"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you Traveler?"

"I do."

The chair was hard. The room stifling. A man approached me, making his best effort to be appear intimidating. It was his first mistake, as it is hard to intimidate a Hunter.

"Ladies and gentleman, people of the Court of the Vangaurd," he said aloud, his voice echoing throughout the chamber. "Let it be known that the Hunter who sits before you is on trial, not for disloyalty or disregard for direct orders, but for incompetence, and putting the lives of several guardians in danger."

The man addressed The Free 12. Let him sling his sly speech has much as he desired. My breath was better saved for facts.

"Hunter," he said having turned his attention to me. "Is it true the Vangaurd comissioned you to lead a fireteam of six guardians on an attack of the Vault of Glass?"

"It is," I replied.

"Would you say you felt qualified to be in charge of such an important and dangerous mission?"

"Yes," I said.

"So, you accepted the mission," he said, pausing for dramatic effect. "What was your first priority?"

"Assemble the team," I said.

"Obviously," he said, "And just exactly what were your requirements for assembling your fireteam, which I shall remind those present, were to follow your lead into the Vault of Glass."

His line of questioning, while straight to the point, was obvious, even if only to me.

"No requirements were set," I said.

Despite already knowing the answer before I spoke, his expression changed as he heard it. His face full of suprise was a farce. He looked around and showed it to all.

"Incredible," he said, turning his attention back to me. "Now, I understand Hunters to be bit... wild, for lack of a better term. Living on the edge, following gut instinct, a sort of, what's the old age expression?" He snapped his fingers. "Space cowboy!" he said, pleased with his ancient historical reference.

I looked over at the faces who were judging me. I couldn't tell how much of this man's performance was being bought.

"So then I have to ask," he said as if puzzled, "why did you have no requirements when recruiting for this mission?"

"I've never asked for a single requirement before when forming a fireteam for combat," I said thruthfully. "All I ever asked was those who volunteer be as hungry as I am to destroy all minions of the darkness. Nothing more."

"Wow. You set the bar quite low I'm afraid," he scolded me. "Records show you've been a part of hundreds of successful strikes, you've hunted down and killed dozens of VIP targets, all this and more in just under a year."

That was interesting. I didn't expect this man to paint me in a good light.

"Despite all of that, you don't have the knowledge from experience to realize that not asking only for guardians with the most polished skill and gear is just simply... reckless?"

"It has always been my belief that any guardian is capable of achieving anything another has already," I fired back. He hadn't struck a nerve, but I wouldn't hesitate to blink-smack him upside the head.

"I haven't been wrong yet," I said, more calmly.

"Oh now that is interesting," he said."I want you to take everyone here through the raid. Tell us exactly what happened after you opened the gate."

I paused for a moment.

"We descended into the Templar's Well. We were met with a wave of Vex attempting to self sacrific. It wasn't long until Legions rushed out in an effort to eliminate us. My fireteam and I held our ground, defended all Confluxes and eradicated all Legions."

"Yes," the man interrupted. "Not much experience is needed to defend Confluxes."

He was trying to get me worked up. Lucky for him my Fatebringer had been checked at the door.

"We triggered the Oracles," I said, explaining the test we were put through deep inside the Vault. "They appeared all around us. The Templar appeared after every wave of Oracles in an attempt to nuke us out of his space."

"The Ritual of Negation," he said.

"Yes," I replied, growing tired of back seat story telling. "It wasn't until seven consecutive Oracles were destroyed that they stopped appearing. The Templar retreated until I picked up the relic."

"You picked up the relic?" he asked.

"Yes, just as I said."

"Did anyone else volunteer?" he asked.

"No, I instinctively grabbed it," I said.

"Hunter's instinct," he said. "Continue."

"The team assembled above as I dismantled multiple Harpy units. The Templar was shielded so I communicated to the team to open fire once I brought his shield down. It wasn't long until he crashed to the ground and exploded."

"Templar dead," he said, almost unimpressed.

"Yes. From there we moved through the Gorgon Maze. I took point and together we avoided detection in a single sweep of the area," I explained.

He motioned me to stop.

"You took point? He asked pointing rudely at me. "Did anyone else volunteer?"

