The infinite sea, the great black, the final frontier, the Void. The nothingness that spans most of the universe goes by many names for humanity. It is an environment hostile to all life that travels within it. All life is unified in that it cannot survive it, forced to live on small oases of habitable places on planets and ships. Within the great void flew one such oasis of life, sleek and with a nimble design it had all the hallmarks of a stealth ship, except that it was bright orange with navy blue accents.
Within sat a Guardian, a Titan, wearing the same colors of Vanguard Unity as his ship. Centuries old, with a significant portion of that time fighting. With all the experience that came with such age he was feeling an emotion he hasn't felt since he was a young light. Confusion.
"You're absolutely sure?"
Turning to the vague direction that he sensed his ghost, Firelight, hovered in its immaterial state.
"For the third time, yes Atlas. We don't appear to be anywhere near the solar system anymore, and asking a fourth time wont change that at all." Firelight said with exasperation. Materializing next to him the triangular basic ghost shell, painted the bright orange of the Vanguard.
"Alright, alright, I'll stop asking…Nowhere near it?" Atlas asked.
"Atlas I swear to the traveler I will spawn a frame in this cockpit for the sole purpose of punching you in the mouth." Firelight said with mock anger in their voice.
"A. I don't have any frames in my inventory and, B. we both know that wouldn't have any effect on me." Said Atlas with confidence.
"I'll break down your gun collection to make one."
"Do it and I'll give you away to a Guardian in need of a new Ghost." Atlas countered.
"Fine, fine lets just drop it." The ghost said with exasperation.
"Good, now the questions that remain are, how did we get here? Where is here? And how do we get home?" Atlas asked.
"What's the last thing you remember of our mission Guardian?"
"The witness had arrived and had torn a portal in the traveler and gone inside. We volunteered to try and pursue. Everything got really bright as we began to enter and…" He stopped hesitantly. "And then we were here, wherever here is. Is… is this what the inside of the traveler looks like? Just nothingness?"
"No. At least I don't thinks so." Firelight responded unsure.
"What do you mean?" Questioned Atlas
"Open your mind Atlas, take a look at the energies around us."
Atlas did as his ghost recommended and looked at the space around him not with his ships instruments, nor even his eyes. He looked with his very soul, to see the energies of light and dark with all their properties around him. All guardians had the ability to do so, but between the three classifications Titans were the worst at it. This does not mean that Atlas is bad at it. Far from it, but compared to Warlocks who spend centuries looking at such energies and Hunters who learn to use their powers in a variety of different uses. Titans only really use their light to make barriers, grenades, and punch shit really really hard. Of supers are an entirely different matter. Thanks, however, to Atlas's long service as a Guardian, he has learned how to sense such energies as well as the average Warlock.
When he looked, he found both light and dark flowing through reality, however unlike home where such energies are always in conflict. Here they were placid, not fighting but flowing around each other, like ocean currents.
"That's… new" Atlas said hesitantly.
"Yes, that along with the planet below us leads me to believe that we're not within the Traveler."
"So we aren't in the Traveler and we aren't in the Sol system. Do we know anything about our current location?" Atlas asked.
"We are currently sitting 300,000 km off an uninhabitable world, and- What is THAT?" Firelight said getting suddenly distracted.
"What did you find and is it hostile?" Atlas replied, losing all humor in his voice.
"There's an unknown artificial structure in the system. It's active but not doing anything. Bring us closer so I can take a better scan."
"Copy, coming about and activating stealth systems." Atlas replied as began turning the ship, and heading for the unknown object.
The ship in question was a modified Woomera B-5, with the bomb bays removed and replaced with a troop bay, the vault containing all his gear, and a small research and weapon modification station. With the bright orange of Vanguard Unity painted on the outside.
"It appears to be some sort of giant gravity cannon?" Firelight said confused.
"Gravity cannon?"
"Yes Guardian, it appears that the device harnesses gravity by unknown means and fires- It's powering up!"
"Shit. What's it doing!"
"Energy build up is reaching critical levels! I don't know what it's doing! It's just condensing gravity like a damn bubble around itself!"
"It's not firing, it's catching something." Atlas said with sudden realization. "Firelight, get on the E-warfare and ensure stealth systems are functioning at full efficiency, and get me a status on ship damages."
"Yes Guardian. Weapon systems, high damage, only the guns are functional. Stealth systems undamaged. Trasmat, damaged but functional. Engines running at 72% efficiency. Reactor undamaged. Due to the damage I wouldn't recommend using the transmat system until we've repaired it." Firelight replies.
"Copy." Atlas started with the surety of a mountain.
Both turned their attention to the gravity cannon as the energy build up reached a crescendo, and out came a ship of unknown make. The ship was significantly larger than the Obsidian Wings, likely around 200m long, and it was noticeably damaged.
