Destiny shorts; Final Shape Edition

SFW; Eve at Burning Lake

A gold and silver Arcadia-class jumpship flew over the cooled lava plains of the Earth, flying over a sign that read "Welcome to Hawaii" and passing over another Hawk that was landed and had been shaded various shades of purple. The jumpship flew past the hawk to arrive at a large memorial carved into the volcanic stone. In front of it, looking at all the names carved was Evelyn, her hands clasped behind her back. Transmatting out of the ship was a Titan in Iron Lord armor, the silver armor plates glinting in the light as he approached Evelyn, coming to stand slightly behind her to her left.

Eve; "... I'm not going back yet, I hope you know."

The Iron Lord nodded with a sigh, clasping his hands behind his back as well, mimicking Eves' posture.

Iron Lord; "I understand... I lost a lot of my brothers and sisters in fights over the centuries, I'm not about to interrupt a moment of honoring and mourning because of a Vanguard order... You know any of them?"

Eve; "Not personally... A lot of them were friends with Wyrm."

Iron Lord; "The old Chief of Security? Hmph... I knew him, too, you know."

Evelyns' mood lifted slightly and she turned to look at the Iron Lord, who had removed his helmet to reveal a clean face with a extremely short black hair, eyes brown as smoky quartz. He tucked his helmet under his right arm before turning to look at Eve.

Eve; "You did? ... Who are- Saladin?"

Saladin put out a hand for a handshake, which Eve promptly shook with a wide smile. Saladin barely reciprocated the gesture, his lips half creasing in a faint smile.

Eve; "Lord Saladin... Hi there... I can only guess you, too, fought at Burning Lake?"

Saladin; "I did... There aren't many to tell the tale anymore. Did Wyrm ever tell you how it went?"

Eve; "I'm sure he has... But I don't remember much."

Saladin chuckled and gestured to the lava fields behind him, putting his helmet back on.

Saladin; "This whole island was swarming with Hive when we got here, at least a dozen seeder ships. Our target was the Darkblade, Gramox, who was leading the charge. Osiris had us go out there-"

Eve; "Wait... wasn't Osiris exiled?"

Saladin; "Not by then. He didn't get exiled until after Twilight Gap."

He gestured broadly to the plains, igniting an Iron Axe in his right hand.

Saladin; "We first went in with our sparrows, driving and shooting at the hordes of Thrall that ran out from the seeder ships. The Wizards brought in Acolytes and Knights from elsewhere with summoning rituals. I, Wyrm and many other Sunbreakers acted as mortars with our hammers, laying down covering fire and obliterating those Hive dumb enough to congregate."

He began to meander out into the field and Evelyn followed, the latter tripping over an outstanding rock as she tried to catch up.

Saladin; "Eventually, the seeder ships activated and opened portals to ships overhead, letting more Hive swarm through, tearing Guardians apart. You could see the Acolytes take their ghosts back to the Wizards and tear away the Light like ripping flesh off a rib bone."

Eve; "... I remember seeing something similar from the Lucent Brood."

Saladin; "Yes... It's one of those things you don't forget."

He stepped over a lava tube as he walked, pointing his axe at a crater.

Saladin; "Right there is where a Guardian was dispatched as backup. I don't remember her name, but she was another Warlock, an apprentice of Osiris. She let loose a Chaos Reach like I'd never seen before: it nearly knocked the Darkblade onto his back, and made room for Wyrm and his fireteam to move in and take the thing down."

Eve; "Woah... And where were you in the fight?"

Saladin; "Me? I was far off in the distance."

He pointed with his axe again towards a pile of stone and hive metal, nearly indistinguishable from each other.

Saladin; "I had my axe, and I was destroying the seeder ships so he couldn't call for backup. There were no survivors, but it was a... Pyrrhic victory. An army of Hive died, no survivors, but... So did a whole company of Guardians. You saw the memorial; around 460 Guardians died their final deaths here. Those of us that survived... Were lucky, to say the least."

Eve came to Saladins' side as he looked to the volcano in the distance, letting out a sigh.

Saladin; "I'm... Sure you miss him a lot."

Eve nodded and lowered her head, clasping her hands in front of her lap as Saladin rests a hand on Eves' shoulder.

Eve; "Yeah... Every time I think I'm done greiving, something else comes up..."

Saladin; "It can feel like that, coming from someone so influential in your life. I know I felt the same way when Lady Jolder died to SIVA... But you know you're doing better because you're open to someone else. You looked inconsolable when I got here first... and now look at you."

He turned fully to face Evelyn, resting his other free hand on Eves' other shoulder and collapsing the axe.

Saladin; "You've risen above, just like I have. We can get better. We can heal. It just... takes time."

Eve nodded with a soft smile on her faceplate, and Saladin patted Eves' shoulder before turning back to the ships.

Saladin; "Now... Let's get you home. Duty calls."