Chapter 12

Repercussions

Voidwalker Maximus

We had to tell Charli. Thankfully, Dea understood that. I had seen the signs that Charli didn't fully trust Arla and me, and I could understand that at first, but when I detected her distrust back in Caesar, I knew there were roots deeper than just being new. That Ghost of hers must have read the mine and Arla's files and then the one on the Black Garden. Probably warned her that we were hiding something, hiding Dea, from eyes that should not know she was here and helping us. However, her showing up while we were investigating Caesar most likely confirmed what suspicions she and Vern shared. Placing blind trust in her not to tell, I admitted to Dea's involvement in not only the Black Garden but also the operations before.

The Titan remained deadpan as I told her most of what really happened in the Garden, taking some liberties as to specifics best left unknown to any who hadn't experienced that cursed place. When we had finished, her voice was gentle and understanding, but she didn't want to talk about the Garden. Instead, she asked how Arla was doing. I told her that she seemed to be fine, but I alerted medical teams at the Tower just in case, that they'd likely hold her overnight or until she regained consciousness, however long that may be. I wondered what was running through her mind and if she actually trusted Arla and me now. The two of them had built a nice chemistry together, and I feared that my confession would mess it up.

What we did wasn't illegal by any means, but we certainly had not properly consulted with the Vanguard on such outside help which certainly made things difficult to explain, and I'm fairly certain they would not like it that we had an Agent of the Nine with us. I'm sure the Vanguard knew their skill, but if said agent died while with us, the Nine would probably hold that over their heads as some sort of leverage or blackmail, find some way to make it seem like it was the Guardian's fault and, by default, theirs. If I'm being completely honest with myself though, I can see how Dea could get killed on the battlefield, but I don't see that happening while she has anything to say about it.

As we approached the Tower, Dea disappeared without even a parting word. One second she was there, and then the next she was gone. By now, I was used to it, but I was left with more questions than answers, especially when she tried to explain what caused her to come to our aid and how she found out. The first part was simple: Caesar had been an expertly planned trap laid out by the House of Illusion. One of their operatives had infiltrated a House of Kings craft, and paraded as the CO until Charli shot it down. At that point, the other operatives under its command, three to our knowledge, dispatched themselves about the facility and began activating what few Sentinels remained and using them to hunt us down. Dea killed two of the goons while watching Charli and Arla's backs from the shadows and then the Captain just before it shot Arla. She then waited to ambush the final Illusion assassin while waiting for me to regroup with Arla. Given that she had never met or seen Charli, Dea thought that she was an imposter and just about attacked her but did not anticipate her instincts. Charli killed the last one as she was backing into the lift.

The second part is what got extremely complicated. In the time between Charli and I arriving and Stargazer's destruction, Dea tried to figure out exactly what Caesar was. Caesar was indeed an experimental version of Rasputin that wound up never being fully completed. When Rasputin was finally completed and turned on, it found the facility and absorbed its assets to do its bidding which meant that the Sentinels were under its control when the Skiff crashed. Whether or not they still were when we got in there was another question. After all, dead assassins tell no tales, so we'll never know. Truth be told, we should've been tipped off when the Kell Code gave us the location and when the signal dropped after the Skiff's destruction, something Dea made sure to scold us for not paying attention to. I didn't really have a retort though. My mind was on whether or not Arla was alright. This certainly the first time I'd seen her get hurt, but this very well could be the last. As we broke the Earth's atmosphere, I looked behind me and saw her laying in the ICU chamber. Starco insisted we put here there just in case. After all we'd been through, neither of us had been able to protect the other despite what we'd promised. I felt guilty and disgusted. I found myself focusing on "what if…" not really paying close attention to the fact that we'd all gotten out.

