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Allen

It only took a few minutes to find the wolfs' dorm, mainly helped by several Tower administrators who were in search of the Wolf's dragon friend. Doran and Allen followed close behind, catching the odd word from the Admins. Bits of conversation that included, "Third time this month, potential blacklist," and "revoke their Guardian status" were all too easy to pick up.

Allen turned to Doran and said, "This doesn't sound well. I think we may want to step in, don't you?"

Doran

Doran nodded his agreement, frowning. "If there's something we can do, definitely. We need every Guardian we can get. Bad enough when we lose one to battle somewhere beyond the reach of the Light, but losing one to something as stupid as behavior like this is something we have to stop if we can." He looked up and down the hallway, then double-checked the number on the door of the dorm room they'd come to. "This should be the place for that wolf. Maybe the dragon too if he's still looking after him. Would you like to do the honors?"

Allen

Allen nodded, and knocked. A Fair but deep voice growled from behind the metal sheet, "Who the hell now!?"

Allen sighed, "It's the horse from earlier, the one who helped with your Dragon problem?" He braced for some snide retort, but instead, the door opened quickly, and both Allen and Doran were pulled into the room. The Wolf at the door sigh and closed the door as soon as both horse and dragon were in. "Thank damn god," he said, turning to Allen, "The admins must have my old room number. I Swear, that Asshole I'm stuck with can't be saved from temptation."

He then looked over to Doran. "So, what's the damages? Is there still a bar left or are we now supporting three more unemployed?"

Allen shook his head, "No, just that they're pissed that there's a problem in the first place. A good bit of the Admins looking for you were human, so worst comes to worst, you could pull a race card for your Friend. But," Allen grinned, "I think there might be something for both you and your Dragon friend to clear your debts. I've been tracking some rumors with Dead Orbit, and word through the grapevine is that the've done it."

The wolf looked at Allen questioningly. "Done it? Done the hell what?" Allen grinned and replied, "They've gotten permission from the speaker to start a small Outpost. Dead orbits desperate for takers, even with their ranks accounted. Besides being dangerous as all hell, they're willing to settle for any price for willing guardians. See if your guy is willing to join in and you both are debt free."

The wolf paused, taking this in, and then a small fanged smile appeared on his face. "That may just work. Say, what's Your name, stranger?" Allen returned a smile with his own. With an offered paw, he said, "Allen, and you?"

"Korey Nightfang Wilkins, at your service." He nodded at a small lump on a couch behind him, "And that sorry sack of shit is Cody Thunder Xyan." Wilkins walked over to the couch, and punched lightly into the blanket, "That is, if he ever did anything after what happened!"

There was a muffled groan, and then the dragons head prodded out from the covers. "Ugggh, You know why I can't fight. Oww.... I need a drink." He started digging below the covers and pulled out a bottle of scotch, which was then quickly taken by the wolf. "Like hell you do. Now if you don't tell these men, I will, and I won't hold shit back, you vain drunken sack of scales."

The drunkard moaned again, gripping his head, but then slowly nodded and said in a slur, "Fuckitfinnnne." He started sitting up, still reeling in a hangover. When he was finally upright, he started saying, "So I was once a'h leader of a fiar team an then we got jumped. Lee and Jason got downed in a heartbeat, and all I could do was run."

His eyes dilated suddenly, and he gripped his head while moaning, "Fucckkkk, gimmie that drink. I hate 'membering stuff like that" The dragon was fast, but the wolf was faster, and Wilkins kept the bottle from Xyan. "No, you start sobering up, we've got a job to do." And with that, Wilkens walked over to the kitchen area of the dorm and slammed the bottle down a garbage shoot, hard enough that all present could hear the bottle shatter before it's decent.

"YOUSONOFABITCH!" Allen Jumped back as Xyan flung his hungover form at Wilkins, who quickly retaliated with a swift sidestep and followed it up by grabbing the dragon in a choke hold. "No, you listen you drunkard, your time to wallow in self pity is done. You are going sober now, you understand?" When Xyan struggled, Wilkins slammed the dragon against a wall and then tightened his grip. "I SAID, DO YOU UNDERSTAND!?" Allen felt his neck hair stand on end at the growled command, and thankfully Xyan finally caved. "Fine, you fuckin' bit-" Before he could finish the insult, he quickly had his head slammed into the wall and slumped down in Wilkins grip.

