Chapter 1: Inchoate
/VANNET/VANGUARD-AUTHORIZED SECURE TERMINAL/ENCRYPTION ENABLED/
/TRANSMISSION ORIGIN: NESSUS-CENTAUR/
/AUDIO CONVERSATION LOG/
/USER: JAXSON INETA—VIP#2014/
/USER: QUANTIS RHEE—VIP#1935/
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QUANTIS RHEE: Hey kid! You called? What, them Light-Housers being rowdy?
JAXSON INETA: Far from it. They're as civil as can be. It's Lakshmi who's proving to be a hassle.
QUANTIS RHEE: Bah, War Cult. What do you expect? Factions need their controversy. It's the only thing they can hang to in this day and age. Their time's come to an end.
JAXSON INETA: Jalaal wants to leave.
QUANTIS RHEE: Sure. Who doesn't?
JAXSON INETA: You too?
QUANTIS RHEE: Kid, I don't know if you realize this, but giant pyramids sailing in to eat up your worlds ain't an everyday occurrence. 'Course I want out. If only I knew where OUT is... Hey, you there?
JAXSON INETA: You going to hit it up with Drifter, then? Hightail out and leave the rest of us lying in the ditch?
QUANTIS RHEE: Whoa, hold on. Enough snark. I'm not about to abandon you guys. Only way an OUT works is if we all get through. Don't compare me with that snake.
QUANTIS RHEE: Jaxie?
JAXSON INETA: Sorry, I didn't mean to-
QUANTIS RHEE: It's fine, I get it, nerves are fried. No one ever thought this day would come, right?
JAXSON INETA: Which part?
QUANTIS RHEE: All of it, I 'spose. Darkness on our doorstep, Hive ripping themselves to shreds, Fallen in-
JAXSON INETA: Eliksni.
QUANTIS RHEE: Huh?
JAXSON INETA: Eliksni. Not Fallen.
QUANTIS RHEE: Same difference.
JAXSON INETA: They don't like being called Fallen. Think if someone called you smurf.
QUANTIS RHEE: Weird analogy, but okay. What's got you caring?
JAXSON INETA: Eido.
QUANTIS RHEE: As in...
JAXSON INETA: Mithrax's daughter.
QUANTIS RHEE: Huh. After Sjur?
JAXSON INETA: I think so.
QUANTIS RHEE: Now I really want to meet these guys. What's this Eido got to do with it?
JAXSON INETA: She'd tear me a new one.
QUANTIS RHEE: She's a Fall- Eliksni, whatever. Speaking blunt here, she's got nothing on you.
JAXSON INETA: She's a Splicer. With access to Vanguard and Cryptarch systems.
QUANTIS RHEE: For real?
JAXSON INETA: For real.
QUANTIS RHEE: Jeez.
JAXSON INETA: Not someone I want to piss off. She can make my life... difficult. Plus, she's cool.
QUANTIS RHEE: Cool? Aaah. Get in there, kid.
JAXSON INETA: For fu... How're things on your end?
QUANTIS RHEE: Weird. Dunno if it's a good weird or bad weird. Vex are going haywire. Something's riling them up.
JAXSON INETA: Maybe this Endless Night thing is taking a lot out of them.
QUANTIS RHEE: Kid, these are the Vex we're talking about.
JAXSON INETA: Right, right — inexhaustible legions of murder-robots.
QUANTIS RHEE: Exactly. But they've never moved so overtly against us before, and this... they're going insane down there, in the tunnels. Well and truly crazy. At least the Cabal are helping mop up.
JAXSON INETA: You're working with Cabal?
QUANTIS RHEE: 'Working WITH' is a bit on the nose. How 'bout 'working AROUND.' They do good work, for big lumbering brutes, and I reap the rewards. As long as they don't do something stupid. Like shoot me. Shooting me is a bad idea.
JAXSON INETA: Yeah, sure... Are you going to be out there long?
QUANTIS RHEE: Vex won't kill themselves. Why? Am I needed?
JAXSON INETA: Something DID happen.
QUANTIS RHEE: What? Where?
