Disclaimers: I do not own Warframe.
A/N: Sorry for the long wait, other stories and personal life got in the way. Also, I had a Warframe dry spell for a while and I'm now just getting back into it with the Fortuna update. So here how it's going to go. Every female warframe will get at least three chapters dedicated to themselves. But this is all one giant storyline so it will all be connected.
Please Review, Fav, or Follow if you want and drop me a PM if you have an idea for a chapter.
The Dragon and The Gunslinger
(Mesa)
CLANK
Mesa is bewildered by the fact that the deadly sword that she was sure was going to end her life was now being held back a mere inch from her forehead by Chroma's Dynasty Galatine as the Dragon Tenno was currently standing in front of her, locking blades with the unknown assailant.
"If...you..would...be...so...kind!", Chroma struggles to spit out as it was taking every ounce of his strength just to hold back the blade and even then felt his knees start to buckle, "Do something!"
Mesa kicks out to her left and sprays a full clip of her Soma into the shadowy figure, who vanishes from sight and appears on a cliff behind the Tenno duo. Both Chroma and Mesa's radars were able to pinpoint his location and both of them turn around, Mesa bringing her gun to bear as she reloads mid-spin. Immediately upon bringing her sight upon their attacker, she noticed that he had once again vanished from sight.
"Where he go?", both the Dragon and Gunslinger ask themselves as they began scanning the area but to no avail.
Without warning, something reflected the sunlight into the Tenno's eyes from above and both Mesa and Chroma turn their heads skyward just in time to see their shadowy foe descend fast toward them.
"None can escape my vengeance!", he bellows as he brings his sword down on top of Mesa's head once again.
Chroma had less than a second to think. Despite the short distance between him and Mesa he knew he wasn't going to make it time to push her out of the way, so he did the only thing that seemed logical.
He used the flat of his sword to simply knock the Gunslinger Tenno away.
Mesa didn't know what to be more surprise over. The fact that Chroma used his huge sword to knock her out of the path of the attacker blade, the fact that she might have a few broken ribs or the fact that despite being able to dodge the brunt of the attack, the tip of their enemy's blade manage to leave a deep gash going down the right side of her helmet. Luckily her suit's computer system tells her that her warframe integrity had not been breached but her right visual visor was damage beyond current repair.
*The Orokin scientists that made the warframe suits were the brightest in the empire and knew that sometimes unexpected events happen on the battlefield. Therefore they install a system that if the armor and shields were penetrated during the course of a mission and an actual breach occurred in the warframe suit a special second set of shields kick on within the warframe that kept the outer environment from entering the warframe. Though this was only a temporarily solutions along with the fact that these shields were much weaker than their combat orient counterpart, and they drew power from the operator's personal energy.*
Chroma kept spinning after he knocked Mesa away, hoping to catch his foe off-guard and hit him from behind after he landed on the ground. But the attacker must have anticipated this action as he brought his sword over the top of his head and behind him, blocking Tiamat's Wrath in the process with a resounding clank.
"I was expecting more of a challenge from you, but so far all I have found was disappointment", the attacker says before pushing Chroma away.
Chroma regains his balances and brings his sword up to the ready, "Who are you?"
"I am the instrument of the Emperor who will exact his revenge on those that betray him. I will prowl the stars without rest until I have brought all of you Tenno to justice. I'll watch your traitorous kind every move until I snuff out your last breath", the foe explains.
"So you're a stalker of some kind, then?" Chroma says after a moment.
"If that is the name you which to call the architect your inevitable death, so be it."
"Okay….Stalker, do you think you're being a little overconfident?", Chroma questioned.
"I don't fear a dead man", the being now known as the Stalker states as he suddenly latches his sword to his back and draws a black bow notch with a blood red tip arrow, "I will make you feel endless dread!"
He lets loose the arrow which flies at such an unexpected accelerated speed that Chroma didn't have time to properly react to it as it impales him deep with his left shoulder and sends him flying backward into the rock formation behind him.
A scream of great pain escapes from his mouth as he found himself being held off the ground by the arrow itself that was imbedded into the solid rock.
"Pity", Stalker says as he draws another arrow back, "I was sincerely hoping for some sport before I kill you."
"Finish him already!", Chroma heard the sword on Stalker's back yell, "So that we may continue our hunt!"
Stalker said nothing as he pulled his arrow back….
"Peacemaker!" he suddenly hears and his arrow is shot out of his bow. He turns to his left and sees Mesa, laying down fire at him with her Regulators.
"Hard to do this with just one good eye and possible cracked ribs!", Mesa screams as she continues to unload on the Stalker while Chroma was now given time to free himself.