Allen and Doran stood shell-shocked by the quick change of tone in the room as Wilkins turned around, still supporting Xyan. Finally, after looking the two over, Wilkins said in a labored voice, "You gonna help me get his sorry ass ready?" Allen and Doran wasted no breath of time after the spectacle Wilkins put on, and hurried to aid him.

Doran

The dragon watched the entire exchange in shock, too busy just taking it all in to actually react until then. Shaking his head, he hurried over with Allen to help the wolf. "Are we sure about this? Please don't get me wrong, we've all lost people and I've got nothing but sympathy for this guy. Dragon solidarity on top of everything else. And if this is a way to give him another chance to pull it together I'm all for that, but is he battle-ready?" He regarded the dragon he was helping wrestle through the apartment, frowning uncertainly at Wilkins. "I just mean... I'm willing to trust that I'm probably not exactly seeing Xyan at his best just now, but his current state doesn't do a lot to convince me I'd want to be reliant on this guy when the bullets are flying."

Allen

Wilkins nodded and with all three working together hefted the dragon back to their bed area. He then turned to Doran, and said, "If he weren't such a weakling for liquor then I'd say yes, but I'd have to give him a week to sober up first now. Plus there'll be the recovery training to get back into the swing of things. I'm in a better state than he is but I'll still need to catch up too. I'd say we're looking at two weeks and some change. What about you? Any family ties, gear, guns, etcetera?"

Doran

Doran shrugged lightly, helping settle the other dragon. "Hard to have too many family ties as a Guardian. Plenty of gear and guns, all work-related. These days I mostly just go where the Vanguard points me and shoot who they tell me needs shooting. This mission Dead Orbit's calling for sounds a bit dicey, but what doesn't these days?"

Allen

Wilkins smiled, and Allen grinned, reciting, "The only easy day was yesterday." He then turned to Wilkins. "So I think that settles it. I've already gotten signed on and I've been designated the old republic district. I think that area is where the empire of Britain was but I've been combing archive records just to be sure. With us four, assuming this sack of scales gets sober, we should be in for an interesting weekend."

Allen offered a paw to each fur present, and Wilkins took it with a warm grip. "Thanks Allen, and you too Doran, this should be the turn of luck both of us need. I've been getting an itch I couldn't scratch till you showed up, and now I'm feeling twice the Wolf I was before."

Doran

Doran grinned widely, gripping both Allen's and then Wilkins' hands in turn. "Ought to be quite the party. If you can watch our backs, we'll watch yours. Xyan especially looks like he could use something to turn him around, so hopefully this can do that for him."

Allen

Wilkens nodded, and gave the fair dragon a toothy grin. "Well, you better get to it then! He's your mess to look after while I go with Allen to get registered. Lets hope he'll be in shape by the time the strike is called to action."

Doran

The blue dragon hadn't expected to end up responsible for Cody Xyan, but fate seemed to make its own decisions in that regard. Xyan was in rough shape when he woke up, and with Allen and Wilkins having gone off to sort out registration for the mission with Dead Orbit, the Titan green dragon's care fell to Doran. Caring for recovering drunks wasn't something he had any particular experience with, but sharing a strong coffee with the other dragon seemed like a decent enough starting point.

Xyan didn't speak much, and Doran didn't blame him, given the rough shape he was clearly in. The rest of that afternoon they barely exchanged more than a few words, Doran quietly helping Xyan get himself cleaned up and lingering a while after Wilkins returned. For all his initial distaste toward the other dragon, or at least his way of handling trauma, the warlock quickly found himself softening toward him. He was no stranger to the horrors of war, and even if Xyan had adopted a particularly self-destructive coping mechanism for it Doran could tell it was well-deserved. It was just the barest hint of a haunted look in the dragon's eyes that he only barely caught now and then, but it was enough to see that Xyan was grievously damaged by what he'd lived through.

By the time Doran left that night to get some rest, he realized that he'd already come to feel somewhat protective toward Xyan, and wanted to help him get back on his feet.

Xyan didn't make it entirely easy, of course. Being dragged forcibly back to sobriety didn't make him the friendliest of people, and Doran had to call on his Warlock-trained focus and calm many times during the following several days as the other dragon hurled curses, insults, and the occasional punch. He kept at it though, with ample assistance from Wilkins and Allen, and by the end of the week they'd gotten Xyan back into his armor and his head somewhat cleared. Doran convinced him to accompany him to the Tower's firing range to start retraining his hands and eyes to combat, and was suitably impressed at the result.

