Fireteam Cerulean stood before the Vanguard and awaited their orders. Zavala put his hands on the table before him where Cayde had a map marked with key points on the Moon. The Commander's face remained expressionless as his eyes scanned over the map until at last, he stood up and put his hands behind his back.
"We've decided that this team should be split up for this mission. Scouts have confirmed that a Hive Prince has been seen around the Hellmouth, guarding the ritual site there. Rorick and Sisre will go to the Hellmouth and take care of the Prince while Flak and Wren search for the Sword. Beorn and Franzrick are needed by Ikora and will be on a separate mission for her."
Wren froze, her fists clenching, stomach dropping. She didn't want to be anywhere alone with Flak. Sisre nudged her gently but she didn't speak. She didn't realize she was holding her breath until Cayde spoke up.
"Actually," he said, "I have something I need Flak for."
Wren's eyes shot over to her Vanguard, but he wasn't looking at her, instead meeting Zavala's gaze. Her shoulders relaxed a little, but Flak wasn't happy.
"I don't think Wren should be alone on such a dangerous mission," Flak said, his tone thick with faux concern. It made Wren's skin crawl and she wondered if the Vanguard would buy his performance. Their faces showed nothing.
"I'm sure Wren can handle it," Rorick said flatly, cutting his gaze down at Flak who clenched his jaw but didn't argue with their leader. "When we're finished at the Hellmouth, we'll be there to back her up. I'm confident the three of us can handle this."
Zavala nodded. "Alright. You have your assignments. You're dismissed."
Beorn and Franz stayed behind with Ikora but the others left, ascending to the courtyard where the sun had broken free of the clouds from the night before. Large puffy white clouds dotted the sky, drifting lazily overhead. Wren could see the pale white of the Moon toward the horizon, still visible in the mid-morning sky.
Sisre bumped Wren on the way out. "We'll meet you in the hanger," she smiled, then caught up with Rorick.
She'd get a chance to see how she would do on her own. The breeze caught her new cloak and she looked out toward the city, ready to dip her toes into what it meant to be a Hunter.
Wren sprinted across the rocky surface of the Moon, arcing wide to the left as Sisre and Rorick charged right, straight into the area called the Hellmouth. Thrall swarmed the small crater, but Wren didn't see the large Knight they had anticipated to be guarding the ritual site. Gunfire sounded from behind her as the pair of Titans fought the screaming Thrall. It was a sound Wren didn't know if she'd ever get used to.
In the distance was the entrance to a place Rorick had called the Gatehouse; a strange slanted metal structure built into the rock. The opening was well lit by their massive lanterns and Wren could see the silhouette of two Knights milling about just inside the entrance. Guards. They'd have to be dealt with before she could proceed, or she could try to sneak around them.
"Try to use your Golden Gun," Kiran said. "You'll get three shots to take them out and it should only take one a piece."
"Got it," Wrens said, a little unsure of how to tap into that potential but when she focused on it, the power came easily. A flaming gun appeared in her hand and it worked just as well as Kiran said it would. The Knights hardly had time to react to her presence before she finished them off, but she couldn't deny she felt drained when the gun vanished.
She delved deeper into the Hive building, slowing a little until she felt some of that strength build up in her again. It didn't take long and she sped up into a sprint once more, the Better Devils thumping heavily on her thigh as she ran.
Ornate stairs curved down, pushing deeper into the Moon. Rocks, Hive barnacles, and broken steps littered the path. Wren slowed when the light from lanterns behind her began to fade, and the sound of gunfire from her fireteam stopped. She looked over her shoulder toward the entrance, well-lit and spacious, then back to the path ahead. The cavern narrowed a little farther down, darkness closing in on the next archway. Somewhere far off a Thrall screamed and Wren froze in place.
Kiran floated over her shoulder, casting his harsh light onto the steps and stone walls below. "It's down there. I can feel it."
"Do I even want to know why?"
He flicked toward her for a second, then answered quietly. "I can feel the Light from the Guardian's it's killed. But… But I'm sure it's different this time."
