"Alright, Max. Plot a course for Mars." The Hunter dressed in red commanded of her Ghost.
"Affirmative." The robot beeped, as two more Guardians boarded the ship.
"Ava, Marc, glad you're here." She turned to face the two members of her fireteam.
Ava raised her hand in a typical Exo salute, and the Awoken simply nodded. The Hunter was almost a little disappointed that he didn't do the famous Awoken bow. She'd never get tired of that.
"We ready to go, Alison?" Ava was asking, interrupting her train of thought.
"Ready when you are. Can you believe this is our first mission? Feels like we were in basic training forever." Alison beamed at her companions.
"I'm nervous." Ava admitted as she fiddled with her belt.
"Nothing to be nervous about. We make a good team, and it's just recon work. All going well, we won't even have to shoot anything." Marc said quietly. He was always the calm one, the one who was able to rationalise and make the girls feel confident in their abilities.
Alison sat down on her bunk as the ship began to move.
"Did you end up seeing your mother before we left?" Ava asked from her bunk opposite Alison.
"Not really. I told her I would come by but when I did she wasn't home." There was a hint of sorrow in her voice.
"Try not to take it too personally. I'm sure she's just dealing with it as best she can." Marc tried to offer a consoling opinion.
"I know. I just wish she'd at least talk to me about Dad."
"Maybe she will, just give her time." Ava replied, idly playing with her Warlock magic.
"You gotta remember, Ali. Guardians grow fast. Especially humans. You leaving so soon after your Dad passing was probably just as hard." Marc continued.
"I know. But I'm a Guardian. I have a duty to the City, to my fireteam, to the remainder of the galaxy."
"Your mother knows that. She's probably just afraid of losing you, too. And you're so young."
"We all are." Alison looked at her team mates.
"Almost there, Guardian." Max beeped.
"Prepare for transmat." Alison fastened her helmet and made sure her gun was loaded.
The three Guardians waited patiently for a minute, and were beamed down to the ground. They all glanced around the area, making sure there were no enemies nearby.
"Okay. So intel suggests that there's Taken activity near where Valus Ta'aurc's lair was. I say we skirt the edges of this area to minimise possible contact with the Cabal." Alison suggested, looking at Marc, who nodded.
The three quietly walked along the rugged red hills, scanning periodically for any activity. They passed the time with the occasional conversation, careful to stay focussed as they chatted. After a couple of hours, they were beginning to get discouraged, but Marc insisted they needed more time.
Suddenly, movement near them startled the three. A Cabal Centurion leapt out, and the three immediately began firing. Luckily, the Centurion dropped easily, and the three quickly caught their breath.
"That was a bit close." Marc breathed, a little shaken from the surprise.
"Come on, don't tell me the Titan is a little bit scared?" Alison teased, nudging her elbow into his side.
"Oh, shut..." Marc was halfway through his sentence when a Fallen Skiff emerged from orbit suddenly.
It all happened so quickly that everything from that moment on was a total blur for Alison. As soon as it broke Orbit, the Skiff began firing upon the three. The first shot hit Ava dead on, killing her instantly.
"Ava!" Marc and Alison were screaming as they scrambled around, trying to react to the situation. Marc began shooting at the ship, but to no avail.
"We have to get her!" Alison yelled across to Marc.
"It's too late, Alison. She's gone!" No sooner had he finished his sentence than another fire from the Skiff hit him.
"No!" Alison wailed, tears now flowing freely down her cheeks.
She yelled his name, but he was gone. She looked up and saw the Skiff about to fire again. Without hesitation, she dived out of the way in the nick of time, but the splash damage caught her ghost and it fell to the ground.
"Shit..." she picked up the broken robot and began sprinting. She could hear the sound of Fallen being dropped off, but she did not turn around or stop. She just kept running, the sand catching in her boots, tripping her over, but she dared not stop.
She ran and ran and ran, until the darkness had well and truly set in, and she could hardly breathe, the lack of air burning her lungs. After what seemed like forever, she stumbled upon a cave. After briefly investigating it for enemies, she curled up in a corner and passed out from exhaustion.