"So, Dizren ... it is Dizren, isn't it? We meet at last. Why don't we get started with why you broke into my quarters?"

Executor Hideo sits opposite me in the hold of the New Monarchy jumpship. My hands are restrained behind my back, weapon confiscated. My ghost has cloaked, remaining silent and hidden. Armed guardians in faction colours stand on either side. Another sits beside the pilot, watching me. Over their shoulders I see the surface of Venus rushing past. Hideo leans back against the hull, legs crossed, fingers steepled over his knees. His expression is blank but his eyes are alert, piercing. It feels a little cliche but he reminds me of a snake. A hungry, angry snake.

It would be fair to say this turn of events is unexpected.

"Well, hunter?"

A viper, maybe. Something venomous.

Focus, guardian. I have a decision to make here. What does he know? Why are New Monarchy on Venus? Where are they taking me? Think, Diz.

Lie to him. Tell him the truth. Tell him part of the truth. Tell him nothing.

Say something.

"Breaking into your quarters was random. I done it to throw suspiscion around."

When all else fails, try a measured degree of honesty.

"Odd," Hideo raises an eyebrow, "I actually think you might be telling the truth. A small fraction of it, at least."

The jumpship banks sharply to starboard then begins to rise, a steep climb through the cloud cover. I catch a glimpse of another New Monarchy vessel through the cockpit screen, also climbing fast. Wherever we are headed we are in a hurry.

"It was suspisciously difficult to find any information on you." Hideo continues, impressively unmoved as the jumpships acceleration pushes the rest of us towards the rear of the craft. "Almost nothing in your file. Who done that for you, I wonder?"

"I just don't get out much."

"Hmm. Sarcasm suits you, I'll give you that."

He smiles. It is almost unbearably insincere.

"Hideo, I don't wish to be rude, but...why have you kidnapped me?"

"Kidnapped? Oh, no no no. We haven't kidnapped you. Consider it ... forceful repositioning."

"Alright. Then why am I being forcefully repositioned?"

"Ah, a quick learner. I like that. My associates and I were observing the rather... unusual activity on the planet. Then who happens to show up but the little scamp who broke into my quarters. So we watched you, from orbit. In all honesty, it wasn't particularly challenging. The jumpship you destroyed certainly caught the eye. And then, would you believe, Commander Zavala contacts me and asks if we can extract you. But not to apprehend you. Heavens no. To, if possible, assist you. Curious, don't you think?"

"It's a puzzler."

"Indeed. Unfortunately, although I'm sure understandably, I don't have complete trust in you. Hence the restraints. So why does Zavala now want you assisted, not arrested? And what is really going on here?"

I have nothing to lose now. If I can't get off this ship my mission is scrubbed. Play the odds. Assume the worst. If I'm caught in a lie the chances of release drop to zero. Only keep secret the absolute essentials. It's too late for anything else.

"Ghost, you can show yourself. I need you."

...are you sure?...

"Yes."

My companion materialises beside me. Hideo remains silent, at ease, watching and listening. For a moment, I wonder if the Executor was the one hacking the towers security logs.

"I was given a search and rescue mission. A cargo transport called The Dawn Hush which had went dark. On board I found bodies, including that of a guardian, Lyssa Arret. I tracked the other members of her fireteam, Abdel Tarrat and Petr Song. Had to kill Tarrat. Song died in the explosion you saw earlier today on the surface."

As I speak my ghost flashes up holo images of dates, times and locations. It's a solid idea, I realise, trying to bombard Hideo with information. Worth a try.

"From what I have so far, they were studying the Vex transport system here on Venus. They found a giant gate, big enough to take a fleet through and believed they could control it. Jalaal is going to use it to take Dead Orbits forces out of the system."

"This is fascinating, hunter." the executor interrupts, "But you are omitting a central thread. Why are guardians dying?"

"The fireteam with Arret, Song and Tarrat. They found the gate while answering a distress signal, sent by another guardians ghost. The titan, Aliya Raine. I think she was working for Rasputin, that the warmind sent her to destroy the gate, to prevent what is now happening."

"Dead orbits exodus?"

