Chapter Three: The Response
The greatest weapon the Guardians have is their ability to work together. All the gifts in the world don't mean anything if they drown alone in the Darkness. -Anonymous
Normally after a scouting mission, Cayde would gather all of the info, decide what the most important bits were, and bring those bits to the other two Vanguard representatives. Sasha must have alerted Cayde that this was an urgent report, however, as all three Vanguard members were present when we entered the briefing room. Not only them, but all of Fireteam Spearhead was present as well. Jesse was standing alongside Zack. Nate was chumming it up with the two Titans of the group, Maria and Felix. Maria was the Defender of Spearhead. Felix was under unique circumstances. While originally a Striker, he was training to become a full-fledged Sunbreaker. It wasn't odd for Guardians to train in more than one area, but normally each one found a specific class they really clicked with. Clearly Felix thought Sunbreaker was his calling.
Regardless, I felt a sense of both awe and nervousness well in me. The best Guardians in the Tower were all present, and all, including the Vanguard, were going to watch me speak. Ghost seemed slightly annoyed at the emotions swelling in me, and I almost imagined him giving me a shove to get me to focus. As Sasha and I entered, all heads turned to look at me. I fought to keep my face a blank mask as I took a place next to Cayde. Ikora gave me a reassuring smile, which I was grateful for as I caught sight of Eris Morn lurking in the shadows near Zavala. Well, so much for not being intimidated. Thankfully, Cayde pressed forward before I could get more rattled.
"Welcome ladies, gentlemen, Eris," he began, and I caught Sasha try to hold in a choked laugh at the sneer Eris had gotten. She and Cayde had never gotten along well. "Our scouts have returned from Relic Park with few casualties, and Sasha and Nathan in particular, with Cassidy's help, completed a task far more invasive. With what Sasha told me, it's something you all need to hear."
He motioned the Gunslinger forward, but she shook her head and held up a hand.
"Actually, it's Cassidy who'll be able to tell you what was found. She's the one who found what we were looking for."
All eyes again turned to me, and I half wished I could just crawl back under Sasha's shadow. But she gave me a nudge on the shoulder, and I sighed inwardly before beginning.
"What I found in the tunnels was a projection much like Oryx used to communicate to the members of Spearhead when they interrupted his affairs. This, however, wasn't Oryx, but a Hive Wizard. High ranking from the looks of it, and powerful enough to project herself. Weirdly enough... she spoke in perfect English much like Oryx could. There had to have been at least two-hundred Hive down there. This got me thinking. With all of the Hive withdrawing back underground across the globe, and on the Moon, perhaps she summoned all of them to hear her words. What I didn't get was why she spoke in our language, but I suspect she wanted at least one Guardian to hear her threat."
"Which was...?" That was Maria, an accent from the far south flavoring her words.
"She wants to crush the City as retribution for Oryx and Crota's deaths. For her to so openly voice her challenge must mean she's very confident in her success."
A sigh left Cayde's mouth, his shoulders slumping in resignation.
"We always just trade one villain for another. Thank you, Cassidy, for your report."
I nodded, glad my part was over. For the Vanguard, however, the conversation was just getting started, and the members of Spearhead seemed to pay even more attention as Cayde set his hands on the table.
"So once again it appears that we've angered one Hive god or another by destroying a relative. Big surprise there. Anyways, the good part about this is that this Wizard doesn't really have anywhere to hide. The only two likely places it could be are the Dreadnaught and the Moon. The trick is finding her. But I'm sure Zavala has some ideas about that."
Indeed, I could tell just by looking at Zavala that the Titan Vanguard was ready for action. Spearhead's Titans visibly straightened, probably a reflex from the training their mentor instilled in them. The Titan Vanguard placed his hands on he table too, bringing up a map of the City.
"Like we did when Oryx first emerged, we'll bolster the City's defenses and keep all Guardians on high alert for any attacks or suspicious happenings around the solar system. Ikora, I want your best and brightest working on the identity of the Wizard, as well as studying the layout of both the Dreadnaught and the Moon. Wherever she is hiding, you need to uncover it so we can send Spearhead to deal with her. Cayde, your Hunters should take a more direct approach, and scout out even deeper the entrances to Hive fortresses that we've found, as well as find entrances we haven't explored. We have to root her out before she makes good on her threat. Eris, do you-"
The grim woman stepped from her corner, her hands stroking the orb she always had in an agitated state as she interrupted Zavala's question.
