Sibyl guided the jumpship into the small hangar bay of the Order's main location. Only one other ship was parked there, though there was space for a dozen Guardians to be working without feeling claustrophobic. Merlin was transmat out of the ship to the concrete surface and waited for Sibyl to reappear, finding her presence a little comforting in these unfamiliar places. He spotted a Ghost investigating their arrival, but it quickly flew through the doorway by the south eastern wall of the hanger.
They hurried over to the foyer of the office space to introduce themselves and were met by a human Titan. His legs, clad in polished Dunemarchers, were resting upon the desk and his hands were interlocked behind his head. He sported a large beard and styled his hair into a thick flaxen braid down the middle with the sides shaved.
"Ogdan mentioned visitors," he said in a crackly voice. It was as if Zavala's speech was sped up with chips of stone in his throat. Ogdan, this Guardian's Ghost, floated about the Titan's shoulders with a pale blue diamond-shaped shell.
"Identify yourself, Lightbearer."
"Merlin, sir," the Warlock announced. "I'm a newly risen Guardian. Sibyl and I were just at-"
"Why are you here?"
"I intend to join. Ikora-" The Titan burst into hearty laughter.
"Piss off, Newlight," he ordered, wiping tears from his eye. "What in the name of the Traveller possessed you into believing you would be accepted into the Praxic Order?"
"Ikora wished us well when we told her our intention in joining."
"She knows you're here?" Ogdan asked. "Master Siegfried, if the Vanguard are aware, we should consider applicants."
The Titan pondered for a moment, lowering his feet to the floor and leaning forward, but ultimately reclined again shaking his head.
"We've nothing for you, Newlight," he said. "The last two Exos that joined died their final death too, so perhaps this is a blessing in disguise for you."
"He's not like other Exos," Sibyl interjected, swinging around to hover between the Guardians. "He reminds me of what I hear Osiris was like before The Last City's walls were put up." Whether a trick of the light, or a spark of arc Light in Siegfried's eye, a twinkle flashed from his eye as a thought struck him.
"Well, there is potentially something, but you're too inexperienced for it."
"Tell me what I need to do," Merlin pleaded.
"Like anyone fresh out of the grave, go see Shaw Han in the Cosmodrome. He'll give you more of the basics. Just how little of the Light have you wielded yet?"
"He's glided and dropped a solar grenade on a horde of Hive chasing us up a building," Sibyl answered.
"You haven't even cast your Super!" The man once again fell into a laughing fit. "And you want to join us. Merlin, was it? If you ever change your mind on this career, perhaps you have one in comedy."
"I'll head over to Shaw then," the Warlock said. He sharply turned to exit with Sibyl scrambling to keep up. "There was no need for that… Is joining really that ridiculous?"
"I wouldn't say so," Sibyl responded reassuringly. She transported her Guardian into his seat aboard the ship once they were close enough. "But he's not wrong about being inexperienced, and that would just be a safety concern."
"How far is the Cosmodrome?" Merlin asked, flicking the various switches around his console that he noticed were previously flipped.
"A bit further than where you woke. Don't worry, you won't be bored though! I'll tell you about the other species in Sol and some of the past times some Guardians enjoy like the Crucible or Gambit."
"I'm still surprised Zavala allowed anything close to what the Drifter proposed," Merlin said as the rusted and abandoned colony ships that dotted the wasteland began to pop up over the horizon.
"He really did cause a bit of a schism between the Guardians; some backing Drifter, others backing the Vanguard," Sibyl concluded.
"How did he even get that many Taken?" The Ghost shook her shell, unsure herself of the answer. Merlin sat back, relinquishing control of the ship to Sibyl to fly between the pointed structures, doomed to collapse centuries after the collapse of Humanity's Golden Age. She brought them over the Divide, a colossal wall encapsulating the Cosmodrome, and gently descended to the basin where Shaw operates from.
The sound of Merlin materialising nearby, fully geared with all he'd collected at the Tower, caught the Vanguard Operative's attention. The Hunter peaked around his equipment and storage piled up about him.
"A new face," Shaw said with a glimpse of delight. "Good timing too! How much action have you seen? Navôta's brood is growing bold again; I need you to cull their numbers a bit."
"Shaw Han?" And who's Navôta?" the Warlock asked. "I've shot at and ran from a bunch of what Sibyl tells me are Hive."
Shaw clapped his hands together and briefly pointed at Merlin. "I'm Shaw Han, yes. Navôta, is the oversized Wizard that killed my fireteam who's burrowed themselves into somewhere in the Jovian Complex, just passed the Skywatch."
"And you want us to go in?"
"Just to push back a few dozen handfuls of Thralls and some Knights. Maybe a Wizard or two, but I doubt any will actually come out – they're mostly just causing trouble and not really anything planned or impactful."
