Scene #5948: Void Safari

Owner	Pose
Kushiko	The Origin System -- the place where Tenno such as Kushiko and Zek hail from, is a place of many mysteries, not the least of which is the oft-spoken of Void, the chosen place for an excursion by members of the Concord. Lemeza Kosugi, seeking to make a new weapon better able to handle the energies of the not-so-secret-anymore Treasure of Life, had since sought out Kushiko, a weapons master herself to help him in this task. To that end, while the weapon will be much like his original Grapple Claw, in order to better allow for the Treasure of All Life's use with it, one final component is needed: an Argon Crystal, a rare material that starts destabilizing once it's removed from the Void, and perhaps other relics of the Orokin from that place. But, why claim all the fun for oneselves, right? Besides, more bodies can be thrown at things like this, so that leads to a carefully placed selection of messages for those interested parties, ways to be picked up and be able to be taken to the location in question--a couple different ship changeovers, though most can simply be done by access to the warpgate system here. Naturally, an excursion like this is fraught with danger: the least of which is the almost certainty that the Tower--a floating station in the Void--is going to be occupied with those who were foolish enough or unprepared enough to brave their dangers, and now serve as the Tower's defenses, thanks to the Neural Sentry. Mercifully, passage through the Void is a little bit better off--though it be a maelstrom of twisted space, a seafoam-like green that pervades everything--there's more than stars. There's currents. There's clouds. There's twisting streaks like someone wanted to be the next Jackson Pollack with a paintbrush. The greenish tint is not all one color--it runs the gamut from being incredibly bright to an ominously darkened shade. Those who are a little more sensitive, least on the psychic spectrum, may feel like something is... out there. Briefly. Probably just one's imagination, right? Regardless of how one actually ends up here, one should be fully prepared to deal with all manner of hostile, as is made exceptionally clear on the details for 'mercenary work' that went out. Again, subtle coding which is enough to reach interested parties. Like perchance a Ghost, or a fabulously Tevinter sort of fellow, to an Iron Lily. Whether they arrive together or separate from the Concord is entirely up to the fickle whims of Fate, and he-she is a bit of an odd sort, as we all know. The 'Tower', as it's called, is, without a doubt, a merging of form and function--a floating spire in the Void itself, entirely white and near pristine despite where it's at--arguably space, but surely it should've fallen into some kind of disrepair, right? Hmmm... Nonetheless, there's little time for sightseeing on approach to the Orokin Tower--an access mooring is where the ship--or ships--would be headed to, with the point of bringing everyone who has answered the request, either out of boredom, curiousity, or otherwise enlightened self-interest, to convene. That said, once the airlock doors spindle their way open, there's already a hint that... this is a heck of a place. The access point itself isn't very large, but what is there is already suggestive of opulence. Gold and white from the outside continues to be a theme on the inside, with the access corridor the group has access to lined with glowing faint lights of subsystems and their like, yet golden grates hide much of that from sight.
Kushiko	The corridor itself opens into something /far/ larger, with what has to be a two story high ceiling just here, and a pair of circular tubes split to lead to the next area. This little chamber is also host to the Tenno herself, who has taken it upon herself to demonstrate Tenno ninja tricks to infiltrate that are by far, left unsaid; though now that people are here, they can easily see the Orokin aspect to her Mag 'Prime' Warframe. Though the gold on her is changed, possibly 'corroded' to more silvery tones, there's the same luster that exists in the golden trim that seems to dominate every architectural aspect seen so far. ...which, given the opposite aspect, all the more intentional by the Tenno. Once everyone gets here, the objectives will be laid out as follows: Primary Goal(s): acquire 1 (or more) Argon Crystals, and eliminate present 'Corrupted' forces to effectively suppress defenses to leave safely afterwards. Get out alive. Secondary Goal(s): acquire any present Void relics or other supplies and raw material while here. ... Speaking of defensive systems, one might think it odd that the place doesn't have any alarms: one can thank the Tenno, an Orokin creation, for that. Though /that/ part, y'know, not one hundred percent, and definitely doesn't extend to the rest of the people here.
Count Kord	Kord slips into the ornate chamber, the shadows billowing beneath and around him like smoke. The dragon seems to surge out of the small aperture like liquid energy, arm-like wings pulling him through until he's standing in the chamber with Kushiko. He clambers to the side so he doesn't impede the others, but the great dragon is clearly not in a friendly state today, not when it's likely he'll be dealing with all manner of security measures in here. He seems ready to allow Kushiko to lead the way, for now.
Dorian Pavus	Dorian has come to aid Kushiko in this task, and he looks it. He's wearing his SERIOUS outfit, the one he wears to make the 'No More Mr. Nice Mage' statement. It almost looks like a military uniform, actually -- navy blue, with a large burnished copper pauldron worked in the shape of a bird lifting its wings. His staff's also been switched out for one with a thin, sharp crescent moon at the top, with visible arcs of lightning zapping between the corners. Truth be told, this 'Void' reminds Dorian suspiciously of the Fade. He remembers the place from his Harrowing. It may serve a similiar purpose, too -- from what he knows, this Void energy is incredibly dangerous. And the tower? It reminds him of the finery in Tevinter -- beautiful on the outside, likely to mask some horrible evil within. 'Get out alive' is always on Dorian's list of objectives, so no worries there. And he tries not to leave people behind; he may be an ass, but he's not exactly like others of his ilk in Tevinter. But he does have a question. A couple of them, actually. "What exactly does this 'Argon Crystal' look like? And these crystals and artifacts... they won't melt my flesh off, I hope?"
