"Often when we guess at others' motives, we reveal only our own." —Mara Sov


Meren should have felt relieved. The Spider had extended her some modicum of protection. That was how she had interpreted his words, at least. She didn't know what it was worth and it wasn't something she was eager to put it to the test. But at least it was something.

The whole gamble - the Palamon maps, the Servitor, the Eliksni encryption key, everything - had paid off. From her perspective the debt was settled. But the Spider hadn't seen it that way and, in spite of everything, Meren had only managed to end up in indentured servitude to an alien kingpin. Yes, that was all part of the plan, she thought dryly.

Curled in bed, she thought of home. Thoughts of Hiro flooded her mind, and she remembered that she had yet to thank him for his part in all this. Without his painstakingly detailed maps, everything would be so much worse.

Meren didn't bother to check the chron. There was no time like the present. Desperate for the sound of a human voice, she reached for her comm. It rang for a full minute with no answer. Her patience was finally rewarded when a burst of static came across the channel as it connected.

"Meren Hale." A familiar voice answered. "Do you have any idea what time it is here?"

"Hiro," she breathed. "I'm sorry if it's late."

"I'll make an exception for you, just this once."

Meren smiled at that. "It's been too long since we talked."

"It has. But I seem to remember you crashing my lecture a few weeks back. Why didn't you call sooner?"

"It's been a whirlwind since I got here," she replied.

"Where, exactly, is 'here'?"

He didn't sound happy and Meren couldn't blame him. She had completely ignored Hiro since the Speaker had sent her to the Reef.

She paused before answering, "The Reef-"

He cut her off before she could explain. "What are you doing all the way out there?"

"Research. Working on something for next semester."

"How do you plan to find Eliksni out there?" Hiro countered, "I thought the House of Wolves had left the Queen's service."

"You'd be surprised…" her reply was deliberately obtuse.

What the hell was she supposed to tell him? She couldn't say a word about the Spider. About Variks. Everything was a huge mess.

Hiro sighed through the comm. "You've always been full of surprises, Meren."

"I don't want to spoil it, Hiro." she deflected, "You'll get the full story when I'm home."

"Uh huh," he replied, "And when are you back?"

"I mean, I just got here…"

"When, Meren?" He was stern.

"A month, at least."

"That's too long," his voice softened, "Some of us miss you back home."

Meren thought she caught a whiff of sentiment in his words and blanched.

She tried to divert the discussion. "The lecture...I wanted to thank you for the Palamon site maps."

"It's no problem," Hiro took the bait, "I only hope you found them legible. I was in such a hurry-"

Meren cut him off. "Everything was perfect, Hiro."

It was a moment before curiosity got the better of her, and she continued, "Has the Vanguard, uh, given you clearance to go back to the site yet?"

She desperately hoped he wouldn't be back to the dig site anytime soon. Hiro was bright. It would be too much of a coincidence for Eliksni artifacts to be missing right after Meren got a hold of the maps.

"No. And I don't expect that to change in the near future."

Thank the Traveler, Meren thought.

"That's too bad," she muttered. "Things will start looking up."

"I hope so," he sounded tired.

"I'm sorry if I kept you up. I should let you sleep."

"Are you sure everything is alright out there?" he asked.

"Everything's fine," she lied, "Like I said, you'll hear all about it when I get back."

"I look forward to you being home."

Meren desperately wanted the call to end, then.

"Goodnight, Hiro." She killed the connection.

Meren stared at the wall and sighed. She had just wanted to thank him for the maps, not dredge up old feelings. That ship had sailed a long time ago. She didn't need anything else added to her growing list of personal problems.

Not one to frequently indulge, Meren was surprised when she was hit with a sudden urge to head to the bar. The situation at hand seemed to warrant it so she grabbed her cloak and dragged herself outside. One drink wouldn't hurt, would it?


Velia trailed Meren all the way to Outer Orbit. Meren was glad to get out of the tiny apartment - she needed some space. At the door, the Corsair stopped and took up her post outside the bar's entrance.

Meren turned to glance at Velia when she didn't follow. "You're not coming in?"

"Not my type of place," Velia replied emotionlessly.

Meren shrugged. She wondered for a moment what the Corsair did for fun. It didn't seem to be a concept that the Awoken fully grasped. She decided not to dwell on it and ducked inside the bar.

The dive was already packed as she stepped inside. No surprise there. A constantly revolving crowd of Guardians visited the bar to drink and gamble their glimmer away, regardless of the hour. Meren didn't quite fit in, but her presence only attracted a few fleeting looks. She knew no one would really bother her.

In the dim lighting, Meren made her way across the room to an unoccupied booth. The music wasn't so loud that she couldn't hear herself think. For once, she was disappointed. But while the music may have been lacking, the raucous conversation made up for it.

Somewhere from the back of the house, shouts of defeat rung out as someone gambled away their livelihood. A group of Guardians at the bar broke out in laughter. Meren placed an order with the barkeep and let the cacophony drown out her thoughts.

She wasn't intentionally trying to eavesdrop, but her ears pricked up when she caught a familiar voice in the sea of conversations. Meren's gaze followed the contour of the bar to where an unmistakable crowd of Guardians stood clustered around a hooded figure. Oh no.

"-so there I was. Just me and ugly."

