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DISCLAIMER: The following is a non-profit fanfiction. Destiny is owned by Bungie, Activision, High Moon Studios and Vicarious Visions. I only own Kayla, Delta, Hayley and other OCs. Please support the official release.

Saga 01: Guardian Rising

Arc 03: The Ishtar Sink

Chapter 014: The Meeting

Earth

City

Tower

Kayla awoke the next morning with a slight hangover. Mildly annoyed that she could still get hangovers Kayla forced herself out of bed, stumbling around as she washed and got dressed. After taking some painkillers for her pounding headache Kayla headed through the barracks in an attempt to find Hayley. After around an hour of scouring the Tower Kayla decided to check in with the Vanguard.

"Hayley-13?" Ikora said. "She's out patrolling Chicago. She won't be back until the evening."

"How is she doing?" Kayla asked, concerned.

"If you're talking about Argus' passing...she seems to be handling it well. I must admit, I was apprehensive when you suggested her but...it seems you have good judgement."

Kayla smiled a little. "Oh...thank you."

"You might even replace me one day," Ikora said with a wide smile, before quickly turning serious again. "Now, haven't you got somewhere to be?"

Soon Kayla and Ghost were heading into the inky blackness of space. Setting the ship to autopilot Kayla laid back in her chair, resting her eyes slightly. In her mind's eye she could see the metropolises of Venus as they once were, almost like the ancient USA only surrounded by lush, green jungles and constantly drenched in tropical heat and rain. Ghost was busy watching the stars go by, allowing Kayla a small respite to be with her thoughts.

"Hey, Ghost," Kayla said after a while.

"Yes?" Ghost asked, floating up to her.

"We've done a lot these last few weeks, haven't we?"

"Y-Yeah! Some of the best progress the City has made in years!" Ghost replied. "And that's down to you."

Kayla laughed a little. "I suppose so." She sighed a little, rubbing some sleep from her eyes. "I've stopped wondering why this has happened. 'Don't complain about not being given the hand you want, just play with the one you're dealt with' my dad used to say. So that's what I'm going to do."

"But...?" Ghost asked, feeling there was more this.

Kayla sighed, leaning back to look at him. "Do you think they'd be proud?"

"What happened to Heaven?" Ghost asked, trying his best to make Kayla feel better.

"Ghost," Kayla said, levelling a frown. "You do remember I was dead, right? KIA? Cadaverific? I know what..." she tried off, reluctant to finish the sentence.

"I'm sure they would be proud of you," Ghost said. "You've saved the City from Sepiks Prime. You've delayed an invasion from the Hive. That's twice you've helped us out, not to mention all the patrols you've done."

Kayla smiled a little. That gave her some comfort. "Thanks, Ghost."

After cruising for a while longer Venus came into view. Although Kayla remembered it looking similar to Earth back in the day she could see a yellowish tint to the atmosphere. Without the Traveller's influence it seemed the planet's sulphurous air had made a return. Kayla hoped that the air was still breathable to a degree. She didn't fancy walking around with her helmet always on like she did on the Moon.

"You know, it's not every day you get a transmission from a mysterious Exo who claims to know and wants us to come here of all places," Ghost mused. "Do you get the feeling things are going to get incredibly strange from now on?"

"Honestly?" Kayla asked, half-laughing. "I do."

The ship pulled into Venus' atmosphere at breakneck pace, the flames of re-entry scorching the ship slightly. After flying over smoking seas and volcanic plains Kayla pulled over a large volcano that was spewing sulphurous ash across the sickly yellow sky. In the other side, across the sea, was a large cliff we're the Ishtar Academy sat, nestled inside the overgrown jungle that surround the land. Kayla landed in a small valley just outside the ruined academy. The first thing she noticed was the rain. There was currently a downpour over the Ishtar Sink and Kayla's armour was quickly drenched in tingling acid rain. The second thing was the stench of sulphurous gas. Kayla wretched slightly, swallowing vomit. Wafting the smell away from her Kayla set off down the muddy valley into the Academy's grounds.

"I don't like being dragged out here without knowing the lay of the land," Ghost said.