Not once since becoming a Guardian had Wren doubted her abilities more. In the time it's taken her to walk halfway down the stairs her confidence had wavered and now to hear of all the Guardian's the Sword had claimed? Kiran must have sensed her unease because he spoke in a more cheerful tone.
"I mean, it's not being wielded by Crota this time. I doubt the Hive even know we're coming. We have a chance to get in there, destroy the Sword, and get out before they know what him em'!"
Wren glared at him and adjusted her grip on the Better Devils. "I don't like the odds."
"We've got this. Rorick thinks so. The whole fireteam thinks so."
Kiran quirked after he spoke, and Wren nearly rolled her eyes. Flak was part of the team and he didn't think she was capable of lacing her own boots.
"They believe in you, and so do I."
That and they had no choice. The Vanguard had spoken. They needed that Sword gone before it was used against anyone else and she'd been trusted with making that happen. Even if she thought it was a stupid decision. She was new; a green horn, as she'd been called by a mechanic when he'd seen her Sparrow. If he could see she was inexperienced, surely the Vanguard could.
The Betters Devils was heavy in her hand and her bright eyes glanced at it in the darkness. Cayde. He'd apologized for what he'd said, but had she really gained his respect? Was he still talking behind her back about her capabilities? She inhaled deeply and stared into the darkness below. Kiran shined his light down there again and without a word Wren took another step. Then another; into the narrowing space, feeling the walls closing in. But she didn't look back.
Pebbles skittered across the hexagonal floor tiles with every step and she cursed the mess at her feet. She tried to keep quiet, half expecting a tide of Thrall to swarm up the steps and drown her in teeth and claws. The light from behind her faded, replaced by the faint glow of crystals that protruded from the walls. Without warning the passage opened up again.
She found herself standing in a cave, open along one side to the sheer cliffs of a crater. The bright surface of the Moon lit the interior and from the doorway she could see Hive Thrall and Acolytes walking aimlessly around the bottom of carved pillars and boulders they couldn't be bothered to move.
"Why does it always look like they gave up halfway through building something?" she asked quietly, wondering how she was going to get to the arched door on the other side of the cavern. She didn't have anything long ranged like Sisre, and no auto or scout rifles like the others in her fireteam liked to carry. It was just her and the Better Devils and a few throwing knives.
Kiran didn't reply to her failed attempt at humor, choosing instead to disappear. "What are you going to do?"
Wren peered around the edge of the doorway and counted as many enemies as she could see. "Thrall are stupid. They charge mindlessly… I think I can use that to my advantage. When will my Golden Gun be ready again?"
"Not fast enough," Kiran said. "You really need to consider time here. Causing a scene might alert others and I don't want to take any chances of them getting to the Sword before we do."
"Maybe I should try to sneak around them then."
"You'll need a plan if you can't."
"I don't think I'm much of a tactician," she admitted, slipping around to the right to hug the inside wall.
"My luck," Kiran said dryly. "But of course, what can I expect from a Hunter?"
Wren shushed him quietly and kept moving, edging closer to the door. Her own heartbeat thumped in her ears and she wondered if the Thrall would be able to hear it too if she got too close.
One of them paused in its pacing, turning its head in her direction. It made strange noises and clicked its teeth, staring at her with an eyeless face. Somehow it as much more eerie that way. Wren kept still, ready to raise her hand cannon and kill the Thrall if it charged her, but it didn't. After another second it turned and walked away, its body creaking quietly, like bones rubbing together.
When she got around to the door, she noticed a Knight she'd not seen before. It stood still, its massive head sweeping back and forth but its view was largely blocked by a pillar. Maybe it was to her benefit the creature didn't seem too bright. She knelt and picked up a rock, tossing it toward the open wall where it tumbled down the side of the crater.
The Knight didn't hesitate. It charged, weapon held high overhead. The Acolytes and Thrall followed as well, the lot of them leaning over the edge of the cliff to see about the noise. They fired their guns to the rocks below and one of the Thrall plunged to its death while Wren sprinted thought the doorway and down the stairs until she no longer heard them.
"We're almost there," Kiran said. "I can feel it."
"I'm ready for this to be over with."
