Chapter 6
Friends... or Foes?
Author's Note #9: Stuff
S'up guys, hope you're all doing well. This is the 6th Chapter of Upholders of the Mantle. The big thing about this is that it properly introduces a new faction: Warframe. For those who don't know, Warframe is a F2P Sci-Fi 3rdP Action Shooter available on PC, XBox One, and PS4. It has a very mysterious lore and complex relations. I won't go too into depth about it, but I figured it would be a good addition to the story. Hope you guys enjoy!
Orion Arm, Unknown Sector
Unknown Planet
Extraterrestrial Cavern
The ONI research team, after an uneventful breakfast, had descended to the depths of the cavern in order to properly analyze the room. Again, they were confronted by the strangely ornate, mysteriously confounding, door.
"Very interesting," murmered Halsey as she traced a finger over a golden protrusion. "Whatever species built this must have had a taste for grandeur."
Another ONI scientist, Zaine Monroe, huffed. "We aren't here to study their architecture, Dr. Halsey. We need to confirm whether whoever built this is a threat to us. And if they are... that's what Fireteam Siren is here for." Tall, pale, and infuriating, Zaine was one of the head xenobiologists in ONI. He annoyed Halsey on an hourly basis, for no reason other than to annoy her.
Of course, he was referring to the 4 Spartans who were assigned to the research team to protect the group. Halsey, as always, preferred her Spartan IIs, but had a growing admiration for these ones, especially young Gabriel Thorne, whose company she enjoyed greatly. He was like the son she never had. Either way, from the records she had read, Siren was an efficient, quiet team who always got the job done.
Halsey rolled her eyes, and continued to examine the door. She came back to the circular indentation. She ran her hand along the edge, and to her shock, golden ripples appeared wherever she touched the smooth golden metal.
"Dr. Halsey," said Spartan Michael, in a warning tone. "Be careful. We don't know who ma-" at that moment, Halsey pressed her palm into the center of the golden depression. Before anyone could stop her she pressed her hand more forcefully. Golden light emanated, and a deep vibration ran through the air. Then, with the eyes of everyone on it, the door slowly slid open.
Perseus Arm, Sector 001
Origin System
Larunda Relay
The Tenno relays were beautiful structures. Powerful, high-tech, and durable, they had weathered many storms, from the attack of the Sentients in the Old War, to the more recent Fomorian Assault. Larunda Relay, which housed the Tenno High Council, was one of the most well-protected. However, today, the normally efficient air that permeated the Relay was split by a new discovery.
"You say the signal came from the Orion Arm?" inquired Councilor Jonas. Technically, Jonas was the name of the Tenno controlling the Frost Warframe. The vocal projectors in the 'Frame projected his voice.
"It seems to be one of the Tenno we sent on a scouting mission a year ago. The one that never reported back." said the drone. Dozens of these drones patrolled the relay, monitering communications and weapon systems.
The Councilor had a thoughtful face on. If a Tenno had awakened, or had been... disturbed... from their slumber, then it was a cause for great concern. They had to investigate, assuming that the signal was actually Tenno in origin, and not a clever fake.
"If we do decide to send a team, then who do we send? Such a large Void Jump takes energy. We can't afford to send multiple teams across. Only one squad can go. The best."
"Infinity Squad then." declared a new voice.
The self-debating Councilors looked up to see Councilor Hyrus enter. He was one of the first Tenno to achieve awakening, and his Warframes were all veterans of the Gradivus Conflict.
"They have proven themselves time and time again. Operation Tubemen. Shadow Debt. Countless others. They are ideal for this op." He stated through his Frost Prime as he walked up to the platform.
"So it is decided then." stated Jonas. The Councilor nodded.
"Then this meeting is adjourned. I will brief Infinity on their mission." said Hyrus, turning on his heel and walking away. The chamber was once again silent.
Orion Arm, Unknown Sector
Unknown Planet
Extraterrestrial Cavern
The door slowly slid open. Rifles raised, the Spartans entered first, checking to make sure that the room was clear of all hostiles. Sweeping the room, Michael beckoned the rest of the scientific team inside. After a moments hesitation, they entered, and they all caught their breaths.