Tomoe	Tomoe has been system once or twice but never to the void itself. She's in full armour and ready to go, but today she has a Naginata in hand rather than sword and board. She seems to be in good spirit as she looks over Dorian for a moment with a grin on her face. "Effective and styling you have a talent for that don't you Dorian??" She's trying to not think on just how trippy the void is, as for the station it's pretty? It's disturbing though it speaks of like the Divine City in creation it stinks of Decadence waste and laziness to her. "So we get the crystal and anything else of value and get the heck out right?"
Lemeza Kosugi	Already with Kushiko, and already warming up, is Lemeza, who's bouncing around energetically doing some last-minute practice strikes. It was his request that prompted this raid, after all, and finally being able to put his Treasure of Life to use is a bit of a big deal. It just so happens that the crystal is what remains of the creation goddess of his world, known as Mother, and he's here to prevent its power from going to waste - and to avoid risking his world's civilization going extinct without recourse. Such an undertaking most certainly calls for a more serious game face, but it's been a while since Lemeza's had a chance to fight. And this time, it's in /space/! Thus the excitement. As for his outfit... it's a bit worn, clearly showing signs of extensive use from expeditions just like this. The brim of his fedora is a bit frayed, his cargo shirt faded. But, aside from cosmetic stuff, he's made damn sure everything's in good repair for this. Despite his excitement, this /is/ serious business.
Nova Terra	Standing on the bridge of her starship, Nova looks out the windows at the swirling green mists beyond. It's an unsettling sight, so used to seeing the black of space and brilliants lights of stars. Still, it's a pretty sight. Or would be, if Nova wasn't so unnerved by it. She suddenly snaps her head to the side, eyes briefly losing focus... What was that? The man standing beside Nova notices this and asks her, "What's wrong?" Nova looks forward again, simply replying, "Nothing... I've heard whispers about the Void. A realm outside normal space. The place where some of the Protoss draw their power. Do you think there's a connection with this one?" The man - Reigel, Nova's technical advisor - hmms in thought for a moment, then saying, "It's possible. Both being alternative dimensions to regular space. Perhaps accessible by more than one reality. There's not enough information to ascertain." Nova nods, ultimately not that concerned about the answer. Especially as the station begins to come in to view. The archetecture gives Nova some familiar feelings to Protoss technology. Perhaps parallels bleeding through from a common connection. The stealth frigate moves in to dock with the station. Soon enough, Nova has joined the others within the entrance room. As she walks in she eyes the opulence of the interior decoration. It's definitely far more fancy than she's used to. Although a small part of her mind does recognise a familiarity. But it is quickly dismissed by the Ghost as she gets down to business. She chambers a round into her large rifle as she asks, "Any tips on what we can expect?"
Kushiko	Mercifully, least for the bigger sorts like Count Kord, once they're out of this area, it'll be markedly easy to move about and do things--really, given the fact the 'ceiling' in this subchamber is as high as it, but it is nice to see he had a way in. A slight bob of Mag's head--monocular eyepiece stiffly held in place by magnetism following that nod--at his arrival. On the other hand, we have that Tevinter mage. If she could show a smile, she would, but alas; Warframes have no faces. Or eyes. So the tone in her slightly disembodied voice will have to do: <"Excellent questions--no to the part about doing you any harm."> She gestures with a hand, from which an emitter stored in the palm rapidly constructs an holopanel--demonstrating what they're looking for. It's a dull shade of purple, a pegmatite of some measure, basically a rocky formation. And then another of an actual, more useful Argon Crystal, undoubtedly taken from it. <"The relics here won't be doing anyone any harm, truth be told. All the potential traps, automated defense systems and the like--"> As she talks she makes a swiping gesture with the other hand, showing a spherical, /beautiful/ orb on a pedestal, like a piece of art--but the next shows it now emitting beams of deadly energy, or shockwaves of force from another. And other little sentry guns mounted in varying places. And laser walls. <"Most are pressure activated, so watch your step, and worst comes to worse, simply destroy anything moving you see."> Simple enough. <"Past that, you can expect the following at minimum: any number of Grineer or Corpus--"> Again, yet more images, <"Repurposed and upgraded by the Tower's Neural Sentry."> She lets the image freeze on a Corpus crewman, suited up which is probably familiar to some, but for others not so: carrying a boxy-looking rifle, a padded suit and a rectangular helmet with a slit-like visor keeping the whole thing self-contained. Then it goes to another: another crewman, his gear looking immaculate, and a golden disc with a half-circle arc around it. It's plain and simple to see he's been 'repurposed' by that thing which may make one think of a drone as the control device. <"Most times, you won't see those things out and about, that control device on him, but anything could happen, so stay alert."> Indeed, it is just as she says, as she steps over and walks through the smaller, tube-like passage (something that Kord'll probably have to do that compression of his for), and just before stepping out of it, she levels an elegant-looking sidearm down towards a white-armored Grineer, and simply blasts him with a three-round burst, making him crumple and shout out uselessly in death, what with the high probability the rounds severed through armor and spine alike. On the other hand, that noise is the kind of thing that puts other Corrupted on alert in the vicinity, who start shouting in bizarre linguistics as some try and take cover behind some of those opulent, high columns, and others simply start charging down the stairs from further in this chamber as Kushiko jumps down to draw fire--golden blasts of energy from just the same kind of Crewmen she mentioned not moments ago. Well, at least intel's good--bad news, gotta deal with a half-dozen-plus hodgepodge of blade-wielding Grineer that are trying to close in while the Corpus converts are firing down to give some cover--though some of those shots are going hilariously wide thanks to Kushiko's electromagnetic control being used to send some of those projectiles wide. Gotta make an opening for the others, after all.