"I know whom she is, but nothing more. There were times in the Pit of the Moon where I could hear Crota call to his Matron for the key to defeating the Light once and for all. She never answered in ways I could hear, but with both the threats from Crota and Oryx gone, it seems like she has decided to take matters into her own hands. Be wary, Guardians," she said, an ominous edge to her voice. "The Matron is clearly supported by the rest of her kind. She has power on the levels of Crota and Oryx themselves if she is able to project herself."
Great. Just what we all needed to hear, not that it was surprising to hear Eris confirm our fears. This, however, did not deter Zavala.
"Thank you for your input, Eris. For now, we have all of the information we can possess. Let us attend to our respective duties and start getting ourselves organized."
The Vanguard began departing one by one to seek their respective areas for planning with their groups of Guardians. Cayde, however, stayed put, and Nate and Sasha didn't make a muscle to move. I wasn't sure what to do at this point, though I was sure he wanted a word with Spearhead's Hunters. However he surprised me by uncrossing his arms and addressing me.
"Cassidy, I've sent a summons for what Nightstalkers the Tower has on hand. You're going to be the eyes for both the Vanguard and Spearhead. While the Nightstalkers check out the lay of the land, Spearhead will be on standby until one of you finds something. They'll be dispatched immediately to check out anything you find. I want you to coordinate directly with Sasha here and let them know if any of the Nightstalkers find something they need to check out."
I let all of that soak in, realizing with a start that he was placing control of the Nightstalkers in my hands while the search was on.
"Cayde? Why pick me out of all the others? I'm not the oldest Nightstalker currently here."
"No, but I like your spunk. Sometimes caution isn't always the best answer, which is what the majority of Nightstalkers adhere to. I need someone who isn't afraid to take the plunge now and again to carve a path forward. Now get going and distribute these orders: you are to spread out over the Moon and Earth in known Hive locations to find anything and everything related to this Matron character. Whatever you find is to be relayed to you and then back to Sasha and myself. We clear?"
Letting out a breath to steady myself, I nodded, still shocked that I'd been chosen as ground commander.
"Crystal clear," I agreed, much to my Ghost's satisfaction.
"Good," Cayde said, as if this wasn't an extraordinary moment. "Now get going. The Hive aren't going to spontaneously combust while you're here."
That was how, an hour later, I found myself scouring the barren landscape of the Moon, no company other than my Ghost. It hadn't changed much from when I was last there. It was still wholly quiet. The unnerving kind of quiet that sent paranoid whispers through your mind. No wind blew across the surface, and the steps of hundreds of other Guardians littered the ground, untouched by time. Some of them, I knew, were long dead. Others still walked the Tower's halls. But today they weren't my focus. Instead, I stared down at the stone bridge that lead down into The Pit of the moon, mentally bracing myself. Besides Spearhead, the Vanguard hadn't allowed anybody down into the depths of Crota's lair. Hive still inhabited its forsaken tunnels in huge numbers. But the Vanguard was desperate to find out where the Hive Matron was, and thus I had assigned myself to Crota's former dwelling.
The rest of the Nightstalkers I had assigned to mostly Earth, though a small contingent had come with me to the Moon to explore Crota's Temple and its labyrinth, among other places in the craggy undercrofts. I had ordered them away from the Pit specifically, as, while there were times to be cautious, this was not one of them. Like Cayde had essentially said, you had to take risks sometimes to find the path forward.
Taking another deep breath, I leapt off into the open air.
Gravity took hold from there, albeit slower than on Earth, and I felt myself fall into the darkness below. Despite the fact that the fall itself was not very long, it felt like ages were going by, and by the time I slammed into the ground with a sharp bark of my pain, it seemed like I was years older than when I had first descended. The wrongness of the Hive surrounded me. Dark shadows and shattered remnants of the moon littered the ground. A thick, disgusting ooze was off of the path in front of me, and along that path was shards of busted lanterns. I'd read about these lanterns in the after-action reports that Spearhead had provided. Evidently they kept the Darkness at bay and allowed them to run through this area relatively quickly. With the death of Crota, some of that Darkness had dissipated, and I felt nothing hamper my movements as I took my steps into the oppressing shadows. Ghost came forward to light my way, his light the only thing allowing me to see the path ahead. Idle munchings from the deep indicated whether or not Thralls were nearby. As it was, there was a low rumbling almost out of my field of hearing, and I didn't need Ghost to tell me that we weren't alone on the lanterns' path. Of course that didn't account for what the light was at the bridge leading to where Spearhead had crossed fully into Crota's domain. It took a good ten minutes of silent hiking to get to where the light was at the mouth of the bridge.
