The Guardian surrendered to the Awoken woman. The rise of the Darkness within her had taken all she had left. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and drifted into the nothing.
"Do not be afraid." The woman gripped her tightly and they began to fall slowly. As they fell, she saw her Fallen captors, the symbols, the skulking vandal with the tattered green cloak. Then they fell faster. The cold air began to whistle past her ears. Fragments of the memories Ghost had retrieved flashed before her mind's eye. Faster. The whistle turned into a roar, the cold began to reach her again. Do not be afraid. Then suddenly, they stopped.
"Open your eyes." Said the woman.
It had been a hot day and her feet were covered in dust. She stopped at the water pump and washed them and her hands as best she could. She picked up the basket and ran into the house, slipping off her sandals and stepping up onto the cool wood in the hallway.
"Tadaima!" she called.
"Okaeri." Her mother called back. The smell of freshly steamed rice drifted down the hall and she followed it into the kitchen. Before she went in, she arranged the flowers as best she could, so her mother would be pleased.
"How did you do Ayane-chan?" Her mother smiled warmly and put on her glasses, rather theatrically.
"I got some good ones." Reaching on her tiptoes she raised the basket onto the kitchen table.
"Oh, you really did." Her mother gasped with delight and gently picked up a few of the fragile blue flowers to take a closer look. "These were always your Grandmother's favourite, but the ones you pick for her are the most special." She hugged her mother's waist.
"Can we eat first?" Ayane said.
"Just a little," said mother, "It's a long walk to the cemetery and we need to be back before dark, remember?"
But it was already dark and her mother began to fade into the nothing. She closed her eyes again. She felt herself floating upward, she felt the woman's hands on her arms, lifting her and the cold below.
It had been more than an answer, it was a reason. Finally, in this dark, cold place she began to feel alive for the first time. They slowed again and stopped. Eager to feel more, Ayane opened her eyes.
She watched the pilgrims pass below as she set her scope's range.
"Samson?" She said.
"Ready Lieutenant." His voice crackled a little in her earpiece.
"Don't call me that." She said. "Preacher?"
"Ready Leftenant."
"Forget the Fallen," she said, "I'm gonna kill you both myself." She readied her rifle and scanned the scene below. The stream of people had thinned a little, which was normal for this time of day. This exposed section on the road didn't get much shade and the sun was right overhead.
"Hey Boss-," the crackling drowned out whatever came next.
"Dammit Sammy," she said, "if you've broken another mic I'll-"
"-said movement, two o'clock, over the-" she scoped around the area, but couldn't pick up anything. Just then, a large group of pilgrims came into view.
"Sammy?"
"Mor-! Mor-! Mort-!" he yelled.
"Shit Preach, it's mortars." She quickly pulled binoculars from her pack and looked around, but still couldn't see any Fallen. She checked the pilgrims; the large group moved slowly. "Shit! It's mostly old people and children." She took a knee and aimed her rifle right into the centre of the pilgrims. Her finger rested on the trigger and she let out a steady stream of air until just enough dirt was visible in her scope. Her shot sent up a column of dust and the sound bounced around the cliff walls. The pilgrims started to scatter and screams washed up from below. Samson opened fire, but she couldn't see where he was shooting.
"Preacher?"
"Negative."
She jumped to her feet, kicked away the brush and started down the hill. The loose rock and dry dirt fell away easily underfoot as she slipped her way down. The hollow thump of a mortar round launching broke through the din.
"Shit!" The people were running in all directions, falling over each other. The mortar landed a short way up the cliffs. A huge cloud of dirt sprayed over the people and a few large rocks tumbled onto the road. The sound was deafening.
She reached the road and ran passed the pilgrims to a huge boulder at the edge of the drop.
"Can't see you boss, too much dust." Preacher's voice was barely audible over the screams of the children. She climbed the rock to see what they were up against as another mortar launched.
The sound drew her eyes to the spot. A line of Fallen, hugging the hillside immediately below them. She unslung her rifle quickly, but before she got a shot off, the mortar landed on the road behind her. The blast almost blew her off the boulder. She was pitched forward and slammed into the far edge of the rock, but managed to stop herself from falling down the hillside.
The screams had stopped. She pulled herself up onto her hands and knees. The dust was thick in the air but starting to clear. Rifle. She turned around and snatched it up and took aim where she thought the mortar would be and opened fire.
By the time she could see, she had spent her first clip. The shots had landed 50 yards from the mortar crew but had sent them to ground. Still no screams. She swapped the mag and resumed firing. She took down every Fallen she could spot and shot into every bit of cover in the vicinity of the launcher.
