So this chapter is coming out later than I had wanted. I had hoped to get this out yesterday but couldn't finish it in time. It is a little longer and still did not get to a mission yet but I promise that is coming next.

Chapter 3

The first rays of sunlight streamed in the tiny window and lit the room with bright golden light. The window was open a crack and the soft sounds of birds could be heard above the gentle susurrus of the wind. A slight tremor in the air silenced the bird calls and increased quickly to a deafening roar. A ship rocketed past Marcus' window, rattling the glass in its frame and waking him instantly.

"For the Queen's sake!" Marcus woke with a start. "What is going on out there?" He got up from the cot and went to the window. The ship had gone around the Tower and was out of sight. "Most likely entering the hangar." Marcus thought out loud as he turned to his Ghost. "North, what time is it?"

"The time is 0822 hours." North said, rising from the nightstand. "Your meeting with the Vanguard is at 0900." The Ghost floated towards the door. "You should probably eat some breakfast and take a shower." North made a sniffing sound as he moved around Marcus. "Yep, definitely a shower." Marcus was taken aback.

"What? How do you even smell? You don't have a nose." He said, surprised and a little offended. "Do you have some sort of olfactory sensor or something?" He grabbed his Ghost and began searching for any indication of a sensor but the shell was smooth and featureless.

"L-let go of me." North protested. "Hey, that is not comfortable." Marcus had begun trying to pry the front half of the Ghost from the back half. "Stop that!" North said as he broke from Marcus' grasp and re-calibrated himself.

"Okay, where's the shower?" Marcus asked, trying to suppress a laugh watching the Ghost adjust his shell one segment at a time. North just gave a little huff and told Marcus to follow. After showering Marcus followed North to the mess hall and broke his fast on bland, tasteless Vanguard rations. "This food tastes terrible." Marcus complained. "Haven't they ever heard of flavor additives?"

"Well these are military grade rations." North said. "Designed for being nutritious and nothing else."

"Even the worst stuff in the Reef was better than this." He continued. "And look, no one even eats here except for those guys over there." He motioned towards a group of men and women, some human some awoken and one exo, who looked like they could rip him in half with their bare hands. While Marcus had a physique more akin to a sprinter these individuals were like oxen with the exception of the exo, who was of average build but exuded more strength than the men. The exo noticed Marcus staring and excused themselves from the group. As they drew closer Marcus saw that they had a much sleeker body than he had originally thought, it struck him then, that this exo was female. Why hadn't he realized it sooner, and now that he saw it, it was obvious.

"Can I help you?" the exo said, clearly annoyed by Marcus' prying eyes.

"No, sorry. I was just wondering why no one eats here except you guys." Marcus said, keeping his head down and staring at his plate. "Well, besides me of course. I'm just a rookie and don't know where anything is around here." He looked up at the exo, whose face softened from a scowl to a smile.

"You aren't the only one who's a rookie." she said. "I was just revived last week and don't even have a fireteam yet. I'm Kat-3 by the way." she held out her hand and Marcus shook it without wincing at nearly being crushed.

"Marcus," he said, smiling against the pain in his hand. "Nice to meet you. I was revived yesterday after being dead for four days. I had lived in the Reef prior to my death and I guess it would be a bad idea to go back." Marcus found it was easy to talk to Kat-3. Maybe it was because they were in the same boat as rookies.

"I was dead for a lot longer than you were." Kat-3 said. "My Ghost, Cyclops, said I was dead for hundreds of years but I don't remember anything about when I was alive and honestly, I don't want to. I might as well have just been activated for the first time." She sat down across the table from Marcus as she talked. Her optics were a bright crimson, in coordination with the nodules on her head and the glow from her mouth. "Have you met with the Vanguard yet?" she asked.

"I meet with them at 0900 today for the first time." Marcus said, he downed the last of the thick nutrition drink that came with his breakfast. "I should probably get going." He got up to leave and Kat-3 stood with him.

