She should be tired. The little sleep she'd gotten wasn't enough and she knew that. But she clutched the controls of her ship as tight as she could as she neared the drop point. This was it, wasn't it? The Almighty had to be taken out but the more she thought about it, the more it felt like the end. It was up there. Poised to destroy the Sun and she had to take it out. For the betterment of everyone. To save everyone.

"What's wrong?" Kiran asked. "Sisre? She'll be okay. I'm sure of it."

"That's only part of it. She never should have been out here. Kiran… do you think we'll make it out?"

"Of what?"

"Destroying the Almighty. I mean, where it is and what we have to do? There's a chance…"

Kiran hovered a moment, his little light flickering here and there like he was thinking, then he rested on her shoulder.

"I know. I'm scared too."

"I should have said goodbye."

"Wren—"

"No. It's too late for all that now. I didn't even think about it when we left. About what it could have meant."

"You'll make it back. We both will."

Wren tugged at the chain hanging from the Better Devils. "I wish I would have kept the spade. It brought me a lot of comfort."

"I know it hasn't been long but it feels like that happened in a different lifetime."

"I've been thinking the same thing."

"We're approaching the landing zone. Looks clear from here… maybe the Cabal think they have us taken care of since…"

"Since my fireteam was stopped," Wren said flatly as she pulled on her helmet.

The second her boots hit the soil she ran, sprinting into the facility. If she was lucky, she'd have enough time to get deep into the base before they noticed her. It was strange that there were no guards posted in the halls she used to wind through the base.

"Are you in the base?" Ikora asked.

"Yes. Kiran already has coordinates and we're headed to the ship now."

"News flash folks; the Fallen are on the move. Seems they didn't learn their lesson the first time. Urg, scavenging vultures, those Fallen. Always turn up when you don't want them. Kinda like a Warlock when you're... uh..."

Wren smirked. Something about Cayde cutting up put behind the fears that she wouldn't return from the Almighty. Even if he was only cheerful now, that was better than nothing. When he was afraid, it made her nervous.

"Go on," Ikora insisted.

"Nothing, no— I'm... I'm done."

"Aww, come on Cayde. Why don't you share with the class?" Wren teased.

"Ya know, I don't really appreciate the double teaming."

"I hear gunfire," Wren said and the comms went quiet. She eased up to a doorway and peered into the room beyond. Cabal and Fallen were fighting one another, with the Cabal gaining the upper hand. "I think I know why I haven't encountered any Cabal yet," she whispered.

"Ease in," Cayde said. "You got this."

"Right. They them do the work but remember, the faster we get to that ship, the sooner we can strike back against Ghaul," Ikora said.

"I think I'm going to let them fight it out. If I can get around them all, maybe I won't have an many issues out of either party. Why are the Fallen here anyway?"

"Who knows with them?" Cayde said. "They might'a seen a bunch of Cabal ships leaving and assumed they were abandoning ship."

Wren skirted to the left and kept behind crates until she broke free of the danger zone, crossing her fingers that she didn't get shot by a stray bullet while trying to sneak around. It already felt like a copout, sticking to the shadows to avoid conflict. She missed the days when she could fight alongside her fireteam. Doing this made her feel so useless but it also reminded her that those days were gone. It would never be the same.

"I can see the landing pads but it's blocked," Wren said, reaching out to touch the barrier which rippled orange under her fingers.

"And speaking of ships," Kiran said, "there's only one left out there."

"That must be Thumos's ship. Get to it before it's too late!" Ikora pushed.

"Working on it."

The corridors beyond were clear, lending a sense of calm that Wren put too much trust in. It wasn't until she rounded a corner to the familiar sound of turrets did she realize she became too secure in the lack of Cabal. She barely rolled behind cover before a barrage of bullets was unleashed on the other side of the crates she'd hidden behind.

Liquid from within pooled under her boots and for a split second her heart was in her throat but the scent of fuel was absent. She had no clue what she was kneeling it, but it didn't seem explosive. Still, he hands shook.

