A/N: Once again, thanks for reading! Enjoy chapter 5!

As Lonewolf entered the room he was met by the rest of his squad ready to go after being summoned by the Ash. The three had been adequately rested between the time they arrived back from the capture mission and now but each of them worried about Lonewolf who hadn't rested at all since the capture mission began. Knowing that they wouldn't be able to get him to rest, the three had quickly responded to the Ash's request to meet him and prepare for another mission. Not knowing what exactly was going on, Spud fished for details.

"So, what is the plan?" he asked simply.

"We are going to Themisto," Lonewolf responded. They all nodded slightly in acknowledgment. "It is the location of Alad V's lab. Apparently he has been working on something called 'The Zanuka Project' but we have no actual information about it. The Lotus has contracted us to attack Alad V at the lab. She will relay more information when we arrive at the lab."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Falken said as he checked that his weapons were correctly attached to his warframe.

"Yeah," Hayden added, "let's get going."

Spud, Falken, and Hayden all stood on the top of the facility waiting for Lonewolf as he had been stopped momentarily to get some addition mission details. As they waited, they quickly checked for access to the lab and found a grate that could be removed. The grate opened a large drop into the facility but they could easily see and feel air which would help slow them down. As the waiting continued, a silence filled the area until Hayden spoke.

"You know what I just thought of?" she asked catching the attention of the other two. "Alad kinda sounds like salad." She kinda giggled at her small joke.

"And…?" Spud asked sarcastically.

"I don't know, it is just funny," she said with a shrug. "Maybe when we open the door we should say 'Hey Alad! We're going to toss your salad!'" she added with an exaggerated smile. Spud and Falken just stared at her for a while before Spud cracked a small laugh.

Right at that moment Lonewolf's liset appeared and within minutes Lonewolf was ready to go.

"Let's get going," he said darkly the instant he got off his liset.

They made their way to the vent and removed it quickly before jump down into the Corpus facility. The area at the bottom was clear but they could easily hear the footsteps of Corpus soldier boots and the metal click of robots walking around. The Corpus were slightly more difficult foes than the Grineer due to their technological advancements but were still a force that the squad had dealt with before.

They started moving down a hallway which was marked as the path by their personal maps and quickly reached an enemy force. Not wanting to waste any time, Lonewolf teleported into the group quickly and activated his blade storm, killing the entirety of the group almost instantly. Without a pause, he continued out the doorway far ahead of the rest of his squad.

As the other three ran past the now dead enemies Spud noticed a small insignia on the bodies of the robots and the uniforms of the soldiers. It seemed familiar but he couldn't place it until after they ran past a few more groups of dead enemies.

"Elites," he said suddenly.

"What do you mean?" Falken asked quickly.

"The soldiers and moas," Spud said starting to panic slightly. "They are all elites. Alad V apparently has one the strongest security details. That is the only possibility."

At that moment, Hayden did a quick jump and punched the ground letting her Blessing power activate to heal and shield her allies. Knowing that it meant Lonewolf was taking a lot of damage, Spud activated his speed ability so they could catch up with him. As the distance closed between the three and the Ash, the Lotus broke into their comms.

"Lonewolf has gone down, get to him quickly."

"Damn it!" Spud and Hayden yelled as the three continued running.

They quickly reached the room Lonewolf was in and saw a large group of enemies around Lonewolf but trying to capture him rather than kill him. Falken quickly used Smite which knocked down a large group of the enemies and caught the attention of the others. Spud quickly added a shock to disable a few more as Hayden jumped in with her link activated and started deal damage with her Bo. Being in close range, Falken grabbed his two Magnus pistols and started taking shots. The pistol roared as the shots took down multiple enemies. Spud's Latron Wraith also took out many enemies and before too long a large group had gone down. Spud then ran over to Lonewolf and set down an electric shield as he worked to get Lonewolf patched up. The green mist that the warframe's held was practically a miracle worker and quickly got Lonewolf back on his feet.

The room was now empty of enemies but the squad took a short rest. At that moment, a fuzzy picture appeared on their HUDs of a man with black hair wearing a suit of what looked like pure metal.

"Lotus?" Falken queried.

"It is Alad V," she responded. "He can access your HUDs it seems but he can't hear you. Only you will be able to hear him."

