Reincarnated Into Destiny Universe - Volume 1 Chapter 22 Yeah Keep Talking
(Day 36)
Ferra woke up early the morning after their Mars mission and made her way to the command room. She needed a solo mission now that her teammates had theirs. She wasn’t certain if there would be any missions worthy of her time, considering how many missions her and her team had gone through yesterday.
At the moment she and Isaac were the only two on the team to not have a significant solo mission. Although, she suspected that Isaac’s sudden departure yesterday had something to do with a secret mission he wasn’t letting them in on. She had no intention of falling behind, so she decided that, even if she couldn’t get a mission from Ikora, she would find a Fallen Stronghold even larger than the last one they cleared and bring it down by herself.
“Good morning, Ikora! How are you?” Ferra greeted her.
“I’m well, Ferra. What brings you by today? Are you looking for a new mission already?”
“Yes. I need something on par with what my teammates did yesterday. Isaac and I are the only ones who had it easy yesterday, because he convinced me that letting our subordinates go first was a leader’s duty. But after our missions were completed he just up and vanished. I suspect that he went on some kind of secret mission but I don’t really know for sure.
“Anyways, if you have anything available, I’d like to take it. If not, then I have an idea or two about how to proceed.”
“Hmmm…you say Isaac vanished. Didn’t he say anything, before taking off?”
“He told us that we did a great job and that he couldn’t wait to go on other missions with us but, as soon as he said that, Polter transmated him to his ship and they took off.”
“Well, that is curious behavior but I’m not sure what it’s all about. Also, I should add that he’s right. A good leader always thinks of his or her subordinates first. That being said, I do have a suitable mission, if you’d like to take it? Do you recall the Dust Palace, the place where that Golden Age computer that Rasputin was controlling is?”
“Yes, I remember. Why? What about it?”
“Well, it must hold something very important, because the Cabal, after such heavy losses yesterday aren’t even bothering to send in more Commanders. They’ve put all their efforts into retaking the Dust Palace and getting their Psion Flayers inside to breach Rasputin’s security. You should head there, as soon as possible, and stop those Flayers from accessing any of the information there.”
“Right, I don’t know what a Psion Flayer is but I suppose I’ll find out when I get there. Thanks Ikora.” Ferra said as she turned around and rushed towards the hangar.
———-
(Day 37)
Isaac finally woke up, late in the afternoon and still went through his routine. He had every intention of taking it easy today and going to check on the Light Fortress. Having defeated the Black Heart yesterday, however, Isaac was aware that he would probably have to deal with some level of explanation, pomp, and ceremony.
He hadn’t even warned the Vanguard of his little soiree, before heading out. He did, however, have Polter send all the necessary information to update them just before he stepped through the gate leading to the Black Heart. Once he was inside the Darkness Zone, there wouldn’t have been anyway for them to contact him.
Isaac made his way into the command room and sought out a visibly disturbed Ikora. It was hard to tell if she was angry or happy just based off of her expression.
“Ahhh, Isaac, it seems you’re finally awake. Come in, we need to talk.”
“Ah, yeah, I thought we might. So what’s the situation?”
“The situation, Isaac, is that you were incredibly irresponsible in undertaking a deadly dangerous mission, without so much as a peep to inform us, until just before you knew we wouldn’t be able to contact you. You also, quite recklessly, did all of this by yourself despite knowing you could have had the support of at least five other Guardians. Also,…” Ikora paused. “you’ve accomplished a nearly miraculous task in defeating that godlike being that was single handedly preventing the Traveler from recovering. The City will forever remember your bravery. That being said, I’m not sure how we could ever appropriately compensate you for handing the Vanguard a win this big. Given everything else you’ve done so far, perhaps we should just let you know that whatever endeavour you undertake in the future you’ll have the full support of the Consensus, should you ask for it.” Ikora finished, after her expression had softened a bit.
“Well, I do apologize for the whole irresponsible and reckless bit but I’m quite pleased to hear that the entire Consensus is willing to support me. I don’t have anything in the works at the moment but I can definitely see that coming in handy in the future. Thanks Ikora.”
