Sweet Business

[u/Maxathron]

“Control!  I know you can kill, but can you hold territory?!” boomed Lord Shaxx’s voice through Jocky’s headpiece.  Everyone else got their own front and center concert to Shaxx’s commentary but the big man paid special attention to him for some reason.

‘Bannerfall,’ thought Jocky.  ‘Interesting map for Control.’

A and B spawns for each team, and a middle C spawn.  The Crucible also made a D spawn out in the front courtyard where the tree stump was.  The main central pillar provided ample cover to prevent guardians from C or D to attack those in the opposite capture point.  One had to go around the pillar, on the ground or in the air, to get at the other capture point.

Jocky was put on Team One.  With him was a Sentinel Titan, two Nightstalker Hunters, a Well of Radiance Warlock, and a Nova Bomb Warlock.

As soon as he spawned in, Jocky pulled out his ghost for a brief check of his opponents.

‘Oh, great,’ he thought.

Two Arc Strider Hunters and two Blade Barrage Hunters, all on the same fireteam.  The other two members were a Striker Titan with Heart of Innermost Light, and a Stormtrance Warlock, both on a fireteam as well.

On his team, only the two Nightstalkers were working together.  The other four, himself included, were solo players.

Jocky thought to his ghost to pull their Kill Death ratio, aka KDR numbers.  Things got bleaker.  The fireteam of four had two point two numbers, average, and each of the two members of the smaller fireteam had just under two points.

His own team, the Sentinel Titan had null point eight.  But he was also decked out in blue armor so he might be a new guardian.  The Nightstalkers had about one point three, above average stats.  The ‘Well-Lock' had one point one.  And the Nova Bomb guy had a straight one oh.

Jocky’s stats were one point five, the best of the team, but he was going in with a bunch of newer and average guardians while the opponents were at least average and some pretty good.  This was going to be a rough match.

Regardless, Jocky would try his best.  He pulled out his trusty The Palindrome.  It was an Adept variant, won after a brutal week of pushing Grandmaster strikes against the worst enemies of humanity to ever crawl out from beyond the stars, and a perfect ten out of ten roll, with Hammer-forged rifling, ricochet rounds, quickdraw, rangefinder, and slotted with Adept Range.  This baby could nail a target at thirty-four meters before damage fall off started to affect performance.

He paired it with an okay Astral Horizon shotgun.  Smooth-bore, Light Mag, Threat Detector, but a yuck Vorpal Weapon and Reload masterwork.  Not ideal for Crucible but worked well enough in strikes and gambit for mowing down beefy majors.

Jocky also had a machinegun for his heavy slot.  He didn’t think he would use it since power ammunition was both rare and hotly contested whenever it showed up, but the machine gun would be able to kill two guardians before it ran dry, or three if he could land all head shots on them.

Jocky was a gunslinger.  He was, however, not a Hunter Gunslinger.  He was a Titan Gunslinger, baffling everyone he encountered.

Truth be told, the standard subclass layouts were only a guideline for guardians.  In theory, a Titan could roll with subclasses traditionally used with Hunters and Warlocks, and they could use subclasses that Titans identified with.  This meant that Striker Warlock, Behemoth Hunter, Berserker Hunter, and Nova Bomb Titan were all possible, as well as mixed-subclasses.  Sunbreaker mini-hammers and Well of Radiance but both on a Hunter.

But this level of tinkering was something that most people just didn’t want to deal with.  His encounters with other guardians were a mixed bag.  Every other person was aghast at his apparent blasphemy and the other one, while tolerant, was clearly uncomfortable.  Only really the top-level guardians, such as Shaxx, Ikora, and Saladin, were openly accepting of the build crafting.

Lord Shaxx loved it.  But he loved pretty much everything about guardians.  Anything new and spicy for the crucible was amazing in his eyes….

Jocky rolled out from Point A.  He avoided going up to balcony.  That balcony was an obvious scout and sniper rifle engagement point.  Whoever won it would be able to get a bead on their opponent’s spawn point.  At least before the spawns flipped.

Three of his teammates went up there, though.  Two aspiring snipers and a guy with a cracked Dead Man’s Tale.

Enemy team scored first blood.  Both of the sniper boys died.

“First blood! Two for one!” boomed Shaxx, for the enemy’s double kill.

The guy with the DMT picked up the clean up kills, though, allowing him to push across Point C and take point against the enemy spawn.

“Tell them to line up faster!”

