"It is not enough to defend the City. We must reclaim the stars."
My mother and father stood before me, smiling faces, a happy atmosphere. I cannot remember why, but I could feel the smile on my face, also. My mother reached out to me, pulling me to her, enveloping me in a warm embrace as my father wrapped his arms around both of us, murmuring his thanks to the Traveller for such miracles that meant his family's betterment. I was in my own mind, but my body was not my own. Moving and talking as though a script had been rehearsed time and time again, even as my mind told me to respond differently, to move differently. A distant, thundering crash separated us, and my parents ran outside, my mother leaning against my father for support. The city was burning, orange flames licking up towards the sky. People spilt out into the street to investigate, and another crash. Only this one was far too close to home.
When I awoke, it was sudden and it was unpleasant. I was bolt upright before my eyes were even open and I was acutely aware of another's eyes on me. My gaze travelled left and right, scanning for any sign of movement, and then locked onto a pair of blue, glowing orbs by the entrance of the quarters. I slid backwards, feeling the cool steel of the wall behind me.
The lights in the room flickered on and Memphis and Tyrk stirred, shielding their eyes from the sudden luminous brightness. When I looked back to the door, Cayde-6 was leaning against the wall, watching me.
"Morning, Guardian." He murmured, pushing himself off the wall as he moved towards the centre of the room. "Warlock, Titan!" He called out, startling the pair awake. Memphis jumped up, readying a fist before he realised that it was the Hunter Vanguard that stood before him. He dropped his fist and looked at us, a singular brow lifting upwards. Tyrk groaned and pulled himself out of bed, muttering under his breath.
"What's wrong?" The words were out of my mouth before I knew I'd said them, but Cayde glanced my way before looking at the others.
"You have a mission." He started, folding his arms across his chest.
"Training isn't supposed to sta-"
"It's not training." The Vanguard interrupted Tyrk, his brow plates lowering into a frown. "Fireteam Echo has its first official mission." He noted my uneasy shifting as he looked at me, "you are right to be apprehensive, Hunter. You have not finished your training yet, but your team has risen in scores and are currently four hundred points above Fireteam Alpha." I looked at Memphis. When did that happen? It had been three weeks since our colossal failure in the Cauldron and our training had increased, but the scoreboards in the Mess Hall had been turned off shortly afterwards. "Your mission is simple," Cayde began again, "you have been tasked with finding a jumpship in the Cosmodrome. Which is currently in Fallen hands."
I stood, rooted to the spot with my mouth near hanging open as I processed his words. "We haven't fought outside the Crucible..." I trailed off, not fully understanding. "How are we supposed to make it back if we're fighting enemies that actually want to kill us permanently?" I asked, frowning at him.
"You will be escorted by another Fireteam, one that has seen enemies that want to kill us all permanently." Cayde moved out of the room for a moment and returned with three Guardians. "This is Fireteam Oscar. They have seen more firefights than they have fingers and toes between them to count on, they will be your escort and will prevent your deaths."
Fireteam Oscar had the same class build as us, a female Warlock, a male Hunter and Titan. They looked battle born, all of them scarred and rugged. They looked like warriors compared to us.