The Tower loomed in the distance as we approached it from behind, the moonrise imminent somewhere in the pastel sky. My ship went straight to the Hangar while Charli and I made a slow loop around it. In the plaza, we could see a group of five people gathered. Two held either side of what looked like a stretcher while the one fiddled with attached panels, and the other stood tall. The final figure stood mostly with his arms behind his back, staring down our ships as we passed. As we descended and lowered the ramp to get out, I noticed that the final form was Commander Zavala, and his blue face was screwed up in a scowl. The medical team immediately rushed in and grabbed Arla, dashing her to the infirmary before I had even exited the craft.

Starco despawned my weapons and helmet as I walked off the ramp. Looking to my left, Charli was already on the ground, her auburn hair slightly dark with drying sweat. Her face was still serious, concerned. I couldn't read about what, but she certainly did not make eye contact with me. Zavala's eyes watched the doctors disappear into a lift and then settled on me. "We have much to discuss," he stated sternly. He then spun tightly on his heel and began walking towards the stairs that led to the Vanguard's chambers without another word.

He silently led us into the same room that we'd had our intense discussion about the House of Illusion's existence. None of the other Vanguard were present as we entered the room, confusing me for a moment as I tried to piece together why he pulled us aside as soon as we got off. The furniture in the room had been rearranged, now consisting of very few chairs and a central desk. My thoughts wandered to tonight however. Either myself or Charli was going to watch Arla overnight in case she woke up, but neither of us looked forward to breaking the news. There was only one way to take news like that…

The Titan Vanguard sat down at the desk, pens and other materials organized neatly and pushed off to either side of the desk, leaving the center with a clear view of his imposing figure. Zavala's commanding voice shook me out of my thoughts. It was its usual boom, but a bit quieter. He sat up straight for a moment and then sighed. "What were you two thinking?" he asked, rubbing two gloved fingers on each of his temples. "Of all the things I expected you guys to do, I certainly did not expect this."

I was confused. "Commander, if you don't mind, do you think that we could take these matters up another day? Both of us would like to be by Arla's side when she wakes up."

His face remained stern. "Certainly not. The Speaker told me to talk to both of you, and that's exactly I'm going to do, unlike the both of you."

"What?" I asked.

"Maximus, you and your team have been going on unsanctioned ops that, until this point, have yielded promising and positive results. I acknowledge that everyone is entitled to making mistakes, that's part of learning, but when the repercussions are this big, these mistakes are close to unforgivable."

Charli leaned forward in her chair. "Repercussions? What did we do? Save your lives?"

Zavala looked at me as if I were stupid. "Hardly. Please don't make this any harder than it has to be."

Charli and I exchanged confused looks, the first eye contact she'd given me since being on our ships. She turned back to Zavala. "I think I speak for both of us when I say we have no idea what's happened."

Zavala's hands moved from his temples to his eyes, the exhaustion in them becoming more and more apparent. This man hadn't gotten any sleep for probably the last day or so it seemed. "Fine, I'll buy into your little game." Charli tried to speak up, but I stopped her before she did. "What you two just did was break into and attack one of Rasputin's bunkers. Albeit a sister branch of its operations, the Warmind does not take an unprovoked attack lightly, especially when it already has to fend off the Fallen in the area. By busting a hole in one of its missile silos, you allowed the Fallen a way into something they previously had no chance of getting into."

Charli butted in before I could stop her this time. "FYI, there was nothing for them to take. Besides, it was the Fallen, the House of Illusion, that set a trap. They lured us there with a signal that looked to be coming from a prototype warmind called Caesar."

Zavala looked at her disapprovingly. "So you're saying you raided the complex and hacked its systems because the Fallen lured you there?"

"I, uh…" Charli sat back quietly and fidgeted in her seat.

"What she meant to say was that we had reason to believe the House of Kings was going to make a move on the base and hack it, so we acted preemptively to deal with the threat before they could get in. In the course of destroying the Skiff, it crashed into a missile silo and exposed the entire base. We flew in to ensure that there were no survivors, but we had reason to believe that there Fallen that escaped it, ones that had been disguised as Kings but were actually part of the Illusion."

