"So!" Felon finally started.
Levon opened his eyes; the Warframe looking at the operative in his black suit.
"Navigation says we're heading for the Void."
"And Navigation is correct," Levon affirmed.
"The...Void."
"Yeah. What's wrong?"
"What's wrong is that we'll be affected by Void Exposure," Grett butted in, trying his best to hide his sarcasm.
"We'll die there." Trey flipped his Baza Rifle around, loading it with a new magazine.
"Nope, you won't."
Levon got to his feet and made his way over to a shelf in the Liset. With a press of a button, the shelf opened to reveal all sorts of equipment piled up together. Mining lasers, fishing spears, Energy Restores...but none of those mattered. What mattered were the three golden objects that the Volt grabbed.
Levon walked over to each operative and slapped the objects onto their chests. The golden devices activated with a small hum; surrounding the three in some sort of pale energy.
"What the hell is this?" Felon asked, running his fingers through the energy shield. But he felt nothing; only the cold artificial air brushing through his fingers.
"Void Dampers. They nullify the power of the Void, making sure you don't go all bonkers. Try not to lose them."
"And where exactly are we going?"
"You'll see."
An incessant beeping from the communication console stole their attention.
"Tenno! Operatives!" Darvo's concerned face was shone onto a holographic display.
"Darvo?"
"CLEM! CCLLEEMM!"
"What did he say?" Grett could feel the urgency in the Grineer's voice; even though he only spoke one word.
Bob took over the radio.
"Listen! Guys! Wherever you're going, head ba-...you-... The-... A-... Gu-...Hey!-..."
The holographic radio slowly became full of static. Bob's frenzied words were soon unrecognizable and his face disappeared; the radio only emitting a disturbing white noise now.
"We're reaching the Void, operator. Could be some sort of signal loss," Freyarch suggested as he shut the radio off.
"Hm."
Dismissing the out-of-nowhere call, anticipation built up within Levon. The Volt could not wait to see the scene unfold before his eyes. He was certain he had keyed in the correct coordinates, all he waited now was for the revelation.
"Arriving in 3...2...1."
"Watch," Levon deadpanned, excited to finally show the operatives what he had led them to.
The three operatives gazed out of the cockpit.
The Liset came to a stop as it broke out of light-speed.
But the scene was...destroyed.
Levon gasped, exhaling a breath of fear.
Huge crumbs of white and rocks of marble were flying through the blue space of the Void; drifting about aimlessly as they glided out of view of the cockpit. Ivory towers were snapped into half and golden ornaments were dented and fragmented. From within the mute Liset, Levon could not believe his eyes. He was certain. This was where it was kept. Had it been destroyed? It didn't make sense...the Tenno was still alive.
"What the hell..." Trey groaned.
"What was meant to be here?" Grett asked.
Before Levon could reply, another incessant beeping was heard. Alarms wailed.
"Proximity alert! To our left!" Freyarch shouted.
The group peered out of the cockpit.
A Grineer Galleon came rumbling through space and hovered over the Liset, smirking as it oppressed the Tenno aircraft with its sheer size. Two more Grineer Galleons joined soon after, surrounding the Liset quickly and enclosing the Tenno aircraft like a pack of hungry wolves.
"Impossible..." Felon muttered.
From within the cockpit, Captain Vor smirked.
Steam filled the Grineer Galleon as pipes were broken. Consoles were sparking, and systems malfunctioned. The Grineer crews bolted about, trying desperately to patch up their bruised ship. Grineer crew members held their aching brains together; their ships were never meant for Void travel, and their bodies were not cloned to be immune to Void exposure. Troops started to lose their minds, clawing whatever they could maniacally. But they were quickly dispatched by their comrades; who were struggling to compose themselves as well.
"Captain! We...-"
The Commander puked.
"We have to go back!" His words were mixed in with the disgusting stench of his vomit.
But Captain Vor did not relent. The old man breathed the cold air, still sane. Unlike his brothers, Vor was immune to the Void; all thanks to the Janus Key that was smiling proudly on his chest. Vor was surrounded in a golden bubble, which safely protected the man from the insanity of the Void.
Hands behind his back, Captain Vor sounded off his orders.
"Release the anchors."
"Old fool! You're crazy! Turn back no-..."
