A/N: I lied! Muhahahahahaha. Turns out I can't actually keep a schedule to save my life and uploading is what keeps me writing. ANYWAY, hoping to have the next chapter up before...The Showcase. Oooo.

Yes, this is short, regular chapter lengths will resume next update.

Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fanfiction. Destiny and all of its supplementary materials are owned by Bungie, including any liberties I take with the lore. I only own Fireteam Storm and other OCs. Please support the official release.

Saga 03: The Wolf Rebellion

Arc 01: Vestian Emissary

Chapter 01: The Scatter

Earth

25 years ago…

High above the City, at its furthest borders, lies the Twilight Gap. It sits, high above the City, on a mountain ridge. Originally a ski resort, the Twilight Gap was converted into a military base sometime after the Golden Age began. Or perhaps it was the other way around. Despite the rust and decay, it was highly defendable due to its placement and several gun batteries that, miraculous, still worked in the several hundred years since the Collapse. Its lights were a beacon in the dark of night for anyone afraid of invasion from their planet's recent occupiers

At least, that's what it was meant to do.

In the last few days Twilight Gap was now home to the fiercest battle the City had seen since Six Fronts as three of the four major Fallen Houses had descended with intent of wiping humanity out once and for all. The gun batteries clashed with Fallen spider tanks, the krakooms of cannon fire ripping through the sky, while the former military base was littered with the bodies of Fallen and Guardians alike and the radiowaves were a mess with Guardian reports countering Fallen intelligence and vice versa.

In the midst of the chaos, clambering around the wreckage of a crashed jumpship, was Lord Shaxx. The giant of a Titan roared, punching an oncoming Captain into the ground before taking in his surroundings. The carnage and chaos told him the battle now rested on a knife edge. Shaxx grit his teeth and moved to reposition.

A large explosion made him stop. Smoke rose in the distance, the gunfire and roar of Light picking up as the mass of Fallen suddenly made for the new gap in the Wall.

"No…!" Shaxx gasped, following after the Fallen and striking down any unfortunate enough to get in his path.

As he barrelled through the Fallen he heard the Vanguard Commander, Saladin, speak across the radio.

"All fireteam leaders: Do not advance on the Wall. Fall back to the Ridgeback Distract."

Shaxx froze, hand gripped around the throat of a struggling Vandal. He turned, eyes fixed on the wall as he waited for Saladin to justify the strategy.

"I repeat: all teams rally to Ridgeback. Do NOT advance. The City is lost."

Shaxx heard the Vandal laugh mockingly and slammed it into the ground in response, before emptying his auto rifle into a charging Captain.

"Shaxx! Do you copy?!" Saladin demanded.

He risked a look over his shoulder at the gap in the wall. The City was still standing. Not burning. Not yet. He grunted, reloading his auto rifle before switching to a small breechload launcher. Around him were two Titans, a Hunter and a pair of other Guardians. All of them seemed to have a silent agreement with him.

Not his original team, but they'd have to do.

"Shaxx! Your orders are to retreat!" Saladin repeated.

Shaxx's eyes narrowed. There was a break in the onslaught. They could do this.

"Nkechi! Take Abdi and Truce! Liu Feng, with me!" Shaxx ordered, taking off at a run. "Bray! Cover us!"

"This battlefield is not your stage, Shaxx!" Saladin roared in anger. "This is not about glory! For the final time; fall back!"

The burst of Golden Gun gave Shaxx the go ahead. He cut the feed with his commander then slammed his fists together, havoc crackling around him as he hurled himself into the Fallen army.

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!" Shaxx roared, his battlecry echoing across the Gap.

The Reef

Orbit of Ceres

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!"

The cry of the Lightbearer crackled through the radio of Orbiks-Fel as the flagship of the Wolves armada anxiously waited at Ceres for refuelling. Virixas, the Kell of House Wolves, watched the skiffs going to and from the dwarf planet that kept them hidden. Flanking the Orbiks-Fel were the two other Ketches of the armada; Kaliks-Syn and-

"This is ridiculous!" Skolas, the Commander of the Kaliks-Fel, growled bitterly.

"Feel free to leave your brothers in arms behind," Virixas said with a roll of his eyes. "Rabid."

Skolas gave a condescending huff. "Every second we waste here is another second we give to the Machine-Thieves! We should be down there NOW!"

"And leave half the army behind?" Parixas, Virixas's second-in-command, chimed in from behind the Kell.

"Shut your mandibles, you have no idea about battle strategy!" Skolas snarled.

