A/N: I realise this has taken a lot longer than I should have done. There's been a lot of shit happening in regards to family stuff, and I've had to focus on that given that it's more important and a one year old child is involved.
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. Jolyon Till design based on the one drawn by TheRachis. I only own Fireteam Storm and other OCs. Please support the official release.
Saga 03: The Wolf Rebellion
Arc 01: Vestian Emissary
Chapter 03: Scourge of Winter
Venus
Ishtar Sink
The Headlands
"Ack!" Kayla gagged upon on landing. "I forgot how much this place stinks!"
"I wouldn't know," Ghost cheekily replied before looking at the volcano that dominated the Ishtar skyline. "It's still beautiful though."
Kayla stared out at the shore further down the valley. Smog from the volcano rolled across the boiling sea as it lapped against the ruins of the Ishtar Academy, shrouding it in a thick veil that seemed to make the creaks of the crumbling buildings and the roars of the creatures inhabiting them louder. Kayla took out her phone and snapped a quick picture.
"…This place is important to you, isn't it?" Ghost asked.
"Yeah…" Kayla said sadly, flicking between her picture and a photo of a ruined postcard that bore the same image.
Ghost tilted his shell slightly. "Would…" he started. "When we have time, we could come here for…a-a walk or…?"
Kayla looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"…Something?" Ghost finished awkwardly.
Kayla smiled. "I'd like that. Ohhhh, boy." The Voidwalker slapped her cheeks lightly, composing herself. "Right, lets go find Draksis before Uldren yaps at us again."
Ghost let out a hearty laugh, following Kayla up the paths deeper into the hills. Following the makeshift road, worn in by the numerous Pikes and Sparrows that traversed the Ishtar Sink, Kayla came to the familiar sight of the crag that nestled Winter's Run. The midday sun shone bright through the hazy clouds, glinting slightly off the toxic pools that were scattered around the rocky terrain.
Kayla jumped off her Sparrow before she crossed the turning into the ravine-proper, letting the Sparrow dematerialise as she headed to a small rocky formation for cover. Keeping low, she peeked over the highest rock, spying a small group of Vandals led by a Captain patrolling the entrance to the caves.
"Crow One, come in," Kayla said over a secure channel. "This is Mote One."
"Can't believe they gave us that call sign…" Ghost muttered.
"Shut up, Ghost!" Kayla snapped. "Crow One, come in."
"Receiving you, Mote One," replied a confident sounding tenor voice. "What can I do for you?"
"I'm just outside the entrance to the Ember Caves, how's the Ketch situation?"
"It is…manageable," the man on the other end replied. "We've had a few close calls, and one dead Dreg to show for it. We've hidden them, but…well, they're not going to return any time soon, so…"
"I'm on the clock," Kayla replied. "Gotcha. I'll be round as soon as I can."
"I'll meet you at the central cave," Crow One replied.
"Noted. Mote One out."
Kayla vaulted the rock, running to another outcrop while taking care to avoid splashing the water as she followed a path around to the Ember Caves. She slowed down, creeping along another large rock that jutted out of the ground. When she round it she met the equally surprised face of a Dreg.
"V-Valask?" the Dreg asked, processing the Guardian in front of him.
"V-Valask…" Kayla greeted, processing what to do.
The Dreg turned to yell but Kayla grabbed him by the shoulders and pinned him against the wall. The Dreg, in turn, bite her wrist. In response Kayla headbutt him and got a stomach full of shock pistol fire for her trouble. Stunned, she dropped the Dreg who tried to run. Kayla jumped forward, grabbing the Dreg as she hit the ground and pulling him back, making sure to keep his mouth covered. The Dreg struggled but Kayla slammed his face into the dirt. She turned the Dreg round, checking his pulse, or what constituted for a Fallen's pulse.
"Just knocked out," she said with a sigh of relief.
Ghost watched, keeping close as Kayla kept her distance from the Fallen squad. Eventually, she found herself creeping under the metal gangway, getting as close to the cave entrance as possible. Peeking through the slits in the metal above her, she saw the Captain flanked by a sniper. Biting her lip, she looked around for something. By her feet was a small, ether canister, which Kayla grabbed and hurled out at a nearby rock. The clang of the canister broke the cap, sending it flying into a puddle.
The Fallen took notice, each slowly making their way to it. Their Captain was the last to go, leaving Kayla the chance to slip out behind them and enter the cave. Ghost sniffed the fetid air.
"Ugh…smells worse than last time," he gagged.
"...You have smell sensors?" Kayla asked. "Wait, Owl drinks." Kayla stared at Ghost, making a confused face. "Never mind."
The pair walked silently through the cave, Ghost humming a random tune to himself. "Oh! I have a question!"
