Chapter seven.

The Hive.

News of the new Hive spread rapidly and sent the Guardians scrambling to protect the Moon from becoming the Hive's once again.

With Fallen at the walls and now Hive somewhere in the shadows, the Vanguard were passing on more and more work to their finest agents, missions to hunt and kill any Hive in the Solar System while also sending regular patrols around the Cosmodrome.

Eris spent hours on end in her privet room or in the darkness of her corner with those few Guardians who had become friends of the former Hunter, acting as visual assurance to her after she came from her meditations while Cayde and Ikora took turns to insure Eris ate at least something. Lord Saladin and Lord Shaxx began to work together, breaking down their teams and student groups and mixing them together for joint lessons, insure they were ready while the Fanatical groups were given strict orders to get their guardians into shape to fight.

The Queen not only received Arielle's report about the incident but also one from each of her team mates, Lindor's entire team and from Rose, each containing the recorded footage from their Ghosts to show the sudden drain in Light they had suffered during the attack.

That had prompted the Reef to increase security and the Queen herself opened a comm channel with Ikora to insure they had constant contact and were able to keep track of the threat.

It was strange, but at the same time it worked and it worked well. There was a genuine concern on both ends and for that reason no one argued over the fact the Queen and the Vanguard were sharing control over Guardians and the Awoken, not even Uldren argued when Cayde-6 suggested the Crows and some veteran Hunters pair up for longer patrols through the Solar system to search out and take down any other Servants of Crota while search for Omnigul, who for the time seemed to have gone to ground somewhere.

Other members of Crota's Sec however, were not so silent, they surged from the shadows, throngs of Hive along with them to try and avenge their fallen God, attacking Guardians from the darkness of the Cosmodrome, reclaiming the Moon and attempting to take Saturn and free their captured kin from the Prison of Elders.

The Warden Variks used to monitor the Prison however, was not easily defeated and instead of freeing their kin the attacking Hive became prisoners themselves, though they did not remain in good health for very long, as Variks had set up new challenges for the Guardians who visited the Prison.

And that was where Vlad and Rose were now, with new threats to their Tower, Vlad had asked Arielle to talk to Variks and have him grant Rose a Prison Sigel so that the Warden would get them into the restricted Prison levels that Variks had 'locked' Skolas and his Wolf pack in and thus, earn the better wears the former scribe had stashed in his hut.

There was, however a small part of that deal no one thought to mention to Bing and that was that Ghosts had to stay out of the restricted levels of the Prison, just to make sure that the Guardians could be revived in a safe location if they both died, a twist Variks used to stop point cheating and to stop Guardians from piggybacking on each other.

So, while Sovereign rested on a recharge dock beside Petra, who had come down to watch the two Hunters work while gathering a list of still at large Fallen for her Bounties, Bing floated back and forth, his shell twitching and shifting as he waited for Rose, Petra could only think of it as the Ghost pacing.

"Do you always do that when your Guardian isn't with you?" Petra asked as the screen lit up with an explosion from a rocket that very nearly took Vlad's left arm off before Rose unloaded her clip into the attacking Fallen.

"Not always, just when she could get hurt." Bing said, though he still floated back and forth. "Rose is my Guardian, I'm meant to keep her alive. That's what Ghosts do, we keep our Guardians alive and we make sure they are ok so they can fight the Darkness. That's why the Traveller made Ghosts."

"But you seem awfully concerned for her." Petra said, signing another Bounty to her list. "I mean I get you two are the last of your world, but I doubt her friends would let her get hurt."

"All Ghosts worry about their Guardians, no matter who else is with them. I'm just no good at hiding it." Bing admitted, at last stopping his pacing to look at her. "And Rose is special, at least to me, she's never stopped trying to make things right even when things around us where going so wrong." He added.

"She does have something to her," Petra admitted as a second explosion lit up the screen this time from Rose's Rocket launcher as she took down half a dozen Dregs and a pair of Vandals that had Vlad pinned down before the two rushed for new cover. "But by the look of her, I doubt she needs a lot of help."

"She's always been careful, even when we were on the Tower helping to take down Dregs and Vandals with Cayde so Rose could practice her aim she was slow and took her time, but she never misses a head shot." Bing seemed to bounce with pride. "Cayde said it's because she has good eyes."

Petra couldn't help but smile, talking to this Ghost was so different then Vakarian or the other Ghosts she'd come to know. Vakarian would be careful of what he did and did not say around Petra and Variks, Wrex would always try to outdo Variks and always wanted to fight the bigger bounties and Sovereign was often sarcastic and blunt, but Bing had no worry or fear of either of them and spoke with what Petra could only say was genuine emotion.

"You are very trusting with your information." She said watching the screen as Rose and Vlad double teamed a Fallen Captain.

"Rose says it's safe here," Bing said with a soft click. "So I don't have to keep secretes. At least not from important people, like the Queen or the Vanguard, Rose says that keeping things form them is bad and they'll be unhappy if we keep things from them. And you and Variks helped us before, so it would be rude to keep secretes from you."

"And how do you know we won't use those secretes to hurt Rose?" Petra asked with a small smirk, trying to look intimidating.

The Ghost however seemed to know she was bluffing and twisted his shell with a small bleep. "Because if you wanted to hurt Rose, you'd have done it by now. You've had plenty of time and chances." Bing stated with a matter of fact like ring to his words. "Besides, the Petra we knew said she'd never hurt a fellow Awoken unless they did something bad towards the Queen and Rose would never do anything like that."

Petra smiled, that was true in more ways than one; Rose had proven that she had no ill desire towards the Queen, though her verbal beating of the Prince in his own game had given the Queen a smile for a few days.

"Did Rose ever see the Queen of your world? Face to face I mean." Petra asked, wanting to sate her own curiosity, given how well Rose spoke of the Queen in her world.

"We were near to her, but I don't know if the Queen really ever saw us. She never really showed much sign of movement or recognition after she fell to silence." Bing explained. "Rose would always bow her head to the Queen when she passed even when her eye were closed, Petra use to say even if the Queen didn't respond to us it didn't mean she wasn't watching. It was a little scary at first but I think being with Rose helped me not be so worried I'd do something to upset the Queen."

