Everyone Deserves a Second Chance - 01

The Guardian was the only one to retain her Light after Ghaul wrapped his cage around the Traveler. The one who saved Earth and the entire solar system by disabling the massive 3500 KM wide star ship called the Almighty. After that, the Guardian made her way back to Earth to defeat Ghaul.

Fighting Ghaul on his command ship, hundreds of meters above the Last City, the Guardian was about to strike Ghaul down with her Dawnblade until she felt a new well of power begins to form, a second form of Light.

That of the Voidwalker.

She drew her Light in, the wings of fire caused by her nature as a Dawnblade morphed into a Void-purple barrier around her body. She drew the power of the Void Light and cast forth a massive sphere that was supercharged with all of the excess light that Ghaul had been failing to steal.

The Nova Bomb flew swiftly at Ghaul. It was clear that Dominus Ghaul did not understand what was coming for him. The large orb didn't seem like it could be as dangerous as the streaks of firey Light the Dawnblade had previously sent at him. The battlefield seemed to grow silent as this small sphere of Light flew across the distance.

The sphere of Void Light made contact with the massive Cabal's shielded chest and immediately all of the light in his body began to turn purple as he crumbled into nothing. The Guardian took down the physical body of Ghaul, only to see him rise moments later as a towering avatar of his previous body. Now standing nearly 100 meters tall the being of stolen Light proclaiming his apotheosis to the Last City, to the Universe.

The Traveler responded in kind.

Cracks began to form, not just on the Cabal cage, but on the surface of the Travelers sphere itself. A gathering of power came with a humming noise, reverberating throughout the walled fortress of the last city, the stand of the Traveler. The towering figure of Ghaul turned back to the traveler, "You do see me..." Were his last words, spoken in reverence for the being of light. He exploded.

The Travelers' explosion and destruction of Ghaul left much of its shell suspended around it, connected on tendrils of Light as the pieces orbited upon them.

Thus ending the Red War.


Six months after the defeat of Ghaul and the rending of the legions of the Cabal, non-stop fighting on Earth, Mars, Luna, and Mercury had taken its toll. So Zavala, Ikora, and Cayde 6 put their heads together. It was time to give the hero of the Red War a family, a Fireteam.

The Guardian, defeater of Ghaul, savior of humanity was finally introduced to a squad. Hand-selected by the Vanguard. Zavala had called the Guardian from her rest in orbit, informing her that he had a possible Fireteam and she came down to the Tower promptly.

She walked towards Zavala and noticed a couple of Guardians standing with him. She first noticed the Titan with the Thundercrash specialty, an Exo that her Ghost identified as Rico-77. He had a strong voice that had edges of compassion as he spoke to the Hunter next to him. His face was more expressive in the eyes than many other Exo's but he had no mouth, just a solid plate with hidden lighting on the sides, giving him an aggressive and intimidating look with a 'strong jaw' sort of feel.

He wore the Curiass of the Falling Star, which improves his Subclass Super ability, made for Thundercrash Titans. His shoulder pauldrons made his large figure wider and they came around his neck almost like a high collar which left room for his helmet to turn when wearing it. His gloves accentuated the knuckles on his fists and his Titan Mark hung down the back of his right leg, it was mostly blue with black and white accents. The Thunderlord Light Machine Gun rested casually on his back.

He had extended antennae on his ears and the metal on him was a dark black metal with blue lights coming from his eyes and under parts of his face. He had a few small white lines on different pieces of his face since that was all that was visible with his armor on. He stood as if ready to take off and destroy anything in his path and as usual with most Arc specialists one can see the electricity in his eyes as he spoke to Zavala and the Hunter next to him.

The other Guardian, the Nightstalker Hunter, HUD showing the name Kessa, stood casually with her helmet off like Rico. Her Hunters Cloak had the hood up but back far enough to show her face, which was currently slightly smirking in amused interest. She was an Awoken with very pale blue skin, very close to Zavala's tone. She had bright orange pinstripe tattoos that framed her glowing purple eyes and she wore St0mp-EE5, (Stompeez for short) boots which would make her extremely fast and agile.

She had wisps of hair framing her face, strands too short to make it into her ponytail braid. Her hair was a rich and dark cobalt blue that came around and down to her breastplate in her front. Part of being an Awoken meant that the Light she wielded also flowed on her skin in odd patterns, like the light distorted on the bottom of a pool from the waves on the surface. Her armor colors were black with purple accents, and she had a Purple Poison Wings Le Monarch Combat Bow on her back. A fitting weapon for a Hunter.

