Ten Thousand Arms Pt8

Part Eight 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. I turned to see the shipmaster standing with her back arched in pain and the end of a Shock Blade sprouting from the center of her chest, its electricity evaporating only a small amount of the blood that flowed from the stab wound and its dim glow illuminating the shocked expression on her face as her mouth hung agape. The blade slowly slid back out of her and she slumped to the floor in a lifeless heap. Standing over the fresh corpse was a Vandal that now sheathed his blade and turned his eyes on me, and looking past him I could see several other sets of eyes peering out of the dark edges of the room. My feet took me a few shaky step backwards before a pair of fists collided with my stomach, knocking me to the ground. I was taken roughly by the arms and propped up onto my knees, where I was held in a kneeling position so I could not escape. The door closed, but after only a moment or so the lights came on, expelling the darkness and giving me a clear view of the body that lay before me, blood flowing out onto the floor around it in a crimson pool. In front of me stood the Vandal that had slain the shipmaster, and all around us a crowd of a couple dozen Fallen formed. "[i]You will be punished for abandoning Wolves and Devils to work for dead soldiers and cruel Awoken,[/i]" Ris's voice crooned in my ear, revealing to me that he was helping hold me down. I tried yanking my arms out to swing a punch at him, but one fist slammed into my side and another into my head, stopping my struggling by stunning me. "[i]You wish we had not killed the cruel woman?[/i]" the Vandal with the sword questioned me, "[i]You would help those that have taken away our honor?[/i]" "[i]You would help those who stole the Great Machine from us?[/i]" a voice from the crowd growled. "[i]I wou-[/i]" I began as I recovered. "[i]TRAITOR![/i]" the head Vandal roared, not letting me speak, and a chorus of angry cries from the gathering followed. "[i]We know you left Devils,[/i]" Ris clicked scoldingly, "[i]They have been looking for you.[/i]" "[i]You can not hope to turn me over to them,[/i]" I retorted, "[i]When the Awoken find out what you have done they will slaughter you.[/i]" My statement was met with collective chuckles from those around me. "[i]As we speak, Wolves strike out at cruel masters and leave the Reef with spoils of those we kill tonight. As we speak, the throne of the false Kell is attacked to show that she is not fit to rule. Skolas, Kell of Kells will lead us back to honor and glory.[/i]" My eyes widened in shock as their plot was revealed to me. The Wolves were betraying the Queen, and following some overconfident fool that claimed to be Kell of Kells; why would they believe such boasts and be willing to invite the wrath of the Queen? Something about that name tugged at my memory... "[i]Skolas? Skolas the Rabid?![/i]" I exclaimed as a face belonging to the name came to mind, "[i]One of the three that put us in position for the Awoken to conquer us?! Why would you follow a lunatic that makes such preposterous claims?![/i]" "[i]Skolas is not like he was during Reef Wars,[/i]" another Vandal spoke up, "[i]He speaks strong and knowing words. He will unite the Houses.[/i]" "[i]Or die trying to be something he is not,[/i]" I growled defiantly. But the audience grew weary of me, and the moment I finished speaking was when they decided to knock me out. • • • They gave me just enough ether to survive during my time as prisoner on one of their Skiffs; no more than necessary. To cope, I had to remain rather inactive in an attempt to conserve energy. My prosthetic arms were still attached for reasons unknown, but all four of my arms stayed bound together behind my back at all times. There was no way for me to tell time as the Skiff flew to different locations, and no way for me to see where we traveled to. I could only estimate that around several cycles had passed since the day of rebellion at the Reef. All the information I could get of what happened that day were boasts of slaughter and pillaging; but I knew that they had not managed to kill the Queen, and that we had left the Reef rather quickly to avoid her wrath. Now I could only assume we were traveling through the system in search of allies and avoiding the Awoken. Cowards, boasting of superiority but fleeing in the wake of the one they claim to be stronger than. The clang of a sword's steel clashing with metal woke me from a restless sleep. I had been dreaming of being together with Yaskis under the Great Machine, but then overcome with horror as they were both taken away from me. My eyes opened slowly to find the Skiff's Captain standing on the other side of the containment field, looking down on me with malice in his eyes. "[i]Welcome to your grave, traitor,[/i]" he spat, "[i]We have arrived on Earth, where the Devils will take you back.[/i]" "[i]Why go to Earth?[/i]" I croaked weakly. "[i]Did you not hear?[/i]" the Captain laughed, "[i]Many of Winter have already flocked to Skolas's call, now we seek to gain Devils and Kings.[/i]" I remained silent, but inside I hid amusement at the thought of how Skolas would look when Kings refused. Kings would follow no one, and Devils would not act without blessing of Kings, they were still loyal to our former ruling branch. If Skolas has to fight Kings and Devils to gain their allegiance, the Fallen of Winter he has gained will not help him win; no matter how fierce these soldiers of Wolves and Winter are, they are still small and weak next to the others. Seeming to know what I was thinking, the Captain walked away with a knowing chuckle, leaving me to think over what was happening in the little time I had left. "[i]Set course to the outpost commanded by Captain Rolas of Devils,[/i]" I heard the Captain command as he reached the cockpit, and my blood ran cold. Before long I felt the Skiff slow to a stop, and the deployment hatches opened up, letting in light and a blast of warm air. Two Vandals and the Captain from earlier approached my holding unit and turned off the containment field. Seizing me roughly by the arms, they dragged me over to the closest deployment hatch and the two Vandals jumped out, followed by me and then the Captain. There was a gathering waiting for us on the dock we landed on. ____________________________________ Link to part 7: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/220870223/0/0 Link to part 9 (final part): https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/220870607/0/0 Link to Archive: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/217384398/0/0