Excerpt 009: Unsettled (Open to All)

[rekindledtitan]

TYPE: Patrol log

LOCATION: The Nexus

PARTIES: Unconfirmed total [??]. One [1] Ghost-type, [1] Guardian-type, designate Blaze-37, Class Titan [[personal profile] rekindledtitan]

ASSOCIATIONS: Multiversal Nexus; Rogers, Steve; Blaze-37; Pelsor; House of Winter


By the time she returns, spring is rolling into summer. There’s a great deal she needs to catch up on – and serious work to be done. Ghost sends out a short message announcing their restoration to the friends they haven’t met with – Tina, Natasha, Adia, Katsuya, the handful of others whose PINpoint numbers they have. Then they report into the Tower, at their commander’s insistence. A very long debrief later, Blaze feels the need to go blow off some steam. When she does get back to the Nexus, it’s with a few new dents

Blaze has no time for standing around the Plaza asking questions, though given the circumstances she’s kind of obliged to show her face. So when she gets back, the first thing the armored Titan does is stride into the centre of the Plaza. She brings her hands together in a thunderclap and a flash of Arc Light, and announces as heads turn to her:

“The Fallen kept their word. The truce is sealed.”

It brings her little joy to do so, but it needs to be done. She doesn’t stand around, though. She needs to get to work. The Fallen presence and its consequences are her responsibility, and she has ground to make up. Anyone who wants to ask her questions will have to keep up as the Guardian heads out of the Nexus settlement.

From there on she can be encountered once more patrolling the Nexus streets and the Wilds, on the watch for any sign of trouble. There’s no more sitting around chatting or tweaking her weapons in plain view. Now she’s on duty at all times. She has patrol beacons to install and monitor, borders to watch over. Darkness to scout for. And the Exo never seems to sleep. Though she returns periodically to the informal Guardian outpost that Steve’s house has turned into, she doesn’t rest there. During noonday sun or gloomy night, her boots ring on the pavement or crunch through leaf litter, and those who want to find her have a good chance of succeeding.

And if not her, then it’s always possible to encounter one of the other Guardians either keeping watch at Steve’s house or roaming about the Nexus. Unlike Blaze, they’ll occasionally stop at a café or bar to sample the local fare, sometimes at peculiar hours. If there’s a ramen bar that stays open until dawn, they’re there.


(( This post is open to any characters from the Nexus who might run into her after her post-Winter resurrection. If you want your character to encounter a different Guardian in particular or set the thread in one of the settings above, just let me know where in narration and/or the header. :) ))

Comments

[readvondaniken]

"That's true," Palmer says to Ghost. He wonders why Pelsor had allowed them to have Blaze back, especially if her actions were unusual by her people's standard - a concession to their need to defend themselves, a way of evening the playing field, or some sense of honor. He doubted the last one. The Fallen hadn't seemed overly concerned with fair play in the winter, when they had the advantage. "That is weird. I'd wonder why she did that, she could've finished us off outright, but I guess we'll never know."

Palmer nods in reply - the surveillance is a good idea, even if by necessity they can't spy directly on Fallen territory. "That's true - but there's still a lot we don't know. Whether they're planning to use the Nexus as a launch site for their raids, for example, or whether they'll try and expand their territory, or even if Pelsor still has contact with the rest of her House."

He guesses that the Fallen must have a way of manufacturing this "ether" in the Nexus, and probably took a handful of these servitors with them. Otherwise there would've been no point in setting up a permanent settlement, one which would slowly starve and presumably die.

"We have Prometheus, Cricket, Gina, Horvath, and Kinner's still on board, too. It's a solid team. Thank you for offering to help us. The Thing is more dangerous than the Fallen in some ways, I think. Don't want a creature like that wandering the multiverses."

[rekindledtitan]

“Nothing to stop her making contact with the others, if she wants it. I don’t know what their internal politics are like these days. Either way, we’ll find out what they have in mind sooner or later. Sooner if we manage to intercept any of their communications.”

Blaze nods when he’s finished listing the team out. “I don’t recognize any of the names on your list besides Kinner’s. Unless Cricket’s one of the volunteers who was helping out back in Winter.” Maybe Horvath rings a bell too? Nothing that was her concern at the time.

