The Queen of Hearts

Chapter 9: Talsiks

Talia hugged her knees as she sat on the floor of a large, stone cell deep in the Fallen complex. Perhaps once it had been the cellar to some golden age corporate building, but now it was a prison. To her right, Daydra leaned against the back wall, flipping a flaming knife in his hand while he thought to himself. Torres sat against the same wall, seeming deeply troubled. Meanwhile, Cayde paced back and forth near the entrance to the cell, analyzing it. They were separated from the outside by an energized shield of familiar white energy. Behind that, Vandal guards patrolled the hall, keeping an eye on them.

Cayde grunted. "I bet I could break through this."

"You can't," said Daydra, not even looking up. "That's the same shield we're here to take out."

"I know that, but… if it's a high velocity shield, shouldn't I be able to break it if I go slowly?"

Daydra sighed and flicked his knife forward. The blade whizzed past Cayde's head and he yelped as it flew straight through the bars and the shield, hitting the wall on the other side. The Fallen guards growled and waved their spears as a warning.

Cayde frowned. "I don't understand, the shield should have stopped that, right?"

"Look at the way the energy pulses heavy and slow. Very different from the energetic hum of the shield we saw before."

"That means-"

"It's a low velocity shield," Torres cut in, glaring at the contraption from under his long, curly hair. "Talsiks figured out how to manipulate the energy to stop slow-moving objects as well. Perfect for keeping us contained."

Cayde crossed his arms. "It was common sense to take our weapons, the bastards. They better believe I'm coming back for my Ace. But, it was genius to utilize his tech against us this way." He turned back to the center of the room and glanced down at Talia. His brow furrowed. He didn't like seeing her that way. "Maybe we could just break down one of these walls? My connection to Sundance is faint, but perhaps I could muster-"

"What's the point?!" Talia suddenly burst out saying. "Even if we do escape… they'll just kill our ghosts. And give us our final deaths."

Cayde knelt next to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"She's right," said Daydra. "Talsiks is smart. Far smarter than we could have imagined. Not to mention, his tech is far advanced past what we expected. The ability to extract ghosts from guardians…" A darkness befell his eyes, haunted by what he had seen. "I never could have imagined. And now we're down a guardian to boot."

Torres spat in anger. "We shouldn't have left her down there."

"It was her choice, but I do wish it had gone differently."

Talia lifted her head slightly. "You would have taken her place."

"Yes. I would have."

She shook her head. "I'm not losing you too." She raised a hand to squeeze Cayde's arm, letting him know she was okay. "I'm not losing anyone else."

"Respectfully, Kestrel, that is not something you can decide… but we can take measures against it. We will honor Vespa by fighting for humanity until the end."

"But how do we fight when we're locked up in here?" she asked softly.

This time Cayde spoke up confidently. "All hope isn't lost yet! We still have one ace in the hole. Shiro is still out there, and I believe he will find a way to get us out of this. As long as we have our scout, we'll be okay."

"You mean this scout?" A gravelly voice called out from the darkness.

The guardians jumped and Talia scrambled to her feet as the energy shield suddenly died and the iron bars peeled back, revealing the hulking form of Talsiks. And in his hands-

"Shiro!" Talia yelled.

Talsiks tossed Shiro into the cell with the rest of them. Cayde leaped forward and caught his friend. "Damnit Shiro, I'm sorry. I just had to go and jinx it."

The yellow-caped Hunter coughed and slowly blinked, his mechanical eyes focusing in on Cayde. "They cornered me soon after the blast," he said weakly. "Such numbers… and Cayde, they took my ghost. Stole him right from inside me."

"I know buddy. Us too."

Talsiks grunted, staring down at them with all four of his hands clasped behind his back like they were animals in a cage. "He wasn't hard to find. I had hoped for more of a challenge from the fabled guardians that defeated my kin beneath the Great Machine. I will never understand why it chose you. But, I have learned a great deal from this encounter." He cracked a smile at that. "You have proven excellent test subjects for my latest creation," he said, gesturing to the claw machine still on his arm that he had used to extract Torres' ghost. "Now we have a reliable way of removing your perceived immortality."

