Eyes Up, Guardian

Chapter 33

She gave him another smile. "Then I shall do my best." She said, then paused for a long moment. "Violence will often feel like the right answer, at least for a certain time. It is the short term pay offs that we all enjoy and look for. It also is a form of exercise, it delivers an outlet for stress and anger. It's why guardians turn to the crucible in a time of emotional distress, as a safe way to expend those negative emotions. You likely only lashed out at Aiken because you were in a similar state of distress, or perhaps you felt threatened, or challenged. Or you simply could have been making an effort to make him feel the way Tessa did, to give him a piece of his own medicine, you might say."

"But did I do the right thing?" Damian asked her, glancing up at her from where he'd been studying his bandaged hands, gripping the table. When she didn't answer, he continued. "It felt like when I nearly attacked that warlock girl." He confessed, "When Tessa and I came back from the safehouse and I tried to stab that girl, I felt the same way when I was attacking Aiken. It was like I had to hurt him, I was so angry and I couldn't think straight."

"Your light must still be volatile. Even if Tessa wasn't in immediate danger, you were still effected by what had been done to her." Ikora said. A moment passed between them. "Has Tyra Karn inquired about your bond yet?" She asked him.

He nodded. "It was one of the first things she asked me about." He told her.

"Tyra is an excellent archivist." Ikora told him, "If you and Tessa felt comfortable sharing that information with her, any bonded pairs we find in the future would benefit from it,"

"Tessa and I already decided we would speak to her about it once we got the SIVA threats under control." He said, and she nodded in understanding. "Did Tessa speak to Zavala about the Bray archives?"

The warlock nodded, "They went into the operations room to discuss it," She said, gesturing to the closed door across the space. "I'm sure you'd be welcome to join them if you wished."

Damian thanked her, then headed over to the door, peering through the little window in the door before he opened it and slipped inside quietly. Zavala and Tessa stood at the table, with Cayde a few feet back. The titan was more flushed than Damian had ever seen him, though Damian had never seen Zavala distressed. The Titan looked angry, and his mate was practically seething.

"This information could change the way we fight, permanently." She was saying, clearly making an effort to control her tone. "If they have inventions like SIVA within those labs, we should be studying them, learning from them."

"The fact that they have inventions like SIVA is more than enough of a reason for us to stay out of it." Zavala shot back.

"So we're going to sit here and hide and hope that none of those inventions are ever turned against us?" Tessa demanded. "What about being proactive? What about eliminating a threat before it arises, or, better yet, turning the threats against our enemies."

"The information on Clovis Bray is better left buried." Zavala said tightly.

"What about the Exo programs?" She demanded, "What if we could unlock the secrets of the Exo? What if we could understand them?"

Damian watched as Cayde's eyes shot up.

"Tessa," Damian stepped in, raising a hand to her in a manner almost to stop her. "You might not want that."

"Why not?" She demanded, whirling to face him, clearly still angry.

"Knowledge is an incredibly powerful weapon," He began, stepping further into the room. "As a Warlock, that was one of the first lessons I learned." He said, "But knowledge has the potential to be turned against us. In the city, they don't get along with Exos the same way we do in the tower. There are people that don't respect them, people, powerful people, that don't think they're anything more than machines. Have you ever seen the backlash someone gets for being romantically involved with an Exo?"