“Not a problem. I’m glad to hear that you’re satisfied with our method of compensation. Of course, for an accomplishment this big, currencies and gear go without saying but that would hardly be sufficient considering the very well being of the Traveler is what was at stake here. I’ve already worked out everything with Banshee and I sent Polter your Glimmer as soon as I saw you coming. If you want to know the details, you can speak with Banshee about it when you go. Oh and Isaac,” Ikora, who had turned to leave, stopped and looked back at Isaac. “Don’t go off on anymore secret renegade missions, alright. The last thing the Vanguard needs is to start losing our best Guardians to their own foolishness. Take care now.”
Ikora returned to her duties as the Warlock Representative and Isaac turned to see what this new gear deal was all about.
Arriving at Banshee’s workshop, Isaac waited his turn in line and then addressed Banshee once the others were done.
“How goes it, Banshee?”
“It goes well, Isaac. How’s that Custom Gear treating you?”
“Excellent! Everything’s working as intended. I’m really satisfied with my new loadout. Thanks for putting in so many hours to put it all together.”
“No problem. Now what did you need today? Are you here for that special order that Ikora told me about?”
“That I am. She said that you could give me the details. She didn’t mention anything specific, just told me to talk to you.”
“I see. Well, I have to say it’s a pretty impressive offer. By far the most generous one I’ve ever seen. Basically, you can pick any Exotic Weapon and Exotic Armor to receive completely free of charge. On top of that, any Exotic Gear purchases you make in future will only cost a quarter of their original price.”
“…Whole-Lee Shit! 75% off of all Exotic Gear! Two free Exotics up front! Now that’s what I’m talking about! Damn, I didn’t expect it to be this much but you won’t hear me complaining. I’m not going to cash in on those freebies just yet but I’ll definitely be back soon. I need some time to figure out exactly what I want. See ya later, Banshee.” Isaac said, as he rushed towards his room. He didn’t even make it to the Tower’s entrance, before he was intercepted.
———-
(Day 36)
Ferra received a notice from Ikora, during her flight to the Dust Palace, to update her on the details concerning the Psion Flayers.
Once she arrived, she rushed towards her destination and, of course, wiped the floor with those Flayers and their entourage. Between her Scatter Bomb, Koren’s EAT, Isaac’s LAMP, and Laurel’s Blink Domain they really never had a chance. Their fates were sealed the moment Ferra had accepted the mission.
After arriving back at the Tower, she returned to Ikora. “Hey, there, Ikora. Have you seen Isaac around anywhere?”
“Actually, not long before you got here, Polter sent me the details of a mission he was currently on and then went dark. Which basically means he’s inside of a Darkness Zone. The interference from a Darkness Zone is very distinctive. Mind you, he didn’t call or speak to me. He just sent the information over and then went dark. I’m not at all happy about this. What he’s doing is incredibly dangerous and irresponsible. However, there isn’t anything we can do about it right now. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
“Dammit! I knew he was up to something! What exactly is up to anyway? What’s so special about this secret mission that he can’t tell us?”
“As to why he didn’t tell you, I can’t say but he’s currently inside the Black Garden fighting against the Black Heart itself. If he actually pulls it off, it’ll be an enormous victory for the City. If I’m not wrong, it would allow the Traveler to begin healing and the significance of that one fact alone cannot be understated.”
“What the…the Black Heart? What is that? He told us about the Black Garden and that we needed to know more about it but he didn’t say anything about a Black Heart.”
“Well, I couldn’t describe it to you in detail but I can tell you that it is a manifestation of the Darkness. An entity that is every bit a part of the darkness as a broken piece of the Traveler would be a part of the Traveler. It’s incredibly powerful and we can only hope, for Isaac sake and the City’s, that it has some weakness or another that he can exploit.”
“That freaking nincompoop! What an idiot! Running off by himself like that into such a ridiculous mission. Dammit, Isaac, you had better not die!”