"Dammit," she muttered and took a deep breath before leaning out long enough to throw a grenade toward one of them. A bullet clipped her shoulder and she hissed from pain. Her hand clamped over the wound. "This is going to get all the wrong attention."

"Lemme get your arm," Kiran said.

"Do what you want but I have to move. I think I got the one."

"Just be careful."

"I'm fine."

Wren winced as she scoot over toward the side where the turret had been reduced to scraps of metal, spewing thick smoke into the corridor. That might help… or bring Cabal in faster. She lay close to the floor and rolled to the side, taking shots into the middle of the bullet stream, hoping to hit the turret. Bullets nicked her helmet, a few coming too close for comfort. Just when she thought she was in trouble, the incoming rounds started going in all directions as the base was destroyed. A few more shots and it exploded, billowing even more smoke.

"I think I hear Shanks," Kiran said as Wren neared the next door.

"I'm ready," she replied, snapping a fresh clip in. "You think they overpowered the Cabal here?"

"Maybe."

Kiran was right. Just beyond the door, the side hall was flooded with Shanks. Single shots all the way through put them down. Felt like a weird game. A shooting range maybe. Pieces of their shells crunched under her boots as she no longer tried to hide. They Fallen were everywhere, pouring from the doors at the sound of their Shanks being destroyed.

What she couldn't kill with the Better Devils, she dropped with the scout rifle but ammo was becoming a problem. If she didn't get to the landing zone soon, she'd be in big trouble and she wasn't comfortable relying on the grenades and knives from her Light. As useful as they were, she didn't want to be backed into a corner with only that to use.

"Do you hear barking?" Kiran asked.

"What? Oh… oh shit…"

"What's wrong?"

Doors slid open, releasing a couple dozen War Beasts. They thrashed and clawed, trying to climb over one another to attack. Blades shimmered like a sea of silver, filling one side of the hall to the other as they charged her.

"War Beasts! Lots of them!"

"Be careful!"

"Wren, use the staff!" Kiran shouted and Wren snapped out of the freeze she was stuck in.

Arc energy sparked across her armor and underneath, her hair prickled as the Arc Staff erupted from her palm. She spun through the attacking War Beasts, catching her own calves on occasion, sending shockwaves through her legs that made it hard to stand. When the Staff disappeared, she was standing in a circle of fallen enemies. Her whole body ached and shook violently, her mouth dry.

"You okay?" Kiran asked.

"Yeah. Tagged myself a few times is all."

"I didn't know you could do that," Cayde said, his voice tinged with pride. "Good work."

Wren tried to jog off the shaking feeling, gaining her footing with every step. Outside there were very few Cabal patrolling. Wren dropped to one knee and did what she could to drop them all with the scour rifle. When the very last one was dead, his body dropping from the platform into the abyss below, Wren moved forward. Wind whipped her cloak tight around her throat as she passed over the walkway toward the ship.

"The way's clear," Kiran said. "We're at the ship."

"Great! This is the part where you "borrow" it," Cayde said.

"Like when you "borrowed" Eris's ship?" Ikora asked. "She will want a replacement, Cayde."

Wren searched the exterior of the ship for a control panel. "Wait, you still haven't gotten her another ship? It's been ages."

"Eris loves me! She'll be fine."

"Inputing key codes now," Kiran said.

Wren kept her back to him, watching intently for any signs of movement from within the base. Through the barriers she'd looked through before, she could see a patrol of Cabal notice her and start running for the exit.

"Uh oh. We're about to have company."

"I'm almost done."

"Hurry, Kiran, I don't have the ammo for all of them."

"I'm going!"

Hoards of Cabal cleared the last door, several of them taking positions at range while Phalanx's approached with their shields side by side. They marched toward her, weapons drawn. Wren ducked behind the ship to where Kiran was working.

"We gotta go!"

"Hold on!"

Her heart beat loudly in her ears. All around the platform dropped into nothing, the cliffs so high that fog gathered in the valley below. No way out. She gritted her teeth as the approaching Phalanx line made the platform rumble under their footsteps.

