Destinytober

“Then I guess you better get going. Unless you want to get smoked by some Taken.”

“Rather be fighting those Dark-infested creeps than run on this wild Sparrow chase,” he muttered.

“What was that~” her singsong voice was irritatingly cute.

“I said coming,” he sighed, slowly opening the throttle on the engine and driving away, through the canyon. As he flew past natural caves carved into the rock, he could see the formation of the Vex machinery, taking note of their progress on the technoformation of the planetoid. A Harpy here and there would appear from inside one of the gaping maws and fire a laser rifle beam at him, which he maneuvered around as best he could.

The great expanse of the moon was filled with gorgeous greenery, intermixed with pale, rough sand and dust that kicked up as he passed by. The few small organisms he saw crawling around would scurry at the sound of his engine. And still, he had no idea where he was going. He would periodically stop to check the nav coordinates against his current location, occasionally needing to turn around and backtrack, or make a sharp turn and slip between various rock formations. Finally, he realized, he was getting close.

The Warlock weaved his vehicle through some natural stone arches, into a wide field of broken landscape and white flowers peeking between the dry cracks in the ground. It was around here somewhere. A patrol beacon flashed away nearby, and he briefly wondered if that was the reason he was out here in the first place. Nova hadn't exactly been forthcoming with the purpose of his trip. He dismounted his Sparrow and his boots made a soft crunching sound in the dirt, his feet sinking slightly as he walked, looking around for any sign of why he might have been sent out here.

He thought he might have found his answer when a chirping grunt echoed to his left, and the sudden appearance of a Minotaur caught him unaware. The Vex rotated its arms into position, temporarily shifting itself from left, to almost directly in front of him, the loud whine of its servos and body sounding almost intimidating. It raised its arm and swung downwards, but he jumped back before it could make contact with his helmet. Drawing his Fusion rifle, he charged up a burst and fired; the bolts made contact with the large machine's shield, and it detonated, staggering the Minotaur momentarily. He readied another volley, but his action was cut short by a loud crack that echoed across the canyon. The Minotaur suddenly lurched forward and then fell on its face, Radiolaria dripping from a massive hole in its back.

“You're very welcome,” Nova's voice chimed on his comm.

“It was one Vex, you think I couldn't handle one Vex?” he stepped over the Minotaur's dead shell and traced the direction of the shot. Atop a wide, flat, natural pillar of stone, Nova leaned on her sniper rifle and gave a brief wave. Tobi-17 sighed and jogged over to where she was perched.

“What are we doing out here?” he asked, craning his neck up to look at her.

“Why don't you come on up here with me,” came the very unhelpful reply. Still, shaking his head, he let his Light carry him up and onto the flat pillar above. A wide blanket had been carefully laid out, though it didn't look particularly soft. A small crate lay next to it, open, with a few bags scattered around. Nova had sat down on the blanket, and was gesturing for him to come over near her. Reluctantly, he approached, stepping on the edge of the blanket, and dropping, with his knees crossed.

“Care to explain?” he cocked his head at her impatiently. But the blonde Warlock just giggled and gestured out in front of them. He turned to see what she might be indicating, when it all sank in.

The massive valley ahead of them was glowing white and blue. The mixture of the Light, leftover from when the Traveler first touched down on the surface, to the Radiolaria that now ran through the satellite's crust, cast a bright glow over the hazy yellow-green surface of the planetoid. Small birds chased each other in whirling patterns over the vast expanse, weaving in between the natural rock formations and diving into the glowing ground, only to launch themselves at full speed up and into the sky.

Tobi-17 reached up, undoing the seals on his helmet and taking it off for the first time in hours. The cool breeze immediately touched on his face, and the alloys that constructed his body felt chilled.

“It's beautiful,” he said, not entirely certain of how to react. “So the past few hours, it's all been-?”

“I wanted to have a picnic, you ass.” Nova's smile caused his fans to hitch briefly. “I found this area while I was exploring the caves a few weeks ago, and thought it was lovely. Placed the beacon so I could find it later. I've been coming here just to unwind, but I wanted to share it with you.” Not for the first time, Tobi-17 was glad to not have skin, because he was sure it would be bright red at the admission.

“Well, I'm glad you did,” he responded, not making eye contact and fidgeting. “You don't get too much enemy activity?” his attempt to change the subject was both his way of finding a little bit of mental peace, but he genuinely was curious.

“Not much more than the occasional Vex patrol. Seen a few squads of Taken twitch through here, but not much else.”

She reached into the crate and dug out some sweets, offering him a wrapped cake.

“You know it's not super important for me to have this, right?” he asked, quite stupidly, even for himself. Nova laughed.

“Yes, you fart, but I want you to have it. It's important to me, now eat.”