He had one hand around the shaft of the arrow and within his warframe, he was gritting his teeth.
"This is going to suck. This is going to suck. This is going to suck", he told himself as he focuses his energy and breaks off the arrow's shaft, "Blazing Elemental Ward!"
Roaring flames engulf Chroma, increasing his warframe and actual body physical health by a marginal degree. Using great strength he places his hands and feet at the rock behind him and pushes off, vaulting himself forward and leaving the arrow stuck in its place. Before he even lands, his now accelerate healing seals up the wound and his suit highly advance technology quickly seals off the entry and exit holes in his armor.
Bringing up his HUD and satisfy with the readings he was getting he once more turn his attention back to the Stalker who was currently busy evading Mesa's attacks.
"She's not going to be able to keep that up forever, no doubt her energy levels are getting low", Chroma says as he takes off, equipping his Daikyu and notching an arrow that ejected from a special compartment in his warframe's back. With a steely resolve, Chroma was determined to get back in the hunt and prove to the Stalker just who he was messing with.
"Stand still, will ya?! I just want to fill you full of bullets, is that too much to ask?!", Mesa screams as her target continue to either block her bullets with his sword or completely evade them.
This goes on for a few more moments before Mesa's Regulators suddenly cease firing and flip back into their original position.
"What the hell?", Mesa shouts before her HUD starts flashing an "Energy Depleted" sign.
"Crap!", she screams as she now reaches for her Akvasto, which unfortunately she had to reload from her earlier skirmish.
This brought the Stalker just the time he needed.
Chroma was just getting to the proximity of the engagement and had the Stalker dead to rights with his bow drawn all the way back when his prey suddenly vanishes into thin air.
"Wait a minute, that was Ash's technique, down to the letter", Chroma thinks as he remembers seeing the Ninja Tenno do the maneuver while watching him do a training simulation, "And he always ends up…."
"Sweet tarnation! Why do I carry a gun that requires me to reload after six shots?!", Mesa screams at herself as she replenishes her guns, she looks up to see where her target went and was shocked to see that he disappear.
"Where he go?", she thought as something out of the corner of her eye catches her attention and she turns her head to see Chroma hauling ass toward her, his bow drawn and ready.
"What the hell is-?", she starts only to stop upon seeing that his bow was aimed directly at her but before she could do anything, Chroma let loose his arrow.
"Shit!", Mesa screams as she ducks down and aims her gun at the Dragon Tenno, only to hear a grunt of pain from behind her. She whips around to see her assailant from earlier standing right behind her with his sword raises above his head ready to strike and Chroma's arrow piercing his left shoulder.
Soon another arrow hits his right shoulder along with a third one lounging itself into his right leg.
"ENOUGH!", the Stalker screams as he uses one hand to yank all three arrows out before throwing them to the ground while raising his sword up with the other, "I will tolerate your existence no more!"
Mesa rolls out of the way in time to avoid being cleave down the middle and finds herself next to Chroma who had ditched his bow and had re-draw Tiamat's Wrath.
Stalker points his blade at Mesa, "You were nothing more than a glorified sniper! Cowardly killing your targets from a distance instead giving them an honorable death in real combat!"
He then turns his tip toward Chroma, "You were an unstable lizard who should have been thrown out an airlock!"
Mesa speaks to Chroma through their comm-link, "Am I suppose to know who he is?"
"I gave him the name Stalker and he wants to kill us. Other than that, I have no idea who he is", Chroma answers, never taking his eyes off of the Stalker, "He also seems able to pull off Ash's teleport ability, be wary."
"Noted", Mesa says though her curiosity was piqued, "So how are we going to attack him?"
"We're not", Chroma tells her and Mesa turns her head to him.
"What?"
"We're not because he is coming to us like a hunting party attacks the herd", Chroma says as he continues to his eyes trained on the Stalker, "Look at him, he is poised to attack."
Mesa looks backs but all she sees is him standing there with his sword now in front of him pointing straight up to the sky, "What are you talking about? He isn't doing anything!"
Chroma wanted to shake his head but opt not too, "He's preparing himself, calming his mind and body for the battle ahead."
"And how the hell do you know all this?", Mesa wonders.
For the first time, Chroma takes his eyes off the Stalker and looks down at Mesa, "Because it's the same thing I do."
Sudden movement draws the two Tenno's attention back to the Stalker as stabs his sword into the ground and pulls out ten throwing knives, five for each hand. Using their enhance visual sensor from their warframes, Mesa and Chroma are able to see the fine edge they had to them.
"Get ready", Chroma tells his fellow Tenno, "This may be our final battle especially you seeing how the right side of your helmet can't take much more damage; I suggest you keep your guard up."
