Disclaimers: I do not own Warframe.
A/N: Sorry for the late release, issues came up and are just now wrapping up.
I had to change the title because I had to break up the final draft into two chapters. The second part "hopefully" soon.
Please leave a Review, Fav, or Follow if you want.
Also, I'm on Warframe as "EpicJamon" (on PC) if you want to run a mission together or whatever, so drop me an invite.
Stay safe out there in quarantine.
Memories and Conflict
"Coming in for a landing in three….two...one. Touchdown.", Ordis relays as the Mantis comes to a hovering stop at the beginning of one of the docks outside of Cetus only to upright itself to a vertical position moments later.
This instantly draws a large mass of the Ostrons, who crowd the front of the dock though they are smart and cautious enough to keep their distance from the Landing Craft.
"Excuse us. Pardon us. Step aside, please", Trinity calmly says as gently moving through the crowd, the towering Atlas moving slowly behind her, careful not to push anyone too hard out of the way as everyone else watches the towering giant in silent awe.
The pair finally make their way through the residents of Cetus and to Trinity's Landing Craft. The onboard sensors detect the Healing Tenno presence and flip the insertion body-frame outward toward her.
"Get ready to get in", she orders and the Earth Tenno looks at her for a second before turning his attention back at the insertion platform which was a couple of sizes too tiny for him.
"Ain't this a tad too small for me, Deary?", Atlas asks but Trinity says nothing as she types in something on her wrist computer.
"Patient's Identification: Operator Atlas", a voice from the landing craft says, "Reconfiguration of Landing Craft's medical equipment commencing."
The insertion platform turns back into the vehicle and Atlas could faintly hear the sound of machinery moving around.
"If I recall correctly, her Landing Craft was specialized to an almost abnormal degree", Atlas thought before turning to Trinity who was still typing something into her wrist computer, "Don't you think this is a bit much for a slight shoulder injury, Sweetie?"
The Healing Tenno stops her typing and slowly exhales for a moment before continuing, "Your opinion has been noted; I shall log it in my mission debrief."
Atlas shakes his head, "Am I doing something that bothering you, Dear?"
Trinity finally looks up from her wrist, "Well, since we're on the subject, I would appreciate it if you would stop calling me such names like "Dear" and "Sweetie". We have had this conversation multiple times in the past before and yet you still persist in it. It is highly unprofessional."
"I didn't think that what we do could be considered professional since we're not getting paid to do it", Atlas remarks.
"True as that may undoubtedly be, I have personal professional standards that I would like to maintain. I was tolerating the nicknames earlier in the control room due to the situation but now that we have a moment's peace, I feel that the matter should be address...once again", Trinity states just as her Landing Craft spoke once more.
"Reconfiguration complete."
The insertion platform turns back out and Atlas was amazed that it now seems able to fit his warframe's size.
"Now if you would be so kind, Atlas, please get in. We will discuss this manner later", Trinity says, this time with a little more edge in her voice.
The Rock Tenno once again shakes his head and moves to attach himself to the platform. Before he could he get comfortable though he is swung around into the interior compartment of the Vampire Tenno's Landing Craft.
Meanwhile, from their viewpoint atop of a cliff near the gates, Chroma and Revenant could see the entirety of the Cetus' markets and the docks on the other side of them where the trading ships came and went.
"They sure seem to be in a hurry to leave", Chroma remarks as he and Revenant observe the three Corpus merchants from earlier nearly tripping over themselves and their merchandise while trying to pack up.
"No doubt because of recent events. We think that we should go see to it that they don't escape", The Sentient Tenno replies as he moves to jump but is stopped by a hand from Chroma.
"Now wait just for a second. Let's watch them for a little while longer", Chroma suggests.
"But Trinity told us to round up the merchants", Revenant says.
"And we are, but sometimes the best part of a hunt is letting your prey think they're safe. We'll let them get closer to their ship and besides, I rather confront them outside of the market than in the middle of it", Chroma explains.