Count Kord	Kord is only very tall when he stands at full height, and can duck his head down and slip through corridors by crawling his way through, utilizing his bizarre boneless qualities to slip through without much issue. Once he reaches a wider area, and the violence soon begins. Kushiko opens fire, and Kord picks up speed. He sweeps into the area where the gunfire is happening and doesn't seem to lift a finger. Instead, he lets out a crooning noise, a draconic howl, and like a shockwave, shadows ripple, and then arms of darkness leap out from odd angles and the shadows of the future victims. Great big claw-tipped hands start grabbing Corpus and Grineer alike, slamming them viciously against walls and the ceiling, snapping limbs. One such example is lifted in the air and has its back broken, discarded violently into one of its compatriots right after. "Get out of our way," Kord demands, venomously.
Dorian Pavus	Dorian nods. "Good, I'd like to keep myself intact as much as possible. One doesn't get a face this perfect overnight, after all." Why yes, everything DOES have to be about his looks, thank you for noticing! More to the point? "And I'd like to keep my soul INSIDE my body, if at all possible." He looks at the images, takes careful note of everything that's being shown. He'll probably recognize some of these things she's showing, at least. When the initial push into the place is made, Dorian does something strange. He opens his hands, moving his arms away as if inviting the defenses herein to shoot at him. But a large glyph appears in front of him, sparking blue-white, and several blasts of lightning emerge, attempting to home in on targets.
Nova Terra	Nova pays attention during the briefing, eyeing the primary objective closely. She's no stranger to acquiring strange objects as part of some larger plan. The mention of automated defenses does make things sound interesting and Nova makes note to watch out for those. They could be useful. Briefing over, Nova lowers her visor down over her eyes. As she begins to follow Kushiko's Mag into the next room, the blue light of her cloaking field washes over her. Soon enough she's gone from sight. The first battle quickly picks up, with lightning bolts fling, shadows throwing and bullets flying. But they're not the only threat as from the secrecy of her cloak, Nova takes cover behind a pylon and raises her rifle up to sight in on a target. She's focusing on those targets towards the rear, likely the Corpus. And when she finds her mark she pulls the trigger. The air at Nova's position shimmers briefly as the shot is fired. Then again as she fires once more. And she doesn't stop there, more bullets sent flying. Nova is going for headshots, as per usual, using her telekinesis to guide her already accurate shots towards the targets as she switches from one to the next once she has confirmed the kill. And it's unlikely that the Corpus heavy helmets will be able to withstand the large 25mm rounds, known as they are for penetrating tank armour and hardened carapaces alike.
Lemeza Kosugi	The action starts almost immediately. There's a lot to take in - the Tower itself is large and in dire need of mapping, the temple guardians--er, /Tower/ guardians are feisty and plentiful, the heavy-hitting Elites are... as usual, dismantling everything in sight. Ah well. Lemeza follows the rest of the party in, sighing slightly as he exchanges whip for revolver, and takes a brief moment to consider. The big muscle is probably going to take the brunt of aggro, and the main objective is to find an Argon Crystal, not kill things. So, the explorer decides to do some exploring instead. "How big is your typical Tower on the inside, Kushiko?" Lemeza's asking questions as he gets out his laptop and starts using it to scan the immediate area. He's capturing audio as well as video; the collective gibbering of the Corpus and Grineer deserve more in-depth research at a later date. Using his laptop and his own eyes, he's looking for any potential hidden passages, or a path of least resistance, or maybe even a way to cheese his way up and skip much of the fighting. No sense wasting ammo on grunts that'll just end up eating five different types of death, after all.
Tomoe	Tomoe takes note of the item they are after and also about the traps. "This place if it wasn't so dangerous would be a great Parkour Gym." She seems to be ready with her weapons and pauses for a moment grimacing. "So they are basiclaly cyborg zombies? The more I find out about the people who made stuff like this the less I like them." She's done with the pleenstries as she gets a note about it on the comm by Kushiko. She tenses for a moment then springs into action heading for the Corrupted and she start uing the hallway she'll use the walls, and anything else she can to make herself harder to hit and to get into melee, once she does that's where the Mooncutter gets put into action, as she lashes out with the Naginata.
