"I met your brother the other day," said Nell.

"What?" said Jayesh, startled. He actually looked up from his tablet, where he was reading endless speculation about the fate of two missing planets and two moons.

Nell leaned back in her chair and tucked her short black hair behind one ear. "Your brother. Could be your twin. Met him down in the City, said he was headed to the Cosmodrome. I did a double take, thought you'd changed disciplines to Hunter."

"I don't have a brother," said the warlock, pronouncing each word clearly. "I hope you didn't embarrass the guy."

"I can be discreet when I want to be," Nell said. She gestured and summoned her Ghost. "I took a selfie with him."

Jayesh covered his face with one hand. "Nell …"

"Oh come on," Nell said, grinning. "It was a speakeasy for Hunters. I bought him a drink and took a picture. No big deal. Hadrian, show him the snap."

The Ghost displayed a holographic image of Nell with her arm around a man who certainly resembled Jayesh. Jayesh looked closer. Brown skin, black hair that had been combed into spikes, Indian features. It was like looking into a mirror-an alternate universe mirror where he had been a Hunter.

"What do you think?" Nell said, watching him. "You had a brother, right? What're the odds that the Traveler chose both of you?"

Jayesh sat back in his own chair and sipped his tea. The newly-repaired Traveler was a vast silhouette in the sky above the City, the sun setting behind it. Their fireteam was supposed to meet for dinner to discuss visiting Europa, but only Nell and Jayesh had arrived so far.

"I don't know," Jayesh said at last. "Those are awfully long odds. I did have a brother. My only memories from my old life are my brother shoving me off a cliff in some kind of ritual execution."

"Is this him?" Nell asked, leaning forward in excitement.

Jayesh shook his head. "I don't remember him that clearly. I doubt it. He might just be the same nationality as me. That's not surprising."

"Yeah, yeah," Nell said. "Rationalize it all you want, mister big brain warlock. He looks just like you. His name is Shaw Han. We should totally swing out to the Cosmodrome and say hi."

"Uh, how about no," said Jayesh. He'd spotted their Titan, Grant-4, making his way toward their table. Thank the Traveler for a distraction.

"Sorry I'm late," said the exo, pulling out a chair and sitting down. "Had to check the mission roster. The Vanguard is unwilling to send anyone to Europa. In fact, Zavala acted strangely when I asked. But our names are at the top of the list." His glowing orange eyes swept Nell, whose Ghost still displayed a hologram, and then Jayesh, who was leaning away from it. "Oh. You showed him."

"Yep, he denies it all over the place," said Nell, smiling up at him. She and Grant had been dating for a long while and had recently gotten engaged. The differences in their heights were comical-the six-foot-five Titan and the five-foot Hunter.

Jayesh rolled his eyes. "Look, I'm not about to pursue this. Guardians aren't supposed to dig into their past lives. We have enough problems with the Darkness approaching without me getting in trouble from the Vanguard, too."

"Who said anything about past lives?" Nell said. "This guy could be your twin. Just meet him. Talk to him. See if you hit it off. Wouldn't it be cool to work with him sometime?"

"No," said Jayesh, "it wouldn't. Grant, are you in on this, too?"

Grant had an antenna array all over his head that he could extend to pick up radio signals. He'd had these extended and was gazing at the City, as if listening. When Jayesh addressed him, he retracted the array with a snap. "Uh. Well, she told me about it, but … I have reservations."

"Oh, come on," Nell said. "I thought you'd back me up."

"Firefly, you know I love you," said Grant, "but I can't do this to him. I wouldn't want anyone doing it to me."

Nell huffed and folded her arms, slouching in her chair. "Fine. Live with the curiosity, then. See if I care."

"I'm not curious, honestly," Jayesh said, turning to his tablet. "I don't want to know."

"Yeah, you do," Nell said. "Curiosity is a defining warlock trait. Just like how Hunters are defined by astonishingly good looks."

Jayesh raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying this Shaw Han is better looking than I am?"