“Don’t worry yourself too much, Ferra. I’m certain Isaac wouldn’t have taken up this challenge, if he wasn’t certain he could handle it. That being said, since he seems to want to keep secrets, how about we keep a secret of our own. When he returns, not ‘if’ ‘when,’ I’ll let you know so you can approach him and ask him about all of this secret business. I want you to keep the line open, as you speak with him, so I can hear his response. He might not end up saying anything interesting but, if he does, I’d like to hear it. What do you think?”
“Right! That sounds like a good idea. I really don’t know what is going on with these secrets but I’ll try my best to squeeze it out of him.”
———-
(Day 37)
“Oh, hi Ferra! You seem kinda tense. What’s going on?”
“What’s going on, huh? You just up and leave with hardly a word directly after a mission and then go on some insane secret super mission all by yourself without even telling us not to mention the Vanguard. What do you mean, what’s going on? Why don’t you tell me about all these secrets you’ve been keeping from us?”
“Ummmm…well, if I’m being honest, I really didn’t think anyone would mind that much, in regards to me leaving the mission in a hurry. I figured it might seem kinda odd at the most. I certainly didn’t think it would upset anyone. As for the secret mission, well I kinda had to do that by myself for personal reasons and I didn’t want you guys trying to stop me. It’s hard to explain but it was really important to me that I be able to complete that mission by myself. It was a test of my abilities to prove myself to myself that I have what it takes even without relying on my team. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that I can rely on you guys but it’s really important for me to know, that if push comes to shove and everything goes to shit, that I can rely on my own strength to get me through.”
“Really, Isaac?! That doesn’t really sound like a reasonable excuse to take on such a dangerous mission all by yourself. Also, that doesn’t explain what all these secrets are about. You need to come clean, Isaac. What else are you hiding from us?”
“People having secrets is normal. Everyone needs a space that they can call their own, both physically and mentally. There’s nothing wrong with having secrets. If you or the others want to have secrets then that’s fine. As your teammate I trust you to tell me about anything important that could potentially harm me or someone else. If you need to tell some small lies in order to keep those secrets, that’s fine as long those lies can’t harm anyone.
“So you need to trust that I know what I’m doing and that whatever my secrets are they aren’t dangerous to you or anyone else. They could help me and others as well and many of them you’ll learn in time but for now my secrets are my own and I’m not saying anymore about them.”
‘…Did he just brazenly admit that he lied and has a bunch of secrets and even more brazenly said not to ask about, because he doesn’t mind us doing the same? What the shit is wrong with this guy?’ Ferra thought as her stare, which had become colder and colder the more Isaac spoke, bored into his soul.
‘Dammit! He’s not even responding to my Death Stare. Damn my beautiful robot eyes! I need to find some kind of Exo Death Stare Augment. He’s obviously not going to say anything else but I don’t want to let him off the hook. He even confirmed that he has lots of secrets. How can I just let him walk away? I need to know…but it seems to be hopeless at the moment. Maybe I can try a subtler approach some other time. Damn you, Isaac, you mysterious bastard you!’
“Fine, whatever, keep your dumb secrets if you want!” Ferra said as she stalked off towards the hangar.
“Wow! Well, that was certainly unexpected but I’m not gonna let it get me down. Even though this is my day off, I’ve still got a lot to do. Damn, getting yelled at and having to work on my day off, maybe I should take two days off…Nah, better not. No rest for the wicked means no rest for the virtuous.” Isaac consoled himself.
“And you think you’re virtuous, do you?” Polter asked.
“Mmm, maybe a little. I’m more virtuous than the Hive.”
“Oh, I see. More virtuous than the Hive. Well, if you’ve cleared that bar then I guess that’s all there is to it then. With a virtue like that, maybe you’ll be Saint-15 someday?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah get your laughs in now, Polter. When we get back to the Stadium, I’m gonna tell the Traveler you’re being mean to me.”
“Well, maybe you shouldn’t make it so easy? Anyway, I’m kind of excited to see the Light Fortress’ final form. Let’s go check it out.”
“Oh yeah, Light Fortress, here we come!”