+1 Legend

[legendary_titan]

[[ooc: Saint's Navigation post is here! If there is any Russian speakers playing here, I'm using google translate, so I apologize if anything he says is incorrect! I won't mind at all if anyone corrects me! I love languages and learning about them. As an added note, I'll add what he said in English at the bottom of the post.]]



With a rustle of plate armor, Saint-14 sat up and looked around. He was currently sitting in a snowbank in what appeared to be a wooded area. Bewildered, his helmeted head looked this way and that as he tried to figure out where he was. It definitely wasn't where he was before. Wherever this was, it was heading into evening, and it was cold and snowing. Looking up instantly told him that he wasn't in the Last City, for there was no sign of the looming shape of the Traveler up above him.

Instantly wary, the Titan levered to his feet, straightening to his formidable height. Last he recalled, he had been in the Tower Hanger...how did he get here? He tried opening communications but received no signal. His Ghost apparently was as flummoxed as he was. The most important thing was that there weren't any nearby threats.

Not bothering to unsling the large shotgun on his back, Saint strode off through the snow. There appeared to be some sort of path, so perhaps he was near a settlement.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Saint stood on the edge of the plaza, staring at the large assortment of partially snow covered couches, benches and tables. Large vidscreens were playing videos and playing announcements by the looks of it. There were people walking about of various shapes and sizes...and species that he didn’t recognize.

”Bozhe moi…” He muttered. “Gde ya, chert voz'mi?” It was only the fact that no one was trying to kill him or each other, that he didn’t pull his weapon. In fact, people were just going about their business as if nothing was amiss.

Once again, the Titan found himself far from home. After being in the Infinite Forest for so long, it was nice to find himself in a place that wasn’t a constant fight for survival. Next step would obviously be, ask around and find out where he was and find a place to warm up and regroup. Not paying any mind to the snow covering parts of his armor, Saint strode off through the plaza to do just that.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Later, Saint-14 found himself in a nearby Cafe; sitting at a table in a corner (and almost looking comically too big for it) and looking through multiple pamphlets. After talking to various locals, he had been directed to where he could warm up and find the information he would need. Some info was very interesting - and some shocking. Especially when finding out that this was a different dimension. However the fact he could freely travel between here and his own world via what was called a PINpoint, put him more at ease.

When he came across the info about the Fallen living in the wilds, the Titan surged to his feet, nearly upending the table. He gingerly sat back down after a few moments (and noting the stares) - reading through the pamphlet again while quietly containing his knee jerk fury. Those bastards. After reading about some sort of truce, he crumpled up the paper in his fist before dumping it onto the table in furious disgust.

It took several minutes for him to calm himself, looking down at the other pamphlets on the table. He might as well follow the advice that he had read in one of them. He uttered a deep sigh, speaking up to the groups of people moving through the cafe at large.

“How far are you willing to go, to fight for the places and people that you love?” He spoke up, feeling kind of strange for just randomly speaking up to no one in particular. Despite his intimidating appearance, the deep voice coming out of the crested helmet was warm and kind; very heavily laced with a Russian accent. “Are you willing to stand up and defend your home and protect it?”


[[ooc: Russian translation: "Oh my god. Where the hell am I?"]]

Comments

[legendary_titan]

Saint looks up at the new voice, spotting the saluting human. "This is true." He nodded, glancing back at the pamphlets on the table at the mention of House Winter. "Well, I appreciate any information. I intend on reaching out to the other Guardians here to get further details." He uttered, looking up at the offered hand and reaching out to shake it in a firm grip.

"Saint-14." He introduced himself to Palmer. The name caught him by surprise. "Ah, you know her? She is a Warlock that has been assisting me back at the Tower. There has been a lot to acclimate to since I've been away."

[readvondaniken]

"Katiri? Yeah, she's one of my housemates." Palmer smiles. "She and her Ghost."

Then he sobers again.

