Hi. sorry about the long wait. Quick thing before you jump in to the chapter. I rewrote this chapter a bunch, and am still not rally happy with it, but I don't think i can do any better. Also, I'm back from holiday, so uploads should be more regular now.

Aria ran back to the hanger, watching other run stretchers down to the infirmary. Her gauntlets had a thin layer of blood on them, the guardian in question having died before she could get them to someone who could help.

She saw Cayde shoot past, lightning arcing as he ran towards the infirmary, people jumping out of the way of the hunter vanguard.

A loud bang, followed by the screaming of metal on metal snapped her head towards the hanger door, a ship skidding into the safety nets.

Ikora had leapt onto the ship the moment it stopped, the front hatch exploding upwards as she did. A Titan stood, pushing himself over the edge of the cockpit landing, staggering and falling

Aleeza ran over, sliding to a halt next to him, blood caking his armour.

"Akiva?" She whispered.

-X-

The guardian whimpered, the shrapnel lodged in its back moving less and less with each breath it took. Ekolzyn held a finger to its neck, feeling it's pulse, which was weak and sporadic. He wondered where it's shard was, why it hadn't tried to help its guardian. He needed to get the guardian somewhere safer, so that he could attempt to remove the lump of metal.

"Nova." The guardians voice was weak, croaking.

At least he was not dead. Ekolzyn thanked the Great Machine, he might still have a hope of getting back the reef.

-X-

Matt woke, blinking rapidly to clear his vision. His back hurt. He sat up, groaning in pain as he did so. He look around, he was sitting on the side of a small bed in what looked like an infirmary. He stood, leaning against the wall for support. A door opened, a hiss of compressed air informing him of it. He turned, his eyes finding a Fallen standing in the doorway.

"En Hus." It spread its arms, showing no weapons, "Ne Yu Ekolzyn."

Matt blinked several times, "What?" He shook his head, trying to indicate he didn't understand, "Nova, can you help?"

She didn't materialise, choosing to instead speak to him via his earpiece, "It, wait, he is speaking Eliksni." She paused, "He said "No fight, My name, I'm assuming that Eliksni doesn't translate perfectly to English, so I'm adding some words so it makes complete sense, anyway, My name is Ekolzyn."

Matt nodded, "His name is Ekolzyn. How did he say that?"

"Ne Yu. It, directly translated, means I or Me Name."

He nodded again, looking back at the Fallen, "Ne Yu Matt." He said carefully, pointing to himself as he did.

"Not bad. Pronunciation was a little off." Nova commented, as the Fallen nodded, gesturing for him to follow.

Matt almost wanted to laugh, jogging over to the door.

"Nova, you have to teach me what you know of the Fallen language."

She laughed, the sound bringing a smile to Matt's face, "Or I could cheat, and just push what I know into your brain."

Matt shrugged, "Do that if it's quicker, I can't have you as my constant translator."

"Oh course, I'll set it up for tonight, or whenever is the next time you sleep."

The fallen stopped, stabbing his fingers at a number pad, the door hissing open after 3 attempts.

It turned once inside, another door revealing itself, great urging again for Matt to walk in, as well as indicating that he should put on his helmet. He did, the helmet sealing with a hiss of gas. The fallen turned, punching more numbers into the next door. The door behind them sealed shut, the hiss of gas could be heard from inside the room, a while mist seeping in. The second door opened, revealing a large room, white mist swirling around, not enough to to be an obstruction.

"Nova, what is this stuff?" Matt waved a hand through the mist, watching it swirl in the current created by his hand.

"Ether. The fallen rely on it to breathe, it is also their primary source of sustenance."

The fallen sat down on a chair, turning to type on some sort of interface. Two screens flickered into life, one showed a series of symbols, the other 3 human languages, one was an Asian language, presumably Chinese, one looks like Russian, and the last was English.