JAXSON INETA: Venus. Ember caves.
QUANTIS RHEE: Old Winter hideout, right. What's the biz?
JAXSON INETA: House Light converts — refugees really — got caught by Vex.
QUANTIS RHEE: Damn. It ain't ever pretty.
JAXSON INETA: They're not dead.
QUANTIS RHEE: That's usually worse. Yeah, Vex do that sometimes. Take prisoners and all that. They did it here too, with other Eliksni. Tried to make them kill each other. Didn't work. Those crews are built on more than just desperation.
JAXSON INETA: True enough. You can see it from here, in the Botza District. They aren't all that different from us... Anyways-
QUANTIS RHEE: What do the Vex want?
JAXSON INETA: Mithrax. He's helping us dismantle their Endless Night. They tried to take him out on Europa. Osiris thinks by taking hostages they mean to draw him out into the open again.
QUANTIS RHEE: Smart murder-robots. And you want to foil them?
JAXSON INETA: Exactly. They can't fit us into their calculations.
QUANTIS RHEE: Sure can't. Alright, I'll play. Anyone else?
JAXSON INETA: I was hoping you could help me with that.
QUANTIS RHEE: For real? 'Kay then, I'll start checking the phonebook. I'll be... where we meeting?
JAXSON INETA: Bazaar?
QUANTIS RHEE: Kid, I've been out on the frontier for months. Gimme something else.
JAXSON INETA: There's this bar-
QUANTIS RHEE: Sold. See you in a few.
TYPE: Recorded audio feed
DESCRIPTION: Conversation(s) between VIP#2014 and VIP#1935 in Nirwen's Club
PARTIES: Three [3]. One [1] Guardian-type, Class Titan, designate Jaxson Ineta [ji]; One Guardian-type, Class Hunter, designate Quantis Rhee [qr]; One [1] Ghost-type, designate Angrboda [a]
ASSOCIATIONS: Cabal armistice, Endless Night, House of Light, Mithrax, Eliksni, Vex, Fireteam Sagittarius, Young Wolf
/AUDIO PRESERVED/
/TRANSCRIPT FOLLOWS/
[ji:01] Good to see you.
[qr:01] Right back at you. Looking nice! What's that?
[ji:02] Splicer tech.
[qr:02] It's fancy, that's what. Them Eliksni just hand you that?
[ji:03] Yes. I've been jumping into the Vex network with it.
[qr:03] Wacky.
[ji:04] Sure is. This is our key in.
[qr:04] To the Ember caves?
[ji:05] Vex have the place locked up tight. I use this, the door flies open. We charge inside.
[qr:05] And free the Winterlings. Strange time to be alive. Hey, I thought Winter was gone?
[ji:06] Sure. But there's crews stranded all over the system, just trying to get by.
[qr:06] Nah, I meant... wasn't there a Captain or Baron gathering Winter's remains? What's her face... Grey something. The Grey-lady?
[Silence]
[ji:07] Yeah.
[qr:07] Ooooh. There some juicy gossip I missed?
[ji:08] Europa.
[Silence]
[qr:08] Oh.
[Silence]
[qr:09] So the job?
[ji:09] Right. I didn't know who else to call.
[qr:10] Ikharos is still away?
[ji:10] Yeah. Just... gone. The Awoken tell me he went out into deep-space. I can't wait for him to return — he could be gone for years. Or...
[qr:11] It's fine. We've got this. I've picked out our guys.
[ji:11] Already?
[qr:12] Time's of the essence, right?
[ji:12] It is. Let's go over this.
[qr:13] Know Omnibull?
[ji:13] Met him once.
[qr:14] He's intense, but if you want to wreck a Vex installation then he's your guy.
[ji:14] That works. Think he'll join?
[qr:15] Sure will. He hates Vex — with a passion. A Sunbreaker-sized passion.
[a:01] I'll call him.
[qr:16] Thanks Angie.
[ji:15] Anyone else?
[qr:17] Kid, I've got everything sorted. Quantis is gonna make everything a-okay.
[ji:16] Can you get on with it?
