An interesting argument, albeit one with some aspects I disagree with. Such as: [quote]In the Red War, however, Zavala is the only one who rallies the guardians on Titan to make a counterattack[/quote] I distinctly recall Zavala ordering us to back off, claiming that there was no point, while Sloane (love her!) was the one who kept pushing forward. It's understandable - his entire [i]universe[/i], centuries of experience, had been upended in one all-too-brief battle. He powered forward and eventually pushed through it, which to my mind is the mark of [i]true[/i] courage: Courage is found in battling your fears and doubts, after all! [quote]In Warmind, Zavala doesn’t want us to mess with Rasputin, and everyone seems to forget the last time someone did that Rasputin nuked the Iron Lords and unleashed SIVA. Rasputin is a Wild Card.[/quote] While true, one of Zavala's (relatively few) weaknesses comes forward in [i]Warmind[/i] - that he is a fundamentally defensive-minded person and leader. This has its upsides, but playing a "denial" or "scorched-earth" (in extreme situations) strategy is generally not a way to win. He doesn't, for example, ever formulate a plan to take the fight abroad to humanity's various enemies - even when matters are (mostly) quiet in and near the City. In order to win a lasting victory against a superior foe, you must be willing to embrace [i]some[/i] risks, and to keep in mind the potential gains of possible actions, as well as their potential costs. However - it's not the same as "cowardice", that's for sure. [quote]Ikora, the emotionally unbalanced person she is (no offense) calls for every single guardian to storm the reef and kill Uldren to avenge ONE person.[/quote] I respectfully disagree, on three counts. First, Ikora is not an "emotionally unbalanced person"; [i]anyone[/i] can have a moment of emotion in response to the fall of a lifelong friend and loved one, especially when "lifelong" really does mean "centuries and/or millennia long". Indeed, the lore I've read indicates that until she's placed under massive, PTSD-inducing levels of stress, she's remarkably level-headed, calm and dispassionate. Then her control over her emotions breaks. That doesn't make her "emotionally unbalanced", but [i]human[/i] - and very self-disciplined with it. Second, revenge was only part of Ikora's reasoning; implied with the "If he thinks this is the end...it's [i]not.[/i]" statement is a whole layer of meaning. Just for starters, letting Uldren Sov go unpunished would have sent a message to every piece of scum in the solar system - a message of weakness. Zavala would not have intended it, but that is how it would have been taken. And more Guardians would have died, at the hands of malefactors eager to seize advantage, gain prestige and avenge past slights both real and imagined. Third, Uldren Sov was well-known, from interactions with him before the Taken War, to detest [i]all[/i] Guardians, not Cayde-6 in particular. Allowing him to vanish into the shadows to plot and scheme would - as far as anyone in the Tower could tell - result in him going after other Guardians in the coming weeks and months. [quote]Cayde or no, one person doesn’t merit the entirety of the Guardians to storm the reef, a place of no strategic importance, to kill Uldren, who was literally going mad.[/quote] 1) We didn't know that, based on what little Petra Venj had chosen to share with us. Remember, she carefully kept Uldren's insanity a secret, known only to herself and Variks. Paradoxically, once it did become clear that Uldren was mad (and genociding his own people), it made it both more worthwhile [i]and[/i] less worthwhile to go after him. "More" because he would logically command less loyalty (and defenders) from among the Reef, "less" because a madman is less of a threat going forward than a sane, malevolent King of the Reef. 2) The Reef is very much a place of strategic importance; if for no other reasons, it is the home of a vast array of scrapped starships, including many belonging to our enemies, as well as a formidably well-placed early warning station. That's two different ways of "knowing our enemy" that it controls, plus access to virtually limitless amounts of processed and semiprocessed materials. 3) I do think sending the entire Vanguard would have been overreaction, though - we did, and do, have other priorities to consider. [quote]I even suspect that Zavala, as an Awoken, felt it wrong for him to kill his own kind, and a prince and brother to Mara Sov, no less.[/quote] [i]That[/i] should have no bearing on Zavala's decision-making, by the very standards he keeps ramming down everyone else's throats. Besides the many centuries he's spent in the Vanguard, he's always been among the most hardline of the "Thou shalt NOT have a past life!" school of thought (cf: Ana Bray, as one example). To his credit, I don't think it [i]did[/i] have any bearing on his decision. [quote]Now for the Allegiance quest, where many Edgelords showed their true colors and sided with that shifty-eyed drifter.[/quote] I know this is the Internet, but one need not be an "Edgelord (sic)" to disagree with you. I can understand why a Guardian might decide that Zavala's path is not one they're comfortable following; besides his increasing push for chain-of-command, regular-military stuff (hey, when did I sign up for the Army?), Zavala has a bad habit of preparing to fight the last war rather than the next one, and his tactical and strategic vision is overcautious (IMO) and a little blinkered. Likewise, I can understand why a Guardian might decide to stick with Zavala; the Drifter really [i]doesn't[/i] inspire confidence in his integrity and/or honour, he's fooling around with paracausal weapons we don't know how to use safely, and he's made it abundantly clear that his No.1 priority is his own gain. [quote]Aunor is close with Ikora, so when the time comes she’ll remind her of our choice.[/quote] Aunor's close to Ikora - but we're closer. We're one of the few she considers both a friend [i]and[/i] an equal; Aunor's influence over Ikora would pale next to ours. Even if that were not the case, Aunor's operating beyond her mandate (in defiance of it, in fact!) and both she and Ikora know it. I don't fear any Aunor-based reactions to our decision, in either direction.