PART III: Midnight's Call

I forgot how often I messaged myself down here. Hello, future me. One day you'll arrive here again, wondering why you did this. I can tell you now, I don't know. The year is 2020, I'm counting on you to invent time travel. No pressure, you got this.

Off-topic...glorious, loud, always growing...but it is here that we've put down roots, and it's here we've laid out bed... [spoiler][url=http://www.example.com]A Kiss To Build A Dream is by Louis Armstrong plays in the background.[/url][/spoiler] The massive steel door of Bunker Epsilon creaked open as a lone figure stood before them. The sun beat down on the doors, bleaching them and fading the doorways' once pristine coat of paint. As the rectangular steel door slid up into the rock above, the Bunker showed its innards: A platoon of soldiers in mixed metal and leather armor knelt around the entrance, guns pointed at the entry port. One of the men, a scribe by the look of his garments, stood and walked into the light of the outside world. He covered his eyes as he strained to see who it was who had come to the Bunker. Before him the scribe saw a familiar face, that of Ring. The scribe, recognizing the figure now, turned back and signaled the all clear to the soldiers behind him, who immediately shouldered their weaponry. "Good evening, scribe." Said Ring. He gestured out towards the murky sky of Off-topic behind him. "Lovely weather we're having, isn't it?" The scribe agreed heartily as he escorted Ring into the base. As they went, Ring took off his business suit and instead donned a heavy black, fur cloak with a broach emblazoned with the Brotherhood's insignia. As they arrived at the council room, a Paladin saluted before opening the doorway. Ring nodded in thanks and started to go through the door when he stopped , turned back to the Paladin and proclaimed: "[i]Ad Victoriam[/i]."

[quote]--RUSSIA--LAST-CITY--PEREGRINE-DISTRICT--CYPTARCHY/S-SUITE-- Erica tossed and turned in her bed, pulling her covers over her face to ward of the cold of the night. Flashes of lightning struck the defending rods of house tops, waking the innocents inside with its power. A peal of thunder encompassed the whole of the Last City. The vast summons for more lightning and rain split the ears of the sleepers and scrambled the sensors of the city’s frames. Erica’s hazel eyes drew themselves out from under the covers. Her tired eyes stared balefully at the window in her bedroom. Angrily, she threw her covers across the room into a display of curios she had collected. This only served to enrage the woman even further. Yanking the sheets off of the ground and wrapping them around herself, she stalked to the window where she could glare her annoyance at the elements. Erica calmed down as she surveyed the city’s ever bright skyline. The contrast between a clear day and this rather blustery night were nigh laughable. On a bright, sunny day one could see the light of the sun reflected off of the Traveler and its shards; the window panes and and metal towers of the City would shine brilliantly in the nearby light of the Great Machine. In the midst of a great storm, however, the City’s sky was a terrible sight. Chains of lightning shot from the shards to the traveler and back again. From the massive display above, the arcs lit upon the tops of buildings. As she watched the current events, Erica tried in vain to picture the City in happier times. Needless to say, getting out of bed had done nothing for her spirits. Just outside Erica’s room, a robed figure stepped up to her doormat. Had she not been drumming her fingers on the window sill, she may have heard the footsteps of her approaching visitor; and then, maybe, she would not have been startled by the loud rap on the heavy door. Erica swung the door open revealing the familiar face of Master Rahool. Rahool started as he saw Erica’s disheveled appearance and the sidearm which she had pointed full in his face. “It’s real late, Boss,” She said crossly as she lowered her weapon. Erica was making a valiant and rather obvious attempt at keeping her temper down. Rahool may not have actually woke her up, but she was not going to let him know that. “Yes, I know, but I have received a most interesting- fascinating, really- message from an old acquaintance of yours.” Master Rahool spoke to her in his methodical way. As he talked, he pecked at a glowing tablet displaying complex algorithms for the decrypting of engrams. Erica knew the wise awoken better than most; the power of this one man went unknown among the ranks of immortals that Rahool served. He was a man of a quiet demeanor, but the influence he held over the guardians was greater than they realized. Erica looked up at Rahool’s last statement. Maybe he did have a reason to risk waking her in the middle of the night. “Who? Phillip or Ringer?” “Ringer,” said Rahool definitively. “He sent an encrypted message via an exotic engram. A costly message given their increase in rarity, but an effective one.” Tilting her head to the side, Erica motioned for the Master to take a seat at her work desk, while she took a seat on her mattress. “Well,” she started as she crossed her arms. “What did the exo have to say?” “Very little about specifics. He requested that you contact him by radio tomorrow at noon. A brief study of his code revealed to me that he had been in quite a hurry to send this message to us.” Rahool reached into his long sleeves and brought out a flapping sheet of paper. He extended it to Erica, who snatched at it eagerly. The parchment was marked from front to back with round, foreign letters. “You still speak High Speech, do you not?” Inquired the Master. Grabbing a table lamp from from a nearby desk, Erica strained to make out the characters in the dim light. Erica read the transcript out loud in response to his question. “‘Banner Sighted. Devil Crawls [From] Under Rock. Old Hunt Renewed.” Then in the human language: “Copy, Thrush?” “Well..." Rahool stood and made his way to the door. “ I bid you goodnight and happy hunting, my friend." Erica jerked her head up at his words, dragging herself out from her intense focus. "Thank you and goodnight, Master Rahool. I’ll keep you updated.” “You sure will,” He said mock seriously. Erica hardly noticed his comment so absorbed was she in her study. “Remain safe, Erica, whatever this is. I don’t want to hold another funeral.” The lightning still raged and the thunder still roared come the morning, but they had no effect on the cryptarch at work in her room. Erica had forgotten sleep and had forgotten food. The hunt was only beginning, and a hunter must not be caught unawares at the moment of the kill. /Dive Into The Trenches?/ https://www.bungie.net/en/Groups/Post?groupId=3422633&postId=249426639&sort=0&page=0[/quote] Same

This is really good Ring, can't wait for part 4. I'm excited to see what Ringer-7 has waiting for him.

If anyone has constructive criticism on my writing please do not hesitate to let me know. I want to write to the best of my ability, Cheers!