The Only Path For Me
By: Chaotic Dream
Inspired by the game Destiny
Chapter I: Details....Details....
“Xyeminath, the captain wishes you to visit his office once we land.” Vin Chimed as I removed my helmet. The recon mission on Venus took longer than expected, but a summons wasn’t normal. “Tell him I’ll be there as soon as we dock” I replied as I prepped for our reentry into Earth’s atmosphere.
The sun had just began to set by the time Vin and I docked at the tower. Finding my civilian clothes I changed out of my armor and headed towards the docking station for check in. The bright lights and constant commotion of people made me always feel uneasy about staying there for too long. There was something about so many people in one place that made me feel lost at sea. After checking in with the docking staff and requesting the proper repairs to my ship I headed back towards the shuttle bay and taxied my ride to headquarters.
I turned down the familiar hallway and stopped at the door that read “Captain Javim Harkreave”. I tapped the door twice and entered the room. I was greeted by the captain who remained seated at his desk. Finding my usual chair I sat and inquired about my summons to report in person.
“Mr. Demarious, I read your full report, excellent work on Venus” said Captain Javim. Javim had always been a kind man to me but his appearance was incredibly deceiving. He was a short man, At least for a human, I thought but very muscular. His hair was dark brown and was kept short and clean, his left eye was blind but the right was a very distinctive green. I always felt he looked like a ghost considering how pale his skin was. While Javim I considered to be very young for his rank (he became captain at only twenty-two), his record was well known throughout the guardians. He had seen many of his short years in battle and the scars on his face proved he knew exactly the horrors of war were like. Rumor had it the scar he bore across the left side of his face was from a hand to hand fight with a Fallen war master during a mission on the moon.
“Sir, many of Vex I encountered on the mission were carrying a different kind of weapon that wasn’t mentioned in the intel” I replied as he skimmed through the incoming reports on his desk.
“Yes, I read that, now you said that instead of the traditional hand cannons and plasma based weaponry we are used to seeing they were employing the use of elemental weapons?” he questioned as he scratched the long jagged scar down his cheek. It always unnerved me the when he did that.
“Indeed, from my observations it seems the enemy employed the use of fire elemental based weapons,” I noted as I began to remember the charred remains of fallen guardians during my mission “It seems as though future teams may need to be ready for elemental combat when facing them in any future excursions.”
“Duly noted, If I have any other questions I’ll forward them to your desk” he nodded. As I began to rise Javim’s eyes followed me as he asked, “How’s that wound of yours?”
“Sir, you know my kind heal quickly it was two months ago anyway” I shrugged.
“I am aware that the Awoken are remarkable healers physically, but still I wonder how that has affected you mentally.”
“If you question my ability to judge or perform under duress-”
“That has nothing to do with it, I am more or less concerned with the fact you always work alone.” I stopped for a moment and considered the captain’s intent before replying.
“Sir with all due respect, I prefer to work alone” I replied slightly annoyed as I turned and began to walk towards the door. Sighing with a hint of frustration Javim responded with what I assumed to be concern. “Guardians are never truly alone.” as I exited his office I took a moment and then replied
“And that’s why I take contracts instead of staying enlisted.”
Upon exiting I took the elevator that led me to the top of the wall’s walkway. I needed the air. I hated being cooped up in those buildings, and I always enjoyed looking at the city from the wall as I walked back to my flat from headquarters. Seeing the Traveller hang over head, it’s quiet yet powerful presence always gave the feeling that even though we were fighting to be back on top of the food chain it picked us for a reason. Walking back from guardian headquarters always was peaceful aside from the occasional sentry bot, or on duty guardian I was left alone to my thoughts as I took my time strolling back to district seven.
District seven was smaller in comparison to the other districts nearby. It was home to businessmen and other upper class individuals, the buildings were beautifully created by some of the best architects this century. many looked like spirals of ice instead of glass. I thought they were interesting on the account that we had only recently been making a rebound. I guess the wealthy never wait. I chuckled to myself during my stroll. I loved visiting here as a child and seeing the how the sun reflected light off the different glass buildings. I never thought after joining the guardians I would be able to afford living amongst the wealthy, but taking on private contracts afforded me my flat just on the outskirts of town. My flat was located on the top floor of a building that faced out towards the Arai Mountains, just north of the city. It was a modest place, unlike many of the more wealthy neighboring buildings, it wasn’t plated in glass but metal and only the windows were the only visible pieces of glass. I remember one time thinking that I perhaps was being too vain to pick a flat in district seven. It’s ideal for getting around, and besides it isn’t like this is completely for vanity, I thought as I took the elevator to my floor.
After entering my flat I immediately turned on the viz hub to listen to the local news as well as provide background noise as I took a shower. The weather report droned on as I toweled off. It seemed rain was on the way. The captain’s remark about my wound gave me pause as I looked at myself in the mirror. I took a moment to fully evaluate myself.
I was a little tall compared to the average Awoken. My hair was black and just long enough to run my fingers through it. Mom loved it when my hair was longer. My eyes were a deep blue, my face had no scars which I thanked my armor for. I had inherited high cheek bones from my mother and had my sharp jaw line from my father. Overall I was slender compared to many of the guardians I encountered however my muscles were well defined after many hours of physical training. My skin was however, a little darker than many of my kind. Just below my last rib on the right side was the scar from my mission on Mars. It was a circular scar the size of two fingers. I was thankful the bullet went clean through after my escape as it would have taken more surgery and recovery time than I would have desired. Even looking at it now I was reminded of my stupid mistake allowing myself to be spotted by a Cabal scout and shook away the memory as I found clothes to finally put on.
Walking back into the main room, Vin’s voice projected from the viz hub.
“Good evening Xye. I take it the talk with Captain Harkreave went well?” sitting on the couch in front of the hub I laid my head back for a moment and replied, “I suppose so, you know that guy is always trying to get me to get out of the contract business and re-enlist, but he did take interest on the fact the Vex were using a different tactic.”
“Well it would be something to note since we don’t have much information on them.”
I sat forward and changed the hub to display my messages. The hologram lit up with lists of contacts I had acquired over my few years of being a contractor. The list had two new messages. The first was from a weapons and armor dealer I knew. Apparently he had new product in and wanted me to come see it. The second was from Javim; it contained details on a escorting mission back to Venus. I had to protect a VIP, and secure whatever data was recovered during the mission. The data was the priority however, the VIP was considered to be of substantial importance. Great, looks like he had a reason for asking me why I work alone. I then motioned and another hologram opened across from it. I began to cross reference data from the guardian network with the location of the assignment. There was no known information on the location labeled as “Lost Ark”. So this place was new territory.... what could the captain possibly want with me escorting someone to an unknown location? I thought as I began to list things I would need to get before heading back to Venus. While I wasn’t worried about protecting someone for a contract, I had done it before, what bothered me was there was no intel on where we were headed as well as why Javim had decided now to ask me about my solo attitude. Going into new territory with someone I didn’t know and I had to protect made this mission a very risky one indeed. However, money and time were of the essence so after sending back my acceptance to Javim I headed to the mass transit shuttle station. First stop, the weapons dealer.