A Cronus impaled its way through the Commander's heart.
Vor drew back his sword; also giving off a clear signal that his authority still remained.
Anchors were shot out from all three Grineer Galleons, darting through the friction-less space and soon piercing the thick hull of the Liset; the hooks grappling firmly onto the Tenno ship.
A big hook drilled through the side of the Liset, almost stabbing Trey.
"Holy shit!" Trey fell to the floor.
"Freyarch! Get us out of here!"
"I can't! They have us tied to them!"
"Then fight back!"
Turrets emerged from the Liset.
Purple electricity started to sparkle out of the Grineer Galleons; travelling down the metal chains and eventually reaching the hooks. The anchors then released a massive pulse; frying the circuits of the Liset.
"Op...Oper-...OPeeaRatooRRrr!"
"Freyarch!"
The Liset's lights were killed.
Engines fried.
Turbines exploded.
Turrets retracted.
The view from the cockpit was now nothing but darkness; only illuminated by the turquoise light of the Void. And the atmosphere was nothing but silent as the four, now at their wit's ends, waited for the next moment to happen.
"Reel them in," Captain Vor ordered.
Within the Grineer Galleon, metal gears spun, pulling back the tight chains and allowing the anchors to retract back to the Grineer Galleons. The defenseless Liset was left at the mercy of Grineer strength as every tug on the chain only drew them closer to the humongous Grineer ships.
"Operator!" An orange Cephalon hovered over a console, breaking the dead silence in the Liset.
"Freyarch! You're still alive!"
"Not for...long." The console sparked; only proving the limited time the Cephalon had.
"I'm sorry buddy..."
"Operator...Arch-...Archwing."
Levon nodded. He turned to the three panicking operatives.
"Come on fellas."
The group made their way to another part of the Liset. In there, a mess of wires were all connected to a single source; a pair of wings that were suspended in mid-air.
"Odonata...I've heard of this." Felon inspected the Archwing in the darkness.
"Then you know what it's for." Levon pulled a lever. The ground under the Archwing creaked opened and the Void beneath them was visible now.
Their escape.
Levon jumped onto the Odonata; its systems coming to life as the wings latched onto the Warframe.
"Alright, hop on. Let's get out of here."
The operatives leaped onto the Archwing, grabbing whatever they could for their dear lives.
"Releasing in 3..."
The Odonata's engines roared.
"...2..."
Wires disconnected as the navy blue Archwing was released from suspension.
"1. It was a pleasure to serve you Operator."
"Goodbye Freyarch."
The Volt was shot out into space. The Odonata's turbines spun and the Archwing activated; leaving behind a trail of energy as Levon flew. Flying underneath the Liset, the group glided out of detection, all while the Liset was still being reeled in by the clueless Grineer.
Left alone in the Liset, the Cephalon could only think of one. last. trick.
"Alright you Grineer FUCKS. Have some of this." A countdown started in the Liset.
The Liset was inches away from the Grineer Galleons. With a final pull, the anchors were fully retracted and the Liset was now magnetized to the Grineer Galleons.
But not for long.
The countdown stopped.
"Hello boys! I'm hereeee-" Freyarch sung his last words.
The Liset's engines overloaded and an explosion was released. A massive ball of fire emerged from within the Liset and bloated bigger; expanding and engulfing the weak Grineer ships in flames. The sheer force of the gnawing flames shattered windows and the deadly smoke filled the interior of the Grineer Galleons. Eventually, the overwhelming pressure caused the Grineer Galleons themselves to become unstable.
The first Grineer Galleon ship exploded.
The second Grineer Galleon ship exploded.
Only fanning the huge ball of heat that was swallowing the third.
"Captain! Our drive core is unstable!"
"Get us out of here!" Captain Vor barked; his voice cracking to reveal some panic in the old man's heart.
But insanity got the better of every single crew member.
"Too late, old man," they chuckled.
Vor found himself betrayed by his now insane brothers.
But that didn't matter, for their time was up.
Vor's ship exploded.
Levon looked back at the blinding explosion as he flew. No one; no Cephalon could have survived the blast.
"At least he didn't die in vain," Grett said.
Levon was approaching an ivory rock; presumably detached from the missing place.
"Let's find a way out of here."