Hello readers of mine both new and old :) this is my new fic, Rage of the Hive. While I'm busy at work writing the next installment of my RvB fic, I hope this will tide people over, as I found a burst of inspiration after actually giving The Taken King a chance. Without further ado, here is the first chapter!
Chapter One: The Calling
For all Guardians are, they are not invincible. They are still just ordinary men and women with extraordinary abilities and determination. For all Guardians are… they are still mortal. – Anonymous
The light.
Oh how she hated the light. The way it burned to ash. The way it electrocuted flesh. The way it sucked the life out of her children. Every cry brought her a wrack of grief so strong that she could almost feel their pain as they died. Until finally, after her master, Oryx, fell, and she wailed aloud after so much loss. Crota, her son, had been the beginning. Oryx, the final straw.
The dawn broke over the moon's shadow, and the Hive rose as one in the deepest depths of the crags, and cried out in one voice: ENOUGH!
"Ghost, set a course for the Tower. We've got bounties to turn in."
I could hear the whirring of my companion as he contemplated.
"Can't we just turn them in from here? Honor system and all?"
A smile turned up my lips.
"Maybe, but I'm an old-fashioned kind of girl. Besides, Ikora told me the Warlocks compiled a book and the reports from the fireteam that took down Oryx. I want to read about how they did it, and who knows? The research the two Warlocks on the team got may give us a new edge over the Hive."
The fireteam that defeated Oryx were practically celebrities. The Tower had been alive with widespread celebration and revelry when the news had come in, and somehow the party had only escalated when the six Guardians returned. Used to the attention after they had taken down Crota, the six heroes took it all with good grace, and even indulged a little themselves before retiring. I envied them. I wanted to make as much of a difference as they had, and give hope to a City that had been devoid of it for so long like they did. But what was I but one of the few bookworm Hunters, more a Warlock than a City scout.
Sure, Cayde was quick to send me out when he needed work done, but Ikora was also quick to call on me for favors. My latest run to Venus for her had been to follow in the footsteps of half of the Oryx fireteam (embarrassingly, I found myself almost swooning at the sight of Fallen corpses they no doubt killed), and see if the Ishtar Archives held any more valuable information besides the intelligence on the Vault of Glass. It hadn't been too informative, but there had been an interesting set of correspondences between the Ishtar Collective and the research teams on the Moon. Before Venus fell, it seemed like the Hive were just beginning to cause problems for the Moon. While Venus was embroiled in a fierce and ultimately losing battle with the Vex, the Moon was reporting to the Collective on the Hive. The correspondence that caught my eye made reference to a, "parasitic witch that seems to drain, and benefit, from technology that utilized the power of the Traveler."
It didn't seem possible, and the witch had to be some precursor to Crota. Everybody in the Tower knew that the Moon had fallen to Crota, Oryx's son, and the bane of the Light. While the Hive may have overrun the Moon at first, when the Guardians came about, it became a more even fight. The first Guardians probably crushed this Wizard. Perhaps that's why Crota came to the Moon. With this Hive general – or whatever it was – dead, the forces there needed reinforcements. And that brought about the ultimate loss of the Moon. The thought of piecing together an event so important from our history made me giddy. Maybe I wasn't the fastest, the strongest, or the wisest Guardian, but I liked to think of myself as dedicated at least, and perhaps a bit smart.
My musings had kept me silent, but my Ghost didn't say anything to break the silence. He knew my quirks and habits, and I appreciated that he didn't seem to mind when I drifted off. He was probably my only close friend. I hated working in fireteams. Everyone was so laser focused on the mission normally that they never stopped to investigate anything that could be important off of the beaten path. Most of them annoyed me, and I, in turn, annoyed them. The Bookworm's Pet was what they liked to call me. It would be a humorous if they didn't mean it so insultingly. If Ikora heard anything, she didn't seem to mind, and even encouraged my attendance at the Warlock's archives, commenting often how she wished other Hunters and Titans were the same way.
