Only On Paper

17 - Deus Ex Machina

The Ghosts are acting strangely.

I can't tell why, and my attempts to probe them for more information has proved all but useful. All six of them are clustered around the area where the Vex conflux had disappeared. Every so often, I'd see the soft grid-pulse of their scanning equipment as they perform a sweep over their hangout. None of them are outwardly projecting their voices, although my suit's energy detection shows them sharing copious amounts of information.

I still have no clue how much further down we have to travel into this godforsaken place, but by all indications, we seem to be at a dead end. There is virtually no way out of this room except for the door we came through, which has since sealed itself shut. The Ghosts had already mentioned a huge source of power in this room, but besides the timegates and the gigantic crystal formations overhead, I don't know what we're supposed to be looking for.

I see a brief movement in the corner of my eye. I look to see Vario motioning me over to him. I get up from my stone seat and walk to him.

"What do you suppose they're up to?" He croaks, jerking his thumb toward the Ghosts.

"Not a clue," I shrug, and glance once again at the small machines. "Two of them were talking earlier about some kind of code that they tried to disrupt?"

"Does that mean anything to you?"

"Only that we're not done here yet," I say, leaning in and grasping his shoulder plate. The armor to armor contact allows for direct communication without risk of eavesdroppers. "I have a dark feeling for whatever comes next."

Vario shakes his head, almost imperceptibly. "I'm thinking the same thing. Those gates aren't here for no reason," He looks over his shoulder at the team standing nearby. "I think they were designed as a lockbox."

"For what?"

"Us." He answers darkly, and I shudder. "By locking us out of our own timeline, the Vex effectively remove us as a threat." He sits down, back against a stone slab.

"We got back, though," I offer.

"We wouldn't - couldn't have - without the help." He cocks his head to one side, looking at me in his way of making me feel like I was missing something. I sigh, lean back and break the private connection. When I turn I see the others are still engrossed by their own devices. I look back to Vario.

"We did it once," I say, "We can do it again. I'm sure of it."

"If you say so," Vario's voice sounds as close to a smile as Exo can get. He offers a hand and I help pull him to his feet. "Let's find out what those things are up to." He grunts as he stands, and begins moving toward the Ghosts.

Before we get more than a few steps, the entire atmosphere of the chamber changes. I feel a prickling of static on the nape of my neck, and a strange clicking sensation that feels like it's right behind my eyes. Everyone is suddenly tense, and the Ghosts disperse in a flash of speed and brilliance. As they depart, their radio signals betray extreme alarm among them. One message comes my way:

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Recommend fi̷n͜d̸ing ̀c͘o̴v̕er, unknown activation signal o̷͟ưtbo̸͜uņd̷͝. ̨ Power surge detected. DANGER IMMEDIATE: unid̸̕e̢͘͡nt҉i̡͏f̕i̷e͞ḑ͞ ̡̀v̢͏̕e̵͜ct҉̀҉ò̵r̸̴s͡ ͡iǹ͜c̴͢ó̸̀m̡͞į̶n҉̸g͜ ú̶s̵̛iņ͏g̵̢ ųņkn̨ow̨͏̸n͟͏ q̴͡͡͡͠u͟͟a̢͏̵̷́̾̏͐̌̓́ͯ͗̏̓̕͞͠҉͇̱͍̮̱̪n̶̨̦̗̦̳̣͓͔̪̖̝̲͍̜͈̝̪̗̤̈́̽͑́̅͜͞t̴͈̼̜͍̫̗͗͐͒͘͘͡ͅuͤ̅ͬ̈́̋̂̃̐̌͒͢͠͠҉̺̟̱͓̥̰͇̝͓m̛̗̙̹̹̱͇̥̫̼͈͕̰̞̖̖̖̪̻͂͗̅͑̋͌ͩ̀ ̸̰̭̘̩̟̗̰̖͈͇̼̮ͪ͑̉̽̉ͥ̀͜͡p̶̱̩̦̻͇̻̦̮̼̰͕̱̳͆̆̈̽̚͟͝͞ą͓̳̘̘͙̘̭͓̰̹̹̭̘̪͈͚̀̎̊ͥ͗͛͆ͦ͂͊̇̈́̉̏͜͞͡r̷̨̛̳̼̙̟̟̪̜̼̀ͮͭ̅̈́̾́̈ͭ́̀ͅá̢̌ͯͭ͐̎̓ͧͬ͗͋͂ͮ͛̃̈́҉̷̟͉̲͕̺̱̹̬̫͚̮̘͎̠͢ļ̡ͯ̀͋̓̈́͂̿͊̄ͭ̑̅͗ͥͪͬͣ̍̚͢͝͏̹̤̫̮̟͎̹̞̮̤̳͚ͅl̴̸̡̤̞̫̱̹̭ͫ̌̎́̽̔ͮ̀̀e͔͚͈̪̥̠̙̮͛͐͛̈̐͝l̫͚͉̘̖̲̜̱͕̘̋̒̉̏ͦ̀̚̕s̴̫̭͍̻̱̺̺͈̯̺̩̙̮͉̰̔̇ͩ̒̈͠͞