Chapter Eleven
Back to the Moon. Wren was beginning to hate it. Looking at it from Earth was becoming preferable to standing on it's cold, pale surface. It reflected the sun, creating a blinding white landscape, far from the forests she wished to explore. But the Hive were a problem the Vanguard wanted investigated as soon as possible, and so Cerulean found themselves preparing to track down a lost Guardian.
"We gave up the Moon so the Hive would leave Earth alone," Kiran explained.
"That worked well," Wren sighed, snapping a clip into her hand cannon.
"I used to look up here and wonder what they were doing. Never could get a clear signal."
"What about last time we were here? You pick anything up then."
"No. Not really. To be fair, we were busy."
"That we were," Wren smiled and Kiran vanished as Rorick and the others approached her.
"Brix says the lost Guardian's last signal was picked up near here," Rorick said. "He was looking for a way into that Hive base we found through the caves."
"Are we going back down there?" Franz asked.
"No. A scout in the area already figured out where he was headed but that scout's gone back to the Tower. It's up to us to track the Guardian to a place called the Temple of Crota."
"I don't like the sound of that," Beorn said.
"We'll be headed right back into the waves of Hive," Sisre said.
"Let's saddle up then," Franz said and Sparrows began to materialize before them.
Wren could feel eyes on her and without looking she knew it was Flak. Her skin crawled and she gunned her Sparrow to ride next to Sisre. The Titaness turned her head and nodded at Wren, giving her a thumbs up. Franz and Beorn came in close behind them, leaving Flak to ride in the back.
Rorick led them over the ridge toward the base they had taken shelter in before. The lost Guardian, when had he been there? Was it in the days they were stuck in the tunnels, looking for an escape? Was he a scout, sent to find where the missing fireteam had gone? The Vanguard hadn't mentioned it if that was the case.
With a hand signal the group headed along the right side of the crater wall toward a narrow canyon, the same one where Wren and Sisre had found Rorick. How close had they been? They dismounted and continued through the canyon on foot, ready and waiting for hordes of Hive like they had seen before, but there were none. The canyon was quiet, empty, with the exception of a body laying down by the massive Hive door at the far end.
This time Wren allowed herself to lag at the back of the group, Flak passing her without a second glance. They holstered their weapons or slung them over their shoulders as they went forward to investigate the body.
"He's dead," Kiran said.
"Dead?"
"Yes. His Light is gone and his Ghost…" Kiran paused. "I don't feel his Ghost around."
The hair on the back of Wren's neck stood on end and she couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. She turned around and on the ridge above was an Exo, glowing eyes staring her down. Before Wren could speak a sound behind her caught her attention.
The seals glowed yellow and began to break, allowing the door to open. Wren whipped back around to see the Exo, but she was gone.
"C'mon Wren," Sisre called as a wave of Thrall and Acolytes poured through the opening door.
Wren took one more look at the empty ridge and ran down the hill with her team, taking a spot behind a rock near Beorn and Franz. Thrall rushed them from the right, their pale, papery skin reflecting the white light of the Moon when they ran free of their tunnels and caves. They flashed and burned as quickly, scattering as ash while other charged ahead blindly.
Explosions flashed behind them as the other cleared the Knights from the entrance. She didn't even hear the Thrall behind her before one of them yanked her down by her cloak, its claws shredding into the material and tightening it around her throat. She gagged and fell to her back, engulfed by a mass of Thrall. The Better Devils was knocked from her grip and kicked away by scurrying feet as Thrall began to burst into flame over her. She covered her face with her arms keeping them away from bullets flying from every direction into the Thrall.
The last of them screamed and she rolled to her side, through their ashes, to clutch her hand cannon tightly to her chest. There she knelt, catching her breath until Franz and Beorn pulled her to her feet and slapped her back.
"Cloaks are dangerous," Franz jabbed.
"Did anyone see that Exo up there?" she asked, pointing toward the ridge.
"You saw someone up there?" Beorn asked.
"Yeah she was looking right at me."
"Are you sure it wasn't just… a shadow? A glimpse in battle?"
"No, I saw her before the door opened."
Beorn's faceplate turned toward her, then to the ridge and back. He didn't seem to believe her. "Well, whatever it was is gone now."
"Let's move," Rorick called.
