Cold…
It was cold…
The freezing temperature numbed the Warlocks limbs as he drifted through space…
Threatening to consume him…
He shivered in the dark void…
Kei knew his solar power had gone out, leaving nothing left to draw heat from. He was now dangerously close to becoming a ball of frozen human tied to a frozen chunk of scrap metal by a frozen wire. He shivered and wheezed into his respirator, his breath fogging over his visor and obscuring his view of the blackness and stars outside.
Not that there was much to see. Kei had been drifting for so long he had lost track of time. Plus, there was no sun, so the Warlock was unable to count time as a rotation of orbit. Soon, all familiar stars disappeared from sight and he was left to drift through the void, no sense of time or place.
Probably as lost as he could possible get without dying. His breathing slowed to a crawl.
His eyelids became heavy…
He couldn't feel his body…
Kei felt the universe slip away as he surrendered to sleep…
It'll be better after a nap…
Xor sighed in the cockpit of his Gloriole Jump, leaning back and closing his eyes as he propped his feet up on the ship's console. He spoke into the comms, opening his eye just a crack to locate the button that opened the channel, "Hey Trin, ya think we should've stopped at the tower first? Pick up some supplies?"
He heard Trinity sigh before replying, "Yes perhaps that may have been a good idea. I believe we overlooked the fact that Kei's ship had the majority of our supplies as well." She paused for only a moment before reopening the channel and shouting indignantly, "Wait, what did you call me?! I believe I warned you not to address me with that- that nickname!"
Xor chuckled softly to himself, "Whatever you say hon."
"Just call me by my name please…", she sighed in response. Obviously annoyed with the Exo's repeated attempts to call her by seemingly anything other than her real name.
Xor suddenly sat up in his seat, eyes narrowing as he remembered something, something important. He flicked on the comms one more time and called out to Trinity, "Hey actually I think I need to stop somewhere."
Trinity's voice replied through his speakers, Her tone heavy with curiosity, "Care to elaborate?"
Xor's eyes darted nervously around the cabin of his ship, "I, uh… I'd rather not…" A small smile graced his features, "Just need to check on some old friends."
The Exo could almost hear the Titan raise her eyebrow in suspicion, "I'll mark our coordinates and trajectory. Then we can go check on your friends." The comms switched off only to be restarted almost instantly as Trinity quickly added, "And I'd appreciate not being shot at."
Xor chuckled in amusement and began setting his ship's warp drive to the new destination. "Don't have to worry about that Miss Steel. I'm sure you'll be fine."
"Trinity Eversteel! My name is Trinity Eversteel!"
The void was filled with the roar of uncloaked warp drives as the two ships skidded out of near-light speed. Trinity leaned forward in her cockpit to try and get a closer look at the small sphere of ice that floated in front of them. "This is it?" Any enthusiasm she might have had was completely drawn out of her voice by the grey planetoid.
She heard Xor sigh over the comms before he let out a somewhat exhausted-sounding, "Yup… This is it…" The Titan fell silent, realizing that whatever Xor had for coming here, it most likely wasn't the best memory based on his reaction to seeing the place.
Their ships glided down smoothly, the only greeting they got was silence as they touched down on a small dusty landing pad outside of a small bunker-looking structure. Almost the size of a Cabal dropship, it sat partially buried in an icy hill. Two thick double-doors were set behind the structure, creating a shadow where the light from the distant sun was blocked by the metal overhang.
For once, Xor was quiet, his thoughts seemed somewhere else as he climbed out of his ship, landing softly on the icy metal of the landing pad. He turned towards the small twin doors, staring silently through his visor as if in a memory. Trinity watched the Exo's slow movements, and how his gaze stayed locked on the doors as he walked slowly towards them. She shouldered her rifle, tightening the strap and sliding her sidearm into its holster on her thigh.
She touched two fingers to her helmet, opening the comms in an attempt to break the Exo's trance, "Xor?"
The Hunter made no response as he reached the frosty doors, Trinity watched as he hesitantly laid a hand on it's worn icy surface. Xor slowly brushed off a few frozen crystals, revealing yet more ice beyond the frost.
"Trinity, whatever you see in here…", he turned to the Awoken behind him, "Stays between us…" Even though his helmet hid his face, Trinity felt his gaze boring into her eyes as he continued, "Nobody can know… Not even Kei…"
Trinity stiffened slightly at the dangerous undertone in his words. She nodded slowly, assuring him that nothing seen inside would be shared.
Xor turned back to the door and lifted his arm to press a red button on the icy panel set in the thick door frame. For a while nothing happened, prompting Trinity to assume that the door's electronics had probably iced over like the rest of the base.
Crack!
The frozen coating on the door cracked and shattered. It showered the two guardians in cold shards of ice and the door let out a hiss as pressurized gas began to flow through the broken seal. Trinity stared as the doors slid open about a few feet before the remaining ice locked it in place, allowing it to open no further. The Exo reached around to the back of his belt and pulled off a small flashlight which he then attached to his helmet. Trinity followed suit by pulling out her rifle and switching on a flashlight under the barrel. Xor turned to cast one last glance at her before he walked between the two doors and into the dark hallway beyond.
