"So what's goin' on, chief?" Franz asked as Wren's ship fell into formation with the rest of Cerulean. "We got our Hunter, so what are we doing now?"

"The Tower is having some issues with the House of Devils," Rorick replied. "They've been raiding Golden Age research labs all across the system and the Vanguard think they're up to more than salvaging. The Devils started shifting large amounts of resources into the Cosmodrone. Areas that have been dark for centuries."

"They're definitely up to something," Sisre said.

"Am I setting coordinates to the Cosmodrone?" Wren asked, beginning the process of setting a course when Rorick interrupted her.

"No. We're not headed to the Cosmodrone. Lord Saladin has left his post in order to take charge of the situation. The Vanguard were already suspicious but now they seem to think something bigger is happening than they know. We're being sent to an abandoned observatory in the mountains. Brix will send the coordinates to Kiran. Be careful though, there might be heavy snow and bringing your ship in could prove treacherous."

"Right," Wren said, setting course. "Who is Lord Saladin, anyway?"

"An Iron Lord who runs the Iron Banner. Heard of it?"

"Yeah. A little bit anyway."

"He doesn't do things like this. Abandon his post I mean. I wonder what could be happening."

"We'll find out soon enough," Sisre said. "We still have almost an hour flight time. I'm going to get some rest. Who knows what we're going to find on that mountain, but if they sent this team specifically, there might be something crazy going on."

"Agreed," Rorick said. "Rest up team."

Wren signaled Kiran to cut the comm and settled back in her seat to stare at the ceiling of the cockpit. Cayde's cache in the cargo hold had her itching with curiosity but a biting feeling in her stomach made her unsure if she'd done the right thing by snooping through his things.

On the one hand, there wasn't much of anything special in the box. Just a random assortment of junk from random women. The only thing that was personal was the journal and most of it was ruined. The only thing that was clear now, was that Cayde's Queen was dead and had been for a long time. Dovie. The human he'd loved when he was still human… how much of that could he actually remember? And better yet, how could she ask without letting him know what she'd done?

Maybe he'd bring it up on his own when she brought the cache back. For some reason she doubted that would be the case.

"You can handle that later," Kiran said. "I can hear your thoughts like buzzing bees and it's a little distracting."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. It's a lot, I know, but this mission comes first."

"Hey, Kiran?"

"Hm?"

"Who is Lord Saladin anyway? I mean, I've heard of him before. Iron Banner and all that but I've never met him so… what's his story?"

"I don't know much myself," Kiran said, settling on Wren's knee. "See, after the Collapse there weren't Guardians. Not really. There were Iron Lords. Anyway, the Iron Lords died out, but I don't know why. Ancient history in my opinion. Oh look at that."

Wren sat up and looked outside at the massive snow-covered peaks of mountains. Grey stone broke out of the clouds like craggy teeth and wind pushed up the cliffs to the underside of Wren's ship.

"I guess we're here?" she asked.

"Cerulean," Rorick said. "Incoming transmission from Lord Saladin."

"Fireteam, a group of Fallen have captured Fellwinter Peak. My crew and I are en route but we won't make it in time. I need you to get in there and secure the observatory at the top."

"Yes, Lord Saladin. We're looking for a place to land, then we'll push toward the peak," Rorick said.

"Good. I'll communicate with you and your team while you ascend. It is imperative that the Fallen do not establish a foothold on that mountain."

"Understood. Cerulean, set down here."

The place they'd found to land was farther from the peak than Wren liked but the clouds and snow around them was already hard enough to see in, and it was likely worse higher up the mountain. Besides, from here their view of the peak was obstructed, which might help them get the drop on the Fallen.

"What can you tell me about the observatory?" Rorick asked.

"That's classified as of right now, Guardian. Just trust me when I say that if the Fallen are trying to gain control of the Vostok Observatory, it's for nothing good. There are some things better left buried."

Wren, Franz, and Beorn glanced at each other. Being sent in blind wasn't ever much fun but something about this was fishy all the way around.

Rorick led them around the snow-covered ledge, the fireteam staying close to the mountain and away from the cliff were harsh winds pushed against them. A few times Wren felt she might tip over into the abyss but Beorn was behind her and caught her a few times, pushing her forward with a forearm until they turned the bend and some of the harsher gusts were blocked.