"Why would you think you had upset her?" Petra asked, she knew that her Queen was not fond of many Ghosts, those who were rude and spoke out of turn though she showed some liking towards Vakarian for his work alongside Arielle, but Petra never thought a Ghost would do something to truly upset the Queen.

"She didn't seem to like Ghosts very much where we came from, so I tried not to be around her too much until I found Rose, even then I stayed closer to Rose than anyone else when we went to see Petra or Variks. I was always worried if I got too close the Queen would be angry." Bing stated.

"I see," Petra said before the whole Prison shook and rattled with a death roar from deep within. "I think they just killed something big." She added.

"Was that the last round?" Bing asked looking at the screen.

"Looks like it." Petra smiled as Variks unlocked the trophy room, "They should be out soon." She added while double checking the list she had. "And I have all the names I need."

"More hunting for everyone." Bing chimed.

"I was wondering why Orion hadn't been around yet." Petra admitted in an unspoken Question.

"Arielle told him he didn't need to go hunting, she wants them to spend time together so she made him promise no hunting for a while." Bing explained in answer. "Wrex keeps reminding him he isn't allowed to hunt."

"Ah," Petra chuckled. "That explains it." She added as the two Hunters climbed out of the Prison Vault and headed back towards them, following the Warden as it lead them back to where their Ghosts were waiting, looking tired but satisfied with themselves as they followed the Warden.

"Well, that was fun." Vlad said as Sovereign hovered up to his shoulder.

"Tiring you mean," Rose smiled as Bing bumped lightly against her helm. "You were worried."

"Yes." He admitted and then settled himself on her head.

Petra couldn't help but smile.

"New bounties?" Vlad asked nodding to the list in her hands.

"Yes, a long list and not a lot of time or people to spare for it." Petra sighed. "We are starting to become stretched."

"Arielle and Orion might be up for them in a few days," he smiled, "Zavala reminded Orion he had two weeks of leave left to use and if he didn't take time off he'd make it an order." The Exo explained.

Petra chuckled, that did explain why Arielle's com had been turned off and why Vakarian hadn't been answering for her.

"What do you think Variks will have for rewards?" Sovereign asked as they left the Prison.

"Cloaks, Bonds, Marks, Weapons and maybe a nice trinket." Vlad smiled. "He always has something good for those who can run the restricted prison levels."

"Is that how Arielle got her Gantlets?" Rose asked.

"No, those were a gift, she never told me where she got them, but I do know she has never changed them." Vlad explained, "But they sure as hell make her a nasty person to anger, I've seen Guardians in the Crucible and in the Iron Banner go down without Arielle even trying."

"Wow." Rose said. "I hope I never end up on the receiving end." She added.

"That makes all of us." Petra assured as they entered their ships and headed back to the outpost. "I've seen Arielle at her worst and I never want to see her like that again."

~ "What do you mean?" ~ Rose asked. ~ "Arielle doesn't seem the kind to get really, really angry easily." ~

~ "She's not." ~ Vlad said, ~ "But there have been times Arielle has become so angry, be it thought someone else's carelessness or someone saying something that hits her wrong, she will lash out and Traveller help whoever is on the end of her wrath." ~

~ "That bad?" ~ Rose asked.

"Ask Variks to show you the footage from Arielle's fight with the Wolves of this world sometime, you'll get the idea." Petra said as they floated into their stations at the dock.

"Do we have to give Variks back the Sigel?" Bing asked as he floated along beside Rose.

"No, those are good for a week, then you have to get a new one." Vlad said rolling his shoulders, "Remind me to oil my shoulders when we get back to the tower."

"A good fight." Variks said as they approached, "Well done." he praised with what Vlad thought might have been a smile as he looked over the wears the Fallen Vandal had to offer them.

"What have you got for us?" The Exo asked looking at the branded wears and the weapons that had been freshly cleaned and laid out for them to inspect.

"Many gifts. Some from the Queen herself, others Variks acquired through other means." The Vandal said with a dark chuckle.

"I will save myself the nightmares and not ask." Sovereign said.

"What's that?" Bing asked, and Variks followed the smaller Ghost's single gaze and saw the butt of a rifle poking out of its place.

"That is still in progress, not for sale yet." He explained, "Maybe next time." He added, as Rose picked out the sniper rifle.

"Incoming message from Cayde." Sovereign said, "Another Hive outbreak, they're on Earth again."

"Better get back and help with clean up." Vlad huffed softly, "So much for that hot shower."

"You can shower when we are done Hive hunting and then brag to Orion you beat his kill record." Rose said nodding to the board Variks kept scores on.

"Titan has been absent too long." Variks chuckled in his way.

"Oh he's gonna hate me." Vlad chuckled. "Took him weeks to get that many kills." He added as they headed off to their ships.

"So don't tell him until Arielle lifts the no hunting rule." Rose suggested.

Vlad chuckled. "I give him two weeks and he's begging Arielle to let him run the Prison solo." He said as they left the Reef, "Then again, maybe he's learnt by now."

"Maybe, or maybe he'll relapse when they get back in the field." Rose said with a smile. "So where are we going on Earth?"

"Sky Watch, Forgotten shores and the Moth Yards are reporting heavy Hive activity." Sovereign said. "Ogres, Knights, Acolytes and Thrall coming out of the ground in swarms and the numbers just keep going up."

"Could they be Wizard broods?" Rose asked, "They do summon Hive from apparently nowhere." She reminded.

"Possibly but there aren't many Wizards that can constantly summon broods." Vlad said, "At least not that I know of."

"Eris would know more." Rose said, "I know that Omnigul can do it. But I never really faced many Hive Wizards back in my world, they were below the surface of the Moon while Thrall, Acolytes and Knights patrolled the surface."

"Any information is better than nothing." Vlad reminded with a smile. "Let's just hope Arielle and Orion are on the field soon, I'm about to break Arielle's record of Hive kills." He adds.

