To: Kymil Elvaris Dasa
Dispatched from Vanguard, Venus station
Confidential missive enclosed
Dear Ferral,
I've been on Venus three weeks and I can't describe how much I miss you. Venus has a lot of two things: jungle and the Vex. My team and I have dispatched hundreds of them, trying to kill off the Minds that run their local branch. But they keep escaping our net. We'll get them one of these days.
You can't see the sky from Venus. It's always cloudy and humid. Otherwise, I'd spend my nights hunting the Reef's location among the stars. Niki can point it out in a second.
I keep thinking about our last conversation in the restaurant. There's so much I didn't say. Here's one of them.
I love you.
I wasn't sure that I truly did, at the time. But being out here, with nothing to think about but surviving the next wave of killer robots, and cleaning the humidity out of my rifle's workings ... I think about you. And what I wish I'd said.
How are you feeling? Have you had any more episodes? Do you have anyone to help you when the Darkness gets too deep?
Reply soon,
Your love,
Lethia Mar
To: Guardian Lethia Mar
Reef-network communications relay
Encrypted message follows
Dearest Lethia,
I've taken charge of the Dasa's companies, but I'm finding I have my work cut out for me. It wasn't only my family who were Taken - it was their underlings, too. I think there's one survivor from upper management? I've had to round up everyone who had anything to do with the Dasas: accountants, clerks, managers, anyone I can find, to help me run things. I've signed probably a hundred promotions in the last week. Running nineteen companies at once is not for the faint of heart.
I wish for you every day. I need you to explain why the manager of my quarries always bows at our meetings. I need you to explain why the Dreaming City is still sealed.
I need you. There. That's all it comes down to. Light, I need you here.
I've only had one episode in the last three weeks, but it was a bad one. It took two days to get over. Poor Banner does his best, but it gets him down, too.
I haven't seen a doctor out here because I don't want to show weakness. Everyone watches me all the time, waiting for me to prove that I'm unfit to run the corporation. None of them wanted a Guardian in charge, but I'm the legal heir.
I've thought about how you didn't say things and regretted it. I wish I'd said things, too.
I love you. I only wish I could whisper it in your ear as I hold you close.
Keep fighting the good fight. Also, Vex Minds hang out in the cliffs to the north. They have entrenched communications there. I've killed a batch or two there before.
Love,
Your lonely Guardian,
Ferral
To: Kymil Elvaris Dasa
Dispatched from Vanguard, Venus station
Confidential missive enclosed
My lonely Ferral,
Awoken bow only to their royalty. That jerk bowing to you means it as an insult. Like calling you 'your majesty'. Fire his ass.
As for the Dreaming City, well, without our Queen, who is left with the authority to unseal it? Let it lie. If we can't get to it, the Taken can't, either.
I told my team your advice about the Vex Minds. Sure enough, they were holed up in the caves in those cliffs you mentioned. We cleaned them out this morning. They sure hated to see us coming. Vex activity has been negligible ever since.
I've been elected fireteam cook. After we'd been here a week and were already sick of rations, I had Niki find me some local edible plants. I made these things that resembled cabbage rolls. I thought they were tolerable, but my team proclaimed them a delicacy. They look forward to my evening meals, now. I find this daunting, seeing as I don't have much to work with! Niki has saved my neck repeatedly by introducing me to various fruits and seeds that I can tease into something appetizing.
I imagine you living like a king and eating the best the Reef has to offer. But then I remember the Taken invasion. Are you eating well at all? I wish I was there to take care of you. You're still recovering, and square meals are important.
All this blather is just to say ... I miss you. I miss your voice and your smile. I feel bad for admitting that I'm lonely, even with my fireteam camped around me. But I'm lonely for you. I'm sitting by the campfire, typing on my tablet, while everyone else is snoring in their bed rolls. Guns are stacked everywhere. Outside our shelter, some relative of the cricket is singing a monotonous chorus. Niki is chatting up the other ghosts.
There. This letter is so boring, you probably are skimming through to the end.
I think about your standing proposal all the time. I wish I could accept right now and fly to your side. But for now, I'm going to climb into my sleeping bag and pretend I'm sleeping in your arms.
Your lonely Lethia
To: Guardian Lethia Mar
Reef-network communications relay
Encrypted message follows
My dear Lethia,
Your letters are not boring! I reread the last one three times in a row. It reminds me of all the times I camped on Venus. Are the mosquitoes as bad as ever?
I'm eating fairly well, I suppose. There's a little shop that serves these rolled sandwich things, and I've been eating there. As it turns out, the Taken attacked population centers and ignored the rural areas. There's lots of food and no one to eat it. We're trying to stockpile or preserve as much as we can, so as to waste as little as possible. One of my businesses is a vegetable cannery, so I know a depressingly large amount about this.
