Destiny in it's entirety is the property of Bungie and it's associates.
••••••••••
Patience was never going to be one of Vivian's best traits. She couldn't help but fidget as she waited on Rosarian to arrive to the main courtyard. Right after they had returned to the tower, he had said he needed to go arrange something and would see her in the morning. He politely asked that she try extra hard to be a little early if not just plain on time. Vivian blushed and promised she wouldn't be late again. Rosarian smiled and patted her shoulder. He didn't say anything but the gesture still made Vivian feel much better, the ordeal at Bannerfall still very fresh in her mind. It kept her up most the night.
She now stood in the main plaza of the tower waiting on her master. She hated it but waiting wasn't all bad. The sun was rising in the sky and warming Vivian's cheeks. The sunrise gave her a fantastic view of the Traveler.
Eli materialized beside her and buzzed. "Vivian, Harlow just messaged me. He said that he and Rosarian had to take a longer route due to construction in the main halls. They'll be here shortly."
Vivian nodded and looked back to the horizon. "Thanks Eli." She said quietly. Eli glowed in response then faded away.
"Vivian." A voice called.
She smiled and turned to see Rosarian walking towards her from one of the east hallways.
"Hello master. What will we be doing today?"
Rosarian flashed a very fancy gold and black hand cannon at her. "You said you wanted to learn how to use one of these, right?"
Vivian nodded hesitantly. She didn't want to get her hopes up too much just in case.
"Well, Ikora messaged me yesterday after we left. We don't need to meet Lord Shaxx anymore. Instead we will meet with Ikora right around one in the afternoon. Since we have the morning free I went and managed to get us clearance to go to a small shooting range that isn't scheduled for use in order for you to practice." Rosarian said. He left out the half hour of bartering and begging with Lord Shaxx to get that permission.
Vivian jumped and cried out happily. "Yes! I'd absolutely like to learn. So your really going to teach me how to fight the way you do?"
Rosarian hesitated for a second. "Not Exactly." He said. "We'll be mostly working on just getting you accustomed to using a hand cannons today. The real issue is that your powers have manifested first as those of a Sunsinger. To fight the way I do, you would need to be able to use blink. The only Warlocks that can do that are Voidwalkers or Stormcallers. Of course there's also a few select Hunters that can blink. It's a rare talent for them, more rare than it is for us anyway."
He shrugged. "I digress. Today I'm only going to run you through a few basic drills. After that, we'll move on to firing at a stationary target and then at a mobile target. If you do well and we have time then we might be able to try moving while firing at a mobile target."
Vivian smiled happily. She was very excited now. She was finally going to be taught something by her mentor. Not only that but he was cool enough to teach her exactly what she wanted to learn. The only thing that would make this better would be a mission outside the tower.
Rosarian paused. Vivian didn't seem to be paying attention anymore. She was just standing there smiling and lost in her own thoughts.
"Harlow is she okay? She seems to have spaced out on me." Rosarian asked. Harlow materialized and began scanning Vivian.
"I don't know Rose." Harlow replied. "There doesn't appear to be anything wrong with her. She is conscious. Her heart rate is slightly elevated. I think maybe she's just happy with the news."
Rosarian shrugged. "Maybe." He muttered before waving his hand in front of her.
Vivian was brought out of her happy thoughts by Rosarian waving his hand in her face and Harlow calling out her name. She blushed.
"I'm sorry. I'm just really excited. I'm ready to go master." She said, her cheeks still colored.
Rosarian began walking and Vivian fell in step beside him.
"I learned how to fight with a hand cannon from my old teammate. He was a very talented Hunter." Rosarian said as he walked. His tone was low and he looked as though he didn't like thinking of his teammate.
"Vixxy?" Vivian asked. Rosarian looked over his shoulder at her, surprise evident on his face. After a second he nodded and continued forward.
"Yes, Vixxy taught me before his death. So that's what you and Ikora were talking about yesterday?" Rosarian asked. He didn't mind Ikora talking about Vixxy and Greggory, not really. It was just that talking about them was something he felt that he himself should do. He should be the one to talk about his deceased teammates with his newest charge. Rosarian was still ashamed at himself for being his inability to defend them but he saw no reason that Vivian shouldn't know about them.
