Chapter Text
Sundance’s blue aura flashed like a radiant sun through the Prison of Elders’ dank circular chamber, focusing onto the remains of a figure buried beneath thick slabs of rubble.
It shifted, a large metal arm grabbing the side and shoving the majority of it off.
Hunter Vanguard Cayde-6 sat up with a grunt and hit the back of his head, trying to clear it.
“Never felt better.” His ghost Sundance seemed to have an expected reaction to his humor as the exo stood up and looked around at the carnage he had caused. Right next to him, he picked up his trusty hand cannon revolver, the Ace of Spades. Cayde’s “signature” weapon was a beautiful frame he had handcrafted himself with special chambered rounds and a fine black and white finish with a spade emblem running along the barrel.
“Did you see that Petra?” The question echoed around the hollowness of the prison chamber. His strat-com transmitter only received static.
Strange. Mine’s perfectly fine and the signal is strong. What happened?
“Petra?” He tried again.
“Jadyn? Comms check. Anyone?”
Nothing.
“Must’ve knocked out the comm relays with that spectacular landing.”
His joker demeanor gone; movement caught his eye, aside from the flickering flames along the ground.
Fallen.
Better known as Eliksni, the four-armed reptilian insectoid race were notorious raiders and scavengers. They were constantly in an undeclared war against humanity because they possessed the Traveler, a paracausal entity that remained above the Last City, the final safe bastion for the Light. For decades, the Fallen had all been divided into separate houses with different ideals and they often fought amongst one another as they did the guardians and the City’s militia.
Cayde knew these specific individuals, some of the worst of the worst.
“Okay everyone, it’s all clear. Back in your cages.”
A clanging sound came from behind him as he saw a rather tall fallen wearing a faceless helmet and dark brown armor. In his hand, he held a long spear with a blue crystalline material at the end.
More movement. This time at ground level.
Unlike normal fallen who seemed to have a big degree of free will, these ones had pale mottled skin and snarled their arrival with raised clubs and a number of other crude weapons that were typical of prison culture.
“I said back in your cages!”
None of the fallen seemed to heed his warning and he immediately jumped into combat.
Ace was already in hand and he turned, spinning and firing with his right. His left flung a blazing orange knife, immediately piercing the fallen’s thin metal helmet, igniting and causing the body to burn up in flames. The creatures that happened to be shot by the hand cannon stiffened, falling limply to the ground in perfectly accurate shots.
Seeing how there were more on his flank, he rotated around, spinning Ace at the same time to load another cylinder. With his left, he expertly fanned the hammer, causing the weapon to fire at a much faster rate than its normal double action automatically allowed. One round pierced a keg of spare lantern fuel, which ignited and exploded apart, wiping out another dozen. A corpse flew in his direction and he spontaneously ducked, allowing it to collide and knock out two more that had tried to attack him from behind.
His onslaught only delayed the inevitable though as the rest of the deranged fallen closed in. Before any of them could swing their weapons and attack, he had jumped up above to land on a pile of rubble that had a solid vantage point over the ground.
Cayde was about to continue his attack when he spotted several more of the fallen already climbing up towards him like frenzied zombies.
Not this time.
He thumbed a tripwire grenade, sticking it to a metal pole just as the horde approached. The explosive detonated in a brilliant flash, destroying all but one of his pursuers who dove in front to avoid the blast. His escape of death was short lived as he stared down the barrel of Ace as Cayde slid to the ground again.
The quip was halfway out of his mouth when he felt himself grabbed and flung rather violently into another masonry pile. A sharp edge cut through his cloak and he could hear it tearing somewhere on his backside as pain flared through it.
This is my favorite cloak!
“Yup, that hurt.”
His joke didn’t faze the large fallen as it picked up another metal sheet and swung it at him. Luckily, his hand found Ace’s trigger guard before being sent careening upwards into part of a destroyed balcony.