"Mmm?"
"Why did you not kill that Dreg?"
Kayla stopped. "That's a little…" She sighed. "I don't know. I don't have to kill every single Fallen I see. It was just one Dreg. There's no need to kill them. Besides." She held up a large violet auto rifle with the sigil of the Corsairs painted on the side. "It's a waste of bullets, right?"
"I guess…?" Ghost agreed. "I'm not entirely happy being a glorified bounty hunter either…I mean, that's all we've done right? Go to Mars, kill this guy. Go to Luna, kill this guy. Go to the Shore, kill this guy."
"If it keeps the Reef safe, it keeps the City safe. Right?" Kayla gave a heavy sigh. "That's all the matters."
Ghost looked at her. "You need to stop beating yourself up over what happened with Crota."
"I know, but…I…Ah…I just wish I hadn't been so…I don't know…"
"I know you don't," Ghost said gently. "It's ok to not know how you feel."
Kayla smirked at Ghost. "Did I tell you that?"
"Probably," Ghost replied chipperly, pausing when he heard gunfire. "Ooo, Fallen on radar."
"What gave that away?" Kayla asked dryly.
The Voidwalker rushed into the next cave over, finding a group of Vandals and Dregs firing up at a ridge. Ducking in and out of cover on it were flashes of purple and black. Kayla figured these were Uldren's scout team. She started by launching a Vortex Grenade out into the middle of the cavern. A few Dregs dissolved into nothing, but the rest scattered.
The Awoken scouts fired again, having an easier time blindsiding the frenzied crowd. One of the waved at Kayla from above.
"Good to see you, Mote One!" he said cheekily.
Kayla waved, before filling a charging Vandal with her shotgun. Between them they mopped up the Fallen. Before Kayla had a chance to greet them, the tall one yelled again.
"Hold still!" he ordered, aiming a Supremacy sniper rifle at her.
Before Kayla could question, a sniper bullet rocketed past her ear- a hiss of ether escaping as a cloaked Vandal collapsed beside her. Kayla stepped back, looking at the dead Vandal then the scouts. "…Thanks," she said wryly.
The tall one jumped down, taking off his helmet. The man towered over Kayla, and his angular face was framed with a sweeping fringe of white hair that had been kept tied up. He looked down at her with narrow, intelligent amber eyes that had a cheeky spark that matched his apparent demeanour.
"Jolyon Till," he said with an elaborate bow.
"Kayla," the Voidwalker replied, holding out her hand. Jolyon looked up briefly, apparently surprised, before shaking her hand with a smile while the other scouts, three women, joined them. "Kayla, meet Nomma, Zaara and Tiss. Nomma, Zaara, Tiss, meet Kayla."
Nomma was the tallest, as well as the skinniest, and towered over even Jolyon like a juniper tree. Zaara was shorter than him but taller than Kayla, and the most muscular. Her arms were exposed, with her hands covered in what appeared to be some kind of shock gauntlet. Tiss was the shortest, and the palest, with piercing red eyes then shone within the gloomy cavern.
"Hi!" Zaara said eagerly with a wave.
"Hello," Nomma grunted.
Tiss waved.
"H-Hi," Kayla said awkwardly. "Where's the Ketch?"
"Literally just up ahead," Jolyon replied, putting to the cavern's exit on the ledge above.
Kayla nodded and the four Crows darted up the cave wall with frightening speed and cat-like grace, leaving a stunned Kayla to scramble her way up after them. When she reached the upper plateau of Winter's Run she came face to face with the giant looming shadow of Draksis's Ketch. While she had seen the ship from afar the year before during the strike mission to eliminate Aksor, seeing it up close was another thing entirely. Despite being shrouded in the volcanic smoke emanating from the ravine floor she could tell it was easily large enough to cover the entire ravine. The light of the engine and spotlights shining through the smog gave the Simiks-Fel an ominous glow which, coupled with the occasional hiss and rumbles of the engines, made it appear like a hungry dragon.
Jolyon glance at Kayla. "Impressive, aren't they?" he said. "The Fallen are nomadic, so Ketches double as homes"
"That explains the size," Kayla remarked. "What's the plan?"
"Well," Jolyon said. "Draksis will probably try and get out of here as soon as he realises, so…Zaara will be with you until you get to onto the boarding deck." The Crow paused to point out a large metal platform under the Ketch. "Nomma and Tiss will help keep Winter occupied whilst you two push through, and I…" He held up his Supremacy sniper rifle. "Will cover you from here."
"Trust the man to get the easy job," Nomma said with an eye roll.
"Hey! It's not my fault you're all strong than I am!" Jolyon protested.
"I'll hand you a spade, yeah?" Zaara chuckled turned to head down the hill. "C'mon."
