Chapter 3- Tenno
The two Liset insertion craft detached from the Tenno transport, making their way towards the grineer galleon. Attaching themselves to its hull, powerful laser cutters opened two holes in the ship's hull, allowing the two warriors inside to enter.
"This mission's a simple smash and grab, emphasis on the smash. The Grineer have an object of some importance onboard this ship, and your job is to get it. Any questions?" Meria asked.
"Yes, one. What is the object in question?" I asked.
"I believe that it is a prototype Grineer power source for use in their vehicles. I don't know how big it is, but we're leaving with it in hand." Meria replied. "Now get going. I will be watching."
Meria then used her Zephyr to jump off into parts unknown, leaving me alone. I readied my Braton and proceeded deeper into the ship.
BANG BANG BANG
Another Grineer fell, riddled with bullets. The Grineer were not the most tactically sound soldiers, simply rushing at me guns blazing. The few that came close enough fell to my swords. The smarter Grineer that stayed back and attempted to snipe me with their Grakata SMGs died to bursts from my Sicarus pistol. From what I could see so far, it amazed me that the Grineer ever managed to defeat the ancient Tenno, much less take over a good portion of the Origin system!
Bypassing another lock, I proceeded into the room where the objective was stored, and my musings on Grineer supremacy were cut short.
"Uh, Meria? We have a problem." I said into the comm.
"Yes? What is it?" She responded.
"The objective... you may want to come take a look at this." I said, as the objective loomed ahead of me. The Grineer had not only built a new power source, they had installed it into a tank as well. Said tank was walking on four legs, and was looking very displeased with the Tenno in front of it, namely me.
BOOM!
Its main gun fired, aiming directly for me. Apparently, the Grineer inside was either too stupid or too apathetic to know that he was firing an artillery caliber gun inside a cramped spaceship. The shell left a sizeable hole in the floor, and would have reduced me to a fine red mist had I still been in that particular area. However, I had already jumped on top of the vehicle, ready to disable it through sword strikes to the engine. Then came the second unpleasant surprise of the day. Suddenly, hundreds of volts of electricity coursed through the vehicle's hull, forcing me to either jump off or fry. Jumping off the tank, I was back to square one, as the vehicle readied for a second shot. Moving out of the way as the cannon fired, I began to search for weak points. I found one in the form of the turret ring, which I could jam with nanobots, forcing the tank to turn to face me in order to shoot me. Closing in, I readied my gauntlets to project nanobot pellets. Firing, I smiled under my helmet as the nanobots flowed towards the turret ring, solidifying and preventing it from moving. I heard faint cursing in Grineer coming from the inside of the tank as the turret attempted to move, and failed. That solved the problem of the turret, but the electrified hull prevented me from destroying it... no, I could overcome that solution as well. Shifting my armor into a Volt configuration, I once again latched onto the tank. Once again, the Grineer inside attempted to electrocute me, but this time I was ready. Rather than cooking me inside my own armor, the electricity was redirected into a makeshift power cell inside my frame. The tank now powered my Warframe. I climbed to the top of the tank, where the entrance hatch was located. A single sword strike opened it, allowing me to electrocute the operator within. The tank fell silent, its hull still electrified, but otherwise useless.
"Nice job taking that thing out. I was worried that I would have to come down there and save your ass from the big bad tank. Not a bad move with that warframe change, by the way." Meria said, dropping in.
"Wait, so you knew that this thing was here?" I asked.
"One of the requirements of being a Tenno is to be able to adapt to any situation, regardless of original mission parameters." Meria said, as if reciting from a textbook. My response was cut off by the third unpleasant surprise of the day.
Suddenly the lights flickered and went out, cloaking the insides of the ship in blackness. A familiar hissing voice sounded inside my ears, the nanobots inside conveying the message.