“We’ll need to hold a meeting, find out what everyone can do. Put together a plan before we show up out of the blue in the middle of Antarctica.” In the middle of an alien attack, no less.

[readvondaniken]

"So we can intercept their communications at some point? That's good. Will your team be letting us know anything you find out?" Palmer likes that idea, especially if they can do it in such a way that Pelsor won't catch on. But he's no spy, so he can't offer his help. "Speaking for myself, I'll leave it to your team to handle them, now they're not an immediate threat to the rest of us.

"But the Thing is a very different kind of enemy than the Fallen. It doesn't have their numbers, yet, but it's not interested in land or plunder." Palmer knows most of the people involved to varying degrees, especially Cricket and Kinner, though he's met all of them.

He considers Blaze's suggestion, then nods. "You're right. I'll send out a message soon for a proper meeting in a while. We'll need a good plan and a cover story, maybe especially since everyone in my team will be jumpy and on edge."

[rekindledtitan]

“If we pick up anything, we’ll see. Intel like that isn’t free to share and Nexus chatter’s a few parsecs short of ‘secure’.” The Fallen haven’t been seen outside their territory, but with their stealth tech that doesn’t mean much. “If there’s something you and the others need to know about, though, you’ll hear it. I won’t let them take people by surprise again.”

The Thing may not be exactly like the enemies she was resurrected to fight, but it has the shape of a threat she knows very well. “It’s a contagion. Means our first priority has to be containment. Makes it twice as important that we’re all working off the same playbook. Don’t want to spook your people and we don’t want to tip the creature off, either.”

[readvondaniken]

"They might stop by here in the Nexus, we were told, since their terms allow them to and the torches aren't there keeping them away. I sell machine parts, which we know they're interested in, so I might have to brace myself for a visit one of these days. Assuming they're willing to buy from us rather than steal." Palmer isn't thrilled about a visit from the Fallen, but he'll grit his teeth. Business is business.

"It spreads. You're right, we need to be discreet. We're gonna have to tell who's who, too. There's a way, but we'll need the cooperation of my team, and we gotta act fast." Palmer knows about the blood test from talking to Kinner, and trusts the cook that it'll work.

[rekindledtitan]

“Could happen. I don’t think they’re after anything that burns fossil fuels though, so you can probably relax.” Then again, the Fallen have quite a knack for repurposing anything they can find. And there’s no guarantee Palmer won’t run into them out and about.

“So you have a detection method. Good! That’ll make this a lot easier. Just let me know when you’re gathering the team together. We’ll come up with a plan then.”

[readvondaniken]

"If one of 'em shows up, I'll just grit my teeth and be polite. If they're willing to pay rather than straight-up rob me, money's money." Palmer used to be a small-time crook, so he doesn't necessarily have a problem with stealing, and some of his friends back home are criminals. The Fallen did more objectionable things than steal, as far as he's concerned. "I don't forgive them, but if they're willing to behave I won't start anything."

Palmer nods. "I'll contact you with my PINpoint when the time's right. I'm assuming you have a similar plan as before? How will you hide Ghost?"

[rekindledtitan]

"Yeah, well, if they start giving you trouble just stay calm, get some distance and call us. Orders are not to start a fight, but any smart Eliksni oughta think twice if a Guardian shows up."

"Heh. Same way he always hides when I'm working." Blaze glances up at Ghost, and he vanishes in a wink of light. "He's still with me, even when he's not out in plain sight. And I've got my disguise all ready. I'll look and sound as organic as you are. Just need to borrow some winter clothes to finish off the look."

[readvondaniken]

"I've got your PINpoint, right? I can let both of you know if one of the Fallen starts causing me trouble." While he doesn't know the other Guardians, Palmer's relieved that he's got someone to look to for help. "If I'm lucky I'll never have to deal with them, but you gotta prepare for the worst. My business is supposed to be a neutral space for everyone with cash, and I won't be bullied, even by Pelsor's crew."

"That's good. I reckon a different kind of enemy will be an experience. I'll share the intelligence I have on the Thing." Palmer grins when he sees the little robot. "Howdy, Ghost. I wanna thank you, too."