Chapter One

On Patrol

"Can we get this patrol done before the sun sets?"

"What's wrong Salem? Upset that some field work is cutting into your time at the Crucible?"

"If you two are done, I have found the mission target. I suggest we move fast and get out before we attract any attention. You never know what's around."

Our fireteam never did make sense. A Titan who would love to stay in the crucible and make jokes. A Warlock that is so close to The Speaker she's practically an apprentice. Then there's me...a Hunter who who enjoys being outside the walls more than inside them. Today's mission was to recover some golden age tech for Zavala or something like that. It took us some time to fly across the planet and locate the data in an old wrecked ship, but we found it. It took even longer to make it into the ship and locate the cargo hold. Once we got inside the cargo hold I picked something up on my radar and went to investigate. That's all I remember. When my ghost, Eclipse, woke me up, he gave me the quick version of what had happened. The Fallen were in the ship and ambushed the team shortly after we got into the cargo hold. I was the closest to them so they concentrated their fire on me. Salem, the Titan I had mentioned, went into battle while Alexander, the Warlock, stayed back to finish the data retrieval. That's when the second group of Fallen attacked and killed her.

My guess is that they were in the ship long before we showed up. They probably figured if we were after some excellent tech that it could be an easy scavenge. So they followed us and we did all the hard work for them. We were outnumbered from the start. Things would have gone differently if we were all more cautious and didn't die immediately.

When Eclipse revived me, everything was foggy as usual. It took me a second to remember where I was and what I was doing. The room was littered with dead Fallen. I made my way over to Alex and had her ghost bring her back into what was left of the fight. From the look of things Salem had been busy. He wasn't in the room and we had no clue what happened. The only thing left to do was to follow the trail that Salem made.

"Cye, one would think that such a prominent Titan would have some edicate when disposing of hostiles."

"I thought the Fallen captain with his head through the wall was a nice touch, Alex."

"Alex...are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

"Yes Hunter, it seems that the Fallen have been turning this ship into a base. No wonder we were over run. I wouldn't be surprised to find a few Archons here. I doubt that they have reorganised enough for a Kell to be present. Not since the self proclaimed Kell of Kells was eliminated. It's weird though, Fallen usually live on their Ketches. Perhaps there was a power struggle or maybe the ship crashed?"

Either way we had to deal with them. We were making our way down the hallway when we found more supplies that the Fallen had pillaged. No movement or anything came up on scanners, not that I expected any given what had just happened. Salem was a popular Titan among other guardians. He has spent years refining his skills in the Crucible and on the battlefield. He has created quite the armory. The main reason is to make sure there are guardians who will fight him. It's hard to tell who someone is when they change their armor. Lord Shaxx has been known to make special matches if Salem is fighting, such as pitting four guardians against him. On rare occasions Lord Shaxx himself has even picked up his gun to fight Salem. We caught up to Salem towards the back end of the ship. Well his body anyway. The Fallen finally managed to kill him and get away. Judging by the size of the hole in the ship, we found out where they parked their Skiff. With no threats nearby, I had Salem's ghost wake him up.

"Well I think we can call this a failed mission. What do you think Spark?" Said Salem as he stood up.

"So Salem, how did you go down this time?" I asked.

"A grenade found its way onto Salem's back, and well...I'm surprised he was still in one piece." Mentioned Spark, his ghost.

I started to look around the hanger as Salem was talking to Spark. The room was littered with the remanence of the battle. A Servitor laid on the ground in pieces with a tight group of bullets in its eye, which is surprising that it's still in one piece. For a Titan that has the reputation of being reckless on the battlefield, he certainly doesn't live up to that reputation.

We spent the next few minutes trying to track the Fallen that attacked us, but it seemed like they made it away from the ship, at least to where we couldn't track them. The sun had made its way up to the sky by the time we got into our ships. Most of the ride was spent talking about how we were going to tell Zavala the bad news. Salem was trying to lighten the mood with a Zavala impersonation. Alexander was scolding him but I could tell that she was smiling under her helmet. We were almost to the tower when Spark mentioned that we will have to land manually due to a storm. I found it weird that there was a storm going on. The skies were clear when we left early in the morning, but I didn't give it much more thought than that. Shortly after that is when I lost all feeling and passed out. Our ghosts took over at some point and did an emergency landing just outside of the Tower in the forest. When I awoke I felt limp, like all my stamina had been drained. I figured it would be best to get out of the cockpit. It was dark. Early next day if I had to guess. The grass was wet with dew and their was a slight chill in the wind. Something had to be wrong.

"Cye! Oh thank The Traveler you're okay."

"Eclipse, I feel weird. What's happening to me?"

"Cye, it's terrible. The Tower was attacked."

"What! Who would be bold enough to attack the Tower? We should get back now. Every guardian will be needed to strengthen the wall." I started to rush towards my ship.

"Cye stop! I didn't get to finish. The Cabal attacked, a special division known as "The Red Legion." We can't go back. We lost everything."

"Eclipse...what do you mean "everything"?"

"The Tower, The Speaker, and The Light. That's why you passed out. They were able to put a cage around The Traveler and The Light is now lost, like we're cut off from The Traveler's gifts. All radio channels are ordering a retreat. I don't know where to, I couldn't get a strong enough signal. Cye, I don't know what to do."

"Pathetic. So we lose our Light and now we run with tails tucked." Salem apparently had come to and heard part of what Eclipse had said.

"Salem I don't think you understand."

Salem interrupted as Eclipse tried to explain. You could practically see the fire shooting out of his mouth. "I understand perfectly fine! But I refuse to abandon those who I protect! Those who live within the walls are the reason I fight, the reason why I push myself to my limits and then push some more. Why I would gladly experience death over and over again...to protect them. So I am going in there to save as many people as I can with or without my Light. I thought a ghost, someone made from The Traveler, would understand that. Apparently I was wrong. Your name suits you well Eclipse. The true meaning of The Light has been hidden from you for a long time. Good bye for now Cye. I'll see you and Alexander when I get back, and stay safe."

As Salem and Spark took off, they started making a plan as they headed to his ship. I knew there was no stopping him. He took his job seriously. He was one of the few guardians that connected with the people of the city. I remember walking in a market with him and a few children recognised his crimson armor from a crucible match that was televised. What started as him trying to recruit me for a crucible team over lunch turned into an afternoon of us kicking a ball with two kids after he signed a few autographs for the others. By the time we stopped the sun was setting, But before we left Salem kneeled down and gave the older brother his helmet. At the time, optimacy armor wasn't even available, and he gave part of his set just to make a little boy happy. His younger sister was of course jealous. I remembered that she mentioned on a few occasions that she loved the light blue color of it and how it looked cool with my armor, and not to be out shined by a walking raspberry, I gave her my hooded cloak after I signed the collar. I figured that she would grow into it some day.

As Salem's ship flew away, I went to wake up Alexander and fill her in on what happened. If Salem was successful in his mission, things would go from search and rescue to protecting and relocating. Even if it costs me my life.

Titan - Human male - Salem - Spark (Ghost)

Hunter - Exo female - Cye - Eclipse (Ghost)

Warlock - Awoken female - Alexander - (No name yet) (Ghost)