Chapter 4 As the group descended onto the planet, a light dust storm swept across the land. It was nothing more than a nuisance; the particles of sand pinged off the armor of the Guardians. It was somehow soothing, in a way. It was similar to the way some humans found rain soothing when it hit their roofs. A gentle yet constant force. “Don’t be fooled. May not seem like much, but little storms like this are what caused the city of Freehold to disappear. Little by little,” said Paetos, noting the young Guardians’ reactions to the sand; they had never seen anything like this before. They stood, mesmerized by the floating particles. Except Michas. He was itching to continue. “Where are we?” he asked rather bluntly. Paetos turned to him. “Right now, we are in an area called Giants’ Pass. We have to walk a little ways to our destination.” “So this Black Garden thing. Where is it? How easy is it to find?” asked the Warlock. “You’ll know. Just look for the giant Vex gate.” “A gate? Like…with doors?” asked the Hunter. Paetos laughed. “I forgot how little they teach you these days. No, my dear, the gate to the Black Garden is more of a portal. No doors. It used to be sealed out of our timeline from Vex interference, but after the death of the Heart…it was some deity the Vex worshipped,” he said after noticing the cocked heads from his Fireteam. “Anyways, the Heart was killed, and it released the Garden back into Mars. Ever since then, anyone can enter. Just find the gate or have a Ghost transmit you there.” They kept walking. Little by little, they made up the distance toward the gate. “So why didn’t we just transmit there?” asked Michas. He was anxious. “Because, Michas, we need to make sure you three are up to the challenge. There will be enemies along the way, and if you can’t handle them you have no business being anywhere near the Garden. Consider this a test,” smirked Paetos. Sure enough, they rounded a bend in the terrain and…there they were. Massive beings that dwarfed any Guardian they group had seen. Some had shields, some didn’t. They were…impressive. “Cabal,” said Paetos. Michas knew the term. He’d heard of the imperial soldiers, but in person they were bigger than any hologram he’d seen. Suddenly, without warning, Paetos shot at one of them. A single shot. An alert shot. Immediately, the Cabal took up defensive positions and returned fire. Paetos said to the group: “Now’s your time, prove you are capable of everything we expected from you!” He stepped back, let the others do the fighting. A test. Immediately, Michas took charge. “Hunter, use your sniper to distract them. Pick off the ones you can from a distance. Warlock, come with me. Aim for the ones without shields. They seem to be able to move faster. I’ll take care of the…phalanxes,” he said as he recalled the name of the giant shield-wielding Cabal. The Hunter began to fire at the enemy, staggering them as the other two approached. When they were about 20 meters from the Cabal, Michas and the Warlock opened fire; Michas targeting the shields, his comrade the legionaries. Round after round Michas shot, yet his weapon seemed to do no damage to the shield. Michas took cover behind a rock; his partner was putting down legionaries. The phalanx was almost completely surrounded by the shield, making it very difficult to land a shot. Only his weapon protruded. His weapon… “Hunter!” he yelled over the comms. “Target the phalanx’s weapon! Hit him hard!” She complied. A loud CRACK….PING! A garbled cry rose form the Cabal soldier; he had staggered backward, and in the process he lowered his shield. Perfect. Michas fired at him while he was defenseless and put him down. This process repeated until all remaining Cabal were put down. The team executed beautifully. After the battle, they regrouped near the rock where Michas had taken cover. “Nice shooting, Hunter,” said Michas. “I have a name, you know,” she told him in a rather sassy manner, hand on hip. “Oh yeah? What is it?” “Klaeda.” “Interesting name,” commented the Warlock with a smirk. “Oh yeah? It’s better than ‘Norid-2’,” said Klaeda. “Hey, I didn’t choose that name, okay?!” “Well done, guys. That was…flawless,” said Paetos as he finally caught up with the group. They awkwardly said thanks. But they had bonded a little. It made them closer. ———————————————————————————— They started walking again, and after two more Cabal encounters and one Vex encounter, they had arrived. The Valley of the Kings, Paetos told them. Home to the gateway to the Black Garden. And sure enough, there is was. A massive mechanical ring built vertically into the sand, it was impossible to miss. What was striking, though, was the lack of Vex. One would think a site so critical to the machines would be defended at least a little. Even Paetos thought this was strange. “Where are the Vex?” he muttered under his breath. This was very unusual. Nonetheless, they continued forward. Slowly. Cautiously. They did not need an ambush. When they were in front of the gate, Paetos made them stop. “Listen to me. We do not know what’s on the other side of that gate. When you step through, you have your guns at the ready. Be prepared to move right away. Also, the only way out is by Ghost transmat, so don’t get lost or else I can’t give you the codes to leave. Understood?” They all nodded. “Good. Then let’s…” he trailed off. The others looked at him, wondering why he stopped talking. Followed his field of vision towards the way they came. Saw it too. It was a bunch of swirling black orbs that seemed to come from nowhere. It was not good. “What is it, Paetos? Vex?” asked Klaeda. He slowly shook his head. “No. Taken.” He shuddered. The others readied their weapons. Suddenly the orbs burst and figures took shape. They were…disturbing. So many of them. Dozens of black shapes started toward them. Paetos spoke first. “Go! Into the Garden! NOW!” he shouted. Klaeda and Norid-2 turned and ran into the gate. Michas watched as they swirled and disappeared. Paetos turned and started to run toward the gate…but Michas stood in his way. “Michas, we need to go!” he yelled over the sound of the approaching battle group. But Michas just stood there. Solid. Unmoving. His once warm eyes, not visible to Paetos through the helmet, were cold and dark. When the Titan spoke, it was ominously calm. “You always run. Not anymore.” He pulled out his hand cannon, pointed it at Paetos’ face, and pulled. One shot. Echoed throughout the Martian desert. Immediately Paetos’ Ghost appeared and began a resurrection. Before it could finish, Michas pointed his hand cannon at the Ghost. Pulled once. Two shots. It only took two shots to do it. To avenge. The Ghost exploded into a ball of shrapnel and electricity. A quick burst…then dead. Just like its owner. Michas then walked backwards toward the gate, never taking his eyes off Paetos’ lifeless body. Kept walking until he passed through. Once on the other side, Klaeda and Norid-2 met him. “Where’s Paetos?” asked Klaeda. “He didn’t make it.”