-It's been too long, but here we are guys. Buckle up, cuz this here's gonna be a doozy.

Side note: I haven't touched Warframe for a few months folks, so going easy on me with the lore. It'll be a little confusing at the start, but things will begin to unfold as the story progress I promise. This chapter is a bit of a tease so please keep that in mind when doing whatever it is you guys do when you read these... I'm not saying that you actually do "that"... I mean, you're probably already getting ready right now... I know I am.

Chapter 15: Uneasy hearts weigh the most

A soft blue and white Liset soars high in the sky, casting a shadow over the Martian metropolis of Yur-Mahter. The relatively small ship is granted permission by the city watch to land, but only in one out of the thirteen zones called Saxwiwi-Foe'Fydola. Once parked, out comes a raggedly cloaked figure, two law enforcers approach as per the usual protocol. The female officer, in her standard-issue desert camo uniform, twitches her exposed lips as the single visor slit on her bell-shaped helmet looks under the stranger's hood.

"Pretty risky coming down here, Tenno." She says, while checking his digital passport on a tablet. "You know just cuz the Grineer empire's fallen, doesn't mean they don't run this city anymore. Some of them still don't take kindly to you guys, especially after what you did during the war."

The figure steps out of the docked Liset's shadow and next to the officer, looks to the burning sun. "Yeah, well I'll keep that in mind after I sock the next dumbass that calls me a skoom."

"Ren, huh? We don't actually have any assignments under your I.D. designation. Care to explain what's your business here then?"

"Business? Baby, I'm here for pleasure. I just came looking for some fine Martian ladies to uh, show me around town." The disguised Excalibur gestures with both his hands.

"Ugh! Get outta my face before I decide to rearrange yours!"

Ren bows in an exaggerated manner, mockingly showing his Warframe's blank expression and departing from the civilian docking section. He leaves behind the city watch checkpoint and heads into a densely populated commercial district abuzz with people and hovering automobiles known as Sand-Striders. Ren moves off the busy sidewalk of robed and wrapped individuals to give his Orbiter floating just above Mar's atmosphere, a quick ring.

"Sudo you there?"

"It will take hours to clean this FU-FUCKING M-MESS YOU CUCK! How could you operator?" The semi-functional cephalon buzzes.

"...You really think I'm a cuck? I mean, can you give me a status update on the objective? Am I close?"

"Oh of course! Forgive me operator, I was distracted by today's, um, session. And the mess too."

"Sudo." Ren groans.

"Right, the last known location of the target was in zone 13." The cephalon states.

"Oh yeah, and where exactly am I?"

"Zone 2."

"Fuck."

Ren begins the three-hour trek by foot, avoiding public transportation for the attention it would draw and the money his pockets do not have. The trip is only mentally exhausting as Ren's body is not physically inhabiting the Warframe, but in a sort of pocket dimension in between. This allows operators to travel from their Warframe's directly or to remain secured in the Somatic Link. The little Tenno has chosen to reside within the tiny realm to easily exit his Excalibur at a moment's notice. And after a short turn around a street corner, Ren is finally able to see various Martian signs indicating the correct zone and commences his manhunt.

Like the last zone, there is a marketplace here as well. This one appears less populated though, with plenty of shady individuals running about and conversing in whisper. Ren decides the best place to start would be to ask around, though Sudo warns him that the target may end up catching wind of his presence. The boy tells the cephalon not to worry so much and walks right up to a stall where a sand-monger is preparing meat. A Grineer Machete slices a chunk of Desert Skate in two before the wide-bodied owner addresses the cloaked customer. Ren plays it safe and gives a vague description, merely stating that this person is a Grineer loyalist above all else. The sand-monger grumbles, taking another chop at the bloody flesh and says that vast majority of zone thirteen's inhabitants all are.

"Well in that case, this person should be a fairly recent arrival. I can't say where from, but I need to find them before any other Tenno do."

"Eh? Got something against the Lotus, now do ye?"

"Yeah, something like that." A gust of sand causes the tattered hood to reveal the Excalibur's head. "It's something personal, let's leave it at that."

"This ain't the place to be for ye. Lot a folks here don't like what yer friends did during the great schism."

"That makes two us."

The stocky butcher snorts something fierce and leaves the Machete buried in the wooden counter with a hard stab. He motions in a general direction down a garbage ridden slum and informs the Tenno of a tavern where much of the gossip takes place. If there is anything on anyone new in the zone, then that is the place to be. Ren thanks the sand-monger who shoos him off with an annoyed wave of his wrist, and heads for the bar some blocks away.

The incognito Excalibur gets a whiff of a familiar scent in the air and peers from his hood at three concealed figures vanishing into an alley. The flesh on his Warframe squirms for a brief moment, a pink hue of light faintly glows from the forming cracks on the skin. He goes still, letting others bump past him while he tempers the hunger rising within. The craving soon fades and Ren is left to wander in an aimless stupor. His mind awakens some time later due to the sounds of chatter and the smell of Sand-Strider exhaust fumes. He asks Sudo how long has he been daydreaming this time, and is told that his position has not changed for well over twenty minutes.

His condition is worsening and Ren knows it. Shuffling around, he sees the tavern now just one block's distance and picks up the pace. The Tenno scoots by a unexpectedly large crowd gathering at the voice of a public intercom discussing current events regarding another uprising in one of the zones. With the Grineer decentralized, their once solid grip on the colonies and other territories in the system has begun slowly crumbling. Ren does his best to blend through the patriotic rabble without incident, but finds colliding with one particular Martian to be unavoidable. A Warframe's operator is not capable of feeling physical stimuli as a normal body would, but the Tenno's brain still receives the message of an external force acting on itself as if it were experiencing the sensation on their own body.