"Firelight scans that ship, I want to know how it was damaged, where it was damaged, and how much of a threat it posed to us." Atlas said mentally switched to combat mode. As he went over the ship systems the gravity cannon began to build up energy again.
"The ship appears to be primarily damaged in the engines, which are barely functioning. Minimal damage elsewhere on the ship. It would appear that someone is trying to disable the ship, not destroy it. It also appears to be sending a distress signal." Firelight said with the tone of a bored data analyst. "Secondary ship being caught by the cannon."
Atals checked the scanners, and sure enough, a new, slightly larger ship had appeared. However while the first ship is lightly armed and armored, this one was clearly a war ship. This one was almost 300m and had multiple weapon batteries. The moment it exited FTL it began to burn for the initial ship and fire upon its thrusters. Atlas opened the throttle on his ship and began to get closer to the engagement.
"Firelight, hack a ship of your choosing. Pull everything you can." Atlas stated, his voice firm and unwavering. "We need as much data about our new surroundings as you can get us."
"You got it Guardian."
Atlas just sat and waited for a while as Firelight did their thing. He watched the battle of the two ships for a bit, if it could even be called a battle. It was more a dogged attack against fleeing prey. Before he even had a chance to analyze the aggressors combat capabilities Firelight finished with his task.
"I got the data Atlas, and boy is there a lot of it." Firelight said.
"Any complications getting in their systems, and which ship did you choose."
"I chose the aggressor ship and none at fact it was comically easy to get into. The door to Zavala's office has more cybersecurity than that ship." Firelight stated with arrogance. "Anyways I found this thing called 'The Codex', that should have all the data you need. I also pulled a bunch of non-critical data from the ship as well."
"Good. Use a neural download to put the information of this codex straight in." Atlas said.
"Neural Download! That's dangerous for even a Guardian to do. Besides, you'll be unconscious for up to 15 minutes with how much data will be put directly into your brain." Firelight replied, shocked that their Guardian would even recommend something like this. "I haven't even begun to get to the potential soul damage you might incur!"
"We don't have time for me to read it all, the people might need my help on the first ship." Atlas retorted.
"Those people aren't even human! They're aliens!" Firelight near shouted in protest.
"So what! The House of Light are aliens! Yet I am still proudly sworn to their protection, just as I am sworn to every Human or Eliksni who calls for aid." Atlas retorted. "I may no longer march with the Pilgrim Guard, but I'll answer any distress call that I can."
"But what if its a trap Guardian." Firelight said with an almost defeated tone.
"So what if it is." Atlas said with his arrogant tone surging once more. "I reckon they've never had to deal with a threat like a Guardian. Start the download Firelight."
"Very well. Prepare for extreme pain." Firelight said with resignation.
"I am a Titan, suffering pain is my- AHHHHHGRH" Atlas began to say with confidence before his brain was overloaded with the sudden influx of information. As the blackness took over the Titan slumped back into his pilot's chair, completely unconscious.
"Well, now we wait." Firelight said to themself.
This was without a doubt the worst day of Aloa T'kalis's life and career. She was an Asari Matron of 367 years, just starting to consider settling down. But then came a Matriarch who offered her quite a sum of money to escort her daughter and her group of archeologists around. It was supposed to be a simple mission. She was to take a group of maidens to a couple planets in the Eagle Nebula. Its well charted space and near the Citadel. But of course the moment they began their trek back to Citadel controlled space, a Batrian raiding ship began pursuing them. Unable to flee back to Council space Captain Aloa and her crew were forced to go deeper into the Attican Traverse as the Batrians slowly whittled down their shields, then their engines.
Now here they were drifting un-powered in this random system, not even important enough to be named, as the Batrians closed in.
"Orders Captain?" Aloa's first officer, Esarah T'haava, asked over the shouting match going on between the pilot and the head of engineering.
"How is the distress beacon holding?" She asked in return.
"We're still trying to get past the jamming the Batrians are putting out, Captain. We managed to get past the short range jamming but not the long range." T'haava replied, doing her best to hold in her fear.
Aloa sighed heavily. She couldn't blame the woman for being terrified. With the size of the Batrian frigate she knew that the Batrian raiders alone outnumbered the total number of people on her ship. Not to mention that only about of her crew were even combat capable, and she had even a shred of confidence that any of the maidens could fight. Put quite simply, they were screwed. With no way to escape and their engines inoperable their only option was fight. Best case scenario, they somehow repel the raiders, worst case, every woman on this ship will soon become a slave.
Aloa keyed the ship wide comm system. "All crew, prepare to repel boarders. Secure all the cargo in the hold, and I want all the crew and passengers in the crash couches on the bridge." Aloa switched off the comm and addressed her bridge crew. "Once everyone is inside, lockdown the bridge. Comms, do what you can to boost the distress beacon. Weapons keep firing on the enemy till the barrels melt. Engineering get me an update on the engines and if it's possible to repair them. Helm and other nonessential crew, grab a weapon and prepare to defend our ship. I'm going to make sure they have to kill us instead of taking us as slaves."