Alad V then started talking to them. "Oh I've been looking all over for you Tenno!" he said cheerfully. "Come, come! Let me show you my new venture, I think you'll be a perfect fit!" he added with a voice that bordered on insanity.

"New venture?" Spud asked. "Oh, the Zanuka Project? What do we know about that Lotus?"

"The Zanuka prototype has made Alad V a very dangerous man." she started. "If he is allowed to carry out his plans, no Tenno in this system will be safe."

"And why is that?" Hayden asked. "What is this Zanuka?"

"Alad V's newest prototype is a monstrosity forged from the bodies of our fallen Tenno, we cannot allow Zanuka to go into full production," she said causing the group to grow quiet. "Too many Tenno have perished to make Alad's abomination. There will be no stopping the Corpus if Zanuka is mass produced," she added sadly.

"Wait," Lonewolf cut in, "so the Tenno that have gone missing investigating Alad V have been killed and the warframes are now being used for this 'Zanuka'?"

"According to our captive, yes."

"So, is Valkyr even still alive?" Falken said fearful of the answer.

"Our informant says yes." They all perked up at that. "The Zanuka Prototype is in its final stages. We suspect that she is being held for other reasons."

"Then we should hurry," Lonewolf said. The group quickly started to move. As they reached the door of the room, the Lotus spoke once again.

"Be careful Tenno, Zanuka has all the power of a Warframe with a full complement of mods. It will be as if you are fighting one of your own today." Then after a pause she added "And we need him alive." and then she left their comms, leaving the group to their mission.

After fighting through a few more rooms of enemies, the squad finally reached the room in which Alad V was located. Before they were able to reach the door, Alad V cut into their HUDs again.

"Oh, if it's your friends you're looking for," he said, "you're welcome to place a bid for my newest Zanuka prototype."

Taking that as a sign, the group ran toward the door to fight Alad V. When the door opened, they saw a group of Corpus soldier near the man from their HUD who was leaning over a table. Falken, Spud, and Hayden pulled out their long range weapons and quickly killed the guards around Alad V. Taking quick notice, Alad V slowly turned to face them. They could easily see Valkyr unconscious with various instruments connected to her.

"It was about time you showed up," Alad V said to the group. "I've known you been here for a while now. You aren't all that quiet." he taunted. "I'm sure you would like that she my new prototype," he said while motioning towards an animal like proxy next to him. They all quickly aimed their weapons at him. "So be it," he said, "let me show you the future! Zanuka! Kill!" As he said that, the proxy stretched and got up into a battle stance.

"I'll get Alad V," Lonewolf stated, "you guys work on Zanuka." He quickly teleported to Alad V but his kick was blocked by the Corpus executive. He then pulled out his Dakra Prime and continued to fight. He swiped and stabbed using multiple combos but Alad V was quick. Most attacks missed but some hit doing barely any damage. Lonewolf quickly realized he would need at least a little help.

Nearby the other three were fighting Zanuka. Even though the proxy was a big target, it wasn't taking any damage from attacks. Spud had switched to his Lex pistols to try to puncture the proxy's armor but couldn't make a dent. Hayden stood farther back taking shots with her Sybaris while Falken was trying to get swipes in with his glaive. Nothing was working. Suddenly, Zanuka fired a group of rockets which split to seek out each of the three Tenno. Taking the opportunity, Hayden activated Link and ran within range of the proxy to take the damage and deal it back to her opponent. Falken and Spud both dodged the rockets with rolls but Spud lost a Lex in the process.

From the other side of the room, the sounds of the fight between Lonewolf and Alad V could be heard. Noticing that Zanuka had focused on Hayden, Falken took the time to pull out his Vectis and take a shot at the executive. He aimed and pulled the trigger causing the single shot to be delivered directly into the chest of his target. The shot was good and caused Alad V to fall.

Zanuka instantly ignored Hayden and ran back towards Alad V. In an attempt to slow it down, Spud took a single shot with his Lex and hit Zanuka directly in the head. The shot registered in Spud's HUD as a noticeable chunk of the enemy's shield disappeared. Not phased by the shot, the proxy ran to its master, knocking Lonewolf away in the process. Suddenly, Alad V was back up again and was running away from the Ash who was also back up again. Zanuka then turned back to where it was and ran back.

Spud took another quick shot with his Lex and noticed that the damage was once again minimal. Then it clicked.

