Versus

Horatius could barely believe his eyes as the two Tenno clashed and retreated. Sun and Rachel had both traded blows that would have likely cleaved a human in half, armor or no. He had seen Tenno fight. He had fought them a couple of times and usually wound up in the hospital, counting himself lucky to be alive when he wasn't able to flee. He had seen Nikis go full on cowboy against an entire horde of Corrupted.

This was worse in some ways.

Sun did nor speak again as he and Rachel clashed weapons again and again. Each time Rachel tried to pass Sun to get at Karen, she took a hit from the metal bar in Sun's hands and in one case, went flying. Each time, she shrugged off the impacts to attack again. Rachel's scythe had stopped glowing in the Nullifier field, but it was still easily the deadliest weapon present. Horatius did not know a lot about the various warframes but he did know that knew that Loki warframes relied on their stealth and speed to win battles, that they did not have the same levels of armor of heavier warframes. Sun's abilities were negated just as Rachel's were. It didn't matter. She was fast, he was far faster. Every blow she struck he evaded or parried with ease and when he struck, she staggered.

"We have to go!" Karen's voice was weak from where she lay. All four of the spetsnatz had moved to shelter her from the battle and Commander Horatius tore his eyes from the conflict despite every sense screaming at him to keep his eyes on the dangerous foes trading blows with each. She was breathing in gasps and Horatius took a deep breath before bending down to pick her up. She was heavier than she looked, but she did not resist as he hefted her carefully, trying to keep from jarring her wound. From the pale look on her face, he failed, but she did not comment.

"Follow us." Anna snarled as Helen helped her to her feet, one foot dragging. Clearly the hit had hamstrung her. "Keep your eyes open and your mouth shut."

Horatius did not react as both Grineer aimed weapons at him. He had no idea what was going on, but he knew hat if he stayed here, he would not enjoy whatever Rachel had planned.

"Karen! No!" Rachel shouted as Anna started off, then grunted as Sun slammed her again. "Sun! Don't be an idiot! Stop this!" Sun did not respond. Instead, he hit her again. Rachel's tone flattened. "Okay. Have it your way. Isha! Timothy! Now!"

Horatius staggered as something slammed into him. He stared as the Nullifier field from Helen faded and then vanished! Two warframe appeared nearby. An Equinox frame and a Limbo. Both had gold in places! Primes! They both held weapons aimed at the spetsnatz. Before either could act, the world shifted between one step and another. Horatius, Karen, the spetsnatz and the two Prime warframes suddenly stood in a large room filled with Grineer clones! It looked like a Grineer spacecraft! The Grineer seemed almost as shocked by their sudden arrival as Horatius was, but they shook it off as the Tenno reoriented, the Limbo readying himself.

A clang of metal on metal heralded Sun and Rachel hurtling into view. They were still fighting! Now their abilities were free and Sun was darting in and out of invisibility while Rachel dropped Molts and threw Spores only to hit nothing but air.

"Grineer!" A loud male voice shouted as a huge form in armor landed beside the two warframes and his first hit threw the Limbo away as the Equinox spun to face the new threat. Sargas Ruk was pissed. His flamethrower belched, but the Equinox had tonfas in hand and she deflected the fire somehow. The Limbo rose from where he had landed, only to be dog-piled, literally, by a large pack of Drahks and he was fighting for his life before he could activate any abilities. "Protect the spetsnaz!"

Horatius could do nothing but gawk as a dozen Grineer suddenly surrounded the hurt team. Four of then held shields that they hefted, blocking Tenno line of sight on the wounded. All of the others opened fire on the other Tenno.

"Idiots!" Rachel snapped as the Limbo took a hit and fell to lie still. The Equinox was backing away as Ruk advanced on her, dodging fire form the other Grineer as she did. "I didn't want to do this!" She raised both hands but Sun grabbed her even as she cast her Miasma! He held tight to her arms and shoulders as the deadly toxins flew to coat him! "What? Sun! NO!"

