There was a Warframe on the ship.

Corpus Tech First Class Veso-R could hear the screams of the dying. This wasn't the first time a Warframe had come aboard the ship and it probably wasn't going to be the last.

Too many times he had seen the final results of the Warframe's handiwork. Corpus torn limb from limb, bodies burned beyond recognition, frozen shattered pieces scattered across the floor. Just over a month earlier the entire engineering team, including his own trainee, had been crushed by a storm of flaming meteors . . . inside the ship.

He took several long deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heart. Chief Engineer Jaro had been very clear - do not get involved. Avoid any Warframes whenever possible. The ship had lost too many engineers already. And having seen what the Warframes were capable of Veso was more than willing to comply.

He had been on the way to the mess, finally off duty after working four straight shifts in a row, when the alarm had sounded and he had ducked into a convenient, out of the way, supply room. There was no guarantee the Warframe would not find him there but it at least decreased the odds of him being discovered.

But Kyip, his new trainee and Tket, the medic he was constantly spending time with. The two younger Corpus had only been on the ship just over a month. Even Tket, who seemed to exist only to make Veso's life difficult; the engineer did not want him getting killed by a Warframe. Veso swallowed, took several more deep breaths then opened a direct channel to the other Corpus engineer.

"Kyip, Veso here" he said, forcing his voice to remain calm. "What is your location?"

"Sir?" Kyip sounded confused. "I am in the mess. Am I supposed to be on duty?" He cursed, fear starting to enter his voice. "Profit! I am sorry sir. I will . . "

"No, Kyip" cut in Veso. "Is Tket with you?"

"Yes sir."

"Good," said Veso. "Stay there until I come get both of you."

"Sir?" Kyip could tell something was wrong. He could hear the fear in the older Corpus's voice. "What is happening?"

"There is a Warframe on the ship!" cut in Tket, his eyes wide, clearly excited. He had just heard the report coming in from another channel. "Lets go kill it"

"Absolutely not" said Veso, overhearing Tket through Kyip's open channel. "You will remain in the mess. You will not leave until I come for you." He then said something Kyip had never heard him say. "That is an order Corpus Tech Second Class. Do you understand me?"

"Yes sir," said Kyip.

"Good. I will be there shortly." He shut the channel.

Veso had no idea where the Warframe was. Conflicting reports were coming in over the comms but they seemed to be primarily focused around the reactor room. He gritted his teeth and clenched his hands into fists.

Not again, he thought bitterly. Not again. The last time the Warframe had come aboard the ship, it had torn through every department but had hit engineering the hardest. Except for himself and Chief Engineer Jaro everyone had been killed and both of them had been seriously injured. They had needed to replace the entire team but hadn't found enough people to do it. At least Kyip was safe. He didn't want to have to deal with loosing another trainee.

And as long as the junior officers remained in the mess Veso was sure they were safe. He had never heard of any instances of a Warframe entering that part of the ship. He just hoped they stayed there. He could rely on Kyip to follow orders but Tket only seemed to listen to everyone on the ship except for Veso. Hopefully, the young medic had enough sense to avoid a Warframe regardless of who told him to.

Just when he was starting to think staying where he was was the best option a shrill alarm suddenly started blaring taking that away from him. This Warframe wasn't just here to kill a few of them and go - it had messed with the reactor - it was here to kill all of them. He had to get to the reactor control room or the core was going to meltdown and he had only minutes to do it.

Veso checked his weapons. He was carrying a standard issue Supra and Prova as well as a backup Plinx. But if the Warframe tried to stop his attempt to get to the control room he doubted any weapon he might carry would have made much of a difference. His only chance was to not be seen. From the reports he was getting the Warframe was now definitely in the reactor room. If he could avoid that he shouldn't have a problem.

The route to the control room was littered with bodies. No. Veso was almost sick to his stomach. The pieces of bodies. Every one of the dozen corpses he passed had been cut apart. Mixed in were the crackling remains of destroyed Moas and Shield Drones. He swallowed hard and tightened his grip on his Supra. What he wouldn't give for a Striker Moa or a functioning Shield Drone right then. Not that it had been much help for the other Corpus.

"Veso, Jaro here," the voice of the Chief Engineer suddenly cut into Veso's helmet. "I don't think I can make it in time. Remote shutdown is not working."

"I . . . " Veso swallowed. "I am . . . almost there now sir . . . I should be able to shut down the reactor."

"Good. Keep me informed." Veso could hear Jaro's frustration. He had been on the bridge talking to the Captain when the alarm had sounded, on the completely opposite side of the ship. "I will meet you there."

"Yes sir." He shut the channel.

Veso took several more long deep breaths. He was now standing in front of the rear door to the Control Room. All incoming reports through the comms continued to indicate that the Warframe was still in the Reactor Room, just beyond the Control Room. Now or never he thought. He quickly punched his access code into the door panel and walked into chaos.

The Control Room itself was empty but beyond it, through the large glass window, Veso could see the Warframe tearing through Corpus with a large ornate sword. The Warframe itself was surprisingly simple; the only ornamentation a horn like protrusion from the top of it's head. It wasn't bright or flashy, but a mix of grey, white and black. The only bright color was the bright red of Corpus blood staining it's very human-like body.

As Veso stepped into the Control Room the Warframe took it's sword to a Tech. The older officer had lost his helmet in the fray. Veso could see he knew him, had worked with him on numerous occasions since his recent assignment, even considered him a friend. With terrifying speed and efficiency the Warframe slashed off both of Tech Tanka's arms, then his head, then, without any pause, immediately moved on to it's next victim.

