Greetings, Guardians, here's part 13 of the Journey Home! Here's [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/224530649?showBanned=0&path=0]part 12 [/url]if you missed it, or, if you're looking for a different part, here's the [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/222615264?showBanned=0&path=0]table of contents! [/url]As usual, if you like it, give it a bump, and I'll get more out soon! Stay classy, Guardians! The next morning, Alesha helped pack sacks of grain and flower onto their cart. “I don’t know how far out this City is,” Tom said, “but I imagine that we’ll need quite a large amount of food.” Suddenly, Alesha saw Michael walking towards them. “Michael!” she said. She quickly dropped the sack that she’d been holding, and ran up to him. She hadn’t even spoken to her friend since they’d run out of the village - in fact, she hadn’t even seen him since the day the Sunbreakers first came. She quickly hugged him. “You’re okay!” Michael grimaced. “Yep,” he said. He pulled away. “So, you guys are leaving too?” “Yep,” Alesha said. “What about you?” “My dad didn’t want to, but he gave in this morning.” Alesha grinned. She was really glad that Michael was coming with them - she’d already lost her friend once, she didn’t want to lose him again. “Have you met Erling yet?” “Sorta,” Michael said. “He said to bring all the food to the gate - right now.” He looked at her curiously. “Did he really take on Simon?” “Yeah,” she said. She remembered the sound of Simon’s arm breaking as Erling grappled him. “He did.” “Wow,” he said. Michael looked around a little. “Well, I guess I’ll see you latter.” Then, he turned around, and left. Alesha couldn’t help but notice that he still walked with a slight limp. The villagers pilled all their food in the center of the town - just like Erling had asked. “What exactly are you going to do?” Oren asked him. “Well, bringing all of it on the ground would be something of a stretch,” Erling replied. “I figured I could make the journey a little easier. Ready, Ghost?” “Ready!” the little orb chirped. Erling smiled. “Do it, then.” Erling’s ship suddenly moved, and took a position over the pile of food. “Transmatting now,” Ghost said. A large portion of the food shimmered, and disappeared in a blue flash. The villagers stepped back, shouting. Oren turned towards Erling, shocked. “What did you do!” he asked. “I transmatted it aboard my ship,” Erling said. “This way, we won’t have to worry about carrying it the whole way.” Oren looked up at the ship. “And you can just - do that - any time you like?” he asked. “Well, more accurately, my ghost can,” Erling confessed. “But I’m afraid you’ll have to carry the rest of the food.” He turned towards the villagers. “Take only what you can carry!” he shouted. “We’ll need to move fast - if you can’t fit it on your back, I’m afraid you’ll have to leave it behind.” “What about our animals?” asked Parr. Parr’s family owned a small herd of cows - two of which his son had lead into the village. Many of the other villagers had some livestock as well - mostly chickens, but there were other things. Erling sighed. “I’m afraid you’ll have to leave those behind,” he said. “I know it’s hard but -“ “These animals are our lives!” someone said. “How are we going to make our living in the City if we don’t have them?” “Trust me,” Erling said. “There’s other work in the City.” He looked around. “I know that this is difficult. I’ve dealt with villages like yours before - I know how much these creatures mean to you. But trust me; they’re no good to you dead.” Parr stared into space for a moment. “Son?” he said. “Let them go.” “But Dad -“ he began. “They’ll just get killed if we leave them in the stables,” he said. “Better that they live out their days, I suppose.” Parr’s son stared at him for a few moments, but then he left, leading the cattle back out of the village. Erling then turned towards Simon. “Speaking of animals . . .” he said. “Very funny,” the Sunbreaker said. “Now, what’s it gonna be, eh? You gonna let me go or shoot me?” Erling walked up to him. “As fate would have it, neither,” he said. “I’m actually going to offer you a proposal.” He reached into his suit, and pulled out one of the blue blocks. “How much to get rid of those Fallen?” Simon’s eyes glittered as he beheld the cube. “Well . . .” he said. “Five hundred Fallen. . . three of us. . .” His face soured. “Ah. More than you could offer me!” “I thought so,” Erling said. “How’s holding them off for a day sound?” Simon looked up at him. “You serious, mate?” Erling’s face remained inscrutable. “How much?” Simon licked his lips. “Forty thousand,” he said. Erling frowned. “What if I ask for a discount?” He pressed the hand cannon against Simon’s exposed forehead. Simon looked up at the barrel. “Thirty,” he said. “But I go any lower than that, and I won’t have to worry about the Fallen - my mates will kill me first.” Erling nodded. “Fine,” he said. “Thirty thousand. When the job is done.” “Fair enough,” Simon said. “Now call your ‘mates’ out from hiding,” Erling said. “You should teach them better - I could’ve killed them three times last night.” Simon blinked. Then, he shook his head. “Bloody Hell,” he said. “Samar! Wasim! Come on out, you bastards! You been doing a piss-poor job of staying out of sight!” There was silence for a moment. Then, the other two Sunbreakers emerged from the woods, and walked uneasily towards the village gate. Erling stood up. “Go on,” he said. “Go.” Simon nodded, and pushed himself up off the ground. He turned towards Erling, and smiled. “Bygones be bygones, eh?” he said. “See you when I get my payment!” Erling nodded. “See you then.” Smiling, Simon grabbed his helmet off the ground, and walked towards his companions. The threesome retreated into the woods. [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Clan/Post/1371758/225116689/0/0]Part 14[/url]