Kushiko	What's that old saying: 'there's something for everyone?' Well, that proves to be the case here--as the group begins to engage, the Corrupted are getting support from a pair of drones that fly in. Not the ones that'll totally not facehugger someone, but these drones appear to be emitting beams of shielding towards the ranged group in the back of the wide chamber they've come upon. Not to mention some more Grineer and Corpus--both of which are properly armed like the rifle-wielding Lancers, though they make pretty decent targets for Kord doing his best rendition of humanoid shish-kabob. Doesn't mean they don't try and get off /some/ shots, futile as they may be, especially with Dorian providing fire support most excellent--like say, those drones, which ends up tearing them apart just in time for others to be able to do some excellent work. Like Nova's own choice decision to snipe at a Corpus--her choice of target looked like he has some kind of backpack--a drone nearly deployed, but that hope is dashed--literally, as the shot is fired through the head, making him rock back on his feet and ragdolling, the drone erupting into shards of metal that follow. <"It'd be great, honestly,"> Kushiko genuinely says, though it's nearly a deadpan as she practically scales a sheer wall ahead, leaping up and spinning around, throwing out a three-bladed glaive, the blades slicing through another Grineer before rebounding back to her, regarding Tomoe's own combat actions as her Naginata ends up finishing the last portion of this group, leaving about a now dozen or so Corrupted dismembered or feeling lightheaded. As she lands, she stops, and thinks. <"Section like this can be about 400 meters in length, as a whole, we think this Tower is anywhere between 14 to 15 kilometers in length on the inside."> It's a roughish estimate. Long story short: this place is /huge/. Ahead of the group are the sounds and signs of more to deal with, though the room ahead looks like it could be an intersection: a raised platform on either side of the resplendent room--just how ostentatious were the Orokin??--with strange, white plants on a waist-high looking planter. Stairs on the sides descend down, then back up again on the opposite side, with higher doors down the center of the room, and the door opposite where they come from would be a dead end, but also contain some supplies, it seems. Just as she mentioned--various ferrous materials, other bits and pieces of tech and what at first looks like it could be Argon Crystal... only it isn't. It's red, and seems to be giving off a radiant energy glower. <"Rubedo."> she'll offer, for those curious about it, before she smashes it, making more usable samples drop from it. Ahead in the next room is another dozen-plus Corrupted, but they've already worked to take cover--the room ahead itself is about the size of a mansion--the equivalent of a four story building, with a chandelier like center, and an elevator to one side, with another stairwell leading to a balcony walkway above. It's a winding, sprawling room--plenty to fight with, but the Orokin /really/ had no sense of scale. Ever.
Count Kord	Kord is not impressed with the soldiers that stand in their way so far. It doesn't take much effort to use his shadows the way he has been, no different than using his claws themselves if perhaps with less fine manipulation. He moves by clambering along walls, claws affixed to all manner of ostentatious architecture by using his own shadow to anchor himself. He moves with flowing paths along the structure, mobile despite how large he is, like a vampire dragon or some kind of enormous ghost. He ends up in an ideal spot in the next large chamber to fire of blasts of black energy at the Corrupted enemies that try to hide behind cover, taking shots from somewhere near the ceiling instead of down at the floor level, making it much harder to be hit. His mouth opens and gives off loud electric noises with each blast of energy, which will do a good job of atomizing the cover alongside the target he actually intends to hit. The best way to avoid getting killed is to not be in the path of his attacks, it seems, as no manner of simple defense will stop his attacks from smashing through cover and armor alike. Kord laughs amidst this, his voice echoing through this large chamber. He's having fun.
Dorian Pavus	"''Fasta vass''," Dorian responds, to Kushiko's words of how big the place is. It roughly translates to 'holy shit', yeah -- at least in this case; the phrase is contextual, so it has a variety of meanings depending on how it's used. However it's used though, it's NEVER polite! Dorian's got a bag handy for resource-collection, though he intends to turn it over to Kushiko and Lemeza once they get out of this place, unless he can find something he can use. Though from what he's seen this isn't exactly the right type of energy for him to be able to utilize -- magic and psychic energy are sometimes completely different, and in this case, that seems to be true. Once they get into the room with the new Corrupted, Dorian tries a different method of attack. They've seen him use magic, they'll probably be expecting him to be squishy and not very mobile. The Corrupted may fire at him from behind cover, but this time he melts into an icy blue-white smoke and zips across the distance. He's looking to get into melee range -- maybe stupid, but he's no slouch there either; and some of these will get bludgeoned into unconsciousness.
Tomoe	Tomoe looks to se the Corrupted are down. To her they are finally put to rest as these things sound like high tech cyberzombies to her. She also gets just how big the place is and seems to get it. "Damn that's bigger than anything we could make back home." She rises up cleans off her blade and looks around for a moment before heading onwards. She pause at the Rubedo and sighs, then blinks as Kushiko smahses it but she gets it now she was doing to to father it up. She keeps going as a new pack of the things come after them, she does not go melee this time she chants for a moment, golden runes dancing about her body, seconds after they finishe alongside Tomoe butchering Nordic? come seveal bolts of fire launched st the attacking defenders.