"We're approaching the Tower. Amanda says your parking place is open."
Shaking away the less encouraging thoughts, I steered towards the hangar, delighted to be home again. With luck, one of the Oryx fireteam would be in the archives too! The thought sent a thrill of delight through my veins, but also made me nervous. What would I say? 'Hey, congratulations for killing the biggest threat to the City since Crota himself?' Maybe. That would seem casual enough while talking to a tower hero probably.
Though if I was being honest with myself, I wanted to see Sasha. Ace Gunslinger, she was Cayde's favorite prodigy, and rumor had it she was being groomed for the Vanguard mentor position when Cayde finally decided to step down and get out of the Tower again. Sasha was, in a couple words, the ideal Hunter. Everything I wasn't, and everything I wanted to be. But seeing her was a very low chance. She'd been heard before saying that she preferred learning on her feet and in the field by experience rather than read.
"Hey, Ghost," I began, finally breaking out of my silent reverie, "does Cayde have anything he wants me to do today?"
My ghost was silent for a couple minutes, no doubt checking for any additional orders. After a moment, he hummed in thought as he appeared over my shoulder.
"Strange Hive activity on Earth. According to some unconfirmed reports, the Hive are actually abandoning their fights with the Fallen."
That was weird. Then again, it sounded like a positive sign. Perhaps the deaths of Crota and Oryx were routing the bestial creatures. It was a hope that sprouted quickly, followed by a rush of adrenaline and happiness. If we could win the war against the Fallen… we could take our moon back. We could push the Fallen out, and then get Earth back. The possibilities weren't even glimmers on the radar before three of Fireteam Spearhead (so unoriginal. Of course it had been Zavala's idea to keep their fireteam name to the point and obvious) had defeated the Black Heart. Then their whole team had snowballed into legend by delivering the astounding victories against the Hive into the laps of the Vanguard.
"Does the Vanguard have any ideas as to why the Hive are pulling back?"
"They followed your line of thinking. With both of their gods gone, they think it's a sign of the Hive becoming broken and scattered. Cayde suggested that Hunters be deployed across Earth to various locations where the Hive have been spotted and see if these reports are true, and to exactly what extent the Hive have taken their withdrawal. He also wants to keep an eye out for resurgent Fallen activity, but that's a secondary objective. They're understandably jumpy about the Hive since Oryx came around."
I nodded to myself, stopping at the bounty board to transmit my successes to the board's attendant. Ghost garnered my earned rewards and we turned to the archives to deliver what we had found.
"Sounds easy. We can do that. It's funny, they're not as concerned about the Fallen anymore. Though with a few of the surrounding Kells in our backyard dead, I can't say I'm surprised."
Skolas had been locked away in the Prison of Elders by Mara Sov, the Awoken queen of the Reef. Her death had been hard on the Awoken last I heard, though I hadn't actually been to the Reef myself. I hadn't been experienced enough at the time to take part in the hunting of the House of Wolves. However their presence had made Earth more dangerous for a time. Eventually, however, Skolas inadvertently brought about the destruction of not only his own house, but that of the Kings and Winter houses as well.
Still, a part of me was always more focused on the Fallen. They were backed into a corner in the Cosmodrome, sure, but they still held strong footholds in other places on the planet. It wasn't going to be easy to root them all out. The Vanguard, however, had outlined our priorities: check on the Hive and Fallen. Obviously see if either were going to be an immediate threat to the safety of the City. Whatever the results, I was sure we'd be ready for them.
For the moment though, my priority was Ikora.
Walking into the Archives made me sigh in contentment. Books were everywhere. Bound in leather, or kept in more sophisticated datapads. Whatever information the Tower had was kept here and maintained by the Warlocks to be studied or organized. They did excellent work, and they were always courteous when asked about a subject or how to find something. Best of all, they didn't judge whenever I came in. I was a fairly regular visitor, which was apparent as one of the bookkeepers gave me a nod and a small smile before returning to his work. Ikora soon appeared, a datapad in her hand.