The fallen pointed to the screen, then to the chair in front of it. Matt took a seat, pulling an standard English keyboard, a real keyboard, towards him. The fallen pushed some buttons on his interface, word appearing on Matts screen.

I am Ekolzyn of House Judgement. Why were the Warriors of the Great Machine on this rock?

Matt stared at the keyboard, composing his response in his head.

Hello Ekolzyn, I am Matt. We were here to reclaim the moon from the Hive. It did not go to plan.

The fallen chuckled, a low rumble.

No, it did not.

Why did you save me?

Because I need help. I cannot send a message to my clan. I have a plan, but I've needed a second body to help. None of the Exiles would help, so I had hoped you would. That is why I saved your life.

A pause. Matt glanced across at Ekolzyn, the fallen slowly typing.

Where is your Shard?

My Shard? What do you mean?

A Shard of the Great Machine. I was told that all those who fight with the Great Machines gifts have one.

My Ghost? She's with me.

Why didn't she fix you?

The darkness. I'm quoting her, she said that the darkness was having an adverse effect on her ability to fix any injury, as well as mine.

Why are you still here? Did the others abandon you?

No. I was shot down during the retreat.

So do you need to send a message to your Kell so they will come to pick you up?

Matt sighed, Yes. I told my fire team, and a few friends I'd send a signal within 6 months.

Then we'd best hurry. I have a few locations that look like communication beacons, they might be able to send a signal to your friends.

Matt nodded, typing one last thing into the translator, Thank you. For saving my life.

Ekolzyn grunted, You will need to recover first. Since your Shard is with you, you should recover sooner than without.

Matt stood, I hope so.

He turned, walking into the airlock system that the fallen, no, Ekolzyn had set up. He pushed a button, the inner door closing, a hiss of gasses being exchanged in the small space between the two doors. The air cleared, Eather being sucked into the area Ekolzyn had converted for his purposes.

The outer door opened, Matt pulling his helmet off, clipping it to small connector on his hip.

"What hit me? I don't remember anything?"

Nova materialised, wobbling from side to side as she floated along near his shoulder, "I don't know for certain, but most likely it was something that was dislodged when the ship got shot, then hit you when we crashed. The wound has mostly healed externally, and most of the internal damage has cleared up. You should be good by tomorrow, but resting would help."

Matt nodded, "Yeah, I figured rest would be useful. First though, I want to go find the canteen, and I'm hoping there's is something there, I'm starving."

Nova laughed, but it sounded hollow, there was no life in it, "Trust you to think of food first."

-X-

"How is he?"

She shrugged, leaning against the wall, "Not good. They haven't been able to extract the knife, they don't know where Lex is, and don't want to risk killing him if…" She paused, taking a deep breath, her eyes wet, "If Lex is dead."

Aria took a step towards Aleeza, pulling her into a hug, "At least he's alive. The Phoenix order have fixed worse."

Aleeza sighed, "I suppose I can hope, if nothing else." She pushed away from Aria, looking into her white eyes, "How are you?"

Aria shrugged, "Fine, mostly. Do you think…"

Aleeza cut her off, "Matt is alive." There was a hardness in her voice, a certainty that caught Aria by surprise, "If he's not, I'm going to kill him."

The infirmary door opened, Carina stepping out, "They got the knife out." Her voice was controlled, her expression almost unreadable.

"What is it?" Aria asked, almost scared of what the answer could be.

Carina shook her head, her eyes dark. She turned, walking back into the infirmary, back into the partitioned section that Akiva was in. She stood to the side, letting the two other guardians through. Akiva lay in the centre of the area, connected to a machine via various ports in his armour. His helmet had been removed, it was clear to Aria and Aleeza that he was asleep. A tap of metal against metal cause both their head to turn, whipping around, both of them on edge.

Aleeza choked back a cry, Arias hand flying to her mouth, a rush of static indicating a shocked breath. The dagger was lying in a metal pan, a dark, flickering blue light emanating from the back of it. It jittered, two parts of it seeming to try and rotate, moving a bit, tapping against the side of the pan. A dark mustard coloured stain on most the warped metal, with a strip of grey-white wobbling through the centre. Aria could see the tears in her eyes, as Carina stepped towards Aleeza.