Waiting there was one of Ikora's Warlocks, and not just any Warlock. Jesse was kneeling at the edge of the bridge, his Ghost hovering next to him. The only reason I could tell it was Jesse and not Zack was because of his robes. Jesse wore the Heart of Praxic Fire robes, while Zack did not. It also helped that Zack was more often than not wearing the Obsidian Mind helmet. A seemingly visorless black slab, it was eerie, and I wondered why the more amiable twin wore it. But it was, unfortunately, not the kinder twin in front of me.
"Guardian Fenway," I greeted, "what are you doing here?"
The Warlock in question straightened up, rolling his shoulders as he turned to face me with his Ghost.
"Ikora thought it would be prudent to send a small group of Warlocks alongside the Nightstalkers to be an extra pair of eyes. I didn't expect to see a Hunter down here though. Least of all you, Guardian Drake."
I immediately felt a frown cross my face, and my Ghost had a similar reaction. Guardians like Jesse were why I hated working in fireteams. At least alone I wouldn't have to deal with any sneered remarks or condescension. But it looked like I was stuck with Spearhead's most aggressive member for the time being. That didn't mean I had to converse with him, however. Without a word, I brushed past the Warlock and continued across the bridge, Ghost equally silent beside me. However Jesse wasn't done talking.
"Where do you think you're going?"
I felt a frown cross my lips, but I turned my head slightly to answer.
"I'm going to where you guys killed Crota. If there was anywhere in this place that he would commute with something, it would have to be his sanctum. There would be a small chance of him being disturbed, and judging from what we know about the Hive, they commonly keep their most valuable information where it can be the most well-protected. Where else in this pit would that be, hm?" No answer. "I'm not going to force you to follow me. I'm sure you can find plenty of information here."
He didn't answer, and I felt satisfied that I'd presented a logical point. Of course that didn't stop me from hearing pursuing footsteps. Turning around yet again, I watched as Jesse began following afterwards, his strides purposeful as he came to match me step for step.
"Like it or not, I'm coming with you. With the Hive stirred up, there's no telling what could be down here."
Much as I respected Spearhead, I still was not a fan of teaming up with their moody Warlock. But I didn't really have a choice. After all, there was safety in numbers sometimes, especially in circumstances like this. While there were times to go it alone, this was probably not one of them since the opportunity to have backup presented itself. And despite his personal shortcomings, Jesse was a capable Guardian. There was a reason he was one of the top Warlocks currently in service, though I had never seen him in action before. I couldn't help but study him from the corner of my eye as we crossed the bridge to Crota's realm. He was probably around five feet ten inches tall, but it wasn't his physical build that caught my eyes so much as his weaponry.
That's the Red Death pulse rifle, my Ghost confirmed, clearly unnerved by the gun. It's a weapon with a tainted history. Many Guardians have fallen to it. So many, in fact, that the Vanguard has banned the weapon, and anyone that finds it is supposed to turn it in.
He must have gotten permission to keep it,I mused. There's absolutely no way he would be able to walk around the tower with it freely otherwise. Hero or not, he's still subject to the rules the Vanguard has laid down.
Whatever the case may be, I still don't like it, Ghost grumbled, and I couldn't help but agree. But I also knew that the Red Death would not be turned on me anytime soon. The only thing I really had to worry about was Jesse's sharp tongue and whatever awaited us further into the Pit. Our footsteps echoed unnaturally as we crossed the bridge, the new silence deafening. The feeling only increased as we entered the fathomless light that led deeper into Crota's realm. There it only grew quieter. Jesse stepped ahead of me, albeit cautiously. The hairs on the back of my neck were standing up at the strange emptiness of this new area, but I couldn't discern any immediate threat. I could just barely make out Jesse's Ghost as he brought it forth into the palm of his hand.
"Raven, get me a scan of the area."
"Would it kill you to say please every once in a while?" His Ghost responded in an exasperated tone even as she worked. However from the affection also present, it was clear that she didn't mind.
"It just might," he responded as seriously as possible. However surprised raced through me at the hint of a smile there. And here I thought he was just a massive jerk to everyone. After a few more seconds of scanning, his Ghost - Raven - contracted to her regular ball shape and turned back to Jesse.
