"Guardian ship N-2703 requesting permission to dock." Nix's Ghost was handling things with the tower while Nix took an extra minute to collect herself. She had been away from other people, true civilization, for a long time – she wanted to make sure her boots were still on the right feet.
Ghost hovered by Nix's head, spinning and examining her anxiously as they waited for a reply from the tower. Docking permissions didn't usually take this long, but considering they had both been away for over two years the bots at the tower were probably running multiple checks to make sure they had their information right. Nix didn't mind the extra time. Racked with a mixture of anxiety and anticipation, she needed a moment to compose herself into a more aloof figure. She almost changed into less conspicuous armor, but decided against it. She had gotten rather attached to the whole ensemble. She had become dependent on the cold metal. But with any luck, the majority of the guardians at the tower wouldn't recognize her anyway.
"What are you going to tell the Speaker?" Ghost hovered closer, almost sitting on Nix's shoulder as they both stared out the cockpit's windows at Earth – at home.
"I'll tell him what we saw. You can transfer the data to him when we get there." Nix held her hands together, clasped in her lap, the only outward sign of unease.
"And…after that?" Ghost turned his eye to his guardian, curious and half-hopeful. Nix took a deep breath and readjusted herself.
"Well…I don't know, Ghost. I don't know." Behind her helmet, Nix chewed her lip and wondered at her own motivations. Could she have just sent the information ahead via Ghost without ever stepping foot in the tower? Yes. But that would have risked interception by Hive comms, which would have prompted them to move Crota's soul even faster. At least, that's what she told herself. When Nix was certain of Crota's return, she had immediately jumped for heading to the tower. She wanted to tell the Speaker in person…she wanted to go home. But now that she was here, she wasn't so sure this was the best idea.
"Ship N-2703, please standby." A bot voice crackled over the comms, while another voice spoke rapidly in the background. It sounded organic. Probably a human or awoken double-checking the bot's records, Nix thought. She put her ship into geo-lock, keeping it moving in time with Earth's rotation so that she stayed above the tower.
Ghost had offered to send a message ahead to the Speaker to announce their pending arrival, but Nix had told him not to. She had spoken to the Speaker often, back in her tower days. Nix knew that if the Speaker heard they were coming he would tell the Vanguard, who would then probably take away her ship and detain her in the tower for an unnamed amount of time, like they did to Cayde-6. That would be the end of her patrolling, her mapmaking, the exploring…No, sending a warning ahead would have been a bad idea. Maybe this way they'll be surprised enough that they won't have time to organize a detainment force.
"Ship N-2703, please confirm identity." This was the voice of the organic Nix had heard earlier. It sounded surprised, almost angry.
"I am Necryptonix, Awoken Hunter, Ship ID N-2703, formerly of Fireteam Ra." The words left a metallic taste in her mouth. She hoped they would be enough.
"Please have your ghost send additional records." The voice definitely sounded sharper than before, louder. Nix looked to her Ghost, who immediately brightened and spun while he transferred more ID confirmations to the tower's flight control. When he finished he floated closer to the cockpit windows, as though to look down on the flight control station. Nix waited.
"Ship N-2703, docking permission granted but limited. There will be armed guardians to meet you. Do you consent?"
Nix's eyes widened slightly. Was her file truly so bad now that her arrival warranted armed guardians, rather than simple bot guards? She looked at her Ghost, who stared back, seemingly just as surprised.
"Ship N-2703, do you consent?" The voice sounded even more urgent than before.
"This is ship N-2703. Yes, we consent. I repeat, we consent." Nix answered slowly and clearly, not wanting the situation to escalate due to an accidental slur in her words.
"Docking information transferred to your Ghost. Bring it in." The comms shut off with a snap.
The docking process was simple; the ship did it almost on auto-pilot as Ghost fed it the correct dock number and traffic information. Their dock was in a lesser-used section of the tower, where there would be fewer bystanders if there ended up being a problem. These docks were generally used for guardians bringing in suspicious objects that the cryptarchs needed to pick-up and transport for safety reasons. Being sent to this dock, knowing there would be armed guardians waiting for her, set off Nix's survival instincts. She fought the urge to turn the ship around and leave again. Ghost noted her increased heart rate but said nothing, choosing instead to hover close to her shoulder.
"This is ridiculous, grow up!" Nix snarled to herself. These are fellow guardians, not a firing squad. She knew they wouldn't hurt her as long as she didn't give them a reason to. But if something went wrong...what if there was a new Speaker? A new Vanguard? What if there were orders to kill her? She would be outnumbered, and escaping into her ship would be rough since they would probably have the transmat system disabled after she docked…her instincts screamed at her that this was a trap. Nix pushed them away.
Her ship entered the dock and began clamping onto the tower. Out of her cockpit windows she could see two titans and a warlock, and armed they were. Nix unfastened her harness and stood up, stretching her arms and shoulders slightly, rolling her ankles one at a time. She took a step forward, and reappeared on the floor of the tower's docking bay, Ghost having used the transmat to move them out. Nix stood before the warlock, and waited. The warlock moved a step closer.
"Necryptonix, Awoken Hunter, former leader of Fireteam Ra." It wasn't a question. This was the voice Nix had spoken to over the flight control comms. The warlock looked her up and down. Nix continued her silence.
"What, no introduction for the faithful Ghost?" Nix's Ghost spun slightly, seeming to try and lighten the atmosphere. It didn't work.
"The law states that we have to detain any guardian who has gone without tower communications or contact for 6 or more months. You've been missing for over 2 years. Do you understand?" The warlock spoke firmly as the titans shifted their weight slightly, ready.