"There!" Kiran said as the door opened, extending a ramp which Wren wasted no time scrambling up. "Ikora, the keycodes worked and we're onboard!"

"Good, get out of there. You must protect that ship. Our plan relies on you. Destroy the Almighty's weapons. End the threat to our world."

The ship took off before the door had time to close and the Cabal took the opportunity to pepper the interior before it sealed. Kiran gunned it and guided the ship away from the base as Wren clawed her way across the floor toward the pilot seat.

"We're out of range," Kiran said. "With any luck, we'll get to the Almighty before they know we're gone."

"I have ships inbound to destroy the base," Ikora said. "I knew you wouldn't be able to clear it by yourself and we cannot take any chances with the message beating us to the rest of the Cabal in the system. Hopefully it will be several hours before they realize anything is wrong."

"Alright. We're headed to the Almighty," Kiran said.

"I have some scouts at a drop point," Cayde said. "They'll leave a crate with all the ammo you'll need for the Better Devils but I dunno what you'll do about that scout you snatched. I'll see if any of them can leave you an auto or an SMG or somethin'. While you're doing that, we'll get into position for the final run on the City. It's time for Ghaul's last dance."

"Wait, what do you mean?" Wren asked.

"We're not gonna sit around and let you have all the fun," Cayde said, trying to hide the anxiety in his tone. "We have a plan to take back the City."

Wren's fists tightened around the controls.

"Oh, and kid? Sisre's gonna be just fine."

"Thanks."

She sat back in the seat and stared toward the horizon. It brought her some comfort knowing Sisre would be alright, but what lay beyond the horizon? That beast was yet to be faced.

The Almighty came into the view and Wren's heart leapt into her throat. Its massive frame was larger than Wren could have imagined, and she thought of the Dreadnaught. The Almighty would be swarming with Cabal. How could she manage this alone? They'd overtake her with ease if she wasn't careful and even with care, how could she hope to succeed?

Comms had been silent since she left the Cabal base, with the entirety of Zavala's forces preparing for an assault on Ghaul's armies in the City. From here, the Earth was merely a blue speck, twinkling in the distance. Out here, failing meant there was no help. No back up. It would be over for her.

And everyone else.

When she moved closer she was able to see that the Almighty's weapon was alright firing at the sun in a steady stream of blue light.

"Cayde?" she said. "The weapon is already active. Am I too late?"

"No," Ikora replied. "Not yet. You need to disconnect the link between the Almighty and the sun before it disrupts the magnetic field."

"… and everything goes boom," Cayde added.

"Not helpful," Wren said.

"Zavala has troops prepared to retake the City," Ikora said. "We'll be waiting on your work to begin the assault. He'll be in on the comms as soon as he gets the last fireteam in position."

Wren steered the ship closer to the Almighty, holding her breath that they wouldn't be noticed. She brought the ship in close, heading up a track that Wren thought was likely the weapon that were likely used for defensive measures. For now it was quiet, the semi circular rings glowing blue, trapping debris in their fields, but they weren't charged. The Cabal didn't suspect her.

They approached the landing zone and between the towering walls of the track Wren could see the beam that connected the Almighty to the Sun. This was it. What it all boiled down to. She closed her eyes tight and exhaled slowly. Traveler, let her get back to Cayde. To her fireteam.

She set down on the Starboard landing platform and the track below her started to slowly pull debris and energy toward the center of the craft. What she thought could be defensive weapons didn't seem like that at all. What were they doing? Charging the beam that would destroy the Sun? She had to move.

"We've landed," Kiran said.

"Good. Find your way to the core and destroy the weapon system. Your best option will be to follow the fuel stream," Ikora directed.

"On the way."

Wren took advantage of Thumos' ship not bringing in attention to make it into the Almighty before the Cabal noticed. She slipped past a patrol that were going toward Thumos' ship, possibly to investigate why no one had emerged from it yet. That would give her time to infiltrate their systems. Hopefully.

