Moving down the mountainside proved to be much more challenging than I originally thought; muscle atrophy has a habit of making everything harder. I had to take frequent breaks to calm my spasming limbs and regain my stamina. Oddly enough, my Tenno suit weathered the elements remarkably well, despite all of the climbing and rolling I put it through.

At least I could see the stars.

By the time I reached level ground, the first rays of dawn appeared on the horizon. The lush green forest stretched out before me, still dark in the early morning light. Taking this small victory for what it's worth, I sat down below a tree to rest my aching legs.

Gradually, the sun climbed over the horizon, obscuring the stars with its arrival. More light slowly filtered through the canopy, illuminating the forest floor. It was with this peace and tranquility that I took stock of my current situation. Obviously, I was not on Earth, nor was I in the Origin System. No planets like this existed there, especially with such a strange satellite orbiting it. If this was true, then I must be light years away from the Origin System, and Transference can be sustained over that same distance without any latency.

If I could be this far away from my Warframe and control it without delay, I could possibly be entire galaxies away from home. Who am I to determine how far Transference reaches?

With the sun high enough to force away the shadows of the forest, I stood up and began walking towards the distant tower once more.

The Stalker entered the Transference chamber in a swirl of smoke and shadow, War ready to rend flesh and spill Tenno blood. His attention was drawn to the idle Excalibur Warframe slumped lifelessly on the polished floor, then to the open and clearly vacant Transference pod. He relaxed his stance slightly after confirming the absence of threats, then moved to stand over the pod that should have house a very weak and very vulnerable Tenno.

Your target is gone. Hunhow's voice echoed in the Stalker's mind. Perhaps someone else found our quarry first and took them hostage? No… They would not leave the Warframe behind, too valuable a trophy. The housing pod itself looks clean, wholly untainted by Tenno occupation. There is no indentation in the fabric where their body would rest. A black hand moved over the cushion inside the Transference pod. It was crisp and fresh, ready to conform to the occupant's body.

We have been tricked. Hunhow hissed, its anger pulsing through the War greatsword it inhabited. The Stalker shared the same sentiment, opting to slam a fist into the pod with enough force to dislodge it from its mount, severing the connection to the white crystalline tubes, sparking and audibly loosing power. His anger was not sated. The Stalker turned away from the pod and drew back War, ready to run it through the lifeless Excalibur Warframe.

Unfortunately, that too had vanished.

With the sun steadily rising, I could get a much better bearing on my surroundings. The forest itself remained relatively flat, and I could easily see anything 100 meters out in all directions before being obstructed by too many trees. I moved toward the tower, keeping it in sight at all times. It was a goal, a concrete destination I could easily recognize. Of course, my actual goal was to find civilization and go from there. Afterwards all depended on how the native intelligent lifeforms tolerated my presence.

I heard the sound of distant running water after I sat down to rest under a tree. Life needed water, so civilization shouldn't be far. After recovering my stamina, I made my way toward the noise while keeping the tower in my peripheral vision. The water sounded gentle and small, most likely originating from a stream or brook.

Rounding a large mossy boulder, the stream itself finally came into view, dropping the air temperature by a few degrees. It wasn't particularly wide or deep, easily crossable by foot. The water was clear and clean, and the occasional aquatic animal could be seen swimming against the current. The whole scene was serene and peaceful.

I sat down at the water's edge to regain my limited stamina. Now that I had a clean water source, I contemplated cleaning myself of all the dirt, mud, twigs, and stagnant cave water I had accumulated. Showing up at someone's door, if the natives here even used doors, like this would not give the greatest first impression. I dipped my hand in the water…

… and immediately withdrew it. Too cold. Far too cold. It was not worth risking hypothermia just to get myself clean. I felt disappointed at not being able rid myself of filth, and mildly anxious at what kind of first impression I would leave behind.

The bushes rustled behind me. I subconsciously dismissed it as some kind of small animal, until I heard and felt heavy thumping. Footsteps. Belonging to something big.

I stood and turned around as quickly as I could, just in time to see a large black mass swing at me from the side. I fell backward to avoid the attack, splashing into the freezing water. Something above me gutturally roared, which was obscured by wet hair clinging to my face. I pushed myself back along the stream, already straining my arm muscles. The black mass landed in the brook with a very loud splash, advancing toward me faster than I could scramble away.