"It looks like there's nothing here. With Crota gone, the Hive don't really have a reason to stay here. Even the Thrall we heard at the landing of the Pit will soon be gone."
I let myself fall deep into thought. It didn't matter that Crota was dead. Well, it did, but even still, Hive had gathered in the bowels of nowhere to hear this matron speak. Surely there would have been even a small party here to hear her.
"Well, there's nothing here. We may as well leave and inform the Vanguard that this isn't the place we're looking for."
"No," I insisted. "I'm going deeper. There has to be something that could clue us in to where she is."
"And Raven didn't pick up anything. This whole venture down here was a waste of time."
Ignoring his protests, I leapt down from the balcony, using a minute amount of light to give an extra hop before hitting the ground. The last thing I needed was to compromise my armor. The bridge leading even further in was still up, a testament to Spearhead's efforts to infiltrate this place on more than one occasion. I didn't hear pursuing footsteps this time, and I held back a scowl. Some Guardian he was. I had thought he'd get a sense of purpose about him, but I supposed that even Warlocks had their limits of investigation. Then again, why would he be resistant? This wasn't something that could be given half effort. We needed to check everywhere we could. Who needs him anyway? I've worked on my own for long enough. I can check the rest of this place myself.
I proceeded quietly, keeping my footsteps light and my ears sharp. Just because Jesse and his Ghost hadn't picked anything up, that didn't mean there weren't enemies about. If anything, the deserted nature of the Pit only served to make me even more on edge than I already was. By the time I made it through what I had personally dubbed the Hallway to Hell, my irritation at Jesse had all but been spent. Looking down into the hole where Crota had ultimately met his fate at the hands of the greatest fireteam to ever walk the Tower, I felt my breath catch. I never thought I'd visit this place. With that last bit of hero worship out of the way, I leapt down. The sludge my feet met was slick and disgusting, a testament to just how filthy our enemies really were. Still there was nothing but silence, but now I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up again. This whole place still felt wrong despite the departure of Crota's soul. Nevertheless, I swallowed my unease and continued forward until I could emerge from the doorway. The tombs of the Hive were ugly. Crota's, as the prince of this place, had his on the top platform where he had died. I looked around and took in the rest of the space. The sanctum was in ruins. While I doubted that a place so ancient would be whole, I had expected it to be in marginally better condition. But despite how rundown it was, the architecture was fascinating, and despite how disturbingly the Hive portrayed their gods, it was clear from the effort how fervent their belief was.
"Ghost, can you do a scan of the area? I'm wondering if there's anything at all here that could explain who this matron is or where she might be."
"Of course," he responded instantly, popping into the air next to me before flying out into the graveyard. I kept my Gheleon's tight to me, anything I perceived as noise immediately drawing my attention to it. But all stayed undisturbed as Ghost flew from coffin to coffin, and scripture to scripture. By the time we ended up in the top level of the building, Ghost still hadn't found anything related to the Crota's prayers to the matron or of the matron herself. The doors were all shut tight with no obvious way to open them, and I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. Jesse had been right. It had been a waste of time to come this far.
"Ok Ghost, that's enough. Let's get out of here and see if the other Nightstalkers found anything. Lock for transmat."
After a second of whirring, he looked at me, and I could almost feel his puzzlement.
"I can't get a lock."
A heavy sense of foreboding settled in my gut. Jesse hadn't been wrong. There had to be something here blocking my transmat, and until I found out what it was, I couldn't get out.
"Ghost, stick with me until I find us a way out of here."
He didn't bother giving me an affirmative as he dematerialized away, and I was left alone to look around. Nothing stuck out to me that could possibly be blocking my way out. My enhanced radar was clear, and the area was still quiet all the way around the sanctum. However something caught my eye in one of the towers off to the side. A pulsing orb of green energy was just hovering there. It was unlike anything I'd ever seen. Guardians had collected reports on Tomb Husks and on Taken bombs, but this was neither of those. While it more closely resembled the latter, it was obviously different. I reached out a cautious hand to it, surprised when it suddenly started pulsating. I found myself leaping back through shadow and mist as I triggered my Shadowstep, narrowly dodging a wave of heat and green fire. At once, a projection appeared over Crota's tomb, the same Hive wizard I had seen before, but now I knew that I myself had brought her attention here.
"Filth! How dare you desecrate the resting ground of Crota! Your light will fall to the shadows!"
