Cayde threaded through the crowds in the hallways leading backstage. Rahool plowed through the press of chattering people like an earthmover, clearing the way for the two of them.

Are you nervous? His Ghost asked from Rest.

"Pfft. What for? It's not like we're starin' down the Hive on Luna or anything."

You're nervous, she chirped. Your telemetry doesn't lie.

"Well, then why'd you ask?" He sighed.

I thought today would be the day you'd finally admit it. She buzzed and clicked, a wistful sigh.

"Oh, darlin'. You're gonna have to wait for that admission a whole lot longer than this! You know, since you've got a handle on this whole situation, why don't you give the lecture?"

Not on your life! Ghost trilled in alarm.

Cayde laughed, causing some of the people in the hall to look at him quizzically. He supposed it looked rather strange, his talking to Ghost. Like he was talking to himself.

Truth be told, he was still uneasy. Not nervous. No way. How could he be nervous after everything he'd seen and done? It was just…why did this have to be so hard? Why did he still feel like he was about to step out onto the stage and call the sky green and the earth flat?

Backstage, Rahool introduced him to the College President. The man looked exactly as Cayde had pictured him: balding with thick glasses and a decades out-of-fashion suit. He kept his observation to himself though, and shook hands with the man while Rahool chattered on. The Cryptarch was definitely nervous. Anyone would think he was the one getting on stage! Maybe Rahool could relax a little if he stopped trying to run the whole dang show himself. As soon as he walked into a room he was trying to get the skinny on every little detail, grabbing the reigns and barking orders as if the entire world were his Novices.

From the wings, Cayde could see eager looking faces staring up at the stage. The house was full. He never would have guessed so many people would have shown up for this lecture. Didn't they have anything better to do today than listen to some Guardian drone on about what they could and couldn't do?

Rahool came up to him, hands on his hips.

"It's almost time," Rahool announced, as though that weren't painfully obvious. "The President is going to give a short introduction and then it will be your turn. Just go on out there when he's finished and stand by the podium."

"Gee, thanks. I wouldn't have guessed that was my next move."

Rahool's eyes narrowed. He wasn't in the mood for joking, but Cayde couldn't resist winding him up. It was just too easy.

As if on cue, the President walked out from the wings onto the stage. The crowd hushed as he began to speak.

Cayde turned back to the Cryptarch.

"Uh…would this be a bad time to tell you I didn't write anything down?" He asked.

"You'd better think of something!" Rahool said. "It's too late to turn back now."

There was no sympathy to be had from him. He watched Cayde a moment and sighed.

"Look, if you can't dazzle them with an eloquent speech —"

"Then baffle them with B.S?" Cayde asked hopefully.

Rahool's look was flatter than a table.

"I was going to say be yourself," he said. "Just say what you feel. Don't try to get fancy. Trust me, nobody likes that!"

Cayde nodded, thoughtful.

"Be myself. Got it."

The President called his name. If he'd had sweat glands, his palms would be slick. What a ridiculous thing. He'd faced down hordes of Fallen, waves of Hive, stared into the gullet of the Darkness…and he was shaken up by a little speech? I must be losing my touch, he thought glumly. He began to walk toward the stage.

"Cayde!" Rahool called after him.

"Yeah?"

"I'd like to keep my job for just a little while longer, if you please."

"Roger that." He gave the Cryptarch a thumbs up.

The stage was a heck of a lot bigger than he had reckoned from the outside. The lights were brighter too. And he'd be damned if there weren't ten times more people than he'd seen from the wings. Where had that giant balcony come from? The applause at his arrival was thunderous. It quickly died away as he came to a stop at the podium. Seats creaked as people leaned forward to listen. Cayde scanned the rows he could see where he wasn't blinded by the lights. Children sat in the first few rows, bouncy and eager and staring wide-eyed back at him. Some of them were so young they were practically swallowed by the fold-down seats. College students and working folk of the City watched him intently.

His mind went blank. What was he doing here, really? What could he possibly say to these folks when the bitter pill of this assignment was sticking in his throat? What did they expect him to say?

