A/N: This chapter's delay is sponsored by an unhealthy binge of Crusader Kings 2, Hearts of Iron 3, and Mad Max: Fury Road. Also, thank you, everyone who voted on the name change - I've counted the votes and it's been decided that I'll change the Queen's and Prince's names to the canon ones as provided by Bungie. I'd likely have dithered on the choice, myself.
The arrival of a Cabal dreadnought had sent the Reef pickets scrambling back to the spaceborne city-state in a hurry.
It had been many years since the Cabal warships deigned it worthwhile to attempt an assault on the Reef – the Awoken used the debris field to great advantage, denying the Cabal vessels their sole advantage – firepower. The impetuous fools had paid dearly for their brazen attempt, and no more Cabal ships arrived. Until now.
Except the gargantuan warship neither moved or fired a single shot, even as the Awoken carriers launched swarms of fighters and bombers in advance.
Mara watched the holographic projection of the cumbersome Cabal vessel, her expression unreadable, while Uldren kept firing off terse orders at the captains of the Reef fleet. Suddenly, he paused, his fingers pressing to the headset he wore.
"What? Are you serious? Well, double check it!" He listened to whoever was on the other end, his expression that of disbelief before he spoke again, switching to the fleetwide channel. "All units, stand down." With a bemused scowl on his face, he turned to address his sister.
"It's her."
The House of Wolves obeyed Mara's orders, but they did it with gritted teeth and clenched fists. Wherever she went, they glared silently at her, Dregs and Vandals all.
The Titan only said a single word to her ad-hoc honour guard, and the towering Caballites returned to the Harvester dropship without a protest, professionalism clear in their gait.
Her observation was ended by Uldren, who chose to elbow her in the side subtly. Shooting a mild glare at her sibling, she refocused on her object of interest, who was making her way towards them.
Jennifer stopped in front of them, her helmet clasped to her hip as she bowed slightly towards the Queen of the Reef.
"I come bearing news, your highness." Lowering her voice, she spoke again, just loud enough for both Mara and Uldren to hear as she addressed the Queen's Spymaster. "Nice to see you again, junior."
The Prince was about to respond when his sister let out a soft chuckle.
"Seriously, Mara?" The Awoken woman grinned at him lopsidedly, motioning for him and Jennifer to follow her.
"Well, I thought it was funny. You just need a sense of humour."
Her brother clearly disagreed, mumbling under his voice sullenly, quoting 'properly regal behaviour' a lot as they left the spacious hangar bay for the more secluded and private quarters befitting royalty.
"You actually gained the Cabal's loyalty? How?" Uldren queried disbelievingly at Jennifer, who was reclining in a couch in Mara's quarters.
"It's simple, really. The blunter you are with them, the better. Thump your chest and shout a bit, and never, ever back down when they try to intimidate you. Have to be gutsy."
"I thought you'd have learned by now, brother, that Jennifer is much smarter than you give her credit for. She has proven so time and time again, after all." Mara spoke from her position at Jennifer's side, an arm casually draped across the Titan's shoulders, her fingers idly tracing a pattern across the woman's pale skin.
"It's a defining human quality to be stubborn and defiant in the face of adversity and challenge." Ghost added his two cents, lazily drifting about. "And some have luck shining down on them with frightening regularity."
Uldren sighed exasperatedly, throwing his arms up in the air. "You know what? I'm not even going to question it." Grumbling, he stood up and left. "No doubt you'll be busy being consummate with this tryst of yours soon. I'd prefer not to be in your vicinity by then."
"I'm going with." Ghost declared, zooming after the retreating Prince. As the doors closed, leaving the two women alone, Mara grinned salaciously at Jennifer.
"Truth be told, I do want you all to myself..." The Awoken monarch chuckled lowly, caressing the blonde's cheek. "Is it wrong of me to be so jealously possessive?"
"Not at all. It's why I challenged Haakon in the first place. If anyone's putting their hands on you, it's going to be me." Jennifer spoke softly, leaning forwards to kiss Mara. The Awoken woman readily obliged, meeting her lover halfway, letting out a soft moan at the contact.