The room was tall; the ceiling was at least 50 feet tall from their measurements. Like the door, golden curves adorned the room everywhere, carving graceful arcs dancing through the air. The ground was also smooth and mirror-smooth, showing their nervous reflections rippling along. However, eventually, everyone's astonished gaze was drawn to the main attraction at the center-back of the room.
Embedded into the wall, approximately 30 feet above the floor, was something that reminded Halsey of Old Earth pipe organs. Huge, golden rods lay parallel to each other to form what was almost some kind of crest. It was heavy, ornate, and obviously somewhat honourary, like a tribute to a great hero. In the center of the construct lay a transcluscent ovular pod of some kind.
"What is that?" inquired one of the junior scientists nervously looking at the pod. The glazed surface of the glass didn't offer any details, but they could see a somewhat dark shape behind it. Then one of the Spartans, Barnes exclaimed something.
"Hey guys, look what I found," he called, kneeling at the ground near the construct and pod. Barnes was obviously holding what seemed to be weapons. A rifle, and a pistol. Both of which, like the door and room, where quite ornate, especially for weapons.
"Should we keep these for analysis, Doc?" inquired Barnes, to Halsey.
"Yes, yes." she muttered as she continued to attempt to find a way to access the pod. Just as she was wandering the area underneath the golden pipe organ thing, she stepped on a circular pad, which immediately sunk a few centimeters into the ground. A rumble ran through the chamber, causing her to back away.
"Everyone, stand back!" commanded Michael as he and his team pointed their rifles at the pod as the rumbling escalated, and then, slowly, stopped. And then, with everyone's eyes on it, the pod unfolded like some ancient flower, and the being inside fell out, and with a bone-jarring thud, hit the ground, and lay there.
For a few stunned seconds, nothing happened. "No-one move." whispered Spartan Eva over the comms. Slowly, the four Spartans advanced on the inert inhabitant of the pod.
While they did so, Halsey's keen eye picked quick details. The being, like everything they had seen, seemed to be wearing some kind of ornate armour. At the same time, it was almos skin-tight and utilitarian. Not as bulky as the Aegis-II armour worn by the Spartans. Then, it happened.
For a few seconds, her brain had to buffer because of the speed at which the events occurred. She barely even got a warning out to the advancing Spartans. She saw the fingers on it's right hand twitch and flex minutely, and it's head lift ever so slightly.
"Michael watch ou-." she began, about to lunge for the weapons they found.
And then all hell broke lose.
The creature dashed forwards so quickly she could have sworn she saw an afterimage. A trail of blue particles emanated from wherever it moved. It lunged straight for Michael. For a second, she thought it was going to pounce on him, ram him, or maul him. Instead, with shocking grace, at the last second, it pivoted on it's right foot, grabbed Michael's arm, and hurled him... 60 feet? All the way to the back of the room. With a sickening crash, he slammed against the wall and fell, grunting with pain.
Barnes and Eva were turning their rifles when the being turned, flipped Barnes off its shoulder into the ground, grabbed his rifle, and smashed it against Eva's helmet, momentarily disorienting her. It then planted it's knee into her stomach and punched her so hard that she flipped backwards, shields overloaded, into the wall.
The last Spartan, Lewis, managed to fire his armour's hard-light rifle into the creature. 3 bursts of three deadly rounds slammed into the creature's backside. Halsey expected the rounds to, at the very least, damage the armour and give the Spartan enough time to unload more rounds, but to her surprise, a blue shield appeared, hugging it's skin, deflecting the rounds.
It was over before it even began. In two strides, it stepped forwards, slid under Lewis' legs, tripped, and disarmed him. Lewis, probably in a smart move, made no attempt to fight.
For a few seconds, the being stared with its faceless head at her and the rest of the research team. She thought that it was going to kill them too, until Michael, who had apparently recovered, tried to charge the warrior with his armour's hard-light sword. It turned to face him, reached to it's back, and to her surprise, a sword of it's own materialized. It drew the almost ornamental sword, and with the grace that could only be achieved from centuries of practice and experience, it sidestepped Michael's lunge and thrust the sword under his chin.
