Chapter 8: Hunter
As we came out of warp space we were met with… Nothing. The place was a desolate wasteland of destroyed ship parts.
"Where did all this come from?" Asked Titan. His ghost answered.
"Every ship that could escape fled earth during the collapse. They made it this far… I guess they died out here."
"It's a graveyard…" Warlock muttered quietly.
"How did the Awoken survive?" I asked aloud.
"No one knows…" W.Ghost said. Suddenly a new voice was in our comms, along with two little blips on our radars.
"Intruder bearing one-two-seven. You have crossed into the realm of the Awoken. State your business or be fired on by order of the queen." The three of us were stunned silent. I heard T.Ghost speak quietly.
"Don't look at me! Better say something." But Titan didn't say anything. Warlock did.
"We are from Earth. We're here to seek council with the Awoken." I smirked, knowing her accent might entice them. There was silence a moment before the guards spoke again. Their ships drew closer to ours, then pulled ahead as they spoke.
"Conform to my trajectory. Any deviation will be taken as an act of aggression." I chuckled.
"Looks like we're in the right place!" My Ghost sighed.
"Why is the right place always so terrifying?" She mumbled. Our ships continued on towards the inner realms of the Reef. Before long we were on foot, walking down a long walkway with guards escorting us on either side. An Awoken in royal armor and a cloak addressed us as we approached. Titan and I kept quiet. We agreed that Warlock should do the talking. The Awoken prince spoke.
"So… These are the trespassers demanding an audience."
"We didn't mean to trespass," Warlock stated.
"The queen herself judges who may or may not enter the realm." He smirked with a smug air about him, slowly moving towards us. "Me? I see no reason she should be available for whatever washes up at the Reef. And yet here we are."
"We came to ask for help," Warlock said calmly. Suddenly I heard a familiar growl. I looked up at the throne and shouted.
"Fallen!" I reached for my scout rifle, Titan opting for his auto and Warlock her hand cannon. In the same instance, the Fallen readied their spears. The Awoken guard by me drew her pistol, putting it to my head. The other did the same to Titan and the prince had grabbed Warlock's arm, a knife to her throat. For a brief moment, we all froze. Then a female voice broke the silence.
"They are afraid of the fallen," it uttered. Suddenly the queen herself came into view, graciously sitting on her throne. "They do not understand that these ones are mine." The two Fallen returned to a resting stance, leaning on their spears. The guards urged us on and we complied, slowly holstering our weapons. The Prince sheathed his knife and looked dead at Warlock.
"Apologies, your grace." He turned towards her and gave a slight bow. He started walking towards her. Warlock quickly cut to the chase.
"We are Guardians from Earth. We are searching for the Black Garden." The prince froze, turning back to us with what I thought was concern.
"Why?" He asked simply.
"We seek to destroy the darkness at its heart." The prince relaxed and smirked.
"You want to turn it into a battleground." His tone shifted to sarcastic. "How unimaginative."
"Do you know where it is?"
"Everyone knows where it is. The hard part is getting in."
"Can you help us?" The prince furrowed his brow and slowly advanced towards Warlock with each word.
"And why, would we, do that?"
"The queen requests council with her brother," the queen suddenly interjected. The prince glared at us a moment before going to her. Warlock looked back at me. I gave a faint smile to try and reassure her. I glanced at Titan. His expression was still stone cold as it always was in a serious moment. Suddenly the prince started to chuckle.
"Yes… yes that's good." He stood and turned to us with a smile and outstretched his arms. "Why not?" He relaxed. "We'll make you a key. How's that?" He smirked and I knew right then there was a catch to this deal. "All we need is the head of a Vex Gatelord." Warlock started to mumble.
"A Gatelord… um… we-"
"Why do you want a Vex head?" Titan interjected. The prince smirked.
"Oh we don't." His expression suddenly became bored. "And I doubt we'll get one either." His smirk returned. "But it's your only hope of getting into the Black Garden." Warlock stood straight.
"We will return," she said with confidence.