"We should go," Kiran said. "I saw the Exo stranger too, but there's a dying Light in there. We have to find that Ghost."
Wren followed them down the hill and through the door into a large round room with a staircase hugging close to the walls. The platform ahead had two massive columns rising toward the ceiling, curving inward near the top. Two red Hive banners hung on either side and the middle framed glowing lights embedded in the walls.
A shadow rose across the room, a shadow blocking out the lights. Arc energy erupted from the Wizard's hands and it screamed as the blasts rained down on the Guardians.
"Flak," Rorick yelled, "get that Wizard."
The Hunter nodded and ran forward, his body crackling with flames, a fiery gun in his hand. A powerful blast flashed across the room and landed in the Wizard's neck, beheading her before her body crumbled. The fire disappeared and he brandished his usual hand cannon, following Rorick up the stairs to the right. His helmet turned toward her when he passed, and her fists clenched tight around the Better Devils.
"You can do that too," Kiran said. "You just have to learn how to use your Light. You can form it into throwing knives as well. It takes energy so you have to use it wisely. We'll practice sometime."
Brix appeared over Rorick's outstretched hand and began to scan the Ghost. "It's dead," he said quietly. "I can still read some of its memories, however. It seemed the Hive are raising an army."
"To invade Earth?" Rorick asked.
"Yes."
"We can't let that happen," Beorn said.
"There seems to be something called The World's Grave," Brix said. "The Hive keep all of their information about Earth there. Get us down there and between us Ghosts, we can steal the information we need."
"The Hive have a library?" Franz asked, unconvinced.
"I've heard about The World's Grave," Beorn said. "Well, sort of. Not by name, but there was a scout who mentioned the Hive plotting to take over Earth."
"And you never mentioned it to anyone?" Rorick asked.
"He's not exactly a respectable source of information. He spends as much time drowning in alcohol as he does in the wilds."
Wren walked to the edge of the platform and down into a doorway that led deeper into the fortress. "I guess we go down then?"
"We go down, but not here," Brix said. "I'm seeing some flashes of a Knight that guards the library. Its name is Kranox, the Graven. It doesn't seem too powerful, but we'll still have to defeat it before we can access their information."
"There must be a way from here to the Grave," Rorick said.
"I'm sure there is, but we don't have time to find it. There must have been something down there that drew him to this Temple, but until we can get to that information ourselves, we're in the dark. I did, however, get a clear path to the World Grave through the other entrance. We should head there."
"Alright. Where is it?"
"There was an observatory that we passed on the way here. We cut through that and down into the canyon and we'll be right at the door."
"All these canyons look the same," Franz complained, just loud enough for Beorn and Wren to hear. Dead Fallen troops lay silently at their feet at the edge of what used to be a domed building built into the rock. Most of the observatory was gone, leaving gaping holes on their side.
They passed through without incident, picking up Glimmer and a couple of engrams to be decoded at the Tower and split among the team. Wren silently wished she could do a few missions alone to reap the rewards for herself. Perhaps a Hunter's greed rearing its ugly head. She tried not to think about it.
A single Knight guarded the entrance, pacing back and forth as it hadn't yet seen the team of Guardians at the top of the hill. Sisre knelt behind a rock and set up to take her shot. Wren let her attention drift to the sliver of Earth visible over the end of the canyon, looming above a glowing Hive symbol carved into the stone. Green and blues of Earth could hardly be seen, its black shadow blocking out light from stars. A flash of curiosity as to what Cayde was up to was broken by the shot that tore into the Knight's chest. It let out a scream and a black shield popped up in front of it, blocking another shot.
"Dammit," Sisre growled, bolting another round.
"Losing your touch?" Rorick joked, his voice flat.
"I don't know, why don't you go down there and put a Glimmer on your head. We'll see if I can knock it off. If I can, I keep it."
"Not really fair if you get to keep it either way."
"Don't forget to include the Hunters," Franz said, jabbing a thumb at Wren and Flak. She hadn't realized how close he was standing and shifted her weight away from him. "You'll win more Glimmer that way."
Sisre fired another shot as soon as the Knight's shield fell and he was gone just as quickly.
Easy enough.
The door was already open and the Guardians let themselves in, running down through the halls and stairs. Nothing she'd seen of the Hive seemed finished; broken pillars, piles of rubble near the walls, and sections of floor where honeycomb shaped tiles came to a sudden stop. Huge lanterns appeared to be tossed here and there, some half embedded in rocks.
