The Guardian, The City, Present Day.
There was a note tagged to your door that next morning. And just as your ghost was wont to do, he thought it necessary to read it aloud over your shoulder. "Headed to Cayde's old ramen hole. I'll be there for a couple hours if you find yourself bored of mandatory rest."
Having read faster than you did (because SOMEONE was reading aloud at the same time), he turns to you and blinks with his one eye. "Oh! I bet this is from that hunter from yesterday! What was his name again? Cracks-14?"
You give him another one of those looks as you lock your apartment door. "Right. Of course it's from that hunter. I know, I know, I astound you sometimes. But hey, someone's gotta do the talking for two people, right?"
You shake your head, looking amused. "I do talk now, you know. Thinks have changed."
He stays glued to your right shoulder, apparently deciding to not float around today. "True. I don't even remember why you decided to stop talking in the first place, if I'm being honest." Another look. "I know. Sorry. And his name is Krix-13, by the way. Just in case you forgot."
You fling another look at your shoulder, a more annoyed one this time. "Heh-heh. Sorry."
On the long ride down to the City he's still talking. "You know, it's nice to listen to someone else's story every now and then. I mean, it's cool that we get to make our own all of the time, but sometimes I forget what it's like to listen to one, you know? In my opinion, listening to a story is more fun than telling it. Well… that's probably because I always have to do the telling."
The two of you finally reach the bottom. As you step out of the elevator on the ground level of the City, the smell assaults your nose. It's not altogether an unpleasant smell, as the scent of cold steel from the Tower is gone, replaced by the warm moistness of healthy dirt, and the smoky business of a happy population. It's something you honestly enjoy as you walk to a place all to well-known.
Cayde's favorite spicy ramen shop. The place probably made thousands of glimmer off of that one customer, and thousands more off of the people who grabbed a bowl in honor of him. You yourself have frequented the place, once to find the rambunctious Vanguard off-duty… and now to revel in old memories.
Krix is sitting at a corner table, back to the wall, making small talk with a waitress. As you walk up to him you can hear part of the conversation.
"Can't agree with ya more darlin'. Say hon, if you don't mind me askin', what're you doin' down here? We don't get too many Hunters in shop anymore." Her voice became conspiratory. "I hear cause none of yall want ol' Cayde's spot on the Vanguard."
The blue hunter nodded as he mixed up his bowl. "That's true. Wish it wasn't, but it is. Us hunters are born roamers. We love our freedom more than anything else, and would rather die than get chained to one spot for too long. Why am I here? Oh. Well, I don't have to worry about Ikora or Zavala tapping me for Vanguard. I'm too young for that kind of job. The one perk, I suppose."
He locks eyes with you and he gestures to the seat across from him.
"And if it gets to the point where they're willing to ignore Cayde's Dare and pick any sucker with a cape, then we've got bigger problems to worry about. How you doin' Guardian?"
You nod, and your ghost (before you can pick something else, you think indignantly) says 'the usual'. The waitress nods and walks off to fulfill your order. Krix doesn't say a word until he's finished with his bowl, which the waitress is quick to replace.
"Alrighty then, where were we?" he says as he sprinkles some extra seasoning on his second serving.
Ghost settles himself in on your shoulder in a cute expectant manner. "Just after the Red War."
"Right. So… I didn't really think much of what happened after the Red War. As you're probably aware, it was a busy time after the Traveler awoke. A lot of exploring going on. It was the age of opportunity, and impossibilities, honestly. You took down Panoptes and brought Saint-14 back from the dead. Didn't think that was possible. I love that man by the way, he has more simple wisdom than half the warlocks I've met. And a healthy appreciation of the little things, you know? It's a good outlook to have on life."
He took a sip from his cup. "Anyways, things where looking pretty good, and I was too busy doing Hunter stuff to realize that what happened to me in the City wasn't normal. I was too distracted with the present to worry about my past or future."
He slurped down a mass of noodles with a contented sigh. "That's the only way to eat this stuff."
"Cayde taught you that?"
"Course he did. Anyways, that all changed after I met Ana Bray. I was doing a lot of lone wolf type stuff up to that point and Beeper and I were near Mars when we picked up a call from her. Something about Warsats, Hive infestations, and a Red Legion problem. When I heard that last part, I was all in."
