Eyes Up, Guardian

Chapter 31

When the pair arrived in the hall of the guardians the next morning, an exhausted looking Ada and a frustrated Estella stood at the center table. With them were the leaders and Shiro-4, Cayde and Shiro focusing their attention on a map of Russia. Ada stood upright with her arms over her chest, her left hand holding her right elbow while she rested her face against her hand. Estella was bent over the table, her head down as they watched her heave a deep breath.

Tessa took one look at their friends' somewhat sour expressions- or lack of- and raised an eyebrow. "Wow." She said, "I'd say happy Dawning but the word 'happy' in this context seems cruel."

The two women glanced up at their approach, but otherwise did not react much.

"I am inclined to agree." Estella breathed, letting a sigh whirr through her systems, her green eyes almost seeming to flicker in frustration.

"Congratulations." Ada said dully from where she stood beside the exo, nodding to her and Damian.

"Thank you." Damian said with a nod, gently squeezing Tessa's hand at his side.

"Ada," Tessa said as they filed into an open spot at the crowded table, various brief greetings exchanged with the leaders still hard at work beside them. No one mentioned the night before, through the bond, she felt a flicker of relief from Damian. "When's the last time you've gotten any rest?" She asked.

"Not since you two left." The huntress confessed, "But I've got my ghost worrying about me. Once Damian goes to help Lord Saladin, I'll be in my ship, asleep until someone else needs me." She sounded like she was too tired to even look forward to it.

Tessa nodded in understanding. She felt bad for her, deep shadows rested under her eyes and she had a few cuts and bruises marking her face and neck, remains from whatever battles she'd been in and out of since the new threats had taken off. Shiro-4 looked a bit battered as well, a few scratches marring the smooth metal of his face. Tessa had always wondered about the process of healing Exos, given that they weren't alive by nature, the ghosts couldn't build them from the cellular level the way they could with humans and awoken. Maybe it was easier for them, working with something more similar to themselves.

The questions would have to wait. From across the table, Cayde stood up straight, clapping his hands together once and looking around the room. The loud sound caused Ikora to look up from her work with a jerk, and nearly seethe in Cayde's direction.

"Alright." He said, "Ada is exhausted, Estella wants to behead a certain Iron Lord, Damian's is fit and ready to destroy some armies, Shiro isn't taking his bench-ment well, Ikora is overworked and wants more hidden, Zavala is tired of my introductions, I am tired of the Fallen and Tessa is simply along for the ride." He said, gesturing widely at the table around them. "Let's get this briefing on the road, shall we?"

The large group moved into the Leader's operations room, where Ada moved to the front wallscreen, dragging up a map of old Russia. Damian and Tessa took spots at the table with Estella and Ikora, while Shiro and Cayde joined Ada at the front of the room. Zavala took the corner, as usual.

"Here's what we know," Ada began, taking a deep breath and seeming to will a bit more energy into her body. "The house of Devils is back, and they're digging into old Golden age research labs all across the system. But this isn't just a smash-and-grab." She said, "They're on a mission."

"At first, we weren't particularly concerned, until the Devils decided they wanted to move back into the cosmodrome. Now, they're moving a massive amount of resources into an area nearby that's been dark for centuries." She tapped on the map, bringing to light a new area to the right of the cosmodrome. "And, as you already know, Lord Saladin is taking charge of the situation personally. However, rather than go straight to the cosmodrome, he wants you to investigate an abandoned observatory in the mountains."