[IC] Destiny: The Exclusion Zone

[WardenCelestine]

“The current time is twelve thirty in the afternoon, we have been away from The City and The Tower for eighteen hours and forty one minutes with no contact from any friendlies. You are currently running on three hours of sleep and have had nothing to eat as well. If you wouldn’t mind, I am going to take control of the Valkerie-05X while you relax. Our estimated time of arrival to The City and The Tower is five minutes, so let me handle this for you before we end up crashing into the ground and end up getting ourselves killed.” There was no argument from Andromedai after her Ghost named Orion offered to take the controls for her. The mission they had just finished lasted almost a day in length while they tracked down a high value target Fallen that was as elusive as he was skilled in fighting.

The Valkerie-05X barely shifted to the right as the controls were taken over by Orion. “All we have seen is this damn fog for the last couple of hours.” Andromedai crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back in her chair, letting her aching body at least try and relax. It was clear that the Valkerie-05X had now picked up quite a bit of speed since their surroundings moved past them with a blur. “Speaking of fog, you need to acquire the upgrade to your helmets visor that I was talking to you about. It will help you see in the fog and everywhere else your vision might be obscured.” said Orion in an emotionless tone. Since the night before, a heavy lay of fog had moved from the ocean onto the land and was obstructing everyone’s vision that was in the area, both friendlies and hostiles.

The Valkerie-05X pitched back slightly as it reached the end of the immensely dense and lush forest the two had spent the last day inside of. Now the sky was clear and blue, the sun shined brightly down upon the City and the Tower nearby could now be easily seen. The Valkerie-05X curved sharply to the left, leaving vapor trails in the sky as it did. Once close enough to see fellow members walking around all over the multiple levels of The Tower, they quickly decelerated and approached the docking bay. “The shipwright and I have some upgrades we need to talk about. Please go ahead and get something to eat, take a nap, and then go buy those armor and weapon upgrades I recommended.” Andromedai nodded her head at her ghost as Amanda Holliday walked over to them. There was a short friendly greeting as Andromedai explained politely that she had to take her leave and recuperate after a very difficult and long mission.

The docking bay was surprisingly busy for a Friday afternoon but that just meant they were winning the war at least on earth. Every part of Andromeda’s body hurt due to the assignment she and her Ghost Orion had just finished. “A shower would help with feeling sore, but I need to acquire these upgrades as well as find a full hearty meal.” thought Andromedai to herself as she finely started to walk out of the docking bay and into the concourse of The Tower. The shined down upon the city spreading its loving warmth to all, but up above the city a cool gentle breeze blew through The Tower, adding a very pleasant feeling that was rare to experience. The then fatigue hit her hard, motivating her to keep moving and gather what she needed before heading downstairs for food and then a long, much needed, very well deserved sleep.

A couple ships that looked like hers flew overhead surprisingly low as Andromedai walked down the middle of the concourse and into the merchant area that was for Guardians to buy and upgrade equipment. The area had a couple new merchants selling unique items that were of interest to the Hunter but she would need her Ghosts opinion of choosing which items where the best for her and her combat style. Once she was done walking past all of the new merchants and looking at their equipment, she made her way to a large round room with glass windows all along the outside to give an impressive view. Her friend Cayde-6 who supplies her with weapons and gear, motioned for her to come to his side. The two of them talked for a while before Cayde-6 placed a hand on Andromedais left shoulder and looked at her with concern. “One of those Night Hunter missions huh? Here are your upgrades for your weapons and armor. Now go get some rest and find something to eat before you pass out and I have to haul you to the hospital.” With a sharp nod and a thank you she took the upgrades and quickly left.

The rest of the people in the room watched her until she left, closing the door behind her. It was either get food now or do it after going to sleep, a sleep that was most likely going to last over twelve hours. Making the right choice, she moved to the eastern elevator and rode it down alone, waiting till it reached her floor. The doors opened to show quite a few people in the hallway that lead to the café that she spent quite a bit of time at eating and conversing with people she knew. The café overlooked a garden district below that had a large lake filled with fish. Taking a seat upon a soft metal chair with cushions, she let her body relax and eventually fell asleep at the table. A while passed before an Exo woke her up by presenting the food and drink to her free of charge. The sandwich was the first to vanish very quickly followed by the drink she had been given. Another sandwich and drink arrived free of charge and they had the same outcome.

The Exo offered her a third sandwich and asked politely why she was so hungry. The explanation of her mission and what happened caused the Exo to laugh for a moment before her said that he understood. The next moment, Andromedai found herself inside of her apartment on the tower with no explanation on how she ended up there. Her whole mind and body felt better than ever before while she lay upon her back looking at the ceiling above her, the rooms air-conditioning lightly blowing over her body. “Glad to see you are awake Andromedai, you passed out inside of the Café and the Exo brought you home where I have been watching and monitoring you while you were sleeping. I do hope we learned our lesson here my friend, I take it you are feeling better?” asked Orion while Andromedai propped herself up with some pillows to the point of which she was in a sitting position.

“I am feeling quite honestly the best I have felt since you brought me back. I have a question though…” asked Andromedai while Orion waited patiently. “You said you had something to tell me after I had everything taken care of.” Orion floated over to Andromeda’s left side where he played a message that came from The Speaker Himself, addressed to her by name. “Guardian Andromedai, as you undoubtedly know, The City has been attacked at random times over the last month from a new Fallen clan that calls themselves the House of Blight. This House of Blight has only grown in size and force since we first spotted them. Each time they attack, their armor, weapons, and tactics change for the better as if some outside force is assisting them. I am sure you are familiar with the zones dark history, as well as the stories fellow Guardians tell about the fallen that reside there."

"They say these Fallen are more aggressive, violent, and much more skilled than the regular ones you find elsewhere. That is why I want an experienced Guardian who is very well trained to enter the Exclusion Zone with a team of similar Guardians. With your knowledge of the area, your veteran combat experience across the galaxy, your experience with leading Special Forces squads and tactical superiority, I have chosen you to lead this mission. You are to report to the lower level hanger where a pilot nicknamed Nova is currently waiting for you. I have also sent a number of messages to each of your squad mates telling them to report to the lower level hanger and to report to you. Alongside your fellow Guardians the Queen personally requested that one allied Fallen she is familiar with join you on your mission, he will have priceless information and his skills will be greatly valued."

"Once all of you are on board the IPF-D77 ship, I will give you the rest of the information you will need for your mission.” The message ended and Andromedai sat there, letting it all soak in. “He did say you could take your time but I advise we get moving immediately Andromedai, all your gear and equipment is in the locker next to you.” Andromedai nodded her head and quickly moved onto her feet. A short while would pass before she had all of her equipment, gear, and weapons at the read for whatever came from this mission. “He said a IPF-D77 correct? That is an older model shuttle, I wonder why we will be taking one of those and not a newer high-class ship?” Asked Andromedai to Orion as the two of them walked out of the apartment complex and took the elevator all to the lower hanger. “The new shuttles are fantastic and I do like them more than the older model but the IPF-D77 is an amazing ship as well. It can take serious punishment before anyone has to be concerned, it is also virtually silent while cruising and is extremely difficult for radar and other devices of the such to locate."

"That is why I think the Speaker chose this ship over one of the newer ones, we are not leaving earth anyway, for now at least.” There was a pause after Andromedai shrugged at Orion’s words. “I can’t remember what the inside of the ship looks like but if the Speaker himself picked it out it must be quite nice inside.” After ten minutes of walking, the two of them came to the hanger, a large metal door separating them from it. Her ghost Orion quickly moved to the control panel and opened it for her. The inside of the hanger was massive and had ships of all types, but their ship was what caught and held Andromeda’s attention. “I can see why he likes the IPF-D77, have to say this is one amazing looking aircraft, let’s just hope it looks as good on the inside as it does on the outside.” said Andromedai before she walked across the metal floor over to Nova. This black haired pilot was leaning against the back of the IPF-D77, her legs slightly crossed in front of her as she read a large book about golden age ships.

“Hello are you Nova?” asked Andromedai only a second or so before the pilot raised her head and nodded at her with a smile. “I am Nova, your pilot for the day and may I say you are going to love this ship. I added my own customizations to it as well as a couple extra bells and whistles that make this the best dropship in the entire galaxy, well…at least I like to think so.” There was a pause as she closed the book and tossed it into the back of the ship. “I was informed of your mission and saw the list of the Guardians who will be joining you. All of them are fantastic Guardians but one of them is not even a day old from his rebirth. He needs gear, equipment, weapons, and I hear his class trainer is working out some last minute details to send him a crate full of everything he will need for the mission. I requested that it could be dropped off here inside of the changing room and locker area but have yet to hear anything about it.” As if on que, the door opened behind Andromedai when two Exo’s walked in carrying a large metallic chest.

