CHAPTER 6
PRISON OF ELDERS
THE REEF, ASTEROID BELT
Seja jammed a knife into a Ravager's neck, and threw it onto the ground. Ira and Shur both gunned down a group of Ravagers behind them.
"I thought we got rid of these guys," Ira said as she slammed a Ravager into a wall and filled it with shotgun pellets.
"We were supposed to," Seja replied, hitting a Ravager's flame censer with her hand cannon.
The flame censer exploded and set a group of Ravagers on fire. Shur stabbed another Ravager and let it fall. That was all of them.
"We need to get back to Petra," Seja ordered.
Green appeared in front of her and opened the door, leading them back into the large corridor. Waves of dark Ether washed over the corridor and the dead bodies of Eliksni started to rise.
Ira and Shur gunned down a group of the rising Eliksni before they had the chance to fight. Seja shot two in the head, and more Ravagers began to run down the hall.
As Ravagers approached them in front, they heard footsteps behind them. Stalkers.
"Get down you two," Seja ordered.
Ira and Shur both dropped onto the floor and Seja jumped. She spun and reached out with her hands, shooting dozens of knives out of them. When the knives hit their targets they exploded, quickly dealing with all of their attackers.
"Nice," Shur commented, standing up and pulling Ira up.
They heard more snarls coming from behind them.
"How many of them are there?" Ira asked.
"I'd rather not find out," Seja replied, "run!"
The three Awoken turned around and ran as fast as the could back to the airlock they entered the prison from. Seja glanced behind her as they ran and saw hundreds of different Scorn chasing them.
"Got any more magical knives?" Shur asked as they entered a smaller corridor.
"Not yet," Seja replied, "still need more energy."
"Right."
As they came up to a doo, Seja made sure that Ira and Shur went through first. Seja went through last and held out her hand for Green to appear.
"Seal this door!" Seja shouted.
"Not even a please?" Green asked.
"Not the time!"
Green nodded and turned around. Seja saw the Scorn through the door frame just as Green shut it and locked it.
"Close one," Ira commented.
"You know they can break the door down right?" Green asked.
Before Seja could comment they heard a loud bang, and the door was dented.
"Yeah, let's go," Seja said.
The cell block that they had originally cleared was riddled with dead bodies. Mostly Cabal and Eliksni, but for some reason no dark Ether was coming through. Seja decided not to wait for the dead Eliksni to rise and the three ran back to the airlock.
They heard the door in the cell block break open just before they made it into and sealed the airlock. The three sat down next to each other in the hallway past the airlock and took off their helmets. Green appeared next to Seja.
Ira had short white hair with purple tips. Her eyes were blue and her skin was lavender. She had a deep purple marking of the outline of an arrow on her face and she wore dark purple lipstick.
Shur had long black hair, purple eyes, and deep purple skin. She had no markings on her face and she wore the same colour lipstick as Ira's.
Shur put a hand on Ira's lap and the two's lips met in a kiss. The two had been in a relationship ever since the end of their Scorn hunt. Seja made rolled her eyes and looked at Green. She was fine with them making out in front of her, but she just thought it was quite weird.
"Jealous?" Green asked.
"Just missing Joe," she said.
"You'll see him soon."
"I hope so."
Seja was able to keep him out of her mind when she was focused on their mission, but when everything died down he was all she thought about. Some people felt weird about Seja and Joseph's relationship due to the fact that one wasn't even an organic being. But he looked acted and felt like one. And so Seja didn't listen to them.
"Try to reach Petra again," Seja told Green.
"No signal," he said after a few seconds.
Suddenly a wave of light washed over the entire prison, startling them. Seja shot up from the ground and drew her hand cannon. Ira and Shur flanked her with both their rifles raised.
"Green," she said, "what was that?"
Green didn't respond. The positioning of his shell looked like he was shocked and distressed.
"Green?" Seja asked again.
"That," Green started, "that came from a Ghost... A Ghost just died."
RIAN'S SHIP
LOW ORBIT, EARTH
Gariks opened the door to the ship's storage room and had to crouch to fit through the door.
"Hegiks," he said, taking off the translator he used to speak with John and Rian, "what is the word."
"Misraaks has communed with the Vanguard," Hegiks's deep mechanical voice said.
"So he has revealed himself?"
"Yes."