Nomma and Tiss followed quickly, with Kayla close behind. Zaara snuck behind a large rock, Nomma and Tiss separating and flanking a little further out. Zaara beckoned Kayla closer as she spoke on the team channel.
"Nomma, Tiss, you ready?" Zaara asked quietly. Nomma and Tiss's lights blinked green. Zaara nodded. "Go."
Jolyon fired first, striking down an unsuspecting Vandal and immediately catching the Fallen's attention. Nomma jumped out, rushing the Fallen with an auto rifle before rolling over the back of an incoming Captain leaving him open for Tiss as she burst out of nowhere and stabbed him once in the neck. Zaara beckoned Kayla to follow before vaulting over the rock with her shock gauntlets active.
"They're even more reckless than we are!" Ghost said in disbelief.
"Keep your shell down," Kayla muttered, joining the Awoken women.
She Blinked upwards, throwing down a Scatter grenade on a group that were trying to swarm Tiss. Tiss nodded in thanks and pulled out a small sidearm to take down some overconfident Dregs trying to get the jump on the Guardian.
Another sniper shot rang out through the chaos, a taller Captain slumping down in front of Zaara while she struck another one in the chest with her gauntlets. Several more Fallen swarmed out from the boarding deck and we met with pushback from Nomma and Tiss, with the small plateau now a firefight of shock rounds and bullet fire.
"Get down!" Kayla yelled, teleporting up into the air.
Zaara ducked behind a metal barricade while Nomma scooped Tiss up and slid behind a boulder. There was a cracking of molecules around them as a large Nova Bomb crashed into mob of Fallen Vandals.
"By the Queen's drapes!" Tiss whispered, eyes sparkling in awe. "That was so COOL!"
"Kayla, you gotta hustle," Jolyon said from his new position. "They've begun the launch sequence."
Another sniper round rang out, taking down two Captains in one shot. Kayla couldn't help but be impressed.
"You going to get on that Ketch?!" Nomma snapped, firing her scout rifle into the ground. "Never seen a slower infiltration in my life!"
Kayla took off at a run, the shotgun given to her by the Corsairs ready. To her surprise it was the Crows that managed to suppress the incoming House of Winter. Another sniper round rang out, taking out a trio of Vandals.
"WOOOHOHO!" Jolyon practically squealed through the comms.
"He's a hell of a shot," Kayla remarked.
"Yeah…" Ghost mused, popping out to eye an ether tank. "He is."
Ghost flew off, enveloping the tank with a snare of light, straining as he heaved the tank off the ground.
"Ghost?" Kayla asked, concerned.
"Keep going!" he grunted, lifting the tank up. "I'll catch up!"
He let out a yell, hurling the ether tank at the crowd. Up above Jolyon let out a faint chuckle and fired at the tank- the blast of the explosion taking out the Fallen that were firing from the boarding deck. Kayla powered across the plateau, leaping onto the boarding deck as the Ketch began to take off. She skidded round and mowed down the Dregs and Vandals before they had a chance to react. With the deck cleared out Kayla headed for the doorway.
"I'm going inside now," she relayed to Jolyon while looking at the firefight below. "Have you guys got this covered?"
"Oh, yeah, yeah," Jolyon said quickly. "Nothing the Crows can't handle! Good luck, Guardian."
(Echo Mine- TechnoCinema)
Kayla nodded, ducking through the door to the ship itself while mopping up what was left of the guards before heading further in. To her surprise she couldn't hear Draksis barking orders over the intercoms, despite the House of Winter's frenzied shouting coming from deeper within the ship.
"Motion ahead," Ghost said quietly.
"In here!" Kayla whispered quickly, ducking into the gap under a large nearby pipe.
Although muffled by the hiss of whatever was going through the pipe Kayla could here the Fallen's chittering as the drew closer. A rapid set of footsteps trampled past before disappearing. Kayla held her breath a moment before awkwardly sliding out. She rolled onto her stomach before standing, then took off in the opposite direction.
After what seemed like endless wandering and sneaking around, Kayla made it to a large central corridor that was dominated by a large holographic map of the Ketch. Ghost flew out from behind her, flying up to the map.
"Hmmm…" he said.
"Hmmm?" Kayla repeated.
"The language is in Fallen," Ghost mused, scanning it. "If I can…force it…I know they have…Aha! There we go!"
The map flickered, the markers to the different rooms changing from the Fallen's glyphs to a crude form of English. Kayla scanned the map quickly. "If we can get to the bridge, we COULD force Draksis' hand and lead him to us."
"The bridge is just up ahead too," Ghost said. "Talk about luck."
