A/N: This is a fast update, but it should hold people over until I post again next Sunday. I feel it may be a bit rushed though, and I know that this story is a little slow. But I enjoy my pacing for it. I hope you enjoy and as always I don't own Destiny. Bungie and Activision do.
CH 4: Initiation to a new life
"Papa! Papa!" A pair of shrill voices was heard over the constant noise of the space port. "Can we have one of those?" The twin girls pointed to what looked like a tangled mess of tubes but was clearly a puzzle of some sort.
The man let go of their hands and scooted them towards the small stand so he could get a closer look at the toy. Definitely some sort of puzzle, probably made by some sadistic mind bending dude. This would take forever to solve for a child, and would wind up tossed under a bed forgotten.
"Why do you want this?"
"It has so many pretty colors!" They replied and put their little fists on their hips in unison.
"Alright, alright, you two win. I'll get you the toy for your flight. Just don't tell your nan, deal?"
The girls nodded excitedly at the prospect of a secret deal behind their nan's back. He sighed as he took the toy to the register and paid for it, a very high price for some cheap rubber, but he bought it for his little girls. After handing it back to the children they stayed near the stand and he enjoyed watching them trying to figure out how to untangle the whole thing.
"Hey, papa? We'll bring you a present from nan's home okay?" One of the twins, Erica, suddenly spoke up.
"Yeah! Like a seashell! Nan told us how you had never been to Earth before. How come you never visit her?" Melissa piped in as she passed the bundle to her sister.
"It's true; I was born on Mars, as were my parents. I've never had the time to go to your momma's home when she- When she was still here." He trailed off as he shook that thought away. "Well, with your nan, it's complicated, sort of. Nan is your momma's mother. Not mine. So I don't have to see her often."
He was looking down at his girls when he was startled by the sounds of yells, shouts, whistles, and stomping boots filling the air. The startled man's eyes snapped open to the cries of the few new Guardians all around him as the lights came on and blinded everyone who was already stumbling out of their racks in confusion.
Through all the loud noises a few Guardians had put on their running shoes and stood at attention on a thick black line. Others began to follow suit in various suits of disheveled dress and ragged expressions. Many groaned in agony at being awoken early in the morning and the manner in which they did it.
"Rise and shine you little baby Guardians!" A feminine voice called out. "You are the fresh new batch that the Vanguard cobbled together to fill the ranks of the Guardians for the Tower! You should feel honored!"
All of the eyes fell on an Exo wearing what appeared to be a dark gray uniform and a Vanguard patch with a silver orb behind it, the Traveler. Her light blue optics passed over all of the tired faces of the Humans and Awoken, pausing over each one to memorize the features. She continued with the steadfast and blank looks of the other Exo in the room.
"My name is Saer-34, and we are going to get to know each other very well this next week, so I hope you don't feel the need to be antisocial! You might break my little mechanical heart!" A batch of chuckles could be heard from the veteran's behind her and a few of the newbies in front of her. "But you will not call me by my name, ever! You will call me ma'am! We are, for the more sensitive inclined pansy asses in the room, your instructor. But anyone with a pair or with the right knowledge of what is going on, we are your handlers! We will take this week to mold you into capable Guardians who know what in the Hell you are doing out there! Are you tracking?" She had shouted all of this, and many had a slightly upset look about their face for being yelled at so early in the morning.
"Yes ma'am!" A small chorus of Guardians called out, not even close to half had responded.
"Sweet Speaker on a Sunday you are all hopeless!" She placed her hands on where her temples would be and looked down for a moment before going on. "Now we are going to go and feed the Humans and Awoken, I know we Exo don't need food but you will join them! One team one fight everyone!" She pivoted on her booted heel and towards the door where a pair of humans in the same uniform as her stepped aside. "Now form up in a single file line based on height! I want the tall bastards in the back, little ones up front!"
The mass confusion that followed was amusing at first. But to a few it grew tedious as a few began to argue who was shorter than whom.
"Your spot seems to be secured back here, doesn't it?" A large Awoken male asked the lone man standing in the back.
"Well, yes, everyone here is a little on the short side to me." The man replied, looking curiously at the Awoken who approached him.