It was a long way down and he dug his arm into the side to try and arrest his fall. After sparks danced and metal grinded together in a sound that would’ve set his teeth on edge; he had finally come to a stop, dangling right over another group that were waving their clubs around. They gave off more bloodthirsty growls as their prey “helplessly” swung above their heads.
“Here’s little gift for ya.” Cayde aimed Ace at the connection and fired, severing the structure and kicking off forward. The fallen underneath tried to move out, but were too slow, unmoving as the heavy metal plate crushed their bodies.
“Sorry, not sorry.” The hunter admired his handiwork before running into the center of the fray to resume his flashy showdown.
He was in the middle of using another panel of the balcony when even more seemed to pour out from the hallways that surrounded the chamber.
It’s like there’s no end to these things.
Cayde took off at a dead sprint just as the mob of fallen had caught up to him. One swiped its spiked mace at him, missing by just a few inches.
Reaching to the light; his entire body was enveloped in a fiery solar aura as his will manifested into a flaming pistol that burned with a molten inferno. Cayde was in mid spin as he lined up the perfect shot, the golden gun capable of piercing through numerous foes and turning them into burning embers.
Just as his finger tightened on the trigger; he was stuck from behind in a flying tackle. One of the fallen had hit him right at the exact moment, inadvertently saving its comrades’ lives. The golden gun round shot harmlessly up into the ceiling.
Angered at the denial of such a good lineup, Cayde was able to put another through the tackler, causing him to dissolve in a glow of orange. Just as he recovered though, two more fallen had pounced on him, grabbing and throwing him aside. Ace clattered to the floor and they grabbed his cloak as he crawled towards it.
By then, the rest of the large mob had arrived and threw him back to the ground, kicking and swinging their clubs at him angrily as if a bunch of rioters meting out justice on an oppressor.
Cayde couldn’t help grunting in pain with each blow, but instead focused on his strength and light building back up again.
His eyes snapped open and he propelled himself up into the air, spinning to help regain his sense of balance. Hands spread and flung out, but instead of a flaming pistol, he unleashed a salvo of knives. Each blade found its mark in a fallen victim, burning them into ashes.
“That’s it.” Cayde scooped up Ace as he landed on the ground. “Now I’m pissed.”
Another fallen lunged for him, pinning him against the wall. He may be a light wielding warrior, but eliksni were also reputedly strong for their scrawny size. Despite his attempt to move Ace to him it at his attacker; the creature kept a firm grip on its wrists, snarling at him with skin-crawling breath.
He didn’t know what got him to think of such a thing, maybe back to the days where the legendary titan Saint-14 used to brag about smashing the skulls of his enemies with his head.
Cayde’s frame also had a pointed horn at the end and with a enough force, it managed to punch through the fallen’s helmet, piercing its brain and killing on impact. As he stood back up, he staggered tiredly to the center, glaring at the larger fallen that had watched the entire skirmish.
“Is that really...all you got?” He breathed, not particularly waiting for an answer. With a flick of his wrist, he had summoned Sundance. Thanks to her, he’d be back in fighting shape within an instant.
“Here help me out,”
Neither of them saw the purple flash lance out from the dark.
The rifleman’s shot was dead on, hitting Sundance right inside the tiny seam where her core separated from her armored shell. The void energy pierced through, skewering the ghost from end to end and she exploded in a screamless death that blasted raw light everywhere. It radiated outwards before seeming to take a final gasping breath to fade away.
Cayde was still in shock, now beginning to realize that his connection to the Traveler had been severed with Sundance’s destruction. He was ghostless.
And without his ghost; the next death...would be his last.
And now I know how Eris feels all this time.
There was no time for him to chide himself about being so careless with his closest companion. Multiple thuds and footfalls indicated the fallen watching from above had sensed their advantage. No longer afraid of him now that his source of constant resurrections had been deprived, they surrounded him on all sides. Predators stalking their wounded, bleeding, cornered prey.
“All right.” He sighed. “Let’s get this over with.”
