"This is the location mentioned in the report," Ghost whispered. The Warlock looked into the crater below through the scope of her rifle. Stone pillars and intricately carved arches flanked a grand set of double doors which appeared from stone. Something uncomfortable unfurled in her stomach at the sight of it. She'd only been a Guardian for a few weeks now and had limited field experience but curiosity got the better of her.
"The Hive are an ancient race. Took control of the Moon long ago. Guardians attempted to retake it but they failed. So many died. They call it the Great Disaster. Very few have tried to come back here. That Guardian and the one who found his dead body are the only two to have come back in a long time. We're still new at all this so don't do anything rash…" Ghost cautioned.
The Warlock rose from her crouched position behind some rocks and nodded. She glanced behind her at the steep incline which led to a cliff that dropped some few thousand feet down into a crater. It gave her a sense of vertigo. In the distance rose hills and mountains like waves of rock. Looking up at the Moon from Earth she wouldn't have guessed that it was so dangerous. Between the uncountable amounts of craters, to the Hive and Fallen, this beautiful orbiting ball in the Earth's sky seemed even more lethal than the Wilds or the Cosmodrome. But something about the Hive intrigued her and despite her Ghost's protests she wanted to check them out. However, after her 'second' death at the hands of a Fallen captain, she wasn't about to do anything to experience that again anytime soon. So she took Ghost's advice to lay low and only observe.
She had been first resurrected in the decaying remains of a small spaceship. The little droid, calling himself a Ghost, floated around her explaining she had been dead a long time but he resurrected her. It said she was a Guardian of the Light and they had to return to the Last City. She was barely coherent at the time and didn't understand anything much of anything at the time. When she escaped the rusting hull of metal that had before been her grave she was only met with more rusting graves. They were in a vast field of crashed airships which were being retaken by nature. She had salvaged an old pistol with limited ammo, Ghost insisted she needed it, and they started the trek towards this City. Two weeks into their journey they were ambushed by Fallen while passing through a ruined town. Somehow she held her own against most of the Dregs but the Captain snuck up on her and stabbed her through the back. Ghost revived her once the Fallen left but for a day afterward, she could still feel the tingle in her back and chest where the Captain stabbed her.
She was broken out of her thoughts by Ghost nudging her shoulder. For once he said nothing but stared with concern in his little glowing eye as his shell shifted. She smiled through her visor at him and nodded. She could do this, it was simple. Ghost phased into her and she descended towards the giant stone doors.
Nothing was ever so simple. She should have learned that by now in her short new life. She lamented on this as she shot six Thrall back to back in the head. Of course, they woke the Hive by poking around the chamber past the door. She wasn't as subtle as a Hunter. She tore through the Thralls and Acolyte with little trouble but the real problem was the Knight. He was relentless and her bullets and grenades did little to hurt him. The way he ducked, dodged and shielded himself didn't help.
She aimed at the last thrall in the line through her scope when Ghost suddenly shouted, "No, duck!"
She resisted the urge to disobey and just shoot the beast but Ghost had been watching over her since her resurrection and she trusted him. She let her knees give and fell to the ground, catching herself with her arm, just as a sword swung and sliced through the Thrall mere inches from cutting her in half too. She scrambled to her feet and bolted to the right before the Knight swung the blade down towards her.
"Guardian, I'm having trouble retaining the Light in this location. I can heal you but I might not be able to resurrect you so please be careful!" His voice rang through her head.
Don't make a habit of dying. Got it.
She jumped and weaved over and around rocks and boulders as the Knight shot Arc blasts at her. Then she darted towards the narrow passage just up the path.
"I have an idea!" Ghost shouted, "Do you feel the Light built up inside you? You can unleash a powerful attack and he'll have nowhere to hide if we hit him in the path! Just focus on that Light and release!"
She smiled and ran into the passage, stopping at the end and turning. It was only then that she realized she had no idea what the attack would do or how to perform it. She panicked and closed her eyes. Summoning the Light within her she forced her hands forward in the direction she imagined the Knight to be in and released it. She could feel it blast forwards and she smiled. That was until she heard Ghosts' gasp and she opened her eyes. She had missed and overshot the target. A ball of purple Void Light flew up and right over the Knight's head. It landed in the crater below and stuck for a few moments with a swirling ball of Void light.
Both of them stared at the bomb for several moments. The Knight let out a clicking chuckle as it turned on them and roared. The Warlock jumped and took off running again as Ghost screamed. Without thinking she ran to the edges of a great crater before stopping. Spinning around she could see the Knight was already close on her heels and she fired rapidly at him. Using his sword as a shield to block the bullets the Knight continued to charge and ones he was close he swung. The Warlock jumped out of the way but the Knight already anticipated this and swung his arm backward. He got a clean hit with the hilt of its sword to her midsection and she was sent flying off of the edge. She registered her Ghosts' shocked gasp just before she hit the steep, rocky incline and rolled end over end towards the canyon ledge.
