Cayde stuck close to Wren's side while they returned to a safe zone for them to call in their ships. He insisted she ride with him on his Sparrow, which he was fortunate enough to get out during the attack. Almost everything else, however, had been lost. Still, he couldn't be upset about those material things when he sped over the rocky formations of Nessus with Wrens arms around his waist. She was here. Safe and alive and he couldn't ask for anything else.
They whipped around a turn into a small scouting group of Fallen and Wren did something that made Cayde pause. She stood on the back of his Sparrow and covered him with her body, wrapping her arms tight around his neck and leaning forward on him. There was no way in hell he'd let her get shot for him! He pushed forward and gunned the engines launching them through the Fallen and into a narrow canyon.
When they were safe she sat back down and slipped her arms around his waist. Cayde took a hand in one of his and squeezed. The nightmares of her falling to pieces trickled back in and he realized he didn't know what to do about her. The attack on the Tower was like a stopping place almost. Like everything that happened before it existed in a different life but when it came down to it, the City was so very recently taken and Wren was in a horrible place when it was.
With a City full of Guardians, Wren was suffering and he put too much on her. Now what? There was no one else to fall back on. Just her. She was all they had and Cayde knew what would happen next. She'd search for Ikora because it was what Zavala requested of her. When the Vanguard was back together, Zavala would take advantage of Wren. Of her Light.
They arrived in a safer area and dismounted. She pulled off her helmet and tucked it under her arm as she came up to his side.
"I guess you're headed to Io then?" he asked.
"I don't think I have a choice," she said, her eyes drawing up to the canopy of red above them.
Cayde took in her features while she was distracted. Traveler she was beautiful. When he arrived here he wished she could see Nessus with him and here she was with the twisting trees reflecting in her eyes.
"I can go get Ikora with you."
"You're too squishy right now." She tried to tease him but he caught the strain in her voice.
"How are you holding up? Really."
Wren took a deep breath but she kept staring at the trees. "Haven't had time to thin about it."
"I don't want you runnin' yourself into the ground."
"Again, what choice do I have? Everyone is depending on me right now and I'm the only one who can safely do what needs to be done."
"But you're not alone. There's still a lot we can do without Light."
Now she looked at him. Or more, she looked at the favor tied around his arm. She gently ran the fabric through her fingers and he waited to see what she had to say but she remained silent. She didn't need to speak. Him wearing it spoke volumes between them and although he wasn't in a position to return a favor, at least he could accept hers.
"I just want things to go back to normal," she said.
"We'll make it happen," he replied, wrapping her in a hug.
They stayed there for the longest time and with each passing minute Cayde became more and more anxious of when she'd let go and fly away, off to Io to retrieve Ikora and he'd be on his way to Titan to meet with Zavala and whatever Guardians he managed to gather.
Separated again.
Cayde cupped her face in his hands and kissed her, then hugged her once more.
"You make sure you come back to me in one piece, Sugarbird."
"I'll do my best."
He knew she would.
Kiran floated a little in front of Wren as they neared their destination "Io. The whole place hums with energy left behind by the Traveler's unfinished work. No wonder Guardians consider this site sacred. Now that Cayde is back in the fold, all we need is to find Ikora - make the Vanguard whole again... and bring down the Almighty."
"Sacred? Hm…" She'd not recalled hearing anyone else talk about it but if this place was considered sacred then it made sense as to why Ikora would come here.
Finding Ikora wasn't as hard as Wren was expecting. She flew into a cleared zone on Io and saw the Warlock Vanguard standing on a shaded cliff overlooking a vast expanse below. Ikora didn't flinch as Wren flew overhead, then circled back to transmat out and land beside her.
Ikora's hands were clasped behind her back and she made no move to greet Wren as she pulled off her helmet and approached. For a time they stood side by side, taking in the thick fog below that curled into strange yellow colored rock arches. The trees here were larger than on Nessus but it was impossible to tell their height because every one of them was nothing more than a stump. Pale, crumbling shards of bark stood in jagged towers as if the trees had rotted and been pushed over by a giant. Vex architecture dotted the scenery as well, cutting between natural structures in harsh lines, some shimmering silver in the light.
