[url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/250971623/0/0]Previous Chapter[/url] —Nessus, Unstable Centaur— [i]”An experimental project? That sounds dangerous.” “Don’t worry, those boys in lab coats know what they’re doing. Besides, we need the money, and if it works, I’ll be able to do my job better. Especially with the reports I’m hearing of an anomaly in the outer reaches.” “But what if...something goes wrong?” “I’ll survive. I always do. Once I show you that it works, will you sign up as well? I’d hate to be the only metal-head in this house” “Okay. Be careful.”[/i] Giant awoke with a start. He was within a large, metal dome. A colony ship. He tried to stand up, but found he could not. He was kneeling, chained to rusted floor. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he looked around and saw his captors. Splicers. A ton of them. “Comfortable?” A voice chuckled from behind him. Giant strained to look, but he could not turn his head because of the chains. “Who are you? Why capture me instead of kill me?” He said. A large Archon strode into his field of vision, biotic enhancements from tinkering with SIVA running along his entire frame. The Archon saw Giant’s questioning gaze. “You don’t recognize me, do you?...Giant...” Giants eyes widened in surprise. “No...it can’t be...” The Archon smiled. “Yes, Giant. I am Keksis, the Once Shamed! Now? Now, I am Keksis, the REBORN!” The walls shuddered at the force of his words. “And you, are now my prisoner.” Giant cast a sardonic smile. “But why capture me? You know unless you kill my Ghost I can’t ever truly die. All I have to do is wait for rescue.” Keksis chuckled. Then laughed, boisterously, to Giant’s confusion. “Do you really think you are here by some mere accident? FOOL! How do you think those coordinates ended up in my crate? Ever since then I have been slowly leading you to my Lair for one specific purpose...” Giant, visibly confused, asked “...and what would that be?” The Huge archon grinned, and said “I want the secrets in that thick skull of yours, Titan.” Giant raised an eyebrow. “Secrets? Your Fallen spies have already told you all there is to know about the Last city and it’s defenses, but you and me both know intel’s not the issue there. We Guardians are the issue.” Keksis frowned. “I no longer care about the so-called ‘Great’ Machine. The information I seek comes from the Exo program. The secrets of transferring the host consciousness to a machine body, and therefore perfecting it is what every splicer dreams of achieving. And all we have to do is pluck the secret out of your head.” Now it was Giant’s turn to laugh. “And how are you going to do that? I’m an Exo. And exos have a nasty habit of resetting their memories.” Keksis slapped Giant right across the face, making a dent in the Exo’s frame, then grabbed his head to make it face his. “Have you ever wondered why you never forgot to walk? To speak? Have you not wondered why you still recognize a tree as a tree? You see, you never truly are reset. The information is merely hidden from your conscious mind, and pushed further into oblivion. Furthermore, the reason I specifically captured [i]you[/i] is because you have the special quality of only being reset,[b][i]once[/i][/b]. Giant is really Giant-1. This makes my job...” Keksis chuckled, “A [b][i]lot[/i][/b]easier...” Keksis released Giant’s head from his Vice-like grip and strode towards the door. “Oversee preparations, Captain,” he said to a Splicer much smaller than himself, “I want this done in 2 rotations.” The meek captain complied and answered in the affirmative, and scurried away. Keksis turned back to Giant. “Oh, don’t worry. When I’m done I will be sure to give you the death you deserve.” Keksis turned and strode out of the large room, the the mass of Splicers following him to carry on their duties. When the Fallen were gone, the sound of a vent being opened reached Giant’s ears. A small ball of light began to make its way towards him. “Giant! Are you okay?” The little light said. “I’m fine, Echo. Any way to get out of here?” “I’m afraid not. Those chains they used are suppressing your light. Similar to a darkness zone, but not powerful enough to keep me from resurrecting you.” “Blast. Is there a way to send a distress signal?” “The splicers are still jamming the signal, but I should be able to bypass it from one of their transmitters” “Do it.” The little ghost floated on over to a series of consoles and started interfacing with them. “We have a problem.” Echo said when he was done. “The signal is only able to go planet-wide.” “Transmit to Failsafe.” Giant said. “Maybe she could call for help.” “Gotcha. Transmitting now.” The sound of footsteps reached Giant’s ears. “Quick, Echo! Leave before it’s too late!” Giant said, hurriedly. Giant turned his head to the door as a Splicer captain emerged from the hallway. The loosened the chains from the floor but not from Giant, as to keep him from using his Light and escaping. Echo watched as Giant was led out of the room, the small Ghost’s frame constantly twisting and turning. “I sure hope someone out there is listening. And that Failsafe actually sends out the message.” —Nessus, Unstable Centaur; Arcadian Valley— A lone jumpship soared across the rocky outcrops, its engines leaving a trail across the sky. In the -blam!-, a monitor began beeping, signaling an incoming transmission “It’s Failsafe,” the Guardian inside said, “put her through.” The comms burst into life. “Greetings, Guardian!” Failsafe said in her usual cheerful voice, “I have an urgent message from the Giant unit.” “Giant? What’s the message?” “The Giant unit requests immediate assistance at the attached coordinates. He says something about a nanotechnology called ‘SIVA’. I have no record of it in my databases, but perhaps you know what it means.” “Good Luck.” The not-so-cheerful side of Failsafe said, “I think you’re gonna need it.” “Thank you, Failsafe. Your help is much appreciated.” “I am happy to be of service.” Failsafe said in her cheerful voice. “Rook, lock those coordinates.” The Warlock said to his companion. “At once, sir.” The ship streamed through the valley and into the dangers that lay ahead. ——————————————————— [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/250971745/0/0]Next Chapter[/url] [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/251999575/0/0]Masterpost[/url]