"Or die on Venus… either way." Warlock gave a brief curtsey before turning around. Titan gave a bow and I mimicked him. We were promptly escorted out. We quickly got back to our ships.
"Well that guy was a prick," I said aloud. Titan laughed.
"Agreed. I don't like him."
"We don't get a choice," Warlock pointed out. "We have to put up with him to get to the Black Garden."
"May I just point out that we don't even know what a Gatelord is?" I interjected.
"I'm well aware," Titan stated. "My Ghost and I are running up a plan. In the meantime," Titan paused, and his tone switched to something mildly suggestive. "Why don't you two get back to that date I keep interrupting." I perked up. I'd completely forgotten. Warlock spoke through the commlink.
"Is now really the appropriate time for such thoughts Titan?" She questioned almost accusingly.
"Hey," Titan began. "You two haven't had much proper alone time. I'll handle this plan and get back to you when we got one." I smirked.
"Thanks T," I said. I stood. "Ghost, transmat me to Warlock's ship."
"Transmatting," she said. Then, poof, I'm in Warlock's cabin, right next to her. She jumped in surprise at my sudden appearance. I smirked.
"The party has arrived," I said, striking an overly confident pose. And then the joke backfired.
"Um… What party?" she said in confusion. I sighed.
"It's just an expression. Nevermind." I took off my helmet and sat back in the copilot's seat. She giggled.
"Oh I see. The 'party' is a metaphor for you." She smirked, proud of herself. I smiled. She took off her helmet, revealing her red hair and golden eyes. She caught me staring and batted her lashes at me. "You are staring again." I blinked a few times.
"Sorry. I can't help it." I held her hand. "You're just, uh, really pretty." She smiled and blushed. She leaned towards me and placed a chaste kiss on my lips. It was over far too soon, but I didn't go in for another. She smirked confidently, a look I would never tire of. "I love you," I said, without even thinking. She smiled brighter.
"I love you too." I sat back in the chair, unsure of what to do next. We were alone again, finally, but without much time. And I couldn't get the main problem out of my head. The Black Garden, the darkness, the Vex. She noticed my mind was elsewhere and stood, climbing in my lap and facing me. I looked up at her with a faint smile. She pushed some of my long blonde hair out of my face. "Are you alright?" she asked. I sighed.
"Yeah. Just thinking about all this. The Black Garden seems… terrifying." She nodded solemnly.
"It does seem that way. But I have faith in the three of us. If we stick together, we can conquer it." I smiled.
"Does anything scare you?" I asked her with a chuckle. She stopped, thinking.
"Only the thought of fighting alone scares me…" she said softly. I nodded. "The two of you grant me strength I would never have on my own." I smiled and pulled her into a hug, placing a soft kiss on her cheek to comfort her.
"I promise, we'll be together through this." She smiled. She pulled back and locked lips with me, passion burning in her touch. Soft and sweet. I didn't hesitate to kiss her back, closing my eyes and savoring the feeling of her in my arms. We probably held this kiss for a minute or so. Then she pulled back, a smile on her lips. I grinned. "You're amazing," I mumbled softly. She giggled.
"So are you," she said in return. She kissed me again sweetly, a soft hum of contempt leaving her. I ran my hands up and down her back, feeling the cloth of her thin armor. I felt her gloved hands cup my face, holding on gently. I smiled and pulled on her hips lightly, bringing her closer to me. She pulled away, a little short on breath. She smiled with glee, giggling like a schoolgirl. I chuckled. She was so cute. Titan's voice came through the comms.
"Alright, breaks over. We got a plan." I sighed but nodded.
"Go ahead T," I said. Titan gave a rundown of the plan. Go to Venus, kill a big Vex, take its brain, and see what we can learn about them.
"That's a wonderful plan," Warlock said. "Let us put it into action." She hopped off my lap, giving me one last kiss before letting go. I stood and transmatted back to my own ship. We set our course for Venus. As we jumped to warp space I cheered with excitement.
"Yeeeeehaaaaaaw!"
