♤ Desperado

[deal_me_in]

WHO: Cayde-6 and you mental intruders you. Guardian gear optional.
WHERE: The Tower In the mind of Cayde-6. Run.
WHAT: Exploring the Exo's memories and then some
WHEN: Through the Calibrations Event
WARNINGS: Nothing I can think of? Potential violence? That's an FPS for you


"It's funny, the things you find yourself missing."

The room is large and tall with its vaulted walls and the giant window that makes up an entire wall, overlooking the vast expanse of Earth's Last City. There are roughly two levels to the room, stairs immediately leading down to the central, sunken area, with no shortage of computer terminals and screens along either side. Smack in the center of the sunken area is a large table with a sizable map laid out towards the middle of it, among other things.

"Like that. I kind of miss that table."

The Exo steps down alongside of you and then past, holding a chicken in the crook of one arm, stroking her under the beak. And no, that's not your imagination- she really is wearing a tiny cloak and a paper horn reminiscent of her caretaker. He steps over to the table, shoving stacks of paperwork off the edge with relish that plainly says he's doing something he normally shouldn't, before he sets Colonel down to wander about as she pleases.

The other things on the table are as follows: a small scattering of playing cards, although all save an Ace of Spades and Queen of Hearts are flipped face-up. A glass of some glowing blue-green liquor sits atop a few sheets of paper, which upon closer inspection look to be the yellowed, torn pages from books, hints of handwriting in the blank spaces. A worn pistol sits there at the edge of the table, and stacked nearby, a few poker chips. On the floor, sitting unobtrusively by one of the table legs is a dusty, hand-stitched ball.

Draped over a chair by one of the side terminals is a banner in black, orange and white, the symbol of the Vanguard.

Cayde himself takes up a spot by the map, setting his hands on the table to lean over it as he nods thoughtfully to himself.

Comments

A Strange (kinder)Guardian

[backoff]

He had been a little surprised at being in a room with a lot technology. A giant map in the center in the room on a table. The giant window caught his eyes first through the helmet he was wearing. Cloud couldn't believe that the outfit chosen continued a color scheme. Why? He's not sure. He's not even sure on the outfit of choice. The things on his hands, what did they do?

Cloud hears a familiar voice though. He turns to watch Cayde walk on down with his chicken. The Exo didn't really lie about that chicken. Cloud chose to remain silent quietly watching Cayde before he finally took his spot by the map.

He slowly walks over towards the table standing on the opposite side facing Cayde. Cloud could take off his helmet but for now he doesn't instead he provides a small wave in greeting.

[deal_me_in]

The Hunter looks across at him, quirking a brow. "Hey there, Warlock?" he greets right back. "Ikora don't seem to be in right now." He doubts she or Zavala would be, but he wouldn't object to seeing either of them wander in.

With a shrug, he returns his focus on the new Guardian, looking him up and down. "We gonna do this all day? Or you just waiting for me to let down my guard so you can hop up here and dance on my map?"

[backoff]

"I bet you would enjoy the show." Cloud reaches up to grab hold of the helmet. The helmet is removed and quickly dropped on the ground. He does not really care about the other people around. He gives a raised eyebrow at Cayde. "How many times a day did that happen to you? Warlock? Is that what this outfit is?"

The outfit is stylish but he's not really sure the differences on anything on Cayde's world. "Whose Ikora?"

[deal_me_in]

That response makes him squint. These Guardians and their sass! But as this one reveals his face, Cayde lets out a laugh.

"Well, at least it'd actually look like a dance. Eh, back when we still actually had this space, Guardians'd come runnin' in here all the time and more often than not, I'm sure two outta three of 'em would hop up on here, like I'm not trying to do some work."

He snorts, maybe more at the thought of him doing work and less at being annoyed at the thought. "It was funny the first couple of times, anyway."

Straightening from the table, he nods, tapping a hand at his left arm. "The band gives it away. If not all the drapiness. Pegged you more for a Titan." He looks around as though expecting the other two Vanguard to have slipped in the moment he starts speaking about them behind their backs. "Ikora, she's the Warlock Vanguard."

[backoff]

"A little bit of entertainment. I'm sure they needed a good laugh for themselves." He knew sometimes with all of the fighting you need something fun. Cayde said something similar along those lines. Cloud's used to doing a lot of work and forgets when to slow down. If he even does, maybe he'll learn that by being here because of how time is. It'll be hard for him to adjust. He's so used to staying busy when he wants.

"A Titan?" As if even speaking the words, the Warlock armor fades and replaces into a set more suited for Titan's. This was Cayde's mind space after all. Cloud looks down at himself before back up at the Exo. "What role do they have?"

[deal_me_in]

"Yeah, I'm sure they did. And I'm sure I wouldn't have minded it as much if they did it more on Zavala's side and not on my map."

