I thought one thing missing from Destiny has always been some short stories...so I made one of my own below I put together. It isn't meant to be super detailed like a novel, but to teach a lesson. (Note Peren is not to be confused with the infamous "Perun".) The Wall Inside “Perhaps they should call it the Sitter. It doesn’t seem to do very much”. “Have some respect, Vynd. That “Sitter” is the reason we’re all here”, Eronai said. Vynd was the typical hunter. Quick to wit and quick to shoot. Didn’t care much for authority--he saw that as shackles that held him down. In truth, he was thankful for the power the Traveler had granted him. But he did not feel bound by it. Not like Ernoai, a warlock. She levitated in the air focusing on her mediation while slapping down Vynd’s disrespect. To her, the Traveler was not merely a god. It was a sacred one. Arc energy pulsed between her palms as she focused. “No disrespect by that, Eronai. Merely stating the obvious”, Vynd noted while sharping his knife. “Nothing to say, Peren?", he shouted over. The titan said nothing. He simply stood, arms crossed, watching the forest below. The European Dead Zone crawled with the enemies of mankind. Titans stood watch. So Peren stood. But his vigilance wasn’t the reason for his silence. Eronai whispered over to Vynd, “Don’t push him this time. He isn’t ready to talk about it.” “I wonder when he will be. Weird having a fireteam member who seems more of a loner than most hunters. And I should know” The fireteam was there to investigate Fallen units pushing deeper towards the Barrier. It was a much smaller wall than the one that guarded the Last City, but it protected the human settlement of Ondar. Some say it used to be a citadel in ancient times, and it was called a different name then. So much was lost since the Collapse. Which is why Guardians fought so hard to protect what remained. Peren finally turned to his team. “The Vanguard wants us to push into the forest. There is a clearing down there. Not natural. We should go there first.” Vynd holstered his hand cannon, Suros brand. He loved the crisp sound of it and it felt good in his hands. Eronai favored her pulse rifle, a modified four round burst from Hakke. Enough power but not too much kick. Peren had his Omolon auto rifle. The heavy caliber rounds suited the Titan. The fireteam advanced down the small valley into the forest. It seemed to not only get darker as they went in, it felt darker too. Almost like the Light didn’t breach the canopy of the forest. “This is one hell of a walk to do some investigating. Hope there’s something interesting at the end of it”, Vynd said. “And by interesting, you mean, dangerous?” Eronai snapped back. “I think ‘exciting’ is the word I’d use”. Peren ignored their comments. He was always mission first, play later. But he wasn’t always so. Vynd took advantage of the quiet trek and asked Peren, “So, not to be intrusive but...you haven’t told us anything but why you joined up with us. Or how you ended up here I should say.” “Why? Because I was assigned to” Peren stated. “What about the how?” Vynd pushed. Peren tilted his head in agitation...maybe it was regret. Eronai motioned to Vynd to drop it once more. As soon as she did they came to an open field. This was the clearing Peren saw from up high at camp. “Spread out but don’t peel off….this could be a trap” Peren said. Not a moment later the Fallen came crawling out of the dark forest. Arc rifles zinged energy bolts passed the fireteam. “Is this exciting enough for you Vynd?!” Eronai exclaimed. They each took cover behind a boulder. The Dregs and Vandals went down fairly quick but more kept coming. “So far this is fine” Vynd said. A loud boom traveled through the air as a Fallen ship came by...and dropped a tank in the opening. “And now its not fine.” “The Fallen are coming from the direction of Ondar… but they are pushing outward. That can mean only one thing” Peren said. “They’ve overrun Ondar, and now they’re expanding” Ernoai said. “And how did you jump to that conclusion?” Vydn replied. “The Fallen only need two things. To scavenge, and a base to scavenge from. There’s a lot of stuff left in this forest they’d like to get their hands on. We just happened to be in the way.” “None of that matters. Let’s clear this area then get to Ondar” Peren snapped. The fireteam took care of the stragglers first. Vynd elegantly hip-fired his handcannon blowing the heads off the weaker fallen. Peren took aim at some Captains, bursting their energy shields with his high caliber rounds before finishing them off. Eronai started on the tank. Her pulse grenade wreaked havoc on its systems, but it wasn’t enough to stun it completely. “We need to get its core open!” Vynd yelled. “I can get the legs out, that will be your opening, Peren.” He nodded. Vynd summoned his Golden Gun focusing it on one of the legs. The heat of his shots melted the leg’s armor, and then fried the circuits, sending the solar energy to the tank’s spider-looking head. Just as planned. When Peren saw the opening he vaulted high into the air and slammed into it with massive arc energy. The shock wave blew down some of the weaker trees on the edge of the clearing. The tank was gone. And so were the Fallen. “That went well” Ernoai remarked. “Let’s get to Ondar. There was some more quiet along the way. Once again, Vynd pushed Peren. “They say you were part of an...incident when the Red Legion first attacked the City...I thought that maybe you wo---” Peren full stopped and turned sharply. “That I would what?! Tell you what happened? No, I don’t need to relive that and I don’t owe it to you.” Even Eronai was shocked by that. “But, we’re your fireteam. How can we trust you if you won’t tell us about your past?” “I don’t deserve your trust.” Then, after taking a few more steps, they saw the smoke. “Let’s move!” They arrived at Ondar. The old stone walls had crumbled in some areas due to age. But some of the breaches were new. The Fallen ransacked the place. The fireteam searched the entire citadel...there were no signs of life. All of the humans had been killed. Their stuff taken. “There’s nothing here….the Fallen are animals but...this is different. More vicious than I’ve seen” Vynd said. Eronai gestured her shared belief. They failed to get here in time. Peren was visibly shaken. He stood there at the entrance like a statue. Vynd walked up to him. “Are...are you alright Peren?” “You wanted to know what happened. The incident. Fine. I’ll tell you.” “When the Red Legion attacked the city, my fireteam took up defense at a choke point by one section of the wall. It was just us and two other fireteams. They were my friends. A warlock. And another hunter too. We held the wall until a siege tank broken down a section. As a titan, it was my duty to guard the wall. Several of us, myself included, abandoned the team briefly to patch it up. My...instinct drove me to do this. I knew that if the enemy got through the opening completely, they would pour in the City endlessly. I thought that the rest of my fireteam could hold their position. But...because the rest of us weren’t there, the enemy was able to expose the flank my absence left open. By the time I noticed, they had deployed their own makeshift wall behind us, cutting me off from my team. I couldn't get through or over it in time, and I watched them both die. But they didn’t come back. Ghaul had already caged the Traveler by then.” Vynd stepped forward. “You blame yourself for their deaths.” Peren turned his head in shame. “I broke the one true code of a fireteam. Always stick together. Only to honor my code as a titan. I chose myself over them.” “You can’t blame yourself for doing what you thought was right at the time, Peren” Ernoai said. “I can and I do. These broken walls and dead here only remind me of that pain I bear. And I will always have that. I can’t make my old fireteam come back to life.” “Then make them proud” she said. She continued, “I was once human. I don’t remember anything of that life...but I do know this. Being human sometimes means making mistakes. But mistakes only become failures if we let them.” Peren lifted his head up. Vynd commented, “And...I know what it’s like. To shut yourself off. I don’t blame you. I would’ve done the same. And I’m no titan but...if there’s anything I know about walls, its that the hardest ones to climb are the ones we build inside ourselves.” Peren struggled for words. “I...yes. You’re right. Thank you...both of you. I’m sorry.” “Don’t be sorry, Peren. Remember your old fireteam. Be brave. For them” said Eronai. Peren sharply nodded his head. “For them.”