I gestured vaguely with my hand and Avalon appeared in a blue flash, “Show them, Avalon.” Though I knew it was coming, the projection of the crystalline figure that flickered to life in the middle of the table sent cold fear racing through my veins. “This is what dwells in the heart of the Vault.”

“What is it?” Zavala asked softly, his pale eyes burning into the hologram. Everyone stood a little straighter, sat a little taller

“A Vex construct unlike anything we have ever encountered. It is immensely powerful, able to summon legions of Vex from across time in an instance.” I leaned forward, keeping my gaze fixed on Zavala. “Time rages in the heart of the Vault and this…this creature is a conduit for its raw power.”

“Time has no power, no energy…it’s merely the continuing flow of existence.” Ikora responded, staring intently at the still hologram. “What you’re saying doesn’t make sense, you cannot wield time as a weapon. It’s just not possible.”

Flicking my eyes to her, I say coolly, “I think Fenris and his Ghost would disagree. This construct used the Vex gates as weapons, igniting them and sending what remained of my team to the farthest reaches of the system. Tana and Saran were sent miles away from the Vault, trapped among some Vex ruins, while Rhesa and I were sent to what could have only have been Mars.”

“Rhesa, Saran, Tana… These were members of your fire team, Karis?” Saladin asked, his deep voice barely audible even in the silence.

“Yes.” I swallowed past the lump as I returned the Iron Lords austere gaze. There was no anger, no judgement, just a solemn sense of duty that seemed to echo throughout the room.

“Say their names, Warlock…remember your brothers and sisters who fell to the Darkness, honor them with your voice, Guardian.” The old Lord’s eyes seemed to haze over a bit before he said, “It will help ease the pain.”

Raising my eyes from his, my gaze listed a bit before finally settling on the Queen’s face. The cold planes of her face seemed to ease as I began to speak, only the breathing of the others accompanying my words. “Ephraim Tulach…Rhesa Tulach…Saran Ciar… my friends… these are the Guardians whose light was extinguished.”

My voice grew a little louder as I continued, “I knew we weren’t invincible…I have lost friends before…to the Fallen at the Gap…more to the Hive that infest our moon…but to see the six of us together, some of the strongest Guardians humanity had ever seen…how could any of us dying even enter my mind?”

“Arioch…” Ikora started but I stopped her with a raised hand.

“I take responsibility for their deaths. I am responsible… I was the fireteam leader. I brought us together and led us down there, so…I know this isn’t the goal of this meeting but there is guilt to assign.” I look back to the Queen though her face was unreadable. “If you need someone to be guilty, here I am.”

There was a long spell of silence before it was broken by Cayde, “You know, Karis, I know you and Zavala don’t exactly see eye to eye on things, but you two are more alike than you think. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that pretty little speech come out of his mouth.”

“Taking responsibility for the deaths of teammates is not something to joke about, Cayde.” Zavala retorted reproachingly.

“Never said it was.” Cayde mumbled as he lounged back in his chair. “But the blame part doesn’t really matter right now, what matters is getting the lay of what happened down in that Vault.”

“Six of us went down there, only half of us came back. What more is there to tell.” I muttered, shaking my head as Avalon shut the hologram down.

“That’s only a small part of it, Arioch. You know this.” Ikora replied softly, holding up a hand to quiet Zavala’s retort. “If this construct is as powerful as you claim, it could threaten the City. We need all the intel we can gather.”

“What of the Hidden? Could they uncover anything else about the Vault?” I ask as I folded my arms. Reliving our failed raid was something I expected I would have to go through, but something I wanted to avoid at all costs. The guilt was still fresh enough to tighten my throat up and make my hands shake.

“I gave you everything we had before you left and that was clearly not enough. We need to know what you know.” Ikora lowered her voice and stepped closer. “It won’t be easy. But it must be done. What the Vex are doing on Venus affects the entire system…help us understand so that we may defend our home.”

“I don’t think it can leave the Vault. I believe its power is tied to the gates surrounding it, trapping it there.” I reply, glancing over at Zavala.

“But do you know for sure?” His tone was cold.

“I’m not sure of anything anymore.” I answer back softly, before sighing heavily and preparing myself to dive back into that darkness once more.