Revenant nods his head at this, "We see the logic in your approach. No doubt this will minimize civilians' causalities should this turn violent."
Chroma merely shrugs, "I guess that's one way of looking at it. What I really want is to get inside their ship. We'll probably get more information out of their computer than the merchants themselves."
Revenant turns to look at Chroma for several moments, something that did not go unnoticed by the Dragon Tenno.
"Is there something you wish to say?", he asks, never taking his eyes off the Corpus merchants.
"You are much wiser than Gara tells us that you are", Revenant answers.
Chroma tilts his head to the right, indicating his confusion at the statement, "You want to repeat that?"
"We mean no disrespect", Revenant assure him.
"Could have fooled me", Chroma counters.
"It's just that nearly everything we know about you has been told to us through mostly Gara, Lotus, and occasionally, Trinity", Revenant told him.
"Everyone's talking behind my back", Chroma thinks to himself, "And what exactly do they say about me?"
"Gara only tells us what she has heard from the others due to the lack of interaction she has had with you", Revenant replies, "But what we do know is that you're not fond with working with others and that you prefer to not only work alone but be alone as well."
Chroma shrugs at this, "You're not wrong."
"But we believe that you keep yourself isolate because you wish not to be betrayed by those you would trust, almost as if it has happened to you before", Revenant then said.
Chroma could now feel his irk rising but holds up a hand to stop any further conversation, "Seem like they're finally moving."
Both Tenno watch as the three merchants were finally making their way through the crowd, shoving anyone out of the way who were unfortunate enough to be in it.
Looking ahead of them, Chroma spots one of the Corpus' ships lowering its ramp and the merchants heading right for it.
"Let's move", the Dragon Tenno says and the two take to the skies. They soar over the canopies of the market, landing perfectly on the wooden stakes holding up the blankets roofs of the shops before once more taking off again. With movements hone by countless hours of torturous training and perfected in the heat of heavy combat, both Tenno appear behind the merchants mere seconds after leaving the cliff. Between the merchants being too preoccupied with their gear and the Tenno's silent movement, both Chroma and Revenant found themselves waiting a couple of seconds directly behind the Corpus' before making their presence known.
"You need to come with us", Chroma finally spoke, his smile conceal as all three of the Corpus drop whatever they were carrying and spun around to face them. One twisted so fast that his foot slip on the ram and he nearly fell down.
"As I said, you need to come with us for questioning", Chroma says once more.
It was an awkward moment of silence before the tallest of the Corpus straightens up and point a finger at Chroma.
"We are prominent merchants of the Ruanao Corporation, a sub-company of Fiaurs Industrial, which is headed by the second cousin of Frohd Bek himself! We do not take orders from the Tenno, especially the Defiler!", he spats.
Both Chroma and Revenant share a look before turning back to the trio.
"I'm going to give you until the count of five to change your mind", Chroma warns, "One."
"We believe you sure take Chroma up on his offer", Revenant says.
"Two."
"Now you s-s-see here! We will not be bully by the likes of you!", one of the other merchants stammers out.
"Three", Chroma kept on.
"This is a violation of the ceasefire that Cetus abides by!"
"Four", and Chroma starts to flex his fingers in anticipation.
"We did warn you", Revenant says right before he catches glimpses of light at the top of the ramp inside the cargo bay of the ship.
Chroma sees this too and his hands instantly go to his Daikyu and an arrow as it pops out from his frame. At that point, muscle memory takes over as he notches, draws, and releases in the span of half a heartbeat and the arrow fly straight toward the one of the light which subsequently disappears right before the sound of something being impaled into the bulkhead of the ship was heard.
Revenant just as fast brings his Battacor to bear and fires off at the two remaining lights and the sources of them drop to the floor.
