I have heard numerous things on how this story makes no sense. Well, I'd like to put it to rest in one large post because it's getting annoying to read. The Cabal were faced in Destiny were not the "real deal." They were actually just a small force sent in from the heart of the Cabal empire. One of the Cabal Leaders, when tasked to assault the Dreadnought refers to the force which were bought with them as a couple of "scout legions." The force we are dealing with is the "Red Legion", which is the best out of the best. This is an elite squad right here. I do believe that we are facing the full power of the Cabal, especially if the Red Legion were sent out to the Tower. During the events of Destiny 1, we fought nothing but scout legions and their commanders. Sure, we fought some special divisions of the Cabal empire such as Siege dancers, but we (in Destiny 2) are facing the full power of the Cabal. There's a quote that describes the full power of the Cabal here; "They blow up planets and moons just for getting in their way." Why bother with an invasion? Their intention is not to destroy us, it is to conquer us, the way we attempted to conquer them in our solar system. The Last City, under invasion of the Red Legion, the best fleet that the Cabal empire has, would not have sensibly been able to hold the city. Past lore even shows this. At the Battle of Twilight Gap, when the Fallen houses banded together, The Last City would have been lost had it not been for the Reef's help with preventing House of Wolves' involvement. The Battle of Six Fronts was also a major attempt to destroy the city, The Last City held out against that too. But, the Cabal are united, and pose a much bigger threat to the scattered Houses. We do have the big laser turrets and our wall, but it would be insufficient to hold against a massive invasion from the best, the Red Legion, of the Cabal empire. Also, the in-game description of Destiny 2 mentions that our powers were stripped. So, no Sunsinger, Nightstalker, Defender, etc. Here is the in-game description which proved this: [i]"Humanity’s last safe city has fallen to an overwhelming invasion force, led by Ghaul, the imposing commander of the brutal Red Legion. He has stripped the city’s Guardians of their power, and forced the survivors to flee. You will venture to mysterious, unexplored worlds of our solar system to discover an arsenal of weapons and devastating new combat abilities. To defeat the Red Legion and confront Ghaul, you must reunite humanity’s scattered heroes, stand together, and fight back to reclaim our home."[/i] What's a Guardian without his power? It was a crutch, honestly. The Guardians had lost a major part of that arsenal. They lost their abilities, and it would definitely be a definitive edge to the Cabal. No space magic, nothing but your guns. For the Last City, everyone knows that's not enough. You're practically left trying to outgun the best Cabal legion they have, The Red Legion. It's a loss. Something had happened to the Traveler also, which is a nasty sign, evidenced in the video. Again, without their abilities, the Guardians were like the New England Patriots without Tom Brady, or FC Barcelona without Lionel Messi. We were already weak as it is, and were in no position to face the full wrath of the Cabal empire. The Red Legion has come, and The Last City payed for their sins. Please, bump and like this post so it can be spread to more of the naysayers.