"Of all the place I've been since my rebirth, this is the place I return. The last place the Traveler touched."
There was a tone Wren didn't like. Ikora sounded so quiet. So unsure.
"Zavala is forming a resistance," Wren began. "He believes—"
"What good is a resistance when you are the only one who would survive?" she cut in and Wren was taken aback, not only at the interruption but the note of fear in her voice made Wren uneasy. "I believe this Ghaul creature knows the Traveler blessed this site. I believe he sent his Legion to find something they could never possibly understand. And I believe they will continue to desecrate all we hold sacred."
"We can't give in. And I… I won't let anyone else put themselves as risk for this. I trust that Zavala wouldn't waste lives either."
"Even if that means that you are the only one who can do this?"
"Yes. I wouldn't have told Cayde to go back to him if I didn't."
"You found Cayde?"
Wren nodded. She had to. Not that she would admit it to the Vanguard, but she would have abandoned Zavala, Titan, and all the other Guardians to find Cayde. Knowing that it was selfish only brought guilt, it didn't change the fact that it was true.
Ikora stared her down for a time, but her gaze lacked its usual fire and intensity. "Save this place, Wren. Don't squander your second chance."
"I won't."
Ikora turned to walk away but stopped a few steps out. "Wren… be careful. You are the only one who can do this, but I don't want you drowning in the responsibility. I'll do what I can to guide you here. To defeat the Legion. I'm sorry I can't do more."
"I understand."
"I'll send you coordinates for a good place to start. Cabal ships have been in and out for some time. You'll want to get into that base. And Wren? Thank you."
"I'll do what I can." She put her helmet back on and headed off in the direction Ikora suggested. No sooner did she pass under a stone arch did she see what Ikora was talking about.
In the distance, between two gnarled remains of a tree came Cabal ships as silhouettes in the stary sky. A massive cruiser flew in behind the Threshers and over it was a fountain of pulsing blue light. Wren hunkered down as the fleet passed overhead, the brilliant glow fanning out overhead as it went.
"What is that?" Wren asked.
"Energy…" she whispered. "The Traveler's energy! What have they done? This is my fault. I should have stopped this!"
"Not without your Light," Kiran said. "You couldn't have done this alone."
"I am more than just my Light," Ikora snapped, but Wren could hear the break in her voice. She was on the verge of tears. "I could have tried. I should have tried. But… after all these years of dying, being reborn, and dying again the Traveler has left me with one life… and I'm afraid to lose it."
The ships passed and Wren ran in the direction they had come from, toward a valley of white sand and yellow grass that grew short and harsh. The stone on either side was unlike most Wren had encountered before. Instead of hard angles, everything was rounded like flat ovals stacked on top of each other and on occasion there were arches.
"That might happen anyway," Kiran said. "They have a weapon that can destroy our sun."
"What!? Why would they destroy what they worked so hard to conquer? Get into that base. There must be answers there."
The fire Ikora had been lacking was back, to some degree, and it gave Wren confidence in moving forward. She paced herself as she looked for the base, choosing not to sprint and tire herself out. If only she had a way to use her Sparrow here.
"Base ahead," Kiran said.
Wren slowed and peered around the corner of a stone outcropping to see a black building in the opposite curve of the valley. There didn't seem to be a patrol so she eased around, Better Devils at the ready.
"I can hear them," she whispered.
"Be careful," Kiran replied as Wren pushed into the base.
The doors were wide open and she could hear Cabal speaking, grunting, shouting orders. The roar of engines echoed through the halls and when she got a look at them, they were loading Threshers with supplies.
"Looks like they're packing up, Ikora," Kiran said.
"Find out what they're shipping. We need every scrap of intel we can get."
"Okay."
