1. "It's a simple mission, one and done Cayde said. Come with me and we'll make a day of it." Eager for something to do during the rather drab day I was having, I hastily agreed to help my good Hunter friend. Little did I know the simple "Okay." I gave him would change our paths forever. I gathered my things, guns mostly, tucked my Skull of Dire Ahamkara under my arm, and walked with him to the hanger. "Fallen are at it again, something about a new operations base going up at First Reach. Kill a Kell, and that solves that.", he said as we walked. Easy enough I thought to myself. We had seen and conquered just about everything together, a Kell was just above easy and right below a minor annoyance. We left the Tower shortly afterward, my Ghost plotted the flight plan, and we carefully passed the Traveller just as the dawn sun started to enlighten the sky. "I call dibs on the first engram.", I said. "Ahh, you beat me to it you sly Lock!", Strategy-66 said with booming regret. I call him Strat for short, and he lives up to his name because he always thinks of something to get us out of any situation. The trip was dragging, so I read the mission profile out of idleness. We were heading to First Reach on the coast of Antarctica. It is, and was, a sprawling pre-Golden Age scientific complex. Mostly unexplored, the vast ruins were thought to have been used to house engineers, scientists, and their families during the T-Zero project aimed at Mars. Abandoned because of obsolescence after the project, but now occupied again by the Fallen. I wondered why scavengers would be in a place with nothing to offer. But quickly set that thought aside as First Reach filled the cold Antarctic vista. The instrument panel clicked as I turned on silent running in preparation to land. My Ghost chirped and whirred as it assessed the area and conferred with Strat's Ghost to determine a landing zone. "Looks cold out there. Bundle up.", Strat chimed in. "Easy for you to say, you're already cold hearted.", I jested. A grumbled response followed. The landing was irregular because instead of our ships heading to orbit, they stayed grounded incase of a white out with the emergency locator beacon at the ready. I sealed my helm to my armor and clinched my right hand as my ship's hatch opened to the bright outside. My Lord High Fixer now in hand, I approached Strat as he adjusted his cloak against the clawing wind. "You're going to lose that thing if you keep screwing with it." "I will never lose it, maybe misplace it. But not lose.", he pontificated. "Let's go, I spend less time on my hair.", I said while scanning the area. "Oh, I don't think you understand how long you mess with that lice mop of yours.", he said as he scoped in his sniper rifle on First Reach. "We clear?", I asked. "That's an affirmative Rhi." We boldly jogged to the complex, while I habitually checked my HUD for hostiles. The closer we ventured the more I started to comprehend the immensity of the place. Looking left the building just disappeared into the white landscape who knows where, to my right the ice had packed and made it over the wall. The endlessly horizontal wall was at least twenty stories tall, and I realized I was lagging behind from my awestruck moment. Strat had stopped, I assume to let me catch up, and was eying the building with his Epitaph. "This place might just be big enough to store all your crap.", he bobbed his head as he said it. I huffed and continued forward past him. He quickly caught up and soon we were at the outside of the wall. An entrance was easier said than found. For we were met slim windows and the occasional heavy gate. "This way, I saw something odd on our approach.", Strat said. Just a stroll down the wall I saw what he was saying. A hole, jagged and "fresh". The telltale work of the Fallen. A quick weapons check and we creeped inside. Darkness, not surprising, and silence awaited us indoors. Just as the light from the outside almost disappeared I saw another light framed by a doorway. I gestured and we came upon it on either side. Just beyond the door, a room was illuminated by the artificial lights of the facility and the dim orange lanterns of the Fallen. Nothing moving, just few out place Fallen devices in the center of the room. "Where are the Fallen?", I whispered. "Maybe out to lunch, there were no transports outside.", Strat quietly speculated. "Must be.", I said rather loudly. The room echoed with my voice, and still nothing stirred. I took point into the room, like I always do. I checked the corners, behind crates, and scrap. Nothing. "What in the hell are the Fallen doing here?", I exclaimed as I holstered my pistol. "I'm not much for mysteries, but I know who is.", Strat said as he produced his Ghost. I pointed at him and did the same. Our Ghosts poked around the room, scanning this and that. The gathered junk was just that. "What's this?", my Ghost piqued up as it scanned a rather round Fallen mechanism. Strat's Ghost glided over to help ascertain the anomaly's purpose. They both shifted and clicked like they always do when busy. "Is this a? ...can't be, hmm. Wait, NO!", a Ghost shouted as suddenly the object they were scanning erupted in a small void explosion! Both our Ghosts were instantly disabled and I stood in disbelief. The device they were scanning moments ago then lifted up off the ground and spun to meet us with a glowing violet eye. The servitor with its disguised exterior then synthesized incoherent words as it readied to attack. We tumbled into cover as the void blast went past. My HUD turned red, the Fallen were here all along! "You okay Strat?!", I questioned as my heart raced. "Just peachy, let's give em hell for our Ghosts shall we?", Strat said rather calmly. I was still in disbelief, and almost in tears. But I knew the only way I was going to survive this was if I kept as calm as the Hunter by my side. We simultaneously leapt from cover, I counted my hand cannon shots going into the servitor as Strat threw a flux grenade on its side. The arc explosion made it wince, and the ninth shot of my pistol destroyed the vile mechanical ball. The treacherous Fallen were now pouring out of the walls, and they instantly became acquainted with Strat's Arc Blade. I Nova Bombed a team three Vandals as they jumped down from their perch behind Strat. "Get your MG ready to take my place!", he explained as he reaped. The Deviant Gravity was weightless in my adrenaline filled hands. "Now!" The staccato from the gun was soon in sync with the dropping hoard before me. "We need to leave, I'll get to the entrance. Bomb them again when you are able!", Strat formulated as his sniper picked off the outliers. I stepped backwards, reloading, knowing the feeling of mass destruction was eminent. Grenade out, lead out, and then bomb out. The void bomb annihilated the closest Fallen toward me, and the swirling vortex in its wake stopped their advance for a moment. I took that time to run back through the darkness, straight out into the light and into the embrace of the cold wonderful snow. Strat was there, arms slack by his side, I was about to ask what was wrong. Then I saw it, the black smoke of our destroyed jump ships on the horizon. [spoiler]Cliffhanger. So just bored out my gourd and wrote this. Might finish it if there is interest.[/spoiler] Part 2: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/126457810/0/0