"That's not…" Aleeza's voice choked, tears starting to run down her cheeks. She looked at Carina, who stared back, blinking rapidly, trying to think of what to say.

Her silence confirmed Aleeza's fear, she collapsed into the chair by Akiva, tears running freely down her face. Her whole body shook, her head resting next to her brothers. Aria looked at Carina, concern in her eyes. Carina simply shook her head, her expression one of distraught.

"Is there anything we can do?" She placed a hand on Aleeza's shoulder, the warlock not reacting to it at all.

Carina pulled her away, pushing her gently towards the door, "Give her some time to herself. That would help." The two Exo's walked out of the infirmary, Aria looking shocked, "I keep an eye on her, I promise." Carina reassured Aria. Aria simply nodded, turning and walking away from the infirmary.

A stream of guardians from the hanger was a pointed reminder that there would be more lost. Aria slumped against the wall, sinking to the floor.

"Jenny?" She sighed, staring at the floor.

"Aria." The ghost floated at eye level, "What is it?"

Aria held out a palm, letting the ghost settle on it, "That could have been you."

"It could have been. But it wasn't." The ghost spoke softly, "That's all that matters." She floated off Aria's palm, "Come on. You're not helping anyone sitting there."

Aria stood, slowly, "I know."

-X-

He looked across the corridor, Ekolzyn nodding at him. Matt turned the corner, watching shot bounce off his shields, the bar on his HUD dropping slowly. He aimed, leading his target slightly, pulling the trigger. The pistol kick percussively, three fast beats. The three projectiles flew through the air in lazy spirals, the dreg not noticing them until it ran into the first one. The vandal screamed, yelling abuse at him. He blocked it out, firing again, a Shank falling and exploding on the floor. Ekolzyn peaked around the corner, firing three times at the vandal. It flinched backwards, a blackened hole in its armour. Matt spun, ducking under a shock blade, his foot connecting with the second dregs head with a satisfying crunch. He turned to face the vandal, to see Ekolzyn knock its shock dagger aside, planting his in its skull. Matt jumped towards the control console, thumbing the button Nova told him to. The system booted up, various screens embedded into the control console flickering into life, casting shadows on the wall behind him. He wiped the dust build up off the screen, shaking his gloved hand to remove the dust from his armour.

He pushed a few more buttons, the screen switching to a communication hub. Various systems in the room booted up, ancient circuits sparking inside their ancient casing. A wire sparked at the end of the room, a screen showing a fault. Matt pushed a few buttons, swiping his hand across the screen, pushing all the items on screen to the edge. He tapped on the error, clicking into the diagnostic information. Nova materialised, partially hiding from Ekolzyn behind Matt as he looked at the screen, blue light pulsing from her optic.

Guardian, is that your shard?

Yes. She is worried you might hurt her.

"Matt!" Nova chipped in, "Why would you tell him that?"

He looked at her, "Honsety." He turned back to Ekolzyn, Ekolzyn, this is my ghost, Nova. She taught me all of your language that she knows. She also helps me when I need it.

Ekolzyn took a few steps towards Matt, his body language suggesting he wanted to see Nova, She is the one that helps you heal from wounds and lets you cheat death.

Matt nodded, Yeah. She's also a decent lock pick, and can crack most golden age encryption. He turned to Nova, "I doubt Ekolzyn will try to hurt you. He wants my help." Nova raised a single point, Matt sighed, "Just don't show yourself to any other Fallen."

"Come on, Einstein, I'm not that dumb. There, found your fault." She drifted forwards, tapping the screen over a part, which zoomed in on the screen, displaying a series of fault messages, "Right, you go and have a look at it."