"He has better fashion sense," Nell replied. "Super nice cloak. This really cool bone armor all down one shoulder. It's like half an Ahamkara."

"Ahamkara bones are not a fashion statement," Jayesh said with sudden heat. "They're dangerous. And you shouldn't applaud anyone who wears them."

"He got them in the Great Hunt," Nell replied. "Which means he's been a Guardian for a lot longer than you have. Face it. Your brother is cooler than you."

"He's not my brother," Jayesh growled. "He's some poor Guardian who you've decided to torment."

The argument might have dragged on and ended in a Crucible match, but Jayesh's Ghost popped into being in a swirl of blue particles. "I hate to break this up," Phoenix said, "but Ikora just sent for you, Jayesh. New mission."

Jayesh rose to his feet. "Any excuse to get out of here. I'll be right back."

"Ten to one she's sending us to Europa," Nell called as he walked off. "To meet the Darkness!"

"Don't needle him, Nell," said Grant, watching their warlock stalk away. "He's stressed about the pyramid ships. We all are."

"Just trying to introduce a little levity," Nell said, leaning both elbows on the table. "I wish I had a Guardian sibling running around. I don't know if I had any."

Grant gazed after Jayesh until he turned a corner and vanished from sight. Then he lifted his head and watched a team of people on ladders across the square, hanging up banners and lamps for the Dawning holiday.

"Nell," he said, very quietly, "how long until they lift the evacuation order on Tower families?"

"They're saying not until March," Nell replied. "Why?"

Grant gestured at the decorations. "Has it occurred to you that Jayesh is being forced to spend the Dawning away from his family for the first time?"

Nell's mouth formed a small O. Jayesh's wife, Kari, and their two children had been sent to Acotango, a secret Vanguard fortress beneath a mountain. A great many other Consensus families and people of political importance had been sent there, too. Guardians were allowed to visit, of course, but all Guardians were needed for City defense. As the pyramid ships drew closer, the tighter and more fierce the defense would become.

The Dawning holiday would be a brave show of cheer in the face of encroaching Darkness. But their fireteam was expecting to be sent to Europa and miss it altogether.

"That's why he's been such a grouch," Nell murmured. "Dumb me, not putting two and two together."

"Your taunts about a brother are exactly the wrong thing," Grant said, rubbing a lock of her hair between two fingers. "He is unhappy about being sent to face the Darkness and he misses his family. We must support him, not mock him."

Nell sighed. "I'll apologize. Poor guy." She reached up and took Grant's hand. "What about you?"

"I fear the Deep Stone Crypt more than any Darkness," he replied softly.

She patted his metal face. "We'll face it together."

His mouthparts flexed in a smile. "Thank you, Firefly."

Jayesh returned, walking with a puzzled frown on his face. He slid back into his seat and said, "Have we ordered dinner yet?"

"Not yet," said Nell. "Look, I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I was just joking around."

"No, it's okay," Jayesh said. He absently ran his fingers through his hair, adjusting the shape of the spikes. "Ikora is assigning us to a Cosmodrome patrol. The Hive have been a problem lately, and she's worried about the team who already went. This Shaw Han is the leader-two Hunters and a Warlock. With no Hunter Vanguard, the Hunter teams are kind of … unfocused, she said. She's sending us as backup. We have a Titan."

"That we do," said Grant, throwing out his chest. "Battlefield tactics are my specialty." He relaxed and added, "Are we shipping out tonight?"

"Ikora said yes," Jayesh said. "Let's eat and go." He glanced at the Dawning decorations, then looked away.

"Don't want to stick around?" Nell said.

Jayesh shook his head. "The Tower feels empty."

The courtyard was crowded with people and Guardians, but Nell knew he was referring to his empty apartment. Made beds, clean rooms, toys neatly put away, books stacked in order. No children. No wife.

"Right," said Nell. "Let's clear out of here, then."

