Witchy Babe

Destiny: The Hidden.

The hall narrowed into a slim corridor that only allowed for a single file. Crow kept to the front, leading the way away from the noisy and boisterous crowds. A few twists and turns and it opened back up to a dim room, quiet save for the few Eliksni chattering amongst themselves. In the center was a great table with papers and data feeds spread over it, and a towering Eliksni stooped over them with his four arms places palm down. Beside him a huge, grizzled warbeast slumbered until the less silent footsteps of Crow's companions woke it and it lifted its scarred head to let out a deep growl. The Eliksni looked up as well, and his luminous eyes narrowed.

"You bring me unknown visitors." He rumbled, drawing up to his full height. Crow held up her hands non threateningly, the pouch with his coveted datalink already in hand.

"Relax, Cratix, they're friendly. I made sure of it." She said diplomatically, tossing the pouch on his table. He scooped it up immediately, and once distracted with it she reached into another one of her pouches for what appeared to be a hunk of meat. She tossed it into the snapping maw of the warbeast, and it settled down with a satisfied growl once more. Cratix inspected his product before peering back up at the two guardians and their odd four armed exo, studying them closely.

"And Vanguard still not knowing of me, yes...?" He left the question opened ended, staring down Andoran and Emrys with what was most certainly not a friendly look

Destiny: The Hidden.

Crow continued on, weaving through the alien foliage, and despite being on a planetoid infested with Vex and Cabal, her weapons stayed holstered. Cratix kept his neck of the woods clear of anything that wasn't his crew, so the worst thing they would encounter was the thick underbrush. The further in they went, it became obvious they were not alone, yet Crow still stayed calm.

"Don't spook, they aren't here to harm us so long as you keep cool." She said nonchalantly as six Fallen Dregs and Wretches emerged from the forest, flanking them as they chattered among each other. They were clearly off put by her unannounced tag-alongs, in a tizzy about what their boss' reaction would be. They eventually made their way out into a clearing that gave way to a great canyon wall, complete with a cascading waterfall crashing down into a flowing stream. Crow walked ahead toward the waterfall that masked the entrance to the hideout. Before she could close the gap, a human emerged from behind the waterfall with two vandals and a Cabal war beast on a chain, straining against it as it snapped and snarled at them.

"You got a lot of nerve disrespecting the boss' generosity to ya like this, exo." The human spat on the ground, and as his ghost floated into view it became clear he was a rogue light bearer. Crow snorted, folding her arms as watched him through her helmet.

"Oh, bite me Jack. They're harmless. You think I'd be so dumb as to bring a threat to Cratix?" She retorted "Please, you insult me."

He sneered, yanking back on the warbeast's chain as it struggled to go after them

"Maybe so, but you know the rules, Crow-"

"You bet your ass I do, now move so I can deliver the product to your boss and get my money." She cut him off, and he narrowed his eyes to stare her down before chuckling darkly.

"Fine, fine. Your funeral." He said, turning to stalk back inside with the warbeast and Vandals.

"He's so full of shit, jeez." She mumbled under her breath, raising her hand to beckon the other two forward. The cloaking device on the entrance fizzled out and as they walked in to the cave the bustle of activity came to life. Humans, Exos, Awoken, Eliksni, and even a few Cabal, were scattered about, drinking or working in the smuggler's halls. No one wore any identifying colors or marks of allegiance, but they were a colorful lot nontheless. As they continued in it elicited stares from the occupants, some sinister mutterings floating through the crowd.

"Just ignore them and remember what I said." Crow said over her shoulder, taking Pidge and tucking him in the folds of her cloak.

Destiny: The Hidden.

Crow led Andoran through the narrow weaving canyons, descending lower as the trees began to thicken.

"There might be some opportunities to trade, and you may just happen to come across some new gear." She said "Never know what Cratix has in stock 'til I get there."

As they finally reached a clearing, she deployed the ship's landing gear and hovered down to the alien forest floor. Once touched down, Pidge transmatted them out and she pulled her helmet back on.

"We continue on foot from here. And don't worry about the ships, they're perfectly safe here." She said, stepping off with silent footfalls into the dense forest.

Destiny: The Hidden.

"Well, any scavenging you do is probably going to have to go through Cratix... Well, just be on your best behavior and he might let you scrounge together the parts to get a ship in order." Crow responded to him. They were entering into Nessus' atmosphere now, descending on the vibrant canyons and rock formations. There was something akin to a nervous knot in her stomach, the realization that she was bringing total strangers right to the doorstep of an entity that would be considered a wanted criminal in the eyes of the Vanguard settling in, and she couldn't help but brace for the worst.