Matt nodded, a brief blue light indicating that Nova had vanished. He opened a hatch in the floor, pulling the cover off its rusted hinges. He dropped down into the crawl space, scrambling forwards.

"Ok, look left," Nova said. Matt looked left, seeing a leaver.

"I'm guessing that's where I want to be." He muttered, yanking the lever down. The panel slid down, the lever catching it so it was just poking out above the bottom of the crawl space. He stuck his head inside the hole, looking left then right.

"Ok, what am I looking for?" He pulled his head out, looking at Nova, who had materialised in front of him. She dived into the empty space, a pulse of light indicating that she was scanning for something. She spun around, "It's not here. Someone has ripped it out."

Matt sighed, turning and scrambling to the hatch. Ekolzyn grabbed his hand as he climbed out, pulling him out of the hole.

Thanks.

Ekolzyn pointed to the door, then made a cutting motion.

There are Exiles outside. He whispered, Hide over there, I'll talk to them. He pointed to a dark corner, If it all goes wrong, feel free to kill them.

Matt nodded, crouching into the small space partially hidden by some boxes.

The door hissed open, Ekolzyn turning and acting surprised.

Honoured Eliksni, what do you want?

The voice that replied was harsh, What are you doing here, spy?

Investigating the Humans encryption systems. I hope to crack it soon.

Hurry, spy. We grow impatient. They lost a large amount of light when they attacked, we want to take advantage of that.

Ekolzyn shrugged, Then attack. You don't need them to tell you they lost a large proportion of their forces.

The other fallen snarled, No. We need to know where they are weakest.

Ekolzyn shrugged again, Then give me time. This takes time to do. Now go away, leave me to find what I need.

The fallen snarled again, Matt tensed, ready to jump out. It drew a shock blade, drawing the blade across its hand, Spy, that is a promise to you. Crack their encryption. You have a month.

Ekolzyn nodded, the other fallen turning and leaving.

Matt waited until Ekolzyn walked over to his hiding spot, gesturing for him to come out. He did, standing and twisting left the right, stretching his back.

So, they don't like you.

Ekolzyn laughed, No they do not. Though I suspect they would like you less.

-X-

She staggered back to the hanger, looking around frantically for anyone who needed help. She saw Holliday, the shipwright, struggling to remove a large chunk of debris from an engine port. Aria walked up to her, "Do you need a hand?"

Amanda grunted, "Maybe." She gave the lump of metal another tug, it moved a centimetre, "Ok, yeah." She sighed stepping back, letting Aria grab the lump. She pulled, hard, putting as much force in as she could. The metal moved screaming against fan blades, tearing it out of the turbine. She dropped it on the hanger floor, the crash of metal on metal reverberating around the hanger.

"Thanks." Holiday grunted, moving forward to start dismantling the engine.

Aria nodded, moving across the hanger towards the plaza, usually a bustling centre of guardian activity was silent, empty for the most part, small groups milling around, pained looks on their faces. She walked past them, wondering aimlessly through the area. She stopped briefly at the postmaster, finding nothing for her, she continued walking, dragging her feet into the lift, defending, walking out automatically. She thumbed the button on her door, collapsing onto her bed, dried blood flaking off her armour.

Jenny watched Aria shut down, going into a sleep cycle. She reached out to Lena,

xJenny

oLena

I'm sorry. How are they?

xLena

oJenny

Jenny? They are both not well. Akiva's wound continues to defy the warlocks attempts of heal it, and Aleeza is… shaken. She does not want to lose her brother, but she can't do anything. How is Aria?

xJenny

oLena

She worries. For Akiva, for Aleeza, and for Matt. I think she does not expect him to survive. Yet she hopes for a message.

xLena

xJenny

Aleeza believes Matt will live. So does Carina. Excuse me, I need to talk to Aleeza.

Lena cut the connection, sounding worried. Jenny glanced at Aria, her lights almost off, silently thanking the traveller that her guardian had survived. She settled down, resting on her bottom four points, setting her systems to rest until Aria was out of her sleep cycle.

