Weep looked around, there were no sirens or warning lights to document the shit storm that was coming. She saw it in a haze of slow motions, heat rising up from the snow as two towers that she had previous assumed were ice fixtures lit up. Cyclops like eyes boring down on their position, exposed, like standing in front of a single mirror, naked, while someone behind the glass watched. She breathed in as two fusion lasers danced their way up the catwalk they were standing on with liner fusion like precision. The eyes were watching and there was nowhere to run. She dove past Justice, “MOVE!” was all she could shout as the cold turned to warm and soon to hot. The laser defence towers melted everything in a path that the eye carved. She didn’t even hesitate at the shaft entrance as she jumped down into the cold uninviting abyss and the blackness beyond. She didn’t see, she couldn’t see, the wreckage of one of the Wyvern legs protruding from the wall, talon like shrapnel from Justice’s handy work.

​

She hit it, through it and beyond as her blood, warm and wet spattered the now pitch black seemingly endless shaft. It was like being punched in the side by a freight train, the air left her body and her lungs seemed incapable of taking in another breath, her vision went hazy from the impact. She looked down but could see nothing, but she could feel the blood, coat her clothing and drip onto her dangling feet and boots and yet she continued to fall. Small thrusters ignited and slowed her descent and she glided rather than fell. She spiralled down and at last her lungs seemed to correct themselves and she drew in breath, icy cold, deep lung full of sweet air and her vision corrected from the haze. And the pain like an unpleasant reminder tugged at her attention, a niggle at first and then coming at her in waves. She pressed her hand against the open wound and at last spotted the bottom. She touched down lightly on a cavernous like room, that, was, no bigger than a medium sized apartment. She breathed out raspy and moved out of the drop zone to allow Justice and J into the same room. The fire from the wrecked Wyvern in the shaft had long been extinguished and the bodies of their fallen targets like most vex, cold, motionless. She looked back on them, “The dead tell no tales.” She said softly and again winced at turning and took another few steps. Arlo was out of her covered pocket, his child like voice full of concern and scorn, “What have you done this time?” He scanned her, “It’s a wonder you are still like this. You aren’t a train, slippy hands and goo won’t always work.” He swam round her, his small box like tendrils that followed him and formed part of his shell dragged behind him like a net in his wake. He stopped and his eye scrutinised her wound, blinking once, twice and Weep sighed as the damage done was repaired. She moved unlaboured and pain free. “Thank you.” She said to Arlo, and he beeped in response and returned into her pocket.

​

She turned back to the shaft as J dropped in almost effortlessly and nodded at her, his ghost Desmond floated round the room, offering him a voice that he didn’t have, “Well, well, look at this place.” He made a fake whistle noise and then looked back at the shaft. There was a loud crash as Justice slammed into the ground almost superhero style. “Have no fear. Justice is here.” He said with that obvious grin on his face. Weep rolled her eyes; she never quite knew to be impressed or disgusted with Justice. He was quintessentially a rubix cube of controversies. Kind in one hand selfish in the other, selfless in one breath while being self-serving with the words. He looked out for Weep but was always more interested in the payday than the team. Missions were important, but none more than the crew. Justice played the cards close to his chest and never more than a hand. If this were poker, she would have cashed in her chips already and bowed out. But in a crunch, perhaps there was something there. Or maybe it was her wishful thinking, she had yet to make up her mind about him.

​

The facility had emergency low lighting only, she raised a finger to her lips to symbol silence as they moved to the corners of the room and played for a tactical breach. She readied her scout rifle as J stood opposite her, pulse rifle in hand and Justice readied his Sunshot Hand Cannon. Weep gripped the handle and trigger, the leather in her gloves contracting and squeaking as she braced. J tapped the door controls and the large silver door hissed open, pulled by unseen, hidden, hydraulics embedded into the wall. Justice took point and marched into the room, a large, cavernous opening the size of a sports field filled with desks, lab and scientific, research, equipment. He covered off the angles of the room and Weep and J peeled in after him. The light was low but adequate much like the remainder of the area, beakers of lab equipment were strewn everywhere, the light crunch of glass underfoot at each of them stepped forward. Thankfully they all wore helmets, bodies of human and awoken lay everywhere. Some on them were slummed over their work and desks, others on the floor, riddled with holes. Clearly caught unaware and had been cut down where they stood. The bodies not exposed to the elements just lay there like puppets with the strings cut. Pale putrid white flesh sunken into the bones and lifeless eyes that stared into an unfathomable abyss.

