[url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/250709661?sort=0&page=0]Table of Contents[/url] It had been a while since they had seen any sign of friendly life besides the odd jackrabbit here and there, if they didn’t end up eating the rodents of course. However, the number of hostile aliens in the area had decreased. The Fallen and Cabal were still around, but their numbers were relatively very few. It suited the team just fine, but they couldn’t help but be curious. So, Toaster was out and about on a search to find out what happened. Ralph and Shift were waiting until he got back. Shift rummaged through his stuff while Ralph sat in a ratty old couch, scrolling through the channels of the faulty holo-screen. "Ugh! There's nothing on!" Ralph said in frustration. "I told you already!" Shift said, currently digging through his trunk of scraps and loot. "There's nothing but old emergency broadcasts on the satellite feed. Just stick to the recordings." “The antiques are really good!” Lima chirped. "Argh! How long have we been out here?" Ralph whined, changing the subject. "Two years, nine months-" Constellation began. "Two years?" Ralph banged his head a couple times on the coffee table in front of the ratty couch. "...and twelve days." Con finished. "At least there's been less baddies." Lima said. "It's been real easy to find stuff with the Cabal gone." "Yeah, there is that." Shift said while he rubbed Lima's shell appreciatively. "That reminds me," He said. "Where's Toaster? He was supposed to come back here an hour ago and he still hasn't shown up." "We could go find him." Lima suggested. "Ugh! And move? No thank you." Ralph said, head still on the table. Shift got impatient and grabbed a nearby fire poker he had pulled out of his loot. It started to smoke audibly with a hiss, sparks flying as he began to heat it up in his fist. "Okay, okay, I'll go!" Ralph said quickly as he leaped up. "Sheesh... ever since we got these fancy new powers you've been Captain Buzzkill." Shift shrugged. "It's also kinda fun. Feels good. I’m finally not on the receiving end.” He smiled. “Whatever.” Ralph said. Shift closed his loot chest and stood up. “Let's go find Toaster. Knowing him, he probably got distracted blowing stuff up." Shift walked out into the hallway. "Come on Ralph." Ralph hit him in the shoulder. "Alright buddy, but if he is blowing stuff up, we're joining him." "Oh, that goes without saying! Anything to get out of this dung hole." Shift said. [b]__________________________________________________________________________[/b] Toaster was having a grand time when Shift and Ralph found him. He was busy holding his rocket launcher over his head with both hands. He barked, imitating a "Tusken Raider" as he stood on top of a long deactivated Fallen Walker. Ever since they had found a show in a file labeled Star Wars in the holo-screen's recorder, Toaster had hollered in like manner whenever he was having fun or blowing something to bits. The team had stopped watching the show after seeing the prequels. They had agreed to delete those for the good of humanity. At least most of it, Shift kept the part where the protagonist got his limbs cut off by his mentor. Shift and Ralph waved a hello and joined him, they didn't mind throwing in a couple Tusken barks as well. Further on they all continued through the tunnel beyond the wreckage of the tank, gathering parts and pointing at the interesting stalactites. They shot at the jagged teeth of the cave for target practice. They shared laughter as the stalactites crashed into the floor. They stumbled into a Fallen camp as they explored, and raided the place. When all was said and done, they created a small pile of Dreg corpses and Shift set them ablaze with a flash of Solar energy. They rested the Vandals against the wall and shot some and graffitied the others. They normally drew moustaches and monocles. Sometimes silly writing, stuff like: “Handicap Parking” or “Beware the Peanut Butter!” The things they were able to do now was all because of the visit to the "Spoopy Forest" as Lima put it. That was more worth it than the holo-screen to the Fireteam, which wasn't saying much since the holo-screen didn’t work half the time. Their new powers had opened up a lot of new ways to entertain themselves. Lately they had taken up to playing volleyball over one of Toaster's barricades. They did this with a collection of large purple balls they found in a forgotten crate that didn't make it to the City. Shift would create a Healing Rift whenever they had a food challenge. They had fun trying see who could it the grossest thing they found on their travels. And Ralph? He had been avoiding more work than usual. He would duck behind nearby objects to avoid being seen when things needed to be done. It also made for good games of hide and seek, which the Fireteam did when they were REALLY and COMPLETELY bored. They weren't totally lazy however, they were on the search for parts for Shift. This had prompted them to complete patrols whenever they could, often take aside a full day to do so. The patrols had them collect and scan things for some guy named Devrim. They had never met him but they figured he was a nice enough guy, since they were paid generously. While doing patrols for him, they had discovered a different ship in a clearing, and abandoned Shift’s old ship to fix the new one. They were almost done too, they only had a couple more weeks until Shift could fix the ship they had found. They were on a lucky streak. Nothing seemed to be able to keep them from Mars now. [b]____________________________________________________________________________[/b] [b]CONTINUED IN THE COMMENTS[/b]