Back From Dead
Chapter two
"Heads up, I'm sensing heavy Infestation on their way to you." said the Lotus to Nova-424 and I while I was feeding a fresh magazine into my Braton Prime and 424 a fresh magazine into her Soma. I had no clue how she managed to find such an unwieldy beast such as the Soma a decent weapon. It was fine, save for the long reload time and extra weight it gave. With a hundred rounds per magazine, it was basically a portable machine gun outpost.
Noticing me staring at her and her weapon, 424 turned to face me, commenting sarcastically, "Did you perhaps pull a prank on yourself, double one? I know your mental capacity is considerably less than the average person." sometimes I really hated playing jokes on her. Why, you might ask, because she's a fast learner with quite the sharp mind. To keep myself in a good mood, I activated my Invisibility, stalked down the hallway, not making as much as a single sound while walking, careful not to alert her or the Infested and played the audio of an Ancient Disruptor. One of the three super soldiers that the Infested deployed, the Ancient Disruptor was easily the most dangerous. Like all three of them, the Disruptor's arms could stretch up to twice their normal size, and as if that wasn't bad enough, if they managed to come into contact with you, they would drain your Warframe of all the current Energy you have. The other two were the Ancient Healer, and the Toxic Ancient. They were the weakest and middle strongest ones respectively. The Ancient Healer was self-explanatory; they would emit a pulse aura of healing to any Infested nearby between every 4 to 5 seconds. The Toxic Ancient, also quite self-explanatory, emits an aura of toxic poison, damaging anything save Infested that came too close.
My reward for this little prank was watching, and hearing, Nova jump in place and turn towards me. Her eyes passed straight over me, my Invisibility keeping me, well, invisible. She stalked forward and I stalked behind her before quickly shaking her shoulders. She jumped and twirled. If I had not listened to my gut and stayed in the position I had been rather than roll to the side, I would have been awarded for my bravery with a nasty bruise on the side of my head. As it were, instead I was awarded with a scream into the comm. line between us as she continued, "11! God damn it, you son of a bitch, that's not funny! You scared me senseless." I chuckled.
"Yeah, you sure as hell were scared senseless. I could tell. Don't worry though, that's the whole point." I said, struggling to maintain a straight face and not burst out in laughter right in front of her. I could feel her narrowing her eyes, staring straight at where I was. Suddenly, our charade was interrupted as another, this time real, roar of an Ancient Disruptor was heard. It was close. It seemed to be coming from the door at the end of the hallway in front of us. We immediately sprang into action. Although we did bicker a little, though none of us would admit it, we made a pretty damn good team. After all our years, our actions were synchronized and she knew, even if she couldn't see, that I was on the roof, waiting for her to empty her magazine into the horde. While she would begin to feed another fresh magazine into her Soma, I would drop down and cause some havoc until she was ready. Then I would go back to the roof, reload, and prepare for 424 to call the swap. I'd spray all 90 rounds of my magazine into them before I ran out and would then switch to my Dragon Nikana. Of all the Warframes, the people who chose Excalibur, Ash, and Loki tended to be the most experienced with blade weapons.
We waited, listening to the sounds of the Disruptor slamming the doors, trying to make way for the lighter and more agile Charges and Runners. We could hear their unnatural screams from the other side of the door.
Creeek,went the door's hinges as it fell to the floor. The first thing that came to my mind was how eerie it sounded. The second thing that came to my mind was that similar sensation of thrill as combat began. It wasn't the same normal adrenaline anyone else would feel in his position, but rather that cold, calculated thought of weaving through flesh with bullets and blades. Finally, I heard it; the steady tac tac tac of 424s Soma as she sprayed the Infested horde. While the Ancient would have been her priority target, it was nowhere to be found. It seemed the clever bastard had decided to send the Chargers and Runners in first, allowing the heavier Soma magazine be spent on the lighter horde. Soon enough, I heard 424s voice over the comm. as she shouted for a switch. With a grin, I complied.
Landing down on my feet, still invisible, I used my Decoy ability to create a holographic version of me a good 100m behind the horde. The hologram was solid and seemed to provide them with enough distraction as it "fired" the pistol in its hand. I didn't waste a second on any thoughts. I aimed my Braton Prime and, with an itchy trigger finger, sprayed 'til I was out. As I holstered my Braton Prime, the entire 90 rounds of its magazine on the floor around me along with the multitudes of corpses they had taken out, I put my right hand on the handle of my Dragon Nikana and waited as the Infested made quick work of my Decoy, mauling it to "death" efficiently. Finally, they turned back to 424, the only other visible target and ran towards her. I swung out with my Dragon Nikana, once, twice, and on the third swipe twirled, catching all the Infested nearby in a vicious swing that had all my built up momentum. Just as I finished my combo, I heard 424 call out, "Switch!" as she quietly counted down to 3, giving me time to jump back up to the small ledge in the roof I had been hiding in. I smacked in a fresh clip into my Braton Prime and waited for the call. After a while, though, it became apparent that there was no need for a switch. The horde was over.
