The City: the last hope of civilization. For years now, the Vanguard, based at the Tower, has kept the City safe from the darkness. The darkness have been pursuing the Traveler - the last spark of hope for humanity's survival - for millennia. When the Traveler died, it released "ghosts" to revive those who had traces of light. They became guardians. Together, Titans, Warlocks, and Hunters have worked together to defend the City. Those who became devoted for the defense of humanity formed the Vanguard. They erected the Tower, which looks over the City. Now the Traveler remains dormant, and the Vanguard has been desperate to find any defense for the City. Oryx, father of Crota, has made his way to the Solar System to destroy the City and all existing light. To improve the war effort, the Vanguard heavily taxed the people of the City. It was worth it, but only in the Vanguard's eyes. Oryx has been destroyed in a final raid, and his army has dispersed. However, the brutal taxing by the Vanguard has displeased the citizens of the City. The wealthy districts have been degraded, and the poorer districts became slums. Outbreaks of riots have started in those slums, forcing the Vanguard to search for a solution. Commander Zavala, the leader of the Vanguard, has called upon a weak fireteam to solve the issue.

Urev Tchen, a Titan defender, blasts open the door of a locker room. Inside, a warlock and hunter sit, cleaning their weaponry. The warlock, Grayson Yent, is whistling to herself snapping in a rhythmic beat. The hunter, Clent-00, is busily cleaning his sniper rifle (and Grayson's scout rifle). Urev, breathing excitedly, stares at them, waiting to grasp their attention. The two finally look up at Urev, who finally catches his breath. "We have a mission!" Urev yells, eyes darting between Grayson and Clent. "A real mission guys! From Zavala himself!"

Clent stops shining his sniper, gets up, and walks up to Urev. "Does it look like I care?" Clent mutters in a cold tone. Urev slowly grows a smile. Clent punches Urev's shoulder, and they both laugh. "Awesome, Urev," he chuckles softly. "Here, I'll get my gear ready."

Grayson stops whistling and throws her arms in the air. "Whoooooo . . ." she says dully. "We have a mission. Awesome. Rock n' roll, Urev."

Urev smiles, and sits down next to Grayson. He puts her hand on her shoulder calmly, then proceeds to shake her erratically. "I hope you realize how much of a big deal this is to me - er - us!" Urev says, continuing to shake Grayson. "We can finally show Zavala that we are not some horrible fireteam!"

"Gee well I wish I could praise this orgasmic moment with you but you're sitting here disrupting my thought." Grayson says.

Urev stops shaking and laughs. "Sorry, Grayson. I'm just really excited. You get ready now! I'll be waiting with Zavala in the Hall of Guardians."

Eventually, Clent and Grayson meet up and walk to the Hall of Guardians. Inside, holographic maps and iron shields are placed on the walls. Some guardians are observing the maps, and others are speaking about their righteousness in the Iron Banner tournament. In the middle of the hall stands a table, with a map of the city. To the side, Urev is looking down at his feet. Next to him, Commander Zavala is staring blankly at the map. On the other side of the table, Ikora Rey and Cayde-6 - the other two leaders of the Vanguard - are speaking to each other. Urev looks up to see Clent and Grayson walking towards him. His eyes flash in excitement and he rushes to greet them. "What took you so long?" Urev whispers aggressively. "It's been a whole 7 minutes! Zavala isn't happy."

"Boohoo," Grayson replies. "It's not like Zavala has ever cared about us before."

Clent chuckles silently and high fives Grayson. Urev nudges the two and turns around. Zavala is walking towards them, with Ikora and Cayde right behind him. Urev, Grayson, and Clent stand tall side by side as a greeting to Zavala. Zavala continues to look down at his papers, not acknowledging the team. "Fireteam 356," he sighs duly. "According to your records, you have performed . . . below the regular guardian standards. I see your last successful mission was Sepiks Prime . . . which was completed many months ago."

The fireteam remains silent, but Grayson softly whispers about how difficult Sepiks Prime was. Zavala looks up at Urev. "Urev Tchen. Awoken guardian defender. Kill to death ratio: 0.90. I see that you are the . . . leader of this fireteam."

Zavala's eyes shift to Grayson. "Grayson Yent. Human warlock voidwalker. Kill to death ratio: 1.00."

Zavala's struts over to the last guardian. "And finally, Clent-00. Exo hunter gunslinger. Kill to death ratio: 1.33."

Zavala moves back to face the whole group. "I have a mission that will most likely . . . remove your novice title."

Urev interrupts, determination flickering in his eyes. "We'll take anything you throw at us, commander! If it's the Hive or the Fallen or Vex, we'll be ready to overcome it!"

