Alright, there were two responses towards my offer in making this a split crossover and the results were also split. I've still split myself so I decided to make a trial run at this split POV. There's going to be a small arch each focusing from Theal to Vulpis. Each arch might be around two to three chapters long. We're going to stick with Theal for now and then move on to Vulpis.
Thank you for your time and support and I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 8-The first steps
[Vair]
Vair sat on the wall of the city with her teammate and friend, Chul 47. He was an Exo who was the first to great her in her second life and the traveler half ass in filling her with light. They just got out of a depressing as hell meeting with the Vanguard. Chul 47 and she wanted to keep looking for Vulpis, to find their friend and tell him off for getting lost but in the end, Ikora Rey told them they needed to accept the fact he was dead. That it was becoming too common for guardians to fall these days and they needed to accept their friend was gone. Swallowed up by the darkness. It would have been easier for Vair if it wasn't her favor that leads her friend to disappear.
"Hey." A synthetic voice called out to her. The young hunter turned to look at Chul's glowing blue eyes staring sympathetically at her. "Well looked all over the wrecked factory and all we found was rust and broken circuits. We spent enough time looking for that lazy bugger when he comes back and he will come back, we'll chastise him together."
The girl smiled at the brute of an Exo. "I kinda wish I could ground him. Feels like its the only way for that prideful chump to learn his lesson." She said cheering up.
The white plates that made up his face moved to simulate a grin. "I got into his ship and found some golden age tech that looked like a right fun time to mess around with. You can join me if you want."
The checkered colored huntress waved the offer away. "Can't got another lesson with Cyade, we're gonna work on my golden gun again."
"Still?" The Titan said in mock surprise. "A hundred years and you still don't have it. I'm starting to believe the Traveler never filled you with its light and you're just pretending." He joked.
Vair just shook her head. "And yet I still have a higher kill count than you." She punctuated this by making a shooting gesture toward the expansive plain in front of them. As if she was firing at a fallen that was hiding in the bushes.
The Exo got to his feet whilst laughing at the huntress comment. "As well the highest death count." Chul shot back.
"That's fair," Vair admitted. Before Chul could go, she made one last remark. "You don't need to help me find that thing anymore." Vair said solemnly.
The blue armored Guardian didn't even turn to address her. "Like hell, I don't. If I don't come along I'll lose on an adventure and the loot."
The two parted ways, one leaving with an indomitable skip in his step and the other staring at the night determined.
[Theal]
It took the Tenno a week to get the orbiter back into proper shape and to check inventory. He was good on martial for a good long while but that's if that thin kept its word to send him back home. He should also take in consideration that this mission might take a while to complete. He might be forced to stay here to months or even years depending on how complexed the mission is.
"Ordis." The Tenno asked into the air. Expecting the Cephalon to hear him. "Yes, operator." It chirped.
"That Data case, are you finished with it?"
"I just finished operator."
"Right, he said with a inhale. He moved to his personal quarters that was completely covered by trinkets and mementos of his adventures in the origin system. It had sculptures from Orokin towers to floofs from Fortuna and everything in between. He took it all in as a reminder of what he was working for. To return home and help the people for the origin system and be there for his Tenno brother and sisters. Then his eyes met the purple helmet of the lotus, floating there as a reminder of her kidnapping. He refused to believe she had turned her back on everything she fought for, to turn her back on him. He laid his hand on the helmet for a moment, standing in silence as he let the memory fade to the back of his mind.
With a breath, he moved on to the leather couch that had both his jukebox and Ludoplex in front of it. He took a seat and booted a game of happy Zephyr and started to play. "Please summarise the package."
The Cephalon did so as his Operator attempted to get past his high score of seventeen in the Ludoplex."It is a massive log dating the multiple lives of people from the origin system attempting to appease some sort of void entities single request to retrieve a single girl."
Theal twitched and that caused him to fail to give him a score of eleven in his game. "First, which kind of people and second, who is this girl." He said as he retired for the score.
"People like the -zzZ ROTten pOTatOEs Zzz- Grineer assassins, -zzZ GrEEdy friDGe heaDS Zzz- Corpus debt collectors and even an -zzZ PoSh cHIld mURderS Zzz- Orokin Archimedean. All of which died from the natives or from old age."
"So the Man has been doing this for a while huh? Did he take any tenno?" He asked worried for his comrades but also he slightly hopped he wasn't alone in this star system.