[qr:18] Oooh, tetchy. Fine. Avaris De'Zaari, Titan.
[ji:17] Don't know her.
[qr:19] Not surprised. She's a quiet one.
[a:02] Ow.
[qr:20] Shush. Wasn't that bad. Any'a'ways, she's reliable. Or, at least reliable at paying up her debts. She owes me, you see.
[ji:18] Riiiight.
[qr:21] Oh, you'll like her. She's your type.
[ji:19] Quantis.
[qr:22] Yeah, yeah. Pyrrhic-12?
[ji:20] Him?!
[qr:23] You've met?
[ji:21] No. But I've heard plenty.
[qr:24] Trust me, he's even creepier than they say.
[ji:22] Do we have to-
[qr:25] Kid, he's good at what he does. If the Vex try any shenanigans, he'll figure them out.
[ji:23] I'm not comfortable with this.
[qr:26] Neither am I. Neither is anyone. Thing is, he could be just what we need. We're using him — and that's that.
[ji:24] How do we even get him on board?
[qr:27] You kidding? Running into a Vex trap with Splicer tech? That's all kinds of fascinating. He'll be with us, don't you worry.
[ji:25] I think I should, though.
[Silence]
[qr:28] Fair. Probably the wise thing to do.
[ji:26] Who's next?
[qr:29] Arthur Strom.
[ji:27] Haven't heard of them.
[qr:30] Him. You probably have, though. Just under a different name. He's, uh... he's a Dredgen.
[Silence]
[ji:28] No.
[qr:31] You haven't spoken with-
[ji:29] I'm not working with a Dark-user.
[Silence]
[qr:32] You're one to talk, running around the system with ice on your hands.
[ji:30] That's-
[qr:33] Different? Arthur's a good guy. Like you. He just uses unorthodox tools to get stuff done. Talk with him, Jaxie. You'll understand.
[Silence]
[ji:31] I'm sorry.
[qr:34] Kid?
[ji:32] I shouldn't have-
[ji:33] I couldn't-
[ji:34] I...
[ji:35] I messed up. I shouldn't have let the Dark in. This is... this is a damn mess. Ikharos's gone, Lennox's dead, Sagira and Cayde and Sundance and-
[ji:36] Fuck...
[Silence]
[qr:35] Hey. Eyes up.
[Silence]
[qr:36] We're going to get through this. All of us. Through this Endless Night, this Dark siege, these new Hive Cryptolith attacks, everything. We've got Caiatl keeping the peace on the Cabal end and Mithrax helping us on the Eliksni front. That's slack, freely given. We aren't hanging yet.
[Silence]
[a:03] I've sent everyone an invitation. Sunny's already chatting back. Arthur's in town. Botza District.
[qr:37] Eliksni Quarter. Of course he is. C'mon Jaxie; up and at 'em. Let's go talk with the big bad Dredgen.
Jaxson kept his eyes downcast, walking as they were through blocks of City once-occupied now-empty. Only a couple of stubborn souls remained, and they largely kept to themselves. No one wanted to live next to the Eliksni Quarter. Not when words like 'thief' and 'child-eaters' were being tossed about willy-nilly. Not with Lakshmi-2 on the radio, riling up the fearful masses with cold certainty in something that simply wasn't true.
At least, he refused to believe it was true. Jaxson couldn't envision the Eliksni bursting out in violence, guns spitting Arc. They had more children with them then they had firearms. And those with children, he had learned, were sooner to live and let live than risk it all for — for what, exactly? To go out in a blaze of glory? That wasn't Mithrax's style. Or so he told himself.
For however scarred the rest of the City was, the Botza District was worse off. Not only had it suffered bombing runs during the Red War, the attack of the Kell's Scourge and their giant Servitor-piloted war machine had only worsened the district's integrity as a neighbourhood and as a place of habitation — most buildings had at least one set of walls knocked down, and the worste of them all were completely flattened. Anyone and everyone who'd lived inside had long since moved out. But the Eliksni made it work. They always did. And, for once, Jaxson was glad for it. The refugees deserved... well, something.
