The Oracle was a lot quieter now than before the previous contract, Ash noticed. The room that used to teem with stories of past contracts and missions now fell hushed with uneasy anticipation. Eyes were more or less fixed on the centre display, waiting for mission details to be brought forward. The
The holographic face of the Lotus appeared on the display, making the few who were murmuring amongst themselves fall silent immediately.
"Tenno, we have tracked down the location of the Councilor Vay Hek. He will be, according to our intel, due to be carrying out troop inspections on Everest, Earth. He is currently hunted by several Grineer governments and officials, but his Grustrag Three and several platoons of elite Prosecutors have defended him thus far. However, many of the Prosecutors have been diverted to the Ceres shipyards and the Saturn asteroid belts to lead assaults on Corpus outposts. Only 4 of his elite remain, which gives us an incredibly rare opportunity to wipe him out. As well as his incredibly bounty as a reward, the Tenno who lands the killing blow will be strongly considered for promotion to an Exarch or higher."
Ash lifted his eyebrows in surprise. An Exarch was on par with Ash's rank, which had taken him through untold hardships to acquire.
Vay Hek must be quite a challenge, then. No wonder he's not been stabbed in the back by one of his generals yet.
The Lotus let the silence hang for a moment, before continuing in her indifferent, robotic voice. "The Tenno participating in this mission will be: the Oberon," The slender, young face of the Palatinus gleamed with pride as he stepped forward. He was the living embodiment of the equality of the Tenno; the knowledge of justice and injustice, morality and immorality, loyalty and treachery. He nodded his head in respect and stepped into the elevator behind him.
"the Rhino," The towering monster of Taurus let a shark grin spread across his chiseled face. The floor shook slightly under the weight of his armor as he left.
"the Ash," Ash looked up and uncrossed his arms. He pushed himself off the ledge over the canopy and looked up at the display. Readjusting his katana rather unnecessarily, he looked towards the exit and walked out into the elevator.
"and the Loki."
Ash felt his heart sink.
You must be joking.
He turned to see Fenrir looking at the Lotus with the same astonishment that Ash wore on his face before nodding curtly and smirking as he approached the elevator. He turned round to see the envious faces of his comrades, making his smirk turn into a grin akin to a hyena. Rather unnerved, Ash looked forward into the Oracle as the doors closed.
"Just like old times, eh?" Loki leaned over.
"Meaning?" Ash asked with fake obliviousness.
"Us two, hunting down some rich aristocrat who is obsessed with augmentations? Sounds like the same situation to me."
"Hmm. Let's see if you are as cocky this time as you were then." Ash replied, as if to challenge him.
"Let's see if you can live up to your reputation, Orion." Loki acknowledged his challenge with a voice that seemed to not comprehend what he had just said.
You…
Ash turned his head this time to look Fenrir straight in the eyes.
"How do you know that name?" He said barely containing the strange anger that now shouldered in his heart.
"Calm down, Ash, I just happened to hear it as I was passing by. What's the big deal?"
The corner of his mouth began to lift into a snarl.
"Fenrir, we maybe are what some call friends, but you know that I do not go by that name. Call me what you wish, but call me that once more and I will not hesitate to commit grievous harm to your frail, pathetic morsel of a body."
"Bite me. Stop getting so bothered about nothing. I was just joking, right?" He smiled, although Ash knew Fenrir had no intention of stopping. He sighed and uncurled his fist, letting blood flow back into his fingers.
What happened?
"Whatever. Just keep it to yourself."
Fenrir might have been cocky, but he wasn't a fool. His smirk straightened out and he looked forward at the now open door. He stepped forward and stuck a welcome arm out into the room, turning his head at Ash.
"Well, then, shall we?" Fenrir's avid grin lit up again.
The virtual sun of the Solar System lit up the stern expression on Umbra's face. Her gaze swept over the four's faces, probing their expressions and thoughts for any signs of doubt. A cold air of gravity pressed down on the four Tenno before her, making even Fenrir suppress his annoying smirk that he constantly wore.