"Traitor... you have betrayed the empire, working for the Tenno scum! No punishment is too terrible, too horrifying for what you have done! Your purpose was to avenge their death, not join their killers! I come for you now. Pray that your gods have mercy on you, because I will not! You betrayed the empire, betrayed the Low Guardians, tearing them from their intended purpose! Your sentence is DEATH!"
With that, I heard the distinct sound of the Stalker teleporting in.
"Do not interfere, Tenno filth. This traitor needs to be disciplined." The Stalker said, trapping Meria inside a bubble of energy. As she tried to break out, the Stalker turned to me.
"Do you know why I plucked you from your home dimension? I thought that you would prove worthy of continuing the legacy of the Orokin, and that your knowledge of what you faced would allow you to pass my test. I was proven correct. You passed, where all others had failed. You were given a gift that would make you superior to all who dared oppose you. You could have been my apprentice, sworn to carry on my legacy, and you threw it all away to be with the Tenno. Do you know what they have done to the Orokin? They betrayed an empire that had shown them nothing but honor, plunging humanity into a war that killed billions for no reason! Now, I am all that remains of their magnificent empire, and I will avenge it." The Stalker said, striking at me with his scythe, the black blade hissing through the air, lightning fast.
"The Orokin were monsters! They mass released the Infestation onto thousands of worlds, destroying entire races to create their armies! It is an honor to destroy what remains of them." I replied, blocking the blow with my skana, while using my other sword to counter.
"The Orokin Empire was threatened with extinction, and when faced with such, any alternative is preferable. It was with a heavy heart that the Emperor ordered this, and those that were subjected to the Infestation did so gladly, knowing that they would die defending their homes and families! Their blood is on the hands of the Tenno, who started the terrible war that destroyed the Empire!" The Stalker replied, jumping back out of my counterattack's range, covering his retreat with a flurry of throwing knives.
"Is that what the Orokin told you? I have the combined memories of the Infestation that prove otherwise. I have seen massive Orokin fleets covering entire worlds with the Technocyte, their unfeeling captains laughing as the people below are assimilated in agony! How could anyone willingly follow such monsters?" I said, rushing towards the Stalker, swords at ready. However, before I could strike, the Stalker swept my legs out from under me with a single blow from his scythe.
"Fool. When the Orokin augmented me, they made me more powerful than you could ever imagine! Stronger men have tried to defeat me, and all that remains of them is their blood on my blade! Prepare to join them! Prepare to DIE!" The Stalker screamed, raising his scythe to deliver a killing blow. I barely rolled out of the way in time to avoid it, the cruel blade burying itself deep into the Grineer ship's floor.
"The Orokin considered you nothing but a tool. Their augments contained a control device, turning you into their pet! They would have used you, then cast you aside when you outlived your usefulness to them. Even now, you still remain loyal to a long dead race. Their total control over you is clear as day. You are nothing but a puppet of the Orokin, dancing on strings pulled by the Empire's echoes." I said as the Stalker prepared for another blow. The result was stunning. The armored figure suddenly faltered, bringing the scythe down to its side, clutching its head.
"No... impossible... my mind..." I heard, coming from the Stalker himself. He was fighting the control implant, although the result remained to be seen. Then, the purpose returned to the Stalker's movements.
"Your words are like poisoned honey, worming their way into my mind, weakening my resolve! Consider yourself fortunate that I must crush the rebellious part of my mind now. We will meet again, traitor, and next time, you will die at my blade!" The Stalker then disappeared, the ship's lights flickering on again. I walked up to the orb that Meria was trapped in. Before I reached it, the Orb finally broke under the Tenno clan leader's assault. She looked at me, and said two words.
"Explain, now."
"How much did you hear?" I asked.
"Everything. You are from another dimension, correct? How did you know of the Stalker before he brought you here? Start explaining now, and don't bother attempting to fabricate some half baked lie. I want the truth about your origins. Clanmates cannot keep secrets from one another." Meria said. Her tone of voice suggested that if I did not start talking now, I may very well end up on a dissection table in the Dojo labs.