"We'll take care of it," Sibyl said eagerly. Merlin shot a concerned look to her. "What? You handled yourself well when I resurrected you. Taking care of a few Hive, with the new gear you've got and knowing what to expect? You'll do fine. At worst, if they tear you apart, I'll just bring you back in one piece after they leave."
"Well, the worst case scenario is they don't kill you, bring you back to Navôta, and she kills you outright," Shaw warned. "Probably not what'll happen, but however unlikely, it's possible."
"You two really know how to easy someone's anxiety," Merlin said sarcastically.
"You'll do great. Ghost-"
"Sibyl," she corrected him. "My Guardian's name is Merlin, by the way."
"Noted. Sibyl, project a map of the Cosmodrome for us; I'll point out where I need you to go." Sibyl's bright green eye shone beams of light down against the cleared surface next to Shaw. A moderately detailed overview of the surrounding area.
Shaw pointed to a small icon by the southern border of the map.
"This triangle-looking thing is you. If you join a fireteam for a mission, they'll also show up on here," he said, then traced along a path across it. "I need you to follow this river over to the Forgotten Shore, then hang a left and up the road to the Terrestrial Complex. Taking out what Hive are in there should do enough damage that they'll pull back."
"Just that far? No need to get any closer to Navôta?" Merlin asked, seeking reassurance.
"That's it!" Shaw said with a smile. "I've put in a request to the Vanguard for a Strike team to go in and take her out for good. Hoping to hear back soon."
"Sounds simple enough. Sibyl, could you make my sparrow appear?"
"No please for me?" she teased.
"Please." A few meters to his left, Merlin witnessed his vehicle appear. He mounted it and looked down at the handlebars.
"Lean left or right to turn. Push the handlebars forward to go forward, and pull to stop," Shaw explained. Merlin rotated right, then left, and stopped as he returned to his starting place. He got a firm hold of the handlebars, brace himself, then shot forward.
Merlin streaked along the coast and made landfall in the Mothyards; a hilly graveyard of rusted aeroplanes (some airborne vehicle used in the Golden Age until jumpships were commonplace). He reached the small river Shaw mentioned just seconds later, and slowed a little to maintain control through the winding canyon. Following the instructions, he banked left to rise up the broken road leading to his objective.
"Let's come up with a game plan before we go in," Sibyl said over Merlin's helmet comms system. The sparrow came to a stop in the shadow of the crumbling building where he dismounted and drew his Trax Lysis II. "First off, when you want to switch weapons, you can just drop whatever you're using and reach behind yourself for the other. I'll make sure your guns are safe for as long as I'm within reach."
"Got it," Merlin nodded. "What do you suggest for inside?"
"Move steadily. Aim true. Shoot to kill."
"I know they're more or less just bugs, but they have to be killed?"
"The Hive are obsessed with death and inflicting it upon others to gain strength," Sibyl said. "I'll tell you more about the Sword Logic, that's what they call it, once we're safe."
Merlin anchored the stock of the rifle into his shoulder and settled his face against the cheekpiece then slowly walked inside. The cold stagnant water enveloped his foot as he stepped into a dip in the rubble that littered the room. More rusted Golden Age vehicles spotted the area. As Merlin came to the corner of each, he paused for a moment then swung around it, prepared to fire. Nought but his scuffed footsteps and dripping water echoed in the concrete room. He proceeded to the next room, clearing smaller side rooms with glass-less windows as he went through. The hallway, painted red and grey, that connected this room to the upstairs storage area contained only a dimly lit metal staircase. The steel step groaned under the lightest bit of pressure of Merlin's boot. Chitinous chatter came from above in response.
"Gliding up will probably be quieter," Sibyl suggested, seemingly from within the Guardian's own mind. Merlin slowly retracted his step and through the Light, launched himself upward to the next floor. Just ten meters ahead, hunched over facing the grime coated corner of the corridor connecting the stairs and the storage room, was an emaciated form no taller than a teenage human. Sibyl whispered again from within the helmet. "Thrall – Hive's lowest rank. The other forms evolve from these. You can risk alerting the rest of the nest with a shot, or kill it with your melee ability or a sword swing."
Merlin released his hold on the scout rifle and reached over his right shoulder to grab the hilt of his Nasreddin. Sibyl caught the Trax Lysis II before it clattered on the concrete floor. The sword was lifted and readied upright. Merlin crept closer and once he was within a couple of meters of the foul insectoid, he lunged forward. The Thrall was cleaved cleanly in two from it's clavicle to it's hip, letting out a fleeting cry. Merlin froze, listening.