There was a distinct metal scraping on the concrete. Cayde turned around to find himself face to face with a massive fallen that had two of its four arms dismembered. It carried a large spiked flail that had napalm fuel burning fiercely within.
So...after everything I’ve been through. The debts, bets, the deals...this is how it ends? Zavala would probably be making a speech on his dying breath. Ikora? I can’t imagine it because nothing can kill her for good. She won’t stay down.
I suppose this is it. Thanks for the great times Andal. I’ll be seeing you on the other side too and we’ll be back to playing baccarat together again.
My wife...and my son. I’ll see you all again soon.
“I’m coming home...Ace.”
Holding his hand cannon gingerly, he aimed it right at the fallen’s head as a final act of defiance.
Right as the flail’s head smashed into his side. Cayde vanished from sight as Ace was dislodged from his grasp, falling emptily to the floor.
The dust choked him as Cayde tried to come to his senses. He hadn’t felt this amount of pain constant for a long...long time as he tried and failed to weakly stand up.
A thin slender figure entered the shaft where he had supposedly crashed into. Cayde was about to ask it for help, but recognized the person’s gait.
Uldren. The last person I'd ask for help from.
Prince Uldren Sov was the vice leader of the Reef, the wildlands where his race inhabited; the awoken. Uldren was only subservient to his sister, Queen Mara, but with her disappearance...the entire leadership vanished and the people were left to fend for themselves in the wake of the Taken King’s arrival.
Cayde knew that the Prince hated a lot of things. But there was one thing he hated more than anything else.
Guardians. Didn’t matter, human, awoken or exo. They were all beings he despised with every fiber.
He must think it’s his lucky chance. It’s not every day you get to kill a guardian. One that’s high ranked as myself.
“Well,” he breathed, trying to break the tension. “This is kind of awkward.”
Cayde could almost see Uldren rolling his eyes.
“It’s kind of dangerous with all those fallen out here. You got a gun I could borrow?”
“No,” Came the flat response. The awoken man stepped closer and Cayde saw he was busy admiring Ace in his hands. It sickened and enraged him to think that someone had the audacity to hold his own weapon like that right in front of him.
“So terribly well balanced.” Uldren hummed in approval, turning it over. “But I do have a bullet. With your name on it.”
“Ha!” Cayde’s laugh was humorless. “Well I wouldn’t stay if I were you. Any second now, my partner is gonna roll in here and kill every single one of you.”
Uldren tolled his eyes again, rather dismissive of the threat.
Still...something about him is a bit off...even if he's his usual condescending jerk self. His eyes seem like they're bloodshot or something.
“And you my man, are gonna get the worst of it all.”
All he got was a shush as the Prince put a finger up to his lips.
“This is going to hurt.” Ace was loaded, leveled and pointed directly at his head. “A lot.”
The irony wasn’t lost on him that he was about to become executed by his own hand cannon.
“Any last words?”
Got a lot of apologies to make. Lots of things I’ve wanted to say before I...passed on. Never figured I was meant to be a martyr. Sucks being like this and I don’t want anyone else to see me this helpless.
But there is no way...no way I am going to be on my knees and beg this prick for mercy. As much as he might want and enjoy it, it’s not happening.
And I’m sure there will be plenty back at the Tower who will rip him apart for this.
Cayde smirked, which only seemed to further irritate Uldren.
“How’s your sister?”
The awoken Prince closed his eyes and pulled the trigger.
24 Hours Earlier
Although it had yet to fully recover from the destruction of the Red War, the First Pillar Lake was already teeming with people. Set in a more rural setting than the mostly industrialized sections of the city, it had quaint neighborhoods, affluent homes and a crystal clear blue lake that was often a center of leisure in the summertime.
It was the time for being outdoors, school no longer in session and for the Vanguard that protected the City and its interests, it was a lapse in enemy activity that was long overdue.
Nobody would recognize the hero of the Red War, even in beachwear.