"Very well. As you know already, I am from another dimension, from a time before Hayden Tenno." I began, noticing her stiffen slightly as I said the name. "I was brought here by a strange void key that spontaneously activated when I made physical contact with it."
"Did you know what a Void Key was before it sent you here?" She asked, now curious.
"Yes." I responded.
"How? Did your humanity discover the Void early on?"
"No. However, truth is stranger than fiction. The Stalker, the Grineer, the Tenno, everything in this dimension, is considered a part of a video game in mine. I happen to have been a player of said video game, so I recognized the Stalker when I saw him."
This caused Meria to break out in laughter. "You certainly are creative with your lies, human. Now I want the real truth."
"That was the real truth. Are you familiar with the multiverse theory?" I asked.
"No. I have never heard of that." Meria replied.
"The multiverse theory is simple. Every possible future, every unique thought, has its own universe. For every choice made, there are new universes formed around the untaken alternatives. For all I know, my existence here could very well be the result of some writer in yet another universe!" I said, finishing my most likely horribly misinformed explanation.
When Meria did not seem convinced, I decided to gamble a bit. "These events should occur at some time, if they have not already." I then listed off the various ingame events, such as the Fomorian fleet's construction, the deployment of the Cicero toxin, and Alad V's experiments on the Infestation. Meria was still not convinced. Apparently, these events had not yet occured. "What about you 'Tearing the Low Guardians from their intended purpose?'" She asked.
"After the Stalker augmented me, I had a delightful conversation with the infestation's hive mind and convinced them to stop their attempts to assimilate everything in the known universe." I replied. Meria just looked at me as if I had gone insane.
"We can discuss this later. For now, let's get to extraction, this ship feels like its gonna fall apart any second now." she said, before heading towards the exit point.
"What about the clan membership? Did I pass the test?" I asked, following her.
"Yes, you did. Your combat abilities are good enough, at least. Consider yourself a Disciple of Clan Shadow." Meria answered. Then, we reached the extraction point, and headed back to the Dojo.
I had indeed passed the test. When I returned to the Dojo, I was assigned a trainer. Lucanus was a Nekros user, who had a personality quite the opposite of what his choice of frame suggested. While most Nekros users were dark, moody, and wrote bad poetry, Lucanus was different. He always seemed to be smiling underneath his helmet, and his patience made him a very good trainer. Finally, his poetry was actually readable. After training was complete, I would join a team, mine having already been selected. It was composed of Adren, his Trinity frame making him an excellent healer and support, Eria, an Ember user, and Talos, who used a frame not present in-game. His Paradox frame was designed to manipulate space-time, allowing him to phase shift into intangibility or to create multiple clones of himself. All I had to do to join them was pass the test at the end of training. The typical training period took ten years.
My first lesson began the next day with me meeting Lucanus in one of the training simulator rooms. Immediately after I entered it, a simulation of an endless Grineer assault began. I barely had time to form my armor and swords before the first Butchers were in melee range. The next five minutes were composed of me charging and eviscerating the multitude of simu-grineer coming at me, a horde that was slowly increasing in strength. While I was fighting butchers and lancers at the 1 minute mark, by the time 5 minutes had passed I was being swarmed by bombards and napalms, with a few heavy gunners thrown in. Eventually, I was knocked to the ground by a grineer roller, who were just as annoying in the simulator as they were ingame, before being taken out by combined fire from several Napalms. When the simulator deemed me thoroughly dead, the simulation ended, leaving me in a dark room, lit only by a few lights in the ceiling.
"Not bad kid. Most of the operatives we train here don't last that long on their first run." Came a voice from behind me. I whirled around, to see Lucanus behind me. The angular form of his Nekros frame a stark contrast to the light coming in from the open doorway.
