My first stab at writing something for Warframe, though the greater sort of headcanon that this story takes place in has been knocking around in my head for a while. It's not super evident in this particular bit, but it'll definitely show up more prominently down the line.
It was supposed to be a routine op, like many they had done before. At least, that's what the briefing made it out to be. Get in, nick some clearance and landing codes, and get out. Easy. Shouldn't have taken more than half a rotation. Of course, that's how it should have gone. Somehow, the Corpus knew they were coming, and they had walked right into a trap. After a brief firefight, during which several of their party were killed—including their commander, Netyah— they were surrounded and had no choice but to surrender. They were stripped of weapons and bundled off to a nearby holding bunker, their fates unknown.
Solise shivered, though for once it wasn't because of the cold. Fear far colder than any Venusian blizzard clawed at his throat. He had grown up under the shadow of Anyo Corp, and was painfully aware of what they did to disloyal Solaris. Cowering in the corner of their cell, he tried his best not to imagine what awaited him and his unit once the Corpus bureaucratic machine had processed their captor's report.
A hand rested itself on his shoulder, and he looked up to see his friend, Aurian. They had first met each other when the unit had formed, becoming fast friends. This friendship was proof that opposites attract, as both their demeanors and chosen field of expertise were starkly different. Aurian was a loud, commanding personality, whose large mouth often got her into trouble, even with her fellow Solaris. She was used to getting her way, or at the very least making her displeasure known if she didn't. As the team's demolitionist, she preferred explosions that were as least as loud and extravagant as she was. No one could deny that she was good at her job, though. When they needed a MOA rackhouse or Corpus assembly line erased from existence, there was no one better.
Solise on the other hand was a far quieter, more reserved person, preferring to hang towards the back, unnoticed and overlooked. His forte was that of a tech specialist, and it was often his job to ensure that any records of his unit's exploits never reached Anyo Corp. Tangled data-masses were his home territory, but in a real firefight, he wasn't much use.
Given the usual nature of his work, he was sure that this situation was his fault. He must have missed something, and that small mistake had gotten their whole squad caught.
The mood in their cell was only a few degrees above absolute hopelessness, and even the normally boisterous Aurian was subdued. Of course, that might have something to do with the two massively framed Corpus wardens leering at then from just beyond the laser gate of their cell. They didn't say anything, but they didn't really have to. The Solaris all knew what horrors Nef Anyo was more than willing to dish out to those he found rebellious.
They stayed like that for a long time, huddled in their cell, awaiting their fate. Aurian moved between the remaining members of their squad, a quick hug here, a murmured word there. Solise admired her for being about to so easily rise up and fill Netyah's place, especially when everyone needed it the most. He wished he would could do that, but he was afraid that they would blame their current predicament on him. To be fair, they would be entirely within their rights to do so. He had to have screwed somewhere, and now they were paying the price.
He shivered again, but this time, he noticed that it was just out of fear. The already freezing Vallis temperatures were quickly plummeting to blisteringly cold ones, and he wasn't the only to notice. The other members of their squad were drawing closer together, huddling up to conserve heat, and the hulking Corpus wardens shifted slightly, gripping their Convectrix beam weapons even tighter. The MOAs and Corpus trooper patrolling outside formed up, scanning the surrounding countryside for signs of an approaching threat.
They weren't looking in the right direction. A figure dropped from the sky, landing with a heavy thud directly behind the two wardens. For a moment, Solise couldn't quite believe what his eyes were seeing. The humanoid figure was covered in bright, garish colors, and he found himself wondering how the Corpus could have possibly missed that. Lime green and hot pink chased each other in swirls over much of its body, with bright blue streaks running through them and yellow highlights glowing all over its body. What looked like a turbine was embedded in its head, constantly spinning and spewing cold air and small flakes of snow. A flowing cape, dyed in the single loudest hue of green Solise had ever seen draped itself over its shoulders, flowing and rippling in the cold wind of the Vallis.
It was a Tenno's Warframe, and it was hideous.