Michael, for a few seconds, looked like he'd rather die than surrender, but then reluctantly retracted the blade. The being tilted its head, and then lowered it's own sword. For a few awkward seconds, no-one spoke or moved the Spartans all got to their feet, defenseive, but not aggressive. Finally, Zaine spoke.
"What are you?" he croaked out, somewhat skeptical as to whether the being could understand him. The warrior looked at him, seemingly taking him in, and spoke four words in a deep voice that echoed power, that would change the OSG and the UNSC forever.
"I am a Tenno."
Perseus Arm, Sector 001
Origin System
Larunda Relay, Hangar
Tenno Landing-Craft were constantly bustling in and out of the hangar. Every so often, one of Baro Ki'Teers transports would fly in, carrying exotic wares from the Void and beyond. Now, in a more isolated section, 4 Tenno and their Landing Crafts gathered, preparing to embark on a critical mission.
"Oy, laddie. You got that Vaykor Hek I asked you for?" Edward, the Tenno behind the grey and orange Vauban, was a jovial, and intelligent one. He was one of the first to discover himself within the moon, leading to his awakening. With a penchant for shotguns and explosives, he was Infinity's best tactician and demo expert. He also apparently was of Scottish descent, as indicated by his accent. Though the Tenno only looked like they were 18, they were in fact thousands of years old, kept alive through Transference.
"Not yet bro. Meridian's trading routes are under heavy stress. I heard that they delayed it for another week." Jake, piloting a Rhino, was the teams juggernaut. His Rhino Warframe had been custom-designed to take huge amounts of fire.
As the two bantered, several drones loaded their landing craft, a Liset and Scimitar respectively. The trip would require the Landing Craft to be equipped with extra fuel cells for the Void Jump, and Ordis, the AI whose fragments permeated every Landing-Craft, would be upgraded with additional ECM subsystems.
As they were talking, Traven flew her own Landing Ship in from the other side of the Relay. Commanding an Equinox, she was probably the most bipolar of the entire team. One minute she could be perfectly fine, speaking softly and being helpfully, to going into a full rage and giving a verbal smackdown to anyone who annoyed her. On the battlefield, she was no different. One minute she would be healing allies and putting enemies into an induced coma, and next she would be ripping their bodies in half with malevolent energy. Powerful and unpredictable.
Finally the final member of the team joined them, after rigorous training in the Conclave. Loren, master of the Ivara Warframe, was the team's sniper and scout. Her 'Frame allowed her to make longe-range shots easily, with her weapon of choice being the Daikyu Longbow. Her teammates would testify that they'd never seen anything as scary as a bow in her hands.
The four friends and squadmates met up on the platform that led to their individual landing craft.
"So... a Tenno signal all the way in the Orion Arm? How could that happen?" asked Traven, as she polished her Fang Prime daggers.
"Joyriders who lost their map?" suggested Jake. He slowly flexed his arm, testing his Warframe's reflexes. Mech-Organic fibers in the arm, powered by Void energy, flexed along with him.
"More likely someone from that scouting expedition from a year ago. The one where half our warlords and Primes left to to check for further Orokin settlements. Probably one of those guys went into stasis because of foreign threat, and just recently started hollering." stated Edward, transmuting a grenade out of thin air, before dissapating it back into energy.
The thought that a possible Warlord or Prime Wielder was still out there, possibly in danger, was a serious one. If it was true, then they had to hasten their schedule. Under no circumstance could someone of such importance be left to die.
"Well let's get going. We aren't doing anyone any good sitting here." exclaimed Loren as she calibrated her Daikyu and placed it on her back. She stood and left for her craft.
"She's right. Get to to your ships. Ed, inform the Council that we are departing." said Jake as he left for his own ship.
"Got it boss."
With that, Infinity Squad left, ready to journey into the void, to bring back their lost brother.