The Excalibur plants a firm foot in the cobblestone road to regain its balance as Ren tries to apologize to the person. "Ah! My bad, are you alright?"

He receives no reply, just the image of a modestly robed colossus twisting around and walking rapidly through the crowd away from him.

Ren immediately gives chase, not because they did not respond or their desire to flee the scene, but because of those ridiculous curves! The boy's only seen one woman in the entire system with a backside that absurd, and puts his quest on hold to tailgate her tail from afar.

"Operator! What about the mission?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm working on it! She might know a thing or two about our guy, don't you think?" His infatuated tone blatantly obvious to the cephalon.

"I think you just want a closer look at her posterior..."

"Relax will ya? What kind of man do you take me for anyway?"

Sudo sighs and says "You are not a man, you are a perverted child! Oh, when your wife hears about this!"

"Which one? Ha!" Ren taunts while following the voluptuous mystery woman into the same tavern he was supposed to enter originally. "You won't do it, Sudo. We both know you won't."

"A-and what makes y-you say that operator."

"Cuz if you do, then you can say goodbye to our special nighttime meditation lessons. So how about you zip it and let me handle things alone for a while, huh?"

"As you w-wish, operator... I will just g-go then..." Sudo solemnly complies and leaves Ren alone for the time being.

'Damn drama queen, I'll teach her circuits a lesson when I get back!'

Ren shakes his head disapprovingly and takes a detour to an alley right next to the tavern and makes sure no one is watching when he climbs to the roof. The sky burns orange with the setting sun and Ren sees a perfect little corner to leave his Excalibur till he returns. The boy will have the perfect element of surprise since that woman will be expecting a tall robed Warframe to come snooping around the bar. Just to be extra cautious, he had on equipped a usual Martian apparel before landing and pulls a bandana and some goggles over his face. His loose, baggy brown silk pants leave much to the imagination as his sleeveless, tan shirt give plenty of breathing room against the warm climate.

The bar entrance is quietly opened by the stalking Tenno in his new costume, and he carefully scans the room for that giant Martian. At a round table hugging a wall, he finds the lone female with her own hooded visage. Ren carefully moves in, the noisy drunkards and other loud patrons masking his approach from her blind spot. The bartender sends a curious glare his way, probably used to the local kids trying to sneak a sip of his adult's only brew. Ren grabs the seat opposite to hers and leans back in the chair, putting both his empty hands on the table.

"I couldn't help but notice you looking awfully lonesome over here. Mind if I keep you company?"

Her cowl rears up to display a Grineer faceplate with an unusually sinister look to it. The massive woman takes a minute to look the mummy-faced boy over before speaking. Her voice is rough like a Grineer female's.

"You sound a bit too young to be at a bar teasing an old woman like myself, little boy."

Ren's body tenses at the familiarity of her tone. "Don't take this the wrong way ma'am, but you're built just the way I like'em."

"Ma'am? How quaint." The gargantuan mystery woman dismisses a barmaid asking if they would like anything, and turns her attention back to her tiny admirer. "I must admit however, you are just my type as well. Please, tell me more."

'Shit, I didn't think I'd make it this far! Quick, say something witty and charming!' Ren contemplates before stammering.

"Y-yeah, I was just thinking we could, um, maybe get to know each other better?"

"Oh my! So straight forward! Do you really think you could handle me, boy?" She questions, smashing her immense bust on the round table and making Ren flush from beneath his mummified disguise. He stutters some more words when a foot lightly grinds on his crotch and ruins the illusion created by his loose pants. The Grineer mask wearing Martian expresses her delight with a hum and tells the boy to sit tight till she returns. With the major chub Ren's now sporting, getting up is no longer an option either way.

He clicks his fingers nervously, trying to remember if he has seen her somewhere before. A mug of ale slamming onto the wooden tabletop and spilling some alcoholic brew, draws Ren's gaze to the buxom woman overhead. She takes the seat closest to him and drops her enormous posterior in the poor chair. Her left, baggy sleeve comes around his neck as half of Ren's hidden face is smothered by her huge chest pillow.

"M-ma'am?"

"Just call me Big Red, sweetie." She holds the mug in front of Ren's face with her right hand and reveals her juicy lips to take a swig of that spicy smelling concoction. "A true gentleman would introduce himself first, you know?"

"My name's, um, Ken..."

"Well then, care for a sip? Ken?"

Being young, even for a Tenno, Ren politely declines. Big Red throws a displeased frown with her visible mouth and takes another chug for herself. Her breath when she speaks now reeks of the powerful draught as she asks if "Ken" lives close by. The fidgeting boy says no and that he came from a few zones over. She asks why.

"I w-was just looking for somebody, a friend of mine."

"Oh is that so?"

"Yeah, this guy sorta owes me a favor. That's why I came to zone 13."

"Uh-huh? Go on." She replies, her arm draped around Ren's shoulder beginning to slither below the table.

"I thought maybe someone in the local tavern would know something so I decided- hey! H-hey! Big Red!"

A sturdy hand puts the squeeze on his trouser snake as Ren presses his face into her massive bust to whine from the strength. She runs her hand along his length as it hardens and delivers another merciless groping.

"Ah! What're y-you doing?" Ren moans while failing to stop her hand with both his own.