"Revenant! Watch them! I'm going up!", Chroma barks and the Sentient Tenno trains his gun on the merchants as the dragon sped up the ramp, his bow holster on his back and Tiamat's Wrath drawn and ready. He bursts into the compartment and instantly does a three-sixty degree scan of the area, but his radar picking up no more hostiles further in the ship. He then spots the bright yellow bodies of two Sniper Crewman lying motionless on the floor next to each other, their respective Lanka held in a death grip within their hands. After verifying through his warframe's scans that they were indeed dead, he turns his attention to the only other living soul in the compartment.
Well, partially living soul as the third Sniper Crewman was skew a foot off the ground into the steel bulkhead, Chroma's arrow sticking out of his chest while his Lanka was on the floor underneath him. The Corpus struggles in vain to remove the arrow but could barely manage to lift both arms up, let alone summon the incredible strength that would be required to accomplish such a feat.
"You guys really ought to switch to a different gun. Jessie says that the Lanka has too long of a charge up time which doesn't quite make up for its power", Chroma says as he approaches, Tiamat's Wrath now hefts on his shoulder.
A moment later, the Dragon Tenno was standing in front of the dying Corpus, observing his struggles.
"Believe or not, I know exactly what you're going through. I know because I have gone through it before myself", Chroma spoke, paying no mind to the soldier's dying wheeze nor the blood now dripping out onto the floor, "The feeling of helplessness as Death's cold hands grip around your heart, not knowing whether or not each passing second is your last; like I said I've been there."
A message from Trinity flash on his HUD but ignores it for now as he continues talking.
"You get to where you're no longer begging for someone to save you. No, you reach the point where you're just praying that someone, anyone, swiftly put you out of your misery", he tells the Corpus as he began coughing and his wheeze started to get quieter as his lungs started to fill with blood.
Another notification flashes across Chroma's HUD, this time label as urgent and he decides to answer this one.
"Chroma here."
"What was that weapon discharge I heard?", she demanded.
"Revenant and I were about to take the merchants into custody near their ship when three Sniper Crewmen appear with hostile's intent", Chroma answers.
"Is the situation under control?", Trinity asks.
"All hostiles….", Chroma pauses as he watches the Sniper Crewman give his last breath and go limp, "All hostiles are down. Proceeding to search the ship and scan its computer for information before interrogating the merchants."
"Copy that", Trinity radios back to Chroma, "Ordis, how is that scan of the plains going?"
"Scan is at ninety-six percent and will be translated in a tactical map for your review", the A.I. answers.
"Good. Proceed forward", Trinity says before typing in a combination on her wrist, turning her Landing Craft horizontal until the mid-section was directly in front of her, hovering a foot off the ground.
"Medical holographic workstation uploading into Warframe", the Landing Craft A.I. states as a video uplink showing Atlas within the confines of her Landing Craft appear on her HUD along with a number of readings on the side. Upon holding her hands out, the craft A.I. simulates covering them in a digital replica outline, from her wrist to every single finger, all were encased in a blue, computerize light.
Though only Trinity could see this through her HUD. To anyone else watching, she was merely standing outside of her ship with her hands in front of her.
"Preparations are complete. Operations may commence."
"Once again I fail to see why all this is necessary. Couldn't you just heal me like you do in the field, Madam?", Atlas asks as he marvels at the extremely advanced Orokin medical technology all around him, "How does she fit in here?"
From surgical precision needles to plasma tools that could easily cut through his armor if need be, on all sides there was tech the likes of which he has only ever recently seen in the various labs on the Orbiter all neatly compact into a single Landing Craft.
It didn't help that he was surrounded by all this while being firmly locked into place by the Insertion Platform which seems to have now doubled over as an operating table.
"Your attempts to shrug off the seriousness of your wound are not commendable. You and I both know the reason why I can't", Trinity tells him through the commlink.
Contrary to popular belief and mostly only known to the Lotus and the Tenno, Trinity's healing abilities weren't as miraculous as some would believe. She could clot bleeding as long as it wasn't from more than two major arteries, mend mild bone fractures, purge certain doses of poison from the body, resuscitate the heart to a degree, and could even rapidly-produce red blood cells within a target for a span of time, thus keeping them alive longer and not having them die from blood loss.
