Minerva's stomach lurched and dropped, before rapidly seeming to rise and settle itself in the vicinity of her throat. Her heart thundered in a panic, and breath seemed all but impossible to get.

The air whipped around her as she fell, roaring with an intently blank voice, a sound of pure instinct. She could not see, the frigid wind blasting into her eyes immediately painful, swarming them with tears.

There was nothing to grab on to, nothing to stop herself. True to Gen's words she felt a complete helplessness that she'd never before experienced. No matter what she did, no matter how she fought or screamed or struggled- she was going to fall until she hit the ground and died.

A gray blur that was the Tower was streaking past her on one side. Everything else was a riot of split and shining light- yellows and greens and blues and grays. The tears streaming from her eyes were damping her temples in frigid ice.

Going to die. Going to die. Can't stop. Going to die.

Then something amazing happened. Her stomach seemed to right itself and return back to its proper place. She no longer had the sensation that she was falling. The panic was going away and in its place…

Minerva let out a scream again, but this time it was of laughter. She felt buoyant, high, almost transformed. She wasn't falling- she was flying!

The air kept her eyes watering, making it impossible to see anything but those slivers of light and color, but she could tell from that alone that of course she was still falling. The ground was sweeping nearer and nearer. No matter what her body was telling her she absolutely was not flying and in a few short moments she would hit that onrushing ground and die.

I've died before. Light save me, I've died before and it's hurt a lot worse than this will. Until then, I'm flying, damn it!

She let out another whoop of joy, and then couldn't seem to stop laughing.

"This is wonderful!" she shouted to the howling air. "This is wonderful!"

Blinking rapidly, she realized the green and gray blur that was the ground was taking up nearly her entire field of vision now. She was getting close. Any moment now and it would be over. Until that moment came, however, she was going to save every precious instant of it, hoard the joy she felt like gold.

Seconds. It could only be seconds left now.

Then, a tingle that had nothing to do with the cold air crept suddenly over her skin. She could feel the fine hairs on her arms lift as one, and a dry crackling sensation. Light seemed to be filling up the space behind her eyes- a pale blue light that grew in a surge, flooding into her, igniting her very cells.

Instinctively she hauled her arms together and pointed them down in front of her. The energy, the light, it was hers. She had called it, pulled it out of the ether, and she knew exactly what to do with it.

That static rush left her skin and the light flared and then surged out in front of her. It struck the ground only fifty feet or so away now, rebounded, and swept back up toward her like a blossoming rose. As it reached her she was suddenly enveloped in warmth, the cold rushing wind dashed aside. She felt herself slowing, cradled as if by a giant invisible hand. Slowing…and then…

She hit the ground with only as much force as if she'd fallen ten or fifteen feet instead of thousands. There was a brief pain in her left wrist as it bent awkwardly and broke, and she tumbled a little, then settled on her back on soft grass. Above her, the Tower soared like a monolith, haloed at its crest by the morning sun. The sky was a perfect blue and gold.

Sprawled on the grass, panting for breath, Minerva began to laugh again. She barely noticed her frantic Ghost zip down beside her, muttering under its breath about insanity as it set about scanning her and fixing her fractured wrist.

A shadow fell over her.

"Well, that's one way to not leave a crater," Gen-11 said as he looked down at her. "I've seen Light used as a shield before but never an airbag."

"Is that what I did?" she asked, grinning up at him. "I used the Light? Made an airbag?"

"Weren't you intending to?"

"Not really," she said. "It just kind of…happened."

He held out a hand and she reached up and clasped it, letting him haul her to her feet. She was still laughing, and bent over with her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.

"Quite a sensation, isn't it?" Gen said.

"It was wonderful," Minerva said. "I feel giddy."

"You're high on adrenaline and dopamine," he said, and folded his arms. "Be careful. I hear such a high is addictive."

She straightened and wiped her eyes, still grinning. "I haven't felt anything like that since I was born," she said. "I don't think I've felt this happy before."

"'Happy' is a rare feeling in this world anymore," Gen said seriously. "I'm glad I could help you feel it."

Wiping her eyes again, she glanced around. The grass spread around them in a big field that moved right up to the base of the tower. A few hundred yards away a small river gleamed, and a wide footbridge moved over it. Beyond that, she could see the start of buildings, and the bulk of the City beyond them. Over it, looking even more massive now than from above, loomed the silent Traveler.

The grass seemed unmarred, save two small patches a dozen feet away that looked scorched in an odd fan shape. Given the speed at which they were traveling and the weight of metal that Gen was made up of, there should be at least a flattened patch and a definite impression where he'd hit the ground, even if his Ghost had repaired him.

Puzzled, she asked "Didn't you-? Did you 'airbag' too?"

He unfolded his arms and then suddenly lifted into the air three or four feet. Six inch long blue white flames were shooting out of his boots, the air below them rippling. The grass underneath flattened, and then started to darken as the flames scorched it. He hovered a moment, then dropped again as the flames died.