Zavala recoiled at the sound of that house's' name and promptly cut me off. "I never thought I'd say this, but I'm almost glad your operation ended in abject failure."

Charli stood up. "Excuse me?!" she shouted, outraged.

"Miss Hendricks, sit down!" Zavala shouted back. "As we've discussed, the House of Illusion no longer exists and perhaps never did. They are a myth, urban legend. You have no evidence to support your claim that they are a physical entity with the means and capabilities to pose a viable threat to Guardians and the City."

"Bull crap!" she shouted once again. "You've got the direct results of what they can do lying in your infirmary. Vern, show him." In a flash of light, a modified version of a Wire Rifle, painted deep green, appeared on the table. It was much more compact than the standard versions that some Vandals carried around. The design was altogether much sleeker that made it look all the more lethal. "This is the exact weapon that destroyed Arla's Ghost. Proof that the House of Illusion does exist. We also have a picture of the dead assailant upon our discovery of it. Vern if you please." The Ghost flashed in and projected a picture of a Vandal in sleeker armor dangling dead out of vent located in the server room, the Wire Rifle in front of us below him just out of the shot. It wore a deep green cloak in addition to armor that looked noticeably different than what I'd seen on Vandals in the past. Looking at its exposed face, it looked older, more experienced than I had associated with similarly ranking Fallen. I got the odd feeling that what we perceived to be an Illusion Vandal was anything but. It was just a passing thought, but what if this is what their Captains and high-ranking officers looked like? What could they be capable of that we didn't yet know about?

"While this certainly seems like concrete evidence…"

"It IS concrete evidence!" Charli asserted. "What more do you need?"

"A body to examine would be nice, but I don't suspect you have one do you?" Charli lowered her head and muttered, "No…"

"That's what I thought. We'll take up the matter with the Speaker, and I'll have Banshee take a look at the weapon, make sure neither of you tampered with it. Given that one of you has a talent for modifying armor, we can't definitively say you had no chance to modify a Wire Rifle on your way back and make it seem as though it's from a fabled Fallen House. Regardless, the others asked me to tell you what happened while you were gone, so that what I'm about to say makes sense to you."

I did not like where this meeting was heading. There was something malevolent about the air; I couldn't put my finger on it, but it was certainly there. "Go ahead," I replied suspiciously.

Zavala straightened in his chair and cleared his throat. "Shortly after you infiltrated the compound, Rasputin sent us word that you had purposely breached its base and opened fire on its guards within, killing several of what few it had left. As such, it needed to make an example so that we wouldn't cross it again."

"What do you mean, an example?" I asked, leaning forward in my chair.

"A sign of dominance. That it would not consider us enemies if we rectify the transgression we made against it. Rasputin used one of its many satellites in orbit to launch a kinetic rod a couple dozen miles outside of the City, close enough that everyone heard the impact and certainly felt it, but didn't do any significant damage. If you had destroyed the base, I fear that none of us would be standing here right now. That warmind is much more powerful than any of us would care to think. I can almost guarantee you that if we ticked it off enough, Rasputin would wipe us off the face of the planet without a second thought. As part of the deal we were forced to strike with it, we had to ensure that the party responsible for the attack would be duly punished, and since you refuse to drop your arguments about this fabled House of Illusion." The Commander stood up. "As a Vanguard appointed by the Speaker and Traveler, I, Commander Zavala, hereby suspend all Guardian activities that involve Titan Charli Hendricks, Warlock Maximus, and Huntress Arla Nublier in any way, shape, form, or fashion until further notice on the grounds of conspiring against the City via fabricated plans of a falsified and/or destroyed organization, attacking an ally of the Vanguard, City, and Traveler unprovoked, and recklessly endangering the City through operations not directly sponsored by the esteemed members of the Vanguard. For Titan Hendricks and Warlock Maximus, they have also been charged of directly contributing to the destruction of a fellow Guardian's Ghost, and the matter shall be investigated accordingly with the victim Guardian's testimony, should she wake up with a sound mind, and accused Guardian's complete, unabridged Ghost memories surrendered at the close of this meeting." He looked me directly in the eye. Their almost seemed a glimpse of glee in it, like he was going to enjoy taking Starco's memory apart. "Which means any of your previous operations may come under review as well." My heart immediately sank, and Charli turned several shades lighter and then several shades of red. They were branding us as criminals for trying to stop the Fallen, and they would find out about Dea in the process.