"Tell me, Ken. If you came into the bar looking for information on this friend of yours, why did you come up to me with that pathetic pick-up line?"

"Ugh! Big Red, d-don't..." He groans under her touch.

"What you really came for was some easy whore to stuff your big cock inside of. Am I correct?"

He denies it, attempting to repeat his story of searching for his friend. Ren peers under her slightly elevated mask, catching a glimpse of her hungry golden orbs. Big Red's lips curl to show her clenched teeth as she growls.

"Admit it! You came up to me thinking I was some desperate harlot." She roughly and slowly strokes his throbbing bulge.

"N-no! I wasn't! I swear!"

Big Red is unconvinced and demands Ren prove he is as righteous as he claims to be. The child listens in horror to her suggestion and begs for an alternative. His plea is tossed aside and big Red proceeds with evaluating his resolve. Ren feels a naked sensation from his groin and discovers his willy has been freed. The swollen and aching foot of young male lust flops in the open underneath the table. Big Red weighs the slab of hard meat in her palm, a whimper from below has her sniggering pompously. Ren is too preoccupied with the sounds of the other bar patrons to dare make a scene and submits without any struggle. His head falls onto the tabletop to moan softly as his entire girth is beaten off a bit rougher than he likes.

"Oh, I just adore breaking cocky little boys with fat cocks!"

"W-wait... wait... y-you're stroking too hard...quit it..." He softly begs, his muscles weakening.

"Mmmm, yes! Struggle for me."

The cloaked Martian female tightens her fingers around his thick pole of burning desire. What a barbaric woman Ren thinks, churning his baby-cream into baby-butter! His balls tingle in response to her rhythmic rubdown and has the boy panting for upcoming release. But Ren is fully aware of this game's rules and steels his resistance for the even greater battle ahead. Big Red appears to become more vexed with each tug of his rigid shaft, putting the full weight of her massive rack on his back while she projects her raspy voice directly into his ear.

"Damned boy, just give in already!"

"N-never..." Ren whispers weakly. His gut telling him that Big Red definitely knows something about his guy and if winning is what it will take to get that information, then so be it. He shall endure, and triumph.

"I will ask you one more time, why did you come here?" She hisses, getting angrier.

"I t-told you already. I'm looking for s-someone."

Ren whimpers as he feels the cool air on his glans, big Red starts to trace his crown with her thumb. She orders him to tell her the truth, perhaps catching on to his true identity. The boy's mast twitches frantically in her hold, unable to last another round of this tip teasing. His pre-seminal fluid lubing up her hand only raises the stakes as Ren's mind races too fast for any coherent thoughts to form. He just needs a minute to think, though the large female has made it clear she will not stop until either he paints the floor white or he tells the truth. The mug in her other hand grabs his attention for a second as the alcoholic beverage froths from being ignored for some time. He stares intently at the drink before darting back to the menacing grin of his masked molester.

"Ok! I'll t-talk, I'll talk!" Ren whines as her hand reduces its strength and speed. His surging cum nozzle was just another stroke from exploding.

"Smart boy, now speak."

"I will I promise! But first, you th-think I could take you up on that little sip now?"

Big Red follows his eyes to the mug in question and swirls its contents. "Why should I? You cannot handle an adult woman, yet you think you will fair better against an adult's drink?"

"Please, just one tiny taste!"

"Hmm?" Big Red looks into his earnest eyes, but cannot see through his scheme. "How about I do you one better?"

Before Ren can interpret her words, she lifts the cup of ale and the potent elixir passes her full lips. She removes her palm from his manhood, loosens the wrapped cloth on his lips and clasps the back of his hood to bring him close. Ren quivers as his mouth interlocks with her big lips and a bitter, warm liquid washes over his tongue. She parts with him to allow the ale to sink in and prepares to proclaim her victory. Ren would rather not have to call upon the curse for something as insignificant as this lewd game, but he needs to win one way or another and purposely lets the abomination's blood flow through his veins.

"More, please..."

"That was just a mere taste, child. I doubt you would be able to stomach a whole cup."

"Big Red, let's m-make another bet." Ren says with a forming smirk.

Fearing no possibility for a small youngster like him to beat a refined beer guzzler like her, big Red eagerly accepts. Ren says it would only be fair that he gets to decide the conditions of this wager, seeing as she made them for the last challenge. The boy asks that they drink one mug at a time, passing the brew and their spit like before. The ample booty-and-busty Martian giant accepts and waves her empty mug to an approaching barmaid. Ren does ask, while their drink is being fetched, if he could put his penis away. Big Red reminds him with a haughty sneer and a grope that his rod currently belongs to her for the night. The ale returns full and the sunset slips into the cold night.

They finish the final brew with a nasty and wet pop of their lips. Ren wipes her saliva from his mouth and eyes the six large, empty mugs on their table. The boy sits with a wide grin across his face, focused and still very much sober. The same cannot be said for big Red, who lays face down the table and groaning in a drunken daze.

With a quick belch, Ren leans next to her hood. "Guess that means I win, huh?"

"Uhhhh... just one more... one *hyuck!* more..."

"Alright big Red, a deal's a deal. Now tell me everything you know about where I can find- yeah she's totally Fragored." Ren elevates the masked female's head to wave his hand in her face and to get some answers. But the big Martian is too far gone to talk with, giving him just another hiccup and some giggles.

