Skirmish of Titan

"Before you can confront the Witness, you must understand it."

- Ahsa

The Skirmish of Titan was a conflict between the Vanguard, assisted by Deputy Commander Sloane and a Leviathan-like creature on Titan named Ahsa, Xivu Arath's Hive and Taken forces, and a small detachment of Lucent Hive forces encounter deep within and below the New Pacific Arcology.

History
Before Titan's return, the Vanguard attempted to follow the Witness using the portal it carved on the Traveler. Joxer volunteered, though the attempt was met with failure as he and his Ghost were partially liquified within their ship after it was ejected.

A distress call from Sloane on Titan would reach the Vanguard, requesting assistance. Guardians alongside Zavala, Saint-14, and Saladin Forge came into Titan for a rescue operation. The Drifter also volunteered, much to Saladin and Saint's chagrin. They would clash with Xivu Arath's forces and the Hive God of War revealing herself through her voice.

With Drifter's help, the Guardian and Zavala made contact with Sloane below the methane oceans where they find out that Sloane is alive, albeit partially taken. And that the distress call was meant for Ahsa, a proto-worm whom Sloane bonded with. Ahsa had valuable intel related to the Witness. However, Sloane needed the egregore coral found beneath Titan's methane oceans to strengthen her connection with Ahsa so the worm could share the information.

Wasting no time, Guardians would embark on salvage operations on Titan, salvaging much-needed supplies while dealing with Xivu Arath's forces. They went into deep dives to harvest the egregore coral needed for Sloane and Ahsa while also dealing with dangerous foes sent by the Hive's God of War including J4WS-Wrathborn Servitor, Kudazad, Bound to Xivu Arath, and Kelgorath, Taken from Bones.

Additionally, a fireteam was sent to the depths beneath the Arcology to deal with a mass ritual conducted by the Lucent Brood. The ritual would happen to be the brood's attempt to resurrect Oryx, the Taken King, whose corpse nestled beneath Titan's oceans. The ritual was stopped and Oryx's corpse was recovered by Ikora's Hidden agents.

After a few weeks of diving expeditions, the Guardians ventured to Savathun's Throne World to kill one of the Hive Ghosts and use its fragments to further strengthen Sloane's connection to Ahsa. The plan worked and Ahsa reveals that the Witness is a gestalt of consciousness from the first civilization that was uplifted by the Traveler. While they were blessed with a Golden Age for eons, they became obsessed to find meaning and purpose in the universe which led them to find the Veil. They hoped to commune the Veil with the Traveler to rewrite reality in their own desires. The Traveler escaped before they could accomplish their goal. But even that didn't deter them, so they conducted a mass ritual that killed the entire species and combined their consciousness into the being that became The Witness. And thus, it began its genocidal crusade.

Later on, Ahsa was kidnapped by Xivu Arath's brood and they conducted a ritual to try to make her into one of the Taken. Thanks to the efforts of the Vanguard, Saladin's Iron War Beasts, and the Guardians, they rescued Ahsa and stopped the ritual. After the rescue, Sloane was nearly possessed by Xivu Arath and taunted her, though she regained control thanks to Zavala's encouragement. With one final communion, Ahsa reveals while the path is obscured, there's one individual who knows the way to follow the Witness, Savathun herself. And if the Vanguard wishes to follow it and put a stop to its plans, they have no choice but to allow her to be revived.

Aftermath
While the Coalition emerged victorious in this skirmish, the revelation that Savathun is necessary for the fight against the Witness makes things complicated for the Vanguard. Despite protests from Saint-14 and Saladin Forge, the Vanguard are making plans to make contact with Immaru, Savathun's ghost, in hopes to resurrect her as well as having the Hidden keep the situation contained.

Meanwhile, Xivu Arath communed with the Witness aboard the Dreadnaught after her failure. It expressed doubts about Xivu's abilities but nonetheless commanded her to prepare herself to fight Savathun if the Vanguard resurrects her. Later, she allowed an audience with the Guardians in her temple beneath Kraken Mare after offering three broken blades they recovered to three statues scattered across the depths. Inside her temple, Xivu challenged them by having them defeat Khull, Executioner Knight, and a Tormentor in her service: Omen, Blade of the Black Terrace. After the Tormentor was defeated, the Hive God deemed them worthy and awarded them Wicked Implement so they could tithe to her.

List of appearances

 * Destiny 2
 * Season of the Deep