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"Shallow men believe in luck or in circumstance. Strong men believe in cause and effect." – Ralph Waldo Emerson


Arc I - Chapter 4

Bonding

The days were starting to blur together. Wake, clean up, walk, stop, walk, settle, and sleep. The only thing that changed was the scenery, which remained stunning for the most part, and the topics she and her Ghost discussed to pass the time.

Travelling from the peaks of the mountains, they continued heading north, and in that time Jane learned a lot about her new companion.

According to her Ghost, most of the Ghosts that were sent out by the Traveller every month would return with a new guardian. However, every once in a while, a Ghost would head out, and never return. The Ghosts that disappeared would sometimes be found by Guardian patrols, broken and dead. Killed, it appeared, by the Fallen.

As she came to understand, Ghosts were surprisingly fragile machines, and because of this, they would search quickly, hoping to find an acceptable host within a month, two on the outset. Any longer was considered a death sentence, as Fallen actively hunted the Ghosts wherever they found them.

For her own Ghost, Jane learned that the little guy had been searching for her the past ten years. Apparently scouring the better part of three different continents looking for her, took some serious time and patience.

"Why?" She had asked, "What makes me so different?"

Apparently, the Light contained inside of him did the choosing part, her Ghost was just the messenger. Still, it was impressive, that most Ghosts could only survive a couple months without a Guardian, hers had managed for ten years on its own without protection.

Coming to a stop just outside what looked like a small forest, Jane looked back at the way they had come. The rocky white tipped mountains in the distance looked far less hostile than when she had been traversing them, and Jane was noticing the air was getting progressively warmer.

As they continued, she asked her Ghost about their connection. About the Light they now shared.

Apparently, it wasn't just one way, and while Ghosts could glean surface thoughts, emotions and feelings, she could do the same with him. As well as this, apparently more experienced Guardians have found that their personalities influenced their Ghosts, a few spotty reports of a few even gaining limited telepathy.

Continuing on their journey, it was still rather cold, more so when day turned to night, but it was becoming more manageable and Jane no longer needed to build shelter every night to sleep safely. It was while she was setting up their latest camp, that she spotted some edible berries growing on a nearby bush.

Picking a few of them, she popped a few of them in her mouth, and as she did she came to a surprising realization.

"I haven't eaten anything in over a month."

Her Ghost seemed surprised by the statement, speaking up at the implied question.

"The Light inside you now provides you all the energy you need, technically you don't need to eat. Though you can still consume and enjoy food normally, I think."

Pondering that, Jane located and dragged a nearby tree trunk to sit upon. Unslinging her rifle from her back, she took care to place it within easy reach, her spear already laid next to it, before sitting back and watching as her Ghost started a fire inside a small circle of stones it had collected.

"What else can the Light do?"

Turning to look at her, Jane got the feeling that her Ghost was smiling.

"You already know that the Light sustains you, allows me to revive you, and is the natural enemy of the Darkness." Floating over to her, her Ghost continued, "But one of the biggest advantages of the Traveller's Light, is that it gifts to you the ability to wield it yourself."

Blinking in surprise, Jane leaned back and motioned for him to continue.

"The Vanguard, who protect the Last City, are made up of three different types of Guardians… classes you could say. First are the Titans, they are known to wear the heaviest of armours, utilise the biggest guns and whose Light forms heavy shields and heavier attacks."

"Next are the Hunters, they utilise speed, stealth and marksmanship to kill their targets while evading damage, they wield their Light with precision and can manipulate it to enhance themselves or their weapons."

"And finally there are the Warlocks, who are known as researchers and philosophers, who question everything and wield the powers gifted by the Traveller in combination with modern weapons."

Leaning back, Jane tried to digest all of the information that had just been presented to her, staying silent for a while, simply watching the fire while she thought.

And I'm supposed to be one of these Guardians, these wielders of Light?

Eventually she roused herself from her thoughts, "So which one am I? A Titan, Hunter or Warlock?"

Her Ghost chirped in what Jane was starting to recognise as curiosity.

"I'm not really sure. Lord Shaxx has always decided on a newborn Guardians class. To me you could fit all three." Floating around her head, he continued, "The strength of will to be a Titan, the precision and resourcefulness of a Hunter, and the curiosity and intelligence of a Warlock."

Jane smirked, "Flatterer."