"However, there were several flaws in your technique, chief among them being the fact that you did not use your nanobots to assist you. I have seen what you can do with them, and they would have helped you immensely." It was true, I never used my augmentations, partially because I didn't know what would happen with them in the simulator, and partially because I had no time to think in between attacking and blocking, and nanobot manipulation required constant thought to direct them properly.
"However, based on your performance today, I have no doubts that you will make an excellent Tenno after we are done. Now to begin your training proper." He said, leading me into a training room, full of all sorts of equipment.
"Choose a melee weapon, and face me." He said. Thus began my training as a Tenno.
Ten years later
I knelt before my master, weapon at my side. I was finally ready. If I passed this test, I would be able to join the ranks of the Tenno. If I failed, I would be forced to redo all ten years of training that I had just gone through.
"You ready kid?" Lucanus asked.
"Yes sir." I replied, standing, Orthos at the ready. I had chosen to be trained in the use of the Orthos staff, as the twin bladed staff had been a favorite of mine ingame. Lucanus did the same, raising his Galatine sword. A gong sounded, and the test began. In order to pass, I either had to survive untouched for one hour, or get past my opponent's guard and land a blow. Since I did not possess the stamina required for one solid hour of fighting, I decided to go for the latter option. As soon as the test began, I stepped forward, twirling my weapon. Warframe abilities were not allowed. This was a test of weapon skill alone. I swatted aside the first sword blow to come at me, countering with a stab of my own, which was likewise blocked. Not letting him recover from my first strike, I leapt into action, unleashing a flurry of chopping blows, intending to break his guard through sheer volume of incoming strikes. Slowly, I forced him back towards the wall, my staff spinning the whole time. Then, he countered. I was forced to stop attacking in order to attend to a strike coming in from my left. Deflecting it, I barely had time to recover before a stabbing blow came towards me, aimed at my head. Ducking under it, I feinted a high slash, while using my leg to sweep my enemy's legs out from under him. The ploy worked, and I quickly delivered a finishing blow. The test was over. I had passed.
"Congratulations. Consider yourself a full Tenno, Matthew. " Lucanus said, standing up from the prone position he had been occupying.
"Thanks. I passed because you were a good teacher. I owe you for taking the trouble to train me." I replied.
"You were a good student as well. Congratulations." He replied, before removing something from one of the pockets of his Warframe, pinning it to my shoulder. The holo-emitter lit up, displaying the insignia of Clan Shadow, a clan of which I was now a member.
"Congratulations, now report to the armory and pick out your loadout. Then meet with your team in the shuttlebay. We've found a Corpus vessel near Jupiter that is transporting some kind of new security proxy prototype. Your job is to make sure that it never reaches its testing ground." Meria said, walking up to the two of us.
"Yes ma'am." I responded, moving for the armory. Inside, there were a variety of weapons, from all factions, for me to choose from. While the more advanced weapons from the clan laboratories ingame were not present, all the basic ones were there. I grabbed a Soma machine gun and and Angstrum pistol, both of which were favorites of mine ingame, and ran to the shuttlebay, my armor flowing into being as I ran. Now that I had my Orthos, I did not need to fabricate swords for my own use, giving me more nanobots for more advanced manuvers.
Entering the hangar, I was greeted by the rest of my team, already suited up.
"Its about time you finished up basic." Adren said, greeting me. The two of us had become friends while I had been training, often sparring in our spare time.
"So what do we know about this new security proxy?" I asked.
"Next to nothing, aside from it being some new type of MOA." Eria replied. That got my attention. A new type of MOA might mean that this universe's equivalent of the Fusion MOA event could be about to take place.
"It should not be a problem then. The Corpus are the ones building them, so they probably cut corners in its design." I replied as my team got into the transport, picking out a Liset for our use in infiltration. The Liset was a small stealth shuttle, designed to carry one Tenno into combat. Laser cutters allowed it to breach even the most thickly armored warship hulls, allowing the Tenno inside to carry out their mission. However, Lisets lacked range, forcing Tenno to rely on larger carrier vessels to move them from planet to planet, the Lisets themselves only being used in the final run. The carrier we were using shook slightly as it took off, taking me on my first mission as a proper Tenno.