"Jump jets," he said. "Most Guardians have them. You'll get some in time too- they're extremely useful. I've died loads of times from falling, didn't need to do it again. Come on. I'll buy you a drink- celebrate your first 'happy'."

They crossed the grass and then the bridge. Min's legs were still shaking and she still felt on top of the world, though the feeling was starting to settle. She couldn't seem to get enough looking around, taking in everything from the grass and trees to the metal of the bridge, the liquid flow of the water, the color of the air and rising buildings in the distance. She feared she was gaping like a school child and so looked at the Warlock.

"How long have you been a Guardian, Gen?"

"Nine years," he said. "I was found on Mars, outside the Exclusion Zone."

"Exclusion Zone?" she asked.

"Mars more or less belongs to the Cabal. They're a military species. The Tower doesn't like to butt heads with them unless it's absolutely necessary, and even then…a lot of very good Guardians have fallen to the Cabal over the years, including the one that found me as a newborn."

"I'm sorry to hear that," she said.

"What about you? Where were you found?"

"Earth," she said. "Outside of one of the old Russian cosmodromes. Kalina found me."

"Hunter?"

"Do you know her?"

"We've never spoken but I know of her. You'll find as time goes on that it's hard for there to be a Guardian you've never at least heard of. From what I understand she's pretty skilled, and pretty silly."

Minerva frowned at him. "I didn't find her silly," she said defensively, even though it wasn't true. There had been plenty of times Kalina had struck her as silly and even downright bizarre, though she hadn't seen Kalina at all since the Hunter had gotten banned from the Crucible.

Gen looked at her, the little pieces on his face that mimicked eyebrows uplifted. "I didn't mean it as an insult," he said. "If she's able to find joy and happiness in jokes and frivolity, then good for her I say. It's what a Guardian does in the field that matters, anyway. Have you met Cayde?"

"Yes."

"Most ridiculous man you'll ever meet," he said. "But it didn't stop him from making Vanguard. He might make a joke while doing it, but he can still pop a Fallen in the eye from half a planet away with a spitball."

She blinked at him, then smirked. "That's an exaggeration," she said.

He smirked back. "Only a little. The way he tells it you'd not only believe it but believe you'd seen it yourself."

Their conversation continued as they started to pass the first signs of civilization, which looked like small farms. Min had seen no other sign of life than the inhabitants of the Tower and the cats, but here and there were people working in gardens or passing in and out of greenhouses, the occasional bird or small flock of sheep and goats. Then a dog barked at her tiredly from behind a fence and as she stared at it she finally thought to ask.

"Gen, what is it with the cats at the Tower?"

"The cats?" he asked. "What about them?"

"There's so many of them," she said. "They just kind of wander around freely."

"Well, of course," he said. "They're there to do what cats have done since time immemorial. It's the oldest exchange program in the world."

"Exchange program?" she blinked at him.

"We give them shelter, treat wounds or illness, and show them the occasional affection," he said. "In exchange, they keep the rats and mice and various insects out of the Tower, and more importantly, the food stores."

"Oh," she said, suddenly feeling stupid that this hadn't been obvious from the beginning. Kalina had told her how hard it was to maintain food supplies for the City and the Tower- having rats and mice get into what food stores there were would be catastrophic. What better way to keep them out than to keep around the most efficient mouse traps nature had ever designed?

"You don't like cats?" he asked.

"I don't mind them," she said. "At least, I don't seem too."

"Ah, yes. You're still discovering yourself, aren't you?"

As they walked deeper into the City proper, more and more buildings clustered around them, and more and more people seemed to be appearing. There were vehicles surrounding them now- everything from crude hand-pulled carts to strange hovering motorbikes that hummed and growled whenever they passed. Everyone wore a patchwork mix of clothes and styles, similar to those in the Tower. They varied just as widely- from garish costumes to tattered and patched homespun. The faces were the same- mostly human with some Awoken and Exos, from the worn and narrow and dirty to those painted with makeup and capped with the most outlandish hairstyles.

The further into the City they walked, the less the patched homespun and dirty faces. People seemed to be better fed in here, though no one appeared to be wallowing in opulence.

The oddest thing was the stares. As they walked, nearly everyone moved out of their way and stared at them. They looked almost frightened.

"They…don't always look at Guardians like this do they?" she asked.

"Sometimes," he said. "Guardians keep the City safe, and they well know that. We're highly respected here, almost revered, but people can be frightened of us too. There's a bit of mythology that floats around regarding us. Silly stories, some of it, but work and gossip is about all anyone can do here. They're not staring like this just because we're Guardians though."

"Then why?"

"You're not wearing a mark, are you?" he said almost cheerfully. "One of those myths is that a Guardian never goes without their mark and if you see one without one, that Guardian has cast aside the Tower and is about to join the Darkness."