She heard them call to others but she didn't look back to see what they were doing. Instead, she dropped down onto a huge pipe and sprinted across its surface and up onto a circular platform where a couple of Legionaries were unsuspecting.

This close to the fuel stream and turbines, there was enough noise to allow her to lodge a throwing knife deep into the nearest ones eye socket, dropping him instantly. By the time the other realized what was happening, Wren fired two shots into the side of his head. His body tumbled from the platform and into the fuel stream with a strange hissing sound.

Wren eased up the metal grated ramp and killed two Psions who were manning an area around a turret. She gritted her teeth and tried to keep storage crates between herself and the turret.

"We have to go across," Kiran said, marking a console to Wren's right.

"That'll put me in direct line of fire for that turret."

"Hm… well, there's a fuel tank nearby. Shoot that."

"And have every Cabal in the area on my ass in a matter of seconds? I'll pass."

"Then use that rifle the scout let you borrow. Should do the trick."

Wren pulled the strange looking scout rifle over her shoulder. It was heavier than the last one she'd used but much shorter. It almost didn't look like a scout at all and the Hunter who had let her borrow it called it the Skyburner's Oath. She peered out, took aim, and fired at the turret. A single heavy round ploughed through the turret and out the other side, leaving it disabled.

"Holy. Shit."

"Okay, we gotta get one of those," Kiran said. "Any chance we could just… ya know… keep it?"

"I promised I'd return it."

"I've never considered stealing from an ally before but… jeeze."

"One problem at a time."

"Y-yeah… yeah. Okay, get to that console. It should swing the bridge around."

"Uh, Kiran? I think they're know we're here."

Three Cabal ships flew in overhead. One kept its distance and began to open fire on her while the other two dropped a couple dozen War Beasts onto the other side of the divide where they barked and gnashed their teeth as the bridge slowly moved into position.

"Arc Staff?" Kiran asked.

"I don't think I have a choice."

"You'll get better with it."

"I hate it," Wren said dropping to one knee before extending a hand and letting the Staff shoot away from her palm. Electricity arced all around her as she ran across the bridge, not waiting for it to connect. Some of the War Beasts jumped and lunged, trying to make it to the bridge but plummeting to the fuel stream instead.

The ship to her left kept firing but the slow, explosive rounds fall short every time. The floor under her feet shook and trembled, threatening to drop from the massive holes the Cabal ship was shooting into it.

She took one last leap and slammed the Staff onto the floor, sending shockwaves through the closest War Beasts. Electricity ripped through them, sparking blue between them and the blades that jutted from their backs. Their shrieks and howls would soon fall silent. Within a few feet she was able to take all of them down and still have enough energy left to kill the Psions that had dropped with them.

"Get out of that ship's range," Kiran said but Wren was already doing just that.

The Staff was gone and she had taken up the Skyburner's again, wielding it against Legionaries that charged her, but apparently she hadn't been taken too seriously as a threat because the doors they were guarding slid open with ease.

"I could understand some of what they were saying," Kiran said. "I don't think they understand what's going on yet. They said something about Thumos' ship being empty, and they seem to know that something is wrong, but not much beyond that."

"Well, that ship'll call it in, I'm sure. I just need to get as far as possible before they go into lockdown."

They wove through corridors and came out the other side in a room where the floor was nothing but dirt and rubble. To the right was a massive tunnel with the side slid open. Within were a few Legionaries examining a blockage in a grinder. Boulders had clogged the tunnel entirely.

To the left were circular doors that opened into pitch black tubes. It seemed to be some sort of mineral processing area but where had all of this come from?

"We'll have to clear the way," Kiran said. "I see a control center up there. Maybe if we got those grinders working it could clear those tunnels for us to move through."

"I really hate that plan."

"Do you think they're using all this as fuel somehow?" Wren asked as she jumped up onto the open command platform. "Woah… what's that?"

In the middle of the platform was a bright orange hologram of a planet with large chunks missing.

