F I R E B O R N

“Git offa me!” Patrick’s voice was low, annoyed and descending into panic as he kicked at the jaw of the bloated, grotesquely mutated gator that had clamped its jaws around his leg. He wasn’t injured and the creature wasn’t pulling him into the putrid river, but his rifle wouldn’t penetrate and his shotgun was out of reach.

“I said git, you overgrown gecko!” @ofpraxicfire

Noise carries a lot in the evening, so it was no surprise that Mara heard the telltale sounds of a struggle. Angry shouts, and low hisses are what she heard, and it wasn’t something she was frankly used to hearing when it came to trouble. There was usually a lot more shouting, and a lot more gunfire.

 Still, she went to look... and found the scene before her almost comical. A low chuckle rumbled in her chest, though she still found herself a decent sized stone, and lobbed it at the alligator causing the trouble. 

The sound of a scream causes Angela to jump a little. Although it’s the sight that follows when she rushes outside to help that causes just the slightest squeak of alarm upon seeing the completely unfamiliar.

She can see why a child would be frightened when this stranger had startled her. It’s not just the strange helmet that stands out, it’s the whole outfit: robes which Angela had never seen before, a shining yet unfamiliar emblem wrapped around the stranger’s upper arm, and the unknown language which they spoke. Angela doesn’t understand it and clearly neither does the child who immediately runs into her arms upon seeing a familiar, welcoming face appear. Angela lets the child cling to her but her focus is entirely upon this newcomer.

Her first thought goes to Talon. Like Overwatch, they recruited… interesting people. People like Reaper, with a similarly macabre mask, or Widowmaker with her eerie and unnaturally-coloured complexion. The way this stranger is adorned, Angela would not have been surprised if Talon had unearthed them from some hidden cult. 

But as moments passed, the other figure did not make any sort of move. It was hard to tell what they were thinking without being able to see their face but Angela suddenly wonders if they are just… lost? Ushering the child away, she straightens and takes a tentative step forward.

                “Hello? My name is Doctor Ziegler… can I help you?”

Mara’s rather chilling gaze snapped to the Doctor at the sound of her voice. It was English, and she knew this, but English wasn’t... well, it was not a language she was very familiar with. She frowned beneath her helm, staring at the woman as she tried to piece together just exactly what said to her. She heard a greeting... a question of some sort. Maybe asking who she was.

And well––maybe she should take the helm off, which was what she did next. She reaches up, disengaging the pressure valves first, which let out quite the hiss as the systems of her armour regulate the atmospheric pressure between her helm, and the outside world. Not too much of a trouble, considering they were the exact same. With the brief pause over with, she draws the helm from her head, revealing deep purple skin, marked with white along her chin, her nose, and above her eyes... which also happened to be a striking blue and glowing. Her black hair––kept tied on one side, and shaved down on the other––was the only really normal thing about her appearance.

She could feel quite a few pairs of eyes on her, staring at her face, its colour and the strange flicker of light beneath her skin, and she frowned. “What? Never seen an Awoken before?” she asks, a little irritably in her own tongue, which sounded... somewhat like Mandarin, but with something more Western mixed in.

But once again, she looked to Angela, her eyes working across her face, before dipping lower for a moment, checking on just exactly what she was wearing. She looked... not quite civilian, but at the same time, it didn’t scream threat to her. So, in classical Reef-Awoken fashion, Mara dipped into a graceful bow of greeting.

Mara had expect to be spat out on Mercury, maybe Mars, or hell, even the Reef, but that wasn’t the case. Her back hits something hard, and she feels it crumble from her weight, and the impact of her armour, before sliding off the edge. She plummets another twenty feet, only just managing to save herself with a swift activation of Angel of Light. Her feet hit the ground gracefully, despite the initial tumble. She gives herself a shake, and then slowly begins to take in her surroundings.

She’s in... a city? It looks like one, but it doesn’t look like the City. No; it’s buildings are entirely different, and it even smells different. If she took her gauntlets off, the walls of the very building itself might feel different, more... ancient. Like the ruins she’s spent so much time in during Crucible matches, or out on recon.

She’s so enamoured by her surroundings that she almost misses the voices nearby. Soft chatter, low voices, a tenor of speech she doesn’t quite recognize. But it’s human, and that’s the important thing. Slowly, she approaches, feeling a deep ache in her lower back from the first part of her fall. She grits her teeth as she stumbles into what appears to be a makeshift medical camp of some sort. Her eyes––hidden behind the deer-skull helm––flick around, until she hears a gasp right in front of her. 

