Chapter 20
Once we were on our way, I opened a line to Celeste.
"Why exactly did you tell Eli to come along?"
"Weeelllll," she drawled out a reply, "I was kind of hoping that adding someone else in the mix would have convinced you to change your mind. Clearly I should have been less subtle."
"I don't recall a lot of subtlety in that conversation," I retorted.
"Subtlety doesn't seem to work well with you," she tossed back.
"Maybe I pick up on it and choose to ignore it." I went silent for a moment, searching for the right words. "I need to see this through, kiddo."
"No mater what?" she asked. "No matter who gets dragged in or hurt? That doesn't sound like you, old man."
"This Hunter attacked me. He threatened Elgan. He threatened you. He made this very personal, and then called me out to end it. How else would you have expected me to respond?"
"Like we said," Celeste retorted, "call the Vanguard and let them handle it. Dealing with Guardians is their job, after all."
"Yes, but then that brings other people into it. Weren't you just criticizing me for that?" I replied. "Besides, doing that just puts another Guardian in harm's way. What happens in that Guardian gets hurt? Dies? Then that's on my head."
"No, it's on Jaeger's for doing it. I'd rather have you guilty than dead, dad," there was a hint of held back emotion in the words.
"I have no intention of dying today or any other day soon," I said gently. "I'm not just going to charge in head first, eyes closed."
"And what were you going to do if we hadn't come along?"
"That is an excellent question," I replied, intentionally not answering it. "But you did come, and I have an idea. Let me bring everyone in and I'll tell you what I have in mind. Elgan, open the channel to everyone else."
The Ghost chirped an acknowledgment, and the faces of Zillah, Scott-20, and Eli-3 joined Celeste on the screen.
Zillah opened, "Please tell me that you've come to your senses and decided to turn around?"
"Or perhaps decided to bring the Vanguard in on this?" Scott offered.
"Anything you want to add?" I addressed Eli.
"Not my place," he replied with a shrug. "Though, I would recommend listening to your team. They don't want to lose you. It's hard to lose a member of your squad."
"I'm well aware of that," I stated, "I've lost plenty."
"Then why put them through that?" he questioned.
"I don't plan to."
"Plan?" Zillah asked with a scoff. "I wasn't sure you knew the meaning of that word."
"Funny," I stated dryly. "As a matter of fact, I have a plan. It is a great plan. Beautiful in its simplicity, really."
"Simple? Sounds like a Titan plan, alright," she said. I ignored that one.
"First things first. You want to call the Vanguard? Fine. I can even call them myself and tell them where we're going. We're still going there, and will have the situation in hand before they arrive. Second, if things go right, I'm the only one Jaeger sees. You hang back unless things go sideways. Now, here's what I had in mind..."
…
After wrapping up my conversation with them, I made a few contingency plans of my own with Elgan. Once I was satisfied we had most outcomes covered, I fired off a message to Commander Zavala outlining the situation then sat back to spend the rest of the trip in silence. That didn't last long, as I had a call come in from Zillah. Not feeling like being mocked anymore right now, I hesitated to answer it.
Eventually I answered, "Yes?"
Silence.
"Hello? Zillah?"
"I'm here," she said finally, then went silent again.
"Did you need something?" I asked after several seconds had gone by.
"I..." she began, then trailed off. "No. I don't need anything."
"Okay..."
She sighed and when she spoke again her tone had changed. "I spoke with Lady Efrideet back at Felwinter's. Before I flew out to Mercury."
"Oh?"
"Yes. She seems very different from what I would have imagined. I suppose it stands to reason that being gone as long as she has can change a person."
"I suppose it does," I replied non-noncommittally.
"She seems at ease in a way I don't feel from many Guardians and spoke of peace. Yet here we are, set to wage war with another Guardian. It's bad enough having to fight against the forces of the Darkness. What becomes of everything we've fought for if we turn on each other?"
"I wish I had a good answer for you."
"Me too," she whispered with a sad tone in her voice.
We sat in silence for a bit, the line still open. When she spoke next, her tone had changed again and the conversation was going in a different direction.
"Why Venus?" she asked.
"I've been trying to figure that one out myself," I admitted. "Our other run-ins have been on Earth, Luna, and the Reef. I would think he would choose one of those locations."