They walked right past Andromedai and Nova as if they did not exist and placed it inside of the changing and locker room area. One their way out, one of Exo’s nodded at Andromedai mere seconds before the large metal door to the hanger closed behind them. “Well, Galen Vassar has just had his gear delivered, now we get to wait for the rest of the crew.” Said Nova as Orion quickly went over to the box and scanned its contents. “This is the best gear you can buy from the Titan Class merchant, and he is getting it for free? Someone sure is feeling generous today, to bad this didn’t happen more often.” said Orion before returning to Andromedai. “Would you like to see the inside of my ship?” asked Nova who slid the side doors open. Inside it still looked as if it belonged to the military but that of someone who was of the highest rank. “You have to be kidding me, where did you manage, how did you manage to make this?” asked Andromedai who stepped inside and walked around looking at absolutely everything with a sense of awe.

“It’s a long story, an engineer friend of mine found some old blueprints of an executive shuttle from the golden age. He improvised with random parts and materials and created this, I always enjoy watching someone react to the first time they see it. We had some higher-ups tell us this was a waste of resources but when it can be made in less than a week with very common supplies they backed off, in truth I think they just wanted it for themselves. Ah, the ship has a gravity stabilizer even when flying inside of the atmosphere. So let's say if we were flying upside down, none of you would know unless you looked out the window. It makes all flights feel completely smooth and turbulent free.” said Nova with a soft laugh before walking to the front of the ship and jumping inside of the cockpit. “I have some preflight work and safety measures I need to do before we can leave, so go ahead and have fun back there.” The door separating the two rooms shut with a soft hissing sound then a ping. Andromedai nodded her head and continued to search through the IPF-D77, to intrigued at the moment to realize the fact that the rest of her squad would be arriving shortly.

What the exterior and interior of the IPF-D77 shuttle looks like.

[Zetsuko]

Zeruel was pacing back and forth, around him were the corpses of a Cabal patrol bearing the marking of the Blind Legion. his ghost, Veruna is currently extracting data off of the centurion that was in command. He spoke out to his ghost his voice only coming as distorted static and incoherent noise. "I've almost got it all...there" the voice of his ghost responded. Veruna floated back up and at that moment received a message from the speaker. The ghost played it out and Zeruel was intrigued by the message's contents, a new Fallen Clan? that got his attention. He nodded to his ghost and the two vanished from the dead patrol scene and a moment later their jumpship was bound from mars's orbit for the tower.

Zeruel phased into existence on the main platform of the tower as his ship docked into the tower's hanger. He was suppose to meet up with a team at the hanger but he decided to resupply first while he was there. He walked over to the vault terminals, the passing of his fireteam had seen him inheriting their vaults and the impressive cache of weapons, armor, materials, and glimmer within them, though, when he accessed his vault all he took was some ammo synthesis kits before resealing the vault. After that and one other stop by the gunsmith he made his way to the hanger, spotting the ship he would meet the rest of the striketeam at and walking toward it paying no attention to anything else within the hanger.

[Apollosarcher]

Spectre had just left his ship, he'd flown out to Venus just after breakfast and was now arriving back a large bag at his side. Torren spoke up. "You know the Speaker and Zavala told you not to sneak in fruits from Venus, Guardians aren't supposed to leave the Tower."

Spectre clicked his helmet off as Torren placed it in storage for him. "Relax, besides rations are getting thin with the recent attacks and-" He Hunter cut off by a taller stepping in his way, Zavala.

Zavala spoke to him in voice that carried dignity and contempt for the Hunter before him. "What's in the bag Hunter?" Spectre grinned and punched himself in the shoulder, his gauntlets did the rest as turned invisible and ran away. He rushed off the side off the building and leaped.

Torren spoke as they fell. "You realize he'll just punish you later?" The Ghost ignoring the danger of the fall.

Spectre rolled his eyes watching carefully. "Torren, Cayde still owes me for breaking him out of Tower duty last week, Ikora thinks what I'm doing is noble." He stuck his tongue out at the Ghost before he jumped off the air twenty feet from ground jumped again just before impacting the ground. He learned how to survive jumps like that the day Eris had requested a fireteam investigate Crota, he'd jumped into the Hellmouth... Not an experience worth repeating. They didn't make it to far in just cleared out a few things for a later fire team.

He landed in the street, of by now he had returned to being visible and Zavala would have Titans down here in a heartbeat to secure him. Yet arranged outside were close to twenty children, he sat down and began to pass out fruit to them. Then his ghost materialized the guide book Guardians were given, most of these were passed between generations of Guardians each left notes. However on the first page of his guide book had been a excerpt of a poem, one he read constantly and told the orphans who he visited. Even the normal crowds gathered to here a Guardian read, he was hope to them.

The Hunter read softly the children crowding in close to him. "Now this is the law of the jungle, as old and as true as the sky, and the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die. As the creeper that girdles the tree trunk, the law runneth forward and back; for the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack." He said before standing up. Giving out the rest of the food one little girl tugged on his cloak.

He looked at the child before and she asked a question many novice Guardians had once asked him. "What does the poem mean?"

Torren and Spectre exchanged knowing glances. "It means my strength is my pack, you and everyone else in the city. That your strength is me, the wolf who protects you from harm." She smiled at that and ran off to join her friends. He turned the page and looked at the name that sat above his own in book. His name next to a true legends, Andral Brask the former Hunter Vanguard. As he put the book away a Titan had arrived to escort him back upstairs. Torren looked at him. "I really hope we don't get another one of Ikora's 'special assignments', last time we nearly died." Spectre chuckled that had been a fun assignment.

[Lemons]

Aiden-12 awoke to the sound of his Ghost.

"Aiden! Aiden, I said get up! Seriously, you might want to know about this!"

Grumbling, Aiden shoved the little floating menace away, turning over and planting his face firmly in his pillow. His entire body was sore from his last mission. Grimacing, he muttered, "I hate Cabal..." under his breath a few times before his Ghost nudged him again.

"Aiden, be serious! There's something important happening in the Tower!"

Rolling over to look at his Ghost, Aiden blinked his eyes blearily a few times. "How important?"

Having finally gotten his Guardian's attention, the Ghost spoke rapidly. "One of the Hunters, Andromedai, I think her name was, is heading off on that really, really nice shuttle that's been hanging around the shipyard recently. I overheard her and the captain talking about some sort of mission, and it seems rather interesting. On top of that, she got a message from the Speaker only a few minutes before I got one." Its voice took on an accusatory tone for the next bit of speech as it continued: "You were still asleep. It's taken me nearly an hour to wake you! Seems like it's about the same one, and there's yet another Fallen house that we have to check out. We're supposed to report to the same shuttle that I saw her going to. That important enough for you?"

Aiden blinked a few more times, then sighed. It did seem interesting. Strapping on his armour and grabbing his weapons from the locker nearby (taking special care with his beloved Hard Light), he arrayed them upon his body in a fashion that didn't encumber him overly much before yawning once more and setting out for the shipyard. Upon reaching it, he picked out the large dropship with ease. Not too difficult, after all, with it looking so different from all the others. Slightly readjusting the armour strapped to his chest, he walked up to the cockpit, knocking on it to catch the attention of the captain inside, speaking loudly to be heard through the glass shielding.

"Aiden-12. This is the IPF-D77 shuttle, right? I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to report here."

[Sylverblu]

A thick, purple mist blew about the dimly lit room, nearly obscuring it. The Baron sat on a bed, taking deep breaths of the fresh, life-giving ether that coated the room. The room was silent, save for the deeper and deeper breaths emanating from the resting Fallen, and the periodic deep, robotic sounds that came from the Servitor to his left. It was rare for a Fallen to be able to remove their helmet and life support systems, having migrated to the toxic Earth centuries ago. But here, in his own tiny slice of the world, Kazik was able to enjoy not only the comfort of an atmosphere similar to his "homeworld," but also the impossibly rare silence which he loved.

Peace at last, Kazik thought. I scoff at any who claim that quiet is not a form of art.

It was not meant to last, however. The miniature Servitor seemingly piped up, turning its attention to the airlock. The outside door opened, and there was a pause. Kazik sighed as he awaited what could only be his next order. There was a pause, a leak of detoxifying gas in the middle chamber, and finally, a hiss as the inner door opened. In stepped a frame, simple in its purpose. Kazik knew this frame all too well. This was the soulless creature which the Vanguards often deployed to him when they were too lazy or too afraid to contact him on their own.

"Eyes up, Eliksni." Kazik raised his eyes from his hands, and realized that he had been mistaken. Perhaps he had been too tired, or too careless, or too angry to pay proper attention, but this was not a frame. In stepped a creature unfamiliar to him: a short, yet undeniably powerful human of dark complexion. She carried herself with great pride and great strength, yet the wisdom in her eye only provided one possibility as to her identity, and the robes which she wore only served to confirm.

"Ikora Rey, Warlock Vanguard of the Tower. You're younger than I might have expected," Kazik said in deep, vibrating tones. Having adopted them once already into adulthood, the Earth tongues still posed a minor challenge to him, and the accent of his history shone through like light through glass.