"Your words of encouragement aren't very encouraging", Mesa lets him know as she draws up her dual pistols.
"Idiots give words of encouragement, I tell people the truth", Chroma replies.
The two parties proceed with their standoff for several seconds, neither one of them making any movement. Chroma with Tiamat's Wrath in front of him, Mesa with her Akvasto drawn, fully loaded, and fingers on the triggers, and the Stalker with his ten throwing knives at the ready.
"Psssst!", Mesa calls over the comm-link, "What is he waiting for?"
"An opening", Chroma answers, "A prime opportunity to attack."
"And what exactly would that-?", before she was cut off by…
"EVAC ORDER GIVEN! WE ARE ABORTING THE MISSION! I REPEAT! WE ARE ABORTING THE MISSION! ALL TENNO AND STEEL MERIDIAN'S FORCES ARE TO EVAC FROM THE SURFACE! THE ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNS HAVE BEEN DESTROYED AND TRANSPORTS ARE INBOUND!", Excalibur screams as his voice comes over the comm-link and Chroma notices that he sounded winded and in distress.
But there was no time to dwell on such things as the Stalker started his attack, rushing headlong at the duo while flinging his knives at them. Chroma reacts in kind and charges forth, sword at the ready, blocking all of the projectiles that were aim at him while Mesa skillfully shot the remaining ones coming at her out of the air and back-flips away in order to put more space in between her and the Stalker as she draws her snipetron in the process.
Meanwhile, having exhausted his knives the Stalker pulls out a sinister looking black scythe with streams of blood red along its handle and closes the gap between him and Chroma.
"Scythe Style: Reaping Spiral!", he screams as Chroma notices his scythe glowing, signaling a channel weapon. But the dragon of the Tenno had little time to dwell on this as he was suddenly assaulted by a barrage of slashes from above and across his midsection.
"Reclamation!", he hears from the Stalker as Chroma is forced to channel his own sword in order to withstand the swift and powerful blows that were being laid into him.
Stalker's seemingly endless assault is brought to a halt by a by a bullet whizzing by his face, missing him by mere millimeters. He disengages from Chroma and turns his focus to Mesa who was currently kneeling down while readying another round for her sniper rifle, her aim not impeded whatsoever by the loss of one of her visual sensors. Without waiting for his reaction, she unloads another round at him and the Stalker only had less than half a second to react as he instinctively brings up his scythe to deflect the blow.
"Hate will consume your soul and leave your body a bloody stain on this planet!", as he suddenly throws down a round object, which immediately discharges an electrical wave that manages to somehow scramble Chroma's sensors, leaving him unable to see, hear, or even read his HUD for the time being. The Stalker then goes dashing directly toward Mesa who had just finish reloading and was now taking aim.
"Come get some, you varmint!", Mesa says as she aims down the sight and fires her third round. This time though, the Stalker was prepared and simply moves his head out of the way of the impending shot and continues forward.
"One shot left", Mesa says as she once again focuses her sight down right in the middle of the Stalker's forehead, "But that is all I need."
The trigger was half-way pulled with Mesa sees the Stalker suddenly hurls an object with his free hand at her, impaling itself into her gun sights.
Mesa looks at the objects in question and somehow manages to control her disbelief to a degree, "A shuriken, really? Are you just ripping off Ash at this point?!"
The only reply Mesa gets from the Stalker was a downward slash from his scythe which Mesa is able to block by bringing up her sniper rifle to collide with the handle, stopping the blade from cutting her. Mesa finds herself struggling as she went up against the Stalker's superior strength as it was taking everything she had to hold the scythe back and yet she was still failing to do so as it sunk ever closer to her.
"Your kind was a curse on the empire, using the very gifts the emperor gave to you to kill him!" the Stalker rants, "I will do what the Grineer, Corpus, Infected, and even the Sentinels couldn't and erase your very existence and then I will finish off the dragon that killed the emperor!
"Shoot, darling", Mesa chuckles, "For a brooding black armor wearing sort of fellow, you sure do talk a lot."
The Gunslinger Tenno quickly sidesteps to her right, using the Stalker's momentum against him and causing him to go forward and leaving him wide open for the last round of Mesa's sniper rifle.
But finds herself shooting nothing but the ground as the Stalker disappears right before her very eyes.
Remembering that she was basically facing a rip-off of the Ninja Tenno, Mesa quickly ducks down and rolls sideways, narrowly avoiding a swipe from behind. Upon finishing her movement, she gets up and draws her Soma but by then it was too late as the Stalker was already upon her and she barely had time to react as the blade of the scythe pierces through her Soma with relative ease and once again stops short of Mesa's helmet. Thinking quickly she twists her gun and is able to wrangle the scythe out of the Stalker's hand but seeing now her gun was useless she switches to her Akvasto.