"You better be a titan or I'm going to be mad." Kat-3 said as he left the mess hall behind. He couldn't tell if she was serious or not.

The Vanguard stood around a long table as Marcus descended the stairs to the Hall of Guardians. They all turned as he approached. Closest was a human woman with dark skin and darker close shaven hair. She wore a long purple and gray coat and had a strong female presence. Something Marcus was familiar with, being from a very matriarchal society in the Reef. The next was a male exo with blue and sliver paint and a horn-like protrusion on his forehead which probably contained specially modified sensors of some kind. He wore dark colored armor and a hood. The third and final person at the table was an awoken male. He was bald and wore heavy looking armor. His pale eyes missed nothing and his voice was deep when he spoke.

"Welcome Guardian, to the ranks of the final defense against the Darkness." He said. "I am Zavala, titan and commander of the Vanguard." Zavala motioned to the exo.

"Hi, I'm Cayde-6, hunter Vanguard." The exo said. "As much as I wish I could be in the field." He sighed and put down the tablet he was holding. Zavala motioned to the woman.

"I'm Ikora Rey, the warlock Vanguard." she said and smiled.

"I am Marcus Vol, it is a pleasure to meet you all." Marcus said, he had had an extensive education in etiquette in the Reef and he fell back on this when he was nervous. As he was now.

"Such good manners," Ikora said as she turned to the other Vanguard. "And I hear he has talent as a warlock."

"Damn," Cayde-6 cursed, "I was hoping for a new hunter."

"Yes," Zavala said, "It has been some time since a new hunter was raised."

"Hey, just because you got a new one last week doesn't make you any better than me." Cayde-6 said heatedly.

"Calm down boys, Cayde, I'm sure you will have a new hunter soon, and Zavala, I thought you were the professional one." Ikora chided. Both Zavala and Cayde-6 mocked hurt expressions but couldn't hold them. Marcus got the feeling that he had just walked in on a strong but good-natured rivalry between the three Vanguard leaders. "Now, it looks like you already have a suitable weapon," Ikora continued, "But it would still be beneficial to pick up a special weapon from Banshee-44. A sniper rifle, shotgun, or fusion rifle are considered special weapons while your scout rifle, auto rifles, handcannons, and pulse rifles are considered primary weapons. Heavy weapons are machine guns or rocket launchers. You can carry one of each type of gun at a time and your Ghost can store up to nine of each type. Here is a token for a special weapon." Ikora gave Marcus a small black token with the Vanguard "V" on it in orange. "You also get an armor piece of your choice from me." she said, indicating a crate full of odd bits of armor. Marcus picked up a helmet that he thought looked good and tried it on. It fit well enough and North integrated smoothly into the new gear. His motion tracker pinged and he looked towards the source.

Walking past Lord Shaxx was another Guardian. This Guardian wore gear similar to Marcus' except that it was designed for a hunter and for a woman. The gear looked to have been recently fabricated by a Ghost though it had seen an extensive amount of damage recently. The entire left side of the armor had been blackened and charred from the helmet to the boots and was punctured just below the ribcage. The smell of burnt plastic and wiring filled the air as the Guardian approached. Marcus reacted quickly and hurried to aid her. He was just in time to catch her as she collapsed. All three Vanguard quickly came to aid the fallen Guardian as well.

"We need to get her to the hospital, quickly!" Marcus said, desperate to save this wounded Guardian. Zavala took the unconscious Guardian and lifted her easily out of Marcus' arms and began to move quickly towards a door. Marcus followed until they arrived at the hospital wing, strategically located only a few floors down from the top of the Tower. Ikora Rey held the doors open ahead of Zavala and Cayde-6 ran in and called for Dr. Gray, the best doctor the Tower had to offer, as he approached an aide.

