Chapter 5

Motive

Guardian Charli Hendricks

Maximus' ship lurched forward violently as they exited the warp space, momentum throwing both Charli and the Exo in the pilot's chair against their restraints. The sharp noise of the warp drive leaked through the metal in the walls as it wound down. In front of her was an orb of blue with large masses of green and brown, mostly brown, cutting through. It had been years before her death that Charli had been able to go to Earth, a short-lived vacation for her brother's wedding before she had to return to the MFN and continue fighting to keep the Fallen and Cabal out of their cities.

As she had previously seen, the Cabal were still around, but she half-wondered if the Fallen had survived all those years she had not. All of them addicted junkies scavenging whatever they could find to fight off the Humans, Awoken, and Exo that inhabited areas they sought to pillage. Charli thought back to her friends' final moments aboard the ship as they died at the hands of the Fallen. While they had done stuff on the ground, none of them had ever given any thought to dying at the hands of the Fallen on their own ship, their home. If those murderous pirates were still around, Charli couldn't think of any punishment that would be too much for them. Death was always an option, but it almost seemed too good for them by this point.

Within minutes, the ship was breaking through the atmosphere, friction leaking a little heat past the metal plating before Maximus pulled up on the stick and the ship broke through the cloud bank, her vision out the front becoming noticeably clearer. A huge city stretched out below her, the lights almost making it appear alive despite the dead of night. Dark, jagged shapes appeared distantly on the sides of a white, dilapidated sphere, the city lights casting a white-orange glow on its bottom. Buildings of varying sizes and complexities dotted the ground below them, a few craft much smaller than theirs flying around in various directions. Seeing this made her think of Freehold and a few other Martian cities before the Cabal eventually busted through their barriers, the Vex came from underground, and the Fallen just an outlier on the west hemisphere.

Freehold, so named after the city located very close by, had been one of her favorite bases to be assigned if one could have a favorite military installation. It had been well-funded with a variety of craft at her disposal as well as state-of-the-art simulators to ensure her skills didn't rust, pilots being required to log in at least an hour a day if they were not actively engaged in some sort of actual flying.

Charli wondered if her abilities as a pilot still remained despite all the time she had been dead. She looked down at her hands and clenched them into fists a few times before Maximus banked the ship and swerved around the Traveler. The air felt different, more alive than she remembered it feeling. Was it just because of the Earth? Because she was near the Traveler? Her new life that was just at its dawn? A sort of invisible yet tangible light seemed to surround her like some mysterious aura or halo that she had no idea existed.

Maximus finished his turn and leveled out, heading directly for a large building that towered high over the City with black mountains that stood even taller piercing the sky behind it. Wanting to get a better look, Charli unbuckled the restraints and walked up to the front viewport, putting a hand on the headrest of the pilot's seat once she got there. The blue Exo turned his head only for a second before turning back to the view. "Welcome to your new home Charli," he said. "This is the last safe City pretty much anywhere. Not a bad place to live, but it still has its kinks, crooks, and blemishes. Couple scars here and there, but you've come at a good time."

"Why is that?" Charli asked earnestly.

"Because you won't have to deal with the things I did," Maximus responded. Charli sensed that she probably should not press into the matter, so she kept her mouth shut. Maximus pointed a finger at the large building they were flying towards. "That's the Tower, the place where the Guardians live, socialize, and coordinate their efforts before heading off into space." Despite their distance, Charli could make out three distinct areas, one a generally open area in the middle. On its left was a tunneled off area that seemed to lead to some sort of observatory with a huge opening. The right was home to a much larger and wider hole that a ship flew into, landing just as soft as it was quick. "That area to the right," Charli began. "I'm guessing that's some sort of hangar?"

Maximus looked up at her with his yellow eyes. "Nice guess," he said, turning back to flying. "That middle area is a sort of commons area we refer to as the Plaza, and then the other side is called Tower North. That's where the Speaker has his observatory with probably the best view of the City you'll get. Postcard beautiful. Not much competition though because everywhere else is wartorn or a current battlefield."

"I'm sure there are some other places that have their charm," Charli said optimistically. "I mean, centuries ago, normal people didn't get to go to space everyday. It was reserved for specialized individuals with a certain goal in mind."

"Well, I guess if you can get past the stench of the Fallen and marks of the Vex, Venus has some pretty good spots too, but here your life shouldn't be in as much danger if any at all." They were drawing near to the Tower. Three figures cloaked in shadow stood in a line at the center of the plaza area. Charli couldn't make out too much detail from their height, distance, and lack of light, but she assumed they were just Guardians enjoying the night air.

