A lone jumpship sliced through deep space as it shot towards the blue horizon.
Earth's curvature loomed ahead as the Jumpship eased into its orbit.
Void eased the throttles and let the ship cruise down. It hull panels humming as the ship skimmed the atmosphere and then punched through, tearing across the sky, angling hard for the barren plains of Skywatch.
~Before you drop~ Zamyr whispered, his voice eerily echoing in the cockpit.
~what do you plan to reveal?~
Void raised a brow, his hands gripped the controls as he steered, "Only what they need."
A soft chuckle curled in his ear and then Zamyr sighed, ~That won't be enough.~
Void's fingers paused on the controls. "You mean…"
~Yes.~ The Ahamkara's phantom smile sharpened. ~You cannot save them with truth alone. You cannot change what will happen if you share the knowledge.~
Void's eyes narrowed as he thought it through, "I get what you mean. But if I direct them further, they might still fail. What then?"
~ It matters not. You must arrange it. Knowledge cannot help them but you, you can. Make them see a path. Make them walk it.~
Obsidian flickered into the air beside the cockpit, listening now with his single bright eye. Void's eyes flicked, thinking, then he nodded once.
"It'll be a lie I'll have to craft. A meticulous one that doesn't have any flaws." Void considered it.
Obsidian pulsed. "If its something that'll lead to the City's benefit. You need to consider it well. Perhaps, Zamyr is right. If we tell them everything, they might not know what to do."
"Information paralysis." Void agreed.
Zamyr hummed. ~Use the Hive's own telling. One realm, one conquered world. Enough to taste their logic, not drown in it. Give the Vanguard a shape their hands can hold.~
"And Crota? Regardless of what path we take. At the end, we'll face him." Void asked, voice low.
Zamyr paused. His ethereal phantom flickering before he spoke again.
~We must weaken the Prince of Ruin by stealing the instruments of his will,~ Zamyr murmured. ~Take away his blade. Break the altars that feed him. Undo the magic that he wields. Then, and only then can we challenge him.~
Void's eyes thinned in understanding. "The sword. The Shrine. And the rituals to feed in the catacombs."
~Correct.~ Zamyr smiled. It's phantom shivered in anticipation. Almost as if he'd already seen the war through.
Obsidian's eye brightened. "Approach vector locked. We're here."
Void snapped back to attention as he looked at his radar.
The Jumpship knifed over the rusted shells and gantries of Skywatch, shifting and leveling close to the Nightstalker outpost. Void killed the thrusters and triggered the sonic brakes, letting the ship gently down o the pad.
A moment later, he was already moving, transmatting with a ripple of Light and the faint crackle of static.
Void stepped forward, facing the skywatch base. His eyes traced the heights of the old lunar satellites mounted at its top, "Guess we're finally back." He smirked.
"Home sweet home, or well, it was." Obsidian flittered beside him.
Void walked towards the base, his eyes drifted up as he looked at the sentry posts, but no one was there.
"Some things really don't change." He shook his head.
He took a sharp turn and continued, an the first hallway gave way to the living heart of the place. Void looked around, lanterns strung on cable, maps projected against old concrete, coils of grapnel stacked by the door where they'd always been stacked.
Footfalls, distant voices, the cough of a generator. A chuckle escaped his lips as he took a breath, rolled his shoulders. Void continued, making his way to the Council room.
But as he finally saw the council door he spotted Levi slouched ahead of it , arms folded, grin already forming.
When their eyes met, Levi sprang up dusting off his cloak as he approached the small security desk with a serious walk. He cleared his throat, grabbed a small data pad, and shot back a nasty glare.
"How can we help you today, sir," Levi drawled. "Did you perhaps.... make a reservation?"
Void didn't bother replying. He just stared. Levi let the grin fall into an exaggerated sigh.
"Apologies, but if that's a no" he said solemnly. "We don't accept walk-ins."
Void snorted, "Do you know who I am? Me?" He raised a brow, "I'm the damn hero who saved your ass on the moon. I think you better show me some respect, boy."