"Sit rep!" She called into her mic. Still on her knees, she scanned the plateau through her scope.
"A few pils down on the road," Said Preacher, "plenty of injured taking cover. No sign of Fallen, could be worse."
"This has got Traviks written all over it. Call it in."
"Boss." Preacher's voice came from a few feet behind her. She turned to face him reluctantly; she already knew what he was going to say. "Sammy's gone." She looked over to where Sammy's nest had been. The mortar had reduced that side of the cliff to rubble.
Without another word, Preacher turned, picked up a lone crying child and began to walk in the direction of the Traveller. The pilgrims wearily resumed walking and almost immediately, it appeared as if the attack had never happened. As Ayane climbed down from the boulder and began to guard their rear an old woman pressed her way through the crowd toward her.
"Bless you Tenshi." She said before the nothing consumed her.
This time, as they began the journey upward, Ayane looked directly into the eyes of the Awoken. The loss had been palpable, as was the lingering taste of dust in her mouth, but she savoured it. It was real, it was who she was. When they stopped she looked out into the nothing again.
"All I'm saying is that we can't rely entirely on tech." Ayane stood at a long table littered with blueprints. "We need some checks and balances."
"Is that supposed to be funny?" Cayde took up position opposite her."Because it's not, not at all."
"Now you're just being difficult." She rested her hands on the table and hung her head with a sigh.
"Is there a problem Cayde-2?" Dr. Sundaresh stood in the doorway. Cayde almost stood to attention when he saw her.
"No, no problem doctor."
"Good, then finish your lover's quarrel because the Speaker is here." Said the doctor as she walked away.
"What?" Cayde and Ayane threw looks at each other.
"You couldn't get your way so you called daddy to fight for you." As he spoke Ayane crossed to his side of the table. "If I wanted to fight you," she said, "you'd already be dead."
They followed the doctor down to the main floor. As they walked, she whispered to Cayde.
"Look, when he asked me to look after this stuff it seemed a bit odd." He walked faster as if he didn't hear her. "But the more I've seen down here, the more I understand. These guys are doing some extreme stuff and-" He stopped and faced her.
"Which is why they hired me to take care of it." He pointed to his face as if it made his logic irrefutable, then caught up with the doctor.
When they reached the cooling stage, they joined the many scientists and techs who were assembled. A squad of City guards lined the vestibule entrance and after a short delay, the Speaker entered. A round of applause broke out from some of those gathered, but others seemed to pointedly refrain. He stopped at the railing not far from the entrance and addressed the crowd.
"This facility was conceived by the generations of pioneers who came before us. What you have created, will serve the many generations who will succeed us." He paused and spread his arms. "Our universe is a marvel of mysteries and untapped power, your achievements will give us the chance to unlock some of that vast potential and perhaps a glimpse of what lies beyond it." The crowd seemed transfixed. "In this vault, we have secured humanity's most precious and powerful treasures; our collective knowledge and the minds to make use of it." The Speaker leaned forward and gripped the railing fiercely. "Rest assured, it will be put to good use."
Sparse applause broke out again, the Speaker seemed to soak it in for a moment, then turn abruptly and stride away. As he disappeared into the vestibule half the guards followed him, but half remained. A murmur amongst the crowd quickly grew into raucous chattering. Cayde shot Ayane a look. Something didn't feel right to her either, she subtly shook her head in reply. Separately they made their way through the crowd toward the entrance. As Ayane got near the vestibule Cayde hung back nonchalantly.
"Sorry Miss," One of the guards stepped in front of her before she could exit.
"Let me pass." She tried to step around him, but he blocked her.
"Why don't you go back and join the party."
"I am Chief of Security for this facility, appointed by the Speaker. You," she poked the guard in the chest, "are in a lot of trouble, Mister." His partner stepped forward, readying his automatic rifle.
"Stand down Citizen or I'll put you down." She raised her hands in mock surrender.
"Oh, you boys are in a lot of trouble." She turned as if she would walk away, but instead spun around and smashed her heel into the temple of the AR guard. As he keeled over, the first guard reached for his holstered gun. She grabbed his hand and twisted it up toward his shoulder at an impossible angle. He started to scream in pain, but she struck him with an open-handed uppercut and he crumpled.
Cayde rushed passed at astonishing speed and buried his shoulder into the chest of the next nearest guard, then somehow without losing momentum spun and launched a knife into the leg of the last guard in the vestibule. The crowd of researchers began to call out in confusion.
