Delta B1 Ch13: The Informant Part 4

Delta’s head was swimming with questions. He was about to ask another, when a little girl with blonde hair came running up to him. “Hi robot!” she greeted, clearly excited to meet another exo. Delta found the situation uncomfortable, but he didn’t want to drive the girl away. “Hello, little one. What’s your name?” “Rosie!” she replied, proud to announce her name. “Can robot dance?” Delta grew uneasy. This was dangerous territory he found himself in. He tried desperately to find the words that would aid him, but none came. Luckily, Echo came to his rescue. “Rosie, darlin’,” Echo interrupted, “the robot and I must talk, but I promise I’ll come see you later.” The girl was clearly disappointed, but went along with it. “Okay Mr. Echo.” She turned to wave at Delta. “Bye bye robot!” she called as she skipped away to join back in the fun. “You are pretty good with children,” Echo observed. Delta shook his head. “I have never spoken to a child before.” Echo shrugged. “I love the youngsters. They are so innocent and pure. It is why we must protect them from aliens and people like the Defense. And sometimes, even ourselves.” Delta suspected there was more behind that last part, but decided it was not something he should press based on Echo’s expression. He decided to bring the conversation back to their origins. “So… how is that possible? For Yazan to make us, I mean. Nobody alive today can even comprehend the complexity of exos.” This time it was Keis’ turn to finally speak. “They could in the Golden Age. Yazan’s father was a lead engineer on the exo project. His son stole vital blueprints and data pertaining to our composition.” Delta was confused. “How do you know that?” he asked Keis, but he remained silent, likely having blanked again. “If I’m not mistaken,” Echo suggested, “Yazan’s father had a hand in Keis’ creation. I would guess that makes him your cousin or somethin’.” Delta looked over at Keis in surprise, but he remained unresponsive. “Echo, I must know, what happened to me?” The old exo paused, looking behind him as the people in the background laughed and danced. “You did what I assume you would do for these people here. You saved lives. After your completion you went through a number of rigorous tests to see just how deadly you were. The results were apparently staggerin’. It was only after these tests that I was brought online. They did not hesitate to put me through field tests, but not you. Yazan wanted to make sure you were perfect. I was built lighter and faster than you…” Echo stopped momentarily, flipping the knife around in his hand once more. “I was built to be an assassin. At first I wanted nothin’ to do with it and failed my first mission, so they did somethin’ to me. Put somethin’ in my mind that made me more compliant. I did terrible things…” He paused again, images of his kills flashing before his eyes. Echo shook his head and continued. “Many more of us were built after that. Foxtrot, Golf, Juliet, Oscar, Whiskey, Yankee… If you couldn’t tell already, our names were derived from the phonetic alphabet used by an old, irrelevant coalition of governments the ancients used to call “NATO”.” Delta was having a hard time keeping up. Echo took one look at Delta’s face and laughed. “What can I say? History was always my thing. Anyway, that’s when the Collapse hit. I haven’t the slightest clue how the hell the world ended, as we were kept in a secured bunker durin’ the whole thing, but the world was a grim place after that.” Echo stopped again to let Delta comprehend the information, then kept going. “After many, many long years, Yazan is dead and the Defense superiors decide it’s time to take a peek out into the world. All they found was an overrun planet, but the Traveler still hung in the air and the survivors were tryin’ to make it to the alien sphere. Apparently there was a leader there. A man trying to unite the remnants of humanity under the Traveler.” Echo suddenly became more serious. “This is where you come in. The Defense, though significantly diminished thanks to the collapse, held on to their beliefs. It became apparent that the Traveler was done for, but this leader, or “Speaker” as they came to call him, still represented the Traveler. So, they sent you and what soldiers they had left to eliminate him, right there under the Traveler.” Delta was on the edge of his seat. “You don’t mean THE Speaker, do you?” Echo nodded. “I do.” Delta couldn’t believe it. “So what happened?” Echo finally sheathed his knife. “You decided to join a more noble cause. Mid-operation, you killed the soldiers and defused the bomb they had planted. Not only did you save the Speaker and countless refugees, but the Last City was able to rise thanks to you. When you returned, they wiped your memory and stored you away forever, but the damage was already done. The Defense began to fall apart, and you inspired me, Delta. I decided I would not be their slave any longer. I broke into a research lab, restored my mind to its original state, then hightailed it outta there. Never looked back since.” Delta sat back in his chair, overwhelmed by the information overload. He had no idea his past was so complicated. He shook his head, then looked over at Keis. Blanc had appeared and was bumping the Warlock’s helmet, trying to snap him out of his trance. Delta chuckled at the sight. “It’s a lot of information to take in. Thank you, Echo, for finally giving me some peace of mind.” Echo nodded. “Anything for you, brother.” The guitarist in the background changed his tune to a more upbeat song, and the villagers began to clap with the beat. Delta observed the happy occasion with admiration, then stood up from his chair. “Where are you off to?” Echo asked curiously. Delta grinned. “I owe that little girl a dance.” He began to make his way across the square, when he was suddenly thrown forward by a massive explosion. [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Clan/Post/1371758/228287079/0/0]Part 5[/url] [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/224417569?page=0&sort=0&showBanned=0&path=1]The Hub[/url]