Hey guys, sorry about the wait. I know it's a couple days late, but I needed to edit before I posted this. Anyways, enjoy and please don't froget to comment. :)
Shadow: Earth, Tower.
"Hahahahaha, you look good Vox." Shadow found herself grinning ear to ear at the Vandal. Her new Fallen friend had decided to get her own custom helmet done. After bribing the right vendors made the helmet appear bad-ass. The Vandal now donned a Devil's helm, but the top had been cut open to allow her quills room to move freely, which was dyed a sky blue and the helmet had also been painted primary black with gold and sky blue detail to complete the look. It was also custom rigged with comms gear like her last helmet so she could talk to Shadow and LL. And lastly a chip had also been implanted into it, that registered Voxen as a friendly to other Guardians; so even out in the field they'd hopefully stop before pulling the trigger.
Voxen clicked her mandibles happily, and her blue mo-hawk bobbed up and down on her head. Even if Shadow hadn't fully grasped the Fallen's body language yet, it was still clear to the Huntress that Vox was extremely happy with the results.
"Do you like it?" As if she really needed to ask.
"Yeeeeeeeessssssss. Veeeeerrrrrrrrry much! Stand out from rest of Fallen Houses, yes?" Voxen clicked back.
"Hell yea, I can definitely pick you out from any Fallen Vandal I've ever see. But I gotta ask, Why the Mohawk?"
"Mo... Hawk?"
"Sorry. Why the open helm at the top? Isn't that a Dreg thing?" Shadow rephrased.
"Not Dreg, not Vandal. Not Fallen. Eliksni! I rise better than rest, will show them how to be better than Fallen!" Voxen answered back in a more serious tone but full of excitement and energy. It made Shadow smile still at Voxen.
"That's fantastic!" She replied. "Guess we'll have to come up with a new title for your rank then instead of Vandal."
"Yes! New House, one strong House, allies with huuuuumans, share Great machine someday." Voxen chattered on.
Shadow saw other Guardians staring at the Vandal. Watching her carefully as if they fully expected to start shooting, all those looks, and apparently Vox was immune to them because she paid no heed if she even knew.
"Hey why don't we head down to get some rest? Might be a good time to see if they got those Ether pumps working." She suddenly said, causing a puzzled look from Voxen for a moment. Then the cheerful Vox just chirped and nodded her head.
"Sounds... gooood?"
"Yea."
"Incoming transmission."
"Alright? Shoot LL."
"DRAC-0's Ghost is reporting they are on their way back to the Tower. They found Raven, but she's unconscious from another Vision."
"Shit... Well good thing we aren't leaving right away. Probably a really good idea to go down to the Cell for rest. Let's go Vox."
"Yeeeees! Fear-Striker!" Voxen answered, following behind Shadow as they headed across the courtyard, past the post master building, and straight over to the far left. There right by a flight of stairs sat the elevator they were going to use to get down to their cell. Well she called it a Cell because they were provided for each Guardian Team, but weren't used very often by Hunters, because Hunters often remained on the move out in the field in wilderness. It had been a few months for her since she had been down there. Now she pressed the button to summon their ride down, and was pleasantly surprised when the door opened up quickly for the pair. She stepped in and waved Voxen in.
Last time they'd been in it, they had taken the elevator all the way down to the City for training, it was funny watching Voxen's expression then of amazement and nervousness of the new experience for her. Now Voxen looked very calm and patient as the doors closed and Shadow idly pushed the button for the floor they needed.
The ride was mostly silent between the two until Voxen clicked her mandibles again, looking down at the floor.
"What's gotten into you?" Shadow asked, concerned.
"They not trust a Fallen in their Tower..." Voxen began. "They not trust me..."
So the looks before hadn't gone unnoticed...
"True but don't let that bother you. If you were back on a Ketch right now with the House of Winter. Wouldn't it be a sight for you if a Human was walking around on your ship as an ally?" Shadow pointed out.
"Hmmmmmmmm..." Voxen clicked her mandibles again. "Yes... this is true. Prove worth yes?"
"Yea, eventually they'll see you're cool."