One of the buildings closest to the edge of the Eliksni Quarter had a cellar-turned-ether-den. Jaxson has seen it being fixed up on his first stroll through the district. It had become a melting pot of culture, filled with bored Eliksni and what humans were brave enough to reach out to their new neighbours. Two Vandal-sized Eliksni stood outside, classical bouncer material. They had all the airs of former Spider enforcers — naked without their usual shock-spears and quilled armour. The closest took one look at Jaxson and Quantis, glanced at his partner, and shrugged.
"Doing good work, boys," Quantis murmured as she slipped past.
One of the bouncers gave a groaning agreement. They looked ill-at-ease, what with the lack of any weapons to clutch. At least they were well-fed. The air below was thick with the cold, sweet scent of ether, undercut by the haze of hot food and strong drinks. There was a lot of talking, laughter, and even some electronic singing. A Frame had been set up at one end of the cellar, reciting pre-Golden Age music fraught with bouts of glitchy voice-cracks.
The cellar was not an overly large place, but those inside made do. Or rather, most did. One man — Awoken by appearance and Lightbearer by the arrogant grin on his face — sat with his legs propped up on a chipped coffee table. His skin was of a light azure hue, and his hair — shaved at the sides, swept back on top — was midnight-black. Dark kohl had been painted around his bright yellow eyes. He was garbed in an ostentatious magenta coat patterned with garishly colourful dragons, serpents, and flowers. Two Eliksni sat with him, casting building spheres across the table like dice. Their eyes were bright with sustenance and pleasure; they were enjoying themselves.
A Ghost with a yellow-and-orange shell rose up into the air and beckoned Jaxson and Quantis over with a flick of a fin. Its Guardian looked up, grin widening. He swept his arms wide, spheres of his own clutched in both hands. "Rhee!"
"Strom." Quantis strolled over with an easygoing saunter. "What're you doing here?"
"Sampling the local cuisine." The Awoken man gestured to his Eliksni companions. "They're delectable."
"You pressing them for all they're worth?"
"Nah. Don't want to bruise 'em."
Angrboda appeared over Quantis's shoulder. "Hey Sunny."
The unfamiliar Ghost tilted. "Angie."
Quantis grabbed Jaxson's wrist and pulled him over. "Arthur, this is-"
"The Young Wolf, right?" Arthur held out a hand. "A pleasure. And an honour — on my end. Thanks for killing Crota!"
Jaxson gingerly shook it. "You're... welcome?"
Quantis put a hand on her hip, cocked her head to the side, and gave the other Awoken a look. "You still running with that crowd?"
"Who- Oh! Oh yeah. Kinda?" Arthur's eyes darted over. "Something wrong, Mister Chosen One?"
"Sorry?"
"You look like you've just tasted something bitter. Or sharp. Like a lemon. Never liked lemons..."
"I..." Jaxson grimaced and looked around the cellar. A few glances were being tossed their way. It was a weird feeling, being among so many Eliknsi in an enclosed space. "You're a Dredgen?"
"'Fraid so!" Arthur put a hand over his heart. "Dredgen Pariah, at your service! That is what you wanted, right? My services?"
Quantis took Jaxson's shoulder in a firm grip. "Arthur knows his way around the Dark stuff."
"We're hitting Vex," Jaxson pointed out, "not Hive."
"I told you, something's riling the Vex up. I don't know what, but I have a gut feeling it ain't good. I'd be more comfortable having Arthur with us."
"Vex are weird," Arthur added, "so it'll cost you extra."
Quantis shot him an irritated look. "What, not going to help out of the goodness of your heart?"
"Dearie, the goodness of my heart don't fill my pockets with glimmer."
"You're a cheapskate."
"I'll tell you again: Vex are weird."
"No one's arguing there. How much?"
"How 'bout a K of glimmer."
"... Fine."
"Sold!" Arthur raised a cup sloshing with something clearly not meant for human consumption and knocked it back without so much as a moment's hesitation. He exhaled with satisfaction. "So! Wolf. What's your game?"
Jaxson frowned. "Game?"