"Yes. They found Raine, barely alive and her ghost destroyed. When they tried to transport her offworld on the Dawn Hush, Rasputin intervened, crippling the ship and reviving her."

"Then this Titan, Raine, killed the crew. Including a fellow guardian? Assisted by the notoriously reclusive warmind? You are stretching the bounds of credulity here, my girl."

"Nothing else fits, Hideo. Now she is back on Venus. It was Raine who attacked us earlier and killed Petr Song. Now she is heading back to the gate. I'm under orders from Zavala to track her down."

"And...?"

"Apprehend her."

"Awful lie, Dizren. Awful. I am quite sure you have been asked to kill her, and understandably so given her recent behaviour. And what else do you know of this gate?"

"I think Dead Orbit would have found it eventually, otherwise Rasputin wouldn't have intervened. Because the Vex wanted them to find it. Wanted them to use it. The entire surrounding area is laced with a formation of hundreds of other gates. It's a trap. And Dead Orbit are already inside."

My ghost throws up the map images we had studied together, the rings of gates ensnaring their target.

"At least you have that part correct.", sighs Hideo, "As for the rest, well, I'm sure you are trying your best."

He nods to one of the crew who steps forward and de-activates my restraints.

"Alright Dizren. As desperately thin on detail and peppered with half truths as that was, I feel inclined to give you the benefit of the doubt. For now. As I'm sure you've guessed, not all of this is news to me. As New Monarchys Executor I have my own ... sources. Sadly, we still have more questions than answers. Zavala gave you the original mission to find the Dawn Hush, yes?"

Shit.

"Yes."

"You have both been lying about it to try and draw out an infiltrator in our ranks, who has been breaching tower security to monitor these events."

Double shit. How does he know this?

"Yes."

"Now you are worrying about how I know these things. Do not. I am not your enemy. I am not the traitor, or colluding with them. Like it or not, we are on the precipice of catastophe. We must now help each other."

...Diz, we are out of time. If Raine completes her mission and flees the planet we may never get another chance at her...

"Okay, fairs fair Executor. Where are we going? Where are you taking me?"

Hideo examines a datapad as I speak. He beckons to another one of the crew, mutters a few commands. I feel the ship begin to bank again, angling down in a port side descent.

"We are swinging in a series of wide loops to avoid tracking from several Dead Orbit monitoring posts. We wish to stay in the area for now, but hopefully undetected for a little longer."

He lowers the datapad and meets my eyes before continuiing.

"Whatever is happening here, I wasn't surprised to find Jalaal and Dead Orbit on the wrong side of it. They are selling their souls for this... this fantasy. Have you ever spent time in the city, guardian? With the people we protect? Some of them believe the Traveller is a curse. Some a god. Others believe we are merely the ghosts puppets. But we give our lives to protect them, nonetheless. Because, together, we are all that is left. Dead Orbit, you must understand, wish to leave them behind. Sacrifice them all. Their lives, our lives, are the price Jalaal is willing to pay. You do understand this, don't you?"

"Hideo, I don't care about Dead Orbit. I don't care about the Arach. Faction politics are glorified board games. I need to find Aliya Raine and deal with her. That's my mission."

"Interesting perspective you have there, hunter. And what of the gate?"

"That's above my pay grade. If I can help I will, but I have to deal with Raine no matter what else is happening."

"Both concerningly short sighted and clearly a partial truth. If you are going to lie to me do a better job of lying to yourself first."

I am pushed back again against the hull by the crafts acceleration, then a brief moment of weightlessness as we go into a hard dive. I see flashes of mountainside through the plexiglass as the jumpship fights the turbulence. Hideos gaze never leaves me.

"Have you heard of Dredgen Yor, I wonder? A foolish question. Of course you have." he sits back again and takes a deep, tired breath before continuiing, "I mention it because the story of Yor doesn't fill me with despair, guardian, like it does for others. It gives me hope. That our will is our own. That we choose our fate. We are not simply puppets, we are doing good because we choose to do so. And you ... now you have a choice to make."

"I have a job to do, Hideo. If I can do it. I appreciate the philosophy class but I have more pressing matters to deal with. Raine is a killer and I need to find her. Hopefully before those gates start filling the Ishtar Sink with Vex. Never mind what could come through the main gate."

