Masters Of The Blade [Fan Fiction] [Updated To Chapter 13]

[Grievous40]

This is a story that I've been posting on my clan forums for a few months now, and I've finally decided to post it here. A bit of background is needed first though. I started this story shortly after Alad V was first teased to us (hence the infamous quote at the end of the first chapter). Because of this, most of the events in the story no longer fit in with Warframe's established lore. ESPECIALLY the bits on the Stalker. I hope you can look past this though, and enjoy the story. I'd also really appreciate any feedback you have, since the ending of this story is still being written (I've just finished Chapter 13 at the time of this post).

The first few chapters are also significantly shorter than the rest, so I'll be releasing the first five tonight. After that, I'll probably release one or two chapters a day.

Chapter 1

"3080 AD

Beginning of the Orokin Era.

Our scouts found it in the Outer Terminus.

Locked deep within its shrouded vault, it awaited us.

Mechanical, yet alive. Conscious, yet in a slumber.

We tried to wake it. It ignored us. We spent years studying its structure. We created the most destructive weapons this earth has ever known. We began a golden age of innovation and discovery.

Now, nearly 100 years later, we are finally close to replicating this being. Not as it is now, an independent entity, but as a new generation of exo-armor suits fit for combat. Our finest scientists and technicians are working towards this goal.

We look forward to this NEW Golden Age along with the rest of you.

Shaping the future for more than a century, your family at Orokin Tech."

The hologram fizzed static for a moment, and then the reporter appeared again. "You just heard the statement from Orokin Tech's chairman at yesterday's press conference. He's promising to usher in a new era of technology along with.."

Norman Fox snorted in disgust. "What a bunch of corporate BS..." he muttered. As the head scientist, Dr. Fox knew of the many projects Orokin Tech was working on. And he knew for a fact that the exo-armor project was going to be scrapped.

After a disappointing day at work yesterday, the doctor had discovered a core component missing from the armor. Rubedo. The rarest metal in the solar system. The chairman would never approve mining it, at least not at its current cost.

Looking far more promising, the new human cloning technique was more likely to be approved for public sale. The first few clones were created perfectly, no gene mutation or deterioration.

Dr. Fox finished his coffee and shut down the hologram. He had a tough meeting ahead of him.

* * * * *

"Rubedo??! Do have any idea how expensive that would be?!"

Norman sat in the dark office. The chairman was across from him, sitting at an imposing wooden desk. He was obscured in shadow, but Norman could sense his rage.

"Yes sir, I realize the expense, I assure you this was just a minor miscalculation..." Dr. Fox winced the second those words left his mouth.

The chairman froze for a moment. "I just promised the world that we would be releasing a new line of exo-armor suits. Do you have ANY idea how hypocritical this company will appear now?!!"

"I warned you against going to the press with this," Norman shot back.

The chairman took a deep breath and leaned back in his seat. "Enough of your warnings, Doctor. This company's only chance now is the cloning program." Dr. Fox opened his mouth to protest, only to be cut off by the chairman's raised hand.

"You've made your concerns about cloning perfectly clear, and I share many of them myself." The chairman leaned forward, and the light exposed his pale white face. "But, as always, profit numbs the feeling."

Edited June 29, 2014 by Grievous40

[Grievous40]

Chapter 2

Norman Fox fumed as he left the chairman's office . The chairman had ignored his warnings about the exo-armor project, and continued to ignore his objections to cloning.

Dr. Fox knew that the corporation had no reserves about selling its products to the military. He had long suspected that the chairman was planning to sell the exo-armor project, dubbed the Warframe project by the staff, to the military. These suspicions were confirmed at the chairman's press conference.

The prospect of creating an entire army through cloning was too profitable for the board of directors to ignore. Norman feared what the outcome of project would yield.

He took a deep breath as he entered the elevator. He needed to relax...

* * * * *

Norman watched through the one-way glass as an exact replica of himself at thirteen years old sat down to have lunch with some friends. But this wasn't Norman. Designated as Clone 1A, this was the first product of the cloning project. 1A had been cloned thirteen years ago, along with eight other clones. They had spent their entire lives confined in their rather large living space. They had been well cared for, well fed, and were healthy in every way.

These clones were the test batch. Random DNA samples had been taken from every staff member and some of these had been selected for cloning. Clone 1A was a clone of Norman Fox.

Because of the random selections, most of the clones had ended up males, with only clones 2A, 4A, and 6A being female. The number represented in what order the clones were created, and the letter from which generation, or batch, they were from.

The clones had been carefully studied over the years, every aspect of their social lives recorded. Even minor details, such as a growing bond between clones 1A and 2A, were considered significant. They appeared to be indistinguishable from humans in their social behavior.

However, the real test would begin in the next year. The clones were going to be placed in an ordinary high school to observe how well they could interact with others.

Dr. Fox considered what needed to be done as he watched the closest thing he'd ever have to a son. That's what this all had been started for. To give a chance of parenthood to those who could never experience it otherwise. Norman had to protect his creations. And he had an idea how...

But first, he needed to deliver the disappointing news to his staff.

* * * * *

"They're canceling the Warframe project?!"

Dr. Fox's staff, made up mostly of young interns, was shocked by his announcement. Norman nodded. "The chairman decided that mining rubedo was too expensive for the company."

The room fell into quiet grumbling of discontent. Norman observed the faces of

his interns. One in particular caught his eye. One of the newer interns, he couldn't recall the name, was shivering as though he was caught in the middle of a blizzard.

"Is something wrong?" Norman's words echoed through the silent room. All eyes fell on the young man. His shivering stopped immediately, and he briefly shook his head, as though trying to clear a slight headache. "Um, no sir." He paused for a moment before speaking up again. "What if we replaced the pilots with AIs?"

Dr. Fox considered this. Programming AIs was immensely cheaper than hiring and training pilots for the armor. It would certainly make up for the expense of mining rubedo. The chairman may actually agree to it.

"That...could work..." Norman tilted his head in thought. "Alright, I'll bring it to the chairman. If he approves it, then we're back in business." He smiled as the room erupted into cheers. What he didn't notice however, was the small shudder of the intern who had spoken up.

* * * * *

5 years later...

The past five years had been some of the most productive ones Orokin Tech had ever seen. Dr. Fox's team had successfully built nine new robots, based off of the original Warframe concept. Norman was almost finished completing the AI charged with controlling all of them, which he had named the Lotus. She was still a little glitchy, and was rather fond off repeating phrases, but was almost ready for deployment.

Unfortunately, Dr. Fox had also been correct in his assumption about the cloning project. Two years ago, the company had discovered how to clone exact replicas of humans. "Born" at the same age as their templates were at the moment of cloning, this allowed the company to instantly raise up a full-grown army on a whim. They had immediately sold contracts to the military. The first nine clones had long been forgotten by most.

The day started off like most others, with Norman heading straight to his office to continue his work on the Lotus. But he had barely had a chance to sit down before he was disrupted by a hurried knock at his door. "Sir, I think you need to see this!" one of the interns called from outside.

Norman Fox stepped out of his office and found his staff huddled around their small, ancient television. He was shocked by what he saw.

In the public square directly outside of Orokin Tech headquarters stood the entire board of directors on a stage set up before a large crowd. And on the stage with them stood the nine robots they had built. "Ten," one staff member muttered.

"Huh?" Norman turned to the woman who spoke. She nodded at the screen. "There are ten robots up there, but we only built nine," she said. Norman turned back to the TV and counted. She was right, there were ten. But that shouldn't be possible...

Also on the stage was a man Dr. Fox had not payed thought of in years. The small, shivering intern stood beside the chairman. It was difficult to tell on the grainy screen, but the intern was indeed still shivering.

The chairman smiled at the crowd. "We here at Orokin Tech are proud to present," he boomed, "our latest innovation." He gestured to the ten ominous figures behind him. Spray-painted entirely black, like the original they were based off of, the only color that showed on them was a bright red glow that emanated from ridges on their faces.

"The Sentients!"

As if on cue, each of the ten robots removed an identical bow from their backs and drew an arrow. Some of the board members jumped in surprise, as if this had not been planned. No one noticed the increasing shivering of the small man next to the chairman.

The staff murmured uncomfortably around the television. One leaned close to Norman and whispered, "How is that possible? I thought you hadn't finished working on the AIs yet." Norman shook his head, stunned into silence.

The chairman grinned fiercely, as though this was his crowning achievement. "Aren't they impressive?" The world seemed to freeze for a moment, then it exploded into a chaos of screams and confusion. All in unison, each of the ten Sentients turned to a board member and let loose an arrow, dealing fatal blows. The chairman's head rolled off the stage.

The loudest of the screams came from the shivering intern. He had collapsed onto the stage and was covering his ears with his hands. The astonished cameraman somehow managed to notice this poor man, and he zoomed in on the moment.

The intern screamed above the crowds that it wasn't his fault, and something about voices that tormented him...

Norman was now the only one left at the television, his staff frantically running around the office, grabbing items they deemed important, and then fleeing through the fire escape. He was the only one who witnessed the poor intern's end as one of the Sentients drew a wicked looking scythe and slashed clean through him.

Norman Fox staggered away from the television. His first instinct was to join his staff and flee, but he had another responsibility. He had to prepare the Warframes.

Edited June 19, 2014 by Grievous40

[Grievous40]

Chapter 3

Dr. Fox rushed into his office and yanked the flashdrive containing the Lotus's programming out of his computer. He would have liked to finish creating her, but it didn't seem like he was going to get that opportunity.

He ran into the elevator and jammed one of the buttons, sending him rocketing down to the lowest level of the Orokin Tech Tower. Norman took a moment now to catch his breath. He had been preparing for a possible catastrophe like this for years, though he never expected this outcome. He was going to have some explaining to do...

* * * * *

Clone 1A glanced up from the cards he held in his hands. He and clones 2A, 6A, 7A, and 9A were engaged in an intense match of poker. Sitting on the opposite side of the room were the other four clones, enjoying their own card game. As he looked over to their game, 1A thought he saw clone 3A shoot him a glare.

1A let out a quiet sigh. In their early years, he and 3A had been close friends. But as time went on, something turned sour in their friendship. 3A seemed to resent him in every way.

He returned his eyes to the game. Clone 2A was absent-mindedly twirling her hair as she stared intently at her cards. 7A was smiling confidently in his corner, and 6A kept her eyes on 1A, as though daring him to make a move. In the meantime, 9A appeared to be trying to make himself appear as small as possible, as though he were wishing for invisibility.

1A thought for a few moments, then placed his cards face-down on the table. "I fold." 2A glanced up at him with a slight smirk and said, "I call." One by one the players showed their hands, revealing that 2A had won.

7A swore jokingly while 6A rolled her eyes and 9A gave a slight chuckle. 2A leaned over and gave 1A a kiss on the cheek. "How'd you know to fold?" she asked. He grinned. "I just know you too well."

They were startled by a loud roar from the opposite table, indicating that they too had found a victor. Clone 8A was grinning triumphantly and pumped his fist a few times.

He was interrupted in his victory celebration by the door sliding open to reveal a disheveled looking Dr. Fox. He waved at them all to follow him. "You need to come with me now," he ordered. "This building's not safe."

3A snorted in contempt. "This building has always been safe. We've lived here for eighteen years, and we're not leaving because some crazy old man tells us to," he retorted.

The others looked at him in shock. In all the time they'd been there, Dr. Fox had been the only real father figure to them. He was the only one who had visited regularly, and he had always cared for them. However, 1A suspected that he knew the reason for 3A's dislike of the man.

Norman Fox was the template from which 1A had been cloned. In his anger with 1A, clone 3A seemed to have lashed out at his "father."

Dr. Fox brushed off the insult, looking directly at 1A. "You all need to come with me, NOW." Every one of the clones stood now, even 3A. Dr. Fox never raised his voice in front of them before. If he was this shaken, something must be seriously wrong. They silently filed into the spacious elevator.

Dr. Fox came in after the last of them was fully inside and pressed a button. The elevator began to rapidly ascend to the ground floor. The doctor took a deep breath before speaking again. "When we reach the ground floor, we'll need to run. Run straight out the door and to my ship. No matter what you see, don't stop, do you understand?" he gazed over them all as they each gave affirmative nods.

The elevator slowed to a stop, and the doors slid open. The main lobby of Orokin Tech was deserted. They took off running, dashing through the massive doors to the grand building. They were met with a field of carnage.

1A heard clone 4A stifle a scream as they flew past countless bodies littered in the square before an ornate stage. The area was completely devoid of life or movement, with the exception of the clones and their protector.

Dr. Fox hurriedly pulled out his keys and sent out a signal. Seconds later, a ship descended from above and landed in front of them, controlled by an automated pilot. The door swung open and they quickly climbed inside. Dr. Fox sat in the driver's seat and started up the ship.

The ship climbed up into the sky, until it joined the usual traffic of the city. The clones marveled at the towering skyscrapers, each decorated with gold gildings.

1A saw through the rich furnishings of the Orokin Era however, and glanced down to the ground below. There, beneath all of the materialism and wealth of the surface, the poor masses were hidden from view. Tucked away, so that the sight of such pain and poverty could not "ruin" the luxurious and decadent lifestyles of the surface-dwellers.

Many of these people were currently huddled around the massive television monitors that broadcast the daily news. 1A faced Doctor Fox. "What's happening?" he asked.

Dr. Fox didn't respond; instead he leaned forward and turned on the radio. It crackled to life, and the voice of a reporter in the middle of a story could be heard.

"The robots appeared to go rogue, brutally killing everyone who could not escape from the square. The fatality count has not been confirmed yet, but it is estimated to be around one hundred. Immediately after the attack, the robots disappeared back inside the Orokin Tech building. Police are attempting to set up a perimeter, but with many employees of Orokin Tech still fleeing the area, the task is going to be difficult." The reporter finished the story, sending it back the anchorman.

Dr. Fox turned the radio off again. Tears were welling up in his eyes. "We built them," he whispered. "Why did they do this?" 7A asked. Dr. Fox slowly shook his head. "I don't know... They shouldn't have been able to do anything, the artificial intelligence hadn't been downloaded yet."

The ship fell into a concerned silence for several moments before Dr. Fox veered to the side, landing the ship at a large warehouse. He took a ring of keys out of his pocket and they disembarked from the ship. They walked up to a small door at the side of the warehouse and Dr. Fox unlocked it, leading them inside.

There were only two objects occupying the warehouse. The first was much larger and dominated most of the space. A war era extraction ship, it was designed to drop off an infiltration team into the ventilation of an enemy ship, then dock at the ship's airlock and provide a quick escape for the team. It was a ship best fit for stealth, though it also was capable dishing out damage with twin cannons on either side. The ship was easily recognizable with its signature human-shaped imprint on the underbelly.

The second object was concealed underneath a tarp. It was this object that Dr. Fox approached first. He ripped away the tarp, revealing an odd, vaguely cannon-like machine. He pulled a large golden key from his pocket and pressed it into the back of the the machine.

With a burst of bright light, a yellow laser shot out from the machine and struck the wall of the warehouse. At the point of impact, a massive portal appeared. Dr. Fox confidently strode towards the portal and gestured for the clones to follow him.

1A and the others followed the doctor through the portal. As they stepped through, they were met with an overwhelming sight. A grand hall, constructed entirely out of white marble and gold, in Orokin era fashion. They gazed in awe around them, struck by the detail of the hall.

Dr. Fox grinned and spread his arms. "Welcome to the Void!" 3A looked up at the ceiling, which seemed to be miles above them. "What is this place?" he asked. "The Void is where Orokin Tech used to store its most valuable, and in some cases dangerous, products. But we stopped using it years ago when we built the main Orokin Tech building. Or at least, the company stopped using it," the doctor replied. "As the one who created this place, I was still able to gain access."

2A glanced over at Doctor Fox. "You created all this? How?" she inquired. "This entire hall, and all of the rooms in the Void, were computer generated. I discovered a way to access cyberspace on the physical plane. So technically speaking, we are inside of a computer right now," he explained.

"I brought you here because, more than a century ago, mankind made a discovery at the Outer Terminus. A mining team discovered that we are not alone in this universe. They unearthed an ancient ship that appeared to have crashed there. Inside, was a...being. We never were able to tell if it was mechanical or actually alive. This discovery marked the beginning of the Orokin era."

"The mining team was hired by Orokin Tech, then just a small business. They brought the ship, and its occupant, back to Earth. Scientists studied it for decades, and most of our modern technology is based off of it. Orokin Tech gradually grew into the massive company it is today. And it worked towards one goal. To replicate the being inside. I headed up the team that was assigned this task."

"We began the Warframe project, which was intended to create exo-armors based off of the original. It was scrapped due to the cost, and that was when we began to work on the Sentients. Around the same time, the cloning project began to gain traction. I knew that the company would sell that project to the military, and I feared what one might do with an instantaneous army."

"So for the past five years, I continued the Warframe project in secret. I bought materials on the black market, and secretly stole from Orokin Tech's supply a few times. I built the warframes in the hope that they'd never be needed. But now, it seems like they are. And I need you to pilot them."

At that, Dr. Fox walked over to a control panel and typed in a passcode. A door revolved open behind him, leading to a smaller, though equally ostentatious, room.

The nine clones stepped inside. The exo-armors lined the walls. Each had a plaque beneath it, with the name of the armor engraved. As the clones reached the center of the room, each one began to gravitate towards a specific warframe.

1A was drawn to one on the left side of the room. It reminded him of the knights of the ancient world. He reached the warframe and looked down at the plaque. "Volt," he murmured. Almost as if at the sound of its name, sparks flew from the arms of the frame.

2A found herself standing before a warframe with a face that seemed to swirl with stars, Mag. 3A approached the first to be constructed, Excalibur. 4A was attracted by a warframe with an odd curled horn on its head, Nyx. 5A came to the largest of the frames, the imposing Rhino.

6A arrived at the venomous Saryn. 7A chose the tall and stoic Frost. Both 8A and 9A chose masters of stealth. 8A found interest in Ash and 9A in Loki.

1A suddenly turned to the doctor. "Why us?" The others paused and waited for Dr. Fox to answer. "Because I believe you were created to be more than just lab rats. I believe you have a purpose in life," he said.

"I know you must be tired of your 'clone designated names.' That's why I named the warframes. I know they don't have the most creative names ever, but I figured it's better than you have now. The names have a personality of their own."

He pulled a flashdrive out of the room's control panel. "What's that?" 4A asked. "I just uploaded an AI to your warframes. She's been programmed to understand their abilities and will be able to instruct you," he replied. He paused for a moment. "But the choice is yours. Only you can decide if you are willing to take up this responsibility. I'll give you a few minutes to decide." Dr. Fox left the room, and the door revolved shut behind him.

* * * * *

Norman Fox waited as the clones decided their course of action. Despite the fact that he knew the world would need them, a part of him still hoped that they would refuse. A part of him hoped they would take the safe route, and protect themselves.

Norman was given his answer when the door opened behind him, revealing the nine clones standing in their warframes. 1A, or Volt now, stepped forward. "We made our choice," he said.

Dr. Fox nodded. "Follow me then." He lead them back out of the portal, into the warehouse. Then he removed the key from the device, closing the portal. Norman handed the key to Volt. He pointed at the extraction vessel. "Take the key and the device with you. The Void still contains many of Orokin Tech's most potent weapons. You may need them."

Rhino and Frost lifted up the machine and carried it into the ship. Norman continued to speak to Volt. "You should travel north for now. Reach a safe area where you can practice with your warframes in secret. Ask the Lotus about the Sentients, she'll be able to tell you about a fail safe I built in. Tell her it's under the file named 'J-3 Golem.'"

Volt nodded. Dr. Fox continued. "Listen to me, if things go badly, if you can't win, you need to escape. A little beyond the Outer Terminus there is an old abandoned military training facility. If you lose, you must escape to there. Inside you'll find cryopods designed to preserve soldiers during long space voyages. Use them and set the Lotus to wake you when things have calmed down."

"But...what about you?" Volt asked. Norman Fox sighed. "I have to go find some answers."

Edited June 19, 2014 by Grievous40

[Grievous40]

Chapter 4

Volt gripped the armrests tightly as the ship lurched forward. "7...uh, I mean Frost, could you maybe take it a little easier on that throttle?!" Nyx complained. Frost put up his hand dismissively. "Relax, I've got it."

Ash snorted. "That's what you said half an hour ago..." Frost turned and glared at him. At least, Volt assumed it was a glare. It was difficult to tell in these suits.

Frost returned his attention to flying as the ship took a sudden dive. He quickly pulled up and they leveled out. This time Frost ignored the disgruntled comments of his passengers.

They had been flying north for almost two hours. If Frost had been an experienced pilot, they would've already passed Canada as well as the Arctic, and would currently be smoothly flying over Siberia. Unfortunately, they had only passed the border into Canada moments ago.

Volt slowly stood and made his way to the front of the cockpit, stabilizing himself on the back of Frost's seat. "There," he said, pointing to a small island on their right. It appeared to be secluded. "Land there."

He quickly dashed back to his seat, anticipating a bumpy landing. He wished they had been that lucky. Everyone flew forward in their seats as Frost crashed the front of the ship into a heap of snow. Ash raised his hand. "Don't say it," Frost huffed. Ash slowly lowered his hand.

* * * * *

Norman Fox crawled through the narrow ventilation shaft of the Orokin Tech Tower. Slipping passed the heavy police presence hadn't been easy, and had resulted in more than one very close calls.

From what he had gathered by eavesdropping on police radios, two unknown guards had appeared at the doors of the lobby a few hours ago. They refused to communicate with the authorities, and were heavily armed.

Norman reached an air vent and lifted up the grate. Then he dropped down to the floor below. He was on the second floor. The center for the cloning project was one floor above him. Dr. Fox had to stop these people, whoever they were, from using that technology.

As he silently crept down the hallway, he heard footsteps marching towards him. Norman quickly ducked into a nearby room. He peered out through the small window in the door. Four men marched through the hall, each wearing gray armor and a helmet. The helmets' eyes glowed yellow, and seemed vaguely skull-like. They all carried weapons.

One turned to look inside the room. Dr. Fox spun to the side, silently hoping he hadn't been seen. He stood there for what seemed like an eternity before he finally regained the courage to take a look outside. He looked through the window. Nothing. Norman quietly opened the door and stepped out into the hall. He felt a quick flash of pain in his forehead, and then the darkness closed in.

* * * * *

"Stretch out your arm and focus your energy," the Lotus buzzed in Volt's ear. As he did so, an arc of blue electricity shot out of his hand, splintering the tree he was aiming at. "Very good," the Lotus praised.

Volt looked around him. They had chosen to train in a large clearing on the island. Each of the clones was being tutored by the Lotus simultaneously, either with their new abilities or with using their weapons. They had revisited the Void after their arrival, selecting their weapons.

Volt's lay on the ground next to him. The first was a bow, ornately carved and with hooked arrows designed to impact enemies. It was called the Cernos. Volt had also chosen to use throwing stars, called the Hikou. His final weapon was a beautiful sword known as the Ether sword. The blade shimmered with a vibrant blue energy.

Volt picked up his weapons, strapping the bow and sword to his back and attaching the throwing stars to his side. He started to walk around the clearing, observing his friends' training. Frost sat calmly in his own personal blizzard while Nyx and Rhino had target practice by firing at him. Nyx was using her own bow, the Paris, and Rhino was using the Gorgon, a heavy firearm. Frost's snow globe appeared to be deflecting their attacks.

Volt could hear two opponents sparring across the clearing, but when he looked, there was nothing there. As he approached the area, he noticed the air moving slightly, as though over metal on a hot day. The movement slowly stopped, revealing Ash and Loki throwing knives at each other.

Volt paused for a moment in front of Excalibur and Saryn, in the middle of their own duel. Sparks flew as their blades crossed, Excalibur using the Skana and Saryn wielding to small scythes, the dual Kamas. Mag walked over from her training session to join Volt in watching the fight.

As heated as their duel was, Volt could tell that they were both going easy on each other. It was no secret among the clones that those two had long had feelings for each other. Relationships were common among the clones. Volt and Mag had been together the longest, but Nyx and Rhino had also recently begun to see each other.

Unfortunately, Volt knew that using these feelings during training wasn't going to help. Mag seemed to sense it too. She leaned in closer to Volt and whispered, "I think we need to step in. They aren't getting any practice out of this." He nodded.

Volt stepped forward, interrupting Excalibur and Saryn's match. "Saryn, could you spar against Mag for a few minutes? I want to test myself against Excalibur," he said. Saryn nodded. "Su-" "Who made you leader?" Excalibur scoffed, cutting off Saryn's answer.

