- Location
- Somewhere in South America
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I spent hours on Ishtar and hearing Cayde's dialogue from youtube videos, I'm glad he's accurate to his actual behaviour.
Glad to be back, sorry for taking so long.
Interlude 1: AMATTROACSATSCLWHIBBDBEP Part 2
- Location
- Somewhere in South America
- Pronouns
- She/Her
A man's adventures through the remains of a (very large) colony ship and the surrounding converted landscapes when he is not being bogged down by endless paperwork
Or AMATTROACSATSCLWHIBBDBEP for short
(Also known as that time Cayde got stuck in a Teleporter loop after contacting Zavala and meeting the remains of a family: Part 2 out of 2)
There were several reasons why Cayde is heading for what the Failsafe had denominated as the AI core. The main one of these being that the AI's explanation of their newly acquired 'crew': two kids and an injured older individual- most likely their father or tutor. His secondary source of concern is their potential lack of supplies- Failsafe had stated that they had arrived just by themselves, no other equipment and as she said, the only surrounding ships were of Fallen ownership- so there were little chances that any of those were theirs. Even if they were the fact that she had specifically stated 'Fallen Ownership' might have implied that whatever vehicle that they had used to come all the way here had been stolen.
Still, something didn't make sense. Why come here? Nessus is in the middle of nowhere, and other than the Exodus Black and some Vex structures- they would have had a better shot of surviving on Venus of all places- since it basically had the same stuff: Human remains either from their bodies or their structures, Fallen flocking to the place to loot whatever wasn't bolted down, and Vex converting the landmasses into blocky reflections of themselves. Grey and copper mockeries of the original landscape, he reasoned bitterly.
Another point that stroked interest is why all the way here, in the far reaches of the solar system, Venus is closer to the Earth- less wasted fuel in transit. Then there was Zavala with everyone else; did they not head for Titan, instead? That ocean and methane filled moon orbiting Saturn… is the rally point for the City refugees that left Earth, was it not?
"This whole thing just screams 'Ikora!' You know? I bet her Warlocks could figure this entire thing out in no time." Cayde commented to his companion, still hidden away in those unseen corners of his so-called 'backpack', as he jogged by the side of the seemingly bottomless cliff overlooking the hanging remains of the Exodus Black's crew quarters. At least, he assumes as much. Colony ships usually had very differing layouts despite similar exterior shells from what he had discovered.
…let me remind you that her Hidden also have Hunters and even Titans, just in case you forgot... It is something many people forgot: Titans were not secluded to their orders.
"Of course! How could I forget? Nothing is ever complete without a good Hunter or two." The joking response is followed by a quick slide behind cover as the earlier-heard band of Pikes runs through the same cliffside road towards the location Sundance had extracted to be called 'The Cistern' from the Vex network. In any situation, it would seem to indicate that one of the Fallen camps is close nearby- not good news if he wanted to close in on the remains of the AI core.
…What about the Titans? Where do they fit into this?... The question is asked as the hunter moves out from the foliage, pacing with a careful step as if to notice if anyone or anything nearby.
"Oh, I'm sure they're there, doing their thing... whatever that is that Titans do."
Sundance is not amused by this response. She had always been aware at most Hunters disdain for the rigid structures and routine-filled lives that Titans lead. They called themselves the Second Wall of the Last City due to their generally impermeable nature not only to the enemies of Humanity such as the Hive and the Vex but also to the general tomfoolery usually led by groups of Hunters. Did this mean that they were aloof and cold to all? No, indeed it did not. Despite most of the free-spirited Guardians claiming that they called themselves 'Walls' due to their impressive imitation of one, most Titans were gentle souls; they did not like pain- either inflicting onto others or accepting them onto themselves. This is why they formed such great orders, she reasoned, as they needed to share that burden amongst themselves.
She also knew that her Guardian is an exception and not the rule in this situation. Despite his continued ribbing of his fireteam's Titan, Zavala, he had learnt to carry a degree of respect for all classes of Guardians. There were Hunters that really did think of Titans as mostly useless except for their use in providing Ward of Dawn bubbles to empower their weaponry.
Not the most pleasant of thoughts to be having while there is only a single Gunslinger on the centaur, but it made her appreciate her partner all the more.
Those were her thoughts as they emerged from under the white stone 'balcony', if it could even be called that at the several metric tons it held up. The ambient expands- opens almost to reveal more than just the spheres that used to be habitation quarters hanging above a hazy white abyss. Old golden age alloys, still shining with the lustre of the day they were bolted onto the colony ship, lay scattered about, shredded into layers by the crash, centuries worth of erosion and Vex interference; with the later arrival of the Fallen not doing any favours to the failed colony ship.
Of the mentioned alien species, both of them were currently engaged in a small scale firefight that is no doubt going to get larger as the days went on. Cayde wouldn't be surprised if a Gate Lord decided to join in if it got to the point where the Fallen would deploy a Walker or two… and they most likely would, since those buggers didn't know when to give up sometimes. It really is something admirable, until they ended up shooting their own foot attempting to get back at whatever perceived wrong they had been dealt with.
Then again, considering how trigger-happy some guardians were when shot while passing by a location… she reckoned it probably had to do with upbringing or something like that. Sundance admits to herself she isn't the best ghost for analysing enemy or Guardian movements and behaviour- that is something more likely to be handled by the ghost of a Titan or even a Warlock. Much like the Hunters, they provided the Light for, she belonged to a certain kind of free-spirited Ghosts.
It's a certain kind of balance only a fireteam of Humans and their wisp-like companions could achieve, the kind that she seems to sorely miss as her partner, lightless and visible to all. It's true Cayde isn't one to switch his affinity often- especially to Void light, which he found odd, confusing, and too close to the Darkness for personal comfort. He didn't care if this is accurate or not, it isn't going to change his mind over how it felt to handle.
But that's why he called in favours from Nighstalkers in situations like these. But those very same Hunters would have been pretty useful at the moment. Even if her Guardian had cultivated the skills that were currently allowing him to pass mostly ignored by the Fallen- the Vex would not be fooled so easily. The mechanical organisms could as well see through walls, considering how they behaved when their attention was caught by an organic. That's why she is worried as the fight raged on, rather than the occasional bolt from a Slap or Shock Rifle.
If the Vex could predict him, and they caught wind of him… they wouldn't stop harassing him unless he is deemed a non-threat, suffered enough losses for the cause to be deemed counter-productive, or he left the planet. That's how Ikora explained how Vex dealt with threats outside of their 'Important structures' to him and based on experience, he could, unfortunately, confirm that that's how it always went about from redjack retrieval reports on Venus and Mars.
"Hey buddy, you alright?" The uttered whisper broke her train of thought, returning her to the current issue at hand… which is a large, grid-like Vex construct —a barrier— blocking the path down to the remains of the core. Even as his partner is taking this sudden awakening to check her surroundings the Hunter plays with one of the many knives that he carried on him.
…Can't you just— climb around it?... The incredulous tone says it all, and her lack of amusement and dry humour that usually balanced out her Guardian's more insane antics showed how much this seemed like a non-issue to her.
"Yeah, but what about the death barriers or the invisible walls?" He explains with a face that isn't flat because he's trying to shoehorn a joke in there, but because he believes whatever is coming out of his speakers whole-heartedly.
…The- what? How does that-…
"You know? Killed by the Architects? Misadventures?" Even with the muted, although still incredibly expressive hand gestures to go with it, one could easily tell that the Exo believed every word that they spoke off.
An awkward silence stretches out through the moment as a Skiff is shot down by a nearby Vex maser beam, exploding into molten slag and flames as it collapses amongst the human debris in the background of their hidden conversation.
…Cayde I swear to the Traveller that not even I know where any of those ideas come from. Have you been reading Didi and Marcus's stories again? … And she had been travelling with her Guardian for several centuries by now. She knew she shouldn't be surprised, but new terms kept popping up time and time again. If Targe wasn't so insistent on keeping themselves updated with Guardian lingo Sundance is more than sure that Zavala would be completely lost whenever he got picked on by Hunters… or their Vanguard. It is already hard to get gaggles of hunters to split up into threes and form a fireteam, and when they did…
He already went through so much stress, and Sundance knew that names such as "The Bad Guys Don't Care What We Call Ourselves Do They" were some of the reasons why the Awoken Titan always seemed so annoyed.
The Exo popped his non-existent lips as if he were just realizing that his comment perhaps was not so clever after all. Still, he went on asking in the same shushed, oblivious tone of before and ignoring the prior stated question because he assumes the answer is rather obvious anyway: "So… is it safe to do so?"
… …why wouldn't it be?...
Shrugging, and letting the conversation end there, the Exo waited amongst the red foliage that was growing amidst the decades-old wreckage.
For what exactly. It's hard to tell. Their Ghost will only intervene if they deem the plan too risky or unlikely to work, but if she knows her Guardian, he'll go for something reliable this time around.
Not foolproof, but as old and about as reliable as sunshine.
~~~~~~~~~
Fryknis does not know why they're fighting the bronze machines that crowd this planetoid. They remind her of Viinyios, of the light blue cloak and armour she wore, it reminds her of the Human remains of the academy that remained there, amongst the same bronze coloured machines with their red, unfeeling eyes staring straight at them.