"It's true!" Her Ghost exclaimed. "Every Ghost I've come across has claimed that their Guardian would be a great Titan, or was an expert Warlock, but you embody the traits that define all three."

Placing her elbows on her knees and clasping her hands together, Jane rested her head on top, an action that her Ghost was starting to categorise as her 'thinking pose'.

"You've met other Ghosts?"

She could tell her Ghost was unsure as to where she was going with this, but he humoured her all the same, answering with the same earnest hope she had come to expect from him.

"I was searching for you for ten years, I bumped into quite a few Guardians and their Ghosts."

Quirking an eyebrow, Jane continued, "How do people tell you apart? I mean, if you're all called 'Ghost', do you paint your shells?"

Her Ghost nodded, "Some do, others have different shells constructed to better suit their purposes. Although most Guardians end up giving more personal names to their Ghosts."

Jane leaned back, as if some great puzzle had been solved.

"The I guess since we don't have any new shells or spare paint lying around, I should give you a name, yes? In my head I just refer to you as 'My Ghost'."

Rotating his shell in what Jane was she was sure was excitement, he moved to float in front of her.

"If you would like." He stated, sounding for all the world like he was unconcerned. Jane smirked. The link, after all, went both ways.

"Hmmm… How about… Urz?"

Quirking up to look her, horror in the little ball's eyes, Jane felt a wave of dread build from her companion, and her own amusement grew.

"Err… How about something… anything else?"

Smiling, Jane opened her mouth, about to suggest another name off the top of her head.

Snap!

Jane froze, the sudden rush of instinct demanding she locate the source of the sound making her eyes dart around their camp. Her Ghost too, had paused where it floated, slowly swaying back and forth as it tried to identify where the noise had come from.

When no immediate attack came, Jane spoke. Her hand slowly creeping towards her rifle as she did so.

"What are the odds that was just some sort of… wild animal?"

Quietly floating to the safety of her shoulder, her Ghost kept his voice low.

"We are in a forest… though now that you mention it, it's a very quiet forest."

A few more moments of silence persisted, with Jane and her Ghost scanning the tree line, searching the shadows for the slightest movement.

With a roar, a Fallen Dreg ripped itself from a nearby bush behind them, daggers held in each hand as it charged them.

In one smooth movement, Jane ducked and rolled, scooped up her rifle, brought herself up into a crouch and fired. An arc of energy lashing out from the barrel of her rifle hit the two armed alien dead center, dropping it with one shot.

The moment she had fired however, seemed to be some sort of trigger, as several more roars went out around the edges of their camp as more Fallen Dregs burst from the shadows, knives and pistols drawn.

Spinning in place, Jane acted on instinct, her head moving on a swivel even as she brought her rifle up to fire, putting another two Dregs down within seconds.

She managed three more before they closed range, leaving four for her to deal with. Her Ghost was acting as a second set of eyes, calling out enemy positions when they moved to encircle her.

It was only thanks to her Ghost's shout of warning that Jane managed to turn and block an overhead downward strike by a Vandal, using her rifle to block the aliens bigger set of arms holding a rather nasty looking shock blade.

Moving quickly, Jane shifted her weight, deflecting the blow to one side, and throwing the alien off balance long enough for her to draw her own scavenged knife. Moving as fast as she could, she lashed out with her foot, knocking the alien onto its back. She swiped with her knife, cutting the tendons of its sword arm.

On the ground, disarmed and crippled, it was a simple matter to lift her rifle one handed, putting the four armed alien down, even as she turned to keep her eyes on the remaining four Dregs that had kept circling her.

A quick glance let her know that she expended the last of her rifles ammunition, and there was no way she would be able to reload before she was swarmed and killed.

Dropping her rifle, Jane shifted into a combat stance, switching the knife to her left hand as she moved to keep all four aliens in her sights.

Rotating around the campfire, Jane shifted her shoulders, and used her cloak to conceal her right arm, reaching back to her belt for her grenades.

Either sensing what she was about to do, or just having simultaneously the best and worst luck of all time, one of the Dregs screeched, before it raised a pistol and fired.

The shot hit her in the left shoulder, knocking her back and down with a cry of pain. The motion however, gave Jane the momentum she needed to throw her cloak back and throw two of her grenades at once, both of them sailing over the campfire to land at the offending alien's feet.

