[i]*Fanfiction. Note that I haven't read every grimoire card I've unlocked let alone all those available in the game. Naturally I may mess up some of the lore so please let me know if I should fix anything. I also tend to miss quite a bit during proofreads. Also, the full directory of chapters has been moved to the comments due to character limitations. Sorry! Comment and critiques are welcome. Finally enjoy!*[/i] [url=http://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/89295530]Next Chapter[/url] [i]"Trapped... in a box suspended in space. That is my home. It’s all I can remember."[/i] [b]--- Chapter One or The Prison of Elders ---[/b] [b]”Tell me again… tell me it’s today…”[/b] Prisoners were easily identifiable in the cramped space. Each one donned the standard grey jumpsuit with a thick stripe of purple across the chest. The distinct color denoted them as belonging to the Reef. No mistaking them for the guards. Static men and women. Sentinels in cloaks of black and purple that stood guard at every door and hall. They breathed in the same air each inmate expelled, sniffing around for anything, any reason to dump them into the eternal black. They had a knack for not missing a thing and that was the problem. Two of them were staring at him. [b]”...Tell me it’s today…”[/b] There was a grunt followed by the glowing maw of another man opening in reply. [b]”It’s today.”[/b] The whisper was more of a muffled yell. There was frustration saturating the mechanical voice, an annoyance that could be felt by both men. [b]”Keep asking me and I’ll have you ejected myself…”[/b] The Exo’s eyes darted around the “mesh hall”. It wasn’t so much a dining area as it was a shuttle from a forgotten age that’d been converted into one. The walls were padded thick with ancient fabric and metal work. A steel frame speckled with glass that somehow managed to keep the vacuum of space out. The entire structure was cylindrical in design, the space inside the walls about ten feet tall and fifty feet from end to end. There wasn’t enough room to carry all the inmates in one cell block, so multiple shuttles were connected via a labyrinth of connected tunnels and containers. All areas were surprisingly airtight, a testament to the innovative and survivalist nature of the Awoken. Even out here on the edge, they managed to survive… [i]and[/i] thrive. Inmates were innumerable. There was little light at the edge to begin with. Many Awoken came to accept the darkness as their ally… literally. The prison population was made up of both the Awoken and the Fallen. Despite the diverse crowd, there was no segregation. There was no war within these walls. Down here in the scrotum of the reef, everyone was an equal, all subjects to her majesty’s will. As glowing eyes swept the room, a few of the others met his gaze exchanging a knowing nod. The rest were already digging in, ignoring the odd selection they deemed edible in the Reef: Dark thick liquids to wet their throats and some kind of green hued substance dumped onto the edge of everyone’s trays. It was cold but few cared and at the end of their allotted meal time, their trays would be cleaned and their stomachs feeling just as empty as before… save for his own. Exo’s couldn’t eat. [b]”Alright alright… I just wanted to make sure… I just… I don’t know. I’m just nervous… It’s actually happening.”[/b] Dull green eyes and a dirty mat of blonde for hair. The human sitting directly across from him was unusually thin. His cheek bones pushed against his skin like daggers. His neck was long and his limbs thin. His oversized attire shook violently as he rapped his knuckles against the table and his heels against the floor. It was a nervous habit and it too was drawing more attention than either of them wanted. [b]”Can’t believe we could be getting out.”[/b] Another exasperated grunt. The rules in the prison were simple, especially so during meals: Don’t talk. Finish your food. Return to your containers. It was quiet in the room even as whispering was allowed so the tapping was beginning to drown the silence out. [b]”You keep making that noise, we’re never getting out of here.... Curse the Traveller!”[/b] [b]”Sorry!... sorr-”[/b] The stuttered attempt at an apology was cut short by movement in their peripherals. The House of Wolves. A proud house of the Fallen who had been subjected to the power of the Queen and not surprisingly... fell to her wrath. They’d been integrated into her peoples and while a few lived and died among the Awoken, the majority were imprisoned and enslaved. A perfect example was the large figure of a former captain… taking her seat next to the Exo. Two powerful arms set the small tray down in front of it. They were the only pair she had. A sigh of relief. [b]”Sky.”