Legend of the Phoenix

4. Scavengers

Graciously, Nick agreed to give Xira a ride, as long as he was allowed in on the "scavenging mission."

"As if I could stop you," she retorted as they made their way to the courtyard. Nick had agreed, but also stated that they'd need better weapons and armor if they were going back. "Trust me, you don't want to go out there looking like a kinderguardian." Before Xira could say something, he continued. "Even if you are, there's no reason that the enemy should know that. You're gonna need some better equipment."

One trip to the gunsmith later, Xira had found a pulse rifle that worked a lot better than her old auto rifle, along with something called a fusion rifle to replace her shotgun. Banshee, as the gunsmith was called, exchanged her weapons with little cost thanks to how they were considered "antiques" now.

"Now to get some better armor," Nick said. "The Vanguard are... a lot of things, but they always have some great armor sets."

He was right. Ikora was glad that, although Xira had only been in the Tower a day, she was already heading back into the fray. "Too many Guardians nowadays rely on others to make the world better. I'm glad you're taking initiative."

Xira had gotten some new robes that reached her knees, a new helmet, and a pair of leggings and gloves. Her old boots would have to do for now, but she was thankful to Ikora once she had changed.

"Ready to head into the unknown?" Nick asked, putting on his helmet. Xira mirrored his action and nodded.

Heard Lucky then disappeared in blue light, the same as Xira had when she was transported into her own ship.

In a moment, she appeared on Nick's own jumpship, which was more spacious than hers, although not by much. She guessed it was mainly used for short jumps and not deep space travel.

"It's not much, but we'll get to the Cosmodrome soon enough with it." Nick said from the pilot's seat. Xira noticed there was a spot for the copilot, and took that beside him, while Lucky floated between them, manning the controls.

"Have to do everything around here..." he grumbled. "Oh no, it's not like Guardians need any help, just get the Ghost to do it..."

"Is he alright?" Ghost asked.

"Yeah, he's just a sourpuss," Nick said. "He's actually pretty sweet, though, once you get past the rough exterior."

Lucky rolled his eye.

"The Cosmodrome's just a quick hop from the City, we'll be there in a few minutes," Nick said. Xira nodded.

"We survived the Fallen once. We can do it again." Ghost's words filled her with energy as clouds whizzed past below the ship. She'd had a blast being in a fight, and she lwas excited to feel that adrenaline run again.

"But, don't get too cocky," Ghost warned her. "That was just a Captain you faced last time. There's no telling what we might find out there this time."

"You killed a Fallen Captain?" Lucky asked. Nick shot him a dark look. "You're even better than Nicholas was out in the field. First time he tried wielding an auto rifle he slipped and wasted his entire magazine."

"That was one time, Lucky," Nick shot back. "I got better, I swear," he added.

"Coming up on the Cosmodrome now," Lucky announced.

"Alright. You can set us down right-"

Nick never got to finish his sentence before both Guardians were teleported down to the surface. Disoriented, Xira clutched her head as the world spun for a moment. "A little bit of warning might be nice next time," Nick complained as the green Ghost appeared as well.