Ren grumbles to himself and stuffs his penis back in his pants before getting up. The day is already over and he is not any closer to finding his target. He curses his libido for getting him into this mess and bids the drunk Martian woman goodbye. The reality of his failure killing his urge to bone as he pays for the rest of the drinks with the small sum of credits he had left. Ren heads outside into the desolate street and wonders just how late it is, climbing the tavern to retrieve his Warframe from the roof. The Excalibur is right where he left it and is soon in tune with its owner once again. Ren stealthily hops to the dead street and prepares to contact Sudo when he sees a trio of men walking past to the bar behind him.

He overhears them talking of getting lucky tonight with some drunk whores and thinks back to big Red. In her current state, even the corniest and horniest pick-up line would be enough to get that tall mountain of woman in bed for an easy lay.

"Eh, why should I care? That huge ass of hers needs a good fucking."

5 minutes later...

"Hey wait a minute! If anyone's gonna wreck that ass, it should be me!"

Using his Excalibur's enhanced stamina, he races back to the tavern from several blocks away. Barging in through the doors, he spies the trio with their dirty hands all over the massive woman and trying to persuade her to join them for some fun. He runs over and tells them to scram.

"Ey, fak eff mate! Don't make us smack ye on the gabber! I swear on mi mum!" One of the men fondling her derriere yells.

"What? No you fuck off, that fat hoe and her fat ass is mine!"

"You fookin tourists are always tryna take our girls. Teach this pile of dune beast shit a lesson!" He motions for his two buddies to take care of the robed warrior.

Ren does not have the energy, nor the patience to deal with this nonsense. He grips the hilt of his blade strapped to his ragged cloak and flashes a small portion of the blade to show he means business. The three men suddenly lose interest in big Red and hand over the wasted giant. Thanks to his increased strength, he guides the swaying, 8-foot tall drunk resting on his shoulder to the barkeep. He asks if there are any spare rooms left for the night and the aged Martian man tells him that big Red already had one booked beforehand. Ren nods gratefully and carries the bumbling ditz to the back door next to the bar itself. He leads her down the row of other doors till he finds the one whose number matches big Red's key.

The door is locked behind him as the Excalibur hauls the big lug onto the bed which can barely accommodate the couple hundred pounds of thick hourglass female body that has been added. Ren exits his Warframe in the bathroom, leaving that discussion for tomorrow morning. He takes a quick leak to get some of that junk out his system and springs forth with a yawn. The little Tenno rubs his weary eyes and walks next to the bed, where big Red rolls on her side to giggle at his approach.

"Hey, what's so funny?"

"He-he-he *hyuck!* he-he! Ken... you came back... just for me!" She remarks in her woozy words, putting a hand to his abdomen. "Awww, do you like big Red?"

"I only came back because you owe me."

"Oh s-sure sweetie, wha-... what can big Red do for *hyuck* you?"

Ren's baggy pants and undergarments drop below his knees to let his immense girth bounce inches from her face. He stands stroking his pulsating prick till fully erect and then brings the tip to big Red's lips. The curvy drunk gives the bulbous pink bell-end a flick of her tongue before retreating to laugh.

"Ew, Ken! Tha... that tastes salty... I don't want it..." She groans.

"I don't care if you don't wanna, just shut up and suck it."

"No I do not want to... I just want to sle- mmngh!" Big Red gets a real mouthful when Ren's tip is suddenly shoved past her lips.

She puts up a small fight to push the boy away but the large female is too clumsy and disorientated to effectively stop him. His cockhead stretches her cheek out as he grinds his stiff meat inside her moist and drooling maw. Big Red continues to moan some muffled protests while Ren brushes off her arms with a simple shrug.

"Ugh! This angle sucks, I can't get any deeper! C'mon, let's roll this fat ass over!" Ren takes his cock out to shift big Red onto her back towards him, her head hanging off the beds edge. "Perfect!"

"St-stop it Ken... I do not like this... it tastes bad!"

Ren grabs her upside-down, still masked skull in preparation for a good-old fashioned rough deep throat. The boy does notices a half full mug of ale on the nightstand next to them and thinks to himself, why should he be the only one doing all the work? He takes the ale and drips the zesty warm brew on his hot slab of man-beef.

"There, happy now?"

A sloppy kiss of approval on his tip enrages the rest of his neglected phallus. She gingerly skims under his glans, taking breaks to laugh stupidly as Ren's patience wears thin.

"Take the whole thing already!"

Big Red's plump lips smooch the base of his groin as his whole width and length penetrates far into her tight throat. Ren lets out a grunt of relief as his heavy balls rest on her masked upper visage and her gagging reflex has her innards squeezing his shaft all over. He stays frozen to let his hole for the night get used to his size and to let her enjoy the taste of her favorite brew before washing it away with his own bitter baby-goo. Usually Ren would be butt-naked, though his perky bum is in full view, he is simply too lazy to bother fully undressing. Likewise, big Red is fully clothed in her desert robes and the only ounce of bare skin is her luscious lips that are slobbering on Ren's pumping piston.

That will not deter the boy's hands from exploring every mound of thick meat on her lewd temple. He keeps his left hand massaging her throat each time it swells with his intruding member and uses his right palm to squish one of her meaty melons. Ren salivates at the thought of suckling on such an absurdly large tit, causing the drunken wench below to choke on his throbbing stiffness.

"Fuck me, these boobs are even bigger than my wife's! And these hips too..." Ren climbs the fellating female to run his hands from her chubby waist to her motherly hips. "... damn lady, you gotta be some sort of mega-milf! Ugh, these thighs are so fucking thick!"