"Finally, as part of the suspension of your duties as a protector of the Traveler and the City, all three of you, regardless of physical, mental, or emotional health, must remain within the Tower's borders until you are cleared for operations once again. Any packages you receive via the postmaster in addition to your quarters are able to be searched at any time and any item that may prove your disloyalty to the Vanguard and the cause it represents will be seized and possibly used against you. Since Huntress Nublier no longer has a Ghost, the memories found on both of yours will serve as hers as well, implicating her in any wrongdoing either of you may or may not have partaken in. We, the Vanguard, wish to be able to clear you but will examine the evidence thoroughly between ourselves, the Speaker, and a third, undisclosed party. Should we all come to the same conclusion that further action must be taken, you may face being completely stripped of your Guardian status indefinitely without any way of rejoining our ranks." Zavala took a deep breath. "Now, hand over your Ghosts, and you are free to leave." Charli's mouth fell agape as fiery rage burned her eyes. If looks could kill...

Rage and indignity boiled inside of me as well. Looking at Charli, she seemed to be feeling the heat a little more than more, her fists clenching and teeth gritted together almost to the point that she was grinding them. As much as I wanted to beat Zavala to a bloody pulp, I had no choice. We had no choice. Defeated, I held up a flat left palm, summoning Starco, and pushed him over to Zavala. Starco looked at me powerlessly as he floated over to the Titan Vanguard. Zavala looked towards Charli, who was using every ounce of willpower not to lash out at the Vanguard, and raised an expectant eyebrow. Reluctantly and following my exact motions, Charli transferred Vern from her to Zavala, immediately turning and stomping out of the room. Both Ghosts watched longingly as I shot daggers at Zavala. All of us knew that we could be facing the final days of our Guardian careers right now.

The door slammed shut behind me, leaving Zavala and his smug face all alone. I looked around for Charli, but she had already left, probably going to blow off some steam until her mood was presentable again, or maybe she was going to sleep it off, something I should probably do as well, but I was still shocked at the sudden turn of events. Part of me understood why they did it. We accidentally stirred up a hornets' nest, and they struck back. Rasputin was definitely an enemy that we could not afford to have. At the same time, the warmind made an incorrect assumption that we knew Caesar was a part of it, but it was an AI apparently incapable of seeing that. I guess it didn't see the Fallen as invaders given Charli had shot them down and the ship crashed into it. Probably presumed they were dead too. This was messed up.

The other part of me questioned why they tossed us to the wolves so easily. Arla and I exterminated the Black Garden. I thought that counted for something, but I guess not as much as I thought. It was frustrating, but it was the present, and you couldn't change the past. As I stepped into my room, I quickly realized that all of my weapons were gone too.

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

2 days later...

The Queen's Private Chambers, Royal Palace, The City

The Speaker and the Queen sat at the very same table as before. The Speaker still donned his flawless white armor, but the Queen had changed her appearance slightly, this time wearing a red dress with white lace across the neck, hem, and sleeves. Her taste bothered the Speaker a little, but if it kept her disguise, then it would have to do. What really bothered him was that their third guest was late by almost an hour. Not a behavior that he took lightly from one of his top captains. The Commander could only do so much parading as the Speaker; he had to leave a large amount of the planning and responsibilities to his underlings, and that included what he had initiated behind closed doors two days earlier: an almost guaranteed way to get those pesky Guardians off his case and leave them clear to reach their ultimate goal. The Plan was going to succeed even if it meant drastic measures.