" You really need to visit more often. My doors are always open to you..." Mara whispered muffledly, as Jennifer traced a path up the other woman's thigh with her fingers, eventually settling on her waist as she pulled Mara closer. The Awoken monarch didn't object, settling down comfortably in Jennifer's lap, eagerly continuing the kiss.
Jennifer pulled back, taking a deeper breath as she looked at Mara, cocking an eyebrow. "Is that an euphemism for sex?"
Mara paused, considering her choice of words before beginning to snicker quietly. "I can see how that sounds awfully come-hither of me..."
"Legs is the word. So how about we go to my place and spread the word?" Jennifer responded coyly, a lecherous, but good-natured smirk on her face, making Mara laugh harder at the double entendre.
"Oh, that is awful!" Mara laughed mirthfully, leaning her forehead against Jennifer's, losing herself in the woman's deep blue eyes, sighing before noticing something amiss – small sparks of lightning seemed to occasionally dance around the human's irises. "Um, there's something going on with your eyes, Jennifer."
"Oh, you mean the sparks? Just a little side effect of being in Striker mode, simply put. Hang on..." Jennifer closed her eyes, opening them a moment later – now, the outer edges of her irises were flecked with vibrant purple energies of Void, seeming to brighten and dim in sync with the Titan's breathing. "Happens to all Guardians, though one needs to be attentive to see it."
"It's beautiful." The compliment caused Jennifer to blush, the blonde chuckling awkwardly as she averted her gaze.
"Stop that, you're making me blush..." Mara took the chance to lean closer, whispering seductively in her lover's ear.
"You're adorable when you're embarrassed."
"You stop that." Jennifer grumbled, trying to appear annoyed, but it was clear she did not mind the teasing.
"I will... for now." The monarch leaned comfortably against the Titan before continuing. "So, you've taken the title of Fleet Commander from Valus Ta'aurc. And here I thought I was ambitious. What's it like, if you don't mind me asking?" Jennifer made a face at that, mulling over the question for a moment.
"It's certainly been a challenge. Like I said earlier, you can't hesitate when it comes to Cabal. You can't show any signs of weakness. Sometimes give a couple of unruly recruits a thumping, sometimes carry out a one-man assault against an enemy fortification. It's a lot of ancient, deeply set-in tradition that I turned on its head. Probably will be a while until everything settles down. It's a good thing the information exchange between our Cryptarchs and the Cabal Loremaster went so smoothly, too."
"Oh? What do you mean?"
"Well, as it turns out, the concept of an afterlife where the glorious dead go after dying a honourable death on a battlefield appeals to the Cabal, immensely so at that. Not quite sure where spraying their faceplates with chrome paint figures into that, but the ground troops have taken that idea and are running with it like it's going out of style."
"W-what?" Mara snickered in disbelief.
"Apparently, among the files handed to the Loremaster was some sort of a holovid or suchlike from 21st century, and almost every Caballite is now obsessed with it. Maybe I shouldn't be so surprised, really – they're a culture that'll literally grind a mountain down rather than build around it."
Mara smiled mischievously at that, leaning contently against Jennifer, holding the Guardian's gaze. "Well, maybe we can watch it together someday?" She offered coyly, caressing Jennifer's cheek, making the other woman blush fiercely again.
"Yes I'd really like that thank you very much." The Titan squeaked out. Deciding to ease off, Mara pressed a light kiss to the woman's forehead before settling down at her side.
"So, Jennifer, tell me what you've been up to since we last met."
"Asides from going through an inordinate amount of paperwork, I haven't really had the chance to do anything. A new Cabal legion was assembled and sent to do battle with the Fallen on Earth, and I managed to hammer out an agreement between the Tower and the other Legions to at least stop aggressing at each other. The Conclave weren't happy about that in the least."
"Politics never change, do they?" Mara offered gently, and Jennifer nodded in agreement.
"Isn't that the truth. I seriously prefer the Cabal's company to them – they complain nowhere near as much, and any problems that do arise can be solved easily."
"While we're on the subject on the Cabal, have you ever heard of the Broken Legion?"