Wren waited as the Threshers took off, leaving a couple of Phalanx and a handful of Psions behind. Before they had a chance to notice her, Wren threw in a grenade, taking out one of the Phalanx and breaking down the energy shield for the other. Two shots to the head and it fell in a heap, the Psions running to take position before their attacker could get the jump on them.
"Keep to the right and you should be able to maneuver around them so you can take them out before they knew what hit em'," Kiran advised.
Wren did as he said and was able to put down the Psions as she eased toward the other side of the clearing where a wide Cabal arch led into the rest of the base. She expected Cabal around every corner but the base was dead silent. Pale orange lights flashed above the doors but even the mechanical roar that came from within the walls of most Cabal bases, was quiet.
"Looks like everyone is gone," Wren said.
"What? Keep looking," Ikora replied. "Why would they put so much into a base only to abandon it? It's unlike the Cabal to abandon this type of investment."
"We'll see what we can find," Kiran assured.
"I hate caves," Wren muttered as they descended past the Cabal made structures and into an underground tunnel.
"At least it's big caves."
She had to give him that. These tunnels were large enough to drive Drakes through with no problem. Much better than some of the claustrophobic Hive caves she'd forced herself through time and time again.
"I think this is a mine," she said, noticing some of the equipment nearby.
"Yup, there's the drill," Kiran said.
Wren passed under the huge drill bit that hung from the ceiling. They were set up for it but it looked like they hadn't gotten very far.
"There isn't a drill hole here yet," Wren said, "but that doesn't mean they haven't started elsewhere."
"But what could they be digging for?" Ikora asked. "Are they mining the Travelers energy? No. It's not Light. It can't give the Traveler's blessing to anyone. Not to me, not to Ghaul… or could it?"
"We have a more immediate issue," Kiran said as Wren noticed Taken anomalies on the walls and ceiling of the next passage.
The shaft was much smaller than the last but Wren eased through anyway.
"What is it?" Ikora asked.
Wren eased into a dark cavern with shallow pools of water reflecting the light of Taken wards. Getting too close to them could cause an explosion but Wren thought she might be small enough to get under them. She holstered her hand cannon and got to her hands and knees in the water to crawl through.
She managed to get past and head farther into the tunnels.
"Pst," came a whisper. "Hey there Kiwi."
Wren smirked but she knew with Ikora listening in she couldn't answer.
"Just checkin' up on you," Cayde said. "Which I guess doesn't make much sense since… ya know… you can't talk to me right now. I'll just uh… hang out and listen in."
Having him there, even if she couldn't talk to him, helped with moving through the tunnels that were barely big enough for a Legionary to walk through.
"Woah," Wren breathed, moving into a cavern where the ceiling was entirely engulfed by a Taken blight.
"Heads up!" Kiran said as Taken began to spawn in.
Wren dropped back to the doorway and stayed in cover while taking shots at the Taken.
"You alright kid? Got enough ammo? Are you somewhere with good cover? Can you—"
She could hardly hear his rapid-fire questions over the sounds of her own gunfire and the screeching sounds of the Taken as they swirled and disintegrated with every shot. He was worried. The tone in his voice said it all. He couldn't even be back at Titan yet and he was already contacting her. On the one hand, it was sweet and she did feel comforted having him around, but his worry concerned her.
The Taken kept coming and Wren made the decision to clear the room quickly with her newly acquired Arc Super. Her body crackled, the hair on the back of her neck rose and an Arc staff appeared in her hand. She sprinted toward the Taken, slicing clumsily through them. She wielded the staff more like a sword but though her movements lacked finesse, she was still able to clear the Taken before her energy was spent.
"Was that Arc crackling I heard? You turnin' your back on us Solar's now?" Cayde asked, a hint of pride in his voice despite his teasing.
"What are the Taken doing here?" Kiran asked, ignoring Cayde. "They don't even have a leader anymore with Oryx being dead."
"The Taken will always be attracted to the Traveler's energy," Ikora explained. "They're no longer what they once were. Oryx changed him with the dark powers he stole. He— wait… is that was Ghaul plans to do with the Light? That has to be it!"