"We have a downed Guardian, get an emergency room ready. Find Dr. Gray." Cayde-6 said loudly, clearing a path to the ER for Zavala. Marcus followed closely behind Ikora as they entered the ER. Zavala set the Guardian down on the operating table and a few moments later Dr. Gray arrived. Dr. Gray was a short woman of average build, no more than thirty years old with intense blue eyes and a white lab coat. Her light blond hair was tied in a ponytail with a band of metal. She took one look at the patient and shouted for her aides.

"You four should wait outside," she said to Marcus and the Vanguards. "We will need room to operate." They were ushered out of the ER and told to wait there. Both Ikora and Zavala left after a few minutes, deciding that waiting around would not speed up the surgery and that they should probably get back to work. Cayde-6 stayed a while longer, worried about his new hunter. Marcus decided to stay until the operation was finished. He had nothing else to do. Ikora had told him before she left to "find his source of power." She had tapped a finger on her head as she said this and he didn't really know what it meant. She had left before he had been able to ask.

It seemed like he would be sitting there for a while so he decided to meditate. It wasn't something he normally did but maybe it would help ease his worry for his fellow Guardian on the other side of the Emergency Room door. He sat for a while, trying to clear his mind. Thoughts and worries kept surfacing and he tried to push them down. Did anyone in the Reef know he was alive? Did the Queen? He shuddered at the thought of the Queen being aware of his current condition. She would not approve. One of her agents, a Guardian. She would probably have him killed if he returned to the Reef. He forced this thought away, not wanting to dwell on possibly painful futures. Slowly the thoughts stopped coming. He was able to sit without thinking. Below the surface of his consciousness he could feel a presence. Not just one, but two distinct types. Two different sources of power. One seemed hot and angry and the other hungry and cold. He got the impression of scorching flame from the first and utter nothingness from the second. The first seemed closer, stronger than the second. There also seemed to be an empty space, like something was missing but Marcus couldn't tell what was supposed to be there. He tried to touch the fire and his Ghost cried out. He opened his eyes and saw that his arms were engulfed in orange flame.

"Shit!" Marcus cursed as he stood and waved his arms about frantically trying to put out the flames. The fires died almost immediately and the burning source of power receded. "What in the name of the Queen was that?" he said brushing ash off of his arms. Strangely, his armor was unharmed by the fire.

"Ikora was right, you do have talent as a warlock." North said, spinning in the air next to Marcus. "That was the raw power of a Sunsinger. We will have to tell Ikora about it and you will have to learn to control it." Just then the doors to the ER opened and Dr. Gray stepped out. Marcus turned to the doctor, his expression hopeful. Dr. Gray smiled.

"She'll live." She said and Marcus was relieved. "She had remarkably few burns but a large wound in her side. It will be some time before she is fully recovered but the most dangerous time has passed. You will be able to visit her as soon as she wakes; which should be some time tomorrow. She is lucky to have a boyfriend like you."

"No no no. I'm not her boyfriend. I just caught her when she collapsed on the stairs in the Hall of Guardians. I don't even know who she is." Marcus explained hurriedly.

"Oh, I thought maybe you were since you stayed all morning and even missed lunch." Dr. Gray said, indicating the clock on the wall. "It's almost 1600 hours."

"I was just concerned for a fellow rookie Guardian." Marcus said.

"Too bad I'm already married or I might have pursued her myself, she is more attractive than most female Guardians. Especially Titans." she shook her head. "Too much muscle mass."

Marcus wondered, as the doctor departed, how common homosexuality was on Earth. In the Reef it was fairly common, mostly among the women who believed that men were an inferior life form, and in the men who tried to court these women and realized the futility of it. The Queen had not been one of these women, however, as far as Marcus had been aware. She did not like formality when in private and most certainly would have told one of her favorite agents. He pushed the memory away before it led to darker things and decided he would try to find some lunch. North provided an alternative to the Vanguard rations and Marcus set off to the restaurant.

Look at that. The chapter doesn't end when Marcus goes to sleep. You met some new guardians and the vanguard and even got some info about Marcus' past. Thank you for reading.