"Right," Kayla said, taking out her auto rifle. "Let's get-"
Kayla stopped abruptly, seeing a Captain glaring at her. The Captain's mandibles clicked slightly. Kayla gripped her gun tightly.
"…Hiiiiiii," she said awkwardly.
"Valas," the Captain growled, unsheathing his swords. "FOR DRAKSIS!"
The Captain rushed Kayla, the Warlock doublebacking and ducking under the sword swipes. She fired a burst from Her Right Hand into the Captain's side before bolting up the corridor. The Captain roared and gave chase, Kayla following the route they'd seen on the map.
"There! Up there!" Ghost said, nodding to a doorway.
Kayla jumped, teleporting forward in an attempt to gain more distance, then teleported once more. She rushed through the door, forcing it shut with Ghost frying the circuit for either side. Kayla stepped back, jump slightly as the Captain banged against it. She composed herself and turned, finding a large, twelve foot tall Fallen at the other end of the room. He was fiddling with a table that seemed to contain what Kayla could only believe was some Fallen beverage, and a bottle of human wine.
"Ah! You're here," Draksis said pleasantly. "…Wonderful."
Kayla said nothing, prompting Draksis to beckon her closer. "Sit down, sit down. I won't bite. For now."
Kayla raised her eyebrow, watching Draksis pour himself something. "I got this," the Kell lifted the wine bottle. "From a cunning little Wolf on the black market. Loves Earth bits and bats. He said it was called…wine? Would you like some?"
"…You know I'm here to kill you," Kayla said slowly. "Not dine?"
Draksis let out a deep cackle loud enough to make the metal beams around them both vibrate. "Oh, don't worry. I know why you're here. Now. Do you want the wine?"
"Not really," Kayla said simply. "Not really a wine person."
Draksis picked up the bottle, inspecting it. "Fascinating that the brewing process has remained unchanged for thousands of years, and yet." He uncorked it, guzzling the contents. "Still one of the best things I've tasted in this wretched system. You embody the same idea, you know. Your species. Still managing to defeat us time and again with technology that you've not really changed since your industrial age."
Kayla shrugged. "It's practical."
"Exactly!" Draksis bellowed. "All these ideas that Craask or Solkis or Virixas had about reclaiming the Great Machine, it's not practical. Not anymore. I learned that the hard way at Twilight Gap. Which is why, when we returned to Venus, I spent time learning your history. Very, very interesting things. I tried to sell it to the other Houses but…well, their nobility is a bit stuck in their ways."
Draksis turned to Kayla, shrugging. "I do hope you know that what happens next isn't personal. Not really."
Kayla nodded. "You and me both."
The Kell gave a raspy chuckle, picking up a large shotgun-like device that Draksis held loosely in his hand like a revolver before strapping a large shock cannon made out of scrap to his upper left arm. The Kell then glanced at Kayla.
(Firefly- Batman: Arkham Origins OST)
"Well then," Draksis declared. "On with the show!"
DRAKSIS
KELL OF WINTER
Kayla attack first, teleporting up to Draksis and hurling a Scatter Grenade into his face. Draksis took the hit but slammed Kayla across the room with his shock cannon. The cannon spun up, generating a glob of electricity that launched itself at the prone Warlock. Kayla rolled out of the way, avoiding most of the blast but was knocked down by the shockwave. Draksis reconfigured the cannon, its barrel alternating into a gatling like device before he slowly encroached on the Guardian.
Kayla yelped as the shock bullets tore through her, ricocheting off the walls around her while she ducked for cover. She drew her machine gun, Harm's Way, and fired around the corner of a control panel of some kind. Draksis grunted, shielding himself with his arms. When he lowered them, he saw Kayla hurtling towards him from above with a Reef shotgun. The brief confusion at the weapon allowed Kayla to strike him but Draksis countered with his own shrapnel shotgun when she landed. Kayla scooted round him, firing into his back until the Kell threw the weight of his scrap cannon down on her like an axe. Kayla backed off.
"That's one of the Corsair's shotguns," Draksis said questioningly. "Why do you have that?"
"Oh, you know," Kayla said, charging up a grenade behind her back. "Guardians are kleptos. I found it under a bush in the Cotswolds."
Draksis growled, flashstepping to her with his teleport module and pressed the barrel of his shotgun against her stomach. Before he could fire Kayla hurled the charged grenade at his face in a blind panic, throwing off his aim. The Kell fired, the burning hot shrapnel impaling her up her left bicep. Kayla turned, screaming in pain before ripping the shrapnel out and throwing it back at Draksis.
"The City and the Reef, they have an alliance now?" Draksis asked, ignoring the shrapnel that was now embedded in his chest.
"No comment," Kayla said, strafing with her auto rifle.
