"Damn, Sugarbird, your ship looks as rough as you did comin' in last night," Cayde said, shooting her a sideways glance and a smirk.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," Wren replied tying a leather apron over her clothing. She rolled up the middle to shorten the hem and doubled the lacing around her waist as she took in the damage on her ship.
Nothing too bad, but it'd been a long time since she'd been in the hanger to do her own work on it. The other mechanics were too busy with heavily damaged craft to deal with her scrapes and dings. She didn't blame them for it, things had become much more difficult after the fall of the old Tower.
"Seems like it's been forever since I was able to tinker with something," she said.
"Have you been to the den lately?"
"Oddly enough, I haven't thought about it in a long time. Everything has been moved out of it, or I should say that whatever wasn't destroyed in the war."
"You lost pretty much everything."
"But I feel like I gained more," she said, glancing up at him. "I do miss that music device though. I was able to retrieve some of the parts but it was largely destroyed."
"Shame, you worked hard on that thing."
"Maybe I'll eventually have time to make another one."
Cayde closed the space between them, pushing her against the railing. "I dunno where you're gonna find the time between killin' gods and handlin' me to do much of anything." He leaned in and nipped her neck, sending a ticklish chill through her shoulders and he shrugged him away.
"You're impossible. Cut it out, someone's going to see."
"I thought we were out in the open. Official," he said, pointing to the favor around his arm.
"Only halfway." She arched a brow at him and ducked under his arm.
"Yeah yeah, take your tools," he said, sliding her toolbox toward her with his boot. "That gun mount up there looks loose. You'll wanna climb up and fix it."
Wren pulled out the required tools and parts, loading her apron pockets down before climbing up the step ladder to put herself on the underside of the left wing of her ship. Cayde took a quick grab at her butt when he passed and she giggled but swatted at him.
"Excuse me Vanguard, I think that's inappropriate behavior in the work place."
"Whatya gonna do? Tell on me to Zavala?"
"And if I do?" she asked, tilting her head at him with a dare in her eyes.
A deep growling laugh rumbled in his throat. "Careful Guardian, or I'll have to see you in my office later." He gave her a little wink and ducked under the ship to start working down there.
Several of the heat plates had come loose the last time she'd entered the atmosphere and frankly, she'd forgotten all about it. At least he noticed. It was nice having someone watch after her like that. Notice the things that would keep her safe. In that way, she could appreciate why he had done what he'd done to keep her safe. She could understand that fear. And yet, she couldn't help but remember when they first met and he'd commented about taking bets on her death. She leaned down to catch a glimpse of his shoulder, cloak moving gently as he replaced the plating.
Maybe she should try again to tell him she loved him? Wren bit her lip and clutched a wrench so tight she could feel sweat forming in her palm. The thought of saying it made her feel queasy. Surely he'd say it back. Right? He would. He wore her favor after all. So if she said it, there wouldn't be anything to worry about. But did it need to be in a more romantic setting? Should she wait? They could go to dinner… or she could say it now while the feeling is raw and she didn't have hours to overthink and worry herself out of it.
"Cayde?"
He leaned out to look up at her. "Yeah, Sugerbird?"
"I just wanted to say… well I—"
Shouting from the other end of the hanger caught their attention. Droves of people ran toward them clogging up the catwalk an instant before a ship crashed into a hanger bay. The hull rolled, ripping off a wing and rolling over it. The impact shook the hanger and Wren lost her balance, falling back onto the platform. Cayde quickly hoisted her up, clutching her close to his side as his eyes scanned the scene.
The ship came to a screeching halt and he muttered a name under his breath.
"Quantis Rhee."
"Who?"
He let her go and ran, pushing past the crowds. With the ship now stopped, many people were running back to extinguish the fires the crash landing had caused. Wren dropped the apron and followed him toward the ship where Holliday was first on the scene, Cayde hot on her heels.
Holliday opened the cockpit and started pulling a woman out but she let out a small cry of shock and stopped, waving Cayde over. The Vanguard jumped to the top of the ship and Wren followed, scrambling onto the remaining wing which kept the ship from tipping completely on its side.
From there, she could see what stopped Holliday. The woman within was splattered with blood and a piece of rebar from a pilar her ship had collided with pinned her to her seat.
"Quantiss, where's your Ghost?" Cayde asked but the Hunter just shook her head, disoriented.
"I'm not sure. I think…" she inhaled deeply and looked at him. "There were Fallen."
"On Nessus?"
"Long… story. They had weapons. I think they got her. She was… here," Quantis began looking around the cockpit but Cayde put his hand on her cheek and guided her to keep eye contact with him instead.
So far she hadn't seemed to notice that she was impaled. Sundance hovered over Cayde's shoulder and Wren could tell she was speaking to him but she was too far away to hear. Cayde's head dropped slightly and he laid down on his stomach to get closer to her while Holliday called for a medic.
The Ghost must have been killed. Wren's fists tightened and her arms shook where she was leaning on them across the wing.
"What can I do?" she asked but Cayde only shook his head.
"Your flight logs accurate?" he asked Quantis.
"As always," she replied, coughing up a bit of blood which Cayde quickly wiped away with his glove.