​

“Holy shit.” Weep whispered to herself as she scanned the room. “Just another day at the office.” Justice commented, his voice still devoid of emotion other than the smile on his face. “Anything here working?” He asked as he looked at J who shrugged his shoulders aimlessly and walked forward, past the desks as he swept over the bodies. There was an audible click and each party member, froze in place. J turned in time to face forward as the panel he stepped on exploded. Weep and Justice were pushed back and into cover from the concussion wave as J’s body was hurled back across the room. Light a giant’s hand picking him up and tossing him lifeless across the room as god would to a rag doll. He slammed into the opposing wall with a splatter and a crunch and although the Exo’s didn’t have blood or bone it still sounded the same when they were hit. Metal compacted and splintered shards of chest piece littered his wake like confetti. J lifted a hand as if to reach for something and juddered as the last spark of him went out, the lights in his eyes flickering orange and then dying cold and as lifeless at the multitude of corpses around him.

Weep stood up, shuddered and shaky from what she had witnessed as Desmond floated out from under J’s cloak. His neutral male voice dripped with sarcasm. “Bomb explosions… the only way to fly. Or so it seems. Why do I always have to patch up this dingle dork. I swear to god, this cheese ball is lucky I am around.” The ghost scanned J’s body as if taking a picture of how he looked in that moment. The body disintegrated, and the tendrils of the Ghost extended exposing the core. There was a flash of light and slipping into the room like a new born from the birth canal, J landed with a soft thud. His orange eyes blinking and giving Weep a thumbs up.

​

“Stop trying to run ahead, you arsehole.” J’s shoulders vibrated in almost a silent chuckle as Desmond completed the revival, “Now if you don’t mind, I’ll go back to my day job. Oh, hold on, reviving your sorry buttocks, is my day job.” He rolled his single scanner like eye in obvious frustration and zipped back under J’s cloak and out of sight. Justice looked up and turned to J and Weep, “Well if we are quite done – “. He was cut off as the next silver door in the chain blew inwards as a metal arm and torso reached in through the door and stared firing indiscriminately. Red hot blasts of laser fire ripped into the desks and lifeless corpses of those around them as Justice, J and Weep dove back into cover. Weep Flipped a table over as she huddled underneath it. Justice popped up and the sound of his Sunshot vibrated over the room, he loosed off three shots before he had to duck back under. Weep popped her head up and scanned the doorway, all she could see was Vex Goblins shamble towards the door as a Vex Minotaur spat laser fire at them. She edged to the side of her cover area and readied her scout rifle.

Bringing the barrel to bear on the Minotaur she fired. Round after round into his shoulders causing it to recoil back through the doorway. Standing up she swept the area and scoped her target. It had steadied itself and was again marching an advance is its central red ocular input device exploded in a shower of sparks. It fell backwards as Weep kept firing round after round chambering and finger rapidly pressing the trigger. The minotaur flailed about as it sparked and exploded sending the Goblins in its wake to the floor. Weep smiled and kept firing at the disorientated goblins, two shots each turned them into scrap as she aimed down sights blasting any Vex movement. She ducked back into cover to reload as Justice and J replaced her weapon fire with their own to keep up the assault. Justice’s Sunshot pounding out rounds, required frequent reloads but he took two steps and slammed his shoulder forward creating a mini kinetic barrier that he crouched behind.

​

Weep was back up, blasting rounds she spun out of cover, punching her right fist forward her void kinetic projectile loosened on her enemies. It struck another Minotaur that had stepped up to take the place of its predecessor; only for it to take the full brunt of the void charge in the chest. It vibrated like an arc charge as its circuits shattered arms outstretched as it slumped forward and then erupted into fireball of flames as Weep ducked back into cover to avoid the flames. Justice had switched to an auto rifle and was pouring lead through the doorway and then stopped, “COVER!” he bellowed as two massive arc blasts ripped into his barricade, shattering it and blowing him backwards, sprawling across the deck. J hid behind the wall and raised his arms wide, simulating big. “Fuck.” Weep muttered and she heard it, the Vex speech of code, it was a Proxy.