"Another classic case of narcissism. Guess what they say is true. Fame does get to your head." Levi chortled as he rocked a fist forward.
Void shrugged, "The fame didn't change shit, this is just who I am."
The two hunters eyed each other, a strange silence lingered between them until finally, they bumped fists and Levi flicked a thumb toward the chamber. "They're all waiting."
"All? Isn't it just the Vanguard?" Void asked. One brow inched up.
Levi grinned as he walked to the door, gently pushing it open. "Relax. Come see."
The door slid aside.
Zavala stood straight-backed at the head, hands braced, eyes clear. Ikorra sat with a strange stillness, her fingers resting on a slate of notes. Cayde leaned back two chairs too far, boots on the edge of the table, head cocked toward the ceiling as he tried his hardest to hide a yawn using his hood.
At the corner of the room, Shaxx stood like a fortress, arms crossed, visor reflecting the room in three brutal planes. But as Void turned, his eyes flickered. Right at the very furthest end of the room was the Speaker. His hands folded, mask tilted just enough to suggest focus and nothing else.
Void's stride hitched. They were rarely in the same room. Not like this.
But as the door had slid open, all eyes flicked towards the entrance.
Cayde instantly broke the silence with a lopsided salute. "Youngblood," he said. "How's the exile treating you?"
Void's mouth ticked. "Quieter than the Tower, plus there's no more paperwork."
"Unbelievable," Cayde said to no one. "He's still got jokes."
Shaxx's laugh rolled, big and warm. "He also has timing," he said. "We've been waiting Void. Come, sit. Speak."
Ikorra's eyes flicked to Void's hands, his armor, the hairline cracks of recent fights. Then to his face and finally, to the sword latched to his side. Whatever she saw there steadied her mouth, an imperceptible expression bloomed on her face.
Zavala straightened. "You asked for us at Skywatch," he said. "We're here."
Void scanned the room, then he stepped forward, drew in a slow breath, and set a tattered scroll on the table.
The temperature seemed to drop a fraction. A wicked chill spread through the room. Shaxx's head tipped. Ikorra's eyes sharpened. The Speaker's mask didn't move. For an instant, all eyes seemed to be on the scroll.
"Thank you all for coming." Void broke through the silence. "Whatever I share today, its of utmost importance that this information doesn't leak. Not to the Fallen, not to the Vex, not to anyone."
Zavala flinched as he nodded.
"Is that why we're here? To make sure none of this is on record?" Ikorra raised a brow, "The comms are safer than you think."
"That, is the problem." Void shook his head, "They're safe, because no one except Rasputin could possibly even think of accessing them. And if he does. we can't stop him."
Ikorra paused and gave a slow nod.
Void confirmed the nod and continued.
"I am sure you've seen the battle feed. An army of Hive. A dark veil that surrounded us, and an endless fog that seemed to push us out. But, that's not all. he veil around the Ocean of Storms is not only to keep us out. It's to keep something asleep."
He didn't speak the name. He didn't need to.
Zavala's jaw tightened.
Void exhaled. "You've probably guessed what I mean, but for now, put that aside. I have something more to show you." He glanced at Obsidian. The Ghost hummed, then projected a thin, pale ring in the air above the table—a circle that widened and deepened until it was a porthole hanging on nothing.
The Speaker's head lifted a fraction.
"This isn't intel from a scout," Void said. "It's older. It's a record stolen from the Hive's own archive."
Ikorra's posture changed. Her focus went needle-fine. "What did you find?"
Void's lips pressed into a line as his eyes shifted to the projection. His lips parted.
The circle rippled. A horizon of bones appeared as world began to unveil in the room. Towers of dark glass that once had been trees. Voices murmuring in a language the universe had never conceived. The projection shifted, as it showed a dark looming fire above the horizon.
Everyone flinched as they recalled that sight. But the world they saw seemed different from theirs. Rather, it seemed different from anything they'd ever seen. The projection shifted again.
The ground of this alien world cracked, fissures streaking through the surface as a legion Hive ascended through the core of this world, and began killing everything in its path.
"I found everything." Void whispered into the quiet.
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