Still, they had been told to provide enough of a distraction for a 'Lord of the Gate' to show up, whatever that may mean. The Depraved is never good with directions, but no one as much as dared to attempt to ask what they might have meant- they knew that the once-exiled Splicer earned his title, instead of taking it as many other eliksni did. There's no telling what he would do to any of them if they as much as hesitated to follow the orders of the legless Baron.
And thus, she follows the rest of the group. The shimmering cloak that she carries on her back makes her barely visible to nearly all; only those with keen eyes and Eliksni could see the cascade of shades that was once used as a toy for the young, now repurposed as a tool for war. Their blades, humming with the electrical glow that she has grown familiar to, are her secondary tool: what she will cut the emotionless machine-like entities with to buy the time for that 'Gate Lord' to show up, whatever the reason her baron might have.
Or at least, that's what they expected.
Tripped to the ground, something hard and metallic kicks Fryknis on the face with enough strength to make them see double as they are pulled in the underbrush hidden under the rubble of the human ship.
The Eliksni struggles- arms bending backwards attempting to escape their assailant's grip, or lash out against them. They can't scream —their throat has already been opened with skilled sliding of a blade; and the gaping wound, opened like a second mouth, is sprouting Ether and a light bluish fluid— that fluid being their blood. They don't stop struggling, but the hand pulling their head back does not budge. The Marauder kicks and pulls and struggles, yet the metallic grip does not come undone. Instead, it tightens; pulling her head further back and allowing even more Ether and that clear blue fluid, to escape onto the dirt and the foliage that their assailant had been hiding in.
It takes exactly half a minute, but eventually, unconsciousness slowly carries the alien away, their struggle fading slowly as the Ether escapes their veins. Death will soon follow, but they won't be able to see it come when it does. Nor will they be able to complain or inform the others due to the reason they stayed behind for a moment: they seemed to notice something in the foliage.
~~~~~~~~~
Neither Cayde nor Sundance were foolish enough to assume that they would pass unnoticed if they quick enough, but eliminating stragglers that might have seen them like the one they were covering up in their once-meeting spot was the most sure-fire way of making sure that even if they were noticed, the alarm does not go off.
After all, if there's no one who had seen him and lived, had anyone really seen him at all? He considers that that might be something Petra or Ikora might say. Mostly Petra when they were hunting criminals on the shore, Ikora might just say something similar but with several more words if she was in a good mood that day.
Cayde sighs as he reaches the top of the cliff.
He's going to miss those excursions into the grime-filled underworld of The Reef with P.V. if his dance with Glenn doesn't go out according to plan.
Up there, on top of those partially molten remains of what was going to be the fusion reactors for the several generations of the colony ship, there were much fewer chances of being spotted. Cayde knows this, despite his irrational fear of instant Death Fields and invisible winds pushing him back into the pit.
An internal wince is shared between the pair as the metallic pathways wobble and creak as Cayde drifts from one panel to the next. It's far from safe, and a particular little drone makes sure to be clear about it:
…So much for the golden age construction standard! What even is this panel made of? Aluminium?...
"Might be, but I don't think aluminium came in this particular shade or for this particular purpose," Cayde comments as he scrapes off a little of the wobbly floor he is standing on with the edge of his throwing knife, the resulting colour is still silverfish under the paint, but given its surprising strength Cayde wouldn't be surprised if it was some sort of Golden Age alloy lost to time.
…I was being sarcastic. This looks more like, uh, tin anyways… The Ghost deadpans back, managing to squeeze a short chuckle out of the Exo. He didn't even know why it was funny, only that he found it about as much.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eventually, the pair finally arrives in the gulch overlooking a large tubular structure with two metallic extensions rising up into the air. If those were the emergency ship docks, then… that must be the remains of the Fusion Reactor Core. While some ships carried some alternative emergency radioactive fuel, from his prior visits and the scans Sundance has pulled he can successfully conclude that fortunately, this was not the case here.
It takes him a moment to descend into the calmer, less fight prone Gulch where Failsafe's 'brain' and those civilians were currently resting. He had to make this fast if he wanted to be home by the time Eva began making Dawning cookies.
He'd be licking his lips if he had any lips, and a tongue too which to lick them; because one can't lick without one, and unless he was somehow different from every other Exo he knew, Exos didn't come with tongues or lips.
"Intruder alert! Intruder alert!"
"It's me! It's… The Cayde-6 Unit?" Cayde interrupted, incredulously. He makes sure to maintain a low profile as he responds, for he knows that it's more than his life on the line for this one. Were he by himself, he'd have no problem going guns blazing, but there were civilians to save. And while he couldn't exactly rise from the dead at the moment, civilians never could in the first place. He'd be a pretty shitty Guardian if he
"Correct! That is true. But I do not want to let you in." Inside of where? Was there anything other than pretending to be a Vex to the Network that Failsafe could do? That is an unknown that Cayde doesn't exactly like, and he's not willing to find out. He'll have to play the diplomat for now.
…crud, and I thought she beat you in the reasonable department for a moment there…
"And this is because?" the question lingers in the radio silence heavily, weighing down the conversation that had yet to even begin unfolding properly. Cayde considers if he's going to have to do something drastic to retrieve the peeps.
"I believe you might attempt to retrieve my crew outside of this planetoid. While I hypothesise the more loss one experiences the easier it becomes to deal with, I am not willing to field-test this hypothesis! The vast amounts of... unfortunate accidents. Makes me hesitate into allowing them to leave!" Cayde hates being the one to put things in order, the one to tell Guardians that no, their 'Super Idea to exterminate the Hive' was not only going to work, but also lead them to early retirement, but sometimes only he could get through to some Guardians. He doubts Failsafe is more of the same, but it's worth a shot to attempt reason before attempting to mess around with her brain.
"Failsafe, if I do not let others know that these people are here, they're going to die." It's a matter of fact- just like the researchers over at Venus, like the vast colonies over at Mercury, or even in the Martian Orbital Zone: co-existing with the Vex is impossible. Sooner or later, they'll want you dead, and while he has no memory of it, his prior selves seem to know it all too well; "It's as simple as that, you have to let them go for them to survive long term. You know it too: Your prior crew met their ends here. If they don't leave, sooner or later they will fare the same way."
"This is true! B-B-But… B-B-But…" The electronic stuttering is interrupted by the Exo's calm, stern voice; not unlike what one would use to scorn a child- for the Hunter Vanguard knew the stranded intelligence lacked the emotional maturity to behave any differently.
"Failsafe. Listen to me: let go. They can't live here and… you know that." Stern. Cayde knows how it's like to have to be so to calm someone down, or to knock some sense into someone else to stop them from doing something stupid. He might be hands-off with most of his Hunters and scouts, but that did not mean that he lacked a backbone- especially when lives are on the line. Fearing forgetting something, he makes sure to add the magic word at the end of that reprimand, just in case…
"Please, Failsafe, you know you know you need to do this."
The wind produced by some unseen entity howls over the valley as the radio waves remain silent.
A minute passes by.
Then two.
On the third one, a voice finally comes through.
It's in this third minute when Failsafe finally responds. She does so with the cheerier voice (or personality, Cayde is never able to tell) and with a message that sure, lifts the spirits of the Guardian and Ghost pair, before continuing with the voice that seemed constantly annoyed within the same train of thought. "…May I receive updates of my crewmember's life status? I'd uh.. like to remain in… touch?"
The questioning nature of statements prompts an excited response from the 'Little Light' as they tended to be called.
…Crisis adverted! Quick, handsome, say something!...
Cayde hated being the one to be asked permission to do things. He may be one to take initiative first in most Vanguard affairs, and he may have to check every single New Hunter to make sure they don't attempt to fight a windmill to death, but this time, this once, he'd allow it without shrinking his responsibility away to Zavala or Ikora this time. Doing his best attempt to sincerely smile, he concludes "You may Failsafe. You may."
-----
"You… you're the Hunter Vanguard." That wasn't a question, it was rather a statement uttered from the mouth of the sole human adult present within the confines of the chamber, which were not that large, to begin with. His agape mouth and shocked expression said everything there to say about his state of mind at the moment. Not joy, nor fear, but perplexity and confusion. They were not expecting to be saved, but could a single individual really change the fate that he had been lying to the children about?
"Indeed I am." Calm and confident, the Hunter Vanguard ambles forwards. It had taken him a day to walk all the way here, but it was worth it if nothing for the peace of mind. With Sundance by his side already working on producing some emergency rations out of some Glimmer that he had spared for his current task. Cayde then extends a friendly hand at the man sitting on the 'bridge' present in the centre of the room, a friendly greeting to go with a cheery tone, "Before I continue, could I get your name?"
"J- Joseph sir." The man timidly responds, shaking the extended hand unsure if this was just a dream or a hallucination caused by eating the shoddily programmed protein paste for the last few days.
"Joseph… nice name, but drop the 'sir'. Cayde works great." This is stated as the Exo sits beside Joseph, feet hanging above the small drop down the sides
"Why… Why are you here?"