Cayde kicked away the guard's guns and keyed the passcode into the weapons locker panel. He tossed Ayane's rifle to her and retrieved his over-sized revolver; kissing the barrel before holstering it. They ran up the stairs several at a time. The Speaker would be through the vault door by now, but if they were fast they could still catch up.
They reached the door and Cayde keyed the panel. Nothing. He keyed it again. Nothing.
"Shit!" Ayane said.
"What the hell is going on?" Cayde hammered his fist against the door.
"We're not getting out of here until they let us out," she said
"Are we locked in?" A small group of techs had followed them up, with the doctors close behind.
"Perhaps we can override the security system." Said another researcher. "We might be able to-" He was interrupted by the huge door mechanism activating.
"Everybody back!" Yelled Ayane. "Back downstairs, now!" Cayde drew his pistol and stepped back into a shallow recess in the wall. Ayane walked down a few steps and knelt facing the door so that just the barrel and the very top of her head would be exposed to whatever was on the other side.
The thick metal door parted and instantly a barrage of gunfire burst through the crack. Several smoke grenades were tossed at the door, but only a couple made it through. Cayde kicked one down the stairs, the other began to roll down by itself step by step. Ayane sprinted for the open door and burst out into the thick cloud of white smoke. Cayde's covering fired thundered past, above her head. Ayane ducked down as she felt her way over to the palm reader.
Return fire from beyond the smoke searched for them, but Cayde kept them guessing with his movement and shot out into the plaza from all angles. She tried not to think about how much longer the cloud would hide her and placed her hand on the reader. It was hard to read the display, but her muscle memory kicked in and soon the door was closing. She raised her rifle and brought the butt down hard on the reader. As it struck, she was struck hard from behind and a sword burst out of her gut spraying her blood over the console. Intense pain shot down her left leg and her left arm fell limp. She gasped for breath, but none came.
The sword withdrew and frozen in shock, she waited for a second blow. Cayde's pistol appeared out of the haze and felled her attacker with a single shot. She slumped over the console, but Cayde immediately hefted her onto his shoulder and broke into a run. As she hung down his back, blood streamed from her throat into her nose and mouth. She squeezed the rifle in her right hand, her left arm hung down.
Cayde keyed a passcode into a panel and the door opened. He rushed in, closed the door behind him and set Ayane down in the corner. It was the guardroom, there were medkits and weapons. He grabbed a kit and tossed it on the floor next to her, then straddled her legs and looked at her wound.
"You're gonna be fine," he said frantically opening the kit. He took out a stim and stabbed it in her gut. It felt hot, like a burn and spread over her stomach. Her pulse started to race harder and she bled faster. He picked a can of sealant, attached the nozzle and held it over the wound. He looked into her eyes. "Ready?" She nodded and turned away quickly. He pushed to nozzle into the wound and squirted the contents. She screamed in agony for a few seconds, then everything went numb and cold. She realised she was sweating and wiped her face with her good hand.
"You're not gonna be dancing for a while," he placed a hand on her cheek, "but I heard you're a lousy dancer, so.." He was covered in her blood, she wouldn't last more than a few minutes. She reached over and grabbed another stim and shoved it into her arm. "Woah, take it easy with that will ya." She picked up a third, but he caught her wrist. They looked into each other's eyes and Cayde looked as if he might say something, then he gently took the syringe from her hand and injected it into her thigh. She burned all over and could feel her pulse shake her whole body. A surge of pressure began building in her head and she spat a mouthful of blood onto the floor beside her.
"They probably heard that scream," she said. "It's not going to take them long to figure out where we are."
He helped her to her feet and she staggered over to the ammo shelves and filled every pocket in her armour with sniper clips. Then she picked up two more stims and shoved them into her pocket. Cayde lifted a huge LMG from its bracket on the wall. He checked the belt feed and held it up at chest height.
"Ready?" He said. She smiled a half smile; blood still leaking from the corners of her mouth.
"Ready Lieutenant."
He hit the door release with his elbow and it slid open to reveal a pack of dregs searching for them. He was taken back for a moment, then he stepped through the door and began to mow them down. Ayane leaned against the door jamb. Her arm was still numb, but thanks to the stim she could use it a little. She propped her rifle up with it and took out the two vandal snipers at the top of the stairs opposite. Those were the obvious ones, the others would be harder to spot.
When there were no dregs left to shoot, Cayde checked his magazine and looked back at her.