The wardens spun, bringing their weapons to bear, but before they could get their sights on the 'frame, two sleek pistols had appeared in each of its hands. With a deafening report, the two wardens were thrown backwards against the laser grid, a neat hole in each of their helmets. With the immediate threat taken care of, the figure rushed to console, holstering the pistols as its fingers flew over the keys, as it sliced into the system. As it entered the bunker the temperature plummeted, and Solise shivered again. With a chirp, the console flashed red, then yellow, and the frame slapped a hand against it in frustration, then cocked its head as if listening. It nodded once, then moved to the doorway as a loud boom echoed across the Vallis landscape.
Solise felt any remaining color drain from his face. He had heard that sound a few times before, and it always meant that trouble was on the way. It was the sound of a Condor dropship breaking the sound barrier as it warped into the area, and that meant that a fresh squad of Corpus would soon be here; likely with another set of wardens, who were tougher than the average Corpus crewman.
The 'frame didn't seem perturbed by this change of events. Solise couldn't quite tell what was going on behind that impassive faceplate, but if he had to guess from the set of the figure's shoulders, it was looking forward to tangling with some of Anyo's best. It gathered mist in its hands before throwing its arms wide, and a sphere of ice crystalized out from its hands, quickly encapsulating the entrance to the bunker in a miniature blizzard. Out came the twinned pistols again, and the frame turned to throw a cocky salute at the assembled Solaris. Solise watched with a mixture of admiration, amazement, and confusion as the figure jumped straight up, landing on the roof of the bunker if the sound of the heavy footsteps were anything to go by.
He understood that the Tenno were figures of unparalleled power, some of the few people powerful enough to directly oppose the Corpus. Were they even people? The rumors and legends surrounding them were as varied as they were unreliable. Most painted them as distant, aloof warriors of unknowable power and even more unknowable motives, but here was one of those warriors of legend, helping some lowly Solaris out of a jam and finding the time to jest about it all the same.
He was beginning to wonder just how many of the rumors about the Tenno were fallacies when the gunfire started. At first it was just the remnants of the original Corpus guard squad, and Solise wondered why the Tenno wasn't returning fire. He wasn't left waiting long, as there then came the whistling of something rapidly cutting through the atmosphere. Whatever it was, the Tenno seemed to catch it, but only just, as something impacted the roof with a resounding clang. There was a series of mechanical whirrs followed by a resounding chunk, and then a deafening barrage of bullets was unleashed. A detonation even louder than that of the dropship arriving quickly sounded following the salvo, and shrapnel began to clatter against the ice blocking the doorway. Solise felt his jaw drop as he realized that they were fragments of that same dropship. Whatever the Tenno was packing, he didn't fancy being on the receiving end of it, especially if they were ripping through the heavily armored and shielded vehicles the Corpus favored.
They sat there, listening to the sound of the battle raging around them, there wasn't much more they could do. Eventually the dropships stopped coming as each one met a similar fate to the first, replaced the electronic thunder of orbital deployment beams, and the Tenno silenced its monster of a weapon. The pistols that had dispatched the Corpus wardens started up again, in a steady methodical rhythm. With each bark of the pistols, another Corpus gun fell silent, but was quickly replaced by two more. Solise could hear them pressing closer and closer. Clearly, although a Tenno was a force to be reckoned with, one of them couldn't fight off an entire army.
Or so he thought. As they Corpus guns grew closer, the Tenno's responses changed yet again. A deeper thump began to sound, one of a large caliber rifle or shotgun of some sort, and sometimes that was succeeded by a small detonation like that of a flak burst. That didn't seem to slow the advance much, and Solise began to worry that the Tenno would be overrun.
That worry solidified into a solid block of dread that dropped straight to his stomach when the Tenno's gunfire faded away completely and their footsteps receded off the roof, running off to one side. There were too many Corpus, and the Tenno knew it. They had an opportunity and they were taking it, leaving the squad to their fate. The Corpus didn't let up, though, their shots hammering against the ice blocking the way into the bunker until it finally shattered and the last guns fell silent.