"Any ideas?"

"Well, there's a Guardian outpost nearby. I don't know if anyone will be there but there should be some info on this place there."

The ground was slick to walk on and soon Kayla's boots were covered in thick mud. It took about 20 minutes to head down the valley before Kayla came to the outskirts of the Academy. The main building was a towering, domed university but around it were tall, glass apartment blocks that Kayla recognised as student accommodation. All of it was ruined and mangled, the destroyed roads overgrown with grass and weeds. Trees had begun to sprout out of the buildings and rusted cars littered the streets.

"This colony was built by the Ishtar Collective," Ghost murmured. "Supposedly they studied ruins older than humanity itself. Now it's all gone."

"Just like everything else," Kayla said quietly, looking around at the decay.

There was so much to offer here once. She could remember from postcards and films that Venus once had towering skyscrapers built in the design of classic 21st Century USA, Britain and Australia with a tinge of neo-gothic added to it. While the cities of Mars, like Freehold, would rival all others in terms of technology anything on Venus rivalled them in culture from the food, to the art, to the music. Kayla had always wanted to visit Venus.

She never thought it would be like this.

Kayla and Ghost came out into a thin plaza that had been washed away from years of erosion from Venus' boiling ocean. Kayla looked out over the sea as purple lightning cracked through the ash-strewn sky.

"Well, Tommy," Kayla said. "We're here at last."

Slowly she turned, looking at the buildings behind her. The thing that truly caught her eye was the towering structure behind the Academy that dominated the entire skyline. It was thousands of feet high, enough to pierce Venus' upper atmosphere, and seemed to be made of ancient, weathered stone. It was built from geometric, rectangular shapes, some of which were floating in the sky. The entire thing was ancient and completely otherworldly. Kayla couldn't shake the feel it was watching her.

"What the fuck...?" Kayla gasped.

Ghost looked up at the giant structure, unable to shake the same feeling. "...Come on, the outpost is on the edge of the coast."

Kayla nodded, turning slowly and heading to a small building on the edge of the shattered plaza. It had a terminal and Kayla noticed a small campfire that had been lit recently. Whoever this outpost belonged to wasn't around and, although Kayla knew they were on the same side, she'd rather not be caught rooting through someone else's things. Ghost quickly scanned the terminal.

"Interesting...very interesting," Ghost said.

"What is it?"

"Well, the Fallen are here. They're on the other side of the valley."

"Let guess? House of Winter?" Kayla asked, remembering what Ghost had told her.

"Yup," Ghost replied. "Interestingly enough they've got a record of Winter's current situation. Apparently their Archon was defeated by Fireteam Typhoon and they're currently in the process of trying to acquire a new one. Simiks Prime...that's been lost for centuries, and Kell Draksis is currently in hiding."

"So they're in the same situation as the Devils were?" Kayla asked. "At least that makes things easier."

"Yup. And we have intel on a race of machines known as 'the Vex'."

"The Vex?"

"Mhmm. Relentless, hard to kill, supremely intelligent. Oh, and they can teleport."

"Great..."

"Let's see...Goblins, they're basic infantry. Hobgoblins are their long range units. Minotaurs are their leaders. Harpies are aerial units. Hydra's seem to be 'processing nodes' and then there are Cyclops's which are...gun turrets. Well, whoever lives at this outpost left some sensors to track the Vex and..." Ghost beeped, surprising himself. "Well...this is interesting."

"What's up?"

"It seems our mysterious Exo friend has given me a set of co-ordinates. Ishtar Academy. Let's go."

Kayla nodded and walked across the plaza, listening to the sound of the rain. Her gun was ready in case she got jumped by the Fallen or the Vex. The entrance to the Academy was marked by a large weathered bronze angel statue and the entire area, like everywhere else, had been overgrown with foliage. Kayla entered through the Academy's open doors, find the lobby collapsed and a large hole in the floor.

"Guess the only way is down," she said, slipping down carefully.

She ended up in a flooded basement, landing with a splash. The stagnant water seeped through her boots, wetting her feet and making every step squelch. As she waded through the pool she noticed several tracks of electricity run across the shadowed walls.