Suddenly Ash appeared at Volt's side. "Yeah, who did make you leader?" he asked. Volt took a step back. "Wait, how did you even get over here so fast?" Ash shrugged. "I teleported," he replied. Frost, Rhino, and Nyx walked over. "What's going on?" Rhino asked.

Excalibur pointed a finger at Volt. "He elected himself leader," he accused. "He didn't do that! He was just asking if he could duel you!" Mag exclaimed. Frost put up his hands. "Everyone, just calm down!" he shouted.

The clearing fell silent. "Good. Now Excalibur, if you're so anxious about who's leader around here, why don't we actually put it to a vote?" Frost suggested. "Fine," Excalibur grumbled. "Ok then, all in favor of Volt as leader?" Frost asked.

Volt began to frantically make gestures at Frost, trying to tell him he didn't want to be considered. Frost saw him, but did nothing. Mag's hand was the first to rise, followed quickly by Nyx and Loki. Frost raised his own hand last. Then he lowered it and said. "All in favor of Excalibur?" Rhino and Ash raised their hands. Saryn tentatively raised hers after a moment of consideration.

Frost nodded. "It's decided. Volt is leader." Everyone slowly began to walk away, eventually leaving Volt, Mag, Saryn, and Excalibur alone once again. Mag waved Saryn over. "C'mon, let's go practice." They walked away.

Volt glanced over at Excalibur, suddenly extremely nervous. Neither of them spoke as they began their match. Volt drew the Ether sword from his back as Excalibur raised his blade. In a blur of motion, Excalibur rushed at Volt, swinging his sword and knocking Volt back.

Volt quickly recovered, springing back up onto his feet. He leapt forward, spinning his blade in midair and slashing his opponent. His sword grated against Excalibur's armor. He swung left, right, left, unleashing a furious string of attacks. Excalibur countered and held his own.

The contest quickly elevated into more than practice. Both contenders channeled their rage, their swords clashing together.

In a sudden burst of anger, Excalibur rushed at Volt with inhuman speed again and again, slowly driving Volt back. As Volt began to feel his arms weaken, he stretched out his arm. The bolt of lightning struck Excalibur in the chest, sending him reeling back.

His warframe sparked and hissed, and he collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. Volt let out an exhausted sigh and fell to his knees, making the most of this reprieve. After several minutes, Excalibur stood and glared down at Volt. "You may have the others' respect, but not mine," he spat. He began to walk away.

Volt grunted as he rose. "Why...do you hate me so much?" he asked. Excalibur kept walking.

The Lotus suddenly spoke. "I'm not sure how effective this team will be," she said to Volt.

* * * * *

First came the voices. Whispers lingering on the edge of his subconscious. Gradually they came together to form one word. "Wake."

Norman Fox's eyes flew open. It took his eyes a moment to adjust and to recognize where he was. He was once again in the chairman's office. Only it was much different now.

The blinds were no longer shut, allowing in the light of the city nightlife. Though somehow the room felt much darker than before. It was occupied by a heavy presence, one that threatened to choke the life out of everything within its grasp.

On either side of the room stood two Sentients; they stood still, acting almost like guards. The soldiers who had captured Norman stood behind him, preventing escape. Standing behind the desk was a lone Sentient, facing the window and gazing at the square below. He exuded a calm and deadly confidence. Unlike the others, he acted as though he was truly alive.

He turned to face Dr. Fox. "Welcome Dr. Fox," he said. His voice sent shivers down Norman's spine. It was strong and commanding; it was the voice that had whispered in his head during his unconscious state.

"I see you recognize my voice...though perhaps not my presence..." the Sentient hissed. Dr. Fox narrowed his eyes. "What are you...?" The Sentient gave a low, and oddly threatening, chuckle. "I'm what you dedicated your pathetic life to studying. I am the foundation upon which your puny earth was built. I am an ancient warrior, a silent hunter, a god. I am the Stalker."

"You!?" Norman gasped hoarsely. "You're what they found in the Outer Terminus?" The Stalker effortlessly twirled a small throwing knife on the tip of his finger. "Yes."

"So...you're controlling the Sentients! You're the reason why they've been able to work without an AI!" Norman exclaimed. "They are powerful tools...but not as powerful as your 'other' projects..." the Stalker leaned forward, placing his hands on the desk. Underneath them, the wood blackened and began to rot. "Where did you send them?" he demanded.

Dr. Fox felt himself begin to panic. He gulped. "I..don't know what you're talking about...?" he said, deciding to play dumb. The Stalker gave an irritated sigh. "In all my years of planning, of waiting, Doctor, your mind was the most difficult to decipher. Not nearly as easy as controlling that young intern of yours."

Norman tightened his fist. The Stalker was clearly trying to anger him. Unfortunately, it was working. "I was only ever able to gain small insight into your activities," the Stalker continued. "But I know about the Warframes. I know about your precious clones." He spat out the words, full of contempt.

"So I warn you, don't lie to me again." Dr. Fox raised his head defiantly. "I still don't know where they are. I sent them away, I did not direct their course." The Stalker let out a furious hiss. The Sentients slowly turned their heads towards Norman Fox. "Very well... If you won't tell me where they are, then you'll show me how to kill them."

Norman shook his head. "No, I won't." The Stalker laughed, a slow, ominous sound. "I think you will... You left something here Doctor... A forgotten, forsaken creation. And if you don't help me, I will destroy her before your eyes."

Dr. Fox stiffened. "1B...," he murmured. "So you remember her now? Curious, that you didn't do so sooner," the Stalker growled. He turned to the Sentients. "Lock him in a cell with her," he ordered. They quickly grabbed Norman's arms and began to walk out of the room.

"Wait," the Stalker called. He appeared to consider something for a moment. "On second thought, I want you to do one more thing Doctor. Build another warframe." Dr. Fox's eyes widened. "Why?!" he stammered. The Stalker turned back to face the window.

"My Grineer army could use a weapon like that..."

* * * * *

Volt observed the sunset from the top of a tree. The light glinted off of the snow on the clearing below him. Snow was new to him, new to all of them.

Only a few of the clones were still training. Rhino, Ash, Excalibur, and Nyx had all returned to the warmth of their ship for the night. Frost had opted to sleep outside, and lay underneath one of the trees on the edge of the clearing. Loki and Mag were still practicing with their new abilities.

Saryn approached Volt's tree and swung herself up onto one of the lower branches. She reclined against the trunk of the tree and looked over at the sunset. "Hey Volt... I'm sorry about Excalibur today," she said.

He glanced down at her in surprise. "Oh, it wasn't your fault." He sighed. "That fight had been brewing for quite a while," he added. Saryn nodded. "He doesn't mean to be like that you know. Sometimes he just...gets carried away," she said. "Yeah, I know..," Volt replied.

They sat in an awkward silence for a few moments. "You know why he's mad at you, right?" Saryn suddenly asked. Volt lifted his head in surprise. "Actually, no, I don't. Why is it?" Saryn laughed quietly. "Volt, if you haven't figured it out yet, I don't think I should tell you. This is something between you and him," she said.

Saryn slowly stood. "Good night Volt." She turned and walked over to the ship. "Night," Volt mumbled. He sat in silence for a few minutes, thinking things over.

Making a decisicion, he activated the Lotus. "Yes Volt?" she hummed through Volt's helmet. "I need you to find a file for me."

"It's called 'J-3 Golem.'"

Edited June 19, 2014 by Grievous40

[Grievous40]

Chapter 5

The rain pelted from above, sending echoes throughout the ship's cockpit. Loki stared intently at his work as Volt and Mag anxiously watched on. His hands shook slightly as he dropped the final ingredient into the vile.

Loki cautiously stood up, then let out a sigh of relief. "It's done," he declared as he turned towards Volt. Volt nodded. "Finally."

Over the past five months, they had been collecting and mixing various ingredients needed to create the concoction described in the J-3 Golem file. Traveling back to the Void, they had just procured the final ingredient: microscopic robots known as technocytes. The Lotus warned them that the technocytes were extremely volatile.

Ash and Frost stepped onto the loading ramp and looked up at them. "Is it ready?" Ash shouted over the rain. Thunder rumbled in the distance. "Ready," Mag replied. "Come on Frost!"

Frost walked up the ramp and into the cockpit. Mag handed him a device. Named the Torid, it was designed to convert the contents of the vile into a gas and launch it at a target. Loki gave Frost the vile, and he twisted it into an open socket at the back of the Torid.

"Keep that with you, and only use it if we're being overrun," Volt instructed. Frost gave a joking salute. "Sir, yes sir," he said. Excalibur, Saryn, Nyx, and Rhino boarded the ship. Volt stood before them, thinking of how far they'd come in the past few months. "It's time to go home," he announced.

Lightning struck.

Ash raised his hand. "Frost isn't driving, right?"

* * * * *

For the past few months, darkness had been Norman Fox's only true companion. 1B lay slumped in the corner, silently radiating her distaste for him. She resented him. He understood.

Dr. Fox had resolved to make things right. If he couldn't escape his fate, then he was going to help her escape hers. He focused on his work in front of him. The warframe was almost complete.

* * * * *

Nyx's piloting skills were far more impressive than Frost's; a fact she made quite clear as they flew south. Volt ran over the plan several more times with them. If they pulled it off, it would be a miracle.

"Frost, make sure you're ready to use the Torid," Volt said. "I must warn you," the Lotus cut in, "that the J-3 Golem mixture was only tested in a controlled environment. It may react violently to exposure to foreign materials." Frost nodded. "We're all aware of the risks?" he asked.

Everyone murmured their assent. They stood around anxiously, most either looking down or out the windows, slowly shifting their weight from side to side. Within the hour, the city came into view. At its center, the imposing Orokin Tower.

They sped through the deserted skyscrapers. The setting sun cast an orange gleam on the buildings. Most of the people had fled the city, though an evacuation cite remained active on the outskirts. Nyx slowed as they came to the square outside of the tower. She lowered the loading ramp. Volt, Mag, Excalibur, Saryn, and Rhino stepped off the ship.

Volt turned back and called out to Nyx, "Alright, drop off Loki and Ash and then circle back, we might need a quick evac. Frost, keep an eye out for the Sentients." The ship lifted off and shot away.

As the group approached the building, a squadron of heavily armored soldiers rushed out of the building and aimed their weapons. "Raise your hands and surrender!" one shouted.

Volt looked at Excalibur. He gave a short nod, then pulled his sword off of his back and stabbed it into the ground. Javelins flew out from the sword, impaling their assailants. From inside the building, alarms sounded.

* * * * *

The alarms shook Norman out of his sleep. He heard his guards exchange a few brief words, then run down the hall. This was his opportunity. Norman woke 1B and explained his plan...

* * * * *

The moment those alarms went off, all hell broke loose. A small army rushed out of the building. They opened fire on the warframes. Volt pulled an arrow from his quiver and launched it at a group of their attackers. The arrow struck one in the chest, exploding a moment later and sending them flying back.

Excalibur crouched behind a bench and returned fire with his Braton, while Saryn charged forward, rapidly slashing the enemy with the Dual Kamas. Rhino followed her, carving a path of destruction with his massive battle axe. Mag stayed beside Volt, using her warframe to pull enemies closer before taking them out with her deadly Orthos.

Despite their best efforts however, Volt could tell that they were being pushed back. Even more worrisome, the Sentients had yet to make an appearance. Volt knew he had to speed things up. Focusing his energy, he briefly levitated in the air before stretching out his arms, sending a powerful wave of electricity throughout the square.

Lightning struck the enemy from every source of power. They convulsed violently as they fell to the ground.

The square fell into silence. The air was thick with anticipation. Slowly, with a quiet malice, the Sentients entered. Each of them aimed their bow at a warframe, calmly hunting their prey. They were followed by even more soldiers, and lastly, by a final Sentient.

Volt sensed that this Sentient was different. It walked with purpose, with emotion. It stopped at the top of the steps leading up to the entrance of the tower, and threateningly raised its bow. It aimed it directly at Volt, and pulled back on the string. The bow made a terrifying sound as it strained under the pressure. A sound that sent a feeling of dread to all who heard it.

When the Sentient spoke, it was like the sound of thunder rumbling over a distance. "You fight in vain, fools. You cannot win. Surrender, and I shall kill you mercifully."

Volt almost jumped as he heard Nyx's voice over his communicator. "I don't think so," she called. The ship lowered out of the clouds and the twin cannons began to unleash a lethal torrent upon the Sentients. The bullets bounced harmlessly off of their armor, but they sent the enemy soldiers scrambling for cover.

Letting out a battle cry, Excalibur rushed at one of the Sentients. Rhino and Saryn followed his lead, each targeting their own Sentient. Volt focused on the one who had spoken earlier. The Sentient was advancing towards him, casually swinging his massive scythe as though it were merely a cane.

Volt ran forward, raising his sword. In a blur of movement, the Sentient swung down with his scythe. The blow sent Volt skidding back several feet. Before he had time to recover, the Sentient struck again, slashing upward. Volt staggered backwards, falling hard on his back.

Around the square, the other warframes were in similar situations. Nyx kept the soldiers at bay with the ship, but the Sentients had overpowered them.

"Everyone get back to the ship," Frost ordered. Volt rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding a killing blow. The Sentient's scythe dug into the marble floor. Volt jumped to his feet and ran to the ship, which hovered over the entrance to the square.

He leapt up, landing on the lowered loading ramp. The others soon joined him, dodging the soldiers' bullets and the arrows that whistled through the air. Frost walked down the ramp and took aim at the square below with the Torid. He fired, sending a small capsule in an arc that ended at the center of the square.

The capsule exploded, releasing a massive cloud of the J-3 Golem gas. As the gas engulfed their pursuers, the Sentients began to spark. The technocytes ate away at their systems, and one by one they collapsed. One soldier unfortunate enough to be caught in the deadly cloud began to cough and wheeze violently. He stumbled away from the gas, his eyes a burning red as he clawed blindly forward. The soldier tumbled over a guard railing, sending him plummeting to the ground hundreds of feet below.

Only one Sentient remained, stepping confidently through the gaseous toxin. He hurled a throwing knife at them, which flew past Volt and nearly hit Excalibur. Excalibur launched himself from the ship, charging at the Sentient. "The hell is he doing?!!" Volt shouted.

Saryn walked to the edge of the ramp. "I'll get him," she said, then leapt after Excalibur.

Excalibur lashed out with his Skana as the Sentient calmly deflected his blows. As Saryn approached, the Sentient swung his scythe low, knocking Excalibur's legs out from under him. She helped him to his feet and shoved him back towards the ship.

They both took off running, using their blades to deflect the onslaught of the Sentient's arrows. As they neared the ship, Saryn began to frantically wave her hands, signaling Nyx to begin taking off. The ship slowly started to pull away.

Excalibur reached it first, taking an incredible leap to land safely on the ramp. Volt lay down on the ramp and stretched out his hand, trying to pull Saryn up into the ship. Mag helped him. Together, they managed to lift her on board. Saryn stood and sighed in relief. Suddenly, there was the awful sound of tearing metal. Saryn tumbled backwards and fell out of the ship, an arrow sticking out of her back.

Excalibur let out an inhuman wail.

Volt whipped around to face the cockpit. "We have to get out of here!" he shouted. "No!" Excalibur cried. "I won't leave her!!" Volt was about to argue when Mag stepped to the edge of the ramp. She reached out her arm and quickly snapped it back. Saryn lifted off of the ground and flew up into the ship.

"I've got her!" Mag called out. "Let's go."

Excalibur rushed over to Saryn as the ramp lifted and closed, shielding them from the enemy fire. Nyx lifted off, and the ship rocketed up. Volt walked into the cockpit. "Alright, let's hope Ash and Loki are waiting at the extraction point," he said. They headed for the top of Orokin Tower, landing on the roof.

Loki and Ash burst out of the stairwell door, running over to the ship. They were panting heavily as they arrived. "Do you have any idea...how many floors..that building has?" Ash gasped. "Did anyone see you?" Volt asked. Loki shook his head. "Good." Volt turned to Ash. "You know there's an elevator, right?" he pointed at the doors.

As if they could sense that they were being talked about, the elevator doors slid open. Out of them stepped the Sentient. Volt's eyes widened. "Nyx, take off!!" he yelled. They started to rise.

They were moving too slowly. Volt knew he had to act. He lifted his arm and a bolt of blue electricity crackled towards the Sentient...only to be met with a red lightning bolt. Volt paused in surprise. Fortunately, his attack had lasted long enough for them to put some distance between themselves and the Sentient.

Ash began to clap. "Well, good job everyone, I'd call that mission a success," he said. "So what'd we miss?"

"She's dead."

Volt jumped at the sound of Excalibur's voice. It was sullen and hollow, and sent chills down his spine. Excalibur was slumped against the wall, clinging to Saryn's hand. "She's dead," he repeated.

Frost walked over and crouched down to check Saryn's vitals. He slowly turned to look at Volt. "He's right... Saryn's dead..." Volt's breath caught in his throat.

* * * * *

Norman Fox listened as his guards were brutally punished. The Stalker was seething with rage. "How could you let her escape?!" he hissed. "Why would you leave your posts?!!" One Grineer whimpered something that Norman didn't catch. Letting out a furious shriek, the Stalker blasted the guard with lightning. Smoke curled up from his lifeless form.

The Stalker now turned his attention to the doctor. "I take it they all got away?" Norman asked dryly. The Stalker lashed out, knocking Norman into the wall. "I'm tired of this, Doctor," he said. "I've learned from my mistake. You're far too dangerous for me to allow you to live."

The Stalker turned and walked away, leaving two new guards to detain Dr. Fox. Norman smiled to himself. He'd done it.

1B was free.

* * * * *

The pilot leaned against his freighter as the last of the refugees boarded. By now, most people had already evacuated the city. Or at least, most of those who could afford it. He was one of the few pilots willing to take the others for free. He watched as they boarded. "Quite a few interesting characters," he murmured to himself. Just a few hours earlier, he had seen a woman apparently dressed entirely in metal armor board a different ship.

The pilot didn't know what was going to become of this city, and frankly, he didn't care. He just wanted to get to safety. Like many of his passengers, he was hoping to build a life in one of the off-world colonies.

As the last passenger boarded, the pilot stood straight and stretched. He was in for a long flight. He walked up the boarding ramp and disappeared within.

Had he stayed a moment longer, he would've seen a seemingly dead Grineer soldier claw its way on board.

* * * * *

Volt stared out the window, watching the stars as they flew past. Normally, they all would've been amazed to be in space. But now, the ship was silent. No exclamations of wonder, no cries of awe.

In the back, Rhino and Loki sat next to Excalibur, trying to console him. The others sat with Volt in the cockpit, contemplating their next move. Frost nudged Volt to get his attention. "So what now?" he asked.

Volt sighed. "We're gonna do what Dr. Fox asked," he replied. "We going to that military base and locking ourselves in the Void. The Lotus will wake us when things calm down." To confirm what Volt said, the Lotus spoke. "Yes, I'm hacking into the enemy's systems as we speak. I should be able to monitor the situation on Earth from here, thanks to Ash and Loki," she said.

Ash nodded. "Right, we did our part, uploaded the Lotus to the Orokin Tower's central computer. But what about you all? Why was there still a Sentient when we were leaving?" Frost shrugged. "I dunno. That one seemed immune to the toxin," he said.

"Maybe the Lotus will be able to clear that up." Volt turned to look at Nyx, who had just stood up from the pilot's seat and joined the conversation. "Wait, shouldn't you be flying?!" Ash exclaimed. "Relax, it's on autopilot you big wimp," Nyx sighed. Ash grumbled something to himself.

"I have yet to find any information relating to the Sentients," the Lotus chimed in."Let us know if you find anything," Volt ordered.

"Wait," Frost held up his hands. "If we're locking ourselves in the Void, how are we going to get out?" Volt nodded. "I'll stay out," he said. "Keep myself in a cryopod and wait for the Lotus's signal. Then when she wakes us, I can open the portal." Mag put her hand on Volt's shoulder. "If you're staying out, then so am I," she insisted.

Volt opened his mouth to argue, then thought better of it.

* * * * *

Norman leaned his head against the cold metal wall. His cell seemed to become smaller the more time he spent in it. The knot in the pit of his stomach grew tighter and deeper with each passing minute. The hours blurred together.

After what felt like an eternity, Norman's guards opened the door and led him out. They walked through an endless maze of corridors, finally reaching the elevator. As they neared the ground floor, Norman's hands began to shake. His knees felt weak.

They walked through the lobby and out into the square. There was once again a stage at its center, and a massive crowd. On the stage was the Stalker, his hands folded over the top of his scythe.

Norman was brought up onto the stage and turned to face the crowd. The sky was overcast, and a thick smog lay over the city. As he looked over the people gathered, he noticed something. They were all the same person. This was the beginnings of the Grineer army.

It was becoming difficult to breathe. The air felt heavy, and darkness began to overtake Norman's eyes. The Stalker raised his scythe.

Then the sun broke through the clouds. The light hit Norman, and the heaviness lifted. He was able to breathe once again. In the light, he saw the clones, the warframes, building a new future for mankind. One that corrected the mistakes of past generations. He saw the Grineer monuments torn down, and the Stalker cast into the abyss. Norman knew that his world would soon be over, but the warframes' was just beginning.

The scythe swung down and the crowd cheered.

* * * * *

The ship slowly docked at the ancient base. Its towering spires gave it a vague castle-like appearance. Volt led them through complex obstacle courses, zen gardens, and grand halls. They explored every inch of the abandoned military training facility.

"It doesn't really have a military feel to it..." Mag murmured. "Feels more like...a dojo." Ash paused and stooped to pick a rag off of the ground. "Hey guys, check it out." He wrapped the rag around his neck. "A scarf!"

Rhino walked to him and grumbled, "No scarves." Ash looked at him incredulously. "Why not?!" he argued. Rhino grabbed the end of the scarf and yanked down, pulling Ash to the ground. "Ah," Ash wheezed. "Valid point." Frost helped him stand.

Eventually they came to the incinerator room. The incinerator was a large tube that extended from the wall. Volt turned to Rhino and Frost. "Here," he said. They both nodded, then rushed off.

The rest stood in an awkward silence as they waited. Rhino and Frost finally returned, carrying Saryn's body on a stretcher. After spending so much time in her armor, Saryn's body seemed so much smaller and frailer. It was a look that never suited her in life.

The silence was no longer awkward, but solemn and respectful. As Rhino and Frost walked passed each of them, they paid their final respects. Excalibur was last, and as they approached, he held out a hand for them to stop. Then he took her hands and gently folded them across her chest. Somehow, it made her look stronger.

Excalibur spent several moments whispering his farewell, tears dripping from his eyes, before sending her off. Rhino and Frost lowered her into the incinerator, and then slowly slid it into the wall. They turned it on, and then watched through a small window as the flames consumed her.

One by one, the warframes departed to continue their exploration of the dojo. Excalibur remained, peering through the glass as though if he kept watching, she might suddenly wake. Volt also stayed, remaining a few feet behind Excalibur. There was something he had to do, something Saryn would've wanted him to do.

Finally, Excalibur turned away from the window and began to leave. Volt walked towards him. "Hey." Excalibur kept walking. "Hey, wait!" Volt called, running to catch up. He placed a hand on Excalibur's shoulder and spun him around to face him.

"Look, before you start to argue with me, I have something I need to say," Volt began. "I know things haven't been the best between us lately," Volt shifted uncomfortably. "But we used to be friends. Good friends. So I just wanted you to know...that I'm here for you."

Excalibur stayed silent for a moment, then sighed. "Thanks," he muttered. They continued to walk quietly, but it was no longer the tense, charged quiet that Volt had become accustomed to. It was a comfortable quiet.

* * * * *

A few hours later, they all gathered in the barracks. Rows and rows of cryopods occupied the cramped space. Volt opened up the portal into the Void, and they carried in the pods. When they were finished, Volt and Mag stood apart from the rest.

Frost walked up to them. "So...I guess this is goodbye," he said. Volt chuckled. "For now. Hopefully it will only feel like a few seconds to us," he replied.

Everyone else said their goodbyes, even Excalibur. Volt and Mag then stepped through the portal and shut it down, sealing their friends inside. They walked over to their own cryopods.

Volt helped Mag into hers, gripping her hand. She quickly kissed him on the cheek. "I guess I'll see you in a few years," she whispered, grinning. Volt smiled. "Yeah, I suppose so." Mag screwed her eyes shut and closed her pod. The glass encased her inside, and Volt could see frost begin to form on her skin. He shivered.

Volt moved his own pod to the hangar. If the dojo was found, he didn't want anyone inspecting too far in. With any luck, they'd only find him. He stepped inside and took a deep breath. "Well, here goes nothing." He activated the cryopod, and the glass snapped shut in front of him. A chill settled into his bones, and his vision faded to black.