Vivian looked to the floor. She hoped Rosarian wasn't upset. She was just curious about the previous members of fire-team Bliss and Ikora was nice enough to indulge her.
"I'm sorry if I upset you. I promise I won't ask anymore questions if that helps."
Rosarian shook his head. "That's a very silly promise to make. Don't ever promise to stop seeking knowledge Vivian. I'm not mad or upset with you. It's just… difficult to think about them. I miss them and it hurts to remember them. They were my closest friends and now they're gone. If that wasn't bad enough, my shift in attitude on top of me taking Dark Tide made nearly all other Guardians think I'm completely deranged or just plain evil. I didn't exactly give them reason to doubt the rumors I suppose, but none the less it's a prejudice I could live without having to endure. It's not an easy topic to broach. Not right now. Not just yet. Eventually I'll tell you about them myself. I think you'd have loved them. Vixxy is actually the one who gave me both the Elysluna hand cannon I gave you and this one."
He drew the gold and black hand cannon and showed it to her. The bullets inside were also gold tipped and the weapon as a whole looked far more formidable than almost anything she had seen so far.
"This is called The Last Word. It's a very special weapon. Vixxy left it to me along with Elysluna in his will." Rosarian explained.
Vivian nodded. She was relieved.
"Wait, who's Elysluna?" Vivian asked.
Rosarian chuckled. "Elysluna is the red hand cannon I gave you."
Vivian gasped then smiled. The previous members of fire-team Bliss sounded like people she would indeed have liked to know. For Rosarian to face his pain, share his memories, as well as gift her one of the weapons that Vixxy had left him was more than she felt she deserved but she couldn't deny a gift with such significance.
They walked through a door and arrived in a large square gymnasium like room. Scattered all around the room were large platforms in various different shapes jutting from the ground.
Rosarian gestured to the room. "This is where we'll be working till it's time to meet the Vanguard. First, before we begin any practical training, I'm sure Banshee went over the standard weapon safety rules?"
Vivian nodded.
"Good. Recite them." He said.
Vivian took a breath then spoke. "The standard weapon safety rules are as follows. One: treat every weapon as though it were loaded. Two: never point a weapon at anything you do not intend to fire upon. Three: keep your weapon on safe until you intend to fire. Four: keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to fire. Five: know your target and what lies beyond and in between."
Rosarian nodded. "Perfect. Now I'm going to tell you the core philosophy of Vixxy's fighting style or as Vixxy liked to call it: the sure fire way to kill your enemies and not get shot in the ass."
Vivian giggled and listened a bit more attentively.
"Never stop moving and accuracy is key. To be still is to die. You can't kill what you can't hit. That goes for both you and your enemies."
Vivian understood the double meaning. If she was constantly moving then it lowered her odds of being hit and killed and if she couldn't aim well she couldn't hit and kill her enemies. It made perfect sense to her.
Vivian waited for more but Rosarian said no more. Vivian frowned.
"Is that all?" She asked somewhat disappointed.
Rosarian smiled and nodded at her reaction. "Doesn't seem like much does it? Believe me, It didn't seem like much to me either but it's much harder in application. Okay let's get started now. You'll be firing on those targets over there until I feel that you have above average aim and a good enough hold on your weapon." He said pointing at the far wall. It opened into a small indoor shooting range with a line of different shaped targets at various distances.
Vivian nodded and walked over to the miniature range's firing line. She took aim and began firing Elysluna. The weapon had far more kick than any of the starter hand cannons that Banshee had allowed her and the other trainees to use but it wasn't unmanageable. She continued to fire, becoming more and more familiar with the weapon with each pull of the trigger and switching back and forth between targets so they could automatically be replaced by the rooms automated systems.
Rosarian watched her from his place beside her for a while. Her bullet groupings weren't as small as he hoped but weren't all that bad. He also noted that she wasn't taking as long to recover from the recoil of each shot as most Guardians. When she first started, it took her almost six whole seconds to reset and fire again.
