Vanguard Briefing

Dak looked up from his datapad long enough to see Bill enter the Tower mess hall, and wave him over. Kahlee made a brief acknowledgement of his arrival before returning to her cup of tea. Bill poured himself a cup of coffee, or at least what passed for coffee post-Collapse, and sat down with his team.

"Did you finish your errands?" Kahlee asked between sips of tea.

"Just about. Holliday is down in the City today working on some personal project, so those Sparrow mods will have to wait." Bill sniffed his drink, noticeably cringing at the overly bitter aroma, reminding himself that it was better than nothing.

"Hmph… screaming metal deathtraps. All of 'em." Dak was not a fan of Sparrows, only using them when absolutely necessary. In one of his previous "lives", his body was destroyed when his Sparrow malfunctioned and exploded during a mission. His Ghost was able to recover his mind, but the physical body was lost. Dak still carried that memory, and the distrust of the speeder bikes.

"All personal grievances aside, what is next on our agenda?" Vera, Dak's Ghost, fluttered into the room, her jet-black shell glistening with the light coming in through the windows. Bill found her voice quite soothing, yet he couldn't help but wonder how a well-to-do Ghost like Vera ended up choosing a sarcastic, wisecracking Hunter as her Guardian.

Stroke of bad luck, maybe, but they still make a good team. Bill sipped his beverage as he checked his chrono.

"Well, in about fifteen minutes, we have a meeting with the Vanguard to get our next assignment. Word is we won't be staying on Earth for this one, but Zavala wouldn't tell me exactly where we're going."

"Takin' all bets? Where do you guys think?" Dak leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on the table. "My guess is that they're sending us to Mars, maybe see how the Primus is doing."

Many years ago, the red planet Mars had been taken over by a militaristic society of large, porcine aliens calling themselves the Cabal. They had since blockaded the world and threatened full-scale war against the Guardians if they felt their claim was being imposed upon.

"Doubtful," Kahlee began as she pushed Dak's feet away from her face, sending him crashing to the floor as he fell out of his chair. "While I don't like to gamble, my guess is Venus. The House of Winter has escalated their salvage operations near the Ishtar Collective, and I hear their new Kell is just itching to pick a fight with the City."

Vera's outer shell shook as she imitated a shudder. "I hate the Fallen, so uncivilized."

"Me too, Vera. Still, I believe that would be the most logical destination for us." She swirled her cup of tea, thoughtfully before taking another sip.

Val, Kahlee's Ghost, materialized above the group and floated over to join Vera and Cee.

"Who knows, maybe it's Phobos? The Cabal have a base there, maybe Zavala wants us to ransack it?"

"They already said Cabal, dimwit." Cee chided his fellow Ghost, rolling his "eye" as he spoke.

"Noooo, they said Mars."

"Uh-huh, and who owns Mars these days?"

Val's shell constricted. "Oh… right."

Bill put his hands between the two tiny robots. "That's enough, both of you. Now then, we've wasted enough time, I don't want to keep the Vanguard waiting."

Dak and Kahlee stood, collecting their Ghosts, and Fireteam Orion made their way to the Vanguard chambers.

In the open room, a large conference table sat in the center. Commander Zavala stood at its head, poring over old maps of the City. At the other end of the table, Cayde-6, the Hunter Vanguard, sat bickering with the head of the Warlocks, Ikora Rey. Cayde seemed to be attempting to convince Ikora that her Warlock research teams in the field would be better off if escorted by his Hunters. Bill overheard something about "Stupid, floofy Warlock jumps," but not much else. They ceased their discussion as the team of Guardians approached the table. Zavala looked up from his maps, and clasped his hand behind his back.

"Guardians. Thank you for joining us. We have a most pressing matter that requires your attention. Cayde?"

The veteran Hunter moved away from Ikora, and produced a small orb from his cloak, placing it on a holo-projector in front of him.

"Okay, so at 1830 last night, just before your patrol radioed in, we intercepted a transmission from the House of Devils. But something was… off. Now we know why." Cayde activated the projector, and a familiar image sprang to life.

"That transmission came from the moon." Cayde motioned to Zavala.

"It would appear that the House of Devils is attempting to drive an as-of-yet unidentified Fallen House off the surface of Luna. How this House got there, we don't know, but they found something up there that has stirred the interest of the Devils as well." Zavala moved around the table to where Cayde was standing. He pressed another button and the image of the Moon was magnified to a single section.

"This is where you'll begin your search, an abandoned helium-3 plant in an area known as the Anchor of Light. Find the Devils, assess the situation, and learn as much as you can about this second House."

Bill examined the holo-map, and turned to his mentor. "Sir, three Guardians isn't enough to wage war against the Devils AND another House of-"

"We are not asking you to wage war, Bill. This is a recon mission. Direct action only when necessary. And if at all possible, find out what it is that these lunar Fallen have discovered."

"Yes, Commander." Bill turned on his heel to leave, but before his friends could follow, Ikora Rey spoke up.

"Wait a minute, Guardians. There is one more thing you must know before you leave."

Bill glanced over his shoulder before turning back to face his superiors.

"The Moon is not as it was before the Collpase. It is an evil place, wrought with danger, and I fear there are older, fouler things than mere Fallen in its chasms."

"Chasms, ma'am?"

"Yes. I offer you this warning, Guardians: On your approach to the Moon, you will see a large chunk of its surface has been chewed away, forming a large rift. If your travels take you by this trench, turn back immediately. For that is an area known as the Hellmouth. And within that pit, pure evil sleeps. An evil that would be unleashed upon our solar system if disturbed." Ikora's eyes seemed to peer right through the team as she continued.

"An evil that we may not be able to stop. Heed my warning, Guardians. Stay away from the Hellmouth. If you discover that the Devils are operating there, abandon your mission, for the being that sleeps in that dead underworld feeds on the Light of the Traveler. It will consume you, and you will be powerless to stop it."

Zavala held up a gloved hand. "Enough, Ikora. You've said too much already. Guardians, your mission will not likely lead you towards the Hellmouth, but be cautious all the same. Regardless of where you are, the Moon is not a friendly place for servants of the Light."

Bill's Ghost shook in mid-air. "This doesn't sound like a very good idea…"

"Calm down, Cee. We're gonna be fine."

I hope, Bill muttered to himself.

Dak clapped his hands together. "Right. Get in, find the Fallen, and don't get consumed by an ancient evil. When do we leave?"

Zavala collapsed the holographic projection of the Moon. "Immediately."