"Tenno." She began "I want you to forget anything you know about assassination on high-priority targets. Vay Hek is something else. He has completely refitted his body into a living machine, which has been dubbed the 'Terra' battle suit. It has incredibly fast perception, possibly inhuman reflexes and has been the end for many of our kin in the past."
"Then why are we doing it?" Fenrir blurted, receiving a cold look from Umbra.
"The Clan General and the Council of Warlords has seen remarkable success rates from the Steel Fury wing, the highest being you four. Given the fact that you have all progressed to a minimum rank of a Prelate, you have been cleared for this mission." She retorted, purposely not meeting Fenrir's mischievous eyes.
"Now, the mission plan. Seeing as his elite Eximi guardsmen have been diverted, we now have our chance. There are only eight of them now, his most trusted elite, who will defend him to the death. Do not doubt their loyalty, brothers. Getting into the compound should be easy. We have successfully infected the Atlas orbital cannons in the base, which will allow our dropship to pass through unnoticed. Seeing as a direct approach into the entrance of the compound is out of the question, we will then trigger a remote sequence that overrides the cannons, letting us lay waste to the blocked-in gorge that blocks a shortcut into the main compound."
Taurus grinned his shark grin at the last sentence; he knew nothing but destruction since birth. Destruction of skulls, bones, lives, homes; it was second nature to him.
"Once the path has been cleared, you must act quickly. You won't have time to murder everyone in the communications room," She stole a scornful glare at Ash, who swallowed his silent irritation and crossed his arms while listening further. "so he must be assassinated without any delays, before the Grineer can call in reinforcements."
"Can't we shoot them down with the Atlas cannons?" Palatinus interjected.
"As stupid as the Grineer may seem, they would probably resort to wiping the system and restoring it to the last uninfected state if they have to. This means that we'll have about a minute to secure the landing point before the systems come back under their control and shoot down our extraction."
Palatinus nodded in acknowledgement.
"Once you have breached the inner compound, dispose of his elite, then Hek. I don't care how you do it, just get the job done."
"Shouldn't we have a plan before we throw ourselves at Vay Hek's feet?" Ash insisted.
Umbra looked over to him with raised eyebrows, then back at the map again.
"The fact of the matter is, looking over our past records of fighting him, he changes his tactics every battle; we have no way of knowing how to fight him." She said with a sigh, defeated.
"Isn't there a way to disable his electronics?" Palatinus asked.
"We've tried," Umbra shrugged as she brought up a camera footage playback with a small flick of her finger. "but to no avail."
The video played, showing the Councilor in a bright yellow metal suit with two slender legs and a huge cannon mounted on a short mechanical arm. The four-barreled shotgun that paid tribute to his unending hatred for anything but himself was mounted on his other arm. The face, however, was a sight that slightly unnerved Ash, even though it should have terrified him. His head was the only part that was left slightly human, and it had long gone past anything that looked it. Lifeless, gray skin sagged onto his metallic faceplate. His lips were a putrid black, and his teeth were blackened from age.
But even his face was not spared from augmentations. His unblinking, mechanical yellow eyes glared with hatred at the Excalibur in front of him as he yelled something obscene, no doubt. The Tenno bravely readied a fleshy Synapse bio-electrical rifle at his face, and fired. Lightning shot forth as the lips of the creature withdrew. The electricity struck him full on in the face, seeming to coarse through every tiny blood vessel and through every nerve. Then, he started to laugh. Not one of comedy, enjoyment or happiness, but one that relished on the pain of others and only seemed to belong to the most sadistic and twisted of beings. The Excalibur recoiled in shock, stopping the stream of electricity at once. Small hexagons in front of his face, unnoticeable before, glowed a lively blue before fading back into the air. The Excalibur fired his Synapse again, but his last efforts were futile. Hek grabbed the warframe with one of his legs, turned him round towards the barrels of his shotgun, and pulled the trigger. Umbra stopped the footage as the gunshot sounded.
"Tenno, let me remind you that you have no obligation to do this. It would not be cowardly to leave, if you so wish."
No one moved. They all knew that they were free to leave but each of them had things to settle with Hek and an opportunity like this was not one to pass up, especially with the hefty promotion to sweeten the deal.