"Name is Corde. What can I call you?" The Awoken held his hand out to shake the Human's.
"Corde? That's a new one. But I don't know mine. Everyone has just been calling me Guardian until now." He shrugged. He honestly couldn't remember his own name and it frustrated him. He still took Corde's hand and shook it firmly.
"Well I'm sure it will come to you. My Ghost called me that after he found my body tangled up in a bunch of wires in an old jump ship." Corde told him while leaning in close conspicuously, eliciting a strange look from the larger man. "There's another way to get your name too, have someone name you from something you did or something about you."
"Someone tried. It was horrible." The dry remark came out with a sigh.
Corde laughed it off as the line had apparently been figured out and everyone took off to go get food in them before their day actually started.
.
"If you are going to puke go and do it in a trash can or in the bathroom! Not on my damn floors!" The Exo woman from earlier yelled at a Human that had nearly collapsed on the track they had been all running on.
"Sorry ma'am-"
"Sorry ma'am?! Do I look sorry to you? Now get your ass in gear and clean this up! Move it!"
The man took off at a shaky run to look for a mop and a bucket, leaving the instructor behind to shake her head sadly. She turned back to watch the rest of the next great hope of the Light struggle going around the track. She tracked a few that seemed to be moving better than others, and some who were in the same condition as the man who just ran off. They were supposed to be checking the physical capabilities of the new Guardians, help in the selection process for the classes of Guardians.
She watched as another Guardian collapsed in a heap on the other side of the track only to have another instructor rush over to encourage the lady who had fallen down. She couldn't quite make out the curse words the other instructor was using, but he wasn't holding back. She knew it was harsh, but they couldn't coddle these people, they couldn't afford to anyways. The Darkness was pushing on them all the time and these people formed what would be the sword and shield of the City.
Her attention was once again diverted to the only group that had yet to stop in the run she was putting them through. They were no longer in formation, but they stuck together and if one started to fall out they would slow down and offer words of encouragement. Most of them were Exos, but a good mix of Humans and Awoken were amongst them. It was then that she noticed something, they were singing a cadence. The largest Human she had ever seen was running just off to the side of the group and was calling a good paced cadence that they would all repeat back.
"Run with your left! Left! Left right le-yeft!"
"Left! Left! Keep it in step now!"
"Now follow with that left! Left! Lefty-Right a low right!"
Definitely not in formation, or in tune but at least they were in step and working together. She had hope for this group at least and it felt good.
"Alright everyone! Hydrate and form up in five! We're gonna cool you all off now!" She watched as they all made a mad dash for the water fountains and the bathrooms. They were all silent aside from the huffing and puffing that could be heard from across the room. It didn't take long for the group to have reformed themselves in front of her and the other instructors, all still huffing and puffing.
"Alright everyone, pushup position! Let's go!" She dropped down as well as the other instructors to do the pushups with the new Guardians. "Down! Up!" She started the count and led them through pushups, situps, jumping jacks and eventually stretches. That was when she sent them off to get lunch.
"Jesus man! Talk about working us to death! I already died once, and I don't plan on doing it any time soon!" A rather sick looking man, probably the one from earlier who had puked, cried out. "Why are we even doing all of this? Aren't we supposed to be you know? Saving the galaxy or something like that?
"You don't even know what you are going to be yet, for all we know you could end up being a Warlock and cooped up behind a desk for the rest of your returned life." Corde retorted as they made their way back to the barracks building. Nudging his now new friend in the ribs he nodded. "Don't you agree, Jukebox?"
"Juke-? Just why am I hearing this?" He asked around a laugh. "That is worse than what I heard yesterday when I was brought back to life."
"Just hear me out!" Corde pleaded. "You know a lot of songs for someone who can't remember his name, and all those songs are old." The smile on the Awoken's face spread from one side to the other. "So I'm calling you Jukebox."
"I don't think it will stick, ever." He countered.
"I don't know about that. I like the sound of it. Jukebox, it has a good ring to it." The sudden appearance of the Exo instructor sent both of them ramrod straight and stared straight ahead as she came about in front of them. "As you were, Guardians, we aren't that formal around here."
