Okay, chapter two. I want to preface this chapter with some information. I plan to have each chapter be about 1500 to 2000 words. Not super long because I generally don't have long periods of time to sit down and write. So without further ado...
Chapter 2
"We're nearing the Tower." North said, rousing Marcus from his slumber. All around the ship thick dark clouds blocked the view as they flew through them. Occasionally a bolt of lightning would arc across the sky and illuminate the clouds. The thunder was muted by the ship's hull. The storm parted suddenly and ahead the Last City and the Traveler were visible against the setting sun. Brilliant yellows and oranges and reds suffused the western horizon in a fiery halo, glinting off the Traveler and coloring the city in shades of bloody red and burning orange. "You don't see that everyday." North said, awed by the display of color.
"Yeah, it's beautiful." Marcus agreed. "If a little unsettling, the City looks like it's burning." North's only response was to shudder at the thought as he brought the ship in towards the Tower. It stood at the edge of the city like a sentinel against the Darkness, a beacon for the Light.
"I'm going to trasmat you onto the Tower and bring your ship into the hangar." North said. "Tonight, you should get some sleep. We will meet with the Vanguard tomorrow morning."
"I just slept for four hours, I can stay awake a while longer." Marcus said. "I want to talk to the shipwright about this sealed compartment." He indicated the storage compartment underneath the pilot's seat. It was locked with a strange mechanical device that North could not seem to figure out. He had been spinning a dial for quite some time but was unable get the lock open.
"I don't think Holliday will have any more insight into whatever this lock is than I do." North said doubtfully, frustration evident in his voice.
"I don't need her to open it, just get it out of the ship so I can study it more thoroughly. There's no need to be so hostile." Marcus said. North turned away in a huff, flattening out slightly. If he had arms he would have crossed them.
"Transmatting now." North said as Marcus disappeared, reappearing on the top floor of the Tower. "Welcome to the last safe place on Earth. It took centuries to build and now we're counting every day it stands and this Tower is where the Guardian's live." North explained as Marcus looked around. A few other Guardians walked around the top floor of the Tower. Some were chatting with each other and laughing while others looked out at the world through eyes haunted by the past. Service frames stood at various locations around the Tower, some were cleaning while one stood at a bounty board just up ahead. A mail center sat to the left and strange kiosks were to the right. Further left was a sign leading to the north end of the Tower. South led to the hangar. Marcus went south and found the shipwright sitting on a crate.
"Hello Guardian." said the shipwright. "I'm Amanda Holliday, Tower shipwright and chief mechanic of all Guardian ships." Holliday held out her hand and Marcus shook it. He was surprised by the strength of her grip. "You're a new Guardian, correct?" she said.
"Yes, I'm Marcus Vol, it is nice to meet you, Ms. Holliday." Marcus replied, smiling.
"Just call me Amanda, Ms. Holliday is my mother." She said with a laugh. "That's a nice ship you've got there, Marcus. Where'd you find it?"
"In the ruins of a Pre-Golden Age city on the North American continent." He said. "North here detected some energy signatures nearby where he revived me." Marcus indicated his Ghost.
"Hello Ghost, it's a pleasure." Holliday addressed North. "And North is a good name."
"Shipwright." North dipped in a Ghost's approximation of a nod. "On board our ship we found some sort of container that I can not open. It is locked with a mechanical lock that I have not been able to figure out. Can you remove the container from the ship for further study?"
"We certainly can. It will be done within the hour. Where is this container located?" Holliday asked.
"Under the pilot's seat." Marcus replied.
"Okay, I'll notify you when it is removed." Holliday said as she turned and began issuing orders to her subordinates. Marcus smiled and turned back towards the courtyard.
"Hold on there, Guardian." A deep, gravelly voice said from down a flight of stairs. "You look like you could use some new gear." Below, an Awoken male with lank black hair looked up at Marcus. "Dead Orbit can offer you a deal you can't pass up." The Awoken wore black and white robes and had a sharp black goatee.
"I'm sorry," Marcus said. "I don't have any glimmer." He walked away rather quickly. "I really don't like it when someone solicits me." He said to North. "It makes me uncomfortable."
"All of the faction vendors are like that." North said. "They all want to take your marks, not your glimmer, sometimes though they give you decent gear in return."
"They don't take glimmer? I thought that was the currency here." Marcus said. "What are these marks then?"
