Dark Dawn

Through the night, the Guardians had defended their City from the latest incursion of Darkness. After the arrival of the stolen Walkers, the City cleared quickly. As the sun rose, a shorter night due to the nearness of summer, teams of Guardians patrolled the streets and watched from rooftops, determined to root out every last threat. Portable anti-air cannons were brought in to harrass the Ketch, from inside the Traveller's barrier, and at last it jumped via NLS back into orbit, alone. The citizens cheered audibly as it rose, vanishing.

"So… Think they made it?" said Soren over comms, standing watch.

"We won't know until that Ketch returns under his control, or the Kings start bragging about having killed him," said Enki. He and Kaara were walking back out of an apartment building after clearing it, citizens still peeking out of their doorways to see the Guardians go by in the halls.

"Maybe we can gear up, go with Gravian, and help them out?"

"We'd have to board a Ketch while it was in orbit without getting shot down, with no back up and no guarantee that they're still alive. Bad idea."

"Gooooood point… I'm coming down."

The two Guardians stepped out of the stairwell, walking through the lobby to meet Soren, when a young kid came walking up, shy as could be. He had red shorts on and a white shirt with New Monarchy's motif in red.

Kaara kept going, to replace Soren on overwatch. Soren flexed his arm to show of his New Monarchy Bond.

"You like New Monarchy, unlike my dull friend here!" Soren looked at Enki with a grin, hoping he'd take the bait.

Enki shook his head while the child talked with Soren excitedly, putting his helmet back on. He wasn't having the Crucible debate at the moment.

"I shouldn't even be out here anymore," said Enki, solemn.

"Light can have no idle tools," said Kaara.

"Yeah, well, I'm not Vanguard anymore. The armor's practically just for show. I doubt I'll ever leave the City again unless I take the system reset…"

"But you are forged in Light."

Enki looked at the Traveller. "Yeah. I am."

"Have you nothing to say, Morik?" said the Kell of Kings, elbows on his armrests, fingers tented.
"No doubt you have heard what I have to say to Kings," replied Morik.

"Ahh. 'I deal with wishes for peace or death,' correct? Clever. And I believe you heard my response?"

"Your false Kell. 'Then I wish for your death,' I believe he said."

The Kell of Kings chuckled. "So, then, here you are to grant my wish. On my ship. In my throne room. You captured my Pilot, I know. You think you have a plan, you think you will claim my ship. You think you will win. I can see it. See it in your eyes, Kell of Light. You side with vermin to draw strength from a god that abandoned us. And you think it makes you better than us."

"The Traveller is no god to them. It is an ally. We Guardians move only because it allows us. 'We are an army of the chosen dead.'"

The King laughed, but Morik continued.

"There is nothing more to say," said Morik. "Will you wish for peace? Or will you wish for death?"

To his fireteam, over comms only, he said, "I will have the Pilot Servitor broadcast my docking codes. Viksis, prepare a signal asking for as much aid as possible. We must clear the ship to claim it."

The King responded before he could say more, but the ship began moving.

"Morik, Once-Devil, Kell of Light. 'Chosen Dead.'"

The King stood.

"This day, between our Houses, I wish for death. Death on both sides. I am no fool, I know your strength. I have watched you, as the Kings oversee all, and I recognize I may die here. But my House will never submit. Kings bow… To no one."

"Then we fight," said Morik.

"Name your terms."

"You want a duel? A 'fair' fight? You think I will offer the same terms as I did the Valus, underestimating him?"

"I want to know how you will end our fight. If you stand with the Light, I will stand with my whole House."

Ramiks looked back, slightly, seeing the door with only one eye. Sure enough, a Dreg was peeking around the corner, only so bold because it had backup.

"And if I face you with only my Archons and our ether?"

"Then I will do the same."

Viksis and Ramiks waited as a silence yawned open, a fissure between the two Kells. What sound they first heard was both heartening and terrifying. Morik uttered the most gruesome laugh of his life, starting low and rising, full-bellied and wrathful at the same time. Out of his laugh came his response, smoothly transitioning from laughter waiting for mortal combat to full confidence and challenge.

"We stand with the Light. Let us measure ourselves! Our true power against yours! If we duel, we duel once and for all!"

The Kell of Kings held out his arms and his two Archons handed him shock blades, then drew their own blades.