[/b] The Exo greeted her with a nod and sang himself a quiet prayer to her return. He wasn't sure he was going to last any longer alone with the idiot. She responded in kind, her native tongue confusing to most but understood by her machined companion. [b]”[Lock.]”[/b] She turned toward the skittish human across from them both. [b]”[Keeping our friend company I see.]”[/b] Although Lock couldn't see it, she was smiling. Fallen were distinguished from the other prisoners by their obvious difference in stature and the masks they were allowed to wear that covered their nose and mouths. The internal mechanisms had been jury rigged, removing the long tubes that once fed their precious ether. Instead, they were given a limited supply meant to last them a single day. Their meals consisted of the usual course and a single capsule of the compressed “gas”. These small cylinders were pressed into the junction where there were once tubes and fed the Fallen their life force. Failure to replenish the supply would result in a slow and painful death… according to Awoken research. Sky dutifully removed her mask, and set about consuming some of the meal. Between bites, she’d sip from the old capsule, taking generous portions until it was completely dry. During her time in the Prison, she’d begun weaning herself off the Ether until she could stretch a single capsule over a span of two days. She’d been storing the extras away in anticipation of their plan. [b]”[Everything is in place.]”[/b] [b]”Good. All that’s left to do now is wait.”[/b] Lock turned toward the closest window and stared out at the deep black of space. From where he was sitting, he could see to the far edge of the Prison and the many rocks filling the empty space in between. They seemed suspended in animation, their jagged bodies tumbling about in place but keeping the space consistent between each other. [b]”How much longer?”[/b] [b]”[Shouldn’t be too long now. Window will be small… You sure we can make it?]”[/b] As Sky spoke, she replaced her mask and pushed a fresh capsule into its side. A shallow click and a short hiss of gas told her it was in place. Lock nodded. [b]”Where... where is he.... anyways?”[/b] Lock pulled himself away from the window and turned to look at the human. His thin frail body shouted protests against his better judgement. He wasn’t entirely sure the man would survive. Looking around at the guards who had long since returned to their own musings, he gestured at the window toward the far end of the prison. [b]”Look there Randar. Aksor sits with the rest of the most dangerous of the Reefs prisoners. The very tip. They’re all there under intense security. Round the clock watch, completely bound. Fallen have it particularly bad. Ether is provided in the lowest survivable dosage and their souls weaken because of it. Keeps them in a comatose state. Not entirely sure how the House of Winter plans to get him out but...”[/b] He turned around and stared at the others in the room. [b]”...Guess we’ll find out soon enough.”[/b] [b]”Wait… you don’t even know?”[/b] [b]”Like I said before, I only know they plan to break him out. We’re using that as cover. I don’t know the specifics of their plan… none of us do. And would you keep it down?[/b] [b]”[I hope we somehow misplace him in the confusion.]”[/b] Lock chuckled and Randar looked on clueless. [b]”If only I could. Really hope he’s worth all the tr- ...Randar?”[/b] Randar’s dull eyes were fixed on something outside and he was slowly pushing himself to his feet. [b]What… what is that?”[/b] Lock turned, following Randar’s gaze past his shoulder and out the same window they were looking through just moments earlier. A flicker in the vast emptiness caught his attention. He recognized it immediately. [b]”...Sky...”[/b] Sky spoke in Fallen tongue but her words fell on deaf ears. She moved to push the human back into his seat just as the guards turned their attention to the table. Lock had gotten up and moved toward the window. [b]”Lock?!”[/b] The closest guard yelled, closing the gap between himself and the Exo in a few strides. He pulled a handcannon from it’s holster but froze before he could bring it to bear on the machine. He'd turned to look outside as well. A transparent bubble was forming in the emptiness outside the prison. Strange bright lights were being thrown in violent arcs away from it’s center as the shell began to expand. It pushed massive rocks out of the way to make space, their trajectories changing drastically and not entirely for the better. Suddenly a gaping hole tore itself open from nothing and a large Ketch slipped into Awoken space. In it’s wake was birthed a tremendous shockwave. It rushed at the walls of the prison, dragging asteroids behind it. Lock pushed himself away from the window. [b]”Shit.”[/b] [i]Continued in [url=http://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/89295530]Chapter Two or A Plan of Escape[/url][/i]