For more of my posts, check out my [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/228191135/0/0]Master Post[/url]. _______________________________________ Kima Panara tilts her head back. The Vex Citadel pierces through Venus’s ever-present veil of clouds; a mysterious and ominous monolith cutting into space and time. This is the pinnacle, the heart of the enigma of the Waking Ruins. Montgomery Hemsworth looks forward. The Vex gate stands before them, a ring of metal shaped to a perfect design and filled with the light of unknown possibilities. This is their aperture, their way in. Reagan Jul glances back over her shoulder. They shouldn’t be here. This is dangerous. They have crossed the Ishtar Collective’s safety cordon. No one else knows where they are or what they are about to do. Here, atop the ancient stone at the base of the Citadel, cellular and informational Vex elements threaten to destroy their bodies and their minds. They should be using proxies -operating remote explorer bodies through neural links, protected by distance and neural firewall. They are not. This task must be done in person. “Amazing…” Panara whispers, her mind wandering as high in the clouds as the Citadel. The Vex are the source of so many wonders. She wishes to see them all. “Don’t get distracted,” Hemsworth warns, staring at the gate. The warning is also directed at himself. This had been his plan and up until this moment he hadn’t faltered, but now he doesn’t dare move any closer to the alien portal. The Vex hold the answers to all his questions; even the questions he hasn’t thought of yet and those he doesn’t want answered. “We could be infected already,” Jul frets, biting her lip. She’s debated every reason they have to do this and compared them to the far longer list of risks. Her fear nearly outweighs her curiosity. Nearly. Hemsworth glances to Jul, his own worries washing away for only a moment under a wave of sympathy. She knows the dangers far better than they ever could, but still she is here with them. He gives her shoulder a comforting squeeze, “Let’s not delay, then.” Jul’s sharp eyes lock with his. She hasn’t let anyone touch her since the incident, but on this occasion she allows it. “I’ll go first,” Panara declares, stepping forward. She was always the bravest and boldest of the trio. Hemsworth almost reaches out to stop her, but Jul speaks, “Protect your mind, Kima.” Panara pauses and flashes a forced smile. It’s the first time Hemsworth sees the worry hidden behind her eyes. “You know we can’t.” Jul smiles back as her friend vanishes in a haze of blue, fragmented light. Hemsworth and Jul wait for a few seconds, to see if anything goes wrong. It feels like an eternity. When nothing happens, Jul brushes her hands over her protective suit and steps forward. “Jul, wait,” Hemsworth pleads, moving after her. She holds up a hand to ward him off, “If I’m last I won’t ever go through.” She lowers her hand and turns to face the gate, glancing at him over her shoulder, “And do call me by my first name, Monty. We’re all far past that line at this point.” There is no humor in Jul’s request, but Hemsworth still finds it amusing. What they call each other is by far the least of their worries. He nods slowly, “Reagan, then.” Jul passes through the gate without another word, leaving Hemsworth alone. Hemsworth waits and nothing changes. Fears and doubts seep into his mind, filling it like never before. What if this didn’t work? Were his friends even alive? The Vex gate network could have sent them anywhere or anywhen, maybe even to places that aren’t real. There was no guarantee of survival. Death could be instantaneous. He swallows hard, shaking out his hands. He can’t quit now. He’d sent them through there. If they were dead it was his doing. And if they were alive he needed to be there for them. Hemsworth looks up to the Citadel. He doesn’t know if there is anyone listening -wether it be a god or the Traveler- but he prays to anything that will listen, even the Vex. He prays for Panara’s courage and Jul’s wisdom. He lowers his eyes back down to the gate and knows that Panara’s heart and Jul’s mind are on the other side. He will need to go through to find them. He can’t let them wait any longer; he must join them in their fate. He steps forward and is swallowed by the Vex. [spoiler]Thanks for reading. This is a one-shot story. One day I may develop it into a longer story, but for now this is all.[/spoiler]