Hitting the ground with a grunt of pain, she rolled over even as her breath was knocked out of her lungs, the last thing Jane saw before she blacked out from the shock and pain was a flash of white light, as the two grenades went off simultaneously.


"Confidence born of ignorance. The cycle cannot be broken."

A massive construct with five arms, floating in a vibrant space…

"The pattern has repeated itself more times than you can fathom."

"Organic civilizations rise, evolve, advance. And at the apex of their glory, they are extinguished."

Standing by a window, a planet burns bellow…

"We have no beginning. We have no end. We are infinite."

"Millions of years after your civilization has been eradicated and forgotten, we will endure."

Two fleets of immense size face each other, one uniform, the other diverse…

"Your words are as empty as your future. I am the vanguard of your destruction."

"This exchange is over."


With a gasp for air, Jane returned to the land of the living. Clawing at the ground, she found herself looking up at the clear black sky, stars shining in the space beyond. The sight didn't comfort her.

"Jane? Jane! It's alright, don't panic, I've got you."

Memories suddenly flashing before her, Jane jerked herself upright, searching the clearing for hostiles. Her Ghost moving to float in front of her, radiating concern for her.

"Don't worry, you got them all."

Heaving, Jane felt like she might throw up. Apparently sensing her rising panic, her Ghost (who she still hadn't come up with a name for) scanned her.

"I don't understand, your perfectly healthy… you were fine after I revived you the last time as well."

Shaking her head, Jane gestured to her shoulder, "No. It was different last time."

More confident in her ability to refrain from vomiting, Jane dragged herself to a nearby tree, leaning against it as she took deep breaths of fresh air.

"Control." She explained, "Last time, I had control. I was in control."

Shaking itself, her Ghost stared at her in what she guessed was astonishment.

"You are a strange one, aren't you?"

Before Jane could reply, a shot rang out.

Crack!

And her Ghost spun away in a shower of sparks.

Jerking upright, Jane spotted the shooter. The Vandal was holding what looked like a hand cannon, blood smearing its armour as it tried to shakily aim at her as well.

With a roar of rage, Jane lunged into a combat roll to her right, where her spear was still leaning against the wooden log she had been sitting on before.

Ignoring several shots that whizzed by her harmlessly, Jane turned and launched her spear at the Fallen with everything she had. The two blades strapped to the end fizzling with arc energy as it flew through the air, embedding itself in the Vandal's chest and pinning it to a nearby tree.

As the alien corpse continued to spasm from the weapons energy, Jane turned and looked desperately for her Ghost. A small column of smoke drifting up from behind some bushes alerting her to his location.

Running to her Ghost, Jane found him lying on the ground, one of the triangular pieces of his shell was rather obviously missing, but as she approached, her heart eased as her Ghost limped back into the air with a digital groan.

Sinking to her knees, Jane cupped her Ghost in her hands, allowing him to rest in her grasp.

With a groan, her Ghost spoke, "Okay… Lesson learned, no more mocking the Guardian."

With a laugh that could have easily been a sob, Jane smiled as she examined the damage. The missing piece of shell exposed the black ball that was nestled inside, a deep grove in the black metal showing how close the bullet came to being a killing blow.

"Damn… that thing really fucked you up good."

Standing back up, her Ghost still held in the palms of her hands, Jane began to trek back to their dying campfire. A word that she didn't really understand popped into her head, and despite herself it wormed its way to her lips.

"FUBAR." She declared, when her Ghost looked up at her inquisitively. "I think I'll call you Fubar."


Authors Note:

FUBAR – Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition. A military saying that I'm rather fond of saying myself.

Thank you to a guest reviewer named Guest-Questioner, who pointed me towards a YouTube creator who has compiled a complete video of Destiny Lore from the very start of the Lore's timeline, all the way to the beginning of Destiny 2. Very useful! The creators name is "My name is Byf", if you're looking for a way to learn more about Destiny, look no further.

I'm also getting reviews (Yay!) asking for longer chapters. Which I will always take as a good thing. However, I'm writing these chapters day by day, in the hopes of keeping things from getting bogged down with Writers Block, Boredom and my ever wandering focus.

Still, I hear you, and this one was longer than any of the others before, and that may continue. No promises though. I don't know how long this spate of writing will last!


Thank you for your continual support everyone, and thank you to those who Review, Please do read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not as much. Of course, reviews are my life blood as a writer on this site, and every time my email goes off it motivates me to write more.

~ JunkMail