“You want what kind of ship?!”

The hangar in their immediate vicinity had gone quiet at this exclamation, with the surrounding workers and automata ceasing their actions to look in the direction of the blonde shipwright, Amanda Holliday. She looked around at the ceased activity and scowled.

“The hell you all lookin’ at?!” She barked, causing the workers to start and look at each other. “Get back to work, slackers!”

There was a flurry of hastily–resumed activity as the workers bumped into each other to get back to their jobs. Satisfied they were no longer listening, Holliday turned back to the Exo Titan in front of her.

“Explain to me one more time why exactly it is that you need a larger ship?” She asked grouchily.

“My team found an engram that turned out to have coordinates for a planet in a neighboring star system and we need a long–distance ship outfitted for deep space travel and use as a mobile base of operations.” Samson replied robotically and Holliday pinched the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes. “We were wondering if you had one or maybe a schematic for one.”

The shipwright was silent for a long moment before she sighed and opened her eyes, glaring angrily at the Titan.

“Do you have any idea how hard it is to get the parts for just those jury-rigged, short–range jumpships you Guardians pilot around the inner system?” She asked angrily and Samson gave an artificial sigh.

“You know I do, Holliday; my team and I are in here twice a week to make sure our ships are space–worthy and-”

“And now you want me to pull a frakin’ cruiser out of my ass!”

“Amanda!” Samson snapped and the shipwright looked at the Exo in surprise. “I understand that this is a lot to ask for, but you know me; I wouldn’t be asking if it wasn’t absolutely important. Now do you have a ship or do we have to get you the parts for one?”

Holliday was silent again, and then she stood and motioned for Samson to follow her.

“Yeah, I got a ship, if ya wanna call her that.” She said as they boarded a lift and descended further into the hangar. “However, I’ve never test flown her and I have no idea if she’s even space–worthy.” The lift stopped and they stepped out into a corridor. “To be honest, your little ‘mission’ couldn’t have come at a better time; I just put the finishing touchs on her.” She pressed her hand on a panel next to a door at the end of the corridor. There was a beep and the door hissed open, revealing a large, private hangar with a singular ship in it that was larger than the standard jumpships most Guardians piloted. “Introducing the Mischief Maker; she’s a little side project I started a few years back. I based her off the Kestrel–series long–range jumpships, though I fashioned her to be larger in order to carry more passengers. She comfortably seats around six Guardians, though if you don’t mind cramped spaces you could probably fit more in there.” Samson was silent for a moment as he gazed at the ship.

“Will it fly?” He asked finally, and Holliday examined a tablet in her hands before giving a shrug.

“Don’t know. I’ve barely even done basic engine tests.” The Shipwright replied, staring at lines of text scrolling slowly upward on the device.

“She looks green on paper, but for all I know I missed a wire here or a coolant system there. Right now she’s probably just as likely to explode as soon as you turn on the warp drive as actually go where you want her to go.”

“How long before you can get the ship ready for takeoff?” Samson asked and Holliday looked at him in disbelief.

“Really? You’re really going through with this?” The Exo nodded and she put her tablet down on a nearby table. “Give me a couple of hours to run preliminary diagnostics and check the hull to make sure it’s completely sealed. I’ll call you when she’s ready to be boarded.”

“Okay, I’ll have my team ready to go by then.” Samson replied and turned to leave but Holliday stopped him.

“Hold up, Sam. I have a condition before I let you take my baby.” She said, causing the Exo to look at her expectantly. “My two best Frames are going with you.”

“Why?”

“Because you can’t just hop behind the wheel of the Mischief Maker; girl’s the size of a small house, not as nimble or easy to control as your jumpship.” She replied, picking up her tablet again. “So unless you Guardians are confident you can get her safely out of the bay without sheering off something vital or rupturing her hull, my Frame is going to be piloting her.”

Samson stared at Holliday. “And the other?”

“Brings me to my other point.” Holliday stated without looking up. “Because of Mischief Maker’s size, she has a dedicated engine room, which means you need a dedicated engineer in there to maintain it and make sure nothing explodes. The other Frame will be taking care of that.”

“I see… and this is not negotiable, I take it?” He asked and Holliday shrugged.

“You could always try asking Dead Orbit.” She suggested, but Samson shook his head.

“Unnecessary, Amanda, your terms are acceptable.”

Samson turned to leave once more while Holliday turned to a nearby panel and pressed down on it, causing a speaker system to come alive.

“Look alive, slackers!” She said, her voice booming around the hangar. “I need everybody to drop what they’re doin’ and get ready to give our pet project our full and undivided attention; we got Guardians preppin’ for long–distance flight and we need to be sure she’s ready to take ‘em wherever they need to go!”

As Samson stepped off the lift and into the main hangar, he opened a comm channel between himself and his team.

“Hope you’re packing, Wisp, because the op’s greenlit.” He stated.

“So Holliday had a ship?” Aveline asked.

“Yes, and the best part is that we’re going to be the first ones flying it.” Samson replied.

“Wait, wait, wait… the ship that’s going to be carrying us hundreds of lightyears from Earth, has never been flown before?!” Lance’s voice exclaimed in disbelief.