Rosarian decided to join her. He drew The Last Word and began firing on a target farther down the line.
•••••
Vivian glanced over at Rosarian's targets and pouted. She had tried to match Rosarian's fire rate and failed miserably. Each of her master's shots had landed center mass in half the time it took her to fire off all of her shots and he was doing it with one hand. ONE HAND! Out of the seven bullets she had fired at her fresh target, only four had hit close to center mass while the others were glancing hits. Rosarian had landed all eight bullets in the black. Had it been a real enemy, Rosarian's would no doubt be dead twice over and hers would most likely be wounded at best and pissed off at worst.
"Don't get frustrated." Rosarian said as he reloaded. "Remember, accuracy is more important than speed, especially right now when your just learning. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Speed will come with practice. Right now just focus on hitting your target." Rosarian said as he finished slipping a new round of bullets into his weapon and resumed firing. Vivian nodded and took aim at another fresh target.
The rest of the morning into the afternoon was spent firing on stationary targets.
•••••
Chad walked into the training area whistling to himself. He had just finished a solo bounty in the Cosmodrome and was feeling up to socializing with his team again, more specifically the spunky female awoken Warlock part of the team.
He still didn't really like Rosarian but the Warlock had made it clear earlier that he was the alpha of their little pack and wouldn't suffer anyone challenging him. Chad didn't like it, but now he did hold some begrudging respect for Rosarian, and though he would never admit it to anyone, just a small pinch of fear. Just remembering the look in Rosarian's eyes made Chad shiver. It wasn't the unbridled rage that he had seen when he talked about the fallen team members. It was closer to an insane desperation. Like a rabid animal with just enough sanity left to know it was in agony and beg for death so the hurt would stop.
Thinking on what had happened, if what Chad had heard from other Guardians was accurate, Rosarian very easily COULD back up his threats and based on what he heard from Zavala and seen for himself, Rosarian was just bat shit crazy enough that he WOULD go through with his threats. So, for now, Chad would do as ordered and observe.
That look though. The look in Rosarian's eyes would stay with Chad for a while. Never in his entire life as a Guardian had Chad met someone who actually demanded their ghost to let them die.
It was wrong.
That his ghost actually seeming willing to obey the order also disturbed him more than he was willing to admit.
He shook his head to clear his thoughts and looked around. Both his teammates sat meditating a short distance from the small firing range inside the area that they had been using earlier.
Chad slowly approached but made sure to make a little bit of noise so they would know he was getting close to them. The last time he snuck up on a meditating Warlock he had almost taken a solar grenade to the face. That was a whacky day for everyone involved.
Vivian opened her eyes when he was a stone's throw away and smiled at him. He waved and grinned in return. She held up a finger to her lips then pointed at Rosarian who had void light swirling around him. She was telling him to stay quiet. She slowly stood up, being careful to avoid making too much noise and motioned for him to follow her.
She spoke when they got to the other side of the training area. "Hey Chad. Where have you been?"
Chad shrugged. "I needed to blow off some steam so I went on a few bounties out in the Cosmodrome. What have you two been up to?"
Vivian frowned. "Your allowed to leave the tower? I wanna leave the Tower. What's that about?" she whined.
Chad chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Sorry hon. Your still new so your only allowed to leave the Tower with your selected sponsor or, in your specific case as a Warlock, your Master or mentor or whatever it is you call the guy babysitting you. Unfortunately for you, you got stuck with the only Warlock in the tower that's basically under probation and can't take you out."
Vivian pouted. "Hey Rosarian is a great teacher he's been coaching me on shooting all day. He even showed me a few meditation exercises when I got frustrated a little while ago. It really helped. And he isn't my babysitter, he's my mentor. My Master. Either title works. Besides, I don't mind being stuck here at the tower."
Chad heard her mutter "not too much anyway." under her breath. He admired her loyalty but that didn't change his personal opinion of Rosarian.
"Look, you don't need to pretend for me. I get it, your itching to get out there and strut your stuff. I felt that way too back in my day. Sides it ain't your fault your stuck with him."