"Fallen?" he said. She didn't care, there was no time. Instead, she willed herself forward toward the plaza.
"Just didn't see that coming, that's all," Cayde muttered under his breath.
Ayane setup at the opening to the plaza. She knelt this time and poked the rifle barrel around the corner. Several shots hit the other side of the wall and the ground next to her. Cayde sprinted through the opening and ran straight for an alcove behind the stairs. Several shots followed him until he made cover, but his speed had surprised them. The thump of the LMG rang out from behind the stairs as he flanked the Fallen that had dug-in on the lower level. He was flushing them into the open plaza and she picked them off as they appeared.
He worked his way through the lower level until he reached the stairs at the far end of the plaza. She would have to climb the stairs if she had any hope of covering him. She took out one of the remaining stims and stabbed it into her chest. She called out as she tried to cope with the rush of pressure in her chest and head. The ground seemed to be trembling underneath her and the ceiling seemed to loom down toward her.
She broke into a run, quite out of control and sprinted up the steps. She felt as if her heart was about to explode, her pulse was so loud, she could barely hear anything else. Taking cover behind a pillar on the upper level, she held the rifle in the crook of her bad arm and reloaded with her right. Her hands were shaking badly and blood-soaked, but somehow she did it.
Cayde burst onto the upper level with his revolver blaring. He was shooting into cover, but it wasn't clear if he had hit anything. He continued charging and shooting until he was almost out of bullets, then all at once a group of vandals broke cover and ran toward her. The first two were entirely surprised and she dropped them each with a headshot. The third spotted her and hesitated long enough for Cayde to shoot it in the back. The others ducked into a hallway.
Ayane walked over to where they had run. Cayde was on the opposite side of the hall and signalled for her to stop. He reloaded and stepped up onto a crate by the wall. Without looking, he aimed his pistol around the corner and emptied it into the passage. She followed up, stepping forward, but the vandals were already dead.
"Let's go." Said Cayde. They moved down the stairs and followed the corridor to the commons. As they reached the door, Cayde stopped and helped her sit against the wall, out of sight. She had been moving faster than her body could handle, her left side was completely numb now, but the pressure in her head had forced her to keep moving regardless.
"Hang in there," he whispered, "I'll see what's going on." She nodded and let her head roll back against the wall. She suddenly felt tired, her eyes became heavy and started to close. If they did, she knew they would never open again. She wiped them dry with her sleeve and fought. "You OK?" said Cayde, she nodded again. "OK, there's a ton of Fallen out there, they're loading something onto a Skiff." He became animated as he searched for the words. "A bronze statue or exo or something like that." He started to reload his pistol. "Anyway, whatever it is, it's important enough for them to pull all of this and that means we can't let them have it."
"Speaker?" Her voice was a hoarse whisper.
"No sign of him, sorry." He cocked his weapon. "It's mostly dregs and vandals, I think I can take them. This door panel is still working, all you have to do is lock it once I'm through, OK?"
"Cover," she said.
"You've got more important things to do." He rested his hand gently on her shoulder. "Don't let anything happen to Maya and the others." He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "You did good kid." He whispered. He stayed low and looked out into the commons again, waiting for the right moment. "Oh yeah," he glanced back at her, "it was Clovis Bray, they said no security hires; the less people know and all that."
He left and took with him the last of her resistance. Her heart still hammered in her chest, but she knew that there was little more than stim and stubbornness left in her veins. She finally allowed her eyelids to fall and relaxed her grip on the rifle. She couldn't reach the keypad now, even if she wanted to.
A blast shook the hallway. Some kind of electrical energy crackled in the aftermath and ozone filled the air. It was close, not far from the door. Fallen barks and heavy footsteps. Someone grabbed her violently by her chestplate. Her eyes half opened, a Fallen captain. It dragged her through the doorway into the centre of the entrance hall and left her there. It barked again and a number of other Fallen scurried out into the commons.
"Ah, Lieutenant Takanome, good to see you again." Said the Speaker. The shock gave her the strength to open her eyes. The Speaker sat on his haunches beside her, some hands roughly propped her up from behind. "Have you met Taniks?" He gestured to the captain. "Of course you knew his brother Traviks very well, didn't you?" Reflexively her fingers tightened, but her hand was empty.