Nova Terra	Nova reappears, the light from her cloak fading as she briefly drops to one knee next to the corpse of one of the Corpus she downed. She examines the body for a moment... As she suspected. The armor penetration was as effective as she'd hoped. Her gaze is drawn to the side a little as she spots the fallen ammo pack beside the body. She picks up the pack, turning it over for a moment, "Huh." She reaches back and puts it away into one of the small compartments in her suit. Maybe the tech guys can reverse engineer something useful from it. Or not. Nova moves with the others into the next room, but quickly takes cover as the Grineer start to fire on them. She tries to lean out to return fire, but is quickly forced to duck back behind her cover as more shots rain on her. Makes sense that the entrenched enemy has the upper hand here. That's why grenades were invented! Nova shifts her rifle into one hand, using the other to open the small compartment on her wrist armour and retrieve the spherical device from within. Pressing the button on top she throws it from her cover, over the cover being used by some of the Grineer, and then waits. A few seconds later the grenade lights up in a pleasing explosion. Probably blasting a few of the troopers apart too.
Lemeza Kosugi	Kilometers!? This place is measured in /kilometers/! And presumably Grineer and Corpus all the way through. AND. No obvious way to cheese past them without conflict. So through it is! Though "through" means dodging the plentiful ally attacks more than the enemy, so far. Lemeza's not immediately threatened, so he settles for keeping weapons drawn - he's put his laptop back up in his pack and set it to passive audio collect, now - and maneuvering himself toward one of the side doors. He takes a couple shots at any enemies that don't look like they're already having a bad day. He's still looking for any signs one path might be better than another...
Kushiko	Being in here, being away from the Void outside, Nova might notice something a bit more... profound--that the energy she felt, that she saw out there is resonant within the Warframe, like something's reaching through that Void outside, a solid tether to it. She would feel this because not long after entering the next room, she simply /goes to work/, much like Kord did. Her glaive spins, and magnetic energy rises, but twists, it is manipulated like someone was reaching out with a hand to guide it precisely, the spinning blade of death arcing amidst the Corrupted here, slicing and dicing, armor being shredded on top of it as the energy just /fills/ the room, yet around others, it's as if there were a warm bubble keeping them from feeling the ill effects as she eventually returns the blade to her hand. Which works out /exceptionally/ well given what Dorian's doing, some of them making yet more statements of, not so much surprise? But definitely a sentiment of 'FOUND HIM' before the siren song of blunt force trauma makes them not really able to report much more on the concept of where to direct fire. All in all, when coupled with Tomoe's swift actions brings to an end what the group has to deal with, at least on the lower levels thus far. Explosions from Nova's grenade sends a pair of Grineer screaming--and dying, tumbling forward and coming to a charred heap. While Kord may not be impressed right now, but that may change, depending on how he reacts to something that both he and Nova would catch sight of, though not Kushiko as she begins to check another side entry--and getting summarily engaged with more Corpus, now switching to a rifle to deal with it. If Kushiko saw what they saw, she'd be quickly advising them both about what exactly to do. Another Corpus with a backpack is on the upper level, but by this time, his drone is fully deployed, and that drone controls a gleaming, golden energy shield. A shield that can take a pounding, and utterly resists, if not blocks a large variety of special abilities--tech or magic alike. Nullifiers. It's possible to smash the shield down, as is simply /walking through it/ but walking through it to get the tasty Corpus center invites the problem of not being able to use said powers--and the fact that there's another Grineer with it, far more cyberized than the others, and wielding a long gun that is nothing short of a heavy machine gun, spooling up and spitting ballistic hell down at him. He's not the only one though--while this pairup is pretty nasty, from one of the side rooms and corridors comes a heavily armored, hulking figure--a little under twice the size and bulk of a regular Grineer, and packing a launcher--why does one know it's a launcher, not a rifle? That would be owed to the shaped charge flying from it, followed by another, the slow moving projectiles aimed at Nova and Dorian respectively. Though throughout this chaos there /is/ a path--leading ahead, that appears to not have some enemies coming out of or through. Automatic doors will surely open for anyone who might need to go through, as they have throughout this place. That might be a window Lemeza needs... if they can use it!
Count Kord	The moment Kord's shots stop working, he pauses to assess the nature of the nullifier. His eyes scan the battlefield, briefly. Then he uses his shadows to launch himself at the Corpus and its nullifier, his massive body coming down on the enemy like a sack of boulders. He aims his massive claw-wing at the general area of the Nullifier drone itself, while a wall of shadows goes up between himself and the Grineer that is firing a barrage of bullets into the fray. And, provided he manages to hit the drone, he'll try to hit the Corpus ... with a bite, his mouth big enough to encompass half the figure's whole body. Chomp. Shake shake shake.
Lemeza Kosugi	Given that the enemy density hadn't been too bad, Lemeza'd taken a bit of time to pull out his Plane Model from his backpack, setting it up for flight. He manages to eye a good path to fly it down, but before he can call on someone to give him a starter toss, a few beefier Corrupted come spilling out of the corridors! Hoo boy. Lemeza hops in to the plane, sets himself up, and assesses the new threats: Kord's already chowing down on one of them, the barrier drone, and the armored tank? Hm. Once he's comfortably seated, he takes a couple shots at the bulky rocket-launching Grineer - taking aim at any gaps in the armor, if they exist - and calling Nova over to propel him down the seemingly enemy-less hallway.