Wren didn't want to admit that she wasn't completely following Ikora's logic. Oryx took power in part to amass an army. Ghaul hadn't done that. He'd taken a City and murdered countless Guardians and civilians to—
It clicked. He was trying to steal the Traveler's energy. He hadn't just cut the Light off from Guardians, he was trying to find a way to take it all for himself. Her stomach flipped. She knew it was dire, but for some reason dealing with survival had closed her world into a tiny bubble.
She stood in the middle of the cavern, her arms feeling heavy. What if they weren't able to get their Light back? Get their Traveler back? Flashes of Beorn's face passed when she blinked. What if it happened to everyone? What if she failed and they were all mortal now? She couldn't handle losing them and being the only one left standing.
Her throat started to close and her eyes stung with tears. She let out a shaky breath.
"Sugarbird? Hey, you can do this. Take a deep breath and steady yourself. I'll be with you soon, okay?"
Wren tried to do what he asked and though she wasn't ready, she forced herself to walk on. She went into auto pilot navigating through the base which spanned through tunnels, caverns, and Cabal architecture sprinkled with Taken.
"Wren. Wren?"
"Oh, sorry, Ikora."
"I think the Cabal are mining for the Traveler's energy in the hope that Ghaul can transform himself and his Legion into Light bearers If he's able to do so, he would be immortal. We can't allow that to happen. Meet me back on the surface. I have to contact Zavala. I'll send you the coordinates to my location."
"Okay."
When the line went silent Wren sat on a nearby rock, her body feeling like it was made of lead. Everything was heavy. If she could she'd lay down and sleep. Before… before Beorn's death she'd never felt this tired all the time. Actually she had struggled to sleep most of the time but now things had changed.
"You okay Sugarbird?"
"Yeah."
"I know you're not. Look, you'll be back with me soon and I can let you take a break."
"I can't do that. I'm the only one who—"
"Hey, hey… I'm still your Vanguard. Don't make me tie you to a chair until you rest."
Wren forced herself to her feet and reloaded the Better Devils with her eyes closed just for a moment to have a sense of rest and sleep. She hardly had the energy now to do what she was doing, much less argue with him. He had to know on a deep level that no one else would be okay with her resting. Zavala would push her, he would have no choice but to push her. She didn't like it but she couldn't fault him for it. If she could keep everyone safe at the expense of one, it would be the only choice, even if it wasn't easy.
"I gotta go for a bit, Sugarbird. Pickin' up a distress signal nearby so I'm gonna help these people. You stay safe and let me know the minute you head back toward Titan."
"I will. You be careful too."
"I got every reason to now. Don't you worry about me. I'll be fine. And don't let Ikora run you ragged."
"Right."
"I'm gonna go now. See you on the other side Sugarbird."
Wren made her way back through the base to meet Ikora on the surface. There was a few Taken on the way but not many and she took her time surfacing.
"I hate anomalies," Kiran said as they passed through the last tunnel to the drill room. "They always make me feel like someone is watching."
Wren glanced at one. "I guess."
"I know you're tired and I'm so sorry you have so much on you."
"Don't worry about it. We'll get back to Titan and maybe I will have a moment to rest before I have to go again."
"I'll do whatever I can for you."
"I know. Love you, Kiran."
"Love you too. Whoops, heads up. We have some more Taken ahead."
Several Taken spawned in, swirling and dropping to the floor to immediately rush her. It was overwhelming and her heart pounded against her ribs. She was barely able to keep up with the numbers and some got too close for comfort before she was able to put them down.
"It's getting tough down here," she said to Ikora.
"I know, it's overrun up here as well. Just make your way to the surface and we'll figure things out."
A man's voice came over the comms, making Wren jump. His tone was high and grating, dripping with annoyance. "Attention all channels! This is a skyshock alert! Someone or something is drawing the Taken here."
"Asher Mir?" Ikora said. "Is that you?"
