maskormenace | [Video]

[Video]

Listen up people of Earth, this is Cayde-6 speaking. First point of order: I have been informed that I'm your new Gun Safety Campaign Spokesman and I am very happy to keep your guns safe. Safe with me because my gun didn't make the trip and I'm feeling so very, very, very naked without it. If anyone can give me a loaner I'll owe ya big time.

Point number two: Just ... think of this as one of those ice-breaking exercises. You know the ones where everybody's awkward and doesn't wanna talk but you gotta answer some stupid question? One of those. Just. Just out of idle curiosity: what is your favorite thing about Earth? It can be anything, doesn't matter how small. In fact, it might be the small things that are the most important. Asking for a friend who isn't used to seeing it so ... intact.

[He counts out his fingers to four, thinks again, and subtracts one.]

Aaand number three: gimme the skinny on good places to eat around Maurita Falls? Extra points for good ramen joints. And I mean the real stuff, none of that instant business.

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I don't know what glimmer is. I don't claim to have a lot of knowledge either. But bad-ass guns? That I get.

[She moves back and walks over to her hunting rifles, gesturing to them.] See?

Oh, sorry I thought you just meant you didn't talk about the reason you weren't allowed near stoves.

[She figures he either started a fire or gave someone food poisoning. The idea that someone's giving him rules is more interesting to her.]

Oh glimmer? Glimmer's just money, that's all.

[Cayde whistles, eyes widening as he eyes her rifles.]

I do see. Nice collection, very oldschool.

That's easy enough to get. They give us all jobs and we can find our own jobs too.

[She grins proudly.]

Thanks. I wish I had more chances to use them. I don't need to hunt much here.

So, whatcha usually hunt?

[He asks, twirling a pocket knife in one hand. His interest is genuinely piqued, as he has her figured as one of His People. Not chosen by the Traveler, but a hunter in spirit nonetheless.]

Deer. I can get a lot of use from them. The meat, obviously. The hide can make a rug. The bones can be carved into knives. All kinds of things. Sometimes other animals, as long as they can be used. Do you hunt?

After a fashion, yeah. I hunt alien scumbags, mostly. Sometimes I hunt for secrets. As for game? Well, it's not my usual thing it happens sometimes.

[She looks down for a moment, touching her scarf to make sure it's in place over her scar. She then touches her hair to make sure it's covering her other scars.]

Are the aliens, um, are they like people?

[That doesn't escape Cayde's notice but he tucks the observation away for the moment, happy to ramble on about The Aliens What He's Killed.]

I s'pose that depends on what you mean "like people." Are they a people? Sure, they're all thinking beings. In concept, at least, anyway. There's a looot of dumb dregs out there. And thrall? I don't think thrall think at all. But I'm getting ahead of myself, lemme break it down for you.

First, you've got the Fallen. Eliksni, they call themselves. Four arms, four eyes, all nasty, and smell real bad. They parked themselves in the system right after the Collapse and started scavenging our cities, attacking survivors, basically kicking over any sand castle Humanity decided to try to put up after everything fell down.

Then, you've got the Hive. They're a bunch of three-eyed death worshipping freaks that infested the moon and can rip your soul out with a sword. They're seriously the worst. Anything that can kill you is the worst but the Hive are rrreally bad. And smelly.

Vex are robots that can travel through time and are powered by milky goo. They're also the worst and if you're thinking "oh, great, all that time travel would really come in handy!" I'll just warn you their tech? Not user-friendly.

And last but certainly not least are the Cabal. I like to call 'em space rhinos 'cause they're so big and tough. They run some kinda space empire and we're the latest on their conquest checklist but I'm happy to say that hasn't been going too well for them lately.

None of them particularly look human, if that's what you're asking.

[Abigail pauses for a moment, taking in all that information and to consider how to explain what she meant. She was wondering about if they were intelligent, had families, etc, more than their appearance. An argument could be made that the animals she hunts are intelligent and live in families too.]

So, you were hunting them because they were attacking, killing, and conquering. Not because you enjoyed it or that it made you feel powerful?

[She wants to know if he's like her father or Hannibal, or simply trying to defend himself or somewhere in-between those extremes.]

Oh, I think I see what you're getting at—the "is it murder if its aliens" question, right? Well the answer is they sure think so but I don't particularly care what they think. But ... no, I wouldn't be killing them if they weren't killing us. Now, I'm not a bug-hugger or nothin' but I've had a few run-ins with the Fallen that make me wonder if things couldn't go differently.

But they aren't different so I'll keep my aim true and have a helluva time doin' it.

[Abigail shakes her head.]

Everything is different here. We don't have to be stuck with the stuff from our old lives, or our old worlds. Would you kill them if they showed up here?

Look, you're a real sweet kid but I don't know how to tell you that I would probably have to. They really are that bad, and would kill thousands of innocent people given the chance. And I say this to you as one of the more open-minded Guardians in that department.

[Abigail can't help wondering if he'd still think of her as sweet if he'd knew what she'd done. That was only to protect herself, not any innocent people. She looks to the side, at her knives though they're out of view of the video.]

I get it. I do.

[Cayde might not be an intellectual or even practical man but he is observant. Most of the time, at least.]

It's not my place to go digging around for whatever seems to be eating at you right now—and it does look like something's having a snack, metaphorically I mean. So I'm not asking. But I will say that as a Guardian and an Exo I'm no stranger to starting over. So if bein' here is that for you, the best I can tell you is to go all-in on it. Bet everything you have on being the best you that you can be. You get me?

[He doesn't remember anything concrete about his lives before his Ghost but Cayde isn't particularly inclined to believe that Caydes 1-5 were necessarily good people.]

[Abigail looks at him again and manages a smile.]

I do get that. And it has been a new start for me. I have friends here that have become my family. Pets too. A new career and freedom. It's good here. I can be better here.

[He flashes two finger guns and a wink when he sees her smile. Mission accomplished!]

That's good! Now you say pets, what kinda pets you got? Back home I've got a chicken, real sweet little thing. She's a war hero.

A war hero?

I have the most adorable cats. And the happiest dogs. The dogs aren't mine exactly. They belong to my housemates. They dogs have kind of adopted me though.

[She giggles as a grey pup runs over to her.

See? This is Fumio.

Took out seven Cabal patrols with her help when we fought to retake the city. Humanity would be lost without her.

[His eyes widen at the sight of the dog; he's never seen one in the flesh before. Well technically he still hasn't but a real-time visual of a living dog counts, as far as he's concerned.]

So cute...

A chicken did that? What are the chickens like on your world?

[Abigail pets Fumio gently and gives him a few scratches behind the ear.]

He is! He's such a handsome boy. Say Hi Fumio!

[Fumio barks.]

[He hunkers closer to the screen.]

Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy??

Oh, chickens are the same as they are on every world, I suspect. Just distracting enough to an eight foot space rhino to turn their backs while I sneak up to, y'know

[He makes a stabbing motion with a closed fist and punctuates each stab with a clicking noise.]

[Fumio barks and wags his tail in response to the attention.]

That's right, you Fumio! You're one of the best boys ever!

[She frowns slightly, thinking of Nicholas Boyle. She'd never want to have to kill someone so personally again.]

Why didn't you just shoot them?

Stealth operation. I couldn't risk giving away our position.

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