Climbing down from my hiding spot, I disabled my Invisibility so as to stop the strain on my Energy and headed towards 424. Our Warframe suits had built in HUDs with plenty of options. I called to the suit to fold my helmet back on itself and onto my chest. I grinned visibly at 424 who snickered and said, "I told you you'd be grateful for the Soma." a rare tone of satisfaction in her voice. I shrugged and turned as I heard static on the comm.
"Double one? 424? Rhino-312 and Mag-192 here. How copy, over. " I heard 312's gruff voice over the comm. I smiled, a little surprised. It was rare for 312 to be so brief with his message. He tended to boast about how many he had killed, bragging that he probably did better than me.
"Yeah, we're here 312. What is it?" I asked back over the comm. as I folded my helmet back onto my head. I heard a scream behind me suddenly and twirled to find the source… just to find the Ancient that had first appeared crushing 424 in a bear hug. I could hear her Warframe alarms blur as her Energy was depleted and her shield rapidly dropped. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" I yelled out loud. Without a second to waste, I dashed to her, my hand already on the handle of my Dragon Nikana, and slid across the floor to dodge the arm the Ancient had used to try to grapple me down on the ground. I nimbly jumped to my feet, my hand unsheathing my Dragon Nikana. I gave a quick swipe to cut the arm holding 424, and another as 424 fell to the ground, sheathing the blade after every swipe. After my initial two swipes, I leaned back then quickly moved in, Dragon Nikana lunging in for multiple strikes. Though it seemed to kill the fucker, it took my Dragon Nikana with it. Although I hated to lose the Dragon Nikana, I'd rather that over my life or 424s life and I kicked the heaping corpse far away as it disintegrated along with my Dragon Nikana. I turned and checked on 424. Her armor was badly banged up. The suit was damaged, and in some cases, removed entirely. Her throat was exposed and I quickly checked for a pulse. Good, she was alive. Luckily she had her Soma holstered so that was one problem less. I took out my Lex Prime as I slung her limp body over my shoulder. I quickly began running to Extraction, knowing how vulnerable I was with my choice of weapons limited.
As I rounded a corner I grimaced. I had let my guard down. I was so busy being satisfied with the dead horde of Chargers and Runners that I forgot completely about the Disruptor. I walked through a room, my Lex Prime at a ready, expecting the Infested to attack at any given minute. If they did while I was stuck using a Lex Prime – at close range, too, I'd be in quite a pickle. "Well, not like there's any other Infested left." I said, mostly to myself considering 424 being out cold. Just like that, it was like the world had a sense of humor. I heard one of the doors behind me open and turned to see an easy dozen of Chargers and Runners rushing at us. Turning quickly, I fell to one knee and aimed with my Lex Prime. What the Lex Prime lacked in fire rate it more than made up for in damage and accuracy. Striking that extra advantage home, picking off ten of the Infested before they even got near me, I engaged the remaining two in hand-to-hand combat as I gently put 424 down. I holstered my Lex Prime and dashed out of the way in time to avoid the first Chargers' attack. The Runner had different ideas and decided to leap at me after I dodged. I aimed a punch at its vital area, near the head of its decomposed host. My reward for this was an explosion as the Runner died in a heap of dust. I quickly turned back to the Charger and began wrestling with it before finally getting a hold of it. I lifted it up above my head and slammed its prone body into the wall, hearing a sickening crunch as the corpse dissipated. I went back to 424, slinging her prone body over my right shoulder again, sighing in relief. But cruel was the world as I turned, to my horror, to another horde of light Infested.
I looked at them with a crazed look on my face. No fucking way was I gonna fight such a huge horde under the circumstances. I held tight onto 424s prone body to keep her from falling off my shoulder and dashed for Extraction. I dashed around a corner and barely dodged another dozen light Infested. I cursed and yelled over comm. "312, help would be very much appreciated over here!" within an inch of losing my cool.
I was rewarded by a smug but actual reply from Rhino-312 as he said, "Mag-192 is already on her way to you. I'm securing the extraction point. Be careful out there, double one." his voice also quite serious.
