[b]The Thief[/b] The warship tore through the clouds as the Traveler came into view. “Oh god…” whispered Alex. Near the edge of the Last City rose a single pillar of smoke, pitch black against the shining white of the alien sphere. Delta felt sick. The Defense's pawns had already made their move. They attacked the City in broad daylight and took the Key Blade. The exo threw the ship into auto pilot and summoned his ghost. “Direct the ship to the attack site and transmat us to the surface." “On it,” the ghost answered. Delta grabbed his Mida and shoved a magazine inside. If nothing else, he had to find the guardians that took the Blade before the weapon makes its way back to the Hive. Delta had the ghosts with him. If these guardians knew they were free, they would no doubt return the Key Blade. As the team neared the drop zone, Alex took her place beside Delta. “I’ve got your back,” she said. “Let’s stop these guys.” Delta appreciated the backup, but noticed a look of disgust on Alex’s face. He turned to see Adriar loading his own weapon. “Should we really let him come with us?” Alex asked Delta, but loud enough for Adriar to hear. “I don’t expect you to forgive me,” said the Titan, “but my duty is first and foremost to the protection of the Last City.” He turned to Delta. “They took our ghosts, made us do their bidding, and now they threaten our home! It’s time to free our fellow guardians!” Delta nodded and turned back to Alex. “I think you have your answer,” he said. The ship lurched backwards and swiveled above the drop zone. “Prepare for transmat,” said Delta. He gave his ghost the all clear signal and the transmat followed. The three guardians hit the ground running. All around them there were people screaming and several buildings had caught fire. They had landed in the middle of a street that was now covered in rubble. The team slowed as they neared the cause of the smoke. Alex gasped when she laid eyes on the devastation. Directly in the middle of an intersection laid a mess of debris, bodies, and flames. Guardians and armed frames were already on the scene. Delta spotted Cayde-6 through the growing mess of panicked citizens, and made his way to him. The Hunter Vanguard was kneeling beside a woman who was crying uncontrollably. She held on desperately to the body of her dead son. Delta stopped in his tracks when he saw this. Cayde had a sad look in his eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” he repeated several times. “He’s gone. Look at me. Look- …there you go. Listen to me. You need to go. He’s gone. You need to get to safety. I’m so sorry…” Cayde slowly pulled the woman away from her son, speaking to her the whole time, and then handed her off to a frame. He turned back to look at the gruesome scene and saw Delta. Cayde simply shook his head and watched as frames and guardians began to clear the debris. Delta stood in respect. He had never made out Cayde to be so caring. The Hunter no longer had an upright confidence about him. Instead, his posture hung low and his face showed a deep sadness. Delta looked again at the wreckage. Adriar had begun scanning the area, and Alex was helping another guardian clear the mess. The Warlock knelt beside the body of a guardian. The girl was a Titan by the looks of it. Her helmet was cracked in two on the ground and Delta could see that her skull was bashed in. What pretty face she may have had before was now mutilated. Her ghost laid in the dust beside her, crushed to bits. Delta could not relate to Cayde’s sadness. All he felt was anger. Seeing Delta’s change in expression, Cayde walked over to him. “It doesn’t happen often,” he said, “but every once in a while our enemies show us they still draw breath. The City hasn’t seen an attack behind its walls since the Twilight Gap. Whoever did this will face the full retaliation of the Last City.” Delta nodded. “It was The Defense.” Cayde looked at him in confusion. “I found their leader,” explained Delta. “She said they wanted to return the Key Blade to the Hive, no doubt to give them the edge against the Traveler." Cayde nodded. “It makes sense. The Blade is still missing.” He paused for a moment in thought, then continued. “What I don’t understand is how they accomplished this inside the City walls.” Delta could hear the captive ghosts that now resided in his helmet. “Well…” he started, but never got to finish. “Delta!” shouted Alex. “Delta, come quick!” Delta and Cayde rushed over to where Alex and another Titan had flipped over a concrete slab to reveal an injured Hunter. “Ross!” exclaimed Delta. The guardians began to pull Rosland from the rubble, but he screamed in agonizing pain. “Oh dear,” said Cayde. “The poor chap has rebar in his back.” Sure enough, Delta could see a portion of rebar jutting out from behind Ross. He knelt beside the Hunter and grabbed his hand. “Hold on buddy, this is going to hurt.” He nodded at Alex. She got on her knees on the opposite side and placed her hands underneath Ross. “Ready?” she asked. “Oh god…” Ross rasped. “Here we go,” said Alex. “One, two, three, pull!” Ross screamed even louder as he was lifted off the rebar, barely holding on to consciousness. They carefully set him down in the dirt as Ross’s ghost appeared. “Thank you,” it said. “I will begin healing him immediately.” As the ghost went to work, Cayde bent over Ross and put a hand on his shoulder. “Hey bud. You’re going to be okay. Can you tell me who did this?” Ross inhaled deeply several times before speaking. “A guardian…” he said with difficulty. Cayde’s eyes widened in shock. Delta frowned. He was hoping it wasn't true. If there was a time to explain, it was now. “This was the doing of The Defense,” said Delta plainly. “They took several ghosts captive to force guardians to do what they want.” Cayde stared at him in disbelief. “How do you know this?” Delta spread out his hands as five ghosts materialized before him. “We must get back to our guardians,” said one. “Yes. They must know that they are free,” said another. “Ross,” called Delta, turning back to his friend. “Do you know which of the guardians did this?” Ross nodded. “Cassian… took the weapon.” Cassian. That was not a name he recognized. A feeling of dread washed over Delta. It had never occurred to him that The Defense might have even more ghosts locked away somewhere. He cursed at this new developement. “None of these ghosts belong to him,” Delta told the others. He gave Alex an angry look. “Sayyed played us. She did not care if we freed these ghosts.” [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Clan/Post/1371758/226096964/0/0]Part 2[/url] [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/224417569?page=0&sort=0&showBanned=0&path=1]The Hub[/url]