That’s exactly what she wore. Clad in dark athletic gear suited for water sports, Jadyn Amaris stood around the average height, a human with fair skin, sea green eyes and scapular length hair that had just a slight reddish tint when it hit the sunlight.
A white volleyball was in the palm of her hand and she threw it upwards to set and serve.
The four people on the other side of the net moved into position, spiking and sending it back to her side.
Jadyn wasn’t alone. Three others from her fireteam were also participating, some closer on defense to try and block while she and her fellow hunter; an awoken named Ailsa were closer to the back. Both the boys on her team, another awoken that was warlock named Etalan and a human hunter named Marcus had larger and bulkier frames, perfect for up close defenders.
Shouts and play calling echoed across the pitch as the eight participants kept up the frenzied pace of the volleyball match. All around them were lakegoers and people lounging on the white sandy shore that had small foamy waves crashing. Scores of people played in the surf as others wandered up to the row of vendors setting up shop to sell snacks and drinks of all kinds.
The game was close, but Jadyn managed to rally her team in the end to finally pull ahead. Laughs were shared and the two groups congratulated one another on a good game before parting ways. Jadyn’s own group sauntered towards a set of towels laid out in the sand. A few minutes later; Ailsa had joined them, handing out a can of beer to each of her cohorts before dropping on top of the towel in the shadow of an umbrella with Etalan. Awoken didn’t do too well with prolonged sun exposure. It was something their ghosts could heal, but all of theirs had been on their own vacation where their shells would be scrubbed, polished and their cores refitted to the latest specifications. The little ghost was a guardian’s lifeline and invaluable partner.
“Well that was fun.” The warlock sipped his beer and tapped it against Ailsa’s. He turned to her. “I gotta say Jadyn, your idea of an R and R day has really paid off. This is the best I’ve felt since I won that Redrix’s Broadsword competition.”
The group laughed and Jadyn resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Etalan was the team’s resident Crucible competitor. Although a capable guardian on team operations in the field; his own expertise was competing in the live-fire combat sport that both the guardians and the City enjoyed watching. Etalan had literally taken the stage by storm, thanks to his own stormcaller abilities and tactful thinking. Despite being assigned to random teams with other freelance players, it wasn’t uncommon for teams down a man to ask him to fill in a spot.
Etalan Cyor was regarded as one of the greatest stormcallers to step foot into the Crucible and showed no signs of slowing down. Analysts had commonly compared his ability style to the proven Kari Winters.
“I’ll second that.” Marcus muttered, eyes shut and leaning against his towel half propped up. He took a swig of his drink. “Also looking forward to a cut of that Farm prime rib, another good brew and some live music.”
“Oooh.” Jadyn laughed at him, something that didn’t go unnoticed by the two awoken in their group. “Feel like dancing and getting a little bit of that party life.”
“Why not? Life’s good. No big threats. Red Legion’s still running like a bunch of pussies after we punted Ca’uor off the Leviathan. It’s like the universe has finally given us a break for once.”
“Might as well enjoy it.” Ailsa added as the rest of the group nodded in agreement.
And they did. Of course the boys were all the more enthusiastic about digging into the City’s finest prime rib in one of the City’s most vibrant entertainment districts right in the heart of downtown. More beers were passed around and raised for a job well done and the night went on smoothly as they went into a club after eating their fill and paying; automatically granted entry past the line as guardians.
Ailsa and Jadyn immediately hit the floor, engrossed in some trendy music blaring in speakers all over the dark room that lit up with flashes of bright lights thanks to the DJ at the top pedestal. The center was a swirl of gyrating bodies, people surrendering themselves to the music. Both Etalan and Marcus kept out of it, deciding to order more drinks and secure a booth when the girls got exhausted. For one, they seemed rather content with sitting around and enjoying themselves.
Until Jadyn sauntered over, putting her hands on her hips. Like most women her age and figure, she was aware of how she caught the eye of the opposite sex. But she wasn’t about to let that stop her from getting her teammates to join in the fun.