"Everybody aim for Alad V first," he said quickly. "When he is injured, Zanuka is able to take damage."

Trusting the Volt, the other three sprang into action. Lonewolf teleported over again able to deliver a powerful kick this time. Falken's Magnus pistols spewed bullets at the target and Spud took calculated shots with his Lex when an opportunity arose. Hayden attempted to distract Zanuka and managed to move the proxy towards where Alad V originally fought Lonewolf.

Soon after, Alad V yelled as he went down once again causing Zanuka to start moving towards him. This time the Tenno all turned towards the proxy and open fired. Spud set down an electric shield and the charged bullets slowed down Zanuka even more while also dealing more damage. Before it could reach Alad V, the proxy collapsed into a pile defeated.

"Ahh! Zanuka!" Alad V yelled in terror as he saw it die.

"Nice work," the Lotus said in their comms. "The extraction team will be there shortly to pick up Valkyr and Alad V."

Lonewolf started to walk towards where Valkyr was lying to check her condition. As he passed Alad V, he delivered a quick kick to the executive's head to render him unconscious. Giving Lonewolf some space, the other three walked back to the door of the lab and waited while also watching for any Corpus soldier who might possibly be around if any were even alive.

As Lonewolf reached Valkyr, he could easily see it wasn't good. Multiple tubes were connected to Valkyr's body and she was tied down tightly to the table. Nearby, a bloody knife was sitting on another small table and he quickly found the locations of multiple cuts on Valkyr's body. There were also a few technological attachments connected to her jumpsuit. At a quick glance, Lonewolf could tell that the attachments wouldn't be easily removed. Even through all of that, though, Valkyr was still alive and that was all that mattered.

Knowing that he should try to move her, the Ash started walking back towards his squad. On the way, he picked up Spud's Lex that he dropped but stopped next to the unconscious Alad V. Sudden rage filled his body and he aimed the pistol at the executive's head. At the moment, Spud turned as he had realized that he only held one Lex. His eyes widened as he saw Lonewolf standing over Alad V but couldn't say anything before the single shot rang throughout the room.

The shot caught the attention of the other two who quickly noticed the blood pooling under the head of the target they were supposed to keep alive. Lonewolf turned and walked towards the group. He handed Spud the Lex as he passed and continued walking silently as he moved towards the extraction.

The room was filled with monitors. Each one held information about a different sector of the galaxy and were constantly in use. The few Tenno is the room watched the screens intently. Multiple dots filled the screens tracking the locations of Tenno lisets, extraction teams, Corpus ships, Grineer ship, and anything else of note. Despite being a boring job, it was an important one. The few Tenno were in charge of tracking locations and reporting anything suspicious to the Lotus.

One Tenno was watching the screen involving Jupiter. He was under orders by the Lotus to make sure that the strike team that just fought Alad V made a direct route back to their clan's dojo. He didn't know the specifics but given the Lotus's mumblings he assumed a Tenno had killed a target they were supposed to capture. The reason for the order didn't matter though. He was asked to watch the monitor so that was what he was doing.

He suddenly noticed a dot disappear from the screen. It was a rare occurance so the Tenno did a quick search to see what it was. Finding the information interesting, he quickly contacted the Lotus.

"Lotus," he said as soon as he knew she was there, "I've noticed something."

"Go on," she said simply.

"A dot near Jupiter disappeared," he said. The Lotus was quiet but moved to talk after a bit. "But," he added, cutting her off slightly, "it isn't a Tenno liset. It was an extraction team."

"Which extraction team?" she asked curiously.

"I just checked that," the Tenno responded. "It is extraction team 175-Alpha."

"Alright," the Lotus said, "I'm guessing there was just an accident. Thank you for the information. Let's try to keep this quiet though."

The Lotus then ended the communication with the Tenno and took a break to think. Extraction team 175-Alpha was the one who was supposed to get Alad V's body. After hearing that Lonewolf had killed him, she was forced to send another extraction team for Valkyr. It was good though because she also heard that the second team had the correct tools to get Valkyr out of there safely while the first one did not. It would be a long recovery for her.

Despite of the fact that extraction teams rare did lose connection to the system or even sometimes got destroyed, she could shake the feeling that something was wrong.

"It couldn't be a coincidence," she mused to herself. "And if it isn't, then we might be in for a lot of trouble…"