Being on top, Ren has his cock firmly rooted to the base in her mouth, clenching his toned rear at her tickling tongue. Big Red tries putting up another fight as the child forcibly attempts to unbuckle and unfasten her lower apparel.

"Hey, stop squirming! I know you want this too! I said stop- whoa! Hey! What the?" Ren hollers as the Fragored Martian shifts her weight to knock the boy off as his dick slips out and he falls onto the hard floor. Ren sighs while laying with his arms spread and his unsatisfied, spit covered cock in the air. "Fine, I'll just lay here. On the floor. With my dick, still hard by the way! Did I mention it was hard? But not as hard as these fucking floorboards! What are these made out of? Eldergleam?"

The mummy child ceases his complaints when a heavy thud has his eyes shooting down to see big Red face planted on the floor. As comical as it seems, Ren knows he cannot leave her like that. Good thing it is only her torso Ren is lifting, because even that requires all the power in his lean body. He raises the sleepy woman by her shoulders to scoot her back into bed, but big Red suddenly has plans of her own. Ren clenches his teeth to inhale strongly before giving a deep exhale of jubilation.

"A-ah! Oh sh-shit, calm down woman! Agh!" He hisses at big Red who moments prior was playing hardball, but is now shamelessly bobbing her head back and forth on his baby-maker. "But I thought you didn't- you said it was- now you wanna do it? That doesn't make any- ah forget it!"

Though big Red is still smashed, Ren is dumbstruck at her aptitude for giving head. He tilts his chin up and flexes his abdomen, thrusting slightly at her swiveling head motions. Her stifled moans and fat booty wiggling from underneath her long sandy robe sends him over his limit. His hands sink into a different set of mounds as they rotate her backseat, wobbling even after he lets them go. Ren feels his semen rising within his twitching tool and slows his pace for a steady and smooth ejaculation.

The boy yelps as big Red's slaps his tight butt and manhandles his pelvis. He humps her face against his will, his nut gushing into her greedy gobbler. No woman's mouth, not even his wives, have ever pleased his penis in such a manner. Except for one...

"I'm cumming! I'm cumming! I'm cumming! Shit! Oh shit!" The sailor shouts, squeezing her ass cheeks for leverage. She milks him like a goddess, like a queen of... a queen of... a queen?

But Ren is not given time to form his thoughts as his orgasm obliterates his concentration. It does not end there. Big Red effortlessly picks the kid up and sits on her knees with Ren clutching her head in fear of being dropped again. Something about her has changed, like a reserved and elegant predator breaking into a savage and mindless feeding frenzy. Ren wails and pants in ecstasy, held up by the massive woman and viciously drained of his seed. He truly feels little now in her sturdy hold, powerless to even draw his penis back from her puckering cock-milker.

Post orgasm always leaves him sensitive, especially at the tip which is being crushed by her tightening esophagus. Big Red brings the helpless child against the wall at the bed's side and mashes her thick lips onto his crotch.

"O-oh thank the Void, she stopped... wait, big Red? Oh no... please no..."

Without moving her head, and his dick filling her oral cavity to the hilt, it begins. Her sticky and damp mouth turns into a vortex, the suction is impossibly strong. She growls like a starved beast as Ren whimpers. He gives her gullet a second coat of paint as his body falls limp around her head. At this range, Ren can distinctly hear the sound her throat makes as it gulps each wad of thick cum squirting into her waiting belly. His spurts of jism run dry, but her mouth continues to suckle on his tender dick.

"Please no more! I'm sorry for calling you names and trying to u-use you like that, I promise to never do it again! I swear I'll respect all women more from now on!" Ren softly cries. "Well okay, maybe not that last one. I mean let's be real, some of them are asking for it- no wait! I was just kidding!"

After a third, orally induced orgasm, she lets the panting and mind-scattered Ren slip from her lips and crash onto the mattress. Everything turns into a blur as big Red's Grineer mask falls from her face. Ren's lips utter her true name before his fatigue consumes him. The last thing he sees is big Red getting on her forearms at his thighs and smiling. Her amber eyes wish him goodnight behind his spent cock as it rests on her snow-white face.

Hours later, the sun's warmth beams through the blinds and caresses Ren's visage till he gives a lethargic yawn and bats his eyes open. His first priority is to check if his pillar of man-meat is in one piece, and so he takes a peek under the hood.

"Ahhh, firing all pistons baby." He gives his sore manhood a gentle pat for a job well done. "Man, what a woman!"

"I could say the same about you, little boy." That coarse, yet feminine breath whispers in his ear.

"Uh, big Red? Aw jeez, listen, about last night..."

The Martian woman, her Grineer faceplate back on, rubs her right palm on the boy's own deceptive mask. "Hm? What about last night?"

"You mean, you don't remember anything?"

"I recall a drinking contesting and then everything went dark. Did I win?"

"No."

The two have a good laugh about it until big Red cringes from her morning hangover. As she holds her head with her right hand, the cloth strips surrounding the digits come undone and Ren gets a look at some high-tech cybernetics. Ren grabs her wrist, getting big Red's attention fixated on him.

"Hey... your augmented arm... its in the same spot as... as..." He carefully removes her visor, lush orange hair flows above her gaze. "Sela?"

"How do you know that name... hold on? Ren? Is that really you under there darling?"

The Grineer Queen throws herself on top of the little Tenno and unravels his masquerade. Her eyes narrow in disbelief while Ren grins awkwardly back. She scowls as the Tenno who expects a stern scolding for disappearing without a word for two whole years. Sela pulls off her hood and turns into an emotional wreck on his chest.