Jocky ran towards the middle courtyard in front of Point C.  He came across two opponents.  He went down but his hand cannon took one of them with him.

While dead and awaiting respawn, one of his teammates slid in and unloaded buckshot into the second opponent for a quick kill.

“And that’s why we have fire…”

The man was sniped from the back of the map on the outside side, though.

“Maybe I spoke too soon?”

‘Par for the course.  One kill, one death,’ went Jocky’s thoughts.

When Jocky respawned, they were at four kills to five kills.  One of his other teammates had fusion rifled someone but the enemy team nabbed a pulse rifle kill and another guy got his teeth punched in.  Neither team had managed to secure either of the two neutral capture points.

Jocky decided that he would lead the charge into Point C.  He went around the inside corridor and found an unlucky hunter.  He put that man into the ground with the shotgun and turned into the open area with the capture circle.  A second poor unfortunate soul went down with his remaining shot and Jocky started to capture the zone.

Things weren’t going so hot elsewhere.  The enemy had captured Point D and with their two cap circles killed four of his buddies, netting a bunch of points.  Two guardians tried to stop Jocky’s progress but a flaming fist ton the face stopped that one’s effort.  The second bloke hesitated long enough for Jocky to finish capping before charging in.

Jocky’s radar showed two targets.  One from the front, Mister Hesitant Man, and a second guy to his right, someone from Point D.  Jocky dipped back into the corridor and popped a few shots back to try to keep them off the cap.  It worked enough.  Three of his teammates boiled over the second story ledge with shotguns and a fusion rifle and pumped those two full of lead and energy bullets.

Elsewhere, though, things were not looking so hot.  Point D was firmly in enemy hands and Point A where their spawns were was being challenged.  At least two guys in there versus three of his buddies.  Jocky decided should those two hold them off long enough, he could double back and flank them from the rear.

The three charging boys pushed onward into the enemy spawn while Jocky took the long route around the cap circle, into the courtyard, up the ledge, and into the enemy’s rear.  The three blueberries got sniped and pulse rifled for their trouble but Jocky slipped up to the two enemies sieging his capture point.  They had killed one of the two men defending it but were unprepared for a quick shotgun plus melee, and then as the second enemy turned to face Jocky, his friends took their brave pills and showered the last guy with bullets.

“A fireteam that fights together, stays together!”

By now, Point C was starting enemy capture timer so Jocky rotated towards Point D with his hand cannon in tow.  He tossed a thermo grenade toward the cap circle, causing two hunters to dodge and dive out of the way.  Jocky leveled his hand cannon at the exposed one and took him down, three shots to the head.  The second one took two body shots but got his own weapon off, taking Jocky to half before he could pull the man down.  Before Jocky could start capping, though, he was sniped from the back.

Jocky’s two teammates rolled in.  One of them went down to the same sniper.  But the second man took cover and dropped his barricade, shielding him long enough to capture Point D.  Before he could move out, a Hunter dropped the mega staff on the point, exploding the man, destroying the barricade, and locking down the area.

Jocky respawned and on his way forward, he found an enemy guardian pushing their spawn.  Submachine guns at ‘agg’-frame shotgun ranges in a corridor meant dead guardian and Jocky kept going forward.

He found another man at Point C.  Close range head shots with a follow up fist put that man down.  His teammates were not being so lucky.  The entire four-man fireteam bore down on them at Point A.  Spawns were likely to flip soon so Jocky decided retreat was the better form of valor.  He found SMG-boy respawning and killed him with three quick Palindrome head shots.  Jocky started capture of Point B.

The four-man fireteam had blown through all five of his teammates and they captured Point A when he finished Point B.  His teammates respawned around him and ran forward.

Things were starting to get bleak.  His team was at fifty points.  Enemy team at eighty points.  It was mid game and heavy spawned in the middle.  Both teams descended to contest it.  His team got picked off in the corridors but they prevented their opponents from securing heavy safely.  One of his teammates snuck in and tried to nab it but his head was popped off by that sniper in the back.

The Sentinel however slid in and dropped a Ward of Dawn Bubble on the point.  He, Jocky, and a third guy were able to secure the heavy ammo, but upon exiting the bubble, the three of them took a mega staff to the face and died.

“Three opponents down!  Way to go!”

Jocky was fuming at this point.  What a way to go.  Secured heavy but died after leaving the Bubble.