"What were the coordinates?" she asked. I told her. "That sounds familiar. Wait, that's where we went before, you, Scott, Celeste, and I. It's between the Vex Spire and the Ishtar facility."
"How would he even know about that?" I wondered. "We were the first Guardians to ever map that point."
"He did say he had been following you," she mused. "Maybe it started all the way back to then?"
"I suppose we'll find out soon enough," I said. "We're here."
The ships dropped from NLS speeds and the cloudy form of Venus filled the screen. We entered into low orbit and transmatted down to the surface. I dropped in first, placing myself in the area designated by Jaeger. The others were to come in somewhere far enough out to be off radar and not easily visible, but able to see me. I kept a comms channel open to them so that they could hear what was going on.
I recognized the area almost immediately. It was nearer to the Vex Spire than it was to the Ishtar buildings, but far enough away that we were in no danger of them detecting us. Unless they'd changed their patrol patterns after our encounter, that is. They had managed to track us all the way to those buildings, after all. No sign of them right now, so that was at least a positive. I picked a spot out in the open and planted my feet, arms crossed over my chest, and waited. He didn't keep me waiting long.
I heard a noise to my left and turned my head. On top of a rock there was a faint shimmer of a Bladedancer's invisibility dropping, and then he was there. Or what was left of him, at any rate. Small black shapes dusted his armor where I had shot him to move him away from the SIVA node. His left arm was gone, replaced with SIVA tendrils that were wrapped and coiled together in a parody of the missing limb. A section of his torso below that was missing as well. Black armor reminiscent of what we had seen on the Devil splicers covered the entirety of his right leg.
"Glad you could make it," he began in a calm, conversational tone. "Of course, I knew you would, but I could not quite silence that doubting little voice in the back of my head. It was sure your friends would talk you out of it."
"Hearing voices? Might want to get that checked out."
"Heh," he chuckled softly then gave his head a little shake like he was trying to dislodge something. "You don't know the half of it, Titan."
"Well, you claimed to know we were going to keep running into each other. Voices or no voices, looks like you were right again."
"So it would seem," he replied, then hopped down from his rock. His right leg didn't quite seem to move correctly when he took a step. "Unfortunately, ~consume, enhance, replicate~ this will be our last meeting."
"At last we agree on something," I said slowly, keeping a close eye on him. What was that interjection?
"I cannot tell you how many times I have witnessed this moment," he continued, ignoring me. "The Device showed it to me. Each time, the outcome varied in big and small ways. However, this time... this time it ends how I want it to. ~consume, enhance, replicate~ This time, you die."
"Why, exactly?" I asked. "That's the thing that hasn't made any sense. It can't be just because I got the better salvage on the moon. Why is it you think we are destined to fight each other?"
"I wondered that myself," he confessed. "When the Device first showed me engaged in conflict with another Guardian, I was as confused as you have been. It's why I went back in time and time again, trying to find the answer and it always eluded me. Then SIVA came along, and it all became clear."
"SIVA?"
"Yes, SIVA. The fight wasn't my real destiny, SIVA was. The rest of it fell into place after I followed you here and you uncovered something."
"The Ishtar facility?"
"No," he stated. "The Vex. You see, the Fallen are fools and took the wrong creation of Clovis Bray. What they accidentally unleashed, what became known as 'Transmission,' those nanites were intended for organics. Those nanites were meant to enhance physical and mental capabilities. Had they taken them, learned to control them, they would have had much better results. Instead, their focus on machine gods lead them to take SIVA and try to shape it to their will.
"SIVA was not meant for organics. SIVA in about construction, ~consume, enhance, replicate~ about building the perfect world. The Fallen almost had it right by using it to upgrade their Shanks and Servitors, though. It can work with flesh, but it was meant for machines. Like me. I gave myself over to it willingly, rather than trying to bend it into something that it was never meant to be. And now it wants the Vex. The Vex have mastered time. If it can consume them, it can replicate everywhere. Every when. SIVA can spread across every place, every time, every universe. It can con... ~consume, enhance, replicate~ everything that has ever been, ever will be, and ever could be. And I will make sure it does."
"Not if I stop you," I stated.
"You can't stop what has already happened," he replied.
"What do you mean?"