The jumpships flew through the night at high altitude, crossing the Atlantic in their journey to Old Russia. Jayesh watched his instruments in brooding silence, dimly lit in shades of green. His Ghost, Phoenix, floated beside him, helping navigate. Neither of them spoke for most of the trip.

Jayesh missed his family with a constant, dull ache. No Kari to go home to. No Connor and Stephanie to welcome him home and exclaim about the Dawning festivities. They were deep under Acotango. He'd go see them, but he couldn't stay. Not when all Guardians were needed to face the Darkness. Not when the Darkness had already taken Mercury, Mars, Io, and Titan. All had vanished into a gravity-lensing singularity. When would Earth be next? That was everyone's fear.

Phoenix felt his worry through their neural link. He glowed like a steadfast spark in the corner of Jayesh's mind, an unceasing friendly presence. His Guardian had become more and more withdrawn lately, his loneliness making him moody. Jayesh had nightmares about finding his family dead in the ruins of the City, which didn't help at all. And ever looming in the back of both their minds was the threat that awaited them on Europa, a moon where the Darkness had encamped. Guardians would have to investigate … but none had, so far.

"Hey," said Phoenix, his glowing blue eye fixing on his Guardian's face.

Jayesh looked up. "Hm?"

"I'm still here," Phoenix said. "You're not alone."

Jayesh smiled. "Thanks, little light."

Phoenix ventured, "I can send a message to Kari, if you want. Just to talk."

"She'll be in bed by now," Jayesh said. "I'll send her a note in the morning." His smile faded into an expression of sadness, almost grief. "Light, I miss her. And the kids. Now it's the Dawning, and I have to put on a brave face for the City. Got to be a brave Guardian. Smart warlocks who figure out mysteries of the Light, right?" He pinched the bridge of his nose. "The Traveler has stopped talking."

This sudden silence was just as devastating as the loss of his family. Jayesh had maintained an open communion with the Traveler since his ill-timed visit to it during the Red War. Sometimes in pictures, sometimes in words, they had long conversations about Light and Darkness. But the Traveler had mended its broken shell in a great symphony of Light, and with that mending came the silence. Eris Morn had said that the Traveler had closed like a fist. It was waiting, calculating, as the Darkness drew ever closer. Jayesh was shut out.

"At least I have you," Jayesh said, twirling Phoenix's shell halves. "And I wrote down reams of things the Traveler taught me. I have to stand on my own two feet, now. Be a man." But the words were a thin film of bravery over a bottomless lake of loneliness.

"I still talk to you," said Phoenix. He spun his red and yellow shield shell. "Even if the Traveler leaves, I'll still be here. It won't take me away."

"Would it?" Jayesh said. "We don't know what it would do if the pyramid ships came and it fled. I hope it doesn't, but … there are people who have been picking up visions, before it went silent. It's afraid and contemplating running. I wish I could ask it why it made Guardians if it only plans to abandon them. But I can't."

There was a short silence. Guardian and Ghost watched the instruments. Phoenix ventured, "Why are we going to the Cosmodrome, anyway? I thought it was quarantined."

"Still is, as far as I know," Jayesh replied. "But if the Hive get into the SIVA, that'd be worse than the Fallen getting it. So we have to intervene. I just hope these Hunters haven't screwed something up. Fired a rocket into a wall and let the SIVA out, for instance."

Phoenix shivered his shell. "I hope not. We'll be there at dawn. You might as well get some sleep."

The Ghost pretended to ignore the thought that flitted through Jayesh's mind: I don't sleep anymore, not without Kari. But he reclined his seat and closed his eyes. After a while, his brain wave patterns shifted to theta state, and Phoenix knew he was sleeping. The Ghost flew the ship for him and tried not to worry about their overwhelmingly hopeless situation. Deep in his heart, where his Light burned brightest and most truthful, Phoenix feared Europa. He and the other Ghosts were certain that anyone who went there would never come back. Their Guardians held the same fear, although no one spoke about it. Tampering with Darkness weapons was one thing, but walking straight into its jaws was another.