The Guardian showed no outward signs of emotion while inspecting the two Guardians, yet her Ghost could feel the fluctuations of nervous energy coursing through her via their bond.

When Rico-77 and Kessa were first selected they were both briefed on the Guardian and knew that she was a nameless and silent one with an unnamed Ghost as well. It wasn't entirely uncommon for Guardians to be nameless, they simply chose a name, but some just refuse to do so for any of a myriad of reasons.

She was also a silent Guardian, one who doesn't speak. Many speculate that the will to speak on the horrors they face from dying over and over again, makes it so speaking at all would only be filled with pain. Other Guardians just don't speak for whatever reason, leaving it to their ghost to speak for them. Not all nameless guardians are silent, but all silent guardians are nameless.

That being said, there was only one named The Guardian.

The Guardian's Ghost thought about this new situation, he could feel that she was open to having a Fireteam, but being a silent one the only opportunity to acquire a Fireteam would be if assigned or if the ghost made one himself.

Ghost could always feel her excitement as she watched other Fireteams interacting with each other in the past. The Guardian clearly had some reservations about forming a team judging solely by her current emotions, so Ghost was quite nervous as she inspected the Hunter and Titan.

The Guardian seemed unaware of the amount of Light that she carried, but to those Guardians and Light-touched, she seemed to be a glowing star. She carried nearly 10 times the Light of an Elder Guardian, yet she never removed her helmet.

Either way, having someone who dwarfs the power of everyone around them inspecting you wasn't something you ignored. Kessa and Rico turned at the weight of her gaze and returned it as she silently approached, Ghost floating over her left shoulder.

Rico and Kessa learned more about the Guardian a few days before the meeting by speaking to Ikora herself. They were astonished to hear that she was chosen literally minutes before the Red War...in other words, she has been fighting since the start of her second life and took down the Dominus of this part of the Red Legion.

It was not surprising that she was a nameless Guardian given her circumstances. She had one of the worst circumstances to be chosen in, but not THE worst. Her subclass was Dawnguard, but she could also use Void light to some degree which is how she killed Ghaul. Her Ghost talked for her, and since only a Guardian can name their Ghost it had no name either and simply went by Ghost.

Knowing all of that they still were unprepared to step up to the Guardian, her Light, presence, and prestige were so powerful that it was like being too close to the sun. On her back was the Black Talon sword but on her hip was a Sunshot Handcannon. She could wield two Exotic Tier weapons with the amount of Light she has. Something unheard of as it takes a lot of power to run a single Exotic weapon along with an exotic armor piece.

The Guardian had the Celestial Robes on, Dark Blue with gold and black for the color scheme. She had a helmet with no visor, just a solid metal surface but it had a crowned plume, set and angled her head, which gave that intimidating Guardian look.

The Transversive Steps Exotic boots on her feet had blue-glowing geometric patterns moving on the front and matched with the golden color scheme of the rest of her armor.

As they finally approached Zavala, Ikora, and the Guardian, Zavala spoke, "Well, Guardian your new team has arrived, should you choose to accept. Meet Rico-77 Thundercrash Titan and Kessa Nightstalker Hunter. We believe they will make a great Fireteam with you, that is if you accept the role of leader for it?" His deep voice lifts in question.

Immediately Guardian shook her head and pushed her left hand forward, palm up, a common gesture used by Guardians to summon their Ghost. Hers was already floating by her shoulder, but with the gesture, it floated down to her palm to present himself.

"Uh, yes, sorry, we would rather not be the leader of the team but we agree that Rico-77 here would be a great leader based on his records," Ghost replied matter-of-factly.

The rest of the people there knew they shouldn't be shocked at the antics of a Ghost, but still were when they realized that the Guardian probably knew just as much about them as they did about her.

"Well, I think it would be odd to be in charge of you Guardian, but if you think that I should then I am willing to at least give it a shot," Rico said, breaking the silence with his strong voice.

The Guardian nodded once in the affirmative and her Ghost said, "Great! We are excited to work with both of you." When the Ghost said that Kessa looked at the Guardian with a raised eyebrow in question.

The Guardian shrugged her right shoulder but otherwise was perfectly still as she watched them. When the shrug came from The Guardian Kessa actually chuckled and then spoke in a surprisingly sophisticated and regal-sounding voice, "I am excited to work with you as well Guardian and...Ghostian, it will be fun!" Her smile seemed genuine while her eyes declared her mischievousness as she leaned an elbow on Rico's shoulder.

"Ghostian!?" The Guardians Ghost said with mock outrage, the Ghost was smart enough to recognize a tension-breaking joke when it saw one.