"Marks are rewards for competing in the crucible and for completing Vanguard bounties. The faction vendors only take "Crucible marks" while the Vanguard takes "Vanguard marks". There have been talks of consolidating the two into one "Legendary mark" but it doesn't seem to be gaining any traction." North explained. "We will have to wait and see if it actually happens." By then Marcus and North had entered the main courtyard. The Ghost flew down a short staircase to an Awoken man standing in front of a cloth tent.
"Hello, Ghost." The man said, sounding bored.
"Hello, Master Rahool." North replied and turned towards Marcus. "This is the Master Cryptarch. He will decrypt any engrams you may find out in the field into gear."
"What is an engram, you ask?" the Cryptarch said. "An engram is a form of matter that has been programmed to be decrypted into a specific item. Whether it is to be a weapon or a piece of armor, I will decrypt it for you at no charge."
"Okay, when I find an engram I will be sure to bring it straight to you for decryption. Thank you." Marcus said as he followed North towards an Exo standing behind a table.
"You're welcome Guardian." Master Rahool said as he turned back to his studies, muttering about some dead king.
The Exo looked up as Marcus approached and said. "Hello Guardian. Need a gun?"
"Not at the moment." Marcus said. "Though after my meeting with the Vanguard tomorrow that may change. It's not like I could afford one right now anyway."
"Then you're wasting my time." The gunsmith said brusquely as he turned back to his work.
"Okay, sorry." Marcus said. The gunsmith just grunted, busy putting an auto rifle back together. Marcus left the gunsmith to his work and headed towards the bounty board.
"Greetings, I am the Tower bounty tracker. You can accept bounties and turn them in to me for your reward." The bounty tracker said, sounding like a pre-recorded message.
"Okay good to know." Marcus replied as he followed North on the rest of the tour. After an hour of walking around the top floor of the Tower meeting with vendors, a few citizens and even a Guardian or two who stopped to introduce themselves North notified Marcus of Holliday's success.
"Holliday has removed the locked container from the ship." North said. "Hopefully we will be able to open it. I want to know what is inside it."
"You aren't the only one wondering what it could be." Marcus said as he ascended the stairs to where Holliday was sitting on the crate again holding a long, rectangular metal box.
"Here is your container." She said, holding it up to Marcus. "Strange locking mechanism my ass. It's just a simple combination lock. Easy to open if you have the right skills. I can open it for you if you want." Holliday smiled as North looked about as defeated as a Ghost could look.
"Yeah, open it up." Marcus said, glancing at North. "I think we all want to see what is inside." He took the container, allowing Holliday to access the lock. She put her ear to the side of the case and began to turn the dial. After turning the dial a ways she stopped and began to turn it the other way. One more time she reversed the rotation and stopped. The container opened with a hiss of pressurized air to reveal a gleaming black oiled frame of some kind of rifle. Other gun parts were set into cut out slots in the dark foam padding. "This had to have been in there for years." Marcus said, incredulous. "It looks like new."
"The container was fully sealed and pressurized. It isn't that hard to believe." North said. "We may need to talk to the gunsmith again."
"That can wait for tomorrow." Marcus said, yawning. "I'm feeling really tired all of a sudden. Thank you, Amanda, for opening this case for me. What can I do to repay you?" He addressed Holliday.
"It's no big deal, really." She said. "Hell, I was curious to see what was in it too. You could buy me a drink sometime though, but right now you should probably get some sleep. I've heard it takes quite a lot out of you, being resurrected and all. Good night Marcus."
"Good night." Marcus said as he went back to the courtyard and realized he had no idea where he was supposed to sleep. Luckily North spoke up.
"You have a temporary quarters set up a few floors down. I'll lead you to them." North said as he floated towards an elevator. The temporary quarters was small and cramped, contained two, small fold out cots set into the walls on either side. There was a small compartment in the wall for storage at the foot of the cot. Both beds were empty.
"Guess I'll just take one of the beds." Marcus said as he removed his armor. He left on the black body suit though and lay down on the bed. He was asleep within minutes and North settled down on the nightstand and went into standby mode.
I know things are moving a little slow right now but they should pick up next chapter, with meeting the vanguard and some new guardians and getting into a mission. Maybe more of Marcus' past will be revealed, who knows? Please review and leave any constructive criticism you may have, it really helps. Thank you.