"Traveler, grant me Light," he prayed. But there was no answer. Even Ghosts had been left alone in bitter silence.

Nearby, from Nell's ship, Hadrian said through the Light network, "It's depressing, isn't it?"

"It is," said Grant's Ghost, Sentry. "Here it is, the Dawning, a celebration of increasing sunlight on Earth. And the source of our Light no longer speaks."

"Did we do something wrong?" Hadrian wondered. His voice quavered. "I've tried to do right by Nell. Do you think it's because she's so good at Gambit? She even won the Dredgen title."

"I doubt that's it," Phoenix assured him. "The Traveler is preparing for war. How it faces that war, by fight or flight, is a matter of time. I won't leave Jayesh. Even if the Traveler leaves and takes all Light with it."

"If it leaves, then the Darkness would chase it and leave us alone," said Sentry. "Maybe that's what we should hope for."

The Ghosts fell silent for the remainder of the night. There was much to think about.

The Cosmodrome had been a space port for colony ships back in the Golden Age. Now it was a silent monument to man's past glory, the buildings and launch pads slowly crumbling year by year. Its vast walls held back the ravenous nanite swarm called SIVA, which consumed everything in its path and had left the Plaguelands in its wake.

But the Guardians weren't interested in that side of the Cosmodrome. They landed on the outside, beyond the old highway where a sea of cars had been blasted and died during the Collapse. The rising sun cast long shadows across the frozen ground, where snow and ice lingered on the north side of every car. A piercing wind blew, rustling the skeletons of weeds, seeking out every chink in the armor of the Guardians.

"What is with these temperatures?" Nell asked, hugging her cloak around herself. "What is this, Callisto?"

"Winter in Mother Russia," Jayesh said with a believable Russian accent. "In Russia, you do not find winter. Winter finds you."

Nell laughed and stood behind Grant, sheltering from the wind. "Well, lead on, O team leader mine. I hope this other fireteam is indoors with a cozy fire."

Grant looked over his shoulder at her. "Did you just …?"

"Yes," said Nell.

Jayesh rolled his eyes and led the way into the Cosmodrome, through an old side door. From there, they made their way through a maze of passages to an old boarding station. There was no ship in the station, only a vast well where it would have been. Jayesh sent out Phoenix. "Any sign of this other fireteam? I know this spot has good reception, for some reason."

Phoenix opened his shell and sent out several pulses of Light. As he did, Nell said, "You know the Cosmodrome pretty well, Jay?"

"I trained out here as a new Guardian," he replied. His helmet concealed his expression, but his voice was neutral. "Back when I was trying to train as a Titan."

"You?" Grant laughed, indicating the warlock's short, light build. "You assumed you were a Titan? Did your Light manifest as strength?"

"My Light was flaky because I didn't know how to use it," Jayesh replied. "Sometimes it registered as Titan strength, so the Vanguard counselors recommended the Titan discipline. Guess who washed out because he liked books too much? This guy." He indicated himself with a thumb. "Zavala was not happy with me. Turns out that Guardians don't mis-type their disciplines that often. I didn't figure it out until the Traveler spelled it out. You're a warlock, Harry."

Nell and Grant laughed.

"Nice to know you found your place," Grant said. "I am still uncertain as to my role here, in this world. I am an exo, and yet it is strange to me. Answers lie beyond, but I fear to seek them."

Jayesh slapped him on the back. "I think we're all scared of what we'll find out there."

Phoenix closed his shell. "I'm detecting fireteam chatter a few miles east of here. They're hunting Hive. Their Ghosts have a Do Not Disturb status so they're not seeing my messages."

"Flag their signal and we'll track them," said Jayesh. "Sparrow time, everyone."

"Yay, riding sparrows in negative five degrees with wind-chill," Nell said. "My favorite."