"Better not tell her that face to face," Sovereign stated. "She'll lock you in the storage room and triple her kills before she lets you out again."

Eris released a long sigh, slowly leaving the shadows of her meditation and began to caress the ball in her hands, collecting herself as the light of her room slowly grew brighter.

The shadows were helpful, but their lingering coldness made her shudder even now she was so close to the light, even with the windows blacked out and the room being in the darkest part of the tower.

There were old names in the shadows but new fears, far worse than any she had seen in her years on the Moon, lost in the darkness of the tunnels while Crota and his Generals plotted and schemed around her.

Omnigul was stronger, more twisted and wicked with her cruelty, her rage and fury at eth loss of Crota echoed in the darkness, filling the Hive with more rage and anger, but it did not mask the others who hid in wait, The Swarm Princes were also enraged and so too were many of the Generals Eris had learnt from the Moon.

And there were more still hidden deeper in the shadows that she dared not search out alone, but she had seen them move and seen them reach and try to grab at the slowly growing light that burned them, young sparks of Arc energy dancing about embers of Sol…

The ball of light was starting to grow small, and soon it would fade.

There was a gentle knock at her door, drawing her from her thoughts. "Enter."

"I brought you some food," Cayde said as the door slid open for him. "And something to drink." He added.

"How long was I in darkness?" The former hunter asked as he placed the tray down on the small table.

"Just short of 37 hours." Cayde said. "Ikora came by last night, but you were still meditating."

"I see," She said slowly standing from her place in the centre of a glowing green mark upon the floor. "Have I worried anyone?"

"Not that I have noticed, but you have been missed, The Queen has sent me two messages in the last four hours asking for your report as she couldn't reach you herself." He admitted.

"I must apologize to her." Eris said while Cayde placed a small stack of data pads on a shelf, "More reports?"

"Detailed to the brim with information from Guardians and Awoken. Things are getting bad out there Eris, and I've got this nagging feeling that this is gonna get worse before it gets better." Cayde said and she knew he was trying to ask nicely if he was right to assume that or if he was just getting paranoid.

"Life is never easy before times of peace." She said and Cayde sighed, shoulders sagging and for a moment, Eris could have sworn she saw the human Cayde-6 had once been in place of the Exo. "Rose will need her Arrows soon."

"But with the whole system on high alert and all that had happened to her, can we really send her off alone?" Cayde asked looking at her, "You see things in her I can't and I don't mean because of the third eye. You know she's not a seasoned Guardian."

"But it is wrong of us to baby her, when her own world was far harsher and cruel then our own." Eris reminded. "She is a survivor Cayde, I have seen it in her eyes, a fire that burns without heat or purpose until she in engaged in battle then it becomes an inferno and I have seen the sparks of lightning that dance across her eyes, new and bright and yet she pays it no mind. She will be accepted by the Void."

"But at what price?" Cayde asked. "The Void is kind to the Titans and Warlocks, it gives them a taste and then sends them on their way to the Sun and Storm…"

"You worry she will change with the Void?" Eris asked.

"All Hunters change with the Void." Cayde reminded, "Vlad, Zaragosa, me, you, all Hunters lose something to the Void and it changes us."

"If she is to become part of this world, she must join the Void." Eris said softly, "Or when the darkness comes, it may consume her."

"You saw it?" Cayde asked and Eris nodded, clutching the orb to her chest. "Eris?"

"They try to claw at her even now, trying to hurt her from the shadows, weakening what little light protects her. She must connect with the Void, or Rose will fade." Eris explained clutching her orb.

Cayde nodded, though he did not like what he would have to do nor that he would have to explain this to Arielle and Orion as he opened his comm-link. "Arielle."

Eris nodded and looked to her orb, taking a moment to reach out to the Queen and show her what she had seen and ask her a small favour.

Meanwhile two ships came into dock and Holiday smiled watched Rose and Vlad stumble tiredly from their ships and head for the dorms.

Clearing out Hive lasted until the very wee hours of the morning and knowing most Guardians would be asleep at this hour the two were as silent as possible as they slipped into the room and showered before bed, Orion poked his head from the room he and Arielle were now sharing when the shower went off and gave them a small wave before heading back to bed himself.

Bing settled on the pillow of Rose's bed and gave a quiet bleep as he began to shut down for the night while Rose towel dried her hair, pausing and looking at the gathered Ghosts from her home.

Seven in total, each one had once been colourful and full of light and life, but now they were cold, dull and barely held on to what little light they had left within them, the Speaker had said he couldn't revive them himself as their shells were locked in place from stress and fear and the revival would only hurt them if a stranger preformed it and had suggested instead that Rose attempt to calm the fear that still held the Ghosts captive and that would allow the Ghosts to leave in their own time as Watson had done.

So Rose had brought them to her room and gently cleaned them of the dirt and grime before wrapping them together in her cloak again and placed them on the bed beside her, there was a comfortable tug at her light and she smiled as she laid down to sleep, allowing her light to comfort the Ghosts who sought peace before they passed back into the Traveler.

Uldren resisted the urge to find the nearest incinerator and throw the reports that covered his desk into it as he signed yet another report off and added it to the even larger pile of finished documents that needed to be filed away.

No less than seventeen sightings of Ravens, each one closer than he would like them to be to the edge of the Reef boundaries, each one daring to get that little bit closer.

He did not like it.

He didn't like that even with the added help and information from the Tower, the Ravens were still a large threat even with Cayde's apparent finest taking down Ravens that did dare to get too close. It was stressful beyond words but it had to be done if he was to keep the Reef and his Queen safe and so, he tolerated the reports that piled high upon his desk and made sure to read through them all and search for anything in them that might help keep the Reef safe.

He heard a knock on his door and swallowed the desire to groan. "Enter." He called and the door opened to show a young Guard stood in the entrance, she bowed in respect before speaking.

"Prince Uldren, Her Grace sends for you," she said.

"Where is the Queen now?" he asked standing from his desk.

"The Throne room," The Guard stated and stepped aside as he came out of the room.

"Thank you, dismissed." He bid and the Guard bowed again before returning to her duties.

