The cuffs are tight around Rezic’s wrists, but he’s more worried about his friend. He hasn’t seen Gus in over a day. Actually, he hasn’t seen much of anything in over a day considering he’s been locked in a cell deep within the Tower. Pacing back and forth the short length of the room has been his way of spending time between meditation sessions. That, and trying to figure out how Tissea was able to create a portal from one of the lead ships of the Witness into the center of the Tower.
The Tower is not as safe as we thought. Hopefully, Zavala will listen.
Hours continue to pass. The sun sets and rises again before anyone comes to check on Rezic. Of all people, Suraya stands outside his cell with two of Shaxx’s Redjacks.
“He’s ready to see you now.”
She raises a hand, gesturing for him to go first. He nods to her and passes the guards, walking into the hallway and up the steps into the next hallway where two more Redjacks stand at attention. Rezic never had much of a relationship with Suraya. He and the others were off-planet when the Cabal attacked the Last City and they stayed away until the Vanguard called them in for the final push to free the Traveler. He had heard stories of her courage in the Red War, but never got the chance to meet her. With his hands still tied behind his back, he didn’t think now would be a good time.
The two new guards step in front of him, leading him down the hallway, while the original two are behind him to his right and left. Based on footsteps, Suraya must be somewhere behind the group. She walks in silence. Rezic decides to keep it that way and not ask any questions about Gus.
An open elevator stands waiting at the far end of the wide hallway. Rezic isn’t sure how deep they are, but he knows Zavala’s office is above him somewhere. He enters the metal box, turns, and waits for the rest of the crew to step in front of him. Suraya looks him in the eyes momentarily as she enters. Rezic stares back, not willing to share any emotion with his captors. He’s not sure who’s on what side, if sides have even been taken. He’s still a guardian of the Light.
Surely this is all formality.
As the elevator doors open outside Zavala’s office, Rezic can hear the faint noise of raised voices. One of them sounds like Gus. The other is definitely Zavala.
Shit.
Rezic walks to the doors of the office, but is stopped. A hand rests on his shoulder.
“He’s mad, but he knows what you’ve been through. Be honest with him and we can all move on and focus on the real threat.”
Rezic looks over to Suraya, unsure of how she, or anyone, could possibly know what he and Gus have been through. The puzzled look on his face must have told her as much.
“Your titan friend came in really banged up. He needed medical attention and lots of it. While that was happening, Zavala had his memory core checked. He watched it all, which is why you were in lock-up for two days.”
The realization that the privacy of his closest friend was violated by the Vanguard commander did little to calm Rezic down. A fire rises inside him. With his hands still cuffed behind him, he pushes through Zavala’s doors shoulder-first without invitation.
Zavala should know better than to invade the privacy of an exo!
He wanted to make sure Zavala understood the gravity of his decision.
As he enters, he sees Zavala behind his desk, standing. To the right, is Ikora, of course. Gus stands across the table from them. No one else is in the room. Rezic practically runs to his friend’s side, checking him over as he goes. His armor looks new, and the weld to fix the gash on his face is barely noticeable, besides some discoloration. When Gus looks at him, he’s surprised at how calm the titan looks.
Was he not yelling moments ago? Isn’t he upset about what Zavala did?!
Once again, Rezic’s face betrays his emotions.
“I’m fine, Rez,” Gus says, placing reassuring hands on his shoulders. “We’re both going to be fine. I’m sorry you’ve been left in the dark.” He turns to Zavala. “Can we have the cuffs removed?”
Zavala nods, and a Redjack comes from behind to free Rezic. He looks back and forth between the two titans, completely lost as to what has happened while he’s been locked away.
“What the hell is going on? You read his memory core?!” His voice rises at the end into a yell, despite Gus’s calmness.
If Gus won’t be angry, I will on his behalf.
Gus speaks up.
“Rez, I said it’s okay. When we landed in the courtyard, we were both unconscious. Must have been the fall; the portal wasn’t in the most convenient spot according to everyone around us. I was banged up pretty bad. While in the hospital, Zavala and Ikora came to visit.” He gestures to his face and the wound. “The gash across my face made it hard for me to speak, so I gave them access to my core. I knew Zavala would be angry with how we ignored his commands, and I wanted him to understand the gravity of the situation.” Gus looks at Zavala and nods. Rezic is shocked that Gus would let something like that happen, but maybe it was for the best.