A guilty look crossed Vivian's face. "Okay it's true. I really do want to go out and do my part but it isn't Rosarian's fault. He didn't want me to be his apprentice either. He only took the position because Ikora basically made him." Saying those words hurt her but they were the truth and she knew Rosarian had a good reason for trying to avoid having her under his wing.
Chad tilted his head to the side. "What do you mean? Rosarian didn't ask for you?"
Vivian shook her head. "No. He actually asked Ikora if she had gone insane when she told him. He thinks that anyone would be a better Master for me than him. He said something about his reputation tainting mine."
Chad nodded. He agreed with that. "He was probably right. You know why people don't trust him, don't you? And if they don't trust him, they have even less reason to trust someone learning from him."
Vivian huffed. "That isn't fair though. It isn't his fault. His entire team was murdered in front of him and he wasn't able to do anything about it. It's a miracle that he's still functional."
"Exactly hon." Chad said softly. "He has issues girl. Everyone knows it and with how violent he's become recently it's no wonder he makes people nervous."
Vivian shook her head. "So what? It's only against our enemies. Mostly. Besides, violence is part of what we do. Everyone is just being a hypocrite." She said remembering the day of her rebirth. Rosarian rabidly tearing apart the Fallen that had blocked their way.
Chad sighed. Convincing her was going to be way harder than he thought. "That's beside the point. People don't trust him anymore, and by being his student they won't trust you either."
"He's right you know."
Chad and Vivian cringed. They both turned and spotted Rosarian looking at them from his spot on the floor. He levitated up to his feet and walked to them, the void light fading away. They stood in silence until Rosarian's cleared his throat.
"Well I've had my fill of this awkward situation. I'm going to just go-"
Rosarian was cut off by Harlow materializing in front of him. "Sorry to interrupt but you'll be happy to hear that the rest of the day as well as your morning tomorrow is free. Training is temporarily suspended for a day or two. I wasn't given a reason but the Vanguard is now too busy to have that meeting with us. Ikora will expect all of you to drop by the Vanguard command center tomorrow at noon though."
Rosarian nodded. "Very well. We'll be there. Chad," he turns to the Titan. "Vivian and I Normally meet in the tower central plaza ten minutes prior to anything. Will you be meeting us as well, before we go see Ikora?"
Chad shrugged. "Dunno Sugar plum. Candi and I are usually already chillin in the central command anyways. I wouldn't worry about us being late."
Rosarian nodded. "Very well. Then I bid you goodnight."
Chad waved and walked off. Vivian watched him go and then looked to Rosarian. Rose made to leave as Eli materialized beside her.
"Come Vivian. You need to get started on your evening meditations if you want to have time for dinner."
Rosarian stopped at hearing that and glanced back.
"Excuse me."
Vivian turned to Rosarian. "Yes Master? What is it?"
Rosarian shuffled and ran his hand through his hair. "Sorry to keep you but I was actually wondering, perhaps, would it be alright for me to join you? I need to do my own evening meditations as well."
Vivian smiled and clapped her hands together. "That would be wonderful Master! I would be honored for you to join me." Vivian grabbed onto his hand and began pulling him, she knew a wonderful area by the living quarters that gave a beautiful view of the setting sun that was perfect for meditation. Rosarian shook off his surprise at her acceptance and followed after her, a smile unconsciously forming on his lips.
•••••
Rosarian entered his room later that night with a true smile on his face. The evening had been very pleasant. Vivian had taken him to a small area in the Eastern sector of the tower a short distance from her room that she enjoyed using for her meditations. It was much like the central plaza he typically used but had a clear view of the stars once the sun had finally set.
Vivian had asked if Rosarian had any advise for maximizing the benefit of meditating. She knew from basic training that Warlocks typically used meditation as a way of maintaining control over their powers but she hoped there was more to it. Rosarian had shrugged and shook his head.
"Meditation to me has become a time for reflection since flexing and controlling my light has become second nature to me after all these years. I usually use this time to think on my powers and how to improve my control over them."