"My love, h-how could you leave me like that? I waited for y-your return, but you never came back!" She sobs, her watery eyes meeting his guilty glance.

"Wow, you really are Nisha's mom?"

"M-my daughter, you know of her Ren?"

He tosses an arm back to scratch his scalp and says "Um, yeah you could say that... oh! Hold on? If you're here, then where's Kir?"

"You have no idea, do you?" Sela's tone is grim. She gets off him to sit on the bed's edge and requests that he join her. "Come here Ren, there is much to say..."

3 weeks earlier

The numerous eyes of the Grineer high council peered at the swinging chandeliers of red, some clicking their fingertips on the massive conference table to feel the tremors running through the whole Kuva Fortress. Many of the councilors were well established when Sela Ver'Koom rose to prominence, they are the few who retain the memories of the ambiguous era before the matriarch's rule. They are also among the minority that still oppose Sela's proposal for an exchange of hands among the royal protectors.

The Kuva Guardians have always been the vanguard for the Twin rulers, the very idea of replacing them has sparked a major divide in the high council. There is simply too much mystery surrounding the creation of this new breed of warriors, but those within the matriarch's inner circle know the truth of their sudden birth and recent deployment. They are the culmination of Tyl Regor's tubemen, revived from the sea labs of Uranus, born without the cloning syndrome decay and perfected for the new age. These soldiers are unlike anything the Grineer have ever seen, genetically superior and free of taint.

Their attempted integration is not the main point of this day's abrupt meeting, but rather it is the reaction of their long time competitor, the Corpus. The solar system which once saw itself being torn apart by several warring factions, is now with just two major forces vying for control. The Corpus' Board of Directors could not allow the Grineer to mass produce this strain of intimidating warriors, the call for action beckoned them to assemble. This led to the formation of a conjoined army of Corpus and the many Grineer defectors like Steel Meridian who supported their cause. The result was a full-scale assault on the Elder Queen and her flying fortress, with Corpus and Grineer rebels storming the facility. Their mission is the total destruction of the Kuva stronghold, apprehension of the head monarch and to ensure Regor's research dies with him.

Now the massive Grineer headquarters has been disabled near Saturn's asteroid belt. The mobile base is surrounded by an enormous gathering of ships that have cornered the Kuva base with a surprise ambush. Hordes of Dargyns of all rankings are zooming and zipping around Corpus frigates and destroyers, while the slower Zeplens ensnare smaller units in their energy nets. The bulkier and heavily armored Ogma ships, use their demolition cannons to suppress the many Corpus proxies that have been unleashed. But the Queen's royal fleet is small and not designed to face off in a drawn-out battle of this magnitude. The enemy's forces have already breached the impenetrable space-faring castle as the sounds of gunfire ring throughout the halls.

Back in the conference room, the nervous chatter of the councilors serves only to aggravate the matriarch's calm. Their frustrated leader slams her synthetic right arm and draws all eyes on her regal form that demands attention. She narrows her flared gaze on the holographic image of her fortress under siege and growls.

"How insolent of them, to believe this will be enough to topple my empire."

"My Queen." A well-aged council member starts, speaking the sentiments of the red robes. "For the last time, please reconsider the situation."

"And do what exactly? Flee and abandon my fortress, and the only chance at our salvation? You wish to let it all burn at the hands of that cult of merchants? No, I do not think so."

A member of the white robes calls for the chance to voice his party's opinion on the matter. "Your highness. It is clear to everyone here that the reign of the Kuva is coming to an end."

Sela turns her headdress to face the blasphemy her ears are being bombarded with. "What madness is this that you speak?"

"There many such as myself here that believe the Queen's influence is approaching retirement."

"What you imply is treason against the Elder one!" Some red robed individual shouts, rising from his seat and prompting Sela to lean back in hers to watch.

"It is not treason you buffoon! Can you not see what the Void has brought upon us? Even as we speak, those machines and their masters are making their way deeper into the facility, to slaughter us all! It is clear that putting our faith in the rejuvenation of the Grineer in Tyl Regor's experiments has led us to this damnation."

"No!" The same crimson councilor retorts. "Tyl Regor has proven their worth! The battle for the Martian soil more than demonstrated that, or have you forgotten our swift victory?"

"Argh! A battle of attrition is not comparable to an invasion on our doorstep! And if those Enforcers are as strong as the say, where are they now to defend our Queen?"

"Alright, that is enough!" Sela's commanding tone silences the squabbling old Grineer. "Your resentment for the new breed is not without ground, I assure you. But the Guardian's failure to prevent my sister's assassination has made it abundantly clear that they can no longer guarantee my safety."

"And that is why you must escape, your highness! That is why we must all leave!" The red robed one yells.

"On this we can agree." The white robed says. "Whether or not the Grineer empire returns to a state of being governed under the council's influence or your own is uncertain at this moment. But the fact of the matter remains, there will be no one left to watch over the empire should we all die here today."

Though Sela despises the idea of abandoning her kingdom in the stars, her own self-preservation means the survival of the Grineer. Or at least until she can convince her ungrateful only living child to take the throne for herself. Sela knows that if her only daughter declines, her options would be limited considering the loss of her only sibling. But the few and far moments she has been able to speak with her child has led her to believe her lineage may have hit a dead end. She knows there is but one choice left, her last resort and final solution to this legacy issue.