"I don't have time for pleasantries, and neither do you. You have an assignment."

"But of course."

"Report to the hangar, section two, docking bay thirteen. An IPF-D77 group shuttle will be waiting for you." Kazik paused. Typically, he was only called forth to deliver information, or perhaps to investigate a Fallen House on his own. However, one word stood out to Kazik when he heard the Vanguard's comment.

"Group?" The Warlock sighed.

"Yes, Kazik, group. You'll be a member of a group of Guardians investigating some... issues we've been having of late. Issues with Fallen. We might need your help analyzing their tactics and whatnot. Now grab your equipment and get going. And for the love of God," she took a moment to look about the room for a moment, "turn on some lights." As the woman left the airlock with a hiss, Kazik took his last deep inhale of fresh Ether. The servitor let out an electronic groan, and disappeared in a purple wave towards Kazik, entering a sort of existential limbo inside of Kazik's equipment. The Fallen Baron stood up and walked to a locker, alive with cyan light. As he opened it, he noted four objects. One was familiar enough, but the three remaining he looked upon at once with distain and delight. They were dusty and a bit stuck, signs of a great age without use. A shock pistol, which he placed behind his hip. A shock rifle, which he slung over his left shoulder. Finally, a wire rifle, which he slung over the other. Returning to the first, most familiar object. Kazik paused. While this was the most familiar, and most used of his tools, something felt strange about putting it on in this way. Usually, it only served the purpose of providing life support. Well, that and not terrifying the Guardians which saw him. Today however, it was a piece of armor. Something to protect him from death, and a symbol of fear which his enemies would remember. Donning the helmet with the black stripes, Kazik gathered himself.

Stepping to the airlock, he grabbed something from a hook on the wall: a tattered black cloth with a white symbol on it. Something for his enemies to remember, and something to remind Kazik of his origins. He stepped into the inner chamber as he wrapped the cloth around the back of his armor, and the door shut behind him.

Hiss

As he was cleansed of any residual ether or otherwise foreign gases, Kazik sighed, saying a silent goodbye to the comfort of his home. The outmost door opened, and he stepped out.

I suppose this had to happen at some point. Onwards.

* * *

Kazik stepped up to the ship to which he was assigned and observed the already present.

"Kazik, of House Sin. I am here to help you, help which you will most certainly need, yes?" The Fallen took a pause and looked about inquisitively, still analyzing the other creatures.

[Brasslazer]

Kala was in a bit of a dry spell. Her last mission, a simple assassination of a Cabal commander, had gone smoothly as usual; that was six months ago. Her Guardian colleagues that she often teamed up with were all on personal matters, and she didn't work well alone. The last six months had been endless training, keeping her ready for the next mission. She went to a shooting range in the eastern part of the City. It was seedy, but it was the best shooting practice you could get, besides an actual mission.

She was shooting her way through the Vex targets, having blasted a round of bullets right in a fake Hobgoblin's stomach, when her Ghost Velox chimed up.

"Ma'am, the Speaker has sent you a transmission. Do you accept?" the little droid droned in a monotone voice.

"Of course. I've been needing fieldwork." Kala said, slinging her SUROS Regime back onto her back. She was excited. A mission straight from the Speaker had to be important. Kala's eyes followed Velox as he floated away from the shooting gallery. The Speaker's message began emitting from the Ghost's tiny speaker. It explained the House of Blight, her mission to enter the Exclusion Zone with a group, and where to go to rendezvous for the mission. After it was finished, Kala nodded her head to her ghost and began walking towards the Tower.

"Thanks you, Velox. We need to get to this ship as soon as possible." She said, quickening her pace. Not only was it important to fight this dangerous new House sooner rather than later, but she also would need time to become familiar with her teammates.

---

As she stepped into the out-of-date ship, Kala could see the several of the group's other Guardians were inside, as well as the Fallen she was informed they would be working with. She had fought through Variks' Prison of Elders many times before, so she knew she could probably trust this Fallen, though he was far larger than Variks. She was a bit worried on how other, less open-minded Guardians might take it; that was something that could jeopardize this crucial mission. Taking her place next to the alien being, she loudly introduced herself to all present.

"Hello, fellow Guardians. My name is Kala Janas. I am an Awoken Sunsinger, here to assist you on your mission against the House of Blight."

[ShiningSector]

"Incoming! Get behind me, now!"

A swelling surge of condensed Arc energy vomited forth from an assaulting Hive Knight's Boomer and made headway for a group of organised Guardians. The Fireteam comprised of four wielders of the Traveler's Light though each was uniquely special in their own right. There was Zack, a recently reborn Gunslinger Hunter whom also as of late, learned of his key talent of the Golden Gun. Howl-23, a Warlock whom also had been just days ago blessed and imbued with revitalizing Light back into his near-human inner works had quickly grasped the concepts of the devastating Void infused Nova Bomb; a feared skill only native to the Voidwalkers. Then there was Sonya the Titan, while also being relatively new to her contemporary life as a Guardian had already mastered her innate abilities as a Striker; specifically the fearsome Fist of Havoc.

But the forth member of the group was far more experienced and intimidating in physical being compared to his newborn counterparts and was perhaps the sole factor of attention the Knight and its own cronies of Acolytes and Thralls were more concerned with. Simon was also a Guardian and a Titan as well but unlike his troupe of recruits still wearing nothing but their durable bodysuits and scavenged cloth and robes their own Ghosts had put together, he was fully armored from head to toe, seals and insignias of the Vanguard and the Lords of the Iron Banner engraved into the finely shaped Plasteel covering his body.

Just before the Arc-based mortar could connect, Simon summoned the Light within him and casted a great dome of Void energy around his team, known as the Ward of Dawn. The round fired from the Knight's Boomer impacted the bubble and dispersed harmlessly as it's own energies were converted and then generated into Orbs of Lights. In stubborn frustration, the Hive doubled their efforts and charged forward at the seemingly trapped, discharging more Arc mortars and now Void darts at the Defender's barrier as a swarm of Thrall made a mad dash for the Guardians, the lanky and skeletal-like abominations hungry for their Light.

"On my signal, back out of the bubble as fast as you can! I'm going to bring them all in one spot. Understood?" said Simon while he maintained his Ward of Dawn.

"Yes, sir!" the other Guardians respectively confirmed in unison.

Despite their own decrepitness, the Thralls were ever-surprisingly nimble and in no time were already on top of the barrier, lunging at the Guardians within and wanting nothing more but to tear their apart.

"Now!" ordered Simon once the first Thrall's hideous maw phased through the Ward.

Zack quickly Blinked out from existance while Howl-23 and Sonya jumped out with haste, leaving only Simon as the bubble's only occupant and dish to the hungry Thralls. But what the Hive didn't know what they they were the ones who were trapped. Almost immediately, the violet light brimming from Simon's heavily plated earthborn Centurion-like helm glowed intensely and so did the Ward of Dawn until its Light radiated in the same likeness as a star. The nearby Thralls and Acolytes screeched in displeasure as their eyes were overloaded by the untamable light before them, halting their attack where as the Knights in the rear shielded their faces, unable to fight with the current state of affairs against them.

While the minions of the Hive were stunned, Simon dematerialized the Ward of Dawn and raised his Auto Rifle up and took aim. "They're stunned, this is your chance! Finish them off!"

The Guardian recruits gladly replied as they summoned their Light powered abilities and unleashed them upon the still flinching living-husks of the Hive. Sonya leaped into the horde of Thralls with Arc lighting dazzling from her combined fists and slammed into the earth, destroying rock and bone alike as her Fist of Havoc went off like a thunderclap that echoed throughout Cosmodrome Rocket Yard. Howl-23 too jumped into the air and with a menacing sphere of swirling Void energy formed in his hands, the Exo Warlock casted the the terrifying Nova Bomb upon the line of Acolytes who were too late to react after recovering from their blindness and soon were vaporized after the Nova Bomb made contact. Zack as quick as ever, ignited his own Handcannon with Solar energy, infusing the conventional weapon with fiery Light and fired the Golden Gun. Intense streams of Solar spewed forth from the muzzle and shot right through the carnage and nailed three Knights in their weathered skulls, instantly incinerating them upon contact.

Simon was a tad surprised on how the recruits were able to respond and utilize their specials talents in such efficient ways; he never got to even pull the trigger of his Auto Rifle the moment he gave the attack order. As the ash and dust cleared there was nothing remaining of the Hive force. In fact, for the moment, the entire Rocket Yard had been cleansed of its alien violators as savaged Hive husks and broken Fallen bodies laid unmoving across the snow and rust covered landscape.

"All hostiles have been eliminated. Good job you three!" Cipher, Simon's personal Ghost announced as the tiny machine materialized into reality. "I'll call in the strike order. Commander Zavala will be most pleased that another Strike Team was able to reach their objective on time."