Nova Terra	Nova is still getting some strange feelings from this place. Although they seemed to be centered on Kushiko. And to some degree, remind Nova of things she's felt before... From the Zerg. Although there are clearly differences. But Nova shakes the the feelings off for now, focusing on more important moments. Like the large energy round flying towards her! Having fought the Protoss on a number of occasions, Nova recognises the danger of an energy blast that thing is likely to unleash. So she dives away from her cover and not a moment too soon. Hitting the ground again, Nova rolls a few times before stopping behind one of the strange white plants. Using the pot of the plant as cover, Nova peers out in Lemeza's direction as he calls for an assist. Nova doesn't move though, holding her position behind cover. But soon enough Lemeza's plane lifts up off the ground, Nova manipulating it with her mind as she throws it down the indicated hallway.
Dorian Pavus	This is a pain in the ass, that's for sure. Particularly because Dorian's about halfway through a Fade Step when that Nullifier pops on. It draws his magic transportation to an abrupt end, and leaves him exposed to fire -- and unable to draw up a barrier, as he finds out when he tries. He grunts and staggers back when a shot impacts his arm. He'll just have to finish that the old-fashioned way! He crosses that distance on foot, and bludgeons the Corrupted that shot him. Payback! Though that charge being shot at him from above is of more immediate consequence. The one coming for Nova as well, since according to the radio she's about to try to help Lemeza get airborne. An energy shot, so he can't just bat it away, and he can't raise a barrier. Fortunately he only has his own to worry about, since Nova gets out of the way. Dorian himself is rather less combat trained than Nova, but he can at least dodge without his magic. Though his leap into cover is quite a fair bit less graceful than Nova's. Still, any landing you can walk away from is a good one, right?
Tomoe	With the fire spell done, Tomoe is making ready to get into melee again? Then she stops something isn't right the Nullifiers she looks at them and she's going to hang back, oh lord she's going to hang back from that. She sees a glowy thing she does not know? She's darn well keeping away from it. She will try to get to a perch though and start to chant again trying to intercept the projectiles with light rays, hopefully, to give Dorian and Nova a breather. She's off again through the second her spell has gone off, Tomoe does not wish to stay in one spot. No that would just end up making her an easier target.
Kushiko	On one hand, what Kord wants to do? Not the worst idea in the world--the only problem with it is that there's enough shielding that it makes actually smashing the drone properly very difficult with his power alone--so all this time there's a /lot/ of battering to that hand. A crazy amount, in fact. Eventually it /does/ break down the shield, but not without incident, even if the following incident is best featured on 'When Pokemon Attack: Vol XLII'. Either way, there's one source of harm out of the way. Tomoe's support is /exceptionally/ kind to Dorian--the rays impacting and making the second explosion do /far less damage/ than it initially would have, to give both Dorian and Nova a quick breather amidst the organized chaos of fighting off the Corrupted here. Lemeza's keen eye had led him /exceptionally/ well, in this case, though as he flies through thanks to a little bit of ally assistance throwing him? He'll catch Kushiko's Mag just /raining/ down on some Corpus and Grineer in the adjacent area, which he is not headed to. Watching her rip off armor and make it shatter, then /dig into bodies/ might be a little bit on the grisly side. Turns out when you're a magnetic master, it /might suck/ to wear armor near her if she doesn't like you. More importantly, however, the hallway corridor opens--and then another door into a circular room. There's about a half dozen lockers, 2 of which show red running lights demonstrably locked without some kind of hacking. The rest? Openable. Credits, ammo packs, some ferrite, some control modules--whatever /those/ are, right? But in the center, amidst a pair of those almost crystalline plants? Why, an Argon pegmatite, just ripe for smash and grab. Not to mention a tall container of Orokin make--smashable too. Wonder what's in there? The explosions behind Kushiko quickly grab her attention however--realization of a Bombard up there, and that gets her to gesture swiftly--an open palm, then digits squeezing together, a misty smoke from her hands--mist, /what/--ignore that, pay attention to the fact that around the Bombard, a semi-transparent lilac bubble is focused on it--locking him down physically. So a third shot intended for Dorian just /arcs/ back around and smashes, exploding him. He stops firing immediately, but despite the impact of explosion, he's not getting knocked down yet. Must be all that armor--regardless, it does make an opening for just about everyone to finish the job. <"Use whatever you want, that will keep him place long enough!"> To die horribly. Possibly by just about everyone here, the Warframe's shields flickering angrily as she wields a wall of magnetic energy and just /drops/ it down in the doorway's chokepoint.
Dorian Pavus	Dorian is not juvenile enough to raspberry in the Bombard's direction when the bubble locks it down. He is, however, juvenile enough to note of the results of that lilac bubble, "Such heavy consequences!" Yeah that was bad, he knows it. He also makes an effort to leave the area of the Nullifier's effect, so he can use his magic again. And just in case that lilac bubble needs any more help, Dorian helps out -- he uses the same gesture as for the lightning bolt from earlier, but this time ice erupts from the ground, aimed under the Bombard's feet. It won't hurt much. It does, however, look to freeze the Bombard in place a bit more securely. That way someone's assured of being able to finish it off.