Perseus Arm
Galactic Republic
Venator Wolfpack 501
Obi-wan paced the deck of the Venator. They had word that an important OSG scientist, one of their most brillant personnel, was in this system, all the way in the Perseus Arm. The 501st Legion was to capture her, any personnel with her, and in the process, acquire whatever they had been sent to find. It had to be important if they wanted to travel all this way to find it.
"Happy thoughts, Master?" joked Anakin, as he walked onto the bridge. Kenobi had marvelled that Anakin had already gotten over the death of Rex, a dear friend. However, a part of him knew that Anakin was happy because he would get the chance to get revenge against the people who had killed him. And Kenobi knew the dangers of revenge.
"No thoughts at all, young one." he countered, as he gazed out at the blur of hyperspace. In a few minutes, they would come to the system where the OSG science team was reported to be investigating their find.
For the next few minutes, there was no talk except for the customary chatter among the bridge crew. Anakin had disassembled his lightsaber for routine maintenance. Obi-Wan silently meditated on the their mission.
"Disengaging hyperdrive! Arriving near the orbit of the 3rd planet from the star." called out one of the officers. The muted colours of hyperspace gave way to the bright colours of realspace. 4 planets orbited a brilliant sun.
"Our objective is on the 2nd planet, is it not?" asked Kenobi as he looked over sensory data.
"Yes master. I think I'll head down to the hangar. Prep my fighter for launch. Call me if you need me." said Anakin as he walked over to the turbolift.
At that moment, a spike of panic raced through Obi-Wan. Something had just disturbed the Force. Sent ripples through it.
At the exact same time, the officer monitering the subspace sensors jolted in his seat. "Sir, there was a momentary spike of radiation near the edge of the system. It... vanished right after. Strange." he murmered as he looked over his screens again. "I can't find it again, sir."
Kenobi frowned. Something was not right. He would have liked to investigate, but they were on a schedule. "Ignore it for now. We have more pressing matters to deal with."
With that, he turned for the turbolift, to go ready himself for war.
Orion Arm, Uknown Sector
Unknown System
Tenno Expedition
4 landing craft warped into the system, the effects of Void Jump travel wearing off. A momentary spike of void radiation emanated, a glowing white film around the craft, before dissapating. Ordis immediately locked onto the signal, which was emanating from the second planet from the sun.
"Ordis, anything anomalous?" asked Jake, as he performed a manual check on his ship's systems and confirmed that everyone else's was working too.
"Yes Operator. Near the third planet are three large ships. Corvette designation, by our standards. Armament is unknown. Hull composition is unknown. Inhabitants are unknown. However, they are on a course to intercept the planet from which our signal is emanating. I advise we reach the planet first just in case."
"Thank you Ordis." Jake, who was not controlling any frame at the moment, altered the view so he could see the ships for himself. They were small, compared to the average Grineer Galleon, or Corpus freighter. Triangular, grey, with a bright red stripe. He also noticed that what appeared to be a bridge was elevated high above the rest of the ship. A confounding design problem.
Either way, the fact that a faction that was not familiar was here was worrying. Hopefully they wouldn't turn out hostile.
"Hey Jake? Ordis just told me something else." Traven's voice crackled through the communication's panel.
"What is it? Something wrong?"
"Unknown. Apart from those ships, there seems to be another ship just above the planet. Design and aesthetics indicate it is of a different faction than those three. It's small, bigger than our landing crafts though. It seems to be a stealth ship, if its design is anything to go by. Whoever used the ship just left. I've found scattered radio signals from planet-side. They're very faint. Probably personnel level communications. I think they've found the signal too."
"Loren here. I think it's best we do a HALO jumps with our Archwings. Ordis can keep our ships cloaked in LPO (Low Planetary Orbit) while we investigate."
"Amen to that." said Edward's voice.
Jake contemplated this for a while. Archwing LPO was generally not performed due to the fact that Archwings weren't designed for atmospheric flight. They were for space combat, and if necessary, underwater. But atmospheric conditions obviated their usage. They might be their only chance at this point though at reaching the surface without detection.
"Alright. I approve. Let's get going." with that, he turned off the communicator, and had his Rhino head down into his Orbiter Compartment. He made sure his Odonata Archwing was functioning and undamaged, and that the ammo factories in his Imperator Vandal minigun were working.