"There's a gondola near your location," Saladin said. "You can use that to reach the peak."

The silhouette of the gondola cables, towers, and station came into view as they walked. A Fallen ship passed overhead but far enough to the left that Wren hoped they hadn't seen the Guardians making their way toward the station.

"We have company," Franz said, motioning toward a narrow pass between boulders that would guide them farther up the slope. A few Shanks drifted about and where there are Shanks, there are other Fallen. But maybe that was a good thing. Maybe they had caught up and could prevent the Fallen from reaching the peak.

Rorick led them around, taking out the Shanks while the rest of the team fanned out where they could attack the other Fallen without being in each other's way.

A whole group of Vandals, Shanks, and Dregs guarded the gondola station but Cerulean was able to eliminate them with little effort. Once the area seemed clear, Wren and Rorick ran forward, Franz and Beorn on their heels while Sisre stayed toward the back, on watch with her sniper.

Wren ran through a doorway and in her peripheral vision caught sight of a Vandal who had been hiding. She ducked as two of its arms swung over her head. Rorick leaned in and punched the Vandal, whipping its head to the side with a sickening crunch and a spark of Arc energy.

"All clear," Rorick said and the rest of the team caught up with them.

"There's our ride," Wren said as she neared the gondola. "Looks like it's seen better days."

"That's an understatement," Brix said. "This hasn't been active in four hundred years."

"Well, prep for rez I guess," Franz said, hopping onto the gondola. It swung under his weight and the line creaked.

"I hate this," Sisre said.

One at a time Cerulean stepped onto the gondola, Wren going last. She held her breath when she did and so did the rest of the team. When it didn't come crashing down they breathed a collective sigh of relief as Brix floated to the control panel.

"Up, up, and away," Franz said, a little too cheerfully.

More Skiffs flew by overhead and the team paused.

"Lord Saladin?" Brix said. "It might be a bit ambitious for us to clear the entire observatory."

Wren stiffened.

"There's a courtyard in the rear of the facility. If you can secure that, you should be able to keep them from the Iron Temple until we arrive."

"With all due respect," Beorn said. "We've taken on worse than this. I don't understand why taking the observatory would be considered ambitious by comparison."

"It's just a precaution," Rorick replied. "I don't know what's up there and I don't want to promise something we don't know we can deliver. I know this team is the best, don't take it like that."

"We have a bigger problem," Wren said, pulling her scout rifle over her shoulder and aiming at the silhouette of a plateau. "Snipers."

Sisre and Wren stayed toward the front of the gondola on either side and picked off snipers on plateaus along the way. The rest of the team stayed low in their windows and kept an eye on the trees below. They were sparse and far apart, but a shot from heavy weapons from below could bring the whole gondola down.

Snow drifted through the open windows as they made their ascent and the gondola swayed gently. Another gondola appeared from the thick clouds and Wren kept an eye on it until it was safely passed.

"Incoming, 4 o'clock," Franz warned and the team looked to see another Fallen Skiff headed up the mountain.

Any hope of beating the Fallen to the peak was gone. The Fallen weren't afraid of putting their ships down up the mountain. What the hell were they trying to get to?

"Make sure you kill scouts and snipers before they have time to contact their base," Rorick said. "The last thing we need is for a Captain to get wise and cut the cable."

"I don't think I like this little metal box anymore," Franz muttered.

An explosion rocked the gondola and threw Beorn away from the blast and into Rorick and Franz who helped him regain his bearings.

"Is he alright?" Wren asked, her guts knotting at Beorn's robes, blackened and burned from the blast.

"I'm fine," Beorn replied, patting out a flame on his hip. He nudged Wren's elbow.

"We can't take another hit like that," Rorick said. "We need to jump."

"Jump?" Franz looked over the edge. "Urg, fine. Mind the slope. Don't need anyone sliding off the edge. Geronimo!"

Franz dropped, Wren and Beorn on his heels. The Warlocks were able to slow themselves and glide down but Wren hit too hard and snow sprayed up around her. She slid several feet before she was able to run down the slope toward the cliff where the ground leveled out. The rest of the team caught up and Rorick took the lead once more.