"What can we do for you ma'am?" One of them asked as the pair visibly relaxed and they looked down at her smaller frame with slight apprehension.
"You can relax, Jukebox, I'm just trying to get to know the new batch of Guardians a little better. You're only going to be here for a week anyways." She paused as she looked between the two. "You never know, I might pick one of you two for my future fire team. We Exo live for a long time, and all those Guardians over there are evaluating you too. They hope to get some new talent to watch their backs, so they are looking for the best, as am I. Good luck gentlemen."
The pair watched her turn and go, only to exchange a look between them before taking off to go grab some food before the afternoon training and evaluations began. Mental training and standard knowledge was what was going to be covered until dinner.
.
"You're going to recruit him aren't you?" A pregnant pause sat between Archivia and Joanna. "Why, jo? You saw him out there! He is a lumbering giant and not even all that fast. We need someone like a Hunter and with how he is built he will obviously be a Titan." Archivia was pointing down in the training arena where all the newer Guardians were receiving what appeared to be time to study and were sitting in the grass with holopads in little groups.
"Hey! At least he's reading! Look! What Titan do you know reads?" Joanna snapped back at Archivia.
"Until he picks a class, Jo, none that I have ever encountered." Archivia deadpanned.
"That's exactly my point!" She paused for a moment. "Hey!" Jo whined back at her friend.
The pair was currently leaning against a rail on the balcony of the barracks overlooking the newer Guardians. Several other Guardians were also present, watching and taking notes on the freshly risen. But most of them were there to watch the younger Guardians trying to figure out what was going on. That was always the funniest part, in Jo's opinion, and especially on hand to hand combat training day.
"Well I think we have the right time now to go down and talk to him." Jo added before grabbing onto the rail.
"We can't go down there!" Archivia warned. "Plus, you just want to go tell him his name you chose for him. That is what has you all antsy anyways." She stated matter of factly.
"So? This is better than that dig job you wanted to do in the remains of old Canada. By the Queen! Who wants to go there? It's fucking cold this time of year!" The short Awoken ranted to her friend before mounting the rail and leaping off down to the ground below.
"Damnit! I'm not bailing you out if the handlers catch you!" Archivia called out to her before crossing her arms over her chest. It didn't even take a full minute before she caved. "Shit. Wait for me!" She shouted after her as she grabbed the rail and flung herself over it.
Archivia had no problem catching up to Jo and gave the short woman a scowl as she saw the shit eating grin on the other woman's face.
"Not a word, you little twerp." Archivia threatened before snapping her head forward looking for the man Jo wanted to call Raz.
She was indeed curious about this man, someone who seemed to have been dead for a long time and was brought back on Mars. He may have answers to questions her library may not be able to tell her. Plus, Jo was buzzing about this man and how strong he was. Unhinging Sage-22's , or Sushi's, jaw through his helmet was pretty impressive. She would never reveal this information to Jo even on her deathbed; the woman would never let it go.
"Oh! There he is, and he is with someone almost his size! Look! Sasquatch and the abominable snowman are best friends!" Jo nearly squealed in laughter.
The pair did stick out; the Human was just massive and had an authoritative air about him, while the Awoken was a very light blue with a shaggy white hair that looked like a wig placed on wrong. It was a nearly comedic sight. Before Archivia could stop her energetic friend, the little woman had taken off at a sprint.
"Hey! Sasquatch! Guess who!" She called out before slamming into his back, forcing him to double over with a pained grunt.
"I don't know, but whoever you are you're heavy." He breathed out with an exasperated sigh.
A quick thud was heard followed by a pained curse with another man laughing at his friend's misfortune. After rubbing his sore head he turned to see two Awoken women, one he recognized the other he didn't. He couldn't recall the first's name however, it was only mentioned briefly before he was taken away to see the Vanguard leaders.
"I'm Jo! How can you not remember that?" She exclaimed at the blank look he was giving her. "But beside that, this is my friend, Archivia." She motioned to the other Awoken who nodded her head but kept her distance.
Both of the men waved slowly and exchanged looks, almost unsure of what to do in this situation.
"But all kidding aside we came up with a name for you! Aren't you excited?"