He shook his head. "Boy did THAT open a can of worms"
/
Krix-13, Near Mars Orbit, 1 Week After Xol's Defeat
A sudden cascade of beeping erupted from the flashing ball of light at his shoulder.
Beeper's flashes were augmented by Krix's light-blue auditory LEDs. "AUGH! Beeper! Yes, I see the Warsat, no need to start yelling!"
The electronic Vex/ghost noises continued, somewhat abated.
"Wha- yes, I think that warsat was cool, just not 'augh-oh-my-gosh-why-is-that-warsat-crashing-how-awesome-is-that' kinda way. Just… next time you see something like that and I'm concentrating, whisper please. I would appreciate it."
As the flames of atmospheric entry slowly faded from his Jumpship's canopy, they revealed the harsh surface of the Red Planet. Krix steered for the ice fields belting the planet- it was well known where Rasputin was located, and that the famous Ana Bray had set up shop with the Warmind.
He made landfall on the BrayTech campus' landing pad, his well-used Steelfeather held at low ready. The area was decently clear- despite the evidence of a good amount of recent Hive activity. Witch scorch marks marred the golden age facility's grounds, and a hundred nasty-looking claw-like gouges were scattered across the walls.
The first thing that struck Krix as he stepped foot into the main lobby of the Clovis Bray building was the mustiness of it. Something dripped slowly and steadily just out of sight, and a mess of weeds grew along many of the walls. The other thing that struck him? The lights still worked, and the hum of computers sounded faintly from another portion of the building.
"Well Beeper-" he whispered. "-that's weird for a centuries' old facility. Someone's here. Might be Ana, might not." He slid his auto rifle onto his back- but kept his hand hovering over his Roderic-C sidearm.
"Hello?"
The faint sound of something scuffling came from one of the raised platforms near him. He turned on his sensor suite. The red outline of someone crouching above and behind him appeared on his internal HUD. He grinned to himself.
"Anyone there? Ana Bray?"
The sound of a door opening slowly echoed in the massive room. The red outline started quietly moving, maneuvering for a shot to his back. Think you're so sneaky, huh? Without warning his ghost, he lept forward and rolled to his left, coming to a stop behind cover and with his pistol up. Just in front of his sights stood a middle-aged Asian woman with shoulder-length hair, mostly white hunter armor, and an easy grin, holding an elegant-looking scout rifle in his general direction. Something tugged at the back of his head, a strange sense of wanting to recognize the person in front of him. He quickly shook it off.
As the two of them stared at each other Beeper squeaked in alarm and floated frantically over to his Guardians shoulder, having been completely enraptured with the ancient building and thus missing the sudden evasive maneuver Krix had pulled.
He also apparently missed the reason for the evasive maneuver, because as soon as he spotted what Krix was pointing at he gave another shrill alarm whistle and disappeared. Krix slowly turned his head to where Beeper used to be and started chuckling. "'Look out'? Thanks for the heads-up buddy. I TOTALLY didn't see her up there."
Ana dropped her Polaris Lance and started laughing. "Alright, you guys check out! Common up hunter, my workstation's over here."
Krix stood up and holstered his pistol, shaking his head as Beeper re-materialized from his backpack and followed his Guardian in an incredibly embarrassed way. When the pair reached the top Krix had dropped his hood and mask.
Ana was surrounded by a ring of computers, holograms, and weapon crates, situated in such a way so that she had a wonderful view of the main facility. She took a quick break from her typing to greet the newcomers once they arrived.
"Thanks for coming, Guardian. In case you haven't figured it out yet, my name is Ana Bray, and that's Jinju." She gestured to a sweet looking ghost hovering nearby. A cheery 'hello!' followed from the bright ghost.
Krix stuck out his hand and was pleasantly surprised at the firmness of Ana's grip. "The name's Krix-13, and my super-aware ghost is Beeper." The ghost in question floated out from behind his Guardian's shoulder and quietly bleeped a greeting.
Ana chuckled again. "Ah, that gave me a laugh. Sorry for that ambush, by the way. I didn't pick up your ship's approach and I've had Cabal scouts sometimes stumble into here. And anyways, if I can ambush a Guardian in this open room then I have no business sending them into Hive-infested caves, so look at it as some sort of test."
