Lieutenant D’Ssoad pulled the Thresher out of warp high over the Moon. Even though he was pretty certain they were far enough away to avoid detection, he quickly checked the scanners to make sure. Beside him, Riksis peered out the cockpit to look at the surface below, a bright green circle glowing from it like a giant Hive eye. “There’s the infamous Hellmouth. Not much to look at from here.” “We’re going to get a closer look pretty soon.” “Indeed,” the Eliksni growled. “Bring us in low quickly and two klicks from where this ‘Toland’ is supposed to be stationed. I will endure a long walk so I [i]don’t[/i] get shot out of the sky.” [i]Don’t you mean so[/i] we [i]don’t get shot?[/i] D’Ssoad thought to himself. He brought the cruiser into a steady descent toward one of the flatter regions of the moon, keeping an eye out for Tomb Ships. “Faster,” Riksis purred beside him. “What?” “Descend [i]faster[/i],” the Centurion repeated slowly. “They will notice us at the speed you’re going.” “I’m going as fast as I can safely pull out of,” D’Ssoad protested. Riksis scoffed and diverted controls to his seat. “Then let’s not rely on your inferior human reflexes for our survival.” He pushed the throttle into a steep dive, their ship almost vertical. D’Ssoad felt himself get shoved into the back of his seat as the Eliksni accelerated downward. The ground came rushing up much faster than at terminal velocity, but Riksis didn’t let off. As soon as D’Ssoad accepted they were about to die, the Eliksni jerked back on the throttle so hard the whole craft shuddered and creaked. Now D’Ssoad was crushed down into his seat, and he felt the cushioning split under him. Not only were they going to die, but now it was going to be as painful as possible. After several crushing, shrieking seconds of terror, the sound and the pressure died down. D’Ssoad opened his eyes to see them barely hovering above the ground. Beside him, his commanding officer grinned proudly beneath his ether mask. “You see?” Riksis rumbled. “We have arrived unscathed.” “Are you [i]insane?![/i]” D’Ssoad cried. “You nearly tore the ship apart!” Riksis waved him off with both left hands. “Cabal vessels are built to be sturdy. Half of their tactics involve ramming into other ships.” “Then why did you engage the landing gear?” “A buffer doesn’t hurt,” the Eliksni defended, drawing back up the feet and making the Thresher fly forward. “It’s better than [i]you[/i] would have done.” “You certainly tried to put on a show.” “Impressed by my performance?” D’Ssoad pointed ahead of them as a handful of Tomb Ships broke out of rifts. “Why don’t you ask [i]them[/i] first how they liked it?” Riksis cursed in Eliksni something untranslatable as axion bolts bombarded their Thresher. Warning sirens screamed as one of the engines gave out. They would have spiraled out of the sky had D’Ssoad not acted quickly and deactivated the other engines, letting the ship careen down under the effects of the Moon’s slightly weaker gravity. Even then, they hit the ground hard and went into a long skid, kicking up a plume of lunar dust. To make matters worse, when D’Ssoad looked up to see what lay ahead he saw a chasm yawning open before them. He felt the ship slowing down as it drew closer to the edge, but it wasn’t enough. The Cockpit and main engines leapt out over the chasm, but the sudden drop from the main hull made the back engine dig in. The Thresher tilted down the rift, hanging on precariously. Looking down, D’Ssoad could see the usual green mist seeping out. He was afraid to move for risk of upsetting the ship’s balance. Suddenly, he didn’t have a choice as his seatbelt snapped and he fell toward the front of the cockpit. Then a clawed hand grabbed him roughly by the collar and jerked him upward. He found himself slung across Riksis’ shoulders as the Eliksni held onto the seats, positioning his arms and legs to get good holds. “Hold on if you want to live, Lieutenant,” Riksis grunted. “I can’t climb us out with only two arms!” D’Ssoad wrapped his arms around the Eliksni’s neck as Riksis clambered up the floor of the Thresher, using the seats and controls to get good footing. He eventually found the emergency latch for the cockpit and released it, sending the glass into the abyss. “I hope your suit wasn’t damaged, Lieutenant,” he growled as he crawled out onto the dangling ship’s hull. Fortunately, it had sustained