The Red Queen returns to the rabble of her council and shifts her initial sentiments. Fueled by her agenda to keep the Grineer empire from dissolving, Sela agrees to withdraw from the soon-to-be overrun fortress. Two Kuva Guardians escort the naga-like empress from the conference room and along the busy hall just outside. The councilors too make haste with their own bodyguards as the rumbling and distant thunderous booms of the ongoing battle has them all pressed for time. Sela slithers to a gathering of her Kuva troops fortifying defenses around her planned route.

The tall-hat, standard red and black geared commander twists to salute the immense Red mother and explains the reasoning for barricading this deep into the stronghold. The soldier keeps his Karak rifle tightly embraced to his chest piece and says that small firefights have broken out on the other side. Enemy engagement this far into the fortress? In her skepticism, Sela questions the validity of his testimony, but the commander swears it is no false alarm.

"My Queen? What are you thinking?" He asks as the Elder one taps her scepter on the floor.

"Continue to hold this position until I say otherwise. I will deal with these Corpus skoom myself."

The commander nods his red-eyed faceplate and flicks a wrist back to have the sealed door opened. Sela hears the entrance shut behind her, the two Kuva Guardians take point and ready their Kesheg halberds. The Elder Queen charges her scepter and grips it firmly in her false limb. The very next corridor has her two protectors on edge, they encounter the littered corpses of Grineer, all of them brutally slaughtered. But the scene does not sit well the royal escort for one reason alone. Grineer dead decorate the floor, the walls are a canvas for their blood, yet there appear to be no Corpus or any other bodies amidst the carnage.

One of the two Guardians kneels to inspect a dead heavy gunner and flips the fallen sister around. In her headgear there lies embedded several small, star shaped weapons. He pulls one out and brings it to the light and identifies the throwing projectile as a type of shuriken.

"Ak'teg, what do you make of this?"

His companion hobbles over and stares intently. "Krul, what is that? Kunai?"

"No. Hikou."

Ak'teg rotates his oval helmet around the hallway with greater focus and sees the small tell-tale signs they had initially missed. One soldier is slashed across his torso, the other burned and another has hints of frostbite. Krul carries on first to ensure the area ahead is clear as Ak'teg keeps proximity to the Elder one. The mighty matriarch comes upon a Kuva Jester pinned on a wall by a steadily fading ethereal blade. The tan armored husk of a Grineer crashes to the floor once the weapon disappears completely. Sela's doubts no longer have any ground and she is certain of the culprit's true identities. They do not stop to investigate the rest of the bodies on their path any further until arriving at a spacious entryway leading to a tram system. From here, they will ride down to a hidden docking bay near the very bottom of the fortress and escape right under their enemy's nose.

Ak'teg calls a tram via commands on the main console while Sela cogitates leaving behind her throne, castle and all her loyal subjects. Krul steps near the edge of the steep drop off where the tram will be stopping and peers in the distance at the other tram station. The transport on the other side is not only already docked, but utterly trashed and ruined beyond repair. Looking closer, Krul notices there are Grineer positioned all over the destroyed tram as if oblivious to their situation. He thinks how odd for them to be so motionless and unresponsive during this time of siege. Krul plants a thin, stilt foot forward on the very edge and his body tenses at the sight of the still troops. Those Grineer are not just frozen in stance, they are frozen in actuality as their bodies are encased in an icy remnant of their former selves.

The Guardian turns to warn the Queen when a figure smaller than him dashes forward in a decisive slashing motion. His feet are struggling to prevent his descent into the tram pit at his heels, his hands gripping the Kesheg against his opponent's force. That finely crafted blade grinding against his halberd, the protruding horn on that featureless visage of an ambiguous humanoid. A warrior of the Lotus, a Tenno and a member of an elite squadron sent to execute the remaining Grineer Queen faces him. Krul recognizes the Excalibur Warframe before repelling the nimble puppet away.

The Elder and Ak'teg approach at the sound of commotion, but are greeted by several more hidden Warframes dropping from above.

"Krul! It is an ambush!" His ally shouts.

"Ak'teg, the Queen!"

The three other Lotus warriors face the Grineer ruler and her single protector. An icy aura emanates from the Frost's cold gaze, a contrasting fiery blaze burns from the Ember's flame. And at the center of it all is the binding power of the Harrow, motioning for his teammates to circle around the pair. The two Grineer are forced to fend off the three Tenno as Krul deals with the single Excalibur on his own. This is not his first encounter with the Lotus warriors, though if this will be his last, is up for speculation. Nonetheless, the Kuva Guardian leaps with startling grace as his Kesheg comes swinging through the air.

The Excalibur doubles back in a few hops before popping some rapid fire from a Soma rifle. Krul runs directly into the spray of shots, the Kuva imbued Kesheg rendering him and Ak'teg immune to damage as well as crowd control abilities. The smaller Warframe is agile and fast, but the Kuva Guardian's invulnerability proves the better initially. A poorly timed jump from the Tenno is punished by a horizontal sweep from the halberd. In a flash, Krul turns and slams the Excalibur down with a blunt strike. He angles the sharp blade of the Kesheg to decapitate the nuisance and lunges. His thrust misses with the break of his concentration, a yell from Ak'teg has his head snapping away from his evading target.

There, just a few meters away, is the chilled statue of his ally and friend, his arm outstretched towards him in a final effort to defy the Tenno. Krul is distraught, wondering how the Warframe's powers could have influenced Ak'teg. He does not mourn the loss as escorting the Elder one is his top priority and killing the Tenno his second. Krul races to aid his Queen, passing the frozen corpse and seeing that his comrade is not wielding his Kesheg in hand.