Krix grinned ever so slightly begore leaning against the balcony railing. "Did I pass?"
"With flying colors. Your ghost? Not so much, but I have a feeling you'll make up for that."
"That I will. Beeper actually notices a lot of stuff before I do, it's just that the stuff he notices is never dangerous. I'm the guy that notices that kind of stuff."
Ana chuckled again as she plugged in another line of code on one of her laptops. "I can see that. Anyways, I'm sure you're interested in what I need a little Light-powered help for?"
Krix shrugged. "Watcha got?"
Ana pulled up a hologram map of Mars. "Ok, so as you know The Guardian just recently helped me set up shop here and killed a giant Hive god that was attacking Rasputin."
"Xol, right?"
"Yup. The giant earthworm. Anyways, thanks to that I've gotten stuff pretty well locked down here, with only moderate Hive and Cabal activity here and there. Yesterday however Rasputin detected a spike in Red Legion activity in this area of Mars-" the map zoomed into a location near the planet's equator, only a couple miles from their current location.
"What's interesting is that this isn't a mining or drilling expedition. They don't have any heavy equipment with them, but they do have a good number of soldiers and I can't figure out what they're doing. Since I can't go myself- Big Red still needs a lot of work- I need someone to head down there and tell me what the Cabal are doing in the middle of nowhere."
Krix shrugged again, his silver highlights glinting orange in the Martian sunlight filtering through the massive window. "Sure, sounds like a perfect job for a Hunter. I'm just gonna ignore the fact that Zavala hasn't officially authorized general Guardian activity on Mars just yet?"
Ana outright laughed. "Yeah, you're talking about the guy who thought I was dead for the past few centuries. Anyways, he's gonna authorize it, he just hasn't gotten the paperwork finished just yet. So don't sweat it."
"Heh, true. Any specifics before I leave?"
Ana zoomed the map out again and traced a path from the Braytech FutureScape and Krix's destination. "Yeah. So it's best if you make the approach via sparrow. I've got a custom one I've refurbished recently designed specifically for this environment. You can borrow it if you want. I'll also be monitoring your progress and I'll maintain radio contact for the duration of your mission. I'm not sure what you'll find so just be prepared for anything."
She glanced down at Krix's worn Roderic. "And you could probably use a replacement for that. Don't get me wrong, it's a great pistol, but it acts up with all of the dust that's around here. Hold on one sec."
She started rummaging around in one of the crates marked with a worn CB on the side. She stood back up with old-looking pistol with some type of silencer and holographic sight attached to it. "Here, a gen-u-ine golden age Braytech 18 Kelvins pistol. It's got a mag capacity of 15 hard hitting rounds and it's guaranteed to work in any environment. Take it. I found an entire armory of the stuff so I'm never gonna get around to shooting them all."
Krix was impressed with the weapon. It was lightweight, and yet it still cycled perfectly for a centuries' old pistol. "Well thanks, I'll take it. It is an upgrade."
Ana nodded. "It's Bray designed and built, so of course it is! Anyways, you'll find the sparrow I was talking about in Bay 10, which should be… here, I'll upload the directions to your HUD. Good luck."
Krix gave a casual two-fingered salute before sauntering off. "Thanks. I'll let you know when I start off."
The walk to Bay 10 was a lonely one, mostly. Thanks to The Guardian and Ana's efforts, most of the central Clovis Bray facility was clear, except for a few noticeable pockets. He and Beeper reached the Bay without any trouble at all, and in the center sat a sleek fancy-looking royal blue and white sparrow, with the words 'Azure Azazyel' marked carefully on the side.
Krix whistled as he slowly walked around the craft. "Dang Ana, you Braytech people know how to make some good-looking sparrows."
He could hear Ana chuckle over the intercom. "Yeeaah… we kinda knew what we were doing. Fancy taking it for a long drive?"
Krix rubbed his hands together before jumping on and starting the engine. "Yes please. Gimme some waypoints."
"Uploading now." A virtual marker appeared in front of him, leading to the snowy Martian landscape outside. "Done. Enjoy your ride. Lemme know when you get within LOS of the site."
Krix revved the engine a bit. "Copy that."
