Loshek felt uneasy. It was a feeling I thought I was used too, from the combat stress guardians have to deal with on a daily basis. But this was a different feeling, different from the wariness of a suspected ambush, different from the anxiety that kept him alive on many occasions. This time, I was wary of a friend, an ally, and a fellow guardian. After several guardians had gone missing on lone patrols, only to rarely resurface dead, the tower issued a partner policy. No guardian was allowed out of the tower on their own. New guardians where paired with older, more experienced soldiers. Unfortunately, I had been labeled as 'new', only barely having 6 months of live action under my belt. I felt this was sufficient, but they said otherwise, and paired me with an 'experienced' guardian by the name of Morson. In reality, he was worse than I was. He had 2 years of active duty, and then got an administration job 'teaching' guardians, (I felt bad for anyone who was in his class) and hadn't seen combat for 10 years. He was incompetent. Being the senior of the pairing, Morson had quickly taken charge, ordering me around like one of his students. We did the most menial tasks, to 'prepare' me. I think my deployment to Mars for a week prepared me more than the 4 months I spent with him. We did things like patrol the cosmodrome, gather materials, 'explore' areas that had seen the light of a hundred guardians, and various other things that bored me to death. I wondered if my hyperdrive still worked, seeing as I hadn't used it in so long. I longed for action, counting the days until I would be promoted and could do my own thing. That would come sooner than I expected. It was another scouting trip. We were in the cosmodrome, close to the wall, a place where some break off fallen had holed up. I wasn't even allowed to go in, we where just supposed to observe. I was feeling resentful, frustrated that Morson didn't trust me enough to handle a couple of weak, starved dregs. Sitting on top of one of the buildings, prepared myself for a long wait doing nothing. About 30 minutes into the trip, I felt uneasy. Normally, Morson was right there beside me, making sure I did my job right. He always seemed a little lost, like he was unsure of what to do. Not today. Today he was alert and ready. Jumpy, like he expected something. In fact, he was so alert that when his com buzzed he jumped up, swearing. Turning to me, he said, "Normally you don't leave your partner under any circumstances, but I think you'll be okay and I have to go take this." Leaving with out waiting for a response, he jumped down and walked behind a nearby building. I was suspicious. Why would he have to go away from his partner to take a call? My curiosity spiked, and I decided it wouldn't hurt if I went to listen. Using the power from the traveler, I bent the light around me and muffled my footsteps, jumping lightly on the side of the building closest to Morson. Craning my ears, I heard snatches of his conversation; "...by the wall... Yes, with the boy.... I've already said I think he would accept.... He'll do anything to get back on the front lines.... No-ones been killed since that partner rule, don't worry.... Alright, I will." Hearing the click of his com going off, I ran, throwing myself through a hole in space up on top of the building, hoping that he wouldn't notice the noise or footprints that showed I had been eavesdropping. Morson jumped, using the light to glide up to our hiding spot, and landed beside me. For 5 minutes, he said nothing, pretending that he was busy checking his weapons. After he was done, he turned to me and said, "Boy, I wanted to talk to you about something." I sat up, skeptically responding, "what about?" He looked at me, as if trying to gauge my mood. "I want to make you an offer..." "What kind of offer?" I replied, suddenly getting the feeling that this was a trap. "I'm a part of an organization, a private, selective group in the tower for only those we deem are the best guardians." He said, interrupting my thoughts. He continued, saying, "if you join, you will have rapid advancement and a post any where you want... We could even..." *BLAM!* I jumped. Startled at the blood suddenly coating the front of my armor. Reacting quickly, I leapt off the building and behind the wall to gather my bearings, I waited to see if the sniper would move. After a long moment, I bent the light around me and looked out to see if the cost is clear. Seeing no-one, I decided to jump back up on the building to check on Morson. What I saw changed everything. Standing over Morson's body was a Warlock. His armor was old, looking like he had spent most of his time in it, like he never took it off. Not only that, but looked like it had been modified, a blend of fallen and guardian technology. The gun in his hands was even more unusual, looking like a wire rifle merged with a scout rifle, an odd but deadly combination of technology. Looking up, he saw me, raising he rifle lightning fast. I had my hand cannon up just as fast though, leaving us in a standstill. Before I could gather the energy to blink, he spoke to me, "I don't want to have to do this..." "Then why'd you do it to him?" I replied, trying to buy time to figure out a place to go. Finding a crate, I tore through space, landing on the other side safely. Just after I landed, I heard the crack of the man's rifle, felt the sizzle of electricity as the bolt burned a spot next to my calf. Looking around, I found an old shipping container with metal walls that I could use to try and get out of his line of sight. Attempting to distract him, I asked again, "why'd you kill him?" He replied, saying simply, "He wasn't a true guardian." Confused, I called back, "What do you mean? You aren't exactly a perfect example." "No," He replied, "But at least I haven't sold my soul to the darkness." "What?" I exclaimed, now really confused. "Don't believe me? Look around you. The Tower, The City, the guardians. In all are signs of corruption, if you know what to look for." "What signs?" I called out to him, preparing to make a break for it. A long moment passed... Jumping from behind my cover, I quickly scanned for danger. Finding the man gone, he jumped up on top of the building, scanning for danger. Nothing. The man had disappeared, leaving no trace of his passing. I could almost convince myself I had just imagined it, if it weren't for the scorch mark in the ground and Morson's blood on my armor. The man had taken the body, not even leaving any blood stains (not that it would have mattered, there were bloodstains all over the building and surrounding area), and probably had made it disappear, like all of his other victims. The fallen guardian (my name for him, seemed to fit on account of all of the gear from Fallen soldiers he had) had left an impression on me, and I wasn't sure how I was going to react. I turned looking out at The Tower, a beacon of light, and its long shadow. This is my second in a series of short stories, (I have yet to name the series) the first being [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/99157513/0/0]The Fallen Guardian[/url]. Feel free to post feedback and tell me how I screwed up! ;) The third in the series should be coming soon, real life delayed this one.