Destiny 2: Putting "Horse" Into "Horsepower"

Chapter 28: United We Stand

"Taiki to commander Zavala, come in." Taiki says.

"This is Zavala. How are things going?" Zavala asks.

"Ikora and Cayde have been found, your fireteam is back commander." Taiki replies.

"I am relieved that they are still alive." Zavala says. "Where do we rally?"

"There's a place in the EDZ that Suraya Hawthorne set up, called the Farm." Taiki replies. "Please relay that to Ikora and Cayde, we'll meet you all there."

"Understood." Zavala says. "Thank you." And with that the comms cut out.

"All right, let's go meet up with Hawthorne." Taiki says to Spe-7 and Suzuka. "She's gonna like this." And with that the trio bids Asher farewell before they take off for the farm. "Taiki-9 to Hawthorne, come in."

"Man, is that really you?" Hawthorne asks. "So, did you go do your thing out there while I cared for everyone back at the Farm?"

"You'll see when we get here." Taiki chuckles as their ships exit warpspeed and make towards the Farm. When they land, they see that the Farm has become quite a deal more crowded than normal, and Devrim has been pulled from his usual church post to make sure that everyone is okay. Hawthorne can be seen walking towards them, looking half disappointed that she was left to take care of everyone but at the same time relieved that the trio is back in one piece.

"So... You said "You'll see when we get here." And you're all here. What's this thing that I'm supposed to be expecting?" Hawthorne asks. "Don't keep me waiting."

"Wait for it." Taiki replies, holding up a finger, and suddenly the sound of jumpship engines can be heard. Hawthorne and everyone at the Farm looks up to see a trio of jumpships also come down, and emerging from said jumpships is none other than the vanguard. Zavala, Ikora and Cayde all come down from their ships- Cayde in particular performing a hero's landing- and Hawthorne only looks in awe.

"I didn't think you could do it, but I'll be damned you've got them all back together." Hawthorne chuckles. "Looks like you were right after all."

"Ghost did say that we would be back, and we wouldn't be alone." Taiki replies. "Do you have an area where we can discuss plans?"

"Sure do." Hawthorne says. "But for now let's get these three into the Farm." Many of the younger residents of the Farm cheer as they see the defenders of humanity return once more, but what stands out to Taiki the most is that he, Spe and Suzuka are also getting just as much cheer and applause from the crowd.

"This is pretty surprising." Taiki chuckles as he takes off his helmet.

"Well... About that." Hawthorne chuckles sheepishly.

"Everyone on the Farm has been tapping in every now and then to check out how you guys were doing." Devrim replies. "We all have heard about your heroic endeavors, and you three have garnered quite the fanbase as you young ones call it."

"Fanbase?" Taiki asks, but he gets his answer when Spe-7 and Suzuka get swarmed by the younger residents.

"Whoa! Hey, what are you all doing?" Spe-7 laughs.

"You're so cool!" They say.

"Awww thanks!" Spe-7 replies.

"I see what you mean now." Taiki chuckles as he sees Zavala beckon for him. "And looks like we're needed. Spe, Suzuka, come on!"

"Oh okay!" Spe-7 calls out as she and Suzuka quickly meet up with Zavala and the others. When they do meet up, the situation is already being discussed.

"So about this Almighty..." Cayde mumbles. "Damned if we do, damned if we don't?"

"Contrary." Zavala replies. "Now that we're all back together, we might just stand a chance."

"The point is, if we destroy the Almighty, it's going to cause a chain reaction that will make our sun go supernova." Ikora explains.

"Well... At least we have each other, right?" Spe-7 and Cayde reply simultaneously.

"Wait... Since when did you get a chicken?" Taiki asks Cayde in disbelief.

"All side conversations aside we know what must be done." Zavala replies. "The traveler must be freed."

"And something tells me that just the three of us and a big fat pile of explosives can get the job done." Cayde says. "I still have that Vex teleporter, but it can only work from so far. We have to get a little too close for comfort for it to work."

"So, we'll get inside the city walls for it to work." Zavala replies.

"But what about the Red Legion? They have an iron grasp on the place and we would surely be annihilated on the spot." Suzuka asks. "Plus, we might have our light, but you don't."

"She's right." Ikora replies. "If we die, there's no coming back."

"But it's worth the risk." Cayde says.

"So, how do we get in?" Ikora asks.

"You know, the city walls are kinda like this barn here." A voice calls out, and everyone looks to see Hawthorne. "Plenty of places to slip in unseen, given you know how."

"Are you sure you're not one of my hunters?" Cayde asks as Hawthorne jumps down. "Nice poncho."

"So we need to get you into that city without raising alarms." Hawthorne says. "My team is also pretty good at shooting bad guys."

"Hawthorne... This doesn't have to be your fight." Ikora replies. "It's one thing to put our lives on the line, we don't need to put any more at risk. You're not-"

"A guardian?" Hawthorne snaps back. "You think you've got the monopoly on sacrifice? Once upon a time that big ball in the sky was there for all of us. We've had to survive without light. Now I think we owe it a favor, guardian or not."

"So... If we can't destroy the Almighty, we'll have to just disable it's weapon then." Zavala says.

"Let's not repeat the same mistakes again." Taiki replies. "It's worth the risk having the three of us in there."

"But how are we going to get inside when the cabal have the skies around the city covered?" Spe-7 asks.

"There are cabal ships just around in the EDZ." Hawthorne replies. "Shouldn't be too hard to find one if you sneak in."

"Oh we're done sneaking." Zavala says. "If there's anything that I learned from Cayde, it's the value of a grand entrance."

"This is wonderful." Cayde chuckles. "Hugs anyone? No?"