Vivian gave it a try but didn't feel like she got as much out of it as she was supposed to. She had trouble maintaining a grip on her powers. Every time she felt like she was getting close she lost control and went up in flames like a patch of dry grass. Just before they called it a night, she accidentally set the area around her on fire when she fell into her meditative trance. Maybe it was for the best that she continue to try and reign in her abilities.
So far her powers we're developing at a faster than average rate. She could already set things on fire when she hit them and create solar grenades. For some reason she was still unable to recreate what she did back at Bannerfall or resurrect herself because they hadn't had any combat in which she would have the opportunity to die.
Rosarian looked uncomfortable when she asked about it, but told her that the ability she had heard of was called Fire Born. It was a version of the Sunsinger ability known as Radiance that allowed her to instantly return to life after being killed by surging her solar light just as she died. Most Sunsingers were never actually able to use that ability; Vivian was one of the rare few that Rosarian felt could actually grow to be able to use Fire born.
In light of everything, Rosarian was already considering elevating her from apprentice to acolyte. This would grant her greater freedom in the Tower archives to further her studies. He planned to consult Ikora about it after he evaluated how she performed in a real field mission.
"Maybe tomorrow." He thought to himself before his eyes slowly closed and sleep overcame him.
In the dark of the room, unseen by anyone, a sickly green mist rose up from Dark Tide and toward Rosarian. As the mist entered the sleeping Warlock motes of blue and purple light began rising from him and floating into the hive blade. Rosarian groaned in his sleep and Dark Tide glowed. The jagged edges of Dark Tide's blade smoothed until it was solid and sharp. The entire blade and handle thinned just a bit and all the cracks throughout fused together leaving the blade smooth and without imperfections. The glow and mist faded from the hive weapon and Warlock. Dark Tide now looked more proportional to a human and was now an onyx black with a few pulsing neon purple veins as apposed to the cracked ash grey weapon it once had been.
•••••
Chad stood inside the Vanguard command center humming a little tune and fiddling with his hair. His ghost, Candi, floated in circles, bouncing in time to Chad's humming.
Beside them was Vivian looking noticeably worried. So far no one had seen their last fire-team member and leader, Rosarian. Vivian had thought it strange when he didn't join her for morning meditation but wrote it off as nothing to worry about. After all, he had only asked to join her for the evening. He never said he would join her for today's morning meditation.
She began to worry when he failed to show up at their usual meeting place at the normal ten minutes prior. So far he had never been late without informing her before hand or sending Harlow to tell her. Just as she had been admitted to the central Chambers and was about to tell Ikora, Rosarian blinked into the command center calling out, "I'm here! Sorry I'm late!"
Vivian had to stop herself from wrapping Rosarian in a hug and hitting him upside the head. She settled for neither. At least now she had eyes on her mentor. The entire Vanguard looked at Rosarian in a mixture of surprise and displeasure.
"Rosarian explain yourself. Your usually so punctual and I know you have Harlow to keep you updated on the time." Ikora scolded. She didn't actually mind a Guardian being tardy from time to time but in this case it mattered. She was trying to get Zavala off their collective backs, and any little thing would be used against them, even if it was only being a minute late.
"You have a hot date and lose track of time there Rose? She must have been quite the looker." Cayde teased. Rosarian scowled at him and, though he couldn't see it from where he stood, so did Vivian at the suggestion that her mentor would shirk his responsibilities for someone else.
Cayde held up his hands in surrender. "Or he. Hey I don't judge. Didn't think you rolled that way though. Thought that was just pretty boy over there." He said pointing at Chad who was checking his slicked up hair in the reflection of the windows.
Vivian blushed at the thoughts of her mentor spending "quality time" with another male. She shook her head to clear out her thoughts.
"You know I prefer you call me by my full name. Just because Harlow does it doesn't mean I approve. As for a date, no. As far as anyone outside this room knows, I'm completely insane. No chance I'd get a date with anyone." He griped. Vivian on the other hand liked the sound of the nick-name but cringed when he mentioned his reputation among the other guardians.
