Ikorra pressed her fingertips to her temple as foreign memories crashed through her consciousness like shards of glass. Elsie's visions were bleeding into her own mind.
She paused and shot Elsie a weighted glance.
"Impossible." A whisper escaped her lips.
"I assure you, it's not." Elsie crossed her arms and then turned to the rest of the room, still gathering themselves after the flinching pain.
"What I've shown you was no illusion. Whether you wish to accept it is another matter. However, the important part is simple."
She walked to the centre of the room, her gaze swaying over every guardian. "Void came to me seeking knowledge about the threats you'll face. I gave it to him. This operation exists because if you fail to destroy whatever dwells at the heart of Vex space, it will systematically dismantle the Traveler's light. One piece at a time. Until you're powerless to do anything but watch."
"And why," Eris Morn's voice cut through like a blade, "should we trust you?"
Elsie's lips curved into something that wasn't quite a smile. "Trust? No. There's no need for that." She paused, letting her words settle. "But you do need to rely on me. Whether you like it or not."
She continued, her tone carrying absolute conviction. "The Guardian you revere as a hero is the one who brought me here. Whatever doubts you harbour about me, you can direct them toward him. As for myself? I'm simply here to tell you that his plan isn't born from desperation. It's born from necessity."
Elsie paused; the watch on her wrist ticked. Her eyes flicked to Void.
"I'll trust you," Tevis spoke up.
"Not because of your visions," Tevis continued, his voice steady. "Not because Void vouched for you either. It's simpler than that." He drew a breath, and the room held it with him. "I've got a hunch about this. And a hunter's hunch? That's all the foundation I need."
The effect was immediate. One by one, recognition flickered across the Guardians' faces. Heads nodded. Shoulders straightened. In their culture, a hunter's instinct was sacred; it was something earned through years of reading danger, reading situations, and reading truth.
Void exhaled quietly, relief settling into his shoulders. He turned to Elsie, his voice low. "That worked better than I expected. Thank you."
"Was that really the right decision?" She answered. "To reveal the source of your plans might give them legitimacy, but they might also sow doubt."
She tilted her head towards Ikorra.
"Don't mind her, she's always been a sceptic. What really matters is that the rest of the guardians have something to lean on. If your presence gives them even an ounce of trust, that's worth it to me." Void replied.
"I'll see you in Freehold." Elsie cut in.
"Don't be late." Void nodded.
"I'll see if I've got the time." She smirked, and the next second, her figure vanished into snow and light as if she'd never been there at all.
Void chortled and shook his head, his attention turned back to the room. The crowd's gaze still hung on him. He quickly gestured to Zavala to move up. For now, there was nothing more to reveal.
Zavala cleared his throat, "Guardians, I recognise you may have more questions than we started with. However, time is of the essence. Do an arms check and follow the pre-battle protocol. We cannot afford any mistakes."
His orders were enough.
Guardians scattered. Not chaotically. Purposefully.
People moved to check ammo. To check armour seals. To tag routes. To make quiet calls. To steady hands.
And as the room thinned to just a handful, Void scuttled back to the table and lingered a moment longer, his eyes on the project of Freehold.
Then Levi and Bandit approached.
Levi didn't bother easing into it. "Something's not adding up."
Bandit's eyes narrowed. "Yeah. You're leaving pieces out."
Void sighed, tired for the first time in hours. "Ask."
Levi leaned in. "You keep saying there's something in that Vex space you need to destroy. Fine. But why are you planning to go in alone?"
"I'm not," Void said flatly.
Bandit's eyebrows shot up. "You're not?"
"New Lights accompany me. But the rest of you." Void's voice hardened, becoming something immovable. "The rest of you have a different job. You hold the gate from the outside. Keep it intact. Keep it open."
Bandit's breath caught. "Because if it closes—"
"If it closes, I'm trapped inside." Void let the implications hang in the air like a noose. "And we don't know if we can force it open from this side."
Levi stared at him for a long moment, processing the suicide mission disguised as a plan. Finally, he nodded once, slow and deliberate. "That doesn't inspire confidence, brother."
"I know," Bandit said quietly, his jaw working. "Still hate it."
Void's mouth twitched, the closest he came to a smile. "If I had the choice, I wouldn't want to jump into any wormhole. But this isn't about what we want."
Cory appeared at Bandit's shoulder, grinning. "We all know he only likes jumping into Hive wormholes anyway."
"Shut up." Void reached over and tapped Cory's shoulder, and suddenly the tension shattered. All four of them broke into genuine laughter, but the relief lasted only a fleeting moment.
Tevis called Void from across the room. "Void. Over here."
The laugh faded as Void nodded to the trio and walked away.
Tevis was standing with Shaxx and Wei Ning, all three of them looking at the projected map with unease.
Shaxx spoke first. "We've pinged the Sunbreakers. A few times. No response."
Void shrugged. "That's fine."
Wei Ning tilted her head. "Fine?"
Void nodded. "If the plan works, the Cabal and Vex will be too busy with each other to notice we're not bringing every possible hammer."
Shaxx's grin thinned slightly. "Plans like this love to go off the rails."
Void smiled faintly. "That's why I called the rest of you."
Tevis's gaze held on him a moment longer than the others. Teacher's eyes. The kind that weighed you without needing words.
Then Tevis nodded once. "Don't make me regret trusting you."
Void's expression didn't soften, but his voice did. "I won't."