Just after Cipher's sentence had ended, the roaring engines of three Jumpships entering the local airspace came overhead, the shadows of the large craft quickly past over the ground as three new heavily armed Guardians and their Sparrows quickly came into view, having been beamed down from their individual Jumpships. The trio sped by the accomplished Fireteam without a word but had saluted and even waved to them before making their way to their time critical objective.

"Well, that was fun." Zack humorously commented, "May we do it again?"

"I'm not sure if being surrounded by Light craving skeletons is what you should consider, 'fun'" retorted Howl-23.

"You're right Howl, but breaking them sure is!" Sonya optimistically replied.

"That's true." the Exo agreed.

"I'm confident we'll have more tasks like this at hand eventually." said Simon as he stowed his Auto Rifle to the magnetic seal on his back panel. "But I think this should do for the day. Let's head back to the Tower shall we? Drinks on me, how about that?"

The recruits looked at eachother briefly and happily nodded in unison.

===

After departing from the group of recruits so that they could attend their next set of errands and responsibilities, Simon himself had satisfied his schedule for the day and was heading towards his own quarters until Cipher had stopped following him and floated neatly n place to which Simon was quick to notice.

"Something up, Cipher?" Simon asked as he turned to his Ghost.

"Yeah, I got a message from the Speaker. Looks like we got another assignment." Cipher replied.

Figures. "Well, so much for R&R...Whats our next mission?"

"Pretty big going by the number of Guardians on this roster..."

"A Raid?" Simon tilted his head, curious in regards to the number of participant on this mission.

"I'd bet a few Glimmer on it. But this doesn't seem high priority however. Plus, we don't have any specific target up for elimination."

Simon found it odd that a large detachment of Guardians would be gathered for a task that didn't outright involve heavy fighting or the death of a high ranking entity such as Crota whom fell not too long ago. But then again, it could just his Titan bravado talking but this still didn't answer what this mission was geared to. If not warring then scouting perhaps? Simon couldn't figure that possibility around his head as a simple expert team of Hunters could efficiently and admittedly gracefully accomplish that task without his lumbering presence around.

"So, if we're not killing anyone, what are we doing then?"

"I'm sure this may involve snapping a few necks or putting a bullet holes in someone if need be but from what I can gather...Without speculating over some of this red tape...We're spearheading an investigation of some sorts."

Simon simply stared at Cipher whom quickly realized the blunt phrase would not compute with the Titan. "...There's not a whole lot of details I'm afraid but it does seem we'll be debriefed on it shortly. I've already got our rendezvous location where the other Guardians assigned to the mission will meet at."

"Guess we can't complain can we? Alright then, lead the way."

===

"...Huh..."

Simon arrived at the rendezvous point Cipher lead him too. Before him was a large bulky IPF-D77 shuttle, a tough but an old model craft compared to the more sleeker and possibly faster shuttles as well. Amusingly though despite its size, the IPF-D77 acted like a old-Japan era ninja as much of its electronics and structured avionics allowed it to run almost unnoticeable to anyone who wasn't looking up. Regardless of the old shuttle's appearance, Simon refrained from dissing the shuttle and made his way around the shuttle, watching the engineers and other crew readying the aircraft.

Upon boarding the craft, he could see this shuttle was still full of surprises as the interior was neatly designed and decorated by someone with very fine tastes. If anything else, this clearly combat oriented shuttle would have been fitting for a famous VIP or rich business tycoon; if they still existed of course. Everyone nowadays was more concerned with either staying alive under the Traveler's constant protection or killing off anything that deemed to threaten that protection. Honestly, this craft seemed a bit much for those who's new found purpose was to forever fight the Darkness on almost any front; but the change in scenery wasn't unwelcomed however.

He soon found that most of his soon-to-be squadmates had already arrived and made themselves comfortable. However, the sight of a Fallen in their midst did make him uneasy. He personally read up the Eliksni race and knew of their endeavors, or what was known anyway from exchanges of cultural information that didn't lead to a bullet in someone's brain. Simon himself had visited the Reef before and had conversed with Variks too but the cold fact that cleaving though Fallen pirates and scavengers was almost considered a daily routine for most Guardians including him, put Simon in a rather uncomfortable position.

Nonetheless however, he learned to keep such things to himself and surmised this Eliksni turncoat served some importance to this mission. For the time, he would leave that clear fact alone until it presented itself. The moment was probably come soon so he would need to find himself a seat.

"Greetings everyone." Simon simply announced, putting hand up in a friendly waving gesture.

[Skyrte]

Galen Vassar sat on the grass looking out to the city. This was the last city of humanity, built underneath The Traveler. It was only an hour or two since he had arrived, he had spoken briefly to Commander Zavala, who had reminded him of his old drill sergeant. Except paler, and slightly more blue. Perhaps Commander Zavala had some sort of condition, Galen toyed with the thought. Since speaking with Commander Zavala, Galen went on a small shopping spree. He did his best to gather what he could, but all he ended up with was a simple belt, a combat knife, paracord, small notebook and pen, a watch, and finally a flashlight.

He looked to The Traveler. He had never seen him before, only hearing of the legendary sphere, and there he floated. Dead? Alive? In a coma or merely a hibernation? Galen then looked down at his assorted equipment, laid on top of a small bag that one of the vendors had given him. He felt both armored and naked in his current armor. Lightmail, his Ghost called it. It was thin, and didn't offer much protection, and the others that he had walked by looked stunning. In flowing robes, heavy armor, or hidden under masterfully made cloaks. They looked impressive, Galen looked less impressive. They carried colorful and magnificent weapons with an air of power surrounding them. Galen carried simple weapons. A Khvostov, a simple steel grey Duke Mk.21 revolver, and a Jester SA/2 rocket launcher. He felt lost, unsure of what to do.

"What a strange assortment of things you have gathered." A voice surprised him, it belonged to his Ghost, Cryptid, who was now floating next to him. "What do you intend to do with these?" She spoke.
Galen cleared his throat. "Well... The first thing, the knife, is useful in a lot of ways. Uh, stabbing things for one. Also useful for utility, if I need to cut wires or open a panel. The rope, I can use to tie things together, or maybe tie a prisoner up. The watch is useful for timing, and the notebook and pen for jotting down notes. And the uh, flashlight is for light."
"You don't need the light-thing, I can provide light."
"I like having my own source of light, but I'll keep that in mind." Galen reassured,
"Also, I have two messages for you!" She cheerily said,
"Eh?" Galen rose an eyebrow. Cryptid then played the first message.

"Guardian Vassar. You may not know yet, but The City has been attacked numerous times over the last month. The aggressors are a new Fallen clan that calls themselves the House of Blight. Since their first appearance, their strength has only grown, their weapons, armor, and tactics evolve at a pace that suggests that an outside force is assisting them.
You will be going to the Exclusion Zone, a very dangerous place here on Earth. The Fallen located here are said to be more aggressive, violent, and skilled than the typical Fallen you would encounter. An experienced Guardian will be leading you and a team of others into this Zone... I realize that you are young, and new to this world, but I know that you will do well. Meet your team at the lower level hanger, your ship will be an IPF-D77. I will send additional information when the entire team is gathered."

Galen scratched his head, "The Fallen are those four armed bastards right?"
"Correct."
"The second message?"
"It is a message from Commander Zavala, it says that there is a package waiting for you inside of the changing and locker rooms. Should I lead you there?"

Galen gathered his things and got up, nodding. Cryptid then started to float away, with Galen in tow. In a short amount of time, they arrived at the locker rooms, finding a large crate with his name stamped on it. "Huh. Guess this is mine." The Guardian muttered, he opened it, revealing a very fancy set of armor. He grinned.
"That is a set of Spearhead Type 0." Cryptid informed him. Galen spent the next couple of moments getting that armor on, and fitting all of his equipment onto his belt, and then putting his belt on.
"Well this suit is pretty comfortable." He commented, "Let's get to the hanger, lead on."

Several moments later, he walked into the hanger, noting that several other people had already shown up. Galen stayed quiet, opting to merely walk up and stand next to them, he noted that Cryptid promptly disappeared. Kind of a shy one.

[WardenCelestine]

“The digital blueprints for this IPF-D77 are remarkably elaborate for even someone as advanced as I am. I truly am impressed by the exceptional craftsmanship here Andromedai, this engineer can construct Golden Age ships, perhaps even weapons. I will have to speak to him once we have completed our assignment. I just wonder why we don’t see more of his work outside of the hanger.” Orion spoke in a excited tone of voice. He was now heading right for Andromedai and once the ghost arrived he phased into her armor, vanishing silently. “I hope you do not mind but I am checking your vitals and other important information before we begin.” There was a short pause, then Orion spoke once more in his usual neutral tone of voice. “All systems check out and are fully functional. You are fully mentally and physically ready for the assignment Andromedai.” The female human hunter was looking at large hatch on the interior left side of the ship.