They came out into a large cylindrical area with a pillar in the middle, the path winding down around it in a spiral. Wren crossed the stairs that acted as a bridge to the ramp and they delved deeper into the pit until at last they hit the bottom where they waded across a pool of water.
"The Hive have been busy," Kiran said. "There are tunnels and catacombs all over. I wonder how much of the Moon they've hollowed out."
"What is this?" Sisre whispered as the hall opened to a massive cavern. A platform that curved around the left side, leading to a circular platform before easing over into the next cavern where an ornate lantern had been carved and hung from the ceiling.
Wren eased to the edge and looked down, her heart in her throat at the thought of falling forever.
"Get a little closer," Flak whispered lightly as he passed and Wren backed away from the edge.
"You need to tell Cayde about him," Kiran said.
"He'll get tired of it if I don't react," Wren whispered and caught up with the group who were making short work of Acolytes. "Besides, I already told him things are fine. If I go back on that now, he'll wonder why I hid it in the first place."
"He's dangerous."
"He won't kill me, Kiran," Wren said, running right, toward the edge of the platform. A wizard popped up under the massive hanging light, a fog of black shadow engulfing her and stopping Wren in her tracks.
"He might not but there are other terrible things he could do."
Goosebumps formed under Wren's armor but she didn't reply, pushing the conversation aside to focus on the Wizard launching energy from inside her poison cloud. A wailing scream made her flinch and look around for its source. The sing song sound of it made her flesh crawl but it didn't seem like a noise any of the Wizards had made before.
"Dammit." Rorick came up beside her as the poison cloud dissipated, more slowly than the body had crumbled. "Shrieker. Remind me to bring a rocket launcher next time," he said as Sisre joined them.
"You want me to pick it off from here?"
"I do," he said. "Go ahead and set up for the shot. I'll head closer and get it to open up."
"All due respect," Sisre said, "you're slow. You'll get shot by it for sure."
"I'll go," Wren said. "I see a place over there I can get into."
Rorick looked down at her and hesitated.
"I can do it," she insisted.
"Alright. But keep your head down."
"Let me go instead," Flak said. "She's too small, she'll only get killed and we'll have to take the time to res her."
"Screw off, Flak," Sisre snapped. "She'll be fine."
Wren's blood boiled but she clenched her jaw to keep from lashing out at him, glad that her face was hidden. The others practically towered over her, even Sisre, but that didn't mean she was incapable of being useful to the team.
"Go ahead," Rorick said. "We'll cover you. When it's down, you need to run back to us. The death blast it emits will kill you if you're not fast enough. If we can make it back far enough and fast enough, we'll be fine."
The Shrieker was closed up tight, a floating rock in appearance. Wren sprinted across the narrow bridge, eyes on the hole that only she was small enough to squeeze in to. The Shrieker opened wide before she was off the bridge and began to fire Void charges at Wren. Splashes of Void energy burned through the thinner parts of Wren's armor, singeing holes in what was left of her cloak.
She slid into the hole before bright blast landed a few feet outside. Another sing song scream sounded, more enraged than the last, as Sisre's sniper rounds tore into the energy core of the Shrieker. Franz gave her a thumbs up from the other side of the bridge before taking shelter with the others behind rocks and barricades. Rorick stood beside Sisre with his auto rifle, shooting along with her to keep the Shrieker open and attacking until at last they succeeded. The Shrieker fell to pieces, its death blast seeking targets all around.
Wren bolted from her spot and across the bridge. Sisre and the others retreated but Rorick stayed at the other side of the bridge until Wren passed him and the two of them retreated with the rest. They turned around to see the blasts fizzling out. Her heart pounded against her ribs but they were safe. For now.
"The Darkness is heavy here," Rorick said as they neared an area that looked like a cage with intricate bars.
Wren could feel it, a weight on her shoulders, pushing her down, constricting her breathing, if only just a little. Dying here would complicate things but she felt confident that it wouldn't be a problem. They'd snuck closer to the bars and peered in. It would seem the Knight wasn't much above average.
"Strange they would choose this Knight to guard such a huge secret," Kiran said and Wren had to agree. He was big, but not much more than any other she'd seen. What was special about this one?
