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The dusty surface of Mars lay before the two guardians as they slowly descended into it, their ship a black smudge on its otherwise ruby-red valleys. Harlow hung onto the grab handle on her side of the ship, the turbulence still making her queasy despite the numerous missions she's been on. She would prefer being on any other ship and, if not, any other pilot. But today was not her lucky day.
Her partner, and sole one as Zavala had only asked for them and not the Hunter for some reason, slowly pulled the controls up for a landing. Harlow couldn't help but notice both her face of child-like glee as she did that or the fact that her tiny body and long ears seemed to vibrate with the ship. If she could, Harlow was sure she would have laughed at the sight.
The mission, as Zavala stated, was to investigate a group of…something that had been causing trouble to the locals. Normally, the fact that it was a problem on Mars would mean it was none of their problems. However, a report had noted they were close to the abandoned Black Garden gate, and that was a risk that was best not ignored.
However, something seemed…off. "Are you sure we're in the right place? Feels like something would have tried to stop us already." Harlow asked, the low rumbling of the ship getting lower as it adjusted to the landing zone. Kilroy, her tiny partner, merely shrugged, lazily scratching at the scar on her left eye. "Zavala said it was just a small band of enemies, maybe whatever they are don't got air support or something." Kilroy looked out her own window, the wind kicked up by their landing slowly dissipating back into the ground. "Or maybe they have an evil trap planned for anyone who comes through here." She continued, raising her arms as if to double her size. "And they're waiting for us to explore before they blow our brains all over this ship! Or maybe-"
"Or you landed us in the wrong place again." Harlow interrupted, her voice flat and emotionless. She still stared out the window into the horizon, both to make sure there was no sneak attack and to ignore the incoming rant.
"I LANDED THE SHIP WRONG ONE TIME, WARLOCK, DON'T MAKE IT SOUND LIKE I DON'T KNOW HOW MY SHIP WORKS. BESIDES, WE GOT THERE EVENTUALLY, DIDN'T WE? IT'S NOT MY FAULT YOUR FORMER BOYTOY MADE ANO-" Harlow saw something from the corner of her eye and shushed , though she could still feel her steaming. Was it just a trick of the sun or…
No, no it wasn't. Both guardians now watched as a metallic body started to rise, grains of sand, falling off its sleek shiny surface as its one red eye focused on them. "Vex?" Kilroy quietly mumbled, her anger dissipating. "Damnit, I was hoping it was more Scorn. Spider would have liked that." Harlow just rolled her eyes at that, but focused back on the Vex as it seemed to turn around and retreat.
"Reinforcements are coming." Harlow turned to Kilroy, only to see her with a sharp mile on her face as she pressed a button, the slow hiss of the bay door flowing through the ship. "Good, that way we can be done with this fast. Race ya to suit up!" And just like that she disappeared, racing to her armory. Harlow could only sigh again as she pulled out her deer mask from her satchel, donning it as she made the slow walk from the front pilot area to the back bay doors. The quickly approaching clanging steps at least meant she wouldn't step out alone, especially as a now 8-foot slab of metal clumsily passed her, warhammer in hand. "COME AND GET ME YA SCRAP!" the now deeper but still familiar voice of her partner blasted out as she made the first steps on Mars, heading to the hill the Vex was spotted on. Harlow could only sigh before, with a quick blast of magic, she propelled herself up. She had to admit, this was one of the better aspects of her job, the cool wind on her armor and the sound and feel of her cape flowing on her back bringing her peace. But, she was still on mission. She gazed down on the valley, like an owl looking for a tiny mouse, and saw it: about 12 metal bodies with one red eye, all climbing up the hill that Kilroy was. A very small group. She wondered why that was but left that for later. Now was the time to strike.
With a wave of her hand, 3 blades of red flames appeared before her. Clutching the one in the center, she commanded the other two to dive, just as the first Vex made contact with the titan. The fires soared down, one cleaving a vex's eye right off its body, the other making contact with the arm of one. The machines looked up, though the ones closest to Kilroy paid for that mistake as her hammer sent the leading vex soaring behind its allies. Harlow watched it try to rise again but soon enough the light went out of its eye. 2 down.