"No Operator, you're the first." Ordis answered.
The news was good, regardless of the fact that this cemented in him, he was here alone. "Great and who is this girl."
"The logs say she is an object of affection for this entity. Every log seems to say that she is the key for them to achieve their goals. Operator, I think this is the key for our return to the origin system! We should -zzZ hUNt iT Zzz- find this girl."
"Ture but some time must have passed when these other people started looking for this mysterious girl. She must have either past on old age or been killed by the native by now." He said as his heart started pumping harder at the sight of his score reaching closer to his old score.
"Possible but she could also be able to live for hundreds of years like the Corpus or can be in cryo-sleep."
Theal nodded in agreement. "True but then again she still could have been killed wither awake or asleep. If so then why send me to gather a bunch of bones."
"Your so perceptive operator! While what you said is possible. The entity still sent you and that means it must still want the girl's body so even if she's -zzZ bEIng eATen bY wORms Zzz- deceased she might be the key to return home." He said all too happy talking about a dead woman.
Theal got closer this time, being one number away from surpassing his score. "What if she's alive." He said in a far more serious tone.
"What do you mean operator?" Ordis said audibly confused.
"Do we really want to hand over a stranger to some sort of void monster just to get back home."
"Oh." The Cephalon realized. "Then… I'll believe in you operator that you'll make the right choice." Ordis said with complete confidence.
This brought a smile to The Tenno's lips. "Then we ask the girl what she wants. If she's okay with it and turns out the man in the wall is simply doing this for someone he cares for. If she doesn't want anything to do with it, then we'll keep her safe, even if it means being stuck here." That last part he hoped wasn't the truth. He wished for the most convent solution, but something told him that wasn't going to happen.
"Your right operator! I knew you had the solution."
Theal felt thankful that his Cephalon was so supportive. He wished he could do something to thank Ordis for the thousands of years he spent in service to him. If something ever came up that could show it, then he wouldn't hesitate. Then the Tenno saw the counter in flappy Zephyr pass seventeen. Theal pumped a fist when he surpassed the seventeen mark. "Yeah! I did it!" He said in celebration, then soon after he failed at the very next hoop. "Dang." He said in disappointment. He quit the game after that and legged it towards his armory. "Ordis, would you kindly mark the area where the last clue was found."
It was when he made it to his arsenal when Ordis dropped the bad news. "I'm sorry operator but that might take some time. The last time the trail left off, it was on Mars and the orbiter will take seven months to make it there without the solar rails."
The Tenno clicked his tongue. "That's a bit much and I won't go to cryosleep I won't let last time happen to me ever again." Theal meant it, it would be a cold day in mercury before he went to sleep again. Still, he needed to get the red planet. "Ordis, do those logs have any information about space travel."
Ordis took a moment to answer. "Yes, they say there is technology that allows interplanetary travel."
"Then we look for some blueprints and upgrade the orbiter with them. Power shouldn't be a problem as long we can upgrade them with void sensitive materials."
"If the operator wishes we can find these -zzZ DeAtH TraPs Zzz- jump ships in the hands of the native of the place called the Last city. There are other area's that might hold wrecked jump ships but that might produce less than stellar results."
"Ordis, get us as near to that city without getting detected. Then prep the Liset for taking off."
"What are you planning Operator?" Ordis asked worriedly.
"I'm either going to sneak in and steal some blueprints or I'm risking it and try to open a dialog, Maybe trade for it. I need to think about it." Theal was worried. He could try hijacking an alien ship but that raise three main problems. It will take him months to reverse engineer alien technology. It might be too big to transport and their friends will come with their weapons hot so he didn't have time to study the tech if that was the case. Lastly, the whole thing might not even be possible as he would need a dojo and its docks to fully retrofit his ship.
This so-called last city was the best chance and he was worried about it. The guardian known as Lupis told him it was a safe haven in this hostile system. The Tenno knew a place like that must be a quite tight-knit community and they must already note his disappearance. The problem was if they knew that it was with him Vulpis was last with and if they would blame him for it. He also wondered if they would be able to accept an outsider like him without one of their own vouching for him. That made sneaking in seem far more viable. The same problems about reverse engineering applied here. It was a risk either way but then again he was no stranger to such things.
His ships engines hummed silently, betraying the effort the machine put in to push the spacecraft in blinding speeds towards the home of the Guardians of the light.