"Kings… To battle!"

"Alert to all Guardians!" came Zavala's voice over comms. "Control of the enemy Ketch is ours, but its decks still hosts the Kings! House of Light is issuing a request for reinforcements, to take the Ketch itself! It will be landing, ignored by the Traveller, so that it can be boarded on the top of the wall. Details are being broadcast to your Ghosts."

Seconds later, the sky shook and clouds parted as the Ketch reappeared over the City, slowly lowering until its main ramp would reach the top of the Wall. It remained closed, however, until more Guardians would arrive.

"Further details incoming!" said Zavala, suddenly not as level as always. "Our Kell is engaging the enemy Kell directly. The entire ship is bearing down on them, we've got to hurry!"

Outside, on the Wall, Guardians that hadn't been patrolling the City were already gathering. The crowd parted around several new arrivals. Zavala, Cayde-6, Ikora Ray, Lord Shaxx, several Light Captains and Vandals, all approached in full armor.

"We cannot lose control of this Ketch so close to the City. We don't have a choice. Prepare to board!" said Zavala.

"Zavala," said Ikora Ray, very calmly and only so he, Cayde, and Shaxx could hear. "Sometimes things can't be planned ahead of time."

"Not to say planning isn't important," said Cayde. "Just, sometimes a bad idea pays off. Not everything can wait for authorization."

Zavala took a deep breath, chose not to be offended, and turned to face the gathering force.

"We aren't waiting for more. I'm requesting for the bridge to be lowered. Not one Fallen gets past us. Our objective is to clear the ship, from the bottom up."

"House of Light will advance first," volunteered Dreskin, one of the Captains.

The Eliksni Guardians pushed forward, taller than their allies, forming into ranks by seniority with no regard to development stage. Vandals beside Captains in every line. The Ketch's belly opened, the boarding ramp to the docking bay. Squads of Dregs inside shrieked in surprise and rushed to pick up weapons. The wave of Guardians entering the ship was preceded by the sounding of a major alarm, announcements in Eliksni about the Pilot Servitor having been captured, and the sounds of chaos among the crew.

Morik charged forward with Ramiks, while Viksis turned back to hold off the advancing reinforcements. A Scatter grenade into the door deterred anything from entering before he could get there, filling the doorway with billowing robes and an intimidating roar. Morik used his Shoulder Charge on one of the Archons, knocking it onto its back and out of the way, while Ramiks clashed with the other, shock blades to shock blades. The resulting sparks sprayed between Morik and the Kell of Kings. The King sliced at Morik's head and chest, both of his ornate blades swinging in the same direction. Morik stepped in, too close for the blades, and threw up his left arms to block the King's arms. When forearm met forearm, Morik punched, two hooks for the King's chest, twisting at his hips and the balls of his feet for power. The King stumbled back, slashing wildly to deter Morik from following up. But Morik didn't follow up, instead throwing a Pulse grenade at the Kell and ducking under a slash from his Archon and punching it in the stomach with Stormfist. Both enemies staggered, Morik raised his fists and slammed down Fist of Havoc. The Arc Light washed over all three opposing leaders, leaving Ramiks unaffected and Morik standing in the pulsing of his Aftermath.

"Ramiks."

"Yes, my Kell?"

"Help Viksis. Clear the hall and direct our allies. I will finish this."

Even Ramiks didn't have the guts to refuse, looking from Morik to the three other Eliksni and swallowing his doubts. He didn't acknowledge the order either, but he did obey, jumping down the short set of stairs and blinking past Viksis, entering his Blade Trance and charging his shock blades.

The Kell of Kings, still gaining his feet, looked at Morik.

"You blind fool," said the King. "You know you cannot face all three of us alone. Even with the Light, it is hopeless."

"This is the burden I carry," said Morik, his arms hanging at his sides, no weapons, nothing ready. "If I am to do this correctly, it must be done to send a message to all Eliksni. It is not whether I can or cannot… I must."

Morik brought up his guard, arms and armor crackling with Arc light. The two Archons and Kell stood, weapons ready. In their scratched armor and tattered cloaks they faced a Guardian. A Titan who bore the Mark of his House, whose own thickly plated armor showed more character than the three who faced him combined. Where they had dings and nicks here and there, Morik's armor had claw marks from the Hive, scorches from the Cabal, and the tiny deformities from being shocked and burned by Fallen and Vex. His Mark was missing a corner of fabric, and was dimly bleached from exposure to so many elements and conditions.