"Your human "expressions" are strange." Voxen replied.
"You get used to 'em."
"Yesss."
The elevator came to a gentle stop and dinged at them as it opened the door, signaling it was time to get off. Shadow led the way down the dimly lit hall lined with doors on either side; each door marked with a number. She kept walking, but paid attention to the numbers as she went by, aware of Voxen's cautious form behind her. Then she came to a sudden stop in front of a door marked 794. She looked at the blank screen in front of her and touched it, bringing the screen to life with a dull blue. She entered the pass key into it and the door opened for them slowly, revealing the dark cell inside. As they stepped in the lights automatically came on for them for them to see, although Shadow was doubtful Voxen needed the light.
Inside was a very small living space containing a small couch and a few chairs around a coffee table. A small kitchen with bare cabinets, the door that lead to the tiny bathroom in the back, and three more doors in which Shadow knew led to the small beds in which they slept in they stayed at the Tower very long. It didn't have much in terms of decor, just pieces of armor and skulls of past trophies from battles fought and won. and yet, something new, was a new door that Shadow went forward to to investigate. Upon stepping forward to the door, she found a whole new bedroom when the door slid open; but unlike the rest this one had large cylinder container in the back corner next to the bed, where it looked like Voxen could place a few Ether supply containers that would then be released into the air for her. Shadow smiled in satisfaction, knowing that this job had to have been a challenge for whoever installed this for them. It cut into the living space a bit but it wasn't a problem.
Shadow peeked back out of the room, looking a Voxen who still stood at the door as she absorbed her surroundings. Voxen, then focused on her, tilting her head as if to ask what Shadow wanted of her.
"Come here. Come check out your room." She called.
"My... room?" Voxen asked, slowly striding over to Shadow and peeking her head into the room herself. Sure enough she had to duck to get into the door way, but all four eyes widened when she saw the little bed in the corner and the Ether pump.
"For me?" Voxen asked again.
"This is yours. For whatever downtime we spend at the Tower. This is your personal space to use. And it looks like the ether pump will allow you to take the mask off too. Just let me know if I have to wear a mask so I can breathe." Shadow explained, stepping back towards the wall so Voxen could step in fully.
Voxen took another step into the room, and her mandibles clicked cheerfully while going to the bed in the back of the room. She leaned over and placed a hand from her lower set of arms onto the bed, and pressed down on the soft pad a few times.
"It is veeeerrrrrrry good! Never had sleeping place like this before. It feels sooooft like fuuuuuur but is not." Voxen exclaimed happily. "I like!"
LL appeared between them and blinked at Shadow. Bringing a couple of the containers they had robbed from the Fallen camp earlier and placed them into the Pump. Shadow had to replace her helmet and sealed the door behind her as they turned the pump on. It hummed softly as it took the Ether into it and pumped it out into the air of the room. Voxen removed her helm as the room filled with ether, and then undid the mask portion as well, revealed her full face and she took a deep breath of the air.
It was funny, she looked so alien to Shadow, yet, the Huntress still recognized her as her friend. It had been awhile since she'd seen Voxen's face, the only other time had been when Voxen had decided to claim Shadow as her new Kell. Shadow still rolled her eyes at that; but that event had happened about week ago now. Damn. Time flies...
"Glad you like it Vox. I'll eventually get a small face mask of my own and leave it outside your door, so I'll be able to breathe without a full frickin' helmet in here." Shadow said, smiling beneath her helmet. "Get some rest, we got some time before the rest of the gang show up."
"No rest now." Voxen replied. "Have questions, seek answers." Obviously as good as grasp of human language was, Shadow could see she struggled on occasions like this.
"Alright, shoot." She leaned against the wall, preparing for whatever question was about to come her way.
Voxen tilted her head while her mandibles clicked together. Whether trying to form the words in Shadow's tongue, or figure out which question to ask first, was a tough one to call for the Huntress. Never the less, she waited patiently for Vox ask her questions. Thankfully it wasn't too long.
"Who leads Guardians?"
"Technically the Vanguard, you met each representative. However its more based on which class you're talking about and that does't include the organized fractions and their pull on the Guardians."