"Cassidy, welcome back. Did you find anything interesting?"
Nodding, I had Ghost materialize our findings into my hand.
"I think you'll find these messages to be fascinating, Ikora. Apparently there was a bigger threat to the moon's civilizations than Crota at first. I think the early Guardians managed to kill whatever the 'witch' was that the researcher on the moon was referring to."
Now it was Ikora's turn to nod as she took the pad from my hand.
"An interesting theory. We'll have to see what the records turn up to verify your findings. And as promised, here's the after action reports of Fireteam Spearhead during their fight with Oryx, as well as all the information we have regarding him and his Taken. Thank you, Guardian Drake."
Taking the offered items, I smiled brightly. Tonight I'd be occupied for hours.
"It's never a problem to help out, Ikora. You know I love this kind of assignment."
"That you do," she agreed, approval in her voice. "Enjoy your evening."
That was her goodbye as she took her leave, moving down the hallway to meet another Warlock with two books in her hands. I turned to the exit and made my way out, unsurprised to see that darkness was finally falling. The sunset sent multi-colored rays of light across the City, lighting it and the Traveler up in a dazzling display. With my helmet off, I could smell the crisp air of late fall, though it was slightly tainted by the tang of whatever industry we'd managed to scrape together. The spectacular view was worth braving the air quality, however. This, I reminded myself, is what we're fighting for. To improve the lives of everyone we protect. To make sure the nightmares we see aren't seen by the children born in the future. To survive.
"We'll get started on what Cayde wants tomorrow," I told Ghost, biting my lip in thought, "and after that we'll grab more bounties and just wander the system. Sound good?"
"I go where you go," Ghost promised, clearly approving of the plan. "Do you know where we're going?"
"Not yet," I replied with a frown. "Did Cayde tell you which sector we're going to?"
Ghost nodded once and projected a map that lit up the growing shadows around us. The mail kiosk glowed dimly with it, and I studied it with hard scrutiny. A shiver ran through me. This was no easy assignment. The mountains, once proud and snow-capped, were barren, and had holes drilled into them where Hive seeders had dug into them. The small, sleepy town Cayde assigned to me used to be a stronghold in Noth America's Midwest, known as Relic Park. It had another name before that, but while the rest of the world incorporated larger buildings and better architecture thanks to the Traveler's knowledge, this town elected to keep its old buildings. They did adopt methods to help alleviate the floods, blizzards, and rock slides in the area, but they used their old look as a tourist attraction in and of itself. The old red-roofed hotel that made the town famous was a shell of its former glory, but it still stood proudly, albeit abandoned.
When the Fallen and Hive moved in, the entirety of the town and the roads leading to it became extremely dangerous. Ships were too noisy to directly insert into the town, so it was up to infiltrating by Sparrow from the bottom of the mountain. That in and of itself was going to be a challenge.
"Ok, we'll come up with a plan of how to pull this off tomorrow. Let's get some shuteye."
Things… were not going according to plan.
"Ghost! Get me an alternate route so we can shake these pikes!"
It hadn't taken long for the pair of us to run into trouble on the road to the park. While the disappearance of the Hive was pressing, I honestly thought they'd overlooked just how jumpy the Fallen would get too. It was a sad day when I, Guardian Cassidy Drake, could see something the Vanguard couldn't. And that was how we found ourselves in the predicament of being chased by a squad of Fallen pikes. Their shots ripped apart foliage and old, weather-beaten cars. Metal screeched and I was glad my helmet could filter out the stink of burned metal and greenery as my Sparrow sailed through the trees and roads alternatively.
"There! The road up the canyon!"
Eyeing it as I turned, I hissed slightly, highly aware of the danger ahead.
"It's choked with cars, it's got turns that even a professional Sparrow racer wouldn't try-"
"And it also won't let the pikes follow us as quickly if you ride on top of those cars," Ghost finished, setting a waypoint. "I can mark each turn for you, Cassidy, so you'll have time to prepare. Go!"
