Ch. 20 Comfort Zones
Did you all know I have written 126 chapters not including this one? I swear I had no idea I had written that much but its surprising and a little heartening because it couldn't have been been done with you all, the loyal readers and fans of my work.
I honestly can't thank all of you enough and here's to many more great chapters and many more great stories!
Disclaimer: I own nothing, all characters belong to Bungie and Activision. Any OC's belong to their respective creators.
Comfort Zones: The one place that everyone should feel the most comfortable in and the place with which they should be at their very best in; the one place everyone excels when they step into it.
This was Gabe's element, his own comfort zone so to speak, and for the first time in a long while he was completely calm and fully confident in his abilities. This was cultivated in both his time learning his job as well as the times he spent in the field both as a Cavalry Scout as well as a Spotter on quite a few sniper teams during his two deployments. 'Should've put more emphasis on reading that contract they gave me in MEPS.' Was always his prevailing thought when he was selected, aka told, to pack his gear for an operation at 2 in the morning.
Still, he chose that path in his life and he did what everyone else did: Said "Yes Sir!" sucked it up and went to pack his gear; after all, it gave him his niche so to speak.
So here he was, hunkered down and near invisible to the naked eye while looking through the scope of a white and black sniper rifle. It only had a 4x and 8x zoom scope but it was more than needed and it blended perfectly with the white and gray surface of the Moon. 'If only it had a bi-pod.' Gabe thought absentmindedly.
Time seemed to melt away as he remain at his perch and it wasn't long until someone tapped on his foot. "It's time to switch." Avora said softly as Gabe didn't move.
"Has it been 5 and half already?" Gabe asked without blinking.
"It has." Avora replied simply as Gabe reluctantly got up and traded places with her.
While she got set his eyes glanced over the empty valley with a slight confusion before settling back onto her prone form. Once again his mind turned to obvious fact that while the front of the Titan was heavily armored, the back was only lightly armored and even then it was only in certain places. Forcing his eyes up, Gabe turned and walked away after a brief "Good luck" and made his way back to camp. 'She does have a nice ass.' he thought before mentally slapping himself and cursing his remaining teenage hormones.
"Finally, could you be any slower?" Theresa asked as Gabe finally got back to the makeshift camp.
"I had some things going through my head." Gabe told her as he sat down on a small rock.
"About this location or about something else?" Theresa teased as Gabe twitched a bit.
"What would make this area be so important? There's nothing here for miles and yea there's prints in the surface but it looks like they tried to make some sort of camp or outpost but thought better of it and moved on." Gabe said after a moment. "It doesn't make any sense you know?"
"I've been a Guardian for a quite a few years now and nothing our enemies have done ever made sense. We've tried to study the habits of the Hive and Fallen as well as the Cabal and the Vex for a long time and they still seem to operate somewhat differently each time. That's the best part though, the fact that we have no idea when something big will happen and that tense feeling you get when something is about to happen." she replied happily as Gabe shook his head.
"Oh go to bed." he said exasperatedly as she laughed before laying on her sleeping bag and looking back at him.
"You really need to learn how to relax, go visit a club or get a massage when we get back." Theresa said before she sat up. "I could give you one of course." she teased as Gabe just waved her off though he was a bit red.
"Not my thing." he replied as she shrugged before lying down and taking a nap.
He wasn't lying when he said it wasn't his thing either. He never felt the need or desire to go out after a shift to a bar or club with a few fellow soldiers nor did he feel comfortable doing it. He always had this fear that he would do something that would screw up his entire career or he would see someone he never wanted to see ever again.
Still, it felt like he missed out on a lot during his life but the majority of it was his fault as his own fear of people kept him from making any real friends. His reasoning at the time was that he was scared that if they got attached to him then he would find them dead because his uncle was still alive and on the run but that didn't stop the threatening phone calls to his foster residence.
At least now he could live without fear of having the bright spot in his life taken away now. Looking over at the sleeping form of Theresa he cracked a small smile at how much he opened up during their little scraps. He didn't know if she really meant all the things she said at the beginning or not but he can safely say that she had warmed up quite a bit to him and it helped him out by making him a little more open to others.
With that being said, he settled into a waiting pattern inside the camp.
-Scene Change-
"He's on the Moon." A Titan said with a small bit of glee as she looked at a data-pad. "My love has come to the Moon to rescue me from these apes."
"Acting like an innocent girl doesn't suit you." A Warlock said in a gruff tone as the female waved him off. "Your poison didn't work it seems."
"No, I just gave him too little of a dose to be effective; I misjudged the formula and my calculations." she replied as a Hunter stepped into the cave.
