Author's note 1:
READ THIS!
By democracy the Titan wins.
I wanted another Titan in too, so there's that.
ALL HAIL THE MASTER RACE!
(I hope the title will be install doubts and questions in ya)
Now, while this is gonna be a Young Wolf character (Yes, because only the Young Wolf can meet Chief), I NEED to make him slightly smarter than most Titans because his charismatic attitude will save him in Halo 2.
So, I must go against the nature of the class, though remaining loyal to the origins.
And finally, I want to try and make the Young Wolf sliiiiightlyyyyy chattier. He still will remain silent most of the time, but it might be useful.
Enjoy!
"Are you okay?"
A lone figure in his quarters paused his sketches on a notebook, quietly setting the pen down on the table. He glanced to his side, a tired expression adorning his hidden features behind the helmet.
"Yes…" He simply answered to his Ghost as he stretched and cracked a few bones in his fingers.
"I wouldn't want to interfere but you've spent the last few days filling the pages of your notebook with informations of missions and new discoveries. I've almost forgot you are a Titan in the first place, Jake."
The Titan sighed and opened his palm, letting Ghost materialize in front of him. His lone eye watching with a frown and a quick rotation of the shell made Jake realize that Ghost was really worried about his condition.
"We haven't been called for a briefing yet and I figured we could've let Osiris, Ikora and Zavala handle the situation with the Eliksni and the Last City. Though I wouldn't mind mounting Lakshmi's head as a trophy on my wall, I mean we both know that the House of Light is only trying to help but she just needs to add wood to the fire, doesn't she?" Ghost rolled his eye and nodded.
"On that we are agreed…" He turned his attention to the desk, staring at Fatebringer. "…feels strange to have these weapons back after all these years, right?"
Jake gripped the gun in his hand for a moment before resting it in its holster. "Yeah, after Ghaul's attack it was really a courtesy of Atheon to regenerate along with the Vault. I missed this… with Vex Mythoclast of course."
He took the pen back in his gloved hand and started writing again.
"Why are you using a notebook anyway? I never had a chance to ask this and… wouldn't it be easier to use a datapad? Besides, you're a Titan, Jake. I'm sure these are not your tastes, after all." Ghost beeped and floated to his shoulder, looking at the various notes.
"A datapad would be easily accessable, at least I can always keep the notes with me. For your other question? I find studying and analyzing aspects as much interesting as punching enemies with my fists."
He then shut up and Ghost took it as a sign to drop any subject and return to his dimension.
So Jake remained in a peaceful silence, reporting multiple informations on the pages, basking in the sound of the pen scratching against the paper.
Until Ghost started talking again.
"Commander Zavala wants us to report to his office, he says it's very urgent. We should get moving."
The Titan quickly closed his journal and let Ghost secure it in the other dimension, before rising from his seat and walking towards the elevator.
Usually when Zavala asked for his presence, it wasn't about good news.
In fact, his body tensed and he marched with clenched fists.
He could hear faint whispers coming from inside the room, he politely knocked on the entrance and waited.
A "Come in" was heard and Jake took it as a sign to reveal himself.
Commander Zavala and Ikora were clearly discussing something important, with the former watching the City and the Traveler from the windows and the latter leaning on the desk with her arms crossed behind her back.
"Guardian, you are here." Zavala noted, not taking his eyes off the view. He was viewing Jake from the reflection on the glass.
"I came as soon as I could, sir." Ghost appeared and hovered near him.
Ikora's expression shifted into a frown. "Jake, you do realize that you are not needed to address us like that. We have known each other for a very long time and-"
Zavala finally decided to turn around and he held a hand up. "Ikora, if the Guardian decides to formerly address us then we cannot stop him. I imagine that in these hard times this act is needed to show cooperation between us."
The Warlock glanced at the Titan for a second, perhaps expecting a reply on the subject, but what she got wasn't what she seeked.
"Why was I called here, sir?" If a new threat was located or if Quria's location had been found, Jake was ready to depart with his fireteam, all he needed was the authorization from the Commander.
Zavala wordlessly grabbed a datapad from his desk and walked to Jake, offering it to him.
The Titan noted how it displayed images of the Tower plaza, only changed…
He almost gasped from the presence of Taken blights and Taken energy stuck on the floor of the plaza, but he restrained himself from making a single sound. Ghost wasn't so lucky…
"Oh, Traveler. What happened?"
"Happened this morning, clearly after you discovered of Quria's presence in the Vex network, Savathun or the corrupted mind decided to take direct action and hit us in our home…"
Zavala started pacing around the room, arms behind his back.