“Boys, aren’t you going to join us?”
Etalan and Marcus exchanged a hesitant glance.
“No.” The awoken warlock said flatly.
“I don’t dance.”
“What? How is that Marcus? You did after we were waiting for Zavala to debrief us after that strike.”
“I don’t dance.” He repeated. “Period.”
“Lame.” She huffed, half hoping the name calling would get him to change his mind.
The hunter breathed out a sigh of relief as his teammate went back to join Ailsa.
“You know you probably should.” Etalan said after a pause between the two.
Marcus rolled his eyes. “Yeah?”
“I mean I’ve already seen three guys eyeball her,” he gestured to the floor. “And one of them looks like he’s already flirting.”
Marcus followed his gaze. “I don’t care.” He did see a rather handsome tall man talking to Jadyn and a slight twinge of irritation crept up in his mind when she smiled and laughed at something he said.
“See what I mean?”
“He’s too much of a pretty boy for her liking.”
The statement was true, Jadyn was as tough as nails as any guardian he’d come across and most people were surprised that she didn’t always conform to the regular feminine stereotypes often given.
Just like earlier in the steakhouse, where she practically inhaled a ten ounce ribeye, entire baked potato and a mug of beer without so much of a pause.
And most of the crowd here looked to be of the more affluent kind who were less of a partygoer.
“Whatever. She’s her own business.”
“Says the one who gets irritated every time a stranger tries to flirt with her when we’re on leave.”
Marcus was about to retort when her strat-comm on the table buzzed. Without thinking, he picked it up, ignoring Etalan’s hard stare.
“Hello?”
“Hey there!” He could recognize Cayde’s joking voice anywhere, but it seemed that the Hunter Vanguard didn’t seem to notice it wasn’t Jadyn that had picked up the line. “How’s my favorite guardian doing on her matchmaking with the gruff asshole weapon nerd?”
“Uh...it’s Marcus sir.” He said flatly. “Jadyn’s currently on the dance floor of Aura.”
“Oh!” Cayde’s voice showed no remorse or sheepishness as if he didn’t care his hand was caught in the proverbial cookie jar. “Well then, can you deliver this awesome strat-comm to her? I have an important message.”
“Sure. Hold on a second. Music’s loud, so I’ll try and see if she’ll go somewhere quieter to talk.”
Etalan chuckled as Marcus stood up, device in hand.
“Look who’s going on the dance floor after all.”
He got a middle finger in return.
Jadyn wasn’t really sure she got the joke that the guy had told her, but she laughed with him, adding more to his confidence.
He is cute though. Although she liked talking and meeting different boys, none really struck her as her...type. Some would be flat out jerks while others too nice and putting her on pedestals.
Seeing Marcus approach, she turned, scrunching her face in confusion as he said something to her indistinguishable over the blaring music.
“What?!” She yelled. Marcus’ lips moved again and he held out her strat-comm, but she still couldn’t hear him.
The guy that had been talking to her stepped forward, almost as if to confront him, but the hunter gave him a glare that made him hastily back off. He grabbed the top of her head, something easily done since he was nearly half a head taller and moved so he could yell in her ear over the roar of the music and not get lost in the wave of bodies dancing around them.
“Cayde! Wants! To talk! To you!”
“Oh! Why didn’t you say that?!” A bit of frustration flared up in her as he led them both to their table.
Sometimes boys are such jerks! I don’t even know why I can’t stand this guy.
Marcus rolled his eyes at her glaring at him.
“This girl is crazy.”
Etalan smirked at him. “I thought you liked crazy.”
“That’s it?” Jadyn asked incredulously. “There’s an ongoing riot at the Prison of Elders?”
“Yeah, Petra’s said that this one has the potential to escalate into something bigger.” Cayde chuckled. “I’m out in a couple of hours and could use some backup from my favorite guardian. I’ll owe you after it’s done. And we do need to visit Petra and the Awoken.”
