A/N: Enjoy the chapte- WAIT. I've noticed you guys aren't really throwing a lot of stones lately....Is it cuz I stopped asking for stones??? THROW SOME DAMN STONES! Don't forget the reviews either!
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[Orbit]
Void's Jumpship hovered in the Reef's orbit. The hum of his warp engines was steady. They pulsed, a blue flame flickered around the thrusters, read to go. But Void leaned back in the pilot's seat, yawning as he waited for the coordinates.
Just then, a new window blinked open in the top-right corner of his System. And a slim strip of white text appeared.
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[Faction: VENOM]
Members: 06/50 (Increase max capacity by increasing renown in the Sol System.
Renown: +10 (Players)
Active Quests: Good Publicity*
Bounties: None
+ Detailed View.
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Void sat forward and read everything that appeared as the interface unfurled. He looked at the current members, 'So the six of them join, that was fast.'
Then, his eyes narrowed, '50 max capacity as well as low renown. I guess I gotta fix that soon.'
As Void clicked the detailed view, the system window expanded.
It now now displayed VENOM's influence, item popularity, and mission participation rates.
Void sighed, 'Not much, but at least its honest work.' He continued scrolling through the options and more mission ideas popped in his head as the gears turned. One thing was certain, the missions needed to be light, hassle free but rewarding.
But he couldn't just pick anything, after all the missions had to be contextually relevant, or at least entertaining.
But as his thoughts raced, Void came with a brilliant plan. One that would require some old friends.
Just then, a soft static buzzed through his helmet.
"Void," Obsidian flittered beside him, "Spider's sent the coordinates. He's tracked Nulsis. You'll want to see this."
"Coordinates?"
"Hmm. seems like its in...Venus." Obsidian read the coordinates out loud.
Void didn't hesitate. He turned the ship. The stars shifted as the navigation AI aligned the trajectory.
"Then we're heading to Venus."
"There is, a slight problem." Obsidian chirped.
"And what would that be?" Void raised a brow.
"City reports show that House of Winter is active again near the Ishtar Sink, there's high chance we'll encounter their forces."
Void chuckled, "What's another Fallen House with a hit out on me. We'll just deal with it as we reach."
He activated the warp engine, and a flash of light shined as the space folded around his ship.
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[Venus]
Dark acidic clouds scorched the skies above. Yet despite its sulfuric rains, underneath the blanket of clouds was a lush jungle pulsing with life. At its northern edge, Venus was covered with thick vines and moss, at its southern edge, lay Ishtar Sink.
A golden age ruin that had corroded centuries ago and reclaimed by nature. Now, it was no more than a concrete metal shell buried beneath foliage and and yellow rock.
But in the middle of Venus's contrasting ends, was a barren wasteland. One that stretched for thousands of kilometers. It had started as a rotting marsh of sulfur, but had eventually dried up to form canyons and deep ravines.
Hidden across the canyon's face, was a reinforced door that served as an entrance to a fortified grotto carved into the mountain rock.
Inside the grotto, the air was humid. The lights flickered, barely steady, powered by a patched-together ether generator that seemed to run on fumes. Damaged ammo crates and empty ration packs seemed to be scattered by the rocky walls.
The place was cramped and small. But at the same time, it was almost untraceable. And so, it served as a safe haven for many of the Sol systems most wanted to mingle.
Unbeknownst to them all, that would change today.
One of the Fallen captains grunted as he played a losing card. His jaw clicked and his grip tightened, the remaining cards in his hand fainty crumpled.
Instantly, another captain hissed back at him, clearly amused as he tossed a few glimmer chips on the table.
Then, a tremor ran through the mountainside.
The Fallen paused. The tremor seemed to mildly shake their tables, something light that just rattled their cards.
As a moment passed, they'd already forgotten all about it. To them, it was probably another Vex bomb going off.
Or at least, that's what they thought.
Another tremor struck the cavern's face, this time it was heavier. The rattle of the energy seemed to seep into the rock.
This wasn't a coincidence, this had to be intentional. So their eyes narrowed, and they paused, carefully listening.
The Vandals shifted. Claws tightened on their rifles. A few stood up, clearly unsettled. Some even inched closer to the shadows, trying to hide.
Whispers seemed to fly around the grotto, but the generator was buzzing a little louder. Nothing could be heard.
Then came the last tremor.
BOOM.
The gate exploded inward. Metal screamed. Shards of steel ripped across the room, glimmer chips were tossed aside, cards were thrown in the air, and right at that exact instant, everything seemed to pause.
A blur stood at the gate, observing the scene, its figure flashed a brilliant blue. Then, before the shards tore through the rock, before the cards could touch the ground and before the blast could even reverberate, the blur darted inside.
Void didn't hesitate. His blade flashed once, gleaming with an arc against the dim lights. He flickered inside.
