[b][u]CHAPTER XX[/u][/b] [u]Price for a Bounty[/u] "Watch it!" yelped Yolmar's ghost. "I see it! I see it!" replied the exo. He quickly barrel rolled the ship, barely missing a large piece of an ancient battleship. It drifted through the void of space, destroyed and long forgotten. They were making their way through the debris of the Reef. The journey was slow going, and required all of Yolmar's attention. "Well we better turn around now. It can't be helped." Pigaro spoke. "Be silent." ordered Rushtorak, giving the awoken a sideways glare. "We're almost there." the ghost stated, "Yolmar, is this really a good idea? Guardians haven't spoken to the Queen in decades. "We won't be seeing the Queen." said Rushtorak, "We'll be going to the prison warden. Variks is his name." "You don't seriously believe that Variks will take me into his prison do you?" the fat awoken spoke, "I have no way of defending myself in there." "Variks doesn't care about that." the fallen stated, "His only job is to keep the inmates busy." "Hey," Pigaro whispered to Rushtorak, "I thought we had a deal! I gave you the coordinates, now get me out of here!" The fallen showed no signs of acknowledgement, but under his mask he was chuckling contently. Suddenly Yolmar stopped the vessel sharply, hurdling the crew forward a little. Masrur braced himself against the wall and Rushtorak grabbed ahold of the net above his head. Pigaro went flying forward and fell on his face, and a moan erupted from his plump mouth. "Yolmar!" he shouted, "What's the meaning of this?!" The ship comm system crackled and a voice spoke. "Unidentified vessel, you have violated our borders. Speak your purpose or be destroyed immediately." "Great," Yolmar said, "Now what?" "Allow me." The fallen stepped forward, and spoke into the comm. "This is Rushtorak, I have a clearance code. 879-6653-1. I am returning a bounty as ordered by her majesty." A long silent pause followed, Yolmar started to feel anxious. "Understood." The comms crackled, "Your code has cleared, you are free to proceed to Port-7. Any deviation will be seen as an act of aggression." "Where's Port-7?" Yolmar asked. "I will guide you." the fallen said. He helped Yolmar navigate the treacherous Reef, and eventually they found the station. A giant space fortress, built of iron dyed black and scuffed with the marks of war. Cannons were all around its outer edges and on one side multiple docks were lit by bright white lights. Above each dock was a numbered label, "D-1, D-2, D-3..." all the way until the last, "D-8". Rushtorak pointed Yolmar towards the 7th, and the exo gracefully brought his ship around. He lowered it onto the cold metallic floor, and reached to open the door. Rushtorak grabbed his hand and stopped him. "The air here is full of poisons. Everyone needs a respirator, or they will die. The toxins will break your circuits Yolmar, you too need to wear one." "Thanks..." the exo replied, as he glared at the creature. He still held a great hatred for fallen, but wasn't allowing it to cloud his judgement. When Rushtorak grabbed his hand, he placed his other over his shotgun. Now he reached for his helmet, feeling a little guilty. "Alright, everyone ready?" the exo asked. Rushtorak and Masrur nodded, in their typical silent way. Pigaro just shook his head violently. "He's fine." Masrur said, "I made sure he won't die." "OK." the warlock said, "Let's go find Variks." He opened the door, and a cloud of light purple gas rushed inside the ship. Onward they walked in silence, except for Pigaro who was hoisted over Rushtorak's powerful shoulder. The only sounds heard as they walked were their respirators breathing in and out, the sound of ships coming in and going out of the docks, their feet on the metal floor, and Pigaro squealing like a pig. Rushtorak was in the front, leading them through the thick gas. Masrur wondered if he could really see where he was going. But the fallen showed no signs of hesitation. He led them up a flight of stairs on the far side of the docks which led to a viewing platform above the landing area. The gas was much less up here, making it possible for everyone to see more than 5 feet in front of their faces. Their was a door in the wall by them, and Rushtorak walked over to it. *BOOM* *BOOM *BOOM* He pounded onto the door three distinct knocks. The sound echoed behind the wall, and the door itself rattled a little. A fallen swung the door open, wearing blue armor and a spear. He led them down a narrow hallway, passing many doors along the way, and pipes went back and forth overhead. A couple of whacks were heard from Pigaro's head colliding with these. Whether or not Rushtorak did this on purpose wasn't known. Finally they came to a large semi-spherical room, and at the center stood a fallen. Hunched over on his staff. "Welcome House Thieves." he said in his rough voice, "And House Judgement welcomes the guardians as well."