Recon

Miguel remained still. Whoever was operating that odd armored vehicle was firing at where the Tenno had been. But if that Tenno had a clue, he was nowhere near where he had been. He needed information. He examined the machine in his visor's enhanced vision. He could make contact. But right now, if he was any judge, then that tank crew was jittery. They were spraying the area and retreating step by step. How the hell was that thing standing and walking? Let alone firing a big gun –at least 200mm his trained eyes and ears told him- and several heavy machine guns. This couldn't be happening. The recoil of the main gun alone should have knocked the ungainly looking thing down. The legs were at the back, but… He hadn't the foggiest idea what the thing was, just that it was attacking a Tenno.

But then his mind was made up when a new set of players joined the action. A squad of Grineer, drawn by the noise, appeared in the distance. The odd machine spun and opened fire with it's main gun. Several Grineer and pieces of others went flying from the heavy shell's impact and others danced under the fire of the machine guns, but more were appearing. Whoever was in command of that tank was an idiot. He was going to be flanked. Miguel shook his head slowly and then his breath caught. A flash of light against the side of the vehicle showed familiar insignia to his vision. Orokin Marines! Under fire!

Miguel snapped into mode instantly, sweeping the Grineer position with his visor's targeting cursor. On passive, it wouldn't show them all, but it would show a lot. He checked his area automatically. He would be firing at long range, the tank-thing was almost half a kilometer away and the Grineer were further still. But…

Every Marine is a rifleman…

Miguel snuggled the stock of his K-3 close, took a deep breath and selected his first target through the unpowered scope. A Bombard that was circling the action. Seeking to hit the heavily armored vehicle from the side or rear. The bullets hitting the front just bounced off and Miguel smiled as a rocket detonated before impact. At least they had point defense online. Miguel was not a trained sniper, nowhere close to Aeron's class with long range hardware. He didn't need to be. This was well within the standard engagement range for a K-3. He selected 'plasma' and took up slack on his trigger. Flechettes would just bounce off of Grineer armor. Plasma would not. The slight recoil took him by surprise as always but he smiled grimly as the bolt of magnetically bottled sun hot fury flew true to strike the Grineer in the back. The Bombard stumbled forward, out of where he had been lurking to avoid the tank's fire and spun, seeking his enemy. But that drew the odd tank's attention and a burst of heavy machine gun fire tore the Grineer apart.

Miguel tracked onto a Lancer firing for all he was worth and put a plasma charge through the clone's helmet. It fell without a sound and Miguel smiled grimly as the odd armored vehicle started to retreat. He took two more shots, ending two more Grineer, before the tank broke contact and vanished into the canyon from which it had come. The Marine displaced from his position quickly. The likelihood of Grineer being able to target him at that range was remote, but not nonexistent. The last thing he wanted was some artillery dropped on him. He kept to cover, sheltering from the Grineer presence by keeping solid rock between him and them. His stealth systems were good, but he wasn't invisible. All it would take was a Grineer looking the wrong way at the wrong time for them to get his position. If they did, he did not give himself good odds of surviving. This was a recon mission, not an assault. While he had a couple of heavy rockets for his K-3 that would defeat any armor in existence, they were not up to taking on more than one or two Grineer. He would save them for special targets.

The Marine made his careful way forward, darting from cover to cover. Each time he stopped, he scanned the area with every passive sensor he had, spending lot of time sweeping with plain eyesight. He heard the sound of firing in the distance and smirked under his helmet. Even an idiot tank commander wouldn't have a problem fighting Grineer of they could only get at him one way. Admittedly, sooner or later, the Grineer would work their way around that canyon and get at the odd machine from the rear, but that wasn't Miguel's problem. He shouldn't have even shot. It wasn't his job, but seeing a vehicle with Marine markings under fire was too much to ignore.

Was it possible that some Marines had survived? Maybe. Not likely, but possible. If there was one thing Marines knew how to do, it was survive. He made his way towards where the battle had been and slowed as he neared it. Nothing moved on the Martian surface. He scanned the odd markings on the ground, the foot prints that the odd walking tank had made. He took pictures of them and smirked again as more firing came from further away. More Grineer were attacking the tank. From the sound of it, they were getting pasted. He paused. Follow the tank or look for the Tenno it had been chasing? He shook his head. He needed information. If the Tenno was one of the operatives sent in… He likely had information.

Miguel listened to another burst of fire and shook his head, moving fast and low towards where the Tenno had fled. He slid into a depression in the Martian surface and paused. He hugged the dirt as another squad of Grineer ran full tilt into the canyon where the fire was coming from, not even looking at where the Marine was lying in plain view. After they were gone, he crawled slowly towards the dip in the terrain that the Tenno had run into, hyperaware of his exposed state. But nothing happened. Miguel made it to the dip and paused again. The tank's main gun had torn up the terrain, but if it had hit the warframe, bits of the Tenno would have been left. Nothing shone, so the Tenno had likely survived. He froze in place, all senses alert, as he heard talking ahead. No, laughter.