“We could.” Jadyn had lukewarm feelings for the elfen species that inhabited the Reef, a collection of loosely connected asteroids in the belt between the planets Mars and Jupiter. While a number of awoken inhabited Earth and the Last City, they had originated from a cosmic event deep in the Solar System during the Golden Age when humanity had supposedly went out to colonize other worlds to expand its empire and were reborn when the Collapse occurred, changing forever.
The awoken that lived in the Reef had similar feelings toward the City. Living closer on the wildlands and uncharted sections of space that were lost, both sides had mutual agreements and cooperations, however many that lived in the Reef had a generic disdain for the City, Guardians and its inhabitants. A similar feeling was in the City itself.
Petra was one of the few that Jadyn enjoyed talking to while out there in a campaign to settle a massive dispute with the fallen House of Wolves and one of the Barons, the infamous Skolas in his attempt to seize power. She had been one of the guardians tasked with carrying out the Kell of Kells’ death sentence through a ritualistic battle.
“You really don’t have to convince me anymore Cayde.” Jadyn laughed. “Of course I’m in.”
It was an eleven hour flight to the Reef from the City, so the two hunters met in the hangar the next morning to check out their ships and pack for the long journey.
Jadyn’s ship that she had obtained from after the Red War was the Lost Legend, an silvery ovoid frame with multiple smaller thruster pods and bubble cockpit that was surprisingly spacious and one of the few that allowed a pilot, passenger with a strong survivability rating that was perfect for long expeditions without returning to port.
The flight systems were old Golden Age tech with among the best maneuverability she had ever flown. While not an ace pilot like Cassius, she was adept and thoroughly impressed with its capabilities, which included thrust vectoring. At least one of the thruster pods could be aimed to cover at every omnidirectional angle possible and she could fire one to change its course within an instantaneous reaction to near-zero. This made it possible for her to dodge through a hazardous asteroid field or even fly backwards.
The downside to the Lost Legend was the fact that it had no external weapons. It was built to be an explorer vessel rather than a combat one. She’d have to see Amanda for some weapons upgrade, but the line to have the ships tended to and outfitted with cannons or missile batteries was constantly long and it sometimes took weeks or even months to get through the queue.
Jadyn figured that if it was meant to be away from port for a long time, she might as well outfit it for comfort as her “home away from home”
The cockpit featured a supple leather seat that could pivot in place with the dash controls to her left and right, accessible with each hand. In the center was a steering wheel, shaped like a U. Behind her was a set of small living quarters; a heating unit, sink and spare bunk that was accessible by a folding panel right beside the storage area, which housed sets of armor, weapons, food and other supplies. There was even a vault of glimmer that she kept stored away in a secret compartment just underneath her pilot’s chair, that would be used for untraceable purchases.
She strapped herself in, entering from the main hatch and sealing it shut. Beside her, the ghost partner Solomon was already checking the ship diagnostics and would point out anything erroneous or unusual. He didn’t seem to see any wrongs and already was communicating with the Tower’s air traffic control to get clearance. Definitely a helpful thing, even though one of her panels had a comma unit installed already.
In front of her, she could see the large gray and blue ship that belonged to Cayde-6 ease out of its own dock, slowly cruising to the hangar’s entrance and quickly ascending.
“Tower Control to Ace Hunter and Razoredge Dagger, clear to ascend to two thousand on a two seven zero heading.”
“Ace Hunter ascending to two thousand and two seven zero. Thanks gentlemen.”
Jadyn repeated the command and the two ships turned over the wall, leveling out at two thousand feet altitude, cruising just above the tallest buildings in the City that were nestled underneath the Traveler.
“Beautiful isn’t it?” Cayde asked over her strat-comm.
“Yeah.” Jadyn breathed, still a little in awe at the metropolis. “As much as I love the scenic tour, aren’t we supposed to get going?”
“You know it! But still, I love looking out at all this, just to remember what and why we fight for.” Cayde pulled up and accelerated. “Fun’s over. I’ll race you to the Reef!”