The walk to the Throne room passed his finest guards and handpicked Titans from the Tower who now acted as added buff to the security and also as Defenders should an attack ever come close to the Queen again and before he reached the doors of the throne room he saw two of Ikora's Warlocks along with his own chosen guards at the ready to protect the Queen.

He had heard Guardians talk about how high the security was at the Tower now as well and his own Crows had told him of the larger torrents of the wall that had been built and placed ready to defend the City.

"And the Tower can spare such resources?" Petra asked from inside the room as he entered.

"With the amount of parts we have spare thanks to the salvage teams yes, but we don't know where they would be better suited here, the Walls already has hundreds placed around it and the larger turrets on the heads of the Towers have been reactivated." Lindor stated as Terrik and Zaragosa laid out the large scroll they were holding. "Commander Zavala wants to insure we are ready for anything and these turrets may help keep the Ravens further away."

"And you are sure they can be used here?" the Queen asked as she looked over the plans she had been shown. "This is not a solid planet and the Reef will move with time."

"We tested them from high orbit around Venus and Mars, so we know they will fire out here," Terrik nodded "And that is why we need to know where you need them to be placed and how many you will need, as you said Your Grace, this is not a planet and we don't want to set up a weapon somewhere they could drift off and end up in enemy hands."

"Uldren." The Queen said and all eyes fell on him as he approached, looking over the blue prints and images of turrets he had heard about from his crows.

"The Tower is giving us torrents?" he asked.

"Rapid firing, universal, infinite stream Turrets." Petra corrected handing him the data pad she had been reading. "Ikora's design, taken from the Golden Age and redefined to fire everything from bullets and Rockets to Plasma and Fusion energy."

"Impressive, but have they been tested against Ravens?"

"They have," Zaragosa nodded and nodded to his Ghost who began to project footage on the far wall. "Video footage from the Guardians who tested the turrets and the most recent results of our test firing from high orbit on the Moon."

Uldren watched as the turret hummed into life for a few seconds before firing a hail of bullets rapidly down on to the incoming Hive charging them, pausing for a spilt second before the bullets were replaced by swiftly firing fusion blasts that brought down Knights with seeming ease, then from the back of the turret came a barrage of Rockets taking down a trio of Ogres at the back of the charge and the Acolytes around them.

Petra gave a sound of approval. "You weren't kidding about the Universal part."

"Ikora's been working on this idea for years, ever since the Black Garden was opened," Lindor explained, "It was meant to be to clear out Vex, but as time went past and we discovered the Hive and Cabal and now the Ravens, she's added and tweaked things."

"An intelligent move." The Queen stated and Uldren felt her gaze on him as he continued to study the plans and thought about where best these new additions would be useful and where they would be safe from floating off.

"Hmmm… can they be installed on ships such as this Ketch long term?" he asked.

Lindor nodded. "They can, but we would need to reinforce the panels were the turret goes to insure no damage." She explained.

"Incoming transmission from Cayde-6." The Hunter's Ghost stated suddenly, "He says it is urgent."

"Let's hear it." Zaragosa said as his Ghost bounded in a nod, opening up to increase the signal as Cayde's voice filtered through.

~ "You receiving me Zaragosa?" ~

"Yes Cayde."

~ "Good, if you and the team are still talking with the Queen show her this new feed I'm sending you, it's another of Ikora's toys she's had Amanda working on." ~ He explained as a video feed arrived in the Ghost.

"He sounds unhappy." Petra said.

"I think I know why," Zaragosa said and nodded as his Ghost began to project the footage. "How has Amanda kept that under wraps?!"

Uldren watched the footage and felt his eyes widen as a large ship flew above a Cabal base on Mars and opened fire with a hail of bullets from twin Gatling guns and rockets, taking down Centurions and other Cabal like flies.

"Very impressive." The Queen said and he heard the awe in her voice.

~ "It is called 'Hail Storm'. And Ikora asks how many do you want and should she ask Holiday to get them painted in your colours?" ~ Cayde asked with a slight hint of envy and Uldren smiled inwardly, Cayde-6 apparently wanted one of those very ships for himself and was envious that the Reef was getting the first wave of them.

After deciding where the Turrets would go and how many ships they would need, the Guardians left and Uldren turned and knelt beside his Queen. "My Queen?"

"Eris has contacted me," she said and he nodded. "She has seen something troubling in the darkness, something that could do us all harm and something concerning your friend." She added with the barest hint of a smile.

He winced inwardly at the word referring to the Hunter who had beaten him at his own game.

"What of her?" He asked hoping the growl was not evident in his voice.

Apparently it was as the Queen's smile grew just that tiny bit for a second before it faded and her expression became cold and serious once again. "The darkness attempts to reach her through the shadows, if she is to survive, she must touch the void and become a Nightstalker." The Queen told him.

"What is that to do with us?" he asked. "There are plenty of Void Chambers between us and the Tower."

"None that are active." His Queen explained. "Only the Chamber beyond the Reef is still active and able to produce the Bow she needs if she is to stay safe in the darkness."

Uldren gave a slight hum of understanding. "And Arielle will not leave her at a low level."

"Not so long as light still burns within her." The Queen nodded. "Which leaves us with a small problem." She added.

"My Queen?" he asked.

"If the Hunter is to enter the Void Chamber, she must leave the safety of our boundaries. And she must also be able to get back inside. And only you know the safe ways in."

Ah. Yes, that might be an issue.

Uldren had set multiple mines out in the Reef boundaries and while getting past them on the way out was easy, it was near impossible to get back in if one did not know what they were doing.

Uldren would have to help the Hunter get back inside if she survived getting her Void Bow.

"Set aside the fact she bested you at your own game of words and aid her. Or face Arielle's wrath and mine." The Queen told him and Uldren bowed his head.

"I understand my Queen."

"Good." She said and waved him away.

Arielle and Orion woke to the smell of pancakes, from the kitchen and the sound of quiet conversation between Vlad and Rose, Vakarian and Wrex still in recharge while they washed and dressed before going out for breakfast.