"Irrelevant!" the man barked. "The Taken are sapping the moon's energy. I hypothesize that Io with implode if someone does not intervene!"
"Wren, we cannot lose this sacred place. Do what must be done and defeat the Taken," Ikora said.
Despite the heaviness on her shoulders, Wren ran toward the surface where she had to blink against the bright sun against the pale-yellow rocks that made up the terrain. Her helmet adjusted and with it came the shots from Taken. One clipped her shoulder and with her subpar armor, it knocked her to the side.
She hit a knee but quickly regained some of her composure, enough to kill the two Taken Psions that were approaching her with their weapons drawn. She pushed herself back behind the doorframe, only peeking out to shoot at Taken while Kiran healed her.
"Got a little crack in your armor," he said. "We need to get you something better if you're going to be out running around like this."
"Me getting good armor would take it away from someone else who needs it for protection. I'm fine."
"Wren, you can't push yourself like—"
Before he could finish she rolled from cover and ran toward the left wall of the gorge. In the center was a huge Taken Blight that seemed to be pulling energy from a crack in the surface of the planet. Tired as she was, if she didn't do something she, Ikora, and whoever that Asher Mir guy was, would all die. The whole moon would be wiped out and who knew what other beings were living here. She told Cayde she'd get back to Titan, and she intended on doing anything possible to make that happen.
"It looks like the Taken are trying to open some kind of portal," Kiran mused.
"Stop them!" Asher Mir snapped. "Doubtless those mindless vermin intend to summon every last one of their spectral friends to devour this moon."
Wren gritted her teeth instead of telling the stranger who had decided to butt in on their mission, to kindly go fuck himself. She didn't like his tone or his attitude and she didn't appreciate how he ordered her around.
Still, she did what had to be done, killing Wizards and lesser Taken from safe zones and areas where she could keep in cover until her Super energy could rejuvenate itself. She feared these new Arc abilities, wondering about them and what they could do if she used them too soon like how she'd burned her skin so badly it nearly fused with her armor. What exactly would the Arc energy do?
She didn't want to test it. Taken blasts splashed all around and she was had this feeling she was running out of time.
"Is the staff ready?"
"Anytime you are," Kiran replied. "Kinda useful with clearing stuff out, huh?"
The staff appeared in Wren's palm and she gripped it, feeling the charge through her body. She fought through the remaining Taken and the Shadows that the last Wizard sent after her. She leapt as high as she could, barely topping a boulder to swing the Arc Staff into the Wizard's shoulder.
The Taken death cry was earsplitting at this range but when she vanished, the remaining Taken disintegrated and she was alone in the gorge with the Blight still sucking energy from the moon. Still crackling with energy she approached the gap where the Traveler's energy was being drained.
The Blight began to shrivel, its tense surface becoming wavy and weak. It still hovered over the gap but it was slowly lowering to the sit on the ground.
"There it goes," Kiran said. "Looks like the portal is closed."
"Then why am I still getting abnormal neutrino scans?" Asher asked.
Wren fired several shots into it the Blight until it scattered into nothing, flashes of light coming from it materializing a fresh group of Taken.
"Never mind!" Kiran said.
"Remedy this mess, fool!"
"I don't know who the hell you are, but you need to back off or deal with it yourself," Wren snapped.
Asher huffed.
Wren took her anger out on the hoards of Taken that appeared over the bright cracks in the ground where Wren could feel the raw energy pouring out. It only took a few minutes before the big boy showed himself.
A Taken Centurion rose out of nowhere and stomped his massive foot. Some of the ground below him crumbled but instead of the pieced falling into the moon, they floated, hovering in the streams of energy a few inches from the cracks.
Wren wished she would have waited with the Arc Staff but it was too late now. All she could do was run from one hide to the next, wearing the Centurion down a little at a time, but it was wearing her down as well. And fast. She was getting slower and his shots were landing closer and closer to her heels as she fled for new places to take cover.