But if she thought the Stalker was going to give her the time to do that she was highly optimistic. For the second time today, she was suddenly backhand a great distance and ends up not far from Chroma who was currently still battling the effect of the Stalker's device as he was hunch over on his knees while staring at the ground.
Suddenly over the comm-link, she hears a voice coming through the static.
"Operator Mesa! Operator Chroma! Come in! Operator Mesa! Operator Chroma! Come in!", she hears Ordis' voice scream.
The Gunslinger Tenno draws her dual pistols while keeping an eye on her foe who was in the process of ripping his scythe out of her Soma, tearing it apart in the process.
"Going to take me weeks to gather the material to create a new one", Mesa thought as she answers Ordis' distress signal, "Operator Mesa here!"
"Operator Mesa, thank the stars! I have been trying to contact you and Operator Chroma for some time! The Lotus has called for an emergency evac! All Tenno and Stee-!"
"Yeah, yeah, we heard all that! We were just a little too busy to answer!", Mesa cuts him off.
"Where is Operator Chroma? I'm getting a reading that his equipment is seventy percent offline", Ordis claims.
"Look, long story short, we are currently engaging an unknown assailant! Chroma is currently out of action and I'm barely holding my own against what we have dubbed the Stalker.", Mesa tells him as she draws her Akvasto on her target who was now just standing there menacingly but still keeping his distance, "I'm going to send you the last known coordinates of Cressa Tal, but we're going to need immediate assistance!"
Mesa watches as the Stalker then puts his scythe away and draws his bow, notching an arrow while looking at the Tenno, "I repeat! Immediate assistance!"
Mesa crotches down in order to dodge an arrow that the Stalker shot at her head and instantly react back with shots of her own. A few of them hit their mark but fail to do anything to him.
"Could always go for my snipetron again but I can't use the sight, I would have to reload, I, and at this distance using it would be suicidal", she told herself as she continues to unleash a hail of bullets as the Stalker once again made a mad dash toward her, deflecting everything coming his way with his scythe.
"I am going to mount his head on the wall of my quarters and use his armor as target practice!", Chroma growls as his system reboot was finally finished and he was finally able to see and hear everything clearly once again.
And not a moment too soon as he looks over to his right just in time to witness the Stalker somehow pull Mesa toward him from a distance and impale her through her armor with his scythe directly through her chest.
A thousand thoughts were running through Mesa's mind at this very moment as the blade of the Stalker's scythe slid out of her and she drops her guns as she fell to the ground, the intense pain going through her body more than she could bear. What pulled her over to him? Was she going to die here? Was the Stalker going to let her suffer a slow agonizing death as she bled out or grant her a quick and painless one? Why did she choose this mission of all missions not to install a Rejuvenation mod in her warframe?
A screen pops up on her HUD displaying electrocardiography that was showing a near flatline along with warning signs.
"Damn, guess I'm not going back to the plains of Mars anymore for hunting practice", as she fondly remembers her days back before that damn ship arrived at her colony all those centuries ago. Back when she, her brothers, and her father would go hunting across the Red Planet's plains while her mom and sister made supper. The memories started to become blurry as she lost more and more blood.
"Never again", as she watches the Stalker stand over her and lift and stretch out his right hand. A moment later, his sword flies into his hand and he hefts it high over his head.
"The stars will be a better place when you are all gone!", he states as he once again brings the sword crashing down on top of her.
CLANK!
And once more Chroma is there to stop it with his own while Mesa feels a sudden warmth wash over her and she felt that a small semblance of life was put back into her. She watches the back of Chroma as he squares off against the Stalker in a deadly sword lock and she could see flames flowing off of his body and onto the ground around her.
Chroma was snorting out flames from his nostrils as he held his ground against the Stalker, their two great swords pressing up against each other blade to blade. Within his warframe, he found himself sweating even with his coolant system working overtime.
"Your death is the one I will relish most of all above all others; for I saw what you did that day!", the Stalker says while the Dragon Tenno gives him silences in return.
The two break their deadlock and the Stalker swings at Chroma mid-section, fully intend on cutting him in half. Chroma already deduces that his the Stalker's scythe could pierce Mesa's armor then no doubt his sword could as well. The smart thing to do would be for him to jump out of the way of the strike and put some breathing room between him and such a dangerous foe.
CLANK!
But unfortunately for him, his flames were the only thing keeping Mesa alive and stable as he knocks the sword away and delivers a downward strike of his own in response. Stalker skillfully catches his attack down the center of his own blade and twists it out of his hand causing Chroma to drop it or risk it breaking completely. But Chroma was the type to see an opportunity and take advantage of it as he grabs the Stalker's wrists and hit him with a full frontal Spectral Scream of fire at point blank range and the desired effect was achieved.
