A/N: Enjoy the chapter. LET THERE BE LIGH- A REVIEW! Throw some stones! Lots of stones!
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[Tower, Last City]
Ikorra's eyes darted back to the terminal again.
The soft glow of the message feed bathed her face in flickers. Her fingers hovered over the control keys, but there was nothing new. Just the same final ping they had received from Void's ship entering lunar orbit.
Her eyes narrowed, as she tapped the screen, hoping for it somehow make a difference. But as the data remain unchanged, Ikorra's face seemed to pale.
"You're gonna wear a hole in that console if you keep staring at it like that," Cayde said from behind, arms folded, his voice laced with that usual blend of dry humor and concern.
Ikorra didn't look away. "It's been four days."
Cayde stepped closer. "You said yourself that he's reliable. He's probably the only one who can do this."
"Besides." Cayde paused, leaning forwards as he too sneaked a glance at the console, "He made it through that horrific war without a scratch, went toe to toe with that abomination with a sword."
He chuckled softly, "I think he's fine."
"This is different," she replied, finally turning. "He wasn't supposed to go silent."
Zavala's footsteps echoed softly through the command chamber as he approached, a data pad in hand. His face was more stern than usual. "There's no trace of his ship on any of the long-range scanners. No outbound transmissions. No sign of engagement. It's like he… disappeared."
Ikorra's jaw clenched. "He didn't disappear. He's either buried under a Hive tomb or he's deep enough to not risk comms. But either way, we can't just wait."
Zavala exhaled slowly, then nodded. "Agreed."
Cayde's quip was gone now. He looked between the two. "You're really thinking of sending someone?"
"Wasn't the whole gist that it was too dangerous? Come on people, have some faith!" Cayde spoke up as he tapped the table loudly.
"Fine." Ikorra said. "We won't go ourselves. But sending the New Lights to check in is fine isn't it? They're capable. Just have them search for his signal. Nothing too deep."
Zavala's eyes narrowed as he considered it. "If Void really has been compromised, they might be our only chance. But we need to keep this quiet. If the Nightstalkers find out that he's on the moon, they'd launch a full-blown search party. We can't afford too many squads on the moon."
"Then we do it fast," Ikorra said, already turning back to her terminal. "I'll prep the intel package. You issue the mission. And Cayde… promise them some loot, something that'll help them keep it on the low."
Cayde smiled. "Always do."
Zavala's deep voice filled the chamber as he turned toward the central broadcast hub. "To all New Light operatives. A Vanguard asset is currently missing in action after deploying to the Moon to investigate Hive movement. Signal has been lost. Mission parameters: locate the operative, secure intel. Moon deployment now authorized. Stand by… and keep your eyes open, Guardian. The Moon, is not a simple place."
Zavala's voice echoed over the Vanguard's holo table as the mission parameters were sent to hundreds of ghosts at once.
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[The Cosmodrome | Mothyards Outpost]
A cloud of dust kicked up as BearSpray slammed his sparrow into a half-ruined wall as he tried to boost onto a ramp, prompting a series of laughter and exasperated shouting from the others.
"Bro, that's the third try you've done. Give up." Dumbledore groaned.
"I swear I saw it! I am telling you, its just the speed. You gotta get it right. The alignment is also important. I think its wrong." BearSpray muttered, dusting off his armor.
"Maybe it's your brains alignment," Waffles snorted as she leaned against the cliff face.
"Look, believe it or not, you ride your sparrow onto that ramp, drive up and then jump, you'll get to the top of the cliff." BearSpray
"Okay, where the hell did you even see it?" TheOneWhoKnocks asked, his helmet tilted toward the sky.
"FreakyFeet, I saw that sneaky bastard do the trick, think I even heard a chest open at the top. Look bro, there's definitely something up there." BearSpray pointed to the cliff's top. The edge was just out of their jump range.
"FreakyFeet? Nah bro give up, you ain't freaky like him." Undecided shook his head.
"Relax, I'll do it. One more try. No cap." BearSpray summoned his sparrow again, circling back to a clearing so he could build up speed.
"Full cap, that man there is mentally challenged." Waffles grunted and opened the director, looking for something to do.
