The planets that the Vex inhabited were almost always converted into massive machines, spanning often from the surface of the world down to its core. Europa was no different, already far into the process of being transformed into dead metal. The pyramidion structures of the Vex cast long shadows over the ruins of Eventide, an ever looming reminder of what threats awaited them beneath the ice.
If there had been one thing Hephaestus-22 could be certain of, it was that Europa was cold. Infact, it was beyond cold. As an Exo, he was supposedly immune to the sensation; the keyword having been supposedly. He could currently feel his innermost workings slowly turning to ice, leaving a chill that settled so deep he wouldn't be able to get warm again for a week. Hephaestus hated it on this damned rock, perhaps more than he had hated being at the Forge on Mercury, where he could feel every circuit in his body frying beneath the never ending gaze of the Sun.
Secretly, he hoped that nothing was amiss on the icy moon, so that he wouldn't have to stay any longer than absolutely necessary. With his luck, however, that wouldn't be the case. The Vanguard had asked for his team specifically, and in his opinion, that had never been a good sign. But, Vanguard operations almost always paid better than bounties…
Hephaestus knew that he probably wouldn't be going home any time soon. Come to think of it, neither would his fireteam. He could hear them, somewhere not far behind him. He couldn't quite make out exactly what they were saying, though he knew it wasn't anything important. They would have used the comm-link.
He moved forward, advancing through the Nexus and toward the Radiolarian River. The roar of its falls were a faint white noise across the chasm, helping to keep him focused. Without the Fallen or Vex assailing his fireteam... this place was uncomfortably eerie. Admittedly, it had him on edge. His Ghost—who he had named Artemis, so many cycles ago—materialized beside his shoulder, her gray and silver shell twinkling as she performed a brief scan.
She spoke softly, breaking the oppressive silence within the cavern. "That's... really odd. I'm not picking up any signatures down here. I can only pick up a handful of them near the gate, and even those seem like they're fading. I've never seen the vex just abandon a stronghold like this." His voice called back, much less timid than his Ghosts. "You're right," his gravelly, synthetic voice growled through his helmets vocalizer. "It isn't like them to just up and leave. Something must have scared them off..." he mused to himself, the idea almost humorous despite the uncomfortable idea that the statement gave way to. "But what in the Travelers name could frighten the Vex? It's not like they've a boogeyman." He stopped abruptly, the sound of ice cracking apart thundering through the cave.
Instinctively, his Ghost hid behind his shoulder as he looked around, expecting something large to drop from the ceiling or emerge from the chasm below his feet. His hand immediately shot to his hip, his mechanical fingers wrapping around the pommel of his cannon. Fast as lightning, the Exo drew his Duke Mk. 44 with an embellished twirl, steadying his hand and waiting for something—anything—to make a move against him.
The Warlock behind him, an Awoken man by the name of Ahaz, tensed. His hands raised in a mock surrender, staring at his fellow Lightbearer. His face held an expression of annoyance; perhaps even anger at the drawing of the gun. His own weapon, a shotgun, was slung haphazardly across his back, hanging loosely between his shoulders. Veins of white light rippled beneath the ashen grey of his skin, his silver hair hanging in loose strands over his eyes. His half lidded eyes burned a brilliant, venomous green as he stared back at Heph. His lips were furrowed into a deep scowl; One of his eyebrows shooting upward while the other sank.
Hephaestus let out a breath he didn't know that he had been holding, his Ghost peeking her blue optic over his Pauldron. He shrugged an apology to Ahaz as he placed the weapon back in its holster at his side, Artemis giving a timid squeak as he shifted. Ahaz gave an unhappy 'Hmph.' in response, but accepted nonetheless. Ahaz lowered his arms, folding them over his chest.
"Now now, Heph. Don't go drawing on us for nothin', we ain't in the Crucible," a sly voice drawled from behind the Warlock. The man came to a stop behind Ahaz, only by a handful of inches. His voice was smooth and mellow, like barrel aged whiskey. The mans hands clapped against the Warlocks shoulders, and giving a vigorous shake. He leaned forward, the glow of the radiolarian properly illuminating the face of a handsome young man. His jawline was well defined, even beneath the well groomed beard on his face. His hair was raven colored, and approximately shoulder length. It was left to hang over the sides of his face, framing it in a wild and carefree way. His smile was warm and welcoming, and to many, incredibly charming. His hazel eyes sparkled mischievously, meeting the gaze of the Titan.
