Drifter wiped the sweat off his brow and the grin off his face. His shoulders slumped as he stepped down from the platform in the Derelict. The Gambit match had ended in a hard-earned win. The next match would be in a few minutes. That's all he had.

He cleared his throat. His voice was hoarse.

Drifter looked up at the swirling mass of egregore and his thoughts shifted back to Eris Morn. They'd found a little comfort with each other. A little understanding. But what did it look like, he wondered, when all that chitin burst out of her? What did it feel like to eat up all those tithes the Guardians were taking for her in the field? In the Crucible? In Gambit?

He'd read the reports. He saw the theories on VanNet. He didn't trust them. He trusted her.

Drifter nodded to himself and took a breath as he heard the Guardians assemble behind him. He stepped up on the platform, flicking his jade coin. It spun in the air, catching the light, before falling back into the Drifter's waiting palm.

"You ever eat Hive eyes?" he asked with a smile, twisting his wrist around and slipping the coin back into his sleeve.

"Real juicy. They go pop in your mouth, and a shiver runs all the way through… Heh. I'll tell you when you're older."

He winked. The assembled Guardians watched him in silence.

"Transmat firing!" he called out, and they disappeared in a burst of light.