[Five Days Later, Lunar Base SkyWatch]
On an odd night, while the stars shone bright, SkyWatch stirred with activity as Jumpships warped in and out of the premises. Soon, the briefing room at the centre of the Nightstalker's hideout was packed. Guardians filled the space shoulder to shoulder.
Crates were stacked against the walls, and ammo was laid out in neat rows. Holographic maps were projected into a 3D mesh cloud at the centre of the room, displaying Mars, then zooming into Freehold, then at a clutch of desert where the Vex gate signature pulsed like a heartbeat.
The neon light emitted by Ghosts's colored the room, pulsing and creating pools of bright blue light while leaving behind gaps that formed into a puddle of darkness. A faint alarm buzzed and echoed as the room was scattered into two colours, separating those that were under the pulsing light, and those that stood masked by the shadows.
The Nightstalker squad stood in the dark corner, checking their gear. The Praxic Fire trio were already present, presiding over their own corner of the room. Shaxx and a knot of Crucible squads took up the opposite corner, and lastly, the Tuyet fireteam members claimed the corner left behind.
Everyone present couldn't help but glance around the room, a subtle tension slowly wove into the air because those gathered here had never gathered without reason. Today was no exception.
In the history of their existence, none had truly gathered a force like this alone. Only one man could fit that description. The guardians slowly flicked towards the entrance where Void stood with his arms crossed, surveying their faces intently.
At the centre of their gathering was the Vanguard.
Zavala stood like an anchor. Ikorra, beside him, hands patiently tied behind her back. Cayde leaned against a table, looking far too relaxed in the moment, which meant he was paying attention to everything.
Asher Mir was there too, his face contorted into a rugged expression, and his Ghost hovered close, projecting small lines of data no one else could read.
Void walked to the centre, the blue and dark hues merged into something grey as the light reflected off his armour. Everyone present focused their attention on him.
He rested a hand on the table edge and looked around once, making sure he saw every face.
"Alright," Void said. "We're done preparing. This is the run. We'll go over the plan one last time."
He pointed at the map.
"Freehold," he said. "Buried City. Cabal holds it. Of course, the Vex are everywhere under it." Void manipulated the hologram to focus on the pulsing node. "Our objective is the Vex Gate. We already have the key for this gate, and we need the gate intact long enough for us to get what we came for."
He looked up again.
"And we have to consider every faction in play."
"First are the Cabal," Void said. "They're the wall. They'll respond with legions and tanks. Infantry. From what we've seen, they won't retreat unless they have to."
"Vex," he continued. "The moment we execute the plan, they'll flood the battlefield. If we don't play our cards right, there's a risk they'll sweep us into the fight."
He glanced at Shaxx, then at the Crucible squads. "The City forces. Nightstalkers. Praxic Fire. Crucible teams. You all need to be the knife and the shield. When it starts, either kill everything that comes close or defend your position. Either way, your job is to make sure the gate does not shut down."
Void looked to Gallida and Taeko-3. "Tuyet fireteam. You're the one working directly with the gate. You'll handle the Gate Lord setup, the containment and the timing of its release."
He flicked his gaze to Asher. "Asher Mir. You're the eyes. You tell me what the Vex response looks like as it forms, and you don't let us misread it."
Asher sniffed. "As if you'd listen."
Void ignored that and continued.
"Fallen," he said. "Their presence on Mars is less than relevant here, but don't assume they won't sniff out a battlefield and start scavenging."
A few Nightstalkers chuckled under their breath. Nobody disagreed.
Void's eyes narrowed slightly as he reached the last name.
"And Rasputin."
The room tightened.
Even Shaxx stopped shifting.
Void tapped the map once. "We do not have him accounted for. We don't know how he'll interpret this operation. If he decides Freehold is a threat, he might respond like he always does."
"Warsats," Taeko-3 muttered.
Void nodded. "If Warsats start dropping, we clear the field. Immediately. We do not try to fight through that. We let the Cabal or the Vex deal with the blast zones."
Zavala's expression didn't change, but his eyes sharpened.
Ikorra spoke quietly. "Let's not play the hero. If you see the sky blotted out by Warsats, you move."
A few people nodded grimly.
Void went on.
"As we've discussed. The artificial Vex surge is the opener," he said. "We reanimate the Gate Lord corpse inside Freehold. We wake it just enough to trip the network response. The Vex will answer. The Cabal will answer. And while those two are trying to tear each other apart, we plant our foothold."
He looked at Asher. "Expected response."
Asher sighed like he didn't enjoy being asked. Then he spoke anyway.
"Wyverns," Asher said. "Minotaurs. Hobgoblin lines. Goblins in numbers. If it escalates, a Mind may arrive."
Wei Ning cracked her knuckles. "Good."
Asher shot her a look. "No. Not good. Surges don't stop when you want them to stop."
Void lifted a hand. "We're not letting it run wild. This is controlled chaos. Controlled."
Uzoma grinned. "That's an oxymoron."
Void glanced at him. "And yet, here we are."
A few questions came from the room.
Edith from the Crucible team spoke up. "If the Cabal tanks lock down the surface, how do we move people into position without getting shelled in the first place?"
