Board Thread:Fun and Games Forum/@comment-25728469-20150523185110/@comment-25728469-20150809063020

Besis limped from the wreckage of his Skiff, clutching the gash in his side where one of his four arms used to be. He looked up to see the four Guardians readying their weapons. "They want to make short work of me... well, let them try..." Besis reached behind him and brought out his customized weapon: a Scorch Cannon, with a three-pronged energy dagger mounted to the front. He growled at the Guardians, daring them to come closer.

Curran watched the alien taunt them. "He's wounded. This shouldn't be too hard. Terra, Cev, go for the wound on him. Osagia and I will keep that cannon out of the way."

"Right." Terra said, leading Cev to the right. Curran and Osagia ran left. Besis growled at this unpredictable, yet pitiful tactic. Inferior beings made for inferior imaginations, he thought. He fired the Scorch cannon to his left first and knocked the Awoken and Exo off their feet. The Human and other Exo charged in, but were subesequently batted aside by Besis' powerful swing.

"Damn!" Curran muttered as he pushed himself up. He tried to grab his Red Death, but noticed it was in the mud on the other side of Besis. "Osagia! Get up!" The Exo groaned and tried to stand. Curran noticed hydraulic fluid was leaking from her left arm. "You'll be fine." He said, grabbing her shoulder to help her up. "But I'm gonna give you a boost. I need you to get that weapon and fire on my signal."

"Okay..." She managed. Besis watched, waiing for the next move. Terra and Cev were still struggling in the mud.

"Ready... now!" Curran barked. He placed his hand out and Osagia stepped onto it. He then used his Titan strength to throw her high over Besis' head. He tried to track her and fire, but Curran leapt in close, grabbing the Scorch Cannon. Besis yelped in surprise, but began toying with the human. He managed to form a few of their words: "You... fight... like younglings...predictable!" This only seemed to give the human strength. Besis, for the first time in a long time, was impressed. This impressment, however, turned to shock as the human ripped the Scorch Cannon from the Fallen's grasp and crushed it in one hand. He then proceeded to whack Besis over the head with it. "Osagia!" He called. "Now!"

Besis growled in surprise and noticed the side of his helmet had chipped off. And the Exo was aiming a human weapon directly at his exposed face. He roared in horror and tried to stand, but sixteen high-velocity rounds shredded the left side of his face, fractured his skull, and turned his brain to mush in seconds.

Besis fell silent, dead, blood oozing from his shredded face. Osagia caught her breath and limped back to Curran. She handed him his rifle and he slung it on his back.

Terra and Cev finally managed to stand. Mud plastered their armor, smeared from rolling around in it. "Sorry." Cev said. Curran huffed, then reached back and removed his helmet. "No problem. We won, right?" Osagia looked over his face: the young man had blonde hair, ruffled in the latest skirmish, some kind of warrior tatoo over his right eye, and several scars on his face. He had clearly seen a lot of action. She then watched as Terra and Cev removed their headgear. Terra had similar scarring and tatoos, but maintained her sense of Awoken beauty. Cev was pure mechanics, but his firm jaw, dented plating, and red eyes spoke volumes about his service.

Osagia finally removed her headgear. Cev glanced at her, then nodded.

Then, they noticed something. It was dead silent. "Ghost?" Curran asked. Dawn appeared next to Osagia, answering before any of the other devices. "They're gone. The Fallen and Cabal have retreated. We've won!" Every one of them let out a roar of victory. Terra and Curran hugged. Cev placed his hand on Osagia's shoulder. "We finally did it!" Terra said.

"Um... not quite." Cev's Ghost said. "We still have yet to find out about the Vex relics, or what the Cabal have done with them."

"Then I think it's time we called in the Vanguard."

"I... might have a suggestion." Osagia said. "I met him a long time ago, on Mercury. His name was Ceruliam. Not a conventional Vanguard Elite, but he's more than capable of assisting us."

"I see no problem with that." Terra said. "Let's head back to our ships and call in." No one could agree more.

Tortheon wandered the halls of the Vault of Glass, his extra eye taking in what his standard ones couldn't. "Atheon..." He muttered. "How might I unlock the secrets of our ancestors? How might I use them to bring about glory?"

"You do not unlock them." A voice said from the darkness. "They must choose to awaken."

"When will they choose?" Tortheon asked, a bit disappointed that Atheon's essence had chosen to answer. Atheon's silhouette appeared over a wall. "When they know they are needed. As we speak, great darkness looms over this solar system. And I feel its hunger... for power... for vengeance... if the Vex are to survive, you must persuade the last Precursor to awaken. Go back to the moon of the ringed planet, descend deeper into its core. There, you will learn what the Precursors have for you. Only then will they awaken."

"What kind of an answer is that? Fool!" Tortheon slammed his massive, metal fist into the wall, but Atheon's essence had gone. He grumbled mechanically. "Well, then. Back to the mud pits."

(And this would be the end of the first Arrakis Vaults RP! The next one should be coming up soon, and Death's Acolyte8, Release TheKraken, and Inquisitor01, you are all welcome to join! Thank you for sticking with this so far. Farewell for now, fellow RP Guardians!)