Taken energy splashed around her, damaging her cloak which was already suffering from the Taken Thrall that followed her, slashing at her from behind but she had no time to turn on them for running and dealing with the Centurion.
She ran toward the edge of the area, to where the Cabal base had platform around the open ground below. She dropped a grenade before hopping up to a platform to escape them for a short time. Only two of the Thrall made it through and she quickly killed them before heading back to the edge where she could see that the ground along the cracks had become black and roiling where the Centurion had been walking.
The creature was struggling now, stomping around with streams of Taken energy floating out like blood in water. At least there was that. She dropped to a knee and finished it off. The other Taken disappeared at well and Wren sat back on her butt, panting. She pulled off her helmet and ran her shaky fingers through sweaty hair.
"The portal is closed," Kiran said. "Ikora, I know I don't have a place to say so and I understand why this place means so much to you, but maybe—"
"I'll go," Ikora said. "There's nothing for me here. Not really. I have one life left and I would gladly give it to stop Ghaul. We leave now."
Though Wren was glad that Ikora had agreed to come back and that her confidence had been restored, Wren was exhausted and Ikora's vigor wasn't encouraging.
"Don't be so hasty," Asher Mir said. "Ikora Rey, you and I must talk. And as for you, meddling Guardian, I have a few choice words for you as well."
The comms cut and Wren almost threw her helmet. Screw Asher Mir!
"Keep your cool," Kiran said.
"Choice words? Ha! I have a few myself and I don't think he's gonna like a single one."
Ikora had asked Wren not to get too angry with Asher Mir. Not something Wren was looking forward to but out of respect for Ikora, she did her best to keep her mouth shut while they spoke about Zavala's plans. She stood with her helmet under her arm and Kiran hovering at her right. His arm was a reminder of the dangers of coming in contact with Vex Radiolaria.
"What's the plan?" Asher demanded.
"I spoke with Zavala and he is planning an attack on the Almighty," Ikora explained.
"Typical Titan idiocy," Asher scoffed and Ikora stiffened. "I'm sure he thought, "Ah, Ghaul has a sun-destroyer? I don't need a plan, I'll just headbutt it!"
"It's not idiocy, Asher, it's desperation. Arrogance. Zavala has forgotten he might die."
Wren glared over at Ikora. She didn't expect her to speak that way about the Commander. Perhaps she'd forgotten Wren was standing there. Or perhaps it was always like this and she wasn't around the Vanguard enough to understand. She didn't think Zavala had forgotten at all that he could die in this endeavor. He was desperate, yes, but only to save people. Unlike Ikora, Wren had not gotten the impression from Zavala that he was afraid.
"Either way we have a few issues to take care of before you go gallivanting off on some suicide mission," Asher snarked.
"He's right. There's something we need to take care of first," Ikora said, turning to Wren. She put her hands behind her back. "There are ways to get information on the Almighty before Zavala implements a real plan. I need you to head to the heart of the mining operation and use the Warmind to gain that information."
The next location was far off but Wren was too tired now to run. She hurried as much as she could, but without a Sparrow the trip was almost miserable. She climbed rock faces, passed through the shadows of the largest trees she'd ever seen. It was too bad they were all broken off and destroyed. She wondered what this place might have looked like before.
She walked through seemingly endless canyons until she was covered in white dust from head to toe. She wished Cayde would contact her again, for nothing else than to keep her company. Though it would be nice to know he was safe. The sky was growing darker and though still clear, she found herself watching it, knowing it was in vain. There was no chance she'd see him but knowing he was out there eased her somewhat.
What she'd give to go back to laying in bed with him again. Quiet. Calm. Warm.
"I think we're getting close," Kiran said. "But so are the Vex and the Taken. I'm getting readings ahead."
Wren reloaded the Better Devils but kept it holstered as she snuck up on a group of Taken and Vex fighting not far from a Cabal base. There were too many of them and she was exhausted. There was no way she was going to engage them if she didn't have to.
"They're fighting one another," Wren said.