"I'm detecting...something," Ghost said. "Almost like we're surrounded."

"Shockingly, that isn't helping," Kayla retorted.

Ghost kept quiet, but the news unnerved him. Everything about this was screaming danger. But they had a job to do.

Eventually they found an exit into a large library. The ceiling towered above them and the walls were lined with shelves that went from the floor to the ceiling, all were filled with decaying books from years past. The lights were still on but flickering and Kayla wondered how they still had electricity running through them. In the back of the room was a strange glowing pillar that looked like data in physical form.

"What the hell is that?" Kayla asked, confused.

"Fascinating," Ghost said. "A conflux of non-baryonic streams going...where?"

"In English?"

"It's a beacon," Ghost replied. "Something's coming."

Suddenly the back of the room filled with a thick, blue electrical fog. Glowing lights were visible inside them. Out of the fog stepped menacing looking robots. They were tall, about six feet, and had thin arms and legs with bird-like claws. Their bodies were egg shaped with a glowing white core in the middle, their heads were fan shaped and had a single, menacing red eye in the centre. The design varied; most of them looked similar, but there were thinner ones that had hammerheads and a long tail, and one taller, more muscular and a dome shaped head set into its body. All were brass coloured.

"Oh, no...no, no, no," Ghost gasped. "It's the Vex! Take cover!"

Kayla ducked behind a shelf as the common infantry, which she figured were the Goblins, fired on her with lasers.

"Great!" Kayla muttered, firing on the Vex with her Suros. "First insect pirates, then space zombies, and now fucking Terminators!"

The Vex continued to slowly advance on her position, the thin snipers, or Hobgoblins, fired on her with their rifles. Kayla dodged, but got clipped by a thin red laser that burned through her sleeve, leaving a shallow, burning cut. Kayla hissed in pain, ignoring the smell of singed flesh and fired on the Hobgoblins first.

Although she managed to land hits on a Hobgoblin it covered itself in flames. Kayla paused, confused, only for the Hobgoblin to relinquish the flames allowing Kayla to destroy it.

"...Well that was stupid," Kayla remarked.

When Kayla had finished off the other Hobgoblins she found herself surrounded by the Goblins. Kayla glided upwards, throwing doing a Vortex Grenade that caused the machines to collapse. Gliding up to an upper balcony Kayla found herself dealing with more Goblins. She raised her Suros and popped the head off one but that only seemed to send into a berserk rage. The Goblin charged Kayla, squawking aggressively. Kayla panicked, smacking the Goblin away with the butt of her gun then firing into the glowing core in the centre of its body. The Goblin exploded into pieces, white fluid splattering everywhere.

"Ok, then," Kayla muttered to herself as she fired on the Goblins, ducking under their laser fire. Placing herself behind a bookshelf she fired on the Goblins, finishing them all with relative ease. Kayla had to say she was impressed with her skills now.

"Kayla! Minotaur!" Ghost yelled.

Before Kayla had a chance to react she found herself knocked off her feet by a large mortar of Void energy. Kayla stumbled to her feet, ears ringing and vision blurred. She grabbed her gun and crawled to the edge of the balcony. She spotted the larger Vex, the Minotaur, standing in the middle of the room and firing its large mortar launcher at her. Kayla scrambled to her feet, vaulting over the balcony and narrowly avoiding the mortar blast. Switching to her NCV she fired on the Minotaur, breaking the Void shield that surrounded it, however, when it was broken the Minotaur teleported closer to her, charging her. Kayla backed up quickly, switching to her Nihilist and pour a ridiculous amount of bullets into the Vex. It reached her, collapsing on top off her. Luckily it was dead. Kayla grunted, yelling as she heaved the Minotaur of her. It landed beside her with a loud clang.

Kayla stood and leaned against one of the statues at the side of the library, throwing her helmet on the floor. The 'corpses' of these machines littered the room. These machines didn't make sense. They seemed alive, but acted like a giant hive mind and they were definitely mechanical. Suddenly their moniker, the 'Vex', seemed to make perfect sense. Out of the corner of her eye Kayla saw one of the infantry units, a Goblin, crawling away to the door.

