Back to Cosmodrome

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Void stepped outside his room as he quietly shut the door behind him. It was night-time, and it wouldn't be wise to be loud in the guardian quarters, most likely many tired guardians would be resting here. If anything, it was strange for anyone in the tower to be active at 2 in the morning.

He walked the wide halls of the guardian quarters, navigating towards the nearest elevator, the trackpad lit up at his presence, shining a blue ray on its screen. Void placed his hand and the biometrics scanner returned an affirmative as the elevator opened up.

The tower was a massive infrastructure, going up to 300 floors. But the reality was that only 270 floors were available to the general public. The 30 upper floors were mostly restricted to guardians and traders. There was good reason for this, as the top of the tower was occupied by the hangar and the armory.

Both were dangerous for uninitiated civilians. Not to mention that guardians themselves were extremely strong and heavily armed. One wrong move or any accident would naturally result in life threatening injury for those incapable of regeneration. Hence, Void understood that he too couldn't carelessly interact with the public.

Guardians were treated as heroes, and he had no intention of sullying that reputation.

Void stepped inside the elevator as the doors closed behind him, his fingers moved to the touch screen and he selected the 300th floor.

The elevator acted similar to a shuttle, ascending floors at neck breaking speeds, yet its gravity stabilized interior allowed the passengers to feel only a mild reaction force as it did. After all, for a massive mega structure, transportation between floors was essential, it had to be efficient. Otherwise, the tower would soon be left destitute as it wouldn't manage the influx of trading supplies.

Void felt a slight pull as the lift reached floor 300, the bell rang and the door slid open, revealing the vast courtyard of the tower.

He stepped outside, as a gentle breeze brushed through the courtyard. The dark night sky shimmered with glistening stars, illuminating the tower. The traveler hung above the horizon, emanating a faint light, mesmerizing any that would lay eyes on it.

It was like a jewel adorned above the destitute earth, a symbol of hope, a symbol of power, the presence of the traveler so close had enchanted Void, his eyes refused to budge, and he almost felt beckoned.

Void strode across the courtyard, coming to a halt at the edge, as his hands caressed the cold metal railings, he felt reluctant to look away for but a single second.

The traveler stood in all its glory, its pure white hull, resonated, as if humming a lullaby, cradling humanity in its embrace, protecting them from the dangers unseen. Of course, Void knew the dangers to come, to him this sight had a different meaning.

It was a sight that brought closer imminent dangers, the guardians were destined to face dangers beyond imagination. He had forgotten what he came to do, but for a few minutes, Void remained at the railings, admiring the traveler as he heaved a sorrowful sigh.

it was then that a sagely voice startled him.

"Strange, very strange."

He turned to look for the source, and then spotted a man clad in white hooded robes with a strange white mask standing behind him. Void was startled, precisely because he immediately recognized the man, albeit it was someone who had slipped from his memory.

The spiritual leader of the guardians, the advisor to the vanguard, it was none other than the Speaker.

"What is?" Void replied, turning away from the Traveler.

"When new guardians see the Traveler, they yearn for its guidance, look towards it with expectations. But you, you look towards the Traveler, as if reminiscing about your past, reuniting with an old friend. Strange isn't it." The speaker responded.

"Perhaps, it was an old friend, in my past life." Void spoke with nostalgia.

"Perhaps indeed."

The speaker breathed in a deep sigh, as he turned away, looking to leave.

"May the light be with you guardian."

Void and Speaker had both connected slightly with the mention of a past life, but in contrast, Void meant his own life, while the Speaker considered him mentioning his life before he was risen.

It was a strange coincidence, but for a moment the speaker was surprised by the answer he received. He now looked towards the new hunter with some expectations. After all, he could sense the greatness within many guardians, this one was no different.

"Guardian, our appointment with the gun smith awaits, let's not dally around." Obsidian reminded.

"You're right, lets continue our checklist before we leave." Void spoke, sneaking a final glance at the great machine, as he paced towards the gunsmith.

A few minutes later, Void arrived at the gunsmith stall, as he spotted a spiked head exo expertly polishing an auto rifle. Naturally, he recognized the exo to be Banshee-44, precisely the gunsmith he'd been looking for.

Banshee distracted from Void's arrival, looked up slightly confused.

