Ten Thousand Arms Pt7

Part Seven "Have fun," Uldren called sarcastically as he waved his hand, signaling the guards to take me away. The two Awoken woman grabbed me by the upper arms and turned me around, then led me out the door and through the maze of halls once more. • • • The Awoken let me keep my arms and the Wolves outfitted me back in their colors. It felt good to be back in the blue and grey of Wolves instead of the red and white of Devils, but my welcome was not warm. Though I bore their colors and a few of my kin seemed to recognize me from before the Reef Wars, they did not trust me. Always would I find them whispering amongst each other, only to stop when they noticed me drawing near. But I had the strange feeling that they were not whispering about me, at least most of the time. I tried speaking with the others, especially those that I had already met before, but they shunned me. My prosthetic arms were subject to both jealous and condescending stares, for the fact that I still wore Dreg armor made them suspicious. On top of that, the Awoken treated all Fallen with contempt. If we weren't being restricted by the Awoken and the others were aware I had made these arms for myself, I knew a few of the Captains would have docked or killed me instantly. I never was good at making friends. Our jobs were simple. The vast majority of the Wolves had the same jobs as the Awoken soldiers; guarding everything and patrolling everywhere within the Reef. We tended to be placed as sentries in less important locations, but the Queen did seem to trust us enough for a good deal of tasks and she even kept a pair of Vandal guards with her at all times amongst her royal guard. There was one Eliksni amongst the Awoken that was not a Wolf; Variks, scribe of House Judgement. I remembered him from before the Reef Wars, though I had never actually spoken with him. He was the last Eliksni that bore the banner of House Judgement, for all the others had been killed by the other Houses or docked and stripped of rank, left to die on their own or join another House. Somehow Variks had endured, and had been an advisor in a few Houses before finding his way into the Wolves, where he remained as a scribe to the Awoken once the Reef Wars concluded. Standing guard over a small dock was my job, and I did so with a few Vandals and Dreg. They didn't talk to me unless necessary for us to work, and the single Awoken woman that watched over us was rather harsh. Of course, a Fallen Captain would have been much more harsh, although less likely to throw insults. Today I found myself staring out from the docking bay into the dark abyss of space, most of my view interrupted by drifting asteroids and ship carnage. Two things were on my mind as I gazed at the rubble lit by the sourceless purple light, searching for the light of stars in the gaps; the fate of Yaskis, and the fate of Blake and his Ghost. Yaskis' face had remained at the back of my mind every day since I left her, and the image floated into my vision each time I closed my eyes; her mandibles parting and curved in a small smile as she harshly articulated each syllable of her speech, her dark and tough skin, and her four beautiful eyes full of strength and emotion. Oh how I missed her. Footsteps sounded behind me, and I turned to see our Awoken captain walking toward me. She was the shipmaster of this bay and liked finding me and the other Fallen and seeing if she could find something to scold us for. "You're supposed to be keeping an eye on the people in the bay, not on the rocks floating outside, insect," she barked. "Sorry, shipmaster," I answered, standing up straight and rigid as was considered formal, "Is not also requirement to make sure hostile ships don't enter?" "Don't smart mouth me," my superior snapped, "And that's the job of those working the scanners, not of those standing in the hangar." I decided not to pursue the argument that something could be cloaked, and bowed politely at the waist before resuming my set path around the docks. The humans and Awoken had some rather odd formalities. As I walked away from the shipmaster with her stare boring into my back, I caught the eyes of a Dreg watching from a nearby doorway that he stood watch over. I knew not how long he had been watching, but he snapped his gaze away as soon as my eyes met his. This wasn't the first time the others had observed me speaking with the shipmaster, she liked confronting me because I could understand all of her insults and orders while the others only knew enough to get by under her command. Yet another reason for them to be disgusted by me. That night, as I lay awake on my bedding in the filthy little room they had provided