Edited June 19, 2014 by Grievous40

[FiveHours]

Eagerly awaiting the next chapters, well done on this! How long did it take to write this, exactly?

[Grievous40]

Eagerly awaiting the next chapters, well done on this! How long did it take to write this, exactly?

Early on, each chapter only took a day or two to write. At this point though, I usually spend one to two weeks working on each one. I wrote the first chapter on December 6, so it's been about seven months total. I actually still have another six chapters planned, it could end up taking quite awhile to finish.

[Grievous40]

Chapter Six

There was a sudden explosion of light and sound. Frost gasped as warmth flooded over him. He leaned forward, expecting his legs to move, but his limbs were weak. The ground rushed up to meet him.

Frost hit the marble floor. Hard. His limbs began to tingle as they gradually regained feeling. He became aware of a noise, like a humming in the background. It grew until it became clear.

"Frost!" the Lotus shouted into his com. Frost let out a groan and stood. "Yeah, I'm here," he replied. Around him, the other warframes were still recovering from their cryopods. "Good, your vitals are normal," the Lotus said. "You may experience some vertigo, but you should be fine."

"There is a problem. Volt was taken out of cryosleep without my signal." The Lotus's words rang through Frost's head. "What?"

"An enemy ship is currently docked in the dojo's hangar. I believe that they have taken Volt," the Lotus stated. Frost quickly shook his head, breaking out of his shocked stupor. "Mag, you there?" he asked into his com.

"Yeah, I'm opening the portal," came the hurried reply. The starry gateway appeared at the end of the grand hall. Frost ran over to it, his footsteps echoing through the golden pillars. The others followed him. Frost leapt through the portal.

* * * * *

The captain gazed out into the black void of space. He'd done it. He'd succeeded where generations before him had failed. For centuries, an elite squadron was tasked with finding the Tenno. And he'd found one.

The prisoner knelt behind him, in an almost meditative stance. He had not spoken since his capture, refusing to reveal where the others were. A soldier approached the captain.

"Captain Vor, we searched the rest of the base. No other Tenno were found, sir," he reported. Vor nodded and grumbled to himself. It seemed his victory would not be complete yet. Still, his master would be pleased.

Captain Vor turned to the control panel in front of him and rapidly punched in a code. A shadowed figure appeared on the yellow screen. Vor bowed his head. "Master, we've located one of the Tenno, on a remote base beyond the Outer Terminus."

The Stalker folded his hands behind his back. "Excellent work, captain. General Ruk's fleet is near your current location. I'll send him to provide you an escort back to Earth," he said.

Vor gave a slight grimace. The general had a vicious reputation. He did not tolerate weakness, and was known for leaving excessive carnage in his wake. "Sir, that is unnecessary. Our ship was able to pass through Corpus space unnoticed, but the general's fleet will surely draw attention."

The Stalker dismissively waved his hand. "War with the Corpus is inevitable. Those cowards won't dare to intercept Ruk." "But, sir," Vor cut in. "Shouldn't we wait until our weapon is complete?"

The Stalker let out an animalistic growl. Vor took a step back. "Do not keep testing me, captain," the Stalker warned. Vor gulped. "General Ruk will provide you with an escort." The Stalker cut off the transmission.

Captain Vor glanced back at his captive. For a moment, he thought the mask had an almost smug look.

* * * * *

Frost ducked behind a pillar. Avoiding the enemy patrols throughout the dojo had been surprisingly easy. The soldiers wore armor similar to that of the soldiers who had attacked them...what was it, a day ago? A month? Frost still had no idea how long they'd been in cryosleep.

Frost peeked around the great iron column. On the other side was the entrance to the hangar. The last of the soldiers was boarding a small shuttle, about the size of their own ship. The shuttle was sloppily constructed; clearly it was only designed for transportation. Its rusted underbelly and camouflage green top matched the look of the soldiers.

The shuttle's engines fired up, and it lifted off of the hangar floor. Frost motioned for the others to follow him, and they quickly ran over to their own ship. It had, surprisingly, been left untouched. They filed in and Nyx took her seat in the pilot's chair. She started up the ship, rapidly punching in the cloaking command.

Now nearly undetectable to the enemy sensors, they would easily be able to sneak up on the shuttle. Frost tensed as they gained on the far slower shuttle. Something about this...seemed wrong. How was such a slow-moving ship able to reach deep space?

The answer came roaring out of hyperspace.

The vessel was massive. Sporting two cannons from the bridge and nine on either side of the ship, it had an almost insect-like appearance. Its exterior was the same dark green of the shuttle. Yellow lights shone from its windows.

Frost put a hand on Nyx's shoulder. "Slow down," he said. "There's no way to take the shuttle without being blasted apart by that cruiser." She eased up.

They watched in silence as the shuttle landed in the cruiser's hangar. Nyx piloted the ship over to an air lock at the rear of the cruiser. "Ok, I'll drop you off here. You'll have to crawl through the ventilation to reach the ship's interior, then the Lotus can guide you to Volt and the extraction point," she said. "So who's going in?"

Mag immediately stepped forward. Frost and Ash followed suit, and finally a somewhat reluctant Excalibur. Nyx opened the airlock doors. The four stepped into a small room. The walls were covered in grime and filth. Frost felt like he'd just walked into an ancient submarine.

The doors shut behind them, and Frost heard the ship detach. At the center of the room was a circular air vent, with a fan whirling within. Mag approached the fan and looked down. "It seems like this vent leads to the main floor," she observed.

Frost nodded. "Ok. Do we need to worry about them hearing us talking?" "No, you can only be heard if you wish to broadcast your words," the Lotus responded. Ash spoke up. "Wait, who are these people?" he asked.

"This a Grineer warship," the Lotus began. "The Grineer have ruled the innermost worlds for over two centuries now." Frost whipped his head around to face the others. "Um, how long were we asleep?"

"Almost three hundred years," the Lotus said. "I thought you were supposed to wake us when things calmed down!" Ash exclaimed. "I'm afraid the state of the system has only deteriorated during your slumber," she replied. "But-" "Guys!!" Mag interrupted. "We can deal with this after we have Volt back!"

Frost sighed. "Alright," he said. Ash grumbled something unintelligible. Mag jumped up and struck the fan with her dual-bladed Orthos as she landed. The shattered pieces of the fan clattered to the ground below. Mag leapt down the pipe. Frost quickly followed.

They landed in a large, spacious room. The far wall had massive windows, displaying the vastness of space. Behind them, the room narrowed into a hallway that ended in a circular door. A small map appeared on Frost's heads-up display. "I'll guide you to Volt's location," the Lotus said.

They crept down the hallway towards the door. As they approached, it slid open. Frost quickly dove out of the way, hugging the wall. He heard some mutters in the other room, talking about faulty wiring in the doors or something. He peered around the corner.

Two soldiers...Grineer...stood at the center of cross-shaped room. Frost pulled his primary weapon off of his back. A metallic rifle decorated with sharp ridges, the Boltor was his weapon of choice. He took aim, then fired. Two finely sharpened bolts shot across the room, burying themselves in the chests of the two Grineer.

Frost grinned, pleased with his success. Then the alarms went off.

The other three turned and glared at him. "Well how was I supposed to know they'd hear me?!" Frost protested. Excalibur shook his head. "Never mind, we have to keep moving."

"I'm detecting Volt in the holding cells. Follow his signal," the Lotus instructed. A yellow exclamation point appeared on Frost's map, directing him to turn left. They broke out running, dashing through the dark hallways. The ship seemed to be completely deserted now.

The Lotus hummed to life over Frost's com. "The holding cells are in the next room," she declared. The wide rectangular door slid up into the ceiling. The room was full of Grineer troops. They seemed to occupy every available space.

"Uh oh," Frost heard Ash mutter. Then one of the Grineer noticed them. "There!" he shouted. Every Grineer seemed to simultaneously train their weapons on the warframes. Frost grinned. "Follow me," he said.

Frost quickly spread his arms. A massive ball of whirling snow appeared around them. As the Grineer opened fire, the bullets shattered against their frozen shield. Frost ran forward, creating snow globe after snow globe. He froze a protective path leading down to the center of the pit-like prison.

The cells formed a ring around the center of the room. Next to each cell door was a control panel. Frost glanced at the one closest to him. The panel glowed green, and the word "occupied" flashed at the top of the screen. "Over here!" he called. "Anyone know how to open this?" Behind him, the first of the globes faded. Only three left. The Grineer continued to fire, seemingly oblivious to the fact that they couldn't penetrate the snow storm.

Ash walked over to the control panel. "I got this," he boasted. He leaned in to get a better look at the screen, then his fingers began to tap furiously. Mag and Excalibur turned their attention to the enemy, picking off Grineer troops one by one. The second globe faded.

The door to the cell opened. Ash let out a quick victory whoop. Frost glanced into the cell. A man wearing what looked like an orange jumpsuit and a box on his head was staring at them in shock. Ash's fingers flew back to the panel. "Oops, wrong cell." The door slid shut again, locking in its captive once more. The third globe faded.

Frost spread his arms again. Nothing happened. Excalibur looked at him. "What's wrong?" Frost shook his head. "I don't know, I guess the armor needs to recharge or something," he wondered. Excalibur nodded towards Ash. "Better hurry then."

Ash ran over to the only other cell with a green control panel. He seemed more confident this time. The door slid open. Frost was about to check inside when Volt came flying out of the cell, past Frost. Frost whipped around, expecting to see an enemy, but instead found Mag gripping Volt in a tight embrace. Ash laughed. "You really had to pull him out of the cell?" he teased.

Mag ignored him. She glared at Volt. "What were you thinking-" she began. "Uh, I think you'll have to have this conversation later," Excalibur warned. The final snow globe faded. More Grineer poured into the detention area.

* * * * *

The sound of alarms broke through the tranquil silence of the bridge. Captain Vor jumped in shock as the noise interrupted his thoughts. He quickly walked over to the holographic live feed of the detention area. Guard presence there was too low. They'd break through.

Vor pressed a button on his com. "Ordering all units, ignore the security breach. Divert all available troops to the detention area immediately and await the arrival of the intruders." He watched in satisfaction as Grineer began to flood into the holding cells. Mere seconds later, the Tenno entered the camera's field of view.

Vor grinned. It seemed that his day was about to get much better. He was turning away from the projection to go personally capture the criminals when something caught his eye. A small globe had appeared in the image. Vor leaned in closer, gripping the edge of the table. Soon another globe appeared. Then a third, and a fourth.

Vor could just barely make out the figures of the Tenno within the globe. But he did see, quite clearly, the door to the prisoner's cell open. "NO!!" Vor smashed his metallic fist into the center of the hologram. The projector screen beneath it cracked, and the image shattered into millions of useless pixels.

* * * * *

Volt couldn't help but feel useless as they raced towards the extraction point. Weaponless, he was unable to defend himself against the onslaught of pursuers beyond the occasional lightning bolt. The past hour had been a blur. First, he'd been woken out of cryosleep only to be greeted by several guns pointed at his head. Then he'd been locked into a cramped cell on a strange ship with only his thoughts to keep him company.

And now that he was free, he had to deal with Mag being furious with him. She'd get over it though. Hopefully.

A bullet whizzed by Volt's ear as they ran down a small corridor, leaping over massive pipes that rose up from the floor and traveled along the walls. Volt concentrated on running. His armor clanged against the metal floor. He focused all of his energy into channeling his speed.

Volt felt a sudden boost as he ran, and the landscape around him started to blur. The others also picked up speed. Within seconds they'd left their pursuers far behind.

Volt slid down a slanted hallway, leading to the airlock. There were four rectangular depressions on the wall, one of which was filled by the distinctive man-shaped imprint of their ship. Volt skidded to a halt in front of it.

"Um...there are five of us," Volt pointed out. Frost swore. "I'd just like to say, there is no way that I'm just going to stand outside of the ship as it hurtles through space," Ash asserted. "There's a reason they made ships with insides."

The panel clattered to the ground behind Volt. Nyx stood in the doorway of the ship, a hand on her hip and her head tilted. "Seriously guys?" she snorted. Frost let out a noise that could only be described as a defensive squeak. They filed on board. Volt's head spun as the adjusted gravity took hold, rotating his body until he was looking up the side of the massive warship from the front windows of their craft.

Nyx released the docking clamps and they lifted off from the side of the ship. They turned back the direction they'd come from. The dojo was long out of sight. Nyx pulled back on a lever. Outside, the stars seemed to blur together as the ship picked up speed. In a few minutes, the dojo reappeared.

* * * * *

"I've adjusted the orbit of the dojo, it should be nearly impossible for the Grineer to track it now," the Lotus reported.

Volt nodded. "Thank you." They all sat underneath a tree in one of the dojo's numerous zen gardens. This one was kept in the perpetual state of autumn. The leaves lazily drifted down from the tree, adding to the thick carpet of the soft floor beneath. Almost instantly, a new leaf would take its place on the branch.

The others had just finished telling him the tale of their "heroic" rescue. Volt had been particularly impressed by Ash's hacking skills, until Ash divulged that the code was just a series of lines on hexagons that had to be lined up.

Frost let out a long sigh as he leaned against the crooked trunk. "So, it seems we've missed a lot in the three hundred years we've been asleep," he mused. "You could say that again," Ash huffed. "I think the Lotus has some explaining to do."

The Lotus remained silent for a moment. Then she spoke, sounding hesitant. "Well, the first thing you should know about is the Grineer Empire. They began from the cloning project, the same one you all came from," she started.

"They were the soldiers fighting for the Sentients when you left Earth. Over the past centuries, they've multiplied exponentially. Their DNA has become strained, leading to...mutations. Sometimes, the new Grineer come out missing limbs, eyes, or organs. Other times, it's far worse. They try to fix these mutations with robotic prosthetics."

"They claim to be ruled by Twin Queens, but I have never come across data confirming the existence of such monarchs. Instead, it seems that the true ruler of the Empire is the surviving Sentient. He is referred to as the Stalker, and only the most elite Grineer are aware of this truth," she explained.

"So he's our biggest threat then?" Mag speculated. "Not exactly," the Lotus replied. "The Stalker may be the mastermind, but there is one Grineer who is certainly more brutal. The Empire's general, Sargas Ruk. He has led the Grineer offensive in a string of devastating campaigns."

"Ever since your appearance on Earth, a Grineer task force has been charged with hunting you down. They started calling you the Tenno, a reference to the only remaining proof of your existence: a document left in Orokin Tower labeled 10-O."

"Next are the Corpus. They are all that remains of Orokin Tech. When they fled Earth, the wealthiest members of human society banded together. Most of them were involved in some way with Orokin Tech: workers, stockholders, et cetera. They formed a cult-like society."

"Money is treasured above all else. They worship gold, and squabble endlessly for credits. The hierarchy of their social structure is determined by one's affluence. Those who do not agree with this way of life are ostracized, excommunicated."

Ash cut in. "Wait, is there anyone worth fighting for then? I don't relish in the thought of protecting either of these groups." "There are still a few remaining human colonies," the Lotus confirmed. "They occupy the remote planets and asteroids that separate Corpus and Grineer space."

"And there is one last group, though this one I have very limited information on. They are called the Infested."

Edited June 19, 2014 by Grievous40

[Xxaveragecat300xX]

This is really good I hope you continue it 

[FiveHours]

Minor complaint. Can you put the chapters in spoilers, so it's not so tedious to look for a certain post/ chapter?

[Grievous40]

Chapter 7

Volt did not like sickness. It wasn't that he was a germaphobe, but something about an invisible killer that turns the body against itself, a killer that could not be fought, terrified him. Of course, this may have stemmed from his fear of doctors. He hated needles. The body was not meant to have sharp metal objects jammed into it.

"The virus spreads quickly, infecting the wounded." The Lotus's briefing on the Infestation rang through Volt's thoughts, finding a place at the front of his mind and sticking there. The walls of the ship seemed to close in on him.

He was walking down the corridor of an abandoned Corpus frigate, accompanied by Frost, Loki, and Rhino. Somewhere on the other end of the vessel, Mag, Nyx, Ash, and Excalibur were probably walking down a similar hall. According to the Lotus, the ship was only recently sent to the quarantined sector of space where all victims of the Infestation were ultimately cast to die.

Which meant that the Infested were still here.

Particles danced through the air in a nonexistent breeze, fading into nothingness after a short time. Odd, flesh-like growths covered the walls, ceiling, and floor. They pulsed and shuddered, moving to a singular heartbeat. Volt couldn't shake the feeling that they were somehow watching him.

"The infected can go a week or two with no symptoms other than an ugly welt at the site of the wound." The Lotus's intel on the disease had been limited to stolen Grineer medical records. "After the first week, the infected will succumb to intense coughing fits as well as seizures. The victim's skin will start to decay as though they are already deceased."

The silence roared in Volt's ears. Rhino and Loki seemed at home in it, but to Volt it was foreign. "The victim will start to display animalistic behavior." Rhino could easily be described as the strong and silent type, but with Loki it was more complicated. "Within a month, the victim will seemingly lose control of his or her mind. Their body will fall into irreparable damage, and they will join the Infested." Loki was shy, and somewhat awkward. He'd never really fit in, though Volt could never understand why.

The sound of clanging metal drew Volt out of his thoughts. He spun around, nocking an arrow as he did so. In the dim lighting, he could barely see anything. Then he noticed a familiar form struggling to stand. Frost had tripped on one of the thicker growths. "Sorry," he muttered. Volt sighed in relief.

"I don't get it," Volt fretted. "This place should be crawling with Infested. Where are they all?" Frost snorted. "What I don't get is why we are searching for 'zombies' in the first place," he huffed. Volt jumped as Mag's voice sounded over his com. "The reason we're looking for them is because we need to learn what causes the disease. Do any of you want to become infected?" she chided.

Rhino nodded. "We need to find some so that the Lotus can analyze some samples." The maze of corridors finally ended, and they entered a massive room. At the center of the room, an elevated catwalk led to a second level which was made up of a balcony encircling the room. Shipping crates were stacked in every corner, forming towering structures. The Infested growths covered every surface, wriggling in what Volt imagined was anticipation.

* * * * *

The air was thick with foreboding. Mag crept along the decrepit hallway, using the light equipped to her Latron to pierce the darkness.

Ash had attempted to keep the mood light with his jokes, but Mag could tell he was put off by Excalibur's silence. Normally Excalibur would be encouraging Ash, but ever since Saryn's death...

Excalibur had withdrawn from the world. He was moody and brooding. The only improvement that Mag had noticed was a slight thawing in his feud with Volt. She knew that it wasn't even close to being resolved, but at least something had changed.

Mag glanced over at Nyx. She was crouched low to the ground, her bow raised defensively. Nyx wasn't usually this on-edge. She had always been the laid back one, letting the others stress over the details. Perhaps it was because she wasn't with Rhino? Nyx certainly didn't need anyone to fight her battles for her (and Mag strongly suspected that she would kill anyone who tried to), but the thought of Rhino becoming infected might be causing her to worry a bit. Mag was definitely worried about Volt. Out of all of them, he'd be the one to try something stupid.

Mag jumped as white noise sounded over her com. She reflexively brought a hand up to her ear. "Can you repeat that? I'm getting some interference," she said. The static sounded again, but this time, one word broke through.

"Infested."

* * * * *

When the attack came, it came from all sides. Grotesquely mutilated forms leapt out from the shadows, echoing cries of unbearable pain. Vaguely humanoid, the Infested ran with unnatural speed. One crashed into Volt, sending him sprawling. It began to beat him with stubby arms. A third fleshy limb appeared to be stuck, clutching its contorted face.

Volt quickly slashed upwards with his Ether sword. It easily sliced through the Infested, leaving two sizzling halves. More Infested poured from every corner, leaping down from atop crates to their targets below.

Volt cut down two more enemies as he desperately looked over the thrashing sea of Infested for his friends. Rhino was easy to spot. The massive warframe was calmly whirling his battle axe, the Scindo, through a group of Infested. Volt found Frost a second later, fending off a trio of hound-like undead with his Ether Reaper. They growled at him, lashing out with misplaced limbs. Ribs jutted out along their backs, creating gruesome spines.

One charged at Volt. He braced the hilt of his sword against his chest, allowing the creature to impale itself on his blade. He drew it out of the swollen body and the Infested collapsed, lifeless. Volt spun around, searching for the last of the group. Over the clamor of the Infested, Volt heard the distinctive sound of a pistol. He hurried over to the source of noise, leaping over the horde of monsters.

They had grouped in a large pile, and appeared to be attacking something beneath them. Volt raised his palm. Electricity shot out from his fingertips, frying the Infested. At the center of their corpses was a holographic image of Loki, holding a pistol. "Above you," a voice sounded over his com.

Volt looked up. Crouched on top of one of the crates, Loki was rapidly throwing his knives into the crowd of Infested. He threw down another decoy, drawing their attention away from Frost and Rhino. "Rhino!" Volt called. "Now!"

Rhino nodded and raised his foot. He smashed it down against the floor. Pieces of metal flew up into the air around his foot. The shockwave lifted the Infested off the ground, suspending them in midair. Frost lifted an arm. The air around him condensed into chunks of razor sharp ice. He swung his arm outwards, and the ice crushed the nearby creatures.

Volt launched arrow after arrow, taking down the heavier targets one by one.

By the time the effects of Rhino's stomp had worn off, only one Infested remained. Volt took aim. The Infested let out a strangled cry. Volt fired.

Somewhere on the other end of the ship, the cry was echoed. It was harsher, and the sound grated against Volt's ear.

Volt heard the sound of footsteps behind him. He spun around, nocking another arrow. Mag and the others burst into the room, weapons drawn. Volt let out a sigh of relief. "Good, we're all safe. We need to get out of here now, there are more Infested coming," he said.

Mag hurriedly nodded, but Loki cut in. "Wait, we need these samples," he urged. He stooped over and tore a small piece of flesh from one of the fallen Infested. Ash gagged. "Ok, that's disgusting... Can we go now?!"

The cry sounded again, this time much closer. Volt couldn't tell where it was coming from. A blurred form raced out from the darkness and struck Ash from behind. He wordlessly collapsed, unconscious. Volt raised his blade.

Standing behind Ash's crumpled body was the most hideous creature Volt had ever seen. It stood at least seven feet tall. One grotesquely disfigured arm drooped lower than the other. Its skin was a motley green, though steaks of red ran along its sides where it sported several vicious scars. Its "face" was a writhing mass of tentacles. Dark eyes glinted with malice. An ancient, crusty shell took up most of its back.

The Infested lumbered forward, hissing threateningly. With impossible speed, it lashed out with its elongated limb. The arm smashed into Volt's helmet, and he toppled back. His HUD was reduced to indecipherable static, and he felt as though he had just missed out on several weeks of much needed rest. It took all of his effort just to stand.

Volt's HUD finally cleared. He took a deep breath. "RUN!!" They took off down a separate corridor, Rhino quickly stopping to pick up Ash. The Infested let out a blood-curdling shriek. Volt's heart pounded as they raced through the abandoned ship. Lights flickered, plunging the group into temporary darkness before the horror of reality was once again revealed to them.

Infested closed in on all sides. They struck the warframes from above and below. Frost tripped over one that had crawled out from underneath a rusted iron table. The creature was pulling itself with one arm, the other trailing uselessly behind it. It had no legs.

Volt helped him stand, and stabbed his Ether blade into the Infested's side. Foul-smelling gas poured from the wound. Volt's sword became a whirlwind of destruction. He gutted the oncoming Infested, carving out a safe path.

They finally reached a hallway that Volt recognized. He motioned for the others to follow him. They ran through a small door and came to an elevated landing. On one side, a series of broken lockers lined the wall. On the other, a wide staircase led down to the extraction point. Volt took a left, leaping down the stairs and finally reaching their ship.

He quickly opened the door, and the others ran inside. Volt shut it behind them. Rhino placed Ash on the floor and then braced himself against the door alongside Volt. On the other side, the Infested let out howls of frustration as the pounded against the door.

"Hurry!" Volt hollered up to Nyx. Nyx muttered something as she started the engines. The ship detached and lifted off. Volt watched in sickened fascination as the mindless Infested were sucked into the vacuum of space.

Mag slumped into the seat next to Volt. "Are we ever going to be able leave a ship without having to run away?" she sighed. Volt laughed. It had been a long time since he'd been able to. He only realized then how much he'd needed it.

Ash groaned as he started to come to. "Alright...which one of you knocked me out?"

* * * * *

They stood around a table in the dojo's research lab, anxiously awaiting the Lotus's analysis. Loki's sample hung suspended in a jar of bubbling red liquid at the center of the dark room. A robotic arm extended from the entangled mass of wires covering the ceiling, delicately turning the torn bit of flesh.

