S1-165
Gofannon Forge
1:49 PM
04/27/3273
Planet Vez-2 - IMC HQ
Black Armory
Music
Destiny 2 - The Black Armory
Another day at the IMC HQ, and Michael had just completed another new Black Armory weapon, but this one was an auto rifle.
SCANNING...
NEW WEAPON ADDED TO DATABASE
1: The Ringing Nail
"Unbelievable...! Your IMC didn't desecrate the Volundr Forge, they enhanced it, upgraded it! Black Armory Forges NEVER made perfect weapons THAT fast!" Ada-1 praised.
"I sent the Forge schematic to the Aurora Units, then they sent the modification specs to a few of the Marvins and Frames here."
"And your new Radiant Battery production lines deliver the Black Armory power cells directly to the Forge through those tubes, essentially charging it in seconds! IMC engineering is beyond what I could've ever imagined! Agreeing to move the Black Armory to the IMC HQ may have been the best decision I've ever made!"
"At Hammond Robotics, we're bringing the future home. Just so you know, Hammond Robotics was a major manufacturing, aerospace, and defense contractor responsible for the creation of the IMC centuries ago."
"Fascinating. It's also my understanding that the founder of Hammond Robotics was recently found alive because of a Ghost, with his cryo-tube offline and his brain disconnected from a computer."
"That's right. With Dr. Hammond back, the IMC's governing system has only been restored further."
Just then, Ada-1's new PDA began ringing. She accepted the contact and accessed the communication channel. "This is Ada-1, curator of the Black Armory. With whom am I speaking to?"
A voice that had not been heard in centuries spoke through the channel. "This is Dr. Hammond of Hammond Robotics. Ada-1, I've read your file, and I strongly suggest that you trust the Guardians. After all, they helped to restore the IMC after the Collapse. I also request your presence on planet Yitune. There is something I'd like to discuss with you in person."
Music
Destiny - Guardian
The channel closed, and Ada-1 looked to Michael, whose expression was one of shock. "Dr. Hammond himself requested your presence?"
" Is... Is that a bad thing?"
"No, that's... a high honor. The founder of Hammond Robotics and the IMC wishes to meet with you in person! You should go. The Marvins and Frames will look after the Black Armory and the Volundr Forge until you return."
With that, Ada-1 departed to the IMC's shipyard in order to follow Dr. Hammond's request.
1:56 PM
04/27/3273
Planet Yitune
Hammond Robotics Corporate HQ
Music
Metroid: Other M - Title Screen
Once Ada-1 had reached where she was needed, she saw an aged man at the desk, accompanied by a Ghost. "Dr. Hammond, it's... an honor to be in your presence."
"I am well aware of your Black Armory operations, Ada. The reason I requested your presence here was because of this." Dr. Hammond handed the Black Armory curator a strange device.
"{One of our Pilots picked it up on Nessus, said it looked like Black Armory tech.}"
Ada-1 examined the device closely. "This is definitely Forge-made, though the serial number is unfamiliar. Doesn't match the Volundr Forge, and... somehow... ~sigh~ Fallen tech is baked in. Disgusting. This abomination deserves to be broken, burned, and dumped into the void. Someone must have found another Forge."
"Now that you are aware of this... 'development', I believe it is time for you to return to the Black Armory."
Suddenly, Dr. Hammond's Ghost perked up, emitting a few short, overlapping radio bursts. "{I just got multiple reports from Nessus. Quite a few Pilots have found more of those violated Black Armory devices. I'm also getting reports from the Tangled Shore, something about a Fallen group called the... Kell's Scourge. That information was supported by a Fallen known simply as the Spider.}"
"When you trust the Spider, what's lost becomes found."
"Hmm. Fascinating."
Eventually, the Ghost received a radio contact, and the computer monitor in front of Dr. Hammond displayed the map for the European Dead Zone on Earth. "{Our Pilot squadrons in the EDZ are reporting that they've found some useful information from what appears to be Black Armory crates found in lost sectors around the Outskirts.}" The map then shifted to the Arcadian Valley on Nessus, highlighting a location in close proximity to the sector known as Artifact's Edge. "{In other news, the information they transmitted has revealed a new sector identified as the Lost Fuselage. Fallen House of Dusk signatures are heavy in there, and I'm picking up a major Black Armory signal, which appears to be identical to the Volundr Forge in the IMC HQ, except for the fact that the signal appears to be under a different ID: Gofannon.}"
"A Black Armory Forge in the Exodus Black? This is amazing news!"
"I'm dispatching Retaker 7-10 to the Lost Fuselage so they can recover the Gofannon Forge."
"Why don't we send them off with a Black Armory weapon frame? There's a sniper rifle frame back in the main Black Armory chamber."
"I'll let them know. They'll pick it up before departure. From what Aurora Unit 242 told me, Michael went alone to reclaim the Volundr Forge, but was aided by Stalkers and Reapers. According to the geological analysis, there is no radiolarian fluid within that sector, meaning automated assistance is viable."
2:13 PM
04/27/3273
Planet Vez-2 - IMC HQ
Black Armory
Music
Destiny 2 - The Black Armory
Later at the IMC HQ, after Ada-1 had returned and decided to check on the Forge chamber. Just then, as the Black Armory curator was about to set another new Hammerhead machine gun frame in the Volundr Forge, another Black Armory Forge was transmatted in, identified as the Gofannon Forge, which would allow the creation of more Black Armory weapons. Ada-1 was not only surprised at this sudden development, but she was also quite pleased at the recovery of another Forge.
If the Exo had a mouth, she would be smiling.
We'll fix the broken third Forge in the next chapter, then we'll take the Izanami Forge from the Vex.
See you next time.