[spoiler]This installment of Exotic History is made in part by Cyber_219 (Alphonze_Elric)[/spoiler] Helen-A34 cautiously approached the steps leading up to the Tower's quiet courtyard. She had just been revived a meager four hours ago and had just touched down thanks to her Ghost. Her pale, almost white eyes slowly scanned around her as her light blue metallic finger gently clicked against her shoulders nervously. A large orange and blue Ghost appeared by her head and spoke in a calming female voice. "Helen dear it's going to be fine. There's nothing to fear here." "Peg... With those four armed... things right outside and other baddies just a short flight away... I'm surprised nothing is overrun." "Oh please." Peg, her Ghost, snorted a laugh. "I seriously doubt anything can be scarier than a Fallen..." "Morning Guardian!" A strange and surprisingly peppy Exo appeared beside her. Helen squealed in fear and darted back a few steps. The Exo lurched in surprise. "What happened!?..." "You... You!..." Helen cleared her vocal processes and straightened her stance. "You startled me." "More like almost made her leak..." Peg said. She dissapeared just as Helen swiped past her. The Exo blinked for a bit then straightened up. "Well either way, welcome aboard. I'm Cayde-6, the Vanguard mentor for the Hunters and leading marksman." He made a finger gun with his free hand and pointed it at her. "Oh..." Helen looked the Exo over. He had a very tacky taste for armor and had a large horn sticking out the front of his forehead. His bright red eyes contrasted strangely with his blueish paint and bubbly personality. He constantly shifted and moved as if he needed to go somewhere quickly or was very impatient and he was hiding something behind his back. "Well ah... I'm not a Hunter..." "What? No way. You totally look the part. Besides the frilly robes and lack of a knife, you could easily be one us my boys." "Excuse me?.." "One of my girls then, I don't discriminate." He held up his free hand to stop her from continuing on. "Right... Well I'll just be..." "Wait a moment." Cayde looked around him and gave a sly smile. "I have a special assignment for ya, before you go off to see the other members." Helen's eyes widened slightly as her lights phased into a bright pink. "What assignment?..." Cayde stepped closer and placed his hand on her shoulder. "You will have a chance to help me experiment with a new toy. Never been tested before. Sadly I would test it myself but I need a willing volunteer and you fit the bill perfectly." Helen's lights turned a dark shade. "Uh... ah... I don't..." "Oh don't be so shy! This will be fun for the both of us!" Peg appeared and looked at Helen. "Yea Helen, it should be fun." Her eye light up a bit as if she was grinning. Helen started to shake a little. "Um... I don't think..." "Please." Cayde faced her and looked her square in the face. "The fate of my sanity rests on your capabilities." For once, he stood perfectly still and looked dead serious. Helen froze up in shock. Her processes continued to run blank for several seconds. Before she could reply, Peg spoke up. "We would love to Cayde, lead the way." "Peg!!" "Excellent!" Cayde quickly turned and walked towards the large set of stairs leading downwards, dragging Helen as he went. "This will not hurt you at all, I'm pretty sure." Helen tried to resist but Cayde was surprisingly strong and very determined so she simply followed along. As they started going down the steps, she looked to her right and saw another Exo watching them behind a counter. He was a deep blue with focused piercing yellow eyes and lots of small antennas poking from his cranium. She watched him shake his head and sigh before he dissapeared from view. They rounded a corner and walked down a short hallway, where two desks were placed on either side, one being manned by a machine... not quite an Exo but a more primitive version. It glanced up as they passed, scanned them briefly then returned to its work. They then entered a large room, where a pit like area was surrounded with railings and several monitors and more primitive Exos. In the pit was a large glass table where papers and maps were strolled all over it. There were three distinct spots, one at the very end that was clean and pristine, one on the middle left where the majority of the papers and a chair was and on the bottom right corner was a small stack of books. Cayde walked her around the balcony area and into a small doorway, leading to another hallway. "Now in here is the training rooms, great for private matches and such as long as the locals don't come spying in." Cayde said as he forged ahead. "Does... that... happen often?" Helen stammered. "Sometimes, people are nosy and like to see a good show. One with lots of actions and yelling and such." Helen blushed even more as a Ghost appeared by Cayde. It produced several generic beeping sounds and pulled out a scetch pad. "Oh yea of course buddy." His Ghost gave a 'Hooray!' In reply. "Whats... he gonna do?..." "He wants to draw what happens. He likes having a scrap book of all the fun things I get to do, since I've retired from field duty. And oh how it gets lonely here sometimes. Fortunately for you, you get to share this experience with me." Helen's felt one of her core heat ventilators let out a very large jet of steam as they entered an unoccupied room. It was similar to the large room before it but cleaner and with white walls. Cayde let go and stood in the center of the pit. A brief flash of light made Helen blink as a male voice came from out of nowhere. "Designation... Cayde-6. State your training exercise." "Um yes I would like a nice romantic setting for two. Teaching a new comer the ropes." Cayde gently studied a knife as he talked as well as something else that he was holding. "One moment please." Helen felt a small tingle as several scans ran over her. "Designation... Helen-A34... Warlock. Stormcaller. Level... 1. Your information has been added to the database. Are you ready for the session to begin?" Helen kicked her foot against the stairs a little, her core temperature rising quickly. "U... Uh... I..." "She's ready, just start it up." Cayde said. "Verification must be stated from both parties to begin." "Yea yea, the whole 'Consent' protocol from Zavala." Cayde waved his hand and looked at Helen. "Well?" "Uh... I..." "Come on now. When have I ever done something for you to not trust me?" "I just meet you!..." "See? That means never." Cayde beaconed her. "Come on then." Another jet of steam exited Helen as she attempted to cool her systems. "U... Um... yes..." She slowly stepped down. "I'm ready..." "Verification received. Loading tutorial scenario now." The male voice went quiet as Helen stepped beside Cayde. He was busy examining a hunk of junk in his hands. She stood very quietly and waited. A soft beep caught her attention as Cayde's Ghost showed her his book. It was a very finely detailed drawing of her standing on the stairwell, it seemed so lifelike that even her emotions were conveyed perfectly. She blinked. "That's... amazing..." Cayde's Ghost spun in a circle. It sketched something else and showed it to her. The words 'Thank You.' were written. She gave a small smile. "Your welcome..." Peg nudged Helen in the shoulder. "You ready hot shot." "What?! Shut up... I'm fine... It's going to be ok..." "Alrighty then." Cayde said as he turned to face her. "Ready to get it on?" Helen's body began to shake a bit. "Sure... ready..." https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/207054563/0/0 link to part 3 https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/208913151/0/0 link to part 5 Final https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/172385606/0/0/1 link to The Ally