Nova Terra	Her previous task complete, Nova returns her focus to the deadly battle raging around her. There is thankfully some assistance from Kushiko, in the form of a strange magnetic power that is apparently restraining the Bombard's movements. And Nova is more than willing to take advantage of that. Rising up from her cover once more, Nova brings her rifle around, resting her arm on the side of the pot for added stability. She points the deadly end of the weapon in the Bombard's direction and pulls on the trigger. She holds it down, letting the large rifle fire on automatic, spitting the large rounds at the center of the larger Grineer soldier. Pausing her fire for a moment, she enquires, "Once we have the objective, are we making a break for it? These guys seem endless." She starts up with the rain of bullets.
Count Kord	Kord's claws ache and his mouth is covered in Corpus bits from the vicious attack, but he doesn't stop. He just wheels about and braces on the spot the Corpus was once standing, opens his mouth to generate a point of light, and emits a beam of red energy that sounds a bit like a tornado forcibly pushed through the room, the roar of wind being pushed aside and the heat of all of that friction filling the chamber. BRRRRRRRRRRRR We've all seen enough anime to know how loud and bright this is.
Tomoe	Tomoe gets the idea they need to pin down the Bombard, all right and damn that's some serious heavy armour that guy has there. Good thing her weapon of the day has some reach. She will dart in moving quickly and using the terrain of the room again, to get in close her intention is to try and just impale the Bombard, on Mooncutter into the ground, the wall or just about anything to hold him still, long enough for her allies to take it down. "Time's up big guy." She'll get out as fast as she can though given the firepower that's coming her way, but she does seem /used/ to this sort of thing from how she reacts and moves.
Lemeza Kosugi	After a rather short flight through an unassailed hallway, Lemeza lands safely in the circular room with all the goodies. He stows the plane, having used it for what he intended. He, uh... he's about two feet from the thing he's here for, but the loot remains unlooted for a few moments as the professor does a quick scan for any threats he might not have caught on the way in. Keeping his head on a swivel, he slowly grabs everything not tacked down - Argon stone first, then the credits and ammo and such. The tall container also has his interest, but he doesn't open it; instead, he calls over Kushiko to have a look, and withdraws a set of distinctly Tenno/Orokin-style claws; he's got those claws, and the Argon Crystal, ready for whatever Kushiko had planned.
Kushiko	There's a mercy, here--not of the Doctor variety, but between Kord, Kushiko, Nova, Tomoe and Dorian's respective actions, they've finally earned something of a reprieve. Especially in as explosive fashion--the bubble that Kushiko made for the others to pour into it. Frozen near solid, the ice /somehow/ being redirected to practically amplify the effects it had--the bubble did something weird. It's a perfect setup for the Bombard to be shattered by Nova's next shots, eventually making it erupt--and the bubble itself collapsing inwardsly, sending a shockwave of force that makes a trio of approaching reinforcements just /die/. ... maybe some kind of reaction with what Tomoe did? Either way, it looks like they put enough power to make it /really/ do some work, the reinforcments appearing to have frozen, magnetic shards of bullets flechetted into their bodies. Tiny, for sure, but... death of a thousand cuts is still death, no? <"No, we're pulling back as soon as we can. They are endless,"> she remarks. <"They'll keep coming, even if we've got some breathing room."> This is transmitted to everyone, not just spoken as she quickly barrels down to where Lemeza was. <"Very good. Let's not waste any time then."> She does smash open the container, and tumbling free is one of those Relics she mentioned--it looks like it was ripped from stone itself, but the solidified energy means it's something that needs to be looked into later. Loot besides, and picking some of that up and sending both that and the Relic to her own 'storage' as it were, she turns to the Argon Crystal and the Claws themselves. Stretching her hand towards it, her whole body seems to glow, channeling Void energy into the crystal, then into the claws themselves--the Venka--before the crystal seems to disperse. This might be alarming, but with another piece of the proverbial puzzle, pulling out what looks almost like a puzzle piece itself, she presses a few keys on it, then presses it onto the claws. This makes them begin to change shape slightly, until it seemingly morphs for one to insert a particular object in them. <"There. It's done."> she murmurs, after the radiance from the process fades. Lemeza might get a shot to try them out on the way back, not that she'd prefer it, but at least they've dealt with the heavier forces. Back the way they came, it wouldn't be surprising to find a few stragglers, right?
Tomoe	Tomoe will end up aiding in the takedown of the Bombard, the Bombard goes down and Tomoe will be quick to recover her Nagitana from the ground and some of the inbound attackers also go up as she ends up getting her now damaged weapon back. She's going to have to go see Liz after this for some repairs. "If you say they're endless? I'm going to agree to get what we came for then get the heck out." The crystal is used the loot is grabbed then a guy speaks up over the radio and disturbingly reminds her of someone that she knows and it's creepy to her. She also gets the idea it's time to get going right? "Well then time to ship out right?" She'll be making to go for a quick exit here, she is going to trust they are not set up to deal with whoever this yappy fanatic on the radio is.