"I'd be a pretty poor Guardian if I didn't check on these two champs and their… amazing caretaker." Having said this, he turns to look at the kids smiling. Did they know who he was? Maybe they're too young to know much about politics or his many (failed) attempts to best Shaxx or Ikora on the crucible. Then again, if they were alive all the way here, their caretaker is either really good at staying alive… or something else. He's not sure just what yet.
"But… he's our papa?" The older child, a male kid that barely could be considered to be a pre-puberty adolescent, with the same golden-brown skin that his sister seemed to have but their so-called 'Papa' seemed to lack. Maybe he's their grandfather, and that's why they use that name. Maybe he's just the partner of the children's father or mother. Maybe- just maybe- they were adopted. It is not his place to intervene in the lives of some family more than he needs to.
"That's why I said caretaker." The expression of the children does not change as the Hunter carefully pronounces the last word as if he were taking a spelling quiz for a bunch of kids- which in a way, he was. "That is to say, he has been taking care of you." The Exo further explains, and to great effect; the kids' eyes seem to grow like plates, their awe at the explanation accompanied by both 'oooh's and an 'ahhh's'.
"Failsafe, mind giving us a moment… here?" For someone who had not interacted in person with said Artificial Intelligence before, cade surprisingly knew which direction to face to look at her 'face'. He emphasises the hereby spinning his finger in a circle, indicating to the room itself.
"I can pretend as if my internal speakers are not working!" Cayde gives a thumbs up with a smile…
"Against my better judgement." Which proceeds to turn into thumbs… sideways? It's done with a deadpanned (but annoyed) expression. Eventually, the Exo just shrugs as they begin to swing their legs above the small ledge present in the centre of the room, not unlike how a kid who is too small for a chair would do so.
Eventually, however, he turns to face his returning Ghost, calling out to her with a simple "Hey Sundance!"
Having just finished programming what could have been used as currency, weapon components, or ammunition into what could be considered 'emergency rations', Sundance does not respond anything verbally, instead just nodding to reveal that yes, she has paid attention to what her Guardian just said. Taking advantage of her halted movement and tapping one of the metallic protruding spikes (probably just to annoy her when she didn't want to compromise her image), the Hunter asks: "Could you go distract the kids for a bit? I want to talk with just their 'Pawpaw' over here." In other words, he means to say 'don't worry, I'll fill you in later with whatever went on this conversation, go have some 'fun', which is typical of the pair whenever they did anything: one would go about taking care of the 'serious business, whether it was opening doors with the Beam Thing, or talking to others to get some information out of them.
…Got it, pal… For the first time since she had spoken to Cayde in the city, back when they were getting their ship ready, her vocal patterns ring out for someone other than her guardian. With a mind eager to get distracted with something that might take her mind of the recent events going on in the City and on Earth, Sundance does her best …Hey kids, want to-…
This eagerness quickly dies off as she notices the mischievous smile of the pair once she reaches them poking at the recently programmed meals, their hands covered in the eideble paste...Oh… oh no…
~~~~~~
"So…" he starts, by shuffling on his seated position to get slightly more comfortable "How did you get involved with this Light-forsaken Centaur anyway?"
"A… Fallen took us here." Cayde's face internally scrounges up. This wouldn't be the first time a Fallen band had taken a group of humans elsewhere. He had personally led some strike teams to stop fighting rings where some captured people were taken or the prison cells where they were going to be sacrificed to some Prime Servitor or something similar. The incident of a group of Exiles attempting sword logic comes to mind particularly clear to him at the moment, being one of the few incidents where he personally did the report without attempting to shrink it off to someone else.
"From where?"
"The Farm," The man begins, before realizing that the Hunter probably never heard of the place, and proceeding to explain somewhat, "a sort of… refugee camp established by that Hawthorne Girl."
"From the City Militia?" Cayde starts, he recognizes the name from an incident with New Monarchy if he remembers well... "You mean the daughter of Devrim and Marc?"
"The very same." He responds with a nod, pursing his lips as he did so. The next moment is spent in partial silence, only interrupted by the running and giggling of the kids, and the screaming of someone flying back and forth through the room
…CAYDE! … He ignores the screaming; his Ghost's tone does not seem to that she is in actual trouble, but instead wants a rescue from being chased by the kids, nothing she can't deal with. The other man, Joseph, has a harder time ignoring the odd situation as the Ghost shouts …CAYDE HELP!...
"Is that… is that normal...?" The man asks, clearly concerned with the ongoing chase running circles in the artificial intelligence chamber.
"No." It's an earnest response: this sort of incident rarely happened with children… "But it's funny. Anyway, tell me, what happened to this 'Farm'? How did you end up on this rock?"
Josephs's mouth opens like that of a fish, opening and closing with no sound coming out. It takes him a moment to collect his thoughts, "Tyra Karn had been… we took refuge in the basement of the Barn."
"Refuge from what?"
"The Fallen. They had… found us somehow." Oh, that was unusually bad. Lightless guardians, swathes of refugees, a poorly fortified location… a perfect recipe for disaster. Cayde already didn't like how things were likely to continue, even though he considers he already knows the answer: he'd seen it himself several times before.
"I don't- I don't know how bad the attack was, I just knew I had to keep them safe." The man turns to look at the pair of the kids, Cayde's own head following closely behind. Surprisingly, the children had become opposing parties: the younger girl attempting to prevent her older sibling from grabbing Sundance.
"So… the Fallen attack, you hide in the basement with your kids and the old lady, then what?" And where was she? Wasn't the old Cryptarch supposed to be with them? Where is her Ghost?
"Uh… She… Ah…" Joseph, for as cooperative as he was, cannot bring himself to say what happened. He found it too recent to speak about it. He had never seen a Guardian actually bleed out in the past. Not in the Crucible, not even in the 'Danger Zone' under the Tower's ledges…
"Hey, hey, it's alright, I understand. You don't have to say it." So… that's what happened. Cayde would be surprised to say that such a thing would go unnoticed, after all. Such an event was not easy to forget, and the death of the oldest Cryptarch would surely have repercussions felt for decades to come, even if she hadn't contributed to the larger scope of studies for quite some time. He also wouldn't be surprised if the attack was something that provoked minor crusades against the new Fallen house, given what had happened the last time such death was provoked by the aliens.
Silence falls on the conversation once more.
A part of Cayde feels saddened by this realization. Cabal, Psions, Fallen… they were more than just animals, even if they were nothing more than bounty fodder for new lights and blueberries at this point, at least the Fallen were going to be. After the whole mess with SIVA and after THAT guardian took out most of their leadership mostly single-handedly, he certainly believes that after this event they will be nothing more than some guardian's favourite punching bag for quite some time. He swears that one has anger management issues.
When what happened with Glenn recently, he expects the same with the Cabal.
Then again, it's like most targets of strike teams: they deserved it, brought it upon themselves. They always did, and as much as he'd wish otherwise.
"So this Fallen that took you to this planetoid… anything remarkable about them other than being completely absent?" It might be important to track them down later on, in any situation. Discover who was behind the attack (if they were not already known) and help put some bad guys down- the typical.
"They were alone. I… I remember... from my time working with the Owl Sector that they usually travel in groups, but… this one was all by themselves." It struck out as particularly odd to the Hunter. Not the oddest thing they've heard, but certainly up there. A lone Fallen would require a way to make Ether for themselves, which as most of the Reef could attest- was no easy task.
"How did they catch you then?" Cayde asks, feet above the pit found in the centre of the chamber.
"I don't remember what happened. Not at the start- I… was unconscious." He sheepishly admits, rubbing his arms.
"What happened when you woke up?"
"I…" they pause, collecting their thoughts, memories, and words very carefully, "I remember the bandages. They were not… particularly clean, and I don't know if they did much, but I remember them well."
"Can I see them?" Cayde queries, leaning on his knees. Joseph shakily complies, lifting the tattered brown shirt that was definitely a couple of sizes larger than them, they reveal the purple-ish red rags covering part of their abdomen and their torso.
"That looks nasty. You good?" Cayde winces. Hopefully, it hadn't gotten infected, because even cauterised wounds from shock rifles could attract bacteria, the area didn't look bloated or swollen, which hopefully is a good sign.
"I... think I'll live," Joseph states with a sigh, pulling down the shirt with a wince.
Once again, a moment of partial silence overtakes the environment, "Did they take you straight here or... did something else happen?"
"It took us first to this... radio tower, over at the EDZ, not that close to the farm, but not that far either... I don't know why, but it seemed strangely upset," he states, somewhat pensively.
"Well, I guess that wasn't all because otherwise, we wouldn't have this conversation," he replies. Could it be where it was expecting to find the rest of the crew? The actions of this particular Fallen made little sense still. What was its goal?
…CAAAYDE! … Interrupted by the constant running of the kids and the silent screaming of his Ghost that only he could hear, he swipes Sundance from the path it was hovering with a swift, precise grab. "Alright- that's enough you two. Leave my Ghost be," which after addressing the children, he takes a moment of petting his ghost, not unlike how one would carry a chicken, before asking: "Was there anything memorable about this Fallen? Anything that my Hunters could use to track it?"