All and all, her abilities weren't all that different from the Orokin healing agents found within the med-kits that they took into battle. The only difference between them being that her abilities weren't as limited as the number of kits you could carry into combat and you didn't have to stop in the middle of a battle to utilize her powers. In fact, other Tenno such as Wisp, Nychta, Oberon, and even Chroma's flames to an extend, could be relied upon depending on the situation.
Unfortunately, anything beyond the capabilities of Trinity's powers or a med-kit require an advanced medical station and if a Tenno's health was in a dire situation. Also, while Trinity wasn't one to brag, her Landing Craft was no doubt the most technologically advanced active medical facility in the system outside of the Orbiter's Med Lab, even coming equipped with half a dozen Orokin medical Drones that the ship could release with just a command from the Healing Tenno.
But even with access to such equipment, certain wounds had to heal naturally over time and be check-up on occasionally and Atlas' shoulder was one such injury.
"I'm just saying that I can move just fine, my lady", Atlas replies.
"Hold still", Trinity orders him, "I'm removing your chest plate."
Atlas lets out an audible sigh, "Fine."
Trinity flexes her fingers and goes to work. The confines of her Landing Craft come alive and dozens of instruments spring to life and make their way toward the Earth Tenno. His vision was full of needles, cutting tools, pincers, and pliers; all eagerly awaiting the signal to take off his armored second skin.
"Do you require temporary sedation?", Trinity asks, "I'm aware that the environment that you're in can seem... unnerving to some."
"No, no, I'm just fine. Just don't do something that you can't fix", Atlas answers.
"Understood. Proceeding then", Trinity states as she flicks her index finger, communicating to the removal instruments to begin their process. A data link is established between Atlas' Warframe and overrides his suit's disengagement locks for his chest plate and pressure steam is exhumed out from this section. The links come apart down the middle of his chest, stopping just short of his waist and four surgical magnetic outlets come down and attach themselves to his left plate. They then simply lifted up, taking the chest plate segment with them and exposing half of the rugged muscular bare chest of the Rock Tenno to the outside world.
From the screen displaying within Trinity's helmet, she instantly zooms in on Atlas' left shoulder where a deep cut, just inches away from his neck. It was five inches in length, half an inch wide, and its at least an inch in depth.
"Hmmm", Trinity says as she examines the wound with a keen eye through the magnifying tool that was currently hovering above Atlas, "A number of your stitches seem to have broken and your wound has reopened a little. What exactly were you doing on your mission?"
"Attacking Vay Hek's 2nd Fleet flagship and sabotaging its core. Ran into a squad of Bombards that caught me off-guard, they got me pretty good", Atlas tells her, a little on edge about the contractions moving sporadically over his body.
He never really like those "proper" doctors all that much. It was mostly because of his upbringing that he didn't interact with them much. The slums of Europa where he grew up at had, at best, one doctor for every three thousand people who live there and even the cheapest ones cost two or three paychecks just to fix up a minor injury. The medical "professional" that he and his family always saw were the back-alley doctors, the ones that either drop out of med school or were the assistants to actual doctors and pick up some of their knowledge while working for them. It was until the Zariman Ten Zero that Atlas was treated by his first true doctor.
"I'm going to restitch your wound, this time with double the thread strength. When this whole fiasco is done, I'm recommending you for a one week mandatory rest time on the Orbiter to give the stitches time to settle in", Trinity explains as her fingers enact a number of frantic but very coordinated maneuvers which were mimic inside the Landing Craft by the frantic movement of the instruments. An attachment with two needles in a prone position along with a medical thread attachment center themselves just above his wound. Soon two more similar contraptions appear from either his sides, the one on his right was sporting a syringe while the left side had a nozzle attachment on it.
From the nozzle, a blue mist was sprayed on his wound and a slight burn sensation erupted from it causing even the Rock Tenno to wince a little at the pain.
