Transcribed by: Sara Bankemper
Narrator: It had been three days since the matchup of the century. Life in the Tower came to a screeching halt for over 48 hours because Zavala had stepped down from his position as Commander of the Vanguard. I waited for Ikora at her usual spot multiple times throughout the days, yet she remained absent from the Tower. I had a good idea of where she went, but I had more pressing matters. The transfer of power from Zavala to Saint-14 was rather simple. Saint took his place in the Courtyard, handling the day-to-day operations of monitoring strikes, and preparing for the coming Darkness. I had yet to hear who would administer Trials, whoever took up the mantle of that desk wouldn't have to do much. Zavala quickly and quietly retreated to his office. I suspect Saint will want his own space soon, and there are plenty of empty storefronts. That's none of my concern however. With Saint now fully moved out of the Hangar, I walked down to see Amanda and thank her for all she had done for us. I jogged down the stairs and caught her powerful voice resonating through the area again.
Holiday: “For the last dagum time, will you three just leave him alone for Christ's sake, I swear–”
Narrator: She looked up in time to see me coming down the steps.
Holiday: “Once again, you and your silly quest gettin' in the way of my job.”
Narrator: She left and tossed her rag into my face again. I smiled back as I returned the rag.
Titan: “Just wanted to thank you for your intervention. Without you, things would've just spiraled out of control.”
Holiday: “Nah, you were about to do somethin' yerself before I lost my mind. I just had to make sure everyone realized who was really being hurt by all this.”
Narrator: She turned back to the sparrow on the rack.
Holiday: “Just remember us regular folk for the next time you go tilting at those windmills.”
Narrator: She pointed at Uldren.
Holiday: “Gotta go say 'Hi' to the new man around here.”
Narrator: I looked back at Uldren standing back near the docking doors. He was gazing up at the Traveler as people buzzed around him like a white tiger in a zoo exhibit. I cautiously walked over to him and the civilians scurried away.
Uldren: “Hello cousin. Thank you for your help. I was wondering about something.”
Narrator: He turned back to the Traveler.
Uldren: “Why did you do it? Why bring me back here?”
Titan: “I had to forgive you.”
Uldren: “Why?”
Titan: “Because.”
Narrator: I walked away and headed back up to the courtyard. I walked over to Saint. He was surrounded by the masses of Guardians, checking in from their strikes with status reports and collecting bounties. When he noticed my approach he pushed through everyone else to hug me.
Saint: “Guardian!”
Narrator: He proclaimed as he roughly pounded my back.
Saint: “It is wonderful to see you again.”
Narrator: He turned back to the crowd, then leaned into me close.
Saint: “I did not realize how tedious this position was. I understand now why Zavala always seemed testy with me.”
Narrator: He stood back upright and raised his voice again.
Saint: “Come back when you have a moment and I can get away. I have special task for you. More exploration of the moon and EDZ.”
Narrator: I looked quizzically at him.
Saint: “I will explain more. Later. Later.”
Narrator: I walked away and headed toward Banshee's shop. Passing by Lord Shaxx, I glanced at him momentarily. He looked up from his conversation with another Guardian to give me a slight nod before turning back. I smiled slightly to myself- that would probably never happen again. As I walked behind Banshee's shop, my pulse jumped a bit. I knew I would have to eventually face Zavala again, and I would rather handle it sooner than later. Maybe I walked a little slower than usual down the stairs. Maybe it was just my own anxiety showing through again. I stopped just short of the closed door to Zavala's office. I could hear some mumbling in the room, so I was unsure if I should even enter. But the more I delayed the inevitable the more nervous I got. I pushed open the door to find Zavala standing with the civilian going over something on a data pad.
Narrator (cont): I stopped just inside the door and looked around. There were boxes stacked near the empty bookcase. The walls were surprisingly bare. The maul, hammer and shield had all been removed. I wondered if that mixtape was still around somewhere. Zavala looked up and motioned for me to enter. He looked very different without his armor. He was dressed in a simple poncho and sash with dark leather boots. He thanked the woman and set the pad on his desk. She quickly left us alone. The door clicked shut and I turned to him. We looked at each other for a few moments. (after a long pause) I couldn't feel any anger or unresolved frustration. In fact, the silence was rather calming to my nerves. He smiled a real smile this time and walked over to a closet.
Zavala: “Good to see you again. I was wondering if we'd have a chance to chat before I left.”
Titan: “Where are you going?”
Zavala: “Out there.”
Narrator: He stopped moving around inside the closet and looked back at me.
Zavala: “I know the last Speaker resided in the old Tower. That was after many years of wandering and pondering.”
Narrator: He reached back into the closet and emerged with a set of white robes draped over his arms, and the broken mask of the previous Speaker in one hand. Zavala walked back to the front of his desk, gently laid the mask behind him and held the garment out in front of him allowing it to fall free.
Zavala: “I don't know if I'm truly prepared for what all this means, but I know that the people need hope.”
Narrator: He turned and set the robes on the desk behind him next to the mask.
Zavala: “I'm planning to spend time in the city and outside the walls. I need to hear the people as much as they need to hear me. I'm not sure how long I'll be gone.”
Narrator: He looked back at the mask again. I could see him reliving the initial attack of the Red War over and over in his head. We stood there for several moments as he picked up the mask again and ran his free hand over the top of it. It almost looked like he was preparing himself to once again carry a burden that had grown heavier over time from lack of shoulders to bear it. But that's why we are Titans. We are built to carry the heavy burdens and fight the toughest battles for those who can't.
Titan: “How is Ikora handling all of this?”
