Kemal knew there was a party long before he got to the bottom of the steps leading to the Hunter Lounge. The noise pouring out of the old cargo transport cabin could be heard all the way up to the Hangar's entrance. With Amanda Holliday's crew on light night duty, the Hangar itself felt unusually quiet by comparison. Even the Future War Cult's skybox above the maintenance deck was dark. Kemal was rather relieved by that. Members of the Cult spooked him. Sure, they were polite enough. They just seemed…unusual. Maybe it was the 'cult' tacked onto their name, minding him too much of the Cult of the Trinary Star. The FWC seemed to hold to the Light's Truth, those that professed it. The others…well, the others didn't at least outright blaspheme.
The Arach for Dead Orbit was nowhere to be found either. The Awoken man liked to haunt a particularly dreary corner of the Hangar. Kemal had shooed away more than one bright-eyed Dead Orbit member who looked at the Frame maintenance booth with a little too much interest. All the maintenance workers of the Tower had warned him to keep an eye on Dead Orbit. They would "scavenge" what they could, including your own tools, if you didn't keep a good lock on them.
Kemal decided he would double check the toolboxes and shelves while he put away the things he'd borrowed from Marcus on the evening shift. It would take a few more months of saving to be able to buy anything approaching the quality of Marcus' tools. The Tower provided good equipment for the Frames, but anyone keen to get the latest — and therefore, most expensive — tools to supplement the standard issue would have to pay out of pocket. It made sense: the Tower had to allocate its glimmer efficiently. From the little he had come to learn so far, it barely afforded to keep itself running.
Kemal yawned and trudged around the kiosk. Peals of laughter rolled out from the Lounge. It was packed with Guardians — mainly Hunters, of course. The array of cloaks on display made a dizzying tapestry of colors and patterns. There were a good number of Titans in the mix too, recognizable by their solid, stoic stances as much as by their Marks. Ghosts peppered the crowd, blinking and waving their fins, almost as varied as the cloaks.
The Guardians lounged on the battered sofas around the braziers or stood in clusters in the walkways, holding foaming glasses of beer or cans of synesthete. All eyes were trained to one of the sofas in the cramped room, where a tall, sandy-haired Hunter was standing on the cushions, waving his arms animatedly in the midst of his storytelling. He balanced on the wobbly cushions with typical Hunter ease, each movement looking like a dance. Kemal kept an eye on the scene while he worked. Nobody had noticed his arrival, so he was able to drink in the sight of so many Light Blessed in one place, allowing himself to stare with vulgar curiosity.
He was reluctantly leaving the booth when he bumped straight into a tall woman on the stairs. Mortified, he recognized her as a Guardian. He received another shock when he realized she was the Guardian he had helped not too long ago.
"Sorry!" she said, placing a hand on his shoulder to steady him. He was already babbling an apology. She smiled brilliantly and swayed on her feet. She was simply dressed, not armored like that first night, her curly hair brushing her shoulders. He could see the telltale glaze to her curious eyes that meant she'd had quite a lot of whatever brew the Lounge was offering. Her Ghost hovered over her shoulder, watching Kemal in that placid, inscrutable way of Ghosts.
"Hey! I know you!" she said, before he could get another word out or slip away. She had removed her hand but he still felt like it remained. One of the Light Blessed had touched him. He tried not to register the shock in his face, for fear she would take it for disgust. His palms were sweating.
"Oh! Yeah! I…I prepared your living quarters, Guardian," he stammered.
She scrunched up her face, thinking.
"Hold on. I know this…Kemal, right?"
He blinked in surprise. She really did remember him?
"Y-yes!"
She grinned at him, pleased she had answered correctly.
"How are you, Kemal? It feels like forever since we last spoke."
He had to find his voice. He couldn't just stand there staring!
"I'm fine," he answered weakly. "I'm, um…I've been fine. And…and you?" The Traveler save him, how much more like an idiot could he sound?
"I have had some very strange days," she said matter-of-factly. "And they are going to get even stranger right now because I am about to choose my Order."
Her Ghost looked as surprised as Kemal felt. Its fins prickled..
Now? he trilled. Here? Tonight?!
"Tonight!" She nodded emphatically, which caused her to sway again. "No more waiting! I have a name now, so why not choose an Order? It seems like a good night for making decisions."