"GET THEM OUT OF HERE!" Sun screamed in agony as the incredibly potent mix of caustic materials melted his warframe. Bubbling flesh showed underneath it but he held onto her. "NOW!"

Horatius had a bare moment to realize what was happening before at least five sets of armored hands grabbed hold of him and Karen. They bodily yanked him off his feet, tearing her from his hands. Then he was in motion, carried by at least four Grineer. Karen groaned in pain but choked it off as the Miasma spread, but far slower than normal. Sun's sacrifice was holding it at bay. Even he couldn't hold such raw power at bay for long.

Grineer were falling to the Saryn's wrath all around the bay, but Horatius was through a door that was lined with more clones. At least one set of the hands that were holding him fell away, but others took their places and he was still in motion! Screams and 'boom's sounded from behind him as he was carried through green and brown corridors. Other Grineer hurried back the way they had come, all angry, all ready to obey their general's commands.

Finally, Horatius was set down on his feet and the four Grineer who had carried him moved to block the door they had entered the large room from.

"Call off!" Anna demanded. "Lead walking wounded."

"Eyes. Nominal." The female grineer's voice was calm and unhurried. That had to be artificial.

"Guns. Nominal." The male Grineer who stood beside Anna and helped her stand reported.

"Medic. Nominal." Helne snapped as she bent to check Anna's leg. "Ruk cannot hold those three for long."

"Long enough, I hope." Anna said as she looked at Karen. Before she could speak, Karen spoke.

"Scout. Alive. Barely." Karen said with a snap from where she had been laid on the deck. All eyes to Horatius whose mind flew and then he nodded. If he was not spetsnaz, the Grineer who surrounded them all likely would not react well. He was good, but against a ship full of them? Not that good. Luckily, he had always been fast in thinking and he knew what to say.

"Infiltrator. Nominal." Horatius nodded to Anna whose smile was small, but clear as Helen snarled and did something to her leg. Corpus did not like Grineer and vice versa, but if he was spetsnatz pretending to be Corpus… Well, that was different, wasn't it? His mind shied away from the implications of impersonating an Orokin marine. He had larger problems right now. Such as three angry and incredibly powerful Tenno loose on a ship that he had no idea that where it was. "Orders, Major?" He asked.

"We need to get out of here, give Ruk and his forces time to recover their numbers." Anna said heavily. Helen rose and moved to Karen, checking the wounded Marine. She took a step and smiled as her leg held her weight. "How is Karen?"

"Bleeding." Helen snapped back, working feverishly. "I cannot stop it! Her augmentation is holding it for now, but I cannot stop it."

"Damn it!" Anna went to her knees beside Karen. When she spoke it was in another language, one Horatius did not know, but his translator did! {Sister, hold on! We will find you aid.]

[Major…] Karen's voice in the same language was weak. Her voice was barely audible. [Reina…]

"What?" Anna asked, stunned back into the common tongue. Karen tried to talk, but Helen did something and Karen lay still. "Reina? Who is Reina? What did she mean? Anyone?"

Horatius wracked his brain as the other spetsnatz looked at one another, clearly unsure. Then he stilled.

"We in orbit of Earth, aren't we?" Horatius said quietly. Anna looked at him and then she nodded, concern in her eyes for Karen and his presence. "Then I know where we can go and no one else likely can and you need to let me do the talking."

"What did she mean?" Anna asked as Helen sat back, her face blank. "Medic?"

"I can't heal this, Major." Helen said weakly. "She needs more care than I can give in the field. I have stabilized her for the moment. It won't last." She warned. "Does this Reina, whoever she is, have medical care?"

"The best." Horatius said very quietly. "But she also brooks no trespass. Any who enter her domain without permission do not leave." He looked up and nodded as he saw they were in a Grineer cannon loading chamber. Normally, the shells held swarms of clones to board enemy ships. Any that got squished by the horrendous acceleration of firing and impact were meaningless. He could handle such, he had done it before. The question was if Karen could as injured as she was. "She trusts no one, and certainly not Tenno. She has cause."

