.
Nadia nodded her head, hearing the small introduction given to them by their fireteam leader. Yep. It was confirmed. This was Shadow. It was intriguing to learn that he shared the same subclass as Feron. The Nightstalkers were relatively new to the scene, so you didn't see too many of them that often. Same goes with the Sunbreakers and the Stormcallers. Feron had actually been the first Nightstalker that she has ever met."Glad to meet you." she responded, but fell silent when she heard the sound of hurried footsteps from behind her. From out of instinct, she rapidly took a few steps to the side to make a small sweeping motion off to the side. She blinked her eyes a few times in recognition when she spotted a familiar face of the past. "Oh hey there! Good morning." she told the Titan with a faint smile. She raised an eyebrow when Shadow mentioned something about shopping for baby clothing. Wait, what? She looked over to Shadow, and then back to Elsa with a bit of confusion. A baby? Really? One of them was having a baby or already had one? She was assuming that maybe Shadow had a wife back at home with the baby that has been mentioned. What a joyous occasion. Shame that they would have to spend the time out there on the Dreadnaught. Children were a blessing. They were innocent with this endless curiosity of the world around them. While it may have not been the best era to be born in with the darkness and all, it was one of the reasons why she fought so hard out there in hopes that the future generations to come would have a better world to live in.
She snapped back to attention when she heard the order to sound off. She stiffened with her posture straightening within a second's notice. Nadia flicked her gaze over to Feron when he went all out with his response. She waited for a moment with her arms crossing over her chest. "Yeah. I can't top that." she said with the subtle curve of a smile as she looked over to Feron. She remembered the story that he had told her. Correction. Stories. Unlike her, he was able to recall bits and pieces of his previous life before he was that of a Guardian. He was a soldier in this life and the previous one. He climbed up the rankings that landed him with the responsibility of piloting a fighter jet. And well, that piece of his past managed to slip out in response to the sound off. "Artamanova, to heed at your beck and call." she said softly while she dropped her arms to the side."We are just missing-ah never mind." she was starting to say, but corrected herself shortly after."I'm starting to believe that you really do have eyes on the back of your head." Her Ghost remarked even though he was out of plain sight."That's basic information. All women have eyes on the back of the head. " she replied with a low chuckle."We have six. So, fire team leader? To orbit?" she asked, just as she was about to turn around. That was when this weird feeling wavered over her, and gave her the heebie jeebies. It felt like an ice cube had been dropped along her back to leave a chilling sensation running down her spine.Goosebumps prickled her skin, to which she lifted her arms to cross them against her chest. Where did that come from? She looked over to the last two additions with a bit of curiosity. Titan and another Hunter. Both looked as tough as nails. She lifted her gaze up to Feron, and then she spoke."Are we taking separate ships or...?" she was starting to say, but she figured he knew what she was talking about.
~~
Well, she managed to put two and two together to figure out the other mystery fire team member that wasn't named."Ah, yes. Ms. Norway. " he confirmed, right around when he caught that look on her face. Geesh. He sure as hell didn't want to be that person that received that death glare.It gave him a reason to why he should always be on her good side and to never upset her. She wasn't all too happy that she would be apart of the team that had anything to do with the other Titan. It wasn't like they had much of a choice to whom they would be working alongside. It was pre-selected by the Vanguards. Plus, he did kind of owed Shadow. Without his help to breaking out of the facility to where they held him in a cell, he would had a necklace of rope strung around his neck. He would have been executed. That was something that he did not mention to Akari. Mostly because she'd be the one to kill him for hearing that he was so close to not even having the chance to escape to the Dreadnaught. He looked over to her when she cut off what she was telling him. "Hey, honey. Try not to think about them too much okay? Just focus on the objective." he told her. When he felt her drop his hand, he did something that was typical of a stubborn Titan like him. He reached for her hand, and held it for just a little more longer. When they drew closer to the Tower, that was when he released her hand.
The both of them had been silent through this trek to the Tower. Usually, he wasn't bothered with the silence. He didn't find it awkward for no words to be exchanged as they walked. Though he had a feeling that she remained quiet for a whole other reason. She was like a soda bottle that has been shaken. It would only take very little to set her off. He looked over to her, when she brought up that they would be implementing a buddy system. As she mentioned the word 'power house couple', a smile danced upon his lips."You're darn right. We are simply the best." he responded as he rounded the corner so that they would be entering the plaza that the rest of the fire team was waiting. They weren't late were they? He could have sworn they had an extra fifteen minutes. He recognized a few of these faces of the fireteam. There was the other Titan by the name of Elsa with the gift of snow and ice. Then, there was Shadow with some background work with previous assignments that dealt with the Vanguard. Also, that sneaky guy that was on the Dreadnaught that was apart of the hunting party. How ironic that they would put him on the same team with a Guardian that had been hot on his trail not too long ago. Meh, no hard feelings. Past was the past. He wouldn't let that blind him of the objective at hand. Then, there was another Hunter standing beside him. He didn't recognize her. New face. New person. "Sorry for being late. Heh. Kids these days. Pushing all the buttons on the elevator." he said as he looked over to Shadow to see what the order was. He had no idea where this entrance to the ascendant realm was, so he would have to lead them there.
~~
With a few adjustments to the current attitude and the overall speed, Rourke released his hold on the control of the aircraft before getting up to stand."I trust that you will not nose dive this ship right to the side of the mountain." he said, and with that, he relinquished the controls to April. He got up from the seat so that April could quickly pull a head set over her head and take the controls from this point on. He pulled the rifle from off his back, and moved to the back of the ship. He opened up a channel that the both of them could use to communicate, and then reached for a lever off to the side of the ship that would bring the ramp back down. He felt the ship beginning to slow down with the ramp being brought down. He looked over to Aurora for a moment, before he was the first to drop down. It wasn't a long fall, so she should be fine. Plus, the snow did cushion the landing. His gaze wandered up the craggy and snow-covered terrain of the mountain side. A beacon lit up on his HUD that indicated where they needed to go. The last location to where this person has been spotted. It had only been a few hours ago when one of the scouts spotted something that glinted from off the distance. With curiosity and caution, the scout wandered over to where it had been. There wasn't anyone that had been found, but there were some tracks that led up further into the mountain. They could have not gone far."Let me know if you see anything." he told Aurora, before he started to follow after the trail. A trail would be the overglorified state,rent of the century considering how narrow this path really was. One slip up, and you'd be tumbling down the side of the mountain with a flurry of snow. He began the trek up alongside the mountain, and he would glance over his shoulder to check up on Aurora once in a while. There was at one point in time in which he could have sworn he heard the melodic and resonating sound of a wind chime billowing in the wintry winds. He soon found out that he wasn't just imaging things. The pathway grew wider to reveal an archaic and abandoned monastery nestled at the ridge of the mountain. Hmm...interesting. His eyes traveled over to the wooden doors with one of them moving back and forth slightly with the wind up here. They might have taken shelter here to survive the day and night. Especially if they were injured.