Darkness. That was the only thing Aria felt. The only thing she knew. She didn't know for how long or how she even ended up there. All there was was the seemingly endless void and the feel of cold earth pressed against her spine?
"Guardian...Guardian? Eyes up, Guardian!" a mechanical voice cuts through the dark.
And just like that, the darkness receded, as her eyes slowly open. At first her version was blurred by the light, but after a few seconds of blinking her eyes came into focus. And what came into view was the remains of an old city. Long abandon and left to be reclaimed by the forces of nature. Hovering before her was a three dimensional floating star with a singular light for an eye.
"You don't know how long I've been looking for you." it spoke again, interrupting her thoughts.
"Who are you?" Aria manged to cough out. Her mouth was dry and her lungs felt as if they were on fire. Some how she manged to stand up and steady herself.
"I'm a Ghost...Actually your Ghost. And you..." He pauses as if trying to find the right words to say. "Well you've been dead for a really long time. So you're going to see a lot of things you won't understand."
"I've been dead...?" She gasps as she clenches and unclenches her hands. Unsure what to do. "How? Why? What happened to me...to this place?"
A loud roar echoes through the ruins; making Ghost turn around to examine the area behind him.
"This is Fallen territory. We aren't safe here." Ghost says, spinning back to face the newly revived Guardian. "I have to get you to the City. Hold still."He floats a few feet away before turning around and disappearing.
"Ghost?" Aria asks quietly.
"Don't worry I'm still with you," His voice chirps through her helmets voice com. "We need to move, fast."
She nodded slowly and starts to walk, a bit shaky at first but began to take bigger and more steady strides as she felt more strength return to her.
"We won't survive long out in the open like this." Ghost warned. "Let's get inside the wall!"
"All right," Aria whispered under her breath, as she ran past the remains of old rusted cars and toward the massive rusted structure before them.
Inside the wall, the sound of faint voices echoed through the old tunnels.
"We need to find you a weapon before the Fallen us."
"And where would we find a weapon?" she asks, as she crosses a darken walkway and up a stairwell.
"Quit," Ghost hisses in a low whisper. "They're right above us."
"Oh, great..." Aria groans inwardly.
Reaching the end of the stairwell, Aria moves into a large darkened maintenance hall. The sounds of voices and movement echoed all around them.
"So what do we do now?" She asks, peering into the darkness that stretched out before them.
"Just hang tight," he replies. "Fallen thrive in the dark, we won't. We need more light. I'll see what I can do."
Ghost then reappears and floats of into the darkness. His once solid shape now a bright glowing ball with the its pieces floating around him. The Guardian watching him as he stops to examine something in the darkness.
"Another one of these harden military systems..." He murmurs through the voice com. "And a few centuries of entropy working against me."
"But, will you be able to turn on the lights?" Aria asks.
"It shouldn't be to hard," he replies. After a few seconds the lights flicker to life, reviling the Fallen on the other side of the hall. "They're coming for us!"
"Crap!" Aria cures under her breath. Turing around she see a grated gate slowly lifts up as Ghost returns and demilitarizes once more.
"Here! I found a refile! Grab it."
"No need to tell me twice." Aria says, grabbing the refile that was prompted against a steel box.
"I hope you know how to use that thing."
"I hope so too," she replies uneasily.
Gripping the gun tightly, she slowly advances. After wandering through the old ruins and battling wave after wave of Fallen, the two arrive at an old hanger. In it a worn out space ship hangs and more Fallen.
"There's a ship!" Ghost crisis out. "Clear them out!"
"Roger, Roger!" Aria replies, grinning to herself.
Aria aims her rifle and fires into the Dregs. They fall one after another. A Vandel tries to flank her, but she turns around and palms him in the head. It stumbles back screeching in surprise. She then aims her rifle and guns him down.
"Too easy." She mutters.
"Watch out!" Ghost yelled, as the Fallen Captain charged in.
And with out thinking, Aria turns and aims her rifle at the Captain. Emptied a full clip into it's body. The captain falls and slides to a halt in front of them. Its lower limbs twitching slightly.
"Good shooting, Guardian!" Ghost congratulates. "All right, let me see if I can get use out of here."
"Sounds like a plan to me." She muttered, looking around to see if any more Fallen where coming.
"It has been awhile," Ghost notes. Scanning the ship as he hovered around it. "Hasn't made a jump in centimes. We're lucky the Fallen haven't completely picked it clean.
"We'll it fly?"
"I can make it work." he says, a bobbed its body as if he were nodding.
And without another word Ghost turns and demilitarizes into the ship. A few seconds later the ship's engines roar to life and slowly raises into the air. "Okay... its not going to break orbit, but it might just get us to the City."
"As long as it gets us out of here I'm fine." Aria says.
"It'll will." he says reassuringly. "Now- how about that transmat..."
A loud rumbling emits from behind Aria; making her turn. Several Fallen emerge from an open tunnel. Among them a very large Fallen, one that looked ready to tare her to sherds.
"Ghost!?" she calls out.
"Bringing you in!"
With out another word, Ghost transport her on board the ship. The Fallen bellow yell out as the ship flies off and into the air.
"That was a close one, Ghost!" she exclaims. "Thanks."
"No problem, Guardian."
"Call me, Aria, Ghost," she says, coolly.
"Heh, sure thing," he says. "Now, let's get you home, Aria."