Draksis could only laugh and fired his gatling cannon again. Kayla slid under a table, the electric blasts rocking the bridge as the stench of plasma quickly took hold. Draksis charged again, teleporting closer but backed off when Kayla fired with her auto rifle again. The Voidwalker moved to Draksis's throne for cover. The Kell laughed and revved up his gatling again, filling the chair with bulletholes. Kayla darted out, grabbing one of the unopened wine bottles and throwing it at his face to blind him.
"How…dare you!" Draksis roared. "That was Chateau Margaux 1787! Do you have ANY idea how much Glimmer you WASTED!"
Draksis teleported again, rolling in behind Kayla and firing his shotgun again. Kayla dodged and fired her own at his foot before jumping and smacking him with a Void-empowered punch to the jaw. Draksis grabbed her with his free hand and hurled her across the room. She slammed into the door, blood oozing from the back of her head. Before she could get her bearing Draksis charged her with enough force to rip the door from its hinges, sending both of them barrelling through the doorway. They rolled, Kayla bouncing off Draksis onto the corrugated floor a few metres away from him. Still dizzy Kayla scrambled to her feet and grabbed her machine gun, firing at the Kell. Draksis roared, the bullets piercing his armour and exoskeleton. He stood, towering over Kayla and aiming his cannon at her.
"The Reef's gonna need to do better than you!" he snarled. "I'm not going to go down as easy as Aksor did!" He gave an eerie smile. "I'm gonna make you work for this one, girl."
The cannon began to charge up, and Kayla suddenly felt very claustrophobic on the comparatively tiny corridor. She turned and ran, ducking in time as the blast of electricity flew over her head.
"Ghost, I'm taking you to the map," Kayla said. "Download it and get us somewhere more open."
"Will do!"
Kayla powered down the corridor, teleporting further ahead. She skidded round when she reached the map from before and drew her machine gun once more while Ghost got to work. Draksis loomed ahead, shadows dancing behind him in the flickering ceiling lights. He scoffed and revved up his gatling cannon once more, sending a flurry of bullet fire towards Kayla. The Warlock ducked behind the table and returned fire, but Draksis suddenly teleported before her. She jumped back, narrowly avoiding Draksis' attempts at stomping her. The Kell chuckled, firing his shotgun at Kayla as she tried to wall jump over him.
"Oh, no, you don't!" he sneered, trying to hit her with the barrel of his cannon.
Kayla dropped with a yelp, leaving the shock cannon wedged between the ceiling and the wall. Draksis grunted, trying to wrestle the gun free. Kayla switched to Her Courtesy and fired the shotgun point blank into Draksis' shin. The Kell roared, booting Kayla in the face before smacking her back with one of his lower arms.
Kayla rolled onto her back, straining as she got to her feet. Ghost appeared in front of her. "I got it, let's go!"
The scraping of metal caught Kayla's attention. When she saw Draksis reloading his now free shock cannon she bolted deeper into the Ketch. Draksis cackled in amusement. "Don't think you can outrun me, Machine-Thief!"
"Right, so er…where are we going?" Ghost asked, flashing the map on Kayla's HUD.
"Somewhere with a little more breathing room," Kayla replied, rounding a corner.
A little ahead was a ladder. Kayla took the chance to slide down it, finding herself on what appeared to be a maintenance corridor. A muffled banging nearby prompted her to run again, sliding down another ladder before finding herself inside a large room filled with Pikes, barrels of ether and crates of food and other knickknacks stolen from the Ishtar Academy.
"Well…" Kayla said slowly. "That'll do. Now to just…"
The ping of an elevator rang out, and a bright light filled with the room. From a doorway at the very back of the room came Draksis, his shadow stretching over Kayla as he confidently strode out.
"I must say," he mused with genuine enthusiasm. "I'm enjoying this. Are you enjoying this? I hope you are."
Kayla grit her teeth and threw out another scatter grenade. Draksis teleported away, reappear off to the side and rushing her with his shrapnel shotgun. He fired, a burst of shrapnel flying over Kayla's head as she ducked under it and returned with a shotgun blast of her own. Draksis dodged to the left before throwing a punch at the Warlock. Kayla grunted, catching it with both hands inches from her face. She tried to push back but to the surprise of both Draksis held firm. Instead, Draksis casually fired his shrapnel shotgun into her leg. Kayla screamed in pain, collapsing before Draksis kicked her across the room.
"THAT was returning the favour," Draksis growled, watching Ghost heal Kayla's leg.
The Warlock hurled a Nova Bomb at Draksis in response. The Kell dodged too late, tanking most of the blast before he could get away while the explosion ruptured several ether tanks. The cargo hold groaned and shook, the Ketch tilting briefly from the shockwave.
