Victor Riekel sat on a flight of stairs out of everyone's way, washing his SUROS auto rifle. He was very particular about that weapon-- it stayed on his back or in his hands at all times. New Guardians, freshly risen from the wild frontier, ran past him, paying no mind to the titan. Victor didn't mind. He wasn't one for the company of others anyways. Victor laid his weapon down and held up his helmet. In the reflection of his pristine visor, he could see his battle scarred face. Two scars, a small one on his lip, and the second, much larger, crossed his right eye. His face was clean and kept, but every battle, every foe vanquished, every ally lost, showed in his eyes. He tried not to show it, but one couldn't miss it. "We got some recruits for you, Mr. Riekel," announced a message from Commander Zavala. Victor kept his fingers to the bud in his ear, listening, but never replied. He slid his helmet over his face, hooked his rifle to his back, and stood up. The hydraulic pipes in his scratched up armor hissed and screamed as his aching joints shifted. Each step down the stairs echoed in the Hall of Guardians. To everyone else, Victor was just another soldier from the front lines, but he knew he just returned from h***, and he was not ready to take anymore Guardians back with him. He tightly clenched his hands as he saw two young Guardians standing around the Vanguard table. "What do you have for me, Commander?" Victor asked before he even reached the table. "Welcome, Mr. Riekel," Zavala greeted. "I want you to meet Laurel Heron--" The warlock curtsied. "-- and Matson Murdock." The hunter held his hand to Victor. The titan glanced down, then studied the two Guardians. Matson worriedly lowered his arm. "Heron, Murdock, this is your new instructor, Captain Riekel. From here on out, you two listen to him." "Well, hello, Captain. Nice to meet you..." Matson said, trying to break the ice. Victor huffed. "Commander, I made it explicitly clear that I wanted no more trainees. Especially, where I'm stationed!" Victor's sheer presence forced the two Guardians to step back. "I know, Captain. However, the records from these two seem promising," Commander Zavala slid two files across the table. Cayde leaned back in his chair and read his book. Victor simply glanced down without even reading them. "I'll be the judge of that..." Zavala looked to the Guardians and jestered them to follow. "Where are we going to first, Captain?" Matson asked. "I heard you're quite the martial artist. Are you going to train us in martial arts?" Laurel asked as she and Matson tried to keep up with Victor's abnormally fast pace. "He doesn't seem to be talkative," the hunter whispered. "I heard we're going to Mars," Laurel continued while ignoring the hunter. "Gonna kick some Cabal a**?" The six and a half foot tall titan spun around in one motion, finger sternly pointing down at the newcomers. "Before we do anything, you must understand that where I've been, where I've come from, where we're going, is absolute h***! Not many Guardians have returned! In fact, I'm one of a hand full that has! Quite frankly, I really don't want to take a couple of newbies into live combat, but [i]apparently[/i], you two are pretty gifted with Light..." Victor turned back around and quickly escalated up the stairs. "Which I think is a load of bulls***." The hunter and warlock looked to each other. "He seems tense..." Laurel said weakly. "I told you to shut up..." Matson retaliated before bolting after Victor. Laurel scuffed. Victor waited in the hanger. Amanda Holliday already had his Armor of Vows ship ready for take off. The young woman stared in awe at the ship. "You serve New Monarchy?!" "Pfft... Dead Orbit is the way to go," Matson propped himself against the wall and crossed his arms and legs. "If you want to run with your DO fleet, then there's your ship..." Victor said pointing to one of two ships also prepped for flight. Laurel looked to the hunter as he shifted his stance. "...So, what are we doing, Captain?" The desert camo covered hunter asked to change the subject. "There is a live Crucible tournament on Luna..." Victor turned to the new recruits. "You two are supposed to be the best of the best, but I want to see just how well you two can wield the Light..." Once again, the hunter and warlock shared looks of suspicion.