"Hey fancy pants, you got a tracking log in that ship of yours?" She asked Andoran over the comm "If so shut it off now, I'll feel a lot better letting you tag along. We're nearly there."

Destiny: The Hidden.

Crow listened quietly, something akin to envy on her face as he recounted his memories. She could hardly remember her life before Pidge found her, let alone all the way before she became an exo. It was fleeting and vague, like trying to catch smoke.

"We're approaching Nessus, and I figure I should tell you before we get there but my contact is a very... sensitive subject. If you know what's good for you, don't be disrespectful, and you will say nothing of his existence to anyone associated with the Vanguard." She said seriously "He's gonna be unhappy as it is that I have extras with me, so just... be cool."

The ship gave a small jolt as they slipped out of jump speed, and Nessus' brilliant surface loomed into view as they coasted down.

"Oh, and don't stare. At any of it."

Destiny: The Hidden.

Name: Rowan McAllister

Race: Human

Affiliation: Vanguard, Crucible

Background: Rowan is a tragic and common story from the Red War. He was out in the field on the Moon with his fireteam when the Light was lost, and immediately lost one of their Hunters to a pack of thralls. Over time the former fireteam of six dwindled down to just Rowan. Rowan was able to group back up with other survivors and eventually found his way to the farm. He was one of the unfortunate ones who lost his Ghost during the conflict. It had happened right at the end when the guardians returned to retake the city. His group was boxed in near the market district, and his Ghost Prim made the mistake of revealing herself when Rowan was downed by a Cabal Gladiator. The Gladiator cleaved through the little Ghost like she was nothing, and left Rowan scarred on the face to remind him of the incident every day. He wears a fragment of her shell on a necklace, along with a crystallized primrose petal, her namesake. Without his Ghost he was no longer suited to field work, because even though he could still wield the light, if he died it would be his final death. Instead, Shaxx extended an offer to work with the Crucible in helping train young guardians.

Exotic weapon: Skyburner's Oath with Beware the Red Legion ornament

Exotic armor: Crest of Alpha Lupi

Unique Perk: Before the war he was a huge Crucible contender, well renowned and respected, he loved it. He fought alongside Shaxx during the attack, and it was for those reasons that when the dust settled he offered him the position so as to not let his fellow titan waste away now that he is no longer able to work in the feild.

Destiny: The Hidden.

Crow called down the ship, walking close by to Emrys for transmat up.

"Just don't touch anything, yeah?" She said to him just as they were pulled up and reappeared in the ship's cockpit.

"Alright, next stop, Nessus." She murmured, flipping a few things on and taking the controls to fly them into orbit and towards the Vex-infested Centaur. She glanced over her shoulder at the other exo, still perplexed by him.

"So you really remember everything about your life before you became an exo, huh?" She asked

Destiny: The Hidden.

"Oh! Oh! Our ship has an extra seat!" Pidge exclaimed, and Crow looked to him with a frustrated, exasperated look, causing Pidge to blink his optic as he realized what he blurted out and looked bashful. Crow gave him a narrow eyed, your-a-little-shit look before huffing and grabbing him to tuck affectionately to the crook of her neck where he settled in happily.

"Yeah, I have a two seater ship... I assume you got here on your own functioning ship, fancy pants." She said, directing the comment to Andoran.

Destiny: The Hidden.

Crow looked down at Emrys with a raised brow, at least what would be a brow on her exoskeletal face.

"What? That defunct old spire? Ain't nothing in there but ruins and scorn." She said "And besides, I've got a very important little data piece with a high price tag on it that I need to deliver."

Pidge fluttered nervously by her, nudging close to her audio receptors "But Crow, they're right about that thing... we can't deal with it alone if it comes back, plus all of the Scorn that are running wild around here..."

Crow looked over at him, annoyed with the fact that he was probably right.

"But you know how grouchy Cratix is when I take too long, and he seemed very concerned about this intel." She murmured back

Destiny: The Hidden.

Crow hummed thoughtfully, standing back up from her crouch as she folded her arms and watched him.

"Guy shouldn't have bolted off by himself when the fighting started, honestly. He's lucky all that happened was that he got knocked out." She commented as Pidge floated up and rested on her shoulder