Hi Lovelies! Quick chapter for you guys.

Chapter 4 – Breach

A darkened expanse of hollowed out rock made up the walls of his private lab. Cold and bare like the rest of the cave system, they were a constant reminder of all he had lost, a symbol of the warmth no longer present in his life. The banner of House Devils was proudly strewn high across the back wall behind him, but that did not make the room feel any less deprived. So many moments ago, he would have looked down on other Fallen living this way—he was a baron after all—but these conditions were now commonplace.

The room was large given the limited space they had within the caves and generously lit. Low light levels were not normally an issue for his keen eyes, but the meticulous engineering and experimenting he performed here required better visibility, thus, the energy tubes highlighting every ntr'k of the room. Worktops and shelves were neatly arranged off to his left as were the tools, equipment, and parts stacked on top of them. Off to his right was a console giving him access to the archive, communications, and the cave's alert system, which he had set up to quickly blast throughout the complex in case an enemy managed to penetrate the caves. There were two doors leading out of the room; the one behind and to the right led to his private quarters and the one directly ahead to the rest of the cave system.

Tyriks sat behind a worktop set in the center of the room and recalibrated a teleportation module housed in the right helm fin he had stripped from a destroyed Fallen captain. He was trying to improve distance and directionality of their teleporters, which was at this point limited. The mechanism was difficult to work with as any modifications could disrupt the consecutive events that must take place to scan, destroy, and reassemble one's sub-atomic makeup. He would first have to try it on other objects and living organisms before he could use it on himself.

A ping on his comm. link interrupted his work and he growled in irritation. The guard outside his door was requesting permission to enter. Tyriks set down his tools and straightened into a more dignified sitting position before tapping his comm. link to issue his approval.

The door in front slid open admitting the vandal, who moved just far enough into the room for the doors to whoosh closed behind him. He inclined his helm in respect immediately and said, "Captain Tyriks," before stilling and waiting to be acknowledged.

"Speak," he clicked not bothering to hide his annoyance at the interruption.

"Captain, vandal requests audience."

"Why?" he asked curious now as a lesser Fallen requesting permission to speak with him was not a common occurrence.

The vandal paused for a moment seemingly thinking about the answer, and then said quietly, "I did not ask."

Tyriks let out a low growl, patience wearing thin at the incompetence. "Find out!" he ordered harshly. The other Fallen hastily left the room, which prompted the captain to silently consider his latest choice of guard. This one was worse than the last. How could he not find three competent vandals to perform such an easy task? Perhaps I should select elder Fallen over spawned, he mused.

The vandal reentered the room and Tyriks noticed its lower arms were both twitching in apparent rage. "Vandal refuses to speak. He says topic is not for Fallen… like me," he said spitting out the words with venom.

"He is elder?" he asked understanding the implication.

"Yes."

"Send him in. Wait outside."

The vandal gave an indignant arm flick before exiting as though he could not believe he was told to wait outside. Tyriks felt a rare flare of amusement; spawned Fallen were so ignorant.

Soon after the first departed, another vandal entered his lab, and it was immediately apparent that he was elder. This vandal was taller than the spawned variety, lither of frame and longer of arms and claws. The eyes were larger and a lighter blue, closer to his own almost white ones. The armor had the lustrous shine that came from obsessive cleaning, but underneath it was old and worn. However, Tyriks knew it was impeccable in its construction. Made from the finest metals of their home world, it was superior to anything that could be scrounged and assembled in this star system.

The vandal's carriage was confident and assured as he moved farther into the room than the other had dared. "Captain."

"Name?"

"Er'tas."

Er'tas… He knew that designation; this vandal hunted with Loksis. "You speak of old?" he asked certain this would be the only reason to withhold information from his guard.

"Yes."

Tyriks gestured for him to speak in full; the past was not a topic brought up lightly as no Fallen wanted to be reminded of the disgrace that had befallen their entire race.

"Restriction is threatened. Spawned vandal speaks of females."

His previously fading irritation raged back in full force; he did not need this right now! Already Friksor had been lost and with him the crew's viability. Their status was threatened unless a suitable replacement could be found and now he must split his efforts between that and discovering the cause of this breach of information. He would have to punish or destroy all involved before it spread amongst the ranks. His crew would not be the start of another cull. They could not afford it and he would not bear such dishonor and humiliation. "Explain to me this occurrence," he ordered anger coloring his vocals.

Tyriks listened intently while the elder vandal explained the event that had occurred between the spawned vandal and the reaver in the waste disposal area. The explanation was short as had been the conversation between the two, and when he was finished, the captain dismissed the elder with a practiced wave. "Your loyalty and intelligence are remarked upon by Loksis, Devil Claw. This matter requires prompt attention; your role in it is noted." With that said, the vandal inclined his helm once more and withdrew from the lab.

Alone again, Tyriks considered this situation fully; it would need to be handled carefully and quietly. Neither vandal, it appeared, were familiar with the term, which was fortuitous, and even the reaver's suggestion to consult the archive was not bothersome. The data core had been sanitized at the lower ranks' access levels. The only threat here was the spread of the word and further conversations on the topic.

This reaver, Kreesis, was exceptional for being spawned and he was one of a few being considered to replace Friksor. It would not do to destroy him unless absolutely necessary. The other would normally be expendable, but there was too much flux in the crew at the moment; they needed all the remaining vandals they had.

Tyriks would assess the extent of the damage first and react accordingly. He tapped his comm. link again and sent a transmission to his guard to send for the reaver, Kreesis.

As always reviews are much loved and thanks for reading! FYI, many of you may have seen that I posted a Destiny drabbles fic. I do not intend for it to distract from my work on this fic, but every once and awhile I need a break and to get my mind on something else. So, if you're interested in Destiny drabbles and one-shots, I recommend it especially between updates of this fic.

Fallen Language. Listed in order of appearance:

Ntr'k – measure of length, centimeter