"Oh no, no, no, no, no!" Ghost repeated in her head and she knew she was getting close to the edge. She hit a larger rock and launched into the air. She hit the slop again on her stomach and clawed at the rocks to try and stop herself. Her gloves and armor beginning to shred and soon she felt the burn on her skin. Finally, she got a firm hold on a rock just as her legs swung out over the canyon ledge. Panting she kicked, trying to find the ledge or a foothold as the muscles in her hand quivered from the strain of supporting her weight.
"Oooh, ok, ok, hold on! Don't panic, don't panic!" Ghost said as he appeared floating next to her and struggled to heal her with what little Light they had left.
You're the one panicking! She thought and looking up she could see that their situation was about to get worse.
The Knight that knocked her off had watched her stumble and began charging an arc bolt to shoot her. Glancing down there were no ledges she could drop or hover to and Ghost didn't have the Light to resurrect her yet. She was going to die and this time she would stay dead. The Knight's arc bolt glowed and he aimed for her. She closed her eyes and the sound of a shot rang out, echoing through the canyon. She waited but when the blast didn't come she opened her eyes again. Instead, the Knight's head had exploded and the body fell back dissolving the arc energy.
"What on Earth…" Ghost stared at where the Knight once was.
"Hey!" A voice rang out. The Warlock and her Ghost looked around and way above on a cliff higher than their previous battleground stood a figure in black, waving a hand in the air.
"Another Guardian." Ghost commented as the Warlock focused on pulling herself up the ledge and getting to safety. With several deft leps, the other Guardian descended their perch just before the Warlock finished the climb back up the incline.
"Hey, you alright there, Warlock?" The Guardian asked, jogging up to them.
"A Hunter, maybe one of Cayde's scouts" Ghost whispered to the Warlock before addressing the new Guardian, "We're ok now thanks to you. We appreciate the help."
The Hunter looked back and forth between the Warlock and the Ghost for a moment, "Don't mention it. Us Guardians have to watch each other's backs, right? But shouldn't you have a Fireteam to help you with this sort of thing?"
"We uh, don't have a Fireteam. It's just us. Hehe." Ghost feigned a chuckle.
"Really? The Vanguard didn't pair you with anyone yet?"
"No. They've been preoccupied, what with the whole Black Garden thing on Venus. My Warlock seems to have developed an interest in the Hive and wanted to do some research. This seemed like the best place to start, not that I agree but..." Ghost trailed off, glancing at his Guardian.
She smirked, "I take it this isn't Vanguard sanctioned either, otherwise, they'd have told you to check the library. More of a do-it-yourselfer, I take it?"
"We've already been to the library," Ghost admitted, "She's already gone through all the information they have on Hive. It's not much and she likes to be more hands-on."
"I'm Momo. What's your name, Warlock?"
She froze and looked at her feet.
The Huntress tilted her head, "Cat got your tongue?"
"She...doesn't talk much and doesn't like that question," Ghost answered for her.
The Warlock removed her helmet and wiped her brow with a sigh. She frowned into the reflection of her visor. Half her head was shaved with blue bangs sweeping above one eye and the rest of her hair pulled into a bun. Blue eyes glowed back at her with a sad expression which was only enhanced by her blue skin.
"Awoken," The Huntress stated before removing her helmet. Momo had light purple skin with silver glowing eyes. Her white hair had messy bangs and the rest stood up at the back of her head seeming to defy gravity. "Looks like we have something in common. You're just very blue," Momo snapped her fingers, "That's it! I'll call you Blue unless you actually tell me your name."
Ghost looked at his Guardian and she only shrugged in response.
"You better come with us if you don't have a Fireteam yet. We're still down one person so we can show you the ropes. Who knows you might stay on with us if the Vanguard doesn't find anyone else to stick you with."
"Who is your other Fire teammate?" Ghost asked. As if to answer the question a loud explosion resounded through the crater field. All three of them turned to look towards the sound.
"My husband." Momo smiled.
Momo was great at navigating the Moon but for a Hunter, she could be a bit rash. Once during their trek, she jumped in the middle of a group of Fallen to stab the Vandel in the eye before shooting down the rest of the Dregs with her sidearm. Yet, when the odds were against them she found a stealthy way around.
"So where were you resurrected?" Momo asked as they walked.
The Warlock and Ghost looked at one another before he answered for her, "I found her in a crashed ship in the southern European zone. Took us almost a month to reach the City. Finding a ship and working parts to repair it was tricky. Especially with the Fallen scouring everything in the area."
Momo grinned, "Sounds like fun."
"Yeah...Hey, not that I'm complaining but you don't seem like most Hunter's I've encountered. Most Hunter's don't seem this...social." Recorded memories flashed through his processor of times during his search for his Guardian when he encountered Hunters. Most of the time they ignored him or told him to piss off if he tried to talk to them or their Ghost.
She laughed, "You sound like my husband. I used to like working alone before I met him. I still like going it on my own every now and then but after some...incidents...I've learned to accept help and provide it when due. You two definitely needed help."
Ghost huffed, "Uh...thanks. I think."
Momo chuckled, "Don't worry, Little Light. You'll both get better with experience and maybe a good team to help you." She hopped up onto a large boulder that overlooked a crater and crouched down.