I've reprimanded the manager who was bowing to me. I can tolerate a lot of things, but disrespect isn't one of them. He wanted to punch me so badly. But I went to that meeting wearing my armor, and he didn't quite dare tangle with a Guardian. I guess being an undead warrior has its perks.
I've spent the last week inspecting a series of caverns for a potential town site. The stone is good, solid granite, and there are gaps that let in daylight in places. I've got a couple of engineers designing the place. This part of my job is fun and interesting. I wish I could take you through and show you the plans.
There are refugees crowded into all the existing towns - people like you who fled the cities during the invasion. I met with some of them today to discuss housing needs. Lethia, you can't believe what they've been through. Families missing parents or children. Couples split and hoping to find each other. So many orphaned children being looked after by bereaved parents. It's heartbreaking.
Although ... I suppose you know exactly what they've been through.
Light, I treated you so badly when we crashed on Mars. I was so focused on Banner's injuries, it never occurred to me that you had escaped the Taken. How are you not suffering PTSD as bad as mine? My poor Lethia.
With regrets and longing,
Ferral
To: Kymil Elvaris Dasa
Dispatched from Vanguard, Earth base, Russian division
Confidential missive enclosed
Dear Ferral,
Don't blame yourself. I certainly don't. I hated you because you were a Guardian, and I shrivel inside at the things I said to you. But I suppose I am scarred from the Taken - I do have nightmares about them. But your problems are so much worse, I guess I downplay my own. Guardian training has helped, too. Studying them removed some of the dread.
I hope to see the completed settlements someday! The way you write about them excites me. Our people will be forever grateful to you.
My team has been reassigned to Old Russia. The Fallen are ripping apart the old Cosmodrome and these old colony ships, and we've been sent to investigate. Earth used to be thickly inhabited, and I see why. Even this far north, the climate is better than most places on the Reef. It's strange to think that my ancestors boarded ships exactly like these, only to encounter death in the heavens.
I've sat here for several minutes, trying to put this into words.
My Void power is increasing.
The more I use it to steal life, the easier it is. The Fallen use Arc Light in their weapons and shields. I absorb it and pour it into Niki. It makes him hyper and kind of bonkers. I'm not sure that giving Arc Light to a Void ghost is a good idea.
On the other hand, I've begun to enjoy powering up while killing our enemies, and it bothers me. Doesn't that make me the same as the Hive, feeding off death? Part of me fears this bloodthirsty creature I'm becoming.
Then we rescued a group of refugees from the Fallen, and my regrets vanished. The Fallen had cut the right arms off all of them as a sign of scorn.
Using my Voidwalker powers seems too good a death for beings like that.
I'm curled up in my blankets, writing this and hoping you won't hate me. Being honest is hard. So is being a Guardian. Niki sends his regards.
Love,
Your Lethia
Private message from Ghost ID: Niki
To Ghost ID: Banner
Light transfer
Hello, Banner! I'm worried about Lethia, and I wanted your opinion.
Our Guardians are pining for each other, judging by their correspondence. Lethia has been trying to avoid her loneliness by sinking herself into her Voidwalker practices. She's rapidly improving her combat skills. As her ghost, this delights me.
At the same time, she's vastly ashamed of her power. She's been giving me small doses of Arc Light, which makes my core all hot and crackly. Last time she did, she held me and cried. When I asked why, she said that she likes killing, and that she's let Ferral down.
I don't think this prolonged separation is good for our Guardians. If you're in agreement, I suggest that we find a way to get them together.
Niki
Private message from Ghost ID: Banner
To Ghost ID: Niki
Light transfer
Hello, Niki
I share your concerns about our Guardians. Ferral doesn't write to Lethia about how stressed he is, or how people treat him. He and I are struggling with depression and flashbacks. I hate to say it, but I triggered his last one. One of his nasty underlings made some remark about selling dead ghosts to some Fallen collector. All I could think about was that Hive wizard taking a ghost and ...
Well. I don't want to give you nightmares, too.
But yes, Lethia is such a good influence on Ferral. I think half his depression stems from missing her. The other half ... he hasn't slept more than four hours a night in the past month. He's not eating well, and he feels so isolated. This is a terrible job. He'd never say so - my Guardian is so honorable - but this position was never meant to be a solo one. That's why it was run by a whole clan. There used to be thirty-eight shareholders, and each of them had dozens and dozens of family members all running things. Now, it's only Ferral.
Honestly, Niki, I'm afraid of what might happen if he and Lethia stay separated much longer. If my Guardian doesn't completely fall apart, I'm afraid someone will try to assassinate him. I've overheard whispered conversations about how to kill a ghost.
