The Exo trudged through the snow. His body was freezing cold, and shutting down. His eyes scanned the environment for a place to go, and he found it: a crevice leading to a cave littered with tattered Fallen banners and old supplies. The Exo held out the small machine he had been carrying all of the way, and set it down with care on a ragged Fallen banner. Then, he toppled like a stack of bricks. For two hours, the only sound in the cave was the howling wind, gusting through it, bouncing off the walls and biting with icy, cold fangs into whatever it touched. Spark opened his eye. His eye lolled in his socket, and to see what was going on he attempted to hover like he had before. And failed. He tried again. It was an effort, and after some concentration he pushed himself up. He floating lightly, taking in his surroundings with a dull sense of dread. “Why… what?” Spark said feebly, searching for Orion. “There… holy Traveler… Orion is worse for wear. And… oh no.” Ghost felt a pang of fear creep into him. No Light. He couldn’t feel the familiar pull that anchored him to the one that had given him life. But there was something else. “Memory wipe…” Spark said drearily. He nearly fell to the ground, but he righted himself. “Orion has suffered so much. Losing Tara. Losing his memories. Losing his grip on reality, his sense of morals. Why this… Why? WHY?” Spark wanted to scream, but just ended up sputtering and letting out sparks. “It’s not fair… why him…” the little Ghost sobbed, a heavy weight of depression attempting to pull his eyelid downwards and shut it. Spark attempted to feel what Orion was feeling through their neuro link, and then gasped as a vision poured through him, with Orion as it’s conduit. Light. Dark. Death. Something enormous, something present and painfully bright to see but inviting- The vision stopped, and Spark realized he was trembling. “Orion, wake up.” Spark said. “Please, wake up.” He pleaded. “Please. I love you. I need you to WAKE UP!” He felt the Exo’s mind stir. “I need…” he started, and then with a burst of desperation he recalled the first thing he had said to Orion at his Second Birth. “Eyes up, Guardian!” Spark called. A hook pulled Orion’s waking mind from the depths of his subconscious and exposed it to the sun. The ruined Exo sat bolt upright. “Hello.” Orion said cheerfully, strangely. Spark felt a knife of sadness twist in his chassis.“Hi…” Spark said. “I was hoping you would wake up. We need to talk.” Orion was slightly confused. “About what? You are my Ghost, right? What was it… Park? Lark? Stark?” The Exo asked politely but inquisitively. “It's Spark. And yeah, I'm yours. We need to talk.” Spark replied. “Ok then. Let's talk.” Orion invited amicably. “The Light. It's gone. Do you…” Spark tried to say, and then failed. “Yeah.” The Exo said, seeming confused. “Something is missing. I can feel it.” Orion shook his head, and then took off his helmet. Spark gasped. Orion’s eyes had been a bright, piercing blue before their excursion to Syndicate territory, but now they were a dull, angry red. Spark’s only explanation was that Orion’s mind wipe had changed him. Not just his memories, but also his physiology. What could it mean? “Me too. And what about your abilities?” Spark probed. He wanted to know how much of the Light was gone. The Exo clenched his fist, likely in an attempt to summon some kind of energy, but nothing came. Then in an almost mechanical move, Orion pivoted and drove his fist into the wall of the small cave with enough force to crack it. That is, if he had still had his Light. Orion them tried to jump high in the air and spin kick the wall. But instead he only scraped his foot against the wall and landed painfully on his side with a clang, his head smacking against the ground. “Negative on the Light.” He groaned. Spark suppressed a snorting laugh and moved over to him. “Here, let me heal you.” He said, relieved to have a purpose. Orion became awash in weak blue Light, and he sprang up. “That's only a little boost.” Spark warned. “You won’t be using any super speed or strength any time soon. It'll just heal your injuries. How much do you remember?” The Exo cocked his head. “Trudging through a blizzard, battling adversaries, and… a dream.” He said. “My name is Orion, right?” That knife in Spark dug a little deeper. “Yeah. That's the one I have gave you.” Orion frowned. “Well it doesn't make much sense. You're a bright little spark of light, so your name makes sense. But me? Orion? What does that mean?” Spark