Dorian Pavus	With the Bombard gone and the party reconverging, it looks like it's about time to get out of here. But then a voice floats on the radio. Speaking in the kind of fanatic tones that a Venatori mage corrupted by red lyrium would use... ...And Dorian sighs. "''Venhedis kaffan vas,''" he grumbles over the radio. "Might have known there was some cackling villainous cliché somewhere in the area." But it looks like they're about to pack up and leave, so the fanatical idiot can just blather to himself. Probably just a snippet of a radio broadcast that their radios picked up, one that wasn't aimed at them at all. So yeah. He's going to scram out of here with the rest of the party.
Nova Terra	Nova slowly stands from her cover as it seems they've been able to wipe out the hostiles in the immediate vicinity. Though it turns out that they are indeed endless. Not too surprising considering the size of the station. Something that large could hold a huge amount of troops. Nova sweeps her rifle around the room as she starts to back up the way they came. She pauses for a moment as the disembodied voice talks nonsense into their ears. What is it with aliens and their weird ass beliefs? She mmms in agreement with Dorian's sentiments, but says, "We got what we came for, time to get out. We can put a bullet in his brain another day." Time to book it.
Lemeza Kosugi	Once all the pieces finally got brought together, assembling the weapon Lemeza sought was rather easy. After Kushiko prepares the Venka Claws, Lemeza withdraws his Treasure of Life from his pack and inserts it into the slot provided. It fuses neatly with the claws, and as far as Lemeza can tell this actually makes the life powers of the crystal accessible to the average person. And, well, this is actually the perfect situation to try them out! Once the weapon's finished, Lemeza equips the claws, ready to see if he can actually use the crystal he's had for a while. He makes his way back through the hallway and toward the mainline fighters, moving to try to heal them. Unfortunately, his first target is Count Kord. Lemeza's desire to help out a fellow Concord member leads him to bring raw life-goddess energy to bear on someone harmed by such powers. Fortunately, Lemeza does not aim any pointy things at Kord, so it's not likely to do any severe harm, but...
Kushiko	<"It's a shame too,"> Kushiko adds once she's in better range of Dorian, Tomoe, and Nova. <"He just won't die, as much as he deserves it."> From the girl's voice is a great deal more acid in it than one would probably expect from someone acting so calm earlier. Regardless, it's definitely time to boogie, no doubt about it. Sure, there's some minor Corrupted that try to give chase, and probably get summarily wrecked by the Elites present. Realistically, it's getting out while the getting is good, before Vor has a chance to make his presence known. His voice continues--"Behold the Tenno, come to scavenge and desecrate this sacred realm. My brothers, did I not tell of this day? Did I not prophesize this moment? Now, I will stop them. Now I am changed, reborn through the energy of the Janus Key. Forever bound to the Void. Let it be known, if the Tenno want true salvation, they will lay down their arms, and wait for the baptism of my Janus key." He clearly cares not, but then again, two can play at that game--deny him the chance to make some trouble by double-timing it back to their respective ships. Kushiko sweeps the area briefly--looking back just in time to check on Kord (whom she normally doesn't worry about, Kord's gonna Kord) but--well that's not going to go well. That results in Kushiko magnetically /lifting and yanking/ Lemeza over to her for the hustle out of here, <"Great intentions, but let's not infuse the nearly living shadow with that!"> The specifics of what Kord was were a bit fuzzy, and comparable to a certain other shadow, after all. But they were booking it--all of them--to the exit, just as Vor made his final declaration: "It is time. I will teach these trespassers the redemptive power of my Janus Key. They will learn its simple truth. The Tenno are lost, and they will resist. But I, Vor, will cleanse this place of their impurity." ...only for him to appear not too far from where they /just/ were, Void energies of his Janus Key. Long after the assembled Elites have safely disembarked. ...Oops.
Count Kord	By the time Kushiko has stopped Lemeza, Kord had put up a wing to stop it, and-- His wing-arm had melted like ice cream under a blast heater, and burned violently as if he were a vampire with a miniature star pressed to his skin. He soon retreated away, darkness enveloping his form. A shrill, animal noise comes from a shell of black energy. And then he retreats with the others, but finds a corner in the ship to quietly suffer, because it is very, very painful to get touched by his antithesis directly like that. It's a good thing Lemeza is an ally, or he would've probably tried to murder the man on the spot, judging from how much that apparently hurts. It's a good thing Kushiko stopped the full touch, yeah?
Lemeza Kosugi	Wait... WHAT?! So, the Treasure of "Life" has now melted Count Kord's arm. This is a very, /very/ ill omen - so Lemeza thinks. There's reason to believe there's still a portion of Mother's soul left in there, and such a soul would feel vengeful enough to ruin anything Lemeza tried to use the Treasure for. As he shortly learns, though, Kord is actually aligned with death, so trying to use /any/ healing magic on him is going to do the opposite of healing. Probably. At the very least, Kord suggests that his injuries are proof that Lemeza's Claws of Life work. One thing Lemeza is /definitely/ doing is never bringing that crystal anywhere near Kord again.