A crowd had gathered and a medical crew was on the way but Wren knew it was pointless. All Cayde could do was comfort the dying Hunter, who by some grace of the universe didn't notice her condition enough to panic. Her color was quickly fading and the blood flow from her wounds slowed.
Wren gripped Cayde's cloak and Holliday leaned in to pull Quantis Rhee's hair from her face, blood caking it to her cheek.
"We're gonna get you outta here," Holliday said, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Yeah and then Cayde's going to treat me to dinner," Quantis replied, blood in her smile. "You still owe me."
"2,456 Glimmer," Cayde said, forcing a smile.
"2,457," she corrected, her eyes closing.
"Quantis?"
"I'm okay," she whispered. "Just tired is all."
"You gotta stay with me, okay? The medics are here to help."
Quantis' eyes fluttered and she inhaled deeply, a gurgling rasping sound emitted from her throat as blood bubbled up from within. She coughed and sputtered as the medics pushed past Cayde and Holliday. The pair of them remained close anyway but it was a matter of seconds before the medics declared Quantis Rhee deceased.
Cayde remained on his hands and knees over the cockpit for some time, staring down at her body before the whispering around snapped him out of it. Slowly, he looked back at Wren with a desperation she rarely saw with him. The emotion was quickly wiped away and she could almost see the mask slipping back into place. It was as if he blinked and was back in Vanguard mode.
"Get these crowds outta here," he said, pointing to a Titan guard who immediately got his crew together and began clearing the hanger. "Sundance, send an alert to Ikora and Zavala that this section of the hanger is out of commission, and no one is allowed in or out until it can be cleared. Holliday, get a cleanup crew on this asap. We gotta get this ship cleared up. We'll need some Warlocks down here to go through the wreckage and see if anything can be recovered to piece together what happened. Make sure to check those flight logs," he said as he hopped down to the catwalk. "I wanna know where she was when this happened. Report to me immediately," he demanded, striding off toward the courtyard without waiting for Wren.
He was angry. Switching into work mode so quickly attested to that. She wondered what he'd do when he found out what had happened to Quantis Rhee. When he found the Fallen that had done this. He'd decimated the last Fallen encampment that had weapons that could kill Guardians, would he do the same here? Let that anger get the best of him?
She shook her head and glanced back at Holliday who was quickly swiping away tears as she got her team organized. Cayde had to keep it together. He had to.
"Holliday," Wren started but Holliday put up a hand to stop her.
"I'm alright. Go check in on Cayde. I'll get someone to finish that patch job you started."
"You don't have to—"
"I'll handle it," she said, turning on her heel and walking away from the scene while the medical crew wrapped the body in a dark cloth in preparation of being taken back to the Vanguard.
Wren returned to her ship's bay for some time, cleaning up the area from the tools and apron she'd dropped and watching as the Warlocks and mechanics quickly disassembled the ship, scanning in every piece on their data pads and analyzing materials that might look out of place.
But she couldn't stay here forever. Cayde was in Vanguard mode but did that mean he didn't need her bothering him? Or would he want the company? While she wanted to be with him, to help him, she didn't exactly know how. Still, she felt she had to try.
The courtyard was already crowded by the time she got there. The news of the crash and Quantis Rhee's death had spread like wildfire and Titan guards were trying to keep people moving along but many were getting around them by visiting shops or taking extra time at the postmaster. When she exited the hanger several Guardians stared her down and she was sure if they knew her better they'd be asking what was going on. What she'd seen. She kept her head down and tried to find Zavala but he wasn't at his usual position.
"Wren? What's going on?"
She turned to Sisre, Rorick, and Franz. Guardians around them began to watch intently, listening in but Wren motioned for her fireteam to follow her into a quieter area before explaining the situation.
"More Guardian killings?" Sisre asked. "This is getting out of hand."
"What else can be done?" Rorick replied. "Fallen with weapons that can kill us bring a different sort of problem than we've faced before."
"There's lotsa shit that can kill us," Franz said. "I say we go shut em' down."
"You mean a collective "we" or do you mean "we" as in Cerulean?" Sisre raised a brow at him.
"We've killed gods, we can take down some Fallen."
"I don't think that's the issue so much as finding out where those weapons are coming from. How did they discover how to make them and where are they being made or modified. Those are the issues at hand," Rorick said. "Though I will say, our track record being what it is, if the Vanguard wants a team to track these Fallen down, you can be certain we'll be the first ones they contact."
"I bet Cayde is taking this hard," Sisre sighed. "He always seemed fond of Quantis, even if she wasn't around much."
"He went into Vanguard mode pretty fast after she died," Wren said.
"I'm sure he did. Sometimes work is better than—" Sisre met Wren's gaze and Franz shifted uncomfortably, "—the alternative. You better go check on him."
"I was headed there already."
"Good. Keep us updated. Just in case, we'll go ahead and put in requisitions for supplies we need to leave immediately," Rorick said.
"My ship is in rough shape," Wren admitted. "We were replacing heat plates before the crash happened, it still has some work to be done. Holliday said she'd get some mechanics on it but that could take hours before they have time."