"Dear oh dear, hunter. I had genuinely hoped you were smarter than this. I doubt they would use the gate to bring anything through. What a wasteful enterprise that would be. It would be much more useful for taking something away."

"Away? What could they want to take away?"

"Really, Dizren, how depressing. What can you possibly think of that's 1.2 km across and spherical?"

Everything is simple when you know the answer.

"Oh, hell."

"An accurate assessment. Your success or failure here may be of far greater import than you believed. I can help you get through their perimeter, Diz, that much I can do. Then you are on your own."

*  *  *  *

I want to know what happened to them. I want to return to the tower. Answer me. I need to know what happened. I need to go back.

*  *  *  *

"Incoming ordnance, Executor." the pilots voice over the intercom.

"Identified?" Hideo has returned his attention to the datapad as he replies. He doesn't appear concerned.

"Dead Orbit, short-range surface to air missile. It has acquired us and is homing. 60 seconds till impact."

"Maintain course and speed." he hands the pad off to one of the officers and meets my gaze, "Jalaal won't kill us. He just doesn't want us interfering. Ignore the missile. Drink?"

I take the flask he offers and glance at the other crewmembers.

Taking their lead from Hideo, they don't seem worried.

I take a swig. Sadly, only water.

"At the risk of being the odd one out here, Executor, I'm not that comfortable ignoring missiles. In my experience they tend to somewhat grab the attention. Can you let me off here?"

"Now now Dizren, don't be so melodramatic."

...30 seconds till impact, Diz...

The Executor isn't even looking at me, he is reading a message on a wall monitor.

"We are going to die, Hideo."

"Oh yes. I'd say it was a certainty at some point."

...20 seconds. Do something Diz, this is insane...

A touch of panic is rising in my chest but the atmosphere is so subdued, the situation so surreal, I feel almost powerless to act.

"Do something Hideo. This is crazy."

"Do calm down, my friend. You're embarrassing yourself."

...5 seconds...

My entire body has tensed, hands gripping the hull.

...brace for impact...

A dull thud echoes around the vessels interior. Noone on board has so much as flinched. Their faith in Hideo is, frankly, breathtaking.

...the missile was never armed, Diz. Just an attempt to scare us off...

"Pilot?" says Hideo, a faint smirk on his lips.

"No further contacts. 5 minutes till dropzone, executor."

"Excellent. A whole 5 minutes. Let's continue our chat, shall we Dizren?"

"I'd rather not, to be honest."

"Well, I'll chat. You listen. Continuiing war is defeat. The only victory will be peace, through a decisive unified move, all of us as one. We have no divine right to success. We have no monopoly on righteousness, or bravery. The Fallen who died at the Gap were no less brave than the guardians who fell alongside them. We will need every one of us if we are to survive the years ahead. Good, bad or somewhere in between. That gate needs to be destroyed, hunter. Perhaps you should help Raine do just that? If you succeed, there may even be a place for you in New Monarchy."

That smile is back on his lips. He is playing with me.

"No thanks. Like you said, I work for Zavala. I'm not sure he would be happy about that."

"Of course. The good commander. We would have put Zavala on a throne, you know, if he would only have accepted. I used to think he wasn't willing to sacrifice but seeing you, here and now, I may have been wrong. Now he seems a little too keen to sacrifice, yes? The sign of a guilty conscience, perhaps? A need to atone? Or has he simply ... lost his way?"

"Not Zavala. He'll be in the tower long after we are both gone."

"Long after you, certainly."

"3 minutes, Executor." the pilots voice again.

"Thankyou." Hideo pauses, watches me, "Have you seen that painting in his office, I wonder?"

"I don't think it's any of your business Hideo, help or no help."

We hold each others stare, just a moment.

What am I learning? What am I giving away?

"Comms, executor." one of the officers interjects, "Dead orbit forward command."

"Ah. Here we go." Hideo winks at me, "Put them through, please."

There is a crackle on the internal speakers, then the voice of Arach Jalaal.

"Last chance, Hideo. Turn back or I blow you out of the sky."