“Have a little faith, my friend.” Gospel replied nonchalantly. “If Holliday says it’ll get us there, then it’ll get us there.”

“Or it’ll blow up in the hangar and this will be the shortest road trip ever.” Gauge quipped cheerfully off the comm to Samson. “But we’ll just forget to mention that part.”

“I’ll pick up some supplies from Banshee.” Samson said, grinning at what Gauge had said. “Once Holliday gives the call, I expect each of you to be ready for dust-off; Samson–12 out.”

That done, Samson went to the Exo gunsmith and arranged to have ammo, guns and parts sent down to the hangar to be hauled onto the ship. Then he went to his living quarters to pack his cleaning kits and a change of clothing. He didn’t really need the clothing, as the Exo didn’t have reproductive organs and the lack of a digestive track meant they didn’t need any food either and were frequently the ones chosen for missions requiring extended periods of time outside the safety of the City. He paused to look at a rifle hanging on the wall, and took it off after a moment’s consideration.

After Samson had cut the comm connection, Aveline and Gospel began packing for what was to be a long journey and extended field time. Aveline made sure she had everything she needed to clean her equipment and she also packed a few personal belongings to take with her while Lance made sure his memory core was clear of any unnecessary data and that the music library was in order.

Gospel packed in much a similar manner, though he also took some of the few books he owned with him. Most reading material was digital now, as paper had ceased to be a functional way of maintaining documents and literature centuries ago due to a lack of suitable trees and the manpower and resources to process them. However, there were still many tomes in the Hall of Guardians that Ikora Rey frequently perused and the Speaker had shelves upon shelves of books in his chamber. Other than that, physical books were a rarity on Earth.

As they finished packing their bags, there was a ping on their comms and Samson’s voice came through.

“The ship’s ready. Report to the Hangar for preflight checks and dust-off, Wisp.” He commanded, and then paused briefly before speaking again. “We… might not be back for a while, everybody, so I hope you’ve made appropriate arrangements.” And then the comm went silent.

Once they’d made it to the Hangar, they noticed that an unusual number of civilians, Guardians, and automata had gathered in the hangar, all of them admiring the large jumpship in the center. They picked out Samson waiting for them near what appeared to be a door and they approached him. They handed their bags over to a pair of waiting Frames and stood next to Samson. Gospel opened his mouth to say something to Samson, but at that moment a hush fell over the crowd and it parted to allow a white robed figure in a mask to approach them. The three Guardians all bowed respectfully to the Speaker when he stopped in front of them.

“Guardians; today, you embark on a journey not taken since before the collapse of the Golden Age and the creation of the world as you know it.” He orated, his voice rising to a pitch where all within the hangar could hear him. “You do not venture forth to fight the Darkness rising in all directions to envelope and consume our fragile Light, nor do you strike out to reclaim territory lost to us for centuries. Today, Guardians… today you take to the cosmos to follow in the footsteps of our forbearers and lay claim to new ground from which humans, awoken, and exo alike may rise together and pull our decimated people up from the pall of Darkness cast upon them so that we may once more assume our rightful place among the stars.” He indicated to each member as he spoke. “Today, you rise above and beyond who and what you once were. You, who once stood as beleaguered, but steadfast, chosen warriors of The Traveler, now stand before me as beacons of hope and pioneers of our people.”

A Frame approached The Speaker with a case and he turned to open it, pulling from the box a brilliantly glowing sphere. He turned back to the three Guardians standing before him and presented the sphere to them. Gospel took the sphere in his hands and bowed respectfully once more.

“Your journey shall take you deep into the dark reaches, far from The Traveler’s Light, and your Ghosts will not last long without it. This sphere is filled with the essence of The Traveler and shall provide your companions with much needed energy, allowing you to go on this expedition without fear of losing their Light or yours.” The Speaker told them, relinquishing the orb. “Guard it well.”

“Thank you, Speaker.” They all said.

“May the Light of The Traveler guide and protect you in the dark corners of the galaxy, Guardians.” He told them and then stepped backwards towards the crowd while Samson and his team boarded the jumpship.

Once on board, Gospel found a pedestal that looked like it had been created just for the sphere and he placed it, with a suctioning sound indicating that the pedestal had locked its new occupant in place. That done, he joined Aveline and Samson in the cockpit and took the last unoccupied seat, strapping himself in. Samson began flipping switches and pressing buttons to take the ship through one last preflight check before nodding to the Frame sitting in the pilot's seat.

“Tower Control, this is Mischief Maker; preflights are green across the board and the engine is purring like a kitten.” Samson said into the headset he was wearing and Gospel suppressed a laugh. “Something funny, Gospel?”

“No, nothing, just-” Gospel grinned. “-I never expected to hear the phrase ‘purring like a kitten’ come from your mouth, Sam.”

The exo rolled his optics.

“This is Tower Control, Mischief Maker; the sky’s empty and you’re cleared for takeoff.” Holliday’s voice came in over the comm. “Samson, you damn well better take care of her out there and when you return…” Samson arched an eyebrow plate curiously. “Tell me what this new world looks like, okay?”