The Frost Warframe that did the deed is with his back turned as multiple freezing globes of cold element, slow the Red Queen's movements. She is bombarded by blasts of fire and restrained by dozens of chains hugging her regal figure. Thinking now is his chance to act, Krul charges with his Kesheg tucked and ready to impale the seemingly unwary warrior of ice. His halberd connects, puncturing the spine and shattering the Tenno into a flurry of snow.

"A decoy?"

"It's over." A masculine and monotone voice drones from his right.

"Impossible!"

The Warframe comes striking with a burst of speed, clearly intending for melee attack.

"Have you learned nothing? No blade can pierce the Kuva essence pumping through this-" Krul is stabbed right in his gut as he stumbles back. From the corner of his helmet, he catches a glimpse the Excalibur flying behind him. Both his stilt legs are cut and the heavy Guardian collapses on his back. The Frost stands over the Grineer and retracts the weapon for Krul to growl in anger at the image of his friend's own halberd in the hands of the enemy.

"Then it's a good thing your pal was nice enough to let me borrow his Kesheg, huh? But the thing about borrowing is, when your done-" The Tenno says as he jams the fine metal's edge into Krul's face. "-you gotta give it back."

"Cal, c'mon man! We got a got a Queen to behead, remember?" The Excalibur sarcastically points out.

"What, you think Zed can't handle this by himself?" The Frost drones on.

"It's not him I'm worried about."

The two arrive just in time to witness their Ember ricochet off a wall and onto the ground; the flame on her head dimming significantly. Though frostbitten, the large Grineer Queen is a force to be reckoned regardless. The Harrow learns the hard way when attempting to heal his teammate through his Penance, the damage he deals to enemies turning into health for his allies. The cost of his shields however, have left him too vulnerable as the Queen snakes around him and her Kuva Scepter shreds into his health pool unhindered. She siphons the remainder of his energy reserves, preventing him from using Covenant and granting his team temporary invulnerability.

The Harrow drops on one knee as Cal runs over to help the Ember and the Excalibur takes the Queen on his own. He tries to warn him, but his order does not reach the other Tenno quickly enough. The Excalibur has Krul's Kesheg in hand to breach the Scepter's defensive aura and attempts to spear the Grineer in one decisive blow. His jab is neither dodged nor blocked, it is simply stopped.

The Excalibur looks up in astonishment at the swift motion of the Queen's right, augmented limb that has grabbed the halberd. His fingers release the weapon to try and summersault away, something the Elder one will not allow. She flips the Kesheg around and chucks it right towards the Warframe who has already used his second jump. The Excalibur's last-ditch slash dash evade is halted as the flying Polearm bursts through his chest. The Warframe's Transference is destroyed and the unimaginable happens that none of the other Tenno had thought possible.

The Excalibur's operator materializes before the Queen, lying on the ground and already deceased. The Harrow rushes in with a maddened zeal, his chains exploding forth to bind the Grineer. A beam from that Scepter sends him tumbling back as the Queen slithers past them all and to the Tram that has finally arrived. She boards and casts another wave of Kuva energy to discourage the approaching Frost and weakened Ember. The Tram starts up and accelerates down, disappearing into the black chasm below.

"Stop! Both of you! We're leaving, now." The Harrow shouts to his two allies contemplating pursuit.

"But Zed, we can't just let her go! That bitch killed Carmine!" The Ember roars in her feminine voice.

The Frost cools her rising fire with a cold touch on her shoulder. "I know you're upset Sam, but Zed knows best. I'm sure we all saw what happened to Carmine, and that was no coincidence."

"Thank you, Cal." Zed starts up again. "Sam, I promise we'll get that monster for what she's done. Not just for Carmine, but for this entire system. But we need to fall back for now. This Fortress is lost and we're surrounding by Corpus and Grineer. We can't let his death be for nothing, understand?"

"Yeah, I hear you. Let's get outta here."

Back to the present

"Sela... oh no. I'm so sorry, I... I should never have left..." Ren falls from the bed and onto his knees. He crawls to the once great ruler of the Grineer empire and grovels at her feet, begging for her forgiveness. Ren sputters and accepts full blame for Kir's death, but Sela does not see it his way. She leads him by the chin back on his feet and lets his shaking arms embrace her.

"Please, calm yourself Ren. Kir's fate was inevitable. It was her own path that led her to ruin, not you."

"Was it them, Sela? Was it those Tenno that attacked you? Did they kill her?"

"Ren. Enough."

He pushes himself away from the Grineer matron and walks to the window of the inn. The boy looks through the cracks in the blinds and into the dark alley. His breath appears visible as it hits the glass and leaves a smidge on its surface. Ren turns to Sela whose exhale is also plainly obvious as she grips her shoulders to shiver.

"Hey, did it just get chilly in here?"

Endnote: Guys, I feel really bad for the absurd gaps between my stories, so that's why I plan to churn out at least two-three chapters a month from now on. I'll be honest and admit that I have very little patience when it comes to stories I myself am waiting on to be updated, but I know that if I tried to release on a weekly basis that the quality of my own chapters would suffer. I figure if I shorten the chapters back to a more manageable length then I can post them more frequently. It's just that 12k words for one chapter is too long and time consuming with my current schedule and I won't be able to keep that going at a consistent rate. I'm not saying you can't, because I've read stories where authors have written that much continuously, but I'm just saying that I personally can't do it.

If you have any questions at all, I'd be happy to discuss the details over a PM.