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#Story

9/17/2015 1:03:32 PM
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A Crimson Destiny (Chapter 2)

“So, run it by me one more time Ghost.” He asked his floating companion nervously as he hunkered down behind the remnants of an old sandstone pillar. Moments ago a grenade had rolled slowly up to its base and exploded in a shower of solar energy. He’d been lucky enough to avoid getting hit by the flying debris but the experience had unnerved him. His ghost had tried to reassure him. It had merged with his armoured suit somehow and he thought it made a sound eerily similar to a sigh before its voice filled his ears. ‘If you die, the travellers’ light allows me to reconstitute your genetic structure by destabilising your atomic particles and then re-structuring the combination to eliminate the fatal altercation which caused the termination of your life force.’ He’d felt his mental acuity begin to expand over the last few days as Ikora had said it would, but he still had trouble wrapping his head around the words as his ghost said them. The air around him cracked with a smattering of bullets and the blast of plasma fire as his team mates fought on around him. A message from Lord Shaxx boomed out from somewhere, reverberating around the arena. “The bomb will arrive soon Guardians. Capture it and destroy the enemy rift.” The tone sounded nonchalant, though he thought he could hear a hint of excitement in the undertone. He shook his head and tried to push those thoughts away. One thing at a time. “So when I die, you’ll….restore me to factory defaults?” he asked using an analogy that he felt comfortable with. His Ghost made a beeping and whirring sound which he’d come to understand as its form of laughter. ‘That’s certainly one way of looking at it, Guardian.’ It chirped. Another blast rocked him to the core, the blaring noise occupying his every thought. He could feel the heat of the explosion through the armour that he wore. Moments stretched on and he felt as though his skin was on fire. Then finally, blissfully the heat died down and he looked around to the source of the explosion and could see a hunter lying on the ground ten feet from him, his cloak still simpering away as it faded to burning embers against the body’s armour. Without thinking he rushed over to the body and dragged it by the arms around the corner of the nearest building. He looked down at the body and realised with a breath that it wasn’t Lan. The two hunters wore distinctly different armour. Lan’s helmet was styled after a hawk from old earth whilst this hunter had a helmet with several glowing red orbs which reminded him of an arachnids eyes. The angry red eyes still shone brightly but the body beneath was limp and he brushed off some rubble and dirt from the chestplate to read the engraving underneath. ‘BDB2140’ He hadn’t had much chance to speak to the other Hunter since he’d joined the Crimson Blades and watched with quiet fascination as the Guardians ghost materialised and enveloped him in the glow of its blue hued milieu. It lasted for a few moments as the Ghosts shell seemed to explode into several sections, each seemingly held together by the travellers light. The orb like eye in the centre spun and whirled around in place before both ghost and body vanished into thin air, leaving him to look down at the red sand that he knelt upon with wide eyes. ‘See? It’s simple really. They’ll be back on the ship now.’ His own ghost piped up from inside his helmet. He shook his head as he adjusted to the concept. “Does that mean that we can never die?” he asked his companion. ‘Sadly, no. It takes no small amount of light to restore a Guardian.’ It paused for a moment before continuing, as if it was taking a moment to think. ‘When a Ghost is born it has a finite amount of light. Its every action consumes that light at a pace, so we are taught to seek out guardians from amongst the dead. The travellers light allows them to be rebirthed, recombining their genetic structure and weaving in amongst the genetic make-up elements of the travellers own light, which gives you access to the abilities you now possess.’ As the ghost spoke Morgan peered out from behind the cover that he was behind. There was a lull in enemy fire at the moment and from the corner of his peripheral vision he could see the three Titans; Jin, Mick and DJ moving silently through the ruins of an old scientific facility. They were fluid and cohesive in movement, co-ordinated and in sync. ‘If we don’t find a Guardian, we eventually…die. So we have a symbiotic relationship with the Guardians we revive. The intrinsic light instilled in your genetic makeup allows us to recharge our light. I suppose you could say we feed from your light. The process of recombination, restoring you to your factory defaults, as you so eloquently put it, consumes an inordinate amount of light. We can perform the action several times before both host and symbiote, Ghost and Guardian, become too weak to perform any duties.’ Strangely the ghosts’ explanation seemed logical. He nodded his head and snuck around the corner. The harsh light of the suns above the red planet glared down on them and he looked quickly around for enemies. Finding none he dropped to a knee and performed a quick check on his revolver. Snubbing a catch on the side of the hard steel gun a quick flick of the wrist saw the rotating chamber snap out of position and hang to the side, allowing him to see that in each of the 8 chambers was nestled a large calibre bullet. Satisfied he flicked the revolving mechanism back in place with a click. ‘However, as with the crucible we can perform more revivals than standard, and can restore our light faster than normal. The crucible has the blessing of the speaker and as such ghosts within the arena boundaries are bolstered by the light of the traveller, foregoing the routine operational procedure. Quite simple really.’ The ghost added. He made to agree with his companion when a shadow fell over him, darkening his vision. He looked up to see a large heavily armoured Titan looming above him. His arms were encased in a protective layer of glowing violet hard light as gauntleted hands gripped a Tex Mechanica assault rifle. He knew instantly that it was an opposing guardian, the sage green armour stained with forest patches told him that it was a member of the Vipers, but found that he was frozen in place with shock and unable to react. A low rumbling laugh came from the Guardian standing in front of him and he braced himself for death. He found himself wondering idly how it would feel. He closed his eyes. A heartbeat stretched into eternity as he waited for the blow or bullet that never came. Instead there was a heavy thump as he felt something fall at his feet. He opened his eyes then and found the hawk helmed hunter standing before him, white cloak edged with gold trim whispering gently against the artificial gravity. “On your feet Rook, you’re not going to get much done from down there.” Lan said as he helped Morgan to his feet. He wanted to say something, explain himself or apologise for freezing but he found that his embarrassment had overcome him then and uttered an apology. Before he could acknowledge it though Lan had disappeared into the ruins again and out of sight in one quick motion. He saw the hunter slipping a long bladed knife into a sheath on his arm as he dropped around a corner. Stock still he watched again as the fallen guardians’ ghost repeated the manoeuvre and then there was no trace that a combatant had been there at all. He shook his head and ducked off behind a building to the right. From this position he could see the podium in the centre of the arena where he presumed the bomb would drop. He began to move through the ruined building cautiously. He readied his revolver as he moved from room to room. The building had obviously been a laboratory at some point in time and there were ruined tables still littered with broken beakers and other scientific equipment. A small way ahead of him, through a large crumbling hole in the far wall he could see that the three titans from his team were locked in a firefight with the opposition where they were outnumbered by a man. “Heavy Ammo inbound” came the excited voice of Lord Shaxx. He picked up the pace now as he rushed through the building and leapt out of the hole in the wall. He kicked up dust as he hit the ground hard and skidded to a halt. He was closer to the action now and he’d resolved himself not to flinch again as before, even if it meant elimination. He’d closed the gap and brought his weapon to bear. Squeezing the trigger he sent off two rounds which thudded home into the closest enemy Titan which caused his armour to flare with crackling purple energy. The enemy titan ducked and spun to face the new threat. Without hesitation he returned fire and Morgan felt a dull thud slam against his helmet as a round connected with the hadronic infused steel. Immediately he ducked down to the left and took some cover behind the corner of a nearby building. His breath was ragged as his heart pounded wildly in his chest and he could tell that his knuckles were bone white as they clenched the revolver in a death grip. Adrenaline surged through his veins and he found himself experiencing the strangest combination of excitement and fear. It was strangely invigorating.

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  • He glanced out from behind his cover to see a heavy ammunition pack materialising into existence at the feet of the Viper squad. With a curse he leapt out from behind cover and began to fire in the direction of the opposition. He was shooting from the hip, aiming to hamper rather than injure as he tried to join with his squad. The vipers were too busy fusing the synthesis packs into the rocket launcher bay pod to pay much attention to him. He didn’t know how he knew it but intrinsically he understood that when the pack integrated with the launchers mainframe shells would begin to trans-materialise in the launching bay. His comrades must have taken note of his approach because Mick reared up from behind cover and signalled for him to stay back. He hesitated. From the corner of his eye he could see a Viper Hunter readying the weapon. Time stood still for him then as he watched with a detached sense of awe as the rocket blasted out from its holding and sped towards its target. Simultaneously Mick shot out his hands and crackled with void energy as a brilliant ward of dawn, a barrier ripped from the void, sprang up around the three guardians to encapsulate them in a protective bubble as the rocket exploded against it in a shower of blazing orange beauty. DJ, the stoic and pensive guardian who had the briefest of conversations with him when he’d requested to join the squad stood from his position and calmly gestured towards the podium in the middle of the arena. Morgan followed his outstretched arm and noted that the empty space on the podium was now filled with a giant ball of rippling silver energy which sparked and crackled against the air. Without thinking or looking back he burst out into a wild sprint as he made for the bomb. It didn’t take long for him to close the gap and he looked around briefly for any Vipers that were in pursuit. They still appeared to be locked in combat though and he stood alone beside the weapon. It hung suspended in the air but held no solid shape as it rolled and rotated constantly. It was as if someone had trapped a ball of water in mid-air as he watched it fluidly swirling in place. “What do I do now?” he asked, confused. ‘Simply touch it. You will temporarily absorb the energy until you transfer it to the rift. Or you die. Either outcome will release the energy.’ He was still unnerved by the Ghosts matter of factness as it imparted its wisdom on him. Tentatively he held out an outstretched hand and looked on dumbstruck as the energy jumped from its containment field onto his arm. It raced along the length of his limb and before he knew it he was engulfed in silver light. The strength of it filled his bones with raw power and he felt as though he was ready to explode from holding so much light. His fears subsided then and stillness overcame him as the power flowed through him. In this moment he felt euphoria sweep through him. He closed his eyes and embraced the purity of it for the briefest of heartbeats. A wicked explosion caused him to return to the present and he looked over to the ruins where his clan mates had been holding there ground. The ward of dawn was gone now though as were any traces of the Titans that had been within it. Across the way three of the four enemy clan members still stood, though the Hunter with the launcher was nowhere to be found. Two of the remaining members of the Vipers looked over in his direction and began to sprint towards him in unison, rifles punching out rounds as their boots hit the ground. He returned fire with a single round before his revolver responded with empty clicks. He let out a soft curse and turned on his heel and sprinted off through the buildings. I blip appeared on his HUD to indicate the location of the enemy rift and he thought about making a wild sprint for it but as he calmed his better judgement took hold and he moved away from the marker. The enemy still numbered four strong while his team was down to just two, himself and Lan, who was nowhere to be found. He dodged between and through buildings, never slowing and he could feel the energy begin to build inside of him with each step. A painful spasm began to pulsate in his temple and he stopped in the doorway of a building to assess the situation. “Ghost…” he began. ‘Yes, how remiss of me. If you do not deposit the energy soon the energy buildup will eventually tear you apart, and you will die. Light that powerful is not made to be held by a human vessel for inordinate periods of time.’ It finished with a beep and a whir. “Now you tell me…” he made to reply but his voice trailed off as he saw Lan moving stealthily through a decrepit building not too far away. He was unaware of the enemy Warlock drifting steadily behind him. It looked as if he was moving in for a close range kill. Morgan moved again, hammering his boots against the sand strewn pathway and leapt for the ledge of a crumbled building. As his foot touched it he used it as a springboard and vaulted himself into the air. He was closing the distance between him and his lone remaining clan mate with surprising speed and he channelled some energy into the boosters at the back of his armour to glide the rest of the distance. He was approaching fast now and grabbed hold of the Viper as he slammed into the enemy Warlock with such ferocious force that send them both crashing through a wall beside Lan. He let go of his opponent and the two came to their feet. The opposing warlock brought his pistol to bear but Morgan swayed to the right as a round was fired. His hands took on a mind of their own as they lashed out and disarmed the Warlock, his closed fist hammering into the enemy’s wrist. With a grunt the Warlock dropped his weapon and sent out a right handed jab that smacked against Morgans helmet. The force of the blow staggered him for a moment and his vision swam. When it cleared there was barely time to react to the high kick that was aimed for his visor. Marshalling his strength he stepped into the blow and threw up one arm to protect himself from the blow. He channelled as much of his own energy as he could into his free hand as it lashed forward with incredible speed. Instead of connecting with a closed fist he opened his palm and sent out a wave of destructive void energy. It ripped through the enemy armour in an instant and Morgan could only watch as it tore through the guardian at a terrifying pace. In an instant his body was consumed by the energy as blinding light swarmed his vision. The strength of it cause him to shield his eyes against the visual barrage and when he opened them again there was nothing left but remnants, a burned outline of the place where the guardian had stood before it too vaporised into the ether. “Nice save Rook.” Came the casual acknowledgement from the hunter. He made to reply but was cut off ah a hail of bullets began to shower around them. They both dropped into cover and with a glance Morgan could see that the three remaining Vipers had caught up to them now. He looked around for an exit strategy but it appeared as though he’d collapsed much of the building during his tangle with the Warlock. The pain in his temples was growing stronger with each passing second. It was becoming increasingly unbearable. “Doesn’t look good.” He muttered to Lan as the hunter spun to fire off several rounds. He dropped back down and turned his hawk faced visage on the young Warlock. “Don’t you worry about a thing Rook. Just get ready to move on my mark; straight for the rift, no stopping.” His relaxed tone held an undercurrent of authority to suggest there would be no discussion on the matter. “Roger that.” Seemingly satisfied, Lan turned and slung his Olmolon Scout Rifle behind his back and turned away from the enemy fire. He clasped his hands together and in an instant he began to glow with radiant arc energy. The air sparked and crackled around him as lashes of arc lightning whipped out in wild strikes from his body. Morgan watched as Lan pulled his hands apart, revealing two wicked long blades made of pure arc light. “Finish it Rook.” And with that Lan vanished in the blink of an eye. And then he was amongst the enemies, darting left and right and assaulting them with terrifying power. He didn’t wait to watch the result of the fracas though as he used the diversion to slide out of the door and make one final push for the enemy rift. “Bravo team is closing in on a Rift! Stop them guardians” came the booming voice from Lord Shaxx. He couldn’t stop now though and dared not look behind to see if he was being pursued. The light from within him was growing stronger and stronger and it felt as though it was tearing at his every fibre, every strand of his being. With a gasp he leapt over a fallen column and channelled into his boosters to get some extra lift to carry him up to the next platform. He spun around a corner and could see the rift infront of him. Much like the bomb it was a fluid ever changing state of mass that writhed and seethed with unnatural energy. He slowed on approach as the pain in his temples suddenly reached new heights. He doubled over for a moment, unable to move before making one final push to the rift. He opened his outstretched palm as he neared and the light from the weapon that he carried rushed out of him in an instant to fill the void. The pain from his head was gone in an instant and brilliant white light surrounded him as the Rift imploded in a shower of sparks and pure light. The implosion lasted mere seconds before it was gone and he was left to stand alone in the harsh red glow of his surroundings.

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