[b]The Road To Dawn Book One: Morning Crimson Chapter Six: Fireteam Ashen[/b] I stared down at the bodies of the dead fallen at my feet, noticing the lack of representation on their person. “These guys seem like they don’t have a house, must be a bunch of exiles.” I said “Yeah, might be why only one ketch came. They were looking to settle the score after Jack killed their friends. That’s my best bet. Wish we had a ketch to take us out of here, my ship crashed too.” “You crashed your ship!?” I yelled at Ivan. “Yes, unfortunately. The pilot of that ketch saw me start to pull in and fired. I managed to take him out at the cost of my own ship.” Ivan replied. “I have to make it back to the city though, the titans are building up walls for protection and the fallen won’t stop attacking.” “Why don’t we make a fireteam then? It’ll only be for a short duration while we repair your ship.” I said. “Great idea, what do you want to call it, Phantom?” Jack asked. “Why don’t we name it after Ivan’s ship? Fireteam Ashen?” I said, laughing at the same time. “Ha, very funny, but that does sound kind of cool. Let’s do it. As long as I am leader, of course” Said Ivan. “Fine, you protagonist syndrome baby.” I chuckled. “Oh you little ratty hunter, I would destroy you here and now if that was allowed.” Ivan yelled at me. Jack stood, perplexed, watching this exchange. “Uh, do you two not like each other or something?” Jack asked, prying into the quarrel. “Let’s just say we have some unsettled business. And by business, I mean, my faction totally made a fool out of his. Better luck next time, loser.” I said, smirking and making my thumbs stuck where my ears would be under my helmet, wriggling my fingers as a dirty taunt. “Oh you little…” Ivan was interrupted by a voice going through his comms. “Ivan, this is Erickson. Have you secured Remington and the newbie yet?” Said the voice through the comms. “Yes sir, my ship is destroyed though. It won’t be a problem though, I’m already on repairs.” Ivan replied. “Good man, I knew I could trust you to help.” The voice answered. “You know.” Ivan said. “Now, let’s see what we need to fix my ship. I need to get to the city.” “We.” I corrected him. “No, I. I’m just taking you two along for the ride.” He responded. “Is that protagonist syndrome I sense?” I said mockingly. He glanced back at me, as if he had become extremely serious by just receiving a comm signal from a vanguard. “Cut it, now. I want none of it, you’re either with me or you aren’t.” He began walking towards the column of smoke in the sky, which I only just noticed walking out of the old golden age facility. Jack walked up to me, cuffing his hand over my ear. “Did he just go from one to one hundred real quick or was that just me? And I didn’t know your name was actually Remington.” He whispered. “Yeah, Remington ‘Phantom’ Graham. Also, you might want to get used to it. It’s the least you can expect from a smug low tier faction owner like him.” I said. “Wait, he owns a faction?” We began to chat as we walked a ways behind Ivan. “Yeah, so do I. He owns one of the newer ones, and has been scratching up against the vanguard to secure his standing. Have you heard of it? The name just rings superiority. New Monarchy.” I said. “Wait, he owns New Monarchy? That’s why it’s been getting such traction lately. I haven’t been a guardian long and can see its rapid increase, but if he’s the leader, I might have to stay away from it. Also, what faction do you own?” Jack asked. “Dead Orbit.” I said, showing a look of smugness only my helmet can hide. “Wait what!? That’s the faction i’ve been wanting to join!” He grabbed my hand, shaking it frantically. “Could I possibly join?” “Yeah, fine. Don’t be such a fanboy though.” I said. “So, is that why you have such a unique scout rifle?” Jack asked, looking down at the scout in his hand. “Yeah, I had one of the armories make it for me. One newer one, Omolon I think.” I answered. “That’s so cool.” He said. That was the last thing he said before Ivan yelled back at us. “Ok, quit your lollygagging. We’re here.” Talking with Jack distracted me from seeing that we were in front of his ship. Its red color scheme was dark, yet stood out. It was like a lighter crimson. “Here, Red check it out.” He pulled out his ghost, it began to scan the ship. “You named your ghost Red? You must love the color Red.” I joked with him. “Yeah, I do.” Ivan replied. “I think that is so unoriginal, Ivan. Phantom was smart when he named me after one of the letters of the old greek alphabet. One of the few knowledges that weren’t lost in the collapse. At least, the alphabet. Still can’t figure out the language though.” Said Omicron, whom popped out from my armor. “At least you were named. I had to name myself.” Shade jumped from Jack’s armor, making an awkward silence until Red spoke to us. “Only the hull and the engine are damaged from the crash. Lucky us. We could use some helium filaments, and we could scrap some metal from the facility. We have enough glimmer on us to repair them.” He said. “You heard the ghost, I’ll stay and scavenge helium filaments, as well as watch the ship. You two go back to the facility and get some metal.” Ivan said. “Got it, let’s go Jack.” Jack and I turned, making our way back to the facility. We’ll have to defile the corpses of the exiles to get what we need and get home. ~~~~~~~~ /Incoming Ghost Transmission/: socgwpwbk. tjpc ziet jtq. Key Hint: The Last Hint, The Next Vigenere. Next Time’s Hint: Rrwp /End of Transmission/ ~~~~~~~~ Want to read more? Check the [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/211432898?sort=0&page=0]Chapter Directory[/url] Next Chapter: Coming Soon Special thanks to my friend The Muzzy for letting me intertwine the storyline of The Road To Dawn, and his story based on my own clan and its members, Fireteam Ashen. The end of the book will most likely be around chapter 12. I've got some great things in store for you guys! ~Signed, Analytical Ghost