"Goodbye, Sand Land," I whispered longingly to the planet on the other side of the glass. "It's Mars," Sally called from the control panel. After another minute or so I went back to the pilot's seat and plopped down with a satisfied sigh. "So what happened with me dying earlier?" I inquired. "You know how I revived you earlier today?" Sally glanced over to see me nod in confirmation before continuing, "Well, every time you die I can revive you again, at least as long as the both of us have Light." "Light?" I repeated. "Yes, Light," Sally said, "You know how you used the Fist of Havoc and some Arc energy punches earlier?" "Arc?" I asked, confused. "I'll get to it, hold on," Sally sighed, "Light is the energy inside you and me that binds us and gives us power. It can be used in different ways and turned into different forms of energy. Those attacks you used with electricity coming off of your fists are using a form of energy called Arc energy." "Okay...I think I've got it. Light equals energy and I make electric energy?" I asked for Sally to verify. "Actually, that's about right, although a rather simple way to look at it. Good job Drew," Sally answered me. "I'm a simple guy," I shrugged nonchalantly. "That's the understatement of the year..." Sally mumbled, then moved on to a different train of thought, "Hey, what was it that you sang earlier when the Phalanx launched you into the wall?" "I don't know, just some song that came to mind. It just felt...right," I tried explaining, "Have you ever been to the City before?" "Yes, it's where I was made," Sally answered, "I can't wait to get back to the City and see the Traveler again, it's been so long since I left Earth. I'm honestly surprised I made it back; every moment I worried that something would catch me." "No need to worry anymore, I'll always be here to protect you now," I assured her, taking off my helmet and looking into her single eye. The helmet disappeared from my hands with a flash, but by this point I had figured out that Sally was responsible for the appearances and disappearances of my gear. "Thank you, Drew," Sally looked away shyly, "That does make me feel safer. "What's the Traveler?" I questioned her. "Oh boy, we have a lot to talk about," Sally sighed, "Okay, now play close attention." As we rocketed through space, Sally explained to me all of the miracles of the Traveler and the history of humanity and Guardians. • • • "Drew," a voice pierced the haze of my mind. "Drew," it came again, and I struggled to pull myself from my weakened state. "Drew! Were you even listening?!" Sally snapped at me. "I couldn't hold on any longer," I muttered sourly, "It made my head hurt and it was SO BORING." "If you wanted me to talk about something besides history you could've asked instead of trying to sleep!" Sally huffed. "I didn't want to interrupt," I tried coming up with an excuse. "That's sweet but you didn't have to sit through all of that if you didn't want to! Interrupting me with a snore is worse than by speaking to me!" Sally shouted. "There's the girl I was missing," I said as I collected myself and sat up straight in the pilot's seat of the Harvester, "Does it feel good to not be too timid to say how you feel?" "I don't-! You ca-!" Sally tried and failed to find words to scold me for messing with her, "Drew, I don't like being upset, so please find other things to make me talk." "See? It's still working," I chuckled, "Come on, show me some love, what do you think about...hmm, about the City?" "The City is marvelous," Sally answered with awe and wonder in her voice, "The Traveler floats above it, so beautiful, letting its Light shine down on everyone around it. All the people, working together in hopes of rebuilding, and the Guardians, taking care of everyone and somehow managing to be happy in these...dark times." "Okay okay, what about Sand La- I mean Mars?" I questioned further. "There is much knowledge buried there; many remnants of the grandeur that humanity had achieved. Of course the sand is everywhere now...covering everything, like a beast trying to...consume, everything. And then there's the Cabal," Sally became more scared as she went on, her voice shrinking down to a quiet squeak, "Those big brutes trying to crush everything and their Psions always so close to finding yo-" "Sally!" I cut her off, cradling her in my hands, "It's okay. Sorry, should've known you'd think of the Cabal." "I'm s-sorry Drew, I ca-can't help it," Sally whimpered , floating slowly out of my hands. "Let's talk about something else," I suggested, "Do you like jokes?" Sally only responded with a whimpering sound, too closed-off to answer my questions anymore. "And she's gone again," I sighed, then looked at the control panel in front of me, "Hey, can I fly for a bit?" For a moment there was no answer, and I just sat there, staring out the window. A single planet had just drifted into view, covered in masses of blue and green with swirling white clouds scattered all over. I had absolutely no memory of Earth, but somehow I knew on sight that this planet was it. Earth was beautiful, and clearly not covered in sand. "Do you know how to fly?" Sally's voice finally asked quietly. "Yes," I lied, figuring I would instantly know how to do it just like I had automatically known how to speak and handle weapons. "Okay. Disengaging my lock on our selected route," Sally responded. As I curled my fingers around the handles of the control stick I felt a swell of confidence wash over me, and smiled as I prepared to take us through some fancy maneuvers. Moments later I was screaming in terror and Sally was hovering around, trying to keep from flying into a wall and yelling commands at me. On the few moments where Earth flashed past my line of sight through the Harvester window it was spiraling across my vision, just to disappear again a moment later. "Can't fly can't fly CAN'T FLY!" I shouted fearfully, hoping that no stray ship or asteroid would collide with us. "Drew! Let go of the wheel!" Sally screamed just before ricocheting off of the back wall and shooting back towards the front. I instantly relinquished my grip and let my hands wave up into the air, flailing wildly. Sally's course took her directly over the controls, and as she passed them she shone a blue beam from her eye again, taking back over control of the Harvester. After a moment the ship realigned its course and we stopped our wild spinning. "That...was a bad...idea," I moaned as my head lulled around, still trying to figure out if the mayhem had ended. "Thank the Traveler it's over," Sally mumbled, and I looked over just in time to see her plop down onto the control panel, only to roll off onto the floor. "Good thing I don't have a stomach to throw up with," I chuckled weakly. "Never met a Guardian who couldn't fly a ship when necessary before..." Sally said as she slowly floated up from the ground. "Sally?" I asked after a moment, "Are we there yet?" "That's an impractical question, you can clearly see through the front of the ship that we're only just now entering Earth's atmosphere," Sally responded. "Is that a yes or no?" I questioned her. "No, we are not at the City yet, but we are at Earth," she answered. "Okay." "Are we there yet?" I spoke again before a minute had passed. "No, we're still moving across the surface to the City's coordinates," Sally told me, a little confused by the repetition of my question. I tried being patient, but the anticipation took hold again before another minute had passed. "Are we there yet?" I asked yet again. "...no Drew, we aren't," Sally answered. "How 'bout now?" "We're still on approach." "How 'bout no-?" "No! We aren't! Now stop asking before I turn this ship around." "Okay..." We sat in silence for awhile, Sally keeping busy at the controls while I stared dejectedly at my feet. "Drew," Sally's voice rang out after a minute or two. I looked up, daring to hope once more. "Are we-?" I began to ask excitedly. "Yes, we're here," Sally said happily. ________________________________ Link to Pt 4: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/221445761/0/0 Link to Pt 6: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/221445916/0/0 Link to ToC: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/212710816/0/0