"Can't say I have. What of them?"
"They attacked us a long time ago, during the reign of my predecessor. Needless to say, they failed, and ended up becoming permanent residents in the Prison of Elders, along with the rest of those who harbour ill will towards the Reef. They were led by one Valus Trau'ug."
"He wouldn't happen to be related to Valus Ta'aurc, would he?"
"Not that I know of. Likely, they both held the same rank at some point. Besides, from their point of view, a brother of blood and a brother of battle is the same thing. In any case, I did learn a while ago that he is a traitor to his own people. His attack was not approved of by his superiors." Noting the questioning look on the Titan's face, Mara continued. "I'm telling this to you because I'd prefer not to pretend Trau'ug is not a problem. His forces are dug in well, and attack any that approach. Many have tried to end him. Many have failed."
"Sounds like fun. Where do I go?"
"Not so fast. I'll have Uldren fill you in later. For now, I think I will enjoy your company to my heart's extent."
Before Jennifer could respond to that, Mara kissed her, and the Titan found herself without a viable counter-argument.
The Prison of Elders was as unwholesome as it got – even treading across bones of dead humans in the Fallen Devils' Lair was more homely in Jennifer's mind. The tunnels were narrow, poorly-lit, and unnerving noises from further ahead kept Jennifer tense. The troop of Cabal soldiers trudging behind her seemed just as ill at ease, disliking their current surroundings – if they were attacked here, it'd be a messy close-quarters melee.
It was only when they reached a heavily-reinforced airlock that words were actually spoken as Jennifer sent Ghost to do its work on unlocking the entrance.
"I want Phalanxes in first – keep your shields up and stick to each other like glue. Centurions, get behind them and suppress anyone that so much as looks weirdly at us - make them keep their heads down long enough for me to create a breach in whatever fortifications they have." She hefted her prized rocket launcher, Valedictorian 9-44, on her shoulder, before speaking to the rank-and-file Legionnaires clutching their slug rifles.
"Once I've made a hole, it's your turn. While the opposition is suppressed, flank around, if possible. If not, stay in cover and advance with others when I signal. Any questions?"
Her soldiers shook their heads, taking their agreed positions – Phalanxes in front, shields held at ready, Centurions behind them, checking their projection rifles, while the rest formed up in the rear.
"How's the door coming along, Ghost?" Jennifer queried, running one last check over her own arsenal.
"Almost got it, Guardian."
Mere seconds later, the slabs of hardened metal began to grind open – almost immediately, a hail of gunfire struck the shields of the foremost Phalanx. Guttural growls echoed throughout the Cabal around the Titan as the shield-bearing Cabal rushed forward, shields held firmly in their hands. More Phalanx followed, broadening the cover as they stacked their shields together in a nigh-impenetrable wall. The Centurions followed suit, lumbering into the cover proved by their brothers, launching explosive projectiles at the enemy barricades. Immediately, the amount of incoming gunfire lessened as the Cabal of the Broken Legion huddled down.
Capitalising on the confusion caused by this, Jennifer launched herself above the shield barricade, launching two rockets at the opposition's barricades, using her brief elevation to target suspected weak points in the makeshit fortification.
The rockets struck true, ripping through the sheets of metal like they were made of paper, and the barricade was further decimated as the Titan landed, striking the ground with a lightning-wreathed fist – Arc energy danced its deadly dance, disintegrating the closest rogue Cabal. Quickly swapping the rocket launcher out for an assault rifle, she turned to address her troops.
"C'mon, you apes! Do you want to live forever?!"
Taking it as their cue, the Legionnaires broke cover, following their leader into the breach, as did the rest of their brethren moments later.
And they all promptly stopped at the sight of the Titan flying backwards, sailing above their heads, before having an intimate encounter with a wall.
Which is to say she slammed into it with enough force to shatter three ribs and several vertebrae.
"Perhaps this was, in some manner or form, something akin to a mistake..." The dazed Titan mumbled as she saw the biggest damn Caballite she'd ever seen lumber out towards her, a projection rifle held in each hand.
You think?