Ghost paused for a moment "Little Light? Uhg...I don't think I like that…"
"Neither do I." Came a new, deeper, voice preceded and followed by similar beeps to Ghost. Momo's Ghost transmatted out of hiding next to her, looking at the two of them.
"This is Spector." Momo jabbed a thumb in the direction of her Ghost.
"Uh...Heh, nice to meet you." the Warlock's Ghost said.
"Likewise, I'm sure," Spector turned away from them and focused on whatever had Momo's attention just over the edge. Ghost and Blue looked at one another before joining Momo on the bolder. Blue had stood tall on it until Momo pulled her down and motioned to keep quiet and out of sight. Ahead lay a crater and within the crater were bodies of the Fallen scattered around the scorched ground.
Momo smirked, "Looks like his handy work, alright."
"No kidding." Spector agreed.
Momo stood and jumped down to the ground and slid down into the crater with practiced ease. Blue followed close behind, tripping most of the way down.
Spector scanned the bodies and surrounding damage, "Arc energy. Could be Hive but these look like Striker marks. Question is, where is our Titan?"
"Ooo a Titan!" Ghost whispered to his Warlock, "Did you hear that, Guardian? Maybe we should try to team up with them after all. A well-rounded team is hard to come by." She just blinked at him.
The sound of gunfire caught everyone's attention. Blue stumbled back while Momo brought out a pulse rifle, aiming towards the sounds. Ghost butted against the rifle on Blue's back to tell her to draw it, which she did. On the other side of the crater a cave where the sounds echoed out from. More bodies littered the entrance. Momo advanced with her gun focused on the opening and finger on the trigger. Blue stayed behind her. At the sound of footsteps both of them stopped, Momo raising her gun higher. Several heart-pounding moments later a Titan dressed in blue and orange armor emerged from the cavern with the body of a Captain hoisted over his shoulder. Momo and Blue lowered their guns and Ghost peeked out from behind Blue to look. The Titan walked over to the pair and unceremoniously dumped the corpse onto the ground. Blue flinched slightly at the sight of the Captain, the incident with being stabbed through the back by one still somewhat fresh.
"Who's this?" The Titan asked Momo while pointed at Blue.
"A yet unnamed Warlock," Momo smiled, "She's a brand new Guardian. I call her Blue, well, unless she tells me her name or picks a new one. She doesn't really talk."
Ghost made a coughing noise, "Momo here helped us against a big Hive. We really appreciate it! Oh, and it's nice to meet you."
The Titan nodded, "I'm the Yiaz-5." He turned back to Momo, "Trying to fill your good deed quota?"
"Hey! I'm a good and helpful person...most of the time." She pouted.
Yiaz looked at the Warlock, "What's a greenhorn doing on the Moon anyway?"
"We saw the report about the Guardian who died up here and my Warlock wanted to look more into the Hive" Ghost sighed, "It was supposed to be non-combative..."
"Heh, not if you woke up the Hive," Yiaz looked at the bodies on the ground, "No wonder the Fallen were all shaken up."
"Come to think of it what are you two doing on the Moon? I thought the Vanguard didn't want anyone coming up here,"
Momo snorted, "Look who's talking. Like we listen to the Vanguard half the time either. Well, at least not me," She smirked at Yiaz and he just rolled his eyes, "We sneak here from time to time to raid Fallen supplies to sell for some extra glimmer or salvage parts. Vanguard doesn't need to know about it. Except for Cayde, he's cool with it as long as he gets a cut."
Ghost mumbled to Blue, "Definitely a Hunter, alright."
"Got what we needed. Let's go." Yiaz said to Momo.
Blue started slightly before frowning at the ground. Ghost sighed made a sound like clearing his throat, "Actually...maybe, um, well, I mean-"
"Spit it out." The Titan snapped.
"Uh, maybe...could you two help us? It'd be a wasted trip and that door is still open and-"
"No. If the Hive are awake it's way too dangerous. We all need to leave."
"Now hold on," Momo said, "Why don't we take a look? We won't go far down, maybe just take out the remaining Thrall and Acolytes and close the door. Besides, look at the poor little Warlock's pout."
A light purple blush crept on Blue's face and she looked away.
"Why is it that during one of the few times you decide to help someone it has to be something stupid and risky?" Yiaz sighed, "We'll quietly take out the small fries without provoking anymore Hive and close the door, alright? That'll have to be enough information gathering for you, Warlock."
Momo pouted but Blue looked at Ghost with a smile and nodded.
"Ok with us." Ghost said.
Yiaz nodded, "Good. Let's get moving and don't attract any attention. Stay low and stay quiet, understood?"
Blue agreed with rapid nods while Momo nodded once but rolled her eyes. Blue led them back to the Hive doors, Yiaz close at her side ready to take lead, and Momo followed behind with a mischievous smirk.
Needless to say a firefight with a horde of Acolytes, Thrall, and one wizard later resulted in peeved Titan, but the Warlock managed to collect some of the information she wanted and the Hunter recovered some valuable loot. Momo was more than happy to initiate the Warlock into their team despite her husband's hesitations. Ghost, on the other hand, looked at the three of them and saw nothing but troublemakers. Yet somehow it seemed to work.