I was right, there were fusion MOAs onboard. Two hundred of them, to be exact, all in varying states of 'Search and Exterminate all Tenno'. The ship itself was the new proxy's testing ground, set up to test the new MOAs' effectiveness against Tenno. They were not counting on me, as I knew exactly how they operated. The drones they launched were a nasty surprise, but the Corpus cut corners in the targeting systems for the MOA's main laser gun. The laser was powerful, capable of slicing through shields in a matter of seconds, but its targeting system was flawed, forcing the robot to take time re-adjusting its aim, time that allowed us to run rings around them and destroy them. A quick strike to its top region prevented the drones from launching, allowing us to kill the parent MOA with little trouble. Talos in particular was good at taking them out, his warframe's phase shifting ability allowed for him to act as a distraction, causing the MOAs to focus on him, while the rest of us took them out. His attempts to ride the MOA, however, were less successful.
Eventually, we reached the ship's reactor, overloaded it, and got out, watching the ship explode from our transport's windows.
When we returned, Meria was waiting for me in the hangar.
"Report to my office immediately. We have much to discuss."
Apparently, she had heard of the Fusion MOAs, and decided to take another look at my origins.
As soon as we were behind closed doors, Meria began to ask questions on what is to come. I told her as much as I could, explaining everything I knew about upcoming events such as the Fomorian fleet and the Grineer colony on Phobos. She listened to it all, asking me to repeat certain parts, namely the process of obtaining critical components for completing objectives.
"So the Grineer will attack the Corpus at Gradivus, and both sides will ask the Tenno for support?" She asked.
"Yes. Supporting either side will have its benefits and downfalls. Supporting the Corpus will allow us to severely weaken the Grineer, but this will come at the cost of us losing the Tenno cryopods that Alad V has secured for his Zanuka project. If we support the Grineer, we can rescue the Tenno in those cryopods, but the Grineer grow dangerously powerful. Both sides will offer us very large payments for fighting for them, composed of credits, resources, and even a few weapon blueprints." I responded.
"How did it end?" Meria asked.
"It ended in a Grineer victory, although enough players supported the Corpus that the Grineer suffered heavy losses."
"What would you recommend that we do?"
"I say that we play both sides, offering Tenno support to both factions. By altering the amount of support that we give to each faction, we can attempt to force a pyrrhic victory."
"Good. Now what happened afterward?"
"Alad V's failure to win the war against the Grineer caused him to fall out of grace with the Corpus board of directors. However, should his Zanuka project be successful, he would be able to make a bid for the position of CEO. Frohd Bek, the current CEO, will attempt to stop this from happening in order to maintain his hold on power. He will send in a fleet to oust Alad from his gas city on Jupiter, but Alad will be able to manipulate the infestation into attacking Bek's ships. Bek will then enlist the aid of the Tenno in order to clear the infestation from his warships, and we will do this in order to rescue a captive Warframe."
This Q and A session continued for some time, finally ending with me describing the last event to occur in the game before I left. Then, Meria asked me a strange question, unrelated to our conversation's topic.
"Do you ever want to return to your home dimension?" She asked.
"Why do you ask?" I responded, not knowing the answer.
"You would be safe there, away from all this fighting and senseless war. Why stay here?"
"I have nothing to go back to. It has been ten years, all my relatives and friends have most likely mourned my passing and gone on with their lives. The Technocytes inside my body only complicate things further. Besides, what would it look like if I left? We Tenno need every able body in order to have any hope of winning this war. My unique capabilities can make me a formidable asset, and my leaving would deprive you of it. This universe is my home now, and I will stay and fight for it." I replied. "Besides, the only person who can probably send me back happens to be my greatest enemy, so I doubt that I can just waltz up to wherever the Stalker lives and say 'Hey, can you send me back please? I'm tired of this universe.'" I said, meaning every word.