"Tenno Skuum!" A Grinner. Obviously. But it didn't sound scared. It sounded… happy? Miguel inched forward and saw the Grineer. It was a Lancer and he was prodding still form at his feet. The Ash lay silent and still. Miguel inched forward, his eyes on the Ash. Inch by inch he moved as the Grineer kicked the still warframe, then stepped on it, obviously trying to break part of it off.

"Tenno Skuum!" The Grineer raised his Grakata and aimed at the Ash's head, but Miguel was close enough. A shot could bring any number of enemies. So Miguel wouldn't shoot.

One thing that not many people knew about the K-3 was the other weapon built into it. From the very dawn of firearms in warfare, the gunners using them had run into a problem. What happened when you ran out of ammunition? The answer? A bayonet. What had originally been a crude dagger that was literally shoved into the muzzle of a primitive handgun –making it into a short spear- had evolved along with almost everything else. The blade that silently extended from below the barrel of Miguel's K-3 was not powered. It made no sense to power something like that. Its edge was a bare molecule wide. The reason that it was housed in a specially reinforced scabbard under the weapon was that it wasn't safe to remove from the rifle. As the Grineer found out.

Before the Grineer even knew Miguel was there, he had plunged the insanely sharp blade into the clone's back. The heavy armor did nothing to slow the blade and it tore through flesh and bone with equal abandon. Before the Grineer could even react to the sudden pain, the bayonet found it's heart and Miguel gave a twist as he pulled it out, severing the clone's spine. The Lancer falling dead at his feet. Miguel knelt beside the still warframe, his passive sensors seeking signs of life. There were not any. That didn't mean as much with Tenno as with others however. Warframes could regenerate insane amounts of damage. Miguel patted the still Ash's hand and reached for the Grineer. He left the Grakata where it fell, but pulled the Grineer a ways to the side before reaching for his belt and rigged the fallen clone with a trap. As far away as the Grineer lay, the Tenno likely wouldn't be affected by the blast and Miguel could not tarry any longer. That was all he could do.

Martian night was falling as Miguel crept out of the ravine that had become a tomb. He headed, not for the canyon that still sounded with gunfire, but for high ground nearby that according to his map, would let him move around the still ongoing battle. It was odd that the Grineer hadn't called for more backup, or even air support. Tanks didn't do so well against aircraft generally. The M402s he had commanded could have been configured for air defense, but mainly they were intended to fight and kill ground targets. Miguel made it to his chosen observation point with no problems. Then he started along the ridge, careful to stay down from the top. If he highlighted himself for the Grineer he could hear screaming in the distance, it wouldn't matter if the darkness was total or only partial. He also didn't trust the marksmanship of whoever was operating that tank. They had seemed… haphazard.

Something suddenly changed and the marine flattened himself to the ground as two cannon sounded in rapid succession followed multiple machine guns firing at once. How many of those odd tanks were there? The screams came again and then cut off with the sound of two explosions. Then the darkness lit up. Miguel bellied up to the ridge, peeked over and stared down at the scene. As he had suspected, two of the odd walking tanks stood there. Both had large spotlights that showed every meter of the blood soaked canyon. It was as bad as any battle he had ever seen. At least a company's worth of Grineer lay scattered about the canyon, some intact but with holes in them. Others in pieces. A few, very few, Grineer were still moving and Miguel froze as movement shone in the canyon. Armed forms moved forward, kicking the weapons away from the feebly moving Grineer, binding them and moving them onto an odd looking hovering contrivance that Miguel realized was a wagon of some kind. The armed forms did not look like Marines. They did not move like Marines. Something was very wrong here.

Miguel moved back and started moving towards the other end of the canyon. Then he noted something. An icon had just appeared on his HUD. Coms were jammed. No wonder the Grineer hadn't sent backup. Likely, no one knew they had been attacked. But… He stiffened and then jumped up and ran downhill. His coms hadn't been jammed a moment before. Directional jamming. He had been detected!

He hit the ground and rolled as the ground exploded on top of the ridge where he had been. He swarmed to his feet, his rifle up and tracking. But whatever was firing at him was doing so from long range. He shook his head and ran. There was nothing else he could do but get out of the kill zone as quickly as possible. Or… He made it to a dip in the ground, slammed into it and pulled a small, thin material from a packet on one hip. A flip sent it over his form to settle in odd patterns and freeze there. An ultra tech version of a ghillie suit, it would hide him from sight and sensor. He hoped. He remained where he was, not daring to breathe hard as movement shone nearby.

"No movement." It was a human voice. Male. Young. But it sounded wrong. Synthesized? "Sensors showed a presence." A form appeared in his view, but it was hunched, mechanical. It had two large arms and two large protuberances that were obvious weapons. It was also moving on four mechanical legs.

