Vrack pulled at the bonds of the guardian armor he'd taken from Nix. He'd yet to gotten to study this set in particular and he needed desperately something to occupy his mind from his failed mission. He was livid, at himself and the situation as a whole. None of the Dregs or Vandals dared get too close, not wanting to be the object of his relief from these irritating feelings.
He had been so damn close! The situation was working right into his favor but he had gotten jumpy and ruined it for himself! He growled to himself as he threw the offending garment to the ground, glaring at it. He couldn't work like this dammit. He was too angry, he needed an outlet. But if he took it out on a Dreg then word of it would get to Riss and then she'd know. Well, really she'd learn eventually but he was in no mood for her condescending mocking right now.
Leaving the storeroom where he kept all the items he'd stolen from dead Light Wielder's. It was becoming an impressive pile he had to admit. Devil's never bothered collecting these thing but he did so his House's Dregs and Vandals had made a habit to collect gear remains when possible. He was in the process of trying to merge their technology with that of the enemies. A task that was proving challenging without prior knowledge of such materials and with his mind divided on tasks.
Surrendering himself to the chore of removing the body of the human from his den before it began to stink he began his way back to the cavern. He'd rather not have it's smell permeate the area and serve to mock and irritate him further.
Nix paced her room impatiently. She had tried the door to her cell and found it open but quickly learned she was greatly outnumbered, lacked any armor or weapons, and she had no idea where her Ghost was. This only served to further scare her. A Guardians gear was more then just armor and weapons. The gear itself was designed to enhance their already present light. An individual would constantly hunt for parts to dd and improve this feature for more power. Left in only her skin tight under suit she was at a grave loss. The durable fabric suit was only meant to keep the body safe from extreme heat and cold that came with exploring space and harsh environments. It gave little to no real protection, hell it didn't even hide much from the eyes. While it did cover the body entirely leaving only the hands and head exposed it was still so form hugging it left little to the imagination, something she hated as she preferred modest clothes.
But worst of all was she hadn't a clue where her Ghost was.
She could permanently die.
She wanted to cry so bad right then, and she knew she was slowly falling into hysterics. She hated dying, even knowing she was going to come back. Dying itself was a unpleasant experience alone, scary certainly. But feeling that pain over and over again was awful, she felt lucky when she died fast and painlessly really. But now she was in Fallen hands and they weren't exactly well known for being gentle. Sure Hive would be worse, their entire life was pain, hate, and sorrow really, it was was kept them going she was certain. But really she could be in for that too. Logically they probably wanted information, and would get it through torture no doubt. Fallen cut the arms off their own kin for pissing them off and would kill each other on little more then the grounds of annoyance. Things weren't looking in her favor.
The more she thought the harder it was to keep calm. She was in so much shit right now and wanted nothing more then to curl up and cry and wish away this nightmare. But she knew all too well she was awake and in a lot of trouble. No amount of wishing would save her. She had to find her Ghost, or at least learn if it was still alive, and get back on her own. Humans had managed without revival in the past to escape enemy captives right? She could too! Repeatedly telling herself this she managed to calm herself enough to think straight. She needed a plan. Thinking of a working escape plan would distract her.
Easier said then done though. She told herself. She didn't know where exactly she was. She suspected underground but how deep and where she didn't know. She also didn't know the layout of this base or what all she was up against. That's not true. If this IS a base then a lot of Fallen and likely their superiors. She pondered on the plan further and decided if she had any chance to live she needed her gear back, provided she could find it intact. But even then she wasn't getting far without some recon. Guess I'm gonna play Hunter. Channel my inner Cayde-4. That idea made her chuckle and calm her mood. Maybe I can even gather some information for Ikora? Ya know...the more I think on it..this could work to my advantage. Provided I can get the information out this could give the Vanguard new insight on House of Kings!
This got her hopes up. While she found it funny only whats she thought was hours ago she was telling Haste-4 that they should gather more information on this house she herself was in prime placement for doing just that.
However remembering her fallen teammate brought her mood crashing down again. Killbot and Haste-4 had died in the cave in. Her beloved fireteam was gone. No. She told herself, shaking her head. I don't know that for certain. They're MIA. That doesn't mean they're dead. She knew she was really just trying to convince herself of the truth. She saw them be buried, heck she herself got lucky and still got hurt. Nonetheless she was gonna hold out hope! Even if she was the fool for it.
A loud creak pulled her from her thoughts and she jumped in alarm as she turned to the doorway where a large Fallen Captain stood there staring at her. Neither moved for a second and instead stared the other down. Like time had frozen for a moment before he quickly backed out and shut the door. It took her the slamming of the door to bring her out of her frozen panic and charge the metal door trying to open it. When that didn't work she banged on it, the loud ring of metal being hit echoing through the small room even louder. She had missed her chance! She kicked at the door in annoyance and rage, yelling at it.
"NO NO NO! OPEN UP YOU SHIT SMELLING ASSHOLE!" She shouted, cursing at the Captain she only assumed was her new warden. Totally losing herself in her rage, all of her anger, sadness, frustration, and fear out in one violent physical and verbal explosion. Tear's starting to streak down her face involuntarily. "WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE SO HELP ME I'M GOING TO SHOVE MY FOOT SO FAR UP YOUR ASS MY TOES WILL BE YOUR NEW EYES! I'LL ROAST YOU ALIVE! DO YOU HEAR ME?!" She continued to scream and shout.