After his checks were complete, he stepped onto the arsenal plate, and called out, "Ordis, could I have my Soma, Telos Akbolto, and Galatine?" Without reply, the three weapons materialized into their respective holster locations on his back, before vanishing. "Done, Operator. We will be approaching the designated drop point in 2 minutes. Jake nodded, and went into the drop chamber, ready for the drop of hundreds of kilometres.
They had a mission to do.
Orion Arm, Unknown Sector
Unknown Planet
Extraterrestrial Cavern
The words echoed around the chamber, greeted by a shocked silence. Halsey, while terrified, had a budding sense of curiousity. Tenno? Was that it's species? Or make? Or designation?
These and a million other questions raced through her mind, but were immediately halted when the being spoke again.
"I can see that you are confused. And afraid. Firstly, I must apologize for my actions. My cryopod alerted me to the presence of unknowns in my vicinity. My natural reaction was to subdue you. I can assure you that I will take no violent actions against you unless needed."
The Spartans didn't look very convinced, nor did Zaine. However, now Halsey's fear was gone. She stepped forward slightly, causing the 'Tenno' to turn it's head towards her.
She mustered her thoughts, and spoke: "Who are you? You called yourself Tenno, but none of us have heard you. What species are you? Are you a sol-."
"A great a deal of questions. I will answer them in time. However, I must ask a more important question. Who are you? You are not Orokin (at this, most of the people there tilted their heads, confused). You are human, that much is obvious. Where am I?"
At this, Zaine stepped forward. "We are a scientific team from the OSG Intelligence Branch. We picked up a distress signal which your cryopod was sending out. We humans are part of the OSG, an alliance of species in the Orion Arm of the Milky Way. You are in an unknown sector of the Orion Arm."
"OSG? I've never heard of you. However, I promised to answer your questions. Tenno is my... classification. Not a species, but who I am. My voice is simply being projected by my Warframe here."
"You mean, you don't inhabit this armour?" Halsey asked. She had thought the armour was like the Mjolnir in design.
"No. This armour is symbiotically linked to my mind. My own body is in a Transference Pod in my Orbiter. The location of which, I cannot reveal. Unless I was to recieve permission. Either way, my species is... somewhat a mix between human and Orokin. A hybrid. My name is Calven."
"So judging by your armour, you are a soldier, of some sort?" spoke Michael for the first time. His gun was lowered, but Halsey could sense the wariness in his voice. "Because we found weapons near your cryopod, and you have the reflexes of one."
At this, the Tenno laughed. "I suppose you could call me a warrior. A very, very special one. The origins behind the Operator and the Warframe is dark and tragic, and I will tell you later when I have the time. Essentially, the Operators and the Warframes were created to fight the greatest threat the Orokin ever faced. As for why I was in stasis, it's because I was part of an expedition to see if the Orokin had ever expanded beyond our solar system."
"There are humans from your solar system? And these Orokin... they were limited to their home system?" inquired Halsey.
"Yes. Although we more or less merged into one. The Orokin were extremely advanced, trust me. Far more than the evident technology of your OSG. But we never saw a need to leave the Origin System."
Halsey was mesmerized. This was what she wanted to be a scientist for. "How interesting. I'd love to meet your- what are you doing?"
For at that moment, Calven's Warframe had tilted it's head up slightly, like it was expecting something. He didn't respond.
The Spartans lifted their arm-rifles slightly. Then Calven's Warframe turned it's head back down.
"My brethren are coming. I detect 4 Tenno descending in their Archwings. They should be here in a few minutes."
More unfamiliar terms. "Archwing?" she asked.
"Archwings are mechanical wings of Orokin design that allow for space combat and underwater combat. They are our version's of fighters."
"Are they armed?" asked Eva. It was obvious that she'd rather not have 4 heavily armed starcraft in here. Especially if each of the pilots was just as good as Calven.