Isidel answered before Void could. "Tunnels. Buried access lanes. Freehold isn't just surface ruins. It's a city under the sand. That's why it's dangerous. That's also why you can move without being seen if you're smart. Our team has already mapped the entire topological space below Freehold. When the operation starts, our team will move through the tunnels at the edge of Freehold into the centre of the city."
Levi cut in, "This Vex gate, if it starts to destabilise, can we hold it?"
Gallida replied sharply. "We can stabilise. Briefly. But it depends on what the Vex do once they realise what's happening."
Taeko-3 added, "And it depends on how loud the key is when Void activates it."
Void nodded once. "That's why we're holding the perimeter. Nobody lets the gate get touched."
Silence settled again.
Then Cayde spoke up, voice light, but his eyes weren't. "When do you plan to bring in the New Lights?"
Void looked at him. "Leave that to me."
Cayde raised a brow. "That's not an answer."
Void's tone stayed calm. "It is. I'll need them."
He didn't say why out loud, but the thought sat heavy in his mind.
Black Garden. Vex space. Unknown terrain. Unknown rules.
Without Zamyr, if he stepped in alone, he'd be gambling too much.
New Lights were reckless, yes. But they were numbers. And numbers mattered when he had no other choice. He had to use every card he had to make sure the Black Garden posed no threat to him.
Zavala stepped forward then, taking the room. He didn't shout. He didn't need to. He looked at each of them like he was pinning a weight to their shoulders.
"If we pull this off," Zavala said, "we stop an oncoming calamity."
He paused. "We have lived too long putting out fires and calling it victory. This time we cut at the source."
Ikorra's gaze sharpened. "We do it clean. We do it together. We do not leave anyone behind unless we must."
Shaxx grinned like he was already itching to fight. "And if the Cabal want to test their iron, they can test it against us."
Wei Ning smirked. "Finally."
The tension in the room rose another notch. Not fear. Anticipation. That sharp edge before impact.
Zavala nodded once, satisfied. "Briefing ends here, but I believe we have something more to share. Don't we?"
He looked at Void with an expectant glance, and then as if pleading.
Void sighed helplessly and looked away. A moment later, he cleared his throat.
"Fine," he muttered. "But what I share with you now can't leave this room. It is a secret that I've carried for a time, and it's not something that I can afford to expose to everyone. Is that clear?"
"I knew it." Cayde gasped and clutched his chest, "He's cheating on us. Tell me, Void, is there another Hunter Vanguard for you? Is there? My cloaks are better than his, you know that?"
Void planted his palm on his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Right. My bad."
He shook his head and started again, "What I meant to say was that this secret dictates the reason we found out about the threat in this Vex Space. I know that I've dragged most of you into operations beyond your knowledge, and with no warning."
A faint chuckle rippled through the room.
"However, I don't plan on stopping." Void smiled, "But what I'll tell you is simple. There's a method to the madness. Something that I know, that you don't."
His smile faded, and he took a breath. Void crossed his arms and paused.
The room settled into silence.
"Uh. You gonna continue that thought?" Levi broke the mould.
"Give it a second," Void grunted.
"I think all that fighting finally caught up to him," Cory whispered to his side.
"I just think he was a crazy bast*rd to begin with." Bandit clicked his tongue.
Void glared, "I can hear you, you know that, right?"
Pahanin walked to the two and whispered even quieter as he slid Bandit an engram. "Wanna bet on if he's actually crazy?"
Bandit raised a brow, "Odds?"
"I say what happens next will shock everyone in the room. You're not guessing it." Pahanin shrugged.
Bandit eyed the engram; his gaze flicked back to Pahanin. "You know something, don't you?"
"Maybe."
"Errr...Fine, I'll take that deal, two for one." Bandit contemplated for a moment, "I'll say it's probably some weird Hive magic."
Cory slid an engram. "Too obvious, count me in, and I say it's something with that Ahamkara sword."
As the three mumbled while huddled together, the rest of the room waited with bated breath.
Eventually, something new stirred beside Void. A type of energy that only a few in the room had ever witnessed before. Space folded, time curdled, and existence itself spat out a figure unseen till everything was sprung back together.
"You're late." Void frowned.
Elsie dusted off the snow from her cloak and slung her rifle on her back, "I'd explain, but I've got no time."
The room broke into murmurs.
"What the hell was that?" Edith jumped.
Elsie looked around the room, "It's been a while for you, not for me. My name is Elsie. That's all that matters. As for who I am and what I know. Those things are not important."
She adjusted the watch on her wrist a few seconds back, "Why, I know the things that I do, is simple. I'm from the future."
A deathly grim silence gripped the room and slowly melted into disbelief. But before anyone could voice a protest or exclaim in confusion.
Elsie clicked her watch.
Time wound back like a spring-loaded toy, reeling towards its origin point. The world convulsed, and everything rewound: the people, their thoughts, their words, and Elsie.
But one thing remained, their memories.
"You're late." Void frowned. Then his eyes flickered, and recollection flashed through his mind.
"What-" His vision blurred, and returned.
Elsie dusted off the snow from her cloak and slung her rifle on her back. She scanned the room, but this time, recognition rippled through the crowd.
"I've got no more time to explain. But I am sure this got the point across." She crossed her arms, waiting for the room to settle and respond.
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A/N: Throw stones!!! Give review.
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