Part 9 - Guardian, New Friends

"I know you Zo'ruuk. I know what you are. Our peoples laws prevent me from speaking any more of the matter." Tor'iik said, stepping around the desk to lean on the front. Zo'ruuk clenched his jaw in impatience. "On to more pressing matters, you have been inhibited with the power of our great Traveler. Therefore, you have been called to Guardian Service. I have already done the paperwork and assigned you a FireTeam. I know what you seek, and you cannot find it alone my friend." Tor'iik explained, a slight grin. "You cannot deny this, you will ind your answers more quickly and without the likeness of death with this assignment. Father knew of this and made sure you were active for duty. You are ready. To keep it short, since you are obviously anxious to be leaving, you have no choice in this. Accept this offer or be thrown from this city to never return. Exile." Tor'iik had a look of disdain for what he had just said, but it was the way of things. "I accept." Zo'ruuk said, he had no choice, to be exiled was to never have and earn his peoples respect. "Good, your team should be waiting in the lobby below. They will get you squared away on armor and debriefing. Your team is sanctioned as Two Eight Coyote, a traveling scout and clean crew. You are classified under Titan. That is all Zo'ruuk, and you accept?" Tor'iik said, standing up and crossing his arms. "I do." Zo'ruuk turned to walk out of the room. Confused at how he felt he knew this man, not really frustrated but annoyed at becoming a Guardian, he could not deny the Exo's logic. "And Zo'ruuk....good luck." Tor'iik said sympathetically, stopping Zo'ruuk before he continued out the door. Finding his was back to the lobby, exiting the elevator he saw two figures near the exit. A slender woman, caped, a dusk mask hiding her facial features, but not her pale gray skin and piercing blue eyes of her people, an Awoken, she wore a newer brown composite armor, somewhat dirty, unlike her white hair falling around her shoulders, pretty by Zo'ruuks standards. She had an identifiable pulse rifle strapped to her pack, unidentifiable markings and pieces of cloth adorned the gray matte rifle, netting covered the large scope. She spotted Zo'ruuk exiting the elevator, the other figure turned and looked at Zo'ruuk with wide eyes. "He's a biggin, eh? Do they no think of stealth when they recruit da beasts?" He whispered to the woman, she nodded. With Zo'ruuks hearing, he could easily discern what he said from across the room as he approached. The man wore no suck mask, fitted with an old duster with a wide hood pulled up, revealing a scarred and crazed face, hungry human blue eyes, an untrimmed beard, he had from what Zo'ruuk could tell, 4 pistols, one on each thigh and the other two peeking out from his coat. He had read about them before, "The Four Horseman," each identical, but each loaded and made of four different elements. A rare treasure indeed. The woman approached Zo'ruuk as he neared, she waved in a friendly manner. "So you are Zo'ruuk? Welcome to the team, I am Fortuna, and this is Jackal, I am Hunter and he is Warlock Class. We got news we were assigned a member and came as quick as we could, I hope we are not late?" she said cheerfully, obviously smiling from behind her mask. "I am Zo'ruuk, it is nice to meet you both, I am a Titan Class. You are not late in fact....I was told you were to debrief and square me away on armor?" Zo'ruuk said evenly, looking down at the woman. "Yes, well of course, it is nice to meet you as well, we haven't had a Titan detail with us before." She explained, removing the pack from her shoulder, she handed it to Zo'ruuk. "This is a chest piece, the arm and leg bits....we couldn't decide on a helmet or ghost, so on our way out we will stop at an armament and get you a weapon as well. The bathroom is over there for you to change." She pointed across the room to a door marked with a male figure. Taking the pack, Zo'ruuk went to the bathroom and changed in a stall. He tossed his old clothes in a bin in the stall. Stepping out he turned to the brightly lit mirror. He had abandoned the duster for range of movement, he wore tan combat boots, his legs were padded in a strong carbon composite of the color of the rest of his armor, a desert tan, a couple generations old but in good condition and very serviceable. His chest piece was plated, of the same material and make, but adorned on the left shoulder was what he guessed a coyote, he chuckled. Looking over himself, his arms had enough armor to do well, his gloves were of strong make and had free movement, his large blade was tucked into his belt at his side. Walking out Fortuna turned and whistled, Zo'ruuk chuckled again. "Well don't you look the part." She jested. "It fits well and I am ready to go." He responded. "Sounds good, but first the debrief." She turned to Jackal and nodded. "You 'ave been instated as Captain of Two Eight Coyote, your file is blank. Which to me is down right confoundin in da sense. Tor'iik assured us you were fit for da part though, so do no let us down, eh?" He explained. "Our first assigned mission is to get you fully outfitted and out in field, yea? Payments was in advance, so here do be your share." Jackal tossed Zo'ruuk a small jingling pouch, he tucked it under his belt. "Show me the way to the shop then." Zo'ruuk said, keeping an eye on the wild man and perky woman. They set out down the street, looking quite the bunch, Zo'ruuk followed the two, listening to them chatter about nothing in particular. They turned down a street, it was just a few hours before dark, so the Neon Signs of shops shown brightly and people bustled about. Walking through the crowd, the two just ahead of them came to a stop in front of a brightly lit pawn shop. "In here you will find the things you need, we'll be waiting out here." Fortuna said happily, turning to return to her conversation with Jackal. Zo'ruuk stepped through the open door to see rows and rows of shelves holding items and whatever secrets they held. A desk was being held down by an old man with patch, the other eye looking up at Zo'ruuk. The floor and counter were clean enough to make this a reputable place. Walking and browsing upon the shelves, he looked with interest. He found a shotgun that fit his hands nicely pretty quickly, a nice sling and semi-automatic, it was an acceptable weapon. Heading towards the back he found the helmets. Among them he found a tan plate helmet of the last generation make, he liked the looks of it so he thought what the hell. Seeing the case on the back wall, he walked up to look at its contents. It was lined with different ghosts, he saw one about the size of a softball, grabbed it and walked to the front. "I'll take these and a box of slugs for the shotgun, if you would sir." He said placing the items on the counter, voice raspy to the human. The man reached under the counter and pulled out a box of slugs and punched a few numbers into the screen on the counter. "43 Scrip." He said. Zo'ruuk removed the coins from his pouch and handed to the man and the man nodded. Slinging the shotgun over his shoulders, putting the shells in the pouch on his pack and ghost in hand he walked out. "All ready to go, Cap?" Fortuna asked, leaning up against the wall to his right. "I am, lets get out of here." He smiled at her. "Aye, da best thing hes said since we met, eh?" Jackal chimed in, Zo'ruuk nodded and they set off. They reached the Great Wall and left the city. Not fardown the road they made camp, they joked, and talked, getting to know eachother. They talked about the next day, and as they laid down, Zo'ruuk looked up at the stars. Time to find some answers he thought. To Be Continued.... -Hope you all enjoyed and look forward to the next installment, please like and comment if you enjoyed this Part, and thanks!-