Enjoy! Five Years Ago Drake peered around a piece of debris in the Rocketyard. The sun reflected off the scattered patches of snow. Faint echoes of weapons fire perked his ears. Three Dreg and a Servitor were patrolling the nearby vicinity as the pair of guardians stood behind their cover. Drake motioned to Lorelei as he crept to a closer piece of cover. He pointed to a bunch of Intermodal containers that were piled on the far side of the enclosure. She nodded and quietly broke away. The patrol of Fallen moved north, ignorant of the flanking Titan and Warlock. A deep guttural roar froze Drake as he approached what once was a small security hut. A loud crash followed by explosions of Hive Boomers blew through a door near the patrol. A Knight and its Acolytes rained death onto the patrol. The Servitor mechanically retorted and raised a weak regenerative barrier around its protectors. As they laid down return fire, Lorelei grinned. She pulled Cocytus and took aim at the warring factions. Something held her back from pulling the trigger, an invisible hand. She looked to Drake, who shook his head. She nodded back and held her fire. The Servitor let out an ear-piercing wail as the Knight landed a few of its Boomer rounds on it. The snap of atmosphere echoed and a Skiff burst down holding above the Hive. A Captain, clad in Reaver-Barron armor, hosting a Kings cape, arc cutlass pair across its back, and Shrapnel launcher in hand hit the ground sending a plume of snow and dirt outward around it. “Why would the Kings be here,” Lorelei whispered over the coms. She felt her heart jump realizing just how bad the situation could have been should she have given her position away to the Fallen. “I don’t know,” Drake whispered back. “That Servitor has distinct Devil markings. Why would the Kings protect them?” The Barron cracked its neck, a puff of mist escaping its helmet. Scores of slash marks and chipped paint covered its dented armor. A Fallen sigil was melted into its chest plate; Kell Risen. It aimed its launcher at an Acolyte. Firing a single blast, the solar flares pelted the Hive monster melting its boney armor and burning it into a pile of ash. “I’ve heard stories of this Barron,” Drake motioned to Lorelei. He was frantically calling her back. “Voriks, we can’t win this fight.” She could feel the shaking in his voice as she quietly dropped from her perch. She bolted across the Rocketyard just as Voriks threw the Knight to the ground and smashed its armor in. The Barron saw the ping on its radar and hurled one of its cutlass at the dashing guardian. The blade rocketed through the air. Lorelei raised her arms in attempt to bring up Ward of Dawn. Adrenalin surged through her body as the blade approached at nearly subsonic speed. She could feel time slow around her and her heart pounding from her chest to her throat. There was a flash of red and sparks temporarily blinding her. I’m dead, she thought. The familiar feel of her armor crept back along her body and the tightness along her chest from the protective plate returned a few moments later. Her vision cleared and Drake was panting his Raze-Lighter in the parry position. The Barron’s cutlass was buried deep into the half-frozen ground. “Okay,” Drake fell back. “That hurt.” Lorelei caught him in her arms and gently put him on the ground. Incoming fire prompted the Ward of Dawn. As the protective dome of light formed around them, Drake coughed and sucked down air. “Bet that felt great,” Lorelei half-heartedly chuckled. “Sure did,” Drake shook off the disorientation as his shields returned. “Thank you,” Lorelei smiled. Present Day Lorelei pressed down with the sharpened part of Raze-Lighter along Lance’s neck. “I have no reason to kill you right now,” she started. “Do NOT give me a reason.” Lance threw his hands outward palms wide, surrendering. He felt the blade lift from his neck as she stood. Replacing it back on its magnetic holster, she walked back toward the access shaft. “Where are you going?” Lance asked slowly getting to her feet. “Splicer Ketch.” Lorelei responded flatly. “Why?” Lorelei shook her head and kept walking. Lance caught up to her following just behind. He marveled at the craftsmanship. The tempered steel glowing softly with solar energy while smooth and reflective. He rubbed his neck as the thought of the sharp edge crossed his mind. The teeth ground just as sharp dual blading the sword. It looked well balanced as the hilt and grip extended far enough out that the user could balance it with the blade in their hand. “Charlemagne,” Lance said summoning his ghost. “Do you still have those scans of the Ketch?” “I do,” he responded. “Send them to Reap –” Lance stopped, catching himself. “Send them to her.” “Okay,” Charlemagne dematerialized. As Lorelei cautiously trekked through the ventilation shaft, she saw a ping on her HUD. Scans of the Splicer Ketch flashed across her helmet. The access hall was nearly silent, a whistle of wind from a distant hall was all that penetrated the dimly lit Russian industrial complex. The narrow passageways and halls winded through the wall into an enormous opening. Lorelei stopped, throwing her back against the side of the wall. Glancing around the corner, she saw a giant chunk eaten out of the wall. The twisted metal was covered in pockets of snow, long abandoned after the SIVA crisis. The crunch of fresh powder took her gaze. A shimmering refraction of the snow and steps without owners was a clear indication of sniper positions taken along the open points. “Atlas,” she asked. “Can you identify how many targets there are?” The ghost nodded and expanded his body. A flash of light pulsed through the room. Six stealth Vandals blipped on her radar. Atlas dematerialized as Lorelei dropped onto the metal floor. She pulled Cocytus from her backpack and closed her eyes. She took deep slow breaths, calming her nerves and more importantly, her heart rate. She counted back from ten as the beats of her heart gradually slowed. Taking aim at the farthest target, she lined up her shot. Snow was still gently falling into the opening and aside from the crunch of fresh powder, everything was silent. Lance held back as he watched her. A concentrated beam of plasma fired from the Omolon based weapon between heart beats. An explosion of ether from a Stealth Vandal followed almost immediately after. Wire rifle rounds clinked the area where Lorelei was hidden. They missed their mark but the Vandals knew generally where the shot came from. Lance narrowed his eyes and pulled Truth off his back. He rushed into the open, found a shimmer, locked on and fired while falling into a bank of snow. The explosion mixed with an animalistic whine as blood and body parts melted into the snow. Lorelei fired two more shots and two more Vandals fell. Lance fired another rocket at the retreating pair catching them both in a void detonation. Brushing the loose powder off his armor, he put Truth back on its magnetic holster and led the way through the opening. Lorelei jumped down, following the nav point on her HUD. A snow-covered highway stretched endlessly into the Russian back country. Rusted husks of cars littered the once magnificent streets as a gusty wind blew snaking snow across them. The winding road overlooked a canyon with a name lost in the collapse. Broken stops and signs hung above the husks pointing to a prior golden hub of commerce. Lorelei cautiously stepped out into the wind. The sun peeked through the clouds casting a great shadow along the canyon. Fallen littered the expansive highway as the Ketch’s shadow grew over the wall. Devil flags and Splicer influence marked the Ketch. From the belly of the ship, a flashing light caught her attention as well as kept the Fallen foot soldiers on guard. “Now,” Lorelei demanded turning to Lance. “Tell me how to get aboard that Ketch.”