[url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/250301867/0/0]Table of Contents[/url] “Here we are!” The Ghost announced happily. The duo stopped and looked out through the trees. The Ghost’s spotlight was set straight ahead, fighting off the hungry shadows of the long night to illuminate the way. But they saw nothing more than the familiar plants and stones that were commonplace on the forsaken planet. “Oh-um-sorry,” the Ghost apologized, “Take a big step to the right.” The Exo obeyed. Metal glinted faintly as part of an engine became visible around the side of a tree, just at the edge of the shadows. His Ghost shone its light closer, revealing long-dead chunks of shattered trees and a slope where dirt had been carved from the ground, tracing a path straight past them. “It looked like a bad crash,” the small drone said, “During the Collapse, most likely.” The Risen strode towards the wreckage. Some large shards of metal lay across the path, half-buried and strung out from the back of the vessel. Once they were closer, it became apparent that the back of the jumpship had been torn open. “That could be a problem,” the Ghost admitted, “But the engines are what’s important. I’ll have a look.” It glided over the debris, scanning the ship with blue beams. Though the Ghost had left the Exo in darkness, it was still casting enough light to illuminate the way as he crept over rubble and squeezed through the gash between the engines. “Dead, dead, malfunction, dead, inoperable,” the Ghost listed, “Oh, the steering is operational. And the…flaps…inert, nonoperational, missing…well that’s useless…dead, broken.” The Ghost rejoined the Risen with a sad sigh, “It’s completely destroyed. I’m sorry, Chosen. We’ll have to find another way.” It’s flashlight cut into the dark interior of the craft, illuminating busted machinery and torn-up plates of metal. The Exo ran his hand along broken pipes and stepped over the split floor. They made their way through the cabin and into the cockpit. Branches from trees -both long dead and newly grown- pierced through the shattered frame at the front of the ship, jutting into the space. The Ghost drifted in while the Risen snapped apart the obstacles, tossing them against the wall. The sound of clattering metal echoed through the cabin, excruciatingly loud when compared to the relative silence they had been wandering through since the Chosen’s revival. “Poor guy…” the Ghost muttered, scanning their surroundings in the cockpit. Its beam flashed over the ruined body of an Exo. The tree limbs and rubble had punched straight through the hull of the ship, impaling the Exo in a horrific display of twisted steel and bark. Their victim was left in a barely-recognizable state, torn to shreds and held together by the very things that had killed him. One lifeless eye remained intact, forever staring down at the fractured controls in front of it. “Well, something’s working…” the Ghost noticed, pulling the Risen’s eyes away from the corpse, “The console is in very good condition, actually. This ship was built to last. There’s still some reserve power in…oh. It’s the final log. That’s just typical. What are we, in a cliché story for children or something?” The drone huffed irritably, “But, of course, all other functions of the communications systems are completely ruined! Look, some idiot put the radio right over there!” The flashlight briefly darted to the side, revealing a section of the console that had been smashed to pieces. “Who would put the radio and diary in different places?!” The Ghost wailed miserably, then took a moment to calm down before murmuring, “Looks like it’s a recording of the last transmission. We might as well listen…” The log burst to life in a cacophony of noise. It sounded as if a hurricane was raging in the room, drowning out all other sounds with the roars of its wind. A voice, no doubt that of the dead pilot, began to speak. His words were garbled and mostly drowned out by the white noise, “Stag-si-nine serpen-…de-…-ation…-dro-…-Mayday-…-un-…repea--der-“ The recording erupted with explosive sound, and the voice seemed to be shouting to be heard. After a moment, the now-dead Exo seemed to refocus on the log, “W-…-ull breach-…-dow-…-lost in ex-…-peat…-own-ayday! May-…-nding in--send he-“ The audio spiked again with a sound like metal being viciously torn