Familiar screeches rang out from deeper within the building; thunderous footsteps followed. Sibyl caught the sword as Merlin reached back for his scout rifle again. He pressed on into the darkness, coming to the packed warehouse. Tall, thin bars of orange light spread out across the walls was all that provided a source to make out shapes in the room. He rushed into a position across from the exit. Just beyond it was another staircase, but the doorframe made it near impossible to see into the warehouse before entering.
"Line 'em up," Merlin said to himself, looking through the optics. Dozens of Thrall poured down the stairs, trampling and climbing over one another. As the first ugly head appeared, the Warlock took his first shot. "Knock 'em down."
Casings jingled rhythmically as round after round shot true, finding it's target. The chitinous bodies quickly began to block the door, so the Thralls began to crawl along the walls and ceiling.
"This looks like a good time to try the fusion rifle," Sibyl said, materialising it against her Guardian's back. He brought it in front of himself and pulled the trigger. "It builds up a charge before firing – hold the trigger down!"
The Exo adhered to the instruction and held tight as the pressure built within his hands. Seven purple bolts erupted from the barrel, connecting with three Thrall clinging to the wall. Each sublimed into purple dust that fluttered away on a breeze. He quickly processed the weapon's impact and fired another burst into the crowd. The numbers were beginning to dwindle, then the pile of corpses was flung into the room and standing in the doorway was a form easily twice the size, and four times the weight of the Thralls, shielded by an aura of Arc energy. It stood holding an organic blade and it's three luminous, beady green eyes focused on the Guardian.
"That, is a Knight," Sibyl said with a little panic in her voice. More fusion rifle bolts ripped through the air but were stopped by the Knight's barrier, as if it absorbed the shots. "Use your sword."
"You really believe I can go toe to toe with that?"
"Trust me!" Merlin swapped to his Nasreddin and rushed at the Knight, dragging the blade along the ground before swinging up strongly through the creature. As he approached, the Knight attempted to slice into the Guardian, but missed by just a few centimeters. The Nasreddin caught in the natural armour plating but the power infused into the blade reacted violently with the Knight's shield, causing it to rupture and magnify the strike against it.
"Thanks for the advice," Merlin said with exasperated breathing. The remaining Thralls watched as the Knight was knocked back, the luminescence fading from it's eyes and retreated in fear.
"Any time! Looks like we've cleared out as many as we need to. We should head back to Shaw and let him know."
The white sparrow arrived by Shaw with a thin film of mud and dust on the underside of it. Merlin rolled off the vehicle and laid on the dirt for a moment breathing heavily, before he could stand to recap his micro-mission.
"Sounds like that Knight was a little bigger than most," Shaw noted. "You're probably lucky just one showed up. If it wasn't abnormally big, and there's more like it in there, I'll press the Vanguard to speed up the fireteam selection process."
"It should be enough to satisfy the Praxic Order?" Merlin asked.
"The Praxic Order!" the Hunter exclaimed. "You're either brave for a Guardian, or dumb for a Warlock to join them so soon."
"Let's lean toward the former. Is there anything I can show the Titan who sent me your way to say I've gotten some experience in the field?" Shaw looked around and patted himself down, searching for a token of some kind.
"Here," he said as a receipt of a ramen order in The Last City was pulled from his pocket and handed to the Newlight.
"Just a couple days old, so ol' Siggy should be fine with it. A word to the wise; don't tell him to 'chill out.' He's faster than you'd expect in those Dunemarchers of his. Try not to let him bust your bolts too much either. He's one to push lesser experienced Guardians a bit much."
"I'll do my best to remember that, thanks."
Sibyl signalled for the jumpship to make it's way around to meet the pair. She transmat her Guardian aboard and took flight control for him. Along the way back to the Praxic Orders headquarters, she recounted what she knew of the Sword Logic for Merlin, and of the Hive gods. The conspiracy beginning to circulate that Savathûn, the Witch Queen, had infiltrated the Tower in some way was also brought up.
They landed gently in the tight hanger as they had before and waved to Ogdan hanging in the doorway once the Exo was outside the ship. He floated inside again to warn Siegfried of their arrival.
"You're back already!" Siegfried said, relined with his feet back on the desk. "Give up on the job for Han already?" Merlin presented the flimsy slip of paper and the Titan lean in close to inspect it. "What's this supposed to be?"
"Shaw's last receipt for something called ramen," Merlin answered with a gentle smirk.
"Of course it's ramen – it's all those damn Hunters seem to eat. One talks too much about it, then next thing they all were visiting the city for some."
"Does this mean I can take on a mission from you?" Merlin asked. Siegfried huffed dramatically, rifled through file folders in a drawer of the desk and pulled out a thin yellow one. He tossed it onto the surface and it spun to face the recruit.
"There's not much info on it, but Aunor's started collecting info on a possible cult called the "Disciples of the Sword", suspected of mass replicating Weapons of Sorrow. She wants a totally unknown face to infiltrate."