At ten minutes past the hour, Cayde tapped on the glass to the lecture hall door. A few of the dozen or so students glanced up in surprise and then immediately hunkered back down to their exams at a word from Rahool.
That was a close one, his Ghost clicked. Her placid voice gave no hint of worry for his fate.
"You could'a given me a little more leeway with that time check," Cayde grumbled.
Oopsie.
Oopsie his left metal buttcheek. Nothing amused her as much as watching him dig himself out of messes.
At the sound of the tap, Rahool looked up from his seat on the dais. Cayde waved and gave a thumbs up. For a moment, Rahool actually looked surprised. He had probably thought Cayde wouldn't actually comply with his ridiculous conditions. Or he'd forgotten all about it. He probably had, the miserable little...
Looks like they're far from done yet, Ghost chirped.
"Yikes. D'you think he spends all night thinking up the most torturous questions imaginable?"
It's not supposed to be easy. Or should the Cryptarchy have low standards? His Ghost asked with infuriating logic.
"I guess not. Well, I suppose this is good preparation for his reign of terror in the Tower. Hoo boy, these kids have no idea what they're in for! I bet they're hopin' and prayin' to get in. Maybe I oughta tell them to run while they still can."
Rahool's golden gaze swept over the students. He was the very picture of academic authority. He was probably loving every minute of it.
"Let's get out of here before he changes his mind about letting me roam," Cayde said. His Ghost had no comment as he walked away from the door.
The first hour had been relatively uneventful. At first, freedom had been its own entertainment. Able to go wherever he pleased without babysitting the surly Cryptarch, poking his horn into any corner he liked. Eventually, he realized that there wasn't much going on here that interested him this afternoon. He hated to admit it, but he was getting a little bored. What he really wanted to do was explore the City at large. The Cryptarch would be none the wiser so long as he could rap on that door at the right time. Somehow he didn't think his Ghost would stand by and let that happen. More walls. More restrictions. Trading one freedom for another…
…Which reminded him of the lecture he had been asked to give. When Ikora had presented the task, he was just happy to get out of the Tower. Hell, he would have volunteered to do Shaxx's laundry if it meant getting out! With a little more time to think about it, he realized it was also a cruel joke. Send Cayde to talk about staying within the City's Walls. Everyone knew he was itching to leave the Vanguard. Everyone knew he was frustrated pent up in the Tower. Damn. He must have really pissed Ikora off somehow. He would have to think over exactly what he'd done and how he could avoid her wrath next time.
Cayde drifted down the quiet halls. He'd spent the last hour circulating the edge of the campus, as if pressing the boundaries of his freedom would make him feel better. He'd had a notion to just be alone for a while and enjoy the solitude. Being in the Vanguard meant somebody was always wanting something at all hours. It meant reports, meetings, Zavala scolding him until a vein popped out on his neck. And it meant being chained to the Tower. Magnificent as it was, that damn spire began to feel a mite claustrophobic after a spell. Excepting his first days in the Tower as a young Guardian, he'd never spent so many days strung together in that place before he'd become a Vanguard leader. There were just so many people. It was hard for a body to think. Hard to remember that there was a whole world out there beyond the City. Beyond the Gap. He had been longing just for wide open space to stretch his legs and watch the horizon. The walk around campus wasn't quite scratching that itch, but it was a start.
Eyes followed him wherever he went even though he tried to be inconspicuous. Guardians were a rare sight outside of the Tower, save for a handful of established watering holes he'd known fireteams to frequent in the past. The curiosity of the City's people was intense; it made Ghost scrutiny feel like sheer privacy. He hadn't felt the stares and whispers following him for a very long time. For some reason now it made him uncomfortable, when before he used to be able to shrug it off or even welcome it. Let the people get a good look at Guardians, he would say. Let them know the Tower was there for them. Would they stop if they knew that this gross curiosity was one of the reasons Guardians made themselves scarce? Even the most attention-hungry Warlock started to prickle under the wide-eyed awe and fear.