Misraaks was a Captain from the House of Dusk. Hegiks had saved his life once after he survived a fall from a Ketch in the sky. Gariks and Hegiks have been secretly communicating with him ever since, and Misraaks had brought up a time when a Guardian had the chance to kill him on Titan, but didn't take it.
Like Gariks and Hegiks, Misraaks had decided to begin working with the Guardians in secret. But now Misraaks has revealed himself.
"Anything else?" Gariks asked.
"Misraaks has uncovered a plot by an escapee from the Prison of Elders," Hegiks replied.
"Already? But it just fell."
"Eramis is her name. She was one of the first out. She has influenced members of Dusk and is attempting to rebuild the Devils."
"The Guardians and city will never be safe with the Devils back in the picture," Gariks sighed, "we must meet personally with Misraaks, I will uh, leave a note. For both of us."
The lights on Hegiks's 'face' blinked twice, indicating an agreement. Gariks exited the storage room and looked for something to write on and something to write with, but he couldn't find anything.
He examined the main console at the front of the cockpit and found he could leave a message. He put his translator back on and started to record the message.
"Rian. John," he started, "if you remember long ago we assisted a Captain. Misraaks. He has recently discovered a plot to rebuild the House of Devils, the old scourge of the city. He needs our help if he is to succeed in ending it. You will not see me or Hegiks for a while, but we will return eventually. If you never see us again then we are dead. Good luck on your future endeavours, Gariks out."
He ended the recording and went back to the storage room and took off his translator.
"It's time," he said to Hegiks.
Hegiks floated forward and the two exited the ship from the transmat room.
"How will we get to him?" Gariks asked Hegiks.
"He will meet us," Hegiks replied.
The two stayed in a clearing in the woods for hours. Gariks walked around, sat down, exercised, he did whatever he could to stay active. Hegiks hadn't moved a centimetre. Then they heard the sound of an approaching Skiff.
COURTYARD
THE LAST CITY, EARTH
Jack and Steven had just returned to the Tower after spending hours in the Crucible and Cayde still wasn't back yet. But Zavala had requested them of all people. However, Zavala wasn't where he usually was.
"Damnit, where is he now?" Jack complained.
"Zavala?" Asked one of the soldiers that stand by his post.
"Yes, do you know where he is?"
"He's down in the Vanguard planning room."
"Alright thanks."
The two Guardians ran back through the courtyard and down a few flights of stairs until they came up to a sealed door with two windows next to it. The windows were hard to see through and there were two Vanguard frames on either side of the door.
"Halt," one frame said, approaching the two with its hand outstretched, "you must be authorized to enter."
"They are approved," Zavala's voice came out from a speaker, "let them in."
"Very well."
The two frames nodded and the door opened as they stepped aside, letting the two Guardians inside.
"Jack," Zavala addressed him.
Jack looked at Steven and he shook his head and waited at the back of the room.
"I pulled a few favours," Zavala continued, "I am aware of your past activities in hunting down these, 'Scorn barons'."
"Uh, yes sir," Jack replied nervously.
Jack didn't know what this was about, but Zavala had never personally talked to him. He didn't really have a good feeling about anything, and he didn't know why Steven was there. He had nothing to do with the baron hunts.
"I have just received contact from a Fallen Captain," Zavala continued, "he is also working with a group who was involved in the baron hunts. As much as I don't trust the Fallen, this Captain, Mithrax, has shown some pretty convincing proof of another group of Fallen working to reconstruct the House of Devils."
"The House of Devils?" Jack didn't understand how they could come back, "they're going to take on the city again aren't they?"
"That is what I'm afraid of."
"And what about SIVA? That was a big part of the Devils wasn't it?"
"Indeed. Which is one of our other problems. SIVA still exists. In the Cosmodrome, and here in the City as well."
"There's SIVA in the city?"
"I'm afraid so. Locked away in a vault in the old Tower is a weapon that utilizes SIVA against the user's enemies. If these Fallen get that weapon, and re-secure the Cosmodrome, then we are in danger."
Jack nodded. He couldn't pass this assignment down, it was too important. Then he looked back at Steven, who seemed to be paying attention, but only a little.
"What does Steven have to do with this?" Jack asked.
"Since he is a member of your fireteam I have permitted him to go along with you," Zavala replied.
"And what about Joseph?"
"He cannot be trusted to handle Vanguard matters."