"I knew the Vex would never let me get close, but I remembered an old military strategy from Earth history," he said. "When trying to take a walled city, some armies would use catapults to fling dead bodies over the wall, spread disease ~consume, enhance, replicate~ to the defenders. I suppose you remember all the cocooned Fallen on the ceiling of the cave?"
I nodded with a growing sense of dread. He made a whistling noise and traced an arc through the air with his hand.
"That group of Vex was nice enough to confine themselves in a hole in the ground too. I bet it makes a nice bowl to contain the meal. Even if I hadn't already done it, I really don't know how you would stop me anyway. You weren't fast enough to stop me before ~consume, enhance, replicate~ SIVA. What makes you think you could stop me now?"
"Because this time I didn't come alone," I stated and raised my hand.
Jaeger whipped his head to look past me. Suddenly, a hole opened up in the middle of his forehead. I did not need to look to know that a larger one had opened in the back. He stood stock still for a moment, then dropped to his knees and canted over sideways, lying still.
"Good girl," I told Celeste. I drew my shotgun, waiting for his Ghost to emerge. "I'll finish up here. You all need to go. You heard what he said, that he already unleashed SIVA on the Vex. Stop it, no matter what. I'll catch up in a minute."
No Ghost appeared. Instead, red tendrils of SIVA burst forth from both wounds, writhing. The violence of their exit tore off the remains of his helmet, revealing his face which had gone dark. The tendrils reached for each other and connected, merging and forming a black shell that encompassed most of his head.
I should have known that would be too easy. So much for the simple plan.
"But what about..."
I cut her off. "Do it."
"Yes, sir," she grumbled reluctantly.
Jaeger's eyes and mouth flickered back to life, glowing an angry red with a faint haze of SIVA mites clouding his optics and dripping down his chin.
"Remember, SIVA is vulnerable to Solar energy and fire. The Iron Lords' battle ax used flame and the stuff we came across actively moved away from fire. Eli, if you get the chance, light them up."
"With pleasure," the Sunbreaker replied.
The Hunter was climbing unsteadily to his feet now, glaring at me.
"Now go! Update the Vanguard on the way. Tell them the situation here is now critical and that whatever they have coming needs to come much, much faster," I instructed.
"That. HURT!" he snarled. "I was just going to kill you. I was even going to do it quickly. SIVA could have ~consume, enhance, replicate~ had the rest of them. But now? Now you die slowly, and then I gut the pretty little Hunter and the Warlocks."
Jaeger whipped out his hand-cannon and let loose a volley of shots that I blocked with a hastily erected Ward of Dawn.
"Also," I continued talking to my team with my eyes firmly on the Hunter, watching his every move, "the Vex won't like you showing up on their doorsteps. Even if they are fighting off the SIVA, they'll probably turn their attention to you. Be careful."
"You too," Celeste replied.
I heard the sounds of sparrow engines and saw Celeste, Scott, and Eli-3 rocket off in the direction of the Vex Spire. I tried to spot the fourth until I heard a pair of feet land lightly on the ground behind me and felt someone step into my Ward. Zillah.
"You were all supposed to go to the Spire," I hissed. "What are you doing?"
"Someone has to make sure you don't die," she replied in a whisper. "And the Hunter respects you too much to disobey."
"One, stopping the SIVA from infecting the Vex is more important than me. Two, are you saying you don't respect me?"
"Maybe to the first," she replied, "no comment on the second."
"She wants to die with you," Jaeger sneered. "How touching."
She stepped out from the protection of the Void shell and fired at Jaeger with her scout rifle. His left arm whipped up with blinding speed, a black shield suddenly forming out of the SIVA. I heard a ricochet as a round glanced off of it, leaving a small mark. He lowered the shield and glowered at her then thrust his arm forward. It extended out rapidly, striking like a snake. Zillah barely managed to dodge back into the Ward and it shot past, lodging into the ground behind where she had been. That was a new trick. He pulled back, and it retracted.
My Ward reached the end of its cycle and flickered into nothingness. The Hunter moved instantly, lashing out with his shield arm again. Zillah and I dove in opposite direction. I heard Jaeger's hand-cannon bark again, but nothing came my way. He must have targeted her. I rolled and came up firing, aiming at his extended arm.
