"Scan complete." Ghost chimed. "Two Hundred Meters, there is an end to the tunnel, and if I'm not mistaken, it might be a door."
Spirit nodded, after well over an hour of wandering in the black tunnel with nothing but Ghost as a light, this may have been the best news Spirit heard all day. This could get really bad really quickly. He was cut off from his ship, deep in enemy territory, and no helmet. That wasn't just about head protection, it also meant that he could kiss his HUD goodbye.
Within a moment Ghost's service light flashed onto a metal sheen in front of him. He put his arm up as the reflection went directly into his eyes. "So, are you right? Was it a door?"
"Indeed. Though I don't see any control panel, but it seems like with proper force you mig-"
Spirit took no time in waiting. It was either get through that door, starve to death, or take his chances with the Fallen above. He walked forward, brought his knee up and launched his foot into the metal door. With the enhancements from the suit, along with his own physical ability, the door came loose, letting light into their tunnel.
Spirit took his rifle off his back and made his way through the new door. His foot was met with a metal scaffolding extending two meters out from him. Spirit looked up and was met by steep stone walls reaching high above him. "Ghost. Where are we?" He called back.
"Well, without the stone jamming my sensors, we appear to be inside a large canyon. Actually the second largest on the planet." Ghost explained.
Spirit nodded, "Well, that's the where..." He stomped on the scaffolding. "Though that doesn't explain the why. These aren't human. What could they be looking for?"
"The files indicate that there was once a large base here. Perhaps the Fallen are doing what they do best."
"Picking at our bones."
"Exactly."
Spirit moved to the edge of the scaffolding and leaned over the rail. That was a long way down. He pursed his lips. "Well, maybe whatever our Hunter found is down there."
"Didn't you sprint into a hole because of a few Fallen earlier?" Ghost asked.
"More than a few, Ghost." Spirit corrected.
"So your logic is to proceed into a place absolutely crawling with Fallen?"
"Well, now I'm following a lead."
"I'll try to keep you from getting shot, I guess."
"Much obliged." Spirit replied as he checked his rifle over, walking down the scaffolding to the canyon floor below. This was beginning to get stranger and stranger. A missing hunter, an army of Fallen, and now an ages old military installation. What else was going to come his way?
Sadly, his question wouldn't go unanswered for long. He heard a grunting noise coming from behind him. He whirled, Vandals. Four of them. He raised his rifle and squeezed the trigger. Familiar recoil pushed into his shoulder as he let a burst into one of their chests, shredding its shields and snuffing out its existence. The rest drew their blades and rushed toward Spirit. He squeezed the trigger once more and downed the second before it could get halfway to him.
They were upon him quickly. The first leapt forward at him with both of his blades raised, intent on burying them in his head. He quickly stepped to the side, and pushed his shoulder forward into the monster, and it let out a scream as it plummeted to its death. He raised his rifle to the last one, intending on ending it quickly. It reached out with lightning speed and knocked his rifle out of the way with its blade, and it scattered into the nearby wall. His guard was breached and the Vandal tore his second blade down across Spirit's chestplate. He heard the sound of metal being scraped on concrete as the blade bit into his armor. It caught the blade and protected him.
Spirit quickly counterattacked, shooting his fist forward into the Vandal's chest and heard a satisfying crack of what he assumed was its ribcage. It stumbled back, releasing his grip on the blade, leaving it in Spirit's chestplate. Spirit growled as he grabbed the blade and wrenched it from the armor. He forgot, no helmet, no enclosed environment. That meant no shields. He whipped the blade at the Vandal and rushed forward. The Vandal batted the sword out of the way with his own balade, but didn't see Spirit coming in time. He grabbed the alien by the head and slammed its head into the rail with great force, enough to crack the helmet. He then threw the beast back into the stone wall, further stunning it. He prowled forward and planted his foot into the chest of the Vandal once again while it struggled to stand against the wall. It slumped down, dazed and unable to stand properly. Spirit unholstered his handcannon and pressed it against the Vandal's temple. He pulled the trigger and let out a deep sigh of relief. He had won.
