Destiny: Legend Untold, Chpt 14 Pt 4

[u]Chapter Fourteen: Bread Crumbs[/u] Part Four "Rush, did you get that hand cannon out of the Vault like I asked earlier?" I asked as I bounded off of a row of rusted cars, rethinking how I would be putting myself at point-blank range with these Dreg. "Yes, I'm not incompetent," Rush responded, jokingly defensive. Without a word I let my scout rifle fade away and summoned a hand cannon to my grasp. It was a large pistol, holding ten rounds in its rotating barrel that were intended for high impact at close-range use. There was nothing special about it, just a simple grey model with no special attachments, but I had felt comfortable wielding it when I bought it off of Banshee. At the base of the stairs there was a shallow pool of water coating a large stretch of ground, making it near-impossible to sneak up on anything even if they hadn't seen me coming. Using my motion tracker, I found that the unharmed Dreg was still behind the signs on the stairs, and slowly crept up to them with cannon held level. Flipping around one of the rectangular obstacles, I found nothing waiting for me on the other side, but my motion tracker still showed something within a few feet of me. Realizing that the Dreg had snuck around as I did, I still wasn't able to react fast enough to move before a Shock Dagger bounced off of my protective shielding. Without a moments hesitation I stepped out of stabbing range and turned, putting a round in the Dreg's head that sent it crashing to the ground with force. [i]And then there were two[/i], I thought to myself as my eyes found the wounded Dreg, still lying behind the car and groping for the Shock Pistol that lay just outside of reach in the shallow pool of water they rested in. Holstering my cannon on my hip, I walked over to the Dreg, its hand moving more desperately as it saw me approaching. Kicking the gun away, I went down on my knee next to the alien. As expected, it made a weak slash at me with a dagger it had been hiding in its other hand, and I swatted it out of its grasp with ease. It was unable to resist as I took a look at where my shot had landed. Finding the puncture in its stomach, I sighed sadly as I realized it would suffer greatly if left to die to this wound. I willed my helmet away, looking the Dreg in the eyes in hope that it could understand what it saw in my expression. Drawing my cannon and holding the barrel just a few centimeters away from its face but outside of its field of vision, I saw the same pain and anger as in every other I had killed. The Dreg closed its eyes in acceptance of what was about to happen, but I doubted that it understood that I felt regret and pity towards it. Closing my eyes as well, I pulled the trigger, letting the hiss of ether exploding outwards signal that the deed was done. "No remark on how weird I am?" I asked Rush as I walked up the stairs, away from the dead Fallen behind me. "You'll talk about what just happened whenever you're ready to, I won't bother you about that," Rush responded cautiously after a moment of thought. I passed through the doorway into the building at the top of the staircase to find everything overgrown with a gaping hole torn through the wall and the floor, making a ramp leading further into the structure. The other doors were all sealed tight. "Thank you," I acknowledged Rush's consideration, then walked down into the dark. It was a wreck. Smashed chunks of columns and toppled cabinets littered the ground, which was under a few inches of water. Only a few flickering lights illuminated this underground passage, leading me down the eerie tunnel. Nothing stirred but the plant's dangling from the ceiling in the damp funnel of air and the ripples of water made by each of my steps. Weaving my way around both Fallen and standing pillars, I came around a corner a short way through the desolate hallway that revealed a source of natural light. Just like the entrance, a hole had been busted through the structure that created a ramp, allowing me to come back up to ground level. The scene that awaited me was puzzling. There were more bodies littering the ground, but they weren't Fallen. They were mechanical; bronze in color and formed of curved and slick sections. Splotches of some white liquid coated the ground around each body and appeared to come from a small tank making up the stomach region. The damage was from human bullets and clearly the abilities of a Guardian, letting me know that he had been through here. Looking around more, I noticed that all three stories of platforms lining this ovular room housed bookshelves completely hiding the walls, loaded with decaying books. A statue stood in the center of the area, depicting a woman in a robe who bore wings and a book, with one arm stretched upwards. Examining it, I realized that there had been one exactly like it just in front of the entrance to this building, but I had been too preoccupied at the time to notice. "This was the Ishtar Collective," Rush thought aloud, appearing at my shoulder and looking around with me. "Jewel of Venus," I breathed, realizing I stood in the most appraised science center of the Golden Age. "We need to get the Warlocks in here. They could have so much still; books, data files, recor-" I was cut off abruptly as I stumbled over the severed leg of one of the machines. "That is, if the Fallen and whatever these are haven't cleared everything out," Rush pointed out. "Do we have anything on them in the City records?" I inquired, nudging the metal limb with my toe. "Absolutely nothing, not even in the...wait," Rush paused, "That terminal I accessed earlier for the Sparrow link, it had something. I didn't notice at the time because of the Skiff." "What do we have?" I prodded him. "Nothing much, just that they are indestructible war machines that can teleport," Rush reported. "So much for indestructible," I inspected the damaged chasis. "Indestructible can have meaning other than the durability of a body," a voice called from behind us. Rush and I turned to find a figure clad in blues and greys standing behind us, glowing blue eyes looking out from under her hood. The Stranger. "Oh boy, here we go again," Rush rolled his eye. ________________________________ Link to Ch14 Pt3: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/229276518/0/0 Link to Ch14 Pt5: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/229276832/0/0 Link to ToC: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/212710816/0/0