Charli let silence prevail for a few seconds before opening her mouth again. "So what happens now?" For the first time in a very long time, she didn't really have a clear direction for her life, especially now that almost everything she remembered from back then is long gone or exactly the same, the only two extremes that seemed to exist in a world she was trying to piece together. Just when she thought that she had figured out the world, figured out that war was a constant threat or reality no matter what steps people took, it was like someone took that puzzle and scattered the pieces again. A few clusters stayed together, like the constant of war, but now she had to fill in the gaps and piece together what all had happened whilst she had been dead.

"You see those three figures down there?" Maximus asked. Charli nodded her affirmation. "That's the Vanguard. They'll take you to the Speaker where they'll test your aptitude for being a Guardian, essentially giving you a class as soon as possible, so you can start your new journey."

"Classes?" Charli was thoroughly confused by this. She was accustomed to militarial classes and assignments, but these, she inferred, were very different.

They were rather close to the Tower, so any explanation would have to be quick, or they'd run the risk of looking a little awkward as they just hovered above this Plaza. "I'll keep it brief. Titans are like advanced infantry. Hunters are...an interesting hybrid of Titans, some stealth tech, a hood, and some knife tricks. I'm a Warlock. I bend space-time a little. You'll get specifics later if you ask."

"I think I get it," she lied. Just as she thought, she had no clue what he was talking about. "So are you going to be there when they do the test?" She felt a little awkward asking the question as they were essentially strangers, but he was the only person she knew at this point.

"They won't let me," he said frankly with a hint of disappointment. "They need a debrief, but it should be fine. Believe you me, it can't possibly go worse than mine." He set the ship into a hover mode and opened the ramp. Three figures: a bald Awoken in heavy armor, someone in a hood with a glowing mouth, presumably an Exo, and a dark-skinned human dressed in robes similar to Maximus' in style but not in color, stood on the ground below the ship as they awaited both of the Guardians aboard. "Let's get moving. Your new life awaits." The Warlock stood up and started putting on his armor and robe minus the helmet which he held upside-down at his side. Charli did similar, holding her helmet with the dent facing her leg. Maximus walked calmly to the edge of the ramp with his weapons on his back and leapt off the edge, landing solidly on the ground.

Charli hesitated before getting off. Something cemented her feet to the metal floor, paralyzed and unable to move. She watched Maximus shake hands with each of the figures and then point to the ramp. He moved a couple steps to the side and motioned her to come down. A sudden pit began to form in her stomach, nerves creeping in. Charli steeled herself and walked to the edge of the ramp, her free hand gripping one of the hydraulic beams that controlled the ramp. The ship's engines roared in her ear, but it was an oddly calming sound, the different yet familiar heat just as soothing. Maximus waved his hand again to encourage her to come down. After lingering several long seconds, Charli leapt off the edge and landed just as solid as Maximus did, hearing the thud of her boots on concrete as she did.

Charli straightened her posture and looked over the three figures standing in front of her as Maximus stood off to her left facing the figures as well. The Awoken she'd seen from the ship earlier extended an armored hand. She quickly extended hers as well, both hands gripping the other in a firm handshake. "Miss Hendricks," the Awoken said in a caring yet stern voice. "Welcome to the Tower." He let go of her hand, and she dropped hers by her side once again. "I'm Commander Zavala, the Titan Vanguard. This is Cayde…" he gestured to a sky blue Exo with equally light blue eyes. "...and Ikora Rey." Ikora was a dark-skinned woman that was at least a couple inches shorter than her compatriots, but her presence exuded power. "Nice to meet ya," the Exo said as he shook Charli's hand, the moon momentarily illuminating a metal horn that poked out of his hood. Ikora shook hands as well but remained silent and then clasped both of her hands in front of her. Zavala and Ikora looked exhausted, as if they'd been up all night.

Cayde seemed to be just fine, if not better, and gestured to his right. "Maximus, there's someone in the Vanguard meeting room to debrief you. We'll all join you two shortly. Now Miss Hendricks, if you'll just follow us, we have a small test for you." Maximus was gone before she could say anything to him. Cayde wrapped an arm around her shoulder while Ikora walked to her left and Zavala dead ahead, leading her up some stairs and into a dimly lit tunnel area.

Once they were well into the tunnel. Cayde spoke again, "I don't mean to sound indelicate, but what did you do in your past life?"

"Cayde," Ikora warned.

"What?" he asked indignantly. "I think it's important." He looked back at Charli. "So as you were saying…"

Charli was a little uncomfortable, not that she'd been too comfortable with Maximus, but more so than now. "I...I was a pilot."

"You mean like pirate, plunder sort of pilot?"

"Military," Charli responded briefly. "Got shot down while fighting off the Fallen over Mars."