"This is a terribly sad business isn't it?" His head tilted slightly as he spoke, but his mask hid any real expression. "Most of humanity are worthless creatures. They spend their whole lives obsessed with their own preservation, all the while knowing that death is inevitable." He gestured to her. "But, there are a few of us, who live for something greater than themselves. You've delayed the demise of many a pilgrim on that road; in exchange for your own. It's a commendable achievement for sure, but the City is becoming too strong." He began to stand. "Solkis cannot afford that, none of us can afford that." He began to walk around her. "We must have balance, He must have balance or the inevitable will come sooner and more terrible for us all; Fallen and Human alike." He gestured toward her again. "Hence, here you are." He nodded and whoever was propping her up let her fall back to the floor. "As I said, it's a sad business." He began to walk away and looked to Taniks. "Finish her. Even an ember still burns if it can be stoked."
Taniks was large, even for a captain. He carried some kind of cannon over his shoulder and stepped forward to stand over her body. He leaned down and roared into her face, but only a trace of her remained and she couldn't react. He raised his foot and stamped down angrily on her bad arm. She heard the bones splinter, saw her blood splatter onto his boot, but she felt no pain. He leaned over again, pulled her face up to meet his and looked into her eyes. Whatever he saw or didn't see made him throw her back down in disgust. He barked a curse and stepped over her to retrieve something beside her. He lifted Cayde's lifeless body by his belt and walked away.
Her fingers flexed again. The right side of her body still worked, if only she hadn't let go of her rifle. She flexed her fingers again and they caught hold of something. She manoeuvred it into her hand; the last stim. The sound of ships engines firing up came from the commons behind her, she would have to act quickly or it would be for nothing. She brought the needle up to her neck, pushed it in and squeezed the plunger. The burn came fast and intense and something seemed to burst inside her head. Her hearing went and her vision turned pink. Tears streamed from the corners of her eyes. MOVE.
She rolled onto her good side, pushed herself onto her good knee and started to drag herself toward the door. The ground began to tremble. It was too hard to tell if it was a second ship or the effects of the stim. She couldn't afford to turn around, she had to get to that rifle, nothing else mattered.
Finally, she reached the doorway and she could lean against the wall and slide over to the rifle. She knew what to do. She picked up the weapon and used it as a crutch, it wasn't the first time, for either of them. She retraced her steps and moved faster for a while, but she kept slipping on the trail of her blood. The effort was sapping the last of her adrenaline.
Once she crossed the entrance hall she caught her first glimpse of the ship, with what looked liked Taniks just climbing aboard. She stumbled down the steps and out onto the grassy courtyard. The skiff increased its thrust and started to rise into the air. She couldn't shoot from where she stood, she didn't have the strength left to raise the rifle. There was a huge metal cargo crate a few steps ahead of her, she pressed for it, but the distance seemed impossible to cover before Taniks would be gone.
The ship cleared the top of the buildings, but instead of accelerating away, it hung motionless. She didn't question it, she was almost at the crate. She looked up again and the skiff started to come about. Its turrets activated and began to turn toward her, she fell to her knees. Letting the rifle drop to the dirt, she grabbed the barrel and leaned it against the edge of the crate. Gripping the small of the butt, she slid it into position.
The turrets fired and the salvo struck the opposite side of the crate. She couldn't hear the impact, but it rocked her and she almost lost her balance. She ducked down lower to aim and tilted the end of the barrel upward. She could only see the tailfin of the skiff in her scope, but there was an opening underneath it which housed a bundle of pipes or cables. It would have to be enough. She didn't manage her breathing or finesse her pressure on the trigger, she just emptied her entire clip into that one spot.
The skiff fired again and this time she did lose her balance, she let go of the rifle and managed to stop herself falling back all the way. She saw sparks burst from where she shot, but not the level of damage she was hoping for. It had been her last act, she could do nothing more. The very last of the stim was leaving her and with it any thoughts of fighting on. The skiff began to roll toward her, very slowly at first, but then it began to pick up speed. A flash came from inside and smoke started to pour from under the tail.
She would have liked to smell the grass underneath her or the rain from the heavy clouds above her, but she would not. The turrets lost their aim and fell limp. The ship continued to slip and started to fall out of the sky. It was coming directly for her. She took one last breath and closed her eyes.
"Ayane," said the Awoken woman. She opened her eyes. She was kneeling on the floor, a few feet from the Awoken throne. The woman knelt in front of her, holding her tightly by the arms. Petra stood next to her, pressing her pistol to Ayane's head. "Enough Petra." Said the woman.
"Yes your Grace," said Petra.
"Ayane," said the Queen, "did you see?"
"Yes,' she said, "I saw."
"Do you remember?"
"Oh yes," Ayane said, "I remember everything."
