So, all of you voted and you've got your answer. Follow Unit 7906737 as he lands on the planet of Remnant. I present… chapter 1 of KILLING MACHINE!
Chapter 1: Not in Kansas
Black. That was all he could see. His vision became fuzzy, but his computing system finally cleared his vision to see he was at least in his ship. He forced himself up and groaned in his synthetic voice "Shade, run a systems check." A small light flew in front on him and materialized into a floating cube of grey one half and block the other. A small ball at the center with a blue light appeared and questioned "On the ship? Or you, Guardian?" The Guardian groaned as he stood up "The ship. I can run my own systems check."
The lights in the ship started to flicker as Shade flew to a computer and started checking the system. The Guardian went over to a computer and hit a few keys, causing the monitor to turn on with the words "EXO SYSTEM CHECK". It was good that he had the EXO system check installed on the ship since that's what he was, an EXO. He hit a few keys and sat in the scanner chair, allowing the ship to scan his body's integrity. The scan was quick, only a minute, and he had a full diagnostic on his body.
He checked the screen to see that there was very minimal damage to his body from the crash. Guardian reached up and scratched at his head plate, trying to remember what happened to him and why he crashed his ship. There were flashes, quick and unclear, but they were something. He could remember a few things, his unit designation was 7906737 and he was a Titan to the Vanguard designed to fight the ancient enemy of the Traveler, the Darkness. The face he was given looked as close to human as an EXO could get and he liked his Knight Titan armor.
"Number." The Guardian chuckled. "My nickname is Number. Idiots that gave me that name." Number checked the screen to see that it had gone to sleep and he stared at the red lights of his eyes and the large forehead plate he was given when he was built. Number looked around to see his helmet laying on the floor near the computer that his Ghost, Shade was scanning. "How's the ship looking?" Number questioned as he grabbed his helmet and walked over to Shade. "Not good Guardian." Shade responded as he stopped scanning. "The engines are blown, the warp drive is scrap, and the galactic positioning system is shot. We're stuck here unless another Guardian is able to track where he flew."
"So… where are we? I remember… I remember running."
"It was the Fallen. We were on Venus instigating a distress signal. It was a Fallen ambush and we bolted. Do you really not remember?"
"No, I really don't. The scanner didn't pick up anything that suggested processor trauma, but maybe the scanner is busted."
Shade floated and twitched a bit in silence and then proclaimed "I'll look into it, but right now we have a bigger problem. When we were fleeing from the Fallen ambush, one got lucky and hit the guidance system, frying it." Number looked at him and questioned "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying we made a jump without targeting, so we simply… jumped. In basics, I have no idea where we jumped."
"So we might be in a hostile zone?"
"I prefer the term unknown. Not everyone believes the unknown is hostile."
Number went to a large locker and opened it up to reveal guns. "You know what I say." Number proclaimed as he grabbed a Pulse Rifle. "If you don't know, assume the worst." Shade shook side to side and sighed "That thinking has gotten us into a large amount of trouble." Number also grabbed a Void Fusion Rifle and Incendiary Machine Gun, but there was no ammo for either of them. "Looks like I've just got the primary." Number grumbled as he slid his helmet onto his head.
He went to the emergency escape door since he couldn't warp out of the ship and kicked it open. There was light, so it was either day, or the area he was in was on fire. Assume the worst and you'll never be surprised by the worst. Number moved out the door slowly to see that he was in a forest full of green trees. "Okay, forest… probably not Venus." Number thought as he scanned the trees. "Maybe I did make it to Earth?" Number lowered his rifle and started to walk around the ship, which confirmed that he definitely was not on Earth.
Shade floated over his shoulder and proclaimed "I'm pretty sure that Earth doesn't have castles." What the two could easily see over the tops of the trees was a massive… castle. "Where the hell are we Shade?" Number questioned as he looked around. There was a massive break in the trees from where his ship crashed, giving them more view of the castle. "I have no idea Guardian, but I know we are not alone." Shade pointed out.
Number looked in the direction Shade was looking to see four figures coming towards them, and they were armed. Number approached cautiously, finger almost in the trigger guard as the shapes revealed themselves to be humanoid. Once he could make out details, he raised his rifle and ordered "Freeze! Keep your hands where I can see them!" The four stopped as Number cautiously approached to see that they were just kids… by human years at least. They were wearing the same clothes, a jacket with some emblem on it, like a school uniform.