"Yes Ma'am." Her crew said in chorus.
"Capt'n, engines are fucked for now. We could repair them but that would require vac repairs. We can't do it from inside the ship." The engineering officer told Aloa from their terminal, accidentally falling into her country drawl in the process. "We're dead in the water Capt'n."
"Captain, point defense guns are slag, heatsinks couldn't keep up!" The weapons officer shouted at the captain. "Enemy ship is lining up to force a docking at our starboard airlock! They're connecting the airlocks in Three! Two! One!"
"T'haava! Lock every bulkhead in the ship." Aloa yelled.
"No can do Cap, they're already in our systems. All we can seal are the emergency doors for the bridge, that's only because it's a manual control!" T'haava shouted back.
"What the…? Captain! I got a second ship on approach!" Comms shouted to the Aloa. You could almost see the mood of the now crowded bridge, brighten at her call.
"Who is it? Turians? Asari? Elcor?" The Captain asked as she rushed to the comms station, her voice laced with desperation. By the Goddess she'll take anyone as long they didn't enslave them.
"Unknown Captain. No IFF, no RADAR, no heat, no LIDAR. Nothing on any of the active or Passive scanners." The comms officer was rushing through her words.
"Then how the fuck do we know its there?!" The Captain demanded with a hint of anger in her voice. If this fool was getting their hopes up for no reason…
"Cause we can fucking see it. Its absorbing all signals, but its also bright fucking orange. We can see on visuals, and it's on an intercept course Captain." Comms replied, her words bring the other bridge officers to a dreary silence.
"Shit."
Waking up was an unusual experience for Atlas. Like many Guardians he doesn't really sleep all that often. If ever. Most Guardians don't sleep for decades, though if you do find any sleeping, it's usually the hunters. Then there are others like Lord Saladin or Commander Zavala, whom most are sure haven't purposefully slept since before their ghosts found them.
So, for Atlas to not only wake up, but to wake up experiencing what he always heard to be what a hangover felt like, sucked ass.
"Ah, Atlas you're up. You've been out for 13 minutes." Firelight told him moments after waking up.
"Uhghggh. Why do the mortals insist on drinking alcohol if this is how they end up every morning." Atlas replied.
"I told you it was dangerous. Now, you have minor soul damage from what I can tell. It will heal but I recommend you don't use any of your abilities for the time being. However the passive abilities can still be used. Your shields, regeneration, and immortality will remain." Firelight informed him.
"Damn so grenades or barriers?"
"Not even a powered punch." Replied Firelight with the tone of a mother chastising their son.
"Then we do this the old fashioned way, guns. Now give me a sitrep." Atlas ordered.
"The Batarian frigate, Servitude in Chains, just docked with the Asari freighter, Tomorrow's Wind. The freighter is carrying a group of young Asari archaeologists on their way to a dig site. The objective of the Batrians is to take all the passengers and crew as slaves. The Captain of the Asari vessel has contained everyone in the bridge. The bridge itself is also the most armored part of the ship, thus there's no need to worry about civilians getting in the way. There's 42 Batarian slavers already aboard the Wind, with about 20 ship crew aboard the Chains."
"Understood, I'll begin my assault on the Servitude in Chains and kill my way to the Wind. Have they noticed us yet?" Atlas asked.
"The passenger ship did but the Batarian crew didn't, the crew of the Wind managed to spot us by luck."
"Then they just get to watch the show. We'll do a quick fly by with a Guardian Bomb onto the Chains. Once I'm out remote piloting the ship out of range. We don't want them getting too good a look on the ship. You have the ship." Atlas said, climbing out of his chair and heading to the rear cargo bay.
"Understood Guardian. Insertion in twenty seconds. I have the ship."
"You have the ship. Now give me… Ace on my hip… Monte Carlo on my back and… Telesto to finish it off."
No power weapons? Firelight said into his mind
Firelight pulled the ship into an 180 degree barrel roll while Atlas did a weapons check and selected his armor. He put on the Vigil of Heros helm, the Shelter in Place gauntlets, Actium War rig, Noble Constant Type 2 greaves, and the long flowing skirt of the Crystocrene Mark.
"Depressurizing the cargo bay." He said using his HUD to access the ship systems. "No, most power weapons will be too bulky to use on their ships, unlike the enemies back home all of these guys are human sized. I expect their ship designs to reflect that."
He lined up on the edge of the ramp, standing backwards ready to jump off.
"Jump in three. Two. One. Zero." At Firelights count Atlas jumped out off the ramp and into the void.
This is my first attempt at writing anything that isn't a school essay so please let me know what I can improve on.
Also don't expect regular updates. I'm in college so I'll only be writing when I feel like it and when I have the energy and time to do so.