Once our quartet had finished smashing the boil yet again, we returned to Cetus, both to redeem our rewards from Nakak (who was surprised to see a non-tenno coming from the plains, but took things rather well) and to just browse a bit in the stores and markets. Among other things, I was able to obtain a few Kuakas and Condrocs from Master Teasonai, some Gem and ore blueprints/forging and cutting advice from Old Man Suumbaat, a Norg trophy blueprint from Hai Luk (that thing was going on the wall in my bedroom), and pretty much every single zaw part I could get from Hok. As I came back to Nakak, this time to get a Volt mask for Rory, I found my ROB had also returned to the young girl's stall, and it appeared she too was haggling over a mask. A trinity one, by the looks of it.

"So," I began, interrupting the haggling, which seemed to be getting rather heated, "what are you doing?"

"Trying to haggle for a Trinity mask. Naka wants three Maprico and a goopolla spleen for it, but I don't have any of those spleens. I bet the locals don't have to pay that price."

"Um, yes they do," was both my remark and Nakak's. We stared at each other for a moment, before turning our attention back to Melissa.

"Well, why do you want it?" was my next response.

"...Promise you won't tell any of my 'friends'?"

"Sure."

"It's for Cassidy. She really wants one."

"...Is there a mask that you want?"

"The Mag one...wait, why did you ask?"

I ignored her and turned to Nakak.

"What's the price for a Mag mask?"

"Five nistlepods and a murkray liver."

"Hey, don't ignore me!" shouted my ROB.

I proceeded to do just that.

"Then here," was my response to Nakak, as I extended my arm. A moment later, the items needed to pay for both masks appeared, which Nakak graciously accepted. It turned out Tenno had mini-teleporters that allowed them to move all of the resources they acquired to their orbiters instantly, which I'd easily managed to purloin off of the Excalibur and Umbra blueprints.

Melissa was about to yell at me again when I literally shoved the masks into her face, almost causing her to tip over. At first she was confused, but after a moment, she recovered.

"What's this for?"

"For you and your daughter. I want you out of my hair, but while I might not like you all that much, I o think rather highly of Cassidy. Now please, give that to her."

"um, okay..."

I think she was surprised I was being so nice to her. I wasn't, really - like I said, I wanted her out of my hair. Plus I did like Cassidy, so I might as well make her life better.

XXXXXX

Eventually, the Plague Star fell once again, and soon after, the ghouls returned to normal levels. With that out of the way, I could begin focusing on finding out more about the Progenitors' actions in this universe.

I'd set about ordering my AI trio to monitor any communications they could find regarding the part of Lua I'd entered. Anything the Grineer or Corpus sent out, plus whatever transmissions they could pick up from the Sentients. As some incentive to get Synais working, I'd offered him a few Tear Azurite, as well as an Ayatan I'd found on my travels. I already had enough to fill a whole room, so giving one to him wouldn't hurt me.

I also set about trying to assist the Syndicates however I could, ideally without making them too mad at me. Sud had been easy to win over, what with all the information I had acquired over my travels. I was careful not to give her anything that would compromise me in the future, but there was still a lot I had to offer her. As for Simaris, I offered him several wolf beetles, raptor bugs, and manticores as sanctuary specimens, to his titanic delight. Though I did wish to earn Teshin's graces, I refrained from entering the Conclave - that was the proving ground of the Tenno, and it was not my place to interfere with that. As for everyone else, I did what I could to help them - prisoners freed, high value targets captured or eliminated, the like. Nobody had sent death squads after me, but I didn't know how long that would last for.

As for Cetus, well, I did bounties, lots of fishing, some mining, anything I could to help them. I also offered the Eidolon cores to the Quills, who took them readily, and were wiling to offer some assistance on where to look, but no leads popped up. Slowly, the trail began to grow cold.

And then, finally, I got a breakthrough.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"So, what have you got?" was the first thing I said.

"I've noticed that there's been some unusual ghoul activity on the plains," was Synais' response. "A whole pack of them just got out of the ground, but instead of searching for prey, they moved over into the cave by the twin horns and started digging. Scans show that they have tunneled under one of the Sentient bones in the area. I'd recommend following them to find what they are looking for."

"So, you want me to go into a Ghoul infested cave to see what they are looking for?"

"Yes. Either go yourself, send in Hearth, or contract the Tenno to do so for payment. Just hurry the hell up and find what they are looking for before they slip away with their catch."

"..Fine."

XXXXXXX

Carefully, Hearth made her way down the catwalk, taking care not to alert the Grineer to her presence. Her CNDR Squad followed closely behind, cautiously searching the area for enemies. While most of them were equipped with laser rifles, Hearth had upgraded her arsenal - though she still carried a laser rifle, she had also acquired a sheev dagger, the result of her Commander raiding the Grineer. She had examined programs and videos for information on its usage, as well as sought out training with those who knew how to use combat knives, before beginning this mission,and now it was time to see if the training paid off.

As the squad descended deeper into the cave, it became apparent that they were, for the most part, alone - no Grineer were registering on the scanners, aside from the ghouls, who were deeper down. Cautiously, the squad continued down, searching for foes, only to find none. Eventually, they reached their target, the base of one of the Sentient fossils. Here, ghoul augers were at work digging out the soil, while others ghouls moved away dislodged rocks so that the tunnel could remain clear. Perched atop one piece of rubble was an Alpha Ghoul, directing the others with gestures and howls.

It only took Hearth a moment to formulate her plan of attack and another to communicate it to her subordinates. Then, without warning, she charged the alpha, jumped behind it, put her free hand over its mouth and used the dagger in the other to slit its throat. Unable to chew through her hand nor make even a clanging noise against the metallic limb, the ghoul died in silence. The rest soon noticed something was wrong, only to be cut down with laser fire. Soon, all that remained do the ghouls were warm, bleeding bodies and a cloud of frozen toxins.

Smirking with her human body, Hearth examined the tunnel the ghouls had been excavating. Though rich in ore and gems, at first she could not tell why the ghouls had been sent here - this kid of wealth was not worth the deployment of such unstable creatures. Then a faint golden reflection caught her attention. Examining it, Hearth found what appeared to be some kind of Orokin machine. Oddly, it looked a lot like a cylinder.

As she picked up the cylinder, Hearth radioed in for evac. It seemed that this mission would be easy. Presumably, figuring out what this device was would be the hard part.

XXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!