As their conversation ended, Pahanin drifted closer without making noise, standing near Void like he'd been there the whole time. He just listened, eyes narrowed, mind clearly running its own calculations. "Void. We're ready with the shipment."
Void looked over his shoulder and signalled Ikorra.
Then Ikorra raised her voice.
Not a shout. A clear call that cut through the room and pulled attention back like a hook.
"In ten hours," she said, "we begin."
The hideout quieted again.
Ikorra stood at the centre, eyes steady. "Everything is ready. Routes, staging, support teams. You have your assignments. You know your objectives. And for those who would like a little more firepower. We've got a new workshop in town."
Behind her, service droids rolled in carrying a dozen crates that were lined up across the room in a neat fashion
VENOM's mark was stamped on the side in small, clean symbols.
"Finally." Void walked closer and popped the lid off one crate. Weapons with a neon black and purple colour scheme gleamed inside the box, stacked up one over the other. Void took one out and chucked it to the nearest hunter.
The hunter rolled it in his hands. "This weight… is weird."
"Good weird," another muttered, leaning over his shoulder to feel the gun.
People slowly drifted towards the crates and began inspecting the weapons.
Wei Ning hefted a shotgun and smirked. "This feels violent."
Shaxx laughed, booming. "Now that is craftsmanship."
"You can thank him for that." He patted Pahanin on the back, and the hunter shrank as the eyes of the crowd turned to him in curious glances.
Pahanin shot Void a glare, but Void didn't seem to mind. Instead, Void watched them arm up and felt the tension in the room climb. It wasn't panic. It was a silence before the storm.
'Ten hours.'
Void's eyes lingered on the map one last time.
Then he turned away from it, because there was nothing left to plan.
Only to do.
The hideout kept moving, quiet and purposeful, weapons being checked, armour being sealed, last words being exchanged like small anchors.
And the night outside Skywatch stayed cold and still, like it was waiting too.
-
A lone hunter waded through the drifting sands. Gusts of wind bellowed around him, and his cloak fluttered, caught in the biting gales. A scorching sun hung overhead, its raging heat weighing down on his shoulders.
He paused at the ridge of a high dune, catching his breath, surveying the crater ahead. Then he activated his comm.
"This is Shiro-4. No sign of hostiles. Approaching Freehold. ETA five minutes."
He didn't wait for acknowledgement. Instead, Shiro-4 leaned back, planted his hand into the sand, and let gravity do the work. He skated down the dune's curve in a spray of golden dust.
"Affirmative. Shiro-4, this is Vanguard command. Any signs of surveillance?" Zavala's voice echoed over the channel.
"Negative. If the Cabal really have this area on lockdown, I can't see it. They're either not here, or their stealth tech has improved leaps and bounds." Shiro-4 answered.
"Stealth and Cabal don't ever go together." Cayde clicked his tongue. "Are they ignoring us?"
"It's not a far-fetched conclusion. Shiro, make your way to Freehold's perimeter. If the Cabal do not show up, it looks like they don't consider you a threat." Ikorra cut in.
"Got it."
Shiro-4 cut the comms channel, lightning coated his body, and a jolt crossed his eyes. "If the Cabal want to ignore us. Might as well make good use of it."
Then he ran, and the lightning followed, streaking through the dunes in brilliant arcs.
"This is Nightstalker squad. We're in position on the west flank. Imperial tanks are in full view. These bastards are slacking off." Cory chuckled.
"This is Shiro-4, I'm at the South flank. No sign of Vex. But I do see a few Imperial Tanks up top."
"Got it. Void, what's the plan?" Zavala nodded.
Void's jumpship hung in Freehold's orbit, a sleek predator silhouetted against the rust-colored planet below. Six more ships floated nearby. Ready to descend. Void watched the world turn beneath him.
"Alemyr, status on the package?" Void said, switching channels.
The response came through encrypted and tight. "Restraints are unstable. We can't transport the corpse on foot, too much risk of containment failure. We need to transmat simultaneously. Ship entry, package retrieval, all in the same window. Fast."
"How fast?"
"Seconds. Maybe less."
Void processed this, calculating trajectories, timing windows, everything that could go wrong. Then he transmitted to all teams.
"The Cabal tanks need to come down. We'll need a clean approach vector for transmat ops. Ground teams, eliminate the operators and buy us five minutes. Air teams, prepare for immediate descent on my signal."
Levi's voice came back, slightly strained. "Copy that, Void. But we don't have the tech to disable those tanks. Best we can do is kill the crews."
"Five minutes is enough." Void chimed in, "Gallida, you heard that? Prepare to land. And the rest of you, the moment the tanks go down, we all need to land and prepare for our roles. Is that clear?"
"You got it, we'll run a tight ship." Warrod from the Crucible Squad echoed on the channel.
"Hear that, boys?" Levi chuckled as he, Bandit and Cory got the all clear.
"I'll take care of the ones in the south. We got eyes on the northern tanks?" Shiro-4 replied.
"I wouldn't worry about those." Pahanin and Kaviss stood atop a dune, lobbing two gigantic cannons on their shoulders. "It's time to test these Coil cannons out."
Kaviss clicked his mandibles in interest.
"Don't forget about the east. Got that all covered, too." Marcus Ren cracked his knuckles and playfully tossed a grenade in his hand while wearing a jetpack.
Their figures flickered, shadows curling around them as they darted towards the Cabal.
"It's time to get this party started."
-
A/N: THROW STONES!
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