Part one [quote]"I am a marvel with ten thousand arms." There is a story, old as time, of he who could catch the stars. Unnamed and eternal, the star-catcher would lead the Fallen, rising from the lowest station to the highest exalted peaks.[/quote] That is the legend passed down amongst the Fallen - amongst the Dreg - to give all the hope that they may one day ascend from even the lowest of positions. I am Vasik, and I am a Dreg. I was Vandal of House Wolves, long ago, before the Reef Wars. A time when we were searching for a way to get back the Great Machine. When Virixas, Kell of Wolves, was killed, the Wolves began fighting each other. I tried taking a side. I was docked. Docked and left to flee to other Houses for life once House of Wolves fell to the Awoken. I do not hold anger towards the Awoken for taking over House Wolves, or for crippling it; it is all our own fault. The Devils took me in, looked past the fact that I had been of Wolves and let me stand in their ranks. I follow orders, I never anger my Captain, I blend in. And I ALWAYS listen. My Captain could almost be called kind, by the standards of other Captains at least. She is named Fenkris, and is not quick to dock or kill like the others, but punishes fairly and severely when it comes to it. Fenkris knows I was of House Wolves, and kept a careful eye on me at first, but she soon learned that I was docile and respectful. Once she told me that her Baron would not let her promote me to Vandal because of my past. I told her I would have never been able get ten thousand arms if the Baron had let me have four. Maybe she'll understand what I meant someday. And thus I continue on, with my two arms, my four eyes, and my ears. Most of my fellow crew mates under my Captain have made a point of keeping their distance, yet I have learned all their names and behaviors while listening. But there is one who speaks with me; one who has gotten to know me. Her name is Yaskis, and she is a Dreg like me. She was demoted for arguing with her previous Captain. Yaskis can be feisty and quick to argue, but if you do not wrong her she can be quite kind. When I was first assigned to this crew she had shared a small part of her ether ration with me, for they wouldn't give me a full ration out of their anger towards House Wolves for not making it to Twilight Gap. I refused at first, but she persisted until I finally accepted, then sat down and began asking questions as we had our ether. Yaskis has shown great interest in how I came from another House. We scoured the remains of a human village today. There were slim pickings. All I managed to scavenge was a handful of Glimmer, a few scraps of metal to use for building Shanks, one inoperable weapon, two operable weapons, and a few human treasures. None of the others found much more than I did. Our two Skiffs had just landed back at the outpost we had built on the side of a mountain, docking into their respective bays until we next used them. My comrades and I climbed out of the Skiffs and onto the docking platform, all converging towards the storage crates where we turned in our findings. Multiple Captains ran this outpost, and we had a total of four crews and six Skiffs. Rather large for an outpost of this kind, but that was because it was an older one and had grown as our hold on this area tightened. But we have recovered most of what could be found in this sector, and the outpost was growing to be unnecessary. Soon we would be moved to new areas. There was one Captain for each crew, and my Captain now stood next to one of the others, making sure each one of us reported to them before returning to their quarters. Sometimes a Baron would visit the outpost and make sure all was in order. On all but those very few days, things were run by the Captains, particularly the one that now stood by Fenkris. He was named Rolas and had been given the position of Reaver Captain, marking him as one who had much experience and many kills under his belt, even for a Captain. I had already seen several of my comrades die or be docked by his hand for being too slow to comply. I reached Fenkris and gave her my report on the items I had discovered. "[i]Put the inoperable next to the crate,[/i]" Fenkris clicked as she waved two arms at the crate behind her, "[i]We'll see about having it repaired. Everything else goes in the crate, except for the human treasures. You can keep or scrap those.[/i]" I bowed my head in acknowledgement and placed my findings in their proper places before walking away. "[i]The ether ration will be low this cycle,[/i]" I heard Rolas click, "[i]If only we hadn't lost our last couple of Servitors to the Hive, then we wouldn't have to rely on the higher-ups.[/i]" "[i]We just can't find enough decent equipment to earn a good share,[/i]" Fenkris responded with guttural chatter. "[i]No one can get a good share anymore, not with Sepiks Prime dead,[/i]" Rolas growled, "[i]Those cursed dead soldiers deal blow after blow to us, and we have still made no progress taking the Great Machine back from them.[/i]" And he was right. Many were going hungry without the Prime Servitor, our main source of Ether, and I had heard that some Dreg have already died from starvation at other outposts. Sometimes I wonder how things would have turned out if we had made peace with the humans. If we hadn't started pillaging and attacking without thought in the rush to survive. If we hadn't committed to taking the Great Machine back rather than sharing with its new followers. This has been on my mind long now, and I couldn't shake the thoughts even though I would surely be killed if anyone suspected. The Devils constantly rummage through the remains of the human civilization, looking for anything that we can use against them. We have stooped low, and are bent on hate, ever seeking to destroy. The same goes for the other Houses. It is wrong; this is not the way to become a proud race once again. I came upon the door to my room and it slid open at the press of a button. It was small, but it was home, for now at least. The only objects occupying the space were a small pad with bedding, a little shelf that I had built myself, and a small container that each of us was given for our belongings. Even with so few furnishings, the room was cramped, but I did not mind. My shelf held the human treasures that I had been allowed to keep, for most human items of sentiment were of no use to us and were merely considered as trophies of our exploits. I did not see them as trophies, but as reminders. Each one had once had its own special meaning to someone once, and I kept them to remember that they had lost as much as we had. As I placed each of the old human items on my shelf, I thought about what the people they had belonged to must have been like; scared, hungry, angry, just like us. After finishing with the shelf I squatted down next to my little container and cracked open the lid. I pulled out the old banner that was laid over the contents, gazing sentimentally at the dark blue fabric and the House of Wolves symbol on it. Folding the cloth and placing it in the small bag I always carried with me, I checked through the rest of the contents of the container, making sure everything was ready. Inside lay a couple of ether tanks, filled little by little with small portions of my ether ration that I hadn't required to go on, a few weapons that I had managed to sneak past the Captains after scavenging, and a data pad that I recorded my thoughts in and stored information with. The pad had been located in a human computer lab we had found earlier during our time on this planet, and although the data previously inside had been erased, it was still in good condition and I had used it to help me learn the human language now spoken by those in the City. I was leaving, and anyone who looked inside these belongings of mine could peace it together. I heard a scuff behind me and shut the container, standing upright and hitting my head on the shelf, then turning around to find Yaskis standing in the doorway. Foolishly, I had forgotten to shut it behind me. Now I could only hope that she hadn't seen what was inside my little box, for I hadn't told even her about my plan. She stood silently for a few moments, contemplating, before she spoke. "[i]How fared the hunt today, Vasik?[/i]" Yaskis inquired. "[i]Not very well, as you're already aware,[/i]" I answered carefully, unsure of what her next move would be. "[i]I fear for our House, if more Servitors are destroyed we will surely begin to starve,[/i]" she told me, seeming to put a subtle emphasis on "our", but I could not tell if it was intended. "[i]We have survived worse than this,[/i]" I clicked, "[i]It will take more than a decrease in ether to destroy us.[/i]" Yaskis stood quietly for another few moments before reaching behind her and closing my door. "[i]You plan to abandon us,[/i]" she accused quietly, clearly struggling to control her voice. _______________________________________ Link to part 2: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/220869615/0/0 Link to Archive: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/217384398/0/0