This was crazy. He should just leave. He should just walk off this stage right now and head into the City. What could anyone do to stop him? He was a Guardian, for crying out loud! He could do anything.

For some reason, he could not take a single step away.

He remembered Adama's drunken second offer of a ride out of the Walls to the provinces. He remembered his Ghost staring longingly at the sky.

He remembered Andal Brask, years ago, quietly tending his rifle and speaking calmly of a final death. Humble as the earth in that moment, and bigger than life. Unafraid to face what he knew must one day come. Unafraid to ask Cayde to help him care for those he cared about. Oh, how Brask would tease if he saw his shaking knees now…

The silence in the auditorium was charged with need. Need for him to say something. Anything. Why are we here? their faces asked. What must we do? When will we be safe?

"Hi, folks," he said, and cringed inwardly. Those weren't the grand speechifying kind of words he'd been meaning to say. His voice echoed in the cavernous hall. He could imagine Rahool chewing on his cowl in frustration backstage.

"I was at the Wall last night," he tried again. "I stood at the parapet of the eastern watch and looked out to the mountains, wishin' I could see what's out there. Wishin' I could run through those woods and climb to the very top of the peaks. I also remembered the times I was out in those woods, or sittin' on my ship cramped and tired and far from the Tower. Far from Earth. And all the while wishin' I were back within the Walls."

He hesitated. The crowd continued to wait.

Just be myself, huh?

He took a step from the podium.

"I'll level with you. It ain't easy havin' your life run by someone else's schedule. It's frustrating to have a body tell you that you're to stay put when all you want to do is go where you please. Why shouldn't you be able to go? It's a free City. You know the dangers out there. I don't gotta remind you that the Fallen roam the wilds. I don't gotta explain that there's desperate folk you'll run into beyond the City who will make you wish you'd found the Fallen instead. I'm not gonna waste your time telling you what you already know.

I'm just gonna say somethin' real honest: we care. The Guardians, the people of the Tower, we care about you. When we ask you to stay within the Walls, it's because we fear we won't be able to help you when you leave their safety. Yeah, I know we're out there too. I know we're keepin' an eye on the comings and goings of the City. But we can't be everywhere. So we ask you to watch yourselves. If you must leave the City, go smart. Take that armored transport. Take that official escort. Stay on the beaten path and come straight back home.

Yeah. Easy for me to say. I got a jumpship. I got a Ghost. I can tell you all this, then sail away into the sunset. It's so much easier to talk about lovin' your particular situation when you can just up and leave it anytime you want to. You're probably wonderin' if all those fancy Guardian things give me the right to tell you what's what. Well, it doesn't. I ain't the boss of you. I'm just standin' here, asking you real nicely to think about the ones who are waiting for you to come home. You got your reasons why you need to leave. Now think about your reasons to return.

There ain't no easy life for most of us in the Last City. Still, we can't cower inside these Walls forever. Every step you take outside the shelter of the City is a slap in the face of the Darkness tryin' to keep us down. And every needless death outside the Walls is a light gone out against it.

Look out for yourselves. Look out for each other. Enjoy your time within the Walls. There ain't no place like the Last City — believe me, I've looked. When the time comes that you're called beyond its boundaries, go with confidence. Give a wave to the Titans and follow their advice. They stand sentry for you. Don't keep 'em waiting forever."

Silence again. He thought maybe he should say something else, but he couldn't think of what. How long did these speeches have to be anyways?

All eyes were riveted on him. For a fierce, aching moment, he wished it were Brask up here instead of him. Not because he wanted to blow this off. Because Brask would be so much better at this. He had always known what to say. He had always known just what a person needed to hear.

Well, he'd said his piece. Any more would just be repeating himself, talking to hear his own voice.

"The Light go with you," he said. It seemed as good a way to end as any.

He walked offstage. Rahool's golden eyes caught him in the semi-darkness. Cayde wondered if he was going to push him back out. Instead, the Cryptarch just nodded.

Applause rippled through the hall, turning into a roar.