After a crisp nine hours of sleep in preparation, Frost arrived at the armoury with Lex and Lana.
"These are the three remaining rebels. Good friends of mine from the past. Meet Javier Hendrick, Nala Gallagher, and finally Reed Cole." Lex introduced his colleagues one by one. "Brode will be holding down the base due to his age, and Clay… His whereabouts are unknown, but it is possible he might turn up."
Frost looked at the three individuals and thought that the state of the Liberation Front was looking sad, to say the least. Javier was a beefy looking man with heavily tanned skin. He looked like the type of guy that would've had a bullet belt and a light machine gun in Vietnam. Nala was a calm and determined looking girl, her hair was tied in a tight bun and her eyes were focused and deadly. Reed was the friendliest looking one, a man with brown hair and a distinct scar across his cheek. He was already standing up to introduce himself.
"Reed Cole, as Lex said." He took Frost by the hand. "You must be Frost Direshard. I think with you here, we might just stand a chance."
"Reed was the only other Voidhunter stationed at the hideout in the underground. He'll be our distraction today, and hopefully our escape as well," Lex explained from behind. They were in the armoury now, and he was already moving to inspect the weapons, not bothering to look back as he spoke.
Isn't it a little rude to look away from your conversation partner, Frost mused. "I'll be relying on you," he said, giving Reed's hand a firm shake with as genuine of a smile as he could muster. It made him a little nervous that everyone thought he was some saviour because of his last name. "You mean to say we have more Voidhunters elsewhere?" He asked no one in particular. "Why aren't they helping?"
Reed looked a little sad at the question. He gave a shrug that said many things and made his frustration apparent.
Lex waited a moment until he was certain that the responsibility of an answer fell upon him. He sighed. "Every cell of the Liberation Front has something they deem more important. Clay and I were scholars, so we care about the books. The others, though… I did try reaching out."
"So they'll just let us die?" Lana asked, sharing Frost's frustration. "That doesn't seem fair."
"There are lines that need to be held elsewhere," Nala grumbled while polishing her knife. "A rebellion isn't like a military. It's hard to move people around without restrictions or getting found out."
Frost frowned. "So in other words, it's up to us."
"'Fraid so," Nala said. "But we have you now, right Reed?"
She was clearly being sarcastic. Reed let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah," he said, clearly no longer confident in his initial declaration.
"Maybe Clay will show his face," Javier added with a shrug. "I doubt he died just like that. If he did, I'll find him in the afterlife and beat him!" He made eye contact with Frost and gave him a reassuring wink as if to say don't worry about it, kid.
Of course, this was a dustless. It was a man that Frost could effortlessly tear in half, despite the size difference. He couldn't bring himself to feel reassured, but he applauded their bravery in getting involved with this super-powered battle nonetheless. "Well then. Let's get started, shall we?"
Lex took the time to introduce Frost to the choices of weaponry, which Frost felt diminished the "battle master" persona he was attempting to act around his new friends. The first weapon Lex held out was a simple pistol. It was slick and white, and very futuristic looking in design despite very clearly being a pistol.
"The masterpiece of Mirris V. This is the Daxter Fourty-Two. High calibre and with a built in suppression system that renders the weapon essentially silent. The essential companion of any Voidhunter." He placed it in Frost's hands. "Bear in mind that weapons like this one are filled with electrical components and can be shut down remotely by a variety of means. Some people prefer classic weapons for this reason." He gestured to the revolver at his hip. "Other than this caveat, a weapon doesn't get more reliable than the Daxter."
After being handed a magazine, Frost slotted it and chambered a bullet. The moment he flicked the safety off, a blue display activated on the back of the weapon. It was a massive digital number display. 12. Frost aimed the weapon and fired at a nearby target. The bullet travelled fast enough that he couldn't trace it without enhancement, and left a sizable hole in the target. The sound of the bullet being fired was like a gust of wind, and Frost thought that the casing hitting the floor and the slide coming back was louder than the weapon itself. He also noticed that the recoil was little to none, even for an amateur like himself.
Lex, noticing his confusion, explained. "Recoil prediction tech. It issues a counter push in the opposite direction to balance the force."
"Huh," Frost said. He didn't try to hide his amazement. To think the "perfect gun" like this one existed in a different world? He felt blessed that it didn't exist on Earth.
"Take this," Lex added, passing Frost a holster. "Your extra mags can go in your Void pocket. They aren't nearly as heavy as a sword."
Frost strapped the holster to his belt. He was wearing a needlessly formal outfit with a button-up white shirt and black dress pants. It looked a bit more combat ready with a holstered pistol on one side, but it didn't feel combat ready. This, however, was the only outfit available in the hotel room after his last one had been ruined. He still had his combat boots and a bullet-proof vest underneath the shirt, but now that he witnessed the firepower of the Daxter he assumed that the armour from Earth wouldn't cut it.
"Lana, you too," Lex tried to pass her a pistol. "Take it. That primitive thing you've got won't cut it."
"No," she said. The pistol at her hip was loud, and of an odd design. Yet another pistol from a different place and different time. Even so, she was adamant on keeping it. "This is the gun that will kill my sister… Nothing else."
Lex made a perplexed expression. "Alright. Can we find you a suppressor at least?"
"For a revolver?" Lana asked.
"Hardly the strangest weapon you see in the Void," Lex shrugged.
"Alright," Lana conceded
Frost could more or less ascertain the situation. Could it be that Lana was carrying around the very weapon that shot her parents? She'd kill her sister, and then what? Hopefully she didn't have any ideas about putting her whole bloodline to rest after such a tragedy. If she got an silly suicidal ideas, Frost wouldn't hesitate to step in. He was largely impartial to Lana, but even if he openly disliked her, he wouldn't allow a suicide to occur on his watch.
Lana turned to look at Frost. He held her gaze and gave a firm nod. He'd ensure that she had this kill, and she'd ensure that he eventually had his. A mutually beneficial agreement.
"And who's your sister exactly, newbie?" Nala asked. She finished polishing her knife and slipped it into her boot.
"Stella Whitehall."
Nala actually looked a little bit shocked at that. "The newest Commander on the block… That one is too sharp for her own good."
Reed nodded along. "Make sure you don't miss your shot if you get it. Being rid of her would be a massive help, to say the least."
Lana appeared confused. She wasn't aware that her sister was so renowned among the rebels already. "Is Stella really that renowned around here? Commander?" She asked.
Lex, who was strapping on a vest now, replied. "We think she's the one behind the raid and the intel leak. It's far too clever for the likes of Nerial or Havas." He finished strapping in, and slipped a healing card into his breast pocket before handing one to Frost.
Frost, taking the card, recalled that he was privy to this information. They'd discussed it in the earlier morning while Lana was still asleep. The two Realmguard Commanders on station at the Citadel seemed to be more conservative in tactics. Lana's sister on the other hand had a distinct aggressiveness and risk taking nature that quickly allowed her to rise to the top. As for how the leak occurred, none of their theories had been proven yet. Lex had floated the idea of a Special Operations Agent called 'Swapper', but had dismissed the idea thinking he wasn't important enough for such manpower to be dedicated to him exclusively.
Also, Lex seemed to have some beef with the individual called James Havas, who was apparently the second most cunning beside Stella Whitehall. Frost had not pried into the specifics, only taking what he was given.
"I see." Lana only grew more determined upon hearing about her sister's status. "Her barrel of luck has just about run dry," she added.
"For the rebels!" Javier said from the back encouragingly.
Everyone else in the room – who were just about finished donning their gear – raised their hands in the air.
"For the rebels!"