[b]Hello Guardians and welcome to Chapter 5 in my story. Feedback and criticism are welcome and encouraged. Also, this part of the chapter will be featuring (in order of appearance). Beelzebub’s characters, RandallTheVandal’s character, and DarkFang_007’s character. The black line break represents a shift in time, setting, and/or perspective between the text above it and the text below it. Now, without further ado, let’s get on with the story.[/b] If you missed any chapters, click here: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/128755126/0/0 [u]Chapter 5: [i]Into the Fray[/i][/u] A young man sat in a throne, gazing out into space, as his Ketch slowly orbited Mars. Numerous Vandals argued behind him, their clicks and hisses piercing his deep thought. Sighing, he turned to them from the outlook, laying his eyes on one in particular: his right hand General, Saliks. Noticing his Kell’s gaze, Saliks looked up at him and shook his head, indicating that the topic of discussion was going nowhere. The young Kell shouted from his throne, “Enough!” The Vandals looked up from the table, “This discussion isn’t progressing, so I will be suspending it until further notice. You are all dismissed.” The Vandals stood there for a second, staring dumbfounded at their leader. “Yes, that means you all leave… now.” Saliks intervened. The Vandals quickly picked up whatever they had, and promptly left the room, leaving only the General and his Kell. Sighing, Saliks looked at his leader and friend, “What are we going to do about them Matthew, they have a compelling argument. Winter has a large force that fights with the Ash for dominance of Venus; we should wait to attack them, perhaps the Ash will do most of the dirty work for us.” The Kell, Matthew Lief as he was known as by close allies, groaned in his chair. “I don’t like just waiting for something to happen, Saliks. Being passive is what allowed the House of Winter to be revived and led by a powerful Kell to begin with. However, it would minimize our casualties, so maybe it’s not such a bad idea.” He stood and walked over to his General, placing a hand on his shoulder, “Yes, perhaps we can wait a little bit longer, but my stomach cannot. I’m starving. ” He chuckled, as they made their way to the dining hall of the Ketch. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Arise, Rorschach! Get up, young Dreg.” It took a moment for the sleepy Dreg to register the words. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and shot up from the floor, “What the hell?! Taliks, what are you doing in here?” “Taliks? No no, young Dreg, I am not Taliks.” The Fallen stated, “Yes, she is with Ventryx already, and we are running behind, yes? Come, follow me, young Dreg.” The Fallen turned and stepped out of the cell, making his way out of the Compound. Rorschach took a moment to get moving. He ran after the Vandal but couldn’t tell who it was due to the dimly lit hallways. “Wait, who are you?” He asked as he caught up with the Vandal, “How do you know my name? Where are we going?” The Vandal just made a clicking noise reminiscent of a chuckle as he adjusted his Shock Rifle, “Recognize me, you do not, yes? It is I, Greevis. Yes, come now, we must not keep them waiting.” Rorschach looked at the Vandal in shock, “Greevis?! What are you doing here? You got your arms back!” “Indeed,” he replied, “Vandal, I have become.” Greevis led Rorschach into the Hangar, there were only a few lights on, and so it was fairly dark. At the edge of the bay, there was a lone Skiff. Motioning for him to follow, Greevis walked towards the Skiff. Rorschach noticed how empty and quiet it was in the Hangar, not a working Dreg nor repairing Shank was in sight. [i]It must be late[/i] he realized. It didn’t take long for the two to reach the Skiff. Outside of the Skiff stood a taller and more bulky Vandal, clad in a different armor than normal, and with a longer, pitch-black cape. Sheathed at his sides were two shock blades, and he had a shrapnel launcher strapped against his back. His arms were crossed and he wore a glaring expression. “Your late, Greevis.” He said in a low but commanding voice. Greevis apologized and walked past him into the Skiff while Rorschach followed. Inside the Skiff, there were nine Fallen soldiers. Among them were Ventryx, Taliks, and another Dreg from training, though Rorschach didn’t know his name. Ventryx stood next to the two Dregs at the back of the Skiff and the remaining Vandals fanned out towards the front. Ventryx greeted Greevis and Rorschach as they entered, and began the meeting. “Alright, let’s skip the decencies.” She began. “Taliks, Rorschach, and Grash, you three have been brought here to replace my soldiers that have been killed. You will not be going back to Training because now, [i]this[/i] is your training. Your deaths will result from your failure to apprehend a threat and follow