The Fallen were quick to adapt. The two captains immediately tried to rally. They raised their scorch cannons and fired at Void, but he was faster. Lightning flared from his shoulders as he channeled his power through his strikes.
He swung once, slicing through their arms in a swipe. Just then, Vandals chucked grenades at his feet, and Void jumped towards the ceiling, cloaking himself with light.
As the grenades erupted, shrapnel barely grazed his skin. Void weaved through the explosion, beheading the Vandals in one strike.
The rest of the Fallen, were in shock.
The fight had lasted less than a minute. Void stood alone, the remaining Fallen were now paralyzed with fear.
"So" Void dusted himself off, "which one of you is Nulsis."
Three surviving Fallen Vandals tensed, sharing glances as they mumbled.
"Not talking?" Void raised a brow, "I've got ways". Void twisted his blade, a pale light lined its edge. Then Zamyr's harrowing presence emerged from within.
The Fallen Vandals dropped to their knees, still unable to answer.
Just then, Obsidian's voice crackled through. "Scans suggest there's another exit, seems like Nulsis slipped away. I'm sensing a massive heat signature above, there's a ship taking off."
Void's jaw tightened. He bolted for the exit.
Outside, an engine roared, and a Fallen jumpship streaked into the sky, its afterburners trailing smoke.
"That sneaky dog." Void cursed, spamming his wrist as he transmatted into his own ship.
Metal screeched as it emerged from transmat, and within seconds, he was airborne.
Obsidian pinged again. "Trajectory is set. They're heading for the Cosmodrome."
"Cosmodrome? What the hell's he going there for?" Void engaged his hyperdrive, wholly giving chase.
"Looks like Nulsis has some more deals with the devils, probably wants to hide in their bunkers in Devil's Lair." Obsidian computed the information he got from Spider.
"This is bad." Obsidian frowned slightly, "If Nulsis slips into the main Devil's Lair compound, tracking him will be impossible. City's still searching for alternative network relays, we'll have no coverage."
"That so?" Void grinded his teeth as the ships thrusters flared, shooting off behind Nulsis. Both ships engaged in warp towards earth. But Nulsis's ship seemed faster.
No, Void was sure of it, that bastard wasn't piloting anything ordinary, "No f*cking way we're losing on speed, where'd he get that tech from?"
"Same place he got that splicer tech, looks like he's using mixed ether fuel." Obsidian's eye blinked, "Its dangerous, but provides more power."
Void's eyes narrowed, the gears turned again in his head, and something finally clicked.
"So he's running to the Cosmodrome?"
He pulled open his interface mid-flight and tapped the Quest and faction panel. A few quick keystrokes later, a mission alert was sent out.
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[VENOM: Priority Target]
Objective: Intercept and capture Nulsis.
Location: Cosmodrome.
Status: Public Event – Faction Bonus Enabled.
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"Then let that sorry bastard run." Void smiled.
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[Cosmodrome]
The Cosmodrome's rusted skyline loomed in the distance.
BearSpray lobbed a grenade into a cluster of Dregs and roared.
"Let's GOOO!" He cired out, "Another bounty wrapped boys, I'm farming these easy!"
Undecided laughed, wiping out a nearby Shank. "Tough luck bozo, I already got max bounties ready to claim, just gotta let the faction update its quests."
IEatPaint, Waffles, TheOneWhoKnocks, and Gandalf were scattered across the field, mowing down Fallen squads and chasing bounties.
As always, It was just another patrol. Up until their HUDs pinged.
"Yo! We've got a public event?" Gandalf said, eyes narrowing at the top-left of his display.
"Wait, there's a faction event too." Waffles chimed in.
"Yup. Priority Target. Name's... Nulsis?" TheOneWhoKnocks nondded.
"Same thing here. Guess we get double the xp?" IEatPaint muttered.
"Told you it was worth joining Venom." Undecided chuckled.
TheOneWhoKnocks pulled up the mission tab. "Says the Fallen ship's touching down near the Devil's Lair ruins."
"That's nearby," BearSpray said, rubbing his chin.
The team shared a glance, gave a collective nod and instantly summoned their sparrows, zooming into the distance.
As they neared the site, more HUD pings popped up. Other players were arriving—two, then five, then a whole fireteam. Guardians gathered like moths to flame.
With another public event gracing the player base, there was absolutely no way any active player was missing out on it. Slowly, seconds turned to minutes, and more than a hundred guardians had gathered.
Above them, the horizon split open. Two Jumpships tore through the atmosphere, one in pursuit of the other as both shot towards the Cosmodrome.
Many would have thought of this as an odd sight. But to the players? This, was just a signal. A signal, that the event was about to begin.
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A/N: Hope you enjoyed chapter! Leave a review!
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