"Don't worry about them, assistant," Asher said. "We can take care of what remains later."
"At least if they're busy fighting one another they can't cause any more damage to the moon," Ikora said. "If you can sneak around them, do so."
"That's the plan," Kiran replied.
Wren kept to the left wall of the canyon, headed toward an open door of the base. She stayed in the shadows, taking her time thought most noises from her armor were covered by the sounds of battle.
"You know," Kiran started, "if you could use Void you would have a grenade that makes you invisible."
"Great to know that now," Wren whispered.
The inside of the base was quieter than the outside, possibly due to so many of the Cabal abandoning their bases. Wren moved through with ease until she found a control room filled with panels and consoles. One of the walls was entirely glass, looking out toward the largest mining drill she'd ever come across.
"This mining facility is huge," she said.
"Uh, Ikora?" Kiran said. "We found a drill. A big one. And I mean really, really big."
"Good. It punched a hole in the Warmind bunker that should allow you access," Ikora replied.
"Okay. We'll find the controls and get it out of the way."
Great. Jumping into more holes.
In the next room a fresh batch of Vex dropped in and Wren hid behind the console as they marched past, toward the battle with the Taken. She waited for them to go before making her way farther in, searching out the controls.
She finally found them outside, just beyond the door. Kiran floated out and hacked it and soon the drill groaned to life. The ground rumbled under her boots but the drill didn't move. Electricity arced over the outside plates so she knew it had power, but nothing happened.
"We have power but it's not moving," Kiran said.
"Ha! What a gloriously irritating commitment to safety standards," Asher said.
"There should be a manual override somewhere," Ikora offered.
Frankly Wren was fed up already. Her legs were sore, she was covered in dust, some of which had found its way through holes in her armor, and her stomach attacked her with hunger pains. Now she had to search around even longer for a damn manual override.
"I find it incredible that those myopic Red Legion ignorami did not realize they were drilling directly into a Warmind vault."
"Stranger things happen every day," Ikora said.
"I got some info from the hack," Kiran said. "I think we should go through that big round doorway up on the hill."
Wren headed up but no sooner did she step in did Asher Mir come over comms with information.
"I'm detecting a spike in paracausal energy. Sterile neutrino particles have quintupled."
"He means that there are Taken nearby," Ikora said. "You could use a translator, Asher."
Sneaking through the excavation site was easy enough. Seemed the Cabal were all gone, leaving Taken behind but even they were not on high alert. The strange creatures lurched around slowly, in search of nothing in particular. Though the rest of the room was of Cabal design and plenty large enough for a few Drakes, the floor had a place in the middle that was missing and dropped down to the rock below. Cracks spiderwebbed outward and some of the energy from within shone through. As long as she could get through here, the Taken were likely to stay around the energy source and leave her alone.
She snuck through the mining complex until at last she found the override in the form of a console covered in schematics. The faint orange glow had caught her attention and led her to the right place. Kiran hacked the console while Wren leaned against the doorframe and closed her eyes for a bit.
"I think we got the drill going," Kiran said.
"Good," Asher said. "Return to the drill site and get into the Warmind Vault. I am eager to discredit Vuvuzela's plan to destroy the Almighty."
Wren gritted her teeth at Asher's disrespect of Zavala. Somehow it felt he was disrespecting her personally, even though she didn't feel a connection to the Commander. If Asher was saying those things about Cayde, Wren might have to deck him. What was even more disheartening was that Ikora didn't speak up in defense of Zavala.
"Go head and drop down that elevator shaft over there," Kiran said. "During the scan I found a tunnel through some cave systems that leads back outside. I know, the tunnels suck, but it's faster than going back through and hoping you don't trip up some Taken."
Back toward the drill they went, through the cave system. Kiran tried to help by making small talk with Asher and Ikora.
"So… are we going to see the real Rasputin? Or is this some other Warmind?"
"There is only one Warmind but Rasputin is not here on Io," Ikora explained. "I believe that he's been marooned on Earth ever since his network fragmented but we've been unable to find the exact location of his bunker."