"Very well. You may go get some rest. Fighting all those fusion MOAs must have been tiring." Meria said, dismissing me. I turned and left, eager to get some sleep.
Twenty two years later (32 years post dimensional shift)
I smiled as the Fomorian Dreadnought in orbit around Mercury detonated, my squadmates watching from the transport windows. The coming of the grineer superships was a surprise to most Tenno, excluding me and my clan leader. While the other clans were struggling to find a way to destroy the monstrous warships, my clan was finding out exactly what kind of corruptor makes the ships go boom. It was while looking for corruptors that I had discovered exactly how the Infestation had changed. Massive parkour courses full of infested to fight, each designed to push us to our limit, were constructed by the Infestation. If we managed to complete them, no mean feat, as they required the Tenno participating to think differently, we would gain access to both corruptors for use against the Fomorian threat, as well as various bits of exotic technology. The rest of the Tenno learned of the Infestation's sudden change in nature while doing these courses, although Meria already had a small inkling of what was responsible. During this time, I gained a reputation as a 'Stalker security blanket,' as I was one of the few Tenno able to reliably defeat him.
Clan Shadow led the Tenno in the amount of Fomorians destroyed, having blown up three, while only one other clan, clan Specter, even managed to destroy one. While many clans were researching various 'Wonder weapons' that could destroy Fomorians, we were happily applying corruptors to their cores, and watching the explosions. In addition, the amount of Infested technology retrieved jump started our clan's research and development division, allowing us to begin work on weapons based on infested biomatter, such as the Torid and the Phage. Shadow went from a mid-range run of the mill clan to one of the most advanced ones, all thanks to my contribution and foresight.
Six years later (38 years post dimensional shift)
Another Grineer ship went up in a ball of blue-white fire, commemorating my sixtieth birthday. I had aged wonderfully, or rather, not aged at all, most likely a side effect of my augmentations. In celebration, my teammates hosted a small party on the way back, and by party I mean that we each drank about a bottle of Grineer Beer, taken from the destroyed ships' captain's private reserve. Grineer Beer was commonly thought to be the first, last, and only good thing to come out of the Grineer empire, being one of the few alcohols strong enough for Tenno to enjoy. It was rumored that Lieutenant Lech Kril, the leader of the Grineer on Ceres, had discovered the perfect method of brewing said beer, but despite all our efforts, we could not locate the production facility, though not from lack of effort.
"So how old is our little baby turning today?" Talos asked, beer glass in hand.
"Sixty." I responded. I was extremely young compared to most Tenno, who ranged from Three hundred to over a thousand years old, with the average life expectancy being two to three thousand years.
"Do you have your diaper on securely?" Talos asked. He was the kind of guy that, no matter how much you wanted to hit him, you couldn't, either because he never quite crossed the line, or, in Talos' case, was capable of phase shifting so that your fists passed through him.
By now I was a mid ranked Tenno, experienced, but still a few centuries away from master. However, I was extremely high ranked inside my clan, being the highest ranked strategist present. My performance in the field had given me the nickname of 'The Good Stalker', due to me utilizing much the same combat tactics as my black armored nemesis. I considered this as I watched the grineer ship finish exploding, the fires from its hull slowly dying away.