“In this thing?” Her hand pushed the throttle and she felt it rumble as the engines dialated as she began to match his speed. “You’ve only made a mistake in that!”
Despite their “race” which was never taken seriously, they both shared a lane in the NLS stream, flying close together. It was nearly a straight shot with no adjustments needed to drop out.
Jadyn spent most of her time checking her gear, sitting at the folded out table. About halfway into the journey, she was watching a drama series that was popular in the City on her datapad while eating a light meal. She’d sleep the rest of the way until Solomon woke her up a half hour out.
“Hey,” Solomon’s voice said softly.
Jadyn stirred, sitting up in the cockpit chair blinking a couple of times. The window screen still showed the tunnel-like blue to indicate they were still in NLS.
“Hope you had a nice rest sleepyhead.” Solomon twirled his shell. “But we’re dropping out in twenty five minutes and we’ll have to do some careful maneuvering once we hit the asteroids in front of the Prison of Elders.”
Of course that didn’t even mention how they would be escorted by the Reef’s Interceptor fighter craft. Luckily for them; they would have the knowledge of their arrival and Cayde would do the talking. All she would have to do is fly next to him as they were flown to the Prison’s entrance.
Solomon did most of the tight moving as the asteroids in the field were both quick, dangerous and unpredictable. Thankfully the Lost Legend was more than nimble enough to skirt around the floating rocks as he kept up with Cayde and the two Awoken Interceptors that were escorting them.
He brought it into a nosedive and she immediately saw the long walkway that led right into the prison’s entrance. Down below, she could see a slim figure; Petra Venj as she awaited their arrival.
Cayde was already waiting for her when she transmatted out and they walked up to the Queen’s Wrath together.
“Petra Venj!” The exo held out his hands grandly. “Thanks for the invite! So what are you packing for this party?”
The awoken woman had features typical of her kind. Lilac blue skin, reddish hair and sharp blue eyes. She wore parts of bulky armor along her shoulders and back with a thin sleek dark suit underneath to maximize movement and flexibility. A bronze patch covered her left eye, lost in an incident she hadn’t disclosed to her.
Petra gave a curt nod, but still smiled at seeing her old friends again.
“The usual.” She drew a long gray knife from her hip sheath, a signature weapon amongst the Reef’s armed forces.
“Ooh! Oh! Do the thing again!” Cayde’s eyes lit up like a puppy’s and he leaned to Jadyn. “Seriously, you gotta watch this.”
Jadyn already knew what he was talking about. “Cayde I’ve seen it before.”
Petra still obliged him and they both watched in amazement as the curved blade spun around in midair before she snatched it out.
Wow. Still pretty awesome.
“That will never not freak me out. Like ever. Now do it again!”
“Later.” Cayde looked a little disappointed when Petra slid it back in its sheath. “Maybe. But we’ve got a situation. Gen pop is running wild down there.”
Jadyn could indeed hear the sounds of shouts from various species that were kept in the prison.
“Fortunately the lower levels remain on lockdown, but if the security systems fail...containment is going to be a problem.”
“So what’s the plan then? We’ll have to keep the security hub online running until we get the riot under control.” Jadyn pointed out.
“Right.”
“Just another day at the office.” Cayde whipped out his signature hand cannon, the Ace of Spades and twirled it around his finger, slipping a magazine into the cylinder.
“Alright, this is a Cayde riff in six. Watch me for the changes and try to keep up!” He smirked. “Now let’s go to prison!”
With a happy shout, he leapt off the side of the platform, plunging down below to a series of shrieks and shouts.
“Got you!”
Jadyn shook her head at the Hunter Vanguard’s enthusiasm as she heard the familiar rattle of Ace going off.
Only Cayde would be so excited to go to prison.
She unholstered her own hand cannon, a better devils, spinning it around like Cayde had done before sprinting up to face the horde of rioters that awaited inside.