The team went back outside and their Ghosts summoned in their sparrows. Jayesh's was black with yellow racing stripes. Grant's was a heavy combat sparrow with a big engine and collision bars along the front and sides. Nell's was a seat strapped to a lightweight frame over an engine that had been salvaged from a jumpship. She shot away into the distance, leaving Grant and Jayesh in a cloud of exhaust.

"She aspires to the Sparrow Racing League," Grant said.

"If Marcus Ren ever restarts it," Jayesh said. "He's hiding from the pyramids like everyone else."

They took off after Nell, following old roads that zigzagged up the hills, around rusted machinery and huge pieces of a huge colony ship that had collapsed over the centuries. Their helmets protected their faces, but their environment suits struggled to keep up with the temperatures.

As they traveled, Phoenix kept them appraised of the other team's activities. "Looks like they're trying to keep to the lee of the buildings. They don't like freezing to death any more than we do. And … looks like their Ghosts are doing a perimeter scan. Seems rushed, though. They're using the fast combat settings instead of the deeper recon scan. They must be in a hurry to get the patrol over with."

"While I see the appeal of such a thing," Grant said, "such things can have ramifications. Especially with the Hive, who often hide underground."

"Can you contact them?" Jayesh asked.

"No," Phoenix replied. "I think their Ghosts are using the Do Not Disturb setting against the SIVA over the wall. It's sending out some nasty interference. Consume, enhance, replicate. But imagine a million people screaming it over and over."

"I'll pass," said Jayesh. "We'll just catch up to the team and flag them down."

Nell reappeared in the distance, her high-powered sparrow rocketing toward them on a plume of white exhaust. She cut the speed as she reached them, swinging around to travel alongside. "Bad Hive infestation up there! Really powerful Hive Witch. She reads as Navota, Eir Spawn. Who's Eir? Some relative of Oryx?"

"A worm god," Jayesh said with distaste. "We'll have to deal with her. Did she attack you?"

"No," Nell said. "I'd stopped my sparrow behind a big rusted sheet of metal to look around. This witch and a bunch of thralls were moving through the buildings and didn't see me. Ever watched the Hive hunt? Start, stop, start, stop. They were hunting something."

Grant groaned. "Probably that other fireteam. Did you detect them?"

"Yeah, but they're not answering Hadrian's pings," Nell replied. "Rude."

"Surely they can deal with one Hive Witch and some thralls," said Jayesh. "Guardians face them all the time."

"I don't know," Nell said. "You know those really bad Moon Hive with the red armor? These looked like that."

The team kept moving, more and more anxiously, tracking both the other fireteam and the Hive. They finally had to get off their sparrows and enter the Cosmodrome again, where at least there was no wind.

"The Guardians are splitting up," Nell muttered, watching the motion tracker in her helmet HUD. "Why are they splitting up?"

"Great," Jayesh muttered. They'd entered an old warehouse, which was full of collapsed pieces of roof and old machinery, turning it into a maze. "My sensors are reading Fallen in here. We may not catch up to that other team for a while."

Nell drew her knives. "Bring it on."

A dreg stepped out from behind a pillar and hissed at them, brandishing electrified knives. Nell sprang to the attack. Grant followed, and Jayesh hung back as support. The alien scavenger party attacked them, and they had no time to think about the other team for a while.

They fought their way through the warehouse and out through the Cosmodrome, finally securing an arc reactor the aliens had been detaching from an old ship. The Fallen gave up and slunk away after that.

As they stood around, panting, reloading, and praising each other's fighting prowess, Phoenix broke in. "You know that other fireteam? The leader was calling for help. Quite a while ago, now."

"Oh great," Jayesh muttered, jamming a magazine into his hand cannon, Lumina. "Tell him we're on our way."

"I have a lock on his location," Phoenix said. "He's not calling anymore. Looks like his team is regrouping outside. I'll drop a nav point on your map."

"Oh, good," said Nell. "They must have taken out the Hive."