orders, and you will not be missed. Live long enough and you might get your arms back. These soldiers around you are your brethren, and you will treat them as such. On my right are: Randor, Jevik, and Eeslanith. On my left are: Belox, Regran, and Tizak. Next to Rorschach, that’s Greevis. That Captain you saw outside the Skiff, he’s Prelik, my second-in-command. Any orders that he or I give will be followed. Disobedience will result in Exile.” She stopped talking for a moment and brought up a hologram of Earth, “This is Terra. In the past few weeks, six of our scout groups have been slaughtered in an area known as the European Dead Zone by the Guardians.” Rorschach’s eyes went wide with realization, and he looked at Taliks, who wore the same expression. [i]This is who Boss was talking to yesterday. Damn, things must be bad if Ventryx is resorting to Dregs that aren’t even done with Basic Training.[/i] “Due to our current situation with Venus and the House of Winter,” Ventryx continued, “The Kell and Archon have seen it fit that I take my troops to investigate and eliminate the Guardians that are responsible. This is your first mission Dregs, so do what we tell you, and you’ll survive just fine. Am I understood? Yes? Good. We leave immediately, so strap down.” Ventryx then called to Prelik to get inside the Skiff. Jevik climbed into the cockpit as everyone was getting into their seats, and started the engines of the aircraft. Within seconds, the Skiff was ready to go and on its way to Earth, leaving the massive War Ketch high above the planet. Rorschach clutched the restraints of his chair. How easily he had gone from the safety of the War Ketch to the very real danger of fieldwork. Why he was picked above so many others was beyond him. He began to think about what Ventryx and Taliks had said about the Dead Zone, but was pulled back before he could drift into deep thought. “Don’t think about things too much, young Dreg,” said Greevis, as if he could read his thoughts. “The reality of the field can be frightening, yes, but you will survive.” Rorschach looked up at him, “Thank you Greevis.” He looked around the Skiff, sighing. [i]At least, I’m not in that stupid armory.[/i] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A lone Guardian walked across the shifting sands of a barren desert. The wind lifting the top layers of the sand, throwing grains of it back at the Guardians face. The sun danced through the sky, casting off a blood red sunset and scorching the land beneath it. Miles of nothing stretched out in all directions, nothing but sand, sand, and more sand. The Guardian wore a Hunter's combat suit, sewn with silver and light blue colors, the colors of a Fallen Hunter. His mask was black, with two slits where he could see through, and a mouthpiece to filter clean air. The wind tugged at his cape, whipping it back and forth. The battle marks of the cape were clear in the red sunlight, black marks and holes where it had been shot. Most prominent was the long gash through the center, where a fallen blade had pierced both the cape and the previous owner. Kneeling, the Guardian inspected a gruesome scene. A small group of human civilians were scattered across the sand, fresh blood still soaking their clothes and the ground beneath them. There was an elderly couple lying there, along with a middle aged man, whom was still holding an almost ancient shotgun in his dead grasp. The weapon would not have been sufficient against a tough group of Fallen. A golden age vehicle lay overturned at the bottom of a sand dune. Standing up, the Guardian turned and walked closer to the vehicle. The stench was what told him what was in there before he looked. Two dead bodies lay transfixed in the vehicle, presumably a woman and a young child. The bodies were badly burnt, charred flesh giving off a horrible smell. The Guardian stepped back, not wishing to look any more than he had to. "Damned monsters," he said to the withering sunlight. He didn't need to look at anything else to confirm that it was the Fallen that had done this. He had been tracking this particular group for a while now, and he already knew that they were from the House of Ash, and that they were retreating back to their Ketch from a losing fight in the European Dead Zone. He had been on their trail for weeks and he guessed that they were getting close to their destination. He looked up as the last rays of sunlight began to fade away. He would not rest for the night, not when he was so close to his goal. He would keep hunting under the faint moonlight. With his right hand, he grasped his fallen friend’s cloak. Staring at it with sad eyes, he repeated his promise he had said a year ago. "I will avenge you, Ashley; I swear it on my life." Lyzel said to the torn cape. [b]Part 2 is up. Link be here--> https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/130536778/0/0 [/b]