Warframe: GHOULS, Part Three

The cover art for Warframe: GHOULS Part Three, by Kevin Glint. The art depicts Little Duck, Mitsuki, and Mag. Captain Vor's face and an Orokin vault door can be seen in the background.
Cover art – Kevin Glint

The third instalment of the Warframe: GHOULS comic series, produced in partnership with Top Cow Productions, was released on 24 January 2018. Below is a synopsis of the comic.


Previous issue: GHOULS Part Two


Synopsis

Mag, Mitsuki, and Little Duck are making their way to the caves north of the Ostron village. Mitsuki muses that the universe has a sense of humour – she has encountered two Tenno after hearing their legends her whole life, yet she "missed seeing them by a matter of hours", having been blinded in Vor's initial attack. She asks the Lotus why they are not saving Excalibur – why would the Lotus abandon her soldier? The Lotus, communicating through Mag (sometimes with a projected hologram, other times only by voice), explains that she has pulled Transference, rendering the Tenno safe. Although reclaiming the deactivated warframe is important, preventing Vor from entering the Void gate is the primary objective. Mitsuki asks why the Void gate is so dangerous, but Lotus has gone quiet. Little Duck discusses the tales she's heard of abandoned Orokin installations full of ancient technology which could benefit the Grineer. Mitsuki recalls how her village scavenged Orokin tech from the ruins of old Earth, including a machine that could melt solid rock into slag, and Little Duck responds that the Orokin's affinity for technology placed them "within arm's reach of godhood".

Lotus interrupts to explain that she has been monitoring Grineer transmissions across the sector, and Vor has gone radio silent. She believes that Vor is preparing a final attack, waiting for the group to open the Void gate before he strikes. Little Duck insists that Vor couldn't have planned to lose his Void key, that her shot was "one in a million", but the Lotus explains that Vor is a master tactician and is easily capable of adapting his plans on the fly. She asks the group to proceed as planned, but to hurry.

They arrive at the cave, which Mitsuki can identify by sensation alone. She is able to guide them to the Void gate by memory, although her blindness somewhat impedes her ability to navigate. They come across a small patrol of ghouls in the cave. Mag and Little Duck deal with them capably, but Mitsuki runs off alone, and is cornered by a lone ghoul. It slashes her arm with its claws, but Little Duck and Mag shoot it before it can kill her. Mitsuki apologises for running off, and Little Duck offers to take her to safety and let Mag continue alone, but Mitsuki refuses, not wanting to be seen as helpless. The ghoul's poison begins to work within her blood, slowing her down, but she successfully leads them to an Orokin vault door embedded in the cave wall. Like Orokin vaults found in Deimos derelicts, the vault door has four protruding tumblers and a socket in the centre for a key. The Lotus comments that this is not merely a door, but a Void gate, connecting two disparate points in space. This particular gate is very old, and there is no way of knowing where it leads. Lotus instructs Mag to secure whatever is on the other side. Little Duck insists that Solaris United share in whatever they discover, while Mitsuki, despite the Lotus' warnings of danger, also insists on accompanying them.

Back at the Grineer camp, Captain Vor surveys his army, arranged in parade formation, as he relays a message to the Queens. He says that, despite any doubts the Queens may have had in his campaign, he has been successful. He has maintained morale among the troops and field-tested the new ghoul units. The losses incurred in his battles against Excalibur and Mag were necessary sacrifices to lead them to ultimate victory. He shows that he is surveilling Mag and her companions within the caves, waiting for them to lead him to the gate and open it. He tells the Queens that once he has obtained the lost secrets beyond the gate, their dominion will stretch "beyond the Void itself", able to command the warframes and all other Orokin technology, and concludes, "The glorious age of the Grineer will begin on this planet."

In the caves, Little Duck hands the Void key over to Mag, who uses it to open the gate. The group step through the Void and end up in a dark place overgrown with Infestation, which Mitsuki can smell. The Lotus is unable to pinpoint their location, but can tell from Mag's readings that they are on a vessel in deep space. Little Duck expresses her disappointment at the state of the ship, and Lotus replies that in the old days, it would have been sublimely elegant and beautiful, with the most brilliant technologies ever made. But time, decay, and the Infestation have reduced it to ruin.

Lotus tells them to head for the command deck in order to shut down the Void gate, preventing Vor from following. Mag accesses a data panel so that Lotus can chart a route to the command deck, while also searching for medical supplies for Mitsuki (who is weak from the ghoul poison). Lotus discovers that the ship contains an Arogya Medica, a device she believed destroyed. Little Duck wonders if the device could heal Mitsuki, but Lotus can only say that Vor must not be allowed to obtain the Medica before static interference cuts her off and terminates her signal. The three are then beset by a wave of Infested creatures.

Captain Vor watches on the screens in his command post as Mag and her companions step into the Void gate, and rallies his troops. The soldiers ready their weapons, and the ghouls are hatched from their diapause bags. Everyone is loaded onto troop carrier ships, including the dormant Excalibur warframe, still held in the restraint block. Vor encourages his troops, before gloating to the warframe that it will soon serve the Grineer.


Next issue: GHOULS Part Four


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