Zavala: “I don't know. We haven't really spoken in months outside of the weekly security and tactical briefings, and she hasn't been back in the Tower since Saint and I…”
Narrator: He turned back to the Traveler and slowly nodded his head.
Zavala: “But that's not my concern anymore.”
Narrator: My fellow awoken looked back at me with soft kind eyes. Not those of a military commander. It really caught me off guard. I had only ever dealt with a steadfast pillar of strength that was the leader Zavala. Since being touched by the Traveler again, he had a whole new aura to him.
Zavala: “I wish you the best, cousin. I shall be back at some point. Once I reconnect with the people and they know the Traveler is with them, I will be back to support the Guardians who stand between them and the Darkness. Good luck.”
Narrator: He quickly walked past me and out to the door. It was time to head to Io and talk with Ikora. The jump to the Lost Oasis was shorter than I expected. I transmatted in and headed toward the Grove of Ulan Tan. I dispatched a couple of Taken near the entrance and looked up expecting to see a Guardian seated on the cliff above me, but no one was there. Where else would she be? I turned and headed back to the transmat point and peeked over the edge, looking toward the cave below. Nothing caught my eye, but this was where she and I met after the Tower fell, so this might be where she ended up. Io was her special, sacred place. It held an energy that was peaceful and calm for Warlocks. I never really understood why, but Titans aren't the most deeply contemplative Guardians, so I didn't really give it much more thought. I dropped down and entered the dark cave. I expected to hear Ikora's voice come through the dark rock like a light from above. What came next was very different. From the back of the cave I could hear a gentle weeping. It was nearly inaudible. Almost as if something had resigned itself to never healing a broken bone and was destined to live a life of ongoing pain until death. I crept slowly, deeper into the cave, expecting to see maybe a Guardian that had lost their Ghost. Instead, I came upon Ikora Ray, seated cross-legged in a meditative pose trying to control herself. She looked up surprised at me and tried to cover her embarrassment with the steely exterior I had always known.
Ikora: [sounding breathy] “Guardian!”
Narrator: She exclaimed as she scrambled to her feet and tried to retreat deeper into the cave to hide her face. I leaned Izanagi's Burden against the cave wall and sat down cross-legged as well. After watching Zavala's release I finally began to understand the conflicting waves of feelings over these last several days from her.
Titan: “The Traveler hasn't touched you again like Zavala has it?”
Narrator: She slumped against a nearby wall.
Ikora: “No, and I don't understand why. At least you have your patrols, your missions. I can't leave that tower for anything anymore.”
Narrator: She pushed herself upright.
Ikora: “After the Vex Offensive I thought I had my purpose back. I built that gate and tested it over and over.”
Narrator: She walked over and sat back down with me.
Ikora: “I buried myself in the work of helping Eris, but..." [sighing] "No one really talks to me anymore- no one but you. The space between Zavala and myself was more than just disagreements about tactics and strategy. We had lost the fire that battle keeps lit within us all, and now–”
Narrator: [cutting Ikora off] I stood up. It wasn't my place to counsel a member of the Vanguard. I was a young Guardian with much to learn about the Light. I reached for my sniper rifle and headed toward the cave opening.
Titan: “I'll still check in with you from time to time. I miss your counsel and your wisdom. You have always been a pillar of the Light guiding me on this path the Traveler has for me. There is something else coming. Something hidden and devious that is more dangerous than the Darkness. Be well, Ikora. Thank you for helping me on this quest.”
Narrator: I turn to leave.
Ikora: “What are you doing? What am I...? Why won't it talk to me anymore? Why does it speak to you and not me?”
Narrator: I turned back to her and waited a few seconds.
Titan: “What makes you think it has ever really spoken to me at all?”
Ikora: “You were so calm and measured in the face of all this I just thought–”
Titan: “I thought that I had forgiven myself for Cayde's death a long time ago. I also thought that I had forgiven Cayde for being such a stupid, lovable idiot until the moment I realized that I still have work to do and people to help. But I realized I was forgiving the wrong person. I had to forgive Uldren. (sighing) I-I'm just a Titan. Things are pretty simple for us. We punch things and then get out of the way so Hunters and Warlocks can do their jobs. I try not to make things more complicated than that.”
Narrator: I turned away again and walked to the edge of the cave and looked out at the Pyramid ship hovering above the planet.
Titan: “There's only one thing that I keep pondering over and over. Devotion inspires bravery. Bravery inspires sacrifice. Sacrifice leads to death.”
Narrator: I stopped and chose my next words carefully.
Titan: “When was the last time you died, Ikora?”
Bill (The Author): Hello everybody, and thank you so much, so, so much for listening all the way to the end. This story, this audio drama, started off as a, it started off as a simple idea for a book I was, I was originally going to, uh, write this out and hire some artists to do some images, and then I got the crazy thought, "Hey! What if I turn this into an audio drama radio-theater style?" And here we are about two years later, it all, it all came together very, very nicely. I would like to thank all of my editors; Santos and Boardman, and Matias. They've all spent a lot of time and energy to bring this all together for you and I'm very, very grateful for that. Thank you to all of the voice actors, every single one of them, and that includes the ones that I didn't end up casting. I have, uh, learned so much in this process from the writing to the production to the overall creation and the publishing. Thank you very much everybody. You can count on a part two. The script is done. I have a whole bunch of lines recorded. It will hopefully be out in the fall, I'm thinking October, November. But, uh, you will find all, all of that information right here on the website. Please do follow this on Twitter @fanfictionmedia on Twitter. Thank you everybody for your time. And you can count on a part two and probably a part three!