The recovering dragon wasn't one to take encouragement easily though, and slammed down his auto rifle in frustration after several rounds went wide of the target on one of his sessions. "Damned useless. I can't even shoot straight anymore, you don't want a wreck like me out there with you."

Doran set down his scout rifle and turned to Xyan, leaning against the barrier beside him. "You can, actually. I've seen it. Two magazines ago, you emptied your entire clip into the ring and not one went wide. Difference is you weren't thinking too much. I was watching. You let yourself fall into a rhythm of short, controlled bursts. This last time, you got thinking about it too intensely, your grip tightened up, and you spent the whole time fighting against the rifle. When you relax into it, you're damn near a magician with that thing."

The other dragon scowled. "That's great and all, but how in fuck am I supposed to 'relax' when we're in a firefight with a bunch of Fallen or someone else trying to kill us? 'Specially if you're gonna insist on throwing me sober into combat... I already know how it's gonna go. I'm just gonna see them again. Lee and Jason, going down, I'm going to panic and freeze and then either get myself or one of you shot."

"Maybe."

Xyan looked up at Doran's response, surprised. "Shit. You even agree with me? Why are you even helping me then?"

"I said maybe. Maybe we'll go on this mission together and find ourselves in over our heads. Maybe we'll find ourselves in the middle of a massive Fallen operation with an entire House turning out to try and kill us. Maybe we'll uncover an entire Hive colony that'll turn out and try to tear us to bits. Maybe things will get crazy and you'll panic like before. Or maybe I will. Or maybe you'll find your focus and it'll be your bullets that save my life. War is uncertain, Xyan, and there's no way we can know what we'll face or how we'll react. But I wouldn't have spent the last week subjecting myself to your warm and friendly demeanor day in and day out if I didn't think you were worth it."

"Well that's great for making me feel all warm and fuzzy, but what the hell DO you see? What possibly makes me worth it to you?"

"This for one." Doran grabbed one of Xyan's used target sheets from a stack on the range's work table, holding it up. It was the one he'd mentioned a moment ago, with every shot grouped impressively in the target circle. "I know you've taken damage, Cody. I know you're rough and ragged, but stuff like this shows me the potential you've got, too. I want to help you get that back. And from what I can see you're not as far from it as you think. This kind of shot grouping would be impressive from a scout rifle, and you're using this mad bastard on full auto."

"Never got on well with scout rifles. Fire too damned slow and frustrate me. I need something I can cover the area with better. Besides, firing that straight's no good to you if I can't do it consistently."

"Scouts aren't right for everyone, but there's more than one type of auto rifle. Here, humor me with something." Doran walked over to the firing range's vault access console, returning a moment later with a sturdy-looking rifle, imposingly finished in matt black. "Why don't you give this one a try. It's slower-firing than yours but you might get on better with the feel."

Xyan continued to look unconvinced, but obligingly carried the new rifle over to the barrier and cocked it. Shouldering it, he fired a few quick bursts down range to try the feel of the gun. The trailing shots of the first couple bursts walked north of the target circle as he learned the character of the rifle's kick, but he finished the magazine with longer bursts and kept them all in the circle. When he finished, he eyed the new rifle a bit untrustingly. "...This some kinda funny Warlock magic or something?"

Doran chuckled. "No, that one's purely mechanical. I dumped a mess of glimmer on the Tower Gunsmith to help me modify that one about a year ago, and he worked with me swapping parts and materials until the balance was damn near perfect. I like it, but I've since gotten fixated on my scout rifle. If you like the feel of it it's yours. It'll still fill the air with lead on full auto, but each shot hits a bit harder and it's a lot more stable than the one you've been using."

"I'll say. I like the higher rate of fire, but... well, feels like I might hit stuff more often with this one." The dragon looked over at Doran a bit uncertainly. "You're sure...?"

Doran grinned. "Extra sure, if you're liking it that well after just one try. By all means keep your old one on hand too, sometimes a bullet hose is what a job calls for, but if this one feels good then keep practicing with it and show me what you can do. I'm still eager to see why your callsign is 'Thunder.'"

For the first time since Doran had met him, Cody Xyan gave a grin of his own. "Heh, that? That's because of what I can do with Storm Fist..."

