Chapter VII - Behind Schedule

Dominus Ghaul stood in the same spot he'd been standing at for hours. In front of him spanned the remains of the Last City, with the vast form of the Traveler hanging above. He stared at its form, studying it, looking for anything that could be helpful.

Behind him, the Speaker hung in his restraints, slumped over. Without lifting his head, he muttered, "It would save us both a lot of time... if you would just kill me."

Ghaul turned from his position. "For one who calls himself 'Speaker', you have remarkably little to say." The Speaker remained silent.

Ghaul continued, his voice rising in irritation. "We've learned that one of your guardians has reconnected to the Light. You say you have no power over the Traveler, yet..." He trailed off, and walked over to the Speaker's restrained form. "...This. Help me understand, Speaker."

The Speaker turned to face him. "The Light lives in all places. In all things." Ghaul perked up and walked closer, his interest piqued.

"You can block it... even try to trap it, but the Light will find its way." the Speaker continued. He raised his head as Ghaul drew nearer, and his voice suddenly became aggressive.

"And the Traveler will protect itself." he spat. Ghaul turned away from him, and interrupted.

"The Traveler... for years I have studied it. The worlds it has touched. Its power over life and death." he turned back to the Speaker. "We are not so different, your Traveler and I."

The Speaker angrily interjected. "You are nothing like the Traveler! NOTHING! You think you have power? Control? I know your kind. You started small... you will end small."

In a fit of impulsive rage, Ghaul rushed forward, and a large hand shot up, gripping the Speaker's neck. "If the Traveler truly has chosen humanity of its own free will, then there is no reason why I should not reach inside, tear out the Light for myself, and leave this system in ashes!" he hissed angrily.

Calming himself, Ghaul released his grip on the Speaker's throat, and the Speaker spoke, his voice shaky. "Only those the Traveler chooses will be reborn in the Light."

Ghaul nodded. "Yes. This I know. This is why I have claimed your planet, and why you still live." Ghaul neared the Speaker once more.

"The Traveler will choose me, Speaker... and you are going to tell me how."

***

Echo, Oris, and Carrion stood atop a rocky cliff above the Salt Mines. In front of them sat Hawthorne working at a comm relay. "Just gotta get these few odds and ends working, and..."

She trailed off. "There's an incoming message from Titan." she said, sounding surprised. She clicked a few more buttons on the keyboard, and the message played.

Commander Zavala's voice rang, loud and clear. "This is Commander Zavala. Calling all remaining Guardians, I have begun preparations for a counteroffensive. We rally on Titan."

The message ended, and Oris spoke up. "Zavala's alive? That's great! Now we finally have the chance to retake the city! We-" he was cut off by Hawthorne.

"You are not going to Titan. We need you here, keeping an eye out for us. If you go out there, you'll die, and then what?"

Echo responded, "Hawthorne, we have our Light back. We need to do this, for everyone's sake."

Hawthorne stared coldly at the three Guardians. "Well, you'll know where to find me," she muttered, before walking away from the beacon.

TITAN, SATURN'S LARGEST MOON

Zavala watched the sky as a ship emerged from warp speed, skiing through the atmosphere and flying low. As he made his way to the landing pad, the ship landed, and out walked three Guardians. "It's good to have you here, Guardians, but... you've come at a bad time. It was my mistake to come here. Titan is overrun with Hive, and we've lost power."

Echo watched as Zavala sighed to himself before looking back at the three. "We may be able to get power up and running, but you'll have to delve deep into the Arcology to figure out what's wrong with it."

"Well, you can count on us, Commander. We'll get power up and running..." Echo trailed off and looked at his fireteam before continuing. "And kill a few hundred Hive on the way." Carrion cheered, raising his fist in the air, and Oris unholstered his sidearm.

"I just need to know where they are. You say the word, and..." Oris made a pew pew sound with his mouth while pointing his sidearm off into the distance. "...I'll mow 'em down with the best of my ability."

The three Guardians soon were off, headed down into the depths of Titan. And as Zavala watched them go, he smiled to himself. He hadn't seen this much fervor, despite the circumstances, since his own fireteam had been together. His mind went to Ikora, off on some distant world attempting to reacquaint herself with the Light, and Cayde, off on Nessus, probably getting into some sort of trouble.