Risen

Chapter 13

   Sienna and Poppy quickly found an isolated spot in the Tower Annex. "First things first, don't you ever  drop a bomb like that in public again," Sienna scolded. "Second of all, what? You mean to tell me you're related to a goddess?," she continued, throwing her hands in the air. "Did it not occur to you to maybe, I don't know, mention that?!"

   Poppy clapped a hand over her friend's mouth and glared. "I am not moving this hand until you calm down." After a few moments of silence, she slowly lowered it. Sienna said nothing, though her frustration was still palpable. "Okay then," Poppy said. "Narvuk, you feel like explaining?"

   The Knight sighed and sat heavily. "I was bborn to the Wizard who became Omnigul, long beffore she was Crota's Will. I wwas an Acolyte when she slaughtered her way to that position. My ssiblings and I joined his spawn, but I have heard nothing of them since. Omnigul became my prince's mate and consort. Savathun is Crota's aunt, thus my relation. She is family, though not by brood." Poppy gaped at him for a second, and Sienna had a look on her face like someone had asked her what a sterile neutrino was. The girls composed themselves and launched into questioning him.

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?"

"Why didn't you tell Eris or Zavala?"

"What do you mean, 'slaughtered her way'?"

Then Sienna asked the inevitable. "If you were part of Crota's brood, were you there when he took the Moon?" Narvuk hesitated, eyes darting from the exit to Sienna and back. "Answer the question, big man. No secrets in a fireteam," she ordered in a voice colder than a night on Mercury.

He sighed. "No, I was not thhere. But... I helped defend itt."

"From who? The Fallen?"

"You. Lightbearers."

   Poppy's head snapped to look at him. Then she snatched Sienna's arm. "Sienna, can we talk for a sec?," she asked, already dragging the Hunter out of Narvuk's earshot. "If he's talking about what it sounds like he's talking about, we cannot tell Eris. Ever." Sienna gave her a puzzled look, but Poppy was already walking back to Narvuk and sitting down in front of him. "Hey, big guy, how many Guardians do you remember?"

"Nnot sure. Dozens? No, not dozen, what was it... hundreds. Maybe thousands. Whhy?"

"Shit. Shit," Poppy spat. "Oh, we are so fucked. Okay, Narvuk? I need you to promise me that you will not breathe a word of this to anyone. I swear, I'll explain, just promise me that," she finished, raising her hands to forestall any interruptions.

   Narvuk dipped his chin, and Poppy let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. "Look, big guy, I won't lie to you. This is bad, for all of us. You fought in what we call the Great Disaster. After what happened at Burning Lake, the Consensus voted to launch a counterattack. Hundreds of us died final deaths, some of them our best and brightest. Eris was there, you know. She saw Crota kill Wei Ning, one of the strongest Titans this Tower's ever seen. They say the sky turned to green fire. If this gets out, DeMarcus isn't the only one who's gonna hate you."

"But whhy? That was my old life. Not who I am annymore."

"They're not gonna care, Narvuk! All they're gonna be thinking about is who they lost, and all that pain will turn into anger, and that anger? It's all gonna be pointed at you."

   "That won't be the only thing pointed at him," Sienna interjected, sill looking out at the horizon. She turned to face them, one hand dropping to the hand cannon on her side. "We need to get him out of here. Now." Poppy shook her head.

"What about Banshee? He's supposed to have something for Narvuk in a few days, at the most."

   Sienna cut a line through the air with her hand. "Not a priority right now. We need to get to the Hangar and get out ASAP. Narvuk, you think you can portal over there unnoticed?" The Knight thought for a moment, then nodded. "Good. We'll meet you there in a few minutes. Try not to be seen or start any trouble. Poppy, you're with me," she ordered, gaze now fixed on the doorway.

   Narvuk began hastily conjuring a portal as Poppy stood to follow Sienna. He looked back, nodded, then stepped through. He emerged in a corner of the Hangar, out of sight to almost anyone. The corner was cramped, however, so he wedged his way out a little, but froze when he heard voices nearby. "-nce he doesn't have his fireteam around, we pop his Ghost and put him back in the ground. Clear?" Narvuk recognized the voice of DeMarcus as the Guardians around him murmured their affirmations. Through the equipment-filled shelf, he could make out the shapes of four or five others with the Titan. He edged closer, which was difficult due to his large frame. 

   As he inched past the shelves, DeMarcus resumed. "Look, guys, I know that I might be asking a lot, and some of you have your... misgivings." He gave a pointed look to a Hunter to his right, who put his hands up in a "don't look at me" gesture. "But one thing we all agree on is that the Traveler made a mistake when it chose a Hive" - he put such venom into the word that Narvuk could almost feel it - "to be a Guardian. It's just wrong."

   One of the Warlocks raised his hand, like a child in a classroom. "What if this is a test? And the Traveler wants to see if we can see past what he is? If we fail, what happens to us then?" Just then, Narvuk's shoulder brushed a wrench enough that it shifted, scraping against the shelf. He froze as the group whipped around. DeMarcus leaned down to try and get a better view, but when saw nothing, he shook his head and turned back to his friends, only to see Sienna and Poppy coming around the corner into the Hangar.

"Time to go, boys," he murmured, already leading them away to the other end of the Hangar. As they passed the girls, most of hisgroup ignored them, though the Warlock who had spoken up gave a respectful nod that Sienna returned. After making sure the group wouldn't double back, the girls casually made their way to where DeMarcus had been.

"Big guy, if you're here, it's clear to come out," Poppy muttered. 

"I wwould, but I'm a little stuck."

   The Warlock turned to the corner and noticed the blue glow from Narvuk's eyes. She held in her laughter when she saw his predicament, mostly because of the pained look already on his face. "Alright, let's get you out of there," she said as she rolled up her sleeves and grabbed his arm.

   After a few tense minutes of pulling (with some help from Sienna), they managed to get Narvuk free. He rolled his shoulders and grunted his thanks, not making eye contact with either of the girls. "Big guy, you alright? Getting stuck happens to all of us, nothing to be ashamed of," Poppy assured, waving him to follow her to the ship. He opened his mouth to say something, but though better of it and followed as quietly as he could.

Once he was as secure as he could manage in the back of Poppy's ship, Narvuk knocked twice on the wall to signal her. A few moments later, they were rocketing away from the Tower and into orbit. "So where exactly are you planning on going, big guy? There's Vanguard ops everywhere, except maybe the Tangled Shore, but Spider is... yeah, he's worse."

"Whhat is this 'Tangled Shhore'?"

Sienna spoke for the first time since the Tower. "It's a hive of scum and Darkness, a haven for anyone who doesn't want to be found. You're free to conduct any nasty business there you want, so long as you play by the Spider's rules."

"It's perfect. Let's ggo."