"Pancakes for breakfast?" Orion asked with a smile. "What's the occasion?"

"No occasion, Rose wanted to try them and you know me, never one to say no to pancakes." Vlad chuckled, pushing a large plate of fresh pancakes towards the two. "Enjoy."

"What's the plan for today?" Arielle asked, filling her plate.

"Bounties from Petra just came in and a few dozen calls for assistance along the wall and in the Cosmodrome, we were late in due to Hive clearance last night." Vlad said, "And I get that nagging feeling we'll be going by Mars and Venus again soon, I heard from a few Warlocks on the way in that the Archives have been breached again and the Cabal are beefing up in numbers as well."

"Great. So we have a whole new wave of Cabal to face and someone's after the history in the Archives." Arielle sighed.

"Petra asked after you both," Bing said as he twisted and turned his shell, "She said the Reef was starting to become stretched with all the extra security."

"Looks like we need to get back in the field then," Arielle smiled as Vakarian floated out to hover at her side and relay all the messages she had received while they were 'off duty'. "But you better not steal my kills again."

"Yes Arielle." Orion said ducking his head while Vlad chuckled. "But we do have some catching up to do."

"Vlad broke your record in the Prison." Sovereign stated, "And he's almost beaten your score in Hive killing Arielle." He added and Vlad waved his Ghost off.

"Well that changes today." Arielle smiled, cracking her knuckles, "I'll make sure of that."

"Incoming message from Ikora." Vakarian stated. "Mars and Venus reporting Ravens, they want someone to clear them out."

"To Mars?" Orion asked Arielle.

"To Mars." The Warlock nodded. "But first we stop by Xür. See what he has to offer us."

"Xür?" Rose asked.

"And Agent of the Nine, he comes and goes between her and the Reef for a few days every week and he sells Exotic Engrams and Weapons from the Golden Ages, like the S.G.A and the Zen Meteor." Orion said.

"S.G.A?" Bing asked.

"Super Good Advice, it's a machine gun and the Zen Meteor is a sniper rifle." Arielle smiled, "if we are lucky he might let you test fire some of the weapons he brings. The Nine seem to have a stock pile of them somewhere."

Rose nodded and took another forkful of her pancakes.

After breakfast, the four headed out, finding the Agent of the Nine tucked away in the darkness near the Crucible Quarter Master, while Vlad and Orion debated over which of the weapons was better, Shaxx waved Arielle over and spoke to her quietly about something while Rose glanced over the many skulls Shaxx had on the wall.

"Where did they all come from?" she heard Bing ask as he floated by one of the large skulls.

"Days long before the city was this strong." Shaxx said, "Maybe one day I will tell you more about them."

"Ready to go?" Vlad asked after purchasing some odd looking items from Xür.

They moved off those Shaxx noticed Xür seemed to be watching Rose more than the others as she followed after the trio, he would speak with eth Vanguard about it if he caught the Agent doing it again.

"So we take out a few Raven nests, maybe a few Cabal Centurions and then go check the Garden is still dead and gone?" Orion asked.

"We'll see what the day has for us." Arielle said. "We have a lot to do if the reports are right about the Ravens."

"Rose."

Rose stopped and turned at her name to find Eris waiting for her. "A moment alone?" The former hunter asked.

"Sure." Rose nodded and followed Eris to the balcony near the entrance of the North wing. "What's wrong?"

"The shadows I have seen in my meditation, I know their faces and names but not their power. It is beyond the grasp of anything I saw in my time in that Pit." She explained and then turned to Rose, "And I saw some of them trying to get to you in the darkness."

"Me?" Rose asked.

"Your hand slew Crota this time, your hand brought about the death of their God. And Omnigul will not rest until you are dead or she is brought to her end once more." Eris explained and then sighed deeply. "I have seen terrible things in the darkness Rose, things I wish I could un-see and erase from my mind and now I see them turning their gaze to you."

Rose shuddered, she knew better than to think she could have escaped the Hive's gaze after Crota's defeat, but she had not thought their plotting would reach her so soon.

"What should I do?" Rose asked, if anyone could help her against the Hive it was Eris, the one who had gone down into the Pit and come back out, changed but still willing to help even with so many who at first doubted and questioned her loyalty.

Eris shook her head. "I have no power to help you physically, but I can tell you this if ever you see darkness in your dreams, hear the songs of darkness or feel their claws at your mind, if you ever feel you are alone, come to me and I will do all I can to push them from your mind."

She saw the confusion in Rose's eyes even as the younger Hunter nodded. "I don't understand what you mean Eris, but I will do as you ask."

"Thank you." She said. "Go now, Arielle is waiting for you."

"Thank you Eris." Rose said and headed towards the docks where Arielle had hung back waiting for her.

"What did she say?" the Warlock asked.

"She wanted me to go see her if the Hive start messing with my head." Rose explained, "She says they are trying to get to me, but until they get in my head, she can't help me keep them away."

"Let's hope they stay away for now, we're gonna need your help making sure we kill those Ravens," Arielle said.

"I hope they stay away forever." Rose said, "They are scary enough without having them in my head."

"I hear that." Arielle nodded. "But for now, let's forget them and deal with the Ravens and go from there."

"Fine by me." Rose nodded.

She watched silently from her place, following the Hunter as she had been instructed. She had grown since their last meeting, both in light and in confidence she could see that just in how the Hunter carried herself now. She'd been given new orders to speak with the Hunter again, find out all she could about her and report back to them.

So she followed the group to Mars and watched as they joined a party of Guardians before they moved out together, heading for the largest of the Raven nest sites in the Valley of Kings.

She watched their Ghosts take shelter inside their armour, likely for safety from the Ravens as she carefully settled in for a long wait, trying to think of a safe way to get the Hunter alone and how to approach her.

She was always with someone it seemed and she was certainly more aware of her surrounding snow than she had been in the Vault of glass, but she doubted inviting the Guardian out alone would result in a one of one meeting. No she had to be more inventive about this, she would have to think of a way to get the Hunter alone, but not appear a threat to those who had accepted her as their team mate.