The buckshot struck his arm and he roared in pain. He twisted, swinging his arm like a whip, the shield slamming into me and throwing me backward. I hit the ground and tumbled a few times. As quickly as I could, I got to my feet again, rushing in toward him. Jaeger had turned his attention fully to Zillah, so I used that to my advantage. Gathering a fistful of Void energy, I punched him as hard as I could in the back, giving a satisfying clang of metal on metal.
With a blow like that, I would usually see the target begin to disappear at the Void Light disintegrated them. A fist-sized hole appeared and began to spread, but SIVA tendrils raced to fill in the space as soon as it appeared. Eventually, the SIVA won, closing the hole and covering it with a sheet of black armor.
Jaeger tried to bring his weapon around to take a shot at me, but I caught his arm. I struck his elbow as hard as I could, armor and strength breaking the joint. His optics narrowed as a cry of pain escaped him. A black spike erupted out of the damaged arm, turning it into a large sword. I ducked out of the way of it and he took advantage of me being off balance to whirl around and hit me with his shield arm again, driving me into the ground.
He pinned me to the ground with the shield and raised the other arm, preparing to skewer me. Shots rang out and he staggered, releasing his hold on me. I rolled away and scrambled back up to my feet. That apparently gave Zillah the opening she needed, because there was suddenly a large explosion of Void energy as a Nova Bomb detonated.
When the smoke cleared, we saw Jaeger laying sprawled out on the ground. Several pieces of black armor had broken free and lay scattered about. It was apparent now that his right leg had seemed odd because most of it was missing and had been replaced by the armor. As I watched, tendrils started emerging, knotting together to build him a new leg like it had his arm. He rose to his feet, more black armor forming to cover places where he'd been wounded. The ruin of his lower right arm dropped away with the spike growing larger and more blade-like.
"You have got to be kidding me," I muttered in disbelief, wondering what it was going to take to keep him down. I hoped the others were having more luck with the Fallen.
"You have any bright ideas?" Zillah asked, panting with exertion.
"I have one," I huffed, but didn't have a chance to say more.
What was left of Jaeger charged forward with a wordless yell. He leaped and swung his shield arm at me, following through with the blade. I managed to avoid both, and he struck the ground. In a blink he was bringing both back up, swiping upward in pursuit. I avoided the shield and deflected the blade, but he kicked out, catching me in the gut and knocking me backward.
Zillah opened fire again with her scout rifle and he snapped his gaze toward her. Lightning fast, he leaped toward her, swinging both arms. The blade caught the end of her robes, slicing off a portion of fabric. She stumbled a little, and he struck her with the shield, sending her to the ground.
"Elgan," I spoke privately to my Ghost. "Plan nine. Get her out of here, take her to the others."
"Plan nine is terrible," he replied.
"I know, but it's the only thing I can think of that might work."
"She's going to hate you for it," he told me.
"I know."
Elgan went silent then, and I knew he was putting everything into motion. Zillah was still dodging Jaeger as best she could, buying herself a little space with a blast from her palm. The Energy Drain served to buy her some time and help keep her moving. I dragged myself back to my feet.
"Hey!" I shouted. Quieter, "Do it, Elgan."
Jaeger-10 turned to me and let out another inhuman noise. He thrust his left arm forward, launching the shield out at me again, glancing off my shoulder. The Hunter followed up by charging at me, blade arm held high.
I looked past him to see Elgan materialize behind Zillah. She whirled around in surprise, then vanished as Elgan's transmat removed both of them from the area. I breathed a sigh of relief, then stepped into Jaeger's charge, putting my shoulder into his gut. The move didn't have the same impact as a Striker, obviously, but it caught him off guard and knocked him off balance. While in close, I placed a magnetic grenade against his chest, then shoved him away from me.
The grenade exploded, tearing a hole in his chest. Like everything else we had thrown at him this fight, SIVA reacted to seal the wound, adding even more black plating to his body. He was now so armored and bulky that he looked more like a Titan in damaged armor than a Hunter. His red optics glared at me in hatred.
All I had to do was keep him preoccupied for another few moments. I noticed my shotgun laying on the ground a few feet away. I sprinted toward it, dropping to my knees and sliding to scoop it up. I raised it and fired, and Jaeger raised his shield arm to block it. I pulled the trigger again, and it clicked uselessly. No time to add more shells, either.
