Look up, there's a world in front of you
A million roads yet you still wonder what to do
You must find that thrive, that love, that thrill
Cause in your eyes you're the king of your world
Kings – Tristam
April 04, 2884; 150 km SE of Old Kabul, Earth
How had it all gone so wrong? Half an hour ago, they had been eating dinner. Now Alekto was going to die.
She was going to die half an hour ago anyway, in truth, she just hadn't known it then. It had been quiet. A normal evening, at least as normal as they got in this backwater scrap of wilderness. Dinner was edible greens Radomir had found somewhere and some questionably tinned meat. The usual.
They'd settled down, Jove had left to get water, then a ship appeared out of nowhere. Then seven more followed. The little peaceful campsite they'd stopped at had turned into a battlefield.
Alekto had fought these aliens before. They mostly seemed to leave well enough alone. She couldn't believe the screaming Dregs and Vandals were here to wipe out their tiny party of three- though as to what their true purpose was here she had no idea. She just knew that they fell from their transports thirsty for blood.
It was so unfair- just three months of life she'd tasted. Three months scrabbling in the wilderness, dreaming of a City she'd never get to see. She'd had two friends, maybe even a brother in one of them, but she thought she'd get more. Her Ghost had promised her more.
Bullets pattered the ground around her, throwing up tuffs of dust. Alekto did her best to not get hit. She was running. There were just too many aliens to fight alone. And she was alone- she couldn't even see the swarm of creatures where Radomir was. He might as well have been on the Moon for all the chance she had at getting to him. Her own swarm was in the way.
Her Ghost was rambling even as she took potshots at the aliens. It was rather distracting. She was trying to have a quick existential crisis before she died for real, but he was pulling at her focus.
She felt guilty for a moment when he finally did shut up. She thought for a second that he'd gotten caught in some crossfire, and the thought of him dying, too, made her stomach drop.
But he wasn't dead, just surprised. "Guardians!" he called out. "Finally, someone heard the distress signal! We're saved!"
They'd been sending out calls for weeks, months, as long as she'd been living, but the waves had remained oddly empty of friendly signals. Any day they'd hoped to get a confirmation ping or see a Guardian jumpship appear over the horizon. The universe had remained silent until now.
But now: there were people on the ridge behind her- four of them. They slid down the embankment with a practiced ease, guns still in hand. It was ray of hope. Alekto was weak, untrained, but maybe actual professional Guardians could take care of the aliens. Maybe she could reschedule her crisis for another time.
She tried to take in everything about them. Their gear was hardly uniform, but they all had a similar figure to them. Every inch of them was covered, from their face-obscuring helmets to the boots on their feet. Their gear didn't look like shiny plasteel. It was lighter, obviously, by the way the four transitioned from sliding to running without breaking stride.
But the thing that stood out immediately in Alekto's mind were the capes. Each of the four figures had some swath of fabric thrown over their shoulders. The styles and colors were mismatched, but they all had them.
The one with black fabric ended up in front. He called out something. Two words, Alekto thought, but they didn't make sense. "Tev! Jax!"
The two Guardians on the wings slowed their pace suddenly, bending low with the pressure of unspent momentum, then leaping into the air. She thought they must have practiced it. They were perfectly in sync. They hung in the air just a second more than she thought gravity would allow, appearing to pose. Ephemeral lights danced around their silhouettes. There were two rising screeches, then identical whistles. The Guardians dropped to the ground and kept running.
The mass of Fallen behind Alekto exploded into mayhem. Shifting purple light flickered among them like fire. The Guardians were rapidly approaching now. Would Alekto be able to run that fast some day?
The one giving orders flung his arm in an exaggerated gesture. "Azra! Sicc!"
"Andal!" the one on the left yelled. She was plaintive. (Her cloak was green.)
"I know!" he yelled back.
The one on the left shook her head and peeled away towards Alekto. The other three turned as one and began unleashing fire on the other party near Radomir.
The Guardian slid the last meter and came up grappling with a Vandal. "Move!" she commanded. Alekto hastily tripped away. The Guardian swept the Vandal's feet out from underneath it. Then she exploded.
Or the Fallen exploded. She emerged from the cloud of dust and static like a vengeful angel. Purple light shimmered everywhere still, mixing with her crackling blue to make a maelstrom of death. She danced in the flickering glow. Alekto backed further away, weary of getting caught in the crossfire. It went on and on, seconds ticking by as Alekto's heart raced. But there were no cries of pain, no chirrups of a Ghost hovering over their fallen Guardian.
Until the all of the sudden the crackling ended. No Fallen remained. The Guardian was alone on the field, crouched low, panting. She slid into a kneeling position as Alekto approached.