"Handle this first," Kiran said. "Looks like they removed the fusion cell before heading in to check out the blockage. Put it back in and we should be able to start up the system. Even if we break something here, that could only work toward our advantage."

Wren took a deep breath, remembering the last time she'd picked one of these up, and clenched her fists several times to prepare herself. Three, two one… she grabbed it and ran, depositing it just as nausea crept into the back of her throat.

She had a moment to settle her stomach as the doors on the tunnel began to close and seal, leaving two confused, screaming Legionaries trapped within.

"Kiran, hack that console and lock the doors coming into this room but try not to alert the rest of the system. I don't want to be followed while we wait."

"I'll do it but I don't think it'll take long for that tunnel to clear."

The grinders in the tunnel began to spin and crush everything within. The Legionaries that were trapped in there had no chance but beyond the mechanical spinning and sounds of rocks being crushed and ripped apart, she couldn't hear them.

"That's Mercury," When mumbled, looking over her shoulder at the hologram.

"Yeah… looks like they've been breaking it up and using it as fuel."

"Strip mining a whole planet?" Cayde let out a low whistle. "I gotta say… destroying our stuff and all that jazz aside, that's pretty impressive."

It took a few short minutes for the grinders to stop spinning at the doors on the side of the tunnel to open once more. There was nothing left of the Legionaries but a few glistening scraps of armor and blood mixed with soil and small stones.

"We should be able to follow the fuel to the core," Kiran said as Wren ducked through the half-opened hole where a boulder had previously been.

Wren had to keep low as she moved through the tunnel, dust kicking up with every step.

"Hard to believe this is one of our planets ground up under our feet," Kiran whispered.

"There's still plenty of planet left," Cayde said. "Don't worry about that right now."

"Zavala," Ikora said, "your group is in position at the City's perimeter."

"Understood. Prepare to go radio silent. We can't give the Red Legion any warning," Zavala said.

"Radio silent?" The words sounded hollow when they left Wren's mouth and her heart dropped into her stomach. They were going to leave her alone out here?

"Wren, I will do everything in my power to retake our home," Zavala assured. "I want you to know how incredibly proud of you I am. Of all of you. We will overcome."

Zavala's side went silent.

"I have to go as well," Ikora said. "You know your path, Hunter. You don't need our guidance anymore. If my journey ends today? Then I face it gladly."

Wren's pace had slowed while she tried to process what they were saying. Tried to get through the feeling of isolation as one by one the Vanguard left her alone, at the heart of their solar system, with no way to call for backup if anything goes wrong. And them? They were charging into a City overrun with anything and everything that could kill them.

Why did this feel like their last goodbyes?

"Cayde?"

"I'm still here Sugarbird. I'll stay with you until Zavala cuts me off. Hawthorne says we're nearing the insertion point so that won't be long and…" he fell silent for a time. "Look, kid, I'm not big on goodbyes. So let's not make it that. You make it back to me okay? I need…." He sighed. "I need someone who gets my jokes."

"Do you have to go?"

"I don't a choice on this one. I wouldn't leave you alone out there if I had a choice, you know that. But hey… I'm wearin' the favor you gave me. That's gotta account for somethin' right? A good luck charm."

Tears pricked Wren's eyes. "Hey I need to tell you something. I um…. You probably already know this considering well… everything, but if something happens I need you to know….I love you."

Silence.

"Cayde? Cayde?"

"Comms are down," Kiran said quietly.

"Did he hear any of that?"

"I don't know. Maybe some of it?"

Wren took a step back.

"We have to keep moving," Kiran said. "They're headed in now. We have to get the Almighty disabled soon or the timing will be off."

Wren sniffed and tried to steady herself. They were relying on her. She shook her head and forced her feet onward, toward a door where she could hear more War Beasts scratching. When they were released into the tunnel, Wren went into auto pilot, unable to get her mind off what Cayde and the others were going through. She had to make it back. She killed the few Cabal that were beyond the tunnel without much thought.

"I think we're about to test how good this helmet is against bright lights," Kiran said, trying to stay upbeat. "Head toward that airlock over there."