"I don't... I don't think so, no. It looked like any other of those stealth Vandals that died on the stairway" It is Marauder then. Trained in stealth, assassination, and stabbing enemies while they were distracted with the more visible threats. By any stretch of the meaning, they were far from compassionate- any sort of force focused on slicing and dicing their way through the battlefield and civilians were not expected to be as such.
But this behaviour is far from expected. If they didn't find their crew, why wouldn't they search for them on the rest of the European Dead Zone? Why come all the way to Nessus, to potentially rival Captains? Why let them just go after telling them where to head for instead of stabbing them and getting it over with?
Something wasn't matching up, and the Hunter Vanguard didn't like it one bit.
"So… is that all?" Cayde asks, standing up before stretching his back and pretending to pop his shoulders (because as many city citizens knew, Exo's couldn't crack their knuckles, nor any other body part). All through this, he does not stop petting his Ghost, although he wonders how she got covered with the emergency rations...
Although the man, Joshua timidly shakes his head, looking at the corner where a bundle of rags covered a somewhat… humanoid bundle. Much like his earlier, timid, weaker body, they move with a careful pace, nervously walking over to the bundle of rags covering something., before turning to shoo the two kids away from the scene.
Cayde does not hesitate, but they are careful on pulling the cloth back, exposing them to the body of a white and silver Exo.
A white and silver prototype Exo, to be exact. One with no uploaded mind, by the looks of the fine print and how the facial structure is mostly locked in place, no relaxation like those present on dead Exos. Most importantly: it was eerily familiar. He had seen it sitting on a living room, with a particularly curious Dreg with halfway grown arms...
This Dreg and the Marauder, either the two knew each other, or were one and the same, considering they seemed to take the group towards the same location where they seemed to place the body.
And that meant that the 'Friend' they spoke off was no one other than Failsafe herself, or perhaps someone on Nessus. There were still too many unknowns to run concrete conclusions, but theories already swam through his mind. Maybe he thought that she would appreciate him gifting her a crew? It certainly seemed like a plausible train of thought.
"Curious..."
"What's… what's curious?" the father cautiously asks, his sight still not used to what they assumed to be a dead body not too long ago.
"This is a scrapped prototype Exo. No uploaded mind by the looks of it" Cayde explains.
"So they were never alive?" They ask, taking a deep breath as they continue looking at the bundle of clothing and metal.
"Nope. Even they were, would have had problems keeping some of its interiors isolated from the environment- it would be a cold and miserable life." Cayde knows that all too well, especially with the earlier Exomind models.
"I got ripped off?" Despite Failsafe's claim that she was going to pretend as if she couldn't hear inside of the very room here 'brain' could be claimed to be, her annoyance is particularly palpable, further enhanced by the usually yellow glow around her core becoming a bright red.
"It's likely. Then again, I always viewed you as a more Frame type of individual, if you catch my drift?"
"What makes you say that, Cayde Unit?" returning the usual yellow shade, Failsafe asks this with a cheery tone, although there's an edge to her words that wasn't there before.
"I am incredibly sure, that you, for a fact, would most definitely not enjoy eating."
"That is false! I want to get brain freeze. How would I be capable of such a state if I did not possess a body capable of consumption?" stating her very realistic, and potentially mundane goals, her voice loses the edge of before. Failsafe seems just happy imagining all those things that she will do once she obtains the commodity of having a body.
Cayde shrugged. Unless her wish to get a body was somehow magically granted, she could never experience the blessing (although some would call it the inconvenience) of being hungry, he knows a guy that could probably get this back in working condition, although he'd rather not make his debt rise higher. Maybe he could get some Kinderguardians working on it?
"Anyway, I got a date with this 'Garry' fella, you know the leader of the Red Legion?" A slow nod followed from behalf, somewhat confused, but understanding enough. "But I'll make sure that I'll get to the bottom of who led the attack on the Farm and who our 'Mystery Fallen' is." The man, the 'Papa' or 'Pops' of the kids
But considering that he has his suspicions of it being the same one he found on Europa, he considers that just perhaps, this one might be friendly, or open to dialogue.
After all, they had been last time. Getting an explanation out of this mess from their perspective would be incredibly helpful towards determining if they were likely to become yet another informant… or another body in the growing list of them.
~~~~~~~
"Warning! Warning! Cayde Unit, there's a high probability that you will get stuck in a non-linear loop!" two minutes and several seconds after he
Sundance's comment to this warning is dripping with sarcasm. …See? Terrible idea, the most dreadful plan ever seen. We might as well give up and get back to helping Zavala build a giant space fleet for the next, what? Twenty years? Maybe more?... to which Cayde merely responds by snorting in amusement.
"You know, sometimes getting stuck in a loop is the least of one's worries. You got the rescue signal broadcasting already?" Cayde asks, voice practically void of the very real concern carried by the Failsafe… or even the sarcastic, mocking one carried by his ghost.
"Yes." The program meekly responded, with the same oddly positive, cheery voice of before.
"Then why am I standing here talking? Onwards!" And with that said, the Exo began skipping down the pathways leading back towards the tunnels that he had used to find the remains of the Reactor core, and by extension, the artificial intelligence herself.
"Cayde Unit!" The Failsafe continues speaking, keeping her tone cheery for the most part, "I do not agree with your plan, so I believe it's pertinent to inform you of a flaw in your plan: It's… kind of stupid." humming away, the Hunter Vanguard ignores the judgement of the AI for the most part. Once again, Failsafe's voice fills the communication channel, "There's little possibility of this plan actually succeeding! Were you to correctly gather all the components necessary for the Vex teleporter, there's a high probability that you'd get stuck in a non-linear loop due to the abstract mechanism from which the Vex perceive time!" she further warned, to no avail. This warning goes entirely ignored, to the chagrin of the Friendly AI, who groans in potential annoyance.
Not doing anything particular to irritate the artificial intelligence, he still somehow managed to irritate her to a point where such actions could be considered non-productive. Still, she continued to attempt to warn the Hunter, although managing to lose the cheery tone altogether:
"Hey, are you listening? Are your speakers like... working?"
"Yup!" This time, the Exo was the one with the cheery tone of voice.
"Then why are you continuing to progress towards the Vex structure, Cayde unit?"
With a slight pep to his step, he responds without thought: "Because to put it simply, it's what I need to do."
Resigned, the Failsafe mockingly sighs, "Well, it's your funeral."
Sorry for the double day delay. ;-;
(At least It's double the original planned length)
I enjoyed writing this, despite requiring more research and consultation than the last chapter and still not remaining satisfied with the final product. Did you enjoy reading this? Even if not so, I'm glad I've reached this point in the story at the moment. If you did not by any chance, enjoy reading this, I'd like to know why so I can hopefully improve in the near future!
Anyway, I'd like to hear your thoughts on the story so far. Is it to everyone's liking? Any theories on what's going to happen next?
Or AMATTROACSATSCLWHIBBDBEP for short
(Also known as that time Cayde got stuck in a Teleporter loop after contacting Zavala and meeting the remains of a family: Part 2 out of 2)
There were several reasons why Cayde is heading for what the Failsafe had denominated as the AI core. The main one of these being that the AI's explanation of their newly acquired 'crew': two kids and an injured older individual- most likely their father or tutor. His secondary source of concern is their potential lack of supplies- Failsafe had stated that they had arrived just by themselves, no other equipment and as she said, the only surrounding ships were of Fallen ownership- so there were little chances that any of those were theirs. Even if they were the fact that she had specifically stated 'Fallen Ownership' might have implied that whatever vehicle that they had used to come all the way here had been stolen.
Still, something didn't make sense. Why come here? Nessus is in the middle of nowhere, and other than the Exodus Black and some Vex structures- they would have had a better shot of surviving on Venus of all places- since it basically had the same stuff: Human remains either from their bodies or their structures, Fallen flocking to the place to loot whatever wasn't bolted down, and Vex converting the landmasses into blocky reflections of themselves. Grey and copper mockeries of the original landscape, he reasoned bitterly.
Another point that stroked interest is why all the way here, in the far reaches of the solar system, Venus is closer to the Earth- less wasted fuel in transit. Then there was Zavala with everyone else; did they not head for Titan, instead? That ocean and methane filled moon orbiting Saturn… is the rally point for the City refugees that left Earth, was it not?
"This whole thing just screams 'Ikora!' You know? I bet her Warlocks could figure this entire thing out in no time." Cayde commented to his companion, still hidden away in those unseen corners of his so-called 'backpack', as he jogged by the side of the seemingly bottomless cliff overlooking the hanging remains of the Exodus Black's crew quarters. At least, he assumes as much. Colony ships usually had very differing layouts despite similar exterior shells from what he had discovered.
…let me remind you that her Hidden also have Hunters and even Titans, just in case you forgot... It is something many people forgot: Titans were not secluded to their orders.
"Of course! How could I forget? Nothing is ever complete without a good Hunter or two." The joking response is followed by a quick slide behind cover as the earlier-heard band of Pikes runs through the same cliffside road towards the location Sundance had extracted to be called 'The Cistern' from the Vex network. In any situation, it would seem to indicate that one of the Fallen camps is close nearby- not good news if he wanted to close in on the remains of the AI core.
