It was a lone Hunter. His tattered cloak and large hunting knife gave away his faction. He scanned the area and spoke. "I know you are here. Come on out. I want to talk." His voice was humanoid but it felt off, almost robotic. His helmet disappeared and he placed his metallic hands on his head. It was the famous exo, Rex-5742, the deadliest shot out of the students at the Academy. His glowing blue eyes and pale green covered plates were his trademark. And very few forget the face of one they have lost to many times. I paused. "Why does he want to talk to us..?" I thought. I watched him for a while longer. "I mean no trouble as of now. I simply wish to speak to the self-proclaimed leader." Despite his mean streak, he has the least emotional spectrum of all Exos, since he is a very early model from the Golden Age. He says things as simple and blunt as possible. Not a great conversationalist. I began to stand up and walk out. I muttered in my mic, "Stay alert and watch my sides." My shotgun formed in hand as I walked up to him. "How can I help you?" He gave me the once-over before he continued. "My colleagues and I wanted to create a temporary alliance with you. Since your team seems to be proficient in... dispatching other fireteams." I raised my eyebrow. "Somehow I feel your lying to me." He blinked in surprise. He stood silently for a second to allow his algorithms to catch up. "And why would I lie to you?" "Because Sri Lavashki is a pompous brat with no taste for teamwork and Vegabond hates my guts for all the times I disrupted her streak in matches." I watched my radar closely. Two red dots flashed on our flanks before disappearing again. I sent the data to Angelica and Laurentine before returning my attention to Rex. He stood still for a while. His eyes pulsed slightly as he thought of another reply. "I cannot say.... they are the most team oriented individuals... but... I can assure you they want to work with you." "To stab us in the back later. I know, I know." He fell silent. He didn't expect this much resistance from a conversation and it showed in his blank face. "So are you sure they wanted a team group up or just a chance to kill us off later?" Rex slowly moved his hands from his head to his side and back, where his two hand cannons rested. "So... I take it as a no to our offer?" I aimed my gun at his chest. "Unless you can prove me wrong otherwise then yes it's a no." The radar picked up a red dot on my right side, coming straight towards me. I didn't move as Amelia Vegabond burst forth from the trees. She was decked in her extra bulk armor but her helmet was off. Her eyes were a cat yellow normally and a blood red when fighting, as they were now. Her light blue skin and greased back, jet black hair gave her an image that only an Awoken could love and everyone else feared. She stared at me, obviously wanting to pound my face in but she stood still in restraint, not like her "run in and beat the hell out of stuff" personality at all. Rex looked at Amelia then back at me. "If you know her so well then that ought to be at sign of some form of compromise." "I admit it is... surprising... but she still is ready to kill me and I don't like it." Her eyes turned redder at that. She grabbed onto a tree. "Oh... no... I don't want... to kill you.... Squirt... I mean... Josiah... just... chat." Her teeth grinded against each other. She holds grudges well and executes her prey even better. I snorted. "Well that's a lovely idea." She charged me but stop just before she hit me. She stood a head taller than me and glared down at me. Her fists were clenched but by her side. I looked at her for a long while then back at Rex. "What about the other one?" He ran his algorithm for a moment then sent a mumbled message into his radio. Soon Lavashki stepped out into the open on the left. She was a noble born during the Golden Age and her family owned a piece of several research companies. As such, her relatives descendants are still wealthy to this day and she acts like she owns the place. Her tanned skin, hourglass form, and rounded curves make her a girlfriend to covet but no one could last a day with her. Her overly bossy attitude, piercing dark brown eyes, and constant complaints make her the Devil incarnate in the form of the Devils advocate. She looked at me and huffed. She crossed her arms and drummed her fingers. Waiting for my answer. I glanced back at Rex and lowered my gun. "How can I trust any of you?" "That's the beauty of trust. You just do." He continued to look at me. His hands were now resting in front of him, away from his guns. I pondered and spoke in my mic. "What do you to think?" "Well.... they are strong... and its... one less team to be scared off..." Said Angelica in reply. "Tactically I'd say yes... Personally... I'm iffy on the subject." Replied Laurentine. I nodded and looked at Rex. "We are in but if we do disband, we go in opposite directions for an hour before we pursue each other. Make it fair for the rag tag team." I held out my hand. He nodded and shook my hand. "Deal." Sri simply huffed and sat down on a root, filing her nails and reading a tome she produced thanks to her Ghost. Amelia still looked ready to kill but she backed off and sat near the edge of the encampment. Rex ran his algorithm again. "I'm sure we will make an interesting team." "Oh I'm sure..." I replied. A sudden transmission came in on our coms. "Effective immediately. All guardians are now on a team with Rex-574, Josiah Robinsun, Amelia Vegabond, Laurentine Heverson, Sri Lavashki, and Angelica Don a Verte on the other. This is not a drill. Examination scoring is locked and we begin a new drill regarding raid teams. Remember to have fun and blow some heads clean Guardians." We all stood still as the transmission ended. The nightmare has begun. https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/140325512/0/0 link to chapter 8 https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/143640389/0/0 link to chapter 9