No sooner did Wren step foot out of the tunnels than the drill turned on. It began to power up and spin, shaking the ground at the mining site.
"The drill is on!" Kiran said.
"What?! Get in there and raise it before it destroys the Warmind Vault!" Asher demanded.
Wren forced herself to run, sprinting across the quarry toward a small command booth as Vex and Taken spawned in all around, dropping to the trembling ground. Most of them went to fighting among themselves but a few took aim at Wren. She slid into the booth barely ahead of Taken rounds which splashes against the glass.
She activated the drill and it began to rise, calling the attention of some of the Vex.
"Let's drop into that Vault and get outta here," Kiran said but Wren was one step ahead of him. She ran toward the entrance and took a chance on sliding into the hole, barely under the slowly rising drill.
The inside of the hole was huge, dropping into a pit of bright blue light of the Traveler's energy. Halfway down was a hallway that the drill had crushed into on its way down. Wren hurried to right herself and boost over to the ledge to squeeze through jagged metal and into the hallway itself.
"One way in I guess," Kiran muttered.
"How's the energy ahead?"
"Hm, nothing anywhere close to here but I think there might be some Taken farther in. Be careful."
Wren walked through the corridor, most of which was curved metal walls in the manner of Cabal architecture, but the floors were unfinished, barely cut stone with slabs of metal laid down over it to form ramps. It didn't look like the Warmind bunker they'd explored in the Cosmodrone.
The hall was littered with stone and abandoned mining equipment. Overhead orange lights cast a warm glow inside despite the area looking like a warzone.
"This'll be rich," Asher started. "I should ask Zavala, "Can you tell me in precise terms the Almighty's destructive capacity?" And he will say, "No Asher, I cannot, for I am a reckless fool."."
"That's enough," Wren snapped. "I swear, if you—"
"Ignore Asher," Ikora broke in. "Find the Warmind. Reconnect it to the network, and we'll handle the rest."
Knowing that this would bring an end. A moment to rest. It was enough to push his onward, through the Taken and deeper into the vault. Kiran tried to keep up with healing the wounds she acquired as she went, but she hardly felt them through pushing past exhaustion.
She headed up a set of steps toward what might be a control room but her knees buckled and she had to kneel for a moment. Until now she hadn't realized how much she was sweating in her armor. This low-grade stuff wasn't as comfortable as her old armor and the interior was soaked and sticking to her skin. Everything shook and trembled, but she was too close to stop now. She forced herself onto her feet and up the steps to lean against the doorframe.
"We found the mainframe," Kiran said, floating toward the windows on the opposite side of the room.
Wren joined him and took him gently in her palm. "Hey, keep hidden. You know better. This place is swarming with Taken."
"Sorry, I got excited. I know how you're feeling right now and this is the end of it for a bit. C'mon. We're almost done."
She wished hearing that would help but she was beyond exhausted at this point and dragged her feet all the way down into the mainframe room where she sat on the edge of a drop-off where the console was located. This was the only place she'd let Kiran out but her paranoia kept her eyes darting around the room and she listened closely for any sign of Taken coming in.
"Reconnecting to the network for scan," Kiran said.
"Yes, we see the connection coming online," Ikora replied.
After a few moments the hair on the back of Wren's neck stood on end but she couldn't pinpoint a reason.
"How's that scan coming?" she asked.
"Poorly," Asher grumbled. "The Almighty is inextricably bound to the harmonic resonance of the sun's magnetic flux tubes."
Wren and Kiran exchanged glances and a shrug.
"Can I get that again?" Kiran asked.
"He means that if Zavala blows up the Almighty, it'll take the sun with it," Ikora explained. "We have to warn him immediately."
"What do we do?" Wren said.
"It's time for me to rejoin my fireteam. Head toward the drop point, Wren. We're going to them."
Finally. She was done. She could sleep on the way and when she woke?
Her fireteam. Her friends.
Cayde.