Shade had joined Number to remain from sight and proclaimed "They look like students at some school, but why would students have weapons?" The weapons they had were a mace, dual daggers, a sword and a battle axe. "Did you crash in that ship?" The one with the mace questioned. Number pointed the weapon at the mace wielder and ordered "No talking unless I'm asking questions. Understand?"
"Who do…"
Number fired a burst right over the mace wielder's head and repeated "Understand?" The mace wielder kept his mouth shut and Number ordered "I want none of you to move under any circumstance. If you do, I will shoot you. Understand?" The mace wielder barked "Go with what he says guys. He's got the gun right on us." The others nodded and the mace wielder proclaimed "Alright, we aren't going to move." Number kept his gun trained on them and proclaimed "Shade, I need you to scan them. See what they are."
Shade materialized and responded "I'll probably tell you what I already suspect." Shade floated over to the mace wielder and started to scan him. The mace wielder moved and swung his mace, sending Shade into the forest as Number pulled the trigger. The kids were faster than he expected and jumped out of the way of his burst, then charged him. He fired again, nailing the kid with the dual daggers in the chest, but it didn't drop him.
The kid faltered a bit, but he didn't stop and continued his charge. Number blocked the attacks of the dual wielder with his rifle and cursed in his head "What the hell!? I didn't pick up any shield on him." Number continued to block the swings of the dual wielder and noticed that the axe swinger was coming at him from the side. Number was able to catch the axe swinger's weapon before it connected with his side and one handed his rifle to block the daggers from cutting into his circuitry. Number pulled the weapon quickly and slammed the two together, hoping that they were taken out of the fight.
Number quickly put his rifle on his back and switched to his hunting knife since the rifle was ineffective. The swordsman swung his blade at him, but Number blocked the swing and delivered a quick blow to the swordsman gut. The swordsman doubled over from the punch, which caused Number to think "Bullets don't work on them, but melee attacks do? Where am I?" Number threw the swordsman and jumped to the side to avoid the mace wielder's attack, the weapon slamming into the ground. Number and the mace wielder squared off, Number flipping the knife in his hand so the blade was on his pinky side.
The mace wielder charged him with a loud war cry, but Number stood his ground as the mace was raised. The mace came down and Number blocked it with his forearm, feeling his feet dig into the dirt a bit as he swung his knife. The knife should have sliced the kid's stomach open, but the blade bounced like it hit armor. Number ignored his confusion and kneed the kid in the stomach, this hit actually landing. The kid buckled and Number dropped an elbow in the kid's back, sending him into the ground.
The dual wielder and the axe swinger both must have gotten up and charged him while he was fighting the mace wielder because Number was thrown to the ground and immediately felt something start hitting his back. Number rolled and caught the axe before it came down again and delivered a kick that sent the axe swinger into the air as the dual wielder repeatedly stabbed at him. Number jumped up and started parrying the blows from the twin daggers as he evaluated the situation.
"Clearly a hostile planet where kids can get their hands on some pretty well maintained weapons." Number thought as he blocked swings. "With no way of getting out of here my best bet is either find a way to contact someone on Earth, or get my ship back up and running." His thought process was cut off as rounds started to bounce off his armor, like someone was shooting at him. He looked over to see that the swordsman was shooting him… with his sword! "Now that is cool!" Number laughed as he caught on of the dual wielder's arms. "I want one!" Number delivered a punch straight to the dual wielder's face, probably knocking him out since he went limp… or killing him.
Number dropped the dual wielder, pointed as the swordsman and ordered "Give me that sword." The swordsman took a fighting stance and replied "You can come and get it."
"I intend to."
Number charged and swung his knife, the swordsman blocking it with ease. The two dueled with each other until Number got bored and decided to fight dirty. He parried a swing and then delivered a rather strong kick… straight to the swordsman's nuts. The swordsman dropped to his knees and Number delivered a punch to the swordsman's face and took him down. Number looked at all of the kids he took down and sighed "What kind of planet is this? Giving kids weapons?"
Number reached down and picked up the gun sword, inspecting it and liking what he was seeing. "The weapons are good though," Number sighed as he sheathed the sword, "I wonder what kind of upgrades I can get for this." He turned and was going back to his ship when he was shot in the back, the bullet taking him to his stomach. He got up to see that a new opponent had entered the battle, a little girl wearing the same kind of uniform the others were wearing but she had a skirt. She also had a large red scythe that was plunged into the ground with a barrel pointed right at him.
