Mercury, Sol System

"So, you were born during the City Age. Was a part of this Cult of Osiris prior to your death. Then came back as a Guardian?" Ren asked Lux as the five crowded in the jumpship as it made their way to Mercury.

"That's the gist of it." Lux Syphoid said as she both explained her past to the four students and fly the jumpship. "Guardians have no memory of their past lives, but when I passed a kiosk bearing their banner, some of them recognized me. They have been trying to re-recruit me to serve their organization. But each time, I refused."

"You have no desire to know who you were prior to you being a Guardian?" Pyrrha asked.

"No." Lux said ending the conversation.

Liar. Her Ghost said within her mind. She ignored this and kept focus.

"Anyway, what can you tell us about Mercury?" Jaune asked changing the subject.

"According to what records that survived the Collapse, it was the second planet visited by the Traveler after it was done with Mars. It terraformed it into a garden world where supposedly golden fields stretched as far as the eye can see. Then the Collapse happened and the Vex showed up and converted it into one of their Machine Worlds. A Machine World that Osiris became obsessed with that led to him stepping down as Warlock Vanguard and leaving." Lux's Ghost said giving a rundown of Mercury's history.

The four huntsmen gripped their weapons tight hearing that the Vex were involved along with the fact that they will encounter them again. They faced the Vex when they invaded Remnant a year back. How they were relentless in targeting everyone and anything. Especially Pyrrha which they gave a lot of attention to. Understandable since her semblance can manipulate their mechanical bodies. But that was then. They trained in simulated fights, they faced Grimm and Cabal. And with a Guardian at their side, they have confidence that things will be different.

Soon their jumpship exited FTL and they soon found themselves looking upon Mercury. A grey and brown metallic world with the bright Sun nearly blinding. Luckily, the jumpships UV protection was on so they were spared blinding sunlight. The jumpship soon entered the atmosphere and they flew over tall Vex architecture, pools of radiolaria and deep chasms dotting the landscape.

"We'll be landing a distance away from the Cult's main camp. We then go on foot." Lux said as she felt herself and the four transmat outside the ship. The warlock merely checking her Suros Assault rifle while the four huntsment wobbled after experiencing transmat again. Pyrrha held her stomach as it made summersaults, Ren was holding onto Nora and vice-versa and Jaune took several breaths. "Still not used…to it."

"Why are we parked here instead of at their camp?" Nora asked after recovering.

"The Cult have an anti-transmat field around their camp they designated The Lighthouse, preventing anyone from showing up there unannounced. In order to see them, new recruits must reach them on foot to prove their worth. Even if it means facing numerous Vex." She loaded her rifle. "Stay close and don't fall."

"What do you mean don't faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllll…." Jaune asked after looking over and seeing that the place they landed on was a platform which was surrounded by a sheer drop to nothing. He trailed off as his mind tried to process what he was saying. Pyrrha merely gripped him and approached Lux who was waiting. After waiting a while, a flash of light appeared and a pathway from their platform to the other side manifested. They quickly ran across just as the pathway flashed again and it vanished. Quite confused at what they saw, they simply shrugged and followed the Warlock.

Going down a pathway of bronze stairs that overlooked the huge drop, they soon saw in the distance a large round structure with banners of a golden eye. "That's the Lighthouse?" Ren asked their guardian.

"Indeed, it is, new initiate." Said a voice over their scrolls. They took out their scrolls to see the image of a gold and black robbed man with bandages over his eyes.

"Brother Vance." Lux said in reluctance.

"Sister Syphoid!" The now introduced Brother Vance said in welcome. "It is so nice to see you again. And with four new recruits, and from Remnant no less! We've gotten fourteen new recruits from your world in the last week alone. Might you be interested in joining our flock?" He asked with a smile.

"We're here not for recruitment." Lux said cutting this off. "We have something that might be of interest of you. It involves Osiris." She said finally getting his attention.

"Osiris…very well. I can let you in. Unfortunately, the Vex have been more active and odd lately and I have had to shut down the gate leading inside. If you would be so kind as to deal with that?"

"Fine."

"Excellent. To expedite your arrival, I can whip something up for you. A moment."

To their right on the edge manifested a circular device which was bathed in energy. A distance away other similar rings came to life leading from one to another.

"There you are. Several Vex Jump Gates primed and ready. Simply step in and they will take you as close to the Lighthouse as possible.

The four huntsmen stepped up to the Jump Gate, but stopped a bit apprehensive. Lux sighed and using a small application of her Light shoved all four forward and into the Jump Gate, which then propelled them.

Jaune recalled their initiation long ago. How they were thrown from spring-loaded pads and into the Emerald Forest. This was like that but fifty times faster. They were propelled through one ring and into another without slowing down. Some even turned on one another and went up or down or a combination of both. Soon they reached the last one and all four fell on one another.

Pyrrha landed on her back with Jaune right on top of her, his face buried in her cleavage. The two quickly got up to their feet with their faces bright red. Ren was on his back with Nora sitting on his chest, the former dizzy while the latter with a smile on her face. "Lets go again! Lets go again!" She started to chant.