enough damage from the axion bolts that finding handholds was relatively easy. Unfortunately, the other engine had caught fire, and it was only a matter of time before it blew up the rest of the craft. Riksis scrambled up the Thresher as fast as he could, but his haste made it lurch more and more. He reached the top as the pivoting mechanism on the engine snapped, causing it to break its hold on the edge and plummet. Riksis lunged out, the engine passing between his legs as he landed face-first in the lunar soil, D’Ssoad still clung to his neck. “By the Traveler, we’re alive,” D’Ssoad gasped. “Sir, I can’t thank you—” Riksis interrupted him by ripping him from his back into the dust beside him. “Silence.” D’Ssoad sputtered, “You – you just saved my life!” “You sound ungrateful, Lieutenant,” the Eliksni groaned as he stood up. “I don’t have time to be sentimental.” D’Ssoad gave up. He turned around to see the Tomb Ships disappearing back into tears in space. Evidently, they thought the Thresher was no more. “Looks like we got shot out of the sky [i]and[/i] we’re walking.” **************************************************************************************************** The pair trudged across the lunar landscape for the next couple of hours. They stayed close to rocks and mountains whenever possible to avoid detection, and went out of their way to not get caught by Hive patrols. If they were found, there would be no one around to save them. Eventually, they found the broken-down power conduit that was a part of the Golden Age colony and used it to guide them further along. They followed it up a rise and crested it to find the old colony base found outside the Hellmouth. Looking down, D’Ssoad saw no signs of activity to indicate a secret intelligence base. “I don’t see anything,” he relayed to Riksis. “Do you think they’re still here?” “They better,” the Centurion growled. “Not only would this have been a terrible waste of time, but they are our only hope of finding something that will get us off this rock. Otherwise, we’ll have to travel days to find someone on the front lines…and you didn’t pack provisions.” D’Ssoad glanced at his commanding officer. “And you did?” Riksis chuckled menacingly as he began working his way down the rise. “Make no mistake, Lieutenant. If I am driven to desperation, I will have no qualms about making [i]you[/i] my provisions.” D’Ssoad stared at the Eliksni for a while before following him. “Lovely.” It didn’t take them long to reach the bottom, but as they did Riksis bellowed and toppled down the rest of the way. Even when he stopped moving, he continued to roar on the ground in agony. “What the hell is wrong with you now?” D’Ssoad yelled, picking up the pace to get beside the Centurion. As soon as his feet hit the ground, his mind exploded. He clutched his head as he flashed between experiencing hopeless despair, rabid rage, and electrifying terror. For several moments he forgot who and where he was and how to breathe. It felt like someone had torn his brain into pieces and were juggling them. It was excruciating. Then through it all, a single word broke through the madness: [i]Enough![/i] Just as suddenly as it started, the torrent of emotions subsided, leaving D’Ssoad dazed and with a dull headache. He was vaguely aware of something stepping up beside him, and it took him a few moments to use his senses to determine what it was. A being in a woman-shaped armored space suit stood over him, gazing at him through a dark helmet. Her arm sported a Light Master’s armband. “Who are you?” she asked in a stern, almost mechanical voice. “Why are you here?” “Are…are you Toland?” D’Ssoad groaned. The woman kicked him sharply in the shoulder. “I’m asking the questions here! Answer me!” “Pardon my subordinate,” Riksis rasped, getting to his feet. “He’s not known for his manners. We came from the Stronghold looking for information on the Hive. They destroyed our ship as we landed, but we—” The woman’s fists tightened as she interrupted, “You weren’t followed, were you?” “No, no we weren’t,” D’Ssoad coughed, standing up as well. “We came here looking for Toland. Do you know where he is?” “Of course I know where he is!” the woman snapped. “I’m one of his Flayers! The name’s Eriana-3.” [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Groups/Post?groupId=1371758&postId=244991280&sort=0&page=0]Table of Contents[/url]