It would be a challenge, but she had time on her side and she could wait until the right time to speak to the Guardian.

Orion watched carefully as Rose climbed up a broken and ruined wall, taking her time and checking the path was stable before she waved down for others to follow, having faced Ravens before she was best to lead this mission and so she had set them up. Three Sunbreakers and two Defenders would stay down on the ground near cover while the Stormcallers and Hunters climbed to higher ground, the Stormcallers would take shelter where they could and wait for the Nightstalkers to get in to position.

When everyone was ready Rose would give the signal and the Nightstalkers would use their arrows to tether the Ravens giving the Stormcallers and Sunbreakers time to bring them down with their Supers or fire power. Rose reached a safe place and looked out over the nesting sight carefully, watching for any sign the Ravens had seen anyone before nodding and waving those following her to move.

~ "Rose, how do we know this will work?" ~ Someone asked over the comms.

"It worked as just Hunters when we tried it where I'm from." Rose answered. "Though we didn't have Defenders to help cover us or Stormcallers to help keep them from flying off." She added.

~ "So this should work better than it did in your world." ~ Vlad said.

"Should." Rose nodded. "Everyone ready?" She asked and there was a collective affirmative, Rose watched carefully for a perfect shot and smiled. "Aim and… Fire."

Four arrows hit the nest area and Void tethers grabbed the Ravens before they could take off, allowing the Thunder and Lightning of the Stormcallers and the Sol Hammers to rain down on the Ravens while Rose lined up and fired her Sniper rife with practiced ease.

"Keep at it!" Arielle yelled focusing her light down her arms.

"Tether's lost!" Vlad yelled as the Ravens began to flare their wings and take off.

"Aim for the wings!" Rose yelled. "Ground them!"

"Look out!" Arielle yelled as a Raven charged them and Rose ducked into the small cover she had, snatching up her smaller hand cannon and unloaded the clip into the back and wings of the attacking Raven.

After what felt like hours of shooting, the last Raven fell to the ground.

"Rose?" Orion asked when he couldn't see the younger Hunter, only for Vlad to wave him over as Rose limped out of her cover. "What happened?"

"I fell funny." She admitted, favouring her left leg. "We need to deal with this mess before more Ravens show up."

"Same as the Reef? Bleed 'em, burn the blood then get rid of the carcass elsewhere?" the Titan asked and Rose nodded allowing Bing out to heal her leg now it was safer to do so. "Could we take the blood back to the Tower and use it there? Just in case?"

"If you can stand the smell of Raven blood." Rose nodded. "It is foul."

"We'll manage." Orion nodded.

"Anyone else got a feeling of eyes on their back?" Vlad asked quietly.

"Have since we got here." Arielle nodded.

"Let's get this place sorted and then go," Rose said. "I'm getting shivers."

"I hear that." Orion nodded as they set about their tasks, though Arielle and Vlad made sure to scan the area every few seconds, searching for whatever it was that was watching them until at last they could leave, dragging toe Raven carcasses away from the patrol routes.

"Incoming transmission Arielle." Vakarian said just as they left the Atmosphere of Mars. "Privet channels. From Ikora."

"Let's hear it." Arielle nodded and Vakarian opened his shell to allow clearer connection.

~ "Bring Rose to Tower Six." ~ Ikora said, her tone grave and her voice heavy with something Arielle had learnt was controlled anger. ~ "She must see what we have uncovered." ~

"Understood." Arielle said and opened a channel to Rose. "When we reach earth, follow me."

~ "Something happen?" ~ Rose asked.

"Ikora wants us on Tower Six." Arielle stated.

~ "Got it." ~ Rose answered.

They reached Earth within the hour and Arielle broke off from the group, followed by Rose heading for Tower Six, still under heavy repair even with all the fighting going on around the walls and left their ships hovering by what was left of a docks while they trasmated onto the tower.

"Ikora?" Arielle called out as they looked around, noticing the docks were bare of Guardians venders and all other fixtures, as if they were just ripped away by a powerful force and the Tower was left to ruin and rot.

The air was heavy with the scent of decay and death and the atmosphere made Arielle uncomfortable.

"This way." Rose said carefully making her way around the broken mess as if she had been there before.

Arielle followed her steps, watching as Bing flittered into life and looked around slowly, his shell lowering as they make their way towards the Plaza, seeing the Ghosts shudder and float closer to Rose as they passed the area Amanda usually sat only to see the large dry stains of blood on the floor.

"It's like home." Bing said sadly.

"It is Home." Rose corrected pointing at a broken mess that had once been so familiar to them both. "That's where the Queen sat with Petra and Variks."

"How is this possible?" Arielle asked.

"I have no idea…" Rose admitted, jumping over the large hole in the floor. "This was how my tower was… just not as clean." She added looking around. "What's going on?"

"We believe the Vex and Hive are to blame." Ikora said she and Eris stepped from the shadows. "Come."

The Guardians followed and Ikora lead them to what remained of the Plaza, where the smell of blood and decay was strongest and Rose had to cover her mouth and nose, trying not to stand in the blood stains that littered the floor.

"What is going on?" Arielle asked as they at last reached a relatively clear area. "How is this- if this is Rose's Tower how is it here and why is it like this?"

"We found evidence of Hive Wizards tampering with Vex technology in some reports we found in what we think is Cayde's room in this Tower." Eris said, holding out a small stack of data pads and a few scraps of paper to Rose. "I have translated as much as I can, but I do not know any of these codes."

Rose took them carefully and looked them over, recognizing some names and easily understand the code Cayde used to write the notes, Vex tech in the hands of Hive Wizards and some kind of ritual they had done, causing a sudden surge in the darkness and also an increase in Fallen showing up.

"They were trying to spread the darkness across all of time and space using the Vex tech." Rose said after reading the notes, "he doesn't say how, but he does say that Eris had been muttering about some kind of spell before she went to fight for the Reef with the Awoken." She explained.

"So the fall of your world was caused by the Hive meddling with the Technology of the Vex." Arielle said.