Twelve years later (50 years post dimensional shift)
Operation Arid Fear was concluded, with my clan on top again. Our knowledge gave us a head start in locating the Corpus ship hidden in the void, allowing us to capture the scouts and wrest the location of the Phobos colony away from them before the rest of the clans even knew where the Corpus ship was. Our clan conducted the first raid on Phobos, solidifying our location in the top five clans of the Tenno. Other clans were starting to look on us with suspicion, as the speed in which we managed to discover the Grineer colony seemed impossible without already knowing exactly what we needed to do. We had already discovered several spies from clans Specter and Dark Moon, attempting to gain access to our 'Incredible intelligence network'. The current rumor was that we had managed to convince a member of the Corpus board of directors to defect, which actually was not far off the mark, as we had made contact with Darvo, who, as I already knew, was Frohd Bek's son. This gave us access to many prototype Corpus weapons, such as the Cestra rotary plasma pistol and the Amprex lightning gun. In return for access to top of the line Corpus gear, we kept Darvo's competitors from succeeding, as well as thwarting a Stalker attack on him. Eventually, when Bek began to get suspicious, we got Darvo out of the Corpus, giving our clan access to a significant amount of contacts within the megacorporation, leftovers of Darvo's mercantile empire.
Fifty Eight years later (108 years post dimensional shift)
The last Corpus push for control of Mars ended in defeat, the Grineer's tenno allies making short work of the battle damaged fleet. In the various battles of the Gradivus war, both sides were supported by Tenno warriors. However, Shadow was unique in that it played both sides of the war, rather than commit to either one. This netted us a significant amount of wealth in battle pay from the various battles we participated in. While we were unable to fight in every battle of the war, we managed to make the most of what we could get. The hunt that ensued shortly after for Alad V ended in us rescuing the owner of the Valkyr frame. A scarred, traumatized Tenno, who did not even remember her name due to what the Corpus did to her, was recovered, joining our clan as a result. Due to her unstable nature, which more than once ended in serious injuries in the Dojo, she was paired with an experienced Ash warframe in order to learn discipline and self control. The training produced a fierce warrior, a master of the Tranquil Cleave style of Nikana fighting. While the Nikana was normally a weapon reserved for Tenno Masters, she was a special case due to the weapon being found alongside her, suggesting at a high ranking past in the Tenno order. She became an extremely feared warrior, someone you never want to anger. And unfortunately for them, the Corpus had incurred her wrath.
Thirty three years later (141 years PDS)
I was called down to the clan research labs one day, out of the blue. The scientist who greeted me sounded very excited, meaning that some new discovery had been made. From then on, my day rapidly became better and better. It turns out that several of the clan's scientists were interested in my ability to fabricate almost any warframe, even if I could not power said frame. These scientists had. for the past thirty years, been working on a way to overcome the disadvantages of my condition, namely the inability to use warframe powers without my hand on a power conduit. They had come up with 'Blank Slate'. Blank Slate was, at first glance, an unspecialized warframe, without any abilities whatsoever. However, as the science team explained, the Blank Slate was designed around the extensive information they had on my augmentations, with specialized channels allowing for me to manipluate nanobots through the frame, while at the same time, providing an integrated power source. While the frame used a significant amount of Morphics and Gallium in its production, the result was a frame that I could use without sacrificing my nanobot abilities, while at the same time allowing me to use the powers of almost any frame. The Orokin reactor powering it provided an adequate power source for combat abilities, while the frame itself came with a powerful shield generator, finally giving me one of my own. After some customization, namely tweaking its appearance to look more intimidating, I took it for a test drive on a Grineer galleon. The frame was a huge success, making me one of the most powerful individuals in the Tenno order.
Sixty seven years later (208 years PDS)
The beginning of the Cicero crisis gave the Tenno something to do again other than raid Corpus and Grineer ships and attempt to win various prizes kept by the Infestation (How they managed to get ahold of THAT many warframes is anyone's guess). Our clan already had significant amounts of Cicero antitoxin in store, allowing us to begin work on disrupting the toxin generators immediately. However, it was during this event that I began to develop a relationship with Eria, our squad's Ember. It started when several Grineer AAA batteries shot down our Lisets, forcing Talos and Adren to complete the mission without us. For the next two weeks, the two of us were forced to survive inside the overgrown jungles of Earth, eating Kubrow meat and fighting off the occasional saber-toothed tiger. The latter species began attacking us due to our supply of meat, and continued to attack us due to me having taken one of their cubs from the nests that they built up in the giant trees of Earth. Stewie, as I decided to call him, was a faithful companion to me for the rest of his life. All future saber cats owned by me would be named Stewie in his honor.