The engineer stood transfixed, unable to look away, desperate for it to end. A security guard sliced in half. Another engineer lost both of his legs then his head. The blaring reactor alarm faded into the background. He was shaking, his breathing coming in rapid, panic-stricken gasps. It would not stop. Profit why.

"Veso, it's Jaro," the Chief Engineer's voice suddenly cut in through the fog. Veso started, nearly dropped his Supra. He finally managed to look away. "Have you made it to the Control Room?"

"Sir . . " Veso gritted his teeth. He tried to get his breathing back under control. "I . . I am here sir."

Jaro could hear the absolute terror in the younger engineer's voice. The Warframe had to be close by. If the incoming reports were accurate Veso could probably see it. Jaro didn't want to think about how many of his team this thing had already killed or how likely Veso was going to be one of it's next victims. He had trained Veso, known him since he was a young Tech Second Class fresh out of the Academy. Tightening his grip on his Flux Rifle Jaro quickened his pace.

"Veso, shut down the reactor and get out of there," he said. Despite his own frustration and worry he forced his voice to remain calm but firm. He needed Veso to focus. "I will be there shortly."

"Yes . . . " Veso swallowed. "Yes, sir."

Veso stiffened and forced himself to take one step towards the control panel, then another and another. Don't look up, he told himself. Do not look out into the reactor room. There is nothing you can do for them. He could now hear the screaming, shouting and gun fire through the external speakers of his helmet.

The familiar feel of the control console was almost comforting to the terrified engineer. Hundreds of hours on the clock spent working over this very station. Without thinking Veso immediately started imputing the commands for a complete reactor shutdown. His hands flew over the controls as if of their own accord and within seconds the reactor was slowly cycling down followed by the alarm going quiet.

"Good work, Veso" came Jaro's voice over the comm. "Now get out of there."

"Yes. . . " Veso froze. The sounds of battle from the Reactor room had suddenly stopped. Gritting his teeth he looked out the glass and his heart sank. The Warframe had stopped its killing spree and was looking straight at Veso. It lifted its sword and pointed it at the engineer. "Too late sir . . . "

"Veso, get out of there now," snapped Jaro. "That is an order Corpus Tech First Class."

"I am sorry sir," said Veso. He reached down to pick up his Supra from where he had left it on the console. "It's too late."

"Veso . . . " barked Jaro, but he didn't get to finish. The engineer quickly shut the channel. He needed to focus. The Warframe was at the door. Veso could hear it hacking the lock. He glanced back at the door behind him but quickly dismissed that option. There was no point in even trying. The Warframe was too fast.

He tightened his grip on his Supra and gritted his teeth. If he was going to die at least he wasn't going to make it easy for the Warframe.

The door flew open. Veso fired. The Warframe dashed forward, slamming it's elbow into the front of Veso's helmet knocking it off his head. The Corpus saw stars. He blinked several times, then dove to his left, rolling on his side and again opening fire. The Warframe dashed forward again, grabbed the end of Veso's Supra and tried to pull it free from his grip. But the Corpus held on tighter, glaring into the blood spattered face of the Warframe, his own face twisted with rage and hatred for the thing that had just slaughtered a dozen of his colleagues and friends right in front of him.

The Warframe suddenly reversed, pushing forward instead, slamming the butt of the Supra into Veso's side. The Corpus doubled over with a pained grunt, releasing his grip on the weapon. The Warframe tossed the Supra behind it then reached for it's sword. The blade was still stained with the blood of the previous Corpus it had just killed.

Veso unclipped his Prova. It crackled with arc energy. He could feel blood dripping from his nose. He was sure he heard the Warframe laugh. It lunged, Veso dove, rolled then slammed his Prova into the back of the Warframe's legs. It staggered but did not fall, instead using the momentum to turn back towards Veso.

"Stop wasting my time Corpus" spat the Warframe. "And just die already."

"Why?" asked Veso to the surprise of the Tenno who had not expected the Corpus would understand him. "You tried to destroy the ship with us on it. Why?"

"Because the only good Corpus is a dead Corpus," said the Warframe, voice dripping with vile disgust. "Taxman."

The Warframe dashed towards the Corpus, sword upright. Veso expected the attack. He dodged to the side then slammed his Prova in a hard two handed blow to the passing Warframe's back, actually dropping it to it's knees. He lifted the Prova to land another blow but the Warframe took advantage of the opening, driving it's elbow into Veso's abdomen, using the force to then slam the Corpus into the wall behind him. Veso's unprotected head hit the metal hard and he briefly saw black. When his senses returned he was doubled over on his knees. The Warframe was looming over him. In one hand it still held it's bloody sword and in the other it held Veso's Prova. He could see his Supra lying several feet away. Above him he could see the Warframe lift the Prova. He gritted his teeth and dove forward then rolled to his feet, catching his Supra on the way up and immediately opened fire. To his surprise he managed to land several shots on the Warframe

But Veso was breathing hard. He couldn't keep this up for much longer. Not against a Warframe. He was surprised he had managed to hold on as long as he had. The Warframe tossed the Prova aside. Veso prepared to dodge another dash attack he knew was coming but the Warframe anticipated his move and slanted it's attack to compensate.

Blinding pain slammed into him as the Warframe drove his sword into the Corpus engineer. Veso's anguished cry turned to a yell when the Warframe started to twist the blade it had buried in his chest. He felt his knees give out from under him, the sickening warm wet feel of blood spreading across his chest and back. He looked up into the terrifying face of the Warframe.

"You failed" he spat through gritted teeth. "The reactor . . . "

The Warframe snarled. Enraged, it viciously ripped the sword out of the Corpus, turned it, then slammed the hilt into Veso's unprotected head, dropping him.