"According to this, their meddling caused the Vex tech to glitch on a huge scale, reports came in about Vex portals just appearing in mid-air or in the middle of dark zones and Hive swarming them, then somehow the Fallen got hold of it and they started to use it for their own devices as well." Rose said. "It would explain how I got here from my world with all this messing with the Vex tech."

"And how this Tower is so like the one of your world." Eris said, "And that leads us to a new problem."

"What do you mean?" Arielle asked.

"If this Tower is covered in the damages from Rose's world, what else could be effected here from Rose's world?" Ikora said and Arielle shuddered as she realized just what Ikora was talking about. "If the two worlds collide, we may face a full scale assault from every angle and then some and no matter how we prepare for it, we can't protect the City if the threat just appears inside the City."

"There has to be a way to stop this." Rose said, "If my world imprints on yours…"

"We are working on a solution, but it is taking longer than we thought it would due to our lack of understanding about the Vex technology." Ikora admitted, "Eris has given us all she can about these new Hive and the recordings and data we gained from Watson has been more help than we thought it could be and it has been added to somehow by each Ghost you have brought to us, but we fear we need more if we are to stop our world colliding, with deserters results."

"The Commander's Ghost." All eyes fell on Bing as he hovered over the broken remains of the Ghost shell, a sad chime echoing from within him. "Can we help him?"

"We can try." Rose said, kneeling by the broken Ghost and carefully picking up the pieces.

"So how do we stop this?" Arielle asked. "What is your plan?"

"We need to stop it at the source." Ikora said, "All the reports say the same thing; the Hive control over the Vex tech is from Omnigul and the Swarm Princes, we take them down we can stop this." She stated.

"Rose will need more than just her Golden Gun and Arc Blades." Eris said.

Arielle shook her head. "None of the Void chambers are active anymore."

"The one beyond the Reef is." Eris reminded.

Arielle looked to Rose as she carefully placed the broken Shell into a small pouch and stood again, catching Bing in her hands and holding him as he shook. "I'll do it." She said.

Arielle nodded. "I'll go with you Rose."

"You can only go as far as the Reef." Ikora reminded, "Rose has to connect with the Void on her own, just as you tamed the Storm alone."

"Orion and Vlad were there when I went to tame that storm." Arielle reminded, "They were close, not with me, but close."

"No further than the Reef." Ikora said again.

"With the mines out there it's a death trap." Arielle reminded, "How will she get back in once she's out without help?"

"The Queen assures me that her brother will help Rose to navigate her way back into the Reef. Lest he face her fury." Eris said with a tiny smile to her face. "And yours." She added. Arielle reluctantly nodded, she would still go with Rose to the Reef and she would leave her comm open until this was done with.

"Should we leave now?" Rose asked.

"We will tell Vlad and Orion you are leaving, but you would be wise to rest before you go to the Chamber. Tiredness will not serve you will in there." Eris warned.

"Yes Eris." Rose nodded.

The Queen listened carefully as Petra reported the latest updates to the Bounty list and the details of the last two days work on the Ketch to install the Turrets and train the pilots to fly the Hail Storm ships. So far it seemed they were ready to face off the ravens should they attack again, but something seemed to be bothering Petra that she didn't speak of through to the Queen it was clear it was something important.

"Petra."

"Yes my Queen?" the huntress asked.

"What troubles you?"

Petra flinched, though glanced at the Prince. "There was an unsettling find made in your privet Docking area." She said.

"Explain." The Prince said.

"I am unsure how best to word it." Petra stated. "It was… not something I or anyone would have wished to find."

"What was found?" the Queen asked, though there was a uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"A large blood stain," Petra said and looked at Uldren. "We have Variks inspect it at once and according to him, the blood is that of the Prince."

Uldren shook his head. "I have injuries nor have I been near the docks today." He said.

"I understand that," Petra nodded. "But Variks insisted it was your scent and to be sure, we ran our usual test and the results confirmed his words, this blood stain is made from Prince Uldren's blood."

"How is that possible?" Uldren asked.

The Queen held up a hand for silence and tilted her head slightly listening to the voices in her ear carefully before nodding. "It seems that the Hunter's world is starting to manifest into our own. The Vanguard is sending her here to gain her Void Bow with Arielle before they seek out the cause of this unsettling development." She explained.

"What would you have us do My Lady?" Petra asked.

"Clean this stain as best you can and then continued to monitor the Reef for further overlapping details." The Queen said, "And have a room prepared for Arielle and her friend. They shall need rest before the Hunter travels to the Void Chamber."

"Yes My Queen." Petra bowed and left the two alone, Uldren having grown silent and lost in thought.

"Uldren." She said softly and he turned to her, for the first time in a long time she saw fear in him as he knelt by her. "Speak to me brother."

"How much more of her world will come here? How much more danger will we have to face before this is over and done with?"

"The Hunter does not control this Darkness, brother, the Hive and their Wizards cause it's foul spreading, until they are dead this spread will continue." The Queen said. "Have faith brother, the Hunter will not bring harm upon the Reef nor to me."

"It is hard to keep faith when the darkness of her world spreads through our own with apparent ease." Uldren admitted.

"Spreads, but does not find anchorage." The Queen reminded. "let us see how this plays out, it seems that the Darkness the Tech Witches felt has for a time stopped beyond the planet Pluto, it seems to be waiting."

Uldren nodded, recalling those few times his sister had confided in him about a terrible force that approached the system since the death of Crota to Orion, Arielle and Vlad all those years ago now. It didn't sit well with either of them that this power seemed hell bent on getting to the system, bringing many terrible things with it like some kind of plague.

"What would you have me do, my Queen?" He asked.

"Help the Hunter and insure that the Reef is ready for anything we may face." She stated.

"Yes my Queen." He answered and she waved him off after a moment or two.

The Queen sat in her throne and thought carefully over everything she knew from the day she pulled the Vex information from its host to now, how easily she had been able to read the thoughts of a bright and safe future of the Hunter who came from a world so dark and so lost, how brutally honest the Hunter had been and how despite the loss of all she had known, she held on to that tiny slither of Hope that somehow, her world could be saved in some way.

