[url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/246624086/0/0]Table of Contents[/url] Derik sat and strapped himself into his seat, studying the other occupants of the jumpship. Like him, they wore bits of shoddy armor -more cloth and padding than actual metal- and each held a firearm. Derik vaguely recognized some of them, but didn’t know any by name. Saul was in the back corner, dozing off with his head propped against the wall. Avery’s gunmen had woken them all up in the middle of the night, taking them from their homes to the town hall. There, the equipment they now carried was distributed amongst them and they were led to the waiting jumpship. Avery had made a public announcement the day before, shortly after returning from Fairmont. This small group of volunteers -everyone in Hilton willing to join the fight against Natalia- was going to meet up with Brenon and Daedalus’s forces to invade Natalia’s territory. Derik actually hadn’t volunteered, but Avery hadn’t given him a choice. Derik shifted, trying to adjust the straps and pads pressed over his chest. The others were quiet and kept to themselves, still shaking off the effects of sleep, and Derik was happy to leave it that way. Two of Avery’s guards boarded the vessel, working together to lift a large chest and two crates. One of the guards seemed to be Ritford, but Derik couldn’t tell with the helmet on. They set the crates down and fastened them to the wall with a harness. Derik stretched his neck to get a better look and saw a number of stuffed bags filling the top crate. Ritford left while the other guard, a woman, sat in the chair next to the cockpit. She clipped her belt together then slapped the wall and called to the pilot, “Loaded, Alan!” The ramp shuddered to life and closed, then the ship jolted into the air. Saul awoke with a start, and the guard addressed the passengers, “It’ll be a short flight. Sleep if you can.” • • • Derik stepped out of the jumpship with the others and looked around. Two large tractors sat in front of them, surrounded by Sparrows. They had clearly been scrapped together from the remains of Golden Age vehicles, and each had giant trailers hitched to their backs. They seemed to be the husks of old buses; spacious with rows of seats inside. Beyond them, the silhouettes of buildings stuck out from the plains. Though it was still the dead of night and the glow of the sun had yet to appear, some lights were on in the village. “Right this way, everyone!” A voice directed, and Derik turned to see Brenon coming around the side of the jumpship. He was wide awake and smiling happily, despite the time. The group shuffled after him, bringing a large gathering into sight. There were at least sixty gunmen, some in armor and others only wearing everyday clothes. Daedalus and Avery stood at the head of them, surrounded by their own guards. “Join in,” Brenon ushered, waving Derik’s group along. When everyone was together, he flicked back the hood of his cloak and hollered to the crowd, “Alright, everyone, thanks for volunteerin’! Here’s what’s gonna happen! For those o’ you who don’t know, this little town here is Laurel. It’s at the edge o’ our territory. We’re gonna hop onto these rides an’ make our way to Fairmont. We’ll have to work our way over a lot o’ land, an’ no doubt there’ll be a few fights on the way.” Brenon pointed to the Warlords and explained, “We’ve got a chain o’ command here. Lady Avery an’ Lord Daedalus are callin’ the shots. These armored fellas with ‘em are their best. They get their orders an’ give ‘em to all y’all. Listen to them, an’ they’ll keep ya alive.” He gestured to the gathering, “It’s gonna be a rough trip. Stay alert, ‘cause we could get attacked any time. Get sleep when ya can, an’ get to know the people around ya. You never know when they’ll save your life or take a bullet to the head.” He waved them away, “That’s all! Go ahead an’ pile into those trucks!” “Why don’t we use that ship?!” Someone hollered. Brenon planted his hands on his hips and retorted, “‘Cause it’s small and a jumpship is liable to [i]BLOW UP[/i] if someone shoots it with a rocket! Any further questions?!” No one spoke up, so he hurried them off, “Go on, let’s get outta here!” The group reluctantly walked to the vehicles. Saul slipped next to Derik as they slowly filed in. They sat together, with Derik next to