The Stalker jumps back, breaking Chroma's grip and getting a good way from the Dragon Tenno's flames which gave Chroma time to draw Ferrox and delivers a charge shot straight into his chest. This amazingly brought him down to one knee but not for very long as he strikes the ground in anger and quickly stands back up, his sword at the ready.
"I am your reckoning!", as he launches into a dead sprint toward Chroma.
"Yes, you already said that", the Tenno replies as he hurls his Ferrox at the charging foe but fell short of hitting his target.
"Pathetic!", the Stalker shouts as he races bye it and prepares to leap at the seemingly defenseless Tenno.
"Suf-", was all he got out before coming to a screeching halt as his forward motion was completely taken away from and he began getting pulled backward. He looks over his shoulder to see that the weapon that Chroma threw at him only a moment before was generating what seem to be an electric field of some kind that was holding him in place and pulling him toward it.
"What trickery is this-AGGGHHHHH!", as a surge of electricity ran through the course of his body.
"Have to hand it to the Corpus, they don't slouch on their weapons technology division", Chroma said as focus more energy into his Elemental Ward. He was able to link up with Mesa's own HUD in order to monitor her vital signs and saw that she was hanging on by a thread but she was stable thanks to his flames.
"Someone needs to get here fast", he told himself as he once more drew Daikyu and notch an arrow, "I only have so much energy and the Ferrox isn't going to hold him forever."
The Stalker was enduring the continuous pain of a lightning bolt coursing through his body while Chroma catches his breath.
"I just about have had enough of this day", he says as he draws the bow and takes aim at the Stalker's head. For all of his toughness and durability Chroma doubt that he could take a fully-charged shot to the head. But as he came to the full extension of the bowstring and lines the arrow up with its target he is suddenly bombarded with a wave of memories.
Glimmering hallways.
A bloody corpse adorned in fancy imperial garments.
People screaming.
Guns blazing.
Excalibur slashing through countless guards.
Each Tenno escaping into a pod before being launch into the stars in a dozen different directions.
So great was the pressure from these memories that Chroma collapse on the ground, breathing heavily.
"What the hell was-?", he starts out before hearing the sound of running footsteps getting closer. Reaching for Tiamat's Wrath which was still nearby, he grabs the handle and brings the great-sword above his head just in time to block the blade of the Stalker's sword, a resounding clash echoing throughout the area.
"You miss your opportunity, you won't get another!", the Stalker screams as he began to press downward and even on one knee, Chroma found himself being hard-press. It was at that moment that three shots ring out and his Stalker in the side, forcing him to disengage his attack and jump back. Chroma looks over at the source of the gunfire and sees Mesa still laying on the ground with one of her Akvasto in her hand, shakily wildly while still pointed at the direction where the Stalker previously was.
"Got….ya...ya….varmint", she says one last time before passing out but Chroma has no time to see if she was okay beyond her vital sign reading as the Stalker was now ready to renew his attacks.
Or he would have if three of Steel Meridian transports didn't come flying overhead carrying the rest of the Tenno including Excalibur and Trinity. The Healing Tenno jumps off and lands next to Mesa, immediately applying her energy in healing Mesa while the Swordsmen Tenno lands next to Chroma and draws his Dragon Nikana. With this, the first two awaken Tenno two now stood together against the Stalker.
"Who's he?", Excalibur questions.
"He has earned the nickname "The Stalker", from Mesa and me. He's extremely strong and dangerous", Chroma answers just as he was noticing something off about Excalibur's warframe.
And by off he meant that it was nearly cut to shreds with long streaks which could only be done by a sword scattered all over his armor.
"What happen to you?", Chroma asks and for a moment he receives no answer right away.
...
"I'll tell you later", was all Chroma heard, "For now let's deal with him."
Chroma lets out a snort before turning his attention back to the Stalker who was now trembling with rage. As powerful as he was not even he could hope to win out against all of the Tenno at once.
"It seems we will have to continue this on another day, dragon! Until then, be wary of shadows!", as the Stalker says as he teleported away once more, this time with such power that he leaves a small crater in his wake along with a shock Chroma and Excalibur.
Their shock was only temporary as Ordis came blasting over the team's comm-link.
"Multiple Grineer warships and transports are inbound, I suggest immediate evac from the planet. The Orbiter is standing by to accept all ships Tenno and Steel Meridian alike but you must hurry."
Excalibur sheathes his blade, "Let's get out of here", as he turns to walk to the transport that just landed. Chroma stays still for just a little while longer, eyeing the crater where the Stalker disappeared from.
