Coverd in ash (a Ash fan fiction)

[GhostXIII]

Think of all this as a cinematic. Some weapons and actions are not available in game.

Just to clarify something. Ash can talk but prefers not to, and Lotus is an AI. Skana staff is basically a double bladed sword based off of the single Skana. The dagger is just a side weapon. (My thoughts)

The roar of the engines was faint inside the cabin of the small shuttle craft. The light was dim and only one thing was stirring. A lone figure was awakening after only a few short days. He was dreaming. No images came to mind just the sounds of swords, guns and the sickening sound of bodies hitting the floor, somewhat muffled but it was clear that this is what the sound was.

"Always in twos or never at all." his mind thought absently.

As the dream progressed the sounds became clearer, followed with a new sound. The swoosh and a thud. Every time this happened there was no sound of the body hitting the floor. Now there were images of two silver swords each with a red streak. There was a blue light where the blade meets the hilt. His muscles twitched. He remembered this feeling; it was like tiny ants crawling just below his flesh.

"Muscle rejuvenation systems completed." said a strange voice that seemed to be coming from inside his head.

He opened his eyes and breathed deeply. His lungs hurt and his skin felt like it was on fire. Then like a switch came on it didn't bother him. His frame heated then cooled. It was adjusting to his body temperature.” We will reach our destination shortly."

There, that voice again. It has been there since he woke up the first time, it sounded female. It introduced itself as it does every time he wakes up.

"Welcome back Tenno" it said in a somewhat cheerful voice. "I am the Lotus and I will be your guide for this mission"

He nodded and gave an acknowledging grunt which seemed to be the response that it required. It had only been a few standard weeks since he rose. And now he was blindly following this "Lotus" with every mission that he was given. He never asked any questions even though he mind was filled with them. All the information that he was given was that he had been in Cryo-sleep for a VERY long time. He had lost all his memories and now all that remained was the basic movements to swing a sword, aim and pull the trigger on his Sniperton and his Bronco.

"This is an assassination mission here is your target"

A picture came up on his HUD. It was the ugliest human he has ever seen. The flesh looked like it was barely hanging on to his face, his eyes were sink deep into his skull, and worst of all he was young. The man could have been 90 at least. But the Bio came up next to the picture.

Age- 42

Height- 6'-11"

Gender- Male

The man nodded and agreed to the mission. His HUD cleared then reset. It showed his frames shield level, his bi-level, and the stamina limit that he could push the frame to before breaking apart.

"Docking in 3... 2... 1... Docked, Airlocks sealed. I will continue to monitor the com chatter throughout the ship and alert you to any changes. Good luck Tenno. May your blade be swift and your aim true."

After spending a good half hour in cramped heating ducts he came relatively close to where he needed to be. HE popped the vent cover and set it in front of him. There was a lone figure just below him. He drew his Skana dagger and dropped down and with a slight adjustment he sunk the dagger deep into the base of the neck of the Grineer. The assassin caught the body and set it down on the floor. The wiped the blood on the face of the body. He sheathed his dagger and drew his Skana staff. He moved silently over the smooth metal of the ship. HE entered the next room. Two targets. The Lotus chimed into his mind.

"I have given you your first WarFrame skill, a Shrunken. Use it wisely for it has a limited number of uses. I have also installed a energy bar on your HUD. You have 150 energy for this mission. All that you must do to use the shrunken is summon the energy from your frame and throw it like a disk."

This was a simple thing to do and soon a shrunken was in the back of one Grineer and his dagger in the other. The body with the shrunken was stuck to the wall. HE moved on. He was getting close. In the next room is his mark. He looked up for something to climb up on to stay hidden. Nothing, the lone Tenno pressed a button in the center of his Staff. A light flame surrounded the blades. He smiled with this. The light would blow his stealth but it was worth it. HE entered the room. His target had his back turned. He smiled, a smile that would send chills down your spine. he moved quickly but silently behind him. He was less than two meters away when the Grineer turned on its heel and bashed the Tenno on the side of his Hemet. His HUD flicked and became fuzzy. He saw stars. The Grineer walked calmly to the fallen Tenno. His ugly face filled with a twisted grin.

