A/N: To the Guest who reviewed on Log 07, I understand the theory behind it, but from what I understand, to build a car from surrounding matter, that matter would have to be converted first into glimmer, and considering how complex and dense Glimmer is, that would need a lotof matter, and it simply seems inefficient, and to a degree noticeable, but thank you regardless. On the other idea, you'll just have to find out, no? There's a reason I chose Blacksburg as the setting for a bit. To everyone else, thanks for the comments and suggestions! :)
Log 7777-08.
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Warlock Juno
Something was wrong, that much Juno knew for certain. The sky was a dark red, the star lighting it a dying hue of the same colour. The ground that crunched beneath her feet was dry and dead, nothing living as far as she could see. The air felt...heavy as if it hadn't had reason to move or shift in a long time. Something scratched at her senses, like a fingernail on a chalkboard, right at the edge of her hearing, movement out of the corner of her eye, but never quite visible. Something was missing...where was Surf?
"Surf…? Buddy, where are you?" Her voice echoed over the dead plains, and there was no response from her constant companion. There was something off about this place, aside from the obvious. What was the last thing she'd been doing…? "Sleeping...I went to sleep. This is a dreamscape? No, a Nullscape?"
The ground behind her cracks and a large...thing forces itself out of the ground. Juno stumbles to the side, grasping her head. Focusing her vision on it, whatever it was, hurt. Physically and Mentally, like a cheese grater being rubbed against her consciousness.
"A̷̧͍̣̾̚ ̴̟̣̹̽̕ḓ̶̒̈͐e̵̘̼̞͂͑a̵͖͚̭̿d̶͑͜ ̶̻̟̳̈͘t̴̫͌ȟ̸͍ḯ̷̭̇̌n̵̾̐͜ǧ̸̡̗ ̶̧͕̘̍i̷̹͌n̵̤̝̜̕ ̵̻́̐̀ǎ̶̘͐ ̴̪̞̖͌͠d̵̰̾̄̀ę̶̛̲͓̒̕á̸͚̀͘d̴͔̪͆͆ ̵̺̻̳͒̀͠ẅ̸̢̹̘o̸̬̝͋ȑ̸̨̨̹l̸͎̓d̶̛̫̳͗ ̶̼̖̿͊̆ẉ̸͇̻̓o̶̦͒͋ř̷̬̮͒̕s̵̡̮͔̓ḧ̸̆͜ͅi̴̱̿͐̍p̶̲͇͂̕p̶̞̅i̴̯̰̣͋͐͑n̸̢̞̐͌g̸̨̅ ̷̯̹̭̏̑̓a̵̯̣̚̕ ̷͇͎̽̊͜d̸̺̾̚e̸̱̽̒̂å̷̗̖̀̈́d̷̞̩̖̓̚ ̸̨̽̇͑g̵̜͖͋͗ǫ̸̟̚̚͜d̸̺̤̿͠!̶̨̩͠ͅ" Shrieked the abomination.
Juno screamed, grasping at her skull. A flash of motion out of the corner of her eye, she flinched, then everything went black.
Blacksburg, Virginia
Warlock Juno
Juno woke with a cry, shooting up from where she was laying and slamming her head into a very concerned Ghost, hovering just over her. Said Ghost bounced off her forehead, into the roof of the car the two were currently resting in, and right back into Juno's forehead. She fell back with a cry, writhing and clutching at her head. "Ow…"
"Guardian, are you alright!?" Surf cries, spinning around her head as she recovers, a headache already gathering. "Your vitals were all over the place, I was about to wake you!"
"Ah… thanks?" She replies, sitting up again. She was seated in the back of what Ghost had told her was called a Dodge Charger, some kind of 'Muscle' car, though she wasn't quite sure what that meant. "I think we might be in trouble, Surf. Something pulled me into a mindscape or nullscape, I think. It tried to do something to me, hurt like hell, but I don't think it accomplished anything."
"A nullscape, are you sure?" Surf asks with a voice of concern, that was high-level mental training, at least among Guardians. Only really useful against Wish-Dragons, too.
"Eighty percent sure. It looked like nothing I've ever seen, and I could interact with the terrain and… its inhabitants. Just looking at whatever it was caused me physical and mental pain… What was it the Foundation called them...cognitohazards?"
Surf did his best to scowl, compressing his shell forwards. "You think this is one of this world's -this time's- Anomalies?"