It was almost time. I knew I could not active a Ward, it would cover to much ground, there would be too much of a chance of it protecting him too. I took a deep breath and readied myself for what I knew was coming, and suddenly an image flashed through my mind.
A sword made of Void energy stabbing through my chest. The person holding that sword covered in a suit of armor made from the Void. Personal protection, rather than a bubble. Tapping into the Light, I focused as hard as I could, concentrating on shaping the Void. Jaeger looked like he was preparing to charge again. I needed him to be still for a moment.
"What are you prepared to do?" I shouted the question at him.
He drew upright and looked at me, head ticked over to one side.
"~consume, enhance, replicate~ W...whaaaaaaaat?" he asked, struggling to form the word now that SIVA had taken over so much of his body. I wondered how much of Jaeger was actually left at this point.
"What are you prepared to do?" I asked again. So close.
"P... pre...parrrrrred to kill. You."
"Me too," I replied. "But more importantly, I'm prepared to win."
A loud screaming sound suddenly became noticeable. Jaeger glanced around, trying to locate the source. I focused all my attention on grasping the Void and bending it to my will. Jaeger's head tilted upward, and he finally saw it.
The Invictus, rocketing down toward us.
He looked from the ship to me and reared back with his shield arm, preparing to send it flying at me. Suddenly, I felt the Void bend. Now!
There was a flash of purple Void Light followed by the sound of an explosion, and then everything went black.
…
Light. Air. Ears ringing. Pain. Smoke.
Want to sleep.
Fire everywhere. More pain. Broken. Bleeding. Dying. Armor shattered.
Something. Need to do something.
What?
Not alone. A body. Who?
Jaeger.
Movement. Something breaking free. Small.
Ghost. His Ghost. Kill it.
Push through pain. End it.
Ghost dripping red. Corrupted. Scanning the body. Shell opening.
Move! Can't move leg. Crawl. Stay awake.
Grab it. Smash it.
It's dead.
Over.
Sleep. Sleep.
Let it go.
Darkness.
…
AN
Last chapter, I initially forgot to acknowledge guest characters. I fixed that, as well as updated the chapter, tweaking the last two pages of dialogue. Still says the same thing, but I like it more now.
Eli-3 is still appearing courtesy of Eli8300.
Thanks to Mr. Dox the Fox for the story follow!
So, I originally posted this chapter early morning on 3/21. There was a spot in the middle I wasn't sure about, and it got some poor reactions, so I pulled it down to rework it. Sorry for those that have followed and favorited for the notification that didn't lead anywhere.
Another reference to The Seventy Maxims of Maximally Efficient Mercenaries again. Fittingly, number 20 in Chapter 20. /The+Seventy+Maxims+of+Maximally+Effective+Mercenaries
Amberstar of Thunderclan – The old "but they did something worse" defense. Tsk, tsk. I had thought you better than that.
Order and Chaos – Qui Iudicant – Thanks for the comments. Glad you liked the way I used your characters. Looking forward to seeing your updates in the future. And yes, it can be interesting to sit and watch two groups of enemies go at each other. Until one of the notices you for getting too close and they both turn on you...
Daydreamer B.A – Unwarranted? Debatable. As for the story, I addressed it in a PM, but I'll include it here as well. The Zillah stuff, particularly when she showed up at Mercury, was giving me fits when trying to write it. That whole in orbit section was what I was struggling with. As for Claney, it's all become too personal and a little bit of an obsession at this point. Doesn't always lead to the wisest decisions, even in the best of us. At least he has the team for now to call him on being a moron sometimes and watching his back.
Eli8300 – It's funny how people respond to different things. I really like that map. It's not my favorite, but I enjoy it. I can't stand Pantheon (hence Claney's dislike of it) or the Floating Gardens. Glad you liked the incorporation of the character. Continued on a bit here as well. You said you had a theory about Jaeger and his survival, how did this line up with your expectation? As for the Arc hammer, that was a character from Deuterocanonical: Asymmetry – Destiny 1 by Order and Chaos – Qui Iudicant. You should check it out.
Guest – Like I mentioned to Eli, that character came from Order and Chaos' story. You should see what he's got going on there. I do hope they bring the live action commercials back for Destiny 2, they were pretty great.