His name was Raymond Taraday; and he was one of the best Gunslinging Hunters alive… in his opinion, anyway. Hephaestus shifted his gaze between his two companions, before deciding to press toward the gate. Ray let his left arm fall back to his side, his smile turning to a grin as he clapped Ahaz on the back with his right hand. His features were painted with a haphazard grin, clearly not worried by much of what was happening. "Something to be said about… moss and moving rocks, I guess." He would shrug, and the two began following after Heph. Ray and Ahaz took longer, slower steps than Hephaestus, the two talking between themselves as they moved. Ahaz offered a question, trying to explain the motives of a species they didn't understand. "It... could be like how most Vex avoided the Sol Divisive?"
Ray hardly thought of his answer before firing the words into the icy air. "Naw," He gave a half hearted wave of his hand, and an exaggerated, slow shake of the head. "They don't just abandon outposts like this because of a few competitors. This is something different," Ahaz would tilt his head, opening his mouth as though to speak. However, the voice of Hephaestus would cut through the brief silence like a hot knife. "The Sol Divisive didn't set up a multi-dimensional fortress on our doorstep and then abandon its defenses, either."
To put it mildly, he was unhappy with the idea that something could have driven the machines out. Even when the Vex were 'afraid', for lack of a better word, they tended to attack and swarm whatever it was causing them problems. Even now, they had simply... vanished. Why? He wasn't sure that he wanted to know, if he was being honest. If something could terrify the vex to the point of abandoning a stronghold... it likely spelled bad news for the Last City. But wasn't that why he chose to work with the vanguard in the first place? Not for the politics, or the many Bureaucrats that had risen to power in the centuries he was absent. It was always the people. His people. That was why he fought, to protect those who were unable to protect themselves. He pressed on, renewed in his vigor by the thought of those he had left at home. Whatever the new threat was that awaited them at the Glassway, he would meet it head on.
The trek through the Radiolarian pit was the most difficult. The radiolaria looked to have been tainted by something, a viscous purple liquid that gave a faint, sickly glow. scan from his Ghost had revealed that it was likely toxic to humans, and could even be acidic on flesh. While that wouldn't prove problematic for him, his friends would likely need to avoid it. Further scans revealed faint traces of Darkness energy, though not enough to affect his Light. He wondered if perhaps, this was some new form of Darkness the Vex had infused into themselves. Though… if they had done this, why would they abandon this stronghold? It made no sense!
Against the advice of Artemis, he would try to collect a sample of the bizarre new substance. He dipped his hand into the radiolaria, the familiar sensation of tingling arc energy gone from it. Instead, he could feel the liquid curl away from his Light as though it were offended by his very presence. The purple substance however, looked to try and swim toward him, like small serpents. He pulled his hand away in disgust, shaking the radiolaria off with a flick of his wrist.
Artemis chirped, her shell clinking against itself for a moment. "I wonder what it is? Some kind of Vex disease?" The thought revolted him, making his stomach flip—funny, considering he didn't really have a stomach-and producing a sense of nausea. He would be making a note to avoid the substance wherever he could. "Let's hope not." He said with a huff, turning away from the tainted fluid. He glanced again toward the pool through his visor as he walked away, wondering what the hell the Vex had done here. The rest of the venture was quiet. Silence had enveloped his fireteam, they and their ghosts too nervous to talk about what they may find. This was highly unusual, and likely, incredibly dangerous. The entry tunnel gave way to the massive room where they had slain Belmon, the Transcendent Mind, and it's smaller companion. Raymond had elected to call the smaller Hydra 'Simon'. He'd refused tell anyone else why, insisting that it would "ruin the joke". He had expected to see the husks of the larger Hydra, left to slowly rust apart after its defeat. Perhaps, he had expected to see a new army of Vex waiting for them as they crested the hill. Perhaps he had even expected to see the same, unchanging chamber that they had left upon their initial incursion into this god forsaken place. He wished that had been all they found.
