The plot thickens. Enjoy! Dr. Shim tried to breathe, but was only able to must a few wheezes. She coughed up blood as she exhaled. Sparks flew and lights flickered around the lab. Broken glass and twisted metal laced the floor in a snake like pattern. Dr. Shim closed her eyes briefly and twitched as images flashed across her mind. Mechanical monsters crawled around the surface of Venus transforming its surface into a wasteland of metal and rock. She silently screamed as more blood came up from her throat. She fell to the side and quivered. Sharp cold pains shot up her spine. She ran her one working hand over her leg. The self inflicted wound was bleeding profusely and stung worse than anything she had ever experienced. She closed her eyes again and there were more flashes of Vex scouring the surface of Venus. They were pouring out of the Vault of Glass, killing anything and everything in their way. Smoke from the lab began to settle in the room, and the electronics flickered on and off. One monitor blurred on and off, but showed one simple message. It flashed a deep crimson, warning those who read it. Dr. Shim slowly stopped quivering. Her body became cold, and she crunched into the fetal position. The room began to spin and made her sick. Dr. Shim closed her eyes catching one last glimpse at the computer monitor. Containment breach flashed on and off in big block letters. One last flash of the Vex probed her mind. Atheon raised its arms over its head, and a bright white flash consumed Venus. Vex wandered the lab scanning all electronics and the bodies of the dead scientists. Their metal bodies clanked as they moved about. Each emitted a high pitched beep as it found something interesting or worth scanning. A pair of Goblins stood over Dr. Shim. One scanned her body then turned to the other. Connecting their arms, a halo of data transferred from one to the other. Looking back down, the Goblins moved on. A loud mechanical roar echoed from deep within the lab. The goblins stopped, freezing in place. There was another loud mechanical roar as a brilliant white light began to consume the lab. The light faded just as quickly as it appeared and the goblins looked back down. The body of Dr. Shim was gone, but the Goblins moved on like nothing had happened. “Venus,” Oliver began, “A jungle that is infested with Fallen and Vex. It was once a beautiful place. The Ishtar Collective ran a huge laboratory complex and archive researching all kinds of things. Venus was once the pinnacle of knowledge in the system. We had all thought it was lost during the collapse, thankfully though, it wasn’t.” “I’ve heard a lot of stories,” Alexander replied, “especially regarding the legends of the Vault of Glass.” Alexander checked his flight path, the slipstream autopilot slightly swinging the ship back and forth. Everything looked good. “You seem to be proficient at flying a ship, who taught you?” “My father was a mechanic for the city. He didn’t get to work on guardian ships but he was able to fix the local transports. This ship is not too much different.” “That’s interesting,” Oliver said perking up inquisitively, “I’d love to know more. Would you mind telling me about the city life? And what about Jolder, I heard him call you ‘brother’ are you related?” Alexander took a deep breath, an uncomfortable rock fell into his stomach and he gritted his teeth. Oliver’s innocence was its saving grace. Alexander killed his outgoing coms so the others could not hear his conversation. “Oliver,” Alexander started hesitantly, “City life is hard. I don’t know what you think it’s like, but it’s not something I want to talk about.” “But…” “You have to fight every day just to survive. You live under the shadow of a dead ‘god’ that everyone has lost hope in. Stories that once were told to scare children are now more reality than fiction.” “I thought that things were supposed to be good in the city.” “Unfortunately it isn’t. Most of the time people disappear or die without any reason. No one is there to investigate or even care for that matter.” “I’m sorry, Zach never took me to the city often. I guess I just didn’t notice.” “It’s okay.” Alexander took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I know you were just being curious.” “What about Jolder then?” Alexander flipped the coms back on as the ship shuddered for a moment as it broke the slipstream. Floating above the yellow-green planet, scattered electrical storms lit up the surface. Ophelia, Holly, and Raven were already descending to the transmat point. Flipping a few switches and disabling the autopilot, Alexander followed suit. Sorry Oliver, Alexander