A Chance Meeting

The tower. Humanity and those who ally with them find their last hope here, in a facsimile of the last city’s bastion. Ships came in and out, various Guardians returning from missions across the galaxy.

One such Guardian, Xion-22, found themselves near the transmat station of the tower, where all Guardians returned home from their heroics, or so they say. Xion meanwhile was affixed to their map, carefully laying out a plan for their next mission on the moon. He had heard of a distress signal, of Eris and of… The Hive. Just the thought of the rancid creatures made them shiver, various metal pieces clanging around as they did.

There’s the sound of a transmat behind Xion, which they fail to notice, lost in their thoughts with Fledge in hand. Suddenly, hand meets shoulder as Xion jumps with the sudden added weight on their appendage, turning their head with a yelp.

He wasn’t expecting to see another Guardian so close- Touching him even, with that… Mask- The Celestial Nighthawk? No, it looked… Different… Menacing almost, with it’s bright eyes staring Xion down. Xion would never mistake them- Another hunter, they assume, with a gauche cloak and gear. A pure snowfall white, adorned with royal golds and a sharp blue accent. This hunter- They were clearly a veteren, whoever they were, and had seemingly taken an interest in Xion.

“Uh- Hello?” Xion speaks, confused and somewhat alarmed.

“Hey!” A friendly voice calls from behind the helmet through crisp speakers. Another Exo as well? “Moons haunted, bee tee dubs.”

Xion blinks at the mysterious Exo. “I’m sorry?”

“Moon’s haunted! What else is there to say?” The stranger responds, calling for her Ghost and fidgeting the small shard of Light through her fingers. No sooner than she arrived was she already on her way, making haste towards the gunsmith. “See ya!”

Before Xion could even have a moment to react, they were gone. He sat there, dumbfounded, finding himself staring at Fledge, similarly confused.

“...What the fuck was that about?!”

--

Gunfire rained from all sides, explosions and solar energy clashed in a symphony of chaos. Xion found himself cornered, surrounded by have, his knife caked in thrall blood. Not to mention the Nightmare of Omnigul, its mere presence more than enough to cast an oppressive shadow onto Xion.

His sword was out of charge, and his SMG was hardly better. His resources expended, Xion wondered what to do, what the next plan was…

Until blades, forged with the power of Solar Light, whizzed through the air past him. The sounds of hive Chitin pierced, followed by explosions and the slap of Hive guts strewn across the floor… Then, silence.

Xion peeked his head above cover tentatively, the dimly lit room only illuminated by the smoldering corpses of Hive… And a peculiar looking figure- No, figures, standing side by side, one of which Xion could make out clearly. A fallen vandal, decked out in Hive trophies; Jaw bones, teethe, claws, chitin pieces and an equally terrifying looking wire rifle, clearly a cut above the standard issue. Next to them was…

A Guardian?! The pair were walking in tandem, surveying the area.

“Hello~o?” The Guardian calls out to the empty, echoing room, to which the Vandal grasps at the Guardian’s shoulder.

“Bright one, silence!” The fallen exclaims in a hushed tone. “Must Tavkar explain every time?”

“Listen, Tav, I think we got them.” The guardian walks forward, illuminated by the flames of a charred corpse. It was the same Guardian from the tower just a few days ago! Xion breathes a sigh of relief, relaxing- Only to disturb a loose piece of rubble. The pair instantly become battle ready, Tavkar and the Exo pointing their weapons towards Xion’s location. “Okay, maybe we got a straggler- But this doesn’t prove anything!”

“It prove’s Shimmer’s hubris!” Tavkar mocks with an insect-like chatter to finish their point.

“Yeah whatever, Ether-brain- Hey! You have 3 seconds to come out and fight us yourself before this grenade makes your insides your outsides!” Shimmer yells, pinning the pin on a solar grenade.

“Wait!” Xion leaps out from behind cover, his hands out, waving to the pair. “Don’t shoot- I was just fighting the Hive here!”

Shimmer and Tavkar look towards each other, stunned another Guardian was here. Tavkar points to Shimmer’s hand. “Are you fond of that?”

“...Meh. I’ll get another.” She jests as she tosses the grenade behind her, which promptly explodes, splattering the unlucky corpse of an already dead acolyte. A fleck of blood sprays onto her arm. “Eugh.”

Shimmer then looks to their new ally, and recognizes his arms. Sealed Ahamkara Grasps… And a Cloak with an ace of Spades…

“...Didn’t I warn you that the moon was haunted?” Shimmer wonders, hands crossed on her chest.

“You call that a warning?” Xion argues, to which Tavkar chuckles.

“Bright one has an, interesting, system for warnings, yes?”

“Hey, I dunno what you’re talking about, I was perfectly clear. The moon? Haunted. What more could you ask for?” The Exo chuckles. “Shimmer, by the way. I guess if you wanna get technical, Shimmer-13. Oh, and I can’t forget these two can I- I mean I guess I could, but it’s not like I want to.” Shimmer points to Tavkar with her thumb.

“Tavkar. I call him Tav, you add the kar and he won’t skewer you.”

“I would only skewer if sharp one was to antagonize Tavkar!” He says in an incredulous tone, but then sighs. “Yes, greetings, as Shimmer has said, Tavkar graces your presence.”

Xion, formally confused past the point of reckoning, waves tentatively.

“And this little guy is Flicker!” Shimmer summons her ghost, cuddling the small mechanical being to her face, much to their dismay.

“Hi.” They state, obviously annoyed at Shimmer’s antics.

“They hate when I do this~.”

“And I’d appreciate it if you took our missions seriously!”

“What? Look- The Hive are dead, and we aren’t! How is that not taking this seriously?”

“...I wish I’d found a different metal corpse sometimes.”

“Ah, you don’t mean that. If it wasn’t for me you wouldn’t have a job!”

“I know.”

“Fine, fine, get outta here. Punk.”

“Bitch.” Flicker remarks as they’re dismissed.

“They’re kind of a grump. And you.” Shimmer points to Xion, covered in blood and seemingly damaged. “Look like shit. What happened to you- Wait no hold on, lemme guess… Oh the anticipation is killing me I can’t guess- Tell me tell me!”

Xion opens their mouth to speak, but Shimmer stops him.

“No don’t tell me it’s too dark and scary in here!” Shimmer jokes, putting a hand to her face in faux fear. She chuckles, beckoning Xion to follow her as she walks out the way she came in. “Why don’t you tell me about it somewhere the Hive haven’t popped out their larvae in.”

“...That’s… Disgusting.” Xion grimaces as he thinks of the implications of this place.

“I know, right? To the surface!” Shimmer shouts, leaving Tavkar and Xion behind. Tavkar looks towards Xion, inspecting the Exo.

“Can I… Help you?” Xion wonders.

“Perhaps.” Tavkar responds… And then similarly walks away with Shimmer, not elaborating on his statement. Xion stands there, puzzled.

“...Fledge?”

“Yes?”

“I thought the moon being haunted was going to be the weirdest thing about this place.”

“Me too, Xion. Me too.”