thought about it. “I named you Orion because I liked Pre-Golden-Age mythology, and Orion is a great and skilled hunter in that. I remember I thought ‘This one. He's the one I knew I would find. That I was meant for.’” He replied wistfully. “Hmm. Well maybe. Why not something else though? Like Reyus or Donald?” Orion asked. Spark stared. “Those names could not be more different. Why would you group them together?” He said incredulously, before remembering Orion’s memory problems. “I don't know. I liked them.” “Donald” said defensively. “They seem like cool names.” “Well they are not.” The Ghost said impatiently. “Now. We need to figure out what happens next.” “We are in no condition to hike out there.” Orion said. “If any enemies came across us, it could be bad.” Spark scowled. Well, he tried to. “And since my Light is cut off… I sincerely doubt I could resurrect you. So…” Orion stupidly put his hand over his Ghost to muffle him. “Stop. Hear that?” He whispered. Spark concentrated - He did. He heard the booming of a Skiff’s engines coming in from orbit, and with a bit of concentration he detected a definite energy signature outside. “Curserdakralie…” Spark swore unintelligibly through his Guardian’s hands. “Hands off. I hear them too.” Then he disappeared into Orion’s armor. “Our objective is either to escape or get access to their ship and communication devices.” The Exo’s fists curled and his systems readied for combat. “Understood.” He droned. ----------- “Kiltis” The Dusk Commander growled. “Secure the area while we sweep the supply cache. Any kind of scavenger could be snooping around here. Markers, Servitors; you're with me. This should be quick and may have nothing, but the Baron requires us to check each and every cache, no matter how many empty ones turn up.” The group of supply checkers entered the cave to examine the supplies, while other lookouts watched the entrance and swept the area. Kiltis thought she heard a scuffling in the snow, so he approached a large, frozen log. “Show yourself.” She snarled, pointing her rifle directly at where she thought the threat was. A gauntleted fist struck out from behind a tree just next to her and took her weapon. Then it turned the rifle around and scattered the top row of the teeth in her jaw with a hefty smack from it. “One down.” Orion said tonelessly. Another Fallen, this one a Vandal with a missing lower arm, sniffed the air and smelled Eliksni blood. It growled cautiously and decided to climb the tree for a better angle. It scaled the trunk and hopped along countless branches until it had a clear view of the corpse, and it howled a warning to its fellow Fallen before a knife slammed into its throat and knocked it from its perch with a muffled thump. The creature gurgled a final time and then was still. “Two.” Orion counted. That got the attention of the guards. They were smarter than their comrades though. They aimed their weapons in the direction they had heard the cry and found cover behind a rock and a tree. Then a Shock Grenade bounced off the top of the rock and into the lap of a Vandal. The Vandal grunted a curse and tried to throw it away, but the grenade detonated and vaporized the top half of it’s body. The other guard was thrown to the side and into clear view of the unseen assailant, and was shot twice by the clack-clack of an ugly combat rifle. By now the Dusk Commander knew what was going on. “Markers - send the report to the Baron and tell him to come to these coordinates. Servitors, Snipers - lay down suppressing fire for us to move out.” The large spherical machines moved into the open and supported their charges with streams of healing energy and powerful blasts of Void energy. The hail of Arc slugs and purple explosive blasts tore the trees apart and melted the snow. A Vandal sniper saw their attacker and fired, striking center mass. Orion grunted and barely managed a landing on the snowy ground, but he ran behind another tree at a suggestion from Spark. “Ghost. You can interface with machinery, correct?” Orion asked, forgetting Spark’s name. “Yes. Are you suggesting I…” “Yeah.” Orion finished. “Hack those Servitors and disrupt their aim. Maybe they’ll destroy themselves, or remove the shields from the other Fallen.” Spark knew how to do it. He was just unsure if he would be able to. “But Orion… I'll be picked off instantly.” He protested. “Don't worry. I have a plan.” Orion said. Ch. 1 ToC: [url]https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/239323539?sort=0&page=0[/url]