If you have a plan to get them together, please share it. This place is more dangerous than a battlefield. The bullets that fly around here are made of words.
Banner
To: Guardian Lethia Mar
Reef-network communications relay
Encrypted message follows
Dear Lethia,
Why would I ever despise you for learning to use your own power? Might I remind you that I use Void Light, too? I know the way it tugs you toward the Darker side of things. At the same time, it's such a useful tool. Be aware, but don't be afraid.
If you were here, I'd kiss you and smooth away the worried line from between your eyebrows. I'd take you to my favorite places to eat and get your opinion. I'd take you to the town we're building. I'd show you the communications tower we just put in. Then we'd go to this wonderful overlook I found and just talk for hours. Then, if you'd let me, I'd caress you and make love to you.
That would drive away the fears of Void Light, I'm certain.
Work continues, but I've gained little loyalty from my employees. They grumble about how hard I work them. They compare me to my brothers and father.
This distresses me, though I can't show it. I don't remember my father or my brothers. I read their ledgers and wonder, am I capable of doing their job? How do I know if I'm making good decisions? Delsaran questions every order I give. The fellow's good, but he watches me. I can't describe how tiring it is to not be able to trust anyone. I know I can trust you. But you know how badly I need you.
Your lonely Guardian,
Ferral
To: Kymil Elvaris Dasa
Dispatched from Vanguard, Earth base, Russian division
Confidential missive enclosed
Dear Ferral,
Your last letter made me want to sneak away from Earth and fling myself into your arms.
It also made me want to introduce your entire employee pool to the wonders of Void Light.
Seriously, if they don't start respecting you, then the Traveler help me, I will come out there and make them fear you. Delsaran in particular. I knew I didn't like him from the minute he smirked at me back at the Reformation.
But that's no way to talk, is it? I shouldn't be plotting violence against fellow Awoken. I'm afraid I'm growing used to killing and inflicting pain. When I think of you, alone and tired and sick, this black wave of violence sweeps over me. And the really scary thing is that I'm not sorry.
We're still fighting Fallen, but they're sneaky and avoid us. Work is slow. Yesterday it poured sleet most of the day. Even with Niki healing me, I can't feel my feet most of the time. It was miserable. We ended up camping inside a colony ship just to get out of the wet, which was ... interesting. They were designed for colonists in zero G, so walking around in a vertically-oriented one was like navigating a building set on end.
I've brooded about your last message all day. I'm worried about you, Ferral. Somehow, I've got to make it out there to you.
Love and hugs,
Lethia
Private message from Ghost ID: Banner
To Ghost ID: Niki
Light transfer
Niki,
Please find a way to dispatch Lethia here. This is an SOS.
Today Ferral was walking across the compound when someone shot him. I'm not certain who - they fired from a third-story window and fled the scene afterward. The bullet didn't quite kill Ferral. It entered his ribcage above the sternum and exited out his middle back. It missed his heart, but that was just about the only critical organ it did miss. I healed him for five solid minutes.
Ferral is angry and frightened. Had I happened to be out at the time, they would have likely killed me. I'm under instructions to remain phased at all times.
The situation here is deteriorating. Delsaran is using this as an excuse to say that Ferral is weak and unable to protect himself. He wants Ferral to move about under guard at all times. Delsaran's chosen members of the loyal Eliksni house for this. You have no idea how uncomfortable it is to have two beefy Fallen in armor shadowing you everywhere. I'm afraid of what they might do.
There are Hive weapons that can kill a Guardian without harming their ghost - and I mean extinguishing their spark, permanently. I've sensed patches of Darkness lately that I fear might be related to such weapons.
Please send help.
Banner
Private message from Ghost ID: Niki
To Ghost ID: Banner
Light transfer
Banner,
I shared your message with Lethia. She flew into a rage, which I've never seen her do before. She became very quiet and still, the opposite of what you might expect. Then she went outside and blasted holes in a ruined car in the rain.
Don't let this get back to the Vanguard, but I've resorted to a hack. Just a little one. I've forged a new mission for her in the Vanguard database and made the header exactly match orders sent by Command. Next week, she'll be pulled off the fire team and be sent to the Reef. Her mission is to support another Guardian already stationed here (Ferral). When she arrives, you'll need to add a confirmation to the file.
I feel bad about this. A little. But I have to do something, and the Vanguard had no intention of sending her past Mars for the next year. If my hack is found out, I'll take the blame. But this is a good way to get our Guardians together, isn't it?
Be careful, Banner. Humans are funny about power and money, and there's a lot of those involved in this.
Niki