Wren could still hear the Fallen open firing on the gondola. It was for the best they jumped when they did and with any luck, they would miss the Guardians winding up the mountain and think they died in the explosion. They might think they slowed the Guardians down and misjudge how long it would take for them to reach the peak.

The path was narrow and winding, cutting between rocks and keeping close to cliff faces. The snow made it difficult to tell where the ground was uneven and Cerulean found themselves stumbling in areas where the snow was deepest.

"Something I don't understand," Franz said. "If there's something so important up here, why hasn't the Vanguard kept guard here? Like, why now?"

"Maybe they didn't think the Fallen would figure out something was up there," Sisre said.

"It's because this place and its secrets are my responsibility," Saladin replied.

An explosion echoed down the mountain and Cerulean froze, waiting to see if it triggered an avalanche before they decided to keep moving.

"Keep close to the edge," Rorick commanded as they rounded an area where the path became so narrow that they had to go single file and sidestep across a ledge.

Wren held her breath as she looked down into thick clouds. No telling how high they were. A fall like that would mean plenty of time to consider regrets before death. Big falls were fun, but this… there was no fun in a drop like that.

"Skiff ahead," Rorick warned.

Cerulean took position and confronted the Fallen unit that had been dropped. They fought through the Dregs and their Captain and were back in view of the gondolas as they moved overhead.

"This is more than a few Fallen. Just, for the record," Franz said.

"We cannot afford for even one to claim what's on that mountain," Saladin said.

"Understood. Move team." Rorick pushed up the snowy ridge until they found an area with a rusty, battered building. The silhouette of many more lay farther away and Wren thought she could see a gondola she considered that they might have reached the top and this was the temple.

It didn't look like a temple. At least not like some of the temples she'd seen around in the City. It looked like some run-down complex in ruin, like so much of Earth.

"Damn skiffs," Franz muttered.

"Don't worry about it. We've killed gods, we can take on some Fallen," Beorn laughed.

"Don't underestimate your enemy," Rorick reminded.

Cerulean destroyed the Fallen units and headed into an area between some buildings when a Servitor appeared, blocking their way. It glowed and shimmered red and the fireteam jumped back.

"What the hell?" Franz said.

"Is that… it's Sepiks Prime!" Beorn said. "Wait, that can't be right?"

The Servitor started attacking instantly and Cerulean split to find cover as they retaliated. Their bullets did little and when they did penetrate the Servitor, a strange red mist would erupt and coat the area, swarming like ants protecting their colony.

"What is that thing?" Wren asked. "I thought Sepiks Prime was dead?"

"There's some sort of shield around it and Brix is saying its signature is all wrong. It's not Fallen and it's… it's regenerating?" Rorick replied. "Brix has labeled it Sepiks Perfected."

"Did you say its regenerating?" Saladin interjected. "Guardians, you must kill it and kill it now!"

Before they could, Sepiks Perfected vanished.

"It's gone. Brix says he thinks it went farther into the Temple."

"If it is what I think it is, the Temple doors may not be enough to hold it back. You must destroy it before that happens! Do no let Sepiks enter the Temple."

"Understood. Cerulean, move!"

They fought through waves of Fallen, pushing farther into the Temple and Wren's heart was in her throat. Something was terribly wrong here. What was going on with that Servitor? And what was hiding up here that Saladin was so desperate for them to reach? And where the hell was Cayde? She didn't like feeling that the Vanguard were withholding information from them but Cayde being one of them made it worse. He hadn't reached out to her once during the whole mission. Something big was going on behind the scenes and Wren didn't like feeling blindfolded.

"We're at the bridge," Rorick said. "Cerulean, keep formation while we go across. Beorn, Franz, watch the rear. Move!"

They raced across the bridge and past two pillars topped with wolves as sentries, their stony eyes watching the Guardians as they charged toward the Temple. Ahead they could see the glowing red figure of Sepiks Perfected. It hovered in front of a massive stone Temple, carved into the very mountain. Steps on both sides led up to a wide veranda that spanned the entire façade of the Temple.

Sepiks turned on them when they opened fire and began its assault but it couldn't focus on all of the Guardians at once. It chose Rorick who took advantage of this to move his team to better position. He ran to the right, along the cliff that faced the complex they'd come from.

"Get to the Temple," he demanded.

