This is the prologue of 'The Ship of Bones'- part one of 'Chronicles of the Phoenix'- and my first bit of Destiny fanfiction. It isn't very long, just a little something to get this project rolling. Expect chapters to be longer than this. Constructive criticism is encouraged and appreciated! An update schedule is unknown at this point, but I'll update as often as I can. Thanks for reading…
Song lyrics from 'Your Bones' by Of Monsters and Men.
Chronicles of the Phoenix
The Ship of Bones
Said goodbye to you my friend,
As the fire spread.
All that's left are your bones
That will soon sink like stones…
The Tower
Early evening…
Things had all gone 'downhill', as she was sure Mirra-12 would so eloquently point out, since the loss of Jexus-00. They'd all been in plenty of horrible situations together. Surrounded by a large scouting party of Fallen on Earth, pinned in a dense jungle by the Vex on Venus, battered by Cabal in the Scablands on Mars…
Despite all of that, their Fireteam Leader couldn't dance his way out of death's grip—not this time.
After traveling with Jexus and being dragged through his strange exploits for nearly ten years… he was gone. It was a strange feeling, she would admit. As a Warlock it meant that she was finally spared from spending more years squeezing a trigger at endless hordes of enemies. No, she could finally put her energy into more useful activities, like seeking relics lost to time, or unraveling the secrets of The Darkness, or finding out the fate to Osiris or Toland. The possibilities were endless.
"You know what needs to be done, Nola-9."
But it seemed as if Ikora Rey was trying to lead her down another path. A path she'd never wanted to consider. Somehow, deep down, she knew it was going to come to this.
Nola couldn't help but to furrow her white optics and flatten the 'fins' on the sides of her head. The Exo femme was not liking where this conversation was going. "With all do respect Madam Rey, but this hardly seems like the proper course of action. I'd be of more use studying the Ishtar Collective, or the ruins of Crota's temple…"
"We need more experienced leaders in the wild, whether you want to believe that or not." Ikora looked away from the charts and books that covered her half of the huge Vanguard table. Ikora had ushered her fellow Vanguard out when Nola stepped into the hall, leaving them alone. "You have ten years of experience behind you, including the raids that ended Crota and Atheon, and not to mention the capture of Skolas. It's an impressive track record."
Nola immediately contested. "Jexus lead both assaults on Crota and Atheon, and he'd had been working closely with the Queen in regards to Skolas' bounty. I just followed orders. I took no active part in—"
"That's not what he'd told me." Ikora's expression remained stoic. "Jexus gave me a thorough report on all of your team's expedites. According to him you'd saved them all on many occasions with your preparedness and research. There was also an incident regarding a daring rescue in the Gorgons' Chamber in the Vault of Glass?"
Nola opened her mouth to voice her opinions and raised a finger, but silenced her vocalizers and lowered her finger before bothering to waste the energy. She'd remembered that moment well. Jexus' team had fought well to get past The Templar, but during the descent to The Gorgons' Chamber Mirra-12, like the overzealous Titan she tended to be, lost control of her thrusters and broke her leg when she hit the ground. Summoning her ghost for a quick heal wasn't an option, it'd attract a Gorgon. She'd insisted that everyone press on without her, but Nola didn't find that answer to be sufficient. Instead she diverted an oncoming Gorgon, giving Jexus and Trax Lingar's fireteam enough time to drag Mirra out. Nola was killed by that Gorgon, but being a newly trained Sun Singer had its perks.
Her sacrifice was down-played by Trax's Hunter, a Blade Dancer that had more talk in him than good ideas, and insisted that it was 'cheating the system'. She was a Sun Singer—she could revive herself. Her 'sacrifice' had hardly been one, and she believed him for a while. Jexus told her otherwise.
"You have great leadership capabilities," Ikora continued, snapping Nola back into reality. "I wish that you could see that like I can."
"Doing my homework isn't the same as leading a fireteam, or a raid team. It takes courage, boldness, experience…" Nola sighed. "I don't have what Jexus had."
Ikora's taught expression slacked and, for the first time in a long while, Nola watched the Warlock Vanguard crack a small smile. "Well, perhaps you should venture out and seek just what Jexus had that you don't believe you have. Humor me—take up one Vanguard mission as a Fireteam Leader, see if the gauntlet fits. If it's less than enchanting, well, then you have my blessings to retire that beloved Hawkmoon of yours."
Nola frowned and reached down to gently touch the silver hand canon that was slung on her belt. She remembered the day she found it in a pile rubble on the Moon. It seemed like such a long time ago, and yet it didn't. Jexus went over the weapon with her, telling her it's stories in legends and myths, passing on his knowledge on to her. She had a brief spark in her chest then, to become a leader like him. When had that changed? After he'd died? She lost that spark some time ago, and she needed to find it again.
"I also hope that you'll think about the others…" Ikora chuckled. "The others that might have Mirra-12 enlisted to their teams. I think separating you two would be a mistake. You're one of the few that can keep that femme tame."
Nola shook her head and chuckled right along with the older woman. "Well, it would be a burden to the masses to be saddled with a hot-head like her. When do I start?"
"Soon," Ikora hummed, closing one of her many books and handing it to Nola. "Cayde is in the process of selecting a new Hunter to complete your team. It will take a few days, and in that time Commander Zavala will formally brief Mirra of your situation. In the meantime, meditate and prepare yourself. Read a book in the in your free time, hmm~?"
Nola didn't look down to the book until it was in her hand, and she tiled to the cover to get a better look at it. The cover was frayed and very old, but the title could just still be barely read. She made a face. "The Snow Queen?"
"An unlikely pair faced outrageous odds in the presence of failure." Ikora continued cleaning up her space, preparing to leave her station in the Vanguard's Hall. "Quoting the author himself, 'When we get to the end of the story, you will know more than you do now.' You just need to trust yourself to get to the end of your own story, young Warlock."
Nola said nothing back. She just looked down at that aging book in her hand, her past exploits flashing through her restless mind—the future ones scaring her down to the core. What she'd fallen in to at this point was beyond her understanding, but now fate had thrown her head-long into something that she couldn't back out of.
As Jexus would've told her in that moment, 'You're just gonna to have to close your eyes and step off that cliff… hope you make it out alright at the bottom'.
So hold on,
Hold on to what we are,
Hold on to your heart.
~ Of Monsters and Men