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Desolate space stretched out endlessly, a chasm of cold darkness punctuated only by distant stars. The vast emptiness between Earth and the moon felt eerily silent, a calm before the storm.

The chasm ruptured as a hyperdrive portal ripped through the fabric of space. From its maw, a squadron of ships burst forth, racing towards the moon with relentless speed.

"Approaching Orbit." Levi broke radio silence leading the squad towards the Lunar surface.

Void promptly replied "Affirmative", though his thoughts drifted, captivated by the galactic canvas of space. Distant starts glittered like diamonds and far off galaxies shimmered with a cosmic hue casting a haunting radiance across the vast expanse.

This was the first time in both lives that he'd made it this far into space. As he looked back, the Earth was a mere budding orchid in the blooming cosmic garden.

"Hold position" Levi commanded as the squad reached the edge of the Lunar orbit, "Rest of the squad's gonna catch up soon. Survey the orbit till the Vanguard's in range."

The squad scattered, each ship holding a different node.

Unable to tear his gaze away from the stars, Void sucked in a deep breath.

"It's....Beautiful." He murmured, configuring the Jumpship to glide slower.

Levi's voice crackled over the channel, "First time?"

"You'll get used to it, soon it'll just be another cold and dark place." Bandit scoffed.

Void chuckled, "You sound cheerful, lost some bets lately?"

"None of your damn business." Bandit retorted.

Cory chimed in, "Don't hate the player. I told you they'd send us out first. If you weren't dead set on being a hopeless gambler maybe you would've made some glimmer."

"But what is life, without risk?" Bandit sighed, "A predictable cesspool where true visionaries do nothing but suffer for their foresight."

"Didn't know true visionaries go around making stupid bets with the entire squad?." Cory jeered.

Bandit replied with a string of colourful words masterfully engineered to slip through the censor filter. Void could only describe it as art of the highest standard.

"Ignore those monkeys. They're always at it. Unfortunately, they make one heck of a duo, so they're stuck together." Levi said, shaking his head.

A second later, Levi's voice grew colder, "Got a ping, Vanguard's reaching in two. Captain's still wrapping things up with the Sunbreakers near Skywatch."

"We're going solo?" Cory frowned.

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Bandit contemplated, "That's a gamble."

"Yeah well...I suppose we've got some visionaries assigning the mission, so be ready." Levi replied, aligning his ships navigation.

Void raised a brow, "Just recon? Or is the Vanguard hoping for a more interesting trip."

Levi scoffed, "Damned if I knew, chances are, they're not sending us for the sights."

The Squad redirected their ships, grouping back together as they entered a geostationary orbit.

"Heads up, they're here." Levi tapped the receiver by his visor as a new frequency entered the team's comms channel.

A moment later, a portal ripped open ahead as a colony ship scuttled across.

Cayde's voice cut through the static, "Hey hotshot, how's the cosmic scenery?"

"Refreshing, I suppose anything's better than the rotten walls of Skywatch." Void chuckled.

"Yeah well the walls sneak up on ya. You'll start missing them soon." Cayde replied his voice shuffled as Ikorra immediately pushed him away from the comms interface.

Zavala took over the channel as he began the briefing, "Guardians, are we all ready?"

"I wouldn't suppose you'd let us take five?" Cory sardonically replied.

"Let's start. We've outlined a general perimeter for the Hive's location. As it stands, none of our scouts have spotted their nest. Information is key, we need to find out where they are." Zavala sent over a few coordinates to their mapping system.

"You want us to scout Hive traces in this entire area?" Levi studied the mapping coordinates outlined on his visor.

Ikorra chimed in, "Not exactly. You'll send back a live feed to the ship. We'll have Toland analyse it to look for Hive signature nearby."

"You just want a visual?" Void said, his mind raced trying to figure out the plan.

She sighed and shook her head, "Once you do find Hive sign, lure their colonies into a skirmish and escape at your own discretion. "

"Well if you put it like that it sounds easy...." Bandit mumbled under his breath.

A sharp voice immediately cut through, "Ehm....Asher here, if you're all done bickering, I'd suggest you turn your attention towards the feed."

The Nightstalkers shifted their eyes to their wrists, a simple prompt appeared.

"I've requested your ghosts to authorize me to monitor your vital signs through the comms band. I suggest you approve it." Asher spoke out, his eyes glued to the monitoring feed.

"I'll monitor you for hive influence. We'll know if you're hexed before its too late."

"You're throwing out some scary words." Levi tensed.

"One can never be too careful.....The hive on the moon, I've heard they're different." Asher's voice was leaden, a harrowing silence gripped the team- Their mere mention caused them to stifle.

The moon seemed to glisten a bright hue, for a split second fiendish flames danced above its horizons - Or perhaps that was just Void's imagination.

"....Their magic, vile and wicked, stronger than eve-"

"Uh uh, not another word." Cayde slipped in, took over the comms and cut off Asher.

"Don't mind him, he's a bit daft, you know how warlocks get."

Ikorra shot him a tense glance as Cayde rolled his eyes and continued.

"Alright alright, let's put it this way eh? You go in there, you blow shit up and we cover your ass. That sound good?"

"Sounds better than the rest." Cory chuckled.

Bandit narrowed his eyes, "This 'cover your ass guarantee', what does it include."

Cayde pressed his lips together rubbed his chin, "You know, I was thinking I just cheer you on from the ship. Maybe give you a heads up once you're there. That typa stuff."

"How brave of you." Levi chimed in.

Void "Your sincerity knows no bounds"

"Oh there's bounds alright, so chop chop get to it before I cross them. We'll get in contact once you land." Cayde shut off the comms, leaving the team in silence.

"Well, that's our visionary." Levi reconfigured his nav system to the coordinates.

"We really doing this?" Cory reluctantly matched the coordinates.

"Unless you're willing to get investigated by the warlocks, I wouldn't say there's much of a choice." Void dismayed.

"Death is better than those bozos and their theories. Just a lot of rambling if you ask me." Bandit immediately locked his nav system to match.

"Enough. Follow my ship, don't stray further." Levi closed the comms feed and piloted towards the lunar orbit.

A few moments later, the team shot towards the lunar surface.

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