Here is chapter one of my first destiny fanfic. I really like this game, even though the story is hidden away in grimoire cards and not accessible through the game. I will try to hold to a schedule of two chapters a week, though that may not be feasible as college starts again soon.
This story is based on the video game Destiny.
"Guardian . . . Guardian. Eyes up Guardian." a metallic but, strangely smooth voice sounded in the freshly revived ears of Marcus Vol, an Awoken of the Reef. Marcus gave a start and sat up, a confused look on his pale, blue-gray face.
"What? I'm a . . . Guardian? No, I'm not a Guardian, I'm an agent of her Majesty, Queen of the Awoken, I am absolutely not a Guardian." Marcus said as he stood up to his full height of six feet tall and regarded the small floating polyhedral metal object before him. "I-" he stopped and looked around. Wreckage was strewn about around him where he stood in a small crater. His glowing blue eyes narrowed to slits. "What happened here?" he asked.
"This is where I finally found you. I am your Ghost and you are a Guardian." The Ghost said calmly. "I was dispatched by the Traveler to find you and revive you as a Guardian. I was originally sent to the Reef as that was where you died but, when I arrived, your corpse was not there. Luckily I was able to get back to Earth by riding with the Guardian who had brought me all the way out there in the first place. That was four days ago." Marcus was dumbstruck.
"I died? In the Reef?! And now you revived me as a Guardian?!" Marcus sputtered before calming himself. "Okay, Marc, just breathe," he said to himself as he closed his eyes. "Just breathe and think. Breathe and calm down." After a series of deep breaths Marcus ran his hands down his face in an effort to collect himself. "So where are we now?" He asked the Ghost, his Ghost now, he supposed if he truly was a Guardian.
"Somewhere on the North American continent of Earth." The Ghost said. "We need to get to the city quickly, before the Fallen find us. Luckily, for now, there doesn't seem to be any nearby." As the Ghost talked Marcus tied his thick, spiky black hair back into a tail and walked to the edge of the crater. Past the impact zone thick brown grass grew to knee height and the occasional tree dotted the landscape. The leaves on the trees were brown and many were lying on the ground.
"My ship crashed here? I don't remember being on a ship. For that matter, I don't remember dying either." Marcus said, looking to his Ghost for an answer.
"Some memory loss is to be expected, though with you being dead for just a short time, only recent short term memory should be affected." The Ghost explained. Marcus looked relieved to hear that he should have most of his memories intact, but he still could not remember dying. Maybe it would come back with time, he thought. "I've detected faint energy readings similar to that of a Regulus Class 99 ship to the north. It seems to be in the remains of a Pre-Golden Age city." The Ghost said, it's electronic voice hopeful.
"Hold on Ghost," Marcus held up his hand. "I think we should introduce ourselves if we're going to be partners. I am Marcus Vol, formerly of the Reef and agent of Her Majesty, Queen of the Awoken, but I guess I'm a Guardian now so I am not sure where I stand with the Queen. It is a pleasure to meet you Ghost." His Ghost dipped in acknowledgment and Marcus bowed formally.
"And I am your Ghost, creation of the Traveler and seeker of Guardians. That is all." His Ghost said simply. Marcus was confused.
"You don't have a name? What do you call yourself? Just Ghost?" He said.
"I'm just Ghost. Some Guardians do name their Ghosts, though it is not altogether common." The Ghost said.
"Well I think you should have a name." Marcus said. "How about Blue?" The Ghost shook back and forth, indicating negative. "Do you want a male name or a female name? Your voice sounds male."
"If I were a species that reproduces sexually I would be considered male, yes." The Ghost said as he floated towards the north. Marcus followed, letting the Ghost lead the way towards the ruined city.
"What about a more normal name, like Peter?" suggested Marcus.
"Too boring." said the Ghost.
"Boring? You think Peter is a boring name for a Ghost." Marcus protested. "Okay, maybe Peter would get old eventually." Marcus glanced up at the sun to see that they were indeed heading north. "How about North?"
"That's not bad, has personality. I think that North will do just fine." North twirled a pirouette as if trying the name on for size. "Yes, I like it."