Closing in on the extraction I noticed a sliver of light green and blue fly past me. Looking back, I saw 192 nod at me. "Get her out of here, double one. I've got enough Energy to deal with these fuckers." her voice dead serious. I nodded in affirmation and appreciation back at her. I didn't stay to watch the show. I picked myself up and continued my mad dash to the extraction point. I sneaked a glance back and saw green Energy sparks around the Infested as they were force to the floor, 192s gravitational powers crushing them all down. The last thing I saw before I got out of there was a huge dispersion as the Infested all reached their limit.
Finally, after what felt like years, I got to Extraction. 312 was waiting there, his helmet slung off, looking extremely bored. Once he saw me, he came rushing to my side, his mouth opening and closing. Finally, he managed to get a hold of himself and he asked, "Is she all right?" his voice husky,
Generally, I'd most probably have let the emotion in me show. On the battlefield, though, there was no emotion save a cold instinct. "She's breathing, at least. I'll have her checked by the Trinities as soon as we get home." I told him. I could've been carved out of stone for all the emotion I showed in my voice and body posture. Not 2 minutes later, 192 appeared. She didn't say anything to me. Unlike 312, she was plenty smarter and tended not to ask questions that she knew would piss me off. We all got into our respective Lisets, with me helping 424 into hers. Thanks to the lack of chairs, I had to set her down on the floor. Turning to go to my own Liset, I glanced back at her once before leaving. As soon as I stepped into my Liset and the doors closed, the Liset took off. I sprawled on the floor, closed my eyes, and relaxed my stiff muscles. Not a moment afterwards I felt myself slip as I fell asleep.
"Operator, we have arrived." I recognized the robotic voice of the AI in my Letis. I sat up, and shook the weariness out of my bones while I moved to stand up. I headed to the Armory and put my helmet on as the last 24 hours went through my head in a flash. I stepped out of my Liset and looked around. There were 7 other Lisets around. Of them, two had already discharged familiar Tenno as I saw Rhino-312 and Mag-192 head my way. The other 4 discharged Tenno I did not know. One of the two pairs was an Ash with a Banshee. Logical choice, I figured. The other pair was a Chroma and a Mesa Another smart choice, I thought to myself. We waited, facing the last Liset, 424s Liset. Finally, the doors came open and I rushed to check on her. She slumped and fell down towards the ground but I quickly caught her in my arms as I knelt next to her, my teeth gritted.
"Tch. Some kids just really wanna mess around, eh?" I heard the Chroma snort from behind me. With a cold rage passing through me, my first instinct was to shoot him in the head. I quickly and gently set down Nova-424 and unslung my Braton Prime. The people who chose the Chroma Warframe tended to be rather irrational, and down to the wire no kidding. They took their job seriously. Just not with a shred of intellect. That, topped with the fact that they were easily almost as tall a Rhino and their bulging muscles added up to make quite an intimidating feature. At that point, though, I just didn't give a shit. I put my Braton Prime barrel at his face point blank just as he aimed his Boar Prime at my face. For a moment, no body reacted. Then suddenly, just as I pulled the trigger, I felt a strong pair of arms grab my shoulders and pull me back. I noticed 312 behind me as he dragged me to the floor and pinned me there.
"Let me go, 312. If that fucker wants a go, I'll let 'im have a go." I said my voice deadly calm. 312 shook his head as he pointed at the Chroma who was also being dragged to the ground by 192's gravitational abilities.
"It's not worth it, man. Take a deep breath and call the Trinities over. They'll take her to the hospital." 312 said. He had taken off his helmet and he looked me square in the face, dead serious. I sighed and nodded. He stood up, cautious at first, as if I was a high risk prisoner, but relaxed as I slung my Braton Prime. I took one disgusted look at the Chroma before I called over the comm. for the Trinities. The rest of the Tenno moved out to their respective rooms to relax, but I stayed right there next to 424 ready to burn to a crisp in the process. Luckily, the Trinities arrived in time so that Loki-11 would not be part of the breakfast menu next morning.
I quickly answered all the questions asked by the Trinity who had stayed behind to question me. After a good 10 minutes she nodded, apparently satisfied after jotting down a bunch of notes on her note pad and walked away. I waited outside 424s room for quite a while. It had been an hour since she was admitted. I had taken the liberty of changing into the off-duty suit given to all Tenno. It was a plain vest and trousers, all black, but I didn't really mind it. Add it to my jet black hair and you got camouflage - sort of. So here I was, sitting down and waiting, along with a little more waiting. And would you know it, yep, a little more waiting. Finally, after what seemed like days, I saw a Trinity walk out of 424s room without her Warframe on, her helmet pulled back. I rushed to stand to talk to her but before I could she put up a hand, halting any questions. "She's fine. She seems to be in a little bit of trauma. She won't be allowed back onto the field for another two days. She also seems to be very lucky. Whoever her partner is," here she paused to raise an eyebrow at me before continuing, "made it not a second too soon. She's not in any severe pain, at least, nothing that can't be fixed after two days of rest." I sighed in relief. I went to the door, placed my hand on the ID code and let the AI scan my palm and eye before admitting my entrance.