the empty frame of a window, and waited while the trailer was filled with people. Saul’s mouth opened wide with a powerful yawn and he mumbled, “Tell you what, Derik, I am [i]not[/i] a mornin’ person.” Derik patted Saul’s shoulder, then left him to rest and looked out the window. Only the Warlords and their guards hadn’t boarded the transports. Some of Avery’s followers were in front of the jumpship. Derik watched the pilot exchange hugs and handshakes with them before entering the vessel. Avery was speaking with Daedalus as they made their way to the tractors. Some of the guards climbed onto them while others mounted the Sparrows. The Warlords and the rest joined the makeshift army in the buses. Both the Warlords stepped into the same trailer as Saul and Derik, taking their seats on the front bench. Brenon and another guard slid the chest and crates into the front as they climbed in, then waved to the drivers. The tractors lurched forward as their gears turned and treads rolled, yanking the trailers after them. Derik scanned his fellow passengers. Like Saul, they were doing their best to get comfortable and nod off. Derik did the same, leaning against the frame of the bus and trying to ignore the constant shaking as they rolled along. • • • Natalia coughed into her gloved hand and shivered. She crossed her arms and rubbed them for warmth as she turned to the six guards who were with her. “It’s gotten colder out,” she fussed. “We could go back inside, my queen,” one of the armored men offered, holding a hand out to the fortress. “No, no,” Natalia dismissed, “Just show me the map.” The guard scratched at his beard and spread a large parchment over the ground, weighing the corners into the fresh layer of snow with rocks. It displayed a detailed sketch of the surrounding terrain. Small circles were dotted across the terrain, each labeled with a different name. Natalia sunk down to her knees in the white powder and planted her hands on the map. She scrutinized it for a minute before pointing to the image of a long belt of forested area. “She said she would come for us, but she won’t bring that fancy ship out,” she muttered, “How will she travel?” “By foot?” A guard with long black hair guessed. “Too slow,” Natalia countered, “And hard for her people.” “Could they have somethin’ on wheels?” The first guard suggested, “Sparrows?” “Better,” Natalia smiled, running a finger over the paper, “She’ll stay out of the open and hide in the forest.” “You think they’ll go through Pinton?” The first guard observed. “Well let’s go head ‘em off there,” a stout guard said, grinning eagerly. “We won’t make it in time,” Natalia corrected, “Avery is probably already coming.” “So we leave Pinton to get burned down?” The first guard asked, “We can’t.” The guard with blonde hair shrugged, “Sounds fine to me.” Natalia put her hands together on the map, then dragged her fingers down two different paths, “She’ll have to come out to get to Fairmont. She’ll take Coal.” “So we meet them at Coal,” the stout guard concluded. “No,” Natalia corrected, “We can’t defend Coal. We’ll go to Flats and Elton.” “Why would they attack both?” The fifth guard inquired, tugging at her braided hair. “She won’t,” Natalia planned, “She’ll pick one, then come here. We’ll have to fortify both.” “Traveler, it [i]is[/i] cold out here,” the sixth guard griped quietly behind them, running a hand over his black beard. “We’ll bring radios to Flats and Elton, so we can know which way she goes,” Natalia planned, “And whoever she doesn’t attack will fall back here.” “Fall back?” The stout guard scoffed. “Are you sayin’ you think they’ll beat us all the way back here?” The black-haired guard grilled indignantly. The blonde guard snarled at him, “Watch how you talk to-“ “Hey!” Natalia snapped with a sudden spark of anger. The guards hushed and awkwardly lowered their gazes to their feet. Natalia’s fury vanished as quickly as it had appeared, and she continued, “Avery is dangerous. And she’s got Daedalus with her. We need to be careful.” The stout guard planted his hands on his hips, “I’m all for dragging out a war.” A few silent seconds passed while Natalia poured over the map. “You know what,” she hummed, turning to the gunmen, “Fargo. How do you feel about defending Coal?” The black-haired guard grinned with unrestrained pride, “How many men can you give me?”