They began running missions together under the tag Fireteam Starfall, a name coined by Kessa after The Guardian jumped feet-first into a Taken portal...nearly two thousand meters down a hole in the Taken Realm.

Fireteam Starfall had been working together for nearly 6 months when Zavala received an interesting message from one Anastasia Bray who was on Mars and speaking about a Warmind from the Golden Age waking up.

Zavala sent Fireteam Starfall to see what was happening and if they needed to stop this technology from attacking humanity.


Fireteam Starfall landed on Mars and met with Ana Bray. When she was reborn as a guardian, she found ID Card from her past life during the golden age in her pocket. Normally it is forbidden for Guardians to look into their past, or at least highly frowned upon. But that is what she did after receiving odd signals from Mars.

Ana Bray discovered that the Warmind Rasputin had woken up from the many years it was dormant, since the Collapse of the Golden Age.

They made their way through the Braytech facilities to get to Rasputin. Ana led them to the central housing unit for the Warmind, a massive cubic room with a platform standing in the center. The far wall had a square opening, and the holographic images of Rasputin's core were within.

In a volume that seemed to shake the foundations of Mars, Rasputin asked, {{BRAAAY?}}

Then it continued: {{PHAHSHPSEH EH EH EH NAHFTAKHAHF}}, {{SHGA AAASLAAKFS}}

Ana spoke up as if directly translating the gibberish, "The Bray Family shaped me to be an All-Seeing Savior, I was supposed to save humanity. I have Failed."

In a smaller but no less massive in presence and weight, the voice continued.

{{PFHADNAA}}

"I must improve my power." Ana translated.

{{IHFSKGUD LSKDJFKJS}}

"Never again will a threat go unseen."

{{GAHNAHDKAH RASPUTIN SALDKJFGASFSD SJHAGDSFQ}} {{I SPHBRAMUASH}}

"From this day forward I will protect Humanity, with more power. I am Rasputin, guardian of all I survey. I have no equal."

The group began to look at each other warily.

Kessa spoke up, "Does that mean that we are your allies then?"

{{AADD}}

"Wait!" Ana stepped forward placing her hand on a digital pad, then went through different options. "Rasputin, switch to English."

{{I AM RASPUTIN}}

In a no less terrifying voice Rasputin was now speaking English.

"I am pretty sure that was an old backward Russian code or something," Ana said.

"Riiiiight," Kessa replied skeptically.

"So Rasputin, how do you plan to help Humanity?" Rico asked, skipping to the point.

{{I WILL TAKE OVER THE CABAL SHIP AND BEGIN BUILDING DEFENSES}}

After the long talk with Rasputin, it was clear that Ana was going to stay with the AI. The entire octahedral structure that made up Rasputin was a space-capable vessel and as soon as the Fireteam left to report to Zavala the core of Rasputin took off for Mercury where the large hull of the Almighty still floated aimlessly.


For nearly a year and a half Fireteam Starfall made a name for themselves, raiding, striking, and completing bounties. The number of achievements Fireteam Starfall had under its belt was legendary.

Fireteam Starfall grew close together and they started to break down the Guardians' emotional walls, one at a time. One of the missions led to Kessa losing her ship and having to bunk up with the Guardian in her larger M3-D1 Valkyrie. She entered the ship nervously, being directed so by the Guardians Ghost.

Nearly half of the lower deck of the ship was dedicated to a zero-g sleeping chamber that uses artificial gravity to keep the occupant(s) floating in the center of the chamber. It was the only actual piece of furniture that you could sleep in on the ship besides the pilot's seat. Guardians don't need to sleep but can go into a meditative-like trance where they can relax, unwind, and recover.

It is very common for Guardians to rest for many hours in this 'AFK'-like trance, so when Kessa asked the Ghost where she could 'sleep' she was told she could join the Guardian in her sleeping chamber. But to try not to act surprised when she looked into it.

The Ghost failed to mention that she was completely naked and already in her own meditative state. The Ghost seemed oblivious to Kessa's shocked face as she stared at the Guardian.

Kessa stood there for what could have been seconds or hours as she tried to process the fact that she could now see the extremely beautiful blue-skinned Awoken woman floating in the darkened sleeping chamber. Her skin was darker than Kessa's but the purple light of the room made it look violet as the white lines of her Light crossed over her form.