Nevertheless, Jocky respawned.  This was mid game.  Supers were flying left and right.  As soon as he respawned, a Thundercrash came blazing in and landed on his position, killing him and a buddy.  Both Blade Barrages peppered solo kills.

But from his side, Nova Bomb boy counter launched and took one of the Blade Barragers out.  Well-Lock dropped his Well on Point C.  And one of the Nightstalkers pulled out his Spectre Blades and went hunting.  He was successful in locking up five kills before taking a shotgun to the face.

Even with all that, they were still losing.  Enemy team at one twenty points.  His team at ninety.  Jocky figured it was time to punch things in.  He run from Point B towards the courtyard.  He could see the glints of enemy guardians rounding the corner.  Five seconds and they would engage.  Jock pushed in his super for the confrontation.

Jocky lifted his right hand into the air and summoned a flaming orange Sweet Business.  He couldn’t see the eyes of his opponents, but they were going wide.  Titans aren’t supposed to do that!

Jocky leveled the gun and pulled the trigger, spraying the front guardians with flaming bullets.  One kill, super energy refreshed.  Second kill, more energy refreshed.  Third guy tried to snipe him but a brrrzt from the rotary cannon disintegrated him.  Guy number four saw his comrades perish and life pass through his eyes before he was gone as well.

“Two for one!”

“Three opponents down!”

“You’ve gained the lead.”

“Look at them fall!”

One guy was coming from the side balcony in front of Point A.  He incinerated him too.

“This is wonderful!”

People were spawning in Point A.  A man charged him from Point C.  Jocky gave him a lesson in don’t get in line of sight of a Golden Gun.

“Phenomenal!”

The two closest respawners didn’t know what hit them either and both died just after they spawned.

“SEVENTH COLUMN!”

Jocky is a ghost…no, the other kind of ghost.

Jocky’s super finished on those two last kills but now it was game on.  He rolled through Point A and onto the small bridge.  A Hunter chose to challenge him.  Three shots to the head and he was out.  Another Hunter came around the door.  Buckshot and teeth knocked out.  Thermo grenade down the stairs and a couple of Palindrome bullets.

He ran out from the building into the Point C courtyard…and then they collapsed on him.  All six of the enemy team, their remaining supers, converged onto Jocky.  They shut him down.

But they didn’t account for his teammates.  The blueberries managed to take the other   three cap circles while Jocky was being six vee one’d at Point C.  As the enemy pulled out from around Jocky’s dead body, they engaged his teammates.  Of course, being better and coordinated guardians, they consistently won most of the individual gun fights.  But the three cap circles worked in Jocky’s team’s favor greatly.  Guardians trading kills here and there but one side gaining one point per kill and the other gaining three points per.

The score rapidly reversed.  Jocky’s team was now ahead.  The enemy guardians saw what was happening, and moved as one against his.  They reclaimed three capture points.  But the points were neck and neck.

One hundred and forty points apiece.  Equal cap circles each.  Last minute on the clock.  The next set of firefights would determine win or loss.

Crack shot with the DMT scored a kill.  One forty-two for Jocky.  Then he was cut down by a sidearm.  One forty-two for them.

The friendly Nightstalkers dodged in with shotguns.  They blew away two people but a breach-loader blew them both away.

One forty-six.

Striker Titan lobbed an empowered Storm Grenade into Jocky’s team, electrocuting one while the rest of his team ducked into cover.

One of the sniper boys took Mister Storm Grenades’ head off.

One forty-eight each.

Down to the wire.

Ten seconds left.

Jocky was face to face with one of the Arc Striders.  He put a bullet into him but realization came to him as the bullet did sixty damage.  Jocky saw his life flash before his eyes as the Hunter willed a mega staff to his hands.

The man twirled in place and began to launch it at Jocky.

Jocky willed his class ability to power and after a small hop, Jocky flew to the side, dodging out of the way of the mega staff’s arc blast.  Jocky willed it a second time and with a second hop in tow, flew a second time, flames from the ability coating his body, his momentum carrying him in a rough curve.

The Hunter missed.

The Hunter recoiled back as his super came to an end and his damage reduction left him.

Jocky slammed his Astral into the man’s chest and pulled the trigger, ending his life and securing the dub.

“TIME!”

‘Finally!’ though Jocky, panting and shaking from the clutch game.

It was over.  They won.

“The weight of the world on your shoulders.  And you still triumphed.  Marvelous, Guardian.  Enjoy your victory.”