[i]Trials of a Guardian: Orders (Chapter 1) I hope you guys enjoy my new story. Feel free to leave me any suggestions or comments, hit that Like button, and I'll also be posting a poll once again. Thank you all for your continued support![/i] “This disciplinary review will now commence,” Cayde-6 spoke in a soft, but demanding tone. He sat in between Ikora Rey, the powerful Warlock Vanguard mentor, and, of course, Commander Zavala of the Titan Vanguard. All 3 sat at a long metal table in a small council room that rested on the very peak of the Tower. A large panel window behind them displayed the rusted ruins of the cities below, also allowing the sunshine to flow into the room. “We cannot start, the offenders in question are not even here yet…” Ikora chimed in, rather impatiently. “They were summoned, I am sure they will be here soon.” Cayde-6 didn’t like to admit that the two Guardians in question were his own. “I don’t remember where I heard it, for it was a long long time ago, but it still rings true, even today...Hunters belong in the wild.” Commander Zavala added with displeasure in his voice. “Mentors, please, we are supposed to be objective here, despite how we feel about one another’s faction.” Cayde-6 was reading a long “After-Action” report that was on a digital notepad he had sitting in front of him. With each line, he read, the more and more remorse he began to feel about sending the brother-sister dynamic duo to unlock the secrets within the newly discovered, Vault of Mar, on Venus. “Reckless, dangerous, unethical...I refuse to believe that, even someone like [i]you[/i] Cayde, would send a team like [i]that[/i] out on such a mission. It’s absurd.” Ikora was known for being reckless herself and was beginning to show it more and more. Cayde-6 was about to retort, but was interrupted when the door chimed, but only one of the two Guardians they were waiting for walked in. The Hunter entered through the sliding panel door and quite nonchalantly, maneuvered her way to stand in the middle of the room, where two vacant chairs sat waiting, she stood behind them. While she is a Hunter, one would not be able to tell from her appearance. She stood at an average height, she was in her full body armor, including her helmet. The gear was unrecognizable as something obtained from her Vanguard mentor, it was in quite possibly the worst condition as far as esthetics was concerned. Her helmet was spray painted black with randomly placed strips of red and yellow. The paint was chipped and a complete eyesore among Guardian standards, her chest piece was no better. Her chest armor was colored a solid leafy green and hand painted across the torso in black bold read “Wake Up”, in runny dripping letters. Her boots and gauntlets matched her helmet. She wore a Hunter’s cloak that was cloud white with the orange and white V for the Vanguard logo, but the logo was upside down and spray painted with dark red to simulate blood. “Bree, present and accounted for, sir.” Helmet still on, her voice was muffled, in place of the standard “salute”, and to the horror of Cayde-6, she reached down and grabbed the crotch of her armor, then gave a slight thrust of her hips. “Where is your brother, Bree? The summons and this disciplinary hearing is for him as well. You are to remove your helmet for this counsel. That is an order.” Cayde-6 spoke quickly, keeping Ikora from commenting about Bree’s demeanor. An awkward silence lingered for a second or two before Bree finally removed her helmet, a quick release of air, the interlocking mechanism’s turned and she pulled her helmet off. Ikora Ray gasped for breath as she found her seat, even Zavala was taken aback, Cayde-6 knew what was hidden under the helmet and could only lower his eyes. Her blue eyes were sullen and sunken in her skull, deep scars ran vertically across her forehead and horizontally down both of her cheeks, long ugly scars wrapped around her neck, her nose was twisted and misshapen from all the times it had been broken. She only had a few patches of blonde hair, but most of her scalp was covered in angry red burns, she only had her right ear, and on the left was just a flap of skin sewn shut to close the hole where her ear had once been. “I see C*nt. You called me up here because I won the Beauty of the Guardians contest, is that it? Well, I’m here to claim my prize.” Bree’s eyes glared hard at Cayde-6. “This is what you wanted, right? To see my beautiful face? Feast your eyes.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “We are not here to judge you, based on your appearance, Bree, such childishness died out long ago, it is your strength and actions that concern us now.” “Strength, huh? Well, you don’t have to worry about that, especially since my brother and I outmatched those four Titans you sent with us into the Trials. I’m sure they cried the whole way back to the Tower, then cried some more when they laid their heads down on their cock pillow’s.” Bree stood defiant. “Bree! That is enough. We didn’t call you up here to swallow your insults and slander--” “No, Cayde, you didn’t, you're too busy swallowing something else,” Bree smirked. “How dare you speak to your mentor in such a manner! You should count every blessing that you have, that you are not a Warlock in my Vanguard, elsewise I would have had that wretched tongue of your’s removed long ago!” Ikora sat forward angrily. “So then you would have someone to lick your puss since Eriana-3 is rotting in the ground?” “That’s it! I shall not sit idly by as you speak ill of the dead! Who in the seven Hells do you think you are?! I will not allow you to speak of Eriana in such a way! She was more of a hero, more of a protector than you will ever be!” “Ouch, that stings Ikora, you really cut me deep with that one. That’s going to leave another scar on my perfect face.” “Enough of this!” Cayde-6 boomed. “Bree, you are not to speak any further until your brother arrives. You are only proving to these mentors and myself, that you are just as insolent as the reports show, if not worse. So just be silent.” As if he were waiting for Cayde-6 to say that line, the door slid open, and her brother, Brayden, who was equally ill-tempered, rude and arrogant, walked in to stand beside his sister. The same locking mechanism on his helmet, the same release of air, and he popped his helmet off, to add to the horror of Commander Zavala, Ikora Rey, and Cayde-6. Brayden matched his sister’s face in grotesquery. Half his nose was burned away, embedded in his face were deep scars from calculated cuts from a knife, he was bald for his hair would not grow back. His nose crooked, lips cracked, a gaping hole in his left cheek that exposed the bone and ligaments beneath the skin. They looked like a couple attempting to win a Halloween costume contest. “I’m present and accounted for, sir.” He grinned a hideous grin, as his “salute”, consisted of an old time Earth gesture; he raised the middle finger on his right and presented it to the trio of Vanguard mentors. [i]Trials of a Guardian: Orders (Chapter 1: Part II):[/i] https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/105591532/0/0 [i]Trials of a Guardian: ALL Chapters:[/i] https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/105589170/0/0