"Some other time." Ren said tired.

Lux exited the Jump Gate and glided back down to her feet using her Light.

They found themselves on another Vex-like structure which had a series of circular stairs leading upwards. In the center of the structure was a pool of radiolaria. Embedded in the wall at each juncture were several Vex Gates, currently inactive.

Lux, getting serious primed her weapons, forcing the four huntsmen to do the same. "Stay close, and be vigilant. You never know when a Vex might show up."

They went up the stairs a few at a time, keeping an eye out. It was Jaune who got a literal face to face meeting with a Vex Goblin who exited a Vex Gate right as Jaune came to it. He looked to his right and saw his reflection right in its red eye. With a yelp he swung his blade, bisecting it but not without falling backwards. He would have tipped over and dived right into the Radiolaria pool below if it was not for Pyrrha using her semblance to grab onto Jaune chest armor.

"Thanks." He said to Pyrrha who nodded.

The other Vex Gates activated with more Vex units coming out. Vex Goblins, Hobgoblins, Minotaurs and even a few Vex Harpies. Lux and the huntsmen raised their weapons ready to fight their way through. The Vex units starred at them, then turned to ascend the staircase.

The five stood in silence watching the Vex, who would normally shoot and attack any intruders, simply ignore them. Nora felt something bump into her and turned to see a Vex Harpy stare at her. She starred back at it, her face reflected in its red eye. Having enough of the starring contest, the harpy glided upwards and over and followed its brethren up the stairs as Nora smiled having won.

"Is this normal for the Vex?" Ren asked their Guardian. Lux who had been alive for a long time, seen numerous things throughout her time as a Guardian of Earth, was speechless. "This is entirely new to me."

The five followed the marching Vex to the very top of the structure. They saw the group of Vex walk along a pathway that materialized in front of them, only to disappear behind them. The five observed that the path in front of the robots began to slant upwards to higher ground which led to their destination: The Lighthouse.

Seeing that the Vex were heading where they were heading, Jaune asked. "So do we follow them?" Seeing the distance from the Vex and themselves along with how small the pathway was from side to side.

"We could follow them, or we use that." Lux said pointing to another Jump Gate, this one angled upwards so it would take them directly to their destination.

Sailing through another Jump gate, they observed that numerous Vex pathways were leading upwards with numerous Vex units walking down them. Soon they landed on top of the area designated the Fields of Glass. Brushing off the sand that accumulated from their landing, they saw several sand dunes that led the Lighthouse. Making their way there, they saw numerous Vex teleport in front of the closed entryway and began to stand up straight in a circular formation. Once the last assembled in place, a haze started to form in the air.

Lux readied her Light as the huntsmen readied themselves. They learned from their lessons that a haze in the air signified a large incursion of Vex about to arrive.

The Vex in the formation soon exploded, parts going everywhere. The parts soon levitated and formed a structured spire which emerged from the ground. A beam of energy came from the top and impacted the closed gateway.

"Their trying to force open the gateway!" Lux's Ghost said before he dematerialized and went into her mind. She realized that if the Vex force open the doorway, they can enter the Lighthouse and slaughter all the cultists.

From the haze teleported new Vex units. These units were made in a shape with a brown and black color with ring-shaped heads. Alongside these units were three large looking Minotaurs of the same type as the smaller brethren. Her Ghost identified the larger units as simply Alpha Prototype, Beta Prototype and Gamma Prototype. To her surprise, these units manifested a blade in their hands that glowed orange, purple and light blue. Their bodies even started to glow the same as their swords.

"Descendants!" She shouted as she created a Nova Bomb and sent it right at the assembled group of the ring-headed Vex, having recognized this variant of Vex from stories about the Vault of Glass on Venus. Several of the named Descendants teleported before the Nova Bomb hit, but it hit the remaining ones vaporizing them. The remainder then started to fire upon the group of five while the Minotaurs simply walked towards them.

Seeing their Guardian unleash upon the Vex prompted the four huntsmen to act. Numerous lessons on the Vex from Guardian Byf along with doing holographic simulations fighting them, Team JNPR along with many students at the huntsmen academies and even veteran huntsmen know know what to do when facing the Vex.

Pyrrha converted her weapon Milo' from its bladed weapon form to its rifle form, taking shots at the center of the Vex bodies. Nora converted Magnhild into a grenade launcher and fired into smaller crowds of Vex making them explode. Ren and Jaune being more melee fighters stayed close and kept an eye on any that teleported close, with Ren using the sub-machine gun function of his weapons to gun them down. Soon all that was left standing were the three Minotaurs.

One of them teleported right in front of the four huntsmen. "Scatter!" Jaune shouted as the Minotaur wielding the purple blade brought it down on them. The four scattered out of the way with Nora converting her weapon from grenade launcher to hammer and Pyrrha's back into its blade form. Lux, after finally shooting the last of the Descendant Vex went to assist, but got punched in the face by the one that glowed orange. She went flying and landed in the sand, she brought her weapon up and shot numerous times at the Minotaur, her bullets impacting its chest. It took a few steps before stopping. Smoke shook from its joints before its chest exploded outwards collapsing in on itself before her.