"Come," said Morik, "And may The Great Machine show you mercy."

The Archons took balanced steps, moving to either side of Morik to surround him with the stairs behind him and their Kell before him.

"The Great Machine will beg for my mercy, traitor," said the Kell, stepping in and swinging overhead as his Archons stabbed. Morik blinked right, behind an Archon and slid his foot between the Archon's, pushing it off balance.

-Your balance needs work. Just because you're a Titan doesn't make you unmovable.-

Morik grabbed the falling Archon's helmet and twisted with all four of his arms, with all his strength, snapping its neck and letting it hit the deck with the pang of metal on metal. His two opponents could not recover from their shock fast enough.

-Now, when you hit, your brain goes into that attack. Lose your brain, lose the fight.-

Morik slid forward and faked a punch at the other Archon, who brought up one blade to block and stabbed the other forward. Morik grabbed the stabbing arm by the wrist, twisting and stepping in, stealing the blade and shoving it into the Archon's ribs. Ether jetted from the gap as Morik yanked out the blade, tossing it aside. With a wild push, Morik bowled over the Archon, hopping to his left to avoid an attack from the Kell. As soon as his feet hit the floor, Morik blinked again, appearing with his guard up behind the Kell. The Kell blinked as well, to the right of his throne and away from both his Archon and Morik. The Archon put one hand over its wound and stood, sagging with pain and ether-loss.

-Opponents always have a default expectation. Break that expectation.-

The Archon charged forward, snatching up its other shock blade and slashing at Morik to drive him back into the Kell and expecting him to dodge. Morik dropped to one knee, twisting his body into a Stormfist right onto the Archon's hand, where he had stabbed it. The Archon's body locked up in pain and it stumbled. Morik shifted toward it in a low stance and pushed it tumbling down the stairs. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the Kell blink, seeing the ether trail just in time to wildly dodge, falling on his side and seeing a shock blade pass too close to his helmet. Morik blinked to the bottom of the stairs, getting up and putting his upper arms over his head, blocking a jumping strike from the Kell. With his lower arms, Morik reached up to grab the Kell's hands. With its own lower arms, the Kell shoved Morik away, snarling.

The Archon was struggling to its feet, still trying to hold its wound.

The Kell glanced back at his wounded Archon. "How unfortunate…"

Morik waited, breathing hard and eying his cooldowns and ether gauge.

"If you are confused, I don't mean what's happened to my Archons or myself. I mean the loss of my ship."

As he said that, over the intercom some of his crew announced that they had recaptured the Pilot Servitor, but the Guardians were invading the ship too effectively to counter. Viksis and Ramiks had cleared the hall to the throne room and were advancing ever further against the tide of Fallen in their way.

Morik turned his head slightly, even more confused. His Ghost picked up the Kell's next statement over comms as well as Morik hearing it himself.

"House of Kings does not bow. Set self-destruct and trap all foes on-board. If they want this ship so badly, they can have it, but we will have victory."

Eyes across the ship widened, fights paused, realization spread. The invasion alarm stopped, the yellow lights stopped flashing, and a new alarm began accompanied with red lights. Morik's first thought was how many Guardians would be killed, and how almost every member of his House was on board.

"Viksis! Ramiks! Get to that Pilot and shut down the self-destruct! Now!"

"Of course, my Kell," responded Viksis, voice level.

"You!" said Morik, audible to the Kell. "You coward! How dare you!"

The Kell lowered his shock blades to his sides. "Just as you have a burden to bear, so do all Kell. We embody our Houses. Kings are above all, Kings rule all they see, and Kings never lose. My House will always have what it wants. Today, we sought to break your City and wipe out your House. And with this, it will be done."

Morik roared and charged forward. The Kell of Kings threw down his shock blades and raised his fists. Morik off-handed a Pulse grenade at the Archon, the Arc Light invading through the breach in its armor and frying it from the inside out. Without even slowing, Morik used his Shoulder Charge. The Kell blinked to the side to dodge, then pounced on Morik, pinning him to the ground and yanking at his helmet. Morik struggled, reaching up to stop the Kell from pulling off his helmet with one set of arms and using Stormfist with the other. When the Kell locked up from the shock, Morik rolled to throw it off, blinking away. The Kell stood and rushed Morik, only to blink past him to block the door.

