The Echo Saga || "Errands" #8 || Night's Watch

[u]ERRANDS[/u] A few minutes later, Echo walked out of the tent, and searched for Validus. As his eyes roamed the encampment, a voice behind him said "Are you looking for me?" Startled, Echo turned around and saw Validus standing on top of a rock, holding a heavy shotgun. "Actually, I am" Echo walked towards the rock, while Validus jumped off it. They sat down next to eachother, in a way that they could still see the tents. "So, what's the matter, Echo? You can't sleep?" Echo chuckled. "No, I haven't even tried yet. I was looking for someone to talk with, and not him" Echo pointed towards Caesar, who was trying for the seventh time to send a message to the Vanguard. "I'd imagine that you've been through quite a lot together. But I guess that's exactly the problem?" Echo nodded. For a while, the looked at the Martian sky, in silence. Then, it was Echo who spoke. "I regret coming here. I mean, I'm not afraid of a good adventure, but I wasn't prepared for this. When I walked through that transfer gate, I-" Echo laughed when he saw Validus' look. "It's a long story. Anyways, I thought I was escaping from the boredom of Venus, by doing some errands on Mars. Everything was better than Venus, I thought. I was wrong. Terribly wrong" "I have the same feeling, Echo. When we were sent here, we thought it was just a small change in the Vex's algorithm, which made them more agressive. Suddenly, Mars became a forbidden zone!" Validus grinned a bit when he thought about it, although the subject wasn't really that funny. Perhaps, as you become more and more isolated, your sense of humour detoriates too? The silence returned, as both Guardians thought about the things that had happened since they arrived on Mars. "Val, I'm afraid I have to tell you something. I understand that Cosmo was your friend?", Echo suddenly said. "He was our third man in the Fireteam, before Alzer replaced him. He's now working with the Redjacks" Echo sighed. "I'm afraid I have to correct you there. He WAS working with the Redjacks. He's dead, ambushed by the Vex on Venus. I'm sorry, Val" Validus punched the rock he was sitting against, and Arc Light erupted from his hands, almost hitting Echo. "He was a capable soldier, and a good friend. It saddens me that the end of our friendship had to be like this. How did I not know about this?" "I only found them after Alzer told me of a missing team of Redjacks. I went to check it out, and stumbled upon the Virgo Prohibition on Venus. I didn't have time to get to the surface. I... just don't understand why the Prohibition would be on Venus... Their Pattern is truly a mystery to us all" Validus closed his fists once again, Arc energy channeling through his body now. "Oh, but their Patterns won't protect them forever. I will find the Mind who is responsible for this, and make sure that it understands that NOBODY MESSES WITH MY FRIENDS!" Validus was shouting now, and the usually calm and peaceful Titan was now on the brink of unleashing his Fist of Havoc. Echo laid a hand on Validus' shoulder in a poor effort to comfort him, but quickly withdrew it after he got shocked. After a few seconds, the Titan started to calm down. Instead of shouting, he just buried his head in his hands, and said: "I'm sorry, Echo. It's not your fault, and I shouldn't get carried away like this. But I can assure you that I will support this expedition, if it means that Cosmo will be avenged" "It's alright, Val. I understand that it's frustrating to lose your loved ones. " Validus stood up, ready to start patrolling the surroundings of their encampment. "I didn't take you for a person who would know anything about that" Echo looked at the dark horizon. "More than you will ever realize, Val..." When he saw Validus walking away, he quickly stood up and followed. For a while, they walked in silence. Finally, Echo said something. "I think I know what you need, Val. A good fight would do wonders! Think about it! Using your shotgun to tear up some Goblins, punch a few Vandals into desintegration... What do you think? Good idea?" Although Echo's intent was good, it sounded a little bit forced. Echo knew this as soon as he said it, and cursed himself for being this socially awkward. Validus' face showed no expression. "Perhaps" Once again, silence returned, but not for long, as Echo tried to start the conversation again. "Talking about fighting, your shotgun looks quite heavy? It packs a punch, I suppose?" Before Validus could do anything, Echo had already taken the gun out of his hands. However, he almost immediately dropped it, because of its weight. "What the Traveler? What is this thing made of? Lead?" Validus took the gun back. "No, but it has been modified by me for shots with extreme power. I only know of one other Guardian, a Titan of course, who can handle this thing when fired" Echo, glad that the ice was (somewhat) broken, grinned. The two Guardians continued their tour around the circle of grey tents, chattering about various things. They avoided the heavy subjects, like death, and focused more on more light-hearted things, like the Cryptarch and his incapability of decrypting Engrams. Suddenly, Echo went silent. Surprised, Validus looked at him, and was about to ask why they had stopped talking (as they were having an incredibly interesting conversation about whether you were supposed to eat Eris' raisins, or keep them until the next Festival of the Lost), but then Echo whispered: "On your right hand side. The third dune. Something stirs in the dark" Validus was a well-trained Guardian, and saw a little bit of movement from the corner of his eye without even moving his head. "Yeah. Do you think they can see us?" "Probably. I doubt they can hear us though", said Echo, as they pretended to continue walking. "Cabal or Vex?" Echo thought for a bit. "My built-in helmet sensors will need some time to indentificate the enemy. Do you have a Patrol Beacon here?" "What?! Why would you need that?" "Yes or no? We don't have much time!" Echo's voice sounded urgent now. Validus took a small device that was clipped on his belt and gave it to Echo. "Here. Now what's your plan?" Echo crouched down, and planted the Patrol Beacon in the ground. He soon started typing information on it's little display. "Buy us some time" After a minute, Echo stood up again, and gestured Validus, who was looking cautiously at the red Martian dunes, to come with him. "Stealth Vandals. I assume that they're Wolves, trying to raid whatever they can, using the chaos of the aftermath of the Vex's assault" "I see. You need to warn the others. I'll stay here, to hold them off if they try anything" Echo laughed, maybe a bit too loud. "Alright, I'll sacrifice myself to warn them. You get to have all the fun" "Keep it down! They can probably hear us now. And Stealth Vandals are lead by a Captain, who usually knows a few words of English" Echo started to walk away from Validus, towards the sleeping tent. "Perfect", he muttered, and then almost shouted: "Bye, Val, I'm going to sleep now. See you tomorrow!" If it weren't for the approaching Fallen, Validus would've facepalmed. Instead, he turned arouns and readied his shotgun. The last Echo saw of Validus, before he disappeared behind a dune, was the Titan pumping his heavy weapon. With a big smile on his face, Echo headed towards the encampment. TO BE CONTINUED [spoiler]More stories will be added onto the main page, which I will link here. https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/226647634?sort=0[/spoiler] [spoiler]This was a hard chapter to write, as it features little to no action. Sorry![/spoiler]