"I'm coating the wound in disinfection as a precaution. Do you want some anesthetic as well?", Trinity asks. While normally this would be a standard procedure regardless of what the patient wants, the supplies on her Landing Craft were limited so whenever she had to do field surgery, she tries to ration out what she could. Not to mention with the overall supply even on the Orbiter being down to about seventy percent and between raiding Orokin Derelicts crawling with Infested and Darvo supplying them with his own secret stash, the task of resupplying was getting dangerous and expensive.
"I think I'm good", Atlas answers.
"Very well then", Trinity says as she withdraws the syringe, "I will begin."
And without further ado, Trinity's fingertips once more began to tap and spin feverishly and the needles go to work, sealing the wound at an impressive speed.
"You know", Atlas began, "This isn't the first time you treated me."
"I am well aware of the origin of this wound, it happened barely a month ago. Now please be quiet, this is delicate work and I need to focus here", Trinity says while observing her work with a significantly enhanced zoom.
"Nah, I meant before that", Atlas kept on.
"Your injuries from your battle with the Grusrtrag Three barely warranted my attention. Wisp mainly saw to you while I just gave you a check-up", Trinity says, "Now I'll say again, please keep your comments to yourself."
"You treated me back on the Zariman Ten Zero."
Everything within the Landing Craft comes to a halt, the stitching evening stopping in the middle of its process. Everything with the vehicle was as silent as the vastness of space.
"Trinity? Madam?", Atlas calls out to the Healer Tenno.
…
…
…
"Explain", Trinity finally says, "I do not recall this."
"Make sense. It's probably a missing memory and it was a brief moment", Atlas began, "There was an incident with some of the machinery me and my guys were bringing with us to help build the Emperor's new palace after his Grand Parade. Anyway, apparently one of my guys was getting a little too friendly with you and I had to step in."
Trinity searches the confides of her shattered memories, trying her hardest to piece together some semblance of a puzzle to match up with the event that Atlas spoke of. She remembers her office on the Zariman Ten Zero, the spotless white floors, and ceilings, fill to the brim with the latest in Orokin medical technology. From the highest of nobles to the lowest of primitive nomad tribes, she treated them all during the ship's voyage.
But she couldn't remember…
"Wait", she thought as she stops on an echo in the farthest corners of her mind, a missing segment that has long been buried.
Shattered Flashback
There was a burly giant of a man, staying behind another man who was barely taller than Trinity. The larger man's arm was wrapped around the other man's neck and he was providing pressure to it; not choking him but just enough to freeze him up, his eyes expression a strong sense of dread.
"The good lady was trying to fix you up, Jamusa. You should treat her with respect. Now you're going to leave now and I'm going to have a talk with you later ", the giant says in a slow voice and then lets him go, grabbing his shoulder and pulling the man behind him before shoving him away afterward. A glare from the titan makes the man scrambles out of the ward and down the hall, leaving the doctor alone with the towering wall of flesh.
End of Flashback
"Trinity. Trinity!", a voice brings her back to the present and she sees that Chroma is radioing her over the comm channel.
"What is it?", she asks while mentally berating herself for getting lost in her thoughts at such a time.
"I found something on the ship's computer that you might want to see and Ordis is done with his mapping of the plains", the dragon reports.
"Copy that. We'll meet up at the gate when we're through here", Trinity replies.
"See you there", Chroma says before cutting off, leaving Trinity once again alone with her thoughts.
"Everything okay th-ack!", Atlas started before being interrupted by the stitching instrument once more continuing its procedure.
"We'll be done in just a moment", Trinity tells him.
"Are you sure you're okay?", Atlas asks only for the syringe on his right to move up in front of his face a moment later.
"If you once again attempt to break my concentration then I will be force to sedate you, understood?"
"Hear you loud and clear, Trinity", came the answer from the Mountain Tenno.
"At least you stop with the nicknames for now."
