Kaedro was standing atop a small rocky hill in the European Dead Zone when Bazzle's ship came into view. With a mighty roar, it swept over the landscape toward him. As soon as it came within range, Jyn transmatted him on board. Bazzle, seated in the pilot seat, looked over his shoulder and nodded a greeting before angling the ship towards the open air.
Kaedro waited until they had left the atmosphere to say anything. "So let me get this straight… The Vanguard sent you on a mission with the sole purpose of wrangling Ace, and you decided to bring me with you?"
"Yes," said Bazzle. His head turned minutely. "I suppose I should ask you if you believe you can carry out this mission."
"...You think I have conflicting loyalties."
"I need to know that you can put the mission in front of your status as a Hunter."
Kaedro considered it. Bazzle was right. He had conflicting loyalties for sure. On one hand, he respected the Vanguard and understood Zavala's reasoning for wanting Harley out of the Reef. On the other hand, it was Cayde. He couldn't just stand by and let his friend's killers get away with further atrocities. He looked at Bazzle. The Titan's face was dead serious. Kaedro knew that if Bazzle seriously doubted his ability to work the mission, then he would be kicked off of it faster than he could say "Shaxx's Redjacks." He also knew that if it hadn't been for Bazzle's call, he would be blackout drunk right now. He had to do something, whether it was drinking or go on a mission. And he knew that going on a mission was the more productive - and healthier - option. He sighed.
"I'm in," he said, "Zavala's right. Despite how much I want to see Uldren pay, we can't afford to go to war with the Reef." He side-eyed his friend. "I'm also agreeing based on the assumption that we're not going to shoot or forcibly abduct him."
"We will do what is necessary. Nothing more or less," said Bazzle, "Hayden will see sense."
Kaedro wasn't sure he agreed, but he didn't say anything more about it. "Where are we going?"
"The Vestian Outpost," answered the Titan, "It's the only known Reef territory friendly to Guardians. From there, I hope to find a lead on where Hayden went."
Kaedro nodded. It made sense. "How long is the trip?"
"About six hours. We'll have to make a few course corrections."
Kaedro nodded again, watching as Bazzle programmed the course into the navigation system. It was going to be a long flight.
They spent the journey in silence. There wasn't tension between them, at least, not any that Kaedro could think of. He figured they both had other things to think about. He personally was wrapped up in thoughts of the old Hunter crew. Cayde, Andal, Shiro, Tevis. He remembered fighting alongside Cayde and Andal in the Battle of Twilight Gap. After roaming solo for so long during the Dark Age, becoming close with other Hunters was different. But in a good way. The downside, of course, was that losing those people became that much harder. So many of his friends had died. Out of that specific group, only Shiro remained. He wondered how the other Exo was taking the news. Most likely as bad as he was taking it himself. Kaedro decided that once he finished this business in the Reef, he'd pay Shiro a visit. See how the other Hunter was holding up. He felt the ship decelerate and sat up straighter in his seat. They were nearing the Outpost.
Kaedro peered out of the viewscreen. The docks looked empty. Not that there had been many people the last time he'd been, but still. Bazzle brought the ship in, landing it with practiced ease. Kaedro felt the transmat take hold and in a flash, he was outside of the ship. His sensors immediately picked up on the change in the atmosphere. The air in the Reef was much thinner than that of the planets and moons. Being an Exo, he felt the compulsion to breathe, but it wasn't necessary for his survival. He could breathe the Reef air just as well as Earth's air. Had he been human, he would definitely feel the effects. On that note, he turned to look at Bazzle as the Titan strode forward. Bazzle gave no sign that the air quality bothered him, but Kaedro had known him for a while and knew how easily he could conceal things like that. The Exo resolved to watch him.
They passed through the hangar out into the greater area and still, there was no sign of another person. A bad feeling gnawed at Kaedro's circuits. It was far too quiet and deserted, even for the Awoken. His training screamed that something wasn't right.
That was when they found the bodies. Corsairs, the lot of them. Likely the ones that had been stationed here. Electing not to look longer than necessary, Kaedro moved toward a great door that swung loose on its hinges. Beyond was the devastated throne room of Mara Sov. It looked as though an inferno had torn through the room, sparing nothing. Near the door, he saw the charred remains of a company of Awoken.
He knelt next to the foremost one, summoning Jyn with a twist of his hand. She scanned over the body.