"The Pilot Servitor's permissions have changed! There is someone else here besides Kings!" reported Ramiks. "Self-destruct, lockdown, alarms, none of it is under our control!"

"Start burning through the docking mechanism," said Commander Zavala, "We have to get everyone out!"

"We don't know how big the blast will be, so what good will it do?!" said Lord Shaxx.

"Navigation permissions are still accessible," said Viksis. "Leave the ship and we can force NLS travel."

Amidst the chaos in the hallways and docking bay, none of the participating commanders said anything for a moment. They knew what Viksis meant.

"Let's get this door open, Guardians," said Zavala.

Morik and the Kell of Kings stood before the throne, up the stairs again. The Kell's armor was smoking, Morik's ether was diffuse around him, and both were out of breath. Morik listened to the exchange over comms.

"Who is helping you?" said Morik.

"You think Kings would rely on aid from others?"

"Yes. Especially after Twilight Gap and all the manipulation from then onward."

The Kell was silent a moment, no proper response to being called out.

"Your Pilot has been taken over by someone with higher permissions than House Judgement, yet it obeys your orders. It is obvious you have help. Who?"

"What you say is news to me. I arranged for nothing of the sort. Still, it is in my favor. Your only choice now would be to destroy the Pilot, and even that would not stop the self-destruct. You would need a new Pilot, one of your own."

"No," said Viksis, striding back into the room. "The permissions shift is incomplete. Core systems functions are inaccessible, but navigation is different. We cannot shut down life support or stop your suicide attempt, but we can take this Ketch away from the City. Our comrades are escaping as we speak."

"All that remains," said Ramiks, appearing beside Viksis, "Is to finish you."

"The evacuation is complete! What's the status on the self-destruct? Will we make it?" asked Ikora Ray.

"Self-destruct is almost spun up. Containment of energy will fail in a calculated manner in less than two minutes," reported Viksis. "From the center of the ship, that is too short to escape."

"Coordinates for the NLS jump are ready," said Morik. "Gravian?"

"Yes, my Kell?"

"We go. The Ketch will destroy the City if we stay. The House is yours now. I know you will make them all proud…"

"Yes… My Kell…"

"Stand clear of the ship," said Viksis. "NLS jump activated."

-Maybe it's different to me, as an Exo or a Defender, but I've always been ready to die for my comrades and my friends. If you learn anything from me, big guy, learn that it's not important what you are or where you came from, what's important are the choices you make. Who you choose to fight with and fight for. Who you choose to protect, when you decide to pull the trigger. Everything you do sends a message. Your history, your race, your words all add context and modify that message, but in the end how others judge you is only the beginning. Do what you believe is right, and let history figure out how to remember you. Because your friends, those under your banner, they won't listen to history. They'll remember the hero they knew, and that's enough for me.-

Out beyond the Reef, just on the outside of Saturn's orbit, the Ketch reappeared. Less than five seconds after its safe arrival, the Ketch exploded in silence, blue and white hot plasma swallowing the bulbous hull completely. Only a small section of the throne room survived, metal shaved into a semi-circle with three Eliksni floating near it, drifting out of a small Void pocket. Drained of Light, low on ether, the Guardians were all silent, saving their breath for the astronomical chance that they be discovered… And saved…

The last arc is coming soon…

A/N: If anyone has one o' dem new-fangled next-gen consoles, I'm looking for some help getting screenshots of character creation. To give everyone an idea of what the characters look like. Yes, I know I never described them beyond their race and gender; that was on purpose. I bet most of you kind of have your own idea what everyone looks like, right? I hope so. Anyway, I play on 360, and I don't own a newer console or know anyone who has one as well as Destiny. I'm just asking for a few minutes rearranging a character on a creation screen, since there's no character creation simulator (if there is, I can't find it). If you're willing, send me a PM. I'll respond with pictures from my phone to show what nodes to fill in for who. After that, if I understand right, you should be able to "share" the screenshots with me. To be fair, I don't know how it all works… And I don't really have anything to offer in return, either…