[b][u]Chapter 1: Emergency Summons[/u][/b] Lord Saladin sat at the controls of his ship, the Birth of History. This month's Iron Banner had gone extremely well, Saladin had seen many Guardians step forward and become true heroes that week, real warriors who stood a chance against the dark. But now that it was over, Saladin had a much harder task ahead of him, one only the Speaker knew about. A beeping on his communicator interrupted him taking in the majestic sights of the Reef. Annoyed, he answered. "This is Petra Venj of the Awoken Guard, this is a restricted area. State your business and await authorization." After waiting a moment, Saladin responded. "This is Lord Saladin Forge of the Iron Banner. I am here on urgent business with Brother Vance." He waited patiently for Petra to respond. "Saladin? Is that you?" he waited another moment. "Alright, you're cleared for docking, these Hildian Seekers will guide you to the hangar." Petra's voice was one of mixed emotions. Saladin couldn't tell if she was angry or happy to hear him. Saladin took the controls, steering the Birth of History to follow his two Starfighter escorts to the Vestian Outpost. _______________________________________ As he exited his ship, he was surprised to see Petra herself greeting him. "Saladin, it's been a long time!" the Queens Blade said with a smile on her face. "Long time indeed." Saladin nodded. He had been part of the negotiation talks with Petra around the time of Twilight Gap, before the Awoken had broke the treaty. "So why are you here? You told me you were meeting with Vance, but not why." Petra's eyes went from welcoming to bordering on suspicion. "I need to see Osiris. I'm hoping he can tell me where." Saladin waited for Petra's suspicion to pass. "Fine. But just so you know, none of us have ever seen him. All we know is that he is very... secretive. I guess his followers are as well, because Vance sometimes disappears, he's not very cooperative." "He'll talk to me." and with that, Saladin said his goodbyes to Petra and went to Vance. "Hello there, what can I do for... Saladin?" Vance shook the titans hand vigorously. "It has been a very long time." "Too long. I need to speak to Osiris." Vance sighed, obviously tired of the same request over and over. Saladin pressed harder. "He was right Vance." Vance froze, trying to figure out if he was making the right choice. "84N 32E, Calorie Spires." he looked shrewdly at Saladin. "Here." he gave Saladin a ghost, it's shell was painted black and yellow. "This will lead you to him when there." Saladin nodded. "Thank you, and don't worry!" he started walking away. "Osiris can't always be right." Vance watched Saladin's receding back. "Oh how I wish that was true..." _______________________________________ Saladin exited the Birth of History, raising his arm to block the blinding glare of the sun. He was apprehensive about seeing his fellow Vanguard again. Osiris had been gone for a long time, staring into the darkness. He was about to head into the compound when the ghost Vance gave him sprung to life, beckoning him towards the edge. "What does it want?" he asked his own Ghost, who shrugged. The ghost whizzed over the edge. Saladin leaned over, and was surprised to see a ledge below. "Should we follow?" his Ghost was no help. Saladin followed the corridor, which led into a tunnel that steered him further and further below, opening up into a large cavern, with a very large chasm in the middle. He looked to the side, finding a small living space was lit up with a single lantern. Saladin peered over into the chasm. Seeing nothing but darkness, he threw a rock into the pit, waiting for a sound. It didn't come. He looked at the Ghost, which was staring into the pit, it's light flashing rapidly. Suddenly, Saladin heard what sounded like a Warlock's Blink. He leaned over, and noticed a tiny, very faint shape heading towards him. It was Osiris, and the Warlock was ascending fast, climbing as fast as possible, Blinking to catch new handholds and footholds. It looked like he was running from something. "Osiris?" Saladin called out. "Saladin?" the old Warlock looked up, and waved of all things! "Better get back! I don't know if I can outrun this thing!" Saladin looked over, confused. "What?" he quickly noticed that the hole was getting a lot brighter. "Oh..." Saladin was knocked flat on his back as Osiris blinked out of the hole, knocking him over. "Oof!" He made it out just in time, barely avoiding the blast of energy that erupted from the hole like a geyser. It lasted a few seconds, then subsided. "Stupid primordial snake." Osiris muttered, and before Saladin could ask, he hurled an immense Nova Bomb down into the pit. "How's that for your appetite?" he hollered like a madman. "Osiris?" Saladin took a good look at his old friend. Osiris had apparently spent the last week down here, his armor was grimy, he looked out of breath, and his eyes seemed crazed, even with the helmet covering them Saladin could tell. "What the hell was that?" "All in good time my old friend." he dusted himself off. "Now, I assume that if you have come to see me, something must be wrong?" he quickly scribbled a few sentences in a journal before continuing. "Or does the Speaker want me to come back?" he said this with a harsher tone. Saladin knew how many arguments Osiris had with the Speaker, many of which were unreseolved to this day. "Not exactly..." Saladin showed Osiris his Hammer of Sol. "This is a... precautionary action." the Warlock understood immediately. Osiris stared at his hands, which suddenly began to crackle with lightning. "We need to pass them on, let the next generation find them." he spoke softly, more to himself than Saladin, as if reassuring himself. "Why?" he cocked his head. "You were right, old friend." Osiris stared at Saladin, confused for a second before he understood and his eyes widened. "But you were late. We're running out of time. You know what we have to do. We need more help." "How about Tevis Larsen?" Osiris suggested. "The Hermit?" Saladin shook his head. "No. Don't get me wrong, he is a good Nightstalker, but we need somebody closer to our own level of light. We need Her." "Her? You don't mean-?" Osiris sighed, as if resigned to his fate. "Let's just hope she doesn't kill either of us the first chance she gets." _______________________________________ To be continued... Next Chapter: http://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/154891863/0/0 Table of Contents: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/114713352/0/0