The Guardians made their way through the ruins and finally emerged in a small courtyard. Two Guardians had set up a small camp in a corner behind an old truck and a portion of wall. They were both sitting on blocks of concrete as the team approached.

"Hey!" Nell exclaimed, hurrying up to them. "Did you need help? We heard you calling, but got held up by Fallen."

"Yeah," said the Hunter, standing up. Jayesh recognized him by the Ahamkara bones on his shoulder and arm. His helmet obscured his face. "My fireteam … the Hive killed them." His voice was heavy with shock and grief.

"Oh," said Nell, looking at her own team for support. "I am so sorry! At least one got away, right?" She motioned to the female Titan sitting there.

Shaw Han shook his head. "No. This is a new Guardian who found me when I called for help. Only been alive a few hours. She tried to save Maeve. I went after Cas, but I couldn't get there in time." He reached up and removed his helmet, rubbing his face with a gloved hand. He did look uncannily like Jayesh-a Jayesh who had seen more combat, and had recently lost his two closest friends. Shaw's eyes were slightly sunken, and his face sagged. He was barely holding it together.

Jayesh stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder. "Let us help," he said quietly. "At least we can put down their killers."

Shaw slowly shook his head. "It was a Hive Witch, Navota something or other. She just … ripped their Light out. Right in front of this new Guardian. All she could do was … was bring back Maeve's Ghost." His voice cracked and he turned away suddenly.

The new Titan rose to her feet and approached, removing her own helmet. She was an older woman with dark skin and snow-white hair that curled close to her scalp. "Leave him alone," he said, stepping between Shaw Han and the newcomers. "Can't you see he's had all he can take? If you're our enemies, too, I'll end you." She lifted an old, battered auto rifle, scrounged from the ruins.

Jayesh pulled off his own helmet, too. He gestured for the rest of his team to do the same. "We're friends," he said. "Other Guardians. We were sent as support for your team, Shaw, but we couldn't make contact."

Shaw turned back to face them, scanned their faces, saw Jayesh, and did a double-take. They studied each other for a long second. Then Shaw said, "Our Ghosts could hardly hear over the racket the SIVA was making. They had to keep transmissions locked down. I wish I'd known … this is my fault. I rushed the perimeter scan. A deep scan would have picked up those Hive."

"It's my fault, too," said the new Guardian. "I didn't know anything about those flying aliens. He said Hive, I thought he was talking about bees."

Shaw Han laughed once and covered his face with one hand. His shoulders shook, but not with laughter.

Jayesh couldn't bear to watch. "Come on, team," he muttered. "Let's kill Navota."

"Take me with you!" the new Guardian implored, catching at his sleeve. "I want to avenge that poor woman. Maeve. And Cas."

Jayesh looked her over. Her armor had been cobbled together by her Ghost out of spare parts, and none of it matched. But it looked heavy and solid. Her Ghost floated at her shoulder in a mud-splattered shell, his eye bright and curious.

"What's your names?" Jayesh asked.

"I'm Winona," said the woman. "This is Michael. He's my Ghost," she added proudly.

"And she's my Guardian," Michael said, equally proud. "I've looked for her for ever so long. We're going to be best friends!"

"Isn't he adorable?" said Winona, smiling at him. "He says all Guardians have Ghosts. Do you?"

Jayesh held out a hand and Phoenix materialized above it. "I'm Phoenix," he said. "Nice to meet you!"

"Oooh, yours is pretty," said Winona. "Did he come like that?"

"You can buy different Ghost shells," said Jayesh. "People make them. Anyway, do you feel up to a fight? I don't want to get anyone else killed." His gaze met Shaw's. Shaw was staring at him again.

"Yes," said Winona firmly. "I've already killed Fallen aliens and Hive aliens. Lots and lots of dead-looking things with lots of teeth and no eyes." She patted her rifle. "But it turns out that I know how to shoot."

Jayesh turned to Shaw. "She's your fireteam. Your call."

"We'll both come along," Shaw said. "The bigger the team, the more options we have." He pulled his helmet back on.