Lux was shocked that a few bullets from her gun were all it took to bring this one down. Her gun was a measly Refrain-23 auto rifle from the SUROS Foundry. A Glimmer a dozen of a gun. She had her Ghost scan the wreckage of the Minotaur as she observed the other two Minotaurs, each one falling to the huntsmen easily, when it would take longer to injure even one. The one with the blue blade tried to bring its blade down on Nora, but she brought the shaft of her hammer to block it, which Pyrrha stabbed it, making it fall back and explode as well. The final one brought its blade down on Jaune who brought up his shield to block it, forcing it back so her made a series of slashes at the Minotaur, making it leak radiolaria fluid and fall apart.

The four looked at the wreckage around them in silence. "This seemed a bit too easy." Ren said breaking the silence.

"It was." Said Lux's Ghost Lucidius after scanning the destroyed bodies of the three Minotaurs. "These Vex units; Alpha, Beta and Gamma were infused with Light." He said shocking them. "Fortunately, it was highly unstable." He finished as he went to the Vex Spire and disabled it. "This Brother Vance did say the Vex here were acting strange. Maybe they tried to empower themselves and failed." Nora said.

"Perhaps." Lux said unsure herself. When it came to the Vex, every failure simply is an experiment to them to improve the next time.

She keyed the radio. "Vance, cleared the Vex. Open the door."

The Vex Gate activated and they stepped through.

00000

"Marvelous. So beautiful. The Ghost of Osiris, the blessed Sagira." Brother Vance said as he starred at the inert form of Sagira on his table.

The Vex Gate deposited the five in the top interior of the Lighthouse where they were greeted by Brother Vance and the few members of the Cult of Osiris reside. The interior was lined with data pads and books detailing their observations of the Vex, potential 'prophecies' penned by Osiris, and diaries from members no longer amongst the living along with desks where those that are alive pen future additions to the shelves. It was at one of these desks that they showcased the reason for their arrival.

"You found Sagira like this, on the sands?" Brother Vance questioned. "One of Ikora's Hidden found Sagira on the sands, brought her to Ikora who sent us here." Lux explained. "Do you have any clue why Sagira would be separated from Osiris?" "I have no clue. But there is a way to revitalize Sagira." He explained that a sect of the Cult resided in the EDZ had a device to awaken dormant Ghosts and gave her the coordinates.

Meanwhile Team JNPR were doing some investigating of their own.

"So how long have the Vex here been acting odd?" Jaune asked another member of the Cult, this being a Faunus woman from Remnant with feathered antenna identifying her as a moth faunus.

"From what we know, ever since the Traveler awakened. One moment, they were acting the usual, or as usual when it came to the Vex. Then the Wave of Light bathed the entire planet and they started acting weird. Numerous Vex programs congregating here and there. We even identified a new Vex Collective called the Sol Collective. A merging of numerous Vex Minds working together as one instead of individual programs doing their own thing."

Ren hummed as he and Nora starred at the landscape from above, their eyes straying towards a pyramid Vex structure dead ahead.

"And what's that?" He asked.

"We in the Cult call it the Infinite Forest. Only the Great Osiris and his ghost know more about it." She answered bluntly ending that line of investigation.

"But what about those Minotaur units we faced?" Pyrrha asked.

"The Vex are always fascinated by the Light. They call it; That We Cannot Simulate. My theory is that they found some Light here and there, collected what they could and infused it in those units trying to make them work so that they could study how it 'ticks' and therefore, simulate it." She spoke.

"So is there a chance of them making more?"

"Not unless they have a larger quantity of Light stocked away somewhere. No."

The five soon convened, shared their information and proceeded to their next destination.

"Before you leave Sister Syphoid, perhaps you should check your desk? You'll never know what may be of use." Brother Vance said.

Lux stopped in her tracks. "My desk?"

Brother Vance gestured to a desk in a shadowy section of the Lighthouse.

Lux approached the desk slowly, like it was a poisonous beast ready to pounce. Team JNPR stood back, seeing that this was something she had to face on her own.

Lux Syphoid approached a desk that had her name written on it. This desk belonged to Lux Syphoid, member of the Cult of the Osiris who died decades ago. The desk was covered in dust. She saw data pads that have long since rusted away. A diary covered in dust that looked like it would fall to pieces at any moment. She gently brushed her fingers, tracing the lettering. She scrunched her head when a flash of memory surfaced in her mind. That memory being herself robed in yellow and black, typing away on something collected from Earth that was Pre-Golden Age. Something called a type writer. She heard the clinking and clacking of the keys as she typed. She saw her past-self place something in a drawer, type something and the memory ended.

She reached down to where the drawer was, seeing that it had a six-digit code, and recited the code from her newest memory.

4-8-15-16-23-42

Click

The drawer opened in within was another diary and a hand-cannon. A hand-cannon made of Vex parts.

I hope you all enjoy this chapter. The Light-infused Vex is a major plot point for the Osiris portion of this fic that shows how the Vex make Long-Term plans.

I would like to announce a surprise on October 31st, which is the 2nd year anniversary of me adopting this series. So stay tuned.