Chapter 1 - Recover and Mobilize

Shaxx's Red Jacks upkept a perimeter around Tower North's Barracks. An incursion upon the City Guardians' living space had seen the area quarantined with Primus Umbra's living Quarters turned into an active Crime Scene.

Members of the Praxic Order - an order of Warlocks staunchly opposed to the Darkness and those who would wield it - walked about the living quarters, inspecting damage as non-lightbearer Crime Scene Investigators gathered samples of Black, extra-terrestrial, goo from the floor of the living space. The ebony discharge that'd once flowed from one of Primus Umbra's members, had been used to induce the incursion. Mahren Seth, an unknown Hive Entity, had used the substance to form a portal that gave her direct access to the City. Now, the substance was being placed into vials for study, all the while Lord Shaxx himself oversaw the operation.

As Shaxx, the RedJacks, Praxic and Investigators tended to information gathering, The Shadows of Primus Umbra were joined by the remaining Tower Vanguard. They'd gathered in the clan's wrecked living room and were actively reporting just what'd happened to their humble abode. Hades, Shade and the others told them exactly what happened, without neglecting a single detail. They told them of the Wizard they'd first encountered on the moon, who'd had reality altering abilities and sprouted out of the goo currently being sampled off of the Guardian's floor, before making off with the Clan's beloved Ghost, Cletus. Hades told Ikora and Commander Zavala about the chase across a vast, brightly lit neon space. Then, both he and Ryan recanted the visions they'd had in contact with the bizarre Wizard…

The Two shadows had seen…

The Ascendant Plane…

A Throne World: The High War…

Hive Annihilator Totems…

The Forgotten…

The Dreadnaught…

The Dreaming City…

The Altar of Oryx…

A Hive Knight ornamented in broken shards of the mythical Gjallarhorn…

A Shattered Throne hidden within a Dreaming City…

The Dreadnaught and its weapon once again firing and causing destruction on an intergalactic scale only to leave silence and discarded power in its wake...

Ikora and Zavala listened to every word the Shadows said intently. That they were here, in person, really sold the gravity of the situation. Prior to this happening, the city's walls had only been breached 3 times. Once at 6 fronts and again at Twilight Gap. and, it was on the third breach, that those walls finally fell in the wake of the Red Legion's occupation. It took months for the Guardians to mount a counter offensive and retake their home. And now that a new threat never before seen had seemingly and effortlessly made its way into the Last City, there was a very real fear that another incursion could be upon them.

"And all this Wizard wanted was a Ghost?" Zavala, asked. In the past, the City's assaults had come at the behest of their enemies trying to usurp the Traveler from it's space above. That this Wizard would come, alone, and just take something dear from The Last Shadow was not indicative of a full scale assault but, rather, something more measured.

"I don't think so." Hades responded, only because he knew the rest of Primus Umbra was in no mood to speak to the likes of the Commander. "She took the ghost, yes. But that wasn't her full motive, it couldn't have been. I mean, think of all the trouble it would have cost her? Just for a Ghost? If she really wanted one that bad, why not pluck them from the wilds as they search for their Guardians? Hell. Why not take Ryan's or Wolf's or Pyro's? She'd had them down for the count numerous times the first time they'd met her."

"As if I'd let that happen…" Ryan snarled.

"Clearly, it's not up to you." Hades replied. "If it was, she wouldn't have come out of your head at her behest."

Ryan gave a quick exhale, crossed his arms, turned his head and remained silent. The Warlock's words were true; the Exo knew it. And he could not stand the fact that he'd been manipulated in any capacity, let alone the way he had."

"Here's a question? Why the hell are we still here?" Shade asked. " A Hive Wizard just set foot in the Last City. That alone should be grounds for full on war. We should be half way across Sol right now, tearing the system apart until we find whatever hole she climbed out of and drop a grenade down it. Mahren Seth or whatever her name is, needs to be destroyed. Her and everything that answers to her. Do her like we did Oryx, Crota, Malok, and every other Hive son-of-a-bitch that ever laid their disgusting eyes on our home."

"There will be recompense." Zavala promised. "But not until we are absolutely certain what we're walking into with this. Aside from your living room floor, we don't even know what 'hole' this threat crawled from?

