Disclaimers: I do not own Warframe.
A/N: I'm at work right now and decided to do this during my break. Enjoy.
Syndicate Dossier
Author: Lotus
Subject: Steel Meridian
Theme: Justice
Numbers: 40000 members prior to Admiral Vor's offensive. Now they number around 20000 members and have lost significant outposts and bases.
Leader/Founder: Cressa Tal
Former Headquarters: Lith, Earth
(Lost in Vor's Offensive)
Current Headquarters: Steel Meridian Flagship's "Iron Will", currently station at the Jupiter Relay.
Weaponry: Seeing how nearly all of their members are formers servants of the Queens, their arsenal is primarily Grineer based.
This includes:
The Hek shotgun.
The Dual Cleavers.
The Sobek automatic shotgun.
The Miter saw blade launcher.
As well as various other mainstream weapons used by the Grineer forces.
Syndicate Summary:
Truly the youngest of the main syndicates as their official existence only dates back to around a decade at best thus they are the only syndicate who were not involved in the last Syndicate Wars. Founded by Cressa Tal who was "born" with a genetic flaw that allowed her to disobey orders from the Grineer Queens, she has since created the organization composed of her fellow comrades carrying the same "defect" to allow them to not only live their own lives but protect those who cannot protect themselves from the hammer of the Grineer Empire.
Ordis has calculated that even if only less than one percent of the Grineer have the same genetic flaw, if you take into account the vast number of them, then Steel Meridian quite possibly has one of the largest, if not the largest, recruiting pool out of any of the guilds. A vast selection of already highly-trained soldiers who already come equipped with their own weapons and armor thus not putting a strain on the syndicate's resources.
Steel Meridian's goal is to protect the numerous colonies scattered throughout the Origin System from both the Grineer, the Corpus, and the Infested. Despite being overwhelmingly outnumbered, Cressa Tal has proven herself to be quite the brilliant tactician and through her leadership, and a little help from the occasional Tenno squad, she has won multiple victories against these powerful foes. Unfortunately, she can only do so much against a foe who is just skilled as her in the art of military strategy and has more resources at their disposal as the latest offensive from Admiral Vor has shown. At one point, Steel Meridian stood as the strongest of the syndicate, easily having at least ten thousand more members over their closest rivals. They have since lost half of their number to Vor and are now on the brink of collapse over his sustained assault.
Or at least that is what Cressa Tal would have her rivals believe. Intercepted messages from Steel Meridian's channels indicated that the syndicate may be swiftly replenishing their numbers and that the forces that have been lost so far were not her "cream of the crop". Intel suggests that she may well be hiding at an entire legion, at least five thousand troops, worth of battle-harden veterans that neither myself nor the other syndicates knew existed. If this turns out to be true, then it would show that Cressa Tal has mastered a level of subterfuge and misdirection that hasn't been seen in quite some time in the Origin System.
Impressive seeing how she was only a sergeant when she left the empire.
Syndicate Relationships:
Red Veil:
These two have cooperated many times in the past, with Red Veil usually leading an offensive against a certain foe with Steel Meridian provided defensive support on the flanks to prevent a counterattack. Should the enemy still somehow manage to launch its own attack in response, Cressa Tal and her forces have been able to weather their assault and set up a defensive parameter until Red Veil shows up to relieve them and drive the enemy back.
Arbiter of Hexis:
Despite both of them being of the younger syndicates, not much contact has occurred between these two. This could simply be a lack of interest between them or the fact that both guilds simply have bigger enemies to worry about.
The Perrin Sequence:
Surprisingly, the information I have about the relationship between these two guilds does not come from my own sources but of that from Cephalon Cordylon, an A.I. that was found on a derelict Orokin ship who has since been utilized by the Preservers Guild on all of their relays.
They state that while Cressa Tal's and Ergo Glast's ideology to simply want peace in the Origin System does not conflict with one another, the ways they go about it do. Steel Meridian prefers violent means to bring about peace while The Perrin Sequence seeks to do so through words.
Cephalon Suda:
Much like with the Arbiter of Hexis, not much contact has been shown between these two. Though unlike the former, it could simply be that the Cephalon does not see Cressa Tal as a threat worth noting. This could be exactly what the Grineer defector wants.
New Loka:
The underlying animosity between Cressa Tal and Amaryn cannot properly be put into words. At times they make Vor's and Vay Hek's hatred for the Tenno and myself seem tame by comparison. I find it incredible that the two guilds have yet to declare open war against one another despite engaging in their own personal cold war for at least half a decade. Like I stated in the New Loka's dossier, any open conflict between them though would more than likely end in a bloody stalemate seeing how Amaryn has the better navy while Cressa Tal has more battle-harden ground troops. I sense that the only options available for the two guilds to even think about working together would either be a massive assault from any of the other major factions aimed at the two of them or simply one or both of them being removed from their leadership positions.