"Very well. Find his weakness, and destroy him. Good luck, Tenno." She finished with something that sounded like regret.
Even though the warframe insulated heat and constantly regulated the temperature, Ash still shivered sometimes. Not from nerves, or the freezing temperatures on the high peaks of Mount Everest, but from anticipation of things to come. They weren't shivers of fear; they were shivers of excitement. Air cooled in billowing white clouds in front of him as he steadied his breathing. He willed for his helmet to close up again and stood up from his hiding place from behind the crates. Four Grineer marines patrolled around the perimeter of the small clearing, murmuring in their garbled tongue.
"They haven't learned of our presence, yet. Activate the override, Lotus." The Oberon ordered.
"Affirmative. Override sequence engaged." The Lotus replied blankly.
A low hum, then a whine resonated from behind Ash. The huge triple barreled ion cannon lowered down and turned to face the rock wall. It began to drone louder now, small rectangular lights glowing from the sides. The barrels themselves started to redden on the inside. The glow inside them grew brighter until the small ball of energy in the priming chamber radiated a burning white, screaming for release. The Grineer marines below paid no attention to the noise, much to the relief of the Tenno.
"Atlas cannon primed. Fire when ready, Tenno."
Palatinus turned his head from his hiding place behind a storage container to look at his comrades, who all nodded in acknowledgment.
"We're all ready. Let's do this, brothers."
The Lotus answered with a mere tap along the voice-link. The gigantic cannon behind them belched a blindingly bright ball that shrieked, unstoppable, towards the rock wall. The heat and energy equivalent to that of a small sun exploded as it made contact, throwing up heavy blankets of snow and small shards of rock as the shockwave hit the Tenno. Ash winced at the small blow, but quickly shook it off and got out from behind the boxes to join his brothers, who were already fighting off the initial wave of Grineer.
Bullets whizzed by Ash's head as he ran. More Grineer poured out of the doors, raising their weapons as they took cover. Palatinus' Penta grenade launcher spat tiny adhesive charges at the enemy, making huge explosions that licked at his feet when he sprinted past. He observed his attackers, who relentlessly spewed bullets downfield, a few coming close but none hitting him. He drew his blade from its sheath and leveled it at the incoming shower of lead.
Within a moment his sword was here, and then it was there. It moved so fast that even he, with his advanced helmet-assisted vision, couldn't keep track of it. He was a whirling maelstrom of deadly steel, allowing nothing past. He was invincible. Ash let loose a laugh as he charged and leaped.
Adrenalin flowing and muscles pounding with newfound energy, he landed on the first marine with frightful ease, stabbing at his throat multiple times before looking up to find his next kill. A bullet hit him in the right shoulder; knocking the air out of his lungs and making him double over, panting. Blood, his blood, sprayed across the ground, like the crimson works of a mad painter. He turned round to see his assailant. A white and grey camouflaged soldier stood rigid on a small platform, his gun quivering in nervous fingers.
Ash smiled and jumped up onto the metal grating, facing the soldier eye-to-eye. His Nikana was at the marine's throat within a second. He opened his helmet, exposing his face to the cold winter air and the fresh smell of carnage.
"Bad move, my friend." Ash snarled.
He drew the blade across its throat before driving it through the marine's gut, twisting it and cleaving it upward, leaving its amputated arm on the ground and the rest of its body crawling away from Ash.
Pitiful.
His Nikana separated the marine's head from his neck with no difficulty, cleanly letting it roll off onto the gorge below. The blood that remained splattered on the metal tiling, however, began to crawl towards the tip of the sword. It seemed to soak into the metal, making it shimmer a misty red. The pain in his shoulder eased almost immediately, and revealed no wound when Ash touched it tentatively.
The Life Strike. How interesting. Your usefulness knows no bounds, Vulcan.
He turned to see the rest of his brothers quickly dispatching the masses of marines below. Fenrir was busy chopping and cleaving his way through four Grineer Lancer marines on a circular platform above Ash, stabbing and disemboweling two of them with his serrated Kamas, while kicking one onto a sharp rock below and stabbing the other through the skull with mad glee.