/
Two hours later, and Krix was still driving. He was thoroughly enjoying the ride, but he could tell he was getting close to the incursion site. "Hey Ana?"
"Yeah?"
"Get me to a high point that has a good LOS to the location. I wanna scope it out before I move in."
The sound of keyboard keys clacking filtered through the slight static of the radio. "Good thinking. Aaaaaand… done. Two klicks to your west, should be a high ridgeline. If you've got a decent sniper rifle you should be able to get a good view of their activity."
A quick glance to his right confirmed the ridge. "Got It. Heading over there now."
It only took a few minutes to reach the cliff. After crawling for a couple yards, he was prone and at the edge, his Elegy-49 sniper rifle scanning the ground about a mile out. "Ana?"
"I'm here. Whatcha got?"
His right eye rotated a bit as he focused through the 10x scope. "Multiple Cabal. Most of them just standing around. Three parked Harvesters, two patrolling Interceptors. I'm counting two… no three Centurions and a Colossus in command, but no drill platform. You were right, this is a pretty sizable force and I'm not seeing a reason for it. Yet."
"Copy that. Keep scanning."
"Roger. Stand by." Krix squinted a bit, his right eye now adding its magnification power to that of that of the scope's. "Hold up…"
Her voice perked up a bit. "Yeah? See something?"
"Maybe… do you know of any Clovis Bray facilities in this area?"
The sound of furious typing again came over the com net. "One second… no, not in the official records at least. There's a full possibility there are though. I only have access to the public network right now and Big Red tells me the published info is nothing to the databanks he used to have access to. There could be an entire 'nother lab down there."
His crosshair slowly panned over a sealed door, with Martian earth recently cleared away from it. Multiple Cabal clustered around, apparently trying to get in. It took a little bit for him to get a clear view of the door, but when he did he liked what he saw.
"Ana."
"Yeah?"
"I got confirmation. They're trying to break through a blast door with the Clovis Bray symbol clearly in the front."
Her excitement was a little contagious. "Oh hoo hoo! This could be anything! A… a new product vault, or maybe a hidden research lab, or- wait a minute. Is there a Warmind symbol on the front?"
"Umm… I think. Yes. Yeah, there is one. They're still trying to hack the door. They're not having much luck though… Best guess says they're waiting for breaching charges."
"Damn it. That's not good. If it has Red's symbol on the front I betcha it has some sort of computers inside, and those could get seriously damaged if those charges go off. I need you to stop them."
Krix took one more look around the entire Cabal perimeter. "It'll be my genuine pleasure. I'll always be up to kill some Cabal."
He could tell Ana picked up the sudden animosity in his voice. "You were at the City, weren't you?"
Krix nodded before remembering that she couldn't see him. "Yeah. Not many good memories. I was only three months old at the time, so that was one hell of a baptism by fire."
Ana sighed. "Yeah, I can imagine. Well, enjoy. Let me know when you clear the door and I'll send you the access code."
Krix got up and jogged back to the Azure. "Copy that."
He changed out his Elegy with a shotgun he got from Hawthorne back at the Farm. He was going to be getting up close and personal with this one. "Ok, Beeper, pre-attack checklist. Shotgun:"
*Beep*
"Good. Pistol:"
*Beep-ba-boop*
"Uh… because it would be rude to not use it. Duh. Grenades:"
*Beep*
"Wonderful. And here is the question… grenade launcher, rocket launcher, or… sword?"
He glanced over to the ball floating next to him. "Beeper. I'm asking you."
*Bleep-da-beepboop?! Blopper-BLINGA-bong.*
"Uh… ok. Rocket launcher it is. Is Arc Super set?"
*Bleep-da… wheep-boop?*
Krix settled into the sparrow's saddle and pointed it toward the cliff edge and the Cabal. "Well. I'm glad I checked. Ready?"
Beeper seemed to dissolve as he phased himself into Krix's armor.
*Beepity-bingers!*
Krix rolled his eyes and set his hood in place. "We REALLY need to get you fixed."
"Yeah you should. I still don't understand how you can understand him."
*Thbpthpth*
And with that, the two of them launched forward with full afterburner, rocketing off of the cliff and dropping down into the valley below. A massive red dust cloud followed them as the shot toward the Cabal, removing any and all elements of surprise that he might've had.
Krix was fine with that.