"No." His simple reply set Corde and Archivia off into a fit of laughter before Jo punched the Human square in the back of the head again.
"At least listen to it before you reject it, Frazzle!" She exclaimed.
"Is that really the best you could come up with?" He asked, disappointed.
"Nah, I'm just screwin' with ya. I think Razzle Dazzle is more your style."
"Oh my and here I thought Jukebox was a good one!" Corde cut in with a snort trying to contain his laughter. "But this one is just full of terrible ideas! I like her!"
"Everyone's a fuckin' critic these days." Jo complained with a turn of her head and sniffed in mock sadness. After a moment to appear to regain her bearings she turned back to them. "But seriously, I came up with an awesome name for you, Raz. It's an old Earth word in French. Totally badass I think."
"Norman."
"Whatever you say, I don't care."
The man sat there thinking it over, visibly weighing his options on the name he could take versus what she could come up with in the future if she stuck around. Having decided what he hoped wasn't a bad decision he rose to his feet with some effort and dusted off his legs of grass.
"Raz, huh?" He asked the tiny Awoken lady. She nodded enthusiastically, her light hair swinging back and forth. "Alright, what the hell, let's go with it."
Jo let out a shrill cry and pumped her fist in the air to emphasize her victory. She stopped herself at a look from Archivia and straightened out her shirt before offering her hand to Raz.
"Well Raz, I look forward to working with you in the future." The man's hand completely enveloped hers and she shook it firmly. "Archivia looks forward to it too, since she'll be with me from now on." She added with a tilt to her head.
.
The rest of the week passed by in a painful blur for Raz. They did hand to hand combat training and it turned out to be a tournament style fighting system. Guardians were pitted against one another and even lethal blows were authorized. This surprised everyone but they realized that as long as the Ghosts had something to work with they could be brought back to life.
Raz made it pretty far into the sparring matches and so did Corde, but their match was called off by Saer who said it would take too long. She later kicked both of their asses just to prove that speed and agility when used right can outdo the brute force and tenacity that they had both shown.
This training was followed by weapons and explosives training. They had received the basic weapons kits and were instructed on how to field strip and clean their weapons in case they were stuck out of the City for extended times. The firing range was a blast for most and for some was pure torture. When they got to the heavy weapons some of the smaller Guardian's couldn't even lift the rocket launchers or machine guns.
"See, he just doesn't fight well but he is awesome with guns too! See that handling of the rocket launcher? Pure talent!" Jo gushed as they watched the Guardians pick up sniper rifles.
Archivia kept her mouth shut as she watched the Guardians start to fire down range. That was when she noticed a big issue with Raz. His long range accuracy was absolute crap. Jo's face fell into despair as they watched him fire round after round and some not even hit the target at all.
"Damnit. Damnit. Damnit." Raz muttered with every missed shot, his tone growing louder by the bullet.
This didn't last long as he finally raged and threw his rifle down range and grabbed the closest weapon to him, a machine gun, and fired the belt fed weapon at the target. After releasing over a hundred rounds at the virtual figure at the other end did he finally slam the weapon down and look at his score above him.
RANGED PROFICIENCY: INADAQUATE
"What in the hell was that?" Saer came in pushing him aside to see the sniper rifle on the ground near the virtual target blown to actual dust. "Can't you fucking pay attention? It's snipers only, dipshit!" She berated him as she called for the range to be shut down.
"Well at least we know that your spot on our fire team as the marksman is in no danger." Archivia quipped to Jo, who only groaned and put her head in her hands.
"That was terrible, just terrible." She managed to get out. "I've never seen someone so bad with a long range rifle."
That incident was quickly swept under the rug with a signed promise from Raz and from every Guardian present to never speak of this again. This was followed up with training on how to maintain the basic functions of their jump ships, if they had one, and for their Sparrows as well. If they didn't have one of these they were directed to get one as soon as the training was over by speaking to one Amanda Holiday to requisition them. They would have to figure out the payment for the ships and Sparrows with the lady on their own.
The selection ceremony seemed rather anti-climactic for Raz and Corde. The both had selected to become Titans for obvious reasons and were quickly sent to Commander Zavala to receive their first duty assignment and receive their sets of gear from the Vanguard.