During our forced vacation to Earth's jungles, Eria and I began to realize our love for each other, first as friends, and later, by the time we were finally rescued, as lovers. We trekked through Earth's forests together, with baby Stewie tagging along, before we finally reached a Grineer outpost with a communication device strong enough to contact the Tenno. The private celebration we had in our quarters after we returned home cemented our bond, and I proposed marriage three years later, with her accepting. It was then that I told her the secret about my origins, about how I was from a different universe, and knew about most major events that would occur in the future. Her response was simple: "I don't care. You're here now, doing your best to assist all of us, and that's what matters." It was then that I knew I had made the right choice in marrying her.
Forty two years later (250 years PDS)
I was promoted to Master in a short ceremony, nothing too extravagant. It was hardly even a ceremony at all, only being finalized in the Dojo. I had just destroyed one of the Fomorian dreadnoughts being rebuilt under Project Tethra, the ship being destroyed in record time. Unknown to me, I was being watched by several Tenno who were judging me to see if I was worthy of promotion. I passed their test with flying colors, and was ceremonially gifted my Nikana onboard the transport home. I got all the perks of being a master, including my own personal ship, containing a full foundry module and cargo bay, as well as a license to go almost anywhere I wanted in the system. I only needed to report to the Tenno high council (of which Meria was now a part of), and to the Lotus herself. I commemorated the event by blowing up another Fomorian nearing completion, causing Vay Hek himself to put a significant bounty on my head. Several assassins came after me, although they were amateurs looking to make their name known. The true masters knew to keep their heads down when it came to Tenno, as not even the best freelance merc could hope to compete with a trained Tenno warrior, much less a Tenno master. Soon, the efforts of the Tenno ended project Tethra, forcing Vay Hek into hiding. While we Tenno managed to track him down, and even kill him several times, he, like all high ranking Grineer, would only be cloned back to life. Thankfully Grineer neural degeneration prevented them from learning from their mistakes, making killing them rather easy, as they would do the same thing over and over again. On a side note, we finally found the Grineer Beer brewery on Ceres, the extensive factory being cloaked with the best stealth drives the Grineer could afford to buy from the Corpus. Soon, we not only had the recipe, but also an extensive map of shipping routes on which alcohol carrying ships traveled. I kept a few bottles in storage for special occasions.
One hundred and twelve years later (362 years PDS)
The past hundred years wrapped up the remaining events that I had told Meria about. By then, my squadmates had begun adding to their inventories with various prime weapons and warframes discovered in the void. I, however, was less enthusiastic about expanding my own arsenal. My Blank Slate frame was enough for me, and the only prime weapon I was interested in acquiring was the Orthos prime. I had since acquired its components, but the method of assembly continued to elude me, leaving the weapon incomplete. However, several Grineer ships had been detected while attempting to enter the void, possibly attempting an expedition to one of the towers. The Tenno moved to stop them, my squad among them.
The Grineer galleon had just exited the void, its cargo hold full of valuables. Four Liset insertion craft approached the hull of the Grineer ship, their stealth drives keeping them hidden from enemy sensors. Attaching themselves to the hull, powerful laser cutters allowed the Tenno inside to enter. Our objective: clear the ship of all hostiles, allowing for our teams to recover any Orokin artifacts stored within. None of us knew how wrong this mission would go.
A/N: Here's the next update! The next story to be updated will be 'When Civilizations meet', with the rachni encounter already planned out. Enjoy this chapter, as it is my longest one yet.
EDIT: I forgot to put this into my original Author's notes. Lucanus is vendoban1's OC, while the nameless Valkyr is S33KR-HUN's OC. Also, thanks to Bundlejumper for linking this story in his latest chapter.