Sisre hesitated only a moment before following Wren and the Twins up the steps of the Temple to take cover behind the thick columns of the veranda. From there, they were able to get clear shots on Sepiks Perfected as it continued its barrage on Rorick who had knelt behind a wolf statue.

It didn't take long for Sepiks to become bored and agitated with Rorick and turn attention to the rest of Cerulean. They took turns dealing damage, hiding, distracting, and killing Fallen who tried to aid their Servitor.

The shots Sepiks fired looked different than anything Wren had encountered before and everything in her screamed that she didn't need to get hit by anything that came from the pulsating crimson aura.

"We're getting signs of reinforcements headed to the peak," Saladin said. "You must hold that mountain!"

"We're doing the best we can!" Rorick growled. He pulled the rocket launcher over his shoulder and took aim. "Wren, Golden Gun it!"

Wren ran for an opening between the pillars and took aim, feeling the warmth of Solar energy through her body an instant before fear gripped her guts and twisted. Her breath caught in her throat and her chest tightened. She watched as a rocket exploded against Sepiks Perfected, shards and chunks of the great machine falling away.

"Wren, you can do this," Kiran said. "You're ready. It's safe. You have nothing to be afraid of."

"Shoot before it regenerates!" Franz yelled and Wren closed her eyes, letting the warmth wash over her as the Golden Gun formed in her hands.

She took her shots and along with her fireteam, Sepiks Perfected was defeated. It lost its red glow, spun rapidly, then exploded, scattering hot pieces of metal across the courtyard where it sizzled upon touching the snow.

"All this trouble to break into an old temple?" Franz said, shaking his head.

A ship sped in from around the peak and a man in full armor dropped, running the instant his boots hit the ground. He shot over Sisre's shoulder and killed a Fallen that had snuck up behind her.

"Thanks," she nodded.

"Even old wolves can still fight," the man replied, and Wren realized it was Lord Saladin. "Shiro, what's your status?"

He was quite a sight in his gilded armor and fur lined cloak. He passed Cerulean and ascended the steps while Shiro replied over comms.

"Headed around to make sure the area's clear. Be there in a sec."

"Well done Guardians," Saladin said. "The Temple is secure. Now we can—"

A familiar sound from below the cliff caught their attention and an instant later, Sepiks Perfected was back, hovering over the edge and watching them for a brief moment before disappearing.

"Shiro, get a lock on it!" Saladin demanded.

"I just picked up— wait, multiple impacts near the wall in sector 17."

"They're attacking the sensor grid. They must know where Siva is. Guardians, go to the Cosmodrone. If Sepiks escapes, the Fallen won't be our only problem."

"Yes, Lord Saladin," Rorick bowed and turned on his heal, motioning his team with him. They barely made it to the bridge when Franz spoke.

"What the hell is Siva?"

"Shh," Rorick hissed. "I don't think he was supposed to mention that. I don't know what it is, but we have to be cautious. We're in for another long haul. I can feel it."

They approached the Cosmodrone in silence. After leaving the Temple, Rorick instructed Brix and the other Ghosts to check any database they had access to in search of Siva. So far, all of them had come up empty but Rorick wasn't prepared to let the matter drop.

"I'm going to ask," Rorick said. "He's the one who slipped up and we were never given orders to leave the issue alone. I'm not going to push my team into a situation where we don't know what we're up against."

"Screw getting in trouble," Franz said. "What would they do? Lock us in our rooms? Frankly I could use an extended vacation after all that shit with Oryx."

"Relax. We don't know what he's going to say. Now quiet. Lord Saladin?"

"Yes Guardian?"

"You said the Fallen know about Siva. I've searched the Vanguard database for Siva, but I can't find anything."

"That's because I went to great lengths to keep it hidden. The files are locked away in the Temple."

"But if the Fallen already know about Siva, then shouldn't we?"

"What you need to do is track Sepiks. If you find him, we'll know the extent of the corruption. I'm cutting comms for now Guardians. I still have a Temple to secure."

The line went dead and Cerulean fell into silence as they closed in to the landing zone. Once out on the familiar plain of the Cosmodrone, they loaded their weapons and met at Rorick's drop location.

"This is bullshit."

"I agree, Franz, but what choice do we have?" Rorick asked. "They're hiding information from us. At least Lord Saladin is. I can't speak for the Vanguard. Wren, I hope I'm not offending you by asking but, have you heard anything from Cayde?"

