"Drew," Sally's voice rang out after a minute or two. I looked up, daring to hope once more. "Are we-?" I began to ask excitedly. "Yes, we're here," Sally said happily. Out the window I saw clouds passing by, light from the Sun reflecting gently off of the moisture contained within them, and as we shot through the last of them the City came into view. It was amazing; a massive cluster of buildings and people all gathered underneath one massive orb. Kind of made me think of a big ol' marble, if marbles were the size of moons, shone white like pearl, and radiated a feeling of warmth and comfort. When our Harvester drew closer, two smaller ships flew out to meet us and flanked our sides. "Don't worry, I already sent word to the Tower that we would be arriving on a stolen Harvester. They're just following in case something goes wrong," Sally assured me, "Oh, incoming transmission." The sound of static rose from a speaker in the controls for a moment before going quiet. Then a voice came on. "Tell me it's my birthday because someone just gave me a new Guardian AND a Harvester," a male voice with a metallic tone came through. "Cayde, now's not the time," a deep and resonant voice spoke up. "And we do not know what Class he is yet," a female voice joined in. "Yeah yeah, whatever," the first man grumbled, then cleared his throat, "Guardian, Ghost, the Hangar is ready for your arrival and Amanda has her crew standing by to tear every useful piece they can off of that Harvester. Don't keep that woman waiting." With that, the channel was closed again, without me being able to put in a single word. Within moments our approach slowed and we angled in towards a large tower structure that rose above the other building of the City. Luckily, the large Harvester fit in the Hangar bay just fine and we were able to set down smoothly on one of the landing pads. Getting up from the pilot's seat, I walked to the deployment hatches of the ship, Sally floating at my side. We stepped off just as a small group of Hangar personnel hustled onto the Harvester, tools already out in preparation for their new project. The only one waiting outside the ship that didn't rush aboard right away was a young woman with short blonde hair, goggles and a red scarf around her neck, and a small smile touching her lips. "That's Amanda Holiday, Shipwright of the Hangar and director of its staff," Sally told me quietly. "Hello beautiful," I called as Sally finished and Holiday approached me, "Why would the most beautiful girl I've ever seen be cooped up in a garage where she can't have any fun?" "Drew, she's the only girl you've seen since you woke up," Sally chided me, disgusted by my flirting. "Hush Sally," I whispered. Unfortunately for me, Amanda had heard Sally anyway, but that barely affected Amanda's opinion of me at all. "I reckon you would've said that to the first girl you met no matter what she looked like. And probably would've said it to many other girls if you had met any others by this point," Amanda said with a knowing smile and a laugh that said she was way out of my league, "Go get yer sorry self over to the Vanguard before someone slaps you silly." "Yes ma'am," I sighed sullenly and began walking towards the only exit from the Hangar that I could see. "And congratulations Ghost!" Amanda called. "Thank you Amanda!" Sally yelled back, then turned to me, "Watch yourself Drew, all these women are smarter than you." I nodded with fearful acknowledgement, wishing that I actually knew something about women. Before I left the Hangar, something caught my eye. Up in a small room looking down upon the rest of the Hangar through a large window was an Exo woman, designed and dressed in vibrant shades of white, red, yellow, and violet. I was drawn to the stairs leading up to the room and soon found myself standing before her. "You look like one seeking the acceptance of the Future War Cult," the Exo woman said as I stood before her, "I am Lakshmi-2, representative of the Future War Cult in the Tower." "I like war," I said simply, not knowing how to respond, "And I like the colors you're wearing." "The FWC could use someone like you," Lakshmi went on, a smile appearing across her metal mouth, "Will you join us in the endless war, and forever fight through the howling dark?" "Yes, yes! I want to fight!" I answered excitedly. "Then I accept you into the Future War Cult," Lakshmi said, and pulled out a cloth which she held out to me, "Bear