"I believe that I have located the cause of the Infestation," the Lotus chimed. "What is it?" Frost asked. Volt turned around. He hadn't realized that Frost was standing at the back of the room. It seemed uncharacteristic of him.

"These." The Lotus activated a hologram projector. A glowing red image appeared in front of Volt. In the image, thousands of tiny robots wriggled through a groups of cells. Loki let out a small gasp. "The technocytes," he whispered.

"Yes," the Lotus confirmed. "It seems that the technocytes from the J-3 Golem solution have evolved and thrived in your absence." Volt frowned. "What do you mean, evolved?"

"These are not the same technocytes that we used to defeat the Sentients. These are far simpler in design, less capable of independent action. The technocytes were designed to reproduce in order to prevent a shortage, but it was always in a stable environment. When you exposed them to new material, they began to reproduce exponentially, without any intervention to stop them."

"They were designed to be intelligent, to find weaknesses in technology to exploit. If I am correct, then it appears that the technocytes were intelligent enough to create a new 'evolution' of themselves. A less individualized version, designed to act like worker bees for a queen. So, it stands to reason that the original technocytes have grouped together in order to act as a kind of hive mind," the Lotus explained.

"Ever since you exposed them to flesh nearly three hundred years ago, they've been attaching themselves to hosts and multiplying."

* * * * *

The wind roared in Vor's ears. Spray whipped up from the grimy ocean below and blasted against his face. The sky was an ugly gray, the same as it always was. In the distance, lightning streaked down from the sky and struck the waves. The acrid smell of smoke wafted into Vor's nose, making him grimace.

He hated Earth.

The right side of his face ached dully. A thick bandage was wrapped around it, and the cold metal of his new eye underneath made him shiver. He had been punished severely for allowing the Tenno to escape.

The captain cautiously walked along the thin catwalk. One wrong step, and he'd tumble hundreds of feet to the filthy sea. Vor observed the human slaves laboring over the Grineer ships, assembling their war machines. Grineer butchers stood guard, ensuring none escaped. The only way out for these pathetic humans was the plunge, and very few were willing to try that.

Finally reaching the door, Vor stepped into the main factory. Though it was still open on one side, the few walls it did have provided limited protection from the elements. Directly ahead of him, Vor saw an imposing figure leering over the guard rail, observing the work below. A dark cape billowed around his shoulders.

Vor approached him. "You summoned me?"

"Yes," Sargas Ruk drew out the word, as though he were testing how it sounded for the first time. His deep voice sent shivers down Vor's spine. Vor kept his distance. Ruk was at least a foot taller than him. Though Vor couldn't see it, he was well aware that behind the swirling cape was feat of mechanical engineering that even the Corpus filth would envy. The general was obsessed with ridding himself from the burden of flesh. He believed that Grineer technology would allow him to achieve a power never even dreamed of. Vor wasn't so sure.

"Our weapon, is, complete," Ruk growled. Once again, each word was drawn out as though it was a struggle to speak. Vor stepped forward now, and peered over the railing. Ruk turned to face him, his single glowing electronic eye glaring down at the captain.

"The first, of, the Fomorians, is ready."

* * * * *

Volt stared up at the ceiling. Sleep continued to evade him. Though, after three hundred years of sleeping, Volt supposed he needed some time awake. He lifted himself out of the synthetic cot. His personal chambers were bare. The only source of interest was a small porthole window that revealed the expanse of space outside the dojo. His empty warframe stood by the door, looking like a silent guard.

Volt decided he could use some exercise. He stood up and stretched, walking towards his door. He considered using his warframe for a moment, then decided against it. The door slid open, and Volt stepped out into the hallway.

Volt was about to wake Mag to see if she wanted to join him when he noticed something odd. A soft light was emanating from the barracks. He slowly approached the entrance, peaking around the corner. Inside, the familiar gateway to the Void shimmered ominously.

The stars from the portal cast strange shadows on the cryopods lining the walls. Volt paused before the threshold of the portal, steeled himself, and stepped through.

The Void was just as ostentatious and gilded as he first remembered. The cavernous arches glittered overhead, and the marble floor was cool to the touch.

A quiet whimper echoed through the room. Volt made his way over to one of the closed doors. It revolved open, revealing a pitch black closet-sized space. Volt took a step forward, only to crash into something cold and metal. As the light from outside slowly flooded the room, Volt realized what he'd hit. The empty Frost warframe stood resolute in the doorway, blocking his entrance. Another whimper, louder and somewhat panicked, sounded from behind it.

"Frost, you in here?" Volt asked as he pushed the heavy metal frame aside. The light once again spread, this time revealing a horrifying sight.

Frost was crouched against the back wall of the room, cradling his right arm as tears streaked down his face. Volt reached out to him. "No!!" Frost cried. Volt quickly withdrew his hand. "Frost, what's going on?" Volt demanded.

Frost slowly raised up his right hand, letting the light wash over it. A small gash glistened on his palm. The skin around it had turned a deep purple, and Volt could see small welts beginning to form.

"Please don't tell the others," Frost pleaded.

[Grievous40]

Chapter 8

The pain in his chest was excruciating. At least one of his ribs was broken. Volt tried moving, but his legs felt like lead. The baked ground beneath him heated up his warframe, burning his skin. 

He hurriedly took in his surroundings. He was at the center of a wide crater. Steep cliffs surrounded him on all sides. There was no way out.

Volt cried out in pain as he felt his ears pop. He looked up. Thousands of feet above him, the massive warship broke through the atmosphere. Flames streaked from its sides, sending plumes of smoke billowing through the air. It rocketed straight towards him.

This was it. No way out. Volt closed his eyes and waited for the end.

* * Several hours earlier * *

"You're...you're infected?"

Volt couldn't believe it. Frost lay shaking in the corner, tightly gripping his arm as though he feared it might fall off. He slowly nodded. "Yeah." Volt sat down on the floor next to his friend."How?"

"When I tripped over that crawling Infested," Frost began, "it scratched right through my armor."

 "We need to tell the Lotus, maybe she can make a cure or slow it down or something..." Volt suggested. Frost stayed silent for a moment. "Ok," he muttered finally. "But you have to make sure she doesn't tell the others." Volt frowned. "Why? They'd want to help you," he pointed out. Frost sighed. "I know that, but...it's a personal choice, ok?"

"Ok."

Volt reached out his hand. Frost tentatively took it with his left hand, and Volt pulled him to his feet. "What were you doing in here anyways?" he asked. "I was trying to repair my warframe before anyone noticed...the tear in it," Frost muttered. "I thought this was where the spare parts were."

Volt pressed a small button on the Frost warframe. There was the soft sound of a mechanical whir, and the Lotus's voice rang out from Frost's com. "How can I help you, Frost?" "Uh, actually it's me, Lotus," Volt corrected. "Frost has been infected, we need to know if you can help him."

"If Frost is infected, I strongly urge you to quarantine him-" "That's not an option," Volt interrupted her. "We just need to know if there's a cure." Frost fidgeted nervously behind him.

"There is no cure that I am aware of. At least, the Grineer have yet to find one," the Lotus stated. "And what about the Corpus?" Frost's voice came out at an unusually high pitch, and his words were hurried and heavy with anxiety. "I would need access to a Corpus terminal to discover that," the Lotus replied. "The easiest one to reach is on Venus. It's their oldest research facility, and there's low military presence there."

Volt nodded. "Good, we'll head there tomorrow. Lotus, don't tell the others about this just yet. Frost would prefer it stayed confidential," he said. "I disagree, it would-" "Please," Frost cut in. The Lotus let out a frustrated sigh, which surprised Volt. He hadn't known that Dr. Fox had programmed her that well. "Fine," she snapped.

Volt shut her off. Frost glanced over at him. "How are we going to tell everyone why we want to go to Venus?" he asked. "I'll think of something," Volt assured him. He grabbed a small piece of metal from a shelf and handed it Frost. "Here, patch up your warframe and then get some rest. You'll need it," he ordered. Frost nodded.

Volt walked back through the portal and returned to the barracks. He quickly ran down to the research lab. The piece of Infested tissue still floated in the jar of red fluid. Volt gingerly reached down into the jar, and lifted out the flesh. He wrinkled his nose in disgust as the smell hit him. "Ash, was right, this is disgusting," he muttered.

He carefully carried it back to his personal quarters. Volt pressed a button on his own warframe, and a small compartment opened on its wrist. He lay the Infested sample inside, and then shut the compartment. "Never know if we might need it," he thought to himself. Then he activated the Lotus.

"One more question," he whispered. "How long...do you think Frost has left?" "His warframe should be able to keep him stable for some time," she responded. "At best, a year." 

"And at worst?"

The Lotus paused. "At worst...he has three months." Volt shuddered.

* * * * * 

The red planet finally came into view. Vor stood at the helm of the Fomorian cruiser, along with General Sargas Ruk. The bridge was full of Grineer technicians, busily typing into their control panels. "Move, the ship, into position," Ruk ordered. "Open, a, communication link, with, the Stalker."

The ship slowly began its rotation, revolving until the back of the ship faced the planet below. It descended until it was hovering just above the atmosphere. A yellow hologram of the Stalker appeared to the right of the general. Ruk gave a small bow. "Master, we, are, ready, to begin, testing," he growled. "The Corpus, scum, will suffer."

The Stalker remained silent, but nodded his approval. Ruk signaled one of the technicians. He activated the countdown on his panel. Four bright yellow beams shot down from the base of the ship, striking the surface of the red planet. The beams crackled like bolts of electricity, but Vor knew that they were much more powerful.

The ground turned a dark gray. It began to crack, and rivers of magma leapt to the surface. Vor watched uneasily as Ruk grinned, the grin of a madman. Vor saw the use in threatening the Corpus with this weapon, but to use it simply for the slaughter of innocents...it wasn't right.

The general turned towards his master. "The Fomorian, works, to perfection," he declared. "Within hours, the planet's core, will, erupt."

* * * * *

Volt moved his pawn forward. They were sitting in the ship, on their way to the Corpus facility on Venus. He'd told the others a half-truth: that they were going there to find out any information on a cure for the Infestation. He and Loki were locked in an intense chess battle, since Loki had found the ancient game in the dojo.

Loki moved his knight, traveling past a group of Volt's pawns. Volt saw that he was trying to put him in check. He glanced around the ship. Mag sat up front with Nyx, busily chatting away. Excalibur was staring out the window, watching as the stars flew by. Volt moved his rook, capturing the knight. 

Rhino and Frost sat quietly at the back of the ship, Frost occasionally trying to start a conversation. Ash was grumpily observing the chess match. "Are we there yet?" he shouted up to Nyx. She turned and glared at him. Loki moved his queen.

Volt stifled a confused grunt. Loki's queen was open in the middle of the board, directly vulnerable to Volt's rook. Seizing the opportunity, he captured the queen. Almost too quickly, Loki moved his bishop from the corner of the board. "Checkmate," he cried triumphantly.

Volt stared at the board, shocked. "Wait..how?" He slammed his fist down in frustration. "Damn!" Loki laughed. "Victory requires sacrifice," he taunted. Volt sighed. 

Ash snorted. "How can you stand to play that game? It's so boring," he whined. "It teaches war strategy," Rhino commented. "There are eight of us," Ash pointed out. "We can't wage a war, so why bother learning?"

"Um, guys?" Nyx shouted. "We're getting an open distress signal from Mars. It looks like it's from the Corpus." Volt frowned. "How did they know we're here?"

"They didn't, I said it's an open signal. Anyone can get it. It says that Mars is under attack from some new Grineer weapon," she replied.

"I think we should check it out," Ash said. Volt looked over at Frost. Frost gave him an almost imperceptible nod. "Ok," Volt said. "How far away are we?" Nyx checked the monitor. "Not too far actually, it's even on our way to Venus," she called back. "Alright," Volt said. "Let's go."

* * * * *

Volt regretted his decision. The ship was a monstrosity. Several Grineer warships hovered defensively around it, but Volt couldn't see a reason why. They were all dwarfed by the massive vessel. 

Even more disturbing than the size of the ship was the planet beneath it. The instantly recognizable red coloring of Mars was gone. Instead, the entire planet had turned a dark gray. Bright orange cracks were scattered over the surface, where lava had bubbled up.

"How are they doing that?" Excalibur muttered. Nyx pointed to the base of the cruiser. "There. Those beams are doing something, it looks like they're destabilizing the core of the planet," she said. She turned towards Volt. "We can't do anything from this ship. That warship's shields are way too strong for us to pierce. The only way to take it down is from the inside."

"Activate cloaking and get us in. We'll figure something out once we're inside," he replied. Volt faced the group. "We're going to need to infiltrate the ship stealthily. Loki and Ash, that's your strong suit. Nyx, you should come too, your bow should be quiet enough," he ordered.

Frost stepped forward. "I'll come," he volunteered. Volt shook his head. "No offense Frost, but your not the best at being stealthy," he said. "I'll be the last one to go, I also use a bow." Frost nodded dejectedly.

Shadow overtook their ship as they approached the larger vessel. Everyone froze, as though they feared even the smallest movement may reveal their location. Volt had to suppress a sigh of relief as they finally reached the air lock. Nyx clamped onto the warship.

One by one, Ash, Loki, and Nyx dropped down into the cruiser. When it was Volt's turn, he found himself being pulled aside. Mag squeezed his hand. Though he couldn't see her face behind the whirling stars projected on her mask, Volt could tell she was upset. "You don't have to volunteer for everything," she whispered. "You could've let Frost go."

Volt shook his head. "You know Frost can't keep quiet," he murmured. "I'll be fine," he tried to reassure her. She nodded, but it seemed half-hearted. 

Volt leapt down through the air lock. The other three stood there, waiting for him. "What took you so long?" Ash hissed. Volt waved him off. "Nothing."

They crept through the galleon of the vast warship. The rooms seemed very much the same to the ones in the first Grineer ship Volt had been on. They silently dispatched the few soldiers they came across. "I believe I have located the ship's reactor," the Lotus said. "Follow the directions on your heads-up displays." A small yellow icon appeared on the schematic-like map in Volt's helm.

The ship's reactor room was made up of a series of three rings that formed a semi-circle around the reactor. Each ring was higher than the last, forcing them to descend into the open area at the center. "I don't like this," Loki muttered. "If we're spotted, they'll have the high ground." Volt shrugged. "We'll deal with it if it comes to that," he replied.

Volt walked up to the reactor. A great orb that pulsed with yellow light, he could feel the power that radiated off of it. It surged forward, almost as if it yearned to reach his warframe. His HUD scanned it. "Lotus, do you think you can destroy it?" he asked.

"No," the Lotus said. "But...," she trailed off. "What?" Nyx whispered. "I believe that the technocytes in the piece of Infested tissue that Volt is carrying might be able to," the Lotus suggested. "What?!" Ash cried. "Why do you ha-"

"Tenno!" The cry echoed around the room. A Grineer troop fired down at them from the highest ring. Nyx notched an arrow and sent it flying towards him, impaling him on the wall. "Hurry, use it!" she urged. "We don't have much time."

Volt opened the compartment in his wrist and removed the Infested flesh. He quickly tore off the  screen from the reactor's monitor and shoved the tissue into its circuitry. The steady hum of the reactor slowed, and the yellow light dimmed. "This will take some time," the Lotus warned. "You'll need to defend your position until the reactor is completely destroyed."

"No problem," Ash muttered. A heavy gunner wandered into view. Volt recognized the weapon she carried. It was a Gorgon, the same type that Rhino used. He fired an arrow. It arced across the room, burying itself in the gunner's forehead.

A nearby Grineer cried out in shock, ducking behind a crate for protection. Several others ran forward and took cover behind the guard railing. The sound of grinding metal filled Volt's ears as two blades slid out from Ash's wrists. In a whirl of stars, he disappeared.

Seconds later, Ash reappeared, silently slitting the throat of a Grineer troop. Then he teleported once again, taking out another enemy. "Volt!" Loki shouted as he hurled throwing knife. "That one's going for the alarm!" Volt raised an arm, sending a crackling bolt of blue electricity at a Grineer that was frantically running towards the alarm. It hit home, and the Grineer slumped to the ground.

Sparks flew from the reactor behind Volt. With a rattling scream, the reactor died. The power went out, and the red emergency lights flickered on. Along with the emergency alarm.

* * * * *

"What's happening?!" Vor heard Ruk roar. Moments earlier the power had died, cutting off the transmission with the Stalker and halting the Fomorian's progress at destroying the planet core. The emergency lights had activated, and the ship was barely running on auxiliary power. A technician nervously spoke up.

"Sir, the reactor's been compromised. I can't get anything back online-" Vor winced as the general furiously struck the technician, knocking him to the floor. "General, I think I have something!" another technician called out. "A security team just called in, apparently they've spotted the Tenno."

"Uh, General, it's worse than just power loss," a third technician said. "We've sunken into the planet's gravitational pull, and auxiliary power isn't enough to free us. We're going to have to abandon ship." Ruk growled. "No, I will deal, with the Tenno," he hissed. "Keep, this ship, working, Captain," he ordered Vor.

Vor glared at the general's back as he left the bridge. There was no way that Vor was going down with this ship. He waited a moment, then ran for the escape pods. 

* * * * *

The ship groaned as it sank towards the planet below. Volt's throwing stars cut down the Grineer troops that attempted to rush at him. The Hikou spun through the air, light glinting off of their silvery tips. Nyx held off the Grineer that were following them with her arrows.

They ran along the pipelines that stemmed from the air locks, making their way to extraction. Volt almost got lost in one room that dropped off into a steep circular pit, only managing to find his way again when Ash pointed out a staircase they had passed. 

Then they finally reached an area that Volt recognized. The pipes converged into one hallway, covering the walls and ceiling. Volt slid down the ramp-like floor into the next room. The Grineer fired at them from two corridors on opposite sides of the room. Volt ignored them, instead focusing on running, giving his team a speed boost.

They rocketed down the next hallway, reaching extraction. Volt stepped into the room. A sudden blast of heat made him backpedal. The harsh flames licked at his warframe, leaving dark scorch marks. At last the fire subsided, revealing his attacker.

The Grineer stood to the side of the room. He was much taller than the others they'd faced, even the heavy gunners. His armor was painted a bright orange, which had helped to conceal him in the fire. A single  eye glowed on his head, staring Volt down. The Grineer's right arm had been replaced with what Volt guessed was a flamethrower.

The Grineer raised his arm. "Warning," a loud female voice spoke over the ship's intercom. "Reactor implosion imminent." "No!!" the Grineer roared in frustration. Volt took advantage of the moment, launching an arrow at the Grineer. It struck his head, causing him to stagger backwards, but otherwise bounced harmlessly off of his armor.

It was enough. Volt and the others made a break for their ship, quickly opening the door and darting inside. Volt hurried to shut the door as the Grineer regained focus, raising his arm once more. A rocket shot out from the cannon, racing across the room and slamming into the door. The door was ripped away by the explosion, and their ship spiraled out of control as it detached from the larger ship.

Volt desperately gripped his chair as the wind tore at the inside of the ship. As they fell towards the planet's surface, Volt heard an explosion from the Grineer vessel. Fearing that the Grineer had launched another rocket, he glanced up. The warship was engulfed in flames; the reactor must've have imploded. The technocytes did their job too well.

Volt felt his fingers begin to slip. He cried out in fear as his arms gave out, and he flew out of the ship. The ground rushed up to meet him. A few seconds before he hit, he heard the sound of their ship crashing to his left. Then he slammed into the molten rock. A rib snapped, and he began to roll down a slope.

When Volt finally came to a stop, he was lying at the center of a massive crater. The sonic boom of the Grineer vessel entering the atmosphere hit him hard, popping his ears. Volt looked up at it, watching as the devastated warship dropped from the sky. It was falling straight towards him. 

Columns of smoke rose from the fires that trailed from the ship's sides. Volt looked around, hopelessly searching for an escape. He saw his friends standing at the top of one of the crater's cliffs. They were too far away to help. Accepting the inevitable, Volt screwed his eyes shut and waited for the end.

The explosion rocked the landscape. The heat washed over him, roasting his skin through his warframe. Then it faded.

Volt was still there. He slowly opened his eyes, fearing that it would all suddenly disappear, throwing him into darkness. But it didn't.

He was still lying in the same position he had been in before the crash. Only he was no longer inside the crater. Where he had lain, a monstrous fire rose from the remains of the Grineer warship. Volt realized that he wasn't alone. Somehow, he was lying on the cliff top next to the others. 

Volt looked up as a hand extended over him. Green mist fell from the palm, and the world faded to black.

* * * * *

The flames crackled around him. Jagged bits of metal hung over his head, sealing him inside. Letting out a roar, he swung his arm upwards. The metal shattered and fell away, allowing the light to flood in.

General Sargas Ruk climbed out of the wreckage. The smoldering remains of his proud Fomorian warship littered the ground. He walked among them, seething with unbridled rage. The Tenno would pay for this. And that weasel Vor would too, in due time...

A strangled moan drew Ruk from his thoughts. Looking over the chunks of fiery metal, he spotted the source. A lone Tenno, its body mangled and broken. Its legs were trapped beneath a piece of the Fomorian. It wore an odd helmet, one that reminded Ruk of images he'd seen depicting one of Earth's ancient creatures. A hammerhead shark, he thought.

Rage coursed through him. He raised his right arm and unleashed a torrent of flame on the broken Tenno. It screamed in agony. The fire consumed its body.

The frame cracked, and the fire hissed as the oxygen inside was released. When it was done, Ruk walked away from the simmering metal corpse.

[Grievous40]

Chapter 9

Volt opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was the mask. He was wearing an oxygen mask. His warframe stood beside his makeshift bed. As his surroundings finally came into focus, he realized that he was lying inside of their ship. Pain streaked across Volt's chest as he sat up. He looked down and saw bandages covering his chest.

He quickly felt his rib cage. The break was gone, but the area was still sore. A loud noise reached his ears. It sounded like...construction?

Volt cautiously stood up, being careful not to strain himself. Walking down the boarding ramp, he noticed the sound getting louder. The ground was odd; it looked almost like gravel. He gingerly put his foot down onto it, then recoiled, swearing. The ground was searing hot. His foot was red where it had touched the surface.

"Hey, look who's finally awake!" Ash called out. Volt looked towards the voice. Ash was hanging off the side of the ship, welding a piece of metal into place. Gradually, Volt's memory began to put the pieces together. They were still on Mars. Volt had been trapped in a crater, until something saved him. Then he'd blacked out.

"How long was I out?" Volt hollered at Ash. Ash shrugged. "About two hours," he replied. "The way I see it, you got lucky. You didn't have to help putting this piece of junk back together." That's right, their ship had crashed, Volt remembered. "I..I thought I had a broken rib?" Volt asked.

Ash nodded. "Yeah, you did, but the Lotus fixed it with some chemical built into your warframe. She said you'll need some time to heal fully though." "Alright," Volt said. "How did I survive? I mean, I was stuck in that crater and...," Volt trailed off as he sensed Ash's mood sour.

"Well," Ash hesitated. "When we first crashed, we realized that you had fallen out of ship. So we started looking for you. Loki spotted you just a few seconds before the Grineer ship crashed and he...switched places with you. Loki saved you."

Volt's words died in his throat. "So...Loki didn't..?" Ash shook his head. "We found his body an hour ago. Or what was left of his body, anyways. We couldn't search right away because the Grineer sent down a shuttle to pick up a survivor," he explained. "It was the one that attacked us, that made us crash." Volt clenched his fist. "The Lotus was able to identify him too. He's the Grineer general, Sargas Ruk," Ash added.

Volt took a moment to calm down. "Where are the others?" he asked. Ash perked up a bit. "Oh, they're all here," he said. "I guess they didn't hear me." Ash called over the others. They all looked tired, their shoulders sagging and their heads bowed, but they seemed glad that Volt was awake.

They'd made good progress on repairing the ship, which had thankfully sustained minimal damage. Volt put on his warframe and offered to help, but Mag quickly refused and forced him to rest. Sleep didn't come easily, and when it did it was filled with terrifying dreams of explosions and of Loki screaming in pain.

* * * * *

"We're here," Nyx stated.

The planet Venus loomed before them. Compared to the dull gray of Mars, Venus's tan colored surface was refreshing. Blotches of light blue dotted the ground, marking off the ice covered areas that had been terra-formed by the Corpus.

The normally light attitude of their ship had been replaced with an atmosphere laced with grief. The loss of Loki only brought up more memories of Saryn's death, which, though it occurred centuries ago, seemed to be only a few weeks behind them. Volt could only imagine how depressing it must be for Frost, picturing the effects of his own loss on the group.

He slowly stood. This time, no pain caused him to fall back or gasp for breath. A dull ache permeated throughout his chest, but it was manageable. Nyx swiveled in her chair to face the rest. "So who's going this time?" she asked dryly.