"You've got Stasis right? What's it like?"
"None of your business."
Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Ooh, touchy."
Quantis slid into a seat between the two Eliksni. "I said the same thing."
"No," Angie said, "you said tetchy."
"What's the difference? Kid's the good sort, though. Arthur. Play nice."
Arthur gave her an incredulous look. "'Course! Who do you think I am?"
"A puppeteer with a penchant for pulling heart strings."
"That's... wow." Arthur shook his head. "I'm not about to break the kid. He and I are practically brothers."
"I'm nothing like you," Jaxson said lowly.
Arthur wagged a finger. "You say that now..." He turned to one of his Eliksni companions. "Lerekalissan bar'das. Nama des, da fres'kle ne ze?"
The Eliksni blinked two of its eyes. "Eia. Da ze ekarbissa."
"Ne tas ze."
Jaxson stirred. He hadn't expected that. He stepped aside as the Eliksni darted away on some obscure mission. "How-"
"How'd I speak their language?" Arthur guessed. Jaxson nodded. "I learned, first off. Had a good teacher. I'm surprised he didn't educate you."
Jaxson's frown deepened. "Ikharos."
"Yeah. Did he seriously not teach you some Low Speak?"
"I didn't ask him to."
"Huh."
"You learned Eliksni from him?"
Arthur nodded slowly. "That and more. It was... what, thirty years back? I took a few classes. Learned Void and languages in plenty."
"You're a Warlock."
"What, couldn't tell?" Arthur tugged on the open front of his vibrant jacket. He had a pale-white tunic beneath, and dark trousers leading down to silvered combat boots. "No one's as stylish as us."
Quantis scoffed good-naturedly. "As if."
"Think I'm not?"
"You're the exception."
Arthur mulled it over, then nodded. "I can accept that."
The absent Eliksni returned with two cups and a flask of something-or-other. They refilled Arthur's cup and offered the empty cups to Jaxson and Quantis. He shook his head, murmuring a polite refusal. Quantis took a swig of the alien beverage with just as much confidence as Arthur had.
Jaxson looked back to the cellar's entrance impatiently. Quantis sighed, "Yeah, fine. Angie, where's the rest?"
Angrboda blinked. "Uh... Avaris is just finishing up in Crucible, Pyrrhic's at the Tower, Omnibull's in a... nope, he's just finished his Strike."
"Who's closest?"
"Pyrrhic."
"Who else?"
"Avaris, I suppose."
"Right, we'll get to her. Tell the rest to meet us... I suppose by the Ishtar Academy?"
"On it." Angrboda disappeared. The two Eliksni gawked at where she had once floated.
"Pyrrhic-12?" Arthur inquired, smile falling by a fraction. He took down his legs, leaned forward, and pulled up his sleeves — revealing arms laden with a myriad of flowing tattoos. "You serious?"
Quantis gave him a faintly amused look. "Something the matter?"
"Isn't he, uh... a little strange?"
"Very. But so are Vex."
"Fighting weird with weird?" Arthur snorted. "Yeah, that'll go well."
"It's a job, he'll take it, we'll beat up whatever Vex constructs are around and be home in time for dinner. Don't go making this more complicated than it needs to be."
"Who, me?"
"Yeah, you."
Arthur rolled his eyes. "Fine. Look, I gotta finish this game up and then get my armour. Local glimmersmith is working on it. Send Sunny the coords; I'll catch up."
"Righto." Quantis finished off her drink and nodded to the Eliksni. The one who served her drink gave her a hesitant thumbs-up.
Avaris was halfway off her ship when they caught her. She certainly looked like she'd come straight out of the crucible; the left side of her helmet had been cracked open to bare circuitry and one of the long upper horns had been snapped in half. Something strange swam just beneath the oh-so-recently revealed innards of the helm, like a kind of half-alive essence. The lights of her helms visors periodically turned on and off. Jaxson realized, with a start, that the helm used to be a Thanatonaut's mask, but the veil had been ripped away and further damage had been inflicted into the piece. Avaris saw them coming and removed it, shoving it on top of the massive Cabal gun she'd just put down.
