I met a squeaker today while picking up a couple of fill-ins for a Crota raid with my clan. We were all in a party, so when the new guys joined my "ambassador" would go to game chat to make sure they knew what they were doing. That's when it happened.
Psaud, our metaphorical "Speaker," left the party as usual to discuss the raid strat before we began, to make sure they were there for the right CP and could listen well, etc.
Then suddenly, only moments after leaving the party and moments after I invited the fill-ins to the party, Psaud's voice, frantic and obviously boiling with fear, rambled through our mics: "You gotta boot this kid! He's the worst squeaker I've ever heard! He'll never stop talking! He'll- *Squeaker001 has joined the party*... oh hey man."
The raid begins. We're at the Crota checkpoint, hard mode, and we're all packed with heavy synths and ready to go--well, almost all of us.
"Squeaker, are you ready?" I asked.
"Give me a minute, I have to do the heavy glitch."
First of all, I was shocked that he even payed enough attention to figure out the glitch, but I played along, as did my team. It was late, we wanted to get this done.
"Alright, ready. Middle strat, right?"
Everyone aghast, my clanmate Sammy responds with a single breath that depleted as soon as he started his words: "..That's right.."
Did this squeaker know what he was doing?
"Who has the sword?" He asked.
"That would be me," replied Sammy. We took our positions, and Sammy ran to grab the sword from the ashy remains of the Swordbearer.
"Ready, go!"
Sammy leapt from his perch on a rock straight up to Crota's heel, who kneeled promptly from 4 rockets that all hit him in beautiful unison.
The squeaker had not said a word. At this point I could tell in their hesitant voices that they were careful not to excite him. The next sword phase passed, no squeaker voice was made audible. The ogre phase passed, still nothing.
"Is everyone good on heavy ammo?" Sammy said. I could tell that he was thrown by the initial squeakidge and now the lack thereof. No voice above a tenor replied. I couldn't help myself. I had to know why this squeaker was so quiet, and why every stereotype of a squeaker had just been debunked at its seam.
"Hey [Squeaker], you good?" I asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He sounded normal, no frustration, no hesitation in his voice. His normality was perplexing.
"Why are you so quiet?" quizzed Adam. We waited with bated breath for the conundrum to be solved.
"Everyone hates my voice, so I just listen and do whatever I'm told. I don't want to annoy anyone, I just want to get the job done."
About ten seconds went by where not a soul could be heard save the screeches of thralls and the snarls of the Hive god above us. The first noise heard was a clapping noise. Then another. Slow, but the cadence in it was undeniable; Squeaker was getting an ovation. We all put our controllers down, and before the squeaker knew it we were all standing in front of our screens, applauding the living, breathing anomaly before us.
The raid ended, Crota turned to nothing, and to orbit we went.
"Thanks for letting me play, guys. Have a good one." said the squeaker.
---
We never got to respond to that kid, but I think we could have been in the presence of someone that will turn out to be an inspiration to squeakers everywhere. I didn't use his real tag out of respect to his privacy. I can only dream of meeting a squeaker like that again.
Pray that you may one day experience the same.
---
To see the rest of my stories, click this link: [url]https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/108243048/0/0[/url]
-
Good story, my sons a squeaker and desperate to do some raids. I have only done one all the way through (without him). He and I play weeklies and nightfalls together, along with various online friends. Hes not the silent and deadly type but never swears or shouts and he listens to everything. We want to raid together but I don't want to have him booted due to his age or voice level. I love playing this game with my son and it is nice to see a really positive story. Congrats to you and your team