"What's going on?", he says to no one in particular but Excalibur overheard him anyway.
"Changes, Chroma. The war has changed, new players have entered the field, and we're on the back-foot now", he answers.
Back onboard the Orbiter
She examines the helmet with a sniper's gaze; the deep indention running along the right side over the eye catches her attention, "One swipe did that. One swipe was less than a few millimeters from cutting through highly built Orokin armor and ending my life on that hellish planet.
She then touches the middle of her chest armor and feels the hole where the Stalker's scythe impale her at, a shudder going through her body and she once again remembers how close she came to death.
"And to think of all the people, I have him to thank for saving...", she suddenly stops as her mind drifts toward the Dragon Tenno.
"Why?", Mesa thought as she finishes up linking up into her warframe and finally donning her scarred helmet behind the shielded curtain, "Why did he do that?"
As she limps out into the main infirmary room of the Orbiter, she sees that it was a frenzy of movement at the moment as Trinity, the head medical specialist, alongside Oberon, Wisp, and Equinox (more preferably her Night Form) and the ship's Orokin medical drones, were doing their best to treat the wounded Tenno and surviving Grineer of Steel Meridian. Luckily for everyone here those four, mainly Trinity, are kept in the rear during missions as it was protocol unless absolutely necessary. In fact, Trinity's survival was also sometimes deemed a higher priority than the main objective, though this was also the main reason why she rarely went out on missions.
It also helped that a number of Tenno also had the Rejuvenation mod on their warframes, so that help minimizes the overall causalities.
Anyway, Mesa notices Chroma was mediating within the midst of the group using his Blazing Elemental Ward to stabilize the more seriously injured until they could be seen. Mesa's hawk-like eyes were trained on him as he retains his cross-legged levitating form as a rolling wave of dancing flames radiated off him onto those nearby yet they did not burn, more so the flames cleanse their bodies of the wounds inflicted on them.
Laying the closest to Chroma, basking in his healing flames, was the Void Tenno, Harrow, and the Berserker Tenno, Valkyr.
"It would seem….that once again...I'm in your debt, Dragon Tenno", the master of the void voices and Mesa sworn she saw Chroma's body tense up.
"We have gone over this before, Harrow", Chroma spoke, "It's Excalibur you owe a debt too if you feel you must own one, not I. He was the one who freed you from your prison."
"Yet….you assisted him. And before that, on that forsaken ship….", Harrow began before Chroma cut him off.
"Enough! Quit talking and conserve your strength until Trinity is able to see you", Chroma advised as he turns his attention toward the Berserker Tenno, who only stares back at him in silence, "Do you have something to add to this as well?"
Valkyr merely grunts as she turns her head away, but not before growling at a couple of Steel Meridian survivors who got a little too nosy for their own good.
"Fire that burns his enemies, heals wounds, and even boosts health. Ice that increases his durability, slows his enemies and deflects bullets. A poison that somehow increases his stamina and corrodes his foes. Last, but not least, lightning that allows him to shock those around him while modifying his own shields. This is not even counting Effigy, Vex Armor, or his Spectral Scream. I guess Ordis wasn't kidding when he stated that Chroma was more than likely the most versatile of all the Tenno", Mesa thought as she recalled the conversation she had with the Ship A.I. that day she was on bridge watch, chatting with it to pass the time. The two of them got on the discussion on who was the best Tenno in regards to certain categories and safe to say it got…interesting.
In terms of who was the fastest, Gauss had the highest unaltered speed, but when Volt used his energy to boost himself,... well let's just say that even the Lotus is waiting for those two to race it out. Most durable went to Valkyr, who surpassed even Rhino in that field while the Tank Tenno himself held the title of being the most physically strongest Tenno though that is constantly being contested by Hildryn and Atlas. They went about this topic for hours before Ordis brought up the fact that almost every Tenno was lacking in an area and had to use mods to compensate for them….except Chroma, who only had to use his own abilities to boost himself.
"I could only imagine how powerful he would be if he could change elements on the fly", Mesa thinks as she watches Trinity finally get over to where Chroma was mediating.
"Thank you, Chroma. The medical drones and I will take it from here", the Healer Tenno tells him to which Chroma merely nods and returns himself to a standing position, his flames disbursing upon doing so.
"I'll see my way out then", he says as he begins to walk away only to be stopped by Trinity as she holds up a hand.
"I would like to take a closer look at the wounds you sustain", Trinity states.
"There's no need to worry about that, you have more pressing matters to attend to", Chroma assures her, "If possible, you could medically clear me, I'll be on my way in tracking down information about this "Stalker" and his warframe like suit."