our colors, and remember that you must always be ready for the wars of your future." The mark was in the same bright colors that Lakshmi wore and had the letters "FWC" stitched across it. I took it from her hands and clipped it on over my hip, letting it drape over my right leg and continuing to stare at it with wonder. "Thank you!" I exclaimed. "You're very welcome," Lakshmi replied happily, "Now off with you, the fight will not wait for you." With a small, ungraceful bow I left the small observation room and then the Hangar after that. Sally said she had no words to describe what just happened, and neither did I from all the overwhelming happiness and pride from joining those who thought of the battles ahead. Under Sally's instructions I walked through the Tower, and I eventually found myself going down a set of stairs into a hallway ending in a large room. At the end of the hallway I encountered a man as large as me and wearing bulky armor like me, except his was orange and white with fur and horns. "Dude," I gaped as I approached him, "You look epic." The man responded with a rich laugh and clapped my shoulder with his hand. "Thank you," he nodded, "Intimidating your enemies is a good way to increase your chance of winning." I wondered at his wisdom as I continued on, feeling that I could learn a lot from him even though I didn't know him at all. Now in the room at the end of the hall, I looked across a large table at three people having a discussion, and I recognized the voices of the people who had talked on the coms earlier. One was an Exo male like me with blue and grey decor and a brown cloak and armor set. The other man wore white and red armor and had faintly glowing blue skin, as well as no hair on his head. The woman was dark-skinned and wore a robe of light purple, grey, and red. They seemed to be debating over something but stopped as they noticed me. "Ah, the new Guardian," the woman said, inspecting me, "I am Ikora Rey, Warlock Vanguard, and I can see you wear the affects of a Titan." "Yes I can assure you he is a Titan, Striker Class. He displayed all the trademark abilities while fighting through the Cabal on Mars," Sally put in shyly as she hid behind me. "Then you will refer to me when being directed," the blue man put in, "I am Commander Zavala, Titan Vanguard. And congratulations on your exploits of the day." "And I'm Drew-22, Titan...um, not Vanguard?" I replied, trying to sound formal. "Hey don't forget me!" The Exo cried out, drawing our attention to him, "I'm Cayde-6, dashing Hunter Vanguard." "Cayde, the extra titles you come up with are exceedingly wearying," Zavala sighed. "Hey, I can say what I want, thank you, fish bowl," Cayde replied, whispering the insult at the end. "Not if Ikora and I have anything to say about it, kabob head," Zavala replied smoothly as if he hadn't even thrown an insult. "Oh yeah, well you..." Cayde began, but was unable to come up with anything. "Look like a smurf swallowed a glow stick," I pitched in to assist Cayde. All eyes snapped to me and I shrunk back a bit. Cayde laughed uproariously while Ikora bore a small smile, but Zavala's features remained unchanged and unamused. "Oh priceless...what's a smurf?" Cayde asked as his laughter died down. "I think this conversation is over," Zavala said levelly, "You may go learn your way around now, Drew-22." "He's good," Cayde muttered to himself, "See ya later buddy!" I waved to Cayde as I left the room and headed back for the stairs. Once I was back on the top level of the Tower I walked over to the railing at its edge and gazed out at the Traveler above us and the City below. Sally remained floating just above my shoulder. "We're gonna have a lot of fun together, Sally," I told her with a smile. "I bet we are," Sally giggled at the thought of more of my antics. "And I'm glad I got a friend like you to see me through it all," I said sincerely. "So am I," Sally responded truthfully. "I'm officially a Titan," I sighed happily. "Yes," Sally answered. "TITAN MASTER RACE!" I yelled out into the space before me, no longer able to hold in my excitement and pumping my fists in the air. "Drew, Titans aren't a race, they're a Class," Sally said with an amused sigh. "Whatever," I laughed, "TITAN MASTER CLASS!" _________________________________ Link to Pt 5: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/221445857/0/0 Link to ToC: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/212710816/0/0