“I’m sorry, guardian,” Zavala says. “What you’ve seen. What you’ve been through. It couldn’t have been easy, but I understand your desire to keep your fireteam together.” He looks over at Ikora, unspoken words shared through a look. “We understand now why you had to do it. Thanks to Gus, we also have a better understanding of our enemy. For that, we must thank you.”
“Zavala and I were just talking, and he agreed that you and I need to find a way to establish a connection with Tissea. She’s our guardian on the inside now, and without her we won’t know how the Witness is planning to attack us.”
“Gus is right,” Ikora says. “We need information on the Witness. My Hidden are at your disposal. Find the ship that Tissea was on, establish a connection with her, and continue to learn about the Witness and the Disciples. Without this information, we have no chance against him and the Darkness that follows.”
Rezic is shocked this conversation hasn’t been about their punishment, but rather their access to even more Vanguard resources. The fight with Savathun obviously opened Zavala’s mind to more abstract tactics against the Darkness. He avoids looking a gift horse in the mouth and simply nods to Ikora. Gus slaps Rezic on the shoulder and laughs.
“And you were so worried,” the titan says loudly, laughing again. Rezic chuckles.
“Disobeying the Vanguard has never been taken lightly. I’m glad you understood why we did what we did. I’m sorry we kept the truth from you in the first place. It won’t happen again.”
Ikora crosses her arms.
“No more secrets,” she says. “As I said before, you have the full support of my Hidden, which means they will be assisting you from this point forward. We fight this evil together this time.”
Rezic nods, understanding the unspoken order behind her words. Zavala clears his throat.
“As for your ghosts.” On cue, Harker and Tyr manifest next to Zavala. They were confiscated on arrival and neither guardian has had a chance to see them yet. “We expect reports on any substantial findings. Is that clear?”
Harker bobs up and down. “Yes sir!”
Tyr spins his chassis casually. “No more secrets.” As he floats back down towards Rezic, Zavala catches a glimpse of something following the ghost. It almost looks like a wisp of energy following him, but it disappears instantly.
“Thank you. Dismissed,” he says.
Rezic and Gus leave his office to find the hallway empty; no sign of Suraya or the Redjacks. They walk towards the elevator, waiting until they are inside before either of them speak, hoping to stay out of earshot of any prying ears. Rezic is the first to speak.
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m good,” Gus says while flexing his shoulders as if to make a point. “Never felt better honestly. I think a couple of my parts needed replacing anyway. I would have rather not gotten my ass kicked by a Disciple to get them, though.” Rezic laughs.
“Yeah, not much of a trade, is it?”
“No, but, it’s good to be home. And it’s good that we have the support of the Vanguard again. I don’t like being chased.”
“Me neither, Gus. And, now we get to do the chasing. Are you ready?” The doors of the elevator open. The top-level of the tower is bustling with energy. Shaxx’s booming voice echoes as another guardian claims their rewards. Rezic breathes in the smell of gun oil floating over from Banshee’s space.
It does feel good to be home again.
“I’m good, Rez. The question is, are you good?”
Rezic walks forward with Tyr in his wake. Something about them seems off.
He eyes his warlock friend, and his ghost, trying to decipher if the light is playing tricks on him, or if there’s some magical aura emanating from his body. He focuses on the scarred armor on his back, and the faint glow that seems to be permeating around it.
Rezic passes through a group of guardians dancing in a circle to some music that only they can hear. The collection of bodies blocks Gus from seeing any more of Rezic’s wounds. The glowing he imagined is nowhere to be seen when he looks again. Gus shrugs.
Must have been my imagination.
The warlock whistles a soft tune as he approaches the postmaster to check his mail. He reaches for the terminal to enter his PIN as Kadi 55-30 greets him. A small glow of green energy dances between his fingers and into the keypad. Kadi stops talking and looks up at Rezic, who slowly raises a finger to his lips, a devious grin spreading across his face.
Writing by Adam 