She didn't see the last Vandal. Alekto felt a sudden weight on her shoulders, claws tearing through the armor on her back and upper legs, the buzzing hiss of a shock blade-
Then the weight disappeared. A muffled pop echoed off the hills. Alekto jumped forward, scrambling for her gun- but the Vandal was already dead. Alekto's Ghost whispered something about a sniper on the ridgeline.
Whatever. The electric Guardian was slumped even further forward, heaving at the air like she was drowning. Alekto stalled a few meters away. The air still crackled with sparks. She wondered if approaching was really the smart thing to do.
"She needs help," Ghost said, so Alekto took a few cautious steps.
Then was immediately interrupted by the sound of running footfalls. One of the other Guardians was back- the one in black. The order-giver. He approached his companion with no hesitation, looped an arm under her shoulders, and pulled her to her feet. The female Guardian staggered, groaning.
"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I know. Tev and Cayde are still getting the rest."
"Is she okay?" Alekto asked. "What happened?"
"She had to push herself a bit too far." The man looked Alekto up and down. "Can you cast a rift?"
"A what?"
"Never mind," the man muttered.
"I'm fine," the woman growled. She did seem steadier on her feet than she had a minute ago. She straightened and pulled away from her companion.
Alekto started to say something, but both of the others tensed and turned to look across the battlefield. A clap like thunder rolled across the open space.
"Damn," the man swore. "Okay, I'll go help with that. You figure out what's going on here."
He turned and sprinted off back where he'd come from without another word. The woman rolled her shoulders and stretched her neck from side to side.
Then she removed her helmet and spit on the ground. Alekto was taken back by how normal she looked. She'd pictured the Guardians of the City with chiseled jawlines and fire in their eyes. The Guardian's eyes were full of something, but it looked more like impatience than inspiration. She gestured jerkily. "So. Spill."
Alekto was still trying to process what had happened. "Spill… what?"
"What's going on here. Why are you all in the middle of a war zone? Fresh as you are."
The accusation in her voice stung Alekto's pride. "It wasn't a warzone yesterday!" she protested.
"Yes it was." The green-clad Guardian sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "How old are you?"
"Three months?" Why was that so important?
"Jesus." The older Guardian looked at her with… what was that expression on her face? "Alright. So you won't know much. Let's head back over to your… friend. I'm sure those three will have things wrapped up shortly."
The mention of friend helped her remember. "Jove!"
"By jove? What?" The Guardian's face twisted in confusion.
Alekto grabbed her arm desperately as she moved to turn away. "My friend, Jove! We have to help him!"
The Guardian's arm was tense and hard as rock under her hand. "Listen," she soothed, "even with the Baron, Cayde and Tevis have a handle on things. Your friend is fine."
"Not Radomir, Jove!"
"There's three of you?" she asked.
"Yes! That's what I'm trying to tell you! He left to get water right before the aliens- oh God, he's all alone out there!"
"Deep breaths," the Guardian answered her. "No use to anyone if you hyperventilate and pass out. Jove, you said his name was?"
Alektro nodded frantically. The other Guardian wormed her way out of the deathgrip on her arm. "They as new as you?"
"Yes!" Oh Gods, he was probably dead already. He'd died thirsty. Or he'd come back and find all of their corpses and he'd be alone-
"No need to shout. Warlock?"
"What?"
"Are they a Warlock. Like you." The Guardian seemed almost too calm. Like it was every day people were dying on her.
"Yes," Ghost answered. "He's a Warlock. Our other friend, Radomir, is the Titan."
The Guardian frowned. "Great. Alright. Andal?" She paused a second. Then, "They're new. Talking months here. Apparently there's three of them." Another pause. "Off to get water, she said."
The Guardian fixed Alekto with a hard stare. "Which direction did Jove go? And which way's the water?"
"Isn't that… wouldn't that be the same question?"
"Never can tell, with Warlocks. I need an answer."
"Uh, there's a river about five minutes away." She fidgeted with the cuffs of her sleeves, not knowing what else to do. Shouldn't they be going to help already?
"Which direction," the Guardian stressed.
"I'm... uh, that way?" Alekto gestured to the woods Jove had walked off into.
"Alright. General direction of Northeast. Yup. Alright."
She turned back to Alekto. "If we link you to the comms system, can you keep quiet and not distract anybody? It'll be a lot less confusing for you."
Alekto and her Ghost looked at each other. "Yes please."
"Alright. Just. Literally don't say anything unless someone asks you a question. People have to focus."
Alekto's earpiece crackled to life. An unfamiliar voice was mid-sentence. "-ig guy, ain't he?"