Jupiter Relay
A crowd has gathered outside of the entrance of the conclave with representatives from all six syndicate as well as the Preservers Guild that operated and maintain the relays forming a crescent moon behind the Lotus. To the Lotus mild surprise, even Darvo, Clem, and the ever peculiar Baro Ki'Teer were there among the flock. The sounds of swords clashing could clearly be heard through the doors and despite the hostility between a number of the assembly groups, all were too focus on what was going on behind the doors to commence any aggressive actions.
Excalibur and Teshin have clashed before in the past on the relay and while everyone knew that it was their standard greeting ritual, it has never gone on this long or was this fierce.
"Lotus", a grave voice calls from behind her and she turns to see an elderly Preserver flank on both sides by at least a dozen guards, approaching her, their presence making even the ruthless Red Veil members partway for them. The man in the middle was using an Orokin staff to aid in his walking and unlike the other Preservers, he wasn't wearing a helmet so Lotus could see the aged and pale face along with his faded blue eyes and silver hair.
"Grand Maintainer Furaon", she nods, acknowledging his rank and status as the undisputed master of this relay. It was his authority and the authority of his counterparts on the other relays that kept the peace between the syndicates and maintain their neutrality in their petty squabbles onboard the ancient Orokin structures, "To what do I owe the honor?"
"I have come to see what has been causing such restlessness in my home", he answers, "I hope a rift has not formed between you and Master Teshin."
"Almost forgot there was one more person that kept the syndicates in line on this relay seeing how his Conclave is used to "peacefully" settled disputes between them.", Lotus thought before speaking, "I assure you, Grand Maintainer Furaon, no such division has occurred between us. As I suspect you are aware, this is apparently the standard greeting between Excalibur and Teshin. It has just gone on a little longer than usual."
Furaon slowly brings his hand to his chin and nods, "True, in the past, they have exchange greeting in this most peculiar way, but I can't help but sense that there is something more behind it."
Meanwhile...
"Damn it! He hasn't slowed down one bit and we been at it for at least two hours now!", Excalibur thought as he ducks out of the way of a slash, but has no time to counter for as soon as he regains his balance he was forced to bring his Dragon Nikana up to block Teshin own Nikana and the Sword Tenno finds himself back against the wall as they lock blades.
"Is that hesitation in your step? Are you allowing your thoughts to cloud your mind even in the midst of combat?", the master of the Conclave asks as he presses Excalibur some more before the Alpha Tenno is able to push Teshin back with his superior strength and flip over him, landing up the stairs from him.
The field leader of the Tenno raises his sword into the air and calls forth Radial Blind and a bright light emits from his sword, Teshin is forced to shield his eyes. This creates an opening that Excalibur spots and sought to exploit to his full advantage. He re-sheathe his Dragon Nikana and sprinted at the still blind Dax soldier, unleashing his sword once again as he got closer and hoping the power and momentum behind it would be enough to end this fight.
CLANK!
"Have you forgot, Armis Uynanda, that I can see with more than just my eyes?", Teshin says as he effortlessly blocks Excalibur's strike even without seeing it.
The Alpha Tenno flips backward and puts a couple of yards between him and the master swordsman, his Nikana in front of him.
"How...How do you know my name?", he asks and for good reason. Only five people knew his real name, the Lotus, Nyx, Trinity, Chroma, and Ordis, who doesn't actually count as a person but that was a debate for another time.
"I know a great many things about you, the first-born son of Forti Uynanda and Pulchra Uynanda", Teshin answers.
Excalibur nearly drops his sword, "You knew my parents?"
"Knew them? Ha! Boy, I serve alongside your father on the battlefield! He was one of the greatest general the Orokin Empire ever knew and one of the few men to ever earn my full respect, something that not even the emperor could do!", Teshin declare.
Excalibur couldn't believe this. All that he and Nyx remember about their father is that he was a high-ranking general and they remember even less about their mother.
"Tell me about him", he says without thinking.
"Don't run headlong into the flames, Armis", Teshin says, "You didn't come here to learn about your past if I recall correctly."
Excalibur finds himself looking down at the floor in shame as he realizes that the Dax soldier was right.