“It’s locked Orion, would you mind discreetly opening it for me? I am curious as to what is inside.” Orion materialized next to Andromedai before a blue beam of light shot from his core, instantly unlocking the hatch. “Thank you Orion, let us see what they forgot to unlock for us…” The hatch was opened to show a very small pantry like area that held a multiuse F&D machine or sometimes called FADAM. This machine could be used to make a large assortment of drinks or snacks by simply pressing a button or two. The same device sat inside of the Towers café that she had visited only a couple hours ago, and was commonly used in other parts of the city for how efficient and useful it was. “More crap you wouldn’t expect to see in a shuttle, but I am not the one who made it so to each their own I guess? Maybe sometime during the trip I will make myself a tea.” She said to Orion who had vanished from her side. “Where did he go this time?” she thought to herself. Her train of thought was cut in half though when she heard someone else board the ship and inquire if they were in the right location.

“Welcome Aiden-12, you are indeed in the correct ship and have arrived a bit early. Our pilots name is Nova, she will be with us shortly to explain everything about the ship after she has fully checked over the IPF-D77’s full system, or maybe my Ghost will. Please take a seat anywhere you wish and make yourself comfortable and I will be right back in just…” Andromedai had turned around only to lightly bump into a Fallen that had walked up behind her. There was silence for a moment as Andromedai backed away a couple of feet to give the Eliksni some room. “Good afternoon Kazik, my apologies for accidentally colliding with you. As I am sure you know taht the Fallen are very talented at moving around while making very little to no noise at all.” After looking him up and down, Andromedai placed her left hand on his right shoulder and continued speaking. “I am guessing you were invited to take part on this mission, not sure who invited you but I am glad you are here. Your skills as well as your knowledge are irreplaceable and you are…kind of blocking the entrance for the other members of the team so if you could please move slightly to the right here…”

Andromedai lightly guided Kazik out of the way and laughed softly. "There, now go ahead and make yourself comfortable and I shall return shortly.” Walking towards the entrance of the ship, Andromedai was stopped once again by yet another Guaridan introducing themselves to everyone onboard the ship. “An honor to meet you Kala Janas, I am Andromedai Morgenstern, the squad and mission leader for this assignment. I need to get outside of the ship for a moment before...are you kidding me...someone else introduces themselves. Ok everyone, find a place to sit, make yourself comfortable and the such, I am going to leave the ship now and I will be back shortly.” She walked past the Titan and nodded at him lightly before stepping outside of the IPF-D77 to finely check some internal systems on the very front of the ship. Nova waved at her and then gave a thumbs up, motioning for the hunter to join her inside of the cockpit. Walking back to the ship once more, a very well geared and equipped Titan could be seen joining along two others who remained outside of the ship. After escorting them into the ship and watching the door shut then seal close, Andromedai stood in front of her squad at the front of the shuttle and waved gently at them to get their attention.

“Good afternoon fellow guardians and our special Eliksni guest Kazik. My name is Andromedai Morgenstern and veteran guardian for the Tower and Reef. I want to thank all of you personally for taking the time to show up and be part of this assignment that is essential to the survival of the human race. I know that all of you received a message from the speaker that told you about assignment, I also know that it was lacking details. Thankfully, my Ghost Orion can fill you in on the rest of the details as well as important information about the ship. As for myself, I will be piloting the IPF-D77 out of the hanger and out of the city before handing the controls over to Nova, our pilot. She will then bring us to our objective.” Andromedai motioned with her head to her right and her ghost appeared instantly, she then vanished into the cockpit with the door shutting behind her. The lights inside of the ships haul dimmed significantly before Orion spoke. “Hello everyone, I am Andromedais Ghost, and she is my Guardian. I go by the name Orion and sometimes little light when Andro is upset. As you already know, we are currently on an assignment to enter the Exclusion zone far from where we currently reside. There is a new Fallen clan residing there that are calling themselves the House of Blight."

"Every time we see this House of Blight, their weapons, gear, and equipment are upgraded with what may be help from an outside source. If they keep improving themselves like this, they could pose a massive threat against humanity and the city. Three hours from here is our drop point, we will land and immediately move into a military compound that is two clicks away our landing point. We have solid evidence that there is a Fallen Blight outpost inside, and many others in the area. The frist one we come upon inside of the military complex must be eliminated before we can move on. It will open a radio channel to Nova to give us three, I repeat THREE airstrikes before her ammo supply will be dry. We will take these outposts then try and locate the main facility with whatever information we can gather from them. This is where we hope we will find the leader of the House of Blight. If it were up to me, I would say just airstrike the building he is in after finding it, but it is not that simple. We need artifacts and other items to help us find out who is supplying them, who is helping them, and what they were or are planning. Sounds quick and easy right? Well you would be wrong, Andromedai and I saw quite a number of Fallen Walkers in this area a day ago, and something else. It resembled a piloted mech of some sort and if we have that kind of enemy on our hands, this is going to be one hell of a fight. That is all the information we have thus far and the Speaker wishes us the best."

"Now onto the ship, just a couple of security and safety instructions I have to go over as well as what the ship can do. Please do not shoot any weapons inside of the ship, please do not tamper with the main door or the cockpit door. No fire or smoking please, no one wants to have an accident. Also if you attack Kazik I will personally phase you out of the ship. Your ghost will have big fun while trying to bring you back to life after that. Lighter note! There is a FADAM in the back of the ship as well as the lavatory. There are two long seats in the back of the shuttle, one on the left side and one on the right. Each of these can fold back into a bed. All of the other seats lean back as would be expected, there is also a gravity stabilizer inside of the ship. This means if we were flying upside down you would have no idea unless you looked outside of the window. So do not worry about walking around or spilling anything, this will be the smoothest shuttle ride you will ever be on. There is a bunch of other stuff scattered around that you can find out for yourself. Please make yourselves comfortable, I need to return to Andromedai.”

The ghost vanished before reappearing next to Andromedai and phasing into her armor. “Ok, push forward on the control stick and disable the magnetic latches. Hold down the trigger upon the control stick and we should break mach three in around five seconds.” Said Nova as she strapped herself in, it was pointless but it gave her comfort. Andromedai did as she was told but slowly, then with an incredibly loud bang that echoed outside of the ship and through the tower. The ship had left the hanger and was nearing the edge of the city already, an impressive display for a low orbit ship even in this day and age. “I want one, where can I buy one?” asked Andromedai while Nova laughed and took over controls. “I wish to see what this ship can do someday Nova, all of this low orbit power.” Nova nodded her head then motioned to the back of the ship. “Get a good view of the outside my friend, and then you should head to the back of the ship to get to know the rest of your crew. Three hours should give you enough time to talk, right?”

Andromedai leaned to the right and looked outside of the window at the implausible beauty that was laid out before her. There were trees, mountains, rivers, and all the beauty of nature that the war had left untouched. Nova slowed the ship down a great amount to let her get a much better view of everything below. “We not only fight for our species to survive Andromedai, but also for our world and everything else that lives upon it. One day when this is all over, we will go back to the ways things were in the Golden Age, a time of universal peace and perfection for lack of a better word. We will have all that back one day, I know it will happen, but for now the Darkness remains and this is as close to that paradise as we will get in these fucked up days and ages.” There was silence for a while before Andromedai looked at Nova and smirked softly, “Sooner than later with all of us out here my friend.” Moving into the back of the shuttle, she closed the cockpit door and tried to get everyone's attention.

“I am sure my Ghost told you….I mean Orion told you about our true mission. Our flight is going to take over three hours so let us get to know each other over that time. The curved couch over here will do quite nicely for a social gathering of the sorts, and the table in the middle of it will allow us to play a game of cards or the sort If any of you would be interested? There are a couple other things we can do as well. Team building is essential for a Guardian and their squad, that means you to Kazik, you are part of the squad so I do not want you lurking over in a corner by yourself, no offense intended."

[Lemons]

I kick back in the couch, yawning slightly from the slight amount of sleepiness that still clings to my eyes.

"So, we'll be here for a few hours, huh? Might as well introduce ourselves."

As I speak, I idly remove my Hard Light from my back, checking all of the mechanisms and occasionally tightening a bolt, or wiping a surface down.

"I'm Aiden-12, Titan. Originally from Venus, as far as I can remember." Shifting my attention to one of the other Titans that I can see, I recognize the Spearhead Type 0 gear he's wearing. That's not the part that really surprises me, though. He's using a Khvostov? On a mission like this? I know there are purists who insist on only using old weapons like that, but I'm really surprised that he's bringing it to something this important.

"Hey...um..." It's at this point that I realize that I have no idea what his name is, but I press on nonetheless. "You sure you want to use a Khvostov here? I'm sure Nova has a better weapon stashed away somewhere on this ship." As if to emphasize this, I finish my weaponry maintenance and snap the magazine back into the receptacle, replacing the weapon on my back and removing the Vestian Dynasty from my hip for its own daily care. "After all, if these fallen are really enough trouble to warrant the Speaker sending a squad this large after them, there's definitely reason to be well-equipped." I pause for a moment to remember my first disastrous encounter with patrolling Wolves as a fairly new guardian. My Ghost had its hands full bringing me back to life that many times, that's for sure. Yeah, he's going to have a fireteam with him, but that's no reason to use a sub-par weapon. If anything, it might make it worse when we have to stop what we're doing to pick him up.

