If the Shadows of Primus Umbra wanted to set out on their quest for revenge, first they'd need a spear to head their assault on the Dreadnaught. The Visions Hades and Ryan had both inferred were to be believed, then the Forgotten had some plan for the late Taken King's old Vessel and Throne World, the Dreadnaught. If that were the case, then they'd need to pierce it's hull from the outside. As the line of thinking went, there was a shipyard in Siberia, Russia, that the Concordat were using. So, that's where Primus Umbra set its sights.
And so, Ace, Ryan, Wolf and Pyro traveled to Siberia, the fallen capital of Russia, where a long dead shipyard once again roared to life under the Concordat's raised banner. Enemies of the Last City's structure, the Concordat had burrowed deep into this arctic wilderness, seemingly to build themselves a platform worth fighting from. It is here, in the arctic, that Light casts its shadows; Primus Umbra descends upon the acquired land to take it back and let loose some pent up aggression along the way.
Ryan and Ace wait upon a mountain, standing silent in the face of the harsh cold as they overlook a seemingly dead facility. Ryan's Burning Maul sits between them, solar light cackling off of its Forged metal, burning on and melting snowflakes before they can reach him. Ace's body periodically cackled with arc lightning; he'd been subtly building it since the Vanguard started investigating the Clan quarters, hoping to let it loose upon the Hive Witch that'd taken Cletus. His Ghost has taken notice, but said nothing. Neither of their ghosts had. No jokes, no witty one liners, not a word uttered between them. They realized Cletus' abduction was a fresh wound and it'd need time to heal. So, they let their Titans brood in silence, until they were ready to break that silence.
As time passed on, Ace could feel the tension rise in Ryan's light. The flames off his Maul were growing and spreading across his body. Something was bothering the Knight of the First Shadow, and Ace could see it plain as day.
"Ryan." He began simply, planning to get right to the point.
Ryan did not answer. He didn't feel like talking, and Ace could feel that, He wanted to respect his space.
" I get it." The Arc Titan continued on.
"Do you?" Ryan shot back, barely turning his head to glance at Ace.
Ace did not take his passive aggression as an act of war, he knew the Solar Titan felt guilty. "Our duty…" He hesitated. For a moment he didn't know whether or not he should push on. He got over it and started again. "Our Duty, as Titans, is to protect the City-"
"No matter the cost." Ryan cut him off, once again looking out into the facility below. He'd begun to simmer his flames, slowly they left his body and went back to his Maul.
"I failed to do that." He began. "I let a foreign enemy get beyond the walls of not just my city, but my head. She played me. Took me for a weakling and discarded me when she'd done what she wanted."
"You couldn't tell us." Ace reminded him. "You tried, but there was some kind of mental block stopping you. There was nothing you could have done to prevent this"
"There's always something more that can be done. I was too weak to stop her, my light wasn't bright enough. But, maybe if I let it go out before I got to Hades, If I'd just…died and stayed dead then maybe I- "
"Out of the question!" Ace snapped, his voice shot across the frozen tundra, shocking Ryan and jolting him out of his Super, dissipating his hammer and simmering his flames. "Not another word out of that sentence!" He commanded, lighting crackling throughout his body.
"But I-"
"But nothing!" Ace faced Ryan head on now, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him forward. "You played every card, followed your code, did everything right, you didn't make a mistake, she did. She attacked us. Our members, our home, but most importantly, she gave us a glimpse of where she's hiding…that was her mistake. And now, she's going to pay the price."
Ace paused and took a step from Ryan. "You're pissed off, that's fine. Hell, that's perfect! So are we! Remember that anger when we find her and the time comes to put a bullet in her."
Ryan blinked under his helmet, taking a moment to register Ace's words. And then he smiled. Ace was right. What good would his moping do for anyone right now? Why do that when he could focus his anger at the Bastard responsible, the one called Mahren-Seth.
Mahren Seth. All the names of the Forgotten remained in his mind, targets on a mental list he needed to cross off, but her name? It festered in his mind. It would not be enough to cross it out, he needed to burn it away.
A fire reignited in his eyes as he stood tall once again. Ace, recognizing his resolve without uttering another word, nodded in accordance. Ryan had a new purpose now, and Ace could feel It in his light. The Knight of the First Shadow was ready to go to work, and fortunately for him, he would not have to wait long. Rustling out of the Trees behind them, Pyro and Wolf returned to the Titans, Ace and Ryan turned to converse with them.
"What do we got?" Ryan asked.
Pyro stepped forward, twirling a knife in hand. "We checked the perimeter and peaked Inside." He stopped twirling his blade and pointed it forward at the building below. "That building is a front, the real facility is underneath it…and it's big."
"No guardians of note." Wolf added.
"Yeah, it's all frames and casuals. What's interesting is what they're working on…"
"What is it?" Ace asked.
"A ship." Wolf said as he stepped forward. "A big one too, makes the Colony ships in Old Russia look like small in comparison."
"Hades, you son of a bitch." Ace smirked. The Warlock's hunch was right. "That's our target, then."
"He wants us to secure a starship and do…what exactly?" Pyro stepped forward, expressing concern.
"Isn't it obvious?" Ryan lifted his Maul into the air. "We're gonna take on the Dreadnaught, ship to ship."
With their goal set, the Shadows of Primus Umbra were mission green. Ryan and Ace let loose their supers, igniting themselves in Solar and Arc lightning respectively before both leaping off of the mountain side, and sliding down.
"Wait!" Pyro shouted, but it was too late, they were already off. "Oh god damn it!"
"Better get going, don't wanna miss all the fun, right?" Wolf tapped Pyro's shoulder before leaping off after the Titans.
"Yeah, but why are we always jumping off of shit, we could have just transmatted down!...Ugh!" Pyro begrudgingly followed, leaping off of the mountain too.
By the time Pyro Jumped, Ace and Ryan were already well ahead. Ace cracked his Arc Light and flew even further ahead of the group. "Batter up!" He shouted as he tucked his head in and curled into a ball.
Ryan smirked as he rocketed forward, following up, reeling his hammer back and then loosing himself, swinging forward into a fire tornado until the Maul finally made contact. "SWING!" He shouted as he struck Ace and sent the Titan flying down into the facility, the combined arc and solar energy shattered the faux roof and several abandoned floors below until Ace had cleared a path into the shipyard proper. He lands in the midst of an arms room, annihilating all the rooms in his radius and killing any and everyone repping the Concordat faction.
Before the dust could settle, Concordat soldiers moved to engage the Titan, Wolf would have none of that. He moved down into the facility, calling upon the void and loosing a quiver of Shadow Shot arrows into the crowd, tethering them together for but a moment as Ryan and his hammer came in afterward.
The Titan slammed the group hard, destroying frames and breaking bones with little ease, as he lit the place ablaze. Pyro leapt over him, blades in hand. He targeted caches for weapons and armor, and the concordat that dared enter them, and ignited the blades. He tossed them out, spinning and dancing with the elegance of an omen of death, killing many on the initial impact and then blowing up weapons caches in the ensuing explosion, leaving much of the facility without a means to defend themselves, allowing Ryan to lead the charge as the Rest of Primus Umbra fought onward, quickly dispatching of anyone still armed with the gall to challenge them.
It only took the 4 of them to tear the Concordat base apart from the inside out, a precursor for what they planned to do to Mahren Seth of the Forgotten.
End of Chapter 2