"If you two would stop bickering," the third and final commander, Irxis, sighed. "You'd see we are done."

Skolas backed down with a satisfied huff, leaving Parixas to stew in annoyance. Virixas nodded in thanks before letting Irxis take up the majority of the console's monitor. "Your advice, Baroness? I may as well have yours after the earful I got from these two."

Skolas audibly scoffed, if only to get a rise out of Parixas. Irxis ignored them. "I hate to admit it, but Skolas has a point. We may not be operating at full strength, but we have enough to catch the City off-guard. And more than enough numbers to compensate."

Virixas nodded. "Very well." The Kell turned one of his other subordinates. "Tell the Skiffs on Ceres to pack up and return. Any dissidents will be left behind."

The Skiffs hurried back and, one by one, the largest three Ketches moved out, flanked by smaller Ketches and Skiffs alike. Virixas watched, his jaw clenched, as the gem-white surface of Ceres gave way to the inky-purple blackness of space. Across the starlit void the shattered wreckage of countless human ships drifted. The Wolves knew the stories. The humans had suffered a Whirlwind of their own, and Virixas couldn't help but bow his head in respect for those who had perished.

"Virixaskel!" Parixas announced suddenly. "Something's out there!"

Brought out of his thoughts, Virixas stepped forward. Coming out of the debris were several ships, small at first, like four-pointed thorns, before growing larger and larger as destroyers flanking frigates all pulled out of the graveyard as the shadow of a gargantuan flagship of scrap draped in purple banners loomed into view, piercing through the formation like a spear as the fleet entered formation around it.

"What is this?!" Parixas exclaimed.

"Your intelligence was wrong, Parixas, that's what!" Skolas snarled angrily.

"Focus!" Irxis snapped. "All ships, prepare arc guns and radio jammers!

Virixas merely smirked. "So the rumours were true after all," he murmured, mentally taking note of the new fleet. Their weapons were a mishmash of new and salvaged, and their size was no match for the Wolves. That much was obvious. Virixas clicked his mandibles. "…A secret weapon perhaps?"

Virixas considers his options then spoke on an open broadcast. "I know what you are," he announced. "I've heard the chatter of the Vestian Web. A secretive group, uncaring, uninterested in your Earth-bound neighbours." He leaned forward, growling. "Why are you here?"

Silence.

Virixas continued. "I am Lord of Wolves. You are an empty thing with two dead souls. This is my House, and these are my terms. Surrender. We will give safe passage for evacuations. We will take only your ships."

"Virixas, we don't have time for this!" Skolas complained as the Kaliks-Fel signalled it was ready for battle.

In response the Awoken fleet suddenly cut their engines. Virixas watched them drifted while Wolves found their marks.

A female's voice came over the broadcast. Regal. Dignified. Surprisingly, she was fluent in Eliksni. "I am noble too, oh, Lord of Wolves," she replied, somehow both condescending yet respectful. The Kell could tell why the Awoken were here.

Virixas laughed. "You have no line," he said, signalling he was ready. Irxis and the other Barons and Baronesses confirmed. "You have no power! Stand aside. This is your final warning."

(Harbinger- Destiny: The Taken King OST)

There was a pause. Out of nowhere the consoles and lights of the Orbiks-Fel flickered. The hull groaned.

"What was that?" Skolas asked quickly.

"Virixaskel, the Servitors are picking up an anomaly," Irxis said, focused but concerned.

As the Ketch creeped, the woman's voice whispered over the open broadcast again. Distorted. Corrupted. "Starlight was my Mother. And my Father was the dark."

"Call on them then!" Virixas barked. "And see what help they offer!"

The signal cut. A second later the Wolves' radios were awash with panic as their sensors went blind. Jammers cut off, revealing every single ship to the enemy. Virixas watched the Awoken fleet break off into two separate flanks and instantly gave the order to fire, only for the guns to short out.

Space warped as a great shadow loomed over the Awoken's flagship of scrap, dragging parts of the debris into the newly created gravity wells. Nine orbs of phantasmal solid light appeared one by one, surrounding the flagship like a ring.

Aboard the Kaliks-Fel, Skolas frantically began to bark orders. "Pirsis, get this Ketch away from Ceres! Beltrik! Give the order to scatter! The House must survive!"

From Kaliks-Syn Irxis watched the nine lights launch themselves at the Wolves in stunned horror. It was only when she noticed several ships led by the Kaliks-Fel retreat did she realise what was happening.

