"So," Asher said, voice dry. "You want to manufacture a Vex surge."
Void leaned back on the table. "Not manufacture. Trigger."
"As if that's better," Asher muttered. He paused. "Explain it again. Slowly. Like I'm an idiot."
Void chuckled. "We reanimate a Gate Lord corpse in Freehold. It wakes, panics, tries to reassert control, and calls for a response. Vex flood in. Cabal see a surge on their doorstep and move all their imperial tanks to hold it off. While they're busy, we use the key on the right gate."
Asher paused, then spoke again, more measured. "No one has ever done an artificial surge. Not like that."
Void's brow lifted. "Don't worry about that. What does a real surge look like? Is it strong enough to force the Cabal? "
Asher made a sound that was half scoff, half acknowledgement. "Yes. A real surge is enough. We can expect hordes. Wyverns. Minotaurs. Legions of Hobgoblins and Goblins responding in formation."
Void's eyes narrowed slightly. "Enough to make the Cabal nervous."
"That's if its real. As for an artificial one." Asher rubbed his chin. "If the Gate Lord wakes properly, and the Vex do treat it as an emergency. Even a Mind may arrive. Not a random unit. A proper coordinating Vex Mind."
Void hummed. "That's what we want. Loud. Fast. Violent."
Asher's voice went sharp. "You want it loud until it's out of your control."
Void didn't deny it. "That's why I'm asking. What's the likelihood it draws what we need?"
Asher thought for a moment, then sighed like he hated admitting it. "It's not a bad plan. The response will be heavy. It will concern the Cabal. It will move them."
"Good." Void relaxed his shoulders.
Asher continued, not letting him settle. "What matters more is when you use the key. You're stepping into a gate you don't understand. You don't know where it leads. You don't know what condition it's in. You don't know what is waiting behind it."
Void shrugged. "I'm not worried about that part right now."
Asher's voice didn't soften. "That is exactly the part you should be worried about."
"Relax. I'll have that part handled."
Asher exhaled. "Regardless, we will need to prepare properly. Not your usual 'I'll improvise and call it genius'. Real preparation. No stone unturned. No gaps in your exit plan."
Void's lips twitched. "Noted."
"As for me," Asher added, and there was a faint edge of interest beneath his annoyance, "I intend to observe. If you actually pull off an artificial surge, it's a phenomenon worth watching."
Void nodded, amused despite himself. "You're welcome to join the fun."
Asher scoffed. "Don't call it fun."
Void ignored him. "The City's sending in forces, too. Vanguard's supporting."
"And Rasputin," Asher said, immediately. "You still haven't accounted for him."
Void's jaw tightened. "Yeah."
Asher's voice went quieter. "When."
Void glanced at Obsidian, who projected a small schedule grid in the corner of his visor.
"Not settled," Void said. "But soon. Five days, give or take. That's what I'm estimating. Enough time to stock up and position people."
Asher hummed. "Five days."
Void nodded once. "I'll ping you when it's locked."
Asher's voice dipped, serious for once. "Don't die, Ghostsword."
Void smirked. "I'll try."
-
[The Tower, Vanguard War Room]
The room was crowded.
Nightstalkers stood near the back, quiet and watchful, gear already half-packed. Shaxx was there with a handful of his Crucible squads, towering over most of the room and looking almost excited at the idea of a real fight.
The Praxic Fire trio were present too. Eriana stood with arms folded, expression hard. Wei Ning looked restless. Sai Mota sat slightly apart from the two, eyes steady, keenly listening.
Shiro-4 leaned against a console.
Zavala stood at the front with Ikorra beside him. Cayde hovered off to the side like he didn't want to be the serious one, but his eyes kept flicking to the map of Mars, betraying his nonchalance.
On the display, Freehold pulsed.
A buried city under Martian sand. Cabal tanks were icons clustered around it. Vex signatures flickered at the edges like a tide that never quite receded.
Zavala spoke up. "Freehold is under heavy Cabal occupation. Tanks. fortified positions. constant patrol rotation."
Ikorra spoke next, calm and sharp. "We are not going in for conquest. We are going in to secure a Vex gateway long enough for Void to access a network space."
A murmur ran through the room.
Cayde lifted a hand, lazily. "And the new lights are also involved. But they'll only get the scoop once everything's ready. Don't want those bozo's to start freaking out."
Shiro snorted. "True."
Ikorra's eyes didn't leave the map. "The battle may be bloody."
Wei Ning cracked her knuckles once. "Good."
