The Light Within The Darkness

Solstice of Heroes

"I made contact with the Vex. I'm ready. And it's time to say goodbye..." The final Audio log of the decrypted Veil files echoed across the observation chamber as the Young Wolf swallowed thickly at the emotions she could detect from Chioma Esi, the heartbreak and the acceptance of her upcoming death.

Osiris had finally unlocked the last of the logs left behind and they've all learned a lot about the nature of the Veil but the three have also learned almost a little too much about Maya and Chioma's love life.

And how it all fell apart thanks to Maya's ambition...

"In the end." Osiris came across the comm channel after a moment of silence, "Maya Sundaresh was consumed by her desire to understand and her inability to let go. She and Chioma lost everything in pursuit of knowledge. Chioma abandoned it all— sought to wipe the slate clean for future generations."

"What, exactly did we learn from all of this?" Nimbus asked with confusion lacing his voice.

"That the Veil is Darkness— the power of consciousness made manifest— as much as the Traveler is the Light, the power of the physical world. The implications are great, but so too are the risks. As a younger man, I may have fallen into the same trap as Maya did. But now, I know better."

"We must proceed with caution...lest the River sweeps us away." The old Warlock said before speaking up once more, "I will continue to study the Veil, to see if I can find another way through that portal. In the meantime, all we can do now is wait. Young Wolf, meet me at Striders Gate, I have something for you." He said before signing off the channel and leaving the Young Wolf to her own devices, thinking about all that they have learned while she made her way back towards the man.

It's been a total of three months since she first entered Veil Containment and found those Audio logs left behind after killing that Tormentor and Osiris has done an amazing job at decrypting them as the weeks continued to tick by.

What they've all learned, some of it was helpful to what they were trying to do, to understand the Veil and how Strand works but for most of the logs, well they were simply sad.

Maya Sundaresh had seemed to sink into herself, instead focusing on her work, her goal rather than taking the time out of her day to see what she was doing, to her people and to her lover.

Chioma only wanted more time with her other half, only wanted Maya to see what she was doing, how she was becoming a shell of who she used to be but no matter what the other Founder of Neomuna had done, it wasn't ever enough to reach her partner.

She couldn't even imagine the pain the woman felt, to have the woman she loved right there, yet so far away at the same time.

The heartbreak Chioma must have gone through, they could all hear it as the logs continued on but for the Young Wolf, well the logs hit differently now that she had a Girlfriend of her own.

They may have only been dating for a few weeks, but the Titan couldn't imagine ignoring Mara, couldn't imagine being so engrossed in research that she would willingly push away her own partner.

Maya and Chioma were married, they had lived through the collapse and even that couldn't protect them. All those years together couldn't keep them together when faced with Maya's ambition for knowledge.

Maya's research...what was happening here on Neptune during the early days of its creation, it kind of reminded the Titan of what they all learned about the Witness and it's civilization.

For their experiments with the Veil, was reminiscent of what that first civilization did when they too found the Veil. They experimented, they learned the nature of the Darkness and eventually they sought to destroy the light.