Cayde nodded in satisfaction when the jumpship touched down, light as a feather, on the College's personal airpad. Not too shabby, if he did say so himself. The transport ship handled like a tub of cement, but they had developed an understanding before the flight was over. He patted the console and stood up from the jumpseat. It was time to go check on his passenger. Rahool was probably in a state. Once, Cayde had seen a cartoon of a cat with all its fur on end, stuck to the ceiling by its claws in fright. That was probably an accurate description of the Cryptarch right about now. The man famously hated to fly. Not that there was anything to complain about with this flight. It had been as smooth as silk as far as he was concerned. It was a good thing Exos didn't sleep, because he was likely to have snoozed out of boredom at the controls. He shouldered his pack and left the cockpit.
Rahool's expression was dark when Cayde entered the cabin. Dark, and a little wan. He'd probably gotten airsick. Cayde definitely wasn't going to clean anything up.
"Thank you for flying Tower Air," Cayde said, entering the console command to open the cabin door. The ramp had hardly unfolded itself before the Cryptarch scuttled out. "We hope you enjoyed your flight, and remind you to tip your cab driver."
Rahool stood blinking in the bright sun, his expression still sour. Cayde held out his hand for his Ghost.
"Lock-up sequence?" He asked. She chirped smartly and interfaced with the ship's controls.
Done.
"You're a peach. Hey, do you think Dolan's Place is still around?"
Follow the Cryptarch, Cayde.
"Betrayal around every corner," he sighed.
Amanda's right. Your sulking is almost convincing.
He poked her y-axis fin. She was ready for it, as always, and never lost her orientation in the air.
"You've got some kind of interlink feeding back to Ikora, don't you?" he said, craning to look into her cerulean eye.
If I did, I'd never tell. She clicked, her version of a snort, and disappeared back to Rest. Little smart-alec. What the heck did the Vanguard send Rahool for when he had a goody two-shoes Ghost all ready to scold him like an angel over his shoulder? He turned back to Rahool.
"All right, we're good to go. Lead the way."
Rahool glanced at him as though he were suspicious about whether Cayde would follow him at all, then began to stride toward the College. The airpad was was not far from the campus center by the looks of it, and the Cryptarch seemed to know where he was going. The old brown-brick buildings loomed up, looking decidedly quaint tucked against the sleek steel and glass skyline of the Inner City. The College was one of the older institutions of the City. Newer buildings had cropped up on campus over the years and still these oldest halls remained. Cayde would bet glimmer they were headed right for one of them. A suitably stuffy old building for a stuffy old Cryptarch and his stuffy exams. These poor kids had no idea what they were in for, did they? It was a sin to be indoors on a sunny day like this. Positively a sin. The afternoon breeze wafting across his olfactory sensors smelled delicious. It smelled like freedom. It was all he could do to keep from tearing off across the grass.
Rahool was already poring through his datapad as they walked.
"Is that all you brought?" Cayde asked.
Rahool frowned and looked up at him.
"What do you mean?"
Cayde gestured at the leather satchel.
"I'm all for packing light, but that's not much of an overnight bag."
"Overnight…? What are you talking about?"
"Yeah. I thought we should spend the night in the City. Make the most of the trip. Didn't Ikora tell you?"
Rahool stopped in his tracks, golden eyes widening.
"What? No! That's not…that wasn't the plan!"
Cayde shrugged.
"You didn't think we would do this all in one afternoon, did you?"
"Of course not!" Rahool spluttered. "I just assumed we'd be going back to the Tower and starting again tomorrow!"
"You know what they say about assuming…"
Rahool's glare could have chipped diamonds.
"I didn't bring so much as a toothbrush!" He growled.
"Can't help you there," Cayde said. "Though I do have an extra shirt that might fit you." He patted his bag.
"No!" Rahool said. "No, no, no! After the examination we are going sraight back to the Tower. I simply can't stay overnight. I haven't arranged for any coverage in my absence beyond this afternoon!"
"Aw c'mon, Cryptarch! They're a smart bunch up in the Archives. They'll get by for a night."
Rahool grit his teeth. A muscle in his square jaw twitched.
"Besides," Cayde held up a finger. "I'm pretty sure I'm the one flying this ship."
Rahool's golden eyes narrowed to slits. He looked toward the jumpship with an expression that seemed to be seriously assessing whether or not he could quickly learn to pilot. Finally he threw his hands up in despair.
"I don't have time for this right now!" he growled. "We've got to get to the examination hall and meet with the Dean. We'll discuss this later!" Without waiting for Cayde, he stalked off.
Cayde shook his head. Shaxx might have been called The Bull, but it was the Cryptarch who could teach stubbornness. He watched him go and hesitated. Maybe this was a good time to slip away...
Keep up! His Ghost chirped from Rest.
He just couldn't catch a break.