"Can I help you hunter?" He questioned, putting aside the maintenance kit as he walked up to the counter.

"I am looking for some new gear, Cayde sent me here, said I'd get a new set." Void responded.

Banshee scanned void from head to toe, as he contemplated a few things. Eventually he went back into his shop, rummaging around as he looked for a specific crate. Having found it, he carried the heavy package and placed it on the counter.

"Any preferences?" He asked, opening up the safety locks on the weapon cache.

Banshee began displaying the various goods he had kept stored in his various weapon caches, Void had to admit, the gear was far better than he expected. In fact, he expected to receive rare gear at best, but what Banshee had offered him were multiple legendary weapons.

Of course, it was probably not something he could take at will, he would probably need to contribute something towards Banshee's shop to request prime gear. At first, Void only wished to get standard gear that he could get used to.

"Anything that packs a punch" Void replied.

"A hunter that wants to pack a punch. I know exactly what you need." Banshee scrambled back into his shop, as he shuffled around a few caches. Ultimately, he pulled out a cache buried within a pile. This one seemed peculiar, as it had gathered a lot of dust sitting in his shop.

Banshee placed the cache on the counter, as he began to unlock it, which surprisingly required a few passcodes and more security protocols he had to bypass.

The cache clicked open, and a glorious hand cannon was displayed in perfect condition. Void was instantly attracted to the revolver. An obsidian black frame, silver lined revolver, manually calibrated sights and a steel chrome barrel.

"This is?" Void asked, unsure of whether he could take it.

Banshee seemed to reminisce, as he recited what he recalled.

"A friend's, it was his favorite gun, he entrusted it to me.. I figured its best to leave the gun in new hands, better than it catching dust and rotting in my shop."

Banshee expertly removed the gun from the case, carefully as to not damage its body. He took a cloth and polished it one last time, cleaning out dust gathered inside. A few minutes of inspection later, he deemed it safe to use, and presented it to Void.

Void took the gun in his palms, as he examined its weight, allowing his hands to familiarize themselves with it. Despite its slender appearance, the gun weighed a good few units, signifying its quality, the recoil would definitely take time to get used to, however the hand cannon was a must have in his arsenal, specially one of this quality.

As Void examined the gun, he noticed a notification prompt in his menu,

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Acquired: x1 True Prophecy" (Legendary) (Hand Cannon)

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"True Prophecy" Void mumbled

Void took out his previous Sidearm from the holster, placing it on the counter as he inserted the hand cannon in its place.

"Anything else?" Banshee inquired.

"A secondary, preferably an SMG" Void described his loadout to Banshee.

Banshee booted up a nearby terminal as he filled in the requirement, searching his current inventory. Due to large amounts of firearms in his workshop, it was important that he register the weapons available in digital documents.

Once he had searched a few available weapons, he authorized the shipment from his terminal, as a cache was shipped from the underground arsenal, towards his workshop. Since the tower used golden age transmat technology, it had taken less than a second for it to go through.

Banshee grabbed the case from the transmat station, once again examining the gun inside as he presented it to Void.

"This one's an old piece, nothing too special. It's great with handling, and a pretty stable shot. Currently, you're not authorized for advance protocol weapons, this is all I can offer you." Banshee explained.

"That's fine, as long as it's smooth in operation, I will make it work." Void replied.

He took the SMG from the carrying case, and received another notification.

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Acquired: x1 Furina-2mg (Rare) (Sub-Machine Gun)

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As Void was currently a newly risen hunter, he wasn't authorized to obtain city certified heavy weaponry, it was certainly something he did not expect, but in hindsight, if every new guardian was allowed to own and operate all weapons, one could only imagine the havoc they could cause.

The Vanguard had obviously restricted their use for logical reasons, one he could not deny.

"If anything, I just need to prove myself to gain that authorization." He shrugged.

Bidding farewell to the gunsmith, Void ultimately made his way to the Vanguard quarters. Of course, he could very well leave without informing anyone. But it would certainly leave a bad taste in his mouth. Specially since he'd been shown hospitality by the Vanguard, and also offered tasks if he so chooses.

Void stood across the security grid as he waved his arm on the authorization panel, gaining entry.