A child's mind in an adult's body that was how the Queen chose to think of the Hunter. Her skills were impressive and had only improved from her time with Arielle and her team mates but still the Queen could see the child in the Hunter whenever she visited the Reef, the Queen needed only to look towards the Hunter and she could read her thoughts without needing to try, they were fluid and easy to define from those around her.

Thoughts of keeping the darkness at bay, thoughts of pushing the darkness of her world back and keeping it away from those she now thought of as friends, thoughts of finding the Ghosts of her world and setting them free of the darkness that had tormented them and thoughts of keeping her Ghost safe in danger.

Not a thought for her own safety or her own desires, no thoughts of what she herself might need or want. It was somewhat refreshing to the Queen to find such an open mind, someone so willing to fight in the face of seemingly impossible odds to try and make a difference in the world. It made something inside the Queen burn brighter, and she had seen the slight changes the Hunter brought out of those around her.

Arielle smiled more around her, Petra told the stories of her youth and her family without forcing the smiles or forcing the tears away around Rose and even Variks, the sly creature, could not hide the smile or the fact he stood just that bit taller, and Uldren, despite his bitterness at being bested, was slowly warming to the Hunter.

Very slowly.

"Mara?" a voice asked and the Queen felt a smile tug her lips. She said looking at Arielle as she came in to the throne room.

"Shouldn't you be resting?" She asked.

"I am not going with Rose beyond this point." Arielle said. "Hunters must touch the Void alone, just as Warlocks tame Arc and Titans take up the Hammer."

"You wish it were different?" the Queen asked.

"I don't like sending her out alone like this. Not when there is so much that could and likely will go wrong before she even gets to the Chamber." Arielle sighed. "I don't know how she can be so calm about this."

Let it be known forever and always that Mara Sov, Queen of the Reef and Ruler of the Awoken, genuinely smiled and laughed that day.

"I recall a long time, ago a very young and strong willed Warlock came to the Reef alone and with such weak light that she barely stood out amongst the stars, requesting my help." She said and Arielle ducked her head.

"I was reckless, young and hard headed." Arielle said. "But I knew the dangers-"

"You were the first woman, besides myself to ever render Uldren speechless without physically striking him." The Queen stated with a chuckle. "You had your ball drop a Gate Lord's head, a Cabal Commander's Gatling gun and no less than five Fallen Captain's helms at Uldren's feet before he could speak and told him that if he didn't give you the information you needed you would go to the Reef archives and find it yourself."

Arielle sighed, those days had been fond memories, a time when she didn't stand shoulder to shoulder with the best of her class, days when she could afford to go off and jump in blindly as a new Guardian. "I was in a rush, I was in a bad mood and the smirk on his face was not helping my mood." She tried to defend though she knew there was no reason to do so.

"And yet you came back to the Reef. Even after the Black Garden was cleared you came to us." The Queen said, the smile still on her lips, "Have you forgotten to Code of the Reef?"

"Never." Arielle said, "We live and breathe this Reef, and it in turn protects us. Respect the Reef and it will protect you as it protects the Queen."

"And I am in no doubt that the Reef will protect the Hunter." The Queen assured, "She may not live here, but she respects the Reef, I see it in her. She will return to your team Arielle."

"Do not promise me what you can't guarantee Mara." Arielle said. "You rule the Awoken, but you do not control the Void, it will take something from her before it grants her the Bow… she will change."

The smile faded. "We all change, Arielle, you were once reckless and young, as was Uldren. I watched you grow from that brash girl into a woman I could call a sister, a woman I could leave this throne too if ever I had to." The Queen said. "No one can stay pure and innocent forever. Not even the dear Speaker is free of past demons that haunt his shadows."

"But must it be now? She is a child, a dear one at that. Must she lose that part of herself simply to connect with the Void?"

"You lost your recklessness to the Storm." The Queen reminded, "Nothing is free in this life Arielle, nothing is as simple as we wish it could be. You know that."

"Doesn't mean I like it." Arielle sighed.

The Queen nodded. "You came to ask me something." She stated.

"I know you have been watching her." Arielle nodded. "I want to watch her do this. I want to see for myself that she can do it before I drag my boys and Lindor's team into hell."

The Queen nodded. "You will tell me what you know."

"Always. My Queen." Arielle nodded.

Vakarian turned to the door as he heard something move outside the room, watching as Rose shifted in her sleep as the sound moved away, allowing her to settle back into a deeper sleep, Bing partly hidden under the sheet with her as the two rested, preparing for the hazardous journey they would face when they woke.

He knew that the Prince had some kind of device watching them, he always did. It was part of his nature to be constantly weary of anyone and everyone not born on the Reef or serving the Queen. He just hadn't found it yet, not that there was anything interesting to watch really, just Rose cleaning the space dirt from Bing's shell before settling down to sleep, a glass of water at her bed side, but beyond that, nothing in the room was out of place.

This had been Arielle's room on the Reef before she'd uncovered the plot between Uldren and the Queen, it had been left untouched since her departure, though someone had clearly kept the place clean.

He heard someone outside the door and floated over as a code was keyed in, allowing Petra to enter with a data pad. Upon seeing Vakarian but not Arielle she coked her head. "Where is she?" she asked quietly.

"She went to see the Queen." Vakarian said.

"Ah, well, in that case I shall leave this with you for when she gets back." Petra said, holding up the data pad she had with her. "A list of the latest Bounties."

"Thank you, I will make sure she gets it." Vakarian assured. Petra nodded and placed the list on the table by the door before leaving.

Rose groaned in her sleep and rolled onto her back, muttering something Vakarian couldn't understand as he settled down on the recharge dock to rest and wait for Arielle to return. He sent a quiet plea to the Traveler that all would be well when this was over, that the Darkness of Rose's world would never come to pass.

Deep in the shadows, cloaked in darkness and seething with evil, he watched.

He listened to the songs of those who had served his son and felt his blood boil with rage that a lowly light could have hurt much less killed his son. They would pay for their crime. They would pay in blood and those who had slayed his son would become his minions.

He needed only to wait for the right moment.