She glided through the air and landed behind the one-armed vex in the back. 3 turned to her and raised their metal claws to attack. But she was faster. Her sword hand blurred through one-arm, letting it crumple as she dodged the other 2. She threw a fusion grenade as they reared up for another attack, and watched as both of them were launched back by the explosion, the red light leaving them completely. 5.
She could hear metal on metal as two more heads joined her fallen enemies, before the titan rushed past her, one vex impaled on her shoulder plate. She quickly dodged as the hammer then flew past her and skewered two other vex that were following behind. Harlow turned to the rest, raising her sword yet again as the remaining two stood their ground, seeming to plant themselves into the ground as two laser rifles seemingly appeared in their hands. Crap. It would be harder to get closer now.
Kilroy did not think the same. "YA THINK SOME PRETTY LIGHTS ARE GONNA STOP ME, YA BOX OF BOLTS?" She said as if to provoke them, rushing by Harlow yet again just to pull out the pillow from the corpses and engage the enemy. The vex fired on her, though if Kilroy noticed was unknown as she brought her weapon to uppercut the closest vex, throwing it back like the others. The last one rose its claw in a last act of defiance, but Harlow's last sword through its core made it kneel in defeat. Kilroy grabbed the last downed vex and, with a flick of her gauntlet and a foot on its chest, tore it in two. Threat annihilated.
Harlow examined the corpses, always confused on how organic the insides of these things looked as Kilroy kneeled to cool down. "Nothing strange about the bodies to signify a new collective." She commented, mostly to herself. "Didn't see no leader of em, I'm guessing?" Kilroy asked nonchalantly as she grabbed a head and placed it into a satchel Harlow hadn't noticed before. Harlow felt uneasy at the idea of collecting war trophies, but knew she couldn't stop it.
"None. Might have just been scouts or a rogue legion, if that can happen. Let's get back to the ship to report back to Zavala." Harlow started to walk off and Kilroy, with one last kick to a body, hobbled to join her.
The walk back was more agonizing than Harlow could take. Especially once the silence was broken. "Sooo, you sure you don't know anything about "rogue" Vex?" Kilroy asked, her voice just dripping with tease. "Why would I know anything about them?" Harlow annoyingly asked, not liking where this was going. She could feel the grin under that helmet.
"Welllll, I mean, I'm sure that boytoy of yours had some weird pi-" Harlow didn't wait for her to finish, choosing to shoot herself up and gliding back down nearer to the ship. She would always regret that one time that damn titan had actually gotten her tipsy enough to talk about her past. She landed gracefully as the titan struggled to catch up. Come on, warlock, you know I'm messing with ya!" She yelled between breaths.
Harlow ignored that and simply walked aboard, removing her mask and heading to the pilot. She took her seat as the small clunk of shoes on metal meant that Kilroy was at least on board, something that was confirmed as her tiny image emerged from the back and sat in the captain's chair, beginning the liftoff process as the bay doors closed yet again. "You owe me a drink by the way. After we get our money of course." Harlow looked at her, curiously and annoyed at how fast she can just change the subject. Kilroy just stared back as she revved up the engine. "Forgetting our little bet, warlock?" She asked, that sharp smile returning as fast as it may have disappeared, eyes always glowing. "Killed more than you this time and our hunter ain't here to steal that from me, is she?"
Harlow just rolled her eyes again, looking outside as the red surface started to spread out more and more. Every now and then she would wonder why she stayed in this team. But, she always knew why she, deep inside. There was nowhere else fie her, and the company wasn't exactly the worst. Not like her previous scene, at least.
"Fine." She spoke to the window, now black with the vision of space. Kilroy laughed in success as she felt the ship lurch forward, back home. Despite the teasing and the fighting, her life wasn't too bad in the end. She smiled, though only she knew that. And, with that, the last view of Mars was gone. Though she knows, she'll be back here too. It was her job after all