Wren shifted. "No. I haven't had contact with him since I was sent out on that patrol."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. I know what it looks like."

"You know, the lack of info is concerning but I think we have bigger fish to fry. We got a ketch on one side and that on the other," Beorn said, pointing toward the wall that cut through the Cosmodrone. "Looks like something took a bite out of it."

"Guardians? It's Shiro. You need cover. Head farther into the Cosmodrone."

They headed toward the wall and Wren got a better look at its condition. Beorn was right. It did look some something took a bite out of it. An enormous chunk was missing. The ends of beams glowed as if molten hot and severed cables jumped and sparked.

A few Fallen littered the plains but they were easily dispatched and there didn't seem to be any reinforcements from the ketch so the fireteam kept heading toward the wall.

"Brix has marked the path through the wall," Rorick said. "It's a pretty easy path to remember but if we get separated, meet on the other side."

Once in the dark interior, Shiro spoke again. Seems he was taking charge instead of Lord Saladin and Wren had to wonder if it was because Cerulean was asking too many questions the Iron Lord didn't want to discuss. The whole situation set Wren's teeth on edge and she wished she could reach out to Cayde for answers, though she doubted she'd get any from him. Not if the data was locked away outside of the Vanguard's reach.

"With most of the Kells gone, getting a force as large as this one together is almost impossible," Shiro explained. "Saladin, you mentioned a sensor grid. Can we use that to tell how far this occupation extends?"

"The Fallen are irrelevant Shiro. The only thing that matters now is finding Sepiks."

The comms went quiet again as Cerulean emerged into an open space piled with snow. Platforms, silos, and half toppled catwalks gave the Fallen perfect cover when Cerulean tried to take the area.

Cuts and chunks were missing from random spots around the room. Metal cut in half, sliced with still red-hot edges.

"Franz, use your Nova Bomb to clear out those Fallen," Rorick said and Franz immediately set to it, Void energy coursing around him.

Sisre used her sniper rifle to take out a Vandal across the room who was doing his best to take Franz down. When Franz reached the other side he took the platform that the Vandal was on and waved them over.

"There's a sort of catwalk thing that's busted up over here. I think we need to go through the door to get farther into the wall."

"Right. We're headed over," Rorick replied.

"Damn they set up quick," Franz said, heading over the broken bridge to the doorway on the other side as his team caught up.

Red banners hung around the entrance and down the main hall. They were definitely in Fallen territory. Or at least that's what the Fallen thought.

They fought through half destroyed halls, some with the floor covered in snow. Human skulls on spikes and scattered bones were a clear warning to the Guardians but Cerulean passed them anyway. Wren gripped her Better Devils tight, angered by the innocents that the Fallen had killed to prove a point. She had no pity for wiping them out. Not when she saw things like this. Those skulls likely belonged to people who couldn't defend themselves.

Rorick followed the crimson banners through the wall, destroying any Fallen them came across.

"Lord Saladin," Rorick said. "or Shiro? We're finding a lot of Fallen out here, but no sign of Sepiks Perfected."

They got no answer and Rorick stopped at the opening to the Divide. Blinding sunlight met them on the other side and Cerulean stopped to wait on their leader as he tried again to contact the others. When he received no reply, he motioned they move on.

"Hey, what is that?" Sisre asked, pointing toward a strange anomaly on the outside of a nearby building.

It looked like a mass of red cables and black things in the shape of diamonds. The edges were too harsh and perfect to be anything but machine, however the red cables were so thickly wound together they resembled exposed muscle.

"Brix, scan that object but don't touch it." Rorick held out his hand and his Ghost approached the largest of the black diamonds.

"Hm… it appears that this is the same material that was on Sepiks Perfected. It seems as if whatever this stuff is, it's consuming everything around it."

"That is Siva," Saladin said. "With proper direction it could create anything a civilization might need. At least, that was the theory."

Rorick stiffened, probably about to ask why Saladin ignored him earlier but before he could speak, a Hive tomb ship emerged from a rift to their left and dropped a few Acolytes and a Wizard.

"Hive?" Beorn said, taking aim for the nearest Acolyte.

"They stick to the dark," Saladin said. "Something must be driving them out into the open."