"They're ghosts!" Talia said angrily. "And they have names! Consciousness! Created by the Traveler itself!"

Talsiks glared at her, his two cybernetic eyes flashing red. "They are machines, just like their creator. The Traveler, as you call it, once graced our planet many centuries ago. It blessed us with an age of prosperity, not unlike your Golden Age. But then it abandoned us, and the Whirlwind destroyed everything we had built. Most of my people still regard the Great Machine as a holy being. A god. But I see it for what it truly is. Just a machine. And I will do whatever necessary to figure out how it works, starting with you and your ghosts."

Talia saw red. "You leave Reeki alone!" she screamed, charging him.

"Talia no!" Cayde leapt up and tried to stop her but it was too late. Talsiks smashed a fist across her face and sent her flying into a side wall.

"You have a lot of fire in you, Lightbearer," he said. "Perhaps… I will start with you." He gestured to the guards behind him who rushed into the cell to grab Talia.

"NO!" Cayde yelled. Almost entirely by instinct, a flaming gun appeared in his hands and his entire body exploded with solar energy. The Fallen froze as the gunslinger pointed his weapon of Light at them.

Talsiks, on the other hand, did not even flinch. "Careful now. You pull that trigger and I guarantee you both meet your final deaths." He nodded to the guards to continue. Reluctantly, they pulled Talia off the floor and dragged her out of the cell.

Cayde clenched his metal jaw. They were taking her away. Was he really going to let them? He didn't think he could. The sights on his golden gun drifted to Talsiks' head, and his finger began to squeeze.

"It's okay."

Talia's voice cut right through Cayde's fear and rage. He blinked, and softened the tension in his trigger finger.

"It's okay," she repeated as they continued to drag her away. "Don't worry about me. Just stay alive!"

It felt to Cayde like every joint in his robotic body were about to snap. His body was getting ready to act, when a hand landed on his shoulder. He turned to see the Daydra's eyes glow bright through the Nighthawk helmet. "There is nothing we can do," said the veteran. "I know how difficult this is, but do not throw yourself away for nothing."

"Wise words," said Talsiks. He watched them intently, as if genuinely interested in their reactions. "I see the rest of you understand the situation you're in. You could kill me right here where I stand, but if you do, your ghosts are ordered to be destroyed. You would not last long without your precious Light. Now, I trust you to behave until I return. I have big plans for you all." With that he stepped out of the cell and the shield reactivated. "Until then, guardians," he said from the other side. Then he disappeared once more into the darkness.

Daydra patted Cayde's shoulder. "Be strong for her." Then he went to help Shiro to his feet. "Glad to see you're alive, but truth be told I had hoped it would be under different circumstances."

"Me too," said Shiro, rubbing his mechanical forehead. "We're in deep trouble now, aren't we?"

"I'm afraid so."

The exo hunter glanced around the room, coming back to his full senses at last. "Where's Vespa?"

Daydra sighed. "Come over here and rest for a moment. I'll catch you up to speed."

From his place against the far wall, Torres watched the other four as they came to terms with their situation in their own ways. They were so full of sadness, uncertainty and fear. But he didn't feel any of that. No, instead a different emotion roiled within him. One he did not utilize often. He recalled his futile battle with Talsiks as he had emerged from the sewers, and how he was humiliated before the masses. Then he remembered the feeling of Beowulf being torn out from within him, severely damaging his connection to the Light. And the way his ghost had screamed… After all that, there was only one thing left inside him: Pure, unbridled anger. He held out his hand, where a small fireball began to take shape. He did not use the solar element often, but it felt right at that moment. He smiled as a new plan began to take shape within his mind. "Everyone, I think I have an idea."

"Good," said Cayde, finally turning away from the shield. "Because if we don't do something soon… Talia may not survive."