A warmind of all warminds. Rumor has it that there was more than one created at the pinnacle of the Golden Age Era. Rasputin was now connected to all the servers to prevent it from falling into enemy hands and to gain what they thought would be an ally. A decision he knew may have been the wrong one. He did not know at the time that Rasputin was known as the Tyrant for a reason. The very AI that pulled from the Collapse and hid for a time via Midnight Exigent. A shut down into a dormant state.
It seemed the Fallen and Hive wanted this Warmind. The AI being was now integrated once again into the Universe to protect humanity on its own terms. Whether it would do that or destroy Humanity or the Traveler, they would never know, and it was too late to change his decision. He was so overwhelmed by this discovery of information and sore beyond belief after this particular self-decided mission to save the first Warmind. He had taken all kinds of wounds and two rather nasty revives. One from being skewered by a sneaking Vandal and one by being clawed by a Hive thrall. His little ghost still seemed to suffer flashbacks of its own and had become catatonic by his neck after a close call of being almost overwhelmed by enemies before he could gather light for a super. They didn't have the time or resources to see if they were healing or getting worse when they were interrupted.
He was wiping his pocket blade as a fireteam had come across him standing there around corpses of the Hive. He put away his bladed weapon.
"Good Traveler. They are here. The Hive." The leading Titan whispered and turned to look upon his figure as he put on the newly obtained arm guards on. A rather nice drop in his opinion.
They were of higher level than he had and it made him very tempted to try them out. They matched his entire silver and black color scheme despite the foreign matter dripping from his cloak. He would have to clean it and patch it when possible. He had a fondness for matching things.
Vanity, his Ghost whispered telepathically from his collar as if it was a giant conspiracy. A running joke between them.
"Guardian of Guardians." The large man acknowledged with a nod.
The Titan did not see the flinch at the name under his helmet. He simply nodded back to the man as he turned to leave. He had left the data banks open for the City.
Ghost popped out of his collar at last to speak on their behalf. "You will find all the information there. There was no other choice, Titan, but to release Warmind Rasputin. He has the potential to be a valuable ally in the future more than it was worth to let the AI fall into enemy hands." His little light promptly disappeared into his armor.
"Sir!" One of the younger guardians yelled out to him before he could leave.
He looked on as the young one approached. His experience in knowing his old life made him feel so much older as the younger guardian seemed to ooze youth. A result of constant meditation and retreating into his mind, according to his Ghost at least. It allowed him to discover what once would have been hidden. Its not like he knew if what he remembered were multiple lives or one long adventurous one.
Something seemed familiar about the approaching cloaked figure. This was the one he had saved so long ago after the walker incident. He could see the ghost of the other warlock float around his own Ghost, who popped out slightly, in interest. They communicated in their own way he supposed. He refocused on the Warlock.
"I had volunteered, hoping to see you, Guardian. To thank you. Please take this!" The man begged as he held out a small key with a note.
It was thrust suddenly into his space that he felt compelled. He took it, carefully, touching another being for the first time other than Ghost in so many months, maybe years. He could not deny the man a gratitude that he would have given as well. He quickly stepped back though. Having a trauma related flashback here would leave him vulnerable to being taken again. This fireteam could leave him here for all he knew, vulnerable to the inevitable Hive or Fallen reinforcements. This fireteam could also drag him somewhere he did want to go.
"The coordinates there. I have a new Kestrel Class EX that I don't use as I have another ship I just found. I saw your old ship out there long ago and it's the same one you have out there now. This one may be more of a help to you. Smaller, but spacious and faster than that bucket of bolts you have now." The young one stated. Insulting yet charming.
He wanted to huff in humor, but he did not know if it would come across properly. If only his memories had showed him how to interact with others outside of a fight. Instead, he took it and nodded. He could tell the young man was not a traitor, too innocent. The fear was true that day after the walker. No one can fake emotions like that.
"Thank you." His Ghost stated from his armor and he nodded in agreement again. He then had his Ghost materialize one of his not well used weapons. One that he had modified and had served him well before he became too powerful for it. It was higher than this man's level, but it was good thing to acquire as the guardian would hopefully grow into it and with time beyond it.
"I couldn't," The other guardian gasped. This one that had potential to be an influence to grow beyond the cookie cutter warlock guardians the Tower produced.
He simply dropped the weapon in the air. Forcing the man to catch, much like his silly Ghost does all the time.
Bully. His Ghost teased as it floated in their bond content with a day's work.
They ignored the calls of the entire fireteam as they walked away. A common action he found himself doing to avoid people. He blamed his Ghost for his sense of dramatics.
Why him?
He looked at the spot his little one likely hid and smiled before tapping the area with a teasing bop of an index finger. He stared in the direction of where that battle happened. He could not imagine having left the young man into the hands of Fallen in this area. They were farther from honor than any other of their race. He deemed the place safe enough to head into orbit. He knew his Little One had moved the ship around as hey had made their way through rusted vehicles and withered buildings. Even the grass seemed tinted with rust as it grew around technology that was once used in the pinnacle of humanity.
He grew from that experience. He is levels above his fireteam. Halfway to being as big a threat as the Titan. His fireteam will soon become too weak. The young man has too much will to be held back. The team will either catch up or he will find another team worthy of him. He answered as he cracked his neck when they landed inside his ship. They would wander over to the coordinates, making sure it wasn't a trap before taking the gift. He would not say no to something so expensive when getting a hold of anything from the City required having Hawthorne go in or himself going in. After the farm got sick and he had to go in, he knew his nerves couldn't do it.
His newly created cloak now had his insignia on it. He hadn't worn it yet, but he caressed it as he made his way to the cockpit. The Eliksni logographic for the word freedom, 'Fre', atop a minimalist falcon inside a diamond were painted on the top right shoulder. A falcon in tribute to his first friend, freedom as a form of revenge for his imprisonment, and diamond for his companion. The only things he had known in this life. His old life to scrambled to piece together. He had painted it on himself by tracing the projected image his Ghost made it. The little platform of light complained how it was an advance fighting partner and not a school projector.
He now hung it with pride in its designated spot in his current ship. He would wear it when he felt he could keep it safe.
He had learned a good chunk Eliksni these past few weeks. He remembers when he heard of the song of the Eliksni Kell of Stone, Chelchis, for the first time in that dark room. The honorable extraterrestrial had fought in the Traveler's name when the sphere had fled the approaching dark. The noble Kell fell under the might of the dark, giving time for his people to flee. The Traveler was no fighter and the Eliksni knew that, now the Fallen seek it. Thinking it would be the answer to their fall from grace. He figured that it was history that the Tower and its leaders did not know about the closest enemy to the City other than betrayals. He had taken a large time to learn how to read and write the language. His Ghost's databanks did wonders. His Ghost too like to 'pack' everything it could. The pack rats that they had become.
In the end, war was coming from this former honorable race and he wanted them to fear him. Communicating their words and cultural actions would do a lot more damage than human or awoken ways.
One step at a time. One war at a time.