Red waters sloshed at the side of the cliffs, the roaring of the waves masking the sound of a little ghost's whirring and beeping as it paused to examine the rusted exoskeletons of cars that had long been abandoned. Fallen patrolled nearby but took no notice of the little machine, some opting to squat down and rest when their superiors weren't looking. The ghost decided this area wasn't the best place to come across what it was looking for though, so it decided to move on.
It eventually came across a set of stairs opposite a statue. The stairs were guarded by more Fallen, who were much more on-guard. Further past them was a curious looking doorway that the ghost felt an urge to inspect. The only problem would be getting past those enemies. The ghost tried its best to remain unseen, but to no avail. A dreg spotted the little machine and shrieked, alerting the others to the intruder. The creatures began shooting at the ghost, who panicked and flew toward them as fast as it could. A vandal made a grab for it but missed, and the ghost was able to escape through the doorway and into a hole in the wall. The Fallen outside gave up their chase and went back to what they had been doing before, deciding it wasn't worth their time or effort.
The little ghost sighed in relief and inspected the tunnel it had escaped into. It was somewhat dark, the bluish lava beneath the cracks were the only source of light. It continued along the path until it arrived in what looked like a large library. Near the center of the room stood another statue, much like the one outside. 'This must be the Ishtar Academy,' the ghost thought to itself after examining the statue. It flitted about the deserted room, checking under desks and underneath books. Finally, on the top floor of the room, the ghost found what it was looking for. Slumped over a pile of books as though he were a student simply napping after a long period of study was the body of a dead exo. The ghost rejoiced and poured its Light into the form and waited for it to awaken. After a moment the body stirred, and the exo lifted his head, his eyes lighting up bright blue. He looked around calmly and sat up, then turned his head toward the ghost.
"What happened?" he asked in a gravelly voice.
"Well, you've been dead for a long time," the ghost explained, hoping not to frighten the newly awoken guardian, "and I've revived you. You're a guardian..." The ghost trailed off as the exo stood up shakily.
"A guardian?" he asked.
"Yes. You have the ability to wield the Light of the Traveler. The Last City on Earth relies on you and countless others like you to protect them and fight against the Darkness," the ghost explained.
"Hmm..." the exo murmured thoughtfully, taking a book off the shelf and flipping carefully through the old pages as he thought about the situation.
"You're being awfully calm about this," the ghost said.
"Well, the way I see it, there's not much I can do," the exo said, putting the book back, "might as well play with the cards I've been dealt."
"I guess that's one way to look at it," the ghost said, impressed by this new guardian's cool-headedness.
"So what now?" the exo asked.
"Now we need to get you to the City," the ghost said. "But first we need to find you a jumpship. We're not exactly close to home."
"Alright, so where do we find one?"
"Well I've been doing some scans while I've explored Venus, and from what I've gathered, the closest place we'll be able to find one is in a location called Campus 9. Only problem is, there's going to be a lot of enemies along the way, and you don't have a weapon." The exo nodded in understanding.
"It's worth a shot though. There's a chance I could come across a weapon on the way," he reasoned.
"Fair enough, let's get going!" the ghost said, eager to explore with its new companion. It lead the exo out of the building and back through the tunnel, stopping short when it remembered the Fallen waiting outside.
"What's wrong?" the exo asked.
"I, uh, forgot about something." The exo stared at the ghost, waiting for him to continue. "Well, on the way here I sort of ran into some Fallen... and you're going to have to get through them somehow. There's really no way around them."
"I'll think of something, don't worry," the exo said as they continued. They reached the tunnel exit and spotted the Fallen, back down by the base of the stairs. "If I can run fast enough we should be able to make a break for it. They're not paying much attention."
The ghost was about to respond when the exo suddenly scooped it up into his arms and ran toward the Fallen, shoving passed them and taking them by surprise before taking a sharp left turn. The enemies screamed at them from behind as they shot at the guardian. Most of the shots missed, except for a few which hit him squarely in the back. More Fallen emerged out of a building ahead, followed by a large purple orb that the exo did not want to face. The guardian stumbled but was able to continue, taking a another left turn onto an empty path. Once they were clear, he released the ghost and sat to rest, still feeling the sting from the shock pistols.
