The Skiff was shaken by the impact of a rocket. Zara struggled with the stick to regain control of the aircraft and glanced out the side window. The smoke trail left by the projectile was coming from behind the City' s defenses.

"Koryl, they're shooting at us!"

" Of course, we are in a fallen ship! "The petals of the Ghost were agitated with raging spasms. "Why can't I contact them?"

Zara flew over the battlefield looking for a landing zone. Hordes of Fallen threw themselves against the six defensive fronts of the sketchy colony. Thousands of refugees hid in the shadow of the Traveler, protected by cohorts of warriors blowing up Light and ammunition. These had to be the Risen that Koryl had told her about.

"City forces, cease fire! Allies on board!"

He continued to shout his head off, but the Skiff suffered from new impacts.

"With the amount of Fallen, there must be too much interference." The Ghost's beam was frantically illuminating the dashboard, and he tried to communicate again, without success. "Unless they don't have time to listen..."

"I heard you, Ghost."

Surprised, Zara turned over in her seat and pulled out a Shock Pistol that she had stolen from a Dreg. A golden silhouette was standing in the hatch leading to the cockpit, arms folded behind its back. The apparition glittered like a ghost and distorted erratically, like a mirage... no, a display bug.

"Who are you?" A new explosion wobbled her. Flying with one hand, her eyes were constantly shifting from the alien form to the merciless battle outside.

"You should leave the controls to me."

Another silhouette, an exact copy of the first one, appeared right next to Zara, and sat on the pilot's seat. She didn't feel her body go through the figure, but the pressure exerted by the golden hands on the stick was quite concrete, and the Skiff's trajectory straightened up, dodging the shots as if he saw them coming in advance. Carefully, Zara left her post and faced the hooded image with her weapon still in sight.

"You didn't answer my question."

"Later on. If you jump off this ship, do you feel you can land safely?"

"Why would I—"

The Skiff swerved violently and began to dive. Zara shouted a scream of surprise when the ground suddenly became vertical and grabbed hold of the hatch frame. The silhouette remained standing on the floor of the aircraft, indifferent to gravity. It stretched out an arm and the landing airlocks opened, causing violent gusts of wind to whip her face, forcing her to squint her eyes.

"A fallen Walker is penetrating our defenses to the south. The Iron Lords are too far away, but a surgical strike will solve the problem. I advise you to get out."

The golden figures faded as abruptly as they had appeared. Zara cursed and began to pull herself up to the nearest airlock. When her head emerged through the opening, she saw the ground approaching dangerously fast. Koryl huddled above her neck, and Zara jumped, pushing as much as she could on her legs to get away from the ship, which was plunging towards the battlefield at full speed.

An army of Fallen was breaking through the lines of Light Bearers, led by a huge six-legged tank pouring torrents of ammunition over the barricades, raising clouds of earth and rubble.

Zara waited until the ground was only about ten meters away and then concentrated. The imminent fear of dying – even though her Ghost was at her side – galvanized her, and gravity suddenly stopped dragging her down. Light as a feather, she glided gently down to the battle-ravaged ground.

The Skiff then collided with the Walker, turning into a gigantic fireball. The blast swept Zara away like the autumn wind blows a leaf, and the young woman was thrown to the ground.

The impact was painful, but nothing was visibly broken. However, she was stunned, and her head was spinning. She got down on all fours, trying to regain her balance. White dots danced in front of her eyes, and a high-pitched whistle filled her eardrums. She realized that the shock wave must have damaged her inner ear.

Koryl shouted something to her about Fallen. Zara struggled to get up, and saw an imposing silhouette running towards her. Her senses gradually returned, and she raised her pistol to the enemy. First, she saw an armor, a metallic sheen, like a well-polished chest plate. Strange... The Fallen were usually equipped with more rustic gear.

"Get down!" The figure screamed, and Zara realized it was a human.

A soldier dressed in an armor of gold and silver passed her, his body shone with a purple glow and a sphere of Light materialized around them. The Fallen's fire crashed against the impenetrable shield. The chaos of the battle seemed muffled, as if they were underwater.

"Are you gonna be okay? You look a little groggy." The man took off his helmet, and Zara was surprised to discover a being with human features but mechanical skin.

"I'm an Exo," he said, seeing her gawking, "It often feels that way the first time."

He reached out his hand. A Ghost emerged from behind his shoulder.

"My name is Jayden. And this is Ghost."

"Uh, Zara. And Koryl." She shook his hand clumsily. "Nice to meet you!" chirped the little one.

"Well done with this Skiff. We will be able to reclaim some ground."

"In fact, it's not me. There was someone else, a golden figure..."

"Did you meet Osiris?" Zara bowed her head. So that was his name.

An explosion shook the earth, and the rampart of Light cracked.

"It won't hold much longer." Jayden pointed to her Shock Pistol. "We have to defend the City. Can you fight?"

Zara's gaze passed from the Light Bearer to the Fallen who were gathering around them. She tightened her grip on her weapon, and an orb of Solar Fire grew in the palm of her other hand.

"Yes," she said.

Jayden smiled and put his helmet back on. "Then push forward, Guardian!"