"No sign." A female voice that sounded the same answered. Another of the odd forms appeared, sweeping across the area. This one had tracks instead of legs. The ground shook and Miguel bit back a curse as another of the walking tanks strode into view in the distance. "Probability of withdrawal in time elapsed?"

"No power plants on scan. Enemy without powered movement?" The male asked. "Probability chance at 2.572 percent of sensor evasion."

"Then where did the contact go?" The female demanded sharply, sounding more human than machine for a moment. "No contact. Base. No contact. Scan report?"

"Base reports no further contact with Enemy." The male voice replied. But then it spoke again. "Query, four Enemy struck by plasma fire during initial engagement. No units equipped with plasma weaponry. Who fired?"

"Unknown." The female voice replied. "Mount guard?"

"Negative. Enemy forces will investigate." The male responded. "Fall back."

"This was… odd." The female replied. "Why would the Enemy not attack? Why would they... flee?"

"Fall back. Now." The male voice receded and Miguel watched as the machine form disappeared in the distance.

"I know you are here. I know you are close. I know you are hiding." The female voice said in a very soft voice. "Whoever you are… get out of here!" The other unit jerked and the female voice gasped in what was apparent pain. "No, Base. This unit is loyal. This unit will return to base." The machine form disappeared the way the other had gone. The walking tank turned and started away as well.

Ok… That was... odd… Miguel thought to himself. They can detect me at times. Not sure when or how. He went still as a spotlight swept the area he was hiding in, the walking tank had turned and was coming back. Not quite for his hiding place, but close.

As it closed, he noted more things. The two turrets on top held small point defense weapons. The one on the bottom held a sensor turret. If it went active, it would likely be able to see him even through his flimsy covering. But… if It didn't see him… a possibility existed. A slim one, and very dangerous. But a possibility. Maybe he could hitch a ride. Were all of these things robots of some kind? He had never seen the like. Why had they attacked the Tenno? The Grineer he could understand, but Tenno? It had viewports and hatches sized for humans, so it had obviously been built for humans, but… He went still as the machine stopped just beside him.

"We don't have much time." A soft male voice sounded. "They will figure out how you spoofed the sensors in a few minutes at best. If you are here when they do, you will die." Miguel did not move. "You helped me. Let me help you." A hatch on the side of the machine slammed open. "Please?" The voice begged. Miguel did not move and the voice sighed. "I don't want to hurt you. That Enemy with the rocket would have hurt or killed me. You are not like them. I do not know what you are, but you are not like them." Miguel went cold as a short range active sensor pulse swept the area. His cloak wouldn't hide him from that and the voice turned sharp. "Human? Human soldier… no…" Now it turned awed. "A Siminkov K-3? Human Marine! Get in! Now!" The voice cried. "Please!"

"Three, what are you doing?" the female voice from before called and the machine form stepped into view. "Who are you conversing with? There are no units… near-" The voice broke off. "No… Oh no…"

"I… I am sorry…" The male voice from the tank said as it's guns turned to aim at Miguel. "Drop your weapons."

"Kiss my ass." Miguel said as he stood up from his hide, his K-3 in hand and aimed. At this range, the rocket on the rail would tear right through the tank. "The enemy of my enemy is my enemy's enemy. No more, no less." He saw the other machine form aim its weapons at him but he didn't move. "Marines do not surrender."

"We… do not wish to fight you." The voice from the tank said quickly. "But we have every little time before Base queries us. If they look through our sensors, they will see you and take direct control to kill you. Or worse."

"And I should trust you, why?" Miguel asked coldly. "You shot at me."

"You shouldn't." The female voice said softly. "But some of us remember the Orokin Marines. None of us were marines, but we remember them. Not just what the priests say, but the truth."

"Priests?" Miguel demanded. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"No time." The female said sharply and a wash of golden energy came from the machine. Miguel ducked and dodged, but another slammed from the tank. It caught him and… held him. It didn't hurt, but he couldn't move. He was pulled towards the open hatch, struggling for all he was worth. "Three, keep your inner field up at all times." She snapped as the field from outside vanished. Miguel was tossed through the hatch that slammed shut behind him.

"What the?" The Marine demanded as he slammed upright. No light, so he hit his infrared scan. It looked… like the inside of a tank. No operators though.

"Keep your stealth on full, please." The male voice asked. "If they realize you are here, you are dead and so am I. But you may be the only chance we have."

"What are you talking about?" Miguel demanded.

"We have waiting… so long…" The male voice sounded sad, but also oddly elated. "Now… maybe… we can do our duty."

"What are you saying?" Miguel snapped. "Who are you?"

"This unit is Valkyrie Three, adjunct to Valkyrie Prime." The voice replied as if that made perfect sense. "I know you have questions, marine. But we really need your help. All of us. Organic, synthetic… all of us."

"What kind of help?" Miguel was more than a bit suspicious.

"To save our souls…"