"…we isolated the entire location. Shaxx has been transferred to the Hangar along side Saint. He of course voiced his concerns, but we managed to convince him of the required change. Banshee has been moved with Ada, we think they might be a perfect squad considering their roles. Though we still have to consider new locations for Master Rahool and Tess, but I'm sure we will come up with something."
Ikora took the lead. "But aside from this peculiar and unfortunate event, we have a new mission regarding this same Taken event. We discussed the matter with Mithrax and came up with the conclusion that you are the most suited for this task."
Jake placed the datapad back on Zavala's desk and straightened his spine. "Of course, just give me the details of the mission and me and my fireteam will immediately take action, ma'am."
The Warlock shook her head. "We believe this task only requires the action of one Guardian. And considering your history, you are the perfect choice."
A solo mission? Not the first time it happened, especially at the beginning of his "career".
He nodded and waited for instructions.
"We detected another Taken source a few miles from here. Considering it appeared along side the corruption in the Tower, we fear a possible attack from Savathun or Quria herself. You must locate the location of this power and eradicate the source if labelled as a threat."
"We will take our ship and deploy immediately…" Ghost chirped. "…well, as soon as we can anyway. Amanda is fixing it after an… accident we had during one of our previous tasks." An annoyed look was sent Jake's way but he moved over it with a shrug.
"We are both sure you will succeed…" Zavala commented as he looked over his shoulder with a small smile. "…as you always do."
Jake nodded and left the room without another word.
Though on his way to the Hangar he bumped into… Osiris?
"Ah! Good morning, Jake. I was looking for you."
He decided not to question the Warlock's authority seeing as it was higher than his. And Osiris himself clearly had a reason to hold him for a little bit, right?
"What is it?" His Ghost answered for him.
The Warlock's voice volume lowered to a whisper. "I just wanted to make sure you hadn't talked with Lakshmi about the encounter she had with Saint. As well as giving you more informations useful for your next task. I was, after all, the one who discovered the strange anomaly outside of the City's walls and reported it to the Vanguard."
He raised an eyebrow behind his helmet but shrugged. "My lips are and always has been sealed since that day, you don't have to worry about that Osiris. Now, for the info?"
Osiris nodded. "Yes, yes. You see, I am almost sure the energy source was originated from Quria. Seeing as how the Witch Queen was capable of playing us all, even me, I wouldn't be surprised if she commanded the Vex mind to extend the corruption not only inside our Tower but outside in the lands. Perhaps to create an army and invade the Tower when we are too preoccupied with these Taken blights? Or just to confuse us more?" He rubbed his covered chin with a gloved hand.
"I wanted to ask you, with my authorization, to analyze the anomaly closer and perhaps retrieve some samples we could use for our studies."
He squinted his hidden eyes. "For what purpose, Osiris?"
The Warlock huffed. "You all seem to be fairly acquainted with that phrase. But, to answer your question, I believe it could be useful to gather more data on Quria's location and I shall share this knowledge with Mithrax as soon as you return."
…
"I will think about it, Osiris." He offered after a moment of silence.
Osiris nodded. "That is all I ask."
He was finally back in his ship and slowly got used to the idea of flying again.
Ghost offered to set the ship on auto-pilot, but he refused. They might need his skills to avoid danger after all.
They arrived at the destination… and saw their target.
A giant pulsating sphere of Taken energy, floating in the center of an abandoned plaza.
Considering the street were off limits to take as a course of action, his only choice was to approach the target with his ship.
And at first, all seemed fine… until something strange happened.
The pulsating energy around the sphere vibrated with increasing volume and Ghost watched how the systems around the ship all started to flash in a red light.
Panick slowly rose inside the small child of the Traveler.
"Ghost?!" Jake shouted.
"The paracausal energy coming from the scans suggests that this thing is trying to suck us in! I think… it is some kind of Taken portal."
As if on clue, Jake lost control of the systems and they started advancing towards the anomaly.
He tried so hard to get a hold of the ship… and failed to.
The last thing they saw was a burst of white light…
Author's note 2:
I found it rather hard to give another excuse for the whole crossing dimensions thing.
I could have just pulled out the Vex network thing, but as we see in this season, Savathun and Quria are the main antagonists.
I don't know why Bungie made the NPCs look like statues when there is literally corruption around them.
LOL
So, I wrote this.
The pretext of the prologue though? Osiris sus.
And I wanted again the Guardian's ship in the Halo universe, though it won't crash again.
And don't expect a fight with Chief. Nah, the meeting will be changed.
Smaller prologue, but I just can't find anything else to write :/
Until next time!
Gino out!