The room grew quiet, the air barely moving.

-X- six weeks later

Matt opened the outer airlock, his heel flicking the door close behind him. The chamber hissed, air flooding in from the tanks. A heavy thunk could be heard as the second, inner door opened, Matt pulling his helmet off, sprinting down the corridor. He skidded around a corner, taking a right then a left, then another right. He shouldered the metal door open, Ekolzyn spinning around, weapon drawn.

I found one. Matt panted, Far away, maybe a days walk. I saw some Exiles dragging salvage gear towards it on the way back, but they had just set off.

Ekolzyn lowered his gun, pushing a button on the console behind him, a map appearing on a large central screen, Where is it?

Matt pointed, There. But we need to go now if we want to beat the salvage crews.

Ekolzyn laughed, Eager to get home. It's only been a two months. Yeah, I'll be ready soon. The fallen walked into his compartment, the airlock sealing behind him. Matt turned to their makeshift weapons locker, containing an assortment of human and fallen weapons they had collected on their ventures to a total of 16 separate satellite stations within a half days walk of Ekolzyn's home in a golden age Luna accommodation habitat. Matt gabbed a old human build weapon, similar to the first gun he ever picked up as a guardian over 18 months ago. He loaded it, racking the bolt and flicking the safety on. Ekolzyn came back out of his compartment, wearing modified armour which allowed for greater protection than his standard Eliksni armour. It consisted of part of Matt's armour he had replaced and alloys found on their attempts to find a working satellite. Matt had replaced his chest plate with part of the carapace on a knight, which he had spent almost an entire day chipping down to the right size. Despite Ekolzyn's frustration at the time it had taken him, they were in agreement that the outcome did look pretty good, and was very durable. The chest plate Matt had replaced had been snapped up by Ekolzyn, who spent all of five minutes cutting it into sections before layering it on top of his existing armour. He leg guards were made of a titanium alloy, bent over his existing armour. The rest he had left, claiming he didn't want to ruin his ability to move his arms. He offered Matt a fallen sniper rifle.

No thanks. I hadn't got used to the charging period. You have it. I'll be up close and personal. Matt pumped a shotgun, slipping it onto the magnetic strip on his back, Ready?

Ekolzyn nodded, Yes. He turned, leading the way to the airlock. The inner door sealed, air hissing as it vented. The outer door popped open, Ekolzyn tapping a button on the outside. An area next to the airlock shimmered, revealing a pair of fallen one man vehicles.

Matt shook his head, You had these all along.

Ekolzyn laughed, jumping onto one of them. Matt grumbled, hopping onto the one next to him. The two pikes shot off, Matt leading.

-X-

He pulled up next to the outer airlock, the portal sealed. Ekolzyn pushed a series of buttons, Matt presumed it was a default code he had found. The door opened, swinging outward automatically. The hurried in, Matt covering the door as it swung closed. Air hissed into the chamber, the second door sliding open. They walked out cautiously, both of their weapons raised. Matt listened out for any unusual sounds, taking very shallow breaths.

"Nova, is this a similar layout to the others?" He whispered, both him and Ekolzyn having agreed to be as quiet as possible.

"Yes, although I'm detecting something odd below us. The control centre is up, however, so you don't have to worry about that at the moment." He could hear the faint sound of Eliksni, Nova had transmitted the same thing to Ekolzyn. It has taken a month for Nova to trust the Eliksni, after which she had happily helped him on many occasions.

A scrabbling sound snapped him out of his thoughts, the shotgun aimed in less than half a second. He gestured to Ekolzyn, Let's go.

They made their way up the stairs, systematically clearing the immediate area near the stairs on each floor. Nova watched, fascinated by how much the two of them trusted each other. They walked occasionally Matt standing behind Ekolzyn as he advanced crouched as Matt aimed over his head, but mostly Matt moving forwards in a crouch, knife and shotgun held ready as Ekolzyn aimed above him, keeping him covered from long range threats, in theory, as they found nothing. Nova had made a recording of the entire sequence, planning on showing it to Akiva when they returned.

