Wrong Side of Right.
The air is still and the landscape is covered in a faint purple haze. The haze builds upon itself as it stretches out past the asteroid's surface, forming into great ethereal clouds.
Not too far from the Spider's holdout, Klutz rests under a natural alcove atop a great crag. The spot affords him a spectacular view of the Tangled Shore, as well the expanse beyond. He holds his helmet steady with both hands as he gazes into the distance.
"I'm almost done. Hold on just a moment more." Spark's voice is raised so as to be heard over the sound of her work. Carefully, she emits a bright beam of light directed at the Guardian's damaged helmet. The beam screeches in a high pitch as it blasts forward and the helmet hisses as the thick glass mends. With one last slow sweep, the Ghost stops her beam and inspects her work. "Alright, I think that should be a lot better. What do you think, Klutz?"
Lost in the strange sights before him, it takes a moment for Klutz to respond. "Huh?" He looks down at his partner and then at the headgear in his hands. "Oh, yeah." He flips the helmet around and holds it up to get a look at his friend's work.
Every crack in the glass has been mended perfectly. Not so much as a hint is left that there was any damage to begin with.
"Great job, Spark. Thanks again." His words are genuine, but his voice is quiet, almost detached. He rests the helmet at his side and looks out once again.
"No problem. I'm happy to help," Spark says softly and tilts her shell. She looks up at the man and sees his distant expression. "Are you alright, Klutz? Want to talk about something?" She speaks in a blend of interest and concern.
Klutz maintains his gaze as he answers. "I don't know… I guess I just wish things were simpler."
Spark moves closer. "I can't imagine it's been easy for you to adjust to… everything. You've been through a lot in a short time."
The man sighs quietly. "Getting used to the constant info dump was easy after a while. Just kinda accepted that most days brought more questions than answers." He sits up from the hard wall behind him. "For a little while, I thought I had it straight. You found me because the Traveler chose me to be a Guardian."
The Ghost tilts to the side as she listens.
"I thought that just meant I'd be helping people. Y'know, doing what I can to keep people safe… I thought that would be as simple as 'go here, shoot them, grab that.'Now I know nothing's that simple. People get hurt. People I care about." Klutz turns his head and looks down at his Ghost with sad eyes.
Spark drops her injured shell a little as she rises up to face her Guardian. "There is nothing we can do to change that, Klutz… What happened to Marin… What happened to me, we can't change it. We can only move forward and be grateful things didn't end up worse."
"Am I doing the wrong thing?" he asks honestly. Vulnerably. "I know you said I shouldn't have come here… I just felt like I was running into a wall back in that village. Felt like I was letting everyone down. Like I was letting myself down…"
"You haven't let me down," Spark whispers tenderly.
Klutz closes his eyes and leans back. "You sure? I abandoned my post, smuggled something across the system, and now I'm going to kill a group of… Eliksni… on some crime bosses orders… And that's just today." He chuckles, but the smile fades quickly.
"But your heart is in the right place."
Klutz opens his eyes and looks at the Ghost.
"You aren't doing this just because it's important to you. You're doing this because it's important to Marin… Because it will help people." Her words are soft and calming. "I'm proud to have a Guardian that's willing to take risks to help others… Even if I don't agree with how he's doing it." She floats up and settles above his shoulder.
"I want to earn your pride, Spark… I want to be proud of myself." He speaks slowly and closes his eyes once again. Drifting to sleep atop the quiet hazey rock.
There is a dull pain in his neck from his hard stone pillow. The cool, unnatural air blankets his body and slight breeze blows sparse clouds of dust about. The dust tickles his face slightly, but it is not enough to rouse him from his slumber. He snoozes weightily on his rocky bed. Unmoving. Undisturbed. A moment of reprieve.
"Klutz?"
He wakes as soon as he hears her voice, but he remains motionless. Savoring the last moments of his rest.
"Guardian? Are you awake?"
The answer is yes, but he would not betray his own peace any sooner than he needs to. Instead he lays still as a corpse.
"Guardian, wake up! It's time to go!" An impossibly bright light shoots from the small machine's eye.
The light passes through the man's eyelids with ease. Instinctively, he recoils and covers his face with his forearm. "Alright, alright, I'm up!" Klutz begrudgingly sits up straight and sets his arm aside as soon as his impatient friend has stopped her barrage of light.
Spark positions herself near his face as she speaks. "The Spider sent me the location of those Fallen. Told us not to 'waste his time' and to 'get a move on.' Can you believe that!? He makes us wait for hours, only to tell us not to waste any time!?" Her shell stretches wide and rotates angrily.
Klutz reaches for his rifle. He brushes some dust from the weapon before standing from his bed of rocks. "Best get to it then." He pulls back the cocking handle on the side of his firearm. A satisfying click echoes around as a bullet enters the chamber.