"There's more Squads on the Moon than normal, they're hunting for us." The Hunter said in a bored tone.
"No doubt your "love" is bait to get us into the open." Another Warlock stated as he came from deeper into the cave with Hive Wax.
"At least they know how to pick the bait." The female replied got up from a rock she was on. "Can I go pick him up? I would so love to catch up on how he liked my concoctions."
"It doesn't take much to please you does it?" The Hunter said as the Titan shot him a look from behind her helmet.
"I am one who has exotic tastes, not that I would expect a brute like yourself to know anything about that." she huffed as the leader shook his head.
"Oh yea because breaking fellow Guardians in half by raping them is considered an exotic taste. No wonder you Titans are always alone when it comes to romance, you crush pelvis's just by going gentle." The Hunter shot back as the Titan snarled.
"It's not my fault they couldn't handle the pressure! They were just weak sauce." she replied as the Hunter smirked behind his helmet.
"And then you snap their necks because they couldn't continue...a real Black Widow." A Warlock stated as he started mixing some Wax and Ether together.
"You three are going to be the death of me." The lead Warlock muttered as his fellow Rogues started bickering back and forth. "Alright you all need to shut your mouths."
"Tell the brutes to stop talking and we will." The female said as the other two glared at her.
"You're technically the only brute here." The Hunter shot back as the Titan made to grab him.
"I said shut up!" The leader said as the two calmed. "You'll get the chance to break him, after we grab his Ghost."
"Oh sir, you know just what to say to make me happy." The Titan swooned as the leader shook his head again.
-Scene Change-
"Theresa, your nap time is up." Gabe said as he tried to shake her awake with said action being a bad idea as the Warlock ended up blasting him backwards as she quickly woke up.
"Damn it kid, you don't sneak up on a Warlock when they are sleeping." Theresa said as Gabe had to pull himself up while trying to get some air into his lungs.
"Tried...waking...you...for...shift." he wheezed out as she shook her head and got up from the sleeping mat.
"Just tell my Ghost next time, it's better for your health." she said as she grabbed her Hand Cannon. "What time is it?"
"Midnight going by Earth time." her Ghost replied as Gabe was still wheezing.
"You're lucky that was low power or else you would be a pile of ashes." Theresa remarked as Gabe finally regained his breath.
"Ass." he replied simply as she smirked.
"I know you were staring at it." she teased as he sputtered while she walked away laughing as Avora came into view.
"She got you again?" Avora asked as Gabe settled on his mat without answering. "You know she doesn't mean anything by it."
"Sometimes I don't know." Gabe replied before settling down for his rest. Avora watched him for a moment before opening a channel.
"He's asleep." Avora said in the comm channel.
"Doesn't matter now wake him and pack up the camp, we're relocating to Temple of Crota for an urgent Scouting mission." Eddie said through the comm. "A few minutes ago a high concentration of Dark energy was detected from there in the deepest parts and we are being dispatched to recon one part of it while two more recon other areas of the Temple."
"Understood, I'll wake him and we'll be ready to move when you return" Avora replied but stopped before she shut off the channel. "Eris has been saying this for a while now."
"I know and it's our fault for not listening sooner." Eddie replied before shutting off the channel.
"Hey, wake up Gabe." Avora said as she shook him as gently as she could.
"What's going on?" he asked groggily as he saw her stand up and pull him up with her.
"The mission's been scrubbed, we have a new Recon target and I doubt you're going to like it." she said calmly as he made a face behind his helmet.
"Where is it?" he asked a little hesitantly as she gave a sigh.
"A place called the Temple of Crota, where more Guardians have lost their Light and their lives and it's where the Hive are the strongest. In short, a dark and deadly place that has spilled more Guardian blood than anywhere else." Avora said as she finished packing up her stuff. "it's also where Eris lost everything, including her eyes and what made her a Guardian. If there was a place that resembled the old place of Hell then the Hellmouth and Temple of Crota are tied for it." That final statement made Gabe's stomach completely churn ad his blood go cold.
There was no comfort zone anymore and that would only echo louder when he descended into the Temple.
Well now we see just how sex deprived one member of Sunblade is and we find out that Gabe loves overwatch positions where silence is key and your only company is one other person. The Temple of Crota should make for some...horrifying experiences for our youngest Guardian so expect some moments of terror.
I will say it again, no more OC's will be accepted into my stories because I have too many already so please don't ask me anymore.
Nothing much else to say except read and review and see you all in The Taken King if you have a 360!
So tell me guys, Kasumi or Ayane? Leave interesting or creative comments and tell me if you found the Futurama reference in the chapter!