Uh…but…well, perhaps you aren't in the best frame of mind…! Her Ghost wouldn't come right out and say that she was drunk, but it was clear to anyone looking at her that she had been enjoying the party.
"I think I'm in a great frame of mind!" she said cheerfully. "I've followed the Warlocks, the Titans, and the Hunters. I've patrolled and fought beside them and listened to their philosophies on the Light."
It's hardly been a couple weeks since your Rebirth. You really shouldn't rush the decision!
"Marina said I would know. You said I would know." She reached out and poked one of the Ghost's fins. "I know now." She grinned, her smile growing wider with the joy of revelation. "I know. And it feels amazing!"
Her Ghost blinked, taken aback.
Er, you're sure you don't want to wait until the morning? Sleep on the matter?
"No! I want to tell everyone right now! Come on, Ghost! You too, Kemal! Let's go!"
The Guardian looped her arm through his and began to walk toward the party. Kemal nearly dug his heels into the metal grating, certain she couldn't be serious. But there they went, right into the crowd of Guardians. He could feel the blood draining from his face, his shocked protests sticking in his throat as he brushed by them. She led him straight to the sofa where the Hunter was telling his stories.
"Hey, everyone!" she shouted, causing that Hunter and all the partygoers to put their wobbly attention straight on them. "This is Kemal! He works in the Tower. He helped me out my first day here!"
Greetings and shouts of hello bubbled up from all around. The blood leaped back to Kemal's face. A Titan slapped him on the shoulder. Someone thrust a drink at him. He took the glass, hands shaking so badly he nearly dropped it. Were it not for the Guardian's hold on his arm, he thought he might fall over.
"Tory!" she cried, pointing at the Hunter who was still standing on the cushions. He was caught mid-drink and lowered his glass, raising his eyebrow and swiping his cuff across his mouth.
"You wanted me to tell a story?" she asked, releasing Kemal's arm and putting her hands on her hips. "Okay, I'll tell a story! Here, move over! It's my turn!" She shooed the Hunter off the sofa cushions. A Hunter with a half-shaved head laughed and made room for her to stand. Tory leaned against the sofa arm on her other side, smiling and shaking his head. Her Ghost seemed at a loss for whether to stick to her shoulder and have all eyes on it too or watch like the others. It hovered by her elbow, blinking up at her, a nervous cast to its fins.
Kemal felt himself sweating. Every inch of the Lounge was covered with Guardians. He recognized the tiny Warlock Zinnia from the Archives on the sofa to his left, sitting next to a scarred, Exo Titan. A slim female Exo sat next to him, dressed in flowing garments and Mark, elegant among the carefree revelry.
"On a cold, winter evening in the Cosmodrome, a very resourceful Ghost found his Guardian." The Guardian standing on the couch began. She reached over and tickled her thoughtful Ghost's fins, causing it to jump in the air and blink shyly at the applauding crowd.
"He led her to the safety of the Tower where she saw many wonderful and bizarre things." Here she looked pointedly at Tory. The crowd laughed appreciatively and Tory shrugged.
"The new Guardian befriended a Warlock, who showed her the connection to the Light and fought by her side." She smiled warmly at the little Warlock who practically bounced up and down on the cushions, her drink slopping in her glass. Zinnia appeared to be the only Warlock at the party.
"She befriended the Titans, who showed her the City and the strength of the Wall, as well as the strength of a Guardian's will to serve." Here she nodded at the Exos sitting next to the Warlock. The Titans in the crowd cheered.
"And she befriended the Hunters," here she glanced at Tory and the dark-haired Hunter at her feet, "or should I say, got roped into their crazy schemes?" Now she looked at an Awoken Huntress and an Exo. Kemal recognized them as the Cruciblers he'd watched on the illicit stream. The Hunters of the party whistled and hooted. The two Cruciblers nodded appreciatively.
"There were many important things to learn and many challenges for the new Guardian," she continued. "Without the help of her friends, the more experienced Guardians who guided her, she would have been lost again. This New Light would have burnt out immediately." Her feelings, made mercurial by drink, were echoed by the crowd who turned from festivity to somber gratitude in the blink of an eye. There were many nods of approval and murmurs of agreement.
A sudden grin spread across her face, the somber left behind.