Juno winced in turn, just thinking about it gave her a headache. "I don't know, maybe? It accused me of 'Worshipping a dead god'. It sounds like it already knows what we are, what the Traveler is. Do you think something else might've followed us through that rift?"
"No, Guardian, I don't think so. To be perfectly honest, this just sounds like one of the Foundation's daily impossibilities. I've heard most of those can be solved with guns, though." Surf replied, putting on an air of confidence, though whether that was real or put on for her benefit would have to wait till later. "However," the Ghost interrupts, "I think that may have to wait till later."
Juno raises an eyebrow, "And why is that, Little Light?" She asks, voice taking on a teasing edge. The Stranger had called him that a few years prior, just after she'd Risen, and the Ghost had hated it the instant he'd heard the nickname.
The Ghost, in turn, does its best to glare at her. "Your 'boyfriend' sent you a message. Wants to meet up at the same place as before, today just after noon."
Her eyes narrow as she looks at the Lightborn AI, pursing her lips. "Just because he's interesting doesn't mean I see him that way!"
Blacksburg, Virginia
Lieutenant Shane Walker
Shane was almost surprised when he arrived at the Cafe just after noon, and found that the Warlock wasn't already waiting for him. Securing a table for two, he orders a coffee for himself, and sits down to wait, checking to make sure the bag he carried with him was untouched by anyone else.
It wasn't, and the rather innocuous black backpack filled with typically illegal items was placed underneath the table, by his feet. Out of view of any curious onlookers, but still easily within reach and within eyesight for him. The bell at the door rang, and his eyes darted up, greeted not by the Warlock, but a gaggle of College students laughing and talking as they took over a small corner of the cafe.
Caught up with the College Students as he was, he jumped in his seat and spluttered for a moment when Juno sat down across from him, a light laugh bubbling up from her at his reaction. "W-Where the hell did you come from?! I've been watching the door this whole time!"
"I can teleport, remember? I just transmatted into the Break Room in the back and came up that way, made it look like I'd come in before and been in the bathroom." She explains, crossing her arms and waving down a server, asking for a coffee of her own.
That done, she turns her attention back to the man across from her, "You called me here, for what reason? I hope you haven't already run into something you can't handle."
He shakes his head, "No, no. You asked something of us, and evidently, my superiors decided it was worth the risk. You think I'd be hanging out here if there was some world-ending abomination we had to kill or contain?" He kicks the backpack under the table across to her, bumping it into her foot with a muffled clatter.
"Legal plates keyed for that Charger you 'acquired', yes we noticed. A valid ID, Firearms and Driving Licenses, a faked background including a few qualifications the researchers thought 'appropriate.' Passport, and information for a private bank account. Just don't do something stupid with this stuff, alright? Your background is good, but it's not waterproof, it's nearly impossible for it to be."
The Time-Traveler whistles, impressed with how quickly it was all done, "You people really have some pull, don't you?"
He shrugs and smiles lightly, spreading his arms out confidently, "What can I say, we're good at what we do and quick about it."
Blacksburg, Virginia
Warlock Juno
Juno stared at the pile of documents in front of her, her third cup of coffee in front of her. Shane had left somewhere near an hour ago, leaving her to learn her entire 'history' without any further explanation. The banking information, vehicle information, and plates had been left in or returned to the backpack after a brief inspection, while the folder containing the general information on her background, education, and other such things was currently spread across the entire table.
The name they'd assigned her was Juniper Galdur, which Surf found hilarious for reasons he refused to explain, though she had no doubt it was due to whatever her last name translated to. She'd been raised in Western Europe and had moved here several years prior, after graduating from Humboldt University in Berlin with degrees in Physics and Philosophy, and she was 28 years old. She found that little tidbit incredibly funny, given that she was, in theory, only just over six years old.
Moving on from that, her 'parents' had been killed in a car accident while she was young, and she'd been in the European Foster System until she'd graduated from Humboldt, in which time she'd moved to the US in search of a job. The Foundation had even seen fit to set her up with a small apartment in downtown Blacksburg, something even she, with her minimal knowledge on modern economics, was reasonably sure was not a cheap payment.
After a bit more reading, mostly just minor details and information relating to her 'past', she gathers up the pile of papers, stuffing them back into the folder from whence they came, vainly hoping she didn't crumple any of them. She tucks the folder into the backpack, standing up with the black bag slung over one shoulder, and steps out the door, leaving enough cash to pay for her drinks, and a substantial tip for the server. Between now and the Last City, there were some things that hadn't changed, and waiters and servers were still terribly underpaid.
