I’m Coming Home, Ace - Part 5: Eye of the Storm
Part One: Gunslinger’s Ode
Part Three: Sweet Business
Part Four: You Know How This Ends, Guardian
"Uldren Sov, is mine." Spartan clenches his fists tightly, turning and walking away from the two remaining Vanguard, and his fireteam. Mad and Alex shared a glance, they both knew he wasn't going to leave unprepared. He'd stop by banshee to pick up some ammunition synths, he'd stop by the ramen shop to collect those little "just pour water" rations that were discounted for Guardians going off-planet, and after a day like today...
Hell, Spartan wasn't the only one who would need to head into the city for a drink.
"Guardians," Zavala spoke to them as they started to walk away. Mad and Alex turned around to see Zavala holding what looked like an expired ramen coupon, he didn't make eye contact with them, "I cannot condone sending a fireteam after Uldren Sov, even after everything he's done... If you choose to do this, you will not have the support of the vanguard, or the resources thereof."
Alex nods, Mad looks over at Ikora for confirmation. Ikora closes her eyes, holding back tears to the best of her abilities.
"I'm sorry, Guardians." Ikora nods at them, "As much as I truly wish I could support you, the tower needs to know that the Vanguard are united. Or... What's left of it."
Alex and Mad share another glance, both knowing what the other is thinking, before they turn and make their way back to the tower.
"Well... That was a load of bullshit." Alex remarks after they're out of earshot, and Mad sighs in response.
"Zavala really, really gives you Titans a bad name. You know that?" Mad hisses at him, and Alex nods understandingly.
"I'd assumed that Zavala was the reason everyone hates Titans, but, hey, at least we still have Shaxx and Saladin, right?" Alex replies, sliding his hand across the door's panel to swing it open.
"I mean, I guess. Shaxx is always busy boasting about himself and Saladin only shows up for like three days out of the year, but..." Mad replies, and Alex shrugs his shoulders in agreement.
"Fair point," He says, and the two of them step into the elevator to take them back up to the wall.
They both ride the elevator upwards in silence, neither of them really having anything to say. They were both grieving, they could feel the solemnity in the small box. They were all processing their grief differently, it seemed. Spartan was relying on his anger to get the job done, Mad was simply trying to keep himself occupied(Alex could hear the gears in his exo brain shifting, and assumed he was either thinking of an unfinished bounty he had left or was wondering which exotic he'd get his hands on next), and Alex was simply sulking in the grief; Not enough so that it would overcome him, but enough so that he could make sure he wasn't dreaming.
So..." Alex starts again as the elevator door swings open to reveal the top of the wall, "What are we going to do about Spartan?"
"What do you mean?" Mad asks, stepping out of the elevator and looking in the direction of Eververse and the Post Office.
"I mean that once he sets his sights on someone, he typically doesn't back off until they're dead. He literally chased the house of wolves across the system to get to Skolas, remember? And we went through hell and back so that he could rip Sepiks Prime into scrap metal."
"Yeah. Twice." Alex nods, and the two of them chuckle softly.
"Well you said it yourself, Alex, he's not going to stop until Uldren Sov is a bullet-ridden corpse. So as far as I'm concerned, there's only one thing left we can do..."
"I was afraid you were going to say that. We barely survived with an army against Ghaul, but now you want us to go after Uldren with just three of us?" He asks, looking up at the now-awoken Traveler as the pieces and fragments hover around it majestically.
"Alex, when we went up against Ghaul, we didn't have our light. Remember? It wasn't until you singlehandedly punched the fucker in the throat that we got our light back."
"I didn't kill him, remember? The Traveler woke up and demanded it's light back, he killed Ghaul from the inside out." Alex replied defensively.
"Yea, Alex, we were there. We were focusing on his soldiers, remember? You still got your light back, and tracked him down, and kicked his ass even when he had the light himself. Whether you killed him or not, you still played a big part in that battle."
Alex nods, a handful of workers at the tower wave at him, he waves back politely, though that doesn't make him any more comfortable. He wasn't fighting for fame or fortune, and he certainly wasn't fighting for vengeance, he was fighting for survival. He watches as Mad walks off a ways.
"So, where are we meeting up?" Alex asks, Mad turns around and stops walking.
"Oh, you're coming with us?" Mad questions in a somewhat insulting manner, and Alex stares silently at him. "Right. That was kind of dickish. Meet us at The Guardian Clown, that's usually where Spartan goes after a long day. Make sure you grab whatever you need, first, when we're done drinking we're heading straight to The Reef."
Alex nods, turning and walking back towards the hangars in silence. The journey ahead was going to be fraught with danger, and if Uldren had someone precise enough to kill a ghost? That made him very uneasy, and he was certain his ghost felt it too. They'd just gotten through half of the storm, and now they were in the eye, the peace that temporarily followed in between nightmares.
The rest of the storm was yet to come.