"Yeah well, don't worry about those smelly, four-armed freaks. They don't run Mars; the Cabal do."

Zavala looked over his shoulder just as the group approached another set of stairs, the exit to the tunnel apparently just around the corner. "I thought you said you weren't going to be indelicate."

Cayde removed his arm from Charli and shrugged. "I mean we were going to find out eventually weren't we? Whether it was now or later. Just trying to get a feel for this new Hunter."

"You don't know that yet," Ikora snapped probably out of exhaustion. "That's for the Traveler to decide."

He raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. Sorry for being optimistic."

A half smile crept onto Ikora's stern face. "You mistake the meaning of optimistic Cayde. You of all people should know that the best place for someone like her would be with the Warlocks. After all, she did meet with one of the most successful Guardians we have here."

"You're never going to let go of that are you?"

"It's not every day you have someone slay the Black Garden's heart."

"Yeah, well don't forget I had someone in there as well. The only one that didn't have someone there was good ol' Zavala here. Isn't that right buddy?"

Charli saw the big man flinch a little bit, as if Cayde has stabbed him in the back with the knife he carried at his belt. "For all we know, neither of your Guardians actually destroyed it," Zavala said through gritted teeth. This seemed to be a rather touchy subject for him. "Maximus and Arla won't open up about it, so why do you two automatically assume that it is indeed dead?"

"Well for one, we already celebrated its destruction," Cayde responded. "And not long before those two came back, there was a massive resurgence in Light levels across the system. I bet you even the heartless Awoken could feel it."

"They're not heartless," Zavala snapped. "Just hard-headed."

"Would love to see how hard their heads are when a bullet goes through them," Cayde snided.

"You did not just say that!" Ikora exclaimed quietly. A Titan dressed in green and gold armor walked by, ignoring the Vanguard surrounding Charli. Ikora continued when she was sure that Titan wasn't in earshot. "We have no quarrel with the Awoken…"

"However we don't know if they have any with us. Maximus and Arla went their a couple times, and since then, they've blocked all communication with us."

"You don't think they struck some sort of deal do you?" Zavala asked.

"I know just as much as you do," Ikora affirmed.

Cayde interrupted the discussion once again. "Not to change the subject but, do either of you know when the Speaker's going to let us back out in the field? I've been dying to get out of the City for the last couple of months."

All of them stopped abruptly, and Zavala turned around quickly, pointing a finger directly at Cayde. "Field work is no longer part of your job description Cayde. You're going to have to accept that eventually."

"But politics are so boring. I miss living on the edge of a blade, not knowing if I'd come back or not. I know you Zavala; you miss that life at least a little bit."

Charli was beginning to wonder whether or not she should intervene. This discussion definitely did not sound like a standard part of the welcoming committee, but somehow it had gotten to this point, perhaps too far to turn around. Figuring that these three were likely the Tower's equivalent to Commanding Officers, she decided to keep her mouth shut for the time being. She simply did not know enough about them to make a fair judgement. Though if Maximus was right in saying that they essentially soldiers, that would mean someone had to take care of the politics because they were always there. Charli was leaning more towards Cayde in this argument but continued listening to gather as much information as she could about these three leaders despite getting closer to their destination step by step.

"Politics are how we keep the City safe. Even if that means we have to do it from a distance…"

"Which is not how it should be."

"But that's how it is. This discussion is over Cayde." Zavala turned around and started walking. The early morning air felt all the more tense, and that did not help the nerves Charli still felt. The Ikora followed after him not too long after, leaving Cayde and Charli alone for a few seconds. The Exo had his hands on his hips and was simply watching them exit the tunnel and disappear into a large building.

"Sorry you had to hear that," he apologized. "Zavala's got a stick up his butt. He's right that we, the Vanguard, are basically diplomats with guns, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be allowed to kick some butt every now and again. I honestly don't see how I've gotten along with that man for the last couple years. Ah, but you're not here to listen to my gripes. Let's get you tested."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The Speaker said very little once they climbed the steps to his observatory. Ikora did most of the explaining just as the dawn of a new day struck. Charli found this rather fitting for her circumstances but kept that to herself. Essentially, she was going to hold out her arm, and the Speaker was going to touch it. An odd test, but she complied.

The Speaker spoke with an inspiring but blunt tone. "This shouldn't hurt, but it is necessary if it does. Are you ready Guardian?" Something in those words said that he was sleep deprived and stressed out despite Maximus' apparent success, something that should have only alleviated them, but some people are always moving to the next thing Charli supposed, never focusing too much on the past.