"Who is Reina?" Anna demanded.

"Royalty."


A very loud five minutes later

Horatius stepped out of the shell, hyperaware of his surroundings. The beach they had landed on was pristine. No one had touched it in millennia probably. Well, no one human. He paused and smiled as he saw what he had hoped for. Paw prints in the sand that led up into the jungle. He did not move and instead? He opened his helmet and spoke aloud.

"I am Special Forces. My mission went bad. I have Orokin marine spetsnatz with me." Anna hissed from inside the shell but he shook his head. "Lying to her is a very bad idea." He turned back to the silent jungle. "One of ours is wounded very badly. Shot by a Tenno."

"Well, well, well… We meet again, Commander." A familiar voice sounded and Horatius fought hard not to flinch as a small calico cat stepped out of the underbrush. He had only met the cat once, but once was more than enough to earn a healthy respect. Plus more than hint of fear. Intelligent cat plus specialized demolition training? Yeah. Fear. Matril was shaking his head as he looked at the Grineer shell. "You know, I kind of thought you guys went for sneaky stuff like us. That wasn't sneaky."

"I know better than to try and sneak in here and frankly? No time." Horatius shrugged. "We had three of the First chasing us."

"The First?" Matril inquired as six sentinels hovered out of the silent forest to surround the capsule. Two Dethcubes, a Djinn, two Wyrms and a Helios. There were undoubtedly more in the shadows. And worse. "You picked a hell of a fight. Aren't you Special Forces guys supposed to be smart? Don't you know better than to aggravate them?"

"It wasn't by choice!" Horatius fought to remain calm under so many guns and Matril smiled at him. Horatius paused and then took a risk. "You know about Tenno and spetsnatz, don't you?" He inquired and Matril nodded.

"I do." Matril replied, but then stilled and rage suddenly flared in his voice. "Mind telling me why you have two Grineer in that pod?" He stilled as Anna took a slow step out of the pod. He stared at Anna's clearly Grineer armor and then at Horatius who slumped.

"My name is Major Kateriana Keras. The commander briefed me on what happened to your people." Anna slowly bent to one knee, her bad leg trailing. "If our lives be the price to save our colleague, so be it. The mission comes first. She is needed. I am not. Vsegda veren." She bowed her head.

"Vsegda veren." Matril said very softly. "Holy shit. The wounded one in there is known to us." He said slowly.

"All I can say is that Karen picked up something that bonded to her." Anna said very softly. "Something that is the key to a very bad thing that I and we are sworn never to let loose. The Tenno want to let it loose, not knowing what will happen or caring. We cannot allow that. I sought allies where I could." She met Matril's eyes calmly. "Nina Tal. Lancer. Step forward. Face the wrath of the Corps with honor."

The two Grineer did as ordered. Both laid their weapons just inside the overhanging lip of the shell and moved to stand by Anna. They both knelt beside her. All three stiffened as Helen stepped out of the shell, laid her weapons down and did the same! Horatius did not dare move as the Helios scanned her and beeped.

"Helen..." Anna said very quietly. "What the Grineer did to them is not reflected on you."

"I stand with my comrades, Major. You said you would give me the choice and I have made it." Helen snarled. "Vsegda veren." Anna stared at her and then at the cat as Matril started to chuckle.

"Hoist on your own petard, Major." The small calico cat stepped all the way up to Helen who met his gaze calmly. "And...Another." He shook his head. "Damn, you lot are just as scary as we are in your own way." He sighed as he stepped back. "I would not have believed it unless I saw I with my own eyes. Spetsnatz. After all this time, why now?"

"No one is cleared for that." Anna said calmly. "Not even us." At that, Matril stiffened and Anna nodded. "And yes, we know what that means. The Commander hasn't seen anything yet that will make a mindwipe needed for him. Us? The mission comes first."

Horatius had thought himself frozen. He was wrong. He stilled even further as a metallic red and black kavat stepped out of the jungle to look the group over.