The Exo tilts his head as he sees Cloud's armor shift into something more Titan-like, chuckling then. "Yeah, just like that. Eh..." He steals another look around.

"Okay, so this is over-simplifying, but we'll say on a scale of brawn to brains, Titans are first and Warlocks are last, and Hunters are wedged in the middle." He quickly holds a hand up. "-not to say that Titans are idiots, I'm just saying like... they can take more punishment and give back in equal amounts. They got a lot of punch. Warlocks, they're the thinkery, unravel-the-mysteries-of-the-universey sort but they can still fry you where you stand, and I'll be the last to tell you that they can't be any bit as good as a Titan. Ikora? Oh, you do not cross that woman."

He chuckles for all that he says. He'll always respect Ikora. Even if she gets a little distracted with details while Zavala gets caught up in all the other things. "And Hunters? We're the scouts, the trailblazers, the lone wolves who aren't afraid to get up in someone's face if we gotta make a point. While everyone else is still working out a plan, we're already doing what we do best."

[backoff]

Cloud folds his arms around the armor plating while looking at Cayde with a slight pout. He's going to ask a question anyway. "Are you to tell me that there's been plenty of tiny Titan's trying to prove themselves among the rest?" Because that's what he dealt with on the daily. "That's been my life, Cayde. So I hope you're right in your thoughts of me."

He's always trying to prove himself among the others. Fight the best against the best? He might come out victorious since he'll keep going. Cloud can tell from how he talks about Zavala and Ikora that he cares about his comrades. They seem to know each other quite well. He leans forward on the table while glancing down at the map.

"What's with the map? Or is this when I start touching things?"

[deal_me_in]

"Cloud, proving yourself comes with the territory. Us Guardians, some take it more seriously than others, the fresh-minted ones especially. Others figure there's nothin' more to prove, or it's not so much proving yourself to others'n proving something to yourself."

The Exo wiggles a finger over at the chicken to coax her over so he can play with her. "What, you got a problem with maps? Maps are very handy. If you're not pointing out where your scouts are calling in some trouble areas to someone, then you're just remembering how it was to be out there instead'a stuck in the Tower. That's probably just me. Anyway!" He waves a hand.

"Touch away, I guess. Or look. Seems only fair, either way."

[backoff]

"You do make a good mentor."

Cloud can't help but chuckle at the chicken and Cayde. He truly wasn't lying about the chicken. At the mention of the maps he looks at Cayde with a straight face. "There's nothing wrong maps! Don't get the wrong idea. They're useful in a lot of ways. Especially if you're learning the train station routes."

He gives a quick reach out to touch the map along it's side.

[hulkintraining]

Between listening to Cayde, examining his strange surroundings, and trying to figure out what is up with the chicken, Teddy feels like he's on sensory overload. Although he has to admit that if what he's seeing is a place from the Exo's world then...it suits him.

He doesn't follow Cayde down the stairs, instead turning towards the large window that overlooks the city. In some ways it resembles his own city with its large cluster of buildings, some towering over the rest. But mostly it just looks like a foreign city.

"I know what you mean about missing stuff. For my first couple of weeks I would have punched myself in the face if it meant having some proper coffee." There's a silent pause, and then, "Still would probably."

[deal_me_in]

"Eh, we're working on that. The uh, coffee, not the punching," Cayde clarifies. He glances over towards Teddy by the window, his expression sobering then.

Where Teddy stands, it begins to feel like the window expands towards him, lightning flashing across the clouded skies as the faint echoes of conversation and growing commotion fill up from behind him. One of the voices is distinctly Cayde's.

"Someone or something has sabotaged the skyline defense systems," a woman reports, Cayde adding on with, "And comms have been spotty for the last few hours. Every sensor beyond the wall has gone dark."

A third voice, cautiously concerned. "Maybe it's just the storm. Maybe it's... What are the sat feeds telling us?"

It's the woman who responds again. "Nothing."

"Well that's good, right?" Cayde asks.

"No! I mean they're not there. There are no satellites!"

"And that's...not good."

And there before him, Teddy will see it first as the clouds backlit by lightning ominously reveal multiple shadowy shapes, approaching ships.

"Battlestations!" The Titan Vanguard shouts urgently as he turns from the window, and all at once the room kicks into gear. But by then it's already too late. The ships beyond release a flurry of missiles that race towards the Tower's command center. Zavala turns to face them, even as he shouts to the others in the room, his fellow Vanguard and the other Tower workers alike.

"Everyone with me, NOW!"

His hands upraised, he brings them down at either side of him as he creates a large spherical shield around himself and those who rush to his provided cover. The missiles are already tearing through, ripping apart structures, sending people flying.

