[i]*Fanfiction. As usual, another chapter split into two so no surprise there. Had some time to work out the last few chapters after having come down with the flu for a few days. The good news is that I'm feeling much better. The bad news? Only two to three chapters left! We're almost there. Enjoy the read and remember to comment and critique!*[/i] [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/87862826/0/0/1]Chapter One[/url] [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/96272135/0/0]Previous Chapter[/url] [b]--- Chapter Eight or The Prisoner of Light ---[/b] [i][b]The Prison of Elders. Third floor docking station.[/b][/i] [b]”Come on!”[/b] Lock screamed at the console staring back at him. It was his pathetic attempt at willing the thing back to life. [b]”Wake up…. wake up and get your fat rear off the ground!”[/b] He punched an unmarked button to no avail. [b]”[Are you sure you know what you’re doing?]”[/b] Sky sat in the back. She wanted to help but didn’t intend to get in the way when Lock was so… emotionally invested. The Exo continued his abuse of the control panels and proceeded to answer her through gritted glowing maw. [b]”Trust me when I say I’m the best pilot this far out of the inner system. I know what I’m doing!”[/b] [b]”[Okay…]”[/b] She replied and said nothing more. She figured it was better to leave him alone to do his work than to try and intervene and make things worse. They were already pressed for time and she knew next to nothing when it came to flying Awoken craft. Lock pulled himself away from the console and did his tenth assessment of the ship. It was a standard prison transport vehicle, built for one thing and one thing only. The design and function of the vessel reflected it’s singular purpose. It was large and bulky in form, nearly a perfect rectangular box with two main sections connected to each other though the two parts remained separate. The first section was for pilot and piloting crew and could uncomfortably seat four [i]human[/i] sized passengers. With Sky in the back taking up both seats and Randar sitting beside Lock in the front, Vahn had to be placed in the aft section. Put simply, Vahn had been placed inside a container refitted as an inmate’s shuttle bus. The good news was that he had all the room he could need, plenty of space available for him to rest what with the wounds he’d sustained. The ship itself was also made of a much sturdier material than Lock had anticipated. Guards had surrounded the vessel and were pouring small arms and automatic fire into the hull to no effect. Although… it was only a matter of time before they brought out something bigger to do the job. [i]...Hurry up Lock…[/i] The console in front of him was actually quite familiar in a very odd and unsettling way. Although he’d never flown an Awoken prison transport ship before, he had this feeling like he’d been at the helm of a very similar cockpit. The buttons and switches and small blank screens staring up at him did so in such a way that recognition poked annoyingly at his brain. In the back of his mind he could feel a sensation of recollection and this feeling was subtly guiding his hands. [b]”I know what I’m doing… I know what I’m doing…”[/b] Lock hit a button, and flipped two switches in unison Nothing. [b]”[Lock…]”[/b] [b]”I know what I’m doing!”[/b] Lock repeated the action but hit the button and [i]then[/i] flipped both switches. Still nothing. [b]”Perhaps I could offer some guidance.”[/b] Another mechanical voice broke the silence behind Lock. [b]”Curse the- What did I say?! What was the deal?”[/b] [b]”[Perhaps you’d be better off keeping quiet… thing.]”[/b] [b]”I’m simply trying to say that with access to a wealth of Awoken information, most of which I’ve researched myself, I could expedite your escape.”[/b] The ball of light began to scan the console without any approval to do so. [b]”Hey!”[/b] Lock swiped it out of the air. [b]”I don’t need your hel-”[/b] [b]”You have the right combination of inputs… simply put... the order is wrong.”[/b] [b]”I’m seriously about to return you to Sophia… I don’t care what she says or what information you have to give.”[/b] Lock turned around mid rant and did exactly what he’d been advised to do. He flipped both switches first and then hit the button. The engine cut on with a loud and angry roar. The cabin rumbled with newfound life and the boosters outside spit yellow flame. [b]”There! She’s alive. Now shut up.”[/b] [b]”You’re welcome.”[/b] [b]”What did I just say?... You know she wasn’t kidding when she said you have issues with following simple directions.”[/b] Lock glanced at the glowing orb of light through the reflection of the glass panels in front of him. It cloaked and disappeared from sight. [i]...Damn ghosts…[/i] --- [b][i]One decimal orbital cycle earlier.[/i] ”Alright… where is this Sophia.”[/b] [b]”...There…”[/b] Randar pointed to one of the containers embedded into the wall. These holding cells were once storage boxes used to keep golden age secrets and technology intact. They were affixed to the side of colony ships during the great exodus and ended up here at the edge of the reef. Having been emptied out long ago, each box was converted into a prison cell. It was a simple enough design when inmate safety was of no concern. There was enough room inside the container that several prisoners could occupy the space at the same time. Bedding was provided as steel shelves welded to the inside walls of the container with mattress placed on top. There was the toilet, a single source of light and nothing else. There were two doors, one at the front and one at the back. The door at the front was the only one opened at regular intervals to allow prisoners to enter and leave their quarters during mealtime and other daily activities. The door at the back however was only opened during one specific scenario: When the solution to any problem at hand was the death to all inmates inside the cell. The back door opened up to the vacuum of space. Lock peered through the rectangle slit cut into the cell door, the light from his eyes illuminating the otherwise pitch black room. For a while he saw nothing. The room itself was fairly clean kept, the mattresses were still in place and there was nothing littering the floor. No scratches along the walls, no motionless bodies… nothing. And then he heard a voice. [b]”...Hello?”[/b] It was weak and female. Randar gave a response. [b]”Sophia?... It’s... it’s me… Randar? From… earlier? I brought help.”[/b] [b]”What?”[/b] Lock turned and gave Randar a hard glare. [b]”Help? We’ve got enough issues with just the four of us and we don’t have the time to bring along every helpless inmate we come across.”[/b] [b]”...It’s okay…”[/b] Lock turned to look inside the cell again. He still couldn’t see her. [b]”...It’s okay…I’m not trying to escape. I exhausted that option long ago...”[/b] [b]”Well…”[/b] Lock pushed himself away from the door and returned to Vahn’s side. [b]”It looks like she’s already made up her mind Randar. Let’s go.”[/b] [b]”Wait!.... wait….”[/b] The woman called out again. There was a shuffling inside and shortly after pale white fingers pushed through the peephole. [b]”Wait…”[/b] [b]”Look I’m really sorry but we can’t help you. There’s absolutely no way for me to crack open that door without access to the control room on this level… and that room doesn’t exist anymore.”[/b] [i]...I think…[/i] [b]”No. I’m not asking for help to escape.”[/b] [b]”Then what?”[/b] The fingers disappeared and the female voice continued. [b]”I need help sending a message.”[/b] [b]”Um… okay sure.”[/b] Lock figured it was best to give whoever was trapped on the other side of that container door some peace of mind. She could pass on knowing that her message would be delivered… or not. He didn’t really care. Her problems were her own and he had to take care of the ones readily apparent to himself. The most pressing? Getting outside of the prison before the Queen arrived with her army to kill everyone attempting to escape. [b]”I need you to get him to Arach Jalaal of Dead Orbit.”[/b] [b]”What do you mean ‘get him’?”[/b] Lock paused confused. [b]”Are there two of you in there?”[/b] [b]”...In a way.”[/b] A pale finger slipped between the peephole and pointed at an empty block of air. There was nothing there… until [i]it[/i] uncloaked. Floating before the four of them was a ghost. It’s dim light cast it’s curious gaze on all of them, immediately throwing it’s probing beams over their forms. [i]*Continued below...*[/i]