Draksis got to his feet but was kicked down by Kayla. He scrambled to avoid her shotgun blast, grabbing her by the head and headbutting her. Kayla grunted, firing the entirety of her magazine into Draksis's chest. The Kell responded by slamming Kayla into the floor, but she teleported away before he had a chance to fire his shock cannon.
Kayla got to her feet, reloading her shotgun. Draksis, meanwhile, glanced over to a panel on a nearby wall. He smirked and slammed the largest button. The cargo hold was bathed in red, a hiss surrounding Kayla. She lost her balance as part of the floor jolted and it dawned on her that she was slowly sinking. Before she had time to react the howl of the wind pulled her out of the Ketch along with several crates.
"Oh my god!" Kayla screamed as she tumbled through the sky.
She yelped, a crate narrowly missing her as she tried to right herself. Another crate flew close and Kayla reached her arm out, grasping into the void as she teleported behind it. Another crate flew closer. Again, she teleported, landing on the top. She managed to get her balance, barely, and Blinked again.
From the Ketch Draksis grunted. "Hmm. Clever girl," he mused, aim his shock cannon and firing glob after glob of electric bolts in the Guardian's direction.
"SHIT!" Kayla yelped, jump off a small canister to avoid one of the globs before using the momentum to avoid another.
She landed on a stray Pike before continuing onwards, using the debris as steppingstones. As she drew closer Draksis beared his teeth, cutting the ties to a stolen human shipping container and opening the door as it was dragged to the open cargo door.
"Ghost!" Kayla yelled, trying to keep up with the rhythm as she drew closer. "I need you to close this door, then break the panel!"
"S-Shouldn't you get insi-"
"JUST DO IT!" she roared with panic.
Ghost gave a hesitant nodded and ducked back into the cargo hold. Kayla caught her breath and teleported again in time to see the shipping crate hurtling towards her, its contents spilling out everywhere like a minefield of trash. Kayla Blinked again, flying through the air and landing on a weathered statue from the Ishtar Academy. She paused in time to see Draksis shoving another crate out, the metal door flapping in the wind like paper. An ether tank flew past him, giving Kayla an idea.
"Ghost, I'm gonna do something stupid," she said. "Close that door. Now!"
Ghost didn't reply, but Draksis's confusion after the shipping crate flew free told her enough. Kayla jumped, grabbed the ether canister in arms before teleporting over to tilted Pike. She balanced herself, saying the shipping container spinning towards her. She teleported again, landing inside as the container spun again. She dropped the canister at the bottom, straddling herself on the corners like a spider in a web, aiming her shotgun at the rattling canister. Kayla braced herself, keeping an eye on the slamming door and waited for an opening. With the cargo hold in view she fired Her Courtesy, the pellets ripping the canister, causing it to detonate. The explosion funnelled upwards, pushing Kayla out at speed. The Warlock teleported once more, flying through the narrow opening as the cargo hold sealed itself shut once more.
"Oh, thank you!" Kayla said with a sigh of relief, kissing the metal floor. "Oh, sweet stable metal. GAH!"
Kayla jolted back, narrowly missing the blade under the barrel of Draksis' shock cannon. Draksis switched it to gatling mode and aimed again, firing. Kayla jumped, firing with Her Right Hand- the auto rifle fire causing the Kell to stumble. Kayla vaulted him, grasping his face from behind with a Void-empowered palm. Draksis thrashed and screamed, hurling Kayla to the floor as he grabbed his face.
"What did you do?" Ghost asked her. "You're healing faster than normal."
"I'm…not entirely sure," she replied, trailing off when she looked at Draksis.
"Nnnnnnnnngh…." The Kell growled, his mandibles clicking in anger. "You bitch!"
He took his hand away, revealing the part Kayla touched to be steaming slightly. His flesh had bubbled and one of his eyes had glazed over, blinded, whilst blueish blood oozed out of his eye sockets.
"Aaaah…" Kayla said, looking around. There was a lock on a ladder above them. "Ghost, get that ether tank!"
Kayla fired her auto rifle at the lock sending the ladder crashing down while Ghost grabbed a nearby ether tank in a beam of light and hurled it at Draksis.
"OH, FOR FUCK'S SAKE!" the Kell snarled, shielding himself from the explosion.
He wiped the ether from his eyes, wincing as it soaked into the wound on his face like salt. He noticed Kayla making her way up the gangway, pulling the ladder up behind her. Draksis turned and shot down the gangway ahead of her before retreating to the elevator.
"He's trying to cut us off," Ghost murmured, watching the door close.
"In here," Kayla said, removing a vent cover.
"What's the plan?"
"Well, if we can get back to the bridge, we can…I don't know, land this thing?" she offered. "Maybe?"