Favored Tenno:
A number of Tenno have been welcomed as brothers and sisters when around Steel Meridian's members such as:
Atlas:
His ability to weathered attacks with great determination goes side by side with one of Steel Meridian's preferred methods of fighting and he has been the tipping point in many of their operations. To my great surprise, they seem to enjoy his "Dad's Jokes.". There is secret video footage of Cressa Tal rolling on the floor laughing at these while holding her sides.
Ember:
Her creed of "Always on the attack! Never on the defense!" as made her the preferred Tenno that Cressa Tal has requested whenever she plans on striking a Grineer's position. So much that the Grineer defector has asked me more than once to permanently assign the Fire Tenno to her forces.
This was denied of course.
Excalibur
Despite Cressa Tal's negativity toward me, she seems to hold great respect for The Alpha Tenno for his martial skills and dedication to protecting the helpless colonies. It seems the feeling is mutual as Excalibur has gone to great length to ensure that Cressa Tal is treated like his equal in any joint Steel Meridian/Tenno operations.
Frost:
His defensive abilities are greatly appreciated among Steel Meridian and if he brought along on a joint mission with Ember it allows more flexibility for them.
Garuda:
Despite her tendency toward violence putting off even the most battle-harden of their numbers, Cressa Tal and her followers cannot help but acknowledge her effective methods in decimated their enemies and will gladly take her along on any operation.
Grendel:
Surprisingly, this has less to do with combat and more to due with the amazing meals he cooks for them while on joint operations.
Khora:
Much like with Garuda, Steel Meridian respects her strength, not her personality. It should be noted though that Cressa Tal absolutely loathes Venari, almost with the same passion that she hates Amaryn.
The reasons for this are unclear.
Mesa:
Amazingly, it would seem that Cressa Tal is Mesa's best non-Tenno friend and the two have been known to converse with each other even outside operations. Plus, Mesa has drilled the forces of Steel Meridian to improve upon their already efficient accuracy.
*Intercepted messages on Steel Meridian's channels has suggested that Mesa has been asking Cressa Tal for personal advice of which I will not delve into in this dossier.*
Nezha:
Despite him being fully capable of supporting Steel Meridian in all of their operations, I can't help but wonder if Cressa Tal's constant request for Nezha stems from a more personal preference. Nezha has reported that he has caught the syndicate leader staring at him multiple times and that she seems distracted whenever he has tried to brief her, as her eye seems to go everywhere on his body but to his own two.
I have since decided to never send Nezha out solo to aid Steel Meridian.
Nidus:
Much like Amaryn takes sympathy on Valkyr, Cressa Tal seems to have pity on the Infested Tenno on what was done to him and treats him no differently than she would treat anyone else.
Nova:
One time Nova saved Cressa Tal when she was pinned down by the Grustrag Three by creating a wormhole that allowed her to escape them. Since then she has done everything in her power to repay the debt she owns the Tenno.
*Unbeknownst to anyone else, I would have used this as leverage to get Cressa Tal to aid us in our assault against Vor if she decided not to cooperate.*
Oberon:
This baffles me. Usually, Oberon's attitude antagonizes people and I predicted that Cressa Tal and her comrades would have been some of those people. Yet they seem to welcome him in their ranks.
Rhino:
He is the tank that spearheads Steel Meridian's offensives against their enemies and is always guaranteed to be on the frontlines of any joint operation.
Saryn:
She has cleared out entire structures by herself with the use of her spores, allowing Steel Meridian to move in with little to no resistance. Much like her teammates Ember and Frost, she is a must-have on missions for the syndicate.
*Chroma*:
Ever since witnessing his prowess against Lieutenant Lech Kril (now Captain since he survived his ordeal on Mercury) and the Stalker, Cressa Tal seems to have been keeping a close eye on the Dragon.
Special Note:
Steel Meridian usually employs the use of Rollers as first wave attackers when the syndicate is operating alone. Their heavy armor and mobility make them a perfect distraction while the main force moves in. It also should be noted that they are my leading sources on Grineer's intelligence.
End of Dossier.
A/N: Hope you like it.
FYI updated: Nezha is actually only a couple years younger than Chroma, which would put him at 20 at best. I could see how that could lead to a misunderstanding about Cressa Tal. In fact, I should say that even at 20, Nezha is the youngest male Tenno while Nyx is the youngest Tenno overall at around 17/18ish.