apart. After several seconds, it went quiet. A steady beep started. It showed no sign of stopping. “That must have been the crash,” the Ghost deduced, “The recording keeps going, but I assume it’s just more beeping until the primary power died.” The beeping stopped as the Ghost cut off the audio. “I didn’t get too much out of that,” it said, turning to the dead Exo, “Mayday. Hull breach. Send help.” “Could there be anything useful left?” The Risen questioned. “I don’t know,” the Ghost puzzled, scanning the space, “A case of supplies. Equipment. But I don’t see anything. Telling by the time between the explosion and the crash, I’ve already covered all the ground where anything could have fallen. Unless he made a sharp turn, of course. All I found was you.” The Exo was looking down, deep in though. “What is it?” The Ghost inquired. “Case…” the Exo recalled, “Case…I think that was my name…” “Your name?” The Ghost questioned skeptically, “Your name was Case? You just remembered that after hearing me say the word? That definitely isn’t a name.” “I’m sure it is,” the Risen countered, cementing his idea. “Well…” the Ghost recalled, “I met a few Risen before. There was an Exo. He was the only one that remembered his- no! Why am I helping you justify having a name as stupid as Case?!” “How is that a name?” The Ghost went on, “Case? Like suitcase? Briefcase. Casebook. Caseinate. Nutcase.” It flitted back into the cabin and finished, “Case and point, that is a ridiculous name.” The Exo followed it out quietly, and it huffed snottily, “Admit it. You know that last bit was good wordplay.” “It was spelled differently,” the Risen said, “I think.” The Ghost sighed, “Now you’ve got me thinking about it. Like a nickname for…Cassie?” The pair exited the jumpship and stopped. The Ghost looked to the Exo, “You don’t look like a Cassie to me.” “Case,” the Exo repeated. It hovered around him thoughtfully, “Hmm. Spelled differently? Either way, it’s a ridiculous name. Walk this way.” They left the crash site, letting it vanish behind them in the night and trees. “Is this worth thinking about?” The Ghost asked, “What if it wasn’t your name? Maybe you just liked the word and latched onto it.” “What else will I call myself?” He questioned. “I think Risen is good,” the Ghost retorted, “Chosen is noble, and- yeah, you’re right. So you want a name?” The Exo nodded. “Fine, mister-identity-crises,” The Ghost groaned, “It could be spelled C-a-s-e or…C-a-y-s-e…C-a-i-s, maybe with an e at the end. Maybe not. Um…K-e-i-s, C-e-i-“ “That one,” the Exo interrupted, “K-e-i-s.” “I like it, too,” the Ghost mumbled grudgingly, “Still a bad name. Are you sure?” The Risen nodded. “Well, you could always change it if you wanted,” the Ghost thought aloud, “And I can stop thinking about it.” It put on a royal air and stated, “Very well. Your name shall be Keis. With a K.” “Thank you,” Keis said. “Don’t mention it,” the Ghost dismissed, “Imagine if I’d let you come up with something else. What if you’d thought of something stupid, like what a little boy would come up with? Ace, Wolf, Flame, Destructor, Claw, Shadow, William, Alpha…” “William?” Keis echoed. The Ghost shifted its shell, seeming to shrug, “I don’t know. It just seems like the name of some inept dork or something.” Keis decided to change the subject, “Where are we going?” “Well, the ship was a bust,” the Ghost sighed, "Literally…So I’m running a grid. We'll have to find another jumpship or a city. Hopefully we won't run into anything..." Keis glanced at it questioningly, and it affirmed, "Yes, the Fallen I told you about. I hope we don't run into them. But the Skiff I snuck onto to get here should be far away. I think they're only interested in the Ishtar Sink. It's filled with remnants of the Golden Age. I'm more worried about what else is on this planet…" Keis slowed and looked at the Ghost. "The Vex," the Ghost elaborated fearfully, "The Fallen are just scavengers, but the Vex control Venus. I don't know much about them, except that they're warmachines. We might see some of their structures later, but I think most of their activity is in the Ishtar Sink. They have something there." Heedfully nodding, Keis continued through the trees. His Ghost darted after him, "So, I'm sure I just made it clear why we will not be going anywhere near the Ishtar Sink. That's where all the danger is."