: I had some questions on the story in our IRC, but we couldn't come up with
: all of the answers. As TD states, some probably don't have an answer. But
: if you want to give it a try, here is our IRC log with the questions and
: our initial discussion.

: http://pastebin.com/mWjiAruM

: Thanks

You got some pretty good answers from the IRC for most of them, but I'll try my hand.

:How in the fuck did the spartans get off of genesis?

I interpreted that as a time-skip. I just assumed they called in Infinity while it was running from the Guardians, which sent them on to Sanghelios to pick up the people they left there. Either that, or Exuberant got a Huragok to turn the Pelican into a Condor.

:What is the purpose of genesis? Just an interface to the domain?

I don't think it's ever explained beyond that. It certainly HAS an interface to the Domain, but whether it was built specifically for that or whether it's just one of its features seems unclear. Is it a Shield World? Do you go inside it later in the game, or is that another place entirely? It doesn't seem to be.

:Why does exuberant help osiris? Why is she against the application of the mantle when she was presumably created by forerunners who used the mantle?

I don't think she's opposed to the Mantle as a concept, so much as she objects to the Gun Pointed at the Head of the Universe. There's a difference between benevolent uplift and the threat of force that, as Moff Tarkin put it, "fear will keep the local systems in check."

:Is it supposed to seem like cortana has been somehow corrupted/changed by the domain? Because she really doesn't seem like the same character at all any more.

I think it's fairly clear by now that Something Is Wrong With Cortana. Whether she get put back together wrong, whether she's been corrupted by the Domain, or whether this is just an extension of the original rampancy now that she's no longer literally dying, I look forward to finding out in the future.

:And what was up with the implication that some of them had returned automatically?
But she literally just sends them all out back to populated systems afterwards. Why call them all together at all?

Efficient distribution of resources? I imagine not all inhabited systems had Guardians, and not all Guardians occupied inhabited systems. You gotta recall them to get a formal tally, before you start knocking down people's doors with them.

:Why is blue team so much less comfy than noble team?

I liked Blue Team! They came across how they had to - professional and no-frills, but clearly with a long past with the Chief. They didn't have Kat's sass, Jun's snark, or Emile's sharpness, but they didn't come across as blank slates either, which I was worried about. Though I can't help wondering "why is Chief best friends with the new Knuckles" :V

:Why did they add ": Guardians" to the title?

The cynical part of me originally thought it was an attempt to associate Halo 5 with Destiny - remind gamers "oh hey, Bungie made that game, and Bungie used to make those games too, and this game has "guardians" in the title, so I guess it has to be good too!" Though really, if you had told me two years ago that 343i would make a game that outshone Bungie's Big New Thing so badly, I simply wouldn't have believed you, and it says things about 343i and Bungie that this is true. Say what you will about how fun Destiny is to play, but at least 343i shipped a whole game out the door, and when they delivered a shorter campaign it was polished.

Sorry, got a bit off topic there.

:Where's my comfy poncho chief?

President For Life Trump deported him.

Though honestly I never really liked the hooded look? It always struck me as vaguely silly and melodramatic, if you weren't interpreting it as just part of a dream. I could get behind a gilly suit for Linda, though, that would look BADASS.