Nothing. It fell with ease, pieces of its armor falling to the ground along with a smooth green key that fit in Rorick's palm. The interior swirled, as if it contained water or smoke and was contained within a glass orb. He dropped it in a pouch and they moved forward, winding their way through carved rooms, crude, narrow caves, arched doorways, and crooked pillars until at last they came to a room with a pool below the platform they came in on. Acolytes knelt in the water and faced some sort of control panel at the other side of the room, as if they were worshiping it. More Acolytes surrounded the panel, lifting their weapons high over their heads, but none of them moved.
Franz moved forward slowly, descending the stairs and passing by the first Acolyte. "What the hell?"
The creature whipped its head at him and screeched. The room erupted into motion, Acolytes turning on Franz as a group. Wren fired at the closest Acolyte to Franz and Beorn ran down beside him, the pair of them working together as a unit to bring down the Hive closest to them. Flak and Rorick jumped into the water below, rushing the control panel with auto rifle and hand cannons blazing. Sisre kept her position by the door, picking off Acolytes one at a time until the path was clear.
It wasn't what Wren had been expecting. She thought it would be books, old world thinking maybe.
"This is it," Brix said, circling the control panel. "The World's Grave. We'll steal what we can but you'll have to watch out, the Hive will come as soon as they realize we've accessed their systems."
"Understood," Rorick said. "Guard the Ghosts at all costs."
Kiran and the other Ghosts zoomed across the room to the panel, each of them finding an area to hack and strip the library of any information they could find. It made her uncomfortable, him being across the room and away from her. If he was killed by a Hive, like that poor lost Guardian and his Ghost…
"What's that?" Beorn asked as a boiling sound came from the pool.
Wren turned her gun toward the water, and it rippled with bubbles. Thrall and their Cursed brethren rose from the dark water. Sisre cried out, a Knight knocking her over as it charged into the room. Her sniper rifle skittered out of her grasp and into the pool below. She rolled over and sprang to her feet, her body crackling with Arc energy. She leapt into the air and came down with nothing short of a war cry, electricity bursting out when her fists hit the ground. The Knight's body sparked and exploded but Sisre didn't wait, she rushed toward the other Knights, focusing on the larger enemies before her energy was spent.
A Knight rose from the churning waters and back handed Wren into the water. A round from the Better Devils slammed into the Knight's head and it stumbled back for Franz to finish off. Water soaked Wren's cloak, weighing it down. She unclasped it with one hand and let it drop, heavy into the pool. It was ruined anyway, shredded by Thrall claws and burned by Void energy. Still she felt a sense of loss at leaving it behind but she had to push forward. Two Knights had taken to the platform where the control panel stood. Flak and Rorick kept them at bay but the Thrall were swatting their long hands at the Ghosts in a way that made Wren's stomach turn flips.
She flung a blade at the nearest and shot into the group of others. Flak and Rorick led the Knights around the back of the panel, out of the way of the Ghosts. Wren threw a tracking grenade that felled the Thrall an instant before she was thrown forward from an explosion from behind. She slid across to the base of the control panel, ears ringing.
"Sorry!" Franz called, waving at her from across the cleared room. "I didn't think it was that close to you."
Wren stood and Flak and Rorick came around from the back of the panel, reloading their weapons but keeping them at ease. Brix and the others backed away from the console and disappeared. Wren breathed at ease with Kiran safely tucked away.
"There's so much information here," Brix said. "We can't hold it all but I think we learned all we could. We need to return to the Tower and warn the others."
"Anyone else get the feeling that we're being drawn into something much bigger than ourselves?" Beorn asked.
They stared at Brix and the control panel, a deeply unsettling feeling digging deep into Wren's bones.
Rain drenched the city, pelting the tower. Banners whipped in the wind, leaves plastered to the walls from the tree that grew in the courtyard. The shops were closed up tight against the rain, even Banshee was gone, his weapons locked away safe from the rain. Guardians trotted across the courtyard toward their barracks to get out of the weather, but fireteam Cerulean descended into command center.
Wren's hair stuck to her face and dripped into her eyes. They'd landed just in time. The wind had made it difficult for them to land in the hanger and all flight into and out of the city had been postponed until the storm settled down. Sisre had joked with Wren about finding a better ship or the next time her old craft might rattle to pieces. She'd not considered the ship's structural integrity until that point.