Frost stepped forward first, almost a little too quickly. "Me," he said. Volt detected a slight tremor in his voice. This was his last hope. If the Corpus didn't have a cure...Volt didn't want to think about it.

Excalibur was the next to volunteer. Volt suspected that it was just to take his mind off of Loki...and Saryn. Ash was about to join Frost and Excalibur when Volt interrupted. "I'm going," he asserted. Mag looked at him incredulously. "No, you're not!" she cried. Volt paused, his mind racing. He almost timidly motioned for Mag to come talk with him.

She joined him at the back of the ship, some distance from the others. Volt could feel their eyes boring into his back. "Mag, you don't understand," Volt spoke in a hushed whisper. "I need to do this." "You just broke a rib! You need to rest," she insisted. "It's not your job to...it's not our job to protect everyone. We didn't choose this..."

"You're right," Volt replied. "We didn't choose this. Dr. Fox gave us the warframes so that we could escape, so that we could survive. But I'm making the choice to protect what's left of humanity. I'm making the choice to protect our friends, and you, and..." Again, Volt paused. He took a deep breath. Frost was going to kill him for this.

"Mag, Frost is infected."

Her eyes widened, and her hand flew up to her mouth. "Wh-what?" Volt reached out and grasped her hand. "I need to do this," he whispered. "For Frost." Mag seemed to mull things over for a moment. Then, she spoke. "Ok," she nodded. "But I'm coming with you."

"Mag, he doesn't want the others to know."

"Why not?"

"I'm not sure," Volt answered. "But we owe it to him to respect that."

They walked back to the others. "Volt and I will both be going," Mag announced. "What?!" Ash whined. "But I wanted to go!" Mag shrugged. "Too bad, you'll just have to stay here with Nyx and Rhino," she said.

Ash turned to Volt. "Please don't leave me with them," he begged. Volt rolled his eyes. "You'll be fine," he sarcastically reassured him. "Yeah," Nyx said, putting a hand on Ash's shoulder. "You'll just have to put up with Rhino and I doing a little flirting." Ash groaned and Rhino chuckled. Frost let out a quiet cough.

Nyx sat back down in the pilot's chair. "I'll drop you off at the main lab," she informed them, pointing at the largest ice patch. The ship began to lower into Venus's atmosphere. As they approached the surface, a small panel on the floor opened up. The wind howled as it rushed through the ship. Volt leapt out, crouching as he landed on the roof of a building. Frost, Mag, and Excalibur landed beside him.

The building was blockish, its color a dismal gray. Jagged mountains rose up around it, coated with a thin layer of snow. The harsh wind sent cold air whistling around them. A lift along the side of the building allowed access to the roof they were standing on. Ignoring it, Volt jumped off the edge of the building. Ducking into a roll as he landed, he safely reached the ground nearly five stories below. The power of these warframes would never cease to amaze him.

Sheets of ice lay across the metallic floor. Built into the mountainside, it supported the Corpus facilities. "I'm detecting ice," the Lotus warned. "Be cautious, your shields will take a hit from the cold." Frost stiffened. "Wait, what?!" he cried. "How does cold affect our shields?"

"Your warframe's shield is made up of a thin layer of particles that cover the surface of metal. These particles are not unlike those found in a gas: fast and spread out. However, these particles are designed to intercept any high velocity object they come in contact with. A bullet would be deflected, but any slow-moving object would not," the Lotus explained. "Unfortunately, each deflected object also knocks loose a large amount of the particles. They are forced to find their way back to the warframe. This is why when you are hit repeatedly, it is possible for your shields to become depleted. When exposed to cold temperatures, the particles' movement slows. This impairs their ability to reach any points of impact on the warframe in time to deflect it."

Frost still didn't seem convinced. "But what about-" "The snow globes that your warframe is able to create do not lower the temperature harshly enough to affect the movement of the particles to any noticeable degree," the Lotus said impatiently, anticipating Frost's question.

"Can we get moving?" Excalibur hissed. Frost nodded grudgingly. Volt approached the entrance to the building, a small gray door. A green light glowed invitingly at its center. As the door's sensors picked up movement, it slid up and out of view. Volt and the others slipped inside.

The architecture inside the building reminded Volt of what he had seen in the Infested ship. Without the grotesque growths coating every surface, the Corpus architecture had a very cold and sterile feel. In Volt's opinion, it wasn't much of an improvement.

At the center of the rectangular room, columns rose up to the ceiling. Lockers ran along one of the walls. A wide door towards the opposite end of the room opened up into the rest of the compound. It was this door that Volt walked through.

They quietly made their way through an L-shaped hallway. At either end, the hall split into two parallel staircases that led to the exits. Volt hugged the wall as footsteps clattered through the corridor. A MOA walked into view. The Mobile Offensive Apparatus moved on two, bird-like green legs, its small head swiveling back and forth underneath an almost comically sized cannon. It made a series of clicks and mechanical groans as it made its way towards the warframes.

Spotting them, the MOA let out an excited whir and charged. Coming as close to them as it dared, the MOA crouched and a beam of light shot out from its cannon. Volt easily dodged the blast. Excalibur dashed out from behind Volt, his Skana cleanly cutting through the MOA's metal shell. With a confused, "Reeee...?" the MOA collapsed in a shower of sparks.

Volt froze, half expecting the alarms to go off and Corpus to begin swarming. After what felt like an eternity, they began to forge ahead once more. At the top of the next door, a small security camera surveyed the hallway. Volt's HUD calculated the angle of the lens, showing a faint beam of light extending from the camera to warn him of its field of view.

Before he could say anything, Frost stepped into the camera's view. Green lasers flew out across the doorway, barring their entrance into the next room. Reacting on instinct, Volt fired an arrow at the camera. The lasers faded. Volt really hoped that no one was monitoring the camera's video feed.

The next room they entered was largest Volt had seen so far. They were standing one tall platform that ran from one end of the room to the other. On either side of the platform, two staircases led down to the main floor. There were four exits: the door they'd just come through, one on the lower level right next to it, one on their level across the room, and the last one on the main level across the room.

Volt crept over to the guard railing and peered over the edge. Below him, several Corpus were patrolling the area. He counted four MOAs, two of them painted yellow rather than green, and three humanoid figures. The Corpus crewmen were dressed in thick orange suits, ones that reminded Volt of the kind he had seen astronauts wear. On their heads, boxlike helmets obscured their faces.

He considered their options. On the one hand, they could take out the Corpus one by one. On the other...

Volt focused his energy. Lifting off of the floor, he stretched out his arms. Electricity crackled around him, and bolts of lighting streaked down from the ceiling. He heard the shocked cries of terror from the crewmen, as well as the mechanical clicks of the MOAs as they were blasted with thousands of volts of electricity.

Volt peered over the edge again. The broken shells of the MOAs littered the floor alongside the limp bodies of the crewmen. The room was clear.

They leapt down onto the main floor. Their objective glowed brightly on Volt's HUD: an access terminal. Volt led them to the base of one of the staircases, where the floor rose slightly into an elevated platform. The terminal was built next to a large pillar that supported the ceiling. A tiny monitor glowed on its interface, among a jumble of buttons and knobs. Volt's fingers flew across the panel as he followed the Lotus's instructions.

At last reaching the facility's documents, Volt grinned. He typed "Infested" into the search bar. A series of reports popped up on the screen, each one detailing the events of an Infestation attack. Nothing on a cure.

Next he typed in "medical." No results. Apparently this was not a medical research facility. Growing desperate, Volt began to scroll through the most recent documents. "Stop," Mag commanded. "Scroll back up." Volt did so, and opened the document that Mag had spotted. It was entitled "Warframe." Volt read its contents aloud.

"Venus Factories,

It is with great pleasure that I announce your services are no longer needed. My Zanuka program has been a rousing success, and the Board has deemed your activities to be superfluous. You may do with the Jackal prototype as you wish.

On a side note, it may interest you to know that I will be holding an auction on the warframe that provided me with the parts for my project. She is in excellent condition and I am quite sure will be able to serve you well. The auction will be held six cycles from now on Pluto. I regret to say that I will be unable to attend in person, though I hope you will be able to make it.

-Alad V"

Volt frowned. "How did the Corpus get their hands on a warframe? I thought all of the extras were locked in the Void?" Excalibur asked. Frost nodded. "They are," he replied.

"Well we have to go check this out," Mag insisted. "If the Corpus are holding someone hostage, we have to free her." Volt started. Just a short time ago, Mag had been criticizing him for his overreaching morality. Why the sudden change?

Misinterpreting Volt's surprised appearance, Mag quickly added, "And maybe there will be some information about the Infested on Pluto." She may have added that a little too quickly, Volt thought as he watched Frost stiffen in shock. He could feel Frost's angry gaze boring a hole through his armor.

Volt cleared his throat. "Maybe..." he said slowly. Excalibur glanced over the message again. "What does this part about a Jackal prototype mean?" he pondered.

Behind them, the sound of groaning metal echoed across the room. Volt whipped around just in time to see a metal foot smash into the floor, sending a bright orange shockwave coursing towards them. It hit Volt like a ton of bricks, knocking him and the others to the ground.

He sprang back up to his feet, bow drawn, and stared down their attacker. It was a giant, quadruped MOA. Yellow armor plating coated its head, back, and legs. Its shoulders were broad and heavily armored, sloping back into its slender hips. Mandibles protruded from beneath its orange eyes. Written in minuscule print on the side of its right leg was the word, "Jackal."

The Jackal growled at Volt, a menacing combination of slow clicks and mechanical grinding. Volt fired an arrow. Its hooked tip whistled through the air before bouncing off of the proxy's thick armor. A missile rocketed towards Volt from the Jackal's shoulder. He leapt to the side, taking cover behind the pillar. The missile impacted on the access terminal, shattering it instantly.

Volt glanced up at his HUD. The others had managed to reach spots of safety, relatively far away from the Jackal. Another explosion. This time, the missile struck the wall behind Volt. He listened breathlessly as the Jackal's clanging footsteps drew closer.

Three feet away...

Two...

One..

Volt launched himself out from behind the column, firing three quick arrows at the Jackal as he rolled away. Two of them once again bounced away harmlessly, but one buried itself into the Jackal's robotic leg. The leg wobbled, then gave out. The Jackal fell to the floor, momentarily stunned.

Frost took advantage of the situation, sending a ball of ice towards the motionless machinery. It struck the Jackal, and a thin layer of frost formed around it. Excalibur fired his Braton, the shots ringing out through the area.

Almost as quickly as it had formed, the frost broke. The Jackal shook itself as it clambered to its feet. Glaring at Frost, it once again brought down its foot. Volt ran away from the advancing shockwave, narrowly avoiding another missile.

When the wave finally dissipated, the warframes began to advance once more. Mag rushed at the Jackal. When she reached it, she ducked into a slide and swung out with her Orthos. Again, the Jackal was knocked off its feet, smashing to the ground mere seconds after Mag slid to safety.

Its legs...

Volt began to form an idea. A terrifyingly insane one.

The Jackal fired off several more missiles after regaining its footing. They spiraled towards their targets. Volt sent a bolt of electricity at the missile, detonating it in midair. The others rushed over to Frost, who swiftly spread his arms and created a protective dome of whirling snow.

The Jackal turned towards the snow globe, focusing its attention on what it deemed the greatest threat. This was Volt's chance.

He drew his Ether sword and charged. Following Mag's example, he leaned back into a slide just before reaching the Jackal.

He had to time this perfectly.

The Jackal's hind legs appeared over him first. Then its lower back...and finally its midsection. Volt grabbed the floor with his left hand and spun around, performing a complete three-hundred and sixty degree turn. His blade sliced cleanly through each of the Jackal's four legs.

A strangled screech escaped the Jackal's mouthpiece as it collapsed. Volt braced the hilt of his sword against the ground, and the Jackal fell on the blade. It easily pierced the soft metal of the Jackal's underbelly. The orange light of the Jackal's eyes faded.

The others cautiously approached. "Well," Frost sighed. "Did that answer your question, Excalibur?"

* * * * *

It had been nice not having to run away for once. The rest of the compound had been empty. Volt guessed that most of the Corpus personnel abandoned the facility when they were told that the Jackal project was being scrapped.

They had searched the rest of the building for any other leads on the Infestation, but had come up empty handed. Frost took it surprisingly well.

Now, Volt stepped off of their ship back into the familiar setting of the dojo. It was amazing how much of a home this had become to them. Volt felt in tune with every part of it: the grand halls, the picturesque gardens, and the cluttered research labs.

Ash, Nyx, and Rhino had taken an elevator down to the obstacle courses, explaining that they wanted to train before their next mission. The team had voted, and it was decided that they were going to Pluto to investigate the Corpus "warframe."

Mag and Excalibur had both opted for rest, Mag heading up to her quarters and Excalibur sleeping in one of the halls. He claimed that he was more comfortable with the open space, but Volt suspected that he just preferred to be separate from the others. Volt walked through Excalibur's "room" as he made his way to the gardens. A large rock mined from one of the system's countless asteroids floated slowly above Excalibur's resting form.

He at last reached the largest of the dojo's gardens. The floor was covered with water, kept at a shallow level. Small stepping stones criss-crossed their way around the garden. An island occupied the center of the room, covered in bushes and trees.

Frost was rested against the trunk of one of these trees, gazing up into its branches. He said nothing as Volt drew closer. Volt coughed. "So, uh, I may have-"

"I know you told Mag," Frost cut him off. He slowly lowered his head, his eyes meeting Volt. "I don't really care," Frost shrugged. "As long as she doesn't tell anyone else."

Volt sat across from his friend. "And what about Pluto?" he asked. Frost shook his head. "Mag was right, we have to help whoever it is the Corpus are holding. I've accepted that...that we might not find a cure..." he murmured.

Volt was about to reply when a small noise whispered from Frost's empty warframe, standing beside the tree. Frost's eyebrows knit together in confusion, and he glanced over his armor. Then, letting out a surprised, "Oh," he pressed a button.

"Thank you," the Lotus chimed. "Your volume for me was set far too low," she accused. Frost mumbled an apology.

"Now, as I was saying, I believe I may have found a way to alleviate Frost's affliction," the Lotus stated. "If the original technocytes can be found and destroyed, it should in theory result in the shutdown of all other technocytes."

"Well, where are the originals?" Volt asked excitedly. "I don't know," the Lotus answered. "But I may be able to discover their location based on the last known location of the Infestation's ship of origin. It was an evacuation vessel, used to escape Earth after the collapse of the Orokin era. It left the planet only a few hours after you did," she noted.

"How soon can you find it?" Frost inquired. "Unfortunately, it will take some time," the Lotus remarked. "The ship is rarely seen, and when it is, the Grineer and Corpus avoid it at all costs. For now, we will have to wait."

* * * * *

The general's flagship approached the home world, passing through the Grineer defensive blockade. Coming to a stop just above the planet's atmosphere, a small shuttle flew out from the warship's hangar and sped towards the surface.

Inside, General Sargas Ruk expertly piloted the craft. The shuttle zoomed over the briny waves of the Earth's ocean and made its way to the land. It flew over the tangled forest of genetically modified trees, the mad doctor's final curse to the Grineer Empire. The trees prevented the Grineer from reaching the precious resources Earth's land had to offer. If Ruk had his way, they would burn the disgusting jungle to the ground. But from what he'd heard, the Councilor had a plan for these trees.

Ruk's shuttle approached the ruined city, a joyful oasis among these filthy weeds. Most of the once proud buildings had been reduced to rubble, but a lone citadel still stood at the city's center. Ruk had heard stories that this city had once been the hub of the Orokin era, and that the citadel had been Orokin Tech's headquarters.

Now however, the building had been stripped of its ornate gold features. A thick wall of obsidian had been built around it. The dark rock seemed to draw in all of the light of the surrounding area, casting a shadow over the land.

Ruk landed outside of the citadel, in the remains of a large courtyard. His cape billowed in the wind as he stepped off of the ship. Fresh air invaded his nostrils, evoking a heavy coughing fit. The general sneered as he stepped into the safety of the tower. He would never understand how the Stalker could live among such horrible nature.

A lift brought him up to the top floor of the citadel. Large oaken doors rose up in front of him. How revoltingly antique.

Sargas Ruk pushed the heavy doors open and walked into the dimly lit throne room. The only source of light was through the tall, thin red-tinted windows that lined the walls. They cast a bloody glow on the floor, the obsidian glinting darkly.

The Stalker stood from his carved throne. Next to it rested his scythe.

Ruk approached the throne and bowed, resting on one metallic knee. "You requested my presence?" Ruk growled.

The Stalker nodded and began to pace back and forth in front of the general. His arms were folded neatly behind his back, and he walked with purpose and force. "Yes," he said. His voice resonated across the chamber, seeming to shake the very foundation of the palace.

"They have discovered her," the Stalker said. "The game is afoot, General."

His head swiveled with a deliberate slowness to gaze at Ruk. "You must be ready to play your part."

A grin broke through the general's cracked, gray lips.

[Grievous40]

Chaper 10

Volt knelt at the center of the arena. The floor, walls, and ceiling glowed with unnatural brightness. Orange pillars formed a ring around him. His fingers brushed over the string of his bow, becoming accustomed to the new feel. He pulled back on the string, nocking an arrow. The exquistely carved ivory bent pliantly in his grasp, the gold tipped ends of the bow stretching out. The white light of the room was reflected by the gilded head of the arrow.

From behind one of the pillars, a Grineer butcher charged at Volt. Volt fired an arrow, and the holographic enemy shattered. Its pixelated essence burst outward and then faded into oblivion.

Another Grineer appeared, this one a lancer. Again Volt fired an arrow, grinning at the satisfying thwack of the string. Again, a hologram was reduced to pixels.

Volt fought off wave after wave of simulated enemies, each one falling to the might of his bow. Then the Lotus notified him that the simulation was complete. The brightness of the room dimmed, the walls and pillars returning to their normal dull gray.

Ash slowly clapped his approval from the side. "Nice job," he smirked. "Much better than with the Cernos." Volt lifted up his new bow, the Paris Prime, admiring the neat gold trim. "Still, you would've been faster if you had used your warframe's abilities," Ash added.

Volt rolled his eyes. "Yes, but the point of this was to test the new Prime weapons," he sighed. Ash pulled out his own Prime, the Glaive, and began to twirl the central disc in his hand. With each spin, the three curved blades of the massive throwing star extended to their full length, then shrunk back down to a palm-sized discus.

After much questioning, the Lotus had finally revealed to them the existence of the Prime weapons. The near ineffectiveness of their old weapons against enemies like Sargas Ruk and the Jackal had prompted Volt to seek out more powerful ones locked in the Void. He had discovered a sealed vault in the abyss that only the Lotus had clearance to enter. She caved, and the Prime weapons were unearthed.

Unfortunately, she had only agreed to allow them entry on the condition that they each only take one weapon. The Lotus claimed that Dr. Fox had given her explicit instructions that those weapons were too dangerous for mankind to handle, which was the reason for them being kept in the Void.

Mag had chosen the Prime version of her favored melee weapon, the Orthos. Frost had taken the same route, choosing the Reaper Prime. The Braton Prime caught Excalibur's eye, and Rhino had chosen the Bronco Prime.

Volt walked away from the simulator, making room for Nyx. Nyx crouched low, wielding her dual Fang Prime blades. The simulation began, and Nyx's daggers lashed out with frightening speed. Enemy after enemy was destroyed in a flash of steel.

This was how they had spent the past five days. Preparing. Tomorrow was the day of the auction. Tomorrow, they would discover the truth.

* * * * *

Cold. 1B was cold. Was she asleep? No, she was awake. She had been awake for two years. Two? Yes, that's what they said. Never to her though.

She was lying down, on her cold metal bed.

Drip, drip, drip.

Water in bag. The bag was always next to her bed. Her cold bed. Metal, steel. The room was empty. Strange, it usually wasn't. They didn't like her to be alone. Drip, drip, drip.

They said tomorrow was important. They spoke without her, always without her. Except that one. He was kind. But the room was empty. Strange, it usually wasn't. Drip, drip, drip.

The metal was closing in. Like always. They made it grow. Not at first though. First, they tried to take it away. They couldn't. Only she could. Drip, drip, drip.

The noise. The door. Clones?? No, not clones. They were here. They spoke to each other, without her. Drip, drip, drip.

They tried to control her. A kitchen? No, not a kitchen. The metal. The knives.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

* * * * *

The Coprus base on Pluto was very much the same to the one on Venus. The architecture was bland and lifeless. There was none of the ornate artistry of the Orokin, nor the intimidating dominance of the Grineer. Everything was designed to be cheap, everything was cost-efficient.

Volt couldn't help but curse the Corpus for their apathy as they crawled through the narrow ventilation shaft. Their crewmen wore flimsy suits and thin helmets. Did the lives of their own mean so little?

Even the MOAs... They completely ignored the crewmen. A MOA was not designed to protect the living crew. A MOA would not sacrifice itself. They were designed to fight, and only to fight. If they could not fight, better then that they flee, and save the Corpus some money.

Volt shook his head, dismissing these bitter thoughts, and focused on the mission at hand. Behind him he could hear the hushed breathing of Ash and Nyx. They were the infiltration team. Mag, Excalibur, Frost, and Rhino waited somewhere outside the compound, prepared to strike if they needed backup.

Below, the unmistakable footsteps of multiple MOAs patrolled the halls. Volt resisted the urge to engage them. This compound was much larger than the one on Venus, with nearly triple the security. They couldn't risk being seen, or else the Corpus might flee with their warframe.

Volt's ears strained, searching for the sound of a crewman. They needed to know... There! Volt motioned for Ash and Nyx to follow him, and they crawled across the vents over to a spot just above two Corpus crewman.

"How much do you think she'll go for?" one of them said.

"What does it matter?" the other sighed. "You know Alad will keep most of the profit to himself."

The other grunted in agreement. Volt jumped as he felt something tap his shoulder, resulting in a clang of metal as his frame hit the top of the vent. The crewmen looked up.

"What was that?!" "Probably an Osprey, stuck in the vents again. Those things need to be reprogrammed."

Volt slowly swiveled his head to glare at Nyx, who had slunk back into a corner. "Sorry," she mouthed. "But I have an idea." Volt nodded, moving aside to make space for her. Nyx crawled over until she was just above one of the crewmen, then reached out an arm.

The crewman stiffened. His eyes glazed over for a moment, and then he seemed to shake himself out of his stupor. His friend looked him over. "You alright?"

Nyx began to whisper, the crewman repeating everything she said. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine," he replied. "I just forgot, where exactly is the auction?" The other crewman laughed. "Why, you planning on placing a bid? You can't hope to afford it, I heard some of the Board members are bidding. They can outbid anyone."

Nyx's crewman shook his head. "No, uh, I was just wondering. Our commander ordered me to guard the door to the auction, but I didn't want to admit that I wasn't sure where it was," he said quickly.

His friend raised an eyebrow. "Really? Well, it wouldn't surprise me that he wants extra security. You know, I heard reports that there have been Betrayer sightings. On Venus, though. I doubt they'd make it all the way out here, the only reason they could ever reach Venus is because the Grineer are too incompetent to keep anything out of their space," he snorted. They began to walk down the hallway. "Here, I'll take you to the auction."

The group struggled to keep up with the crewmen as they wriggled their way through the ventilation system. They led them through room after room, until they finally reached a long, rectangular door. The leading crewmen tapped the control panel next to the door. The air vents rattled, then slowed to a stop.

The door slid open, revealing a lift. "Uh oh," Ash whispered. Volt acted fast, kicking out one of the vents from underneath him and leaping into the elevator. With a quick slash of his blade, the two crewmen crumpled to the floor.

Nyx and Ash jumped down. Ash looked at the face of one of the fallen crewmen. "Awww, you killed our pet!" he whined. Volt sighed. "Just get in before someone sees us," he ordered. Ash complied, grumbling to himself as he did so. Volt pressed a button, and the door closed. The lift began to rise.

"Let's hope this leads to the auction room," Nyx muttered.

* * * * *

She was standing now. But her hands and feet were bound. The cold metal pressed against her back. They had raised her bed up, so it forced her to stand.

They walked in front of her now, toying with some device. Would they add it to her? No, they were putting it on the floor. Light, it was shining light. The light was making pictures...faces.

The faces had numbers underneath them. Money. She didn't know how she knew it, but she knew it. The numbers meant money. She looked over the floating faces. They all looked the same, the same hungry expression, the same terrible eagerness.

Except that face... No! Why was that face here?! He shouldn't be here! He shouldn't...!

Must struggle, must break. The rage, the anger, it came coursing back. The fury.

The hysteria.

And then the door opened.