"I can take a guess." The guardians all turned their eyes towards Hades. "Ryan and I told you about the visions we saw. Ryan got names to faces, I got a bunch of locations and events. The contents are inconsistent for the most part, except for two variables…"

"The name Bahren- Seth." Ryan began. "And Oryx's Dreadnaught."

Zavala was still unconvinced. "Thinks aren't always that simple."

"What if it is?" The group turned their attention to Ikora, who stood and rubbed her chin. "I can't speak for the other sentient races pointing their weapons at us, but human-kind, and by extension anything with a human mind, have always dreamt or envisioned things we could not explain. Whether you two are seeing events to come, or events that have passed, the fact that the Dreadnaught and this Bahren come as constants, points to an eventuality. If you're to investigate anything, the Dreadnaught would be the place to start."

The Shadows of Primus Umbra remained silent, but their faces and spirits perked up. She didn't outright say it, but she'd given them her blessing to investigate this anomaly, for better or for worse.

"Would that be wise?" Zavala questioned openly.

"I think so." Ace, who'd been quiet up till now, said.

"Of course you would. The 6 of you thinking with anger. You'd tear the stars from the sky if it meant revenge on this Wizard. Barring the circumstances, I don't see a reason to withhold you from that…but, the fact remains: a Hive of ascendant level lethality tore its way into our home, took what it wanted and left without a trace, and we didn't know a damn thing about it."

"All the more reason to send them." Ikora motioned to the Guardians. "Let them run a strike and take the Wizard out, get their Ghost back while they investigate Bahren Seth and whatever might be happening with the Dreadnaught."

Primus Umbra watched Ikora vouch on their behalf, but Hades paid especially close attention to their discussion. His being in the Hidden was a closely guarded Secret, something he hid from his other Shadows. When Ikora used the words 'investigate', he knew that her intention was for him to find out about the Knight, not Primus Umbra as a whole.

Zavala listened to his cohort's words intently. The proposition was most beneficial: send Primus Umbra's 6 members in to destroy this foe before it grew any broader in scope, it was just the kind of thing he'd authorize normally; the very reason why Strikes were held in the first place. However, the aftermath of Cayde 6's demise still weighed quite heavily on him. He was not so eager to lose more Guardians under his watch. And, as Commander, the last say on the matter was his.

"Hmm…" He pondered. Before he could make a final decision, the group was interrupted.

"Ahem." The Guardians all turned to find Lord Shaxx in the doorway. The mountain of a man stood head and shoulders over everyone else in the room. "The Scientists are done gathering samples and the Praxics have finished their run through. We're about to wrap things up here."

"Thank you, Lord Shaxx." Zavala nodded. And Lord Shaxx nodded back before turning and leaving the room.

"We should go too." Ikora suggested. "I'm sure the Shadows of Primus Umbra have much to prepare for."

Zavala glanced at the shadows. They sat quietly, awaiting his blessing to go after the Wizard."

"Indeed." He agreed before turning to the Clan of 6. "You have Green Light." He decided. "Get on this Wizard's trail, find her. Find out what she's planning with your Ghost, and what ties this 'Bahren Seth' has with Oryx's Dreadnaught."

The Faces across Primus Umbra lit up like the Dawning. Hades stood upright and gave a nod. "Yes Sir." He said, looking into Zavala's eyes before turning and focusing his Gaze on Ikora. "We won't let you down." He promised. Ikora gave an acknowledging nod.

"Ikora?" Zavala motioned to his fellow Vanguard as he outside of the Shadow's quarters, while Ikora lingered.

Ikora and Hades locked eyes, a silent exchange of orders, then she followed after Zavala and transmatted out of the Tower Barracks. The Praxics, CSI and Red Jacks all vacated the premises with, finally, Lord Shaxx shutting the door behind them, leaving the Guardians to their own devices.

As soon as the door shut, Ryan turned and snarled. "Payback time!"

"Hell yes!" Ace agreed.

Hades put his helmet down on one of the side tables as Pyro stood up. "So, what now? This Wizard's more powerful than us, maybe even put together."