Ikora and Cayde look at each other. Zavala ignores Urev's rant. "You will be in the City."

Urev's determination fades away. He looks down at his feet; a defeated look washes over his face. Zavala continues speaking. "There have been devastating riots in the slums of the City, most likely caused by our war effort. Even though our efforts have succeeded the Vanguard's expectations and Oryx has been ultimately destroyed, the people are not rejoicing about our victory. We must find whatever is causing these riots and bring them to justice."

Urev nods slowly and salutes. "Yes sir!" He responds passionately, hoping to show Zavala that he is looking forward to the mission. He looks to Grayson and Clent. "It's best we head to our ship now . . ."

Urev runs out of the Hall of Guardians. Cayde-6 and Ikora go back to their regular spots. Grayson looks at Clent. "Damn he got shut down," Grayson laughs sadistically. "Poor bastard! We should go make him feel better."

Clent starts to walk with her, but something grabs his shoulder. Clent turns around. Zavala is tightly gripping Clent's shoulder. Grayson begins to walk towards Clent, but Zavala waves her off. Grayson leaves the hall, and Zavala begins to whisper. "Clent, I understand you are the best guardian in your whole fireteam."

Clent shakes his head and smirks. "Sir, I don't think ratios don't count for superiority. It's more of a pride and spirit. Urev really looks up to you, sir."

"A shame," Zavala spits. "Urev will never be a good leader if he keeps leading his team into the dirt. You are a far better guardian and leader than him."

Clent remains silent. Zavala continues. "Clent. I have a very important objective for you. Watch your fireteam. Don't let them make any foolish decisions. I know Urev and Grayson may both change your opinion, but focus on what is important. Put down the people that are wasting my time. Lead the path to victory. For your team. For the Vanguard."

Clent quickly nods, and Zavala releases his grip on him. Clent stumbles onto the ground, and begins to jog away. Clent makes his way out of the Hall of Guardians onto the main hub of the tower. It is night, and the hub is completely empty and quiet. At the very edge of the hub, is a beautiful view of the City. Clent walks to the railing and looks down at the districts. To the left, beautiful, polished buildings stand proudly. In the middle, smaller grayish buildings remain undisturbed. Clent takes a deep breath and looks to his right. The slums, brown and dirty, are glowing. "Fires." Clent whispers to himself. "Fires . . ."

The noises around Clent begin to muffle. The only noise he is receiving is a small white noise. The white noise grows louder, blasting screams of people. Clent shakes his head, attempting to remove the noise. "What is happening to me!?" Clent yells. Nothing responds, but the noise and screaming continue to grow louder. A white void surrounds Clent, erasing the Tower around him. Then, images of another hunter flash in front of him, green and black light flickering off of him. The hunter laughs at Clent and aims a hand cannon at him. Clent closes his eyes, but the hunter aims the hand cannon at himself and pulls the trigger. Clent flinches from the apparent suicide, but when he opens his eyes, the body of the hunter is gone. Suddenly, Clent sees a ghost floating in front of him. The ghost is making painful hiccups. The hiccups accelerate, until the ghost's hiccups turn into horrific shouts, and green flames begin to burst out of its shell. Red blood leaks out of the ghost's crevices. The ghost explodes. The surrounding screams turn into sobs. Clent covers his ears, hoping to rid the cries. The white void around him disappears, and the Tower flows back around him. He shifts his body over the railing. He looks down and sees the city streets hundreds of feet below him. He loosens his grip of the railing, preparing to fall and end his torture. Clent closes his eyes. He lets go. Suddenly, a hand grabs his cloak. The screams stop, and finally the white noise fades away. Clent is thrown back onto the ground. He looks around, regaining his senses. A person sits down next to him. Ikora Rey, the Vanguard warlock, is patiently smiling at him. "Going somewhere?" She asks with a soft voice.

Clent adjusts his cloak. "No . . . no, ma'am." He replies drowsily. "Just taking a view of the mission at hand."

"I'm guessing jumping off the Tower is part of it? I know what Zavala has told you." Ikora says sternly. "He is a stubborn man. I'm surprised a titan of all people would command the Vanguard."

"I - I guess I can relate," Clent mutters. "Zavala doesn't think Urev should lead the team."

"And he is right. Your friend Urev has no perspective. He is blind. He only sees the Vanguard as the dogma of life. Whatever Zavala says, he agrees with it."

"What are you trying to say?" Clent adjusts his position, intrigued in what Ikora has to say. His passion to hear what Ikora has to say is partially powered by his desire to erase the visions he just saw.