I didn't hesitate and gunned my Sparrow as fast as it would go. The SR-1 Swiftriver was my pride and joy, and though it wasn't the fastest Sparrow in production, it had gotten me away from enough hairy situations for me to trust it. The cold rock of the cliff sides sped by me as I increased my speed, and then the bumping started. Each new leap over a car jarred me, and as experienced of a pilot as I was, it took every bit of skill I had to keep control of the vehicle and to not fly down into the raging river on my left. The turns were sharp and dangerous, and at one point my Sparrow fishtailed over a rusted guard rail before I got my forward momentum back.
The pikes, while tenacious, eventually fell behind. Their bulk made them durable, but not adaptable, and they sure didn't handle well. I rounded one last corner, and barely had the time to yell out in surprise as my Sparrow collided with a large rock. I felt heat and pain, and then I blacked out.
"Guardian? Come on, eyes up. We need to get moving before more Fallen arrive."
Blinking sluggish eyes open, I almost let out a groan from the phantom aches of the crash. Ghost had no doubt healed whatever terrible injuries I had had (if I hadn't just outright died), but there was always that leftover feeling in the nerves. Even the Light could only do so much. However, as I finally blinked into focus the helmet above me, I bolted upright in absolute shock. In all of her heroic glory was none other than Cayde's star pupil, Guardian Sasha Carrington. She clearly read my sudden recovery as a reaction to her presence, and a small chuckle escaped her.
"You can ask me whatever you need to once we get into the town. My partner has a position locked down in the outskirts. Let's get to him, and then I can bring you up to speed on the situation. Sound good?"
I only nodded, afraid of saying something stupid. I thought she was smiling under that helmet of hers as she stood and offered her hand.
"Good, let's be off then. We'll go on foot. It's only about a ten-minute jog, and we won't draw any attention."
Standing up, I grabbed my scout rifle off of my back. It had taken a lot of saving and a lot of practice in the Iron Banner, but I'd managed to buy a Gheleon's Demise from them. The gun was a thing of beauty. It had an improved reloading system so I wouldn't have to spend as much time loading in a new magazine. The rounds were armor piercing, and best of all, a special compound in the bullets caused my enemies to light up in brilliant explosions when they made contact with the brain matter of my whatever I was shooting at. I wasn't quite sure how it worked on Vex, but I wasn't about to question the gun. It had gotten me through some hairy situations too.
"Thanks for the help, but uh, how did you find me?"
"Your Ghost sent out a distress to any Guardians in the immediate area. Luckily, Nathan and I weren't that far away. You were pretty banged up when I got here, but your Ghost fixed you up soon enough. You've been out for about an hour."
A lot could have happened in an hour. Thank the Traveler that part of Fireteam Spearhead of all Guardians were close by. And thank my lucky stars for Ghost.
"Thank you, Guardian Carrington, and thank you too, Ghost. I'd be dead or worse without you."
My Ghost materialized into view, amusement lining his voice.
"You would have died plenty of times before this if not for me. But you're welcome. Just doing my job."
Sasha snorted as she gathered up her own gun. With a start, I immediately recognized the Hawkmoon. It was designed for the best Gunslingers the tower had to offer. Deadly and precise, it had the ability to cause even more devastating wounds with three bullets in the entirety of the magazine. Only the elite Hunters had one. In very rare cases they were given to Titans and Warlocks, honorary Hunters in their own right. Their names usually went down in history.
"None of this 'Guardian Carrington' crap. I get that enough from the politicians and the Vanguard. My name is just Sasha to everyone else. Nice to meet you…?"
"Cassidy!" I blurted out quickly, offering my hand and taking a deep breath to calm my nerves. "My name is Cassidy Drake. It's nice to meet you too, Sasha."
