Arizona walked with Zavala, being escorted by a pair of Psions. Caiatl waited for them. For some reason, the fact that Caiatl towered over even Zavala surprised her. It was one thing to read about their average heights, and a much different thing to see it.

"I am still hesitant, Commander." Caiatl said, speaking to Zavala as an equal in a partnership.

"I understand that, and that is why I've brought one of my best and brightest along with me."

Zavala had debriefed Arizona in the Tower's hangar. Caiatl would trust only one Psion with the job of extracting information out of the Lucent Hive they'd been fighting with while Arizona and the rest of her fireteam were working with Ikora. Zavala had been quick to tear the team apart and send them all on separate assignments, and Ikora didn't fight much on the matter when he decided Arizona would be the one babysitting a Cabal Psion. "This is one of her most trusted Psions, a good friend to Empress Caiatl. Do you understand?"

"She will be the one protecting the psion." Zavala finished.

Caiatl shook her head with a disapproving click. Her helm guarded her face in an interesting manner, making her face a barrier to outward emotions.

Arizona pulled her hands behind her back, mimicking how Ikora might look, looking at Caiatl as if she held authority alongside Zavala. "What is it that is holding you back against this deal? Commander Zavala has taken great care to ensure that no harm would fall upon this psion, even though there is no immediate threat even among our Guardians in the Tower. Very few people are allowed to enter and exit the H.E.L.M. So few people that even I could name them all."

"You are correct, these are great measures that Zavala has taken." Caiatl answered deliberately.

Zavala turned, and glared at Arizona, but she did her best to ignore his glowing gaze, though it felt like she might break under the weight of it, "Then, what is it? How can we further gain your trust?"

Caiatl was silent.

"Arizona," Zavala hissed through his teeth.

"Empress Caiatl, if you cannot trust us, the Vanguard, then how could we ever trust you in return? By having your psion in our Tower, Commander Zavala is showing he trusts that you won't attack us blindly, like your predecessor has in the past and you are showing that you trust us with such a precious life."

"That's enough!" Zavala snapped.

Arizona finally looked at him, and nodded, and looked back at Caiatl, "Forgive me if I've overstepped." She said the words, but she hardly felt apologetic, because for once she could see a shift in Caiatl's eyes.

"You have not overstepped, and you are correct again, how could your Vanguard trust me…if I do not show the same trust…however, this is a great amount of trust I am putting with your Commander, and I am not being shown the same amount of trust."

Arizona nodded slowly, "I see…a trade of sorts is what you're asking for, then? Someone to stay upon your ship that is close to Commander Zavala in the same respect that this psion is close to you, yes?"

Caiatl huffed but nodded.

Commander Zavala glared at Arizona, but his gaze relaxed as he turned to Caiatl. "There are very few who are readily available to me at the moment, Caiatl."

Caiatl nodded, "She will do. Stay on my ship with me, and I shall send my psion."

Zavala shifted uncomfortably, but Arizona answered before he could, "That sounds like a fair trade." She looked at Zavala, who's blue eyes glared at her once more. "What? You get your psion, and your answers. Besides, didn't you say I was your best and brightest? It's a fair deal, yeah?"

"I will make sure no harm befalls her, as long as no harm befalls my psion, commander."

Zavala nodded reluctantly, "Fine, I will agree to these terms."

Arizona sat in the hallway, reading one of the many books Ikora had given her about the Cabal before her departure. Did she somehow sense that Arizona wouldn't come back immediately with Zavala as planned? Her eyes scanned a page, but it became a blur soon and she hardly felt like she held the book at all.

Would Maria have volunteered so easily? Am I…really separating myself from her? The thoughts came creeping into the forefront of her mind. Her hand started to shake.

"Arizona?"

Arizona's head snapped up to look at Ghost. "Fine. I'm fine. Just a headache." She lied. When she looked back at her hand, however, she saw the book had dropped to the floor and she lost the page she'd been on, and feet had stopped in front of her. A Psion that had stopped to stare at them. "Can we help you with something?" Arizona plucked the book off the ground and began to flip through it to the page she left off on.

It didn't speak, but she could feel something in her mind. It was neither painful nor comfortable, like someone reaching inside and feeling around. "That's really not helping my headache," she said.

In her mind's eye, she could see and she could feel something akin to distress. She shook her head. "I'm fine, really. Just deep in…distressing thoughts but it's nothing to be too concerned over"

It felt like someone was rummaging through her head, going through each thing like a file until it pulled up Savathun's memory. "Stop going through my head now. It's nothing for you to concern yourself with."

She could faintly feel something like fear. She shut her eyes to the feeling but the more she tried to escape it the greater it became.

She saw Caiatl, and Zavala, and herself, a memory that seemed like it was pulled from her own memory, but it was clearly outside of her own body. Arizona's eyes knit together and her eyes snapped open. "You were there?" She also saw what he imagined the Tower to be like. She laughed. "I see, you're the Psion, aren't you? Caiatl's closest friend. Well, it's very nice to meet you. You shouldn't worry too much about the Tower. If House Light can be integrated so easily so can you. And you'll be back before you know it."

There was a violent storm, and an image of blood: was it anger? Arizona couldn't quite grasp its meaning, but she answered anyways. "No…I'm not, I'm actually kind of excited, in a weird way. Admittedly, I haven't learned very much of your ways here, but I'm still very much curious to learn."

He nodded his head, and gave a short wave, and warmth flooded her head causing a smile to break over her face as he ran through the hall. "He was nice." She told Ghost.

"I feel like I missed over half of that conversation."

Arizona laughed. "Well, my head is clear for now." She went back to her book.