"Quantis," she acknowledged, and more softly than Jaxson expected. Avaris was a big woman, rippling with muscle and clad in heavy plate. She was Awoken too, like Arthur and Quantis, but less graceful and handsome than either. Her skin was too grey, her cheekbones too high, jaw too firm, and her blue eyes nowhere near bright enough. Her blue-silver hair had been set in a haphazard tail, tossed to the side to fit in her helmet. She, like Arthur, had tattoos, but where his had been elegant patterns and many fantastical shapes, hers was a simple blanket of navy stretching across her forehead, only ending its cascade down from her hairline at the bridge of her nose. She had four simple ear-rings, two on each ear, and all were of a different metal — and each, Jaxson saw, were of those found in the employ of all the major alien collectives within Sol, like some kind of battle trophies. There was one of Vex brass, one of Cabal steel, one of bronze salvage used by the Eliksni, and one of the cold dark rock-metal material used in the creation of Hive firearms.
She glanced at him, eyes half-lidded with disinterest. "Wolf."
Jaxson dipped his head in a muted greeting.
Quantis crossed her arms. "You get the memo?"
"Eliksni hostages, Vex captors, can't let Mithrax die, we go save them," Avaris recited. She sounded bored. "Sounds simple enough."
"What, that it? No haggling?"
"This seems too important to mess around with."
Quantis blinked. "Suppose so. You game?"
"I'm game."
"Well... that was easy."
Avaris touched the broken part of her helmet. "Don't suppose there's time for me to get this fixed."
"We're running against the clock as is."
"Damn. Ishtar?"
"Ishtar."
"I'll see you there." Avaris donned her helmet, picked up her slug-thrower, and marched right back onboard. Jaxson exchanged a look with Quantis.
"That was easy," he murmured.
Quantis smiled. "Guess we caught her at the right time."
It was raining on Venus. The skies spat fat briny droplets of acidic water that sizzled as it hit rock. Jaxson double-checked that his armour was sealed tight before he had Ghost transmat him outside. Omnibull was already there, fire-eyed, big, and with two horns sprouting from his tan-brown Exo skull. He was in the midst of glaring at who Jaxson could only assume was Pyrrhic-12. The second Exo was of a far thinner body-type than the first. He looked like a Hunter, what with the tight-fitting combat suit and hood, but he didn't have a cloak. His face was matte-black, with two green optics peeking out from skull-like sockets. He had to be the least expressible Exo Jaxson had ever met, and he could tell just from a quick glance. The strangest part of him was his weird chestplate, outfitted with seven mechanical eyes darting around and blinking independent of one another.
Omnibull looked over at Jaxson and gestured to the Hunter. "Can you believe this freak?"
"There's no need for-"
"'Can you believe this freak?'" Pyrrhic-12 parroted. Jaxson froze; it had been Omnibull's voice coming from the green-eyed Exo.
Omnibull puffed out his chest and raised himself up. "Shut it."
"'Shut it.'"
"I'm warning you."
"'I'm warning-'"
A Ghost appeared over Pyrrhic's shoulder. Its shell was scratched up and bereft of paint. "Please, just ignore him. He's..."
"A freak," Omnibull finished with a snarl.
Pyrrhic didn't even blink. He slowly turned around to stare at nothing in particular. Jaxson drew a shuddering breath. He'd never heard of an Exo doing... that. It was unnerving.
Quantis disembarked from her ship, took one look at everyone, and grimaced. "Pyrrhic?" She whispered.
Jaxson nodded. "Yeah."
"Crap. Well, we're off to a great start."
A pair of jumpships flitted overhead, only slowing to briefly drop off their occupants. Avaris was much the same as she'd looked earlier, only with her helmet covering her face, but Arthur... He was wearing an oil-dark trenchcoat with dark fur over his shoulders and back, the reinforced hadronweave decorated with Eliksni runes. His helmet was vaguely reminiscent of a Vandal's battle-mask, with two blue-purple optical receptors and a mouth-filter carved into the likeness of mandibles.