"Of course. But you have my word that they will not turn them on you. Unless they decide that you are a threat"
That didn't reassure anyone, but they kept silent as they waited. Meanwhile, Halsey and Zaine continued asking Calven (his Warframe anyways) more questions. They also, after a moment's hesitation, returned his rifle and pistol. After a few minutes, though, they stopped moving when they heard a distant rumbling. It slowly grew in pitch and noise, like an approaching siren.
Calven turned. "Ah, they're here!" He walked towards the door to the room.
Shortly after, 4 Tenno flew into the room. Halsey had heard Calven say that Archwings were literally mechanical wings, but they were quite different from what she expected. The Tenno looked like warrior angels, sent to smite the puny demons below. Two of the Tenno had identical, vaguely insectile Archwings, one of which was dull blue, and the other painted a bright neon pink. The other two Tenno were using radically different ones. One of the Tenno, using a blocky Warframe, was piloting a behemoth of an Archwing. It looked more like two huge spikes than wings. The other Tenno, a slender, feminine one with a glowing circle on her otherwise blank face was piloting a smaller, darker Archwing.
After the quick analysis, she realized all 4 of the Tenno were pointing huge weapons at them, obviously thinking they were a threat. Then Calven stepped forward, and silently seemed to communicate with them. Barrels which were glowing with energy dulled and were lowered. From the Tennos body language, the OSG team could see that they were half in shock, half in amazement. They lowered themselves to the ground, the Wings detaching and disintegrating. Calven met them, and after a few moments of silent conversation, Calven turned and walked back to the group, the four Tenno following right behind.
"The four Tenno behind these Warframes are, to put it lightly, some of my good friends. I'd like to introduce you to Edward, Traven, Loren, and Jake. At the call of their names, each Tenno nodded their heads.
"I've told them what I know about you. They're part of a team that was sent to investigate my signal. Apparently I've been away for a year. My expedition was thought lost. The Tenno High Council intercepted my signal, and sent Infinity Squad here to find me."
The four Spartans were on guard, but for once, seemed much more curious about the Tenno. Their rifles were still at the ready, but Halsey could see that they were not hesitant as they were before. She was going to introduce herself until Zaine stepped forward.
"You said Tenno High Council. That means you have a governing body. But Calven said that you were soldiers. Why would soldiers have a government?"
The brown, bulky Warframe stepped forward. "The Orokin were wiped out, long ago. It seems Calven didn't tell you this. The Tenno are under the command of Lotus, a Sentient. The Sentients were what the Tenno and Warframes were made to combat. However, near the end of the war, when we were winning, the Sentients snuck their youngest, then known as Natah, into our ranks. She tricked us into killing the Orokin. However, due to reasons we are not permitted to share, she immediately turned on her own kind, and killed them. She then took command of the Tenno as the Lotus. She is our guide now. And we are the only force working for balance in the Origin System. We are our own faction."
Calven nodded at this. "Exactly. With our enemies growing stronger, it fell to us, the Tenno, to protect lives and maintain balance, though we are willing to work for rewards."
Lewis stepped forwards. "You're mercenaries?" with an undertone of anger.
At this, the black and white Warframe, which seemed to be two Warframes stuck together, stepped forwards. "We work for rewards, however we only do so within reason. We will take morality over rewards if it comes to it (Author's Note #10 - Completely false. In-game, us Tenno do anything if you give us loot :P but that won't work in story).
Lewis didn't seem very happy at that answer, but stepped back.
Finally, the slender, almost frog-like Warframe stepped forwards. Halsey had to marvel at the craftsmenship on these armours. They were, unlike the Mjolnir or the Aegis, extremely graceful, almost like they'd been grown rather than built. "As much as this conversation interests me, there is distressing news. Three capital ships are approaching this planet. They must have picked up on your ship (she nodded to the OSG team). In about half an hour, they will be in deployment range for starfighters. We either need to make preparations for a fight, or we need to get the hell out of here."
The Spartans tightened the grip on their weapons. "Republic Destroyers." He looked at the Tenno. "The OSG has recently found itself at war with another faction called the Galactic Republic. Humans, aliens, whatever. We made some pretty inflammatory comments about the way they did things, helped their enemies, and now they're mad at us. War has been declared."