It raised what I could only assume to be a claw over its head with the intention of cutting me in two. As a last ditched attempt to defend myself, I raised one hand over my head and the other toward the black mass.

B-WHHOOOOOOOOOHHH

I could feel something erupt from my extended hand, halting the unidentified creature. The distinct noise of shredding flesh filled my ears. Streaks of red appeared on the creature as I moved my hand. It thrashed against the onslaught of raw energy, losing appendages as it desperately tried to block the beam of Tenno power flowing from my hand. The beam found its head, which promptly swelled and exploded spectacularly on contact, showering myself and the creek with bits of black flesh. The creature's body crashed to the ground, drenching me in extremely cold water.

Aside from the flowing creek, there was nothing but silence. I pulled my hair away from my eyes, finally noticing it was black with red highlights. Standing up slowly and already shaking from the cold bath, I made my way over to the black creature. It was very large, had white bone plates and spikes coving its hide, and was rapidly disintegrating as I studied it.

I was no stranger to hostile wildlife, but this thing was something else. None of the snaking gouges the energy beam created spewed any blood, nor did they reveal any entrails. Just bright red flesh. Every inch of this monster was dedicated to killing and only killing. No camouflaging colors, no specialized appendages, nothing that would help it survive in the wild. Its very existence spat in the face of mother nature, but here it was.

Priorities, Tenno. Get yourself dry. Don't succumb to hypothermia.

I climbed out of the creek shaking uncontrollably. With nothing immediately nearby to soak up the water, I would need to take a risk and make a fire. I didn't know if that monster was alone or not, but I at least knew I could fight back if I had to.

After walking a few dozen feet away from the stream, I looked around the forest floor for anything usable to make a fire. Twigs and dried leaves would get me started, and gathering them was going to be tedious.

Plus, it would be nice if I didn't set the forest on fire.

Still shivering violently, I gathered the leaves and twigs into a pile, clearing away anything burnable around it. Concentrating my Tenno power into my hand, I aimed at the tinder pile and released.

Twigs, leaves, and dirt flew in every direction, none of it managing to ignite. Some of it even landed on my still-wet Tenno suit, rendering the dip into freezing water utterly pointless.

I became incredibly frustrated at my mistake and kicked the remaining tinder pile, scattering dirty twigs and leaves. I stalked off into the forest, making sure I was still advancing toward the distant tower. At this point, I no longer cared about hypothermia, simply hoping that moving around will dry off the icy water fast enough.

It was just before mid-day when I heard something familiar echo through the forest, a sound I knew all too well.

Gunfire.

I rapidly turned my head to determine its direction and concluded it was coming from around the tower. I picked up my pace in anticipation.

More gunfire, much closer and in a different direction. From the reverberating crack I felt in my chest, it came from a shotgun like weapon, but its rhythm didn't match one. Sometimes I heard one shot, followed by multiple, then many in rapid succession, and finally a double barrel blast. What kind of weapon sounds like a shotgun but hits like a martial artist?

I could hear yelling now, like a young woman fighting off and trash talking a slew of opponents.

Then one of those black monsters crashed through a tree, rolled to a stop, and started disintegrating,

Believing that discretion was the better part of valor, I approached the clearing the monster flew from, taking cover behind a standing tree, and what I saw next took my breath away.

A young woman stood her ground as two of those enormous black creatures charged at her. She uppercut one, stunning it long enough to annihilate the second one with a series of lightning fast punches, kicks, and… blasts from her gauntlets?

With the second creature dealt with, she turned to the first that had just recovered from receiving an uppercut.

"You want some!?" She yelled at the monster, eyes glowing red and body radiating flames. It roared to her challenge, but could do no more as the distinct noise of a blade carving through flesh echoed through the clearing. The monster dropped forward, dead, a black weapon of some sort embedded behind its skull. Another figure approached the clearing, tearing out the embedded blade of her weapon. The two women made eye contact, then the newcomer said something I couldn't hear, sending the first woman on edge.

My instincts were telling me to leave, as these individuals were clearly leagues above what I was physically capable of doing. I turned to leave, trying to make as little noise as possible while still shivering uncontrollably.

Then I was staring down the barrel of a bladed handgun. "Don't move."