Into the Shadows Chapter 4: Symbiosis

[url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/251605027/0/0]Previous Chapter[/url] [Spoiler][Music: Rise of Iron soundtrack: Brave the Storm][/Spoiler] Giant’s starship, [i]The Avenging Eagle[/i] streaked across the sky as a torrent of snow battered the ship’s front viewport. “Visibility’s minimal.” He said. “Echo, are the scanners operational?” “Scanners are Online and fully functional,” Echo replied, “we have a full readout of the surrounding area.” “Replay the message again.” The transmitter crackled as the message was replayed. “Thanks for the intel, Guardian,” a voice said, “Sorry I can’t thank you in person, but I have business to attend to. You wanted information on Keksis, so here you go. “Ever hear of Keksis, the Betrayed? That was his father. Ever since the Guardians killed him in the Prison of Elders he’s sworn vengeance not only on humanity but the Eliksni who put him there, especially Variks. He’s been against all types of authority, which led him to leave the House of Devils and throw in with the Splicers. He soon found out they weren’t any different, so he gathered a crew of loyal followers and went rogue. The Vanguard didn’t see one rogue crew of splicers as a threat, so nobody knows where he went after that. however, I do know his comm signature.” “Play the next message, Echo,” Giant said. The calm, austere voice of Zavala spoke in the message. “Guardian, we triangulated the coordinates using the comm signature you gave us, and we’ve picked up the signal of this Captain you’ve told us about. Our scouts tell us he is near an old Warmind Vault in the Appalachian mountains of Old America. You know my position on stirring up trouble, but if this Captain is as you say, then I give you permission to pursue this course of action. Good luck.” “We’re coming up on those coordinates now.” Echo said when the recording ended. “Prepare for transmat.” In an instant, Giant‘s feet hit the ground of the snowy Appalachian forest. It was quiet, no animals or any lifeform for that matter were nearby. This bothered him a little, and he hated going to the moon for this exact reason. “This doesn’t make sense.” He said, surveying the surrounding forest. “Even In winter, there should be some form of life around.” “Perhaps the big, scary ship drove them away?” Echo joked. “Possibly, but even then there should be an insect or two.” Giant wondered. “Let’s get moving. This gives me the creeps.” [spoiler][Music: Rise of Iron soundtrack: Ascension][/spoiler] They made their way up the frozen slopes of the mountain, trekking through the ankle-deep snow. “Why don’t you use your sparrow?” Echo said. “Too risky,” Giant replied. “It would either cause an avalanche or alert the splicers to our presence. We need to be quiet, and unseen.” Soon, they faced the large vault door, which although open, was still very imposing. Inside, no lights were on, and it was almost pitch black darkness. “Well, looks like someone finally remembered to cut off the lights when they left,” Giant observed. “Nice to know somebody cares about unnecessary power consumption.” Echo lit up the path as the Exo steadily advanced into the vault. The place was a mess. There were scattered parts of various machinery, tanks of fuel strewn about across the floor, and some sparks from cut wires fell from the ceiling. “Forget what I said. These guys are pigs.” Giant said. A few more rooms in and he entered a large chamber, as messy as the rest. “Hey, look,” Echo turned towards a small doorway breaking off into a different room, “it must be a hidden doorway. How did they find [i]that[/i]?” As they entered the room, Giant felt a chill run down his spine. “I don’t like this...” he said, cautiously. They walked up to the monitor in the middle of the chamber. “This monitor has been accessed recently,” Echo said after a short scan, “[i]very[/i] recently.” “Wait, Then that must mean-“ Giant was cut off by a sudden [i]THUMP[/i] from behind him. “Hello there.” A deep, rough voice said. “Keksis...” Giant spat as if the very words were poison. “Ah yes, Giant-1, is it?” Another voice, calm, and automated as if were through a telephone...or robot. The Exo turned around, but no one else was there except Keksis. “Oh I’m sorry, did I confuse you?” The other voice continued. “It’s perfectly normal, You see, I’m the voice inside his head, so it looks like he’s the one speaking. You can call me Omega. Or don’t. It doesn’t matter to me.” “Wait, are you a ghost?” “What? No, of course not. I am an ‘artificial intelligence’ (ugh, I [i]hate[/i] that term) but I’m no ghost. I’m more along the lines of a....Warmind. Yes, That’s what you humans call them.” “A Warmind?” Echo said, “Like Rasputin?” “But without all of the misguided benevolence for humanity, yes.” “Isn’t that what a Warmind does? Protect humanity?” “Usually. but I have a higher calling. A new purpose” “And what’s that?” “The destruction of the human race.” Suddenly, Giant was aware that they weren’t the only ones in the room. Several Vandals were hanging from the ceiling, their rifles pointed right at him. He instinctively drew his cannons and fired, taking out a few of them, but they fired back, hitting him square in the chest. “Agh! Echo, get us out of here!” He shouted. “I can’t! Our signal is being jammed!” Keksis chuckled as he walked towards him. “You’re not taking me alive this time!” Giant said. “I don’t need to.” [spoiler][Music: Destiny soundtrack: The Fallen[/spoiler] Keksis swung, but Giant dodged the attack and slid under him, making a break for the exit. “Don’t let him escape!” The Captain boomed. Giant dashed through the long corridors of the vault, dodging incoming fire from the fallen that emerged from their hiding places. When he had reached the entrance to the vault, he found a captain waiting for him, a scorch cannon in his hands. The Captain was about to fire at him, when suddenly his head exploded, a fountain of ether bursting from his corpse. Giant looked to see where the shot came from. He could see a lone figure perched up in the trees, a rifle in hand. It leaped down and shot at a vandal behind him. “That’s two you owe me, Tinny.” The figure, an Awoken woman said. “I told you not to call me that.” He replied with a frown. “I know,” She replied. “I just wanted to mess with ya.” Giant laughed. “Well, What brings you here, Ashla?” “Who do you think topped you off to that roach’s location?” “You? A vanguard scout?” “Sure. I don’t need special powers to get the job done. It’s not like I’m killing gods out here. I get things done the old fashioned way: At a good distance.” The sound of a fallen war cry could be heard from within the dark recesses of the Warmind Vault. “But, of course, sometimes I need to make a fast escape.” She continued, “come on, I have a ride that we can take to a safe transmat zone.” “Lead the way.” [b][i]——————————————————[/i][/b] [Several hours Later] “So...what’ve you been up to?” The two sat near a makeshift fire, providing some needed warmth from the cold Appalachian winter. “After the Red War I signed up for the City Militia.” Ashla explained. “I didn’t want to just sit around and wait for something to happen. I wanted to actually [i]do[/i] something.” Giant raised a metal eyebrow. “I wasn’t aware that City Militia were allowed to leave the City...” “I pulled some favors. Asked around. Since the Red War was won by non-risen like us, the Vanguard let me be a scout.” “You would’ve done it whether they said yes or no.” “I couldn’t let you have all the fun.” The Exo laughed. “I guess you’re right. You’ve shown me that you don’t need the light to get things done.” He looked down at the ground nervously. “Truth be told...I’ve missed you. It gets lonely out here sometimes.” She put a hand on his shoulder. “I missed you too.” “Excuse me,” Echo interrupted. “We need to find a way out of here.” Giant stood up. “Echo’s right. The Splicers will find us soon if we don’t move.” “There’s an old town just north of here,” Ashla said. “We can safely transmat from there.” “Okay then.” Giant replied. “Let’s ride.” ——————————————————— [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/252197341/0/0]Next Chapter[/url] [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/251999575/0/0]Masterpost[/url]