So the mod who moved my last post remained [i]un[/i]moved by our conversation, meaning that RIP the Dream will now be posted in the Gallery section (despite subjects having less to do with the lore than RIP the Dream still residing in the Lore Forums). Oh well. Enough complaining, though. Here's Part 13; I hope you enjoy it! The Master Post is [url=http://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/214044178]here[/url], as always. <Begin Recording> [i]Audio Log 00076[/i] [i]Vera-2[/i] “Got it!” my Ghost said triumphantly. “It’s off.” I jumped up from where I had been sitting on the rocky shore behind the orb. “Can you transmat it?” I asked, sizing up the machine. It looked like it was roughly two meters in diameter. “I think I can, as long as there’s enough room---” “Vera-2, do you copy?” Ikora Rey interrupted the Ghost over the comms. “Yes, ma’am,” I responded. “What’s your status, Guardian?” she demanded. “Why have you abandoned your fireteam?” “Master Rey,” I said calmly, “I’ve located a Golden Age machine that was giving off intense vibrational waves.” I felt no pride. Just a sense of completion. An objective had been completed. “My Ghost just deactivated it and we’re preparing it for transmat,” I continued. “Leaving the team was a necessity; only I could withstand the device’s effects.” “No!” Ikora exclaimed. I was taken aback. The Warlock Vanguard didn’t seem like the type to raise her voice. “Turn it back on this instant, Guardian! That machine is the only safeguard you have against the Vex. It disrupts their communication and travel networks.” “Shit,” I whispered, a whisper of fear flashing through my synapses. “Ghost! Get that thing back on!” I commanded. “I’m working on it!” it shouted back. “It’s highly complex!” “Vera,” Ikora said, “listen carefully. You must wait for backup. I’ve contacted Lord Shaxx. A team of Exo Redjacks and frames are inbound to assist in the recovery of this priceless artifact.” I thought with some regret that I should have contacted the Vanguard earlier. Why hadn’t I? “Vex incoming,” my Ghost warned. “It’s too late,” Ikora said bitterly. “Hold them off, Guardian. Help is on the way.” I saw the Vex cloud forming in the distance. They must have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. The cave was vast and there was no cover on the smooth crystal plain. There was only one course of action. Taking cover behind the machine could damage it or my Ghost. I needed to hold them off. I jumped over the machine and sprinted towards the clouds, 50 meters away. I steeled myself, ready for what would undoubtedly be a vicious test of my abilities. I closed ground rapidly, and as the first goblins appeared I was already upon them. My shotgun roared, quickly destroying the first wave. But already multitudes of Vex frames had teleported in. Five minotaurs, twelve goblins, and four hobgoblins surrounded me. They opened fire. I dove to the ground, avoiding the first salvo. I quickly recovered and blinked over the heads of the charging minotaurs, lashing out with my knife and destroying a hobgoblin’s core in a single blow. Slap rifle fire glanced off my shields in the moment I was still and I blinked backwards, narrowly avoiding the torch hammer rounds that slammed into the spot I had just been standing in. I tossed out a skip grenade and jumped into the air again. This time I merely double jumped in place, catching the predictive Vex off guard. They expected me in the air, but I emptied my shotgun mag into three goblins on the ground as my skip grenade harassed a hobgoblin. I caught the radar warning in the corner of my eye and backflipped into the air, acrobatically springing off a minotaur’s head as it brought its hand slamming into the ground, barely missing me. I clung to its back for a second, firing the Ace of Hearts with one hand and felling another goblin. I kicked off the minotaur just as another one charged into its back, sending both of them to the ground. I rolled and popped up shooting, forcing two hobgoblins into their invulnerable state. I ducked a line rifle shot and returned fire. It was utter chaos. The Vex obviously had not anticipated such a ferocious assault from a lone Guardian, and their ranks were in utter disarray. The entangled minotaurs struggled to pick themselves up. Vex frames were damaged by their own comrade’s fire. But they had the numbers advantage, and I was investing almost all of my energy into avoiding their attacks. At least they weren’t attacking my Ghost or the machine yet. My shields were at half and I was still getting peppered by slap rifle fire. There were too many to keep up with. I needed to do some damage, but I simply didn’t have the firepower. A feeling of despair grew within me. [i]No.[/i] I thought angrily. [i]You don’t feel despair. You’re a machine.[/i] My resolve wavered. Was that really true? [i]More importantly, I'm a Guardian. And I can fight![/i] I felt the Light crackle within my body as an electric surge flooded my circuits. Brilliant Arc energy exploded around me and I raised my knife, now pulsing with unbridled power. [i]Hell yes.[/i] A chill ran down my spine. The feeling was human, but I loved it. I flew forward, my blade swinging with almost a mind of its own. With every goblin and hobgoblin struck down, I felt power grow within me as my shields regenerated instantly. It’s as if my Light grew stronger simply from the Darkness it vanquished. I swayed and danced in the midst of the Vex cohort, lashing out with fluent and violent precision. The goblins and hobgoblins were soon nothing but quickly scattering ions in the wind. I felt electric. Life pulsed within me. And for the first time since my epiphany, I felt happiness. But that happiness began to fade as the minotaurs closed in from all sides. I could feel my Light reserves dwindling. I didn’t have enough energy left to take them all on. [i]One last play.[/i] I knew what I had to do. Summoning the last of my power, I waited for the huge Vex frames to get close. As they approached, I spun in the air, unleashing Arc Light in a devastating shockwave around me. Their Void shields shattered and they all took immense structural damage, but they did not fall. [i]Damn.[/i] I hoped it would be enough. The Arc power faded around me as the Blade Dance ended. One minotaur recovered quicker than the others and charged me. I blinked over it, but to my surprise it anticipated the move. As I reappeared I caught a huge metal fist in the abdomen. I grunted in surprise as I was sent tumbling across the crystal ground, shields severely damaged. Dazed, I raised the Ace of Hearts but the minotaur was already upon me. It smashed my hand and I felt my living metal break inwards. Pain flared up my arm and I screamed as my weapon flew through the air. [i]What is this? Why do I feel pain?[/i] I crawled backwards, sparks jumping from my mangled digits. [i]Maybe… maybe Exos are more… human than I---[/i] I felt my chest cavity cave in under the unrelenting minotaur’s foot. “Augh!” the shout of pain tore its way from my broken chest. I saw in my peripheral vision that the other minotaurs were assaulting the orb. Their torch hammers laid waste to the machine and I cried out. I could see more Vex clouds forming. “No…” I whispered hoarsely. Everything was moving too quickly. But there was nothing I could do. A kick from the minotaur above me sent me sailing through the air, limp. I landed with a thud. I couldn’t see my Ghost anywhere, not that it mattered. Without the Light of another Guardian, it wouldn’t be able to resurrect me out here. I was suddenly aware that the next minute would be my last. I closed my eyes. It was over. I had failed. Defeat brought pain and humiliation to an echoing climax in my mind. Worst of all, I didn’t even get the chance to see Cass and Solm. To say goodbye. To say, “I’m sorry.” I realized in those final moments that I had become something I wasn’t. I hadn’t freed myself from the constraints of humanity. I had deluded myself with the notion that I could become unfeeling. I needed to tell them that I loved them. I needed them to remember me as I used to be. In the last few seconds I had, I recorded my memories in text form and sent them to my Ghost. Hopefully it would reach my friends. Hopefully I could make amends even in death. <End Recording>