"Nice job warning me about them." Spirit remarked as he walked over his rifle and kneeled down, scanning it for any damages from the fall.
"Well, I only said I'd stop you from getting shot." Ghost shot back.
Spirit chuckled, that was the closest thing to an apology that he'd get.
"Though I guess you deserve to know... I doubt that that firefight will go unnoticed. This isn't the outskirts, this is their territory." Ghost said, his tone somewhat grave.
"Which means that they're not used to Guardians poking into their business." Spirit confirmed. The gears were turning, "Which means that autorifle fire isn't common... Which means... Damn." He put his rifle onto his back and began to run down the scaffolding. He had to dissappear before the Fallen scouts were able to catch wind of him.
"I do love it when you figure things out, Guardian. I feel like a teacher." Ghost remarked. Spirit chose not to respond.
The descent down to the canyon floor was uneventful, and quickened by his pace. He felt a pang of relief when his feet met solid ground. "Ghost. How far out is the installation?" Spirit asked as he took his bearings.
"Seven hundred meters out." Ghost said.
"What was this base used for?" Spirit asked, "I doubt you'd put soldiers or aircraft at the bottom of a canyon."
"I am not sure, my records do not shed any light on the subject."
"When do they?" Spirit asked, irritated.
"Less than you'd think." Spirit responded.
Spirit kept moving, he'd try to find an empty building and hole up in there until Ghost could get a more in depth scan of the area. There were some buildings built into the wall of the Canyon further up, he wondered what they were used for. Any buildings that he saw were mostly rubble, probably destroyed during the collapse, or a Fallen turf war. That, and red rocks. A lot of red rocks. Silently, he cursed his armor colors. He stuck out like a sore thumb wherever he went.
"Guardian, four o' clock, twenty meters." Ghost ordered.
Spirit's eyes followed. Ghost rarely 'ordered' anything. He saw a mostly intact building, and he made his way toward it. "I take it no life signs?"
"Nothing large enough to be a threat, unless you consider rats a lethal enemy."
"Only to sarcastic floating cubes." Spirit explained, shaking his head. He went to where the door would have been, were it not gone, probably amongst the rubble, and made his way inside.
"Now," Ghost began, "My sensors indicate that there is still power running to this building, and I was curious as to why."
"This installation still has electricity?" Spirit said, his eyes widening, "Why?"
"Well, I'll find out once you're done asking questions that I've already answered or ones I'm trying to learn." Ghost replied snarkily.
"What has you so cranky?" Spirit asked.
"Not all of us take a perverse enjoyment in monsters trying to shoot, stab, and otherwise maim us." Ghost said simply.
Spirit rolled his eyes and stood against the wall, keeping an eye on the door while Ghost flitted off to do its investigations. He heard the sound of Ghost's beam, but didn't care to look, Ghost would tell him if he found anything.
"By the Traveller..." Ghost said, shocked.
"What? What is it?" Spirit said as he walked toward Ghost's floating form. It hovered over an old computer terminal, still active after all this time. In the chair near it there slumped a human skeleton. He shook his head, another casualty to the Darkness.
"Well, I've figured out why the installation still has power." Ghost said, "Its guarding something incredibly important."
"You can't be serious." Spirit said in disbelief, "Well, that also explains why its still standing."
"The system continually references a program named Herodotus. Apparantly it has access to all forms of activity in the base. Doors, cameras, even the air conditioning."
"Is that still working?" Spirit asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Doubt it, but it has access to the commands. I've tried to contact it, it just seems to ignore me. I think this terminal is malfunctioning. If we want to know more than we'd have to get deeper to find the computer's nexus."
"Were you able to get a map while poking around in there?" Spirit asked.
"Yes. I believe that this is what Reis found before he went dark." Ghost continued.
"We might even find him in there." Spirit wondered.
"I never thought of you as the optimistic type." Ghost said.
Spirit nodded, "No, but I do believe in Karma." he replied.