"Welcome 'Ash'" "It's so nice to see another blank face aboard my ship, although you are the first of your kind to come here."

And with that he laughed a wicked laugh that only his fallen Tenno brothers and sisters have heard. The Grineer came closer and raised his sword. As soon as the Grineer exposed his stomach the Tenno slashed out with his staff. The Grineer was expecting this and quickly jumped out of the way. He laughed again.

"Well this one's got some spunk huh?"

The Tenno fought off the daze and rolled forward. He brought the forward end of his staff down on the Grineer. He blocked with his own Skana. They were only locked for a second but that was all Ash needed to see. The fear in the Grineers sunken eyes was enough to know that this would be easy. He spun around and with the same movement he brought up the lower end of the staff. The sound that the arm made was beautiful to his ears. it plopped onto the floor with a wet splat. The Grineer screamed in pain. But he fought it off. The armor sealed off the wound with a hiss, and a little smoke. The Grineer swung wildly with his sword arm and always it hit his shields. The Tenno blocked the last swing and stabbed the Grineers in the stomach. Blood sprayed out if his mouth. Then where the wound was it started to burn, eating away at his flesh and bones. When the flames left the area it was all ash. The Grineers screams was music to his ears. He had paid for all that he has done to his brothers and sisters. In a matter of minutes the figure was completely ash. With one quick motion he pulled out his staff and decapitated the statue. Ash from the head plastered the body of the lone Tenno, He was a white as the moon.

"Good job Tenno." She sounded pleased. "The target has been eliminated. Hmmm.... This is interesting."

"What?" The Tenno asked.

“It seems that your target released infestation spores prior to his death."

"How do you know this?"

“It's all over the com channels. The Grineer are putting on a full lockdown. You must make your way to the bridge, sabotage the controls to send it into the nearest star. Lastly you must collect one sample from each Ancient Infested form. Good luck Tenno. May your blade be swift and your aim true."

The AI receded back into the deep parts of his mind. He was grateful. He stepped out of the large room and almost as soon as he did a large Infected Ancient was upon him. He swung his blade in a graceful circle and cleanly sliced off the monsters arms. One shrunken to the "head" and it stuck the wall with a wet squishy sound. He took a sample of its blood and moved on. He did not take two steps away from the corps when he was swarmed with many lower based forms of the Infestation. He dashed from one target to another, turning each one into ash. The air was becoming thick with the smell of burning bodies and blood. He moved quickly from room to room killing everything in sight. Finally he made it to the bridge. He questioned the Lotus what he should do.

"You must place your hand on the control panel and let me do the rest. Give me a few moments to hack into the system. Don't let the infestation reach this console!"

At that moment 2 large Infected came near the bridge. One was giving off a weird green glow and had spores radiating off of it. the other was surrounded by a green gas, which even through his air filters he could smell. He guess that he could not go near this one but the other one he might be able to get close to. HE summand the energy from his frame, it drained to 75. A shuriken formed into his hand. He threw the projectile with extreme accuracy. it hit the one with the gasses out of it but as soon as it pierced the things flesh the one with spores became agitated and charged. IT ran with amazing strength and slammed right into the unsuspecting Tenno. His shields dropped to 0 and he panicked. He stabbed the hideous thing with his blade, but spores from its body rapidly closed the wound with the blade still in it. HE pulled his blade to the left and spun around ripping open one side of the monster and in the same motion he brought the back end through the other side, cutting the horrid beast in half. He turned to face the gaseous one and sent two shurikens into its "head". The Lotus chimed back in and said that they now have a five minute window to get to the drop ship.

HE charged through the rooms, following the way-point the AI had provided him with. He barely made it to the ship when what must have been 100 or more Infected burst in behind him. He drew his Gorgon and emptied a full drum into the horde. HE then drew his staff activating the flames. using a quick spinning motion he cut through the rest of the horrid monsters. The smell of burning bodies and blood was so thick that you could have made a drink out of it.

"Nicely done Ash,. I will reward you greatly for this mission. I will contact you when a new contract arrives. Goodnight Tenno. May your blade never dull and your wits stay sharp."

And with that the Tenno climbed into his Cryo-pod and slept. The dreams returned......

Edited February 1, 2013 by GhostXIII