…What about the Titans? Where do they fit into this?... The question is asked as the hunter moves out from the foliage, pacing with a careful step as if to notice if anyone or anything nearby.
"Oh, I'm sure they're there, doing their thing... whatever that is that Titans do."
Sundance is not amused by this response. She had always been aware at most Hunters disdain for the rigid structures and routine-filled lives that Titans lead. They called themselves the Second Wall of the Last City due to their generally impermeable nature not only to the enemies of Humanity such as the Hive and the Vex but also to the general tomfoolery usually led by groups of Hunters. Did this mean that they were aloof and cold to all? No, indeed it did not. Despite most of the free-spirited Guardians claiming that they called themselves 'Walls' due to their impressive imitation of one, most Titans were gentle souls; they did not like pain- either inflicting onto others or accepting them onto themselves. This is why they formed such great orders, she reasoned, as they needed to share that burden amongst themselves.
She also knew that her Guardian is an exception and not the rule in this situation. Despite his continued ribbing of his fireteam's Titan, Zavala, he had learnt to carry a degree of respect for all classes of Guardians. There were Hunters that really did think of Titans as mostly useless except for their use in providing Ward of Dawn bubbles to empower their weaponry.
Not the most pleasant of thoughts to be having while there is only a single Gunslinger on the centaur, but it made her appreciate her partner all the more.
Those were her thoughts as they emerged from under the white stone 'balcony', if it could even be called that at the several metric tons it held up. The ambient expands- opens almost to reveal more than just the spheres that used to be habitation quarters hanging above a hazy white abyss. Old golden age alloys, still shining with the lustre of the day they were bolted onto the colony ship, lay scattered about, shredded into layers by the crash, centuries worth of erosion and Vex interference; with the later arrival of the Fallen not doing any favours to the failed colony ship.
Of the mentioned alien species, both of them were currently engaged in a small scale firefight that is no doubt going to get larger as the days went on. Cayde wouldn't be surprised if a Gate Lord decided to join in if it got to the point where the Fallen would deploy a Walker or two… and they most likely would, since those buggers didn't know when to give up sometimes. It really is something admirable, until they ended up shooting their own foot attempting to get back at whatever perceived wrong they had been dealt with.
Then again, considering how trigger-happy some guardians were when shot while passing by a location… she reckoned it probably had to do with upbringing or something like that. Sundance admits to herself she isn't the best ghost for analysing enemy or Guardian movements and behaviour- that is something more likely to be handled by the ghost of a Titan or even a Warlock. Much like the Hunters, they provided the Light for, she belonged to a certain kind of free-spirited Ghosts.
It's a certain kind of balance only a fireteam of Humans and their wisp-like companions could achieve, the kind that she seems to sorely miss as her partner, lightless and visible to all. It's true Cayde isn't one to switch his affinity often- especially to Void light, which he found odd, confusing, and too close to the Darkness for personal comfort. He didn't care if this is accurate or not, it isn't going to change his mind over how it felt to handle.
But that's why he called in favours from Nighstalkers in situations like these. But those very same Hunters would have been pretty useful at the moment. Even if her Guardian had cultivated the skills that were currently allowing him to pass mostly ignored by the Fallen- the Vex would not be fooled so easily. The mechanical organisms could as well see through walls, considering how they behaved when their attention was caught by an organic. That's why she is worried as the fight raged on, rather than the occasional bolt from a Slap or Shock Rifle.
If the Vex could predict him, and they caught wind of him… they wouldn't stop harassing him unless he is deemed a non-threat, suffered enough losses for the cause to be deemed counter-productive, or he left the planet. That's how Ikora explained how Vex dealt with threats outside of their 'Important structures' to him and based on experience, he could, unfortunately, confirm that that's how it always went about from redjack retrieval reports on Venus and Mars.
"Hey buddy, you alright?" The uttered whisper broke her train of thought, returning her to the current issue at hand… which is a large, grid-like Vex construct —a barrier— blocking the path down to the remains of the core. Even as his partner is taking this sudden awakening to check her surroundings the Hunter plays with one of the many knives that he carried on him.
…Can't you just— climb around it?... The incredulous tone says it all, and her lack of amusement and dry humour that usually balanced out her Guardian's more insane antics showed how much this seemed like a non-issue to her.
"Yeah, but what about the death barriers or the invisible walls?" He explains with a face that isn't flat because he's trying to shoehorn a joke in there, but because he believes whatever is coming out of his speakers whole-heartedly.
…The- what? How does that-…
"You know? Killed by the Architects? Misadventures?" Even with the muted, although still incredibly expressive hand gestures to go with it, one could easily tell that the Exo believed every word that they spoke off.
An awkward silence stretches out through the moment as a Skiff is shot down by a nearby Vex maser beam, exploding into molten slag and flames as it collapses amongst the human debris in the background of their hidden conversation.
…Cayde I swear to the Traveller that not even I know where any of those ideas come from. Have you been reading Didi and Marcus's stories again? … And she had been travelling with her Guardian for several centuries by now. She knew she shouldn't be surprised, but new terms kept popping up time and time again. If Targe wasn't so insistent on keeping themselves updated with Guardian lingo Sundance is more than sure that Zavala would be completely lost whenever he got picked on by Hunters… or their Vanguard. It is already hard to get gaggles of hunters to split up into threes and form a fireteam, and when they did…
He already went through so much stress, and Sundance knew that names such as "The Bad Guys Don't Care What We Call Ourselves Do They" were some of the reasons why the Awoken Titan always seemed so annoyed.
The Exo popped his non-existent lips as if he were just realizing that his comment perhaps was not so clever after all. Still, he went on asking in the same shushed, oblivious tone of before and ignoring the prior stated question because he assumes the answer is rather obvious anyway: "So… is it safe to do so?"
… …why wouldn't it be?...
Shrugging, and letting the conversation end there, the Exo waited amongst the red foliage that was growing amidst the decades-old wreckage.
For what exactly. It's hard to tell. Their Ghost will only intervene if they deem the plan too risky or unlikely to work, but if she knows her Guardian, he'll go for something reliable this time around.
Not foolproof, but as old and about as reliable as sunshine.
~~~~~~~~~
Fryknis does not know why they're fighting the bronze machines that crowd this planetoid. They remind her of Viinyios, of the light blue cloak and armour she wore, it reminds her of the Human remains of the academy that remained there, amongst the same bronze coloured machines with their red, unfeeling eyes staring straight at them.
Still, they had been told to provide enough of a distraction for a 'Lord of the Gate' to show up, whatever that may mean. The Depraved is never good with directions, but no one as much as dared to attempt to ask what they might have meant- they knew that the once-exiled Splicer earned his title, instead of taking it as many other eliksni did. There's no telling what he would do to any of them if they as much as hesitated to follow the orders of the legless Baron.
And thus, she follows the rest of the group. The shimmering cloak that she carries on her back makes her barely visible to nearly all; only those with keen eyes and Eliksni could see the cascade of shades that was once used as a toy for the young, now repurposed as a tool for war. Their blades, humming with the electrical glow that she has grown familiar to, are her secondary tool: what she will cut the emotionless machine-like entities with to buy the time for that 'Gate Lord' to show up, whatever the reason her baron might have.
Or at least, that's what they expected.
Tripped to the ground, something hard and metallic kicks Fryknis on the face with enough strength to make them see double as they are pulled in the underbrush hidden under the rubble of the human ship.
The Eliksni struggles- arms bending backwards attempting to escape their assailant's grip, or lash out against them. They can't scream —their throat has already been opened with skilled sliding of a blade; and the gaping wound, opened like a second mouth, is sprouting Ether and a light bluish fluid— that fluid being their blood. They don't stop struggling, but the hand pulling their head back does not budge. The Marauder kicks and pulls and struggles, yet the metallic grip does not come undone. Instead, it tightens; pulling her head further back and allowing even more Ether and that clear blue fluid, to escape onto the dirt and the foliage that their assailant had been hiding in.
It takes exactly half a minute, but eventually, unconsciousness slowly carries the alien away, their struggle fading slowly as the Ether escapes their veins. Death will soon follow, but they won't be able to see it come when it does. Nor will they be able to complain or inform the others due to the reason they stayed behind for a moment: they seemed to notice something in the foliage.
~~~~~~~~~
Neither Cayde nor Sundance were foolish enough to assume that they would pass unnoticed if they quick enough, but eliminating stragglers that might have seen them like the one they were covering up in their once-meeting spot was the most sure-fire way of making sure that even if they were noticed, the alarm does not go off.
After all, if there's no one who had seen him and lived, had anyone really seen him at all? He considers that that might be something Petra or Ikora might say. Mostly Petra when they were hunting criminals on the shore, Ikora might just say something similar but with several more words if she was in a good mood that day.
Cayde sighs as he reaches the top of the cliff.
He's going to miss those excursions into the grime-filled underworld of The Reef with P.V. if his dance with Glenn doesn't go out according to plan.
Up there, on top of those partially molten remains of what was going to be the fusion reactors for the several generations of the colony ship, there were much fewer chances of being spotted. Cayde knows this, despite his irrational fear of instant Death Fields and invisible winds pushing him back into the pit.