Still, there's one more Titan here, and he's looking much better equipped. With any luck, one of the two is a Defender. Ward of Dawn has never hurt, especially since we don't know what we're going up against.

[Apollosarcher]

Spectre left the elevator his Ghost having just finished briefing him on his new assignment with a very large fire team on the roster. He slipped past the Vanguard and managed to snag a bite to eat before he clicked his helmet back into place. Checking his guns he yawned and headed towards the docking bay, waving to Banshee-44 as he passed the gunsmith he only grunted in reply to hunter. Banshee and him were friends but both had their own idea's on guns, Banshee preferring the older tech and him being more for the new stuff. They butted heads quite often when new Guardians came to the Tower asking about what weapons to take and to use.

He stopped in the hangar hangar long enough to put his ship into storage and for Holliday to wish him luck. Torren floated down to the lounge to pick up a few music files for the trip. Turning towards the shuttle he punched himself in the chest, turning invisible he climbed aboard the ship. He caught the tail end of some briefing about how tough it would be, nothing he couldn't handle he leaned against the wall beside the cockpit door. Just Andromedai walked out he turned visible behind her. "I think we can do without the team building, I mean were the best of the best. I was with the team that conquered the Vault of Glass, I think I can handle some Fallen. I mean we took out the House of Wolves and saw to the death of Crota. I truly doubt this will be as tough as Atheon or Skolas."

He walked over to the seat. "As for the meet and greet." He clicked off his helmet revealing his red hair with a smile. "I'm Spectre, Vanguard Hunter and member of Sanction Six I prefer flying to fighting but I get the job done. Gunslinger by trade. My Ghost found me on Mars so I guess I'm Martian." He shrugged and leaned back putting his boots up. "Other than that I'll be moving ahead of the group most of the time, clearing a path and scouting locations. Otherwise I'll be in the middle of the battle field taking care of business." He looked between them all. "Of course if we have to play cards, poker and we play for strange coins." He told them putting his helmet back on.

[Sylverblu]

Kazik let out a soft, pensive growling sound. There was no menace to it, but rather it was a deep groan of thought. Looking around, he saw all of these Guardians that would have to work together, and yet none of them knew each other. Here, already one thought it silly that the soldiers who would have to risk their lives together against an unknown threat get to know each other. Like gears grinding against each other, Kazik could feel just the tiniest twinge of potential tension.

"You do not know each other, from what I have seen. I do not see issue with the prospect of rectifying this." Kazik spoke slowly, though not lethargically - methodically. Historically, he had noted these Guardians to be sensitive, at least more sensitive than he. He wanted to succeed as quickly as possible and as efficiently as possible, facilitating a quick return home and less time spent with these drains on his patience. Sitting down next to the one who called himself Spectre, Kazik rested two arms on his knees and two under his chin.

"For those of you who have not already been informed, you will call me Kazik. Where I come from is of little importance, but know that I am not here to cause trouble. I am your ally, and you are all mine. I am here for my knowledge of the Fallen and their tactics, and I hope to serve you all... adequately." Looking about, Kazik scanned all parties in the room, eyes falling upon a particularly odd sight - a Titan clad in what was clearly advanced armor, wielding the most rudimentary weapon he had every seen. The weapon, appearing to be a pre-Golden Age assault rifle, looked shockingly similar to someone who Kazik had encountered before. Remembering his days with his house, Kazik nearly grinned beneath his helmet as he recalled stomping the Light out of a newly revived Guardian, stumbling his way towards the City with nothing but a set of rudimentary Lightmail and a primitive weapon from a forgotten past.

However, those days were behind him, and Kazik refocused to the task at hand. Briefly contemplating the next course of social action, Kazik reached into a plated pouch in his armor and produced six Strange Coins.

"Gambling is foolish and wasteful. No matter what, the chances of your victory are always against your favor." Kazik placed the coins on the table and leaned back, moving his top two arms to a reclining position behind his head.

"It also happens to be one of my favorite past-times."

Taking pause for a moment, Kazik recalled the comment regarding the Fallen made by Spectre. He turned his head to the one next to him.

"One more thought. You say that the Fallen will pose no trouble to you." Purple arcs of Void Light whirred around Kazik for a brief moment as the small, hidden Servitor began to turn on long disused defense protocols in his armor, briefly triggering a Void shield projection. "I assure you, friend, that pride will not be of any use to you here. Note our numbers. Note my presence. And, if you are as great as you say you are, note your own. We would not all be here if this was a simple patrol, or a task to be handled by any Guardian. The Fallen are greater creatures than you credit them with, a fact which I can attest to. First, annihilate the House. Afterwards, you have my blessing to go forth and speak of their weakness as much as it pleases you."

[Brasslazer]

As the Gunslinger known as Spectre boarded the ship, Kala shifted her weight awkwardly. She knew this Guardian. She had been forced to work with him when she was put on the mission to defeat Crota, a mission that caused the deaths of many souls trying to do their job. And what she learned from that mission was that she never wanted to work with that Gunslinger again. He was a good fighter, he was just... unorthodox, on could say. One could also say unprofessional. She would say both. He would also separate from the group, and from his introduction, it sounded like he was planning on doing the same thing is this new mission where we know far less about the enemy then we knew with Crota. Not too mention he intended to completely skip team building in a group of mainly strangers. There's being cocky, and then there's being dangerous to the safety of yourself and others.

Fortunately, the Fallen spoke up. Not only did he advocate for the obvious need for team-building, but presentation of a Void shield was impressive, to say the least. She walked up and took her seat across from Kazik and Spectre.

"I'm in full agreement Kazik. A team that can't work together is about as useful as a small group of Thralls. And if the way we learn to trust each other is a game based on lying, I'll go along with it." Kala pulls a small container off of her belt. Inside, Strange Coins are lined up in rows. Pulling out a couple, she shakes them around in her handle, making a small cascade of clinking noises.

"Not sure how I'll be able to beat a Fallen's poker face. Five-card draw or Texas hold 'em?"

[Zetsuko]

Zeruel leaned on one of the ship's walls watching the rest of the squad, he was almost glad for passing largely unnoticed, it was a welcome change from the glares he usually got around the tower. while he was off to the side he took the time to form a few opinions on his teammates, at least based on the first impressions. Andromedai and her ghost seemed an okay sort, he wasn't to sure about them yet as they'd only briefed the team on their mission so far. Kazik, the Fallen, he only tolerated it's existence because the speaker bade him so. Spectre, he seemed arrogant, that was it really. other than that he didn't yet have opinions on everyone.

as introductions were being made and several of his squadmates were going to start a card game Veruna spoke up "we may as well introduce ourselves as well, I am Veruna, and my Guardian here is Zeruel, you'll have to forgive he lack of speaking but a previous injury inhibits his ability to do so" she returned to hovering over Zeruel's shoulder as he looked at the three starting a game, he would have joined but all his coins were stashed in his vault, all the same he would have wanted to avoid Kazik anyway. he looked around at the other fireteam members, perhaps fighting with a fireteam would be good for him, he's gotten far to used to fighting alone.

[ShiningSector]

Simon had made himself begrudgingly comfortable into one of the finely crafted seats within the shuttle, still feeling alien to the deceptive surroundings that contradicted the ship’s rough external appearance. The first member of the assembled Guardians and the included Eliksni, was Andromedai, a well known Guardian who needed little introductions and was the apparent leader of the Fireteam of this mission. Though if there was a proper term given the circumstances, Simon would consider this force a well armed platoon if anything. Andromedai eventually vacated the space and headed back to the cockpit where her Ghost, Orion, gave the briefing.

Orion detailed the location of their assignment was some area called the Exclusion Zone. Simon instantly imagines the ever tightly Cabal controlled sector of Mars’s Meridian Bay; a heavily fortified area where hundreds of Cabal operated outposts and installations meant to ward off incursions or dissuade anyone from even trying to access or even tamper with the hulking giants’ assets. Currently however, the Cabal’s Sand Eater Legion has been hard pressed by not only Guardians that have since penetrated once secured perimeter but the seemingly endless tides of hostile Vex machines that occasionally clash with the tired Legion. But this particular sector was on Earth however going by Orion's choice of words.

Andromedai’s Ghost then explained further that their specific objective was tied to a new Fallen House identified as the House of Blight that resides within this 'Exclusion Zone'. Due to this House of Blight’s quite noticeable and remarkable resourcefulness of acquiring weaponry and gear of an impressive nature any Fallen House would be jealous of, it was speculated that this particular House may not be happening upon this equipment but rather receiving help from an unknown provider. Another House maybe? It was the most logical conclusion since most other Fallen Houses at least maintained communication with one another despite their rivalries; any one else probably had little reason to speak with a charismatic voice and let their weapon so the talking.