Her gaze drops to a child, and her head swiftly follows, giving the youngster a good view of the macabre skull that adorns her helm. Bare and white, with long antlers jutting from the top, she is a rather terrifying figure, so much so that the child lets out a scream.

“sorry, sorry, i just–” she raised one hand to her face and dragged it down, rolling her eyes as she did. “i dunno how long i can keep this up. hopping around, you know. tower, temple, plaguelands, temple, city, walls, tower, plaguelands - it’s a little overwhelming. i didn’t mean to snap. what’s she got, anyway?”

@ofpraxicfire.  || ❤️’d

“what does ‘kora want now? please don’t tell me that there’s more filing or whatever to do; i just got back from the plaguelands and i am so tired, keita. i haven’t felt this exhausted in months.”

                “I see.” Although her tone remained even and unfazed, it would not be difficult to guess what she was thinking. If the Guardians were infected by something, the Reef would not want them near their own people. “Of course not. Luckily, with all the Guardians restricted to the Outpost as it is, I don’t foresee much trouble in returning them to the Tower as soon as possible.”

And Keita brought up a good point. Their people were out in the wild as well. To recall them would be wise, keeping them as isolated from the Guardians as possible until a solution was found. As far as she could discern, only Guardians were affected so far but Petra hardly saw that as evidence enough that her people were not too at risk. 

                “I will put the word out—quietly—tol recall any of our own currently outside of the Reef. And I shall return your Guardians to you. None shall remain unaccounted for.”

“Tell them the Vanguard requests their return. Don’t tell them why, because I know plenty will run their mouths if they know,” Mara said, running her gloved fingers through her dark hair. She was visibly tired and stressed; she was unable to remain still for even a moment as she spoke, shifting her weight from foot to foot and wringing her hands just out of sight of the camera feed.

[ Private COMM channel connected. ] [ Contact: Mara Keita ]

Quite frankly, Petra had been waiting to hear from the Tower. When the image of the Warlock Vanguard’s apprentice flickered to life, Petra assumed that by now the Vanguard had begun dealing with what she too had witnessed herself… whatever that was precisely.

                “Is that so? It might explain why the Guardians here in the Reef are… well, that would be a question for you to answer for me.” She paused, frowning. “It shall go no further than it requires.”

“They look like they have glowing bugs flying around their head, yes? Yeah... that is the situation,” Mara said with a hiss of air through her teeth. “It appears to be some sort of... virus, I suppose would be the best word to describe it. Insofar, no one has become ill, per se, but it’s highly infectious, and we’re trying to confine Guardians to the Tower and avoid civilian contact. I need to stress that this is not to get out to the public; we don’t want a mass panic.”

[ Private COMM channel opened ] [ Searching... COMM buoy located: 4 Vesta ] [ Contact: Petra Venj ]

The image of the Awoken woman flickered for a moment as the Tower’s connection with the comm buoy stabilized. Pale blue eyes closed with a sigh, and there was a noticeable lack of any greeting smile on the apprentice’s face.

“It’s terribly possible that someone went unnoticed. We have to assume the worst - send word to Petra, but Petra alone. Ensure she knows the sensitivity of this matter; it would do no good to reverse the progress Guardians have made with the Reef due to fear-mongering, as we are on fragile footing as it is.”

“…Serapis, close the Hall to all Guardians, Tower residents, and visitors, including staff. No one comes in or out of this room.”

[ Yes ma’am. ]

“Owl Sector has pinpointed the origin point of the infection as we know it - near the buried city on Mars, in a decrepit Clovis Bray research center. We believe it to be an armor interface override, the effects of which are currently unknown, hence the quarantine being put into motion. Although, as it is…I fear it may not be enough.”

“And they shall, as soon as we actually have something to tell them. As of now what we have is highly classified and to be kept under wraps. Under no circumstances are we to disclose this information as of yet - some hysterics are unavoidable, but we do not want to increase them by giving out vague and likely false information.”

“Remain calm if approached. We have no answers to their questions. If they ask, shut them down. Tell them what they need to know - infected Guardians are to be quarantined until further notice. That is all. We’re handling it as best we can.”