"No, you came here to learn about the Prime that attacks you on Mercury and this Stalker individual that has been assaulting your comrades across the stars", Teshin kept going.
Excalibur tenses up, "How do you already know about all that?"
"I have eyes and ears all over the system, Tenno. I've been around since the empire fell and have established quite the information network", Teshin replies, "One that is on par with Darvo himself."
"We're going to have to have a discussion about this at another time", Excalibur states, "But what can you tell me about them?"
"I can tell you a great deal about them", Teshin answers, "But I won't."
"What?", the Tenno seethes.
Teshin "Calm yourself, Tenno, you misunderstand my words. What I mean to say is that I won't tell you everything."
"I don't have time for games", Excalibur says.
"Nor do I have time to play them", Teshin counters as he holds up three fingers, "From where I stand you wish to learn three things from me: your past, the Prime, and the Stalker. Such information is not given freely and therefore shall come at a price."
"I never have known you to have a need for credits", Excalibur points out.
"I do not require currency for I have no need for it", Teshin counters, "I will only give you the information on one of these things you seek, nothing more. In exchange, I ask for one favor that will be granted to me at the time of my choosing. Swear to me that you will fulfill this promise or else leave here with nothing", Teshin declares.
"And what promise do you want me to keep?", Excalibur questions.
"That is for me to know and for you to fulfill at the time I choose to invoke it, now make your choice", Teshin starts, "And believe me, I would be giving you more information than the Lotus ever will."
"What's that suppose to me?", Excalibur questions.
"In due time, Armis, in due time. Now chose; leave here full of knowledge or empty-handed?"
A heavy sense of uneasiness swell up his chest but Excalibur pushes it away, "Very well, I will keep this mysterious promise to you as long as it doesn't endanger the Lotus or my comrades."
"No more than the dangers you willingly put yourself in on a daily basis, I assure you", Teshin says, "But first you much show me that you have what it takes to gain such knowledge."
"Don't worry, I will", Excalibur boasts.
"Hmph,", Teshin says, as he reverses the grip on his Nikana.
"Blind Justice", Excalibur points out, "The same stance you used against me on that eventful day."
"At least you remember that, Tenno!", Teshin shouts as he dashes toward him, "Blind Justice Style: Heeding Call!"
Excalibur narrowly dodges the kick to his face and brings his own Dragon Nikana just in time to block the powerful downward slash from, though he was brought down to a knee in the process.
"Arrgh!", he lets out as he pushes the blade to the side and switches directions to come down on Teshin's left, only for the Dax soldier to jump away at the last moment and the Dragon Nikana ends up striking the floor.
"Decisive Judgement!", Excalibur proclaims as he now grips the hilt of his blade with both hands and charges, scrapping the Nikana along the ground as he zooms over to Teshin just before he hit the ground while channeling his energy into it.
"Decisive Judgement: Swift Retribution!", as he prepares to strike the Dax while he was still in mid-air.
"Such arrogance!", Teshin shouts as he grabs his Orvius attach to his belt and flings it at the ground. It bounces off and goes underneath the Tenno's guard, striking him directly in the gut and forcing him back a couple of inches before returning to the ancient sword master's hand.
"Arrgh!", Excalibur lets out once more as he finds himself clutching his gut while still pointing his sword at Teshin, "I thought our fights were swords only!"
"This is not one of our usual fights, Tenno. You should have realized that the moment you drew your blade", Teshin tells him.
Excalibur regards the Master of the Conclave for a moment before speaking, "Are you telling me to hold nothing back?"
"It would be unwise if you did", Teshin states.
"Very well then", the Sword Tenno says as he recovers and sheathes his sword, "I'll come at you with everything I got."
Outside of the conclave, Lotus felt an unfamiliar feeling wash over her and was unsure what to make of it.
"Ordis", she calls.
"Yes, Lotus?"
"Give me a status check on Excalibur", she orders.
"Right away, Lotus. Coming up now".
