Chapter V - Familiar Faces

Dominus Ghaul stood in front of the large window overlooking the city. Far above him sat The Traveler within its cage, specially crafted by the finest Red Legion blacksmiths and engineers. At length, he spoke aloud, his small red eyes fixated on the sphere. "Do you see, Traveler... all that I have done?"

The Traveler sat still, unmoving, silent. Ghaul continued his thoughts. "Grace me with your Light. Take your place at the center of my empire... see me, and the Red Legion will be your true Guardians."

Suddenly, a voice interrupted his thoughts. "Dominus. The city is secure."

Ghaul turned to see the Red Legion's Consul. A close friend of his, one who had been by his side through fire and blood, through victory after victory.  "Those who fled are being hunted, and those foolish enough to remain have been executed," he continued. "Victory, as with all things, is yours to claim."

Ghaul turned to the Consul, and responded, "This victory is as much yours as mine, old friend."

"All that remains is the completion of the cage around this great machine." the Consul added. Ghaul looked back up at The Traveler. As he did, he wondered; why had it not defended itself? It had done so during the Collapse... So why not now?

"They call it The Traveler," he began.

The Consul laughed at this, and spoke, "I would contend that other civilizations may be more precise in their naming. It's functions can be controlled and exploited, as we have so clearly proven."

"...Yet they believe it to be a god." Ghaul finished. The Consul looked at him once more, and spoke again.

"Dominus... Ghaul. We have spent our lives, you and I, working to reshape our society. Reforge our people. Rebuild an empire nearly destroyed by Calus's greed and corruption. There is nothing in this universe greater than you!" he pointed at Ghaul for emphasis. "The Red Legion will have that machine's power. You will be called Emperor!"

He paused, and questioned Ghaul. "What more would the Dominus have?"

Ghaul paused, and turned. Behind the two Cabal sat a large device that had emerged from the ceiling of the room. It unfolded itself, revealing a man restrained within. The man wore a stark white robe and hood, and his face was covered by a strange mask.

The Speaker.

Ghaul approached him, and spoke malevolently, "I would have words with my guest."

***

Echo stood at the head of a large table. Around the table stood Hawthorne, Carrion, and Oris, as well as Elizabeth and a few other civilians. "Six miles south of here is a place known as the European Dead Zone. In a secluded clearing surrounded by miles of forest, you'll find what you're looking for."

The thing in question was a shard of The Traveler that fell from the great machine during The Collapse. Alone within the vast, empty forest it had sat, waiting for something to happen.

Echo looked around the group. "So now we know where this 'shard of The Traveler' is... question is, how will we get to it? The EDZ is crawling with Fallen. Without our Light... we'd never make it." he explained. As he did so, however, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Carrion giving him an assuring look.

"We have each other, Echo. That's gotta count for something, right?" Echo nodded in agreement.

"Right," he continued. "We'll have to run a stealth operation. If we draw too much attention to ourselves, we'll be overwhelmed... we won't make it out." Echo looked at the other members of his fireteam. Oris gave him a reassuring nod, and Carrion clapped his shoulder once more.

***

Echo, Carrion, and Oris stood over the vast expanse of forest. Overhead, thunder rumbled, and every so often, lightning streaked across the sky. "What a day, huh? How far do you think we'll get?" Oris joked.

"As far as we need to. Since we can't summon sparrows, we'll have to go on foot, so make every step count." Echo announced, bringing his hand cannon out of its holster.

As the fireteam prepared for their journey, Carrion spoke aloud, raising his voice so it could be heard over the thunder above. "Hey, Echo! So, you and that mechanic, eh? What's going on between you two?"

"Nothing yet. All we did was tour the facility, and then boom; the Red Legion happened." Echo answered.

Carrion chuckled. "Once this is all over, you two should settle down."

Echo looked at him again. "Sure, right after I kill Ghaul while holding an Arcadia-class jumpship with one hand." he mumbled sarcastically. As he did so, Carrion and Oris produced their respective weapons, loading them.

And as the sky lit up with the occasional bolt of lightning, and the shard of The Traveler loomed in the distance, the three Guardians descended into the dense, far-reaching forest.