After walking for about half a day Marcus and North finally entered the city outskirts. Along the way North had scavenged enough materials to create a long coat, boots, gloves, and a helmet for Marcus, to protect against the elements better than his previous skin tight black jumpsuit. Marcus put on the helmet and North disappeared in a burst of light. "Don't worry, I'm still with you." North said in Marcus' ear. "I have integrated a heads up display into your helmet. I can place way points, display your current shield status and even tell you how many bullets are left in your gun. If we could find one, that is. Your motion tracker is in the upper left corner."
"Thanks North." Marcus replied as he glanced at the tracker. It showed movement more than fifty meters to the north west. "I've got movement. Over fifty meters north west. Is it Fallen?" Marcus asked. "I wish I still had my sidearm." The sidearm had been nearly destroyed in the crash and was useless.
"We might be able to find a gun in a nearby building." North offered. "Lets try to avoid enemies until we find one." Marcus grunted in agreement and headed north east to skirt whatever was showing up on the motion tracker.
An ancient and nearly indistinguishable roadway led directly north and into the heart of the ruins. The remains of ancient skyscrapers stuck from the ground like rotten teeth. Their steel beams rusted and concrete walls crumbling with age and erosion. Plants had overrun many of the buildings and in some places signs of Fallen activity were evident. A wall with deep scratches here, brightly colored rags fluttering in the breeze there. What looked to be a damaged Fallen helmet sat on a ledge overlooking the roadway.
The further they went the more evidence of Fallen they saw. Marcus had been keeping an eye on the motion tracker, avoiding any large sources of motion as best he could. Suddenly the tracker lit up like the sun. Movement on all sides, rapidly approaching. Marcus looked around frantically for the source of the movement. Out of the buildings on each side of the road swarmed dozens of Fallen vandals, all wielding swords that sparked with arc energy. Their shrieks and cries threatened to overwhelm Marcus as he froze in place for fraction a second until North shouted.
"Run!"
Marcus ran. He ran faster than he had ever run before. He managed to get ahead of most of the vandals. The few who were in front of him set up to slice at him when he got close enough. Instead of running headlong into the vandal's swords Marcus slid at the last moment and ducked underneath the razor sharp blades. He transitioned smoothly from the slide back to sprinting. He was glad that the few males allowed to guard the Queen had to be trained so thoroughly. His endurance, strength, and speed were well above average for an Awoken male. The vandals screeched in frustration and took off after him.
"Take a left here!" North said, guiding Marcus towards where the ship should be. "Down this alley and across the street. Into the building with the broken sign over the door." Marcus didn't have time to read the sign as he passed below it into the dilapidated structure. "Up those stairs!" North continued. Marcus could hear the vandals beginning to give up, but one was still gaining. It had come within twenty feet when Marcus ran through the doorway to a large, open area with no roof. Across the brown, dead grass of the floor the vandal chased Marcus. Both party's lungs were straining and labored but still the vandal closed the distance. At about the middle of the open field the vandal lunged, tackling Marcus to the ground. It had dropped one of its swords somewhere along the way but still retained one of them. As it raised the arc blade for the kill a new-found determination welled up in Marcus. He would not die here, not after just being granted a second chance at life. Along with this determination came power. Heat coursed through his veins and fire burst from his hands in a brilliant orange plume. The vandal was scorched to ash in moments and Marcus just lied on the ground and tried to catch his breath.
"There's no time to rest yet, Marcus." North warned. "More vandals are on their way, with reinforcements. The ship should be under the floor here." North materialized and floated to the middle of the large open field that was surrounded by the building. Marcus looked up towards his Ghost. To the side a console of some kind was visible.
"There's a console over there." Marcus pointed across the field.
"Got it." North said as he zipped towards it. "You might want to step back." A deep rumbling sounded from below the floor as it began to move. Slowly, the floor separated along the midline of the field and revealed an old ship. "Lets hope this thing can still fly." North said as the ship rose from under the ground on a launching platform. The ship was white with blue accents beneath layers of dirt and dust. The running lights flickered on and the engines coughed to life. "Let's get out of here." North exclaimed with relief evident in his voice. "Bringing you in."
A white flash marked the transition from outside to inside the ship as North transmatted Marcus aboard. Many of the displays remained operable and above the main screen a bronze plate was fastened to the wall. On this plate were engraved the words "Outrageous Fortune".
"Hmph, fitting." Marcus said as he sat back in the pilot's chair and closed his eyes.
Chapter two should come out sometime this week. Reviews and constructive criticism welcome.
Thank you for reading.