The Archanist Conundrum pt1

There was something nostalgic about being back in that Strider, the soft bouncing within the hull, watching wires and tubing shake with each of the steps from the goliath transporter. He was content, for the moment, to lay inside the bunk, contemplating everything that occured since the Heart of Rage's collapse, and the defeat of the Monitor, and even a small brow furrow remembering the betrayal at the Legionarie's fort. But it was the soft knocking at the doorframe that broke his concentration, his head turning to look at the culprit, and put on his best smile.
"I brought coffee. Didn't need you falling asleep while Haluk got us into position." Faye had a playful smirk on her face, holding out the mug in one hand as her other was rested in a half-cross over her chest.
 "Sometimes when you lay and let your mind wander, a Strider's walk can almost feel like being rocked in your mother's arms," he took the few steps that closed the gap, and put the mug in his accepting hand, a small cock of his head as he took a moment to let the smell of roasted coffee beans fill his nostrils, "Doesn't help that Haluk acts like my dad most of the time anyway."
"I heard that!" A shout came from down the halls, both of which looked in the direction, but let it pass. "He's been a role model for a lot of Freelancers. Including you. You tend to pick up some...parental traits along the way." Her face tilted upwards to look back at the Freelancer, winking quickly before stepping back and out of his way. "Come on, we're almost to the deployment zone, I'm sure Haluk will want to touch up on the mission briefing."
Away she went, always in a hurry to do something in preperation for the mission. It wasn't anything exciting, but the money was always welcome. He took a moment to head into the restroom to relieve himself (no need to have one of Haluk's...adventures) and looked over himself while washing his hands. Scars of the past were dotted over his face, fresher ones were from the first attempt at quelling the Heart of Rage, the failure of the Freelancers dug deep. After drying his hands off, his hands reached up to rub his face, over the short, brown beard and up and over the small mohawk. Such a handsome devil, ain't he? With the coffee back in his grasp, he made his way down the steps and into the main section, where Haluk and Faye stood around the kitchen table/'Planning Room'.
"Get your beauty sleep?" A small laugh followed out of Haluk's question, gently patting the upper arm of the Javelin pilot, who finished his sip of coffee before setting it carefully on the table.
"I could ask you the same think, Haluk, seems like you might need it more than I do." The curt little look was eyed over to him, to which the bulky male adjusted his stance, still grinning at him.
"You say that, James, but lets be honest, I don't think there's any reason to improve upon perfection." His head was tilted up, taking a more uppity position as if posing for a portrait, to which Faye heavily rolled her eyes.
"Boys, let's focus, hmm?" The bridge burnt long ago was quickly being patched, old blood left on the hatchet and buried as the two took a small chuckle at each other, and turned their attention back to the map of Bastion currently on display. Faye's finger reached out, touching on where their current location was, near the Emerald Abyss. "After we helped Sentinel Dax with the Shaper Relic that freed those people trapped within, Archanist took over the site to conduct research into what this location is capable of. However, they recently contacted us with a problem." Her finger moved, the elbow of that arm now resting on her crossed arm, and letting her fingers tap against her cheek in a fidgety manner. "Looks like Scars have been attempting to move it, lead by an Escari named Resico. Seems they have an interest in this location as well."
Haluk shifted his weight off of his bum leg and more onto his cane, shaking his head before looking to James, "Doesn't sound like they are having a good time out there. And if an Escari is involved, its no wonder the Archanists called in for a Freelancer. The report says that these Scars have been routed, but, each attack seems to be getting worse. I think they're just testing defenses, or using it as a distraction so they can try and find another way in."
James busied himself with another sip of coffee, internally routing his flight path to the location of the Emerald Abyss, and taking the information in. Between another Escari threatening Bastion, and the Doomsday device they managed to make from Shaper relics, they seemed to be amping up for something, which was never a good case. His gloved hands set the mug down and leaned against the table. "Seems like the best option then would to try and route the Scar out of the area, give the Sentinels some breathing room to help establish a more suitable position. That'll help the Archanist, and give us a chance to figure out more about this Resico character." He lifted his finger and tapped against the map where the Shaper Ruins were, and smirked, "I'll go establish contact. See what I can do."
There was a collective nod from the small group, Faye taking a look between the two before walking around the table, "I'll get ready and run some scans. See if I can't get in touch with our Archanist contact." There was a gentle touch against Haluk's shoulder before she moved up the stairs towards the Cipher chair used to communicate to Javelin Pilots and others. Haluk turned his head to watch her go, but, him and James were soon on their way towards the launching bay, which was a short flight of stairs downwards.
"I know you mentioned your left leg thruster feeling a tad weakened after your last firefight, so I took a chance to spruce it back up, so hopefully you don't fly into any rogue cliff-faces." The old dog let out a small, winded laugh after they finished getting to the bottom of the stairs, James's Ranger suit sat under the spotlight, with tools lining the top of the nearby chest. James stood before the back of the suit, letting it crack open, exposing the padded interior.
James took a moment to glance back at Haluk before nodding in approval. "I'll have Zoe take a look too once we get back to Tarsis." He started to get in, but the small scoff that came from Haluk put that to a pause.
"What, still don't trust me?" He said, gently giving James's leg a small pat with his cane as James shook his head. "I trust you, Haluk. But duct tape can only hold something together for so long."
"This strider is still moving, ain't it?!" James laughed softly as he climbed inside, legs first before slipping his arms in, and letting the Javelin close behind him. He took a few steps to turn around, his helmet's faceplate open to expose his grin as he got into position. "The shower still can't decide if its hot or cold, Haluk!"
There was a dismissive wave from Haluk as the suit was raised up by the platform, the helmet coming to seal itself, as the top-hatch opened into the outside world. Bastion, and the world itself, was always a place with harsh weather, such as today. The winds weren't quite hurricane level, but there was a push against the metal, with the heavy patter of rain drops showering his armor, and potentially washing away any grime that was on the dark-blue and yellow paint. He took a moment to step towards the center of the Strider, pulling out his pistol from his hip to ensure it was loaded and ready. "Faye, give me a sitrep, did we get in contact with the Archanists?"
"Yes, I did. Patching them in...now-" There was a brief moment of silence as he finished checking the pistol, pulling back the reciever to load a road, then switched to his assault rilfe to inspect that as well. "...llo, this is Archanist Milroy. Freelancer, can you hear me?" James ensured a fresh clip was feed into the rifle, and cocked it ready before slipping it on his back, between the two jets that assisted in his flight. "Read you load and clear, Archanist. Are you and your companions in a safe location?"
"Yes, we have moved our equipment deeper into the ruins, and sealed one of the doors, but the damn Scars keep burrowing right under us. We would really appeciate the assistance." James nodded as he approached the back of the Strider, his HUD flashing for a moment as Faye uploaded the waypoint to his display. It was a familiar direction, one that, as much as he cared about her, was glad Dax was back in Fort Tarsis for.
"Solid copy, I'll be there in a few minutes, leave the keys under the mat for me, and call in if you have any issues." Taking a couple of steps back, his thrusters brust to life in a flash of orange, before speeding towards the ledge and taking the leap off the side. The thrusters kicked into high gear, lifting him up into the stormy weather and he began his flight towards the Archanist encampment to assist.
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