All at once I saw Hive begin to teleport in from rifts of their own. The once quiet graveyard became a cacophony of furious noises and howls of fury. There had to have been at least two dozen Acolytes present, with at least a dozen Thralls and half a dozen Knights. And that was just what I could see from my positon on the ground. Without missing a beat, I turned and hightailed it to the hole in the ceiling that I had come down in the first place, my heart rate skyrocketing as I also whipped out my heavy machine gun, The Zombie Apocalypse. Thank the Traveler I had stocked up on heavy ammo before leaving the Tower. The doorway was huge, but it still made an effective bottlenose position, which very quickly turned into a kill zone. Thralls came pouring down after me, inhuman shrieks of hunger emitting from them. My weapon cut them down in swaths, the rounds tearing through flesh and bone to hit multiple targets.
When my magazine ran dry I swapped to my scout rifle, and that's when everything began breaking down. Acolytes came into my field of vision as well as a group of sword-wielding Knights. My heart was hammering in my chest as they rushed me, and I fought to get sights on - and eliminate - as many Acolytes as possible. The Knights could wait. Unfortunately, for every Acolyte I killed, another one replaced it, and I was forced to back up and get out of their line of sights as I brought my machine gun back out and reloaded. By the time I was done, the Knights were upon me, and I leapt up out of their reach, summoning every ounce of Light within me to bring my void bow into existence. I had three shots to use, and two of them slammed into targets, tethering the four Knights to the ground and giving me a few seconds of time.
The third never went off, as I felt shots from the Acolytes peppering my armor, but the first one that broke the integrity of my suit burned, and my bow winked out of existence with it. Shock rolled through me even as I felt my machine gun rematerialize back into my hands. There would be time to puzzle on what happened later, but at that moment, all of my instincts were screaming at me to shoot. Heavy ammo ate away at the foes I had tethered. Two had gone down and another was well on its way by the time they broke free, but Ghost hadn't had the time to repair the injury I had suffered, nor my armor. The untouched Knight swung his sword with a sideways slash that caught me across the chest and sent me stumbling back with a shout of agony. The wound was burning furiously, and I gunned both Knights down quickly, but then the other two came into my field of vision. I leapt and hugged the wall where they couldn't see me and waited for Ghost to get my armor and body back to top shape.
"I can't fix your wounds, Cassidy," he informed me, a panic in his voice. "The most I can do is repair your armor."
The situation was rapidly deteriorating, which was apparent as explosions began rocking the ground to my left, and the growls of Acolytes closing in reached me. With no way out, I was as good as dead. What I didn't count on was a shimmered shape to drop down from the ceiling, and for that shape to immediately drop camouflage and sling a violent orb of purple energy out the door. The screams of the Hive sang to my ears, and I stood up to peek around the corner, taking the heads off of two Acolytes who had escaped the blast and were attempting to fight back. The Warlock, as I could now see, took cover on the other side of the doorframe. Taking them in, I found myself recognizing Jesse's twin, Zack.
"Guardian Fenway," I breathed out in relief. "What are you doing here? I thought your brother was-"
"Yeah," he interrupted sheepishly, pulling The Last Word from his belt, "Jesse was ranting to me about some impudent Nightstalker. When he said he left you down here, I decided to come and help, and convinced him to as well. He's getting us a way out of this hole."
I didn't know what was more shocking: that Jesse had actually agreed to come back, or that Zack had spoken so much in one go. He was notoriously the quieter twin. Nevertheless, I wasn't going to complain as I joined my own fire with Zack's to stem the tide of Acolytes trying to kill us. Before long, all had fallen silent again. The Hive matron had clearly thought she'd killed me, or she'd given up. Either way, I was thankful. Where the Acolyte and Knight had broken my armor, the wounds were still bothering me. They burned like a persistent acid, and from Ghost had said, he still couldn't heal them. Why? And what had happened to my void bow? There were too many questions, and all I wanted to do was get out of the Pit and get myself seen too. The Warlocks especially would probably be interested in finding out exactly what had happened.
"Did I not tell you to not be so suicidal?"
Jesse's voice rang out from overhead, and I could easily picture the scowl on his face as he threw the end of a rope down. Zack tsked quietly, the combat rush from earlier now gone and replacing his talkativeness with that silence I'd heard so much about.
"Give her a break, Jesse. She was just trying to do her job."
Scoffing, he held the rope as the pair of us down below climbed it.