Allen

While Doran and Xyan had their moments of training, Wilkins and Allen took to each other like a pike to a stream. While they had different things to talk about, mostly with their class and faction differences, they both had a love for old world comedies and animations. When they weren't relaxing in the evenings, they were at the sparing zone, doing hand to hand combat techniques. What Allen did in blunt and sloppy punches, Korey did in quick light jabs, rapidly working in punches that whittle down an enemy's resolve to fight.

Meanwhile, Korey also started teaching Allen blade skills. With a simple dagger in his hand and a charge of void, Wilkins was death on the wind. Several times, to the tune of angered muttering from tower trainers resetting the practice dummies, Korey sliced clean through titanium grade targets like butter, "Dancing" between targets like a bullet.

Near the end of the first week, while they were both watching an old revival of the cartoon "Tom And Jerry," Korey turned to Allen and asked, "What was it that caused you to search us out that day?"

Allen chuckled and paused the show before replying, "At first, I was just hoping your room mate would give us a reward for helping clean up his mess. Now, though?" He sat up straighter, A glint like fire in his eyes. "Now, I want to form a guild with you. We've almost enough people together to start our own, and with it, we'd gain benefits that aren't already in our power."

He chuckled and sat back,remote at the ready. "But that's an idea for later," he said, turning his attention back to the TV screen, "let's enjoy the now before it's gone to the past."

Doran

Xyan was true to his word. When he and Doran visited the sparring zone, the Titan's ability to channel his Light into the devastating and lightning-infused punch known as 'Storm Fist' was uncommonly fast; nearly twice the rate at which Doran could charge his own void-powered palm strike. The result left Doran nearly speechless as he watched his new friend leave several practice dummies in sparking pieces on the floor in quick succession.

"Damn. You must be an absolute beast at close quarters. I can see why they call you 'Thunder.'"

"And why I favour the close range weapons. I do best in the thick of it, don't have the patience for all that methodical long-range work."

"I think we could balance each other well then. I can do close quarters but I'm happier with a scout rifle and a sniper, engaging from range. If you're up shredding our enemies' faces while I'm supporting you from distance, we could make a brutal combo."

Cody grinned a little. "Yeah. At least if you're shooting is as hot as you act like it is."

Doran just chuckled in reply, pleased at how easily the two dragons had established a dynamic between them. "We've been working hard, and I think we're both looking good but tired. Let's go relax in one of the lounges after we're done here."

The green dragon raised an eye ridge, looking a bit dubious. "And what? Share a drink?"

Doran smiled and shook his head. Cody had been recovering well, but he wasn't about to push him into temptation. "I was going to suggest ice cream."

Allen

Allen paused what he was doing and looked at his HUD. "Crap," he muttered, and he contacted Xyan, Doran, And Wilkins to a group meeting. "Right, guys, I think we need to talk.

Later, they all gathered in Allen's room. Most of the space was empty, but the walls held a few posters from the pre collapse era and a few trophies from his adventures. In the middle of the room was a holo-map, detailing where their mission was to take them. "Right," He began, "I called you all here to do two things. One, Inform you we've been delayed two weeks because of heavy Fallen activity in this area. I'd rather go in with less Guns and Explosions and more tactics. Two, I've called you here to go over the majority of our rolls. Right now, I've got the old town sector right there." He points to a small area, mostly described by blocky structures and narrow areas.

"Doran, you and Xyan have two areas, but I want you two to stick together. First, I want you to go by these forests, look for good places to defend. If we need to, we can dig the outpost in the ground, but I'd rather be quick about this, and low profile if possible."

He then looked over to Korey with a small grin. "Wilkins, you have an old military base to search. I doubt the Fallen and scavengers left much, but if I'm reading this right, there's an old sealed Amory on file in there. Grab what you can and bring it down to the town. I hope there's something good there, it's the only part I'm putting to luck."

He looked up at the group. "Right. any questions?"

Doran

Doran looked over the holo-map, studying the layout carefully. "Looks straightforward enough. I expect you'll be right; we'll find what we can in the forests for fallback positions, but I'd imagine the ruins will suit our purposes better. More cover, assuming the Fallen don't level it too badly in the meantime. Cody will be at his strongest in the tighter quarters, too." The blue dragon grinned around the table at his companions. "Ought to be fun."

Allen

Allen Grinned and nodded. "If we're all in agreement then?" He asked, and after getting a nod from everyone, he continued. "Right, we'll meet in orbit two weeks from now. This was easier than I thought. See you all then, men."

End Of Part 1...