"What...what are these things?" Ghost asked, flying up to it. "Let me analyse them."

Suddenly Kayla heard the sound of another Vex wave arriving. She turned, aiming her Suros. To her surprise she saw the Stranger.

"Well fought," the Stranger commended, walking up to her. Kayla relaxed her pose, but made it clear to the Stranger that she didn't want any funny business. "Relax, I'm not here to hurt you."

"And how can I trust you?" Kayla asked. "You follow me, turning up out of nowhere like one of these things!" She pointed at the crawling Vex that Ghost was scanning. "Who are you?"

The Stranger sighed. "I don't have a lot of time..." she replied apologetically.

"Oh!" Kayla scoffed back. "I should get that on a shirt!"

The Stranger gave an annoyed sigh. "I don't have time to explain why I don't have time to explain."

"And there's the back of the shirt!" Kayla spat, making the Stranger grimace slightly. "No! I dragged my arse to Venus for you! You know who I am, so I want answers! What do you want from me?"

The Stranger fumbled for a moment before relenting. "There's not a lot I can say," she said eventually. Kayla looked at her, annoyed. "Honestly! The way I work...wrong thing at the wrong moment can change the entire course of a universe. What I'm doing is a very delicate job." A bleep came from her. Kayla watched as she pulled away, talking into a comms device. "Yes, I know. Ma'am, with all due respect, Kayla's being...uncooperative."

"I am right here, you know," Kayla said dryly.

The Stranger rolled her eyes. "Ma'am, I have to give her something. She's not going to do it blindly, she's not an idiot. You know this. Yes, I will, I will."

The Stranger came off her comms, turning back to Kayla. Ghost, who had been watching for some time, flew in front of her, concerned. "Will...what?"

"I wasn't talking to you, Little Light," the Stranger said tersely, pushing Ghost aside.

"Actually, my name is Ghost," he said, annoyed.

The Stranger walked up to Kayla. "Look...You have an idea of what I can do. So you understand why I'm trying to avoid details."

Kayla levelled a glare. "I know how time travel works, I've seen the shows. But I want to know what I'm getting into. Start with the Vex."

"It's...difficult, Kayla," the Stranger said slowly.

"I'm all ears," Kayla replied, sitting on a rotten bench.

"The Vex...they an evil so dark they despise other evil," the Stranger explained, turning to her comms. "No, Ma'am. I am working on it." The Stranger turned back to an unimpressed Kayla. "You need my help."

"You know, you haven't done a good job at the whole explaining thing," Kayla said, nonplussed. "Is that why you brought us here?"

"The Vex brought us here," the Stranger said, finally relenting. "There are several factions in this system. The City fights the Darkness, the Reef hides. The Fallen admire and the Cabal flee. The Hive serve as the Darkness' muscle, if you will. And the Vex...they serve as the 'brains'.

The Stranger noticed a look of disgust on Kayla's face. She continued. "The Vex are researching a way to embed themselves in the fabric of reality. Literally, to make their existence a law of physics."

Kayla and Ghost looked at each other. "Well, no matter what you think about them, you can't deny the Vex have ambition," Ghost quipped before turning to the Stranger, who was walking up to the crawling Goblin. "You're not a Guardian are you?"

"No..." the Stranger murmured, standing on the Vex's power core. "I was not forged in Light. But I believe where our paths cross, ground could break." She crushed the Goblin's power core, the machine making a dying squawk as she did so. The Stranger turned. "You know where I've come from. I know what happens. I see only death. The Vex will assimilate everything if they aren't stopped."

Kayla leaned forward. "I'm listening. But don't take this to mean I trust you."

"I don't blame you if you don't," the Stranger said. "Tell me. Have you heard of the Black Garden?"

"No, I haven't."

"The Black Garden is the home of the Vex," the Stranger explained. "The place where they are born. In there is a seed of Darkness, the source of their power. They call it the Black Heart." The Stranger levelled a serious look at Kayla. "Find it. Rip it out. Only then will your Traveller begin to heal."

