Destiny: Legend Untold, Chpt 15 Pt 1

As promised, chapter 15 is being posted today, hope you all like it. [i]Attention: As said before, I am looking for character submissions for a branch off of Legend Untold that I am writing. If you want a character made by you in my story, send me a message or leave a comment. If you are a fanfiction writer, I would love to use the characters and events you've created, but this story will be completely freestanding so you won't have to worry about integrating Legend Untold into your own series.[/i] [u]Chapter Fifteen: A Royal Request[/u] Part One Rush and I didn't talk much as we drifted through space to the Asteroid Belt. I could only assume he was just as worried as me about how this could go. After what felt like forever, but that I now wished hadn't been so short a time, we exited warp speed and a spectacle bursted into view. The Reef, as expected, was composed of many asteroids in a massive cluster that curved off in either direction to form a ring around the Sun. But what I didn't expect were the broken hulls of thousands of ships mixed amongst the drifting rocks. I had heard that many people had died trying to escape the Collapse, but I didn't imagine that so much destruction could be seen in one place. There was no way to tell if every one of these vessels was destroyed at the same place or same time, but they were all together now and they suggested the deaths of countless humans. A soft violet light filtered between the mix of rocks and metal, gently illuminating the dusty plumes that drifted through the mess and resembled clouds so we could see our surroundings as we slipped into the Reef. There was hardly any room to maneuver, so I was glad that I did not run into any serious obstacles as I navigated the space. It was dim, cramped, sad, and oppressive inside the boundaries of the Reef, and I couldn't imagine living comfortably in such a place. I felt as if the presence of the dead still lingered here, waiting to claim me as one of their number. We passed between desolate ships ranging from one-man vessels smaller than mine to massive colony ships that made us seem like an ant. Broken bits from engines and computers and hulls floated amongst the giants of this graveyard, and sometimes even lost toys and treasures from the passengers who had once gone at here with the hope of living on somewhere else. I could hardly feel the Light in this place, but the Darkness wasn't strong either so I hoped that all the lost souls here rested easy. "I'm feeling the same way you are, William," Rush spoke in a whisper, looking outside as well, "The Traveler couldn't save them..." "Someday we'll recover what all these people lost, and the Light will be strong again," I assured both him and myself. There weren't many gaps where I could see more than a couple dozen meters away from the ship, or even more than just several meters in most areas, but I saw enough to know that it would take years to dig through even just some of this vast collection of Golden Age remnants. I certainly didn't expect any other intact ships to be drifting out in this maze, at least not anywhere near where I was. Of course, my expectation was proven incorrect as my radio suddenly crackled to life, apparently having been contacted on an open channel. "Intruder bearing one-two-five, you are trespassing into Awoken territory. State your business or be fired on by order of the Queen," a female voice spoke up in a threatening tone. "What?" I gawked, dumbstruck. "Two jumpships, short-ranged Hildian Seeker class, just showed up on sensors out of nowhere," Rush reported, "They must have been waiting with their engines off." "Well what do we say?" I asked, urgent for something to tell the woman so we wouldn't get blown up. "Don't ask me, you wanted to talk with them," Rush deflected the question. "Agh, fine, turn on our microphone so I can answer," I commanded Rush, then waited for the click of sound reception turning on before speaking again, "We are travelers from the City, and seek guidance from the Queen." Several moments of silence passed, each one seeming longer as the fear of getting shot at increased. But then the woman spoke again, her words easing my fear as much as they could in such a tense situation, "Conform to my trajectory. Any deviation will be taken as an act of aggression." Rush and I both let out sighs of relief as the two ships pulled up just ahead of us, allowing me to see their slender, four-pronged structures. The main bodies of their ships were long and thin, built with the cockpit at the back of the body and the rest of the body stabbing out straightforward, and they had two other sections of the body connect just above and to the sides of the cockpit as well as one section that connected to the main body on the underside of the hull. These three sections connected to the main body all angled forward thirty or so degrees out from the direction the tip of the main body was facing and each of the three held two of the ship's engines within them. The entirety of both vehicles were painted in purple and gold. Following behind these Awoken ships that were clearly designed for maneuverability, we passed by more and more of the same, desolate scenery, although I started to notice that Golden Age colony ships weren't the only ones present in the mix. There were a number of Fallen ships, as well as the decimated remains of the Awoken's Hildian Seeker and Ceres Galliot starfighters. We even passed inside the massive bridge of a ship that had been torn away from the main hull, made tiny in comparison as we slipped into a hole on the front end and came out the open back end, and I could only assume that it was a warship made during the Golden Age or by the Awoken in the years since. Other jumpships could be spotted as well, some bearing the symbol of humanity during the Golden Age, and a spare few bearing symbols or colors of the City. The two ships that escorted me guided me amongst the drifting wreckage until we came upon the hull of an ancient ship that had been carved out and converted into somewhat of a space station. There I docked under the watch of the two Awoken pilots as well as several guards on the deck and transmatted outside with both hands raised peacefully. A single guard from those surrounding me walked up to my side and took the scout rifle off of my back, but I didn't tell them about the other weapons I had stored with Rush as I lowered my arms. It was then that I realized they were all female, wearing slick uniforms of black, purple, and gold that accentuated their figures as well as helmets that covered everything above their mouths and blue belts from which cloth of the same color draped down over their left hips. They also each had the same model of sidearm holstered on their right hips, clearly ready for use. Wordlessly, the two others slipped behind me and began walking to pressure me onwards into their outpost. I was rushed through it all rather quickly, hardly getting time to take in my surroundings as I kept barely ahead of my armed escort. The ship they had converted into this grand station was clearly of Fallen origin, its size making it obvious that it was a Ketch, and I was intrigued by the ease with which the Awoken passed through the round halls and doorways as if this place had been entirely of their creation. After a maze of identical doors and passageways that made my head spin, we came upon a door with another pair of guards in front of it and stopped so we could be inspected. After they were sure I wasn't carrying anything dangerous, they opened the door and resumed their posts, letting my escort take me inside. _______________________________ Link to Ch14: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/229277301/0/0 Link to Ch15 Pt2: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/229311689/0/0 Link to ToC: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/212710816/0/0