"Here's the gist of it. Last winter, things got weird here. Portals on the fritz, anti-violence field down. There was the worst winter storm I'd ever seen outside of Antarctica. Then strange, nasty creatures started showing up, and we found bodies in the snow with their heads cut off. We fought them a few times - intelligent, but vicious and not very chatty. We were hungry and weakened by cold, while they weren't bothered at all, so we were at a disadvantage. Blaze-37, our resident Guardian, later identified our attackers as Fallen raiders from House Winter. It all came to a head when the Fallen took food that had been left out for us. It was obviously a trap, but folks were starving, so we decided to take the chance. We won and brought the food home, but they made us fight for every inch of it. We lost a few people on the way - Josh, Blaze - but they lost more of theirs.

I thought they were just a bunch of assholes, keeping food from hungry people that it turns out they didn't need. But after the battle one of us, Loki, brought a message from the Fallen leader, Baroness Pelsor - and Blaze-37's head. When Blaze was taken down in the fight, Pelsor's crew scavenged her remains and took her Ghost prisoner. She offered us a deal through Loki: marked territory in the Wilds for her House in return for a ceasefire and Blaze and Ghost's lives. That land would be barred from non-Fallen on pain of death. If we said no, well, she didn't say what would happen, but we assumed she'd kill her hostages and order her forces to overrun the Nexus. So we took the deal. Pelsor gave us Ghost and Blaze back. That territory's marked off. No one goes there now. We haven't seen them since, but they can turn invisible, so..."

Palmer knows Katiri said Guardians have ways to detect Fallen, but they can't be everywhere at once. The fact he hasn't seen one doesn't mean they aren't out there, or that they haven't been watching from a safe distance.

"We weren't able to identify everyone who was killed, since the Fallen took the heads back home for trophies and we ain't getting them back. Katiri thinks they're using us Nexus folks as insurance to make sure you Guardians go along with their truce. There's enough of you to wipe her crew out, if you chose to. But if you attack them, they burn everything down." Palmer draws a finger across his throat. "I dunno much about Pelsor personally, but she's smart and dangerous. She was one step ahead of us all winter. I wouldn't be surprised if she's keeping tabs on us somehow. You Guardians especially. For what it's worth, I have the impression the Baroness thinks she won, or at least got what she wanted."

There are other people in the Nexus who would probably be as much or more of a potential threat to the Eliksni in terms of raw power, but the Guardians are their oldest enemies, so it makes sense that more of Pelsor's attention would be on them.

"The last thing is we don't really know how they got here. Blaze thinks they followed her in somehow. Katiri figures Pelsor might've had help from somebody in the Nexus. I thought they could've had spies already placed here in secret, who called in the main force during the storm. It wasn't a bunch of stragglers who stumbled in by accident - Pelsor brought a small army with gear, weapons, and ships, and didn't waste a second. I don't think it was a coincidence they showed up when we were already having a rough time, either. This stunt was planned."

[legendary_titan]

"Oh? She lives with you?" Well, this was interesting. He didn't realize Katiri had a place to reside here in the Nexus too. He would have to meet up with her later to ask some questions then. "Hah. Luce is quite the character." He uttered, amused. "He's the chattiest Ghost I have ever met."

When Palmer settled to brief him on what he knew, Saint leaned back in his seat, folding his arms across his chest while poising one hand beneath his chin. He rubbed a finger absently on the bottom edge of his helmet while absorbing what was said. Are you getting this? He asked on his internal comm system. Of course, his Ghost Geppetto was listening. Every word. His Ghost confirmed. Saint nodded slightly with a soft 'hmm'.

Nothing that Palmer said, gave him any surprises. The Fallen were monsters plain and simple. The fact that they actually took a Ghost as a hostage to start the process for this blasted truce to hold the Nexus under their collective thumb made him bristle silently though. "Eti ublyudki! Otvratitel'nyye zhivotnyye. Kazhdyy iz nikh..." The Titan hissed under his breath, shaking his head in disgust.

"Oh, it was planned..." He wagged a finger. "I guarantee it. Just as much as I guarantee this will not end without a fight whether they start it or we do. You can be assured however that there is enough of us - even non-guardian combatants - to wipe them all out. Plus we will work to discover how they got here." He slapped a hand on the table, careful not to do it too hard.

"As for the civilians here, they will have to get through me first." There was no if's, ands or buts about it.


[[ooc: Rough Translation from Russian: Those bastards! Disgusting animals. Every one of them.]]