Solise felt the small ember of hope in his heart that had appeared along with the Tenno sputter and die as the pointed helmets of the Corpus Terra troopers appeared in the doorway of the bunker, weapons raised. Their harsh voices echoed over the cold walls as they swept their weapons over the interior, scanning for additional threats.
They wouldn't find any. Aurian stood at the lasers, arms crossed defiantly, with the rest of the squad cowering behind her. The troopers approached, not lowing their weapons, as their harsh voices echoed behind their faceplates. Solise caught snippets of conversation, and from what he could tell, they were debating whether or not the squad was worth keeping alive. Bad things followed those sought by the Tenno, so removing them might be the best way to prevent further interference. On the other hand, it was the perfect way to draw more of the Betrayers into a trap.
Movement behind the figures in the doorway caught Solise's eye, and he peered past the Corpus to see a wave of sharp shards of ice sweep a large portion of the squad off their feet, puncturing robotics and environmental suits alike. It disappeared as soon as it appeared, and those in the bunker spun upon hearing the death-cries of their comrades and automated proxies. They formed up, weapons drawn, and moved slowly towards the limp bodies on the ground, blood and oil steaming on the frigid ground.
Evidently, they hadn't seen the last of the Tenno.
The now-familiar gaudy colors flashed as the Warframe rocketed out from behind a rock, cape billowing as it brought an ornate shotgun to bear, and sent a small projectile at one of the groups of remaining Corpus. At first, Solise thought that the shot had gone horribly wide, rocketing off over the heads of the assembled troopers, but his theory was quickly disproven as a loud crack sounded and the projectile exploded, the shockwave pushing the Corpus to their knees. The frame then holstered the shotgun and unsheathed a truly gargantuan sword from its back. It raised the blade over its head and sent itself plummeting into another knot of enemies, this one mostly MOAs.
His view wasn't the best, but he saw enough. The Tenno wielded the monster of a blade with terrifying efficiency, swinging it around in large circles and sometimes even using the blade to catapult itself forward into its next target. The Corpus it had knocked down with the blast had managed to regain their footing, and had begun to open fire on the 'frame once again. Their energy weaponry sent blue bolts fizzling against the shields of the figure, and it paused, looking in the direction of the offending troopers, cocking its head in an almost curious manner.
The only warning was its turbine kicking into overdrive, flakes of snow beginning to fountain from its head. Mist gathered in its hand, which was then thrust into the sky. A wave of freezing air swept from the figure, causing the assembled Corpus to cringe away, shielding themselves from the figure. Solise felt a chill unlike any he'd ever felt wash over him—an impressive feat given his life on the Vallis—and he began to shiver violently. He wasn't the only one, as his squadmates began to shake as well, drawing close once again. Even Aurian was affected, and she never showed weakness.
However, that was nothing compared to those caught in the direct influence of the wave.
Solid ice began to creep up their bodies, and then the 'frame lowered its arm. The ice erupted, encapsulating the robots and troopers alike in a gleaming coat of white frost several inches thick within milliseconds. The arm was then swept across its body in a slicing motion, and the bodies simply shattered.
Solise blinked in disbelief, trying to comprehend what had just happened. There was no way they had just been frozen solid and shattered like glass. And yet, here he was looking at the evidence of just that. He shuddered. It appeared that the tales of the Tenno's power hadn't been exaggerated in the slightest.
The Warframe straightened, rolling its rock as it walked past the bodies of its vanquished foes and towards the bunker, whose door seemed frozen open. The aura surrounding it dulled from blistering to merely frigid, and it began to plug small data-keys that it much have looted off the wardens into the console. Eventually, it got the sequence it needed, and with a hum, the lasers flickered and died. Solise blinked blankly at the space they had once occupied, not quite comprehending that they were free. He had been so sure that they were to face Nef Anyo's wrath, and now without the immediate repercussions looming over him, he wasn't quite sure what to do. He reached out and passed a hand through the air where the lasers had been, making sure it wasn't a dream, and heard a quiet laugh behind him.
Aurian slung an arm around his shoulder, and although he couldn't see it, Solise was sure that a relieved smile was stretched across her face. "Looks like our adventures aren't through yet. Told you we'd get through this."