"Why? What did he do?"
"Remember what I told you of the Drifter? He has been taken by his influence."
Jack stepped back. Oh no, he thought, this is not good.
EMERALD COAST
EUROPEAN DEAD ZONE, EARTH
"It ain't over!" Drifter shouted to team Alpha, "kill that Primeval!"
John, Rian, Joseph, and Corrs were once again on a team against Gaston, Sherrik, Colin, and Gio. This was their seventh match against them.
Team Bravo, Gaston's team, had won the first round, but Alpha had their Primeval first in the second round.
"I have the Envoy on the right," John said.
"I got the left," Rian said, changing her fusion rifle to the void energy setting.
John pulled his shotgun into his hands as Rian began to charge her fusion rifle. John took out the Envoy's shields with one shot, and dodged its hand as it attempted to punch him. He fired three more times at the Envoy, and its body dissolved into nothingness.
Rian fired a single shot from her fusion rifle after taking a while to charge it, and the single shot took down the Envoy.
"Those Envoy's are taking a dirt nap!" Drifter commented through communications, "now you focus on that Primeval!"
The Primeval this time was a giant Taken Ogre. Joseph jumped at it, but just a few of its eye blasts knocked him out of the way. He fell from the air and tumbled onto the ground.
"Fun fact," he said, standing up and brushing off his robes, "I hate Taken Ogres. And regular Ogres for that matter."
John once more fired a nova bomb at a Primeval, but before the nova bomb hit the Ogre it fired at him, and knocked him back into a tree. He could just hear the Drifter laughing. The other three Guardians followed up the nova bomb with their supers and melted it with solar and void energy. Look who's laughing now.
The Primeval couldn't take much more, and once again Rian delivered the final blow with her fusion rifle.
"You won't be seeing that Primeval again," Drifter joked before the teams were transmatted back to the derelict.
This was the first time that team Alpha had lost a round, this time they were going into the tiebreaker.
"Looks like y'all are tied," Drifter said, "this round is gonna turn into chaos real fast! Transmat primed!"
Once team Alpha set foot back in the arena they saw that both teams already had their Primeval up, and John felt like he was gaining energy towards his super faster than normal.
"Both sides have a Primeval," Drifter said, "one side will win!"
"I've got the Envoys!" Corrs shouted before her arc staff appeared in her hands and she dashed forward.
"Right," John said, "let's get that Primeval."
Once more the Primeval was a round chunk of flesh with a purple glowing mouth, hundreds of white translucent tentacles, and pieces of metal surrounding it. I still refuse to believe that is a Servitor, John thought.
Corrs appeared next to an Envoy, and repeatedly battered it with her arc staff until there was quite literally nothing left of it as it dissolved into arc energy. John looked towards Rian and she was charging her fusion rifle again.
When John looked back toward the Primeval he saw Corrs finish off the last Envoy.
"Go!" John shouted.
John jumped up and fired a nova bomb, Joseph grabbed his flaming hammer, and Rian fired her fusion rifle. Since the Primeval was in the air Joseph couldn't do much about it, but he had an idea.
Joseph let go of the giant hammer with on hand and hurled it forward with all his strength with the other. The Primeval made a growling noise before the hammer hit it. The hammer sunk into its body, lighting it on fire.
"I think we've got this one in the bag," John said, putting his hands on his hips as the Primeval burned.
Eventually the Primeval disappeared into a rift behind it, just like the last Primeval Servitor they faced had.
"And we've found the winner!" Drifter exclaimed, "come on back up to the Derelict."
Both teams were transmatted back up to the Derelict, but Gaston was missing. Each team member shook the opposite team member's hand.
"Good game everyone," Sherrik said.
"Hey Sherrik," John pulled Sherrik aside, "where's Gaston?"
"He got on his own ship and just left. We've been a team for a damn long time and I don't know what's getting into him."
GASTON'S SHIP
LOW ORBIT, EARTH
Gaston marched to the cockpit of his ship and punched in a series of numbers on a console at the back of the cockpit. A screen above the console turned on and showed an imposing figure. Four arms, four dark blue eyes, and the rest of her was too dark to even see.
"Faltris," Gaston addressed her.
"Gaston," came Faltris's deep gravelly voice.
"I need some support from the Hunters."
"What for?"
"I did some looking around, and I found him."
"Rhetiks's killer?"
"Yes."