Cayde-6 boldly steps forth, calm and collected as he draws his gun despite the growing chaos. His entire body engulfs in golden flames, and he levels his fiery gun, squeezing off blazing shots to intercept more missiles as they come, not seeing as an entire support beam of the ceiling begins to swing down towards him.

The Warlock Vanguard does, however, and leaping over the railing to the sunken level, grabs Cayde, teleporting the both of them within the safe confines of Zavala's shield.

"Hang on!" she shouts, and by then that's all anyone can do as the room rocks and shudders precariously under the repeated impact. Zavala continues to struggle as Ikora and Cayde pull in the other staff that manage to stagger their way to his shield.

And then all look up as fresh explosions bloom across the shield and what's left of the tower.

[hulkintraining]

When you've spent as much time as Teddy has being a superhero, jumping into danger at a moments notice, and physically putting yourself between whatever dangers arise and the people around you, it's a certain kind of hell to be almost frozen in place as chaos ensues. Logically, he knows this isn't really happening right now. It's a dream.

But he also knows that this has happened. Not now, but in the past. This is real. And he can't do anything to stop it or fix it. He watches with growing horror as Cayde and his team try to get everyone under the shield as the explosions chip away at the tower.

As much as he hates watching it, he's equally disappointed with the ending. It's so abrupt. A cliffhanger.

"What happened to them? The others?"

[deal_me_in]

"Some of them made it," Cayde replies, just a little quieter than his usual tone. He shakes his head. "A lot didn't. We lost too many that day."

It had been quite a wake-up call. The Exo steps up towards the window beside Teddy, looking out at the view, which has since changed slightly. Some buildings are gone here and there, but new things have been built in their places, and above, the ever-present sphere of the Traveler also has changed, large floating masses orbiting it, somehow giving it more the impression of being alive, awake, than when it had so placidly hovered like a closer moon.

"Lost a lot of stuff, actually. The day the Red Legion attacked was like a slap in the face. The Vanguard band broke up for a while, to seek answers, reinforcements, figure out a way to take out the head and get back what's our's...." Not too difficult to guess which option had been Cayde's route. "In the end we managed to retake the City, our home. We don't stay down easily. Things aren't the same anymore, but we're trying to make things better."

[hulkintraining]

Teddy keeps his gaze trained on the sights outside the window, noticing the changes that have been made. The absence of buildings that had one been there and the appearance of new ones. But eventually his gaze grows distance and he can't help but remember the tragedy his own team had experienced that had let their disbanding.

Some of what Cayde says cuts close to home. But after losing Cassie there had been no answers to seek, no reinforcements, no way forward. Just the overwhelming sense of loss and failure. Kids playing at being heroes.

"And are they? Better I mean." He hopes they are. He knows all too well that sometimes the hope of positive change is the only thing that can keep you going. Finally, he turns away from the window to face Cayde.

"I didn't know any of them...the people you've lost. But I'd like to think they would be proud of what the rest of you have accomplished." Maybe he says it a little for himself as well.

[deal_me_in]

"Trying to be. Definitely better than the alternative," Cayde says, still looking out. "There's always going to be the reminders of what's changed, of what's no longer there. But we can move on, keep going forward."

He turns his head, looking at Teddy before offering a nod, and a faint smile. "Yeah. I'd like to think so too. It's not in us to just lay down and give up. We got shaken up in more ways than one, but the stakes were high, and it was too much to lose."

[hulkintraining]

"And the Red Legion? Did you defeat them for good or just send them packing back where they came from?" Coming from a planet that gets invaded on a semi-regular basis, usually by several of the same alien races, he figures its a fair question. It may also be his way of trying to find out more without seeming like he's trying to pry.

Eventually, Teddy leaves the window and heads for the stairs leading down into the central area. He's hoping whatever he uncovers next won't be quite as traumatic. But despite his wariness, he's still curious enough to snoop.

Which is when he spots the chicken wandering about.

"Oh, yeah. I meant to ask earlier but...what's with the chicken?"

[deal_me_in]

"We cut off the head. The rest scattered. There's still pockets of 'em here and there, but they won't find another leader to replace Gary anytime soon. There's some self-made Emperor trying to round up some of those troops, but we've been monitoring him, and so far it just looks like he just wants to be living the high life."

And inviting Guardians to show their stuff in his weird arenas, but then you had plenty of daredevil Guardians always up for such challenges.

The chicken flutters her wings, pecking at the table. Cayde grins as he turns and watches Teddy. "What, you got a problem with chickens? That there's the Colonel. She's the bravest chicken you'll ever meet."

[plate_builder]

It's a beautiful room, and he might investigate it in the near future. But mostly Reeve is just watching Cayde move around the room. With a chicken. He'd judge the choice of pet, but his own choices were weird.

"It's a nice table."