"Fine," Franz grumbled. "I'll get your ship repaired since you gotta go comfort your fuckin' boyfriend."
He whipped around and stormed off toward the hanger, talking his way through the guards, much to the irritation of other Guardians. Wren's heart dropped. She missed him. Missed those days where she would spend hours with him and Beorn in the hanger working on their ships or Sparrows together.
Rorick clapped a hand on her shoulder. "You should go."
"Right."
Wren watched the hanger doorway a moment more, then made her way down to Cayde's office to wait on him. He wasn't in when she got there. Probably meeting with Zavala and Ikora to decide what to do next but she was sure he'd return here after, especially if he had to get a group of Hunters to dispatch on a search.
The office was cluttered, as she knew it would be, but it wasn't too bad yet. He'd lost so much during the invasion and was having to start his strange little hoard all over again. The objects that remained were more substantial. Spent shell casings, keyrings so cluttered with keys they were basically a ball of jagged metal, Sparrow parts and pieces, some charred and some covered in chipping paint. Bits of glass, blackened bones, shattered ramen bowls. These things crowded some of the shelves. She picked up a small chain and a pendant with a spade engraved on it dangled just above the shelf. Maybe it was his Queen's… she gently set it down. Books of maps and unmarked journals occupied others. Cluttered as it was, there was still plenty of room for more odds and ends.
His desk was still pretty clear, with the exception of stacks of unfinished paperwork. She sat in his chair and picked at a sliver of shredded leather on the armrest while she waited for him. After a while, she leaned back and stared at the ceiling.
"Hey Kiran, check with Sundance and see how long before Cayde is done."
"Will do." He fell silent for a few minutes. "Seems like they're going to take some time. She'll let us know when he's headed here."
Wren leaned back farther in the chair, pulling her feet up to make herself comfortable. Light danced across the ceiling as ships flew close to the tower. Birds fluttered by the window, silent shadows across the room. Adrenaline was finally easing off and her stomach began to twist. Poor Quantis Rhee. With her injuries she might have survived had the crash not done her in. To be that close to making it home? The thought was devastating. It took her right back to the Red War. She hadn't gone as long as others without her Light but she still remembered those long nights when she was escaping the City and the mountains with the fear of freezing to death out there. Of starvation. They'd had many close calls.
She closed her eyes and tried to push those thoughts away. She focused on her breathing and the sounds of people walking by in the hallway. Without meaning to, she fell asleep.
"Sugarbird? What are you still doin' here?"
Cayde voice jolted her awake and she lurched forward, almost throwing herself out of the chair. Groggily she looked at the clock. It had only been a couple of hours. She rubbed her eyes.
"I didn't mean to fall asleep. I came here to check on you."
Wren stood and watched him as he made his way to the desk and sat on it, facing away from her. She eased around in front of him. He looked so tired.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Of course. Happens all the time, ya know? Hunter go out and… and sometimes they don't come back. Just the way it is." His tone wasn't nearly as flippant as his words. He was bothered and she knew it.
"You don't have to put on that act in front of me, you know." She stepped between his knees, hands on his thighs. "I'm supposed to be here for you right?" Her fingers touched the favor on his arm. "You have to let me."
"There's a lot to take care of. A lot I have to—"
Wren hugged him, cutting him off. He hesitated, then wrapped his arms around her so tight it hurt but she clenched her teeth and let him hold her. Everything about him was like a vice up until a knocking at the door forced him to loosen his grip. Wren took his face in her hands and kissed his forehead before stepping away so he could call for the visitor to come in.
It was Ikora. She gave Wren a polite nod but her face was drawn and strained.
"Cayde? It's time to prepare the body for the funeral tomorrow. Do you want me to help make arrangements?"
At first Wren expected him to say no, to want to handle it all himself, but he locked eyes with Wren and said, "Yeah, I could use the help."
"Very well. I'll meet you there."
Ikora left them alone.
"How can I help?" Wren asked. "Do I need to go with you?"
"No, this part is a little more personal than a funeral," he explained, grabbing a bag from his desk drawer. "You know when Beorn died and you— right, you didn't do the funeral. Well, when a Guardian dies those closest to them clean and dress the body. It's a way to say goodbye I guess. We don't always get bodies back, like with Beorn. You can stay with me during her funeral though. The processing through the City is important and I'd like you to be there beside me."
"Is that okay? I didn't know her…"
"But you know me. If you don't wanna do it I understand."
"No. I'll go. Just let me know what I should do I've never done this before."
"Will do," he said, kissing her cheek. He lingered, pressing his face to her hair, his hand firmly planted at the base of her head. "You don't have to stick around here. I'll be home late. Don't wait up."
He parted from her and left. She decided she couldn't sit around and wait for him to handle everything. The least she could do was to get Sisre's insight on what to wear, how to behave, and anything else she needed to know about the ceremony. Besides, Cayde might not want to eat on his return, but she could at least have that handled as well. Though not on her own. Cooking was still not something she was proficient at, she'd have to buy something.
"Kiran, contact Sambo and let him know I'll need Sisre's help and to meet me in the courtyard. We both know I can't sit here and do nothing." Not when he needed her.