Ghost was silent for a moment. "…I'll direct you. Take a left here."
Kayla scuttled under the decks of the Simiks-Fel like a cockroach, taking care not to make too much noise while she followed Ghost's directions. There was the ping of an elevator door somewhere nearby, followed by calm, heavy footsteps.
"I know you're here somewhere," Draksis's taunted.
Kayla froze, holding her breath while Draksis casually sauntered over her location. For his size, the Kell was remarkably quiet. The thud of his boots stopped above Kayla's position, where he heaved a pointed sigh.
"Well, I guess there's one thing left to do then," he said with a casual shrug, revving up his gatling once more.
"Oh shit!" Kayla exclaimed, burst out of the vents and pulling Draksis to the ground by his cape where she laid into him with several rounds from her shotgun. With Draksis stunned, Kayla bolted deeper into the ship, Draksis roaring like an angered bear echoing behind her.
She rounded a corner of the maze-like corridors, following Ghost's waypoint on her HUD. Suddenly the wall ahead of her burst out, Draksis docking out with a small laugh.
"I was so worried about you!" he sneered, pointing his gatling cannon at the Warlock. His voice lowered an octave to menacing bass. "You're not the only one who can scuttle under my Ketch, girl."
"How can a guy that big move that fast?!" Ghost exclaimed.
Kayla jumped towards Draksis when he fired, kicking the gun down and firing her auto rifle at him again. Draksis took the hit and punched, Kayla ducking but ambushed by his shotgun. She fell and the Kell grabbed her by the leg before tossing her through the maintenance corridors he came from. She hit a steel beam then slumped on the ground. Kayla stirred, putting her dislocated jaw back in place with a sickening crunch before turning to Draksis once more. The Kell teleported before her, a sneering grin on his face as he grabbed her by the collar and pushed her through the back wall.
The first thing that hit Kayla was the lashing wind when Draksis hurled onto the outer deck of the Simiks-Fel. She got to her feet, adjusting to the roaring sulphurous howl that engulfed the pair of them.
Draksis inhaled sharply when he stepped out. "Never do get used to that Venusian air, do you?"
"So, Kayla," Ghost said. "In some…good…news, we can make it back to the bridge from here. Quite easily, too."
"We just need to…" Kayla began.
"Get away from him, yes," Ghost agreed.
"Er, it's rude to talk about someone when they're stood in front of you," Draksis snarked, firing his shock cannon again.
Kayla dove to the ground, rolling back onto her feet and firing with her machine gun. The bullets ricocheted off the metal, lancing Draksis's leg but the Kell seemed unfazed by it. In fact, it only angered him more. Kayla contemplated pulling the trigger again but decided to bail from the fight. Draksis laughed, following the Guardian with the aim of his gatling cannon and fired.
Kayla ducked under the glob of electricity, turning on her heel to hurl out a scatter grenade before continuing onwards. Draksis broke into a sprint, teleporting past the grenade in the process. He rounded a corner only to stop in confusion when Kayla wasn't there.
"What?" he questioned.
The response was Kayla Blinking in from above with a roundhouse kick to his face. With him stunned, Kayla grappled around him and grabbed his face with her palm. She took a deep breath and felt the Void expand from her fingers. She wasn't just burning the Kell's face, no, this new trick was almost vampiric in nature as the longer she held on to him the faster her own wounds healed. Draksis threw her off again, Kayla teleporting to avoid the slipstream around the Ketch before landing.
Draksis glared at her, touching his melting Void-eaten face in stunned silence. Kayla doubled back into a run again, following the outer deck of the Simiks-Fel back round with Draksis giving chase soon after, bounding up the raised walls above her like an angered gorilla as he ripped panels off and launched them at the Guardian.
Kayla skidded round to a large window and threw herself against it but rebounded back with a dull thud on the glass.
"What?!" she exclaimed, firing her Harm's Way at the window. She ducked with a yelp when the bullets were deflected back.
"If this ship is meant for space flight," Draksis said, barely keeping his affable persona up. "Why in the House of Silence would the windows break just cos a Guardian threw herself at them?"
"W-Well er…" Kayla said sheepishly. "C-Could you open them for me?"
Draksis smiled eerily then broke into a fit of laughter. "Ohhhh, that almost makes me not want to kill you!" he chuckled. "You could be my court jester. Armoury, fire all missiles."
There was a rumble from elsewhere in the ship, a large rocket hurtling into Kayla's view followed by several more. Kayla ran, trying to goad the tracking elsewhere. One edged closer, Kayla teleporting right as it detonated, before running to the edge of the Ketch where another one bared down on her.
Draksis watched Kayla dance around them. In frustration he contacted the armoury again. "Why aren't all the missiles firing?"
