Sierra's First Day Pt4

Part Four "I am going to hate every moment I spend with you," I muttered. "I love you, too," John responded, seeming to wink with his single eye. With a sigh I slouched back in the pilot's seat and stared out the window as we flew over miles of overgrown Earth. It was beautiful, despite the sense of loss felt every time I glimpsed buildings through the strangling foliage. But at least the aliens had only destroyed what man had made and let the Earth's creations thrive. The planet wouldn't fall like humanity did, and we would take it back to watch over its growth as we once had; I felt certain about this as John called my attention to the front-facing window. Before us sprawled another city, but this one still clearly buzzed with life and stood intact amongst the forestry and mountains surrounding it. A massive wall was built just around the perimeter of this human paradise, but what caught my attention and held it was the massive orb hovering above the center of it all. It must have been the size of a moon, but no gravity effected the space around it and many lived directly underneath without fear. At the mere sight of the Traveler I felt a warmth grow within me; a sense of safety, calmness, and strength that increased the closer we came. I knew this was the Traveler John had spoken of without having to ask. However, to my dismay, I spotted scars across the lower portion of the great sphere; portions of its metal shell torn away. My fists clenched in my lap and I felt anger towards the aliens swell once again. Soon we were cruising above the buildings at a slower pace than before, heading towards a lone tower rising far above the other structures around it. John spoke with someone on the radio about docking and our ship, but I didn't really care to listen as I took everything in. Thousands of people milled about on the streets below; normal, everyday people who remembered who they were and where they had come from. I thought about them and looked back to the Traveler, a thought being pushed into my mind as I did so: I was brought back to protect these people. The feeling of realizing my purpose soothed my mind as we drifted towards a massive hangar located within the tower I had spotted earlier. We were greeted on the radio by a woman that assured us my ship was in good hands and would be ready for flight promptly. That's when John finally started explaining the landing procedure. "Alright, remember how I made you "poof" onto the ship earlier?" John asked, then carried on after I nodded in response, "That's called a transmat, and that's how you're leaving the ship." "Where the hell are you going to put me?" I questioned suspiciously. "There's a designated transmat zone on the top level of the Tower, I literally cannot put you anywhere else without getting yelled at by someone," John grumbled, disappointment apparent in his voice. "Alright, let's get this over with," I ordered, satisfied with his answer. "Okay, now hold still, I'll make you appear standing up and we don't want your first step in the City to be the beginning of a face plant," John explained. Right after he finished I felt the familiar tingling sensation move through my body as my vision was washed with white. Before I could get a bearing on my new surroundings I felt the world flip over and my back slam against the ground, a weight settling down on top of me. As everything began to come into focus around me I found myself pinned underneath a man in the middle of a bustling courtyard. Others stopped to stare or laugh as the man on top of me began to push himself up, holding a hand to his head where it had hit the ground. But once he noticed me under him he ogled for a moment, seeming to wonder who I was and why I had appeared so suddenly in front of him. To my infuriation, his eyes took on an admiring look as he gazed at me, no longer trying to get up. "Are you okay?" he began with a flirtatious grin, "Because falling from Heaven must ha-" My fist collided with his face before he could finish the crumby pickup line and sent him rolling off of me. As I sat up and dusted myself off, I saw a few of the women observing me looking on with approving grins while the men just laughed at the scene before them. Idiots. The man I had hit got up as I did, but backpedaled too quickly and fell to the ground again when I glared at him. That was met by another laugh from the crowd, but it ceased as my stare snapped up to them. I walked away through the dispersing gathering and didn't speak until I was sure none of them would hear me. "John," I growled. "Yes angel?" John answered merrily, referring to the pickup line from earlier as he floated in front of me. Barely holding back the urge to yell at him or snack him out of the air, I continued. "What happened to not messing with me?" I inquired. "Well there's just so many people moving around in the transmat space that it's near impossible to put you down in a decent spot," John explained, "You're lucky you didn't appear inside someo-" "Bull!" I roared, "If everyone else was moving around without slamming into someone you should've been able to do the same with me!" "I am just as capable of running transmat coordinates as any other...Ghost," he slowed as he realized that his words had revealed that it had been a prank. "You better quit before I scrap you, I am getting tired of you pulling all this-" I began. "Okay! Sheesh, no need to break the PG boundary! Potty mouth," John interrupted me, "It was a harmless joke." "Tell that to my reputation and the guy I punched," I snapped. "Oh please, more embarrassing stuff than that happens all the time at the Tower, if anything slugging him boosted your reputation. Plus his Light healed his face up right away," John retorted. "Why did I let you bring me here when I knew you would make me look bad in front of the first people I met?" I asked in exasperation. "Oh that reminds me, we're here to see that Vanguard," John exclaimed, then began drifting away with me in close pursuit, "They're in charge of all the Guardians." He lead me across the courtyard, past vendors and lush plants grown in controlled rows along some of the stairways. Coming down a stairwell that lead to the Tower's interior, I found myself looking down a hallway occupied by a couple of vendors and clusters of armored persons around them. Ghosts floated around over their heads, so I assumed these warriors were more Guardians. One of the vendors they surrounded was a robot, while the other was a mountain of a man. Past all of them the hallway opened up into what looked like a meeting room where I could see three people gathered around a table in deep conversation. "Looks like Shaxx has his hands full right now," John thought aloud, and I followed his gaze to the massive vendor, "That's the Vanguard at the end of the hall." With a nod of acknowledgement I moved down the hallway, past Shaxx and the robot, then down a few small steps to the large table. The three continued to talk amongst themselves, seeming to be arguing a bit, and I crossed my arms in annoyance at their obliviousness to me. "Hey," I called curtly, and they finally stopped, looking to me in surprise. One was a woman, wearing a long robe and holding books in her arms, staring curiously at me with observant green eyes set in her dark-skinned and short-haired head. Second in the group was a man in bulky red and white armor with blue skin that seemed to glow faintly, his expression remained stern and rigid as he observed me with sharp blue eyes. Finally came a man made of blue and white metal with a horn attachment protruding from his forehead, wearing light armor as well as a brown cloak. "Yes, Huntress?" the woman asked, taking in the knife that now rested in a holster on my hip. _____________________________________ Link to Pt 3: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/222290553/0/0 Link to Pt 5: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/222290776/0/0 Link to ToC: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/212710816/0/0