"Maybe not." Hades raised his hand, revealing the Wizard's blood on his hand. "I wounded her, Maybe, I could have even killed her if she didn't have Cletus."

Shade, who'd been uncharacteristically silent until now, finally spoke up. "Damn it!" He shouted, cracking the ground and shaking the entire room with a punch. "If only I were faster, I could have helped!"

"And, she'd be dead." Added Ryan. "At least dead as far as this world goes, being an Ascendant Hive and all."

Hades stepped forward. "That's just it, Ryan. I don't think she was ascendant. The realm we entered, it wasn't hers, she was using it to pass along to another realm. To be honest I'm not even quite sure it was Hive. Nor am I sure that whatever this secretion on my gauntlets is…another thing too."

"But still, why take Cletus?" Ace asked. "That doesn't make any sense?"

"Right?" Shade added. "I mean, she's Hive, if she wanted a full on fight, she would have taken it."

"And she had us dead to rights on Luna." Pyro added.

"Yet you're still here…" Hades pondered, rubbing his chin.

"I know that look…" Ryan said.

"She could have killed you three - easily. Not that I'm grateful you are, but you, Wolf and Pyro? You shouldn't be here. And yet…you are. Then, there's these visions, then Cletus - who only has value to us gets taken…why?"

"It's a trap." Wolf, who'd been quiet up until now, said. "This is exactly what I'd do if I wanted to lay one." Coming from a Hunter, such a realization was absolute fact.

"Trap or not, we need to respond." Ace said. "Aside from rescuing Cletus, this wizard came into our home, killed one of our own…we can't just let that disrespect stand."

"And we won't." Shade promised.

"But we can't just go in without a plan." Hades interrupted. "Right now, it's preparation time." The Warlock paced about the room, deep in thought. "I saw - in the visions I had - an active Dreadnaught firing its super weapon. If that's the name of the game, and we don't have the luxury of Stealth drives, we're gonna have to brute force our way in…"

"And how do we do that?" Shade asked. "You just said we don't have stealth. And it doesn't matter anyway because that didn't even work when Guardians first breached the ship.

"Well…" Hades began. "A few months ago, when we hit that Concordat base - the first one, the one shipping the Crimsons, you guys brought back sensor data with a list of other facilities. Among them was a shipyard, right?"

"Yeah?" Shade acknowledged. "So what?"

Hades picked his Helmet up and put it back on his head. "The Cabal Skyburners once breached that ship with theirs. I'm thinking we take a play out of their playbook…"

Shade's optics widened as he realized what Hades was suggesting.

"Follow the coordinates to that shipyard." Hades continued. "See if you can't scrounge up something from the Concordat's generous stockpile."

"Concordat's not gonna like that very much…" Pyro noted.

"Well, be persuasive." Hades suggested.

"What about you though?" Shade asked.

"Me? I'm going to go do a little bit of information gathering myself." He said looking at the wizard's blood on his hand. "See if I can't figure out why this blood isn't Hive Blood.

Shade stepped forward. "Actually. I've got my own plans. There's…something I gotta take care of."

"Something more important than going after Cletus?" Hades asked.

"Something just as important. It'll help even the playing field somewhat."

Hades didn't know what he was going on about, but he trusted him enough to know that whatever he was talking about was substantial. The Warlock nodded. "Do your thing." He said before turning to the rest of the clan. "Get to Work, Umbra."

They all agreed and dispersed, transmatting themselves into their ship and sitting in orbit before heading off into different directions. . Ace, Ryan, Wolf and Pyro would make way for the Concordat's shipyards, located in the heart of Russian wastes. While Shade would make for the sands of Mars, sending an invitation to the sub-mind Charlemagne to meet him.

As the rest of the Clan moved out, Hades and Shade made for Earth's Orbit aboard their ship, The Holborn's Splint.

"So, information gathering huh?" Ronin asked.

"We're going to make a few stops, starting with Io. There's a Warlock there that I want to talk to.

"Io it is."

And so, Hades and Ronin made way for the Jovian Moon on the first leg of their Journey. Primus Umbra in its entirety was now preparing for War.

End of Chapter 1