"What? Why?"

"The only way to get where we're going… is out there?"

The airlock doors slid closed behind her and the other side opened. It was blinding, even with the better helmet. Solar energy streaked across the ship's surface, flames arcing over the metal. She could see the heat rippling off the surface and even in the shadow of the airlock it was almost suffocating.

"Just… stick to the shadows," Kiran said.

"This is going to hurt, isn't it?"

"Yes. Yes it is."

Wren took a deep breath, then ran toward the shadows caused by a support pillar. Fire danced across her armor, sizzling streaks that gouged the less stable material. She slid into the shadows, panting but unable to catch her breath. Her skin was soaked with sweat and the fabric on the inner layers of the armor clung to her which added to the claustrophobic feeling. As much as being out of the shadows hurt, staying still was just as torturous.

Even the few Legionaries that had come to stop here were stuck to the shadows, pacing in small groups here and there. They were in range of the Skyburner's and Wren did what she could to clear them out before making a break for the next shadow.

Over and over, until she finally hit her hands and knees in the shadow of a raised panel. Sweat stung her eyes and her skin was starting to feel dry and cracked under the armor. The sweat had completely dried and her body shook with signs of dehydration. One of the Hunters at the last drop zone had jokingly given her a canteen but now she craved it.

"We're almost there," Kiran said. "I promise, you get in those doors and I'll heal you."

"I need water," she said, hand on the canteen. "But I know this is boiling." She managed a strained chuckle. What a cruel joke the universe was playing.

Wren summoned what remained of her strength and trotted toward the airlock. The second the doors slid closed Kiran appeared and hacked the console, sealing both doors so the Cabal couldn't open them while Wren stripped off her helmet and threw it aside, gasping for the cool air of the ship. She dropped to her side on the floor, her heart pounding in her ears.

A different kind of warmth filled her as Kiran healed what he could. The thirst remained but the pain of dry and cracking skin and lips soon faded and she felt she could move on.

"Are you ready?"

"I have to be," she said, pulling the helmet on. "We're running out of time. Please tell me I don't have to go outside again."

"I don't think so but I'm not sure… When we go to escape, it's possible."

"We don't have a plan to get out of here."

"I'm working on it, promise. You handle the Cabal. I'll try to go through the Almighty's files and see if I can find us a ship. All these Cabal had to get here somehow."

Wren could hear the heavy tromping of boots on the other side of the airlock.

"They're waiting."

"Yeah… but that Skyburner's is pretty nasty. I don't think they'll be much of a problem."

"Open the doors," Wren said, reloading the scout rifle. "Didn't that Hunter say you could hip-fire it?"

"Yup. Dunno how much good that'll do though. We only have so much ammo and since you're not that familiar with the weapon, you might waste a lot of rounds doing it that way."

"True…"

The doors slid open and the Cabal were on her in an instant. Rounds from the Skyburner's ripped through them and out the other side, embedding deep into those that were behind them. Bone and muscle gave way, armor dented or ripped through, gaping holes allowed blood to pool on the floor until there was nothing left but corpses for her to climb over.

"You're bleeding," Kiran said, beginning to heal her.

She hadn't noticed. One of the Gladiator's blades had sliced through the shoulder of her armor. That could cause issues later if she had to go back outside. She watched as the wound closed just as the bite of pain had begun to creep through. Seems her stint outside had flooded her with so much adrenaline that nothing felt right yet. The problem would be the crash. She'd have to get through this before the crash wiped out what energy she had left.

"Do you think Cayde is okay?"

"He's Vanguard for a reason," Kiran assured. "Having Light isn't the way you get that title. Well, I guess technically it's more complicated for Hunters, but he's not Vanguard cuz he makes good jokes. He's skilled. You've seen him before…"

Wren wanted to hold onto that knowledge. That hope. Cayde was skilled. She remembered times where she was hunted by him. In the Crucible especially. He was smooth. Way more serious in combat that she knew he could be and that feeling of being hunted? She remembered that. He was capable. Strong. And smarter than he let on. She'd have to hang onto that hope because if she made it home and he wasn't there? Well, there'd be no home to return to.