"We can now transmat out of here," my Ghost announced before anyone else could speak. "Cassidy, I'm getting a signal from a Guardian on the Moon."
I nodded, tapping into the frequency I was being hailed on.
"This is Guardian Drake."
"Drake, this is Guardian Vern over in the World's Grave. We've found mention of something the Vanguard may be interested in. Says here that the main reason the Moon began to fall in the first place was due to some ability this matron had to stop the Traveler's technology from being effective. Anything that had to do with the Light suddenly became much less effective. As for where she is or why she left, the library doesn't say. At least, not where my Ghost can find it."
"So you're saying that this Hive matron and the one from before the Moon fell are the same being?" I asked in shock. Those correspondences I'd found on Venus had been referring to the wizard we were currently dealing with. That was an incredibly important discovery. Perhaps we could dig up some old records to try and get a better idea of what she could do. After a couple more minutes of talking, I ordered the Nightstalkers off of their jobs and back to the Tower for further orders from Cayde. Jesse and Zack had been quiet throughout my conversation, and only began speaking to me again after I was done.
"So?" Jesse asked, his tone still unfriendly. "Can we get out of here now gotten what you need?"
Now that the fight was over, as well as the pressing report from my fellow Nightstalker, the true ache of my wounds began to bother me. There was dealing with phantom pains, and then there was having to deal with still open wounds. Not only did I have to grit my teeth to suppress any outward signs of them, I also was feeling exhausted. It would be best not to fly in my condition. With great reluctance, I realized I had to ask Jesse for his help yet again. Perhaps a Sunsinger's healing could fix whatever my Ghost couldn't.
"Just about," I finally said with great reluctance. "I need you to take a look at the wounds I got. My Ghost can't heal them."
"Why? Is he malfunctioning?"
I was just about done with the attitude. Insult me? Ok, I could take that. Insult my Ghost? All bets were off.
"No," I snapped harshly, feeling the sword slash act up fully as I took a step towards him. "Back down there, my void bow disappeared the second an Acolyte managed to break my armor, and the sword slash I took isn't able to be healed either. The armor wasn't a problem. My body, however, apparently is. I don't know what's wrong, but-" God, why did I always have to look like a damsel in distress in front of Spearhead. My head was swimming and I let myself have the luxury of sitting on the floor, ignoring the stink of the Hive around us. Jesse curse and knelt down while his twin took up a defensive position.
"Ok, show me where you got hit."
The first thing to come off was my shoulder pad. Ghost hadn't bothered repairing the undersuit, and this was the first glimpse I myself was getting of the damage. What I saw had a groan of disgust slipping through my lips. The wound itself seemed like any other penetration wound from a bullet. But what was different was the toxic-looking green ooze around the entrance and in the wound itself. I half-expected the noxious mix to start bubbling. Jesse's hand was strangely gentle as he pressed down near the wound, withdrawing when a grunt left me. At once, a golden flame licked at his hand and he laid it on my shoulder. For whatever reason, the touch itself made the pain of it ten times worse, and I felt myself scream, but Jesse was having none of it. If anything, he pressed down harder, using his other hand to keep me from squirming away. After a couple of seconds, the pain abated. Feeling like I had sweated up a storm dealing with it, I glanced at my shoulder. Nothing remained of the festering wound. Looking at Jesse, I could see his shoulders heaving, like he'd been running a marathon.
"I don't know what kind of hit you took, Drake, but that wasn't anything I've seen before. It was almost like... like the wound was fighting the Light I was using. As it is," he said with a sigh, "that took a lot out of me. We're going to have to get you back to the Tower to get that sword wound healed. And knowing Ikora, she's going to want to examine it first. Do you think you can fly?"
I nodded, allowing myself to be pulled up by Zack as he leant me a hand. Jesse's sudden shift of mood - from irritated and uncooperative to helpful and marginally concerned - was baffling, but that wasn't something to dwell on for the moment.
"Yes, I can at least fly."
"We'll escort you," Zack put in as his Ghost appeared in the palm of his hand. He disappeared a second later, and Jesse and I soon followed. After a quick rendezvous in our respective ships, we began the trip back to Earth. Despite the disturbing turn, we'd made some progress. Hopefully Spearhead would be able to put the information to good use, and hopefully we could find and stop the matron before the situation deteriorated further.
A/N; Thank you for your reviews, Jsm and Jayfeather. It always means a lot to see that people are enjoying my work, and I hope this chapter is just as good as the ones previous :)