//------------------------------// // New Gear, Reinforcements // Story: The Light Behind the Veil // by Gunner59524 //------------------------------// I'll be honest, I had no idea what was coming next once we learned of the distress beacon. I certainly hoped reinforcements would arrive BEFORE the enemy did. Powerful as we are, us Guardians are not invincible. We can still be overwhelmed. It's something Sparks and I have an unspoken agreement of fearing. I know he does. That involuntary shudder in my mind he makes when we have extremely close brushes with death in Darkness Zones is unmistakable. He knows I fear it too.... It certainly brings enough adrenaline to give me a massive hangover as if I got drunk during such close calls. Thank the Traveler for the incredible healing power's of the Ghosts eh? I'd still have that hangover from that close brush on Mars today..... okay maybe I'm exaggerating but it sure as hell felt like it. Here's hoping that won't happen much during this mission..... God I hope I didn't just jinx myself.... fuck. End Log. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Some say you must fight your battles alone. Others say that you're never alone. What do I think? I think only fate can really decide which is true in the moment. Fortunately for me, fate was kind. In the Guardian Tower on Earth, in the Sol System, far from Equis, another Guardian was receiving my message, relayed through to the Tower. "The distress beacon transmitted from the coordinates we just sent to your ghost," the Speaker explained. "We believe a Guardian may have run into trouble BEFORE he was expected to make contact. Details sent by the beacon indicated that Tiberius' ship was damaged, losing a weapon and an entire left engine block before they were able to make landfall. Now I know this Guardian well, he is alive. Richard, he must be found and his mission must be accomplished. Assess the situation, help him if you can. If it's too late to help him, pick up where he left off.... I hope it isn't too late. Good luck Hunter." The Awoken Guardian nodded and made to depart, looking at his ghost as they went. "Looks like we're pulling another one's ass out of the fire huh?" The Ghost, named Specter, twitched the top front and front bottom segments of his Frontier Shell and sighed with frustration. "Can you keep that kind of commentary to a minimum? Listen, instructions before we leave. This guy, Tiberius, is a powerful Striker Titan. He made a requisition for a helmet piece that had yet to arrive and was to pick it up when he got back. Chances are, he'll want this upgrade for this mission. Speaker want's us to grab him the Holdfast Type 3 helmet he paid for and take it too him. Holliday is already outfitting the Aurora Lance with the attachments we need to breach the Veil. Get the materials and just go." "Always so serious...." Richard sighed. "Mind getting the helmet? I'm gonna go check my equipment." "You better. I find you slacking off again and I'll zap ya." "Oh feisty today huh?" Richards laughed and shook his head as he made his way to the vaults. Okay, equipment check time. EV-30 Tumbler, check. Bloodpact armor shader, duh gotta stay in style. Grim Citizen III auto rifle, check. Void Amina-E7 hell yes. Ah, the swarm. Nothin like mowin down enemies with the solar power of the sun. Love chewin up those Devil Walkers with this thing too. Cold Mantis 2.4.0 helmet, oooooh spooky. Rustburner 1.5 gauntlets good to go... is that a scratch? Damn Cabal. Dustwalker chest armor. Oh damn I make this look good. Rustburner 1.5 leg armor.... soles burned..... God I wanna kill Valus all over again. Ah the Cloak of Hidden Agendas. This suits me. Bladedancer abilities? He tested them to make sure his abilities were at their peak. Solid. Okay. He made his way to the hangar and met Spectre. "Got the helmet for our new friend?" "In its assigned position in the cargo hold. You're two minutes late." "I don't gotta be THAT punctual if it means making sure my gear is all up to spec. Speaking of which, have the fabricator fix up my gauntlets and leg armor, soles of the boots are burned to hell and there's a scratch on the arm gear. Wanna look good, not like I've been through a meat grinder and oven." "Are you done with the comments? Holliday is already done with the attachments and we need to get going," Spectre snapped. Richard raised his hands defensively. "Okay, okay, party pooper, we're goin." They boarded the Aurora Lance. "Flight Control, this is Richard aboard the Aurora Lance, requesting permission to take off," he said clearly into the radio. "Flight Control here," Holliday answered, "You're cleared to leave. Keep stocked and bring some extra for Tiberius if you can. Knowing lover boy, he probably scratched my ship again." "Lover boy!?" Richard laughed, "Where did he get that nickname!?" "Shut up and stay focused," Spectre hissed. "Oh stop being such a shitball," Richard shot back. "If you two lovebirds are done bickering, the flight deck is yours. Have a nice flight. AND DON'T BUST THAT STABILIZER AGAIN!" "No promises Holliday," Richard snarked. "YOU TAKE CARE OF MY SHIP YOU SON OF A....." Her comment was lost as the connection was cut. "Punch it." "Bout time. Keep your brain inside your head," Spectre snarked before the ship launched upward, rapidly ascending through the atmosphere. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ In the Tower observatory, the Speaker watched as the Aurora Lance ascended. "Traveler's Light be with you Guardian..." He said, praying they would return once more. He turned back to his work once the Lance was well out of sight. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Equestria, Equis. February 17th, 0930 Hours I sighed and gave a grunt of exertion as I put my weight into shifting one of the more major components of the ship back into place. The ponies had made good on their word earlier. My ship lay just a short distance from the edge of that foreboding forest now thanks to what was later explained to be "Magic" usable only by Unicorns and Alicorns. I'll still need time to get used to that. CLANG! "GAH, FUCK, SON OF A BITCH!" I exclaimed as three of my fingers got mashed under one of those heavy as fuck stabilizers. "SORRY! SORRY!" Sparks exclaimed as he immediately transferred the component off my fingers and came closer to take a look at the damage. "Well.... the good news is that there's no major damage.... still gonna hurt for a bit but it's definitely nothing to worry about." "Yeah that's great, but could you please be a little more careful?" I hissed. "Yeah.... sorry bout that.... Simply bumped into it.... guess I didn't realize it was so close to the edge." "Ah it's alright I suppose.... no real harm done." I looked over the stabilizer that had earlier tortured my fingers. "Looks undamaged. I think we're fine. Is it safe for me to install this back in yet?" "Yeah, finished the mounting and connectors two minutes ago." "Thanks. So, what do you think of these 'Ponies' so far?" I asked, wondering about his thoughts on the matter. "Not all that bad actually. I will need more experience with them first though. I don't trust anyone completely without significant experience with em. Well.... with the exception of you of course. You had proven yourself VERY quickly." I couldn't help chuckling. "Well when your life is in danger and you don't have much choice, It's either prove yourself or be killed. Those Fallen we ran into as SOON as you woke me up? I still have to get you back for that." Sparks laughed, causing me to smile a bit more. "What about when you brought me into that damn Hive Temple? You know I didn't enjoy that." "Touche.... okay fine we're even." We both shared a laugh. We were both completely oblivious to the shadow in the forest, watching us from afar.....