Delta placed a hand on the bark of a thin pine tree marking the beginning of the south woods. He straightened the brown overcoat Eran had given him to cover his weathered, mechanized body as he obtained the lay of the land. Before them, the ground dipped into a heavily wooded area. As he peered ahead, Kito marched up beside him. “This is the way,” said the Redjack. “We will reach the river by sundown.” With that the frame continued forward as Alice and Eran finally joined Delta at the edge of the woods. “Kitokai says we are closing in,” Delta informed the others. “Good,” said Eran. “I don’t want to be stuck out here when it gets dark.” Alice nodded in agreement. “Let’s find this vault quickly. Shaxx is depending on us to retrieve whatever is inside.” The trio pressed on after Kito, down into the thick brush. For many miles they trekked through the trees toward the supposed stream where the vault was hidden. Though there was no sign of a Cabal presence, Delta remained alert as they traveled. After a few hours, they stopped to rest near the remnants of a large fallen tree. Alice groaned as she rested against the horizontal trunk. “What is this stinging pain in my feet?!” Eran sighed as he too stooped to rest. “You have blisters. Let me know if the pain gets worse.” “Man, I really took the light for granted,” she complained. “Do people put up with this often? It’s agony!” Eran shrugged. “It’s pretty common. Looks like you get to experience the downside to being human for a change.” Alice groaned again. “I bet Delta doesn’t have to worry about this!” Delta, standing some feet away with Kito, overheard their conversation. He looked down at his worn, metallic hands. Being human? He was sure he possessed at least part of a human mind, but how much of him was really human rather than machine? He still felt pain to some extent, and he had plenty of emotions that often only added to his problems, but there were also times when something else took over. He had assumed it was instincts, but would instincts allow him to calculate the speed and velocity of an incoming bullet in 0.2 seconds from up to 1500 meters? He didn’t think so. In that moment he couldn’t help but wonder who he was before. Why would he choose to become an exo in the first place? He suspected that those memories were erased long before his rebellion against the Defense. The crack of a snapped twig interrupted his thoughts and plunged the group into silence. Delta immediately drew his sidearm and made a clockwise motion with his hand to the others, signaling them to get into formation and spread out. They obeyed, Kito taking his left and Alice his right, with Eran close behind aiming between them with his personal hunting rifle. Carefully, the group inched forward toward the origin of the sound. They quickly discovered that the land dipped again just ahead. Reading the terrain, Delta signaled for the rest to halt and then slowly lowered himself to his stomach. Once he was comfortably prone, he crawled forward as best he could with one arm until he reached the drop. Cautiously, he peered through the thick foliage into what he now understood to be an enormous ditch, and breathed a sigh of relief. “What is it?” Alice whispered behind him. Delta clambered to his feet and stowed his sidearm, no longer bothering to be stealthy. “Look for yourself.” The group gathered at the edge to get a good look at the bottom of the ditch. Just a short way down, a small family of deer grazed peacefully. Everyone relaxed at the sight of the harmless animals. “Awe, how sweet!” said Alice. “They really gave me a scare!” “The possibility of an enemy presence must remain a priority,” said Kito. “Well sure,” Eran agreed. “I hope we don’t actually run into any though…” Delta was about to echo those sentiments, but his superior audio receptors picked up another sound. The steady hum of electricity grew faintly from within the woods behind them. “Eran.” the exo called. “You brought a hunting knife with you, correct?” Eran nodded in confusion and slipped it out from his right boot. “Yes?” “Wonderful,” said Delta. “May I borrow it please?” “Um… sure,” he said, handing the exo his jagged knife. Alice eyed him curiously. “You’re not going to kill those poor deer, are you?” “No…” said Delta, weighing the knife in his hands. “Not the deer.” Suddenly, the exo whirled around and fluently executed a powerful roundhouse kick. The party watched in surprise as his foot collided with the head of a cloaked Fallen Vandal. The creature shrieked as its face was crushed in an instant and its now visible body flew into the dirt. Delta wasted no time in dashing forward. He whipped the knife upward, parrying an unseen blade with a loud clang. He saw his opportunity and rammed his knee square in the Vandal’s chest, causing it to squeal and drop its shock blades. With the creature crippled, he flipped the knife in his hand and plunged the tip deep into its neck. He let the body fall as the sound of charged electricity reached him. Delta sidestepped, allowing the beam from a bow rifle to fly past his head. The shot was all he needed to locate his final attacker. He ran a few more feet forward to enter an optimal range, then squared his shoulder and threw the knife will all his strength into a nearby tree. There was an audible thud and hissing sound as ether burst from the sniper’s body. Its lifeless husk fell from the overhead branches and collided unpleasantly with the ground. Alice gaped in awe at the dead Fallen while Delta retrieved the knife from his last victim. She had never seen such efficient reflexes. Eran was also quite impressed. “I wonder what he’s like with two arms,” he murmured. Kito, seemingly unfazed, approached the exo. “Are there more?” “Not that I can tell,” answered Delta. “That was most likely a scouting party. We have a few hours maximum before their friends come looking. We need to keep moving.” “Agreed. We are departing at once!” the Redjack announced to the rest of the group. While they gathered their bearings, Delta briefly inspected the Fallen bodies. To his surprise, they were different from the ones he was familiar with. Their colors were of a dusty brown and forest green, like camouflage, and they wore thin metal helmets with four eye slits and carved wooden horns on either side. On their cloaks was painted a faded symbol of what he could only assume was some kind of coiled serpent. The exo shifted with concern. This was a new faction he had never seen before. They seemed rougher around the edges. They felt dangerous. Once everyone was ready, Kitokai immediately resumed the path of their mission. Everyone else filed behind him, eager to leave the remains of their enemies behind. Delta traveled more alert than before. Meeting the Fallen in the woods after they had supposedly gone underground bothered him. Next time, he might need a little more than a hunting knife. Delta’s optics widened when he remembered the knife. He turned around and held it out for Eran, who was walking behind him. “Sorry. I almost forgot to give this back.” Eran adjusted the grip on his hunting rifle and shook his head. “You keep it. It is [i]far[/i] more useful in your hands.” Delta hesitated for a moment, then sheathed the blade in his belt. “Thanks.” “You’re [i]very[/i] welcome.” [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Groups/Post?groupId=1371758&postId=249597882&sort=0&page=0]Part 3[/url] [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/224417569?page=0&sort=0&showBanned=0&path=1]The Hub[/url]