The apartment was small, but not cramped. Three rooms, consisting of a bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen/social room mixture made for a balanced mixture of utility and comfort. She didn't have many belongings, so the apartment would remain relatively bare for the moment, and as she wandered around, Surf scanned the apartment for any bugs or cameras, and when they were found, disabled them without a word. She would let the Foundation keep track of her for now if only to allay any worries they might have, but she wouldn't let them spy on what pathetically little of a private life she had.
The folders and information went tucked into a drawer in the bedroom, while the IDs and such were left on a table, for once she actually got herself a wallet. Clothing was materialized on hangars in the small closet via transmat, while Felwinter's Lie was leaned up against a wall in the kitchen area. The Dodge Charger had been parked outside in resident parking, with the new plates already mounted and the old ones converted into a small amount of glimmer.
A small radio had been discovered in the kitchen, tucked behind a machine Surf called a Toaster, and that now sat on the sill between the kitchen and the living room, blasting something from a genre she wasn't familiar with. Outside, she had an incredibly small balcony, maybe four feet deep and six wide, and on the third floor it provided a decent view, though it wasn't anything to 'write home about', as they say.
She'd already met the Owner/Manager of the complex, an older man who'd come up to introduce himself and ask if she needed anything, something he insisted he did with every new resident. He'd seemed the kind enough sort, and she'd sent him off with a kind thanks and a promise to let him know if she needed anything. Now, just a short while later, there was once more someone at the door. With an annoyed huff and shimmer of light as Surf disappeared once more, she cracked open the door, giving the suited man on the other side a once-over. "Can I help you?"
The man turned his attention to her face as soon as the door opened, eyes hidden behind polarized sunglasses(like that isn't shady as hell), and clad in a dark green suit with grey undertones, but otherwise looking for all the world like just another 'average joe'. "Yes, Miss Galdur, isn't it? May I come in and have a moment of your time?"
That alone set off several alarms in her head. No one outside the Foundation should have known she was here, nor her new identity. That this guy knew both was worrying and might signal new issues for her on the horizon. For now, though, she'd play it cool, see what she could get out of this guy before doing anything drastic. "Of course, come in. Sorry, I don't have much in the way of comfort, I just moved in today."
"That's quite alright, I'll only be taking a few moments of your time." The man assures her, drawing out a small paper card and placing it on the small table in the living area, likely a business card. "I work for a certain group of people, who would prefer to remain unnamed for now, who specialize in the 'removal' of certain objects and entities that certain other groups and people should not be trusted with. It's not every day someone of your….unique talents come to light, and it was decided that you should be offered a position among our group."
Juno crosses her arms, thoroughly unimpressed. A recruitment offer, already? She shouldn't have been surprised, yet here she was. "And what can you offer me, that others can't? Why should I even consider joining you, when I have the opportunity for a perfectly normal life here?"
The man, perhaps recruiter, is prepared for that question, apparently. "Absolutely nothing, except for the fact that judging by the waves you're already making, you aren't someone who would sit by idly while something can be done to better the world. You're a fighter, not a spectator."
He nods to the card on the table, stepping past her and back towards the door. "You have the information to contact us, we hope to hear from you soon. Good day…" He pauses in the doorframe, expression unreadable, "Miss Juno."
The Warlock in question opens her mouth, an accusation on her lips as he steps out into the corridor and closes the door behind himself. Dashing up to the door and wrenching it open, she casts her gaze in either direction, but somehow, he's already gone, if he'd ever really been there at all. Turning her attention to the card, she picks it up and reads the information on it. 'Creative Integrity Limited', and a phone number, with a small symbol in the corner. A circle with a series of inward spiraling lines, with a red dot at the center.
A/N: Terribly sorry for the delay, and the haphazard writing here. Been overloaded with classwork, and I could have had this out yesterday, had I not burned my hand on a pot. (Don't ask, please.) I'm 50/50 on whether this will be the final rendition of this chapter, I might come back and edit it later to make it more coherent. Two last things! One, a while back I went and use Destiny 2's character creator to make what I imagine Juno looks like, so follow this link( www . deviantart prometheus-23 / art / Juno-867410470) to check it out! Secondly, I once again wanted to thank everyone for the continued support. It means so, so much to me, I can't even explain. Everyone will return soon, and things are finally going to start heating up.
As always, thanks to Perseus for editing.