- "Hey, Dom. There's a city out there."
"Yeah, that's Char. What's left of it, anyway, after the Hammer strikes. The Stranded there used to refine their own fuel."
"Well, if it doesn't work out here, then that's our next stop." - —Sgt. Marcus Fenix and Cpl. Dominic Santiago looking at Char during the Mission to Mercy.
The Mission to Char was a mission undertaken by half of Delta-One to the ruined city of Char to retrieve fuel for their Packhorse in order to get to the Endeavor Naval Shipyard.
Prelude[]
Chairman Richard Prescott returns during the Attack on the Sovereign to reveal that Adam Fenix is still alive on the secret island base of Azura and that he has a way to stop the Locust and the Lambent. After decoding A2897 and realizing they need a submarine to reach Azura, Delta-One undertakes a fateful mission to the Imulsion refining town of Mercy for the needed fuel only to fail to get the fuel and for Dominic Santiago to sacrifice himself to save them from a massive Savage Locust and Lambent attack. Still needing the fuel, Delta heads to Char to search there, but their Packhorse runs out of fuel itself at the edge of the city, meaning that they have to search for fuel for that too.
Order of Battle[]
Arrival[]
Arriving in Char and out of fuel, Sergeant Marcus Fenix orders Private Dizzy Wallin to stay behind with their Packhorse while he and the rest of Delta-One go looking for Stranded survivors to help them get more fuel for the Packhorse and possibly the submarine they are going to get. Working their way through the city, the Stranded known as Ash Man activates traps to try to kill them including makeshift Retro Lancer turrets, falling objects, exploding propane tanks in shopping carts and crates of Lambent Polyps. Dodging the traps and fighting through the polyps, Delta arrives at Griffin Tower where two Stranded turrets fire at them until two Lambent Stalks pop out of the ground and unleash Lambent Drones and Lambent Drudges. Delta battles the Lambent with help from the Stranded turrets, eventually wiping the Lambent out.
Meeting with Griffin[]
Following Delta's defeat of the Lambent, Ash Man figures its alright to take them to see the local Stranded leader, Aaron Griffin even though he hates the COG and takes them to Griffin's office inside of Griffin Tower. While Griffin meets with them, he is not pleased due to his hatred for the COG. Lieutenant Anya Stroud and Sergeant Marcus Fenix try to negotiate for fuel for their Packhorse and Griffin offers a deal: the cable car with his next shipment of fuel hasn't come back from the refinery in days as it was supposed to and if Delta will get it for him, they can have some of the fuel. Marcus isn't pleased with this, but Griffin reveals that he has Private Dizzy Wallin as a hostage and uses him to force Delta to agree to the deal.
Mission to the Refinery[]
With no other choice, Delta leaves Griffin Tower and starts their trek around the Hammer of Dawn crater to the refinery. A group of Lambent Polyps come out of pipes and attack, but Delta quickly dispatches them. Soon after, they come under attack by Lambent Wretches and two Lambent Stalks deliver Lambent Drones and Lambent Drudges to the battle. The Lambent forces are eliminated and Delta continues on to be faced with more polyps and then, at the entrance to Char's subway system, a massive force of more polyps, Lambent Wretches and Lambent Drones and Drudges spawned by two more Lambent Stalks. Entering the subway, Delta is attacked by more polyps, but quickly eliminates them. As Delta arrives at the refinery, a Lambent Stalk with half a dozen Stalk Pods deploys a lot more Drudges, Lambent Drones and Lambent Wretches. After a hard fought battle, Delta manages to eliminate the Lambent forces and enter the refinery. Inside the lobby, Delta finds the refinery apparently abandoned and powerless. After Sergeant Marcus Fenix powers up a generator and activates an elevator, massive waves of Formers start attacking from vents, elevators and the stairs leading further into the building. Delta eliminates the Formers and as the elevators are now out of commission, head up the stairs to an elevator that they start moving by pushing a car off that acts as a counterweight. As the elevator heads to the roof, a Gunker smashes through the roof of the elevator and Delta has to quickly eliminate him before he can kill them. On the roof, Delta finds the cable car with the shipment of fuel on it, but although they are able to activate it, they discover that it is tethered to a safety release inside the refinery that they have to disable before they can return to the Tower with it. Before Delta can enter the upper levels of the refinery, they come under attack by more Formers which they eliminate and make their way inside. Inside, Formers come out of everywhere to attack, but are quickly eliminated. Reaching the safety release, Marcus cuts the cable with the Chainsaw Bayonet of a Lancer, releasing the cable car for use. With the cable car free, Delta fights their way back out onto the roof and leaves in the cable car.
On the way back to Griffin Tower, Delta is contacted by Dizzy who reveals that the Queen's Guard led by Queen Myrrah herself is attacking the tower to try to stop Delta before they can complete their mission. Delta manages to repel the attack, killing all but Myrrah and her Tempest who retreat early in the battle, but only Dizzy and Aaron Griffin survive the attack. While Griffin keeps to the deal and releases Dizzy and lets them take the fuel needed to refuel their Packhorse, he also blames Delta for the death of his people and swears revenge on Marcus Fenix before leaving on another cable car for the refinery.
Assault on Griffin Tower[]
As Delta-One prepares to leave the refinery in Char with a shipment of fuel, they are contacted by Private Dizzy Wallin who informs them that Griffin Tower is under attack by Queen Myrrah and her loyal Locust. Delta, from their cable car, witness Queen Myrrah using her Tempest to repeatedly blast the tower before eventually leaving, but leaving behind Palace Guards and Shriekers to finish the job. As Delta makes their way across the crater from the Hammer of Dawn counterattack, two Gas Barges with Palace Guards on them attack the cable car. Delta fends off the Locust barges long enough for the Gas Barges to retreat and them to reach Griffin Tower. Needing to rescue Dizzy, Delta battles their way through the tower, killing the attacking Palace Guards and Shriekers they encounter along the way and doing their best to aid the Stranded. Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, all the Stranded they encounter are killed except Aaron Griffin and Dizzy who do their best to hold the Locust off on the tower roof. Reaching the roof, Delta eliminates the last of the Locust forces and saves Dizzy and Griffin.
Aftermath[]
Only Delta-One and Aaron Griffin survive the attack. Griffin is left furious as he and his people survived the Locust War, the Hammer of Dawn counterattack and even the Lambent, but the squad shows up and they are all wiped out. While he swears revenge on Marcus Fenix for the attack, he leaves for his refinery in a cable car, leaving Delta with the fuel they need to reach Endeavor Naval Shipyard.