Sierra and I stood shoulder to shoulder in the elevator, the eerie apprehension of the Speaker’s final words weighing on the both of us. As if reading out our fears, the voice over the intercom spoke words I never thought I would hear. “Attention all guardians. As ordered by the Consensus, all fireteams are grounded. Any and all field action is prohibited unless by direct order of the Consensus. Active fireteams are to disengage and recall immediately and without exemption.” I locked eyes with my exo companion while the message repeated. We both knew the plan without speaking a word to each other, we could slip out unnoticed with Holiday’s help. Cayde could handle things from there, as much as he hated bureaucracy, he was getting pretty good at it. In his own...unique way. Sierra’s right hand rested casually on the hilt of her holstered firearm while her eyes flicked around the metal box in which we stood. I could feel my muscles tensing in anticipation as the seconds dragged on. I took a deep breath and let it out slow, putting an end to the crackling electricity that was beginning to arc across my knuckles. Finally, the doors slid open, spilling sunlight from the large windows over us as we strode out into the empty Hall of Guardians. Making our way up to the Tower watch, I began to hear the calls and murmurs alike of dozens of guardians. The quickly growing group was gathered around the bounty board, above which, stood the Speaker. I let Sierra pass me as we made our way through the crowd, against the sea of outraged and confused guardians both in and out of armor. We weaved through the group and split up in an attempt to avoid drawing attention while moving briskly toward the hangar. I took a look behind me when I reached the edge of the crowd that had now spread all the way down to the vaults. The regal white figure stood facing my direction, but it was impossible to tell if he had caught sight of us. The instant he turned, I made a break for the hangar, vaulting the railing and pressing against the wall. Silence, save for the typical omnipresent electronic drone of lighting, surveillance and a dozen other systems. I slipped around the corner and strode with purpose through the narrow, high ceilinged hallway. “Echo? Make sure we’re ready to go” Sierra and Amanda were both working furiously when I ran into the hangar, disconnecting cables and marking crates for transmat. The beast of a vessel was an M wing variant with bits and pieces of a dozen other jumpships welded on. “...nine, nine-helix routed through the refractor. Got it?” the shipwright shouted to Sierra, releasing a pressurized valve and sending steam into the air surrounding her. “Nine, nine-helix. Gotcha.” the exo called back. I set to work without missing a beat. Echo appeared in my palm before flying off to the pile of marked supply crates. I joined Holiday in detaching cables, unclamping worn chrome latches and tossing the cables to the floor with a metallic thud. “You better be sure about this,” Holiday warned, without ever breaking focus on the ship. “Gonna stir up quite a bit of trouble for us. But that ain’t yours to worry about. Hive don’t wait for us to be ready.” “You said it. Not leaving us a lot of options.” I responded, as Sierra dropped down from the top of the ship. “Give em hell.” Amanda put her hand on my shoulder and gave me a serious stare. “We’ll be waiting.” She dropped her arm and looked back at the painstakingly constructed and modified jumpship, “I’ll hit the gate locks. You two get ready to jet.” Amanda took off in a run toward the control terminal on the far side of the hangar. “Don’t let Cayde take too-” I was cut off as the door from which I entered slid open and a figure strode out onto the sheet metal floor. The titan, in the same stone grey and crimson armor of a City Defense commander that I’d run into earlier, took three more steps, stopped, and slowly reached for the firearm slung on his back. Sierra and I followed closely in suit. “Ships are grounded. You didn’t hear?” He spoke calmly in his distinctly exo voice. “Turn around.” Sierra replied, “Special orders.” “ ‘Fraid I can’t do that Porter…” His own ghost flashed into existence, he never broke eye contact with me, “I don’t know what you’re doin’ but Consensus knows you’re running unsanctioned ops. Stand down.” He took three methodical paces forward. “Nothing against you, but I can’t-” I was interrupted by a hollow metallic clang. Holiday hit the gate locks. “Echo, NOW!” I shouted, both Sierra and I broke into a sprint for the door. Prologue/directory: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/139146382?sort=0&page=0