An internal wince is shared between the pair as the metallic pathways wobble and creak as Cayde drifts from one panel to the next. It's far from safe, and a particular little drone makes sure to be clear about it:
…So much for the golden age construction standard! What even is this panel made of? Aluminium?...
"Might be, but I don't think aluminium came in this particular shade or for this particular purpose," Cayde comments as he scrapes off a little of the wobbly floor he is standing on with the edge of his throwing knife, the resulting colour is still silverfish under the paint, but given its surprising strength Cayde wouldn't be surprised if it was some sort of Golden Age alloy lost to time.
…I was being sarcastic. This looks more like, uh, tin anyways… The Ghost deadpans back, managing to squeeze a short chuckle out of the Exo. He didn't even know why it was funny, only that he found it about as much.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eventually, the pair finally arrives in the gulch overlooking a large tubular structure with two metallic extensions rising up into the air. If those were the emergency ship docks, then… that must be the remains of the Fusion Reactor Core. While some ships carried some alternative emergency radioactive fuel, from his prior visits and the scans Sundance has pulled he can successfully conclude that fortunately, this was not the case here.
It takes him a moment to descend into the calmer, less fight prone Gulch where Failsafe's 'brain' and those civilians were currently resting. He had to make this fast if he wanted to be home by the time Eva began making Dawning cookies.
He'd be licking his lips if he had any lips, and a tongue too which to lick them; because one can't lick without one, and unless he was somehow different from every other Exo he knew, Exos didn't come with tongues or lips.
"Intruder alert! Intruder alert!"
"It's me! It's… The Cayde-6 Unit?" Cayde interrupted, incredulously. He makes sure to maintain a low profile as he responds, for he knows that it's more than his life on the line for this one. Were he by himself, he'd have no problem going guns blazing, but there were civilians to save. And while he couldn't exactly rise from the dead at the moment, civilians never could in the first place. He'd be a pretty shitty Guardian if he
"Correct! That is true. But I do not want to let you in." Inside of where? Was there anything other than pretending to be a Vex to the Network that Failsafe could do? That is an unknown that Cayde doesn't exactly like, and he's not willing to find out. He'll have to play the diplomat for now.
…crud, and I thought she beat you in the reasonable department for a moment there…
"And this is because?" the question lingers in the radio silence heavily, weighing down the conversation that had yet to even begin unfolding properly. Cayde considers if he's going to have to do something drastic to retrieve the peeps.
"I believe you might attempt to retrieve my crew outside of this planetoid. While I hypothesise the more loss one experiences the easier it becomes to deal with, I am not willing to field-test this hypothesis! The vast amounts of... unfortunate accidents. Makes me hesitate into allowing them to leave!" Cayde hates being the one to put things in order, the one to tell Guardians that no, their 'Super Idea to exterminate the Hive' was not only going to work, but also lead them to early retirement, but sometimes only he could get through to some Guardians. He doubts Failsafe is more of the same, but it's worth a shot to attempt reason before attempting to mess around with her brain.
"Failsafe, if I do not let others know that these people are here, they're going to die." It's a matter of fact- just like the researchers over at Venus, like the vast colonies over at Mercury, or even in the Martian Orbital Zone: co-existing with the Vex is impossible. Sooner or later, they'll want you dead, and while he has no memory of it, his prior selves seem to know it all too well; "It's as simple as that, you have to let them go for them to survive long term. You know it too: Your prior crew met their ends here. If they don't leave, sooner or later they will fare the same way."
"This is true! B-B-But… B-B-But…" The electronic stuttering is interrupted by the Exo's calm, stern voice; not unlike what one would use to scorn a child- for the Hunter Vanguard knew the stranded intelligence lacked the emotional maturity to behave any differently.
"Failsafe. Listen to me: let go. They can't live here and… you know that." Stern. Cayde knows how it's like to have to be so to calm someone down, or to knock some sense into someone else to stop them from doing something stupid. He might be hands-off with most of his Hunters and scouts, but that did not mean that he lacked a backbone- especially when lives are on the line. Fearing forgetting something, he makes sure to add the magic word at the end of that reprimand, just in case…
"Please, Failsafe, you know you know you need to do this."
The wind produced by some unseen entity howls over the valley as the radio waves remain silent.
A minute passes by.
Then two.
On the third one, a voice finally comes through.
It's in this third minute when Failsafe finally responds. She does so with the cheerier voice (or personality, Cayde is never able to tell) and with a message that sure, lifts the spirits of the Guardian and Ghost pair, before continuing with the voice that seemed constantly annoyed within the same train of thought. "…May I receive updates of my crewmember's life status? I'd uh.. like to remain in… touch?"
The questioning nature of statements prompts an excited response from the 'Little Light' as they tended to be called.
…Crisis adverted! Quick, handsome, say something!...
Cayde hated being the one to be asked permission to do things. He may be one to take initiative first in most Vanguard affairs, and he may have to check every single New Hunter to make sure they don't attempt to fight a windmill to death, but this time, this once, he'd allow it without shrinking his responsibility away to Zavala or Ikora this time. Doing his best attempt to sincerely smile, he concludes "You may Failsafe. You may."
-----
"You… you're the Hunter Vanguard." That wasn't a question, it was rather a statement uttered from the mouth of the sole human adult present within the confines of the chamber, which were not that large, to begin with. His agape mouth and shocked expression said everything there to say about his state of mind at the moment. Not joy, nor fear, but perplexity and confusion. They were not expecting to be saved, but could a single individual really change the fate that he had been lying to the children about?
"Indeed I am." Calm and confident, the Hunter Vanguard ambles forwards. It had taken him a day to walk all the way here, but it was worth it if nothing for the peace of mind. With Sundance by his side already working on producing some emergency rations out of some Glimmer that he had spared for his current task. Cayde then extends a friendly hand at the man sitting on the 'bridge' present in the centre of the room, a friendly greeting to go with a cheery tone, "Before I continue, could I get your name?"
"J- Joseph sir." The man timidly responds, shaking the extended hand unsure if this was just a dream or a hallucination caused by eating the shoddily programmed protein paste for the last few days.
"Joseph… nice name, but drop the 'sir'. Cayde works great." This is stated as the Exo sits beside Joseph, feet hanging above the small drop down the sides
"Why… Why are you here?"
"I'd be a pretty poor Guardian if I didn't check on these two champs and their… amazing caretaker." Having said this, he turns to look at the kids smiling. Did they know who he was? Maybe they're too young to know much about politics or his many (failed) attempts to best Shaxx or Ikora on the crucible. Then again, if they were alive all the way here, their caretaker is either really good at staying alive… or something else. He's not sure just what yet.
"But… he's our papa?" The older child, a male kid that barely could be considered to be a pre-puberty adolescent, with the same golden-brown skin that his sister seemed to have but their so-called 'Papa' seemed to lack. Maybe he's their grandfather, and that's why they use that name. Maybe he's just the partner of the children's father or mother. Maybe- just maybe- they were adopted. It is not his place to intervene in the lives of some family more than he needs to.
"That's why I said caretaker." The expression of the children does not change as the Hunter carefully pronounces the last word as if he were taking a spelling quiz for a bunch of kids- which in a way, he was. "That is to say, he has been taking care of you." The Exo further explains, and to great effect; the kids' eyes seem to grow like plates, their awe at the explanation accompanied by both 'oooh's and an 'ahhh's'.
"Failsafe, mind giving us a moment… here?" For someone who had not interacted in person with said Artificial Intelligence before, cade surprisingly knew which direction to face to look at her 'face'. He emphasises the hereby spinning his finger in a circle, indicating to the room itself.
"I can pretend as if my internal speakers are not working!" Cayde gives a thumbs up with a smile…
"Against my better judgement." Which proceeds to turn into thumbs… sideways? It's done with a deadpanned (but annoyed) expression. Eventually, the Exo just shrugs as they begin to swing their legs above the small ledge present in the centre of the room, not unlike how a kid who is too small for a chair would do so.
Eventually, however, he turns to face his returning Ghost, calling out to her with a simple "Hey Sundance!"
Having just finished programming what could have been used as currency, weapon components, or ammunition into what could be considered 'emergency rations', Sundance does not respond anything verbally, instead just nodding to reveal that yes, she has paid attention to what her Guardian just said. Taking advantage of her halted movement and tapping one of the metallic protruding spikes (probably just to annoy her when she didn't want to compromise her image), the Hunter asks: "Could you go distract the kids for a bit? I want to talk with just their 'Pawpaw' over here." In other words, he means to say 'don't worry, I'll fill you in later with whatever went on this conversation, go have some 'fun', which is typical of the pair whenever they did anything: one would go about taking care of the 'serious business, whether it was opening doors with the Beam Thing, or talking to others to get some information out of them.
…Got it, pal… For the first time since she had spoken to Cayde in the city, back when they were getting their ship ready, her vocal patterns ring out for someone other than her guardian. With a mind eager to get distracted with something that might take her mind of the recent events going on in the City and on Earth, Sundance does her best …Hey kids, want to-…
This eagerness quickly dies off as she notices the mischievous smile of the pair once she reaches them poking at the recently programmed meals, their hands covered in the eideble paste...Oh… oh no…
~~~~~~
"So…" he starts, by shuffling on his seated position to get slightly more comfortable "How did you get involved with this Light-forsaken Centaur anyway?"