* * * * *

Volt nocked an arrow. There were three Corpus in the room. Two crewmen, each one raising his weapon to aim at the warframes, and one conducting the auction. Behind them, an enraged warframe was struggling against her bonds. Metal clamps secured her against a vertical steel slab. A collar was wrapped around her neck, forming a second, halo-like ring behind her head. It looked suspiciously like a shock collar.

Ash threw his Glaive. The golden weapon whirled across the room, slicing clean through the waist of one crewmen and hitting the other on the way back. Both collapsed.

The last Corpus sneered. "The Betrayers," he snarled. Beside him, a holographic projection displayed the horrified faces of the bidders. One by one, they disappeared. Apparently, they didn't wish to see how this ended. The Corpus raised a small remote control. He gestured to his prisoner. "I don't think I need to explain what this does," he threatened.

Volt fired his arrow. It struck the remote, which sparked violently as the Corpus dropped it. Ash dashed over to the captive warframe, tearing a piece of the collar off. The crewman turned away to activate the alarm, only to fall to the ground as a bolt of lightning blasted into his back.

They approached the warframe. As they drew closer, her struggles slowed. Volt glanced her over, noting her poor condition. It looked as though part of the armor plating protecting her face had been removed. Overall, something looked wrong about her warframe. It was as if its skin had been peeled away, revealing a layer of muscle and ligaments.

Her collar no longer formed a halo behind her head, where Ash had torn a piece off. Now, it looked more like a pair of horns. Random Corpus attachments covered her body. The most prominent of these were two gray cuffs, one on either forearm.

"We're here to help," Nyx reassured her. The warframe made no response other than a low growl. Volt tilted his head. "Uh, can you...speak?" She turned to face him. "Speak," she said simply. "Oh, that's just great," Ash snorted. "It looks like we'll have to figure out how to guide an insane person."

Nyx broke her bonds. "Can you follow us?" she asked. The warframe nodded. "Follow," she repeated, almost mimicking Nyx. "Good," Nyx said. "This way."

They ran over to the elevator. Fortunately, the warframe followed. Volt reached out to press the button. As he did so, the alarms went off. Volt whipped around just in time to see the Corpus crewmen flash a grin, blood trickling from the corners of his triumphant smile. He had dragged himself over to the alarm. The elevator door closed.

Volt activated his com. "Mag? We're gonna need some help getting out of here."

"Got it," came the reply. "We're on our way in." The lift slowed, and the door opened. Volt froze as an entire squadron of Corpus trained their weapons on him. "Drop your weapons!" one ordered.

"Nyx, if you could do that mind control thing again, I would really appreciate it," Ash hissed. Nyx laughed as she stepped forward. "I can do much better than that," she boasted, and flung out her arms.

The Corpus staggered back. They began to shout frantically, pointing their weapons at one another and crying out in confusion. Not one could figure out where the actual warframes were, yet they each seemed to believe that the other crewmen were their enemies. Then one took the first shot. The beam flew across the room, striking another crewman in the head. The room descended into chaos as the crewmen turned on each other, allowing Volt and the others to slip away unnoticed.

They raced through the compound, not even bothering to deal with the shocked Corpus they passed. "There's a heavy unit moving your way," the Lotus warned. Volt paused, skidding to a halt. He quickly looked around, taking in his surroundings. The hallway they were in was empty. A small door was directly to his left, most likely leading to a closet of some sort. It might work...

The heavy footsteps of MOAs rang through the corridor. "Volt, hurry up," Nyx warned. Volt hesitated one second longer, then dove through the doorway. The others followed him, making sure that the door shut securely behind them.

Volt blinked as his eyes adjusted to the dim light. The room was slightly larger than he expected. It appeared to be a storeroom, piled high with crates of all sizes. Outside, the footsteps of the MOAs grew louder. Volt followed Ash, ducking behind one of the crates. Nyx led the warframe over to another crate.

They waited in breathless silence as the Corpus proxies walked by. Volt tensed as he heard one curious MOA stop by their door. It clucked in frustration outside, lightly tapping on the door. Then, apparently deciding that the effort simply wasn't worth it, it left.

Volt sighed in relief. He stood, motioning for the others to follow him. "Uh, Volt? I think you might want to see this," Ash whispered. Volt crouched back down, crawling his way over to Ash. "What?"

Ash pointed to the crate in front of him. The lid had shifted slightly, revealing a soft blue glow from inside. Volt grunted as he pushed the heavy lid aside, wincing as it clattered to the floor. Then he peered inside and found himself staring at...himself.

Inside the crate, a silvery cryopod rested on the floor. A perfect replica of Volt was fast asleep behind the frozen glass. A clone. He was wearing a simple white robe, the kind one might find in a hospital. Volt pressed his hand against the glass. "What is this..?" he muttered.

"Should...should we let him out?" Ash suggested. Volt thought over their options. The cryopod was far too heavy to carry, even for Rhino. If they let the clone out, he wouldn't be able to defend himself. He'd be dead weight. Chances are, he wouldn't even fully wake up until a good half hour after the pod was opened.

But if they left him here, they could never find out who he was. Even worse, they'd be abandoning him to the Corpus. Volt activated his com once again. "Mag, how far away are you from our location?" he asked.

"We're almost there," she responded. "Good," Volt began. "There's been a change of plan."

Nyx and the unknown warframe crawled over to Volt. "What's the hold..." She trailed off as she saw the cryopod. The warframe seemed riveted by it, trembling slightly. Volt frowned and waved a hand in front of her face. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Her trembling increased. Then she screamed, a bloodcurdling wail that echoed through the building. "That face!!" she shrieked. "Not THAT one!" Nyx grabbed her shoulders, trying to calm her down. Volt quickly slammed his fist down on the cryopod's release.

The glass popped open, mist pouring out from inside. Volt reached in and slung the unconscious clone over his shoulder. He stood and ran for the door. "C'mon!" he yelled. Ash teleported to his side as Nyx forced the still screeching warframe to follow her.

Volt ran outside, nearly crashing into Mag as he did so. "Whoa," she laughed. "Slow down!" Volt grabbed her hand. "No time to explain," he panted. "Just run!"

"Hey, stop there!" a crewman ordered from behind them. They took off down the hallway. Lasers flew by. Volt focused on increasing their speed, grinning in satisfaction as he felt the boost kick in. That grin soon turned to a grimace however.

The clone bounced on his shoulder as he ran, slamming down hard. His chest began to burn, and an all too familiar ache returned. Volt's breath grew labored. His foot connected to a staircase, and the floor rose up to meet him. The clone flew out of his grasp.

Volt cried out in pain. "Ugh...my, rib," he whimpered. Rhino hurried back, picking up the clone and helping Volt to his feet. "Can you walk?" he questioned. Volt nodded. "Yeah, I think so..."

Volt ran after Rhino, a volley of Corpus lasers shooting out from behind them. He drew his Ether blade from his back, deflecting some of the shots as he ran. A large circular door appeared before them, opening up into the cold, barren surface of Pluto.

They dashed down a steep, snow covered incline leading up to a landing platform that rested on the edge of a cliff. Their ship sat on the platform, awaiting their arrival. Volt and Rhino hastened aboard. Rhino gently placed the sleeping clone in the corner. Nyx had already secured the warframe in her seat. She was still ranting uncontrollably about the clone's face.

Nyx was in a panic attempting to start up the ship. The hull rocked as the Corpus opened fire. "Hurry!" Ash blurted out. "Let her concentrate!" Rhino shot back. The ship groaned as it lifted off the ground. The Corpus doubled their efforts. Blue streaks of energy shot past the windows, fading into the distance. They weren't the best at aiming, Volt mused.

With a final sputter, the ship rocketed up and out of the atmosphere. Nyx slumped back in her seat, exhausted. "We made it," she said weakly.

* * * * *

"Well, what's wrong with her?"

"She has experienced extreme trauma," the Lotus responded. "I will need to treat her immediately if we are to save what is left of her memory." Volt nodded.

They had just finished uploading the Lotus to the strange warframe. She had finally calmed down when they had removed the clone from her sight. He was currently locked in one of the empty chambers, still asleep.

"Something's wrong," the Lotus puzzled after a moment. "I cannot treat her unless she is removed from her warframe, but my authority is being overridden. It seems only she has the ability to open her warframe. She must be willing."

"I...I don't know how to convince her," Volt stammered. "Here, let me try," Ash asserted, stepping towards the warframe. "So, um, hi. We need you to open up your warframe so we can help you," he addressed her, speaking softly. Volt was somewhat shocked by his tenderness.

The warframe cocked her head. "Open?" Her voice quavered, unsure of itself. "Are..are you clones?" she asked. Ash stiffened at the direct question. "Um, well, yeah, we are," he replied.

The warframe remained silent. Then a slight hissing hit Volt's ears. The warframe began to open, the faceplate sliding up and out of sight, and the arms, legs, and chest parting from the center.

Volt gasped. Her condition was horrifying. She was emaciated and pale. Her hair was thin and stringy, clinging to the side of her face. Her legs shook as she walked, Ash quickly diving in to catch her when they gave out. "I'll take her to the infirmary," he assured Volt. Volt's eyes widened as he noticed long scars running along her limp arms. Ash carried her away.

Volt and Mag began to inspect the empty warframe. The name, "Valkyr," was crudely scratched into the inside of the frame. Volt immediately recognized Dr. Fox's handwriting. Mag pointed at the inside of the warframe's arms. "Look at this."

Long knives had been installed into the warframe. They were clearly a Corpus addition. "This must be what that collar controlled," Volt murmured. He felt anger begin to course through him. This was barbaric. The Corpus had gone too far. Volt reached into the warframe and tore out the knives. He threw them across the room, and they landed with a loud plunk into a koi pond.

Mag put her arms around him. "It's ok," she whispered. "We got her out of there, the Corpus can't hurt her anymore."

"Volt?" the Lotus's voice rang out over the dojo's intercom. "What?" he snapped. "You wanted me to alert you when the clone woke," she replied.

They hurried to the clone's chamber. The rest were all waiting outside of the room, with the exception of Ash. "We shouldn't all go in at once," Volt cautioned. "We don't want to overwhelm him."

The warframes held a quick vote, and it was decided that Volt and Excalibur would go in. Excalibur didn't appear to be overly enthusiastic about the choice of Volt, but he said nothing. Volt opened the door and stepped inside.

The clone had dimmed the lighting of the room. He sat at the edge of his cot, his hands folded neatly on his lap. He observed Volt and Excalibur's entrance with cold detachment, not displaying any sign of fear or relief. Volt pulled up a chair, sitting directly in front of the clone. Excalibur leaned against a wall, taking things in from afar.

"I'm sure you have some questions for us," Volt began. "So go ahead and ask them now, better to get them out of the way." The clone's eyes glinted as they flicked back and forth over the two warframes. His expression still revealed nothing.

"Are you human?" he asked finally. His tone was flat, as though it wouldn't bother him in the slightest if they weren't. Excalibur's faceplate slid back, showing his face. "Yes, we are," Volt answered.

The clone nodded. "Who are you?"

"We are clones," Volt explained. He removed his own faceplate. "Like you, apparently." The clone finally showed some reaction, recoiling slightly when he saw Volt's face. His hand involuntarily reached up to caress his own features, as though verifying that they were the same.

Volt leaned forward. "Who are you?" he asked. The clone slowly shook his head. "I...I'm not sure..." he muttered. "I can't remember..."

"Can you remember anything?" Volt inquired. "Your name?"

Again the clone shook his head. "No..." At this point the clone seemed to be on the verge of tears. Volt put a hand on his shoulder. "Relax," he reassured him. "We'll be right back."

Volt and Excalibur left the room, rejoining the others outside. They had been listening through Volt's communicator. "What do you think?" Volt asked. "I'm not sure he's being entirely truthful," Excalibur responded. "But he doesn't seem particularly dangerous either."

"I think we should give him a chance," Frost said. "And if he doesn't accept?" Nyx challenged. Frost shrugged. "Then we take him wherever he wants to go and be done with him." The others murmured their assent. "Then we're decided," Volt declared.

He re-entered the room, this time followed by all the others. "We have an offer for you," he addressed the clone. "Follow us."

They led the clone through the dojo, allowing him to take his time marveling at the grand architecture. They finally arrived at the barracks, and Volt activated the gateway to the Void. The clone seemed to hesitate in a moment of distrust before stepping through the starry portal.

Volt directed the clone over to a small room at the side of the main gilded marble hall. He opened the door. The room had not changed at all in the nearly three centuries it had sat dormant. The warframes still stood, stoic and unoccupied, above their golden plaques.

Volt swept out his arm, gesturing at the empty frames. "If you wish, you may choose one," he offered. "But if you do choose a warframe, you also choose the life that comes with it," he warned. "We have chosen to dedicate our lives to fighting the Grineer and the Corpus, and to protecting the innocent. If you don't choose that, we can drop you off wherever you want. You'll be free to live whatever life you choose."

The clone shot him a look of confusion upon hearing the words "Grineer" and "Corpus," but still stepped into the room. He was immediately drawn to a warframe at the back of the room, one Volt had not noticed until now. The warframe was a dark gray, and a metal hood concealed its features. The plaque read, "Nekros."

* * * * *

Watching Nekros train was...an interesting experience. He heavily favored the use of his melee weapon, the Galatine sword. The great blade moved with surprising grace in Nekros's unnaturally skilled hands. It seemed to float through the air, independent of its handler. Nekros rarely used his other weapons, the Soma rifle and the Vasto pistol.

A quiet cough distracted Volt from the spectacle. He turned around, surprised to see the Valkyr warframe standing behind him. Ash and Mag stood on either side of her. "Are you feeling better?" Volt calmly asked Valkyr.

She nodded. "Yes, my memories...my memories are beginning to fit into place," she replied. "For instance, I remember all of you." Volt frowned. "What do you mean? How could you know who we are?"

"I was a clone at Orokin Tech," she explained. "Designation 1B. You most likely never saw me... Most of the people there never saw me. But he did. Dr. Fox."

"1B? But...but they never made a second batch of clones.." Volt puzzled.

Valkyr shook her head. "Officially, no, they didn't. But the board authorized it confidentially, three years after you all were created. I was cloned from her," she said, pointing at Mag, "to ensure that they could successfully clone from a clone template without genetic deterioration."

Volt thought back for a minute. It was difficult to tell, but he could remember some similarities between Valkyr's gaunt form and that of Mag. "But," Volt started, "shouldn't you...I'm not really sure how to say this...shouldn't you be..dead...by now?"

Valkyr's shoulders slumped. "I should be, but I wasn't that lucky," she spat. "Dr. Fox forgot to save me when he released all of you from Orokin Tech. We spent five months locked up in that tower by the Grineer. Dr. Fox spent the entire time building a warframe for them, one that their leader had requested. But then when the tower came under attack, he gave it to me. He ordered me to escape on one of the evacuation ships leaving the planet, and then to find you. He said the other clones would help me."

"I managed to slip by the Grineer during some skirmish that was happening in the front courtyard, and I made it to the evac site. But they were only letting those who had paid for tickets board. One man saw me wearing the armor, and offered to bring me on as his guest. He seemed so nice... I agreed. We boarded the ship and left the planet. We were traveling to the largest colony, on Neptune. When we got there though, the man refused to let me leave. He said he just wanted the armor...but I wouldn't take it off."

"He tried to hack his way in with an AI. But the computer reported that the armor was set to self-destruct if it was opened against my will, or if I was killed. So he locked me away in a cryopod, hoping to find a way to prevent me from dying off before he could open the frame. I woke up two years ago. The Corpus had found me in one of their old warehouses. They tried to break in too, so I fought back. That's when they installed the knives... I endured two years of torture. I...I went insane."

The room fell deathly silent; the only noise was the clatter of Nekros's Galatine. "One last question," Volt said. "When you saw his face, you started screaming." He pointed at Nekros. "Why?"

Valkyr gulped. "He has the doctor's face, Dr. Fox. So do you, if I remember correctly. I can't... I can't forgive Dr. Fox for what he put me through. His face, it brought back my worst memories."

"We can offer you a home," Mag said gently. "You can stay here as long as you like." Valkyr hesitated. "I know you're going to make the same offer that you gave to him," Valkyr murmured, nodding towards Nekros. "I'll accept...on one condition."

"What's that?" Volt asked. Valkyr stood a little straighter. "I want to kill Alad V," she answered.

Volt nodded. "Good, because I think I may have a way to find him." He activated his com. "Lotus, didn't you once say something about a Corpus resistance?"

"Yes, I did," the Lotus responded. "Will they cooperate with us?" Volt questioned.

"Well, that depends. Members of the resistance like to think themselves very different from the Corpus, but in actuality, they aren't so different. The resistance will request a deal."

"We don't have anything to offer," Ash pointed out.

"That's not quite true..." Mag pondered, crossing her arms. "We have a room full of empty warframes."

[Grievous40]

Chapter 11

Alad V had the computer play back the message once more.

"Alad V,

The Queens grow tired of your interference. They will not tolerate your miserable machines holding up the Tenno for any longer. If the Tenno come for you, accept your death with honor.

If you choose to attempt to preserve your pathetic life, you can expect retribution to be harsh.

-General Sargas Ruk"

The Grineer were threatening him? For "holding up" the Betrayers? He would've thought the Grineer would appreciate the reprieve from the warframes' attacks.

It didn't surprise Alad that the Betrayers had a price on his head. Ever since that fiasco at the auction... And the Zanuka project was not selling well. There wasn't enough demand for it. Alad was losing money. And he needed to a way to make it back.

But he had a plan to create demand. He knew one inevitable truth in life, and he was praying that it would save his skin.

War is profitable.

* * * * *

The wind howled around him, whipping up sand into his face. The sun beat down on the hardened desert landscape, illuminating massive dunes and wide valleys. Grineer settlements rose up on the horizon, but those weren't what Volt was looking for.

Behind him, Frost and Rhino struggled to carry the heavy machine that provided the gateway into the Void. Mag walked beside Valkyr, attempting to strike up a conversation with her clone. Volt's own clone trailed some distance behind the others, his head bowed and his fingers nervously drumming on his Galatine.

Nyx, Excalibur, and Ash flew overhead in their ship, scanning the surface for any signs of the hidden base. The Corpus resistance clearly did not want to be found. They had chosen to make their home on the brutal planet of Phobos. Though it was officially a Grineer outpost, the resistance had managed to hide themselves away in one of Phobos's immense deserts.

Somehow the sand had managed to find a way through Volt's armor, settling down in every crevice it could find. It scratched against his skin and irritated his eyes. How any member of the uppity Corpus society had managed to survive more than a few hours in this hellscape escaped him.

"See anything up there?" Volt spoke into his com. "No," came the tired response. Volt was honestly too exhausted to even tell who had responded to his question. "We're never gonna find this place!" another voice whined. That one Volt recognized. Ash's voice had a certain way of burrowing beneath one's skin.

"We just have to keep looking," Mag sighed. Volt looked towards the horizon as the sky turned a dark red. The sun was setting. "We need to find shelter," Volt ordered. "The planet hits sub-zero temperatures after dark."

Frost groaned. "Can we at least load this thing back onto the ship?" Volt nodded. He'd noticed Frost struggling to lift the device with his left arm earlier. Not a good sign. Volt hoped Frost was just out of shape and that the Infestation hadn't crippled his arm that much, but deep down he knew it was the latter.

The ship lowered out of the sky, landing on the dune that rose up before them. It sent sand whirling upward in a small storm, forcing Volt to turn away momentarily. Frost and Rhino disappeared inside, bearing their precious cargo. A few minutes later, Rhino walked down the boarding ramp.

"Frost decided to stay on the ship," he reported. "They're going to continue searching from above while we get some rest. Nyx says that there's a canyon just over this rise. We might find shelter there."

They descended into the dark chasm, climbing down the jagged rocks. A river roared beneath them, churning up foam as it hit the sides of the canyon. Halfway down the cliff face , the rocks parted and formed a small cave. Volt swung himself inside, landing on the cold floor.

His eyes took a moment to adjust to the dark. The cave was smaller than it first appeared. They could all just barely fit inside. Nekros immediately staked out a spot at the back of the cave. Valkyr took a spot next to him, much to his apparent discomfort, and Rhino lay down next to her.

Volt sat down closest to the cave entrance, only inches from the edge. Mag lay next to him. "I'll take the first watch," Volt murmured. The others settled down to sleep.

Volt watched Mag as she slept. Her sides lifted slowly as she breathed, then sank back down. She seemed to peaceful...so content. Volt had been actively avoiding sleep. His dreams were laced with terrifying visions of Loki crushed beneath the massive Fomorian. Lately, Saryn had been infiltrating his dreams as well. He saw her fall out of the ship, an arrow plunged into her back. Throughout these dreams, he could never shake the feeling that he was being watched.

Volt gazed up at the stars. They twinkled with a much kinder light than this world deserved. Gradually the soft hum of his warframe trying to maintain its internal temperature lulled him to sleep.

And with sleep came the terror.

The Fomorian was falling, the smoke and fire clouding up Volt's view. The metal was screaming, twisting and contorting itself until it wasn't metal anymore. It was Loki, his limbs splayed out as the fire consumed him.

And then he was falling again. Saryn was falling next to him, arrows raining down around her. Her face was frozen in a silent mask of horror.

The image began to shift once more, and this time it wasn't Loki or Saryn. It was Mag, standing alone underneath the rustling branches of massive trees. The moss covered earth cooled Volt's feet, and above him a shattered moon provided a soft light. He began to run towards Mag. The ground stretched out beneath him. He couldn't reach her.

The shadows solidified behind Mag, a cruel curved blade taking shape. A familiar blade. The scythe swung downwards, cleaving the metal of her warframe in two.

Volt screamed.

* * * * *

He actually was falling. The freezing water rushed up to meet him, and he plunged into its icy depths. Above, the startled cries of his friends rang through the canyon. Volt heard splash after splash as they dove in after him. The rapids threatened to drag him under as the river carried him downstream.

Volt felt hands grasp at his arms, frantically trying to keep him afloat. The roar of the river grew louder. Volt kicked out his legs, his head raising above the frothing water for just a moment. Long enough to see the waterfall just ahead. The canyon came to an abrupt end, a wall of solid stone blocking the path of the river. Just before the wall, the water dropped off into a waterfall. It most likely led to an underground cave. But the fall could kill them.

"We have to jump!" Volt yelled, hoping the others could hear him. "Right before the falls!" The edge drew closer. Volt tensed, using his remaining energy to give his team some extra speed. Just before the plunge, Volt leapt up, reaching for the canyon wall. He never hit it.

Volt flew right through the rock, landing on a hard metal surface. Mag slammed down on top of him, followed by Rhino, Valkyr, and Nekros. As Volt stood, he was met with the familiar click of a weapon being primed. "The Betrayers!" The shocked statement rang out through the room.

Volt quickly drew his Hikou, preparing for a fight. The Corpus crewman lowered his weapon. Volt looked around the room. It was fairly spacious, with most of the signature trademarks of Corpus architecture. The walls were made of the stone of the canyon, glistening wet from the river. Ten crewmen formed a ring around them, most of them with their weapons holstered.

Upon closer inspection however, Volt began to notice a few...discrepancies. The metal making up the floor was worn and rusted. The helmets of the crewmen were scarred by blast marks, and their uniforms were torn and gritty.

A door opened at the back of the room. A small man walked out, his face just as covered in grime as the uniforms of the crewmen. He was unarmed, and his arms were spread in a welcoming gesture. Though Volt couldn't help noticing the scowl on his face.

"Lower your weapons!" the man howled at the crewmen who were too slow to catch on. They hastened to do so. The man turned towards the warframes. "Today, we welcome some very special guests!" he declared. "The Betrayers."

The man took a sweeping bow, his forehead nearly hitting the floor. Volt bowed his head, unsure how to respond. The man grinned. "I'm surprised you managed to find this place. We've been monitoring your progress since you landed on the planet," he said. He looked over their dripping armor. "Though it seems that the discovery may have been accidental..."

Valkyr took a step forward. "You're the Corpus resistance?" she demanded. The man nodded enthusiastically. Valkyr snorted. "And this is it?!"

The man's expression changed to one of indignation. "Absolutely not!" He motioned for them to follow him. They walked through the doorway that the man had first come from into a far larger room. It was a massive hangar, with Corpus frigates lining either side. Beneath each ship, people were huddled around bonfires. The sounds of laughter that originally filled the room died out as the warframes were noticed. The word "Betrayers" was quietly hushed from person to person.

Volt turned to the man. "Why do you call us that?" The man laughed. "The Betrayers? It's what the Corpus call you," he said. "Their society is descended from members of the Orokin Tech Corporation. They view you as the corporation's property, which by default makes your warframes its property as well. Your apparent refusal to turn yourselves in is seen as a personal betrayal. Hence the name."