"With respect Sir Draksiskel," a Captain replied. "You are in the blast zone as well, if we launch all of them, you could-"
"No!" Draksis bellowed, practically foaming at the mouth. "Listen very carefully and FIRE! ALL THE MISSILES! NOOOOOOOOOOW!"
Meanwhile
At the Cinders
Jolyon and the others watched the Ketch closely, see flashes of Light emanate from it in the distance.
"You think she'll be okay?" Zaara asked, slurping on some noodles.
"Eh, she pisses off Uldren," Jolyon shrugged. "So she must at least be kinda competent."
"Everyone pisses off Uldren," Nomma pointed out dryly.
A boom ripped across the sky, catching the attention of the four Crows. A barrage of missiles left the Ketch before rounding on it, leaving them to watch it rock unsteadily in shocked surprise.
"What the fuck?" was all Tiss could manage.
Simiks-Fel
Outer Decks
"Oh my god…" Kayla breathed, watching what appeared to be every missile the House of Winter owned snake upwards before turning on her.
The missiles rained down like meteors, denting the Ketch's hull and covering the deck with burning hot smoke. Kayla ran, trying to avoid the bombardment as best she can and headed for the window. A missile snuck in behind her, drawing ever closer. Kayla picked up speed, fighting against her aching lungs as they demanded she stop or at least slow down. She dived to the ground, hitting the wall beneath the window ledge while the missile crashed through the window and exploded inside the Ketch. Kayla peeked up, quickly vaulting the broken window before hiding under one of the command consoles of the bridge. She curled up under her makeshift bomb shelter, listening to the missiles explode around her before the vibrations and groans of the hull slowed down before stopping.
She crawled out, only to be kicked aside by a thoroughly pissed off Draksis. Kayla retaliated with a scatter grenade and followed that up with sustained fire from her machine gun. Draksis snarled, shaking off the grenade and firing at Kayla with his shotgun with wide-eyed frenzy.
"You come into MY home?!" he roared, tracking Kayla with his hazed vision. "Break MY wine?! Trash the place like some unruly house guest?! On Riis we'd have had you…GAH, I don't even know what we'd do with such RUDENESS?!"
"I'm being rude?!" Kayla retorted. "You just fired all your missiles at ME!"
"And it ruined my WINERY in the process! I hope you're happy!"
"I feel you're both missing the basic point here!" Ghost snapped.
Kayla ducked under more bulletfire, taking cover behind another computer console to reload. There was a faint groan of metal, and Kayla looked up. Dangling precariously from the ceiling was a broken steel beam. Kayla followed its length to a hinge that had been damaged in the missile attack. Below was Draksis, apparently unaware.
Kayla darted out, baiting Draksis into firing before jumping up. The gatling cannon whirred as its barrel changed shape before firing out another orb of electricity. Kayla teleported back to the ground, living the glob to destroy the only thing keeping the beam from falling. It dropped, Kayla rolling away from the crash.
(End 'Firefly')
When she got to her feet the first thing she saw was blood pooling out from under the wreck of metal.
"Ohoho…" Draksis said with a weak chuckle. "That…smarts…"
The Kell grunted, heaving the beam off his back, but the damage had already been done. Draksis slumped onto his back, laughing in pain. "Bravo, Guardian…" he said. "You finally did me in. I'm sure the Reef will be happy."
"Or the City," Kayla replied crouching next to him.
Draksis gave a half-nod of agreement. "Either way, you…you…"
The Kell trailed off, his eyes suddenly widening in horror. Kayla turned in the same direction, confusion. Above them was a rust-coloured Shank with a glyph that looked like a circle with two lines emerging from the bottom right crudely graffitied on it. Attached to the bottom was some kind of camera.
"Guardian…" Draksis said very very slowly. "Would you please honour…a dying Kell's last request…and make sure that that…"
The Shank seemed to realise what was be asked and quickly fled. Draksis gave a defeated sigh. "Never mind," he said begrudgingly.
"What? What was that?" Kayla asked.
Draksis gave her a curious side-eye. "You…still wish to help?"
"Whatever that Shank was, it freaked you out," Kayla reasoned. "If it freaked you out, then that risks it being a problem for the City too."
Draksis scoffed. "Can't argue with that. Tell the Queen… Tell the Queen that the leash on her Wolves is not as strong as she thinks."
A final hiss of ether escaped his rebreather, and Draksis' head slumped. The Kell was dead. Ghost appeared before Kayla. "We should get out of here," he said.
"But the Shank" Kayla started.
"One problem at a time."
Next Time:- Athena fights Sofia in the Crucible and Kayla tells Variks a story in Chapter 3-4: Most Loyal