Finally, a knock came at the door. "Come in!" the Queen called softly, standing as their next guest entered. A bald Awoken in heavy armor walked through the door the guard opened and shut the door himself. "Welcome Commander Zavala. Please have a seat."

"Your Majesty," he said with a nod to the Queen. "Speaker." He took a seat at the table. "Sorry I'm late, I ran into...complications."

The Speaker and Queen looked at The Commander. "What kind of complications?" she asked.

"The others are holding firm on their opinions that they're actions are acceptable. Who or whatever that Dea person is, Ikora and Cayde certainly do not seem against having her as an ally. I've made known my arguments for our side, but I don't think they are going to work." The Commander stopped. "Beg your pardon, but can we lose these forms for this meeting? I can't stand the voice that this filthy Commander has."

The Commander scowled behind the Speaker's mask but ultimately relented. "Granted," he replied. There was a quick series of three flashes as each converted into their natural form. Sitting where the queen had been was an Eliksni with an overall slimmer appearance that made her posing as the Queen much easier than it would had The Commander given the position to one of his male Captains. Zavala's brawny form quickly morphed into a bulker but equally capable Eliksni with broad shoulders and bulging muscles up and down each of his four arms. The Commander also shed his disguise but still found himself bound in the Speaker's ill-fitting armor and robes as did Vulkra and Kilm, the second Captain. The Commander removed the mask and pushed back the cloth wrap the usually surrounded his head. To a complete stranger, it would have been an extremely peculiar sight, seeing three Fallen sitting at a table, two wearing Guardian armor and the other dressed as the Queen, but this was a position that Gilmis found himself in several times over the last several decades as he worked his way up the Illusion's ranks, becoming the Kell nearly a year ago.

As Fallen, the House of Illusion wasn't too different biologically, but technologically, they separated themselves by a wide margin. Over the centuries since they had been "killed off" by the other Houses in a war best described as a free-for-all, they'd developed weapons far more lethal than those of their Eliksni "brethren" and developed special implants that made it all too easy to make exact replicas of almost anyone.

Commander Gilmis adjusted his lower arms confined in the armor and crossed his upper pair as he leaned back in the seat. "Does that suit you better?" he asked Kilm, slightly annoyed by the discomfort.

"Yes sir. Thank you," Kilm responded gratefully. "Just wish these Humans and Awoken had four arms. Would make this armor fit much better."

"Toughen up. You've been through worse," Vulkra commented.

"Big words coming from a weak female…"

Vulkra angrily huffed and stood up, getting right in Kilm's face. "Need I remind you who's second in command here," she spat into his face. Kilm responded with a throaty growl and by pushing his face even closer to hers with bared teeth.

Gilmis slammed two fists onto the table. "Knock it off! Both of you!" he shouted, looking into both of his Captain's eyes. "You sound like children. Need I remind you that I can have you both removed if need be. We are in deep if we don't work toward our common goal with one mind." The Kell stood up and gestured to the door with his right arm as he spoke. "We are literally next to an entire army that has gotten the better of those traitorous Kells, and I will certainly not see the same shortcomings in my House while I am in charge of it! If we're going to continue having problems, then I WILL dispose of you both and do it all with the other two, who I assure you, will only know not to repeat your mistakes. Am I clear?"

It was quiet for a moment. The two Captains backed away from each other but kept eye contact. "Yes, sir," the Captains said in unison. Gilmis had benefited from such a move by previous Kells, there were no Barons or other ranks between Captain and Kell. These two reaped similar benefits from their predecessor's failures back on Mars, ones that cost them their lives without Gilmis having to dispose of them himself.

The Kell took a seat once more and clasped his hands together on the table. "Now that is out of the way and will NOT happen again…" He eyed both Captains. "...I want updates from each of your sides. Vulkra we'll start with you on the political front."

