Reckon - A Destiny 2 Fanfic & Probably Mikkel's Last Writing on the Topic
i
reckon - v. to count, compute, or calculate, as in number or amount
Strictly speaking, as an Exo, Chimeric-12 does not need to eat or drink. However, as they discovered searching the archives on Europa, having hunger helped them acclimate the consciousness to the mechanical frame they occupy. And if nothing else, deep frozen root beer does satiate a very particular pang.
The summer heat is sweltering in Old St. Louis. It’s quite here though. It’s been ages since Chimeric-12 had heard quite. It sounds like carbonation bubbles popping and reverbing off the giant satellite dish they sit on.
Engkanto floats over from the SCRAP CF-717-91, “we got a transmission from Yaeva. They want to know if we’re sure about sitting out the Kepler situation.”
TWO
A COLOSSAL FRAGILITY, A COMPLEX FIDUCIARY.
Book: Dust - The Declaration
For ten plus years, Chimeric-12 had been a Guardian, a Titan. They remembered their escapades in Sol. Walking the path of the Striker, aspiring to be a Defender, learning about the Sunbreakers. Their time as a free agent. The founding of Echo Company 67. The rechristening as the Jack of All Nades. The commandeering of the group.
They remember the Red War. How they temporarily lost their connection to Arc Light and communing with Kabr to respark their fits. “What the City wants us to do—what we want to do—it doesn't make any damned sense. That phrase 'tip of the spear' sounds good in speeches, but you know what happens to spear tips? They break. But that's what it takes. If the choice is between you or the Wall? You break.” They remember reigniting their Solar Light 1AU from earth, on the blistering surface of the Almighty. They remember finding Synthoceps on Titan (the planet) and dragging it to Unknown Space the first time, the recruitment of new members of their clan, trying to stave off burnout. They remember messing with temporal overlays on Mars trying to defend Rasputin.
They remember discovering the Dreaming City and meeting the Drifter, who gifted them with the Heart of Inmost Light that would become imprinted on their chest. They remember recovering the Anarchy grenade launcher and becoming a Dredgen, becoming a Reckoner. They remember the forges and Menagerie. They remember the Moon, and the Prophecy. God they remember the Prophecy. The consolidation to BlvckJvcks.
They remember meeting Yaeva months before Europa called to them. They remember Europa well. The cold embrace of Stasis, the communion with the past. The Deep Stone Crypt.
It was Savathun’s Throne World the year after that. They used Deepsight Resonance to craft a perfect armament for them, Submission. Months later, while practicing piracy, they discovered the weapon that would become their beloved, the tool that represented everything they loved. The Delicate Tomb. The Avant-garde Mausoleum. And another couple months later, their last interaction with Rasputin left them with their Fire & Forget. These three tools, their instruments, their tools, their story.
And then it was Neomuna. Strand was not quite as compatible with Chimeric-12. The year wore on Chimeric-12, but it prepared them for the final confrontation.
When the conflict with the Witness came to a head, Chimeric-12 felt like they had become the vision of power they always had in the back of their mind. A brilliant artificer, a mobile forge, an unrelenting train of Diamond Lances and Twilight Axes powered by Thunderclaps. And they were capable of being other things, but that… that is what they were. They remember working with their titled exotic weapon buddy and unearthing a Stoicism that merged their two most used pieces of exotic armor. And they fought the Vex, and the Scorn, and the Hive in the aftermath.
And they were tired.
3
Once again, I am becoming.
-Delicate Tomb
“I don’t think I have it in me Engkanto.”
The Ghost in the Rover Shells idles her small arm. She could tell about their tone that Chimeric-12’s honesty was not resignation but admission. Admission that the hours had added up. That the armor weighed them down. That the wires were burning out.
They had helped end a universe ending conflict. They had made friends, true companions. They had itched their Exo frame to mark the lessons they had learned. They loved being a Guardian, but love can only take you so far.
“I’ll tell them.”
“No, I’ll take care of it, Engkanto. Just float with me for a second.”
Engkanto obliged and looked out over the remnants of Old St. Louis. She had to admit the silence was nice.
“I do have a question Chim.”
“Shoot.”
“If we’re not going to Kepler, what are we going to do?”
Chimeric-12 takes a swig of root beer.
“I think… I think we build something here.”
four
They’d been another person. Another person before that. And another person before that. And another. Another. And yet another. How many lives now? How many deaths?
-Bronze Carapace, modified Heart of Inmost Light
It is a shockingly easy process to not be a Guardian. While the paracasual might still lay with them, Chimeric-12 stored their most their gear, and kept their most valuable trinkets in a local cache. They bid adieu to the folks at the Tower. Spent an uncharacteristic night drinking.
The Drifter flipped a coin, “You know Reckoner, I would have thought you’d outlast us all. Especially since it’s the Nine calling.”
Chimeric-12 looked at their friend. “Brother, me too. And maybe I’ll be back one day. It’s not like I’m nuking the vault. But, I think I gotta focus on what’s here and not what’s at the edge of fate.”
The Drifter pauses at the awkward phrasing, “…You mean edge of space?”
Chimeric-12 chuckles, “see? That’s how tired I am. Spouting nonsense. Edge of fate?”
The night passes. Chimeric-12 and Engkanto load up the SCRAP CF-717-91. They get a glimpse of Xur.
“You remember when Shaxx handed you a Universal Remote and you spent the rest of the week scavenging for Strange Coins for Xur to get No Back Up Plans.”
“I do. Funny how I went from an ADS-ing shotgun to a hipfire fusion rifle.”
“You’ve changed friend.”
“You say that, but I think the more accurate thing to say is that I’ve become more myself.”