Cayde waved him off. "That's such a mouthful though. I'll stick to Rose. Ooooh or Rosie. Sides, some girls like a man who's more in touch with his sensitive side."
Rosarian flinched and shook his head. "No no fine you win. Rose works. I guess." He mumbled the last part to himself.
"Cayde is right Rosie-poo. I know I love a little danger in my relationships. As for the name, I like it. Totes cute." Chad said from his place in front of the window. "Candi I think I got my hair just right now. Selfie time!"
The pink ghost buzzed happily and flashed a few times saving the images of Chad going through various poses displaying his hair.
After a second everyone focused back on Rosarian.
"Okay, never call me that again or I'll immolate you. Getting back to the point, as hard as it is to believe I woke up only about five minutes ago. I had Harlow materialize my armor and robes then had to use my blink to get here."
Cayde's eyes narrowed a bit. "That's strange. Your not really the type to sleep the morning away. Think this might have something to do with the new look of that hive sword? You spray paint it or something?"
Rosarian shook his head. "No. I woke up to it looking like this. I didn't have any time to really examine it but it doesn't feel any different."
Ikora's eyes narrowed. She couldn't feel any difference in the energy residing in the blade either. It still felt like the usual darkness she felt from all hive creations. The confusing part was the feeling she was getting from Rosarian. His light was strong as usual but now felt slightly off, just barely different than what it was yesterday. To her suspicion Zavala didn't say a word.
Cayde shrugged. "Well whatever, just make sure you aren't late. We don't have all day to wait on you, you know."
Rosarian nodded. "Understood. I'll do my best to avoid this ever happening again."
Ikora spoke next. "Good. Now to the point, we've received a small request from our very own Amanda Holliday. She's running low on starship parts and spinmetal for repairs and modifications so she has asked us for a little assistance."
She turned to the fire-team. "Normally this kind of thing goes straight to our bounty board but as coincidence would have it we have a fire-team right here with nothing to do."
Cayde jumped in. "Hmph it's almost like it was planned. Crazy how that works ain't it?"
Zavala rolled his eyes at Cayde's comment. Ikora chuckled then continued.
"Yes. I love it when a plan comes together. Now fire-team Bliss, your first assignment in the field will be to handle Amanda's request."
Zavala looked like he wanted to speak out against the assignment but a sharp look from Ikora silenced him. She looked back to the waiting fire-team.
"You will be going to the Cosmodrome to complete this assignment. Any questions?"
Rosarian looked unsure but said nothing. Chad ignored the female vanguard and continued posing for pictures. Vivian took a step forward and raise her hand. Ikora smiled and gestured for her to speak.
"Thank you Miss Ikora. My question is what are the odds of us coming across hostile forces?"
Ikora shrugged and Cayde answered. "About as high as any mission squirt. If or when you come across any lean mean alien killing machines all you gotta do is put your booger hook on your weapon's bang switch and shoot em dead. Easy as pie."
Vivian nodded. "I understand but with respect Mister Cayde that didn't really answer my question."
Cayde rubbed metallic chin. "Hmmm I suppose your right. Okay kiddo to put it to you straight, the odds are one hundred percent. One million percent. You will absolutely, positively, most definitely come face to guns with hostile forces. Hope your ready."
Vivian frowned, a determined glint in her eye. She couldn't help the cold shivers that run up her spine at the thought of facing the many enemies of the Traveler or the irritation she felt at herself for asking such a stupid question. She took comfort in knowing she would be facing it with Chad and Rosarian by her side.
"If that is all then fire-team Bliss your dismissed. I expect you to depart immediately." Ikora said. Rosarian bowed, motioned for Vivian and Chad to follow then departed the room.
Zavala watched as Chad and Vivian followed after their team captain then turned to his Warlock counterpart. "This is a bad idea Ikora. I know you trust him but he is not-"
"ENOUGH!" Ikora's voice rang through the room and echoed. She glared at Zavala, her eyes glowing and waves of void light crashed violently around her.
"I've had quite enough Zavala. Rosarian is a Guardian, chosen by the Traveler just as much now as he was before he took that stupid blade. Be warned Zavala, I will suffer your prejudice against him no longer. Do not test me." She growled.