"Ha!" the executor looks genuinely amused, "Don't be ridiculous, Arach."

"This isn't one of your games, Executor. What do you think you are doing here?"

"Such aggression! Aren't we all comrades?"

"Only when it suits you. Only when it suits the Consensus. New Monarchy has no place here. I can only assume you have come to knife me in the back like you did Lysander."

"Now, no need for that, Jalaal. This is madness and you must surely see that. With your forces withdrawn the city may already be under attack."

"And? That end is inevitable, now or 10 years from now it matters not. There is no future here, Hideo. Petr Song saw the truth. Millions of vex, waiting, ready to swarm across our system."

"The Vex showed him this? And what else did they wish him to see?"

"It matters not. I learned all that I needed to."

Hideo rolls his eyes, a palpable disdain in his voice.

"Do you actually believe you can outthink the Vex, Arach? You have been baited. Soon you will be trapped. You may wish to apply a touch more critical thinking to this situation."

"And what of you? I am acting, something the rest of the Consensus seems mortally afraid of. You are all clinging to a dead hope. We are leaving. There is no need to fight us."

"Vivere est militare, my friend."

There is a brief silence.

"Damn you, Hideo."

Now there is only static.

"Comms cut, executor." the officers voice over the intercom.

Hideo shrugs his shoulders, leaning back and looking to the sky.

"We just aren't learning are we, Dizren? As a species, that is. We are forgetting every lesson, repeating the mistakes of our ancestors ad infinitum. Without memory there is no future."

I don't know what to say. We are wasting time.

"60 seconds to dropzone, executor." the pilot.

"The truth is before us, for all to see." Hideos voice is quieter, "And those who fear to see truth are already lost."

"You mean Jalaal?"

"No, he is another problem entirely. He makes his own truth. For the moment you are my priority. Open your eyes, hunter. Your veneer of spiteful disregard becomes almost painfully transparent the longer I am with you. You are breaking apart at the seams, my girl. Remember what you are fighting for. Remember why you haven't given up already."

His tone is bordering on condesension, something I generally respond to with violence. I take a breath. Now is not the time. No more distractions. Get onto the surface. Get back to work.

But...had Hideo been serious before? That the gates purpose was the theft of the traveller? No. Don't think about that. Only focus on what you can effect.

"15 seconds, executor." the pilot through the intercom.

"It's time." Hideo gets to his feet as he speaks, "This Titan you are following, Diz. I don't know why Aliya Raine is working for Rasputin, but I am willing to bet my life it is for the greater good, and the warmind has chosen a single guardian to assist him because he cannot trust the Vanguard as a whole. Look at Jalaal and you will see that may be correct. Do not kill her, Dizren. Give her a chance. You must always consider the possibility that everything you believe is completely and utterly false. Don't you think?"

"Even you?"

"Always. But I have a weakness for risky business. Ready?"

"Ready. You ask a lot of questions, Hideo."

"It's the best way to get answers, Dizren. Or didn't you know that?"

He smiles thinly, but at least this time it seems genuine.

I feel the vessel manuevering, battling the air currents as we cut closer to the surface.

...we are through Dead Orbits perimeter Diz, 2 miles from the gate...

The port side door of the dropships hold slides back. Light spills in, followed by the roar of the wind. The scenery tears past, blurred by speed. Hideo moves to the edge and I follow.

"Where are you transmatting me down?" I have to shout to make myself heard.

"Transmatting in this interference? You do make me laugh, hunter. Stand by for resurrection, ghost."

*  *  *  *

I am lost.

This memory, fading, now feels less than a dream. Just a scar in the back of my mind, pushed out of sight. I don't want to think about it. I don't want to see this.

I am lost.

Walking in the night, still hours from dawn. The long grass moves like water in the cold dry wind. Pale and laced with shadow in the starlight, a ghostly caress in a breathless rush through the valley.

Now hush.

I am lost.

Alone.

I don't know what is happening.

There is a darkness behind me. Words, images.

Fear is following.

It drives me before it like a wounded animal. I cannot look at it. I cannot stop. To stop, to think, is to draw it closer.

It is watching me.

Keep moving.

A thin forest is ahead.