Orion then brought the Fireteam’s mission objectives to attention and thoroughly explained the details. Their objectives were the locating and elimination of any local outposts within the mission AO (Area of Operation) after securing any vital intel either on the House or the possible supplier. Aside from securing a former military compound to allow full coordination with the shuttle to provide precision airstrike, their main goal was the main facility the House of Blight where they would hope to capture or, taking into the Ghost’s personal comment, kill whomever leads the newly formed House as well as the acquiring of any further information on their own or any affiliated operations. Orion furthermore detailed the existence of heavy artillery and an unidentified war machine, proving the threat House of Blight posed.

After the mission briefing, Andromedai’s Ghost thus began to explain to explain the ground rules aboard the shuttle but Simon decided not to give this segment much of his undivided attention and allowed Cipher to monitor and address the details should they turn up. After Orion had finished his part, he quickly vanished from existence just as the Ghost had appeared to brief them. Minutes later, Andromedai returned from the cockpit, explaining that the flight was to take possibly several hours and advised everyone to basically meet and great as a team building exercise. With the time it was going to take to get there, he’d might as well get to know the rest of his team.

The first Guardian to introduce themselves was Aiden-12, a Titan who hailed from Venus. Based on the a few reports he’d gone over with the Vanguard, Aiden-12 has exhibited a rather active personality for Exo that has been described as maniacal at times. Simon could only hope this Exo maintains his cool, especially on a mission like this until the weapons-free order is given. Aiden-12’s attention seemed to be drawn to yet another Titan in the room Simon also found to be ill equipped. This discovery did not appeal too well to him as he considered the circumstances and the dangers of this mission. This recruit appeared to show some experience but how far would that get him however? More importantly though, was he ready? Simon noted this and was sure to speak to Andromedai on the topic later.

The next member of the Fireteam had at first remained cloaked in a transparent veil that Simon was quick to identify the moment he caught the Hunter’s visual distortion within the shuttle; an effect he had seen several times while participating on official business with the Vanguard while working with other Hunter and even in the Crucible when he competed against them. Once the Guardian had openly de-cloaked, the Hunter identified himself as Spectre whom revealed his nativity to Mars as the place of rebirth into a Guardian. Spectre spoke with high confidence and assurance of his role; admirable traits for sure if they didn’t come off as boasting or being cocky, thinking little of the House of Blight when comparing such previous threats such as Skolas and the Kell’s House or Wolves or even Crota. Simon was sure Spectre was skilled if he was able to conquer such threats but questioned the Hunter’s overall reliability to the group as a whole.

The next introduction came from the Eliknsi everyone had been keeping their eyes on cautiously the moment they saw him. Their new Fallen member soon called himself Kazik whom revealed his relevance to the mission with personal knowledge of how other Fallen operated which would prove useful if they are to encounter this new House very soon. Though it was harder to make out what an Eliknsi could be thinking of or where their attention was set to due to their unfamiliar expressions that was rarely examined upon, Simon could make out an initial interest with Kazik as he too was also scanning and observing the occupants within the craft.

However, it appeared that Kazik also found the newborn Guardian Simon now recalled as Galen a subject to the Eliksni’s fascination. Kazik said nothing on this, leading Simon to surmise the Eliksni was either intrigued by Galen’s unimpressive setup or, hopefully, concerned for the Guardian’s well being. Simon knew that a Khvostov 7G-02 would do little against a Fallen Walker if one did show up and hoped Galen would soon be more properly equipped in time should the encounter be realized.

Kazik continued and revealed himself as a gambler as well, producing several unique coins, Strange Coins as they were commonly called, as tokens for a game of poker Spectre had brought up in light of Andromedai’s earlier suggestion. A Fallen that can gamble, thought Simon, amused on the subject but he too knew that the concept shouldn’t be foreign to the Eliksni either; it was simply the image of Kazik playing cards with a Guardian that humored him. Shifting topics while still maintaining focus specifically towards Spectre, Kazik seemed to have reinforced the House of Blight’s credibility as threat worth taking seriously, confirming the need in sending a force larger than a Raid Team to adequately deal with the House.

It was becoming apparent that Spectre was now becoming the object of questionable attention as another Guardian Simon had observed glancing at the confident Hunter manifested some sort of lesser regard in her expression as if she knew Spectre herself. However she did not comment with any similar directed words used by Kazik but capitalized on the Eliksni’s agreement on the necessity of team building through gambling as unusual the way she put it was. Simon eventually remembered, with the help of Cipher digging up past records, this Hunter’s name was Kala whom was also as experienced as Spectre.

Simon almost immediately recognized the next Guardian by the name of Zeruel before the Exo Warlock’s Ghost name Veruna spoke up and introduced him to the rest of the Fireteam. As Zeruel’s Ghost had explained, the Warlock’s ability to speak had been rendered inoperable and thus Veruna now carries the responsibility for being the Guardian’s voice. Simon had glanced over Zeruel’s mission report before that detailed Exo’s ill-fated injury and more but decided to leave such personal information alone. Though from what he had deduced however, Zeruel would prove useful to this mission as well; time will tell of course.

Seeing as everyone has spoken up thus far, Simon decided that it was his turn for an introduction. During the entire time listening and observing his other teammates, Simon had laid back within his seat unknowingly that he had quickly grown accustomed to the well cushioned and leather. Realizing this fact, especially when he was taking the initiative to speak his piece, sat upright and corrected his posture, holding the replicated Helm of Saint-14 within his lap. "I already know of a few of you though I believe many of you may have seen me from time to time. You may call me Simon, I primarily work for the Vanguard and occasionally with Lord Shaxx in training new Guardians and sometimes participating in high risk missions at times. And this here is my partner Cipher."

"Howdy, pleased to meet you all." Simon's Ghost greeted while phasing into reality.

Leaning forward in his seat, Simon extracted ten Strange Coins out from one of his Mark pouches and neatly spread them across the table. "Now Commander Zavala has ordered me not to gamble while working with new recruits on the field...However that was roughly an hour ago and I am a competitive sort while off shift. Since the point of this is to learn from one another before plunging into Traveler knows where, I'm currently interested in what each of your game faces look like."

[Skyrte]

Once the briefing was complete, Galen leaned back onto the couch. It sounded like a fairly standard mission, with the inclusion of enemy armored units. I know how to kill armored units, he thought. Well, the ones back then, they may have changed since his training. He made a mental note to study these newer model of Fallen Walkers, probably in the field. He raised his eyebrows and sighed lightly, three hours with these strangers.

"Hey...um..." A voice spoke up, robotic in nature. He could hear the slight distortion at the end of every word, "You sure you want to use a Khvostov here? I'm sure Nova has a better weapon stashed away somewhere on this ship."
Galen looked over to the Guardian who addressed him and saw him doing some maintenance on a very impressive looking firearm. Aiden-12, he overheard him introduce himself. A very strange name for a person, he thought to himself. The Guardian finished the maintenance and holstered the rifle, pulling out another impressive gun, a handgun this time to do its maintenance. Galen rubbed the back of his neck, wondering when he would get weapons as spectacular as that.
"After all, if these fallen are really enough trouble to warrant the Speaker sending a squad this large after them, there's definitely reason to be well-equipped." He finished. Galen looked around and did a mental headcount. This is a large squad? He thought to himself, it was a fairly standard squad to him. Perhaps Guardians usually worked in fireteam sizes?

Another Guardian introduced himself. Spectre, a common callsign. He noted a few things he had done in previous missions. The Vault of Glass, The Death of Crota. Atheon and Skolas. And even the elimination of The House of Wolves. An entire House of Fallen he assumed. These Fallen must be separated on a House-system. All of these names were foreign to him, but they sounded like they were serious business. Spectre took off his helmet and offered a game of Poker. Kazik, the Fallen assigned to their squad spoke up next. As he was speaking, his eyes fell on Galen for a few seconds. Galen stared back, but rather more fascinated with Kaziks four arms. And then with his technology when he activated his Void shields. Others introduced themselves and joined in the game of gambling. Galen was never one for gambling, and he didn't have these strange coins that everyone else had anyways. He then remembered that he hadn't introduced himself yet.

"Oh right..." He began quietly, "I'm uh, Spec-4 Galen Vassar. I was an Anti-Armor trooper in my platoon, before I died." He introduced himself, wondering if any in his company had revived as Guardians, "And I uh, actually don't have better weapons than this." He shrugged, turning to Aiden-12, "If there is a better gun stowed away on this ship, I'd really appreciate it."

[Lemons]

Having never really liked gambling all that much, I prefer to sit back and listen to Galen speak. My eyes widen ever so slightly. No better weapon than the Khvostov? Wow. Must be a new guardian. Man, what is the Speaker thinking? Well, might as well make the best of it.

"Alright, hang on. I'll go look around in the back, see if they've got something that I can scrounge up for you to take into the field."