"Harder they fall," another new voice growled.
"We're heading over," the Guardian announced, twinned on the feed and in real life.
"Be fast," someone said. "This valley is exposed, we need to get moving."
The Guardian gestured to Alekto. "Let's get a move on. They'll have that Baron dead before we get there."
The six Risen gathered in a cluster at the forest's edge. The field behind them lay scattered with Fallen bodies and the shells of Servitors.
Alekto had so many questions, but kept her mouth shut. The Guardian's instructions had been very clear.
It was really annoying that she didn't know anyone's name, though. She could infer- she'd decided the black-caped commander was probably named Andal.
He spoke as Alekto and the Guardian that had saved her - Jax, maybe?- approached. "We're getting a lot of reports of Fallen movement. House Winter seems damned determined to have this place, Devils seems damned determined to out them. Zavala's put a moratorium on this whole area until things settle down. No way jumpships are getting through."
That answered a few questions, at least. Alekto grabbed Radomir's hand- the Titan seemed miraculously no worse for wear. She thanked whatever gods were out there.
"Jove," Radomir said. "We need to find him."
"We need to find him," the Guardian in the beige cloak spoke up. His voice had a harsh mechanical edge to it. "You need to get the hell out of here."
"Gonna need an escort," the marron-caped one pointed out.
There was a crackle over the comms, a cut-off swear. All four of the older Guardians turned to look up the ridge they'd arrived from. Something that sounded like a very loud, very angry bee whizzed by Alekto's head.
"Fallen on the ridge!" another unfamiliar voice announced. Everyone reacted very quickly. Alekto and Radomir were physically dragged into the tree cover.
Andal swore. "Alright, no going back. Azra?"
Alekto's Guardian (Azra it was, then) spoke up. "Nearest cover is due east but Islamabad's in the way. I'd say best bet is Southeast, follow the Indus River 'till we get clear. That's two hundred klicks to the river, then at least another hundred fifty downstream. Or we could go north of Islamabad and find some cover in the mountains."
"Southeast, then," Andal said with urgency. "No telling how far the dead zone goes, not playing hide-and-seek in the mountains with a Fallen war going on. How's it going, Shiro?"
There was a heartbeat of silence on the feed. Andal repeated his question.
"He's dancing," the unfamiliar voice answered back.
"He's gonna need someone to cover him when he's done," beige-cape pointed out.
"I know," Andal said. "And we still need that other Kinderguardian."
"Good news- think we'll get this whole party," the voice said.
"Good," Andal sighed. "Alright. Clear out of there, circle around west and south. Azra, Cayde, go find that other Guardian. Me and Tev will take these two."
"The dead zone," Azra said.
Andal shook his head. "Plant a booster, it'll give us time. We'll come back for it later. If we can't link up before, rally point is Multan. Don't go near Islamabad."
Azra shook her head and held out a hand for her Ghost. Beige-cape (Cayde?) did likewise. Two light vehicles of some kind materialized on the ground. "Told ya it was worth it," the Exo bragged.
"You'll be feeling it tonight," Azra said back.
The two boarded their vehicles and shot off without another word.
"We've a lot of ground to make," the maroon-cloak said. "Let's get going."
Jove was dead.
Then he wasn't.
That's how it always seemed to be. There wasn't the disorientation or nausea his friends described. He just was dead, then he wasn't.
The young Warlock sat up and looked around. The aliens who had killed him weren't here, but he wasn't alone. At first he thought the two were Alekto and Radomir- but he quickly realized they weren't. They had on capes, for one, and they weren't the right heights. Their two vehicles idled nearby.
"You're Jove, right?" said one. She held out a hand to help him up. "Alekto sent us. She's alive, and so is your other friend. But we gotta clear out of here, more Fallen are on their way."
"Where is my revolver?" Jove asked. He patted himself down, suddenly realizing he was missing his canteen, and the pot they used for cooking, and his armor.
"Fallen killed you and nicked your stuff while you were down," the other one explained. "Them's the breaks." (Was he an Exo? His voice was odd.)
Jove held out a hand for his Ghost, Sharps. The small drone settled on his palm. "I regret to inform you that these Hunters are correct. The only things we have left are the shotgun and the Glimmer. Everything else has been stolen."
"We need to jet," the woman said. "Party of Skiffs just went by. We'll have Fallen on our tail for sure. And Shiro's still in his mess."
"You got the newbie," the Exo said. "I'm going to circle back around for our troubled Bladedancer."
"Figured," the woman muttered. "Leave me with the hard job."
The man shrugged. "Running straight at the enemy and beating them off Shiro with a stick isn't the hard job?"