Oh yes, there was fear. Wherever he walked, people clustered together instinctively. Safety in numbers from the wolf in their midst. He would have liked to think that once, long before he ever became a Guardian, he would have been able to walk the City unremarked except for the smiles and greetings of friends. Warm smiles and greetings, with no trace of terror.
Once again he was prowling the perimeter loop he had established earlier. If he turned off his arbitrary path and headed back toward the center of Campus, he'd be passing through some of the busiest thoroughfares. He hesitated, looking toward the soaring clock tower that marked the head of the library and then over his right shoulder to the campus borders, a gentle downslope of hills that met one of the City's wide, concrete-lined industrial canals. If he walked this side of that canal, he would technicallystill be on College property. He looked back toward the library.
This was ridiculous. Here he was, a damn fool letting the Cryptarch tell him what he could and couldn't do, and worrying about getting singled out by a bunch of college students. What under the Light had happened to his backbone? Why hadn't he just taken off already, whether into the crowd or out toward the Walls?
You've got a message incoming, his Ghost piped up.
"Lay it on me," he said.
He crossed his arms and looked back toward the canal. He'd bet a day's creds it was Rahool about to chew him out for having finished early and him not being around. Ghost clicked and chirped, accessing the interlink.
It's from Guardian Adama. She sounded as surprised as Cayde felt.
"Adama?" Cayde grunted. "Isn't he still out in the Western provinces with his fireteam?"
Faint static hissed in his auditory circuits.
/Hey, Cayde!/
Adama's pleasant voice, always a hair too loud, rang inside his head. He winced. His Ghost automatically adjusted for volume. It was a weird sensation to take interlink messages via a Ghost at Rest. Listening to the Hunter's voice in his head as though he too were a Ghost took some getting used to.
/I hear tell from some of the scouts at the Tower that you're on a little vacation. You rusty son-of-a-Dreg! If you don't take the time to say hello, me and my team are going to have our feelings hurt. No, this isn't a call for help. This sorry excuse for a mission is wrapping itself up nicely. I don't need to send coordinates, because you're the miserable Darkness-licking jerk who sent us out here in the first place to stare at crops and cattle. All right, gotta go! Some of us have real work to do!/
The message ended. Cayde chuckled.
"Now, I know I told him to keep comm silence," he sighed.
You did, Ghost chirped. Technically, this is interlink.
"Technically, you're a little pain."
You haven't seen anything yet, she clicked. I haven't even begun to lecture you about how you should ignore Adama's invitation.
"Uh huh. Why do I think that lecture is coming anyways?"
It certainly couldn't be because I know you, and that you would sell your own processors to get beyond the Walls right now.
He snorted and shook his head. The little twerp was picking up more Hunter humor with each passing year. Bless her.
"Ain't nothin' wrong with dreaming," he retorted. "Don't tell me you aren't missing the wilds."
I miss the good old days when Shaxx dragged you around by the scruff of your neck, she chirped sweetly. And when the counsel of your Ghost actually meant something.
He rolled his eyes. He was getting lectured all right. Her famous "good old days" rant.
But yes, she suddenly conceded, I wouldn't mind a campfire on the plains and counting the stars.
"Aww, you little romantic, you!"
Not tonight, though. Tonight we have to stay with the Cryptarch.
Cayde sighed.
"You know just how much to twist the knife in my side, don't you? You'll notice I haven't taken a single step outta bounds."
No, you haven't. I'll make sure Zavala gives you a treat for your obedience when you return.
Cayde began to stalk off toward the library. Heading toward the canal and the Walls would just keep reminding him of Adama and his fireteam, out watching one of the City supplier farms to keep it clear of Fallen.
He really would sell one of his processors to get out there with those boys. It had been an Age and a half since he'd run any kind of ops with them. Maybe Rahool wouldn't be opposed to him meeting up overnight?
"You know, I bet I could make a fair bit of glimmer selling you to the College," he said to his Ghost.
Don't tease me! She sighed. I can only imagine the amount of pampering and respect I'd finally receive!