Inside the command center was much warmer than outside, the sounds of the rain mostly drowned out. It pattered against the glass behind Zavala, but the position of the window blocked most of the rain. Debris flew by the window despite the height and lightning flashed in the distance.
Cayde caught Wren's eye first but he wasn't looking at her, but instead had his eyes locked on Flak. Any softness she had seen in his face before was gone and she glanced at Sisre. Had she said something? No, when would she? When had she had the time? Wren decided to ask when she got the chance. Zavala looked up at them, straightening himself as they neared the other end of the table. Wren pushed her soaking hair away from her face as Ikora welcomed them.
"What did you find on the Moon?" she asked.
"The Guardian we were sent to find was dead," Rorick said. Zavala dropped his head. It was one of his Titans that had fallen to the Hive. "But he didn't die in vain. His Ghost held information about a place called the Temple of Crota and a library; the World's Grave. The Hive have been seeding the Earth for years, collecting information from any source they can find. They plan on taking over Earth."
"Someone wake Master Rahool and bring him here," Zavala said and one of the attendants left. "This team has become quite promising. Rorick, gather a list of supplies your team needs before you leave again and I'll make sure you get what you need."
"We don't require much, Commander. Sisre lost her sniper rifle and Wren could use a better ship."
"And a cloak," Cayde said, side eyeing Wren. Was he amused?
"When the storm settles go to Banshee and Holliday and get what you need," Zavala said, ignoring the cloak comment from Cayde.
Master Rahool and the attendant returned, the bottom of the Cryptarch's robes soaked. They left umbrella's by the door and he joined Zavala with a small nod. "You sent for me?"
"What can you tell us about Crota?"
"Crota? We know that Crota is the son of Oryx and is known as the Hope-Eater. The Moon fell to Crota long ago and the Hive Prince claimed the lives of many Guardians with his sword. He is a god, worshipped by the Hive and the Moon supposedly houses the sword, which drains the Light from whatever it touches. It's guarded by Swarm Princes. If you can manage to find the princes, kill them, and reclaim the sword, we can ensure it's never used again."
"So you want us to go back for the Sword?" Rorick asked.
"We'll discuss it," Zavala said. "When the storm passes meet back here and we'll let you know what we decided. You're dismissed."
Flak turned and left without a word to any of them, pulling his hood up before he reached the top of the stairs. Beorn and Franz spoke briefly with Ikora then left, talking about finding food despite the rain. Rorick and Sisre broke off as well and Wren was left alone for a moment, the Vanguard watching her as she was left behind. As quickly as she could manage she turned her back and left, running out into the rain toward the barracks.
In her room she stripped out of her wet armor, letting it hang in the bathroom to dry. Outside the lights of the city burned on as always, despite the terrible storm. She could hardly see more than blurs of light and dark from the rain but she kept the curtains open anyway.
The floor was freezing under her bare feet and she couldn't shake the chills that covered her skin. The only thing she had to wear was the black dress she'd bought before they left, but it wasn't warm and not comfortable to sleep in.
Someone knocked on the door and she panicked, throwing the dress on over wet skin. It clung uncomfortably and she only opened the door wide enough to see Sisre on the other side.
"Hey there," she smiled. "I'm headed down to this great little bath house to ride out the storm. They have a hot spring and everything. You wanna go?"
"Oh well… what about Rorick?"
"Eh, he's not big on the pampering thing. It's nice to have a girlfriend, ya know? So are you coming or not?"
"I would but I don't have anything else to wear."
Sisre chewed her lip. "C'mon."
Wren hesitated and Sisre grabbed her wrist, tugging playfully until Wren followed her through several halls and up a few levels before opening the door to her room.
It was identical to Wren's but more comfortable. A thick orange rug covered most of the floor, the curtains had been replaced with brightly colored yellow and orange ones with red tassels. Pillows on the bed matched and various other items were set around for decoration; bronze elephants, pieces of rock, empty sniper shells, and jewelry.
"Here," Sisre said, handing her a thick red robe. "You can use mine and I'll use the one I bought for Rorick. Not like he wears it anyway. Put them in that bag over there. We can use those in the bath house. As for getting there… this should do."
Sisre laid an outfit on the bed while Wren put the robes in a water-resistant bag, careful to tie it tight.