Wren stepped around another corner into a cavern. More Thrall could be heard walking around where the room opened up further ahead, but she couldn't see them.
"I don't think you can distract them this time," Kiran said. "But this is it. No alarm bells this time; whatever's in here is what you have to defeat."
"Great."
With a steadying breath she charged into the room, keeping to the right wall. There were two levels in the central part of the cavern, which opened up to her left, and Thrall snapped their heads in her direction as soon as they heard her boots scuff across the pebble covered stone.
They screeched and charged at her, slashing with their claws long before they were close enough to touch her. A grenade too out the first wave and then the Cursed Thrall slowed as they neared, wrapping spindly arms around themselves. Wren took a step back and fired two shots at one in the middle, missing the first shot to land with the second and the whole lot of Cursed Thrall were triggered by the explosion.
Acolytes peeked out at her from behind columns on the lower and upper floors and opened fire. Their rounds ripped through her cloak as she rolled right, taking cover behind a half wall. Grooves had been cut into her armor and blackened with heat. Close. Too close.
She leaned around and jumped back in shock to see an Acolyte standing only a few feet away. It shot her in the shoulder, and she fell back on her rear, open firing until the creature dropped, turning to ash. Her left arm throbbed, and blood trickled from the wound. Right hand pressed over the wound as she scurried behind the half wall, taking cover from the Acolytes that continued to fire at her.
"Just a second," Kiran said as the wound began to heal. "Be careful."
"I'm trying," she said through gritted teeth.
This time she didn't take any chances to coming face to face with the Hive. She only peered out enough to see the one above her and shoot it off the ledge before running toward the closest pillar. Another popped out before her and she threw her knife, the blade sinking easily into its skull. She didn't stop to retrieve it.
A Wizard in the center of the room became her main priority. A massive chain extended from a hole in the ceiling and disappeared into one in the floor and Wren could just imagine hoards of Thrall crawling over each other from the void below.
Where was Sisre and her sniper rifle when Wren needed her? She'd have to take out the Wizard on her own. After she handled the Acolyte that was running down the stairs at her. She threw another knife and it plunged into the Acolyte's thigh. It cried out and clutched at the knife and Wren took advantage of the distraction and fired off a couple rounds into its head.
Wren slammed a fresh clip in the Better Devils before leaning around to shoot at the Wizard.
"Your Golden Gun is ready!" Kiran said.
Wren didn't need to be told twice. The flaming gun appeared in her hand and she turned the Wizard to ashes. It was a comforting sight, until she noticed the sword floating midair a few feet away. Silence filled the air and feeling it was safe enough, Kiran appeared beside her and floated closer to the sword, his light reflecting in a pool of water beneath the Hive relic.
"This is it," he said. "The Sword of Crota."
"As soon as I pick it up the Hive will come for it." Wren took a step closer and holstered her gun.
"Yes. Are you ready?"
"Not at all," Wren said, wrapping her hand around the hilt of the sword.
The puddle rippled and Kiran vanished in sparks an instant before Thrall rose from the murky water. Doors on either side of the puddle opened and Acolytes filed through. Wren slashed the sword at them, their bodies tearing under the blade as easily as paper.
"They're everywhere!" Kiran shouted and a Thrall made a grab at Wren's cloak from behind. She whirled around, its claws stuck to the fabric, and the motion flung it away onto the floor where it bowled over another Thrall that was rushing her. "The Princes are coming!"
Wren cut her way through the smaller opponents, adrenaline pushing through pain from claws when Thrall got too close or burns from Acolyte rounds that grazed her armor. It passed in a blur; as if her body had gone into auto pilot, muscle memory filling in for her lack of experience.
"It's Garok," Kiran said and Wren turned her attention back to the puddle.
The water rippled again, this time rolling into a boil as a Knight arose as the Thrall had before. The Prince wielded a massive sword and as soon as his feet stepped onto the stone floor, he slammed the sword into the ground. Any Thrall in its path were obliterated and the sheer force knocked Wren back. She fell close to the hole in the floor, one of her throwing knives slipped from her pouch and tumbled end over end into the blackness below until the blade stopped reflecting the light. She never heard it hit bottom.
