I thought i would post this here also for those who may believe the link is malicious (it is not) [b]Preface[/b] Who am I? That is probably the question on your mind right now. If it is not because you are curious about which persona I am in this tale, than it is because I mentioned the question and it is now on your mind. I am guessing you want an answer to the question. And I would tell you, but I don't have a name. At least, I don't think I have a name. Sometimes it is hard to remember. I don't know why it is hard to remember either, but it just is. Things seem to be disappearing. I don't remember much now, save for the last day or so. But I do remember Dylan, and I will tell you about him. For I have nothing to do, as I am just laying here. So I will tell you what I remember. Just in case I, you know, capitulate to the sleep which beckons. [b]My Team, My Friends, My Family.[/b] First of all, I want to tell you about Dylan. Why? Because I think it is important. Dylan is a Hunter, and he is my friend. Wherever Dylan goes, I go. I like Dylan. Dylan is a tall hunter, and he wears green. He is particularly fond of that color, he says green is everywhere. He says that the plants are re-taking this world, and since they are abundant, It is his job to blend in with them. Anyways, Dylan also wears a helmet. It is a weird helmet, and has a little blue circle that is projected out of it. I am particularly fond of that helmet. Dylan also has some friends, one is a Warlock and one is a Titan, I can't recall their names. But the Warlock’s armor is made of bones. He says that if he dies, the bones of his armor will camouflage him. And the Titan's armor is, well everything. Bits and pieces, trophies from different battles. Each piece has a story and a name. The Titan loves to boast. Anyways the four of us were known as digamma, and we were a fireteam. I know what you are thinking, a fireteam only has three members, but this one had four. We were special in that regard. And we worked well together. We lived in old Chicago, a city turned into a swamp. The whole city was damp and desolate. Filled with towering skyscrapers slowly being taken over by the foliage. Ivy and moss was everywhere, and covered most things near ground level. The only things that were almost as many as the foliage was the aliens. Old Chicago was a place where disgraced aliens came, and set aside their difference. This seems like a good thing, except that they didn't set aside their differences with humans. We were still the enemy to them. These aliens along with frequent flash floods and blizzards made the ground dangerous. However, the skyscrapers were dry and safe, and that is where we lived. High above the dangers of the streets. Well, at least I thought it was a good thing, but I am not that sure now. You see, the skyscrapers in old Chicago are like the castles of old. They are tall, well stocked, and great defensive positions, but once you get surrounded you cannot leave. And that is the problem we were faced with. The lower levels were taken by an alien coalition consisting of the Vex, Cabal, and Fallen. Everyone was effectively at an impasse, the aliens would die if they traversed up the stairs. And we could not leave because they were there. It had been this way for over a month, with neither side trying to dislodge the other, if they did they would die. Each side hoped to outlast the other, hoping that they could tempt the other into a misstep. But both sides were realizing that this would not yield results any time soon. I believe the person who wanted to break this stalemate the most was the Titan. He would lecture us all day long on how cowardly we were being, to which the Warlock replied with various different quotes on why being alive is better than dead. It also appeared that something along this premise was happening to the aliens as well. I could hear them arguing late at night, each in their own language. It was too bad I could not hear more than a faint vibration when they were arguing, otherwise I could have translated their speech. But alas, I would need to sleep soon for my battery was running low. So I sought out Dylan as he kept me safe when I slept. I found Dylan on the roof of the building. He was scanning the surroundings, a tangle of overgrown, half flooded streets and collapsing buildings, to make sure everything was as it was supposed to be. Dull. “Hello Dylan,” I said. “Evening,” he replied. “You need to recharge again?” “Yes, I know how you love to watch me sleep.” “You make me sound like a pervert,” Dylan retorted. “Anyway, you should hurry, the sun is almost down. Once it goes down you will have to wait till morning to recharge.” “I know, I know” I replied. Sometimes it was frustrating being an older Ghost. The newer models could run forever minus a day without having to recharge, but I ran off of solar energy and had to recharge once a week. It was convenient to the others, though. I had to recharge while they were awake, and could not recharge at night. It made me the perfect night watchman. “Battery is down to about 10%, I could go another night in sleep mode.” “Aye,” Dylan replied. “But I need my sleep, and someone to watch me while I do so.” “Great, now I'm the pervert,” I replied. “Anyways, see you when I'm recharged”. Then I slept, and I slept peacefully until I was awoken by the sound of Dylan screaming something... Murphy’s Law “Cancel, cancel, cancel!” Dylan yelled at me. “I'm awake”, I replied, “there is no need to be this excited about the sun going down.” “Quickly!” Dylan replied frantically as he disappeared into the building. Realizing something was wrong, I threw out a quick scan. A vessel was approaching our tower down the east-most street, and I sensed from Dylan's urgency that it was not friendly. I darted down the floors of the building to our holdout, and found Dylan arguing with the Warlock and the Titan. “Who are they?” I asked. “Fallen,” replied Dylan. “More goddamned Fallen.” “I say we take the fight to them and break out before the reinforcements arrive”, interjected the Titan. “No,” Dylan said, “we need to secure the other staircase before they start pouring down it” “Maybe they are just here to evacuate,” said the Warlock meekly. I knew the Warlock was wrong when a bright purple light engulfed the northeast corner, everything began to collapse around us. The floor was giving way beneath us. “Time for some falling with style,” I stated. “No shit,” the Titan screamed frantically. “At least we’re falling onto the enemy!” “Grab onto something!” yelled the Warlock. I attempted to before I remembered I could fly. The building gave way and everything began to fall. But miraculously I was fine, descending downward, I stayed where I was. I was content to float, and the building was content to let me float. Then something hit me, hard. So much for the building being nice, I thought, and I fell. I fell a long ways. And I did not know what to do as the ground approached me at an alarming speed, the normal avoid collision command did not seem to work. At the instant I hit the ground, I heard something shatter. After all this falling with style, I was tired. So I slept, and I slept for a long time. How much time? I do not know, but to me it felt like an eternity. I slept till I was awoken by a soothing female voice. “Hey there little buddy,” it said. “Are you awake?” I tried to talk, but I did not hear my voice, so I just wiggled a bit. “If you can hear me I need you to sync your memory with my dat-pad, we need to find your friends and we think you may be able to help us.” I did what she said. It took me a couple seconds and I struggled to do so. I don't think I had found everything, but I managed to wirelessly transmit what I had recorded and surmised to every device in a 20 foot area. A few seconds after I transferred the data I heard the women’s dat-pad chime. “I think I will take you with me,” she said. A few seconds later, I was picked up and stuffed into what I can only describe as a pocket. But my accommodations did not matter, I was safe. epilogue in the reply