Thank you all for waiting patiently, here's the next chapter.
Getting Dust to function outside of Remnant has been one of the many difficulties that the scientists of Remnant have been trying to overcome in the last several years with little success. It's time to give us Warlocks a shot. And I have just the Warlock to do it.
Ikora Rey
Sol System, Earth, Last City Tower
The Tower, home and main command center to the Guardians that protect the citizens of the Last City, recruitment center for numerous Factions, location for a few shops and food stands for several businesses.
A pretty standard layout. At the very top of the tower is the main hub of Guardian activity along with several apartments that serve as their home when they are not in the wilds of the system. It also serves as recruitment offices for numerous Factions that Guardians pledge their allegiance to. There are also a few stands for food vendors and other hole in the wall shops that come and go every so often. Towards the bottom of the tower lies the Vault for the very dangerous artifacts, weapons, experiments and other miscellaneous items that are too dangerous for both Guardian, Human, Exo, or Awoken alike. And in the middle is a combination of garages that store the jump ships, gun ranges for those testing their marksmanship and weapons, classrooms for lecture for the academics and writers, and labs for those testing experiments.
Ikora Rey walked towards one of those labs. She passed several labs with Warlocks working on new experiments with Light, several seminars on the new world; Remnant, and a few who were making new texts on the properties of shapes and their metaphysical metaphors on our universe. She stopped at the door reserved for the Warlocks of the Gensym Scribes. She was about to knock, but considered against that and just walked right in.
The room was littered with text books regarding the Vex and their structures on lab tables, chemistry equipment on several tables with Radiolarian fluid in one of the beakers, a diagram of a Vex Goblin on one of the boards and even a miniature model of the Citadel from Venus. Near a small podium with a large volume was her target: Asher Mir.
Asher Mir was an Awoken with white hair and hawkish facial features with a large arrow tattoo on his face. He wore the brown robes of the Gensym scribes which are skilled with the study on Vex and their structures within the system and beyond. He was deep in conversation with his Ghost, Persephone.
"After much calculations and research, I have come to the conclusion that the Pyramidion that resides on Io is not the only one of its kind. I believe it is both a repository or library of all Vex activities within the system along with some other heather-to unknown purpose. That is why I have called upon some of my colleagues to do an exploration of the…" He stopped noticing Ikora behind him. "We will continue later Persephone." Dismissing his Ghost. He turned to her.
"Ikora Rey, the great Warlock Vanguard has come to grace me with her presence. To what do I owe this pleasure?" He said in a non-interested tone, as if she wasn't worth his time.
She took a breath before she spoke. She knew that this was how Asher spoke to everyone. She needed to handle this with care.
"I would like you to do something for me."
He scoffed and turned to one of his tables. "Do? I have no time to do anything. I am very busy with research."
"You know about the lost world that we discovered?"
"Of course, I know. It was I and my important research that contributed to the reactivation of the Golden Age/Vex Portal hybrid that got you all there in the first place. And yet, I receive no thanks. Typical."
"Then you must be aware about the newest Agent that came form that world?"
"Yes, yes, yes, Nemo or Nico or something that starts with an 'N'."
"She has brought a few samples of an energy propellant called Dust."
He made a disgusting sound as he waved her questions away. "I am very aware of the element, and don't get me started on the name Dust. It's a derogatory and insulting name for something that powerful. It's a name only idiots, morons, those with IQs below 1,214 or Titans that can come up with. The proper name is Crystal Elementis, and in my opinion…"
She waved her hand to cut him off from his rambling. She brought out her Ghost and he transmatted a suitcase of said Dust onto a nearby table and gestured to it.
"One of the many hurdles for us is trying to get Dust to function outside of their planets atmosphere. If we were able to accomplish this, our relationship with their worlds governments will rise significantly. I would like you to be the one who accomplishes this."
Asher turned to Ikora and pondered it for a second. A literal second.
"While it is intriguing to do something of this importance, I would have to decline. I am far to busy to waste my time on something of that magnitude when I have more important studies to do. Thank you and good day." He said as he waved her off and turned back to one of the many giant text books that lay open.
Ikora nodded in understanding. "Of course, I know that your studies are important to both us and the people to understanding the many enemies that surround us. And your time is too valuable to waste your intellect on something this…inferior to your own. Maybe Cayde was right and we need someone smarter who can figure it out." She said as she turned to leave.
Asher froze in his tracks and turned to Ikora with a blank expression on his face. "What…did you say?"
Ikora willed herself not to smile at the lure she threw out there and knew he was about to take it. The one thing all Guardians and civilians knew not to do was tell a Warlock that they are not smart enough to figure something out. For if you do, they will take offense and do everything in their power to prove you wrong.
"Oh, Cayde thinks that you are not smart enough to figure something as complex as this out. He thinks that someone else is more intellectually superior can do it… maybe one of the Titans"
Asher started to shake and ran to Ikora and shouted. "You listen here Ikora! I am one of the smartest Warlocks in the system! I have printed and wrote over 16 different articles and volumes pertaining to the Vex and their structures. It was I, who figured a way for Cayde and his retinue to make it to that lost world and this what I get?! If you think that clinking, clattering, piece of scrap-metal automaton excuse for a hunter thinks that those brainless, oafish, 'punch-first-ask-questions-never', Titans can do something that I can't, you have another thing coming!"
He spun Ikora around and pushed her out of the lab. "I will have results for you later today." He said in a much calmer tone and slammed the door in her face. As she turned away and walked back the way she came, she smiled.