The delicate feet closest to the entrance of the chamber were delicately wrapped around each other and they led up to perfectly shaped calves and thighs, it was just dark enough to hide her most intimate parts yet. She had silver metallic hair that was long and straight but currently spread out as if underwater, floating around her in an array of silky delight. Due to how the chamber kept her floating comfortably in the center her legs were slightly crossed at the ankle and her arms seemed to hug her torso while her head was pointed away and up in an almost exalted-looking pose.

The patterns of Light that accompanied most Awoken on their skin were so powerful on her that they caused their own reflections throughout the soft-lit tube, making her look like a floating art exhibit. It was the most beautiful thing Kessa had ever seen, the Guardian slowly floating in a slight spin completely relaxed. A sight Kessa would never forget, the most powerful Guardian floating like a delicate flower, the image would be burned into her mind's eye forever.

The soft purple lighting was all indirect and made the tube glow with a gentle mood lighting, it almost breathed in and out as the intensity changed. The soft music was more ambient than anything as if an orchestra was playing quiet notes that seemed to just casually wander through a relaxing melody, just something in the background that worked to calm one down.

Kessa looked behind her to see Guardians Ghost working on some stuff on the Desk, so she let her ghost, named Adam, go join the other with the open-palmed pushing gesture. She then worked up the courage and finally vanished her armor into her inventory with a wave of Light, down to her spandex-like underwear, and joined the beautiful Guardian in the chamber.

The gravity of the bed chamber moved her close to the floating goddess, but she didn't touch her. With the use of her own void abilities, she found a comfortable hovering spot. She watched the gorgeous face of The Guardian, making sure not to pull her from her meditative state as she finally relaxed in the floating chamber. She was so peaceful in this state, even her arms wrapped around herself.

When Kessa finally woke from her meditation after the next cycle, it seemed as though the Guardian had already left the chamber without her knowledge. She opened the door and looked out to see the other Guardian sitting at the desk working on a rifle of some sort without a helmet on. Kessa must have made just enough noise to draw the Guardians' attention. She turned and Kessa got her first look at the eyes of the sleeping flower. They were the fiery orange of the sun, glowing excessively like spotlights. The second they made eye contact the Guardian looked down and away as a soft purple blush graced her cheeks.

"Are you blushing?" Kessa asked with an amused tone, "I am sorry if I startled you, but your Ghost said it was okay to join you in the chamber...I figured I would at least strip down a bit. I hope I didn't ruin your meditation?" Kessa asked as she sent a mental command to Adam to equip her armor and give her a quick cleaning. The warmth of the Light covered her and she was cleaned and equipped with her usual armor, minus the helmet. Hood o, of course.

"Well I just want to let you know that it was my first time resting with another Guardian and, I never have felt safer," Kessa said sincerely and she knew she must have said the right thing as the orange-eyed Guardian looked back into her eyes, with surprise.

"I hope it's okay if I stay another time?" Kessa asked hopefully. The Guardian had looked back at her desk, but from the side profile that Kessa could see of her perfect face, it was clear that the Guardian had a small shy smile as she nodded once.

This was the first time of many that Kessa rested with the Guardian, which strengthened their bonds to another degree. Kessa was never pushy with her but they would eventually end up cuddling. They started to just share the Guardians' ship full-time.

Kessa wanted to bring Rico in as well, which is a common thing amongst long-term Fireteams - many share a single ship. Love, rest, recovery, and emotional support were all things that a Fireteam could provide each other and Kessa had always wanted to have that connection with her team.

Kessa could share the emotional stress that she had with her Ghost, Adam, but there was only so much she could share and eventually, she craved the physical and spiritual connection that came from a Fireteam as they are truly her family. Kessa had always been a solo, just her and Adam, but she could see the many Fireteams constantly around the Tower and it always filled her with a pervasive loneliness that she hid behind a smile.

It came as a surprise when Cayde-6 called her and told her about joining a new Fireteam consisting of her, Rico-77, and THE Guardian. She was able to meet Rico-77 easily as she had met him a few times before. They went together to Ikora, where they were taught about the Guardian and how to approach her. It felt weird, but the Vanguard wanted to help the Hero of the Last City and the best way would be to provide her with a family. It gave Kessa some hope, even if the intimidating Guardian was there, she might still have a chance at a Fireteam family.

So, finally, she was able to at least cuddle with the beautiful Warlock and it brought Kessa a new level of joy and intimacy, something she had never had in this life. Now she wanted to bring Rico in, who has been staying in his ship without commenting on the two Guardians. Rico knew that this was a slow process, as it was with all nameless Guardians, you had to earn their trust and comfort over a long time of being there. That level of trust is not given out quickly and is easily lost.

