Chapter 10: Frank Discourse

"Picking up a lot of Fallen traffic down there," Morgan reported as the fireteam's ships circled over Old Paris. "Skiffs are showing Gears colors- probably break-aways." He shared the satfeed data with the others, and Shaman-9 watched as Feniks leaned in to peer at the images. The skiffs indeed sported the copper-and-silver emblems and banners of the Baroness' house, and she growled in anger. "Any idea what they could be looking for here in the EDZ?"

"Tracking Lakonis," she said, promptly. "Morsik will want to know where his loyalties lie, and eliminate him if he still holds to my Kell."

"Same as us, then," Shaman nodded. "Let's try to avoid any protracted firefight, if we can. Feniks, what sort of firepower are we looking at?"

The Exo turned his visored face to her, and she regarded him back coolly from behind her own mask. She drew in a breath of ether and tapped her metal dactyls on the haft of her blades in thought. "Traitors will not have heavy ordinance to bear. Not after Walker was destroyed. Not many prepared to deploy to begin with." Tap tap tap. "Counter-snipers will be in force. Cloaked Vandals and mortar fire. We cannot be pinned in one place for too long, or they will rain fire on us."

"That goes without saying," Morgan grunted. "I can always throw up a Ward if need be to protect against shelling, but not forever."

Shaman watched as Feniks eyed the satfeeds, tapping controls and looking over a map of the ruined city. Her rust-red Ghost hovered nearby, observing. "If Lakonis is still in the city, where would he have gone?" the Warlock inquired.

"Too many places to say for certain," was her reply. "I am marking places we will need to secure. Deny traitors mortar positions, claim high ground. From there, I can scan for Lakonis' trail."

"Problem with that is," the Titan cut in, "the break-aways are probably in those same places, to try to find him. Don't get me wrong," he added, "I am always down to bust some Fallen skulls, but these bugs have had time to bunker down already, and may have already found him."

"No." Feniks shook her head. "I am monitoring their communications. There has been no mention of his capture, or his execution. Lakonis is expert at stealth and will not be found so easily. Even by House Gears technics."

Shaman nodded. "All right, team, let's get prepped." He designated a spot on the map. "We'll insert here. Transmat in ten."

He heard their acknowledgement and cut the comms before heading into his storage bay, considering his racks of weapons. He loaded his pouches with ammo and was reaching for his Lord High Fixer hand cannon when he became aware of a presence behind him. "Yes, Baroness? I get the impression you have something you want to discuss. Can it wait?"

The Eliksni growled. "No." He turned to find her aiming her rifle with both right arms, her metal hand helping stabilize it, while her left hands held a sword and... one of the trophies from his wall. She brandished the Banner of Winter. "You were the one to kill Draksis, the Winter Kell?"

Shaman sighed, and with deliberate care, set his gun to one side, keeping his hands in sight as he faced her once more. "I was. After Morgan was Risen, Yurei and I were tasked with helping him. Together, we came to Venus in search of secrets about the Vex. In my first life, I had been tasked with helping defend the Ishtar Collective, so it made sense for me to come along. However, during our mission, we ran afoul of House Winter." He shook his head. "I would have been happy if we'd simply kept it to skirmishing, but Morgan found out there was a significant bounty on Draksis' head. We couldn't talk him out of trying to collect."

He held his hands out with a questioning tilt of his head, and after a moment, Feniks handed him the tattered cape. He took it and held it up in front of him. "Afterward, I asked if I could keep the banner we took from his corpse. Yurei didn't want it, and Morgan would have just burned it. I felt that the cape of a Kell deserved something more than just casual disregard or outright destruction." Shaman lifted his visor to Feniks. "I regret that we had to leave another Fallen House without its primary leader, but at the same time, he and his House had been plaguing our own salvage crews for years. We needed the parts in those scrap fields as much as they did."

There was silence in the ship for a long moment. Then Feniks took the cape back from him as she lowered her rifle. "When we have finished, and when my Kell is recovered, you will tell him what you have told me." She rattled her teeth. "Semakis and Draksis were friends, and he will want to know what happened."

The Warlock nodded, and bowed from the waist. "If he desires it, Semakis can have the banner, so it may be given the respect it deserves."

Feniks took the banner back from him and inclined her head in a nod. She turned to return it to where it had hung. As she did so, she inquired, "Titan Morgan does not like Eliksni, yes?"

Shaman sighed. "No, he doesn't. I can't really blame him. In his first life, he saw many people and loved ones die when House Devils burned London to the ground." He reached up and tapped at his face in explanation. "That's when he got his scars."

Feniks leaned her head to the side. "And Hunter Yurei? She lost her voice to Eliksni?"

He shook his head. "No, she just doesn't talk. I've never gotten an explanation as to why." He spread his hands. "If she needs to do any lengthy discourse, she lets Edge, her Ghost, do it for her."

Shaman-9 finally shook his head. "We're wasting time. We need to get down there and find Lakonis before the break-aways do. Can you ask your Ghost to monitor the Fallen comm-frequencies? If we're lucky, we might be able to get one step ahead of them."

She nodded again. "Little ball, can you do this?" The rust red Ghost appeared beside her, its eye narrowed. "I can give you codes to access their communications."

"No need," her Ghost replied. "I can pull that data out of your tech easily enough." Off her own narrow-eyed glare, it added, "I'm bonded to you, remember? I had to bring you back, and as part of the process, I got access to your gear." For a moment, it somehow managed to look smug. "Even increased its processing efficiency for you. You're welcome."

The Warlock finished running checks on his fusion rifle, then checked the edge on his Dark Drinker. "Grab any ammo you think you'll need-" He paused, then glanced over. "Your rifle will work with our ammo mags, won't it?"

She nodded as she sheathed her blade and then ran a few checks on her rifle, including giving its chainsaw bayonet a perfunctory rev. "Yes, yes, we have adapted to do so." She then picked up the shrapnel launcher that Semakis had used in the traitors' ambush at the Louvre. "I will be taking my Kell's Scrap Magnet, as well. It may be useful."

The Exo ran an eye along the visible modifications made to the shrapnel launcher. "I doubt anyone will object, as long as you don't use it on us." He considered a moment, and added, "I will see about giving you advice on wielding the Light as well, where I can. You're a Guardian, now, or at least one of the Risen. If we're to be fighting alongside one another, you'll want to know how to use it."

She regarded him coolly. "No doubt you will want to see how an Eliksni uses the Light as well." She growled. "We may be fighting alongside each other, Guardian, but we are not friends. I have fought your kind before, but this will be the first time anyone has fought an Eliksni like me."

His metal face twitched into a rueful smirk. "You see? Everyone's going to be learning something today."