"Can you help us?" Kayla asked.

"You know I can't," the Stranger replied. "The Awoken might though. They waver between the dark and the light. A side must be chosen, Kayla, even if it's the wrong one." The Stranger blinked, turning to her comms. "Too late, I'm returning." Kayla noted that the Stranger seemed to be talking to a subordinate now. "How many? Shit! Kill the engines and the hold the position. Do not let them find you!"

Kayla winced, feeling apprehensive about who they were. The Strange readied her gun, jumping through a glass-like portal, which disappeared behind her. Kayla and Ghost stood in silence.

"So..." Kayla said, taking it all in. "Living robots create a bad future that the Stranger wants us to avoid. That's what I'm getting from this. How do we find the Awoken?"

"They live in the Reef. The last place the Light touches," Ghost replied, looking at the dead Vex at their feet. "Can't we just stay here with the murderous robots?"

"No," Kayla smirked. "Little Light."

Ghost glared at her. "Don't do that."

Kayla chuckled, turning to leave the building. When they got back out into the plaza it was night time and the stars were blinking through the planet's ash-covered sky. Kayla coughed and spluttered, wafting the air from her nose. "The Stranger didn't ask for much, did she?" she choked out. "God, I thought the Hive were bad..."

"This may be difficult though," Ghost said quietly. "The Reef and the City have never had a good relationship. We'd better pray Queen Mara is in a good mood. And knows where the Garden is."

"Oh, they have a queen?" Kayla chuckled. "Fancy."

It took Kayla a good few hours to reach the Reef from Venus. She'd informed the City of her next move but had chosen to bypass Earth for now. Zavala seemed mildly annoyed, but brushed it down to what Guardians do. In return Kayla promised to fill him in when she had some spare time. As she passed Mars Kayla couldn't help but think of the Vex. While they didn't unnerve her like the Hive did, the Stranger had given her concern to worry. Were the Vex truly this powerful?

Kayla shook the thoughts out of her head. Anything could be stopped. They had to be.

Eventually the empty space around her ship slowly filled with asteroids, entering a hazy purple glow. Within the asteroids were mountains of floating ship wrecks, from small jumpships to giant frigates, all torn and twisted. Kayla put a hand to her mouth.

"Oh my god..." she gasped. "W-What happened here? What is all this?"

"Every ship that could fled Earth during the Collapse," Ghost explained. "They must have made this far. I guess they died out here."

It was then that the sheer scale of the human loss hit Kayla. "It's a graveyard..." she said, fighting back tears. Her thoughts eventually drifted to Delta and Dead Orbit. "Fucking hell..."

"You ok?"

"I will be, just..." she wiped her nose on her sleeve, sniffing. "Gimme a sec."

The ship flew silently through the debris, Kayla flying carefully to avoid the floating chunks of rock, ice and metal. "How did the Awoken survive?" she asked.

"No one knows," Ghost said, looking at the radar. "Uh oh..."

Kayla looked behind, seeing two purple tripod-like ships following her. She knew instantly their guns were trained on her. A voice came over the radio. It was female. "Intruder bearing one-two-seven. Are you receiving?"

"Ship bearing one-two-seven, receiving you, Ma'am," Kayla replied.

"You have crossed into the realm of the Awoken," the female pilot said. "State your business, or be fired upon by order of the Queen."

Kayla gulped and looked at Ghost.

"Don't look at me!" Ghost hissed. "Say something!"

"I am Kayla Ashcroft, a Guardian from the Last City on Earth," Kayla said to the pilot. "I seek counsel with the Queen, concerning the Vex."

There was a brief, very tense silence. After the longest two minutes of Kayla's life the Awoken pilot got back in touch. "Conform to my trajectory," the pilot said, Kayla noticing the two ships flanking close to her. "Any deviation will be taken as an act of aggression and you will be shot down. Understand, Ma'am?"

"Message received and understood," Kayla replied, bluffing confidence before turning to Ghost. "Looks like we're in the right place."

Ghost looked at Kayla, shaking. "Why is the right place always so terrifying?"