Proxies were huge mobile Vex minds that issued out orders to the lesser Vex, they had a revolving personal shield that they angled to cover their eye and sensors while able to fire through their barrier and decimate any opposition. She peaked out as the Vex looked at her although it was devoid of any facial features her gut said that it was laughing at her, clicking and whirling gears as it rained down white hot plasma bolts at her position. There was a loud flash as her covering table was disintegrated and Weep was gone. Her scout rifle broken and sparking on the tiled surface where she had once been.

​

J paused for a moment, incapable of speech but wanting to scream in disbelief, in moot silence he scrambled out of cover as the Proxy reached the door unable to fit through it backed up slightly and then with a crunch and crash that would make everyone’s bones jar it smashed through the door surrounds. Still clicking and beeping as it fired on J who had no choice but to duck out of cover. He slightly stepped, a small leap forward and he was gone. His personal cloak activating. The proxy swept the room and confirmed its target was gone, Weeps broken weapon was all that remained of her as it crept slowly into the room, slow but assured victory in his approach. Its metal consciousness could not be reasoned with or dominated. J moved to Justice, dragging his unconscious body out through the door revealed his position as the cloak shut down and the Proxy homed in on him, in an instant.

More white-hot plasma erupted from its weapon placements causing the room to shake, fixated on its target as he disappeared into the darkness of their first room. Discarding Justice J zipped to the middle of the room, no choice but a final stand. He fired burst after burst of his pulse rifle. The bullets sprayed the doorway and slammed into the Proxy shield. No damage. He continued firing throwing a pulse grenade, landing but just centimetres away and detonating. Void energy rippling up and slamming against the Proxy shield overlapping fields of fire as J continued to press on the trigger till the magazine was spent. Smoke plumed over the Proxy who had reached the doorway and again battered its way through. The goblins in the wake of the Proxy didn’t need to fire. They marched in the comfort and safety of its shield always angled ahead.

​

The smoke died down and the white barrier remained, and the Proxy marched on. J ejected the magazine and loaded in another, but it might as well just be spitting at it, nothing was getting through. He slowed his breathing his orange eyes blinking and focussing on the Proxy. He drew the energy of the room into himself and leapt into the air. Void quiver sparkled on his back as he crouched into a crane position. Void purple arrows rained from J. Bow hummed like a deep resonance of a bass guitar from the strike, as he spun in the air and another volley leashed tethering many of the lesser Vex goblins. It slowed them but did nothing otherwise. He spun in the air closing his eyes the room itself seemed to slow as a third volley more potent than the other two ignited the tethers in void fire. The room was bathed in purple fire and smoke as the Proxy shook and shuddered and seemed to be engulfed in purple noise. J hit the ground with grace in a crouched position bringing his pulse rifle to bear and he smiled. Breathing heavily, he rose and stopped dead his aim dropping. The white shield remained; the Proxy expressionless hung there like a floating spectre. J had nothing left and Justice was still unconscious, he shrugged his shoulders and accepted what he felt like was the inevitable.

​

Back in the previous room one of the scientists sat up, like a zombie spectre it lurched and waved and then flung itself at the nearest Vex Goblin. Weep dashed forward pulling the glaive from her back. The Goblins turned and stopped as they met her onslaught, she spun with a fury and a vengeance of a banshee. She sliced the first Goblin in two, using its corpse to swing past and carry her momentum onto the next. She swung the glaive with master precision, under the laser barrel of one enemy slicing and arm off, smashing the other with the staff and bringing the sword to bear. Twisting her body as the spun the blade round her the Vex fired at where she was, not where she was travelling. She moved like water carving the Vex like a Sunday Roast. Metal arms and torso’s rained and littered the floor as she moved and surged forward with the force of a tidal wave. Seeing the Proxy ahead of her and J’s resignation she screamed of primal fury and leapt void enhanced into the air. Pulling all her energy into one single focus time stood still as her Nova Bomb arced, formed and was thrown at the Proxy. The slow-moving orb of death flew over the heads of the goblins and absorbed their incoming fire, growing, swelling and powering on. Nothing could stop this.

​

J stood there shrugged his shoulders there was nothing he could do, he and his ghost would be vapourised and then it would be up to Justice to pick up. The Proxy bore down on him like Goliath towering over David. The hum and Vex code deafening his sound processors he looked up and looked the Proxy dead in the eye with a resolute, ‘I am not moving’ stance. HE didn’t see the Nova Bomb soar like an atom bomb into its unshielded, undefended rear half.