"Urev can remain the leader of your team, but I believe Grayson should have a larger voice in your team. She understands all opinion. She believes in the people, no doubt. I know she can make good decisions. She can put down the riots. Peacefully. Zavala wants to use death as an example to the City. What is the point of protecting the people when Zavala believes killing them is the best solution? Think about this, Clent. I do not believe that you must lead the team, but you are destined to keep the balance of it."

Clent remains silent, dumbfounded by the philosophy he was just given. Ikora chuckles softly, gets up, and walks back to the Hall of Guardians. Clent thinks about what he was told, stands up, and runs to the hangers.

Clent struts to the entrance of the hangers. Inside, Cayde-6, the Vanguard hunter, is leaning against a railing. Cayde is looking down at the bay watching Amanda Holiday, the main hanger engineer, work. Clent walks faster, attempting to avoid a possible philosophical conversation with Cayde. Unfortunately, Cayde catches a glimpse of Clent, and runs up to talk. "Hey, how ya doin?" Cayde asks smoothly.

Clent tries to keep walking, but is blocked by Cayde. Clent looks down. "I'm doing well, sir."

Cayde observes Clent's behavior and laughs. "Oh boy, 'Philosophy' starring Zavala and Ikora?"

Clent nods.

"Ahaha! I remember when Zavala gave me a hardcore speech about leadership and all that crap. It felt like it was just yesterday . . . oh wait. It was. Heh, whatever."

Cayde stares at Clent, hoping to get a reaction. Clent continues to look down, unchanged by Cayde's talk. Cayde, not yet defeated, continues. "Alright, you're blue because Zavala and Ikora gave you some stupid choice about your mission, right? I'm right. Probably. Hey, if you think you're gonna get some pep talk from me, you're wrong. I'm not that kinda guy."

Clent finally looks up, relieved that Cayde is not supplying a deep conversation. Cayde's eyes shimmer proudly, and says "Oh boy, Clent. It's Clent, right? Not good with names. Sorry. Well anyway, Clent, take it from me: disregard the deep stuff. You're a g - u - a - ahh too long to spell out and still make it motivational. You're a guardian, okay? So am I. We are all guardians here. We shoot the bad guys and save humanity. Plain and simple stuff. Don't take this mission so seriously. So, just go with your gut or something."

Clent's mood is brighter than before. Clent smiles and thanks Cayde for making him feel better. "Anytime," Cayde replies. "Now I'll get out of your way. I've got a mission of my own to handle."

Clent finally starts walking again. Clent turns around, and sees Cayde in his original position, looking at Holiday. Clent laughs and continues walking until he finally reaches Urev and Grayson by their ship. Urev is waiting impatiently, tapping his foot and staring at maps of the City's districts. Dignity and determination seems to have returned to him. Grayson is laying on top of the ship, snoring obnoxiously, attempting to annoy Urev. Clent struts in front of them and waves. Grayson stops snoring and smiles at Clent. Urev doesn't smile, but holds his chin high and says "Clent! You are late! We are behind schedule! What were you doing?"

Clent walks to the ship's entrance. He begins walking into the ship, then looks at Urev and replies. "Had a talk with the bounty master. I need to upgrade my gear a bit."

Urev stares at Clent for a couple of seconds. "Alright, makes sense." Urev says, believing Clent's excuse. "Your gear is a bit too low anyway."

Urev walks past Clent into the ship. Grayson quickly follows, punching Clent's shoulder and smiling broadly. Clent rubs his arm and takes his seat on the ship. Inside, Urev sits in the pilot's seat. Grayson and Clent are sitting behind him. Urev turns on the ship, which slowly begins to float off the ground. "I hope you are ready for this mission," Urev says, flipping switches and panels. "If we fail this, we disappoint everyone. The Vanguard, the Traveler, and ourselves."

"What's up with the smart talk all of a sudden?!" Grayson laughs, punching Urev's seat. "Cmon, we got some baddies to stop and people to save! We're superheroes!"

"Let's go, guys!" Clent shouts. He puts on his helmet and cloak. He straps his sniper rifle on his back. "Let's do what Guardians are made to do!"

Urev rubs his forehead and puts his helmet on. He grabs his shotgun and puts it on his lap. "Why do I have to deal with you kids?"

"Hey, we were all resurrected on the same day! We're not kids!" Grayson yells, finally putting on her helmet. She summons a small void grenade in the palm of her hand. "In fact, I don't even think we have specific ages!"

"You have a point, I'll give you that." Urev says. "Alright, engines are ready to go. Time to descend into the City."