"Instinct tells you to cherish victory, but defeat holds all the lessons." —Lord Shaxx
Meren was nothing if not resourceful. Without her escort's help and no other connections to speak of, she had needed to find her own means of transport out to the far edges of the Reef. After she slept on it an idea had come to her. It wasn't her first choice, but it was her only bet.
She needed a Guardian.
Finding one hadn't been hard. This Reef was practically crawling with them. An offer of a few thousand glimmer secured the services of a Titan named Heavy. He had readily agreed to ferry her to wherever she needed to go, within reason.
Heavy was the quiet type - no questions asked. Meren appreciated that about him. What she didn't fully appreciate was his choice in fashion. The Titan was garbed from head to toe in radiant pink armor. Even his damn Ghost had a vibrant magenta hue. Meren thought he must stand out like a sore thumb on a patrol. Maybe that was his intent. It was all just so pink.
Heavy's questionable taste in fashion aside, Meren really had been grateful for the lift. He kindly provided her with some light armor in the form of a containment suit and respirator helmet. The respirator would be essential at the edges of the Reef. There was no guarantee that the Awoken's artificial atmosphere would hold up that far out.
Meren had suited up, feeling self conscious in the form-fitting armor. The helmet's visor restricted her field of vision and the boots hurt her feet. She felt ridiculous.
"It suits you," was all Heavy had said on the matter.
That didn't make her feel any better.
Once she was aboard his Kestrel-class jumpship, the glimmer changed hands. Half now, and the other half upon safe delivery back to the Outpost. Heavy asked where she was headed then, and Meren told him. The Titan had paused for a moment at the mention of the Tangled Shore, but didn't ask any more questions.
The night before Meren had stayed up late again, searching for anything that might aid her on this little expedition. There had been surprisingly little information on the Tangled Shore, and no mention of the Spider at all in the literature. She had come up empty handed. At least she had remembered to send a message to Cayde.
The journey to the Reef's outskirts took less than an hour. Variks had been right, it wasn't far.
But now, gazing out through the ship's canopy, Meren began to question her decisions. This was nothing like the rest of the Reef. It was the same mess of floating space junk, yes, but it felt different. Alien. As far as she could see, asteroids and debris had been haphazardly lashed to one another. This cobbled-together craftsmanship was something straight out of one of her lectures, Eliksni 101. It wasn't the Awoken who had done this.
"Not many come this far out," Heavy said, interrupting her musings.
I can see why, Meren thought as Heavy picked out a landing spot on the largest asteroid. At the very least she had expected some sort of habitation or settlement. What she found was a desolate wasteland, instead.
As the ship set down, Meren's plan to get out and take a look around quickly evaporated. Dying alone and unarmed on some asteroid wasnt high on her list of priorities. She turned to Heavy and was about to tell him to take her back to the Outpost when something caught both of their eyes.
Outside two Eliksni were approaching the ship. They were masked against the elements, and lightly armored. Their movements were hesitant, but they weren't brandishing weapons. That had to be a good sign. Meren scrutinized them from a distance, they wore no House mark or colors she had ever seen before.
The ship's communication system buzzed.
"What the hell," Heavy breathed.
They were hailing the ship.
"Open the cockpit," Meren instructed.
"You're crazy," the Titan responded, but he did as Meren asked. He opened the cockpit and reached for his gun.
One of the Vandals tilted his head and growled a question in his own language, "shipment?"
Shipment of what? Meren was climbing out of the cockpit, then. Curiosity trumping her better judgement. Heavy grabbed for her, desperately trying to stop her.
"No shipment," she tried in English first. She didn't need to start speaking Eliksni in front of Heavy. It would raise too many questions.
The Eliksni just blinked at her.
Meren tried something else, asking them, "Can you take me to the Spider?"
They understood that last word, and one of them barked out, "Spider has been waiting."
That sounded ominous, but Variks had assured her he was friendly. Meren guessed there was only one way to find out. Her boots hit the ground.
One of the Vandals gestured, and she knew that was her invitation to follow them. Meren took one last look back at Heavy before walking after the Eliksni.
Heavy yelled after her, "Are you out of your damn mind?"
"I'll be back soon, Heavy," Meren yelled back, "keep the ship running."
Deep and deeper Meren followed her Eliksni guides down into the system of caves. The corridors were littered with alien forage and scrap. Piles of derelict Eliksni tech filled crevices in the walls. She doubted that any of it even worked anymore.
Typical Eliksni hoarding.
Somewhere deep down in the caverns atmosphere generators hummed. That's good, Meren thought. There should be breathable air down here, atleast.
One of her guides finally stopped outside the door to a large chamber and chattered in his best attempt at English, "Spider."
Meren nodded and the Vandal seemed to understand.
She walked on past her escorts and entered the room. Not more than a few steps in and Meren was stopped dead in her tracks.
"Meren Hale, the Professor," a voice boomed in perfect English, "you managed to show up sooner than I expected."