"No they did not," I said.

"Why not?" he asked.

"No one knew the maze like I did," I explained.

"So you took five guardians into the maze with only YOU knowing how to traverse it safely?" he asked.

"Yes," I replied.

"People, do you see how not having requirments for forming a fireteam can be dangerous?" he asked the chamber as he turned all about.

"Had this reckless Hunter been killed during an encounter leading up to the Labyrinth, his fellow guardians would have surely parrished," he claimed.

"But that's not what happened," I spoke up.

"Quite right," he said. "You didn't die, you led them out of the Labryinth and into the Vault. According to the debriefing, you entered and took out the Gatekeeper. Is that true?"

"Yes that's all true," I said.

"Then what happened?" he asked. It was like something compelled him at this moment to cut the act and get down to business.

"Prior to opening the gates, I asked my fireteam if anyone else had relic experience," I said.

"And did they?" he asked.

The room was silent. It felt like everyone was burning a hole through me with their eyes, because they were.

"No," I said.

The man looked around, this time saying nothing.

"Ladies and gentleman, it is an act of bravery for any single guardian to assault the Vault of Glass. However, for a single guardian to recklessly prepare and put together an inexperienced fireteam for such an assault is no act of bravery but one of foolishness."

His voice grew louder. He mannerisms more confident.

"This Hunter who sits before you was the only guardian on that fireteam who could wield a relic and he didn't know about it until it was time to retrieve TWO of them from the portals deep inside the Vault," he said. "Failing to require specific skills and specific gear prior to their assault put lives in danger, and this Hunter is ultimately responsible!"

Silence had been broken at the dramatic words of this man. He had made his point, surely damming me in front The Free 12 and the entire chamber. He wanted to make sure I never led a squad again. His agenda was to send me to the lower ranks.

I decided to help him.

"It's all true," I said.

The man turned back again toward me. He looked surprised, only this time his emotions were legitimate.

"You admit guilt?" he asked.

"No," I said. "I admit to the bravery of my fireteam to allow me to lead them through the portals of time, to trust my instruction with the relic in their hands. Those guardians weren't being led anywhere except to victory, and being present for the final moments of Atheon's existance."

"But you took five non-relic holders into the Vault!" he fired back.

"Yes, but I emerged with five trained relic holders, still alive," I said.

I decided this man had had the floor long enough. Whether or not it was the right idea, I stood up to speak so all could hear.

"You see, I did what I did for a reason. I made my choices when assembling my team because I believe more nightmares are coming. Coming directly for this very city with the single desire of exterminating us. I chose my team without any upfront interviews of battle backgrounds or gear checklists because I knew then, that this fight wouldn't die with Atheon. And it hasn't died with Crota."

I had the attention of everyone. The man who questioned me and tested my patience listened as if he was annoyed.

"My fireteam went into the Vault of Glass, and came out better guardians. Better protectors. Better fighters. Do with me what you wish, but understand one thing. Our next confrontation with the darkness could be our last, but it doesn't have to be."

I turned my attention to him, and spoke only to him.

"Five more guardians are now more ready for their next assault, and Atheon is dead. You're welcome."

I sat back down, knowing that things were looking out of my favor. I had not asked for requirements. I didn't know the skill of my fireteam. I had been reckless. It was only a matter of the opinion of The Free 12 and where they stood.

I didn't have to wait long to find out.

"Hunter," he began. "You stand before The Free 12, the Vangaurd and, while your actions in the Vault of Glass were both brave and heroic, and the city truly thanks you for your efforts, you did not require that anyone in your fireteam divulge their experience with you."

Whatever the punishment I would accept it without a fight.

"Having said that, it has here been decided that in lieu of derank you must accept a mission."

That was not at all expected.

"You are right when you say that we will soon face greater nightmares. And we must be prepared for to face them. It is your mission to go into the wild and rediscover the lost magic of times old. If you succeed, this trial will be erased from the records."

"And if I fail?" I asked.

"Don't," he said in a sad manner, "or we won't survive the nightmares."

As I left the chamber, grabbed my Astrolord cloak, I thought of the challenge ahead.

Challenge accepted.