The pool of Radiolaria in the center of the room had been infected with the purple liquid, it had seemed, and for the most part, solidified into some kind of Crystal. It was even across the floor of the room, though the data servers that had belonged to Clovis Bray had been overrun by the substance, jagged crystals that emitted a sickly glow providing an ominous light. The bio lights of the Vex structure had changed from a bright white to a deep fuchsia, further altering the way the room felt. It had been corrupted by whatever this substance was, destroying whatever it had touched. The Vex in the room had all been infected, their radiolaria containers having been punctured and consumed by the substance. But perhaps, the most terrifying thing? The source of the substance lay against the frame of the large gate; a Mech that looked to have been holding its side to stop its blood from leaking out. Its legs and aft looked to have been enveloped in the converted radiolaria, frozen into place as a grave. It was so incredibly large, that even its leg dwarfed him. He was no small man, standing at six and a half foot tall in his armor, and yet... he felt as though he were little more than an insect to this large mech. It was too large and foreign in design to be the Exo Body for Clovis and his AI, ruling that option had been ruled out immediately.
He spoke quietly to Artemis, in awe of the strange mech. "Ghost. Scan it, but keep your distance. We don't know what it is, or where it came from. It might not be dead." He said with caution, slowly inching toward the machine. Even if he knew it was possibly dangerous, he was curious; and he knew that he could defend himself. Its armor had once been a glossy shade of black and silver, though in death it seemed to have lost its sheen. It's eyes were dark, as was the angular purple insignia that looked to have at one point been alight. What had happened here? And what, pray tell, was on the other side of that gate?
Ahaz and Raymond had continued to converse as they approached the open space, where Belmon and Simon had been laid to rest. Miraculously, they had managed to miss the majority of what had concerned their fireteams lead. Their voices fell deathly quiet as they finally made themselves aware of their surroundings, seeing the dead machine in the middle of the room. They both stared in a mixture of shock and amazement, taking in the size of the monstrosity before resuming a much quieter conversation. Ray said in a near whisper. "That would explain why the Vex got out of town so damn quick," Ahaz nodded, his eyes locked ahead of him. "I find it difficult to argue with your assessment." He said, stepping away from his colleague, and moving toward Heph.
"This must be the answer for our stranger-than-strange encounters thus far. I don't think I've ever seen anything like this. And judging by your reaction, you don't know what this robot is either... that's unsettling. Is the ichor from this… thing… infecting the pool of Radiolaria, then?" Ahaz asked Heph as he approached. Despite his voice resuming a louder volume, it was still reverent. He never took his eyes off of the construct, instead looking towards other parts of its form and silently motioning for Raymond to come closer. "I shudder to think it may have friends lurking beyond that gate."
Hephaestus would have chuckled, if he were not also incredibly nervous with the current issue at hand. "I think friends is a very loose term, considering the fact it bled out after stumbling into the Glassway." Ray leaned against the arm of the much larger Titan using his own shoulder, staring at the machine and then glancing at both his allies. "Looks like the big fella had a party in here before he gave up the ghost." His mouth opened again, before he closed it with an audible clack. "Not like our Ghosts, I mean…" Hephaestus stopped listening as Raymond trailed off into a ramble. Ahaz, as it would seem, was unable to do the same. "You are insufferable!" The Warlock howled, kicking a loose chunk of ice toward Raymond. "Can you not go five minutes without making jokes of the situation at hand?!" Ahaz gestured to the mechanoid sitting several dozen yards from them. Raymond would scowl for a moment, before he forced a grin onto his features. He opened his mouth to retort, but was cut short by Hephaestus raising his curled fist. His wrist rotated, and his hand partially opened. Two fingers were now shifted toward the Vex Gate, indicating something to observe in that direction. Ray would have to save his retort for another time, choosing instead to focus on what Heph was pointing out. A yawning pit opened in his stomach as his followed where the fingers led.
The gate was still active.