"Try that! Do what he just did!" Kiran suggested, and Wren obeyed, hopping to her feet as the Prince rose his sword to strike once more.
Hard as she could Wren slammed the blade into the Prince while his arms were raised and the change in damage was incredible. Instead of slicing through its flesh and bone, the sword seemed to become a blunt object, exuding tremendous amounts of force to its victim.
When Garok's sword fell Wren made sure she was out of the way. But as with most Knights, Garok was faster than he looked. She had to run to avoid the next attack but took her chance the second the Prince raised his sword again. Wren slashed across his abdomen and he cried out in pain, sinking to the floor on one knee. One more slice and Garok's head rolled from his shoulders. His body burned away, and Kiran drew Wren's attention to the next Prince, who had risen in Garok's place.
Kiran gave no name to this one, only reminded her that they had one down and two to go.
Wren slid away from the second Prince and sprinted up the stairs toward the second level as more Thrall circled around her. With the help of another grenade and the careless swordsmanship of the Prince, the Thrall were easily dispatched.
"Is the Prince following me?" Wren asked.
"No. Seems Dakoor's taking the low ground," Kiran said. "Wait, no, here he comes."
Wren backed up and drew the Better Devils with one hand, taking aim as Dakoor's head came into view from the top of the steps. He fell back into the wall, but Wren didn't stop. Shooting with one hand was killing her accuracy and the trigger clicked on an empty chamber but Dakoor still moved.
"You need practice," Kiran said dryly.
"Do you want to try?"
"N-no, you got this."
"That's what I thought," Wren said, jumping down to slam the sword into Dakoor's shoulder. His body disintegrated and an Acolyte Wren hadn't seen fired a shot into her back as she landed on the steps. It knocked her off balance and she rolled down the remaining stairs, almost losing grip on the sword. Pain radiated from between her shoulder blades with every heartbeat and inhaling was nearly impossible. Kiran tried to sooth her as he focused Light to her wounds, but she couldn't hear him over the ringing in her ears.
"Roll right!" His last words broke through the fog and she did as she was told without thought.
The third Prince's sword crashed into the floor where she'd just been, the blade slicing away a strip of her cloak. The force sent Wren barrel rolling into a pillar. He screamed in anger and lifted the sword to pursue her.
Wren scrambled behind the pillar, panting into her helmet. She could hear the last Prince's heavy footfalls as he charged toward her and she was ready for him. She planted her feet, gripped the sword firmly in both hands, and waited until he was closer.
"Now!" Kiran yelled, and Wren swung the sword like a bat, striking the Prince's left leg with enough force to bend the knee joint backward.
The Prince cried out and toppled toward her, slashing clumsily as he went. He reached up to stop the second strike, but he was too late. Wren worked with the backswing and continued on around to make contact with the side of his head. His neck snapped and it was all over.
The sword disappeared from her hands and she hit her hands and knees, trying to catch her breath. The room was silent once more and she could feel how much lighter the air felt without the dark energy of the sword.
"You did it," Kiran said.
"Don't sound so surprised," Wren said, a laugh choked out by her gasping for breath.
"I'm not surprised. I knew you could do it."
"We. We did it," she corrected, standing at long last.
"You know, the Cryptarchs won't believe that it just disappeared."
"They'd just have to be happy with the story."
"Wren?"
"Sisre?" she answered, reloading the Better Devils as she stepped out into the open. "What are you two doing down here?"
"We finished up with the Knight and cleared the area. Thought we'd come in and see how things were going."
"There was some concern when we saw there was a room full of Hive," Rorick said.
"I wasn't sure how far I'd have to go," Wren explained. "Didn't want to alert them too early."
"Good plan. Where's the sword?"
"It's gone. After I killed the last Swarm Prince, it just vanished."
"I see," Rorick replied, his tone more than a little disappointed.
"Oh well," Sisre shrugged. "We did what we came here to do. The Sword of Crota has been destroyed."
"I suppose that'll have to been good enough for the Vanguard. At least it's one less weapon for the Hive to use against us. Let's go back to the Tower and give our report. And Wren? Well done."