The man smiled. "And you must be wondering what to call me!" he exclaimed. "I'm Orai Panx," he said, and extended a hand. Volt shook it. "I'm the elected leader of this rebellion."

"You can call me Volt," he introduced himself. "And this is Mag, Valkyr, Rhino, and Nekros," he pointed to each in turn. Orai nodded. "I have to wonder," he began, "how did you find our headquarters?" "I'm afraid your base isn't quite as hidden as you'd like it to be," Volt sighed. "The Grineer are well aware of your presence on Phobos, and we continuously monitor Grineer intel."

Orai frowned. "I see," he said curtly. "I'm afraid my next question may appear rather rude, but it must be asked. What exactly do you want with us?"

"We have an offer for you," Volt stated. "We need to know the location of Alad V, and we require your assistance." Orai scratched his chin. "We know where Alad V is," he assured Volt. "But it was very difficult information to secure. And if you lose him, we may not be able to find him again. What guarantee do I have that you'll succeed in...I'm assuming assassinating him?"

"We are willing to give two of your soldiers warframes of their own. They will be allowed to come with us and ensure that the mission is successful," Volt offered.

Orai grinned. "Two warframes under my command..." he mused. Volt shook his head. "No, unfortunately we cannot allow any outsiders to have possession of a warframe. Even you. The two soldiers would be giving up everything, including their lives here. However, they would still be able to be loyal to your cause and they would still report to you. They just cannot leave our group with their warframes."

Orai's grin turned into a scowl. "So what? I'm just handing over two of my men?" he barked. "And ensuring the death of an influential member of the Corpus," Volt pointed out.

Orai scratched his chin again, his fingers running through some unshaven stubble. "Fine," he sighed. "You have yourself a deal."

"Alright, I'll call down our ship," Volt said. Orai grumbled his consent, then lumbered off. Volt activated his com. "Nyx, we found the base," he reported. "Can you see our coordinates?"

"Yeah, we're not far," she replied. A few moments later, Nyx's irritated tone broke through the com. "Um, Volt? You know that there's a canyon wall there, right?!" Volt grinned. "It's a hologram. Trust me."

"Volt, if you wreck my ship..." Nyx threatened. "You're not letting Frost drive, are you?" Volt joked. A muffled, "I heard that!" sounded through Volt's helmet. Volt stepped back into the front room just in time to see their ship breach through the holographic rocks. It landed on the cooled metal below.

Nyx, Rhino, and Excalibur emerged, carrying the gateway to the Void. Frost followed close behind. Orai entered the room, bringing two young soldiers with him. They were clearly brother and sister.

Orai gestured at them. "These are my two best trainees," he announced. "Colec," he said, pointing to the young man, "and Adora," pointing to the young woman.

Colec's face was twisted into a grimace, and he leaned heavily to one side. It was obvious that he was not at all pleased at having been chosen. Adora on the other hand, seemed to be hardly able to contain her excitement.

Volt nodded at Frost, and turned to the two recruits. "My name is Volt, and this is Frost," he informed them. "He will bring you into the Void, where you will select your warframes." Frost pressed the golden key into the machine, and the portal to the Void appeared. They stepped through, vanishing from sight.

Volt faced Orai. "Now, we need to know where Alad V is," he said. Orai scowled again, rubbing the back of his neck. "About that," he began, "We have an informant, but...he's not entirely trustworthy."

Volt raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"Well, his father is a member of the Corpus Board of Directors, the closest thing the Corpus have to real leaders. He claims to sympathize with us, but his father has...quite a reputation."

"He knows where Alad is?" Volt asked. Orai nodded. "Then we need to speak with him," Volt insisted. Orai sighed. "Follow me," he grumbled.

Orai led them back through the large hangar full of resistance members, deeper into the base. They walked through a maze of corridors, flanked on either side by the damp rocks of Phobos. At last they arrived in a small, semi-circle shaped room. A tangle of wires covered the walls, leading up to a massive screen that dominated half of the room.

Orai typed a code into a control panel on the wall, and a ringing sound filled the room. After several moments, the ringing stooped and the screen fizzed to life. A man who looked to be in his early twenties appeared on screen. Volt frowned as he heard Valkyr gasp. He looked over the man.

He was dressed in expensive blue clothing, and wore an odd looking hat. Two vertical lines were tattooed on his chin. He was in a small dark room, clearly in a Corpus building.

"Volt, it is my pleasure to introduce Darvo Bek," Orai muttered. "Don't call me that!" Darvo pleaded. "You know I don't go by my father's name. Just Darvo, please Tenno."

Darvo stood a little straighter as he noticed Valkyr. "Hello 1B," he smiled. "It's Valkyr now," she spat, clenching her fists. Darvo seemed hurt, opening his mouth for a moment before thinking better of it and shutting it. Valkyr whipped around to face Volt. "We can't trust him," she hissed.

"Why not?" Volt demanded. "We...we just can't!" Valkyr shouted, becoming flustered. "I want to hear him out," Volt maintained. Valkyr raised her fists in exasperation, fuming. Then she stormed out of the room.

"I'm sorry about that," Darvo sighed. "I knew her when Alad V was holding her hostage. She may feel like I abandoned her."

"Then you know that the best thing for her is going to be the death of Alad V," Volt remarked. Darvo frowned, disapproval written all over his pale face. "Revenge is not wise Tenno," he cautioned.

"Maybe it isn't, but justice needs to be served. Alad V has to pay for what he did," Volt insisted. "We need you to tell us where he is." Darvo tilted his head, pondering. "Alad V is on Jupiter, overseeing the energy converters. I am on my way there now in fact. My father is forcing me to tour Corpus facilities, to groom me for a position on the Board," he informed Volt. "I may be able to help you once you are inside. I'm an excellent hacker."

Volt dipped his head. "We appreciate any help we can get," he said. "It is my honor, Tenno," Darvo responded. "One more question," Volt requested. "Why do you call us Tenno?"

Darvo grinned, a sight Volt found oddly comforting. "I believe that you are due more respect than you receive. You are not Betrayers." The screen grew dark.

* * * * *

The ship silently flew through the swirling clouds. The hazy orange mist created a beautiful and fantastical atmosphere. It was marred by the steel monstrosities that hovered around the most gaseous areas. Filtration pipes extended endlessly downwards from the hovering energy converters.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, echoing over the miles until the sound washed over their ship. Towards the rear of the ship, Colec and Adora stood side by side in their warframes. Colec had chosen Vauban, and Adora had selected the Nova warframe. They had both refused to take weapons from the Void, instead bringing their Corpus weapons with them.

Colec silently stared out at the gas clouds, impatience and frustration evident in his demeanor. Nova had taken up a rather one-sided conversation with Frost, who only responded with the occasional uninterested grunt.

Volt had been observing Valkyr since the beginning of their journey to the gas giant. When they had first boarded, she was still furious about trusting Darvo. As they grew closer to their destination, her irritation had evolved into a tense, angry anticipation. Darvo may have been right about revenge...

Nyx slowed the ship as they reached a landing platform. The ramp lowered. "I'll stay in that gas storm over there," Nyx said, pointing at a particularly dark mass of clouds. "There should be too much interference for them to detect me, and it's close enough for evac."

"Alright," Volt called back. "With any luck, we'll be in and out." He disembarked, followed by Valkyr, Ash, Excalibur, Nekros, and Rhino. Nova, Frost, Mag, and Vauban formed their own group to the side. "Remember the plan, your team will distract the Corpus while Darvo leads us to Alad," Volt instructed. Frost nodded. His team ran inside.

Volt took a moment to look over the building. Though it still felt very...Corpus, it appeared to be a bit more ostentatious. Blue banners flapped in the wind, covered in propaganda preaching about the importance of wealth. Two towers flanked either side of the landing platform, sporting impressive cannons. A single catwalk led into the facility.

Ignoring the scenery, Valkyr barged forward. She moved with grim confidence, her strides long and quick. Volt and the others followed. "Tenno, I'm hacking the facility's mainframe now," Darvo reported over Volt's com. "MOAs will be disabled in five minutes. You'll have ten minutes to reach Alad's lab."

They stepped inside. The first room was rather large, containing a series of ramps that criss-crossed the room. Several reactors were placed at the intersections of these ramps, bright orange electricity crackling between them. A Corpus crewman shouted as he spotted them, drawing his weapon.

Valkyr quickly advanced, pulling one of her small Zoren axes off of her back. She struck like lightning: one quick slash cutting off the crewman's arm, the other beheading him.

The alarms went off, and the doors slid shut. "They've locked you out... That's cute," Darvo snorted. "Can you open the doors?" Volt asked. "Already done." The doors opened. "Three minutes until MOA shutdown."

Valkyr led them down a hallway. Four MOA's popped out of their storage units, large lockers against the wall, and aimed their cannons. Blue beams burst forth, impacting at the warframes' feet. Shockwaves spread out from the impact, knocking them aside.

As Valkyr steadied herself, she let out a roar of fury. A glowing ripline shot from her wrist, latching onto a MOA. She yanked back, and the proxy's leg tore off. The other three soon fell to her axes. Volt shuddered. Her attacks were unnecessarily brutal. She was letting her conflict with Alad become an excuse to tear into his crewmen.

"You're close," Darvo informed them. "The MOA's are shut down, now you just have to deal with the crewmen. Alad's assigned a squadron to guard his door."

"I think I see it," Volt muttered. The wide doorway was heavily guarded. At least twenty crewmen stood watch. Nekros raised his arm, opening his palm. He thrust it outward. A crewman collapsed.

The others reacted fast, opening fire on the warframes. Nekros killed crewman after crewman with a mere flick of his wrist. As Volt looked more closely, he noticed small white orbs drawn out of the Corpus's chests, then slammed back in.

"What are those?" Excalibur murmured. "Their souls," Nekros growled. The others shifted uncomfortably. "With what we do, it's better to imagine them not having souls," Volt warned.

"Whatever makes you feel better," Nekros hissed. He seemed to revel in his power over life. Maybe even more disturbingly than Valkyr.

As the final crewman breathed his last, Volt faced Valkyr. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked. She nodded. "I've waited too long for this," she responded. She strode forward.

The door opened. Alad V's laboratory was an open platform, suspended over the turbulent clouds. More propaganda banners hung from the pillars that supported the roof. Alad V himself stood at the far end of the platform, grinning wildly.

"Welcome, Betrayers!" he declared. Alad was dressed in even more expensive clothing than Darvo had been in, the blue-plated robe providing a vague sense of armor. A metal device was strapped to his back. At his feet, a seemingly asleep robotic proxy rested. "Allow me to introduce, the future!" The device clamped around his neck, forming a wide collar. "Zanuka! Kill," he ordered.

The machine stretched out its limbs, carefully eyeing over the warframes. Without warning, Zanuka leapt forward. It landed in front of Valkyr, knocking her back. Alad V laughed mockingly.

Zanuka crouched low to the floor, circling them. Volt gripped his sword tightly, raising it into a defensive position. Panic began to overtake him. Why didn't Zanuka shut down with the others? Did this mean the MOAs were back online? Had Darvo betrayed them?

Zanuka screeched, charging at Rhino. Rhino swung his Scindo, batting Zanuka aside. It immediately rebounded, moving with feline grace. Crewmen started to pour in from the open doorway, surrounding them. Volt tried to ignore them, focusing on tracking Zanuka as it jumped around the room. They were losing control of the situation.

Volt grunted as Zanuka tackled him, forcing him to the floor. It stood over him and roared, a horrible sound of grinding mechanics that sent sparks spewing from its maw. Then the weight was lifted as Rhino heaved the metal monster off of him.

And then the battle stopped. Zanuka stood still, glaring at Volt. The crewmen still surrounded them with raised weapons. Volt looked over at Alad. The Corpus entrepreneur was kneeling with his hands raised, his rage evident on his pale face. Behind him, Darvo was aiming a Detron pistol at his head.

"Hello, Tenno," Darvo grinned. "I thought you might like some help." Volt was about to reply when he saw Valkyr advancing towards Darvo, her fists balled up at her sides. "Why are you helping me now?!" she shouted.

Darvo shook his head sadly. "I can't let you do this," he said softly. "Killing Alad isn't going to take away all those memories of torture. Revenge will destroy you."

"You could've have saved me!" Valkyr cried. "All those times you visited me, you could've saved me! But you did nothing!!" She was reaching the point of hysteria. Volt began to wonder if he should step in.

"I was a coward," Darvo admitted. "And...and then I saw you bidding on me!" Valkyr spat out, turning her head away from him. "I was trying to buy your freedom..." Darvo explained. "I should've known money wouldn't work... It has brought the Corpus nothing but pain and suffering..."

"Blasphemy!!" Alad V yelled out, trying to face Darvo. Darvo hit him with the butt of the Detron, silencing him. "The truth is," Darvo began, "I did it...all of it...because I loved you..."

Valkyr froze, her fists unclenching and her arms slowly drooping. She seemed unable to speak, let alone move. For the first time today, she seemed unsure of herself. Volt noticed the pained expression on Darvo's face, and felt a pang of sympathy for the Corpus. Trying to live up to his society's expectations...as well as his father's...had left Darvo shattered. He'd found a friend in Alad V's experiment, and had fallen in love with her. Valkyr took a sharp breath, preparing to say something. Alad whispered something too quiet for Volt to make out.

A pair of metallic jaws locked around Darvo's head, and twisted. There was a horrible snap, and Darvo fell backward. His body tumbled over the railing, falling silently through the air. He vanished in the thick layer of clouds below. Where he had stood, Zanuka gently nudged its master to his feet.

Valkyr wailed. Volt felt tears well up in his eyes. He had heard that wail before. Excalibur had made the same terrible sound, the night Saryn died. Red claws sprang up from Valkyr's fingertips, and she prepared to attack Alad. Volt watched on in horror as Zanuka tensed to pounce. Valkyr would be walking to her death, and Volt was too far away to stop it.

Out of nowhere, Ash teleported to her side. He grabbed her arm, trying to tug her away. She screamed and turned on him, her claws raking over his chest. He yelled in pain, staggering back, and Excalibur and Rhino pulled Valkyr away.

Alad retreated into the shadows, making a break for the door. The crewmen fired at them, lasers racing in every direction. Volt's rage consumed him. He stretched out his arm, firing a bolt of lightning at the fleeing Corpus. Despair rushed through him as he saw Zanuka intercept the blast, shaking off the attack with a shower of sparks. Both master and monster disappeared inside the building.

He returned his attention to his friends.

* * * * *

The plan had failed. If Darvo hadn't meddled...the day would've been a glorious victory! The Tenno would have arrived, killed some crewmen, been defeated by Zanuka, and Alad would've won. The Grineer would retaliate with war against the Corpus, the Board of Directors would at last be rid of the Betrayers, and Zanuka would be in demand.

Instead, Alad was left running away with no evidence of Zanuka's power. All was not lost though... The Grineer may still declare war on the Corpus. If Alad could just convince the Board to mass produce Zanuka, profit would still be made.

Alad V hurried down the dim halls of the energy converter to his personal landing platform. He hugged a case of credits close to his chest, and a single guard ran behind him. Zanuka ran ahead, reaching the ship. "Begin takeoff," Alad huffed into his com. The ships engines roared. It lifted off.

Alad jumped onto the boarding ramp. He quickly lost his balance, and the credits flew out of his hands. They landed at the edge of the ramp, dangerously close to falling off. Behind him, Alad heard a cry for help. His guard had jumped too late, and was hanging onto the bottom of the boarding ramp. His fingers were beginning to slip.

He didn't even take a moment to consider. Alad lunged for the credits, nabbing them just before they toppled off the side. The screams of his guard echoed through the atmosphere as he fell. No doubt he'd be joining Darvo below.

Alad V sighed contentedly as he settled into his chair. His shuttle broke through Jupiter's smog, reaching the stillness of space. Only it wasn't still. A Grineer cruiser drifted towards Alad's ship. That insignia... Alad recognized it, but he couldn't remember from where.

His shuttle shook as the Grineer boarded. The door to his private quarters opened, and a hideous robotic mass entered. Alad would've thought it to be Corpus in design, if it was not so sloppy. "Hek," Alad muttered.

Zanuka leapt to the defense of its master, but the Councilor simply snatched the proxy out of the air and tore him in two. The sparking remains of Zanuka were tossed aside. The mask obscuring Vay Hek's face opened, revealing the terrible disfigurement.

"You're nothing but a sniveling worm, Alad," Hek boomed, his voice reverberating through the room. "Your greed has been a meaningless stain on the Grineer war machine. Now it will be wiped clean."

Sweat trickled down Alad's brow. His mind raced, feverishly searching for a way out as he realized that there may not be one. "Wait!" he cried. "How will you maintain your precious diplomacy after this?! The Board will never tolerate my assassination!"

Hek only smiled grimly. "Grineer foreign policy starts and ends at the tips of my plasma grenade."

He tossed a small grenade into the room. It landed on Alad's chest, sticking there firmly. An electronic timer counted down on it. Five seconds. The door shut behind Vay Hek. Three seconds. Alad desperately tore at the device, but it wouldn't budge. One second. The explosion rattled the small Corpus vessel.

* * * * *

"You really expected them to give up their names?" Mag said, laughing. "They have actual names, not clone designations. There was no need for them to change."

Volt's face grew hot. "It was worth a try," he shrugged. Not surprisingly, Colec and Adora had rejected the idea of being called Vauban and Nova outside of missions.

The dojo felt more lively than it ever had before. Though Darvo's death still weighed heavily on Volt, the discovery of Alad V's decimated shuttle had reinvigorated the group. Even Vauban had lost some of his aloof attitude and was joining in on the celebration. Rhino had his arm around Nyx, and they were laughing at some inside joke. Excalibur stood nearby, not speaking, but at least he was smiling.

Valkyr, her cheeks flushed, was profusely apologizing to Ash, who had bandages wrapped tightly around his chest. Valkyr's eyes were puffy and red. Volt could tell she had been crying, but it was good to see her socializing. Only Nekros was missing, leaving to train in the obstacle course.

Frost sat alone at the far end of the room, clearly deep in thought. Volt glanced over at Mag, and she nodded in understanding. Volt approached Frost, sitting next to him. "What's up?" He asked casually.

Frost shook his head. "Nothing really...it's just this whole thing with Darvo...got me thinking," he replied. "About what?" Volt asked. Frost was about to respond when Nova walked over. "Hi Frost," she said, grinning shyly. "I just wanted to say that you were a really good leader toady." Volt suppressed a laugh. Frost mumbled a thank you, and Nova walked away.

"She really admires you," Volt teased. Frost winced, not finding the humor in Volt's gibe. "I don't feel the same way about her," he sighed. Something about the way he emphasized the word, "her"... "Then who?" Volt wondered.

He followed Frost's sorrowful gaze across the room. "Oh.."

"I'm so sorry."

[Donatello]

This is honestly one of the best fan-fictions i have ever read keep up the good work!

[Grievous40]

Chapter 12

Nekros rolled over the cold metal floor, springing to his feet just in time to launch himself over the chasm. He landed on the next platform, taking a sharp left turn. An empty hallway stood before him.

He took a moment to regain his stamina, then bolted forward. Nekros ducked to the side as pillars rose up from the floor, attempting to block his path. He dodged his way by every ascending wall, finally reaching the end. The hall dropped off into a second chasm. A wall hovered above it to his right.

Nekros leapt forward, his feet hitting the wall. With impossible speed, he ran along the side of the wall. His fingers brushed over the surface, keeping his balance.

He jumped towards a second wall, this time running straight up it. As he sensed the platform come up behind him, Nekros pushed off. He landed with another roll, and began to climb the final wall. At last he reached the top platform. From there, he could see the entire obstacle course.

Nekros began to think over the last mission as he moved onto the most difficult part of the course, the moving pillars. The mission had been going so well, until Valkyr had shown weakness. What did Darvo matter to her? She should've taken her revenge while Alad was captive. Darvo was a pointless distraction. His death was a blessing, really.

Nekros hauled himself up onto the fourth pillar. The fifth, and most difficult, lay before him. Without a moment's hesitation, he threw himself across the gap, landing easily on the pillar. He ignored the sixth pillar, leaping right over it and onto the next platform.

Valkyr's weakness was but a trifle compared to Volt's. He could've pursued Alad and his pet as they fled, but instead he chose to turn back and protect Valkyr. Volt was unfit to lead if he did not recognize the first principle of nature: only the strong survive.

And Nekros was strong. Nekros would survive. He would lead warriors a hundred times more powerful than the warframes. He would have all he desired.

Nekros took the last jump, landing in the center of a glowing white ring. A thunderous gong signaled his completion of the course, and the monitor displayed his time. It was the top one, edging out Volt's time by nearly a minute.

Nekros grinned, then erased his time from the machine.

* * * * *

Volt woke with a start, gasping and coated in sweat. His cot shook as he regained his breath. The nightmares were getting worse. Scenes of Darvo's death replayed in his head, along with the terrible vision of Mag in the forest. Volt could still feel the eyes watching him in his dream, observing him with a cold distaste.

He buried his head in his hands, allowing the cool air to relax his muscles. As the ringing in his ears faded, he became aware of another ringing. The alarms.

Volt ran out of his cot, nearly tripping in the process. He burst through his door and into the hallway, noticing that all of the other doors had been opened as he ran by. He was going to be late.

Volt finally arrived at the main hangar, where the others were already impatiently assembled. They were all standing around a large, square metal table. His arrival was met with some questioning looks, some irritated, and some relieved. Volt shifted uncomfortably under Mag's inquisitive gaze, and he cleared his throat. "Sorry about the wait," he grumbled.

The alarms shut off and the Lotus began to speak. "Ever since you encountered that Grineer Fomorian on Mars," she began, "I've been monitoring Grineer communications for any mention of the Fomorians. Until recently, it appeared that the project had been scrapped due to the expensive loss of the prototype vessel."

"But a few hours ago, I intercepted a message from the Grineer's highest level of command. It took awhile to decrypt the message, but I was just able to do so. The Stalker has ordered that a fleet of Fomorians be built for immediate use against the Corpus."

The room became deathly silent. The thought of facing down hundreds, maybe even thousands, of those ships terrified Volt. Even Nekros, Valkyr, Nova, and Vauban had heard the story of their first skirmish against the titanic craft.

A hologram appeared on the table in front of them. It depicted a Grineer base sheltered by jagged rocks, and surrounded by a crashing sea. "This is the best map of the Grineer factories I was able to procure," the Lotus stated.

One building on the hologram suddenly glowed red, distinguishing it from the normal light blue. "This is the factory where the Fomorian cores are being produced," she explained. The red faded, and another building was highlighted. "This is where the hulls are being manufactured."

"This facility will be heavily guarded. More so than any other area you have seen," the Lotus warned. "You'll also have to break through the Grineer fleet protecting Earth." The map zoomed out, showing the rotating planet. The Grineer fleet was highlighted in red. It was next to impossible to see the planet through the swarm of Grineer ships.

"We need to plan this out," Rhino spoke up. "We can't go into this one unprepared." Volt nodded. "The first step is making it by the fleet without being noticed," he said. "Can you do that?" he asked, turning to Nyx. She frowned. "I think so...but it will be tricky. We'll have to slow down far away enough from the planet to cloak the ship in time," she replied.

"That'll have to do," Volt said grimly. He zoomed in on the factory once again, and pointed at the core foundry. "We should target the cores. If we can get them to react like they did on the first ship, it would level the entire factory."

"How are we going to do that?" Excalibur asked. "We don't have any more Infested tissue."

"The cores are kept stable inside the factory and once they are installed into their Fomorian ship," the Lotus cut in. "If you can remove a core from the factory, or intercept one that is being transferred to a completed vessel, it will destabilize and implode on its own."

Frost gestured towards a point on the map. "This looks like the track they use to move the cores," he observed, highlighting the track. "We could hide in one of these outcroppings," he pointed at the rocks, "until they begin to move a core."

"We're forgetting something," Mag sighed. "Where are we going to hide the ship when we land?"

Valkyr expanded the map's view. The factories seemed to be built along a shoreline. Beyond the rugged cliffs, an sprawling forest extended into the distance. "Those trees should work," Valkyr mused.

Volt had a sudden flashback to his nightmares. Mag, standing alone, in a darkened forest. Fear raced up along his spine. "No!" he shouted. The others glanced over at him, looks of shock on their faces. Volt felt his face grow hot. "Uh, I don't think we should hide the ship in the forest," he stammered. "We don't know what those trees could be covering up."

Nekros nodded his approval. "He has a point," he muttered. "We don't want to deal with any unexpected dangers."

"What about there?" Nova suggested, zooming in on a small cave on the very edge of the shore. It was fairly concealed, only visible from the one side that faced the ocean. "That looks good," Volt agreed.