"I'll get changed in the bathroom so you can have some privacy," Sisre said, closing the door between the rooms.
Wren changed into a black tunic dress and pants set out for her, but the boots were too big, and she ended up keeping the black flats she'd come in. Sisre came out, pushing her hair to the side, away from her shining green eyes.
"Cute," she said and handed Wren an overcoat. "This should keep you dry. Jeeze, it's huge on you. Oh well, let's go."
The bath house was beyond what Wren had expected. The exterior of the building had flaking plaster and exposed brick, the neon sign had letters that had burned out, and the door squeaked on its hinged. But the actual bath was breathtaking. Steam filled the room and warmed her chilled skin. A pool had been built around the spring which remained a large hole in the middle of the intricately tiled pool. The water was crystal clear, showing the bright blue and white sun design that cascaded down the steps toward the middle of the pool.
White columns with matching designs held up glass ceiling and separated the edge of the pool from the lounging areas surrounding it. Plush furniture and white veils decorated the pool area and although several women were laying around or wading in the water, the bath house was quiet. Peaceful.
Almost all of them were nude and Wren clutched the front of her coat tightly.
"I know it's awkward at first, but there's nothing you have that they don't," Sisre said, pulling Wren into a nearby changing room. "Here. You can put this towel on if you're feeling shy. Just leave our stuff in this locker and we can go relax."
"Okay."
They were alone in the changing room, which helped some. She turned her back to Sisre and took her clothes off under the towel, doing as the Titaness said and locked their belongings in a locker at the end of the row. Sisre tied Wren's hair back and they went back into the pool area.
A few of the others nodded their greeting to Sisre but none spoke to them. Sisre left her towel in a chair by the edge of the pool and stepped in, the water rippling around her long legs. Wren glanced around and when she was sure no one was watching, she dropped her towel and followed Sisre, moving a little more quickly than he more confident friend.
They moved to the far end of the pool, away from the others, passing around the center where the spring dropped into a dark abyss at the center of the sun. They propped up on the side of the pool and Wren rested her head on her crossed arms, letting her body relax in the water as the sound of rain on the glass overhead reminded her of the tempest outside.
"You've had a busy start," Sisre said. "It seemed like it took ages for me to get into the really juicy missions."
"It's not like this all the time?"
"Not hardly," Sisre chuckled. "Most of the time it's small stuff; checking outposts, taking down Fallen that have overstepped their bounds, or scouting new areas for enemy activity. This whole thing with the Hive is beyond what most Guardians these days see."
"Maybe Beorn was right with what he said in the Grave. Maybe we are getting into something deep."
"Maybe so but I'm more interested in something else that's getting deep?" she said, green eyes narrowing mischievously.
"What's that?"
"Like you don't know Miss sneaking-off-to-be-alone-with-the-Hunter-Vanguard. We never got a chance to talk about why I found you alone with the infamous Cayde-6."
"It's nothing like that!" Wren insisted but she felt the blood rush to her cheeks. "I came back from the City and I saw him hanging around the courtyard. He looked kinda sad so I showed him that spot you told me about. That's all."
"You saw Cayde looking… sad? Huh, that's a new one."
"Is that weird?"
"He's known for not taking anything seriously. I don't think I've heard of anyone seeing him as anything other than a loudmouth or a braggart. Maybe Beorn was right in what he said, but maybe I'm right too. I think he might favor you."
"Don't be silly." Wren rolled her eyes. "It's not like he broke down and showed me something that he's never showed anyone else. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time."
"So…"
"What?"
"What about you? Do you favor our resident rogue?"
"I don't even know him."
"Well, at least you're not mad at him anymore."
"For now."
Sisre giggled and nudged Wren's elbow. "For now," she repeated.
"But while we're on the subject of Cayde, did you say anything to him about Flak?"
"No. I told you I'd keep it a secret, though I'm still not happy about what he did to you. Why?"
"Cayde asked me how he's fitting in to the group. He didn't mention anything in particular, but I was curious."
"Kinda odd that he'd bring it up. Maybe there's something about Flak that he's not telling us. He's not messed with me at all but that could be because of Rorick. I think you should be very careful around him, Wren."
"He'll leave me alone when he's bored. I just have to keep ignoring him."
"Either way, promise me you'll be careful."
"Yeah. I promise."