D:LU Chapter 19 Blank Slate Chapter 33 [i]Freehold, Part 2[/i] “EEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIK!” Trixie squealed from the back of the group. All of us spun to face her, finding that she was standing with her hands over her visor to block something from her view. We all began looking around for threats immediately, most gripping our weapons tightly, but after a moment I noticed an oddity in our little group that Trixie was facing. “Drew?” I got the attention of the Titan, who was currently staring straight up in search of an airborne threat, “Where’s your armor?” Everyone stopped and looked at Drew. Trixie let out a little squeak at my mention of it, letting us know that was what had upset her. Drew wore nothing but some dull brown armor over his legs and waist and a dented grey helmet, exposing his grey body with small streaks of purple highlights. His only weapon was a shotgun with a dusty yellow paint job that was hardly visible from age and wear. Sierra snickered deviously as Drew looked down at himself. “I made a bet,” Drew rubbed the back of his head and chuckled sheepishly. “Really?” I crossed my arms, “And because of that you’re going into enemy territory in an environmentally unsuitable location with no protection?” “I bet he couldn’t go two days without wearing or using a single piece of brightly colored gear, with exception to his ship and Sparrow,” Sierra explained smugly. “This was all I had without bright colors,” Drew pointed at his greaves and boots with one hand and his helmet with the other, “There’s ten thousand Glimmer riding on this.” “I’m in, but only if we change it to fifteen thousand and only one day,” Crag bet. “You’re on,” Drew gave a thumbs up. “Alright then,” Sierra agreed. “I can’t believe you guys,” I sighed. “I don’t see what part of this is unbelievable when considering how they always behave like this,” Ghostie appeared next to Trixie, who’s hands were still covering her helmet. “Lets just get moving,” I urged them, “Try to be careful Drew. And Trix…you need to see where you’re going.” “B-b-but…” Trixie searched for an excuse. “Ah come on,” Drew gave her an encouraging pat on the shoulder, which only made her more nervous, “It’s not like you haven’t seen a shirtless dude Exo before.” “That’s different, they’re not you!” Trixie protested. “Hmm, fair enough,” Drew took a moment to admire himself, flexing an arm. “It’s okay, honey,” Veronica soothed Trixie, “It’s only for a little while, and he doesn’t look too different anyway. It’s all metal with or without armor.” “Flesh and cloth and bone and steel,” Trixie droned in her dark voice, her hands slipping down from her face, “But those are not what make us feel. What separates human from beast and machine…lies in our morals and dreams.” Silence hung in the air. “Drew you’re like a temple,” Trixie ogled after snapping out of her haze, strangely no longer perturbed by his partial nudity. “What the heck was THAT?!” Sierra flung her arms out. “Poetry?” I guessed, “Really deep poetry.” “Why was that in her head?” Sierra asked. Veronica seemed to be trying and failing to come up with an answer, while even Crag was putting off an air of confusion. Trixie took a moment to look away from Drew, who was posing for her as she admired him, “Why was what in my head?” “Nothing dear,” Veronica gave up on her pondering. “You’ve gotta wonder what she could tell us if those mind wipes weren’t scrambling her brain,” I thought aloud as Trixie and Drew went back to exchanging compliments. “With what comes out of her mouth, I wouldn’t want to know a Trixie with all of her memories,” Veronica pointed out uneasily. “Agreed,” Sierra nodded. “Let’s just go,” Crag mumbled and started trudging off through the sand. This time everyone began to follow, moving downhill at a relaxed pace as everyone took in the scenery. I was the only one who had been here before, so I didn’t rush them. “Hey Will?” Trixie called for my attention from behind, “Where are we going again?” “Freehold,” I pointed out over the dunes in front of us to the abandoned city, “The great innovative center of Mars and home to the industry of Clovis Bray.” “Clovis Bray?” Veronica questioned. “Industry?” Trixie clearly wanted to know what kind of industry. “Innovative?” Drew scratched his head, not understanding the word. “Oh great, now he’s going to go into tour guide mode,” Sierra griped. “Actually, I’m interested, too,” Crag spoke up. “Well Drew,” I began, “Innovation means they created and improved technology here. The Clovis Bray industry was the largest innovative company of the Golden Age and actually controlled a lot of humanities advancement and ventures through the Warminds, which they had funded the creation of.” “How do you know all that?!” Veronica seemed like she would be scribbling down notes if she had a pen and paper. “Asked Ikora for everything she had on Mars,” I answered. “And she just gives it to you?” Sierra asked with disbelief. “I think she likes my inquisitive spirit,” I grinned, “Plus it didn’t take her long to figure out that when I ask for everything I really mean everything, and that I’ll read it all.” “How do you even have time for all that? Do you not have a life outside what you do with us?” Sierra exclaimed. “I do other things when I’m not with you guys, but it’s not like I’m always on missions,” I defended myself, “And I’m a quick reader.” “You shoulda seen how fast he was reading when we were trying to get to the Array,” Rush chipped in, “Profiles, field reports, tactical data…all the boring crap.” “Explains the lack of fighting he did…” Sierra grumbled where I could barely hear. “Hey!” I was offended. “Haha! It’s funny ‘cause it’s true!” Drew laughed. Luckily for me we had just reached the bottom of the slope. To our right was a small part of the Cabal structure wedged between the cliff face and the wall of sand dunes, leaving only a small amount of space for the Vex that we could see to try attacking the few Cabal Legionaries standing guard. But what was important was the tunnel in front of us; large enough for all six of us to walk through shoulder to shoulder, it was made of the ruins of buildings from the Golden Age and looked like it was only one good explosion away from collapsing entirely and letting the hundreds of pounds of sand above it crash down. Undaunted by the tunnel because of the impossibility of something intentionally trying to destroy it, we mounted our Sparrows and shot through at breakneck speeds. After a few twists and turns we came out between a building and another ridge of sand and the path immediately turned into a steep downhill slope that leveled back out around fifteen meters down. None of us slowed as we spotted a small set up of Cabal barriers occupied by a Captain and a few Legionaries. They saw us as well and began firing at the slope, but we were moving too fast to hit. Veronica made first contact, braking on her Sparrow just in front of one of the Legionaries and unleashing a splay from her fusion rifle that disintegrated it. Drew came next, hang-lining another Legionary across the chest and then jumping off of his Sparrow to finish the job. Then Crag skirted by the Captain, which fell to the ground with oil spewing out of an opening made by a knife buried into its helmet. The last Legionary fell to Sierra, who had slowed so she could aim accurately with her cannon. After a moment we had all gathered up again in front of the small ring of barricade walls. On the opposite side that we had approached from was a building with a hole blown into its side so we could just walk in if we wanted to. There were some more Cabal in there, watching us, but they seemed dedicated to holding their guard positions and only shooting if they had a clear shot. The Cabal were a loyal bunch. “So why are we here again?” Trixie questioned. Link to Pt1: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/245634326/0/0 Pt3: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/245634535/0/0 ToC: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/212710816/0/0