It was after Raz had fully kitted himself with his new armor that he took a full look at himself in a standing mirror in the room that had been assigned to him in the Titan's tower that he realized something. It was something so simple he felt rather dumb for not noticing this before. The armor colors were optional and he didn't need to get one anytime soon. He was sure from a sky view that the Tower probably looked like a turned over box of Fruity Pebbles, and he was glad that he wouldn't be counted among the brightly colored idiots.
.
The wastes of Old Russia were never forgiving, but neither were the creatures that inhabited it. The few animals that survived in this wilderness were tough and were avoided if at all possible. But they weren't the only predators out in this wasteland. The Fallen roamed this tundra and were as hostile as the land itself.
A small patrol of Fallen had made its way into what seemed to be a complex of rundown freeways. The roads abandoned when the Houses had finally broken through Earth's orbital defenses and landed on the Human soil. Cars were strewn about the roads with the dead of the fleeing Human's inside, but these bodies did not intrigue this patrol at all. They were after something else; another prey that was worth more to them than the dead.
These Fallen were led by a Captain whose cloak was colored a dark Auburn color which was draped over his armor, this signified that they were members of the House of Thieves. A smaller House who were more set with working in the shadows and striking their opponents when they were wounded.
"Captain." A Vandal called out from one of the flanks. "I do not think the coward is in this sector, we should move on to a more lucrative area." The Vandal had hesitated on his words, unsure on how the stoic Captain would react to the suggestion. "Besides," he began again, "All the patrols in this area have not met with any resistance that we can recall."
There was a brief silence that filled the air before the Captain had closed the distance rapidly to the Vandal and rammed his blade through it's gut. The Vandal sputtered in disbelief and fell back lifeless as the whispy essence of his life escaped out of the wound. Due to the commotion no one noticed the Dreggs standing as the rearguards go missing into the first snowfall.
"Anyone else dare to question the orders we have been given?" The Captain called out the challenge while circling the dead Vandal. "I will see to it that you are disciplined in a like manner." The challenge went unanswered as the rest of the patrol dropped their heads and was quickly herded forward again, closing together with the change of weather and drop of visibility.
As the patrol moved on the Captain began to take stock of a few things. His Dreggs were now missing, and only the Vandals in front of him were still in sight. If they had seen any good salvage they would have let him know, and that was hard to believe since this area was supposedly picked clean. He let out a battle cry to halt the Vandals and that was when he saw it. A grenade landed neatly between the two leading Vandals and killed them in a heartbeat.
The last Vandal that was with him searched the area frantically as he dived into cover behind an adjacent car to the Captain. The Captain's own cover was an overturned truck which allowed him room to stand at full height. Catching the Vandal's attention he motioned for him to move up. The Vandal looked at his wire rifle before nodding and raising it.
Wait.
Wire rifle? His squad wasn't equipped with one. He turned quickly to feel his arc shield take a blow and shatter around him. Cursing he roared as he charged at the Vandal, planning to gut the cretin before the rifle could recharge. He never expected it to fire in the next moment without a buildup.
The Vandal lowered his rifle as he gazed at the corpse of the Captain. Another one of their patrols dead, another Captain in the House of Thieves taken care of and another step closer to his goal. His helmet com buzzed and he put one of his hands up to listen briefly.
"Watcher, can you hear me?"
"Yes, what is it?" The Vandal responded to the Fallen on the other end.
"I am intercepting some Thieves chatter; looks like you took care of that patrol. How did my rifle hold up?"
The Vandal, Watcher, gazed at the rifle for a moment, inspecting it.
"You need to tinker with the heat dispersion; it won't be firing again anytime soon." He responded before taking off into the building blizzard.
"Well bring it back and I'll give you a new one that will be modified. I'll see what I can get on the Thieves for you. I'll see you in a few cycles and bring my rifle; I need that data to improve it for the Kings."
"Thanks Priest Durnisk, it's always a pleasure to do business with you."
Post A/N: I thank RC for letting me use Archivia and Reilly for letting me use the Watcher. I still have open slots for Guardians and I hope to fill them soon. As always, keep on keepin' on!