thought. That is a story for another time. The four guardians looked around in shock. Everything seemed out of order. Mountains flickered in and out of existence, the jungles were in a constant flux of over and undergrowth. Pathways twisted back and forth splitting then combining again. “Oliver what’s going on?” Alexander asked as his ghost materialized from his backpack. “I don’t know,” it said cautiously. “There are enormous fluctuations in the energy from the planet. I can’t pinpoint the origin but from what I can tell, the Archive is a good place to start.” The group turned to each other. Ophelia, Holly, and Raven all shrugged and pulled out their ghosts. They tried to summon their sparrows but were unable to. The interference on the surface disrupted all orbital communications. Despite the glitching landscape, the group moved forward. The air around them hinted of sulfur. An ear piercing mechanical screech echoed across the surface of Venus. The ground shook as a white flash consumed the surface of the planet. It was over in an instant and the group stood, statuesque, and silent. The bright light faded and everything became still around them. Venus, the current, stood before them. Reclaimed by the jungle, quiet and empty. Dragonflies hovered around them as a light acid rain trickled from the sky. A gigantic Vex tower stood over the run down Ishtar Collective. The engines of Fallen Skiffs roared to life. They took off and urgently rushed to orbit. The team looked at each other once more. Even through the visors of their helmets, each could see the look of worry on the others face. Ophelia took the first step forward. It was slight and steady, preparing for the worst. Nothing happened and everyone breathed a collective, silent, sigh of relief. Without the fallen presence, moving toward the archive was easy. Ophelia took point, her assault rifle at the ready. The pathway into the academy had collapsed into a ruin. Strong concrete pillars held up the low ceiling. Dripping water over time had caused some to crack and chip while others withstood the erosion. Blue fungi illuminated the way. As the team walked up into the academy they froze again. Vex stood twitching violently their metallic appearance changing. The sound of twisting metal buzzed around the room. Goblins, Hobgoblins, and Minotaurs were stuck in place unable to move. Some sparked others mechanically yelled. “They are in some kind of stasis!” Raven barked over the coms. She took out her hand cannon and shot one of the Goblins. It did not respond to the attack. Raven shot again and again in its bright green mind core. It exploded into a juicy mess on the floor and the red eye faded into darkness. “Raven!” Ophelia called out, “Stand down!” “Ma’am!” Raven quickly holstered her weapon and and backed off. “We are moving out! Quickly let’s not give them a chance to come back.” The group quickly moved up through the academy. Besides the Vex, countless dusty books lined the wooden shelves of the library. Three stories tall, the amount of written information was incalculable. The room smelled musty but was virtually untouched by the encroaching jungle. The rest of the academy was not so lucky. Leafy green vines hung from the roof and plants grew up through the cracks in the floor. The Ishtar Commons was much the same. A giant Fallen Skiff was wrecked into the center of the Commons. Moss, grass, and the rest of the jungle had rusted out a lot of the metal and broken the glass. More Vex were standing petrified in a state of flux. As the group approached the entrance to the archive, a wave of Fallen pushed them out of the way. Dregs, Vandals, and Captains alike ran screaming in their native tongue. They completely ignored the guardians and sent up flairs hailing a Skiff to pick them up. Their calls were answered and the guardians looked on in amazement. “We have to get out of here!” A woman ran from the building head first into the guardians. “Run! There has been a containment breach!” She grabbed onto Alexander’s arm and looked up into his visor. Her look of genuine terror and obvious shaking worried him. “Come on!” she screamed again. “It’s not safe!” “Whoa there,” Alexander said. “What’s going on?” “There’s no time to explain! We need to leave NOW!” She pulled as hard as she could on his arm but could not move him. Alexander gently, but firmly took hold of the woman. Her white lab coat was covered in dirt and blood and her leg had a piece of glass sticking out of it. Alexander took her by the arms and spoke softly. “What’s going on? What’s your name? We are here to help.” “My name is Dr. Shim… and you can’t help us any more."