Chapter six of my story Origin.[b] I want to know what you guys think on the origin of the Vex so hit that survey and let me know what you think.[/b] As always, leave a comment, and enjoy the read. Part two will be listed below. Chapter 6 His shields dropped to half, he wheeled to a small rock, and ducked behind it. She activated her camouflage and sprinted into the dark stand of willow trees. Inside there was little light. The vine like branches of the trees squelched the light from reaching the ground. She walked briskly trying to make as little noise as possible. The branches slid over her glass like shoulders giving her position away. As she reached the center of the grove, she saw a small platform radiating some kind of energy field. The translucent waist high circle was colored red. She heard another burst of rounds, then something teleported inside the platform. It looked like a goblin but held an odd shaped weapon with six barrels and was much more armored. It bent down and the field began to emit void energy. The Vex seemed to soak in the energy and began glowing a soft purple color. It wasn’t a shield, it was literally absorbing void energy. The vex stood up and outstretched its arm. A sphere of void energy appeared and the Vex jumped through it. Just then, she heard another six rounds and the Vex re-appeared on the platform. Velox threw a grenade and sighted in with her sniper rifle. Just as the grenade was dropping in front of the Vex, she fired and hit it in the head. The shot went through the grenade causing it to explode and then tore the entire head piece off of the machine. Without hesitation she reached for her rocket launcher and put a round in the center of the plate, the vex was disoriented but definitely not dead, it turned to where Velox was standing and began to raise its weapon. Just then the rocket detonated at its feet. The explosion seemed slower than usual and Velox watched as the pressure and heat wave dented and ultimately sheared, shredded, and tore, the metal components making up the Vex into shrapnel. She waited for a few seconds to make sure the rocket had done its job and, when satisfied, started running back to Azrix. She got back to the waterfall and saw a titan sitting behind a rock holding his side. Crimson streams leaked from between the fingers covering his wound. The blood flowed in droplets slowly falling to the ground. “Azrix! Are you ok?” Velox yelled now feeling guilty for not trying to kill the Vex sooner. “Oh this is nothing. I just need to rub some dirt in it and I’ll be right as rain. It was just a glance.” He said standing. “Why would you rub dirt in it? That could cause an infection.” He looked at her and shook his head. “We have a lot to talk about when we get back to the tower. Now I need you to do me a favor. Get the gauze out of my med kit and wrap me up.” He said unbuckling his chest plate. “Nymph, start scanning for the source of the signal.” The little ghost expanded and began pulsing. Gaia was still looking for the source of the shield blocking their path. His chest plate fell to the floor revealing the wound. A round had penetrated the weak part of his armor and skirted along his rib cage leaving a three inch graze wound. Velox grabbed the gauze and started wrapping it around his wound. “Another scar.” She said. “Yep, I like to think of them as stories. Each one has a unique story to tell. Each one reminds you of something that tried to kill you, but despite adversity you were able to overcome that enemy.” “Well that is certainly an interesting way to look at it. There, you should be good for the next few hours.” She said finishing the wraps. Nymph and approached Azrix. “It’s weak, but I found the source. If we follow the stairs we are going in the right direction. Assuming we can find the power source that is.” He said turning to look at Gaia who was floating fifty feet from the ground. “Found it. Why would the vex put a control panel all the way up hear? Anyway, barrier should be down….. now.” The barrier slowly dematerialized and the group continued on the steeply ascending path. After almost five minutes of walking the stairs finally gave way and opened into a cave similar to the one they had entered. The temperature began to drop as they continued upward. Eventually they could see light. They emerged from the cave and looked at a great expanse before them. They were high in the mountains. Cliffs and canyons were everywhere all covered in snow. The sun had set and the soft glow of an unknown moon illuminated the snow in an eerie green glow. The mountain slowly continued rising towards the sky but getting anywhere would be a nightmare. “Where is the signal coming from?” Azrix asked. “Up there.” Nymph said looking towards the ever ascending path of switchbacks leading to the top of a mountain miles from where they were. “Great.” “How long were we in there?” Velox asked. “By my clock, from the time we left the cave to now, three hours and twenty five minutes.” Gaia called out. “Then why is it dark outside? It should be around nine thirty in the morning.” “The room we were in was likely being used by the Vex for time manipulation purposes. Everything inside was moving at a super slow rate of speed suggesting that they slowed the time flow, everything out here was still moving at a normal time flow.” Gaia said. “How do you know that?” Velox asked. “Kabar. He was a titan who led the first exploration of the vault of glass. The vault, to the best of our knowledge, is a sandbox for the Vex to test and study time manipulation. The room we just came from seemed like it was similar but on a slightly smaller scale.” Azrix answered. “We can talk about that later though. We need to get to the top of that mountain.” The two guardians set out into the waist high soft snow slowly. The walking was tough but soon they were ascending the steep paths to the top of the mountain. The path they were on was too flat to be just rock and dirt beneath them. Was it a roadway? If so, why was there one all the way up here? Soon the question was answered as they came across a mound of snow with the barrel of a tank sticking out of it. “Why is there a tank out here?” Velox asked. “Nymph, bring up all golden age map data on this region.” The little light sat for a moment making soft chirping noises and then projected a three dimensional map of the southern pole of Mars. “This is odd, the area we are in…… it doesn’t have any map data.” He said zooming in on their specific location which was represented by a large black blob. “You mean that no one ever took any satellite photos of this area even during the golden age?” Velox asked. “No. They were removed. The only instance I have seen where this has occurred is when Rasputin removed all the map data around his processing servers and access points.” “So you think there might have been a war mind out here? Azrix asked. “Possibly. It’s the only explanation I have for the missing data. If so, there would have been some way to get supplies and materials to the AI’s bunker. We are likely on a road and that explains how the tank got here.” “Alright well even if there is a war mind here, we still need to shut down the signal. Stay sharp.” As the group continued upwards they could see the shimmer of something in the distance, as they got closer, they couldn’t believe what they saw. A huge transparent dome shield covered nearly the entire mountain top. Just beyond the dome lay a plethora of old rusted buildings. Farther back and near the mountains last rising peak, a monolith sized building of concrete and steel had been constructed partially inside the mountain itself. They reached the base of the shield and stopped. Part 2 can be found here: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/103224328/0/0 Chapter Index can be found here: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/102926644/0/0