He walked into the Vanguard Office, expecting to see everyone, but as he entered, he was greeted by Zavala, who was still busy formatting and reviewing documents.

Glancing at the hundreds of files open at Zavala's console, he could only imagine the level of bureaucracy required to operate the last city on a daily basis.

"You're up early guardian. Exemplary attitude, but I feel that you're here for something else." Zavala boisterously greeted as he chuckled.

"Indeed Commander, I was hoping to receive some tasks within the Cosmodrome." Void replied, matching the energy.

"Just Zavala is fine, there are no ranks among the guardians. We are all collectively working our best for the city." He replied, slightly upbeat.

Zavala was pleasantly caught off guard. After all, here was a newly risen light, standing in front of him, asking for work. He had already constructed various scenarios in his mind about the unique heroic will of Void, and his burning desire to contribute to the city.

One that had not even let him get a good night's sleep. Of course, Zavala might have projected his own ideals, as he expected the rest to posses the same will to lead and protect. But why else would a new hunter want to immediately rush outside the safe city walls? In his mind, he was certain.

Unbeknownst to him, Void was simply a greedy bastard for loot, wanting to scavenge the wasteland for enemies and glimmer, while gaining favor with the Vanguard.

~Indeed, hero's come from the youth~ Zavala muttered, nodding his head

"Zavala?" Void inquired, as he saw the Awoken titan in a daze.

"Ah yes, where were we. Of course, the Vanguard is always in need of new blood guardian. In fact, I do have information regarding a few tasks in the cosmodrome vicinity. However, they might prove challenging given your expertise. Are you sure you'd like to volunteer?" Zavala questioned.

It was not just a sincere warning, but also somewhat of a test. After all, many claimed to be heroes, but in the face of true danger, they could only fall back. A guardian with a weak will was someone Zavala disdained.

"Not a problem, I can handle it." Void replied resolutely.

Naturally, it wasn't just blind confidence. Who else was more knowledgeable than him in the destiny world? He'd played through years of the same campaign, repeating missions, and grinding bounties. Void knew the cosmodrome like the back of his hand.

"Excellent resolve guardian, I have transferred over the objectives and information to your ghost. The Vanguard will support you in anyway possible." Zavala replied overjoyed.

~As expected, indeed a hero in the making~ Zavala thought to himself as he chuckled.

"Hmm, I've received the co-ordinates Void." Obsidian chimed in.

"Well then, allow us to excuse ourselves Commander Zavala." Obsidian stated, planting itself above Void's cloak.

"Of course, all the best to you." Zavala replied, as he turned back to his work.

Void walked towards the Hangar to receive a ship, but as he did a new prompt showed.

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{Reputation}

Command Zavala: +10 /100 (Blooming Expectations)

The Vanguard: +5 /300 (Acquainted)

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"I gained reputation?" Void questioned.

This system was naturally alien to him in this format.

"Perhaps, its similar to the guardian rank for each faction" He thought.

As one would play destiny, completing bounties and quests for the any faction, would earn reputation points, that he would then use to redeem rewards and resources. Was it possible to do something similar with this system?

Void wasn't sure, but it was best to leave tinkering with the system for later.

Void paced around the hangar, as he examined the docked jump ships. But one caught his eye as the transponder was linked to Obsidian.

"This is?"

"It seems that Amanda has assigned us this ship to use while she works on fixing the last one. I have to admit Void, it wasn't exactly in great condition." Obsidian giggled.

"Time to take off then."

Void triggered the transmat system as he warped into the ship's captain quarters. A jump ship didn't actually come with a lot of wiggle room.

These ships were largely intended for short distance, hyper-speed travel. Allowing fast and efficient travel for one individual. Naturally, the cockpit was designed to only house 1 pilot and no one else. In fact, the ship was only as big as the pilot's cockpit.

The only way in and out of the ship was the transmat system, otherwise one couldn't even access it properly. Thankfully, the transmat technology had long since been mastered in the golden age. It was practically a household name even in wasteland earth.

"Obsidian, set course for Cosmodrome, The Steppes and take off. Also, upload the available maps to my feed."

"Right away guardian."

The ship began to rustle as the jet engine came alive, immediately the sonic engine picked up speed as it ripped through the clouds, venturing thousands of kilometres into the Russian Cosmodrome.

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