The machine had come out of nowhere. Big, ominous, and terrifying, it sends us scrambling for cover. Hayes is too far back, however, and moments after the platform appears I watch the Titan vaporize in a fog of ions and radiation. Seconds later, I notice his Ghost has deposited itself into my digital storage - if we can purge the Darkness from this place, we might be able to save him. I find an outcropping of rock to hide inside of, and I spend the next few moments listening to my fireteam screaming in panic.
"Watch your left flank, Gideon!" I hear Asher call out. The radio transmission is slightly distorted by the sheer amount of static interference in the room. I can hear Gideon open fire on something. There's a loud explosion, and I hear him begin to yell in agony. I'm still pressed into my cover, cowering and ashamed. Everything here seems hopeless, we can't possibly hope to defeat this Vex machine.
"Get him! GRAB HIM!" Someone is shouting.
"He's hit bad, we have to get him stabil-" Another loud explosion from right above me, and a mist of blood and armor rains down in front of my hideout. My Heads-Up Display shows the vital signs of Hayes, Gideon, and Fjenne as totally flatlined. I attempt to drag myself from my cover, but the fear grips my chest and I sink to my knees, shaking with adrenaline. I hear footfalls just beyond my hiding spot, I look up to see Vario jumping behind the cover with me.
"This was a failure before we ever set foot in here," I cry out to him as he slides in toward me. As we sit, I listen to the huge Vex blare out a synthetic war-horn, I hear Asher firing at something, there's another explosion, and her vital signs read as ceased.
I am a Guardian of the Light. I was forged back into life by the dying breath of the Traveler. I have dealt with death every moment of my second chance at life, but this leaves me numb.
I failed.
We failed.
All the help we were given, known or unknown, ended up being for nothing.
We were sent to cleanse this place, to burn out the infection that is the Vex. We were sent in to solve the endless enigma of their calculations, and to make right their scourge upon Venus, and maybe the rest of the solar system.
I'm shaken from my thoughts once again due to the loudest sound of rushing wind I've ever heard. My vision blurs, and I suddenly find myself sprawling across a strange section of the chamber. Vario is lying next to me, and above our heads sits the glowing relic of Kabr.
The oppressive Darkness in the room immediately descends upon us, cloying and harsh. I reach for the shield, and before my fingertips can brush the outer edge, I watch as a shadowy figure approaches us. It looks like it's speaking, but due to the smothering feeling of the room, I can't hear a sound.
There's a feeling, though. A thought, almost.
THIS IS NOT YOUR END.
NOT YET.
YOU ARE READING
Only On Paper
أدب الهواةA Warlock sent as an intel scout rather than a scientist slowly begins to resent his leadership. After stumbling across an unlikely companion, he begins pushing his limitations, eventually catching some well-deserved attention. When he and a Crucibl...