"One of the Queen's Paladins," she said.
"Do you know what happened to them?" asked Kaedro.
"All I know is that she was killed before the fire started. They all were. Fallen weapons. Precision shots."
Kaedro nodded and stood up, looking over to where Bazzle stood next to a blackened console. "What is it?" he asked.
The Titan turned around. "Sway found something on the security feeds…"
Kaedro walked over as Sway projected onto the wall in front of them. He saw the Queen's Guard arrayed in front of the door to the throne room, weapons drawn. A voice called through the door.
"Paladin Dinna? You know that's my throne you're guarding, don't you? May I come in?"
Kaedro's optics narrowed. It was Uldren Sov.
"You're not alone!" the Paladin called back.
Uldren chuckled. "I have my retinue with me."
A few members of the Guard lowered their weapons but Dinna snapped at them to raise them again. "Weapons up! We can't trust him to-"
The throne room doors opened to a cacophony of flashbang grenades. Uldren sauntered in, his gun aimed at the ceiling. Kaedro's jaw clenched. It was the Ace of Spades. Seeing his old friend's gun in the hands of the man who'd killed him was so completely wrong that he had to take a moment to calm down.
"At ease," said Uldren.
The Guard obeyed, lowering their weapons. At that moment, they were lost. Kaedro saw the Arc-rifle charge and fire. As the Queen's Guard fell around him, Uldren's face remained an impassive mask.
"Stop the recording," said Kaedro. Bazzle shot him a questioning look. "We know how it ends."
He walked away, not wanting to remain in that throne room for one moment longer. He heard Bazzle behind him and took a quick unneeded breath to refocus. They needed to concentrate on the mission.
"So much for getting a lead from the Outpost," he said flatly.
"Yes," agreed Bazzle, a frown in his voice, "We'll have to look elsewhere for Hayden's location."
"Maybe not," said Jyn, "I've been scanning the Awoken's networks and it looks like there's been a surge in hostile activity localized in the Tangled Shore."
"How'd you find that out?" asked Kaedro.
"Spark used to spend a lot of time in the Reef," his Ghost explained, "He gave me the frequency codes."
"Sounds like a lead to me," said Kaedro, "Let's get out of here."
As they made their way back to the ship, Kaedro thought about what they'd seen. He'd never met or spoken to Uldren in person, so he had no reference by which to judge the Prince's character. But from what he saw on the security feed, Uldren seemed not to care about anyone. At least, not anymore. He vaguely remembered Harley saying something about Uldren's devotion to his sister, the Queen. But now she was gone and it seemed that Uldren was willing to throw away the lives of his subjects without a care in the world.
Once again, he found himself questioning the mission. While Harley's actions could potentially culminate in war with the Reef, could they really leave the Awoken people to suffer at the hands of Uldren and his savage pseudo-Fallen cohorts? He knew those were his orders, yet he had trouble reconciling them with what he felt was right.
That was always the trouble with Hunters. They were bound to their instincts. After all, what were orders in the face of the frontier? Still, he had to try. He'd told Bazzle that he would. He decided it was best to put sticky questions of moral obligation aside for the moment and concentrate solely on the task at hand.
"What can you find about the Tangled Shore?" he asked after they transmatted back into the ship.
"I've just some excerpts from a text about it," his Ghost replied, "It's a rather grim read... The Shore seems to be made up of lashed-together asteroids and it isn't exactly what you'd call civilized. Most, if not all of the Awoken have relocated away from it... Don't expect any backup."
Her description was far from comforting. Kaedro didn't have very much experience with the Reef. His previous visits had always been to the Vestian Outpost, as that had been the only area open to Guardians. It sounded like he could expect the Tangled Shore to be just as hostile as any other area the Guardians patrolled, if not more so. The bright side was that there was less likely to be collateral damage among the Awoken. He sighed.
"Guess we'd better get going. Ace already has a good-sized head start on us."
Bazzle nodded and set the course. As Kaedro watched the Outpost shrink away behind them, he wondered - not for the last time - whether he had made the right choice.
EmbersAtDusk2306: Harley's experience from the Infinite Forest will definitely aid him in his hunt for Uldren. When it comes to Bazzle, more experience is surely useful but Bazzle's also been around since the Dark Age, so he has centuries of experience over Harley.