Risen

Chapter 19

   When Poppy transmatted into the Tower, she was greeted by dozens of Guardians milling about. She stood on her tiptoes and realized why: Eva Levante had returned to the Tower. Looking around, Poppy could see globes full of golden light strung up around the edges of the courtyard and before her stood an enormous tree. Each of its branches was at least two and a half feet long, with what looked like ice hanging from them, along with more lights shaped like flakes of snow.

   Poppy made her way through the crowd to Banshee's stall. "I heard you had something for me, Banshee?"

   "Yeah, gimme a sec," the Exo replied, turning and sifting through a pile of half-built rifles, ammunition, and random parts he had lying around. "Aaand here we go. Unf!" Banshee grunted as he lifted a rifle that looked like it was made of stone. "Got some friends to get some samples of Hive weapons out on Titan. Did some tinkering, had to cut off half this crap with a blowtorch. Think I made somethin' worth using, though I still couldn't get a scope on it."

   "So what've you got left?"

   "Managed to turn a Splinter, those Solar crossbow-looking things, into a scout. Fires concentrated bolts same as normal, but only one. Narrowed the body, covered the top to avoid burns, nothin much besides that. Tell the big guy to buzz me if it acts up, alright?... Oh, hey there. You here for... wait. Already gave it to you, didn't I..." Banshee trailed off.

   "I'll see you later, Banshee. Thanks for all the help!," Poppy called over her shoulder, transmatting the rifle to her ship as she walked to Eva. "Hey there, Ms. Levante! Merry Dawning!"

   Eva turned and smiled at Poppy, her face radiating a kindness unlike any other. "Oh hello, dear. Merry Dawning to you as well! What can Eva do for you today?," the elderly woman asked.

   "Not a lot. I just wanted to say hi before I went off again. Take care!" With that, Poppy vanished.

   Back on the ship, Poppy opened a secure channel and waited. A few minutes later, an irritated Drifter picked up. "What's up, hero? I'm a little busy, so hurry it up. Gambit won't run itself, y'know."

   "I'll try not to take too much of your time then," Poppy replied dryly. "What can you tell me about Hive songs?"

   "Songs? In case you haven't noticed, sister, the Hive ain't much for music. Now, got any real questions for me?"

   "So you're telling me that there's something you don't know about them?," Poppy prodded.

Drifter sighed, sounding more tired than Poppy had ever heard him. "Only song I can think of belongs to one of their gods, but last I checked, she wasn't even in the system. So unless someone else came up with one, I'd ask Moondust about the 'Krill hag'."

   "Thanks, Germaine." Poppy cut the feed before he could respond. "Sonni, leave Eris a priority feed about this... 'Krill'. Please."

   Her Ghost materialized, nodded, then paused as if to say something. He thought better of it and vanished again. Poppy sighed and leaned forward, resting her head on her hands. Minutes passed, and the ship was silent. Eventually, Sonni reappeared and nudged Poppy's shoulder. "I'm back, and I have something you should hear. Eris seemed busy, but she did say that the 'Krill hag' is the same as the 'Black Needle'. Not much, but it's something. More than we had, at least," he noted, a hint of disappointment in his voice.

   "Thank you, Sonni. I need a nap after today, honestly," Poppy sighed. She stretched her arms in front of me, grunting as her muscles complained at the movemen. "Set a course for the Shore, but just keep us out of comms range. I don't feel like dealing with Spider..." She trailed off as her head lolled back and she fell asleep.