"C'moooon," she groaned.
But the Exo would hear none of it. "You and him are the scouts. Lots of wayfinding to do in this area, navigating 'round the Fallen armies in the dark. It's the right choice. I'm pulling rank."
The woman seemed to deflate. "Just… stay safe, then."
"Wilco." The Exo slid onto one of the bikes with practiced ease. He finally addressed Jove. "Not that I wouldn't enjoy your company," he drawled, not sounding very sincere, "but my buddy needs me. You'll be fine with Azra."
The woman was all business now. "We'll have to take the river at least a few klicks east," she reported. "I'll leave a sign at our turnoff in case Southwest gets too hot and you have to backtrack here."
"See you in Multan," the Exo said. The woman tapped a finger to her forehead in a mockery of a salute, then shooed him off.
The Exo revved his engines and shot off upstream.
The woman turned her full attention on Jove. She gestured to her own bike. "We'll talk later. Get on."
They rode for a long time. Jove completely lost track of where they were. It was all he could do to stay on the vehicle. A million questions raced through his head- where were they going? Where were Alekto and Radomir? Why didn't they just get on a spaceship and fly away?
He tried screaming these questions over the rushing wind, with little affect. He wasn't sure the Hunter could even hear him.
Eventually he built up the courage to let go with one hand to reach up and tap her shoulder.
In response, a helmet was transmatted onto his head. It was too big for him. There were a couple of beeps from the internal speakers, then the woman's voice growled in his ear. "I said we'd talk later."
"Now is later," Jove insisted. "Where are we going? Where's Radmomir and Jove?"
She readjusted her position on the seat. "We're going away from the warzone. They're going a different way."
"But are they alright? They're on their own. I left-"
"They're fine," she said. "Tevis and Andal have them."
"Who-"
"I'm trying to drive, here," the woman spat. "Talk later, when I'm not driving."
Jove really wanted to stop, he did. The words came out anyway. "But what-"
He shouldn't have been so distracted. The Guardian pulled a particularly hard turn and Jove's body rose out of the vehicle's seat. He grabbed desperately at the Hunter. She grunted in surprise as the vehicle spun. They fishtailed wildly for a moment, then the Guardian just let go, sending both her and Jove tumbling through the underbrush. Everything was spinning madness, then their momentum stopped.
Jove blinked his eyes open to find himself surprisingly unhurt. The Hunter was swearing. She was all tangled up with him; he'd managed to keep his hold on her waist. She pulled herself free as Jove tried to orient himself.
The vehicle was about twenty meters away, upside-down and tangled in an uprooted bush. The Hunter's litany of swears did not stop as she righted the vehicle and ripped off the foliage.
She looked at Jove. The blank face of her helmet gave her an intimidating air as she spoke. "I am not trying to be bossy, but there is a buttload of Fallen on our tail and if we're not out of here in the next twenty seconds this day's going to get interesting, and not in a good way. If you get on the Sparrow and keep your mouth shut except for literal life-and-death questions, I will answer anything you want when we stop. Literally anything. Please."
Jove managed to get his feet underneath him. His legs and back were sore from riding. The forest seemed calm, but the Hunter radiated an anxious energy. She as taut as a clothesline.
Jove decided that maybe this time he could go for the delayed gratification. The Hunter's idea of an 'interesting time' really didn't appeal. He nodded wordlessly and re-mounted the vehicle.
TYPE: LIVE COMBAT FEED
PARTIES: Three [3]. One [1] Guardian-type, Class Titan, designate Radomir [r]; One [1] Guardian-type, Class Hunter, designate Andal Brask [ab]; One [1] Guardian-type, Class Hunter, designate Tevis Larsen [tl]
ASSOCIATIONS: Brask, Andal; Cayde-6; Fallen; Jax, Azra; Jove; Larsen, Tevis
/AUDIO UNAVAILABLE/
/TRANSCRIPT FOLLOWS.../
[r:01]: Are you sure he'll be alright?
[ab:01]: As sure as I can be, given the circumstances.
[r:02]: That's not making me feel better.
[ab:02]: I'm not going to lie and tell you there's no risk at all involved. But Azra and Cayde have seen a lot worse.
[r:03]: Jove hasn't.
[tl:01]: Jove has a very powerful Gunslinger and a damn good scout looking after him.
[r:04]: So why wouldn't they be okay?
[ab:03]: There's a lot of variables involved here. There's a lot of opportunity for things to go wrong, and without comms I can't be sure they haven't happened. We are in a war zone.
[ab:04]: But those two have the skills to pull themselves out of some very bad situations.
[tl:02]: All the skill in the world can't account for bad luck.