Picking myself up, I move past the poker players, smiling at Galen and nodding as I walk by, and enter the back of the ship, where the bathroom and FADAM can be found. It's really quite nice for the back of a jump ship; My own old Arcadia, which I still use to this day, isn't even close to this. There are none of the cobwebs, dust and disorganization that characterize my own. Everything is clean, black and white. Though at first I find nothing of what I'm looking for, in the corner, I find a flickering screen lighting up the back of the room. Nudging it curiously, it bursts to life as something that I've never seen on a ship but, in retrospect, makes a lot of sense. Smiling, I tap the screen a few times and access my vault. A few more taps and I have what I need.

Making my way back into the main room, I toss a long, sleek auto rifle to Galen. "Here, use this. You might have seen a few guardians with it in the Tower. It's an old SUROS weapon called the Regime, went out of production a long time ago. It's one of the best auto rifles you'll ever find. Smart matter, too. Whenever you aim down sights, the bullets shift caliber. Fires slower, but hits a hell of a lot harder." A grin forms on my face, and I tap my mechanical hand on the weapon on my back, causing a slight clanking noise. "Of course, SUROS can't compare to Omolon. It should serve you well enough, though, so have fun with it."

With that, I sit down once again, content to watch the people playing poker. Kazik definitely surprises me; I never thought I'd see a Fallen playing cards. I wonder how many he can hold with all those hands, I muse, and smile at the image.

[WardenCelestine]

Andromedai quickly sat down upon the couch and leaned back against it, crossing her legs and pulling out a data pad. The data pad turned on with a soft flash of light as soon as the palm of her hand was placed upon it. Using her right hands index finger, she scrolled through a list of fresh information about the exclusion zone, like overhead views and detailed maps of the area. While browsing through the pictures and taking mental note of every minuscule detail in them, she came upon an overhead view of their landing zone. Something in the image stood out, there was a large marker showing where they were going to land but it was placed directly on top of the military complex they were originally planning to walk to. “Nova, I am seeing a change of plans here, we will no longer be walking to the military complex, instead we are going to be dropped off on top of it, is this correct?” asked Andromedai while lightly tapping the screen to the data pad to make sure it was not a bug or error. “Affirmative, there was a small change of plans and I will be dropping all of you off on top of the military complex."

"This is a low orbit stealth ship anyway, I can get us there without being seen.” Andromedai closed down her data pad and placed it back into its compartment on the side of her armor. “Understood, let us know when we are half way there.” Andromedai shut off her com and then grabbed onto the deck of cards that were sitting in front of her. While thoroughly shuffling the cards, Andromedai spoke to Spectre, a cold tone to her voice as she did. “Spectre, you are here by ordered to remain with the rest of the group at all times. You will not move ahead of the rest of us and you will follow my orders. Failure to comply will result in severe consequences. From what I have just seen, you need the team building exercise more than anyone else.” The cards were now shuffled and Andromedai passed out two cards to each player while explaining the rules of the game. Once she had finished, she glanced up at Orion who was watching the game from her right shoulder. “Orion, please play some Vivaldi for us.” Once the music started to play over the ships coms, Andromedai placed ten strange coins in front of Galen then patted him lightly on the back. “Those are for you so you can enter the game, no need to pay me back.” Turning to the rest of the group, she picked her own cards up and started the game.

[Timeskip two hours later.]

Andromedai glanced over at Galen with a raised eyebrow, then down at the large pile of strange coins piled up in front of him. “To be honest I am not even surprised.” The Hunter nodded her head at him once before moving away from the couch and into the back of the ship where she was now making green tea for the whole squad. “Arrival time in one hour Guardians, I will let you know when we are thirty out.” said Nova from over the ships coms. Walking back over to the couch, Andromedai would ask each of her squadmates if they would like tea and depending on their answers she would pour them some or not. Turning to Kazik, Andromedai glanced down at the cup then back to the Fallen. “I am honestly unsure how this is going to work. Not to be rude but perhaps a straw or…” She paused and then shrugged, placing a couple straws next to the thermos which rested on the table in front of all of them. “I have another game we could play if anyone is interested, though I think it will most likely put Kazik in a very uncomfortable and awkward position."

"The game and rules are very easy, I have a set of white cards and a set of black cards. The white cards have something random written on them that could range from pointless to quite crude. The black cards have an incomplete sentence or phrase on them and you use the white card of your choice to fill in the blank. Once we have made our choices we all all vote on which one we like the most and whoever has the most votes after doing this for a while wins.” Andromedai looked around at her squad waiting for an answer but Nova was quick to interrupt. “Sorry for the interruption but we will arrived thirty.”There was a short paused as Andromedai pulled out her data-pad to locate their current position. “Affirmative Nova, we are all good back here, let us know when we are one click out.” Turning back to her squad, she took a sip from her tea then set the cup down in front of her upon the table. "We can also take this time to talk about the mission and how everything is going to play out."

https://youtu.be/VSYBAYbxQqU = Music Playing

[Sylverblu]

How… crude.

This was all that could ring through Kazik's head as he saw this new 'game' that was presented before him. Seemingly based off of creating the most crude comedy, to play this was to demonstrate both the immaturity and the lack of cultural sophistication that Kazik expected of himself.

"I will not be joining you all in this… game." Leaning forwards to the thermos of tea, Kazik poured himself a cup. He was accustomed to this difficulty, given what a social cornerstone the combined act of drinking and eating was. Opening a small hatch in the side of his helmet, Kazik allowed for a small amount of ether to seep out before the automatic shut-off valve triggered the halt of all flow. Pouring the tea into this hatch, a vacuum detected the liquid and began to pump it through the appropriate channels in order to get it where it needed to be. Such a feature had been commonplace in Fallen armor ever since the migration to Earth, allowing for scouts, scavengers, and any others that might be away from a Skiff or Ketch to consume liquids without disabling life support.

The tea was tolerable, as far as the humans' beverages went. He's certainly had worse. It was more that Kazik wanted to portray politeness, something which he tried to make evident with an awkward thumbs-up display from one of his hands.

It was only now, fully withdrawn from his competitive trance, that Kazik could be bothered to notice the music playing. Old Earth, Pre-Golden Age. Tasteful and classy, though often dull and only used as a tool to portray an image. Kazik let out a soft, oscillating grumble, a chuckle of sorts.

Ah, these people.

Readjusting his seating to accommodate a more reclined position, Kazik intertwined the gloved fingers of each hand and rested them on his chest as he leaned back. He remained silent, observing the social interactions before him through the cyan, unblinking eyes of his helmet.

[Apollosarcher]

Spectre rolled his eyes looking at Torren. "First off your asking me to not do my job. You think I was put on here to watch backs and play second fiddle to Titans? While we walk in blind." He stood up and stared at his fellow Hunter. "Hunters discovered the Cosmodrome, Hunters were the first to visit the moon, Mars, and Venus. We don't stand with the group we lead the pack." He told her as checked his sniper rifle. "Besides it's not tactically sound, we've got no scouting reports to go on. So we need someone upfront checking the area." He told her as he played with the zoom on his rifle.

He looked between them all. "You all know what happened to Eris Morn and her team, you can preach team work good will all you want." He said placing the rifle on the table. "End of the day it comes down not just to your team but your skills and talents. I'm not the best shot, I'm not the fastest draw." He told her drawing his two pistols spinning them both idly. "I'm good at finding things, my job in the Vault was to lead them. I never saw Crota I did however find the path through the lanterns. After that I was ordered to make way for the team that would." He said as he began to place each weapon back carefully.

He looked between them all. "Titans are our Defenders and shock troops. Warlocks are our masters of the unknown and forgotten, they know more about the Traveler are our power then any of us. We have our roles in the Vanguard and I will report back to the team, but you have to let me do my job." He said looking at his Ghost. "I'm with Kazik on this one. I'll sit this out."

He finally stopped speaking to Andromedai turning to the new guy, Galen. "Hey kid, sorry if I rambled their. Your new right? Technically it's against Vanguard code to give rookies high grade gear." He cracked a smile. "But Hunters aren't exactly the most keen on rules. So you can have something Holiday and I scrapped together, never been tested but I figure if your about anti-armor this is the toy for you." Torren brought out a huge over-sized Fusion rifle with a lot Golden Age tech on it. "The Sleeper Stimulant. This is a railgun is damn powerful, punches through everything and bounces around like a Titan on his first Armsday." He grinned. "It will kill what ever you shoot, just give it time to charge and make sure you've got room. Take of it you hear? I don't want to see all that work turned into bits and pieces." He patted Galen on the shoulder.

Next he sat down beside Kazik. "Alright Kazik I want information and if your anything like a certain house Judgement scribe I know you want to know more about us too. So you and I sit here and ask each other dodgy questions or we can just start asking each other what we want to know. I figure if we talk know it lowers the chances of you wanting to shoot me later." He yawned and cracked his neck. "You go first, my Eleksni friend." He had heard Variks say that was the Fallen's proper name.