00000
Experiment 1
Asher Mir is in front of a work table with an inert yellow Dust crystal. On either side was a small pile Glimmer and on the other side was a Mote of Light. He cleared his throat and bid his Ghost to begin recording.
"Experiment number one will test whether using a combination of Glimmer and a single Mote of Light will activate the dormant lightning Dust crystal. For those of you who have neither the intellect or the common sense of the average human, Glimmer is a transformative element that is present in every planet the Traveler has touched or brushed against in its travels. Just by simple placing a handful of it near any weapon, clothing or armor will imbue said object with some ability, whether it is a fifteen percent increase of strength or make the gun shoot faster. It is my hypothesis that it will work the same way of this Dust crystal."
He then grabbed a small handful of Glimmer and sprinkled it above it. The Glimmer fell down towards the crystal and was absorbed right into the crystal with no positive or negative results.
"No outer signs of change, now is time to see if adding a single Mote of Light will assist."
He picked up Mote of Light, feeling the heat and warmth that it was giving off and placed it above the crystal. It barely touched the surface when the crystal sprung to life, illuminating and humming with energy. Asher smiled, "Ha-Ha, success…"
Before the words left his mouth, the entire room was filled with the power of 10,000 bolts of lightning all striking the same spot at the same time. The power engulfed Asher and incinerating him instantly. As the energy dispersed, Persephone drifted to small pile of soot that was the table and resurrected Asher. He shook his head and gazed at the destruction of the lab.
"Experiment One results: While the combination of Glimmer and Mote of Light has activated the dormant crystal, it has energized it to the point of being fifty times more powerful, lethal and highly unstable to the user. More experiments are required. Perhaps a container of some sort is required to wield is safely."
00000
Experiment 4
Asher frowned at his current results. "Experiment number four using an Earth Dust crystal encased within a Relic Iron case have proved an utter failure. The upside is that it does indeed contain the energies within the case, the downside is due to the Relic Iron's density is that I can't access it.
00000
Experiment 10
The room is filled to bursting with smoke creating a haze that is difficult to see. Asher with a huge smile on his face heads towards a window and opens it, letting out the smoke.
"Experiment…experiment ten has proven a unique result. Using a combination of Fire and Ice Dust crystals and combining them with Spirit Bloom has created a steam-like pharmaceutical that mimics a type of drug that reduces mental and motor capacities that unfortunately affects even Guardians. I am even hallucinating Zavala in a floral sun dress that for some reason makes me giddy. Ghost, prep for resurrection."
00000
Experiment 20
Asher ran across the lab wielding a large hammer smashing it against the walls and ground. What he was trying to destroy was a small spider-like robot whose body is made entirely of Ice Dust with bronze legs carrying it. He managed to corner it and brought the hammer down. The result being that the small robot was smashed beyond repair and as it was crushed it unleashed a blast of ice that forced him off his feet and into a wall. As he got up and brushed his robes he saw that the small explosion had created an iceberg the size of a chair. He turned to his Ghost.
"Experiment 20 is both a failure and a breakthrough. While the exposure of Radiolarian Fluid on the crystal is a poor choice of cooling the highly volatile energies, it has created something else. The radiolarian Fluid transmuted the crystal into a miniature Vex machine with little intelligence that went about the lab, destroying it has made it the equivalent of a grenade blast that has left a small iceberg in the middle of my lab. Might possibly pitch this to Weapon Foundries as a new grenade launcher once it's perfected."
00000
Experiment 42
Asher Mir nodded and turn to his Ghost. "After over forty-one experiments and over fourteen resurrections, I have finally found a way to for Dust to function outside of Remnant in a semi-stable form." He turned and gestured towards his worktable. On the table was a single Fire Dust crystal encased in a small container made of a reflective silver material that was also encased in a slightly larger cylinder casing.
"Using the aforementioned Glimmer and Mote of Light to activate the dormant crystal, I then encased it in a small container made out of Hadium Flakes that absorb the large pool of hazardous energy upon activation and then stored that container within a Helium-3 glass case. I said semi-stable because any damage to the casing whether it be the outer or inner one is highly dangerous. If the glass is broken by a Guardian or any non-Guardian being, they have approximately 7.8 seconds to absorb the energy or place it into whatever weapon they desire. If they fail to shoot their weapon containing said Dust or fail to unleash the elemental power in the form of a super, they would be engulfed in an explosion that would atomize anything within a 20-foot radius."
Asher sighed and continued.
"Unfortunately, that is all the experimentation I can do until trade and travel between Earth and Remnant are possible due to the fact that Miss neo only had a few dozen types of Dust on her at her arrival and I'm now down to seven. Now if you excuse me, I have an expedition to Io that is requiring my full attention."
And there you have it, they have managed to get Dust to function outside of Remnant...in a somewhat stable form. For those who are wondering what Crystal Elementis is, it's latin for Elemental Crystal aka Dust. Just saw the reveal for the third expansion of Destiny 2, Forsaken.
WOW, it was incredible. Got myself pleanty of lore for the fallen chapters.
List of Upcoming chapters:
Neo's Treasure Hunt
The Dawning
Sparrow Racing League
The Emperors New Shadow
Whitley's Deal
Chibi Chapter 2
Prison of Elders Blues
Fallen Conclaive
Farmboy and the Fallen
Please vote for which chapter you want to see most and I'll see you next time.