"Yeah, well," IEatPaint replied, "Not like we got something else right now. No new strikes, no missions. Bounties are already full for this week."
"Notice how you didn't say crucible?" Undecided pointed out, checking his loadout screen.
IEatPaint retorted, "Clash 6v6 is the bottom of the barrel. You dogs just spawn camp."
"Still better than patrol farming," muttered IloveLoot as he checked his glimmer totals.
LeroyJenkins laughed. "Y'all say that but I saw you spawn kill the same Fallen captain like four times."
"Dude, it says there's a chance he'll drop a legendary leg armor." TheOneWhoKnocks shrugged.
Suddenly, a sharp ping rang across all their HUDs. The light dimmed slightly as a message began to scroll across their vision.
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[New Mission Unlocked: Shadow's Wake]
Objective: Help gather intel and track down a missing Vanguard asset deep in the Hive's territory.
Recommended: Lv (15)
Location: Ocean of Storms, Moon
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They all stopped moving.
Waffles blinked. "Wait. We can go to the Moon now?"
ThunderClappin whistled. "Finally. The director always had the moon written on the map, but looks like its unlocked now."
"Yo, is that a cutscene—?" LeroyJenkins asked, hovering over the moon on the Director.
The moon's icon glowed faintly, pulsing as they hovered over it. A small star icon was placed on top with a Destiny icon on the side.
"Looks like they marked it down as a story mission. I guess we start it now." Dumbledore nodded.
"Sure, where's Gandalf?" Undecided replied.
"Real. Prob still at school." BearSpray answered.
"He's IN SCHOOL?" TheOneWhoKnocks raised a brow.
Undecided shrugged, "Huh? I mean yeah, dude's like fifteen."
"He's WHAT!" Waffles immediately spoke up.
"What? How old are you dude?" BearSpray questionned.
"I'd rather not say." Waffles clicked her tongue and sent a fireteam invite to IEatPaint and TheOneWhoKnocks.
"So we doing this without him or?" Undecided looked around.
Dumbledore frowned, "I mean I've got work later, so I'd rather do it now."
"Later? What do you even do?" Waffles shot him a glance.
"Don't worry about it."
The players skipped the chatter as they all clicked on the mission.
The sky went dark.
The screen flickered as a scene played.
It opened with a slow pan across the lunar surface. Jagged cliffs, endless shadows. Whispering winds that didn't belong in a vacuum. Something old and hateful slumbered beneath the ground. A heartbeat. Not literal, but felt.
A narrator—Zavala's voice—echoed:
"There are places in our system where the Light does not reach. Places where Darkness thrives. It rules, and its echoes are felt everywhere. As the light grows stronger, so does the dark. And now? It hungers."
The screen shifted, an eerie green flame consumed the horizon as the necropolis of Hellmouth came into view, its foundations stretching deep underground, where a dark and sinister power seemed to stir.
"Be warned, Guardian. What stirs beneath its surface is not just Hive. It is their past. Their faith. Their grave."
Zavala paused, his Voice shifted as it went lower, "The Dark below, is something that threatens to consume the very world as we see it. Keep your eyes sharp guardian, the light cannot afford to lose more than we already have."
The cutscene faded. The player HUD returned.
No one said a word for a second.
"Okay that… was sick," said IEatPaint, breaking the silence.
IloveLoot grinned. "Time to bust some Hive on the Moon."
As their transmats triggered, their fireteams synced.
For a moment, the Mothyards fell quiet as streaks of blue light carried them upward, away from the Cosmodrome and towards orbit. Then, the Jumpships flickered, warping through hyperspace as they shot towards the moon.
"Alright, boys," Dumbledore said. "Let's go."
"I definitely wanna look at that weird castle." Waffles nodded.
As the stars above twisted and the Moon's pale surface began to come into view, their radars blurred. An aurora of sickly green flame seemed to spread around the moon. Just as they had seen.
The Jumpships crept closer to docking on the moon. The music shifted. An orchestra of wails, masked by a sharp and eerie tune played in their eyes. A shive ran through them as the players finally landed on the moon.
Their figures flickered as the fireteams transmatted to the Moon's surface. As they stood atop the ridges of the Ocean of Storms, facing the inverted necropolis of Hellmouth. The players were in awe.
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