The opportunity to bring Rico into the Guardian's ship came when the Iron Banner started again. Kessa began her plan on how to get The Guardian to allow Rico to stay with them on her ship, which probably had the most room with the most comfortable and customized interior. It could easily fit one more Guardian as opposed to Rico's smaller fighter-style ship. So she waited patiently until the tournament started.

Lady Efrideet, who was said to have killed 216 Cabal with 199 bullets returned to the Tower to once again hold the Iron Banner Tournament. The Iron Banner was an event that was made to strengthen a Fireteam's Light, but it also strengthens the bonds of said team. Overall it was a very brutal and very competitive tournament that drew attention from all over the Last City.

This year, Fireteam Starfall won.

After the tournament, they were congratulated by Lady Efrideet, the Vanguards, and a hoard of different Last City Citizens that were allowed to watch the tournaments. It was then that Kessa made her move. She had been dropping hints as to inviting Rico to stay in the Guardians ship over the last few months. As they were walking back to the pick-up point the first part of her plan had already happened, and that was to have a favor Cayde-6 owed her, paid off in the form of stealing Rico's ship, so the only one was the Guardian's larger one. She had also made a deal with Rico's Ghost to clear his inventory of ships for the time being.

When they reached the open pick-up point at the Tower to head back into orbit where the Guardians Rest is located, Kessa's Ghost appeared over her shoulder. Adam spoke up in his deep voice, "It appears that Rico's ship is missing," Kessa shook her head at the Ghost's horrible acting. She could feel the curiosity from Rico and skepticism from the Guardian. They both looked at Kessa wordlessly.

"What?" Kessa said trying to make it sound ignorant to hopefully hide her nervousness at the situation.

"Well, I guess the first question is where is my ship?" Rico asked.

"Probably wherever Kessa's ship is," Ghost muttered as he appeared over the Guardian's shoulder, having figured out her ploy.

Kessa just said, "Hmm well, it's fine with me if Rico stays over, it will be like a party since we won the Iron Banner!"

This surprised both Rico and the Guardian. "Uh no offense Kessa, I know you both like your alone time, it's fine I have an extra ship in my inventory..." Rico said before looking back at Kessa, "Kess..."

Kessa started to panic, but then looking at the Guardian she could see the tell-tale signs that she was communicating with her Ghost mentally. The slight nodding or shaking of her head and a small twitch of her arms as she communicated with it. She then surprised both of them and grabbed Rico's arm. He didn't jump in surprise but was just startled to have been touched by her, something that would only happen on rare occasions if only by necessity.

The larger Exo looked at the Guardian expectantly, hiding his nervousness well. "Guardian?" He asked.

She only turned her head in a 'Come with' motion somehow, and Rico smiled internally, "Are you sure? I don't want to intrude..."

A single nod forward behind her helmet was the only reply. Her Ghost then Transmatted all of them into the upper interior of the ship as he flew it into Orbit where the Guardian's Rest is.

Kessa knew at this point that she won her game, it was now time to set the stage for what was to come, but she also wanted to mess with Rico a bit too. Kessa had told Rico about the experience when they were alone one time, the Guardian was speaking with Ikora for the day. Kessa told him the story of how she found the Guardian naked in the zero-g sleeping chamber the first time and how incredible it was to see. That being said, she had never told him that she started to also sleep naked, leaving this opportunity to mess with the stoic Exo.

Rico looked around the compartment he found himself in. There was the Hatch down to the cargo bay, which he knew had been made into the living space. The cockpit was made up of two large piloting chairs and a second row of three behind that, all facing the large window out front. After the seating there was an open area with a doorway into a medium-sized storage room behind it, looking in he could see piles of Glimmer and other materials filling crates and shelves. Following the two Awoken ladies down the hatch into the living quarters he was immediately impressed.

The large cylindrical zero-G sleeping chamber was lengthwise in the center of the chamber nearly 5 feet off the ground. The tube was probably 12 feet in diameter and nearly 15 long. There was still decent room for people to walk on either side of the sleeping chamber. On one wall above various work benches were exotic Warlock Helmets. Some that he had seen The Guardian wear though most he had never even seen before. The other wall had a collection of swords and bows, including copies and alternate versions of The Guardian's favorites which started with the Wish-Ender.

The bow on display was the remade version named the Author of Devastation. He knew the original rested in her inventory as she occasionally used it still, but it was nice to see the updated pink version with sleeker and more aggressive curves being displayed here. Her favorite sword was mounted to the left of it at the beginning of the line of mounted swords...The Black Talon's alternate version, named the Tangled Paladin. He knew these swords will always have a place in her heart, as she always used them when she needed to send a message.

