M.R.L.N-7

Ch. 7 - Bite of Heresy

"So tell me about Hellas Basin," Merlin said to Sibyl as they cruised through hyperspace. Blurred shades of blue and purple could be seen through the ship windows corkscrewing around them. "Anything I should know going in?"

"BrayTech Futurescape was a pretty popular tourist destination back during the Golden Age; they did tours on things like Exo technology, which was still fairly new at that point, and the Warsat network," Sibyl said, as if giving a well practiced presentation.

"Warsats?"

"An inter-planetary defense grid BrayTech put up around Sol. Although, Rasputin did shut himself down when the Darkness first arrived and the collapse happened"

"'Rasputin' is another version of Clovis like Banshee-44?" Merlin asked.

"Not quite; Banshee is literally the Exo Clovis's mind was transferred to. There is 'another version' of him that was copied into some giant Exo head, by all accounts," Sibyl said, her train of thought close to derailing. "But no, Rasputin is a militarily inclined A.I. built to keep Humanity safe. Ana Bray - Clovis's grand-daughter - basically taught him how to be, and to be more than a weapon."

"Admirable ideal!"

"She's a Guardian now too! A Hunter, in fact," Sibyl added. Merlin gave her a look of surprise. "Zavala actually gave her quite the reprimanding for digging into her past. She ended up growing obsessed with everything there."

"Are Guardians limited to one part of the Light, or is it just preference?" As the Exo's question was said, they emerged from hyperspace and the universe rapidly snapped back into place.

"The three proven forms the Light can take are Solar, which you've used a few times; Arc, like that shield the Hive Knight had; and Void", Sibyl listed. "I don't think you've seen that one yet besides the few fusion rifle shots. Arc as you can probably guess, is very much like electricity but Void? Best way I could explain it would be to think about black holes, gravity waves and warping spacetime."

The jumpship shook as it breached the Martian atmosphere. Clouds of dust enveloped them for a few moments but once the ship was clear of the suspended blanket, the BrayTech Futurescape could be seen below. Silvery-grey buildings, some tall while others wide, were linked together over the red rock. Several tall black towers of interlocked diamond-shaped material dotted the arid landscape. Surprisingly, a couple of trees could be spotted, growing out from cracks in the dirt. Unsurprisingly, they were bare, dry and dead.

As they got closer, Merlin's eyes traced the rigid web of Hive structures poking out through the walls and around corners. A sense of vague familiarity grew within him whilst Sibyl guided the ship down onto the landing pad, overhanging a tall cliff leading to a valley outside the front of the central building.

Merlin stood facing south over the drop toward more rocky outcroppings. Sibyl appeared above his shoulder. "Something catch your eye?" she asked. Merlin shook his head after a moment, pulling his focus back to within his control.

"That way is where my dream went," he answered, pointing to the porous glaciers that clung to stone.

"Seems you really were being led to Nokris," Sibyl noted. "Reports say Young Wolf went into a cave system somewhere in that direction. We'll come back to it later though; let's check around BrayTech's security depot or engineering sector for a 'weapon built there' like Eris wanted. We'll get those Light touched fragments of Hive too."

The Ghost began to glide toward the main building, glancing all about herself for any potential threat. Merlin jogged after her, drawing his Trax Lysis II. He shimmed through the mesh that stretched across what were once glass doors but have been left shattered for centuries. The edges of Hive nest material tugged at his robes like desperate fingers. Once he pulled free from the chitinous material, he snapped back to a focused stance with the butt of his rifle squarely against his shoulder. Wide, winding steps rose from either side of the entrance, re-joining at a plateau in the middle of the room. A wide pillar maintained the integrity of the ceiling, despite it's dilapidated appearance.