me, the sound of my door sliding open stirred me from my thoughts. The Awoken would not give us doors that had locks, so we must always be ready for our commanding officer to burst in...or for someone with dark intentions. Sitting up, I saw four glinting eyes peering back at me, and a hand beckoned for me to come meet their owner. I rose up and walked cautiously to the doorway, hand resting on the hilt of the Shock Dagger they had let me keep. Outside in the hallway I found not one set of eyes, but three waiting for me. Two Dreg and a Vandal, all fellow members of the crew watching over this docking bay. The Dreg in front, which I recognized as the one who had been watching me earlier, spoke first. "[i]We need your assistance,[/i]" he clicked quietly, not wanting to disturb those sleeping around us. "[i]Why would you require my help?[/i]" I questioned, looking at each of them suspiciously. "[i]Something steals from rations in the night,[/i]" the Vandal explained, "[i]We found where it enters from, but need shipmaster to get through. Tried speaking to her, but she didn't understand.[/i]" "[i]I will tell her for you,[/i]" I told them after a moment of thought. "[i]Good, good,[/i]" the Vandal nodded. "[i]We will go to supply storage and watch for thief,[/i]" he said, pointing at himself and the Dreg that had not spoken, then pointed at the lead Dreg and I, "[i]You two will bring shipmaster.[/i]" The Dreg I was paired with then began leading me down the hall to the shipmaster' chambers, while the others went the opposite way and disappeared around a bend. We walked silently for a minute, but my desire to restore connections with my former House urged me to speak. "[i]I am Vasik,[/i]" I said in quiet guttural speech. The Dreg glanced over at me wearily and thought for a moment before responding. "[i]I am Ris,[/i]" he told me. "[i]I did not expect a kind welcome back to Wolves, but ignorance of returning kin was not tolerated before I left,[/i]" I growled softly. "[i]You really are of Wolves then?[/i]" Ris inquired, and I answered with a small nod, "[i]Rumors spread when you came that you are deserter pretending to be of other Houses so you can join and get share of ether.[/i]" "[i]I did not abandon Wolves. Wolves left me to die over petty infighting,[/i]" I explained, my guttural growls and clicks taking an angry tone, "[i]Several here at Reef know me, why did they not end these rumors? Why do they shun me as well?[/i]" "[i]I do not know,[/i]" Ris shook his head, "[i]Perhaps they were on a different side during infighting? But why did Vasik come back to Wolves?[/i]" "[i]I was raised a Wolf, I missed my home and closest of kin,[/i]" I answered, only partially lying. It was then that we reached the shipmaster's quarters and I rapped my knuckles against the metal door. After a moment the door opened to reveal the shipmaster standing on the other side, backlit by a lamp on a desk in her room. She had been awake, working into the night. "This better be good," she grunted when she saw us. "Crew has found thief that steals from rations," I began, "Require your assistance to follow it through its place of entry, yes?" "And why wasn't I told of this sooner?" She asked with one eyebrow raised. "Crew cannot speak your tongue well eno-" I started to answer, but was cut off by her hand shoving me out of the way. "Darn bugs can't figure out how to talk," she muttered tiredly, "Thought that they were the ones stealing my food." The shipmaster seemed to be in a fragile mood, so I didn't point out that we couldn't eat the same food as the Awoken did, only ether. Ris managed to rush in front of her and began leading the two of us down the hallway to where the others had gone. After a short walk we came upon the door to one of the supply storage areas. The Vandal and quiet Dreg waited outside for us. "[i]There is door at back of room from where it comes, we did not enter in case the thief would notice,[/i]" the Vandal explained, waving us over. "What's he saying?" The shipmaster sighed, looking to me. "There is back door that thief comes through," I translated. "Alright, let's get this over with," she commanded, stepping up to the door so it's motion sensors would make it open. The room beyond was dark, so when we all stepped in together I began feeling for an interface to turn on the lights. A croak of pain and the sound of blood splattering the floor stopped me in my tracks. ____________________________________ Link to part 6: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/220870032/0/0 Link to part 8: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/220870418/0/0 Link to Archive: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/217384398/0/0