Looking around the room it seemed kind of dull. But then again, it is a hospital. It's not meant to be jolly. I sat down on the chair next to her slightly elevated bed and held her left hand in both of my hands as I hung my head. "I'm sorry I wasn't paying attention." I whispered under my breath. Not expecting a reaction from her, I was quite surprised when she murmured something unintelligible and rolling before going back to sleep. I smiled and left the room, headed towards my own room. I had to take a shower after that 'lovely' dance with the Infested. As I entered my room, and removed my Warframe suit, I was stopped by the machine. I moaned, forgetting about the dose that every Tenno had to take once a month, amongst other doses. The first dose was necessary to keep the virus inside them in check so that they don't lose their emotions and their mind. The second was to keep their blood levels constant. The modifications on the Warframes increased the adrenaline in their blood such that they could withstand shock better. Finally, I managed to walk into the shower. For about 10 minutes. I walked out and quickly got dressed. I jumped into my bed and as soon as I closed my eyes, I was already asleep.
Groaning, I thrashed around in bed. I could hear my alarm ringing next to me. I groaned and turned to the side before finally getting up. I stretched as I yawned and quickly donned some clothes after a quick look at the clock. It was 0630. If I were to get a mission, they would more probably than not commission it now. Just as though I was psychic, I heard a knock at my door. I opened the door and saluted to the same Colonel from last time. He saluted in turn then said, "At ease, Major." a command which I responded to gladly. He nodded curtly then said, "You have been assigned to a mission. You will be briefed on the details in briefing room. The briefing begins at 0900. As of 0855 you are late. Am I understood?"
"Understood, sir." I responded, my voice as plain as the pancakes they served in the cafeteria for breakfast. The Colonel nodded, apparently satisfied with that, and walked away. Ha, whattaya know?
Scrambling to make myself some breakfast and wolf it down, I quickly checked my equipment before heading out for the briefing room. Generally when 424 was out, I went solo rather than most other Tenno who chose to be partnered with a random partner for the mission temporarily until their original partner was back. Sometimes, though, the Lotus insisted I take a partner. It was annoying, but it was also my job. All these thoughts flew out my head as I walked into the briefing room. It wasn't the fact that the Lotus was there in person that amazed me. But rather the person they wanted him to partner with, an Ash, and not just any Ash, but my old partner, Ash-22. What they needed two assassin style Tenno on a mission for was beyond me. Surprise aside, I gave him a pat on the back. We tend to keep the more emotional stuff for later. We both quickly took our seats as the Lotus cleared her throat.
"Hello Tenno. I'm sure you are both wondering why we are sending the two of you on this mission." she paused for a moment, inspecting us, before she realized we weren't affected by it. She nodded approval as she continued, "This is an important mission, one that we can only send you on. You are the only ones capable of doing this. Lately there has been a huge advance in Grineer research. You are both familiar the only reason why the Grineer have not completely dominated the planet, yes?" although we stayed quiet, everyone knew we knew the answer. However, as due protocol, she continued to explain anyway, "Their flesh and DNA rots away, giving them a very short life span. However, Tyl Regor, a commanding officer in the Grineer army, has been making leaps and bounds towards fixing this. He must not succeed. You two are to sneak into the barracks where he does his experiments, and kill any and every Grineer you see. Understood?" this time, both 22 and I responded with an eager nod.
As the Lotus left, the Colonel walked up to us and said, "One last thing. Stealth is essential in this mission. Nothing but a Hush'd side arm and blade weapons." 22 and I both nodded again. That worked better for us anyway. Before we entered our Letis', we both hit our Armory to swap our side arms and leave behind our rifles. I grabbed my Lex Prime and added the Hush modification to it such that to silence the sound. After a brief moment of sorrow over my lost Dragon Nikana, I grabbed my Dakra Prime and slung it over my shoulder after adding all the correct modifications, including the fire modification. Walking out of my Letis I noticed 22 with kunai throwing knives and his Fang Prime duo daggers. We both embraced each other warmly before climbing into our respective Letis'. Now I realized why they had picked 22 and I. No one else who could, would, in their right mind, slaughter anyone who was harmless in their current state. Save us, that is.