Alright, part two of who knows how many is ready! A couple of things: 1) I named the warlock Aegis-43 without realizing that the relic in Vault of Glass is named Aegis. My bad. That's complete coincidence and I apologize for the oversight. 2) Yeah, this is still going to be a longer piece, so I apologize that there's still no form of resolution. 3) I'll readily admit that I had a few beers writing and editing this section; I also listened to far too much alt-J. That being said, if it is below par, I will fix it without such things clouding my judgment. 4) Enjoy! Two hours, eight minutes, and forty-four seconds later. Aegis’s coat was still damp with the muddy orange water of Venus. His boots smacked against the Tower’s floors, spreading their dampness. One of the numerous janitorial Frames soon took up a place behind the warlock, cleaning the foreign water dutifully. Other guardians milled about the common area. Some sorted their vaults, others haggled with Rahool, and still others stared in awe at the surroundings having been newly resurrected by their Ghosts. More than a few took note of Aegis though. His coat had multiple burn marks in it, some deep enough to reveal his red outer shell, scorched by the same source. His hood had taken fire as well, burning a third of the fabrics away and revealing his mechanical face. Although red like his body, Aegis’s face had been painted with white runes; though, many of them that were exposed had been singed to darkness as well. His one visible eye still glowed bright white though. It scanned the landing area and beyond as he walked swiftly towards the Tower hangars. “Would you just wait a second? Just explain what you mean! How did you see a conflux here?” His Ghost whirred and spun around its companion, keeping speed and trying to be an obstruction to receive any answer. The Exo grimaced as he turned a corner and saw the FWC Guardian Diplomatic Office sitting above the general hubbub of the hangars. The orange lighting could be seen from the distance as well as the royal purple banners exclaiming the room’s allegiance. Aegis kept walking towards it as he replied, “Eleven months, two days, thirteen hours, five minutes, and fifty-eight seconds ago I asked you to remain in the Tower as I accompanied Lakshmi-2 into the city. I saw those same designs there.” “Then is it really prudent to confront her? Why don’t we alert the Speaker? Or Ikora?” The little machine’s words were in vain though. Two sets of stairs later, the warlock stepped up into the comfortably furnished room. It consisted mainly of couches and small tables; there wasn’t anything pragmatic in the room at all. There was no need for it. The Diplomatic Office was for wining and dining Guardians, new and old alike. Aegis-43 could still remember sitting there and being enticed by the seemly endless amount of knowledge the conflict-based faction had. His temptress had been Lakshmi-2, Head FWC Ambassador to the Tower. She stood there that day, staring at the stairs and waiting for hopeful candidates, as always. As an Exo, the amount of a smirk she could display was always surprising. Lakshmi wore it then along with robes of purple and peach to show her affiliation and to match the peach colored lines running across her face. If his anger were not so complete, he would have been attracted to the woman and her secrets just like when they first met. Instead, he could only see what FWC and she were hiding. Her voice danced across the room, always a constant song of unspoken joy, “Aegis-43 as my cortex functions, how long has it been?” The warlock remained silent with Ghost in tow. As he crossed the room, he focused on the Dreaming, on the sights within the Traveler’s mind, and felt his mind burn. The circuits inside him wanted to fizzle and die; transistors felt as if they were melting away. He could feel the heat of the Light and it manifested as burning yellow, a radiance that shown off every part of him. There were only two others in the room aside from the Exo pair. The two humans looked shocked and tried to sink into the couch they had been lounging on. Lakshmi’s blue eyes narrowed as she added coolly, “Gentlemen, you may want to excuse us; it would appear Aegis-43 and I have pressing matters to discuss.” The two humans stood up, gathered their few belongings, and then stared at the FWC representative, unsure if they should abandon her. She said more forcefully, “Go! And don’t bother the Vanguards with this… private matter.” After another long glance, they left wordlessly, so Lakshmi added to the warlock, “Now then, what could be bothering-” Aegis moved to fast for her to finish the question. His body dematerialized, much like a Ghost’s ability, only to appear directly in front of the representative. He grabbed her by the throat, the Traveler’s Light burning at her neck, and then slammed her body against a glass wall behind her. As it made a spider web of cracks, Aegis yelled, “You have a Traveler-be-damned Vex conflux. Hidden, stored away… You’re harboring them.” Exos had been designed to mimic humans, so even though they had no need to breathe, they still reflexively coughed when choked. At least, they were supposed to. Lakshmi-2 gave her unerring smile and replied, “Oh? Found one out on the Tower’s errands did you? Made the connection all on your own?” “Explain yourself. Explain now before I throw you in front of the Vanguards and personally burn your cult to the ground.” She actually managed to laugh, as demeaning a sound as she could have made. “Some Warlock, hm? I misjudged you; rather than threatening me you should be asking the pertinent questions.” Aegis stared at her, instinctively loosening his grip slightly. “Why haven’t they overrun our headquarters and, more than that, the whole planet? What could we be possibly doing with such an object? What is so important about it that a supposed warmongering faction would have a whole facility devoted to it? And now you’re going to toss me in front of your superiors like some precocious child hoping for its parents’ affections? I had such higher hopes for you.” Aegis sat the woman down at the berating and stepped back. The Light that had engulfed him died down as he narrowed his eyes. “So you want me to believe that you have access to a conflux for the benefit of the City?” “I’m saying that the conflux would be there whether FWC had it or not. We are preventing the influx of the Vex certainly, but our focus is examining it and learning from them; we’ve already learned so much.” Lakshmi twisted her neck back and forth; the metal creaked, readjusting without the Light-infused grip crushing it. “Like what?” She sighed and turned to study the broken glass. “The Battle of Twilight Gap was almost a complete disaster, you know that. The Sand Eaters and the Dust Giants pounded at our doors, destroying everything in their path. Then came Lord Shaxx with an arsenal large enough to crack the Moon had he been so inclined. I wonder who had supplied the ordinance and why they had the stockpile ready for nearly five years.” Aegis furrowed his brow in disbelief. “You’re saying the FWC knew the Cabal were going to attack? You couldn’t have done anything more?” “When we first met, I told you that the cult was interested in characters beyond the current Design. Twilight Gap was one of many places where our methods were utilized successfully. Now, you have a choice. Turn me in to your Vanguards and Speaker, then watch centuries of work be washed away in ignorance and fear. Or you can follow me and find the answers to your questions now and many you’ve not yet asked.”