As the Equestrians walked slowly and carefully through the complex, Twilight looked around at their surroundings with a curious expression. The interior of the structure was made from white and gold material, with some blue elements engraved into the walls. Strange furniture and objects were positioned perfectly, without a speck of dust on any of them, next to canals filled with a white, viscous liquid that flowed seemingly without a need for a current.

"Who made all this?" Twilight asked, stretching a hoof out to brush against a golden statue of some unknown thing. "It can't be anypony or anyone we'd know of here on Equis."

"That's what concerns me, Princess." Birdseye replied, tightening his grip on his lance. "This is something else entirely. And I'd reckon to guess that who or whatever built this place killed my Scouts."

"Did you know them?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yeah, I trained 'em personally." Birdseye sighed. "They were some of my best prospects. It's a shame they're gone. But there's no sense brooding on it. We push forward and accomplish the mission."

As the group entered a large Atrium full of chairs and tables with a large fountain in the middle, Luna ordered the Guards to get some rest. As they gratefully sat down and looked over their armor and weapons, the Oculyst that had been following them stopped and began to scan them, sending the data to its master.

The Sentient Spy requested a group of Battalysts to eliminate the intruders, but its master replied in the negative. These beings could be of use to its plans for this world, and from what he had gathered from the first set of intruders, they were nowhere close to the capabilities of his creators, the Orokin.

And this Sentient intended to keep it that way.

====

In the midst of the blinding, eternal hellscape that was known as the Void, a single Railjack gunship flew through the mist towards a distant world near the edge of the Origin system.

Inside, the five Tenno selected for this task by the Lotus waited at their stations, the Railjack's Cephalon, Cy, guiding the vessel to its destination. Matthew, or Excalibur Prime, monitored the Railjack's status from the central command pedestal.

"Cy, how much longer?" he asked.

"We should arrive shortly." Cy replied. "I've also identified an Orokin colony base with a still-functioning landing platform as our insertion point. Be ready for anything."

"I understand." Matthew nodded. "Any expectation of resistance from whatever may inhabit this world?"

"No estimates at this time." Cy replied. "The Lotus supplied me with all the information she could gather on this world, and none of it indicates that there is any presence of Grineer, Corpus, or Infested forces. However…"

"What is it?"

"The Lotus did mention that this world was scheduled for a settlement treaty by the Orokin and some unknown faction, probably sapient local leadership before the Old War began." Cy replied. "So, do your best to establish peaceful relations with them if you can or if they're even out there. Allies are something we are in need of at the moment back in the Origin System."

"Of course." Matthew partially slid out his Nikana Prime, and then sheathed it fully at seeing the blade was ready for combat. "If they can even understand us."

"I'll leave that to you, Tenno." Cy replied. "Arrival at the landing pad estimated in one minute."

"Tenno, ready up!" Matthew called over their squad's comms, and the other Tenno replied in the affirmative. As the Railjack exited the Void Jump and began its descent to a large boreal forest on the southern edge of a large continent, Matthew stood up and proceeded to the entrance bay, where his teammates were waiting.

"So, where do we start?" Jaycen asked, chambering a round into his Corinth Prime shotgun. "Search around, find intel?"

"That sounds good to me, Jaycen." Clarke nodded, loading his Sybaris Prime rifle. "What's the chance we'll run into hostiles?"

"Can't say for now." Matthew said as he entered, retrieving his Paris Prime bow, and a quiver loaded with arrows, and a set of magazines for his Lato Prime sidearm. "If we run into the locals, we'll do our best to avoid hostilities. We don't know what they're capable of, and I'd prefer to have that possibility on our side, rather than against us."

"Right!" the other Tenno nodded as the Railjack entered the landing pad, which was hidden in a cliff face by moss and foliage. As the Tenno exited the gunship and proceeded inside, a cloaked Oculyst watched from a balcony. It shivered slightly at the presence of the Void, and disappeared, sending a message to its master.
The Void-Bearers have come. What do you command of us?