"Irxis!" Skolas said of the radio. "If you have any sense you will leave."

Irxis didn't reply but gave the order to retreat. Aboard the Orbiks-Fel, Virixas watched Kaliks-Fel and Kaliks-Syn retreat as his crew tried desperately to get the Ketch moving. All the Kell could do was watch this strange weapon hurl closer and closer.

From aboard the Kaliks-Fel Skolas could only watch the Orbiks-Fel collapse on itself before exploding, the gravity wells following the Awoken's superweapons ensnaring any ship that hadn't managed to get away. The wreckage of Orbiks-Fel, along with half the fleet, were swept up and crashed into Ceres, the weapon dissipating into nothing before the dwarf planet detonated from the impact.

Soon there was nothing but silence.

Oversoul Throne

The cold slate of Crota's castle sapped the life out of Kayla as she got to her knees. She looked up at the green glow of the Oversoul as it glared at her through the twisting towers like moonlit peeking through thick bramble.

Beside her was Delta, crumpled in a heap. Sal, his Ghost, lay cracked next to him. Lightless. Dead. Across the way was Hayley, at least the half she could see, her robotic eyes frozen in fear. Shifter was above, hanged on a chain, as his limbs knocked against his body like a sickly wind chime. Slumped in the dirt behind was Jaeger, his face unrecognisable.

The sicken crunch of Crota's foot on human bone signalled the death of Athena. Kayla caught her breath, grabbing the Sunbreaker's dropped grenade launcher and reloading it.

"Delta…Hayley…Jaeger…Shifter…Athena…" she locked at the last round in her palm, a shaky breath escaping her. "Ghost…"

Kayla kept close to the wall, composing herself. With a powerful yell she vaulted the wall, bracing herself.

It took a minute to realise the pain coursing through her stomach. She looked down, whimpering as she grasped the blade that had pierced her gut. In front of her Crota smirked, raising her up triumphantly, everyone of her nerves on fire as she slid awkwardly down the metal of his blade.

"This is the end," he said softly, each word a dagger. "You have nothing to be afraid of anymore."

Kayla felt herself fall, jerking awkwardly as she hit the floor.

It was soft. Kayla caught her breath, taking in her surroundings. It was a rug. She reached out her hand, placing it on cold metal. A bed.

"Fuck…" she said quietly, curling up into a ball.

She sat there, on her hands and knees, as she took in the silence. Then she a heavy sigh and looked up again.

"Hey," said the reassuring voice of Ghost.

"Hi…" Kayla said, a little dejected.

"I er…I managed to get the kettle going," the small drone offered.

Kayla looked at the small kitchen of her one room lodgings. On closer inspection, sugar littered the table, and a pile of teabags were quietly shoved to the side, split. She peered into her mug and a murky concoction at the bottom stared back.

"Ghost," Kayla said tiredly. "You put the milk in first. Again."

"…I-is there really a difference?" Ghost asked, watching Kayla pour the kettle into it.

"Yes! Of course there's a difference!"

"…What is it?"

Kayla paused while she put the teabag in the bin. "Look, there's a right way to make tea, and a wrong way to make tea, ok?"

"But this book," Ghost said, levitating the book in front of him. "Said that, if you put the milk in after, it doesn't heat prop-"

Ghost trailed off when Kayla launched the book at the wall, sitting down in a huff. Ghost floated next her.

"Sorry…" Kayla said into her mug. "I didn't…I don't mean to shout, just…I just…"

Kayla looked at him. Ghost looked back; his shell drooped in sort of sympathetic smile. He nodded a little. Kayla sighed, slurping the tea. "He won't get out of my head…Every night it's just...HIM. And then I wake up, and I feel so. Fucking. Heavy…and I go out and kill shit and come back and…" Her shoulders slumped in defeat. "Sometimes I want it to stop."

"I…" Ghost started. "I'm…not sure what I can say to help."

"You don't have to say anything," Kayla replied, smiling at him. "I just don't want to be alone."

Ghost nodded in response and the pair looked out of the porthole at debris filled sky of the Vestian Outpost, a recent addition to the Reef that served as a port for Reef-Guardian relations. The ship her room was built into creaked around her, a quiet choir of rust and iron.

"How many months has it been?" Kayla asked.

"Six, I believe," Ghost replied. "Maybe seven."

"Not long left then," Kayla chuckled. "I really should get that calendar."

Next Time: Catch up with how Fireteam Storm are in Chapter 3-02: Fallout.