The plan

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CHAPTER 10 — The Plan
They had been training for three days.
They weren't soldiers. Zarpon knew it, and they knew it too. Three days didn't turn anyone into a warrior. But three days of training with Zarpon had turned three children who didn't know how to move in combat into three people who at least knew what not to do.
That was enough for a chance. Not a guarantee. A chance.
The map room was full for the first time. The four of them around the table. The holographic map of the cave pulsing with soft blue light between them. The three layers. The checkpoints. The eight-meter drop. The pedestal on the third layer.
Zarpon spoke first.
"A plan is not a guarantee," he said. "It's a structure that reduces the possibility of error. When something goes differently than planned — and something always goes differently — the structure is what allows you to adapt without freezing."
"When does something go differently?" Marek asked.
"Always," Zarpon said.
Marek processed that.
"So why plan?"
"Because improvising without structure is more dangerous than an imperfect plan," Zarpon said. "The difference between someone who survives the unexpected and someone who doesn't is whether they have something to return to when the unexpected happens."
Sira picked up her pencil.
"Let's start with the entrance," she said.
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The first layer.
Zarpon pointed to the left flank on the map.
"Thirty-five seconds of blind spot during the shift change. That's the only viable moment to enter without triggering an immediate response."
"And the sensors?" Sira said.
Everyone looked at Arlo.
Arlo had something on the table in front of him. A small device. The size of a hand. With components that had clearly been assembled recently because some connections still showed marks of fresh work.
"I spent the last three days in the workshop," he said. "I built a low-intensity electromagnetic pulse. It doesn't destroy the sensors. It interferes with them for approximately forty seconds."
"Approximately?" Sira said.
"Between thirty-eight and forty-three seconds, depending on the exact frequency of the trinita sensors," Arlo said. "I couldn't confirm it without direct access to the system. But the margin is enough."
"Thirty-eight seconds minimum," Zarpon said. "Plus the thirty-five seconds of blind spot." He paused. "If we activate the pulse three seconds before the shift change, we have a real window."
Sira marked the spot.
"Where is the pulse activated?" she said.
"Here," Arlo said, pointing to a spot on the map forty meters from the entrance. "Far enough that the signal won't give us away, but close enough that the interference radius covers all the sensors."
"Who activates it?" Marek said.
"I do," Arlo said. "I need direct line of sight to the activation point." He paused. "And I need no one to distract me while I do it."
"What happens if you press the wrong component?" Marek said.
Arlo looked at him.
"I activate all the sensors simultaneously instead of interfering with them."
Silence.
"Don't press the wrong component," Marek said.
"That was my intention," Arlo said.
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The second layer.
Zarpon zoomed in on the vertical shaft.
"Eight-meter drop," he said. "Direct access to the second layer. There's no way down without making noise unless..."
He looked at Marek.
Marek understood before the sentence ended.
"I can lower all three of us," he said. "With the aura controlling the descent. No impact on the ground."
It was the first time Marek had said out loud in front of Zarpon what he could do with the aura. Not with drama. With the naturalness of someone who had decided there was no point in hiding it anymore.
Zarpon looked at him for a moment.
"Can you hold the weight of all four of us?" he said.
"Yes," Marek said. "If I lower in pairs, the strain is manageable."
"How long do you need to recover between the first and second descent?"
Marek thought honestly.
"Two minutes," he said. "Three if the first one was heavier than expected."
"Three minutes at the bottom of the shaft waiting," Sira said, looking at the map. "Is there cover?"
"Rock formations on the east side," Zarpon said. "Enough for three people if they move quickly when they land."
Sira marked the spot.
"Then the descent order matters," she said. "First, those who can move on their own toward cover. Marek last because he needs to recover."
"Zarpon and I first," Arlo said. "Marek last."
"Agreed," Zarpon said.
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Garpon.
The silence that followed when Zarpon zoomed in on the complete second layer was different from the previous ones. Heavier.
"You already know what's here," Zarpon said. "I'm not going to soften it. Under normal conditions, Garpon outmatches all four of us. That doesn't change with three days of training."
"Then how do we defeat him?" Marek said.
"We don't defeat him individually," Zarpon said. "We wear him down collectively." He pointed to different points on the map of the second layer. "Garpon has a weakness that most warriors with his level of power have. He trusts that no one can stay in front of him long enough for wear to matter."
"And we can?" Sira said.
"We can if each of us fulfills their specific function," Zarpon said. "Sira. You don't fight Garpon. You move. Constantly. Forcing him to rotate to keep you in sight. Every rotation he makes is energy spent and attention divided."
Sira nodded.
"Arlo. You go for the connectors on his armor. Not to destroy them. To interfere with them. Four seconds of reboot each time you gain access. Four seconds where Garpon operates without the support of his armor."
"And in those four seconds?" Arlo said.
"In those four seconds," Zarpon said, "Marek and I attack the physical weak points. Without active armor, the impacts accumulate differently."
Marek looked at the map.
"And if Garpon ignores Sira and Arlo and goes straight for the two of us?" he said.
"He can't ignore them if they do their job properly," Zarpon said. "A warrior who ignores someone constantly moving behind him makes a mistake that sooner or later exposes him." He paused. "Garpon is intelligent. He knows that. That's why he can't ignore them even if he wants to."
"And if he tries anyway?" Sira said.
Zarpon looked at her.
"Then we improvise," he said. "And return to the structure when we can."
Silence.
Sira looked at her notes. Marek looked at the map. Arlo looked at the device on the table.
"There's something no one has said," Arlo said finally.
Everyone looked at him.
"If this goes wrong," he said with his usual direct honesty, "there's no exit plan. The only way out of the cave is the way we came in. And if Garpon blocks our access to the shaft..."
He didn't finish the sentence. He didn't need to.
The holographic map pulsed among the four of them. Soft blue. With the third layer in the background. The pedestal. The Kratar waiting.
"I know," Zarpon said.
"And still?" Arlo said.
Zarpon looked at the map. Thought of six years choosing the safe path. Thought of Sira telling him something she was still trying to believe herself. Thought of the word possibility.
"And still," he said.
Arlo nodded. Not with relief exactly. With the specific resolve of someone who has named the risk out loud and decided it changes nothing.
Sira closed her notebook. Looked at it for a moment. Three pages of a plan. Contingencies. Decision points. Unresolved variables marked with an X.
Marek noticed.
"How many X's are too many?" he said.
Sira looked at him.
"They're always too many," she said. "But not having them would be worse. It would mean we're not looking at the plan honestly."
Zarpon picked up the holographic map.
"We leave tomorrow at sunset," he said. "The shift change happens when Zekra's sky turns from purple to black. That transition lasts exactly as long as we need."
The three nodded.
"Rest," Zarpon said. "Not because tomorrow will be easy. But because resting when you can is part of the plan too."
He left.
The three stayed alone in the map room. The map off. Sira's notes on the table. Arlo's device.
Marek looked at his hands. The yellow energy ignited slowly. Without being called. With the same naturalness as always.
He extinguished it.
"Are you afraid?" he said.
Sira looked at her notes.
"Yes," she said.
Arlo looked at the device.
"Yes," he said.
No one added anything else. There was no need.
They turned off the lights. And went to rest for what was coming.
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END OF CHAPTER 10