"I need to see the Speaker. I will not be detained until then." Nix remained motionless as her Ghost fluttered behind her shoulder, casting his eye back and forth between her and the other guardians.
"You cannot see the Speaker until we are assured you do not pose a threat to the city."
"And how would you ascertain that?"
"Through a rigorous questioning and testing process, among other things."
"And how long would that take?" Nix was glad she had kept her helmet on. She figured the sneer on her face wouldn't look like too friendly.
"In your case, two months, one for each year you were gone. If at the end of that period you are deemed stable in body and mind, you can request an audience with the Speaker."
Nix gaped in horror. Two months was too long…way too long. Crota would have arrived and begun his dark work by then. She couldn't wait that long. None of them could.
"I can't wait that long. I will not be detained until I see the Speaker."
For a moment no one spoke or moved. Then, as though they had rehearsed it, the other guardians readied their pulse rifles. Nix's Ghost vanished into her armor, as was his habit when things got sketchy. Nix idly placed a hand on the handcannon at her hip, but did not draw it. She knew to do so would be seen as a threat, and she had no desire for an all-out firefight.
"We are not giving you a choice, hunter."
"Maybe we should- ", Ghost began, but Nix cut him off.
"You're right, I don't have one. I will see the Speaker, whether it be by your leave, or by my leaving you on the floor as I walk away."
"Remove you weapons hunter, and come quietly. Don't be a fool." The warlock practically growled the last words.
"If it is foolish to do what's right by the city, by the tower, then I am the most divine fool of all. Let me do my job. Move." A piece of Nix's brain, somewhere in the back, realized how her social skills had deteriorated in the last 2 years. She had forgotten what it was like to be told no, and then be expected to listen.
"You have 10 seconds to drop your weapons and surrender, Hunter. Think it over." No one counted the time out loud, but they all knew it. There was just silence, the calm before the storm.
When the count ticked down to two, Nix snatched her handcannon from its holster and used blink to teleport to the side of the small group of guardians. She raised her weapon, body tensed, cloak billowing out behind her from the force of her movement. The warlock and titans whirled to find her, fingers on the triggers of their weapons. But even though Nix had the upper-hand, she found herself unable to pull the trigger. She suddenly dropped to a crouch and rolled, forcing the other guardians to spin again to track her.
One of the titans used a shoulder charge, catching Nix off balance. She used the force of the impact to roll backwards, slightly stunned. The warlock readied a vortex grenade in one hand, as the other titan aimed his rifle. No choice then, Nix realized. She would have to fight.
When Nix came out of her backwards roll she had a throwing knife ready. She threw it at the warlock, hoping to disrupt the grenade. The knife hit the warlock's arm, just above the wrist, and the warlock jumped back with a yell and dropped the vortex grenade. The knife had been imbued with solar energy; it began to burn its way up the warlock's body.
With her other hand, Nix aimed her handcannon at the titan with his gun ready and jumped into the air, avoiding another melee from the second titan with her thrusters. She fired off two rounds into the first titan, both hitting him in the chest hard enough to make him stumble backwards and lose his aim. As Nix began to lose air, she threw a swarm grenade at the second titan which sent him reeling backwards to avoid the split seekers.
The whole sequence had taken no more than 6 seconds, but Nix had managed to scatter them enough for her to reach a soft landing. She hit the ground lightly, crouched slightly, gun ready and hand on another knife. She heard one of the opposing guardians calling for backup before a sharp voice cut the air.
"Enough! Stop! Guardians, Stop!" The first titan froze in mid-grenade throw, while the second titan went still inside the bubble he had conjured to guard from the swarm grenade. The warlock lowered a gun, still favoring one arm. Nix stayed crouched, head raised and slightly cocked, listening.
"You three, head back to your stations." The Speaker strode forward, moving with purpose, his white robes flowing around him. The warlock and titans began to protest, but with a single raise of the Speaker's hand they went silent and began to move off. They knew better than to argue with him. The Speaker waited until the other three had left, before continuing.
"Nix…Come with me." Nix straightened slowly, replacing her handcannon in its holster and turning her head to look at the Speaker. He hadn't changed a bit in 2 years, she noted. The same robes, the same mask, with all the same patterns. Must be a station-related thing.
The Speaker turned and walked away, back towards his balcony on the tower's North side. Nix followed, relief flooding over her.
"Speaker, how did you know I was here?"
"I'm notified every time an MIA or KIA Ghost is reconnected to the network." He didn't slow his pace. Nix decided she wasn't surprised. It was the Speaker who examined revived Ghosts when they're returned to the tower, after all.
Nix's Ghost reappeared next to her.
"Some welcome home, huh?" Ghost moved slightly ahead of her, examining everything they passed. Nix snorted. She kept her head down when they passed the stairs to the Vanguard's chambers. She didn't want to see anyone who might recognize her. Some of the other guardians stared at her, but whether that was because they had seen the other three walk out damaged, or because she walked with the Speaker, Nix couldn't tell.
The Speaker, Nix, and Ghost reached the balcony and quietly arranged themselves. It was as it had been before, with the Speaker standing in front of his desk, as Nix leaned against the book shelf across from him, both with their arms crossed. Ghost floated back and forth around the balcony, examining ghost shells and papers on the Speaker's desk. The Speaker didn't bat him away.
"So…what brought you back?" The Speaker spoke slowly, like he was thinking before every syllable. Nix paused, choosing her next words carefully.
"The city must be warned", Nix lifted her head, fingers clenching her arms, "Crota's return is on the horizon."