...
It all happened so quickly.
The sudden return of the Lo– Natah, was too much to bear. Many nights were spent in their personal quarters, staring at the helmet that heralded her transformation into one of their greatest enemies. The knife twisted in their heart, and even as they returned to the Orbiter with heavy hearts and a new comrade in their crusade...Everything was too much to bear.
"Ordis."
Their voice rang through the empty halls of the Orbiter, hollow and cold. Once, they might have had inflections that could have distinguished them as either male or female, but the Void had changed them in more ways than one.
Still, the strip of lights flickering to life told the Operator enough of their Cephalon's status.
"What do you require, Operator?"
A synthetic voice speaks through ducts and tunnels unknown, rendered in a tone filled with childlike curiosity and Innocence. The Operator takes a deep breath, a shudder running through their body as they speak a moment later.
"If I ran away...would you still come with me?"
Silence. The Operator had expected as much, but their mind was already set. No matter what their Cephalon's opinion on the subject, they will be going. The pain...the suffering...the guilt...it was simply too much to bear.
Then at last, their Cephalon spoke. "I...will follow you until the end O-O-O-Operator. I am your Cephalon first and foremost."
Relief spreads through the Operator's mind as they let out a sigh. Their feet moves them through the ship, and so light that even Umbra doesn't notice. Once more they arrive at a room, the hiss of an airlock denoting their entrance to the chamber.
Inside, the somatic relay stands, untouched by time and tear. The rerouting of power was near-instantaneous, and the relay hums with a discordant tone, its pitch and hues not too dissimilar to the background of space. The Operator takes a deep breath, before a quick tap to the Void allows them to dash into the opening chamber. How long had they last used the relay? It had been far too long.
"Might as well get some use out of you before I finally throw you into the scrap heap." The Operator muses with a thin smile, a single fluid movement allowing them to step inside the relay.
The lotus-like structure folds into them, isolating the Operator from the rest of the ship. Screens flash by their eyes as they focus on a point outside the ship, and they take another deep breath to calm their thoughts.
"Operator, the Orbiter is prepped and ready for t-t-t-transfer."
"Good."
Another deep breath. The screens faded away to reveal the blackness of space, and all that remained was their ability to push through. It felt wrong, using their hard-earned gifts to run, but they had enough of the never-ending strife.
The Operator tapped into the Void, letting its otherworldly energy to take them. Soon, the screen showed a kaleidoscopic tear, and the Operator heaved a sharp breath as they urged their mind even further. They had no need for the somatic relay when they had regained their latent powers under control. But for something like this? The relay was absolutely required.
More thoughts poured into the kaleidoscopic rift; now, the Operator sent in shadows of emotion as well. Guilt. Hope. Despair. Grief. Each and every single emotion they poured through the relay, amplifying it through heights never before seen.
Soon, the rift cracked, and the eldritch energies that came from the Void beckoned. The Operator responded why greater force, and crystalline energies shimmered to life around the Orbiter, with cracks echoing throughout the space around them as it began to whine.
Another round of clashing energies silenced all sound, and the rift finally opened to fit the Orbiter's size. In an instant, the engines sprung to life, humming a rhythmic tune as the ship barreled towards the portal.
The Operator began to twitch, the sudden influx of Void energy causing them to be momentarily overcome by the energies of the Void. Just as the Orbiter slipped through the portal itself, the Operator opened their eyes once more to reveal sclera of absolute black.
"That's right, kiddo. Do what you have to do."
...
A shock went through the Orbiter.
The Operator opened their eyes and immediately barreled out of the relay, their sights set on navigation. "Ordis, status report!"
"All systems nominal, Operator. It seems the jury-rigged void jump was more successful than expected."
Ordis' voice was cheerful, the systems on the ship lighting up in rhythmic sequences to represent the Cephalon's joy. The Operator reached navigation a moment later, out of breath and panting on their knees, but a wide smile was on their face at the sight before them.
It was a new dawn.
The planet that stood before them was Earth-like in size, with wisps of clouds going over spots on the planet to stimulate weather. Even the entire world in front of them was not like Earth in the slightest – when Earth was filled with lush greenery as evidence to the rabid plant life, this world seemed to have its various landmasses in color hues that signified a varied climate. But the greatest achievement that they weren't in the Origin System any longer was the fact that the continents were entirely different from Earth's.
A new planet. A new system. A new life.
"Ordis...We did it."
"I couldn't agree more, Operator. Would you like to sacrifice a Kubrow a-a-a-a-a-as an offering?"
The Operator snorted at their Cephalon's remark, their eager gaze focusing on the planet's edge as a satellite slowly emerged from the planet's other side...
"Operator? Is there something wrong?"
"Give me a planetary scan, Ordis. Now." The Operator commanded, their expression hardening in an instant as they watched the rest of the satellite rise with bated breath, their hands gripping on the navigation console as they waited for Ordis' response.
"Commencing planetary analysis, now...Oh dear. It seems that there are some inferior– less-evolved human-like individuals currently living on the planet."
"The lights should've been a dead giveaway." The Operator remarked, frowning as they crossed their arms over their chest. The planet's satellite continued on moving, and the Operator quickly turned around and headed towards their arsenal.
"Ordis, scan that planet immediately. I want to know all about its geography, major civilizations, and search for anything that might be able to do that to their own satellite." The Operator barked, their hands moving on the panel quickly as they selected their Warframe and respective Archwing. "As for me, I'm going to do a scouting run on their moon."
"Commands received, Operator."
A quick Transference shifted the Operator towards their Oberon Warframe, before they headed towards their landing craft. All the while, a tinge of anxiety formed on their face, even as they set the landing craft's coordinates on the navigation.
Investigating a shattered moon...the Operator couldn't help but shudder once more.