If the Warframes could frown, they probably would have. "Not good. But, we 4 should be enough to at least stall them so you can go. We will keep in contact. We'll tell the Council about this. I would advise you tell your higher-ups as well." said Calven. "In the mean-time, do you have any means of combatting them?"
Michael stepped forwards. "No. Us Spartans won't do much good against a force like that, and we only have a Prowler in the system, with a few anti-matter mines. Not enough to fight a battle. We could call for reinforcements, but it would take time for them to reach us. I suspect they came here to capture us, most likely Halsey. By the time reinforcements arrive, we'll be taken anyways."
The Warframe controlled by Edward rapped his fingers on a quad-barrelled shotgun. "If I may ask, how powerful are the average soldiers of the Republic? And do they have any elite units?"
Michael looked at Eva, the team's tactician. "Their standard units should not be of any problem. Although they do fight in large numbers."
Edward laughed through his Warframe. "Don't worry. We're used to fighting against large numbers. What's the problem then?"
Lewis spoke this time. "They may have a few armoured units, walkers, tanks, etc. But seeing your skill and tech, I don't think that's the problem. The Republic is mainly headed by a group known as the Jedi Council. They are... warrior monks, for the lack of a better word. They use this thing called the Force. Basically, telekinesis, and they have minor precognition. One of our best Spartans faced two of 'em on his mission. It took a lot of effort him to kill one, and he managed to injure the other. They're tough and smart."
The slender one, whose Tenno was apparently called Loren, spoke up. "How good is their precog?"
"They can dodge bullets, plasma bolts, etc. Depends on how fast the projectile is. If it's fast enough, you may be able to hurt them."
Loren acknowledged this with a nod.
"I propose a plan," said Jake. "You guys don't have the force to fight them. We need intel on this Republic, in case something goes wrong and they become a threat. So we'll stay back, hold them off, kill some, and flee in our landing ships. Meanwhile, your Prowler should be able to escape the system." He turned to Calven. "Do you have an Archwing or Landing Craft?"
Calven's Warframe nodded. "It's been stored in a seperate room. I'll go off and get it ready." With that, he turned and seemingly began to walk straight into a wall. That is, until the wall split apart to reveal a corridor into another room.
"Well, let's get to it." remarked Jake. He knelt for a second, then lept up what was easily 30 feet. Out of nowhere, his Archwing materialized again, attaching to his back. The rest of Infinity Squad followed, and soon all four of them were hovering in the air.
"We'll contact you when we think it's clear for you to leave. We'll have Tenno High Council contact you afterwards." said Edward. With that, and a blast of acceleration, the four Warframes raced up the cavern to hold off the Republic.
"Understood." said Michael. "Dr. Halsey, Dr. Monroe, we should get going." The OSG team also double-timed it up the cavern. As they exited it to broad daylight, there was a roar of engines, and a small ship flew out behind them, and accelerated upwards.
"That must Calven." said Halsey, as the ship disappeared from view.
"Let's not stay here. We need to be ready when they give the signal to evac." said Lewis, and the group ran for the location where the Prowler had landed.
Orion Arm
Unknown Sector, Unknown Planet
Orbit
The members of Infinity squad launched out of their Landing Craft, Archwings attached to them. With a graceful deftness, the pivoted and maneuvered as they formed up near a small cluster of asteroids that had been dragged into the planet's orbit. From here, they could pick out the three 'Republic' Destroyers approaching. Someone on a ship must have noticed them on the sensors, because about a minute later, several small fighters could been seen launching. Soon dozens turned to hundreds, and the 4 Tenno knew that they had a difficult task ahead. The light of the stars reflected off of them, making them glow like avenging angels. To protect or die. That's why they existed. And now, they had a new enemy to contend with. One that fought just as well as any Grineer or Corpus.
So they got started.
Author's Note #11: Thoughts Again?
So I ended on a cliff, and the next chapter will go into the battle itself. No important characters will die, but their will be conflict. Negotiations between the Republic, OSG, and the Tenno will occur, and we'll wait and see how those turn out. Until next time then!
For the Lotus!
-PVonTuckIII