Zavala's gaze hardened. "There is another variable. Rasputin."
That name changed the air. Even Shaxx's grin thinned, and Sai Mota's eyes narrowed.
Zavala continued. "We do not know how the Warmind will interpret our movement. If he engages, the battlefield becomes worse. Our orders remain clear. We proceed with caution, and we do not escalate beyond what is required."
Eriana's voice was low. "When do we move?"
Zavala looked to Ikorra.
Ikorra's answer was simple. "As soon as Void gives the final call. We are gathering resources now. Ammo. medical. supply caches. We will not be caught empty."
Shaxx laughed quietly. "So basically we're going to Mars to take a city from the Cabal for a day."
Cayde shrugged. "Let's just say borrowing. We're borrowing it."
Zavala didn't smile. "This mission goes forward as soon as it can. You all must maintain radio silence to prevent leaking any information to the outside world. Neither Cabal nor the Vex must know what we're planning."
—
[Thieves' Landing, Tangled Shore]
Void's boots hit the workshop floor, and Kaviss was already waiting.
The Eliksni didn't greet him with words. He clicked his mandibles once and jerked his head toward the back room like he was saying, you are late.
Void followed.
The workshop smelled like oil and hot metal. The hum of generators sat under everything like a heartbeat. In one corner, a half-finished jetpack rig rested on a stand, still scarred from earlier testing.
Kaviss stopped beside a stack of crates and popped the seals with two hands at once.
Inside, weapons lay in foam slots. Clean. New. Modified.
Void ran his eyes over them, slower now.
Rifles with tuned recoil. Shotguns with a tighter spread. Sidearms built to draw fast and hit hard. Each one was stamped with small workshop marks.
Kaviss clicked, then spoke in his rough voice. "Stock's looking good."
Void nodded. "Yeah. This is perfect."
He reached in, lifted one weapon, and felt its weight.
"These will hand out well," Void said.
Kaviss clicked again, displeased. "It's quite tiring to make more."
Void slid the weapon back into its slot. " The battle that's about to come will be dangerous. We'll have no choice but to use everything. That's why we make more."
A faint flicker hit the workshop door.
Void's head turned immediately, his brows lifted. He knew Pahanin wasn't here.
'If not Pahanin, who else could it be? An intruder?'
His hand lingered near his side, inches away from gripping his sword. Void motioned Kaviss to follow as he prowled to the workshop's entrance, prepared to strike. But as the intruder came into view, Void staggered.
Kaviss froze mid-motion, all four eyes turning toward her. His mandibles clicked once, uncertain.
Void stared. "How did you…"
Elsie shrugged, as that question bored her. "What's the big deal? I found you."
Void exhaled through his nose. "Right. Future."
Elsie's gaze slid over the crates. Over Kaviss. Over the workshop's patched wall. Then back to Void.
"I've been hearing a lot about Freehold," she said.
Void's mouth twitched. "It's not an invasion. We're just… borrowing it from the Cabal for a while."
Elsie shook her head slightly. "Do you think that's a good idea?"
Void leaned his shoulder lightly against the crate stack, eyes steady. "You tell me."
Elsie's eyes narrowed. She paused longer than usual, like she was sorting through her memory.
"I can't be sure. Since it never went down like this," she said finally.
That caught Void's attention.
His posture shifted. "So how did it go?"
Kaviss looked between them, confused, mandibles clicking like he was trying to piece everything together in his head.
Elsie spared him a glance, then looked at Void.
"Some versions of you rushed into Freehold alone," she said. "No backup. No plan anyone could see. Others tried to use the Awoken to distract the Cabal."
Void's brows lifted slightly. "And him?"
Elsie's gaze tightened.
She paused.
"I don't know."
Void's eyes narrowed. "You don't know?"
Elsie shook her head once. "That version never told me what he was doing. He didn't include me. No. rather it was as if he made sure I didn't know."
That sat heavy for a moment.
Void looked away briefly, then back. "Alright. If that's the case, let's just do what we can."
Elsie's tone stayed calm. "Be careful."
Void nodded once. "Always."
Kaviss finally couldn't handle the cryptic talk anymore. "Who?"
Elsie's eyes flicked to him, sharp, akin to a warning look.
Void waved it off lightly. "Don't worry about it."
"Five days, huh?" Elsie said quietly.
Void didn't ask how she might've known. He simply nodded.
-
A/N: Throw stones, IMMEDIATELY! Please write a humble review or I will come to your house.
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