Trinity, who many suspected was the oldest female among the Tenno, and one of the oldest overall, only stare at Chroma for a moment before agreeing.
"Very well then", she says as she turns around, "I do have more important issues to deal with and you do have something of a self-healing factor, but-"
Trinity now had Chroma full attention…
"Ordis, I'm placing Operator Chroma on temporary suspensions from all sorties until he is medically clear by me or by the Lotus, understood?", she declares.
"Affirmative, Operator Trinity", the A.I. responds, "Placing Operator Chroma's landing craft on temporarily lock-down and restricting him from sorties. This restriction can only be removed with the Lotus' approval. I will inform the Lotus about this decision upon the conclusion of her -screaming match/catfight/bitching fest- debrief with Cressa Tel."
"What are you doing?", Chroma damn near growled and Mesa could once again feel a surge of heat spring up in the room, drawing everyone's attention to the two Tenno.
"As the Head Medical Specialist onboard the Orbiter, I am declaring you medically unfit for action. You are forbidden from taking part of any missions until I deem you fit or the Lotus herself overrules me and once I explain my case to her, I'm positive she will see things my way", Trinity explains as she turns around, not the least bit faze by the mounting heat that was emitting off of Chroma.
"My physical wounds do not inhibit me from carrying out sorties", Chroma counters.
"This isn't about your physical wounds and you know it. You will report back to the medical bay at noon tomorrow and we will begin your rehabilitation", the Healer Tenno tells him as she makes her way over to Harrow to begin examining him, "Good day, Chroma."
Mesa spots Chroma's hands curl up into fists and wonders for a moment if he was thinking about attacking the healer. As she watches his shoulders heave up and down along with the Dragon Tenno flexing his fingers and taking deep breaths, Mesa couldn't help but respect the fact that Trinity wasn't even fazed by these actions.
"After everything I have done today, this is the thanks I get?", Chroma growled.
"I am fully aware of your actions today and I'm sure your valiant efforts are appreciated by those who owe you their lives. But I have been monitoring your vital signs for the past few moments along with the ones taken during the course of the mission and you seem a little too eager to get on with hunting this "Stalker" as you call him. It's almost as if you have something personal at stake and I can not allow you to hunt down such a dangerous foe without proper examination", Trinity calmly states.
Chroma's rage had risen to the point of being uncontrollable when a hand touches his shoulder and he feels a passive calm try to take over him. He was still seething on the inside but now his mind was no longer completely clouded by anger and he realizes that the Lotus along with the other Tenno would not take kindly to him being so aggressive to their main healer.
He still turns around though to face the whoever who had the galls to get this close to him while he was in this state of mind.
"Ah, the Coward Tenno returns", the Dragon Tenno hisses while Baruuk shows no signs of irritation from the insult, "Thought you were brokering a trade deal with Solaris United while the rest of us were actually do something useful."
"I had returned earlier than expected from my mission", the Pacifistic Tenno explain while maintaining his hands in a prayer position, not at all frightened by the anger the Dragon Tenno was emitting, "It seems that it good that I did or else violence would have erupted within the confines of our own safe haven."
Chroma lets out a dark chuckle "Safe? Nowhere in this system is safe as long as the Stalker is around."
He then turns to his left and exits the tense compartment, not once looking back.
"I need answers", Mesa tells herself as she begins to tail him through the ship's hallways, keeping her distance for the time being until she felt that the moment was right for her to confront him, which in her mind was when they were far enough away from the rest of the ship's occupants.
As she rounds the corner into the main hallway, she is astonished to find it completely void.
"He just went this way a second ago", she tells herself, "Where did he get along to?"
"Is there a reason why you're following me?", a voice from behind her ask and on pure instinct the Gunslinger Tenno whirls around, her hands going to her dual pistols as she grips the handles…
And that is where she found her hands staying as Chroma's hands tighten around her, preventing them from drawing.
"Usually, this would be the time I would ask why are you still arm up here on the Orbiter when everyone else who was able kept their weapons in their landing craft", he began as he stares directly at her, "But at this very moment, I do not care. Once again, why are you following me?"
All that could be heard was the hum of the ship between the two Tenno.
"I'm going to take your silence as my cue to leave", Chroma says as he lets go of Mesa's hands and began to walk past her.
"Wait!", Mesa shouted out as he only got a few steps behind her, "I want answers from you!"
Chroma stops in his tracks and glances over his shoulder at the Gunslinger Tenno, "And they say I need to work on how I talk to people."
"Why did you do all that?", Mesa asks as Chroma turns around.
"I'm going to assume you're talking about what transpired back on Mercury…." Chroma says only to rear back a little when Mesa snaps at him.