Sitting in the center of the dimly-lit chamber was the largest Eliksni Meren had ever seen. His lower hands were folded over his substantial midsection, his upper claws were flexed in irritation. Fully armored and flanked by two guards, the Baron's presence filled the room.
This had to be the Spider and he had been expecting her.
"How did you know I wasn't a Guardian?" Meren asked. It wasn't even surprising that he spoke her language at this point. She slowly removed her helmet.
"You've got no weapons," he humored her, "and no Ghost."
"Fair enough," she replied, hoping she sounded confident.
"Down to business, then. Variks said you had something for me." He leaned forward, eyes glittering.
"I don't have your 'shipment' if that's what you mean." Meren suddenly had a bad feeling about this.
He shook his head. Meren was keenly aware of the human gesture.
"It's bad manners to come without a gift," he growled, "and you, of all people, should know that."
Shit. It was the most basic of Eliksni courtesies, and she had completely forgotten. She had been so focused on herself, what she wanted. A simple apology wasn't going to fix this.
Meren desperately tried to save face, "Variks told me-"
"Variks told you what," he cut her off.
"He told me-"
He cut her off again. "You didn't believe that ridiculous accent of his, did you?"
Meren had.
"He has the Awoken practically wrapped around his claws," his voice was deadly serious, "and you too, it seems."
She blinked up at him as words failed her.
"I expected better from you, Professor."
The human in Meren wanted to apologize profusely, but the words would mean nothing here. In that moment, she became acutely aware of just how fast her heart was beating.
"And now you've brought a Guardian to my Shore and interrupted my Ether delivery," he pointed a claw accusingly at her.
"It wasn't my intention to-"
"We're just getting started out here," he rumbled, "and your meddling is already threatening to get me found out!"
Shit.
"Nothing to say in your own defense?" the Spider taunted.
Meren was silent.
"Get her out of here. Sell her back to the City for some glimmer." He flicked his upper hand at his guards. "If they don't want her, feed her to the thrall."
Meren felt paralyzed, her mind empty. She was going to die.
Strong claws were suddenly grasping Meren's shoulders, dragging her away. She tried to dig her heels in, but her boots found no purchase on the smooth, stone floor. Struggling was useless, she knew. The Eliksni guards were too strong.
As the guards hauled her out through the doorway, the Spider turned his gaze from her. In a desperate last attempt, Meren shouted.
"Wait!" she cried out in the Eliksni tongue.
The Spider's head snapped back in her direction.
"I can get you a Servitor," she breathed, in English this time.
Without hesitation, the Spider gestured and Meren was dragged back before him.
"What did you say?" he demanded.
"I said," Meren kept her voice even, "I can get you a Servitor."
"Explain," he snapped.
He was listening.
Meren's arms were freed, then. The Spider's guards had unhanded her.
"You're having Ether shipped here," she spread her hands in front of her, the gesture would likely mean nothing to the Eliksni, "that tells me you don't have a Servitor to produce it for you."
The Spider grunted in response.
"What would happen if the next delivery was late? And the one after? You can have all the glimmer in the system, but without a steady Ether supply…" she let her words trail off.
The room was quiet as her last words hung in the air. She didn't have to tell the Eliksni that Ether starvation was a terrible way to die.
"Where is this Servitor?" the Spider drummed his claws on the edge of his chair.
Meren had no earthly idea where she was going to get a Servitor from, but he didn't need to know that.
"I'm not telling you that." Meren's response was sharp. "You want to do business. What's in this for me?"
The Spider laughed, then. A haunting sound coming from an Eliksni.
"I could have you killed you where you stand, human." he snapped.
"Kill me and that Guardian will no doubt return to the Reef to report some illicit activity. I expect the Queen would look into it."
He was backed into a corner. After directing a long snarl at her, the Spider stroked his chin. A human gesture again. Meren didn't know what to make of that. Another agonizing moment and he spoke.
"You want information. Access." he grumbled, "Prying little thing that you are."
Meren took offense at that, but said nothing.
"If you can deliver, we'll have a partnership," the Spider loomed. "If not, well..." the rest of the words went unsaid.
"You'll have your Servitor, Baron," Meren said.
The Spider waved a claw at her. The meaning was clear. Get out of here. She turned, donned her helmet and exited the chamber.
When she was safely out of his sight, Meren ran.
She never should have trusted a single word Variks said, she knew that now. Everything was always clearer in hindsight, but how could she have been so, so stupid?
Up and out of the cave, Meren breached the surface. She saw Heavy, then - a blessed, pink beacon. The Titan was waiting, rifle drawn. He hadn't left her.
"Time to go, Heavy!" she ran past him, vaulting herself into the ship.
Heavy followed her into the cockpit without interrogation.
Once they were seated, Meren leaned in and handed him a fistful of glimmer, "Not a word to anyone about this."
Heavy nodded.
She leaned back, closing her eyes. It was only then that Meren realized how badly she was shaking.
AN: Massive thanks to Keltoi for editing the story this far! More to come, I promise.