The blast hit and the Proxy split in two its lower half spilling onto the floor like a disembowelled corpse. It turned and it screamed a high pitch whine as the other Vex were disorientated looking at one another sweeping for a target. The Proxy on the other hand erupted from its left as it could no longer maintain its form and swung away from J crashing onto the floor, its shield gone and its one red eye flickering, spluttering its final life but remaining constant. Weep had landed and was running through the other vex, she looked like a ballet dancer with a blade, twirling and pirouetting as she lashed out at her targets cutting them to ribbons and moving on. J stood motionless while his brain kicked in.

Weep’s Alive. He raised his weapon and started blasting the Vex who were wielding about aimless unsure what to do. Their hive brain shattered now that the Proxy was all but offline. Weep made her way to him slicing a path of death, machine parts and Vex milk trailing, sparking and dying units as more of their kind were released into the aether. They met just at the entrance, “You, okay?” she asked breathing heavily but exhilarated. Desmond floated out of this pocket, “Oh yeah, sure sure, he’s fine, I didn’t have to patch him up this time so he’s good. Still glad you’re on our side with that” He gestured towards the glaive, “Thing.”

​

Weep smiled behind the helmet as Justice stirred, “Huh? What I miss?” he asked while picking himself up. “Everything Justice, like always. Never around when you are truly needed.” She said sarcastically, “Yeah, but I am here when I am wanted Sweet Cheeks.” His voice back to that sardonic grinning tone. “Good job with the Proxy.” He said his tone not dropping. Weep looked at the mass of circuits that started with red unblinking hatred back towards her. It couldn’t speak, it couldn’t communicate but she knew it felt rage. She crouched at the eye. “All is fair in War. You brought this on yourself.” The light flickered but remained and Weep raised the glaive and plunged it into the ocular socket of the Proxy and twisted the blade. Its whole electronic being shuddered and sparked for a few seconds and then went deathly silent, no spark, no sound, nothing. It was completely dead. All three of them moved back to the previous room retracing their previous movements knowing them to at least be safe. 
 

No more booby-trapped tiles this time halting their advance. Justice swept over the consoles in the lab. But everything was smashed and completely inoperable. Weep went to her scout rifle and tapped the side, it was completely smashed, several pieces of shrapnel sticking from the magazine and the barrel. “Well, I am no expert, but I think its fucked.” She commented to herself more than anyone else and discarded the broken weapon. She glanced round the room to one of the corpses and spotted a laser pulse rifle that one of the deceased Vex must have used. Aiming at the wall it charged and let off a three-round burst in quick succession. “It will have to do.” She muttered and placed the glaive into its holster on her back.

​

They came to the door where the Vex had come from “Well,” she said. “Let’s go forward, cautiously, one at a time, eyes open and ears open.” Justice chuckled, “Why can’t it be eyes open and legs open?” Weep turned and jammed the muzzle of her new weapon under Justice jaw. “Now I don’t know how effective these things are at range, but I bet even at this distance they will melt that shit eating grin and whatever brains you have left out of your skull. Keep pushing asshole and the Vex will be the least of your problems.” She shoved him backwards. “Get to work.” Justice dipped his head “Aye, aye princess.” Still the same sardonic tone and obvious grin. J just shook his head. Weep muttered to him, “Why can’t it have been him who lost his fucking voice, no, the mute is the reasonable one leaving me with more piss stains than a barrel of flaps.” She shakes her head.

​

The walked slowly and light footedly through the next portion of the facility. There was another elevator at the end of the corridor, but this was a conventional style, like a box on a pulley system press the button and you choose the floor as the approached it J pointed at the control panel and Desmond floated out towards it. Justice stayed silent as the rear guard. J pointed at Desmond for the motion to go down as Desmond turned around. “Well, I kinda feel like bad news tends to follow us around. But hey look, the Vex aren’t here by choice.” J shrugged, “Yeah they are after the weapon same as us, right?” Weep asked. “No, I mean they were fabricated here. Like another defence mechanism.

They were in the lab on level seven and then sent here to level two.” Weep stopped cold and looked at Desmond. “What do you mean. Sent?” The small ghost spun on the spot, “Yep, exactly what it says. Sent. They were directed here. So my guess is that, those corpses are not from the Vex and that means someone else is here.” Desmond twirled and the door beeped as the elevator arrived. Suddenly the box didn’t look so calm and inviting. Weep looked at the other two. “Okay Gents, the Vex are just the welcoming party, someone else is here, and they are trying to stop us.