"You know damn well that's what I'm talking about, suga! For someone who was trying to kill me earlier, you sure stuck your neck out for me three times too many today!", the Gunslinger Tenno screams but this only causes Chroma to look at her funny or in the absence of her being able to see his face, tilt his head at her funny.
"From what I remember I only saved you twice today, both times were me blocking the Stalker's sword attack", he tells her.
"I'm also counting the time you stood your ground against the Stalker so that I would be in the range of your healing flames, damn it! You could have move whenever you wanted but you decided to stay by me to make sure I stay alive!", Mesa explains as she shoves her finger in his face. Surprisingly this didn't put Chroma off although he didn't see the reason for her screaming.
"If you were to die, I would have had to answer to the Lotus, simple as that", Chroma tells her and moves to the side and begins to walk past her. He had gotten just a couple of steps away when he was grabbed by the hand.
"What is it now, Mesa?", he growls without looking back, "I have preparations to do."
Not a word was spoken from the gunslinger.
"I'm not playing this silent game with you again, Mesa. If you have...", Chroma started as he turns to face her.
"I owe you one for saving my life back there, suga", Mesa began as she let go of the Dragon Tenno and reaches for her helmet, "And where I come from we repay our debts or at the very least let the person know that we owe them one."
Chroma watches on as Mesa releases the seals on her helmet and slowly pulls it off and he actually found himself intrigued by what he saw. It was rare for the Tenno to see one another without their helmets on.
Well, that is except for Trinity, who has to conduct individual medical exams on all the Tenno periodically.
In fact, the only other ones that had ever seen his face were Excalibur and Trinity.
Mesa had green eyes that reminded Chroma of the plains he used to cross with his tribe as a child. Her hair was a lighter shade of red than his armor and he saw it was up in a ponytail with braids with a yellow ribbon that was tied to the bottom of it. She had lush pink lips, along with rosy cheeks that were peppered with freckles along with auburn eyebrows and small nose round off the feature of her face and when she smiled her teeth glisten in the ship's hallway lights.
She put her helmet in one hand and reaches out the other to the Dragon Tenno, "My name's Jessie. Jessie Orbal of the old Orokin Olympus colony of Mars."
Chroma looks down at the hand for a moment, saying nothing as the seconds ticked by.
"You're supposed to shake it, Chroma. It's how we did it back at my colony", Mesa/ Jessie said.
"I know what to do, I'm not that primitive", he replies, "It just seems a little much."
"It's not a big deal to save someone's life for you?"
"In my tribe, everyone was each other brother, father, sister, or mother even if you weren't related by blood. You were expected to put your life on the line to save your fellow tribe member, even if they were someone you didn't like", Chroma explains, "What I did today I would have done for any one of the Tenno for as much I loathe the lot of you, you are now the closest thing I have to a tribe."
Chroma then reaches out and takes the Gunslinger Tenno's hand, "But my tribe also respected customs and traditions, even if they weren't our own. My name is Aguu Anchin. It means "Great Hunter" in my people's language, but it was Aganc for short."
The two Tenno share a short shake before Mesa/Jessie spoke again, "Umm, no offense, Aganc, but this only really works if I'm able to look you in your eyes."
Chroma/Aganc lets out a growl in annoyance but reaches up for his helmet, "You're lucky my people respect tradition", as he now undid his seals and pull his helmet off and Mesa/Jessie suddenly found herself getting extremely hot within her suit, almost as hot as the planet she was just on, as she looked upon the Dragon Tenno's real face.
"Well I'll be rustled up and hogtied, he is quite the looker."
A/N: You didn't honestly think I was going to give you Chroma's face right off the bat, did you? Before you say it, yes, Mesa's appearance I got from Jes
sie of Toy Story. Now usually I would have a poll out for who you want next, but how about you guys PM or leave a review on which female warframe you want to see Chroma interact with next.
Also, my personal take on the Orokin Empire within this story. There are from 200 to nearly as high as 540 possible moons or moon-like objects within our solar system. I like to think that not every colony was highly advance and that some were backwater and primitive to a degree. So while a couple of the Tenno will be coming from the more advanced parts of the empire some like Chroma and Mesa will be from what was consider backwater cultures.
Also, Baruuk isn't a coward but it's just the way Chroma sees him because of his nature. Chroma comes from a background where everyone pulls their weight and seeing that Baruuk being sent on diplomacy missions instead of action ones rubs him the wrong way.
Also, Wisp has actual feet. Deal with it.
Aguu Anchin is Mongolian for "Great Hunter" which I had to look up seeing how the background I have for Chroma is similar to their lifestyle
Also remember, please Review, Fav, or Follow if you want and drop me a PM if you have an idea for a chapter.