Min gaped at him, horrified. "They think I'm a-"

He laughed. "It's all right, calm down. I said it was a myth, it's just one people tend to believe."

"But I just haven't gotten a mark yet. I haven't even seen where to get one. I don't know if they're given out or-"

"Relax," he said, then steered her toward one of the nearby buildings. "Come on, in here."

The building turned out to be some kind of tavern. They sat down at one of the battered tables and Gen waved a man over. He was a narrow man, and he looked at them just as narrowly as he approached.

"Gen?" he asked warily, eyeing Min.

"It's all right, Roff. She's not a traitor, she's just a newbie. Hasn't got her mark yet. What's your poison, Minerva? I said I'd buy you a drink."

"Uh…" She hadn't yet had any alcohol yet and wasn't sure what it was like, or if she'd like it. She had no idea what to order.

Gen eyed her and then said to Roff, "Bring her a beer and me a frutt would you?"

"Sure," Roff said. He seemed to have relaxed, and gave Min a wink. "On the house for the new Guardian."

He shuffled away, and was back a few minutes later with a large mug and a small bottle, which he set before them. Min picked up the mug and sniffed. She must have made a face because Roff chuckled.

"Good luck," he said with another wink, then left them to talk.

"What's that?" she asked, looking at the bottle in front of Gen.

"Frutt," he said. "You wouldn't like it. Exo thing."

It turned out the beer was drinkable, if not the best flavor in the world. She sipped at it now and again as she and Gen continued to talk. Minerva felt she hadn't talked so much before in her life, but somehow the adrenaline rush from jumping off the Tower had opened the flood gates. Gen was also patient, answering each without sign of annoyance or disinterest.

She rather liked him, she decided. He was odd at moments, somewhat morose at times, and kept making amused sounds in what seemed inappropriate places- as if he saw some hidden absurdity to the darker parts of existence and had resigned himself to that absurdity.

All in all, however, he was a good guy and she found herself glad she'd run into him. It was well into afternoon when they left the pub and the renewed stares of those in the street again reminded her of her missing mark. She was just about to ask how one was supposed to get a mark when suddenly Gen's Ghost made a strange chattering sound that seemed to catch her own Ghost's attention.

Gen as well paused and looked at it. The sound was brief, and then followed by the Ghost rattling off in a language Min neither spoke nor recognized. She automatically expected her Ghost to translate but it remained silent. She blinked at it, as Gen replied to his Ghost in the same language, then looked at Min.

"Sorry," he said. "I've got a mission alert I must attend."

"Mission alert?" she asked.

"Large group of Fallen have been spotted in Ohio," he said. "Dispersal pattern suggests they're looking for something. There's a small group of civilians in that area as well- nomad clan. Tower wants a few of us on site to find out what the Fallen are up to and make sure the civilians are protected. I've called my ship to come pick us up-"

"Us?"

"You've ridden digitally before?"

"Well, yeah, but-..."

"But…?"

"I'm not field cleared yet," she said. "I don't have any weapons or armor."

"The arms and armor aren't a problem," he said. "I've got enough stored digitally I haven't had to trade yet, I can get you geared up. You've got to go into the field sometime, Minerva. What's the worst that could happen?"

"I could get civilians killed," she said. "And if Zavala hasn't field cleared me-"

Gen turned his head and chittered again at his Ghost. The Ghost replied and a moment later, Zavala's voice came out of it.

"What is it, Gen?"

"Zavala, apologies. I'm in the City with a newbie of yours, Minerva. I'm about to head off to help in Ohio. Would you mind if she tags along?"

"Anasova? Is she geared?"

"We have that covered," Gen told him. "If it helps, she just jumped off the Tower so we could tour the City."

"This may actually be a good field test for her," Zavala said thoughtfully. "Very well. Minerva, you're cleared to accompany Gen-11. Three other Guardians will be on site as well- I expect you to obey all orders they might give you. I want a full report from your Ghost when you've returned. Zavala out."

"There you go," Gen said. The wind picked up suddenly as a small Guardian fighter appeared out of the sky, lowering toward them. It stopped to hover just a few feet above the nearby buildings. "You're all cleared. Off we go then?"

Min stared at him in shock, her thoughts a riot. Was she ready for this? Gen seemed to think so but he'd only known her for a few hours now. What carried more weight was that Zavala seemed to think she was, at least with some level of supervision.

And why not? She had to get out there sometime, didn't she? She had no delusions that she was good enough or ready enough to go out on her own but with others to guide her…well, why not? Wasn't it time to see what else was out there, to finally see the creatures she had been brought back to fight?

"What do you think?" her Ghost asked her tentatively.

"I've got to get going, with or without you," Gen said. "You coming along or not?"

Min felt her resolve harden, and nodded. "Yes," she said. "Yes, I'm coming all right. Let's do this."

Gen nodded, and a moment later reality dissolved in a stream of light and energy as she was digitally transferred onto the waiting fighter.