He admired the first wall that had her workbench and desk, it had various weapons as well. All guns of some sort, but before he could inspect it further he had his attention called over to Kessa.

"Hey, Rico, no armor no Ghost in the bed okay?" Kessa said with her standard devious smirk that highlighted her eyes and tattoos on her face. She then shocked the hell out of him as she removed all of her armor and underwear in a flash of light.

"Kessa! What are you doing?" He whispered while staring in shock at the incredibly beautiful and naked hunter.

She only laughed and pointed to the Guardian, who had finished unloading things into some cabinets below her workbench. The Guardian turned and without responding to the conversation at all and did her usual move of Warlock jumping at the open sleeping chamber. She gracefully flew through the air as her Ghost removed all her armor and underwear, cleaning her as she went. Her trajectory landed her perfectly into the open Zero-G sleeping chamber, her hair fluttering out as she entered a graceful spin. The Guardian spun through the air, Light moving along her body into the chamber and the gravity inside pulled her into the center to drift until she was meditating.

He was staring and the Guardian must have felt his eyes as she looked down from her position and made eye contact once before looking away with her trademark cobalt blush on her cheeks. Rico had never seen eyes that glowed with the power hers did, and for that matter, he had never seen an Awoken with orange eyes that glowed like that, but his train of thought was once again interrupted as Kessa put an arm on his shoulder pauldron.

"I told you it was a beautiful sight," Kessa said in a mocking but still only teasing tone. She used her blink skill to appear at the top of the stairs as she climbed in after posing giving Rico a great show and a wink. He could see the two Guardians illuminated by the purple-violet lighting in the chamber as soft music that reminded him of clouds began to play. They appeared to spin into and around each other, locking legs, as Kessa put her arms around the other. Their hair floated away, one dark blue and the other a silver-pearlescent color that seemed to change with the breathing lights in the room.

He shook his head and summoned his Ghost, Sam. Sam spoke in a cutesy female voice that was upbeat before he could say anything. "Well, Rico...I think I will stay here with the other Ghosts...Good luck!" Sam said before flying off upstairs to where the other two Ghosts were. Rico watched her go in disbelief as she stole his armor...

When Guardians rest they all do so in their fighters in a massive 'donut' shape that orbits around the Traveler just past the atmosphere, in the blackness of space. Their orbit had a few names but usually was called the Traveler's Halo, the Ring of Guardians, or the Guardian's Rest.

While it seemed like a whole circle of continuously moving ships, upon examination it would be clear that there were different sections where ships would sit. Including 4 or 5 different sections where Guardians or Fireteams would park their ships, depending on what they wanted or were doing. There was a whole section of people looking for others for Strikes, Raids, and Bounties. Another section was for people looking for Fireteams, or at least people who lost members of the others and were finally ready to fill that gap.

They were currently floating deep in an older section of the Rest where guardians would sleep for longer periods. They had a few weeks off from work unless something happened before having to go back into active duty. A Guardians job never stopped, but you rest when you can, and for the first-time Fireteam Starfall was represented by one ship.


The Guardians had rested for nearly two weeks which was a very common thing after an intense time such as the Iron Banner, where they all had died and been reborn numerous times. Normally when she rested with Kessa, The Guardian could slip out of her arms in the morning with ease to go workout or work on her weapons without waking the Hunter.

But this time, strong and warm metallic arms that sandwiched her between a strong metallic chest and Kessa were not relenting. She tried to move so she didn't have to awkwardly dress with Rico there. The Guardian didn't mind nudity, it was not an uncommon thing amongst all Guardians, but just the social aspect would be a hurdle that she would rather not deal with if she could.

The Guardians' struggles accidentally woke up Kessa who immediately smirked. "Oh, I finally get morning cuddles with you my Guardian. There is no escape now!" She said in her usual graceful soft voice, this time it had more teasing in it than the Guardian preferred. She then pulled herself further into Rico's arms while linking her legs with the Guardian and snuggled into her in the zero-g. This movement woke Rico though who immediately yelped in surprise.

"Now this is how you bond right Rico?" Kessa said, there had been nothing sexual yet between her and the Guardian during their time together, but Kessa would give it her all to push things in that direction...once the Guardian was ready for it. Rico raised his metallic eyebrow equivalent before looking down and immediately trying to move his arms. Kessa however, didn't let him out of it so he spoke to the captured Guardian.

"Are you alright Guardian?" Rico asked as he sensed her nervousness, but was extremely comfortable in the zero-g bed. Not his first time resting in one but without a doubt the first time with two incredibly beautiful women.