With introductions out of the way, we began our trek. Both of our Ghosts were silent, no doubt keeping an eye on our surroundings just as Sasha and I were. But I couldn't help sneaking curious looks her way. Perhaps watching her would teach me a thing or two. This was, after all, the Guardian who had destroyed the heart of the Black Garden when she was actually fairly young as far as experience went. The most staggering thing was that she had done it alone. Fireteam Spearhead hadn't been formed until the Hive started making trouble. Regardless of all that, she made a striking figure on her own. Her cloak showed wear and tear, but the symbol of the Wolf stood out proudly in golden thread. Her armor was pure white, and she had clearly been busy using the Hive she killed to adorn it with all kinds of trophies. Is that a… Thrall skull on her belt? She must have a special kind of hate for them.
I had heard that Sasha was very candid and fun-loving no matter what she did, which was a curse and a blessing. More than once I'd hear that it led her to take anything important less seriously than it deserved. But with her track record of success, maybe she deserved to have that young spirit about her. Still, I had to wonder how she made such a good leader if she didn't take anything all that seriously. Maybe that was something else I'd learn from watching her.
"Nate? Coming up to your position now. Make sure you don't get us with your Blink Strike, ok?"
Surprise laced through me as I heard his reply. Sasha must have patched me into her team's comms.
"That was one time, Sasha! Aren't you ever going to forgive me?"
I chuckled under my breath at the pout in his voice. Nathan was a notorious flirt, especially with Sasha. Rumor also said they were secret lovers, though I myself always doubted it. Sasha seemed too focused on her job as a Guardian to pay much mind to any romantic ties. Not that it mattered, as Nathan more than made up for her lack of physical interest.
"Maybe after I beat your ass in the Crucible enough to drive home the point to watch your radar," she sniped back teasingly.
"So cruel," was his reply, before taking note of her previous statement. "So who was our stray Guardian?"
Sasha cast a glance over to me, and I replied before she could, trying to appear as the bold Guardian they probably all expected me to be.
"Guardian Cassidy Drake, at your service," I introduced, trying to portray as much confidence as I could. After all these guys were legends. I'd have to work extra hard to keep up with them. Weak links had not gotten them through all of the dangers they had faced together. But I also wasn't dumb enough to think that I was anything more to them than some random Guardian tagging along. They had their team. After this mission we'd part ways and maybe cross paths again if I happened to luck out. The least I could do was hope the Traveler would make sure nothing else went wrong while I was with them.
You aren't helpless, Ghost promptly reminded me. You are a Nightstalker. The Void answers to your call. Time to stop acting like the weak link you don't want to be and act like the skilled Guardian I've been working with for years. We have work to do.
Taking a steadying breath, I nodded. I had been a Guardian for almost four years now. This was just a routine scouting mission, with extraordinary people. I was also extraordinary in my own right. One of the Tower's few Nightstalkers. Nathan was unaware of my change of resolve as a grin laced his return communication.
"Nice to meet you, Gorgeous. Exactly what service are you-"
"Anyway," Sasha suddenly cut in, an inevitable scolding hinted at in her tone, "let's meet up and continue with the mission. Underneath the old hotel was where the Hive would congregate. They buried tunnels that went for miles underneath the mountains. Suddenly they disappeared from the stronghold, and from what we've gathered so far, the Fallen have moved in. Cassidy, our mission is a little bit different from yours. We're going to infiltrate that hotel and see what's waiting for us in the tunnels. You don't have to come along. I know Cayde assigned the majority of the Hunters to do perimeter scouting, and if going in deeper doesn't appeal to you, we'll part ways once we meet up with Nate."
I was taken aback at the sympathy she presented. Almost like she expected me to back out at the drop of a hat. And maybe it would have been smart to let the experts take on the most hazardous mission, but the Light burned within me in a desire to prove myself to this legend.
"Count me in. Something with that many unknowns? Sounds like an extra pair of hands wouldn't be so bad. At least, if you don't mind having me along."
"The more the merrier!" Nate broke in, the grin clear in his voice. "I got eyes on both of you. Let's get this show on the road."