They reached the top floor, neither of them having fired a single shot. Matt stood, letting Nova scan the controls.

"Hey, there's some weird energy signature coming from over there." She highlighted a secure box in his HUD. He walked up to it, examining the mechanism and keypad before holding an UV camera to it. He fed the camera feed into his helmet, his view changing. He saw a series of 3 buttons highlighted, many fingerprints blending over each other. He pushed the buttons, 630. Nothing happened.

360

Again, nothing.

603

The mechanism disengaged, the lid opening with a hiss of pneumatics. A strange looking rifle was inside, it had a standard trigger and stock, and the heavy sight mounted on the top suggested it was a sniper rifle. Matt picked it up, it weighed much less than he expected. Nova turned, "The reading just got much higher, oh, yeah, that's the source."

Matt turned it over in his hands, examining it for any indication that it behaved like a conventional weapon.

Nova spun around, Ekolzyn, you know what to do, right?

He chuckled, You wound me, Shard. (He hadn't ever bothered using her name) Have a little faith.

Nova shot over the box, which Matt was sitting next too, reading a paper instruction manual. He leafed through it, scanning the pages for a part on operation. He stopped, settling the booklet down. Nova glanced at the page, he was looking at what looked like a dummy's guide to operating the weapon.

It read: How to operate energy protection weapon testbed 0772, code name Icebreaker.

WARNING: weapon is unstable. If use causes fatal damage, please replace the following components if weapon fails, HEAT SINK, MAGAZINE, OPERATOR

This weapon is a testbed for energy protection weaponry, being monitored by the WAR_CC

This weapon does not use bullets, it fire concentrated energy in the form of heat. It is lethal on any human scale target (simulated) and some large mammals (field test). As such, it does not require reloading, as energy if fed to the firing system from a new energy source. Firing is as follows;

Step 1)Ensure safety is off and weapon is aimed down range

Step 2)Pull the trigger when aimed at desired target.

Matt laughed, "Seems easy enough." He slipped the gun onto his back, slinging the shotgun over his left shoulder, letting his rifle swing over his right.

Ekolzyn looked over his shoulder, Matt, the satalite is ready. I have transmitted my message. Your turn, but hurry. I told my friend you would help me get back.

Matt shot over the console, typing furiously. A burst of noise broke through the speakers into the room.

-X-

Aria sat down, "How is he?"

Aleeza didn't look up, "Not good. They put him into a coma earlier."

Aria stood, walking around the low table to sit next to the awoken warlock, "He'll pull through." She smiled, not really feeling it, "If he doesn't, I'll kill him."

Aleeza looked up, a small smile on her face, "That makes two of us. I told him that."

Static lanced through her comms, she flinched.

"... Aria, I don't have much time. I've got some coordinates, if you can get there."

Aleeza's eyes were wide, she pointed at her ear, Are you hearing this?

Aria nodded, "Matt. Your alive."

He chuckled, "Yeah, just about. Does anyone have a big ship, one that could fit maybe four or five."

Aleeza nodded, "Yeah. I'll take mine. Why do we need the space?"

Matt sounded tense, "I met a friend. Eliksni. He needs us to help him. So we need extra space, and a way to board without a transmat."

Aleeza was already walking out, "Yeah, got it. I'll be there in 10 minutes, Aira will be on board." Aria nodded, her helmet appearing in her hands.

The two ran towards the hanger, Aleeza putting in a request for immediate take off.

-X-

Matt turned away, "Got it." Ekolzyn, the people who are coming to rescue us will help you get to where you need to go. If they don't, I will.

He nodded, I help you, then you help me. I like the way you work long term. The Eliksni turned off the satellite array, locking down the controls the best he could.

So, what do you think? As always, any constructive criticism is welcome.
Untill next time.