"Throughout all this, almost as much as this Guardian was hounded for a name, she was hounded to choose an Order." There were many chuckles at that, Guardians nodding in sympathy. Kemal watched everything, still stunned, still waiting to be thrown out. "The Guardian thought it would be a difficult decision, and it was. But her choice has been made!"
The Guardians cheered and clapped, delighted as they realized she was quite serious. She raised her hands, grinning exuberantly, drawing their attention back to her words.
"Not everyone will be pleased with what I have to say, and I know I will have to prove myself to the Order. Fortunately for me, I've learned to take advice — which I desperately need right now!"
She paused for dramatic effect, taking a long drink and draining her glass.
"So help me out here, Guardians. What color should my first cloak be?"
There was a moment of silence as her words registered in the crowd's somewhat drink-slowed minds. Then, the Hangar lounge erupted. The roar of shouts and cheers was deafening. The Hunters all sprang to their feet. The Titans alternately cheered and booed her, though even the ones booing had grins plastered on their faces. Zinnia was laughing in defeat, shaking her head helplessly at her friend. The newly declared Hunter was laughing the hardest of them all. Her Ghost spun its fins in an ecstasy of surprise and confusion. She was gathered on the shoulders of the Titans and the crowd began to sweep out of the lounge. Kemal was drawn along inexorably, unable to keep from laughing himself, the jubilant mood contagious. He sensed he had just witnessed something momentous, and felt privileged to have seen it.
The Hunters began to chant, carrying her up into the Hangar. The night shift goggled at them. Despite her apparent dismay at her friend's choice, Zinnia cavorted alongside the procession. The Hunters began to strip off their cloaks, draping them over their newest member's head and shoulders, decking her out in a wild display of cloth until she was nearly buried. The raucous crowd walked all the way to the North Tower, past the darkened observatory where the Speaker spent his days, all the way to the Archive doors. They pounded on the heavy, carved panels until Master Rahool himself peeked out.
"Cryptarch!" Tory cried to the astonished Master. "Record this day! We have a new Hunter in our ranks!"
The Cryptarch gaped at the new Hunter on the shoulders of the crowd, who waved down at him cheerfully from beneath her blanket of cloaks. Zinnia bounded forward, catching the Cryptarch's hands.
"She chose! She chose!" she laughed, jumping up and down.
Master Rahool could hardly be heard over the noise. He stared bewildered at the Warlock, trying to sort everything out. At last, he slipped back inside and reappeared with a datapad. The chanting continued while he tapped out a few items on the pad, Tory leaning over his shoulder, much to the Cryptarch's annoyance. Tory began to read aloud as Master Rahool wrote.
"It is hereby recorded that on this day, in the first month of the Seventh Age, that Guardian Quarrel has joined the Order of Hunters!" Tory broke off into a wild shout, immediately echoed by the other Hunters. They took off again for a circuit of the Tower. Kemal remained behind, feeling it was as good a time as any to bow out of the wild celebration.
He found himself standing alone with the Cryptarch, who was slowly shaking his head at the departing parade of Guardians.
"I knew she'd choose the Hunters," Master Rahool grunted. "I think she's the only one who didn't. Zinnia's taking it better than I thought."
"Do you always record the Order?" Kemal asked. He imagined Cryptarchs being sent for at all hours of the day whenever a new Guardian finally chose.
"Hardly!" Master Rahool snorted. "The Hunters are the only ones who insist on an Archival record. It's some new idea they got in their heads a while back. Don't ask me to understand their ways!"
"The Light Blessed are certainly a mystery," Kemal nodded.
"Indeed." Master Rahool's eyebrow twitched, taking in Kemal's flushed face and the drink in his hand.
"The Light keep you, Cryptarch," Kemal said, excusing himself.
"And you," Master Rahool replied, no doubt wondering what he had been doing caught up with them.
Kemal strolled back toward the plaza, his head still spinning. He didn't think he would forget this night for as long as he lived. To be working with the Guardians was an experience enough. To have the Light Blessed treat him like one of their own was overwhelming. Their party seemed like any number of gatherings he and his friends had attended when he was still at the College. Yet he could hardly consider himself an equal guest!
He sipped his beer. Blustery Brew. Someone had paid a fair amount of glimmer for tonight's festivities. He drank and whistled all the way back to his quarters.