He does move, when Cayde stops by the table, to look over the map as well. "I assume this is of your world."

[deal_me_in]

Colonel is a perfectly good chicken, yes she is. It's kind of ridiculous how fond Cayde's grown of her, but he is an Exo with plenty of quirks.

"Sturdy too," the Exo replies. "Guardians'd hop up on here all the time. Probably just wanted the attention." He shakes his head, amused at how such annoyances are now fond memories. Glancing at the map, he nods.

"Yeah, this is Earth- only a section of it anyway. The EDZ's usually buzzing with Fallen activity. There's a whole lot of world out there that used to be full of people, might still have some settlements, but otherwise this area's where it. And this city- the Last City on Earth."

[plate_builder]

"A table that will put up with whatever you want on it and people jumping on it is definitely sturdy," he agrees, chuckling. He'd go into the physics of it, but it seemed silly to try so.

Wait... Earth? Reeve stares at the map very carefully. He's heard of it, never seen it.

"Wait, the Last city? I thought Earth was full of people!"

[deal_me_in]

The map itself is focused on Europe and Asia, no real landmarks listed past terrains and areas that have since been renamed after much of the Golden Age accomplishments and the general populace had been lost.

Cayde nods. "Was. And hey, maybe in other versions, still is. Good on them. Us? We weren't too lucky. See that big eyeball thing out there over the city?" he asks as he gestures towards the window. "That's the Traveler. It came to us centuries ago, brought with it a whole lot of change. Technical advancements. A Golden Age for humanity."

He shrugs. "But there were things out there that were also after the Traveler. Mean things from beyond our known system. And some things we have yet to understand. Something of the latter was what hit us. Near wiped us out. Then the Traveler intervened. Gave us a chance to get back on our feet. Humanity was practically in the dark ages again, and it took us a hell of a long time to get to this point."

[plate_builder]

"So... its flight doomed your world?" Reeve observes. That seemed very... cruel of it, to inflict that conflict on them. And it looked pretty creepy as well.

[deal_me_in]

"Eh, not really. I mean, would all them Fallen and Cabal and Hive have come bothering us if we hadn't started expanding our explorations outside of Earth? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe the Traveler's coming made everything else happen all the more sooner, or maybe it actually gave us a fighting chance."

Cayde looks from the window to the map as he folds his arms. "There really is a lot we don't know about it, but for all the bad that's happened? It took a while for it to happen. Humanity was in a good place and nothing could've prepared us for what happened when it did. And the Traveler didn't have to do squat, but it did. There's no denying it saved us from the brink of possible extinction. Maybe we still have a part to play, but at least we're kicking and able to do it at all."

[plate_builder]

"I'm thankful for that. I know Mini would be too, were he here. Still, I admit Earth has intrigued me," he says, even as his fingers touch the map. Oops

[deal_me_in]

Cayde grins. "Earth's a good place. Maybe not as great as it used to be, but home's home. Maybe the versions that the others are from are better." He can hope as much, anyway.

Out in the European Dead Zone. Cayde shouldn't be here, but he is. It's hard to go back to your post when you've finally been given the chance to run around out in the field again. He's got his hand cannon in his right hand and lugs a rectangular container with his left. The terrain's rocky but there's plenty of overgrowth, and the ruins of old structures aren't difficult to make out here and there.

"...wait, did we come down from the left of that pointy outcropping or the right?" he asks seemingly no one as the craggy path he's been on seems to have taken him right to the front doors of a Cabal base.

He'd been sure they'd been going the right way, but being sure and being right can be two different things. A large blast rockets his way, the impact throwing him off his feet and into the dust. Coming out of the depths of the base, boosted by jet-packs, large, heavily armored soldiers resume their attack in full force upon seeing the Guardian.

"-should've taken a left," Cayde mutters, and all at once he pushes to his feet, kicking away his cache as he opens fire with his Ace of Spades. His bullets find their marks, but more troops are incoming.

"This will delay us," Sundance suggests in his head, not so much sounding concerned as resigned. This sort of dance isn't at all unusual.

"Just a bit," the Exo agrees, returning shots, scrambling back and grabbing his cache. He hears the scrabbling of claws the same time Sundance shouts a warning. Cabal war hounds. Of course there'd be war hounds. He fires off a few shots over his shoulder and starts to run, leap- whatever it takes to get some distance.

The cache is slowing him down, he knows it, and the longer he's out the more of a chance the rest of the Vanguard will notice he's gone. So he formulates a plan. Never hurts to have a back-up plan. Stash the goods, hightail it out in one piece, get back with no one the wiser.

"It's fine," he tells his Ghost as they're safely in the confines of his jumpship, heading back. "I'll just send our favorite Guardian to grab it. They love a good treasure hunt almost as much as I do."