"Like Fallen Houses?"
"Yes and no."
"I see... explain."
"Well first off. The Vanguard's classes, Titan, Warlock, and Hunter; only apply to Guardians. The regular citizens down below however... are not organized like this. Now the three fractions within the city are a different story. The Future War Cult, Dead Orbit, and New Monarchy, each have a different view on what should be done next, and therefore some Guardian or otherwise choose to side with them or not." Shadow explained. "The easiest way to put it is we are all united as a species and will come together as a whole to survive, but our idea are what divide us."
Voxen's head tilted to one side, trying to wrap her mind around the different social structure. "Sounds complicated. Yet... least you do not slaughter each other like Fallen."
Shadow shook her head sullenly. "Sadly that's not entirely true. We used to be divided kind of like Houses and we competed against each other, warred against each other, and even slaughtered each other." The huntress fell silent for a moment before she continued. "We really aren't that different humans, and Fallen. We've both slaughtered our own... We both have risen and both have fallen. Only a few simple choices have separated us from being exact same spot that we have found ourselves."
She looked up into the vandal's eyes, or at least one pair. She could easily see humans, Awoken, and Exo on ships like the Fallen have done, searching and scavenging and just barely surviving, and clinging on to whatever they could.
Voxen stared back, clicked her mandibles for a moment, then replied. "You make good sense. We are not so different. Why can human and eliskni share light? Share Great Machine and both become strong again, together?"
"Honestly Vox, I dont see a single damn problem with it. However. The Fallen have been constantly attacking the City, and Guardians hunting and slaughtering whole crews for awhile now. Getting over that kind of bad blood; proving we can work together will take time." Shadow explained, however Vox did not look disheartened in the least. That made the Huntress smile, and have hope.
Voxen seemed to be thinking again clicking her mandibles slowly and breaking gaze with Shadow. It was very interesting to watch.
"Make new House! Make house of Eliskni and Huuuuumans! Show we work together, grow strong, make banner known. Earn respect, honor, darkness fear it!" Voxen cried excitedly, standing up tall with two fists from her top set of arms in the air.
Shadow couldn't resist a chuckle at her excited Fallen, no, Eliskni friend. Voxen was Fallen. She could see Voxen was trying to rise her and her kin to be more than just ruthless pirates and scavengers.
"I like the idea. Give both sides some structure. And we can slowly grow in number as we recruit others." Shadow said as she nodded with approval.
"You will be Kell! You will lead banner and house!" Voxen chirped.
"Whoa, whoa ,whoa now! I am not a Kell."
Voxen seemed to shrink down some at her words, looking almost pitiful, as if upset. "Why? You strong!"
She put her hands up at Voxen's sheer energy. "Okay maybe so, but a Kell, as I've come to understand, are ruthless and violent leaders that won't hesitate to kill a fellow member of their House who displeases them. Nor could I allow or even be for removing the arms off Dregs to force them to fight to earn them back." The huntress shook her head. "Its cruel and only ends up with dead Dregs that died humiliated for nothing. Surely you can understand Voxen, you had to have been a Dreg at one time or another right?"
Voxen's form rose up a little and her bottom arms fiddling with the wraps of on hands. "Did not like being Dreg... Hard to climb, easy to mock, drive to prove self made reckless. Few lived through to regain arms. Some good fighters."
"See my point? That wouldn't allow your species to grow again. If we wanted them to be stronger, we will train them instead."
"Yeees, see point. No more docked Dregs."
"Yep. For now I will take up as leader, but when we get bigger I would like to see a counsel in charge of guiding but not controling the House. Rank is gained through honor and experience." Shadow went on.
"Counsel?"
"Um... a small group. Of strong, wise warriors. Some Eliskni some Human or Awoken or Exo. Best of the best, but without the ruthlessness."
Voxen's eyes lit up. "I understand, yeeees. Strong, good Kells. Not normal Fallen Kell."
"Yea pretty much. It won't be easy though."
"But we will be stronger when banner flies with victory!"
Shadow laughed. "Sounds like a plan."