"There's not much to report in the last week."

Gilmis curled his mandibles into a small grin. "Well then, tell Kilm since he's not too familiar with your side of the table," he suggested, gesturing to the other Captain."

Vulkra shot daggers at Kilm but then relaxed her gaze. "Well, to start with, nobody in the City seems any wiser to our transition. So far, we've been able to replace more than half of the City's official political hierarchy with the Queen, Speaker, and most recently Commander Zavala of the Vanguard. We are yet to isolate Vanguard Ikora Rey and Cayde-6 under the right circumstances, so we are still waiting to make a move on them. With that, the other two Captains are waiting for your signal to follow both of you back to the Tower."

Gilmis raised a hand and cut her off. His voice was toned with annoyance. "Are they present?"

Vulkra made a small nod towards the door, but her eyes remained on Kilm. "Kelpat and Thuzia are standing guard outside the door. On Thuzia's behalf, may I…"

"You may not!" Gilmis snapped. "Your feelings, anyone's feelings for that matter, have no effect on my decisions. If that bothers you, then take it up with my sword. Now, Kilm. Your report?"

"Those three Guardians have been placed under investigation just as you asked Commander. We're currently analyzing their data stores, but there are some issues trying to pin them for any wrongdoing."

Gilmis curled a fist on the table. "What kind of issues?"

Kilm adjusted his seated position. "The other Vanguard believe that the machine's actions are justified. I've made my arguments, but Cayde and Ikora still have the majority, and that means we can't get it to you to disband them."

Gilmis looked in Kilm's glowing yellow eyes. They seemed to dart about and do anything but make eye contact with him. "To say I'm disappointed is an understatement Kilm," he growled.

Vulkra jumped up. "Why don't we just replace them now?"

Gilmis narrowed his eyes at the female Captain. "Two of them are basically celebrities that the public would certainly notice if they started acting squirrely, and those two would definitely notice if the new one started acting odd too. The time will come. That said, Kilm." He shifted his focus to the other Captain at the table. "I picked you for this because you know how to talk. How long can you delay the final vote?"

He thought for a moment. "Five days at the most. We can only take their Ghosts for a week. After that, we have to make a decision within a couple hours. I want you to take the vote to the deadline."

Gilmis leaned back in his seat for a moment." Kilm, make those two watch the tape of the Black Garden as many times as possible. Before any of you vote, I want you to bring me a copy of the footage from that machine's Ghost. Take a couple risks if you must. I have a couple ideas if we're unable to get rid of those three."

"And if the other two discover me?" Kilm sounded concerned.

"Then we're going to have to accelerate our plans a little." He narrowed his eyes at Kilm. "And perhaps thin out the team. You will not fail me and live to tell the tale Kilm."

"Y-yes sir," he replied. "The vote will be swayed."

"It better be…" he grumbled. Gilmis stood up. "Vulkra! Contact Captain Trivak and tell him to get the Ketch to Mars. The Black Garden is there somewhere, and I want him to find it. When he does, he is to draw out a Gatekeeper and rip out its mind core. After that, he is to return to Earth's Orbit and await further orders. If he needs to contact me, he knows how."

"Yes Commander," she responded, beginning to reactivate her disguise. Kilm was doing the same.

"Kilm, I want you to take Kelpat and Thuzia to the Wall. They need disguises, so you can take them to the Tower undetected." Gilmis pulled the Speaker's mask over his face and lifted the hood to its edge, reactivating his disguise as well. There was a slight pinch as the Commander's cellular makeup shifted, followed by a numbness in his lower two arms. The Speaker's memories flooded his own, lending themselves to his access but leaving his own conscious processes unaffected. He rolled his shoulders. Gilmis looked at his captains' faces, now replaced with their Human and Awoken disguises, perfect replicas of those they mimicked. He couldn't help but smile at how helpless their entire organization was. None of them knew what had happened.

They would never know in time

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

HAPPY NEW YEAR! :)