[readvondaniken]

"I'm not sure what she wants with the Nexus, but yeah, given their track record I'm not sure it's a good thing. I'd usually be happy to let people live here in peace, and there's plenty of folks here with shady pasts. But I think at least some of us would sleep easier if we knew what they were planning. But I reckon they've got ways to catch spies, especially after Loki got in."

For his part, Palmer's deeply suspicious of Pelsor's deal. He believes Loki was sincere in wanting peace - he wanted the fighting to end and for the children especially to be safe, which is very fair - but it also means the peace process was rushed and incomplete. They haven't heard from the Fallen since. That's a good thing, as far as he's concerned, but there are a lot of open questions - what the Fallen were after, how they found the Nexus, and if they had help. What they want now.

"They mostly took computer materials and spaceship parts. Blankets, too, and reference manuals from the Grand Library. The House of Winter and a salvage team I was on were both investigating a downed ship and they weren't interested in sharing. They chased us off, but we rescued a droid from them. My guess is they used the stuff they stole to help them build their base. Katiri said they mostly target things they have a practical use for, so no money or valuables were taken."

Palmer's pretty sure that poor droid would've been taken apart for scrap by the Fallen if they got their claws on him, so he's glad they saved him.

"I know a bit about Winter - that they're one of the more beaten-up Houses, and Pelsor's probably one of their last Baronesses. She must've been a pretty tough customer to last this long. I thought it was weird that she sent Loki to talk to us, rather than one of her own people, 'specially since they apparently talk a big game about bravery."

[legendary_titan]

"Hm...please sit, my friend." Saint said after a moment, gesturing at a chair across from him. He continued to mull over all the information, his pensive expression hidden by his visor. This was quite the situation indeed.

"They are xenophobic pirates and scavengers so their behavior and what they took makes sense." He said finally. "Not only to build a stronghold, but to also use to convert to the Ether they need for sustenance." He inclined his head. "I do thank you for the information. I am afraid there is nothing much we can do. At least not yet. I intend on meeting with the other Guardians to sort this out." They also needed to find out how Winter got into the Nexus in the first place - and shut that down.

"Ah forgive me. Would you like something to eat or drink? It's the least I can do for your helpful information."

[readvondaniken]

"Ghost was the only person taken alive, far as I know. Both Blaze and Katiri told me Fallen don't take prisoners. I had no idea why she returned Blaze to us rather than kill her for real. She didn't show that mercy to anyone else, including people less dangerous to her than Blaze. But I figure it wasn't 'cause her heart grew three sizes that day."

Palmer takes a seat, listening to Saint's explanation. He's unusually thoughtful, his usual slacker mannerisms disappearing.

"I'll say this, you gotta handle this with care. Pelsor's not causing trouble for anyone at the moment, her people are keeping to themselves, so some folks might think it's better to let sleeping dogs lie."

He nods in response to the question, smiling. He likes this Exo. "Don't mind if I take you up on that offer. Got a place in mind? There's a few good places to eat here. Katiri told me a bit about your world when I came to visit."

[legendary_titan]

Saint quietly bristled at the thought that the Fallen took a Ghost hostage to start this farce of a ceasefire. "No they don't." He said flatly at that statement. They never took prisoners. "They have another plan in mind. I aim to find out." He was also wondering how the Fallen came to this world in the first place. Was it intentional or was it accidental like his own arrival? Considering this Pelsor came with a seeming army, made the latter not likely. Disturbing.

The Titan's thoughts were disrupted at Palmer's question. "Ah..this cafe serves food, yes? I figured that I could get you something while we chat." He personally didn't feel like eating at the moment. "Wait...you visited my world?"

[readvondaniken]

"I wish you Guardians luck in getting to the bottom of this. Blaze and her team will know more than me, seeing as Pelsor and her gang came from her universe. But I'll bet she had help getting here. Her luck was too good. Something doesn't feel right, and their showin' up was no accident. 'Course, I'm hardly a neutral party, seein' as I was in the thick of it."

Food's a more pleasant thing to talk about, and food gets Palmer's mind off the topic. "Yes - Katiri took me there briefly for a quick sightseeing trip. I stayed out of trouble, don't worry about that. How 'bout a couple muffins and some milk? That'd be nice."