Log 1.02: Tunnels Beneath Clovis Bray Facility: Meridian Bay: Mars

Two guardians walk down a dark tube way, the only light emanating from their two ghosts floating next to them like beacons of futile hope in an otherwise oppressively grim atmosphere. "Why are we here again?" Yedrix asked, helmed face gleaming in the illuminating glow of his ghost. "It's Braytech, there's always something new to find," Ava replied auto-rifle held aloft. "Ok, but what are we looking for exactly?" Yedrix asked fusion rifle pointed downwards in an ineffectual show of arms that only highlighted his role as a scholar, not a soldier. "You're the Warlock, you tell me," Ava replied. "Nih was the only one briefed on what we were here for," Yedrix replied. "Then why did you think I would know what it was?" Ava replied confused and annoyed. Yedrix paused "....fair point." The omnipresent darkness of the unending, bowel-like tunnels of Old Mars served to highlight how very alone the two guardians were. Wreckage and debris covered the labyrinthian twists and turns of the ominous maze, and Yedrix couldn't help but feel that every glint and flash of metal reflecting Spica's beam of light was a Vex in waiting. "Have I ever told you how much I hate the Vex," Yedrix complained. "You might have mentioned," Ava said coyly. "I woke up in a Vex ruin when Spica found me," Yedrix explained. "That so?" Ava asked though she'd heard the story before. "That means I was killed by the Vex in my first life." Yedrix surmised. "Or you died before the Vex got here and they happened to build a spot over where you died." Ava proposed. "Awoken didn't spring up till after the collapse, how could I exist pre-collapse?" Yedrix questioned. "Don't know, though maybe this isn't something you should keep looking into?" Ava cautioned. "That means a terrified version of me met his end, helpless at the hands of a robotic force far greater and more powerful than he could have ever faced." Yedrix continued ignoring the warning. "What happened to empathizing with your enemy?" Ava asked. "How can you empathize with the Vex? They're machines hellbent on killing us all." Yedrix said concerned. "I am a machine..." Spica commented. "Yeah, but you don't want to kill us," Ava replied. "You're on my side?" Yedrix asked confused. "Generally yes," Ava replied. "You can't reason with the Vex. Empathy only works if you think there's a chance the other side can reciprocate the emotion." Yedrix explained. "You think the Fallen care about us?" Ava asked irritated. "They're angry that they were abandoned, I can comprehend that emotion. Anger can be assuaged, bridges can cross that gap, but the Vex? How do you reason with an unfeeling machine?" Yedrix asked kicking a piece of scrap out his way? "Logic?" Spica proposed? "Math." Ava's ghost, Luna, spoke up. "We have friends who are machines, we don't have friends who are spiders. How can you feel more compassion for something you have no experience with?" Ava asked. "The machines we know have feelings, they're people with lives, so are the Fallen, so are the Cabal. They have thoughts, families even, they see what they're doing as the right thing, just like we do. The Vex don't feel, there's no emotion, no morals, just actions." Yedrix explained. "And the Hive?" Ava inquired. "That's a separate issue," Yedrix answered. "I agree. But I want to hear your thoughts on it, your talking helps keep my mind off the fact we're miles beneath thousands of tons of sand and heading towards what amounts to an ambush and rescue operation for our hunter who has stopped responding over the coms." Ava said. Yedrix paused, concerned for his teammate and responded somberly. "You think he'll be ok?" "Not sure, keep talking, we need to focus on getting there as soon as possible right now, worry is only going to slow us down," Ava replied. "The Hive scare me." Yedrix finally said. "Yeah me too," Ava said softly. "The Fallen I get, anger, indignation at the loss of their god, that makes sense to me. The Cabal, conquering new territory, expanding the empire, that's harder; its hard to redirect that, but I get it, they're following orders, trying to advance their civilization, that's basically what we do right? The Vex, that's really hard. Unfeeling machines bent on their own unknowable aims, you can't change that, can't really convince them that they're wrong, but maybe you can give them a new task, I'm not sure. But the Hive? Shit, what do you with that. Sadists bent on eradicating us for the sake of doing it. No rhyme, no reason, just hatred, and evil. You can't reason with the Vex because you don't speak their language, they aren't alive per se; but the Hive they are alive, they have thoughts, consciousness, but they choose to kill everything anyway. It's not that they're unfeeling, it's that they take pride in hurting others, there is no talking to that, no redirection, just defense." Yedrix postulated. "Stop talking," Ava ordered. "I thought you wanted me to talk?" Yedrix asked confused. "Look ahead. Guys, turn your lights off." Ava commanded. In front of the guardians, perhaps a hundred feet ahead, floated two oblong pillars of white light, breaking the oppressive darkness. The ghosts switched off their lights and the two guardians halted, waiting to see what these two lights would do next. "Radiolarian?" Yedrix guessed. "That's my thought," Ava replied. "Where're the red eyes?" Yedrix asked. "They're probably off, dormant, waiting for someone to come to near," Ava said. "We're getting close then." Yedrix surmised. "Or the Vex are all over these tunnels and this is an advance guard." Ava countered. "Spica how far off is Nihilo?" Yedrix asked. "It's hard to tell. Something is obscuring his signal." Spica replied. "Best guess?" Ava asked. "That's the thing, we should be on top of him right now, but he isn't anywhere here, the Vex must be scattering his signal. Spica explained. "No." Ava decided. "No?" Yedrix asked perplexed. "Stand back," Ava ordered. "What are you doing?" Yedrix asked confused. He didn't have to wait long for an answer though. Blue arcs of electric light danced across Ava's fist as she raised it high into the air, then with a tremendous power and unbelievable speed, smashed it into the ground, atomizing the floor beneath the guardians, and sending them plummeting into a large, dimly lit room, packed to the brim with Vex.