From Dusk to Dust (Destiny Fan Fiction)

28-Massacre

AN: I spent way too long on this chapter for some reason. Malachi's Void aesthetic is at the bottom!

Tanis IV bounced back and forth, stretching his fingers in sheer excitement. His mind raced with sheer possibilities and wonder for Golden Age technology. All three ghosts scanned the system and maneuvered passed firewalls to reactivate the orbital defense system. Dinklebot whispered things in Tanis' mind. Data from the company, system information on how the tech worked, and so on.

The mining colony they were in had been abandoned for a while. Smells of spilled oils, rust, and a certain scent from the rocky landscape mixed together in the air. Malachi leaned against the wall, flipping his pocketknife while watching the ghosts work their magic. Alaura patrolled the entrance back and forth, restlessly surveying the area.

The ground shook for a moment, and a loud noise vibrated off the walls. A few generators stirred and woke up from their slumber to start pumping out power again. Macey twirled her blue shell and projected, "The orbital system is back online."

"Thank you, ghosts. Maybe this place can become a safe haven one day..." Alaura trailed off. She let her arms fall, allowing the tip of her weapon scrape against the ground for a second. She peered over at Jarvis and reached out towards him, beckoning him to come back. He bobbed happily, rubbing against her hand before he dematerialized into her armor. Having him close comforted Alaura.

Malachi picked up on his teammate's hopefulness, even though he couldn't see her expression. Macey around Malachi's head and stayed in place over his shoulder like a guardian angel. He put the knife back in his pocket and walked towards the entrance.

"The nest isn't far from here," Dinklebot reported simply. The guardians exited the building onto the moon's landscape.

The Earth's moon had changed when the Traveler arrived. A gravity similar to Earth's had set in the atmosphere, disappointing the guardians greatly. Mimicking the first moon landing would've been a fun activity. The small colony was the only thing present on the moon for miles on end. The rocky landscape was rough and gray, everything that the guardians expected on their trip here.

After a few minutes, they managed to find the location of the nest. The guardians knelt down inside of a crater, staring at the newly built Hive temple entrance below. Malachi took out his sniper rifle, setting it against the ground to steady it. He closed one eye and zoomed in on the temple. Two knights patrolled around the entrance, listening to the environment around them for any movements. He set the gun down and reported, "Two knights. We can take them easily."

Dinklebot spoke up, "There shouldn't be many more inside."

"Are you kidding? They've built a temple entrance already. Who knows how many of them are down there," Alaura pointed out. She stood up and peered back in the direction they came. "Without knowing the area, it becomes twice as dangerous. There are too many unknown variables. We should go. Tanis said we'd only survey. If more come, they'll be taken out."

"You're giving up? Unbelievable," Tanis scoffed. He looked over at his teammates and motioned different things in a helpless fashion. He yearned to express his dissatisfaction accordingly, but failed to come up with how. "I trust Dinklebot. We can take them out and learn from what's left behind."

Malachi locked the sniper rifle in place on his back as he processed Tanis' words. He grimaced, a tinge of pain forming in his chest. "So, what? You don't trust us?"

"I never stated that."

"It sure sounds like it," the Hunter replied bitterly. His brain hinted at not wanting to feel attached to anything. Returning to my old state of life might do me some good... Being emotionless is so much better than experiencing pain... No. Stop.