It was the Hunter Vanguard who sat at the bar, surrounded by his usual entourage.

"-shot him right between the eyes. That put a stop to it real quick."

The Exo paused his story to take a drink before scanning the room. Meren sunk down slowly in her seat, but Cayde's eyes had already found her. When she met his gaze, he practically shot out of his seat, the throng of Guardians parting before him.

"Well, well…"

Drink in hand, he sauntered across the bar and took the seat across from Meren.

"...look who's out having fun."

He gestured to the bartender who proceeded to deliver a pair of matching green drinks. Meren sighed as Cayde pushed one of the glasses in her direction.

"Thanks, Cayde," she grudgingly accepted the handout.

The Exo took a drink. "I don't know if you noticed, but there's no Fallen here, Professor. What are you doing in a dump like this?"

"Just trying to relax." Meren swirled the drink in its glass. "What are you still doing out here?"

"Reconnaissance…" His response didn't sound very convincing.

"Zavala hasn't dragged you back to the Tower yet?"

"He tried." Cayde shrugged.

"So you haven't been back." She tried not to gag as she took a sip of the green stuff.

Cayde shook his head. "Look, relax," he began, "I, uh, didn't forget about that thing we talked about."

Meren hadn't forgotten the favor she'd asked of him. Cayde looked in both directions, making a show of trying to seem discreet. Meren just blinked back at the ridiculous display.

"I looked into it," he kept his voice down, "Asked a guy who knew a guy. Well, he didn't know anything, so I asked this other guy-"

Meren rubbed her hands over her face. Leave it to Cayde to involve three other people. So much for being discreet.

"And-?" she interrupted.

"It's a long story."

"Can I get the short version?"

Cayde threw back the rest of his drink. "Your Fallen buddy is alive."

"Revys," Meren corrected him.

"Yeah. Him." Cayde signaled the bartender for another round.

"Maybe you could elaborate on what you mean by 'alive'."

"He's somewhere under the Tower," Cayde clarified, "and the Vanguard has a supply of Ether. All I know."

It wasn't much, but it was the best news Meren had heard all week. Cayde flipped something shiny to the barkeep as the next round of drinks arrived. The untouched glasses piled up before Meren as Cayde spoke again.

"So. We gonna break him out, or what?"

We? Meren raised her eyebrows.

"Cayde." She stopped him. "Some of us are trying to respect due process-"

"I don't know, Professor," his glowing eyes met hers, "That didn't go so well last time."

Meren crossed her arms and leaned back. It was an exceedingly low blow coming from Cayde, but he had a point.

"I'm not breaking anyone out of anywhere," she countered, "I have more pressing concerns right now."

His reply came out of left field. "Like Variks?"

Cayde couldn't possibly have any idea what had transpired between the Warden and herself. Could he? She searched his eyes for any trace of malice, and found none. "Yes. Like Variks."

"I bet you two are best friends," he beamed.

Meren tried to put on a convincing smile, but it came off as more of a grimace. Cayde didn't seem to notice.

"We-"

"Are you gonna drink those?" He interrupted and reached for one of her glasses.

Meren shook her head and slid it across the table to him. Offhand she wondered why he even drank, but some questions were best left unanswered.

"Anyway. Variks," Cayde resumed his original train of thought, "Has he said anything about Skolas?"

Meren narrowed her eyes and sipped her drink. "Skolas?"

"Yeah. Huge Fallen. Kell of Kells or something," Cayde stared at her, "Come on, Meren."

"I know who Skolas is. I just don't know where this is going," she defended herself.

"Right." Cayde leaned back as if considering his next words. "Just between us. We're close. The Vanguard is looking into an anomaly on Venus."

Meren slowly raised her eyebrows. That was news to her.

"I'm curious." She knew it was a long shot. "Can you send me the sit rep?"

"Yeah," he pulled back his sleeve and touched a few buttons on his gauntlet, "That should get you access. Don't say I never did anything for you."

Meren stared at him. It couldn't seriously be this easy. "Who else knows about this?"

"Let's see. Zavala. Me." He listed off the names. "Ikora. And now, you. Wait…"

Meren smiled back at him, for real this time.

"Hey. This is classified. You can't tell anyone," the Exo blurted.

"Relax. This is only for research purposes. Besides, who would I possibly tell?" She demurred.

Cayde picked up his half empty glass. "Depends what side you're on. Your new 'best friend', maybe."

He had hit the nail squarely on the head. She could use this to her advantage. Maybe there was a way to smooth over everything with Variks.

"I'm not choosing sides," she purred.

"Not gonna lie," Cayde continued, eyeing her grin, "I'm having a really hard time believing you right now. Help me out here, Meren."

Meren downed the rest of her horrible drink in front of him and stood up.

"Hey!" Cayde's face showed a moment of panic as Meren got up. "Where are you going?"

"I'm leaving. Going to go read that sit rep."

Cayde blinked back at her. "But-"

Meren peered over her shoulder at the Hunter Vanguard. "Thank you for the drink. For checking in on Revys. For everything. It means a lot."

She turned to go.

"Meren." Cayde whimpered after her, his voice barely audible.

She paused.

"You're on our side. Right?"

Her reply bore no emotion. "Of course, Cayde."


AN: Thank you to Keltoi for the edits