The Executor- Chapter 3 "This is our last dance, Lena. I hope you picked a good song." Scruff's snide comments were relayed to his partner via his ship's onboard communications system. His starship, dubbed the Ticktock Inquisitor, was a massive, tank-like thing that hardly looked like an interstellar vehicle. The unfortunate vessel looked like it had been built from a child's play set, with a blue and orange paint job to match. It drifted a mere 30 knots from another, much more stylish ship.[spoiler][/spoiler] "Hilarious. Not your joke of course, but you leaving New Monarchy. Grade A comedy. Did Sweetheart help you with that one?" Lena Rey, his partner sat in the cockpit of her EX21 Slipper Misfit. It was a sleek, white Kestrel model, modified for interstellar travel and quiet atmospheric entry. It could slip through the tiniest crack in a Vex radar network. There was nothing stealthy about Scruff's Inquisitor. Together, their ships floated over what was once known as the American Continents. "One day I'm gonna scrap that hussy's ghost. Then, when I kill her, she'll stay dead." Sweetheart's free-floating components rustled with obvious irritation. Scruffy placed a soothing hand on her shell. "I'm serious Lena. After this, we're through. I'm perfectly fine with taking orders and kicking in doors, but only when all the card are on the table. I'm done being jerked around. After this mission, I'm revoking my Executor status." "Then, you're as stupid as you -blam!-ing look. Maybe when you -blam!- off they'll give me a decent partner. All the work we've done, wasted." He could imagine that blue face flushing to a bright purple through the speaker. "Anyway, back to the -blam!-ing briefing. We've got several Class A targets in the ruins of Old Philadelphia. Apparently, some Hive have set up shop. It's unconfirmed, but radar might have picked up a Seeder." Scruff sensed a hint of worry through her anger. "Sounds like a goddamn invasion." He scratched his thick beard, which was the source of his nickname. He never wore his helmet if he didn't have to, including while in orbit. The damn thing made his face itch. "Only way way to find out. Let's kick in bony, zombie-insect skulls until one of them tells us why their here." "Finally, something we can agree on." "So, why exactly is it just us checking this out? Not that I'm complaining about having the Hive all to myself, but why hasn't New Monarchy notified the council?" Scruff really didn't seem worried about the prospect of assaulting a seeder with only Lena for back-up. "They're prepared to, but that would require revealing our assets in this area to both the Future War Cult and Dead Orbit. They want confirmation on the readings before they go public." It was obvious now that she'd been thoroughly briefed on their assignment and its importance. He hadn't. Once again he'd been left out of the loop. Lena cut him off ,before he could voice his fury. "We're right over our LZ. Follow me." She angled her Slipper Misfit towards the large land mass that was once the United States of America, and began reentry. Scruff's Ticktock Inquisitor was hot on her tail. They rattled in their cockpits as each ship fought its way through the atmosphere. The ride smoothed out as the made entry and started their descent towards Old Philadelphia. Breaking the cloud layer, Scruff saw before him the dilapidated remnants of a once great metropolis. Even centuries after the collapse oil fires still burned, and concrete chucks of buildings fell at timed intervals. The city was still a hot zone. "We'll land two clicks west of here." A holographic map of Old Philadelphia spread across his cockpit HUD. A cluster red dots signified their goal. "That'll put us about three miles out from the location of the supposed Seeder." She sounded grim. If this really was the scouting party of an invasion, it was awful news. A full scale Hive invasion of Earth would be disastrous. "If it's there, we'll crush it. Then, they'll think twice about crawling out of their hole on the moon again. We'll remind them that this big space rock we call a planet belongs to us." He was still angry, but he was channeling that into thoughts of exploding acolytes. Nearing their landing zone, Sweetheart set the ship to autopilot. The Ticktock Inquisitor slowed to a cruise. Scruffy felt his deconstruction begin, and a moment later, was standing on the surface of Earth, looking up at his ship. Lena reconstructed a few yards away, and they watched as their ships returns to orbit. Scruff cracked his knuckles through his gauntlets. "Let's go kill some Hive." --------------------------------------------------- Read Ch. 2 Here https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/98305867/0/0 Read Ch. 4 Here https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/100625476/0/0