"It doesn't matter. Just eliminate them," Rorick ordered and Cerulean obeyed.

When the Hive were cleared, snow began to fall slowly from the greying sky and Cerulean continued farther into the Cosmodrone, searching for any signs of Sepiks. All they found, however, were more strands of Siva, sometimes jutting from the snow in clusters like obelisks.

They followed cuts and breaks in metal, still molten hot and glowing, all the way to the Rocketyard where they were met with even more Hive and Fallen forces. Some fought among themselves, oblivious to the arrival of the Guardians until it was too late.

Here, Siva grew thicker and larger than in the Divide and Wren hated the odds. Something as seriously wrong here. Lord Saladin was still only giving them information on a need-to-know basis and despite them being the best team in the system, Wren was beginning to feel disposable. How could the Vanguard leave them in the dark like this?

"I lost all readings from the sensor grid," Shir said. "I need you to get to the monitoring station near your location and see if you can get it up and running again."

"Understood," Rorick replied, approaching a huge section of a sheet metal wall that had been cut away. In the center, blocking the path, as another Siva structure, this one swarming with small red objects that floated around it in a frenzy like gnats to a peach. "Keep back," he warned and fired on the structure to destroy it. When it exploded, the particles dispersed and merged with the red cables that knotted into the hole in the wall.

The next area was overrun with Siva. Whatever was going on, they were getting closer to their target. They had to be. Either Sepiks, or some unknown danger. In the back corner was a monitoring station with a console and several large screens overhead, all of them gone dark.

"We found it, but I don't know if there's much we can do. It's covered with Siva. Brix, hack it and see if there's anything left to repair."

The Ghost hovered, keeping as much distance as possible and after a minute his shell spun and he shook as if to say no. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do. This is beyond repair. The best we can do is pull up the logs from the monitoring station and see what the Fallen are up to."

"Do it," Shiro commanded.

"Very well," Brix said. "Cover me."

"Always," Rorick replied and a unit of Vandals emerged from the opposite door, a couple of them dropping from a hole in the ceiling.

"What kind of Vandals are those?" Sisre asked.

"I'm getting weird readings on them," Kiran said. "Something's wrong."

"Kill them before they get too close," Rorick said, taking a step back to shield Brix.

"It seems they're augmented with the same technology as Sepiks," Kiran explained.

"Augmented or not, we need that sensor data," Shiro insisted.

"On the bright side, at least they're not poppin' back up like daisies like Sepiks did," Franz said, tossing a grenade at a couple of Vandals who came to close to his left flank. "What ever happened to things staying dead when you shoot 'em?"

"As a Guardian, you should be glad that's not the case," Beorn laughed.

"Damn these things keep coming. Is that a Captain too? Great."

"Quit complaining, you know you're having fun."

"It's getting a little crowded in here," Sisre said as Cerulean was forced back toward Rorick and Brix just to keep distance between themselves and the strange Fallen.

Rorick popped a bubble, surrounding them in Void energy. Sounds from outside became strained but the Fallen held back, not wanting to get any closer to the bubble.

Sisre took her chance and sprinted from the group, as soon as she left the bubble Arc bolts sparked from her and she took out the entire first line of Fallen without issue. The rest of her team shot targets out of her range until the room was clear.

"We got all the data we could," Brix said.

"Good. Nice job Guardians, but we still have to deal with Sepiks," Shiro said.

"We no longer need the Servitor," Lord Saladin said. "I've seen enough to know that the Fallen have restarted production of Siva. We have a base established here at the Iron Temple. Return to your Vanguard and get permission to join us here."

"Will do. Cerulean, over and out," Rorick said.

"This is bullshit," Franz complained.

"It is, but at least some time in the City will do us some good," Beorn said. "I'm sure the Vanguard will give us the all clear to go back to the Iron Temple, but in the meantime maybe we can enjoy some of the Festival of the Lost."

"True," Sisre said. "I'd like to take some offerings to Aso's grave."

"I don't understand." Wren holstered her weapon. "What's the Festival of the Lost?"

"Oh, I forgot it's your first," Franz said, clapping a hand on her shoulder. "You're gonna love this!"

"No more pranks, right?"

Beorn chuckled and gave her a quick, one-armed hug. "Nah, not this time."