pass by the opening, I toss a flash bang. It bounces once and then goes off. The dregs' bodies cartwheel off in different directions. Two down. Zwazo stands, Fatebringer barks and vandals fall. One left.  I vault the table bringing my shotgun to bear. As I the fit the stock in to the crook of my shoulder, I can't help but notice the inscription written down the barrel. Be the Bull. I chuckle and pull the trigger when the captain flashes across my HUD. The Matador roars and the the captain staggers away from me. Zwazo attaches a sticky grenade to the captain. Game. Set. Match.

We rifle through their bodies for glimmer and other materials. You never know. After picking up some engrams, we head back to the uplink and we're thinking the same thing. The Fallen weren't that difficult, maybe we can take them and move them off the river. "We need at least one more," Zwazo says. He's right. A fireteam of three will be enough.

"Let's check the uplink. See what Guardians are nearby," I reply. The next few minutes are spent checking Guardian profiles. Zwazo and I have standards. Gotta have fresh gear.
"This one doesn't have any exotic gear!" I exclaim. "Swipe right," Zwazo says. We send out a few messages and wait for a response. It's not looking good.
"Tower?" I ask Zwazo. He nods.
"Breakdown these engrams," he responds. I nod.

As we pass through low orbit and into space, my HUD blinks with an incoming message. It's MissezKitty.
"Me and Boston are headed towards Earth from the Reef. Where should we meet you?"
"Tower. We'll resupply and head back out," I reply.
"Roger that. See you shortly," She says. I nod to myself. Phreelancerz Clan is linking up.  

Jul 8, 2015

Phreelancerz Destiny Episode 1: The Clan

In my spare time, I play video games (shocker, I know). For close to a year now, I've been playing a game called "Destiny," it is a first person Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) shooter. This makes it unique because most MMOs are fantasy games. One of the best things about the game is that you can play with others across the country or the globe. I have a clan, we even hang out in person sometimes.

Recently, I wrote a few scripts for potential webisodes based on my clan's activities and ridiculous conversations. Here is one:


Open scene on six guardians, five (Ti Zwazo, MissezKittyy, BostonWins, GoldenGod529, FreakyBalloon) taking a knee in front of the sixth (Dash12044)who is giving instructions to the five.
Dash
Ok, um, so here's the plan. We use rockets on the shriekers. Two teams, Left teams goes up the stairs and takes out the wizard then the shrieker inside the room. Right will do the same on their side. Once the shriekers are gone, use a bubble to block their death shot, then hit the main witch with rockets and sniper fire. Then all we have to do is clear it out. Should be easy.
Kittyy
What the hell are you talking about!?!
Dash
The plan to take out the wizards and the the Deathsinger. You're gonna draw one of the wizards out from the room on your side.
Kittyy
F@$k that! I'm not running in the room with the wizard, I'm the best sniper in clan!
Zwazo
...draw out. Needs to be someone... agility... You can do it, Kittyy... hunter...
Kittyy
What did he say? What about a hunter?
Dash
You have to do it because you're a hunter.
Kittyy
No!!
Freaky
Hunter's have the highest agility. That means you'll move faster than another class.
Kittyy
You're a hunter, Freaky, you do it.
Freaky
I'm on the other side.
Boston
[Stands up]Screw it, I'll draw out the f@$king wizard. I'm the highest level here.
Dash
No, I need you to take out the Knights on the platform while we attack the shriekers.
Boston
Fine, whateva [sits down facing away from Dash] This is stupid, let's just go already. Too much talking.
Zwazo
...point. We just need to... with.
Kitty
[to Boston] You're supposed to have my back on this! [melee attacks Boston]
Boston
How is this my fault!?!  I said  I would draw out the wizard!
Boston and Kittyy get into a melee fight. The others watch.
Golden
[turns to Freaky] I feel like we do this every week...
Freaky
[to Golden] do what? Fight the Deathsinger? I know!! Sometimes I get the feeling that everything just resets...
Golden
What!? No, argue about who attacks the wizards and who attacks the shriekers. What is a Reset??
Freaky
Nothing. I just... never mind
Golden looks at Freaky and then slowly backs away from him
Dash
EVERYONE SHUT UP! Me, Freaky, and Zwazo go right! I'll draw out the wizard! Kitty, Golden, and Boston go left! Boston, draw the wizard... [looks around] Where is Boston?
Cut to Boston running down the hallway by himself, firing his weapon, having missed all the instructions.

END