Solise scoffed halfheartedly. "You did nothing of the sort, all I got was the hand on the shoulder."
"Exactly, told you so." Aurian's mirthful tone dropped to a more subdued one, and she asked, "How're you holding up?"
Solise sighed, closing his eyes and learning heavily against his friend. "I don't know. Not great, I suppose. I can't shake the feeling that all of this is somehow my fault. I got us caught, and then when the Corpus showed up, I couldn't even help fight them off. I'm totally useless, I can't even clean up my own messes. Don't really know if you should keep me around after this, if I can't even do my part properly."
"Hey now, don't think like that. There's no guarantee that you're the one who tipped off the Taxmen, and you're far from useless." Aurian squeezed his shoulders. "What matters right now is that some of are still here, and that means that we can make Anyo Corp pay for what it did."
Solise opened his mouth to argue, then quickly shut it again as he saw the Tenno approaching. Up close, he realized just how tall the hulking figure was, and he involuntarily shuddered as the 'frame stopped in front of the two.
It offered a comms unit to Aurian, and after a moment's hesitation, she took it. As she stepped off for a moment to get it working, Solise remained rooted to the spot, staring up at the impassive faceplate of the Tenno war machine.
It cocked its head again, seeming to stare back, and after a moment, it reached behind its back and produced a small data-chit. It pressed the metal into Solise's hand, and he hissed in surprise as he nearly dropped the small metal rectangle, both at the unexpected movement and the temperature. It was freezing, though he supposed that wasn't all too surprising, especially considering what he had just witnessed. He supposed he was lucky his hand was still attached.
He looked back up at the frame, confused, but it simply inclined its head at him, threw another cocky salute at Aurian, then bowed deeply to the squad as a whole, spreading its arms wide in a highly exaggerated manner.
And just like that, it was gone. It backflipped backwards out the doors, jumped straight up again, and disappeared. A whoosh of something moving quickly and the roar of engines was heard, but even that quickly faded away.
Solise looked at the chit in his hand, before stowing it away and turning to face Aurian, who now had the comms up and running, and was nodding to whatever instructions she could hear. After a moment, straightened, stowing the comms, before turning to address the squad.
"Alright, time to move out everyone. Our orders are simple. Get back to Fortuna as quickly as possible. That Tenno is going to break into some datavaults to wipe our records, so we should be in the clear, but I'd rather not dally." She turned and headed for the door, walking briskly.
"Who put you in charge?" a voice piped up.
Aurian stopped mid-stride, and spun to regard the squad. "Really? After all that's happened you're still going to ask that? I'm sorry, mister power-hungry," she strode forward towards the offender, a Solaris by the name of Balnor, if Solise recalled correctly. "I thought that watching four of our squadmates getting gunned down would be enough to convince you to put aside your petty power-struggles for just a moment and focus on getting back in one piece." She loomed over the errant Solaris as the rest of the squad drew back. A pissed Aurian wasn't a pretty sight. "Now, you can stay here and argue all you want about who's in charge, I don't particularly care. I'm going back to Fortuna, and anyone who wishes to do so can join me. I'm not really interested in explaining all the dead bodies and destroyed machinery to the Corpus when they show up again."
With that, she spun on her heel and marched out of the door, not looking back.
Solise and most of the others followed suit, and after a moments hesitation the remaining members fell in line as well, trudging out of the bunker and towards Fortuna, towards home.
I'm sure there's a slew of grammatical errors, but I did try to catch as many as I could. Pretty general, but all stories need a beginning somewhere. As an aside, I'm basing a lot of these off of the internal dialogue I have while fooling around in game, so there's a distinct chance that some of the bits down the road are gonna be really similar to certain missions. I will attempt to keep them from playing out exactly like a mission, and I'm hoping that once I establish characters that ends up being easier, but we'll see. I'm also gonna be working on some short sorta "dumb fun" stories as well, so hopefully that'll break it up a bit. Until then, hope you like it, and lemme know what you think.