She fought through a few more corridors, finding they were less guarded than she anticipated. Though it made sense. Why heavily fortify a base or ship if you honestly didn't think there was any threat to it? Chances were, this place was only manned by Cabal that were necessary to maintain the ship, with minimal guard. The more she killed, the less there would be to pursue her and with as far out as they were? Reinforcements would take time.

"Woah," she muttered as she ran into a large area that at first she thought was a hanger until she noticed tubes like the one they had come through on the far side opposite her. Deep tracks on either side of grinders in the floor lead up the ends of the tubes, which disappeared at an upward slope toward light so bright, it had to be the sun. "I'm guessing those are for fuel like the other one?"

"Yes. If you follow them, it should take us to the core."

"It's pretty loud in here."

"Uh huh. The grinders in the floor. I don't see many Cabal. They all seem to be maintaining the fuel systems. Shouldn't be too hard to get around them."

The door they had come through slid closed and locked with a loud click. A red light over it began to flash and Wren knew they'd been locked in. Some of the Cabal looked at each other and spoke, then a couple Psions began their patrol around the perimeter of the room.

"Looks like they finally locked down," Wren said.

She dropped into the shadow of one of the fuel tracks and pulled her hood close. Psions walked overhead, toward the door she'd come from, but they were so focused on that, they didn't bother checking the tracks. Probably assumed that an attacker would come in guns blazing.

Ahead the gate for the tube was open and swirling with blue light and debris. She could feel the pull of it as she neared, cloak snapping toward it along with rocks by her feet. The closer she got, the more she fought against the pull.

"Is this going to crush me?"

"I don't think so. Once you enter the stream, it should pull you along the same as everything else so… you should be okay?"

"And if not?"

"Then… I'll see you on the other side?"

"I hate this," Wren said before closing her eyes and taking the last step into the light.

Her teeth ground together as she waited for impact or to be pulled apart, but nothing happened. Slowly she blinked, opening her eyes to see the sun growing every closer as she was shot through the tube toward the core.

"You have to drop soon!" Kiran said. "It was part of the ship schematics that I didn't understand, but it makes sense now."

"How!?"

"Curl up! I think the system sorts out anything it deems too large for the core."

Wren struggled to pull her legs in but when she did it only took a few seconds before she was dropped through a hole in the floor and into a room full of boulders and larger debris. She sprinted out of the way before more large stones could fall on her.

"What is this place?" she asked.

"Dunno… maybe those tubes over there are where the larger rocks go to be sent through another grinder. We should check it out."

"The last thing I want is to get put through a grinder."

"I don't think we have a choice. It's the only way out."

"Why did we leave the fuel line anyway?"

"If the grinder freaks you out, then you don't wanna know what was at the end of that line."

"Okay okay hold on… you said that was the only way out of this room? Well, the Cabal have to get in here somehow to push the boulders into the tubes for the grinders right? So there must be access tunnels for maintenance."

"Makes sense. Lemme check… hm… looks like if you drop down that big tube in the floor, it comes out over grinders but they're both turned off for now. Should be an access door on the platform overlooking them too."

"Hopefully it's not locked down," Wren said, dropping down the tube and boosting before she could land on the grinder caps. They seemed stable but she didn't trust them enough to test her luck.

The access door's light shone green and Wren breathed a sigh of relief. Good. One less obstacle.

"Maybe the warning from the rest of the ship isn't in effect here quite yet," Kiran said. "I don't think the Cabal would suspect you, or anyone, of jumping into the fuel stream. That should buy us some time."

Fuel containers greeted her on the other side of the door and beyond that was a sort of stock room with a few of them placed around. In the middle was an Interceptor that it looked like was being used to transport materials around the core.

"It's like they're asking us to blow this place up," Kiran said, unable to contain his excitement.