Zavala stood his ground and held her ethereal gaze. On the inside, he felt a chill run up his spine. Ikora hadn't challenged him like this since they're days as field agents and even then her reactions had never been this volatile.
"Fine." He said, his voice resigned. "But should you be wrong about him and should he turn against the light or his fellow guardians," he pointed at her. "that will be on you."
Ikora snorted then walked out, her light still lashing out around her.
Cayde sighed. "You know Zavala, pissing her off isn't really what I'd call good for your health. You know how she gets."
"I know Cayde." Zavala snapped. "Is the asset in place."
Cayde stood a bit straighter and his mechanical eyes narrowed. "Watch the sass Zavala. He is. But just for the record and to make sure there's no miscommunication between us: he is MY asset and he will act only if or when he feels necessary. He isn't some insurance plan for your hypothetical threats Zavala." Cayde pulled up his hood and began walking out of the command room.
"This entire fiasco your pulling needs to stop." He called over his shoulder.
Zavala stood alone in the command room and looked out towards the horizon, his thoughts on better times and the greater good.
•••••
Vivian shuddered as she saw the ship that belonged to Rosarian. Amanda Holiday had called it an "LRV1 Javelin".
An intimidating sight to behold, it sat in the hanger all gun metal grey with a pair of heavy cannons hanging underneath the body, a pair of two by two micro-missile silos and lastly, a pair of forward facing .50 millimeter Gatling guns built into the ends of it's wings.
Without a doubt it was a fighter ship, built for the specific purpose of causing damage to whatever enemy the pilot went against. The problem was that it had very little room for passengers, only a very small space for a copilot.
"Sorry about my ship. I've never had an apprentice before and almost all other Guardians have their own ship." Rosarian said as he stepped up beside her. "I asked Amanda about a ship for you by the way."
Vivian perked up. A ship all her own. She instantly felt giddy and even more excited to set out on their mission for the shipwright.
Rosarian continued. "She doesn't have a ship up and running for you to purchase at the moment," Vivian frowned. "but she said if we were able to find a few extra parts from the wrecks in the Cosmodrome she might be able to fix up one of the deadlined ships she has lying around for you to have. Harlow downloaded the list of which ships need which parts. You can go over it while we fly."
Vivian's smile returned. "That sounds good to me. Will we be able to look around while we collect spinmetal today?"
Rosarian shrugged his shoulders. "I don't see why not."
"Hey you two!"
Both Warlocks turned. Amanda waved from her spot two levels above them and pointed out away from the hanger.
"I just received your clearances and mission number from the Vanguard. Your other team member left already, so you better hurry and catch up to him. Rose, you and your tag along are clear to depart whenever you choose. Make sure to bring me lots of spinmetal." The blond woman called out before turning and shouting instructions to a passing worker.
Rosarian took a deep breath and looked down to his apprentice.
"Are you ready?" he asked.
Vivian nodded nervously. "As I'll ever be. Let's do this."
Rosarian said nothing in response. His helmet materialized onto his head before he was transmatted into his ship's cockpit. Vivian followed his example and took a deep breath before materializing her own helmet and allowing herself to be transmatted into the copilot seat.
"Hold on tight." Rosarian said through the ships communication link. Vivian only had enough time to suck in one last breath before the ship dropped from it's magne-hook and zoomed out into the open skies.
••••••••••
And there we have it. After a long dry spell due to BS the sage has returned!
I'm sorry for the delay in my updates. I'm attempting to get back to my one a month updates but my job is…. Unaccommodating to say the least.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I promise the next will be out as soon as I can.
For everyone who hadn't spotted the trend yet, I stagger my updates between "Guardian of the Sword" and my other story "Darkness Falls" so expect an update for this after the next chapter of DF hits.
A massive thank you to everyone still sticking with me after all this time. Your continued support means the world to me.
As usual, a huge thanks goes out to TheBoredBoot, without whom this wouldn't be possible.
Walk always dear family
TheForlornSage