The Oculyst soon received a reply.

Destroy them and the intruders, show no mercy. Leave nothing behind.

====

"Alright, are you all set?" Princess Luna asked once the Guards were upright and ready and the Elements were rested.

"Yes, Princess. Let's move forward." Birdseye nodded. "Guardsponies, diamond formation!"

As the Guards assembled in the called pattern, and headed towards an open door that led to a spiral staircase, it suddenly slammed shut with an audible click, along with the doors to the other hallways. Then, an audible rumble echoed through the atrium.

Twilight then felt a massive, indescribably powerful presence come upon her, almost as if it was attempting to drown her where she stood. She closed her eyes and took in several breaths, clearing her mind using her magic. The presence soon left, and as she moved together with her friends, the Guards readied their lances.

"Move together, defensive positions!" Birdseye ordered, and the Guards formed a defensive square phalanx around the Elements and Luna. Then, a glass door above them opened, and a flight of strange creatures descended down in a circle, surrounding the Equestrians.

They were very lean, almost skeletal in appearance, with arms resembling that of tuning forks. Their carapace was colored white, black, and red, and large red crests rested on their shoulders.

As they slowly approached the phalanx, one of them that was larger than the rest moved upwards and gave off a powerful shriek of fury that scorched the ears of all who heard it. Then, it fired a bright white beam towards one of the Guards in front of it, the others following and attacking as well.

Princess Luna and Princess Twilight immediately threw up a large domed shield, which deflected the beams. As the Battalysts continued to attack, Rainbow, bearing an expression of fear, turned to Twilight.

"How long will that shield last?" she asked.

"If they keep this up at this rate, I'd say five more minutes at most." Twilight replied, she and Luna beginning to sweat from the strain of keeping the flow of magic constant and also trying not to lose their concentration.

"Then what do we do when it does fail?" Rarity cried. "Those things will kill us for sure!"

"We won't let that happen." Birdseye replied, drawing a pair of shortswords. "Get ready! When that shield fails, fight with everything you have, Guards! Defend the Elements and the Princesses with your lives!"

The Guards cheered a war cry and prepared themselves for battle. As the Battalysts continued their barrage, neither side noticed the shadows moving on the glass dome above them…

====

Matthew looked down at the battle beneath them with curiosity. The beings under attack by the Sentients had thrown up a shield to defend themselves, but Matthew, like all other Tenno, knew it wouldn't last long.

A Sentient's greatest weapon was its adaptability, and sooner or later, they would find a way around that shield or it would fail and expose the beings inside. Battalyst lasers, originally meant to clear heavy foliage, solid rock, and other tough natural materials to clear colonies for settlement, had been quickly repurposed during the Old War, and were capable of disintegrating nearly anything hit by them.

"Jaycen?" Matthew asked. As Jaycen's Rhino Prime came forward and looked at his team leader, Matthew gave a nod and stepped back. Jaycen smiled inwardly as he used Rhino Stomp on the glass flooring. It cracked to the point of unusability, and the frame groaned noticeably, but it held against the blow.

However, it didn't hold on the second stomp. As the glass shattered and the dome collapsed from the titanic Rhino Stomp, the Tenno dove downwards with weapons ready, each landing at a pentagon-shaped point around the shield. As the beings inside recoiled visibly, Matthew drew his Nikana Prime and faced down the lead Battalyst, which shuddered at the presence of the Void.

Matthew smiled as his team took up attack stances as the Sentients drew into a single group to engage them, stopping their attack on the shield. The Tenno knew this was their moment to strike.

"Engage!" Matthew bellowed as his Nikana Prime tore through the lead Battalyst's twin cannons with ease, before he then impaled it through the head. As the Battalysts screeched as once and opened fire, the Tenno rushed in, sounding a cry of challenge.

Author's Note

Update!

Yeah, again, this took way to long to write. Sorry about that. Expect more updates soon.

Next time - The fight against the Battalysts, first contact with the Tenno, and the escape from the Colony Base.