There is only one reason you would say that, spetsnatz. Hadi woke, didn't he? That means Tali is coming back. Liriel said very softly in her non-verbal way. Anna nodded. I am cleared for all of it. I am the only one here who is.

"Sun knows." Anna offered. "He stopped the First from capturing us. From taking Hadi away from Karen."

"Karen? She picked it up?" Matril's voice held horror and Liriel moved to his side as Anna nodded. "Oh no."

"She knows." Anna said sadly. "But one of the Tenno who tried to take her, shot her. We think only to disable, but we cannot stop the bleeding. Do with us what you will. We do not matter. She does. Vsegda veren."

I always thought you lot should have gone with 'Any Mission, Any Time, Any Place'. That is so much better than copying some silly Americans. Liriel said dryly and Anna stared at her. I was there when Tali proposed the idea. Ariana liked the kid. So did I. She knew how to give good scratches.

"Oh." For the first time since Horatius had met her, Anna looked a bit less than assured. "Uh..."

From your words, you have no love for Tenno. I have my own quarrels with Tenno. Liriel said as she moved closer to Anna. What did they do to you? She asked.

"I carried Hadi back after we lost Tali." Anna said very softly. "Nikis tore him from my energy, put him to sleep and locked him in a tomb. What was left of my mind took a long time to heal. It took almost a year before I could remember my own name. Ten years before I could resume my duties." She froze as Liriel rubbed up against her. "Um..."

You speak for these? Liriel asked, eyeing the two Grineer who watched her warily. Kavats were no joke at any time. This was no ordinary kavat.

"I do." Anna replied. "They have shown honor and courage. Flexibility and a dedication that far outstrips their peers. They have not sworn to me yet, but I believe they will."

If they do not, they will not leave this beach alive. Liriel's tone was calm, but held no mercy at all. You I will extend hospitality to. Them? The only place Grineer and most Corpus have here is as raw materials in our factories.

Anna turned to the two Grineer, but as one, they nodded.

"I knew only pain." The female Grineer said quietly. "Pain, rage, hate, all of that. You took my pain and showed me how to transcend it. You made me something more than I was. My life, my death, my entire being, I swear to the spetsnatz. Vsegda veren. She was suddenly glowing softly golden and then, she smiled. It was an odd look on the face of a Grineer, but it was heartfelt as she nodded to Liriel. "My name was Nina Tal, but that was my old life. I will need another." She looked at Anna who smiled forlornly. "Major?"

"This is sooner than I expected." Anna admitted. "I hadn't thought about it. We will choose you a better name." The former Grineer smiled back at her, but then her face froze. "Nina Tal?" Anna asked.

"The spetsnatz overrides have all taken and show tampering! My implants have been compromised since the last scan!" The sniper said flatly. "Harkonar! It had to be! Resetting all of them now."

"Mine too. Resetting." The male said as he too started to glow. "My life, my death, my entire being, I swear to the spetsnatz. Vsegda veren." He clapped a hand to his chest and all three turned to Helen who nodded.

"You have your own agenda."Helen said softly. "You have been far kinder and gentler than any Corpus I have ever known. You have your own reasons for such. You needed me, but you have never lied to me, have you?" She asked Anna who smiled and shook her head. "You do not tell the whole truth, but you don't lie, do you?"

"We try not to when dealing with potential recruits." Anna shrugged. "Such tends to piss them off when they find out and they find all kinds of ways to make their comrades' lives hell. The job is bad enough without resentment like that festering. We pushed you harder than normal, because we do need your skills and abilities, but we have not lied to you."

"Then..." Helen mused. "I think I can do this."

"Helen, wait." Horatius said quickly. "I get the feeling this is for life."

"Life and beyond. For honor. For Empress. For humanity." Helen said softly, her face serene. "I know now what duty is and I can-"

"Helen!" Horatius begged. "We can give you children!"

He had no warning before her Halikar rose on its own from where it had been laid to hit him. The impact threw him almost all the way to the water.