What happened next shocked everyone in the bed. The softest sweetest sound either of them had heard came from the Guardian. It was the first time any had heard her voice outside of a grunt of pain...usually only when she died in the crucible.

The first word of her new life, the first thing she said was her name, "Kira."

Kessa's eyes and mouth went wide in gleeful shock, Rico showed more shock on his face than either thought was possible. They both looked down at her.

"Your name is Kira?" Rico asked in a compassionate tone.

The Guardian...no Kira nodded while looking down away from their faces.

"Do you want us to call you that in public?" Kessa asked. Kira shook her head no really fast.

"Then it's just for us!?" Kessa questioned again, with a hopeful tone in her voice.

Kira nodded yes.

"Can I tell Sam?" "Yeah and Adam? Wait does your Ghost know?"

She just nodded yes to the questions.

"SAM!" Rico said excitedly, this whole time he never let go of the other two, and Kessa didn't either.

"Adam!" Kessa also called.

The three Ghosts opened the door at their feet and slowly made their way in. Kira's Ghost didn't say anything but he was excited as he looked back and forth between the mingling Guardians and Sam & Adam.

"Sam, Kira told us her name! It's Kira!" Rico said while hugging the duo closer.

"Oh wow," Sam said while facing off to the upper left away from the naked trio...

"Uhh, so why are you all naked and holding each other?" Adams excited voice blatantly asked.

Kessa laughed and then asked, "Does Ikora know?"

Her Ghost responded as Kira nodded, "Yeah, we had counseling sessions with her, but Kira had me say it for her."

Kessa smiled knowing her voice was a gift to both her and Rico.

From that point on the three Guardians exclusively shared Kira's ship. She added speakers and lights in the extra room of her cargo space where they could dance, an important thing for any Guardian. They became closer and eventually sexually intimate as a Fireteam over the next 6 months, primarily due to Kessa's influence. Opening the Guardian to a new way of life was exactly what Rico and Kessa wanted for her, she now had a family.


Fireteam Starfall worked with Cayde 6 and completed the rescue of Failsafe from Nessus.

She was broken out of her wrecked ship, her module now containing a temporary power core and all of her processing. They condensed what memories and information they could find to a newer matrix that was grafted onto the temporary power source. When they 'plugged her' into the Tower's energy grid, they would do so directly to this external battery so she would always have a backup power source.

With the help of the Drifter's ship, called The Derelict, they moved Failsafe into the hanger in the Tower only taking up a small corner. Failsafe remains there and has found friends among the guardians and humans, who interact with her daily. Her loneliness eventually was forced out by having so many people interact with her. She even had Guardians run errands for her and also put out bounties for materials.

Failsafe was able to create weapons and armor with her self-replicating nano-bots called SIVA. The same type of technology that Rasputin uses to build weapons. She began to outfit any Guardian who would bring the glimmer and other resources like those Legendary Metal Shards, with blueprints that she had since the Golden Age.

Failsafe was still crazy and would still change her emotions as quickly as she changed sentences but she loved working with the Guardians. Cayde-6, who Failsafe became close with after their problems with portals, ended up being one of her more common visitors. The sarcastic Gunslinger Vanguard made it all too easy for her to relate to, so Failsafe became a regular presence at the Tower and Cayde would often be seen in her company.

Not 6 months later and Oryx the Taken King was defeated. Fireteam Starfall was given full credit for once again stepping up when needed. The things they saw in dealing with Oryx and his Throne World would leave a mark on them forever. Entire squads were consumed by the darkness and it was a service to everyone when he was destroyed.

Ana Bray eventually sent another message to Zavala, this time saying that Rasputin had finished his work on the Almighty and that he should visit the ship.

Zavala, Ikora Ray, and Cayde 6 met with Fireteam Starfall on their way to the new Almighty, having been requested to join the Vanguard on their visit, not that they needed protection, but it is better to be safe than dead.

Ana Bray had left a waypoint at a spot a good distance above the plane of the Sol System where they were supposed to meet. When the ship arrived they stared at it in stunned silence.

The changes were shocking, previously the Almighty looked like a biplane with the 2 wings stacked on top of each other and a relatively small sphere in the middle point connecting them. The wings were nearly 3400 km in length and about 200 to 400km wide and 500km in height.

Now though, as the ship appeared from FTL, they had a good look at its refit design.