Operator Excalibur's Status Check:
Shields: Green
Vital Signs: Green
Armor: Green
Energy: Fully Charged
Energy Siphon Mod Install
Operator Excalibur's Weapons Check
Dragon Nikana Status: Green
Aklato Status: Green
Braton Status: Green
"He seems to be holding up pretty well despite the opponent he has been facing for such a long time, but why is Teshin acting like this?", she wonders, "I'm fully aware of his hostility toward me, but why Excalibur?" right before the sounds of gunfire erupts from the other side of the door, "Seriously?! Are you kidding me?!"
The dual Latos let loose their rounds at the Dax as Excalibur jumps upward to get the advantage, latching onto the walls and raining down upon his target.
With movements that only a fellow Dax or Tenno could track, Teshin slashes the air in front of him, slicing the bullets in half and creating a pile of them appear in front of him on the floor.
Excalibur switches up tactics and swaps to his Braton, unleashing a spray of automatic fire. Teshin evades this by jumping backward and once more flings his Orvius directly at the Alpha Tenno, the disc effortlessly cutting any bullets in its path to pieces all without losing momentum. The Orvius crashes into the Braton, nearly cleaving it half and forcing Excalibur to throw the weapon to the ground and switch back to his dual Latos.
"At least he can't use that disc anymore", he thought as he leaps across to the other side of the room, spraying Teshin but notices something odd while doing so. While Teshin was deflecting the bullets with his sword in one hand, his other was reach out toward where the discarded Braton laid, the Orvius strongly fixed into its frame.
Excalibur was so baffled by this gesture that he actually stop firing on Teshin, "What is he doing?"
"Never lax in the heat of battle, boy!", Teshin shouts as right before the Orvius take off through the air toward his hand, the Tenno assault-rifle in tow. As soon as the disc reaches the Dax soldier's hand, he flings it behind his shoulder while still holding it, separating it from the Braton and the gun goes crashing into the rocks behind him.
"You still have much to learn!", Teshin declares as he readies himself for another round.
Excalibur in response drops off the wall and lands down the stairs from Teshin.
Silently, he holsters his Aklato and draws his Dragon Nikana once more.
"Hmm, shall we go again with our blades? I thought you said you would come after me with everything you got", Teshin asks, "It would seem you have learned nothing over our past encounters."
"I still have no idea why you're doing this, Teshin, but I'll make you regret those words.", Excalibur says before taking the Nikana and stabbing into the ground in front of him, prompting the Dax swordsman to raise an eyebrow. Before anything could be said, Excalibur brings both of his hands together and quickly pulls them apart, focusing his energy while doing so. The room becomes significantly brighter as a radiating blade of pure light materializes in Excalibur's hand, the power coming off so potent that even the Lotus and the others on the other side of the door could feel it.
"Exalted Blade!", Excalibur booms.
"Oh?", was all Teshin says to this, "It seems you have finally gotten serious."
Excalibur stays silent as he takes his Dragon Nikana out of the ground and takes up a dual-wielding stance, with his Exalted Blade over his head with his right hand while he pointed his Dragon Nikana at Teshin with his left.
"I take back what I said. It seems you have learned a trick or two", Teshin says.
"You know me, I'm always open to new ideas", Excalibur replies.
"Very well then, now let's just see how long you can keep this unique style of yours up", the Conclave master says as he jumps at Swordsman Tenno, the Orvius in one hand ready to throw with a drawn Nikana in the other ready to strike.
A/N: Second Chapter up soon hopefully.
I can't help but think that Atlas' nicknames for Trinity rub some people the wrong way. He means no disrespect by it, everyone has a nickname even the Lotus.
P.S. This is Exalted Blade before the nerf, so it's pure energy.
P.S.S. The Relays are run by the Preservers Guild (those NPC on the relays) and each relay is autonomous to one another where the Grand Maintainer holds supreme power, though there's a council of them that passes laws and stuff. If a syndicate is kicked off one relay, its kicked off all the others, so they why they keep their squabbles to themselves.