Jotunde set down on the stormy plains of Venus, his Deonida Verdant gracing the planet's fertile soil with outstretched landing prongs digging into the reeds. A small platform expanded outwards and from it emerged a creature that seemingly crawled from the deepest depths of Hell, billowing fire following him. A Guardian dressed in huge metal plating charred black by Solar flames, pauldrons each equipped with a mounted railgun that swiveled on its axis, red sashes fluttering behind him. The armor made him eight foot, easily, and the ground sunk under his metal footsteps. His helmet was standard of Titans, but with the outstretched tongue and maw fanged with bristling, needle-like teeth resemblant of a drake. Despite the rain, fire licked off his body, flickering over him in an aura before evaporating into the air. He was a God in this armor, presiding far over his domain, invulnerable to mortal harm. Yet he only wore it to let himself be known by his title rather than his character as he stepped into the Vanguard scout's beachhead on Venus, a barren place full of tents containing nomadic traders and lightless Militia planning missions which he could do with the simple snap of his hand. Heads craned from their positions to meet him, staring slightly upwards to meet his glance. His infamy preceded him, even as far as Venus. Word travels quick, he thought as he strode to the vendor closest to himself, a strange man enveloped in cloth and with a pink radiance traveling from where his face should be. He stood at a hunch, one hand over his jacket and the other fumbling around within. Jotunde approached the creature. "You sell fuel?" He grunted through his helmet. The projection on the other side was distorted, augmented with a mechanical ring. "I deal in the exotic contraband not readily found in your societies. I bring great plunder from the Jovians, a realm beyond your understanding, for a price..." "... Yeah, alright, does that contraband include fuel?" "Perhaps. Perhaps not. What does it mean to you, weary soul." "Fuсk this." The Titan walked away, looking around to other tents. They were shrouded by refugees pouring into the outpost, guards carrying machine guns within their hands, and food vendors. None seemed to carry what he needed, so he reevaluated his options. He could source a natural source of fuel from Venus as a way to get him to Mercury, or perhaps... Perhaps he could enlist the aid of the needy, he thought as he saw directionless passerby peruse the beachhead, and saw one in particular. She was delicate, with a sniper rifle twice her size clinging to her back, covered in the luminescant glitter of Ether and swathed in cloths makeshift and ragged. With a stride and a devilish grin disguised by his helm, he stood before the girl. "Yes?" She said, whatever terror was in her eyes well hidden. She was short, thin as a rail, raven black hair tucked behind small red ears and freckles dotting her conventionally pretty face. Jotunde towered over her, and then began to halfheartedly speak down to her. "Got any gas?" "Yeah, actually, I've got a little in my duffe-" "Come with me," he simply said, gesturing with his hand for her to stick by him. "I'm Iliyus, by the way," she hurriedly said as she struggled to keep his brisk pace, despite the cumbersome armor he wore. "Where are we going?" "Mercury. Crucible competition. Need gas. You, me, we go." He grunted apathetically, her so far removed with his care that he spoke in the tongue of Neanderthal to her. It was at this point that she realized that her new companion wasn't the brightest or most caring person, but due to the Vanguard's similar apathy, she needed a way off Venus. If she was simply a means to an end, it didn't matter to her. They came up on the Deonida Verdant. It was a Warbird, one of the most elder lines of ships the City had ever produced, most dating back to humanity's Golden Age. Its hull was made of various sheet metals patched together, overlapped, welded and bolted into one assimilated wall, and the guns were giant glistening fragmentation cannons that roared with fire within. Jotunde opened the steps, retracting from next to the cockpit, and bounded up them into a white abyss. With reluctance, she followed suit, into the unknown.