It now had a massive double-winged V shape, with an octahedral structure at the base of the V, serving as the bow. As it faced them the large diamond-shaped window containing the vibrant orange core of Rasputin became visible. Its previous design looked flimsy yet terrifying, this new version felt much more solid. The 'wings' had triangular panels that met diamond windows of glowing orange light, looking reminiscent of the barrel of the Sleeper Simulant but on a massive scale. It now had an intimidating and aggressive design with glowing orange energy pulsing through it.

The new dimensions were 2200km in length, and approximately 1000km in width, while the wings were still 500km tall the new octahedral structure was nearly 750km in height as it had grown with the completion of the remodeling. The hull was already supposed to be invulnerable but who knows what Rasputin did to it now that it was rebuilt.

"What the hell...is that?" Cayde 6 said to the open channel.

They had received a waypoint to land and a total of 4 ships landed, Fireteam Starfall sharing the M3 Valkyrie that had the Black Armory paint job while the rest of the Vanguard each had their smaller ships.

They landed on the connecting structure in a small hangar that opened. Ana Bray and an unknown Exo stood to receive them.

This was not a normal Exo, there was no humanoid face, just black armored panels that overlapped and had orange light coming from behind them. The Exo was also larger than most at nearly 2.3m tall, yet it had no weapons and the armor was built onto his frame.

Ana spoke first, "Hello all, we have good news and bad news...but first...welcome to The Redemption," She said with a slight smirk.

"The Redemption now huh, all you need is a face-lift and you are good to go, just change your name whenever. Just you wait I'll get another horn and you will all be calling me Princess," Cayde 6 said, earning a chuckle from his fellow Hunter Kessa and a head shake from Ikora.

"Cayde now is not the time. Ana, who is this next to you?" Zavala asked.

Before Ana could reply the Exo stepped forward.

{{I AM RASPUTIN, GUARDIAN OF ALL THAT I SURVEY}}

Everyone took a step back on the overly loud Warmind that now seemed to inhabit an Exo body as well as the ship.

"He pilots this unit remotely so we can communicate easier...still working on volume though," Ana replied sheepishly.

{{WELCOME TO REDEMPTION}}
Cayde leaned over to Kess, "Is it threatening me?"

She giggled and nodded, "Prepare to get redeemed Cayde."

"So, Ana Bray, what is the bad news?" Ikora Ray said ignoring all other conversations to get right to the point.

"Hmm, well come with us, and I'll show you. Our system is once again being invaded by the Darkness," Ana said ominously, her Ghost nodding along beside her.

Everyone shared meaningful looks as they walked behind Rasputin and Bray.

They finally made it to some sort of command center that might be something resembling a bridge, if Rasputin didn't occupy the entire ship then this would be his quarters. Orange holographic screens were all over and one massive one cleared itself and switched to a condensed linear view of the solar system. Rasputin could scan everything in-system, and it displayed a terrifying sight.

"Currently there are thousands of Pyramid Ships that have been entering the system. This is the same invasion that happened during the golden age. This time though, something different is happening...they come near a large celestial body and something terrifying happens."

The screen zoomed in on Neptune, a Pyramid ship larger than the planet, dwarfing even The Redemption and larger than Calus's ship - The Leviathan was currently ramming into the large planet. Once it made contact with Neptune the planet just disappeared.

"They are destroying planets?" Zavala asked before Ikora could say anything. Cayde was strangely quiet.

"No, the planets are just disappearing. I don't know how to explain it," Ana said. "They are just gone."

She continued, "They will be on Mars in three days." The screen showed them as the Pyramids took down everything up to Jupiter.

"They are closing in on all sides and will be here on Earth, in 1 week. We have no way or hope of defeating them without The Redemption. Even then though, they seem to not be entirely in this dimension...or cloaked in something...maybe Darkness itself," Ana explained.

Everyone's heart dropped. This could be the end.

"How did we not see this sooner? What of the Guardians on other planets? Have they evacuated?!" Zavala asked.

"I mean, we haven't heard anything, I tried to send a message out there when I messaged you, and I have heard nothing from anyone."

They watched as the Guardian moved forward to the screen, she pointed her finger at Earth's Moon. Ana looked at her curiously, "Luna? What is on the moon?"

Kira's Ghost spoke up, "She means that she can feel the Darkness on the moon too, there is a Pyramid ship there, it has to be."

"Let's recall all Guardians to the Last City, at least to the Ring. We will fight when the time comes. And Rasputin, you should aim at the Moon," Zavala said.

{{RASPUTIN WILL DEFEND HUMANITY}} As the Exo Rasputin controlled nodded.

The massive avatar of Rasputin speaking up scared everyone, which prompted Cayde to speak up to break the tension, "I'm gonna need another rooster."