There was no time to ask Sasha questions like she promised me. She inquired if there was anything pressing I needed to know, but a sense of purpose had settled over me, just as it normally did with all of my jobs. The longer we waited, the more time the Fallen had to fortify their position and keep us out. Nate, I quickly learned, was just a general flirt, and not just with Sasha. I could almost feel Ghost bristling at the attention he gave to me. Nothing over the top, but there were a lot of glances, and once there was a brushing over my hand that could have been explained as innocent, had he not chuckled at my startled reaction. Sasha always took it with grace, calling him out at each flirty remark and basically shutting him down hard enough to where he, too, focused up on the mission.
Despite the distractions around him, at our first encounter with a group of Fallen, it was obvious just how skilled he really was. While Sasha and I distracted them out front, assault rifle and scout rifle cracking away and keeping our enemies pinned, Nate snuck around in the Bladedancer's signature active camouflage. When he got close enough, he was like a deadly ballet dancer. Never in one place for more than half a heartbeat, his knife flashing in the falling sun and black blood staining it to a darker gray. Were it not for the helmets dampening the smells outside, I had no doubt the putrid scent of the Fallen would drive me away just as easily as the wildlife. Nate commented as much when the howls of the Fallen had finished echoing. According to him, Fallen blood was the worst to get off, but I had had to openly disagree. The Hive had a sickening green ooze to it. Just looking at it was enough to make me feel ill. This led to a hushed debate about what made either category of creature worse, yet we managed to agree that killing Vex was the cleanest of all. Cabal never even factored into the discussion, save to mention just how ugly they were without the masks.
Sasha had scoffed teasingly at us both, pointing out how one didn't need to clean their knife if their Ghost constantly generated them for you, to which Nate had responded how impersonal it was to constantly rid yourself of knives. His Arc Blade, he had admonished, had been with him through so much that cleaning it was the least he could do. Shaking my head at how their banter spun forward, I had to hold out a hand to stop them as we came up the road to enter the town. There, on the right, was the old hotel. Its proud red roof was marked with holes - bullet or just rot, I couldn't tell - and from the amount of Fallen pikes around the area, it was also a fortified position for the enemy.
"Probably Vandals with Wire Rifles on the roof," I murmured as we moved to the cover of the trees, grabbing my Gheleon's and looking through the scope. "Dregs and Vandals on the ground, Shock Pistols and Shock Rifles, more than likely. Eyes on... looks like two captains. Oh, shock swords on one, and a shrapnel launcher for the other. They're not pulling any punches. House emblem looks like the House of Shadows."
The Shadows earned their name from their heavy focus on the use of stealth Vandals. They were one of the more dangerous houses to encounter if you were unprepared. Sasha and Nate didn't seem too phased outside of mild surprise.
"The Shadows haven't been this far south in years. It was a massive undertaking to stamp out all of the cells here. I thought we were done with them," Nate growled grimly. "There was even an operation in planning to take down their Kell up in the north, above where the old country borders used to be. It doesn't look good for the mission if the Shadows are strong enough to crawl back here again."
It was surprising to hear the hate in Nate's voice. He seemed like a carefree spirit just like Sasha. Heck, it seemed like a Hunter thing to be pretty easygoing. But, looking at how focused his gaze was at the hotel, I realized that everybody had something that took away a person's light. It was up to them to just keep moving forward when that piece of light was gone.
"We'll need to watch each other's backs then," Sasha said, taking a look through the sniper she had brought along. "I don't like how open it is from here to the entrance. We'll be sitting ducks."
"Nightfall," I suggested, taking tock of the sun's position in the sky, "We'll have an easier time of staying hidden if we wait till darkness falls."
Sasha nodded, taking her eyes from the scope.
"Nightfall," she agreed. "And when it comes, we'll slip inside and get to the mission."
I shivered slightly. Getting past the Fallen was just phase one.
Phase two... well, that was where it would get complicated.