Charli took a moment to think. Was she ready? Was she willing to accept what was going to be the last part of her life? In her opinion, that was quite a load to bear in such a single instant. From what little she knew, it sounded like her job was going to be the exact same thing she'd been doing in the MFN, shooting at things and protecting those that she loved. Except, those that she loved were long dead, their descendents either here or slaughtered, perhaps they never even existed. It made her feel empty. She really had no real reason to fight given the circumstances, and fighting in a war leads to many lives being taken. And taking lives for no reason was murder.

Charli hadn't realized it, but her heart was racing, her hands were clammy and shaking, and their was a ragged quality to her breathing. Pain shot through her head as she struggled with such a choice that seemed so elementary on the surface. Seconds of drawn out time wasted away without a word said or deed done. She opened her mouth to speak, but her tongue was clumsy, mouth like a desert, arms frozen.

A breeze wafted through the large opening in the observatory, bringing with it a bitter smell that soon turned remarkably pleasurable, like the smoke of a burnt out engine giving way to the wafts emanating from the greenhouses in each long-destroyed base. A thought crossed Charli's mind, a motive. A reason to kill and risk being killed. Her tongue and heart returned to their normal, or at least what she could consider normal, states. "Before I sign on, are the Fallen still around?" Her voice sounded like nothing it had been since she'd taken the gun from Maximus on Mars: Lieutenant Charli Hendricks. A fire glinted in her eye.

"Odd question to ask," the Speaker commented. "But yes, they are still around."

"Good," Charli stated, thrusting her right arm out. "Let's get this started then."

"Alright then. When I touch your arm, your suit armor will read what the Traveler has designated you, your calling for your tenure here, and manifest it in one of three ways." He held up the appropriate amount of fingers for each one. "First, arcs of energy will move up your arm. This will designate you a Titan. Second, your arm will ignite, deeming you a Hunter. Or third, an orb of energy will gather in the palm of your hand. That would make you a Warlock. For the sake of the third possibility, I must ask you turn turn your arm palm out." Charli did so. "Are you ready?" the Speaker reiterated. Charli glanced at each of the Vanguard. Zavala simply stood there with a poker face that was compromised by the sweat beginning to form at the top of his head. Cayde stood motionless with his arms folded confidently across his chest. Ikora was similarly expressionless with her arms clasped in front of her but staring intently at the palm of Charli's hand, almost as if she were willing an orb to appear.

"I am," Charli stated with a nod. Her eyes turned to her arm as the Speaker approached the palm of her hand with two fingers, his index and middle, extended and clenched side by side. Charli thought she could see an almost transparent glow around them, like some sort of energy field, The fingers pressed down on her open palm for several seconds before he removed them.

Seconds ticked by and turned into a minute of silence. Nothing happened. The Speaker repeated his two finger approach, pressing harder and holding them there for longer before retracting them. All the while, each member of the Vanguard stayed absolutely still and silent, as if the slightest movement would skew the results. After another minute of no results, eyebrows and confused glances started getting traded among the Vanguard, none of them knowing what to do.

The Speaker stepped forward for a third attempt or perhaps to tell her the Ghost had been wrong. Either way, just as he stepped forward, Charli saw a small flicker of blue twitch between her ring finger and pinky. This was shortly followed by more bolts lacing the gaps between her fingers, none of them visible from where the Vanguard stood. The Speaker stopped after that one step when he saw Charli clench her fist. He didn't know what was happening either in truth, but her arm had fallen asleep, and she was just trying to get some blood flow back into it.

Suddenly, sparks traced the outline of her hand, wrapping themselves around it before exploding up her arm. Blue streaks of light streaked up her arm, spreading up to her shoulder, across her torso to her legs and other arm, and then to her head. Unbearable pain ignited her nerves. The confidence she had just felt shattered like glass as the pain made her wish it would stop, whether it be an abrupt ending, her passing out, or the embrace of death. No such solace came though. She could see the Vanguard's mouths moving, no doubt wanting to stop what was happening, but the Speaker held out an arm to stop them.

Seconds felt like minutes as the pain refused to cease, but it steadily began to dull. Charli couldn't tell if she was simply getting used to the pain or if it was actually going away. Regardless, the pain lulled and the arcs continued to streak her arms, torso, and legs, and she guessed that they still ran across her face as well. She slowly clenched her hands in to fists, feeling the power the electricity gave her, relishing it as the pain slowly disappeared. Then she quickly closed a fist, and the arcs abruptly cut off. She clenched a fist again, and they started streaking up her arm again but cutting off at the shoulder this time. Her composure had recovered somewhat, her confidence equally regained, but now she could feel this newfound power coursing through her body like the electricity she summon on her arm.

Charli looked up at the Vanguard, their faces shocked.