Number reached back and pulled the bullet out of his armor to see it was a sniper bullet. He looked at the bullet and then to the girl, proclaiming "Little girls shouldn't play with big guns." He dropped the bullet and drew his new gun sword as the little girl ripped the scythe from the ground. "Nor should they play with sharp blades." Number added as he readied the sword. The girl was short with dark red hair and silver eyes.
The two squared off and Number prepared for another one sided fight like he did with the four guys. He was getting ready to charge when the girl disappeared in a shower of rose petals. Number looked around but couldn't find her, until he was hit in the back and sent flying. He crashed down and got up to see it was the little girl scythe to her side suggesting that she was the one who hit him. "She's either fast… or she can teleport." Number thought as he readied his sword.
He looked to her feet to see skid marks in the dirt, affirming that she was fast. "Why did you attack Team CRDL?" The girl questioned with aggression in her voice. "Self- defense. Crashing on an alien planet and four guys come at you with weapons drawn? Not a great way to say hi."
"Look, I'm willing to talk to you if you put your weapon down."
"Not happening."
The girl's expression remained intense as she readied her scythe rifle and took a fighting stance, provoking Number into taking his own. He charged her this time, but the girl disappeared again in a rose petal storm, but he knew better. He spun around and swung his sword, hoping that he could predict her movements, but he was wrong again. His sword hit air and the girl appeared in the similar petal shower, bringing her scythe down into his left shoulder. Unfortunately, the scythe found the chink in his armor and cut between his shoulder plate and his main body armor.
He felt the sensors in his arm flare, signaling pain since the scythe tore through his circuitry and motors. His arm fell to the ground and he barked "What the hell?! Do you know what it's going to take to put that back?!" The girl looked horrified as she looked at Number's severed arm and then back at him, his stump sparking from the severed wires. "You're… not… human." The girl gasped as she started to back away. "What's your first name Sherlock? Is it No Shit?" Number barked as he readied a fighting stance.
The girl shook off the shock and readied her own stance, but Number was already in a charge. He launched forward with the war cry "STORM FIST!" His super charged fist was coming right for the girl and he was about to connect with her, but everything started to slow down. Correction, he was slowing down as a voice in his head proclaimed "Power core low. Shutting down to conserve energy." His fist stopped merely an inch from the confused girl's face and his vision shut off, basically putting him to sleep.
O00000O00000O
Ruby was frozen as the machine's fist stopped an inch from her face, fist sparking with some kind of energy. She took a step back to see that the red eyes were black and that the circuitry stopped sparking, the machine unmoving. Ruby poked the machine's chest with Crescent rose, but it remained immobile. She poked again, still no reaction. "I am already not liking this planet." A voice groaned behind her. She jumped and swung Crescent Rose, nearly hitting the floating cube that was coming towards her. "Why does every life form on this planet feel the need to swing at me?" The cube grumbled as it floated over to the machine and started, what appeared to be, scanning it.
"Um, what are you?" Ruby questioned. "Me? My Guardian here calls me Shade. I'm a Ghost of the Traveler. This here is Unit 7907636, or Number, as his fellow Guardians call him. It appears that he forgot to charge his power core, again. Those scanners can barely understand EXOs, let alone figure out any problems with them." Shade replied. "I'll need to get him to a charging facility or somewhere he can get some power." Shade floated over to Ruby and questioned "Do you know where we might be able to find a suitable charging station… (looks at fallen arm)… and a mechanic."
"I'm not so sure that bringing… Number… back on line is such a good idea. He seems very…"
"Aggressive? Hostile? Yes, he is but he means well. When you fight things like the Hive and the Fallen, it turns a little… aggressive. Once he gets to know you, he won't be such a dick."
Ruby sighed "I guess if I can get my team to come help, and with proper restraints, we can get him to a power source and charge him up. We also will have a bunch of questions as well." Shade nodded and Ruby got on her scroll, contacting her team and Professor Ozpin about their extraterrestrial visitor.
KABOOOM! So there is your reader voted chapter, sorry it took so long. I've been working a lot and haven't found the time to write. PM or Review any thoughts, comments, or questions. Until next time.
-Chief