Seeing the looks his appearance garnered, Arthur twirled around. "Like it?"
Omnibull raised a shaking finger and pointed. "What's that?"
Arthur paused and drew his cannon. It was a thing of silver and gold, and with a gleaming bayonet set beneath the barrel. "This? This is Crimson. Yeah, that gun. Found it a while back and I just had to fix it up. It's like an uncharted science, y'know, healing its wielder without Ghost intervention. A thing of beaut-"
"No," Omnibull said more firmly, more angrily. "What the hell is that?"
"Huh?" Arthur's gaze dropped to his bracers alight with green flames. "Oh. Yeah."
"'Oh yeah'?!" Omnibull marched up to him and poked him in the chest. He dwarfed the Warlock by couple of noticeable inches. "What the hell are you playing at?!"
"Ah, well, you see," Arthur stepped away with a flourish, "Vex don't get Hive just like they don't get us, so why not take advantage of that? They'll never see this coming."
"You practicing Witchcraft?!"
"Sure. With some Knightcraft mixed in for good measure. There's a whole lot our enemies can teach us."
"Traitor. It's your kind who'll-"
"Enough!" Quantis snapped. "Omnibull, enough!"
The big Exo growled, but he stepped back. His optics never left the Dredgen.
Quantis turned to Arthur. "But really, what the hell are you doing with that stuff?"
"What? A little soulfire never hurt anyone."
"Excuse me?!"
"I mean, uh," Arthur backpedaled, "I've never hurt anyone with it. No one who didn't deserve it, in any case."
"Where'd you even get that stuff?"
"Oh, you don't want to know."
Omnibull's hands shook. "You're messing with Darkness."
Arthur cocked his head from the side. Jaxson could almost envision the Awoken's self-assured smile. "Aren't we all?"
Silence reigned. It was only broken by the unlikeliest of persons.
"A fascinating hypothesis," Pyrrhic-12 said. His voice crackled in a way that was plain unpleasant to listen to.
Arthur perked up. "He speaks!"
Pyrrhic's optics narrowed. "I never professed to being a mute."
"And he's Irish! Love the accent."
The Exo Hunter turned about, evidently finished with the budding discussion.
"Right, uh..." Jaxson cleared his throat. Everything swiveled to face him. "You all know why we're here right? Get armed, before the Vex cut off our transmat systems, and let's get a move on."
"Well put," Quantis muttered. She raised her voice. "You heard him. Ember caves are five klicks east of here and crawling with Vex."
"What's the plan?" Avaris questioned.
"Ghost?" Jaxson asked aloud. Ghost manifested and set forth a holographic image of the region. "Thanks."
Avaris stepped closer. "Is that the Simiks-Fel?"
"Yeah. It crashed down during the Taken War. We think the refugees are somewhere in the wreckage. The Vex have the whole area under lockdown. The valley is theirs."
Omnibull reluctantly switched his focus from Arthur to the hologram. "What about the caves?"
"They're our only way in, save for..." Jaxson slipped on his Splicer gauntlet, "this."
Pyrrhic eyed it curiously. They all did, but the smaller Exo in particular gave the device an almost hungry look.
Jaxson forced himself to continue. "I'll rip us a path through the Vex Network inside. We reach the refugees, fend off the Vex, and bring them back the way we'd come."
"Is that safe?" Avaris pressed.
Jaxson shrugged. "I don't know. The Vex will hunt us while we're in their home, but outside they still have the capacity to field entire armies against us. It's sparser inside."
"Then that's the plan," Quantis decided. "Everyone good?"
"Yep."
"Sure."
"Fine."
"Affirmative."
Quantis nodded. "Great. Stack up on ammo; this place is crawling with constructs begging to get shot."
AN: Thanks to Nomad Blue for editing!
My muse is an flighty, impatient thing. It respects no schedule or plan. It just does things. Which can be frankly irritating when it wears off. While it's active, though, I'm free to enjoy it. Thus: this, what my muse cooked up like a fine stir-fried meal that's a goddamn joy to prepare despite being less than ideal nutrition-wise.