Wren had to admit that it was a lucky find, but she couldn't share in his enthusiasm. There was still too much that could go wrong. She entered the Interceptor and headed out the bay door and toward the core, blowing up fuel cells as she went in order to kill as many Cabal and deal as much damage as possible.

The core itself was impressive. Massive on a grand scale that was hard to comprehend. But then again, she supposed it had to be in order for it to do its job effectively. Blue energy streamed from the core and into the sun. The center of the beam was so bright, Wren couldn't do more than glance at it.

"Wow," Kiran said. "Just… wow."

The weapon charged up, the beam becoming brighter; more powerful. The ship trembled with the force of it and Wren had to look away.

"We gotta take out those thermal exchangers," Kiran said. "That should make it overheat."

"Thermal whats? You mean the turbine things?"

"Yeah. Ya know, for someone who likes to tinker with things, you don't know a whole lot."

"Can it," Wren muttered through gritted teeth.

The Interceptor was taking damage from Legionaries while she was trying to shoot the Interceptor's guns into the turbines. It wasn't easy and she kept having to duck and turn the Interceptor to give her more cover. At first shooting didn't seem to do much but blast some of the blades apart. They spun and clanked, tearing the machine apart but it wasn't fast enough. The speed and force of the remaining blades chewed up their broken counterparts and launched the pieces back out again. It wasn't until she managed to aim dead center and take out the core of the turbine itself, did the whole system fail.

Smoke and flames blazed from within and some of the Legionaries had no choice but to stop shooting at her in order to maintain the fire before it got out of hand. Wren kept firing at them, using fuel containers to aid in eliminating as many Cabal as possible.

Despite the Interceptor taking a fair bit of damage and spewing smoke, it did the job to get the next two thermal exchangers down. The third was inside the core itself, below the beam, and was the largest of the three but even after its destruction, the weapon didn't shut down.

"What's happening?" Wren asked. "Why didn't that work?"

"It did. The system is overheating, but it's not happening fast enough. I didn't wanna do this, but we're going to have to disrupt the core itself."

"Where do I go?"

"Ditch the Interceptor and head in through the last turbine. You should be able to access it through there."

"I don't like this, I don't like this," Wren repeated over and over as she jumped out and ran toward the now slowly spinning blades.

There was enough space around the outside for her to move beyond the turbine and up a ramp where a fusion cell occupied a slot. There were several platforms going up, higher into the core. It was oppressively hot and she knew it would only get worse as the system overheated.

"Why is it always fusion cells?"

"Grab it and run. You can put it in the electron reservoir and overload everything."

"Then what? How do we get out?"

"A Harvester."

"What?"

"Don't worry about it. I don't have time to explain, just know that I got us a way out but we need to move. Now!"

Wren snatched up the cell and ran, scrambling up the coils and platforms which grew ever hotter. Sweat prickled her skin and nausea threatened to make her vomit into her helmet. The thick rubber soles of her boots sizzled and melted on the red hot coils, slowing her down but she kept peeling them up, kept moving until she could throw the fusion cell into the reservoir.

Flames burst out, licking across her armor.

"Turn and run!" Kiran instructed. "On top of that platform under the beam. I have a ship coming in but we don't have much time!"

Wren boosted up and began to sprint on shaky legs, her head still spinning from radiation. Explosions made her press onward. This was it. The moment where everything could end and although her legs threatened to give out, she forced herself to run. Blasts rocked the metal platform, blowing holes everywhere that she had to jump over.

"Commander?" Kiran said. "We've destroyed the weapon. I don't know if you can hear me but we've done it!"

"Celebrate when we're safe," Wren said.

She barely made it to the ship before the Almighty began to blast apart. She kept low on the floor while Kiran flew them out, arms shielding the back of her head while the ship gunned it to get out of the blast radius. Only when it fell silent outside did she sit up and pull off her helmet.

"Look at my hands," she said, laughing nervously at her trembling.

"Lat down and get some rest. This isn't over yet."

"Did Zavala respond?"

"No, but I think the message got through."

"Hm. Send one to Cayde. I'm coming home."