This easily went on for 15 minutes before she crumpled to the ground. Tears falling freely and chocked sobs leaving her sore, dry throat. Her earlier calm had broken so easily and she had poured her wrath and misery out on a now scratched, bent and dented door that refused to yield to her blows. Now resting on her knee's, bent over with her bruised hands and bleeding knuckles on the door still balled into tight fist's that were now red from her clenching she began to cry. Dirty hair falling forward to shield her face from the world.
Vrack made it back to his den in quickly, still seething and not looking forward to this task in the slightest. He thought about avoiding it further but when he entered the smell of her blood and body lingered in the air. The cell was not airtight and he knew it would only continue to settle if he didn't do it now. Humans smelled far stronger then Awoken to his kinds senses, a fact that he'd all but forgotten when earlier wondering her race. He wouldn't say they smelled bad per-say, the Hive smelled far worse, stinking of musky death. But they didn't each smell very unique and similar all the same. He couldn't remember any of the face's of Light Wielders he'd cut open, but he remembered their smell, even through the stink of decay.
Said smell he hated lingering in his den which reminded him of the unpleasant task at hand. Approaching the door he swung it open and froze halfway in. The Human was no longer on the pelt but instead standing a few feet away. He'd caught her from behind and she hadn't expected him, jumping with alarm. They both stood frozen for a moment before he quickly left the room and locked it. His shock gave way to excitement almost immediately. Blooming in his chest and senses brighter the this planets star.
She was alive! The wound hadn't killed her! She was- BANG BANG -mad.
His thoughts were interrupted by the echoing bangs of the metal door followed by screaming and words he did not understand however he got the message loud and clear. She was furious and out for blood. Moving from the door he mildly worried would give out from the savage abuse it was taking he moved to a panel on the wall. Hitting a button the wall looking in became clear from his side. He knew she couldn't see him, he'd picked this room as a den solely for this prison he kept her in. He didn't know what the Human's had intended it for initially but it was set up with a one-way view wall which was perfect for just this plan.
Watching her from the safety of his window he watched her tiny form savagely beat the door. Be it punching, kicking, or all out throwing herself at it she tired and tried to get it to open. Normally he'd be furious with such noise and defiance but right now it was amusing, fascinating, and interesting to watch. She certainly seemed stronger then she looked anyways, and didn't know when to give up. And boy was she mad. Her face had changed color and was now red as she shouted what he could only guess to be threats at him and possibly the door. Again normally he'd never allow such actions or potential threat's slide, they'd be met with a beating or worse as was expected from a Captain, but right now he could careless and just watched her.
After what felt like an eternity her small form, hands bruised and bloodied, she crumpled to her knee's. Bent over so he couldn't see her face through her hair. But he heard soft whimpers and sobs and her form trembled from exhaustion, her outburst and energy spent.
She looked broken from his point of view. Drained and broken. Were these creatures so easily broken? Cage them and while they will undoubtedly fight back they will so quickly break? Was it that easy? He continued to watch her as she cried before she got up again turning her face away from view but he could see her wiping her tears away before going back to the pelts. He could see her face again when she sat down, extremely red, and closed her eyes while leaning her head back.
He watched on for a few more minutes but when she didn't move he then moved away himself to his worktable, looking over at her periodically. That had been quite the event, he was certain the whole base heard that outburst. She was certainly alive alright. He had to admit he was impressed, she had lived thought the head injury he though ended her. Clearly these creatures weren't so fragile after all, nor should their size be underestimated. He hadn't thought she'd have so much energy and strength in that flimsy tiny body of her's.
Speaking of her body he hadn't thought they could change skin color. Was red the only color? How much damage could their bodies take? Why were the females smaller? Why were the males bodies so much more angular then the females who seemed softer and rounder? Did that mean theirs were more easily damaged? The question's started rolling into his mind. When he had thought her dead he had all but forgotten these questions. Now them and a million more rolled in! He could get his answers. Sort of.
As he kept observing her sitting there motionless he thought about how to get them. Some of these questions would require tests that might endanger his life and stunt his research. If she died he'd need a whole new test subject. That was a rough think to collect alone but worse if they caught on to his collecting they'd begin to take measures against him. He needed to work with her alone. But how to get some of this information without killing her?
He pondered this for a while before it clicked. Why not ask her? He wanted to know their language already, he could learn it and then simply ask. But she wouldn't tell him, he was the enemy. Or she'd lie and he'd have no way to know if she was being honest. Again the answer came to him immediately, he'd simply earn her trust. These creatures, for all their smarts, were gullible and fell into the simplest of traps. Heck that foolishness had gotten her caught in the first place! He'd bet it would work again.
He purred to himself, pleased that things were now working in his favor again. The plan was laid out. He'd earn her trust, learn her language, and gather information while she thought he was her ally. Simple! Well, in concept anyways. Gaining her trust would take more detailed planning then that but at least he had a goal in mind.
He couldn't wait to start.
_
Thank you to all who reviewed and for the wonderful comments. It was very encouraging and I managed to get another chapter out! Remember to review this and to review and encourage any writer you like on this site. It really does help.