[ab:05]: Cayde doesn't get unlucky.
[tl:03]: There's that, I suppose.
They drove until the sun set. Darkness had just begun to leach the color from the world when the Hunter pulled up abruptly. She dismounted first. Jove was much slower, sore and stiff from the hours of riding. As soon as he stood free, the Sparrow dissolved into particles of light.
"We're stopping here for the night," the Hunter explained. "Sparrow makes too much light and heat, we'll stand out like a signal flare. We'll pick back up at dawn."
"O…kay," Jove said. He was still wary of drawing the Guardian's ire. She already sounded like she was in a bad mood.
She laced her fingers together and stretched them above her head for a long moment. When she relaxed, her whole posture was looser. She sat on the ground and began stretching out her legs. "I promised to talk. We can talk. 'Least while we rest. You hungry?"
"No," said Jove truthfully. All the excitement had put a damper on his appetite. He settled himself on the hard ground with a groan. It seemed every muscle in his body was sore.
"Stretching will help," the Hunter offered. "Here, copy me." She folded one leg close to her body and stretched the other out.
Jove copied. It hurt some, but in a good way. "You are a Hunter, aren't you?" he asked, suddenly aware of the assumption he'd made.
"What gave it away?" she drawled. She leaned forward over her outstretched leg.
"The cape, I think," Jove answered. "My Ghost told me that is usually a Hunter garment."
The Hunter groaned. "You new Lights never have any sense of humor."
"I… I'm sorry?" the Warlock said. And then after a pause, "I don't think I was told your name."
"Azra Jax," she replied. "Just call me Azra. My Ghost is Spark. You?"
"Me what?"
"Is Jove your full name? What should I call your Ghost?"
"Yes," he said. "And Sharps?"
She nodded. "Jove and Sharps. Alright. We going to be chatting about names and stuff all night?"
"Radomir," Jove said, suddenly urgent. "And Alekto. You're sure- what happened?"
She shrugged and switched legs. "Fallen came at 'em while you were out on your water run. We pulled their butts out of that mess. They went with Andal and Tevis- two of my Pack. Don't worry yourself there- that pair can handle anything, and they'll have an easier time of it than we will. Cayde went around to pick up the last member of my Pack, Shiro, who'd gotten ambushed on his sniper perch. We a set up a rally point before we all split. We'll head towards that if we don't get a signal through the radio interference before then. We've had to circle pretty far north. But don't worry, we'll all get out of this fine."
"Why don't we just fly out on your spaceship?" the Warlock asked. "Are they not as common as my Ghost says? Do you not have one?"
"Fallen artillery will shoot us down before we get two klicks. Or more likely they'll shoot my ship down before it gets down here from orbit. That's why we're going so far. We have to get out of range of hostile anti-air. Then we'll take our jumphips back to the City." Azra demonstrated a stretch of placing the soles of her feet together and bending over her outstretched knees.
"Oh." Said Jove. He copied her position. He didn't even know the muscles he was stretching existed before today.
There was quiet for a minutes. Azra finished her stretching and started pulling out guns. She'd unload one, check it over thoroughly, reload it, then pull out another one. Each one Jove thought would surely be the last, but was surprised every time as she pulled out a sniper rifle, then some small handgun, then a stocky shotgun, then another handgun, a long gun of some kind, a longer shotgun, a submachine gun, a… was that a grenade launcher?
"Let's light a fire?" Jove asked. The air was getting noticeably chilly. His fists were balled up under his armpits to keep them warm. It wasn't working very well.
"No fires in enemy territory," Azra stated. "If the Sparrow would give us away, a campfire certainly would."
"I'm cold," Jove muttered. "How can you even see?"
"Low-light vision on the helmet," the Hunter said matter-of-factly. "And take this. But take off your shoes first."
Her Ghost deposited a plush cylinder in Jove's lap. "It's a sleeping bag," the small machine explained.
"You should try and get some rest," Azra said. "I'll keep watch."
He dutifully removed his boots and wiggled his way inside. The bag provided some immediate relief from the chilly air. His fingers were still stiff and numb, though. "Aren't you cold?"
"No," she said. Jove didn't really believe her, but a moment later he saw her blow into her hands. The dim orange of her Solar Light was impossible to miss in the darkness.
"I'll be alright," she said a bit more believably this time. "Far from the first night I've spent up. Not like I'd be able to sleep anyway. I'll wake you if anything suspicious happens."
Jove thought he'd have a hard time falling asleep, what with the no fire and his friends gone and the exposed tree roots that always seemed to pop up under his back no matter how he arranged himself. But the hard hours of riding caught up to him and the yawning blankness of sleep covered him before he knew it.