"That was insane!" the ghost scolded.
"We made it out alive didn't we?" the exo retorted. He stood up and they pushed on, finally reaching another area full of enemies. Some were Fallen, but the others were a robot-like species. They were able to hug the wall and avoid most of the enemies, until one of the robots turned to see the two and began to advance toward them. The exo reached out instinctively and a force emitted from his hand, pushing the robot back. They made a break for it again, escaping the hail of bullets under an archway and onto another empty path.
"What the hell were those?" the exo asked.
"Those were the Vex, another enemy of the Light. Way worse than the Fallen if you ask me. They completely turned Mercury into one of their machines," the ghost explained. The exo cringed at the thought of them.
They eventually came across a large cluster of rock formations, and at the very back near a rock wall was a giant circular door, heavily guarded by large Vex units. The exo crept past cautiously, then noticed two guardians laying on the ground up ahead. He went over to check on them, and found that they were dead. One of them held a ghost in his hand, which was also dead. The exo's ghost did a scan on the bodies as well as the dead ghost.
"There's nothing left in either of them. There is a message recorded on this ghost however. Maybe that will tell us something."
The message began to play. At first it was nothing but garbled static, but then the voice of one of the guardians broke through. "...think we've found... Black Garden... robots everywhere though... holy shit there's too many of them! ...going to die... I'm sorry." The transmission cut out abruptly and the ghost looked up at his guardian.
"Black Garden?" the guardian inquired.
"We believe it's where the Vex are coming from. Though I'm... not sure this is what they thought it was..." the ghost replied.
"What is this place then?" the exo asked.
"I may have an idea but... they couldn't possibly be reckless enough to come here, could they?" the ghost said, almost to itself, "Anyway, we should keep moving, we're almost there." The exo nodded, but before he did, he spotted an auto rifle laying nearby, presumably one of the dead guardians'. He picked it up and inspected it, and found it to be intact with more than enough bullets. He readied it and they moved forward into a narrow passageway full of twists and turns. They finally emerged out in the open again, greeted by a large sign labeled "CAMPUS NINE".
The ghost flitted out to inspect the area before saying "There! Behind that building with the radar on top. There's another building behind it with a jumpship parked on top."
"How would it even get there?" the exo asked.
"My guess is it belonged to one of those guardians we found back there. I don't think they're going to be mad if we take it," the ghost said.
"Let's hope not," the exo said with a chuckle as they headed toward it. Lightning suddenly crackled around them as a dark cloud appeared right in front of them. Several Vex units materialized out of thin air, giving off a mechanical whine as they spotted the guardian and his ghost.
The exo immediately opened fire on them, pushing back the ones that got too close. He kept shooting as he moved closer to the jumpship, then when the opportunity arose he climbed in as the ghost worked at reviving the engine. The Vex continued to shoot at them, but they were protected by the bulletproof glass of the ship. At last the engine roared to life and they were able to move. The ship took off, the blast knocking over the Vex units as they closed in. The exo and his ghost both sighed with relief as they left the atmosphere of the jungle planet.
"Let's get you home," the ghost said happily. The exo nodded.
"I've been thinking," he said, "about my past." The ghost looked over curiously. "I don't remember much, but a name is at least coming to mind. Rowen."
"Is that what you want me to call you?" the ghost asked.
"I think so," Rowen said. "It sounds right."
"Alright then Rowen," the ghost said with a hint of a smile in its voice. "I'm glad we got to meet."
o0o0o
Rowen-20 stepped out into the bright sun that shined on the Tower. It had only been a week since his resurrection and escape from Venus, and the Warlock was already taking his duties as a guardian seriously. Right now he was on his way to Old Russia, having received a tip that the Fallen would be dropping one of their Walkers somewhere in the Cosmodrome, and he wanted to be there to see it.
Taking a glance over by the gunsmith, he noticed a purple-haired Titan sleeping in a tree. Rowen shook his head at the woman. It was rumored that two of her friends had been killed, and that now all she did was drink and wallow in her own self-pity. He walked away, determined not to worry about anyone's personal issues but his own. He pulled up his jumpship without another thought and headed to Russia.
Hey, if you stumbled across this, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed! If you haven't, feel free to read my Titan's story, Humble Beginnings, as well.