"A… Fallen took us here." Cayde's face internally scrounges up. This wouldn't be the first time a Fallen band had taken a group of humans elsewhere. He had personally led some strike teams to stop fighting rings where some captured people were taken or the prison cells where they were going to be sacrificed to some Prime Servitor or something similar. The incident of a group of Exiles attempting sword logic comes to mind particularly clear to him at the moment, being one of the few incidents where he personally did the report without attempting to shrink it off to someone else.
"From where?"
"The Farm," The man begins, before realizing that the Hunter probably never heard of the place, and proceeding to explain somewhat, "a sort of… refugee camp established by that Hawthorne Girl."
"From the City Militia?" Cayde starts, he recognizes the name from an incident with New Monarchy if he remembers well... "You mean the daughter of Devrim and Marc?"
"The very same." He responds with a nod, pursing his lips as he did so. The next moment is spent in partial silence, only interrupted by the running and giggling of the kids, and the screaming of someone flying back and forth through the room
…CAYDE! … He ignores the screaming; his Ghost's tone does not seem to that she is in actual trouble, but instead wants a rescue from being chased by the kids, nothing she can't deal with. The other man, Joseph, has a harder time ignoring the odd situation as the Ghost shouts …CAYDE HELP!...
"Is that… is that normal...?" The man asks, clearly concerned with the ongoing chase running circles in the artificial intelligence chamber.
"No." It's an earnest response: this sort of incident rarely happened with children… "But it's funny. Anyway, tell me, what happened to this 'Farm'? How did you end up on this rock?"
Josephs's mouth opens like that of a fish, opening and closing with no sound coming out. It takes him a moment to collect his thoughts, "Tyra Karn had been… we took refuge in the basement of the Barn."
"Refuge from what?"
"The Fallen. They had… found us somehow." Oh, that was unusually bad. Lightless guardians, swathes of refugees, a poorly fortified location… a perfect recipe for disaster. Cayde already didn't like how things were likely to continue, even though he considers he already knows the answer: he'd seen it himself several times before.
"I don't- I don't know how bad the attack was, I just knew I had to keep them safe." The man turns to look at the pair of the kids, Cayde's own head following closely behind. Surprisingly, the children had become opposing parties: the younger girl attempting to prevent her older sibling from grabbing Sundance.
"So… the Fallen attack, you hide in the basement with your kids and the old lady, then what?" And where was she? Wasn't the old Cryptarch supposed to be with them? Where is her Ghost?
"Uh… She… Ah…" Joseph, for as cooperative as he was, cannot bring himself to say what happened. He found it too recent to speak about it. He had never seen a Guardian actually bleed out in the past. Not in the Crucible, not even in the 'Danger Zone' under the Tower's ledges…
"Hey, hey, it's alright, I understand. You don't have to say it." So… that's what happened. Cayde would be surprised to say that such a thing would go unnoticed, after all. Such an event was not easy to forget, and the death of the oldest Cryptarch would surely have repercussions felt for decades to come, even if she hadn't contributed to the larger scope of studies for quite some time. He also wouldn't be surprised if the attack was something that provoked minor crusades against the new Fallen house, given what had happened the last time such death was provoked by the aliens.
Silence falls on the conversation once more.
A part of Cayde feels saddened by this realization. Cabal, Psions, Fallen… they were more than just animals, even if they were nothing more than bounty fodder for new lights and blueberries at this point, at least the Fallen were going to be. After the whole mess with SIVA and after THAT guardian took out most of their leadership mostly single-handedly, he certainly believes that after this event they will be nothing more than some guardian's favourite punching bag for quite some time. He swears that one has anger management issues.
When what happened with Glenn recently, he expects the same with the Cabal.
Then again, it's like most targets of strike teams: they deserved it, brought it upon themselves. They always did, and as much as he'd wish otherwise.
"So this Fallen that took you to this planetoid… anything remarkable about them other than being completely absent?" It might be important to track them down later on, in any situation. Discover who was behind the attack (if they were not already known) and help put some bad guys down- the typical.
"They were alone. I… I remember... from my time working with the Owl Sector that they usually travel in groups, but… this one was all by themselves." It struck out as particularly odd to the Hunter. Not the oddest thing they've heard, but certainly up there. A lone Fallen would require a way to make Ether for themselves, which as most of the Reef could attest- was no easy task.
"How did they catch you then?" Cayde asks, feet above the pit found in the centre of the chamber.
"I don't remember what happened. Not at the start- I… was unconscious." He sheepishly admits, rubbing his arms.
"What happened when you woke up?"
"I…" they pause, collecting their thoughts, memories, and words very carefully, "I remember the bandages. They were not… particularly clean, and I don't know if they did much, but I remember them well."
"Can I see them?" Cayde queries, leaning on his knees. Joseph shakily complies, lifting the tattered brown shirt that was definitely a couple of sizes larger than them, they reveal the purple-ish red rags covering part of their abdomen and their torso.
"That looks nasty. You good?" Cayde winces. Hopefully, it hadn't gotten infected, because even cauterised wounds from shock rifles could attract bacteria, the area didn't look bloated or swollen, which hopefully is a good sign.
"I... think I'll live," Joseph states with a sigh, pulling down the shirt with a wince.
Once again, a moment of partial silence overtakes the environment, "Did they take you straight here or... did something else happen?"
"It took us first to this... radio tower, over at the EDZ, not that close to the farm, but not that far either... I don't know why, but it seemed strangely upset," he states, somewhat pensively.
"Well, I guess that wasn't all because otherwise, we wouldn't have this conversation," he replies. Could it be where it was expecting to find the rest of the crew? The actions of this particular Fallen made little sense still. What was its goal?
…CAAAYDE! … Interrupted by the constant running of the kids and the silent screaming of his Ghost that only he could hear, he swipes Sundance from the path it was hovering with a swift, precise grab. "Alright- that's enough you two. Leave my Ghost be," which after addressing the children, he takes a moment of petting his ghost, not unlike how one would carry a chicken, before asking: "Was there anything memorable about this Fallen? Anything that my Hunters could use to track it?"
"I don't... I don't think so, no. It looked like any other of those stealth Vandals that died on the stairway" It is Marauder then. Trained in stealth, assassination, and stabbing enemies while they were distracted with the more visible threats. By any stretch of the meaning, they were far from compassionate- any sort of force focused on slicing and dicing their way through the battlefield and civilians were not expected to be as such.
But this behaviour is far from expected. If they didn't find their crew, why wouldn't they search for them on the rest of the European Dead Zone? Why come all the way to Nessus, to potentially rival Captains? Why let them just go after telling them where to head for instead of stabbing them and getting it over with?
Something wasn't matching up, and the Hunter Vanguard didn't like it one bit.
"So… is that all?" Cayde asks, standing up before stretching his back and pretending to pop his shoulders (because as many city citizens knew, Exo's couldn't crack their knuckles, nor any other body part). All through this, he does not stop petting his Ghost, although he wonders how she got covered with the emergency rations...
Although the man, Joshua timidly shakes his head, looking at the corner where a bundle of rags covered a somewhat… humanoid bundle. Much like his earlier, timid, weaker body, they move with a careful pace, nervously walking over to the bundle of rags covering something., before turning to shoo the two kids away from the scene.
Cayde does not hesitate, but they are careful on pulling the cloth back, exposing them to the body of a white and silver Exo.
A white and silver prototype Exo, to be exact. One with no uploaded mind, by the looks of the fine print and how the facial structure is mostly locked in place, no relaxation like those present on dead Exos. Most importantly: it was eerily familiar. He had seen it sitting on a living room, with a particularly curious Dreg with halfway grown arms...
This Dreg and the Marauder, either the two knew each other, or were one and the same, considering they seemed to take the group towards the same location where they seemed to place the body.
And that meant that the 'Friend' they spoke off was no one other than Failsafe herself, or perhaps someone on Nessus. There were still too many unknowns to run concrete conclusions, but theories already swam through his mind. Maybe he thought that she would appreciate him gifting her a crew? It certainly seemed like a plausible train of thought.
"Curious..."
"What's… what's curious?" the father cautiously asks, his sight still not used to what they assumed to be a dead body not too long ago.
"This is a scrapped prototype Exo. No uploaded mind by the looks of it" Cayde explains.
"So they were never alive?" They ask, taking a deep breath as they continue looking at the bundle of clothing and metal.
"Nope. Even they were, would have had problems keeping some of its interiors isolated from the environment- it would be a cold and miserable life." Cayde knows that all too well, especially with the earlier Exomind models.
"I got ripped off?" Despite Failsafe's claim that she was going to pretend as if she couldn't hear inside of the very room here 'brain' could be claimed to be, her annoyance is particularly palpable, further enhanced by the usually yellow glow around her core becoming a bright red.
"It's likely. Then again, I always viewed you as a more Frame type of individual, if you catch my drift?"