He looked down to the clearing, where Taurus made quick work of two Butchers and a flamethrower-wielding Napalm with his Furax gauntlets. The gauntlets were somewhat of a marvel; designed by one of the first wearers and devotees to the Vauban warframe, it used a kinetic amplifier in each of its five fingers to transmit nearly ten times the force of the punch. With the already immense strength of Taurus' muscles and the mechanical exoskeleton drilled onto his body, the marines were being hit with a force of a small meteor. At least their deaths were quick.
Palatinus, on the other hand, was more graceful with his attacks. A Scorpion fired a harpoon at him, seeking to latch on and deliver a blow with her machete. He dodged it with frightful ease and pounced forward. His Orthos pinned her to the ground through the chest, imbedding her into the rusted metal. He vaulted over a rail with some considerable height, coming down on two soldiers and landing a killing blow to the chest on another.
An Eviscerater spun up his Miter sawblade launcher in a futile attempt to hurt the Oberon, which resulted in a quick flash from within his armor. Ash smiled as he saw the molecular manipulation integrated into Palatinus' warframe work its magic on the Eviscerater. First, the armour began to slowly burn up on the edges of the armour into the wind, before only the mechanics and the few remnants of flesh were shown. The marine then exploded in a powerful burst of green light, any remaining pieces of him disintegrated and were blown away into the wind.
"There's more." He stated, motioning over to the main complex, where
"Looks clear, brothers. Let us continue." Palatinus said as he lowered his open palm.
Ash jumped down from the platform to join him and Taurus, who had by now destroyed a wall and created several imprints of bodies on a storage container. The titan rose and ran down to the pair, creating small thuds as he went. Ash stifled a laugh as the beast came to a halt, shaking the ground as he slowed his momentum.
"Taurus, how much does that damn suit weigh?" A rather patronizing voice escaped his mouth, along with a small chuckle.
"How would I know? The exoskeleton does most of the work, so it's like I'm walking on air." Taurus replied, seemingly oblivious to Ash's mockery.
"To you, it does." Ash snorted.
Before Taurus could reply, Ash's body disappeared and reappeared at the highest platform of the base, looking round in shock. Ash could see the gray and black suit of Fenrir looking back at him. Laughing
Ash curled up a fist, face burning with embarrassment as Taurus joined in heartily. He raised his fist, tensed his muscles and dissipated. He reappeared next to Fenrir, and swung.
The fist connected with what appeared to be his cheekbone, which sent him sprawling. Ash knew that this was enough, for the damage to the helmet was minimal but the force that went through to Fenrir's head was still substantial.
"You're hilarious, Fenrir." Ash growled with no sign of humor.
"You pack a mean punch. Didn't expect something like that." Fenrir replied, massaging his neck in pain.
"You're a fool."
"Enough with your childish folly, you two. We are on a mission, under the eyes of the Lotus, and you behave like infants." The Oberon barked from behind them, shoving Fenrir out of the way. The tails of his warframe floated on the wind that swept through, not daring to touch his ankles as his strode past.
Neither of them replied as they crossed the clearing.
The group resumed their journey, the shadows of the immense rock walls swallowing up their figures whole, which were tiny ants in comparison. The rocks around them were cracked and demolished in some places, but the black scorch marks of the Atlas cannon streaked across the formations everywhere. Small slithers of light slipped through the cracks at the top, which reminded him of his resting chamber. Oh, how he wished to be there now, instead of being stuck with Fenrir for the rest of this mission.
Palatinus, who had been eyeing the shadows cautiously at the head of the group, raised a clenched fist.
"I sense movement. Weapons up, Tenno." He ordered over the voice-link, hushed, but calm.
He put his Orthos staff away into a sheath on his back and drew his Penta. Taurus disengaged his gauntlets and drew a Soma-pattern machine gun, which could hose bullets down at a target at about a thousand rounds in five seconds. He never was a stickler for accuracy.
Ash put his hand over the hilt of his Nikana, surveying the darkness for any movement with his infrared sensors. Nothing.
"Oberon, what are you talking abou-"
"Tenno." A voice growled from all around them."Do not try to run. We have you surrounded."