"What makes you say that, Cayde Unit?" returning the usual yellow shade, Failsafe asks this with a cheery tone, although there's an edge to her words that wasn't there before.
"I am incredibly sure, that you, for a fact, would most definitely not enjoy eating."
"That is false! I want to get brain freeze. How would I be capable of such a state if I did not possess a body capable of consumption?" stating her very realistic, and potentially mundane goals, her voice loses the edge of before. Failsafe seems just happy imagining all those things that she will do once she obtains the commodity of having a body.
Cayde shrugged. Unless her wish to get a body was somehow magically granted, she could never experience the blessing (although some would call it the inconvenience) of being hungry, he knows a guy that could probably get this back in working condition, although he'd rather not make his debt rise higher. Maybe he could get some Kinderguardians working on it?
"Anyway, I got a date with this 'Garry' fella, you know the leader of the Red Legion?" A slow nod followed from behalf, somewhat confused, but understanding enough. "But I'll make sure that I'll get to the bottom of who led the attack on the Farm and who our 'Mystery Fallen' is." The man, the 'Papa' or 'Pops' of the kids
But considering that he has his suspicions of it being the same one he found on Europa, he considers that just perhaps, this one might be friendly, or open to dialogue.
After all, they had been last time. Getting an explanation out of this mess from their perspective would be incredibly helpful towards determining if they were likely to become yet another informant… or another body in the growing list of them.
~~~~~~~
"Warning! Warning! Cayde Unit, there's a high probability that you will get stuck in a non-linear loop!" two minutes and several seconds after he
Sundance's comment to this warning is dripping with sarcasm. …See? Terrible idea, the most dreadful plan ever seen. We might as well give up and get back to helping Zavala build a giant space fleet for the next, what? Twenty years? Maybe more?... to which Cayde merely responds by snorting in amusement.
"You know, sometimes getting stuck in a loop is the least of one's worries. You got the rescue signal broadcasting already?" Cayde asks, voice practically void of the very real concern carried by the Failsafe… or even the sarcastic, mocking one carried by his ghost.
"Yes." The program meekly responded, with the same oddly positive, cheery voice of before.
"Then why am I standing here talking? Onwards!" And with that said, the Exo began skipping down the pathways leading back towards the tunnels that he had used to find the remains of the Reactor core, and by extension, the artificial intelligence herself.
"Cayde Unit!" The Failsafe continues speaking, keeping her tone cheery for the most part, "I do not agree with your plan, so I believe it's pertinent to inform you of a flaw in your plan: It's… kind of stupid." humming away, the Hunter Vanguard ignores the judgement of the AI for the most part. Once again, Failsafe's voice fills the communication channel, "There's little possibility of this plan actually succeeding! Were you to correctly gather all the components necessary for the Vex teleporter, there's a high probability that you'd get stuck in a non-linear loop due to the abstract mechanism from which the Vex perceive time!" she further warned, to no avail. This warning goes entirely ignored, to the chagrin of the Friendly AI, who groans in potential annoyance.
Not doing anything particular to irritate the artificial intelligence, he still somehow managed to irritate her to a point where such actions could be considered non-productive. Still, she continued to attempt to warn the Hunter, although managing to lose the cheery tone altogether:
"Hey, are you listening? Are your speakers like... working?"
"Yup!" This time, the Exo was the one with the cheery tone of voice.
"Then why are you continuing to progress towards the Vex structure, Cayde unit?"
With a slight pep to his step, he responds without thought: "Because to put it simply, it's what I need to do."
Resigned, the Failsafe mockingly sighs, "Well, it's your funeral."
| Post-Chapter Notes |
(At least It's double the original planned length)
I enjoyed writing this, despite requiring more research and consultation than the last chapter and still not remaining satisfied with the final product. Did you enjoy reading this? Even if not so, I'm glad I've reached this point in the story at the moment. If you did not by any chance, enjoy reading this, I'd like to know why so I can hopefully improve in the near future!
Anyway, I'd like to hear your thoughts on the story so far. Is it to everyone's liking? Any theories on what's going to happen next?
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Punchweasel
Maverick Weasel
- Location
- Central Illinois, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Him
From catching up on this now and then, I'm definitely interested in finding out what's in store for our favorite Eliksni.
Also, this was a pretty neat update to read!
Also, this was a pretty neat update to read!
An unfortunate end.
- Location
- Somewhere in South America
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Hey. It's me. Los.
For better or for worse, my motivation to continue, and even finish this piece has all but died. I tried to continue, I really did, but the words wouldn't flow and I would get a tension headache nearly every single time. So... I'm putting it to rest. However, I'm not entirely abandoning the idea of a Fallen Self-Insert, mainly because I really wanted to read one before I first started writing this thing. But I couldn't find one that wasn't abandoned or in hiatus so... I got to writing. Actually, the feeling hasn't diminished, I still want to read a Fallen Self-Insert... it's just that my motivation for writing this story has faded. Maybe I leaned to heavily into the Angst territory to the point where I couldn't find any joy in writing the story anymore, despite enjoying writing and reading agnst. Maybe I just couldn't find a way to follow my incredibly messy outline after loosing it for the nth time, so I just gave up.
In any situation I can hardly believe I decided to give up at nearly 80k words. That's longer than The Gunslinger, which is a book I want to read but never got around to doing so. It's also longer than pretty much any other book I was made read in school, or even in my current college education. I do find this mighty impressive, even if it's a bit boastful of my part considering I never finished the story in the first place.
If you want to make a continuation of this story, then by all means go right ahead! I don't mind at all. If you want to have you own take on this concept, then also go right ahead! I don't own Destiny, Bungo does =P. Anyway, I know that this might be a massive necro, but feel free to ask me questions on where the plot was heading and stuff on this very thread. I'll answer them as promptly as I can!
Anyway, maybe I'll you around. Or maybe not. It hardly matters as long as you enjoy your life.
Los.
For better or for worse, my motivation to continue, and even finish this piece has all but died. I tried to continue, I really did, but the words wouldn't flow and I would get a tension headache nearly every single time. So... I'm putting it to rest. However, I'm not entirely abandoning the idea of a Fallen Self-Insert, mainly because I really wanted to read one before I first started writing this thing. But I couldn't find one that wasn't abandoned or in hiatus so... I got to writing. Actually, the feeling hasn't diminished, I still want to read a Fallen Self-Insert... it's just that my motivation for writing this story has faded. Maybe I leaned to heavily into the Angst territory to the point where I couldn't find any joy in writing the story anymore, despite enjoying writing and reading agnst. Maybe I just couldn't find a way to follow my incredibly messy outline after loosing it for the nth time, so I just gave up.
In any situation I can hardly believe I decided to give up at nearly 80k words. That's longer than The Gunslinger, which is a book I want to read but never got around to doing so. It's also longer than pretty much any other book I was made read in school, or even in my current college education. I do find this mighty impressive, even if it's a bit boastful of my part considering I never finished the story in the first place.
If you want to make a continuation of this story, then by all means go right ahead! I don't mind at all. If you want to have you own take on this concept, then also go right ahead! I don't own Destiny, Bungo does =P. Anyway, I know that this might be a massive necro, but feel free to ask me questions on where the plot was heading and stuff on this very thread. I'll answer them as promptly as I can!
Anyway, maybe I'll you around. Or maybe not. It hardly matters as long as you enjoy your life.
Los.
- Location
- Versailles
Can you tell what were your plans for the story?
- Location
- Somewhere in South America
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Well, I planned one final downfall of the MC before things really started getting better: In the following trip that would have lead to Titan, Seleks would have sold Dreg MC out to re-join Fallen society as a whole, but not before he is able to get the two Ghosts to safety with some of Zavala's lightless guardians.
After that, it would have, sort of, just maybe, turned into a prison story for just a chapter or two. This is how I planned to have them properly assimilate into Eliksni society and customs, because other than wishful thinking, they had no plan; neither long nor short term, on how to do so. After all, despite Seleks wanting to re-join Fallen society, the did not remember it was MC Dreg the one that provoked the malfunction that caused it to become welded to a spaceship floor. (Now that I write it down here, this placeholder name kind of reminds me of the late MF DOOM in name. Kinda funny and sad that I won't use it more.)
During their stay in the backside of the Empty Tank, proving their worth via gladiatorial combat and sleeping in what could only be described as a jail cell, is where they would acquire a "proper" Eliksni name, although I appear to have lost it now that I'm trying to find it. Call them Rask for now. I mean, it's a shortened form of "Namrask" which in turn is similar to Norman which might just be the name of the creeppy spirit pretending to be a person that stares up from the street at your apartment block every Sunday around 2 AM.
Once this was done, they would have promptly attempted to do their best to rise up the ranks without actively antagonizing people, ignorant of the fact that they had attracted plenty of attention already. Not only from the Vanguard (Cayde begrudgingly informs Zavala, and both inform Ikora by the time Rask gets out of "Jail"), but from other Eliksni as well (do you really think pacifism with humanity will fly with some of the barons that were alive during the red war? Then again, Mithax was a thing back then).
And after that, I sort of just planned to half pant it, half plan it depending on the response I got. The total time that would have passed in-story is around three months and a couple of days or so. Roughly until the end of the Red War.