"What about an escape plan?" Vauban asked. "Oh, we never have one of those," Frost joked. "You'll learn to just go with the flow."

"We should divide into two teams," Volt said. "The first team will attack the factory that produces the hulls, to draw the Grineer away from the core foundry. Then the second team can extract a core and force it to implode. I'll lead the second team, any volunteers for the first?"

Both Frost and Nekros stepped forward. Volt hesitated. He didn't want to discourage Nekros, but he knew that this mission would require a more experienced leader. "Frost, you can lead the first team," Volt said slowly. "You haven't seen Grineer tactics yet, Nekros. This mission should be a learning experience for you."

Nekros glowered at Volt, taking a small step back. Volt couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw Nekros shoot a quick glare in Frost's direction.

* * * * *

Vor listened as the rain pattered against the roof. Outside, a bright flash of lightning briefly illuminated the sky. Thunder shook the building.

He was being punished, and he knew Ruk was behind it. The general had been furious at him for fleeing from his post on the first Fomorian. And now Vor had been given the most dangerous part in the Stalker's plan.

Vor looked around at his men. They stood in small bunches, huddled around the center of the factory. There were hundreds of them, far more than Vor had ever seen gathered together before. But they wouldn't be enough. Not against them. He should request reinforcements. The Stalker may be mad at him, but he couldn't be mad enough to abandon him...

* * * * *

"Sir, Captain Vor is requesting reinforcements."

General Sargus Ruk moved his gaze from the endless black of space. The Grineer technician who had spoken was nervously sitting at his station, waiting for the general's response. Ruk smiled grimly. It was time that Vor truly payed for his cowardice.

"No," Ruk commanded. "We must test the 'good' captain."

* * * * *

The ship rocketed through the tunnel of light, moving at impossible speed towards its target: Earth. Volt could feel the tension in the group. This was the largest scale operation they had attempted yet, and possibly the most dangerous.

Nyx pulled down a lever on the ship's controls, and the stars came back into view. Earth seemed to grow from just a pin point in the distance to massive size in a matter of seconds. Hovering above the planet's atmosphere was the Grineer fleet.

No hologram could have prepared Volt for the fleet's sheer size. Millions upon millions of warships drifted over the planet. It was nearly impossible to see Earth's blue oceans and lush forests.

Nyx swore, her fingers dancing over the control panel. "We came out of the jump too close," she hissed. "They probably know we're here, I put up cloaking too late."

The warframes fell dead silent. Their ship slowly approached the Grineer fleet. Volt became very aware of the slightest movements: the raising of the hair on his head, the bead of sweat trickling down his temple, the quiet tapping of Ash's foot on the metal floor.

The Grineer command ship, which was larger than the others, lay directly ahead. Nyx gently nudged their ship to the left, narrowly avoiding a collision. Volt peered into the bridge of the command ship as they passed. Grineer technicians were fervently staring at their monitors, searching for any signs of the Tenno.

But one Grineer was staring out the window...directly at their ship. Volt immediately recognized the large cyborg. A sinister smile was plastered on General Sargas Ruk's face as his cyclopean eye seemed to track their cloaked vessel. But he didn't open fire. They passed right by the Grineer fleet.

Volt had a chilling thought. What if the fleet wasn't meant to keep intruders out? What if it was meant to keep the Tenno in?

The jolt of the ship entering Earth's atmosphere distracted Volt's mind from these distressing thoughts. Dark clouds flew by the window, obscuring Volt's view. Lightning crackled outside.

And then they broke through the clouds. Below them, massive trees swayed in the storm. The shore was ahead, pillars of smoke giving away the factory's position. Waves crashed against the rocks, sending the briny spray soaring up into the sky before dissipating into to tiny droplets of foam.

Nyx lowered the ship over the violent sea, and slowly edged into the cave they had chosen. The ship landed gently on the slick rock floor, and Nyx lowered the exit ramp. The strong smell of the ocean salt wafted on board.

They stepped out into the dark cavern. The crashing of the waves was a loud roar, making it impossible to hear anything else. Volt led the group over to the mouth of the cave. To his right, a narrow ledge ran along the side of the rocky cliff, sloping upwards until it reached the top.

Volt motioned for the others to follow him as he began to slowly advance up the ledge. Behind him, Volt heard Ash mutter something about heights.

The rain pelted down on their warframes, creating a persistent pinging. Thunder rumbled every few minutes, followed by a brief strike of lightning. Wind howled around them. Volt found it increasingly difficult to concentrate on the path in front of him as the noises around him seemed to grow louder.

They were about halfway up the cliff face when something went wrong. Volt spun around at the sound of horrible retching. He saw Frost staggering backwards, his hands desperately clutching at his throat as he choked. Volt reached out to grab him, but it was too late. Frost's foot slipped on the wet rock and he fell backwards, off of the ledge.

Nyx cried out as he disappeared over the side, and Valkyr quickly extended her arm. Her red cord of energy appeared out of her wrist, and shot downwards. Volt watched in anxiety as the cord grew taut, and a loud thud rang out from below.

Volt peered over the edge. Frost's limp form dangled at the end of Valkyr's line, mere feet from the ocean's surface. Rhino and Volt grabbed onto the cord and helped Valkyr haul up Frost. He was out cold, but still alive.

Volt gently shook him awake. "Huh?" Frost murmured, propping himself up with his hands. "Wha- What happened?"

"You had a coughing fit," Nyx said with concern. "And you slipped and fell off the ledge."

"Frost, are you alright to keep going?" Volt asked slowly. He had his suspicions, and his worries, about why Frost had been coughing. Frost climbed to his feet. "Yeah, I feel fine now," he responded.

"Are you sure?!" Mag stressed. "Yes, I'm fine," Frost insisted. "I can take over your part in the mission," Nekros offered. Volt frowned. Not without my permission, he thought.

"I told you all, I'm fine!!" Frost snapped. Nekros recoiled from his harsh tone. Everyone fell silent, stunned by Frost's outburst. Frost never lost his temper. The only noise now was the steady rain, and even that seemed to quiet in the moment.

Volt interrupted the awkward silence. "Let's keep moving."

At last, they reached the top of the cliff. Grineer architecture was scattered over the gray rock. Hunks of scrap metal littered the ground in small piles, left to rust.

"Alright, this is where we split up," Volt said. "Frost, you take Ash, Nova, Nyx, and Nekros with you. Mag, Valkyr, Excalibur, Rhino, and Vauban, you'll be coming with me."

Frost nodded. "We'll keep you updated on our coms," he assured Volt. Frost's group advanced, making their way to the Fomorian hull foundry. Volt led his team slowly, ensuring that they could easily take cover behind the scrap metal if need be.

The core factory was directly ahead, a fairly small building compared to those around it. The windows were all located towards the top, making it impossible to see inside. It also made it impossible to see out, Volt noted.

The warframes crouched behind a rusted and bent piece of metal, worn by the constant downpours. Now they just needed to wait for Frost's signal.

Volt watched in silence as lightning flickered in the distance. He couldn't help wondering what would happen if his warframe was struck by it. Was it designed to protect him from the blast? Or would the bolt overpower him?

Vauban sighed impatiently. Volt couldn't understand what his problem was. Ever since he joined, Vauban had been aloof and upset. He seemed to resent everyone else, including his sister. Volt was about to call him out on it when his com came alive in an explosion of sound.

"Volt...was.....trap...Nekros....dead....," Volt could barely make out Frost's frantic voice through the static. "I think the Grineer are jamming our coms," Volt shouted, hoping that some of the message got through to Frost. "We're on our way!"

Before any of them could move, the factory door slid open. Grineer swarmed out of it, surrounding the warframes. Volt tried to count the number of foes, but there were far too many. On face stood out amongst the rest though, one that appeared to be wearing an old winter coat. Captain Vor.

The captain smiled. "Remember me, Tenno?" he directed the question at Volt. "I'm the one who pried you from your cold, endless sleep."

* * * * *

Frost hacked at the Grineer lancer with his icy scythe. How had everything gone so wrong?

They'd quickly reached the factory, only to find it seemingly empty. The lights were turned off, and there were no Grineer in sight. Frost remembered ordering them to split up. Nova and Nekros had gone with him. Nova had been walking irritatingly close to Frost, and Nekros had maintained his guarded attitude.

Annoyed, Frost had ordered them to split up as well. They all went their separate ways, and Frost was on his own. As he walked through the empty halls of the Grineer factory, his mind had wandered. Why he couldn't he remember blacking out? He couldn't even remember the coughing fit.

How much of the Infestation was controlling his mind?

A low humming had brought Frost out of his reverie. All around him, machines were starting up. Mechanical arms reached across the catwalk, welding together pieces of metal and sending them on their way. Frost was standing in the middle of a massive assembly line.

A cry of terror had rung out from the distance, then a loud clang. Frost ran to the source of the noise, finding the others standing around a lone object on the floor. Nekros's Soma rifle had been shattered. Blood was spattered over the weapon's barrel.

Frost had hurriedly attempted to contact Volt. Volt's response had been interrupted by bursts of static, making it next to impossible to decipher. Something about Grineer jam, whatever that was.

Frost knew one thing though, and that was that they had to reach the others.

* * * * *

Vor raised a pistol at Volt, his finger hovering threateningly over the trigger. The pistol was a dark maroon, with golden rings arcing around the barrel. Volt recognized the Orokin stylings.

"I suggest you surrender now, Tenno," Vor warned. Volt glanced around. They were completely surrounded by Grineer troops, all of which had their weapons raised. "Vauban, now!" Volt hissed.

Vauban tossed a small, metallic sphere into the crowd of enemies. The Grineer cried out as they were sucked into a vortex, consumed by Vauban's trap. Rhino smashed the ground with his foot, sending the remaining Grineer skyward. Volt turned back to the captain, who was tightly gripping the ground with his robotic feet.

"Now then," Volt started. "I suggest you surrender now, Captain." Vor snarled and fired his pistol. The bullet was easily dodged, and Volt blasted the weapon out of Vor's hand with a quick surge of electricity. The gold flashed in the light, then vanished over the edge of the cliff.

Vor glared at Volt, and pulled a sword out of a strap on his back. The blade was narrow, expanding out a bit towards its tip. Volt drew his own sword. Vor charged, beginning with an upward slash.

Volt countered the strike, and began to push the captain back with a flurry of quick jabs. Behind him, Volt could hear the constant fire coming from Rhino's Gorgon. He knew each shot marked the death of another Grineer.

He parried another swing, this one aimed low. Vor was a clumsy swordsman. His movements were slow, as if he wasn't fully comfortable with his robotic prosthetics. Unfortunately, the captain was fast enough to block Volt's attacks. Barely.

Every few seconds, lightning lit up the field of battle. Volt could see the hordes of Grineer surging towards his friends, only to be stopped in their tracks by Excalibur's javelins or one of Vauban's traps. He also saw the edge of cliff, coming up just behind Vor. If he could just push him back a bit more...

Volt thrust his sword forward, the iridescent blade coming nearly driving into the captain, who backpedaled just in time. Vor glanced back. He knew what Volt was trying to do.

Growling, Vor grabbed a small device from his side. He tossed it at Volt, and it connected to his shoulder. The metal stuck fast, and Volt gasped as electricity coursed through him. Sparks flew off of his warframe, and his sides wracked with pain.

Volt collapsed to his knee, madly clutching for the device. His vision was growing fuzzy. His hand finally reached the machine, and he pulled with all his might. The device stayed put, it's magnetic forces persisting over Volt's strength. His eyes screwed shut.

Volt roared in agony. He'd never experienced a pain so sharp. It cut into his head, worse than any migraine. His hearing was reduced to a ceaseless ringing. His muscles spasmed, and he realized with horror that he could no longer control them.

And then a shot rang out. The pain stopped. Volt opened his eyes. Captain Vor was limp on the wet stone, a single tendril of smoke curling up from his forehead. Someone helped Volt to his feet. His legs trembled as he put his weight on them. Volt turned to his rescuer.

Vauban gave Volt a small nod as he approached Vor's dead body. "Uh, thanks," Volt stammered, unsure of what to say. Up until now, he'd always had the impression that Vauban hated everyone. Vauban muttered a quick, "No problem." Maybe my first impression was still correct, Volt thought ruefully,

Vauban kicked Vor's body over the edge of the cliff, watching it tumble down towards the waves below. They clashed together as the body hit the surface, like rabid dogs fighting to claim their bloody prize.

A sharp pain shot through Volt's neck, making him wince. He reached up towards it source, assuming it was just an after-affect of the shock. Instead, his fingers curled around something sharp. He yanked the object out, and opened his palm. It was a throwing knife. Liquid glistened at its tip, most of it Volt's blood, but some of it was something else...

Before Volt could move, he felt his arms and legs grow numb. Darkness consumed his vision.

* * * * *

Volt was awakened by the roar of a cheering crowd. It pounded on his eardrums, the noise so loud it seemed to block out everything else. And then it fell deathly silent. Something whistled through the air, then clanged. There was a soft thud, and the roar returned.

Volt opened his eyes. He found himself staring at Nova's face. Her mask was smudged, scarred with the blast marks from her recent skirmish with the Grineer. Her head was sideways, pressed against the metal grate floor.

It took Volt a moment to realize that her body was no longer attached.

He felt a powerful hand clasp around the back of his neck. Ties around his wrists were removed, ties that he hadn't even noticed, and he was lifted upwards. Volt was carried forwards, presented like a kitten with its mother holding onto its scruff. He was brought to the edge of a building. A tower. Far below, a massive crowd of Grineer soldiers jeered at him. This was an execution.

Volt was then turned around, to meet his executioner. The Stalker stood before him, smugly twirling his scythe in one hand. The Stalker kicked the back of Volt's knees, sending him into a crouch. The crowd once again grew silent, anticipating the next death.

Volt's stomach twisted in knots, an extreme tension overcoming him. Was this how it was going to end? Killed on an earth he no longer recognized, with no one to remember him? All of his friends dead alongside him?

No.

He couldn't let it end like this. Not like this.

The Stalker hefted up his scythe, preparing for that final downward swing. Volt gripped the grate beneath him. The Stalker swung.

Volt kicked out his legs, grinning at the startled grunt of the Stalker as his legs smashed into the Stalker's gut. The Stalker staggered back, his scythe clattering harmlessly to the ground. In one fluid motion, Volt grabbed the fallen weapon and whipped it behind him.

It slashed through his enemy's chest, and the Stalker dissipated in a cloud of dark smoke.

Volt didn't even have time to think about what he'd just done, as the alarmed shouts of Grineer troops reached his ears. He quickly looked over the tower. The rest of his friends were tied up, as he had been, and all of them were unconscious. His weapons were gone.

Lifting up the Stalker's scythe once more, he cut through the ties. As he cut each one, Volt couldn't help thinking how easy it would be cut off their hands instead. Just one small movement...

He shook his head, clearing away the thoughts. What was wrong with him? Volt woke the others hurriedly, eager to get moving. "I've located your weapons," the Lotus chimed into his com.

"Where the hell have you been?!" Volt shouted. "You couldn't have helped us out there?" "I am an AI," she responded, irritation evident in her tone. "What could I have done?"

Volt didn't respond, he just fumed quietly. He scooped up the Stalker's bow and throwing knives, which rested where their owner had fallen. "These will do for now," he muttered.

They ran through the dark halls of the Grineer tower. Volt eventually realized that it wasn't just a tower, it was also the main factory. They ran by countless rows of parts, each one being prepared to be added to another Grineer vessel. Frost easily dispatched the guards who were protecting their weapons, and they reclaimed their gear. Volt held onto the Stalker's weapons though.

Rhino charged through the back wall of the factory, smashing through the small area that had been made of concrete. They stepped outside, once again in the rain. Thunder rumbled.

They made a mad dash for their ship. They weren't far, they just needed to reach the cave. A bullet whizzed by Volt's head. Anger boiled up inside him, and without thinking, he turned back and ran at the Grineer.

Knocking an arrow back on the Stalker's bow, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of satisfaction as he sensed the rising dread of his enemies. He fired the arrow, and it struck its target. Then he pulled out the throwing knives, hurling them into the oncoming Grineer.

He grinned at the cries of despair that emanated from those who saw their comrades fall.

Finally, he pulled out the scythe and unleashed his full, unbridled hate upon the Grineer.

He waded into their midst, reaping death with each swing of the scythe. In the distance, Volt could hear the angry shouts of his friends, telling him to run. But he didn't listen. He didn't care.

Excalibur's punch hit his jaw like a ton of bricks. Volt stumbled to the side, knocked out of his homicidal rampage. Excalibur glared down at him, his hands still balled into fists. "I always wanted to do that," he spat. "Just never thought I'd find a reason good enough to do it."

Rage coursed through him. Volt raised his arm. A bolt of lightning flashed out. And Excalibur roared in pain as he writhed on the ground.

Volt kept the electricity going, holding onto the feeling of hatred for as long as he could. Lightning continued to stream from his fingertips, crackling almost as loudly as Excalibur's cries. He was so...weak. It was pathetic really. Volt's lips curled back into a snarl. He channeled his anger, reveling in Excalibur's pain. His vision was tinted red.

And then something broke through. Mag was crying, pleading for him to stop, to come back to her. He realized that his vision wasn't just tinted red, the electricity he was creating was red. Shaken, Volt lowered his arm. Smoke rose from Excalibur's body.

Somewhere, in the back of his head, Volt heard the Lotus say that he was still alive. He saw Rhino lift up Excalibur's unconscious body. He saw his feet beneath him, running towards their ship. He saw all of it.

But he felt nothing.

* * * * *

General Sargas Ruk watched as the Tenno ship activated its hyperdrive, vanishing into the stars. The space battle had been short, with the Tenno mainly just focusing on their escape. Ruk had had to make sure that it seemed like he was trying to stop them. Couldn't let them get too suspicious.

A Grineer technician approached Ruk. "Should we pursue, sir?" he asked nervously.

Ruk took a moment to respond. "Not yet," he growled. "Is the tracker in place?" The technician nodded. "Yes General, we're cataloging that ship's every movement."

Ruk nodded. "Good," he hissed. "Send half of the fleet to the Outer Terminus. They will await the Tenno there." The technician bowed, then backed away.

It appeared the Stalker's gamble had payed off.

* * * * *

Volt entered the medical bay. Everyone else was already there, except for Vauban. He had disappeared shortly after their return to the dojo, to mourn the death of his sister.

They were all gathered around Excalibur's bed. Excalibur was finally awake, and he was currently looking himself over in a small mirror.

Volt approached slowly, unsure of what to say. Excalibur lowered the mirror when he noticed Volt, and Volt was able to take in the damage. Scars ran along the sides of Excalibur's face, lacing across his chest and arms. Each scar was jagged and branched out, like lightning.

Volt cleared his throat. "Excalibur, I'm-"

"Get out," Excalibur murmured. He refused to look Volt in the eyes. "Look, I just wanted to-" "I said, GET OUT," Excalibur stated angrily.

Now he faced Volt. "You always were a stubborn idiot, Volt, and you never got it, did you?" Volt was speechless. Excalibur leaned forward, his teeth clenched.

"I hate you," he hissed.

The room was shocked silent. Volt stood a little straighter. He took a deep breath, then turned and walked away. The doors shut behind him with cruel finality.

* * * * *

The sound of alarms didn't wake Mag. Because she already was awake. Volt had her worried. What had gotten into him? And why had Excalibur been so harsh with him?

Mag activated the com next to her cot. "What is it?"

"It's Volt," the Lotus answered. "He just left the dojo."

[Grievous40]

Chapter 13

Volt awoke to the sound of howling wind. It was cold and dark. His eyes took a moment to adjust as he brought himself to his feet.

He was standing in a shallow canyon, the walls of which were only slightly taller than himself. The ground was dark and layered, like obsidian. Above him, the stars twinkled. They seemed much clearer and sharper than ever before, and took Volt a minute to understand why. There was no atmosphere.

He was standing on an asteroid.

Volt frowned. He was certain that the sound echoing through the canyon was wind, but if there was no atmosphere, how was that possible? Spinning around, he discovered his answer.

A swirling mass of red-tinted smoke raged violently at the center of the canyon. Behind it, scraps of a crashed vessel littered the ground. The pieces looked ancient. Volt walked over to one of them.

Carvings decorated the dark surface of the metal. Volt slowly reached out, his hand shaking slightly, and rested his palm on the piece. The howling stopped, and the silence seemed to scream across the asteroid. Volt turned his head.

The smoke particles had frozen in the air, forming an ominous visage. Volt's hand twitched.

The particles rushed forward in a beam, smashing into Volt's chest. His eyelids grew heavy, and darkness overcame his vision. He crumpled to the ground.

* * * * *

Volt was in paradise. And yet, he somehow wasn't. Rolling green hills, luscious forests, and clear waters. There wasn't a cloud in the piercing blue sky. But Volt wasn't there. He could see all of these things, but he couldn't touch them. He had no body. He could only watch.

Within a few minutes, a form appeared at the top of a hill. The sun glinted off of its armor. Moments later, another appeared. And then another. Each one looked exactly the same, adorning the same golden armor.

The one in front moved with confident strides, his head held high. The others raced to catch up with him. "Tynan, wait!" one of them cried. Tynan, the first being, slowed to a stop. The other two reached him. "Are you sure we can't convince you to stay?" one panted.

Tynan shook his head. "The High Council has ignored my pushes to expand for long enough. It's time for me to go," he replied. His companion sighed. "Why do we need to expand? Everyone is happy here, there's no point in leaving." Tynan threw up his hands in exasperation. "And that's why I must leave. Why shouldn't we spread this peace to other planets? Why shouldn't we expand our rule?" he shouted.

The third, and quietest, shook his head sadly. "Goodbye, Tynan," he muttered. Then he turned and walked away. "Why are you leaving?!" the other shouted in shock. "If Tynan is too blind to see what he's becoming, then that's not my problem," the third responded without turning around or stopping. A few moments later, he disappeared over the hill.

"Where will you go?" the second being asked. His tone was full of resignation, and his shoulders slumped forward. Tynan placed a reassuring hand on his companions shoulder. "I'm not sure yet," he replied. "But I'll find somewhere."

The scene shifted. Still unable to move, Volt could only continue to watch as this story played out before him. Now they were in a jungle. Volt recognized it as Earth, but these were not the overgrown trees of the present. This was an ancient jungle. The kind that had been stripped of resources and destroyed long before Volt's time.

A vessel had landed on the shore of a wide and murky river. Tynan stood nearby the ship, an ornate sword strapped to his back. The blade was ceramic white, with the edge lined with gold. A group of people were bowing before him, dressed in simplistic cloth. Tynan seemed confused, halfway between drawing his sword and bowing back to the people.

Time passed. To Volt, it was like seeing a series of images fly by. He saw the ancient people begin to worship their golden idol. He saw Tynan leading their warriors into battle, conquering great nations. Sacrifices were made daily in his honor.

The scenes slowed, until time returned to its normal pace. A prisoner of war was forced to his knees before Tynan, who was lounging on an ornate throne. The man spat out blood, which landed in front of the throne. A guard shouted in anger, and struck the prisoner with the butt of his spear. Tynan raised his hand, signaling for the guard to stop.

He leaned forward in the throne, intertwining his fingers. "You were the only warrior who refused to surrender," he addressed the prisoner. The prisoner refused to look at him. "You have earned my respect," Tynan stated after a long pause.

At this, the prisoner looked up in shock. Tynan motioned for the guards to leave them. When the chamber was empty, he stood and began to pace. "These people," he began, "they consider me to be a god. Even my enemies, they fear me." The prisoner tracked Tynan's movements across the room.

"But you don't. And I value that," the gold being admitted. "I need someone to provide these people with political leadership. I'm a great warrior, but I cannot run a nation. I am too...different." He faced the prisoner again. "I will offer you a chance at freedom, and more importantly, at power."

Time sped up once more. Volt saw as Tynan trained the freed prisoner. The man gradually climbed his way up the political ladder, with the alien's continued guidance and sponsorship. He saw a friendship develop between Tynan and his former prisoner.

Tynan also began to foster a relationship with a woman living in the capital of his empire. He kept his love secretive, clearly viewing it as a weakness.

The vision became more distorted. Volt had no idea how much time was passing, but it seemed like years. Tynan's protege became king, and Tynan continued to be worshipped like a god. His priests demanded more and more sacrifices everyday.

And then it slowed once again. The new king stood before Tynan, who was lounging on his throne. The king's face was red, and the muscles in his neck seemed tense. Volt had the sense that he had entered the room after a heated argument. "We can't keep up these sacrifices..," the king stressed.

Tynan waved him off. "My priests are able to do as they see fit," he sighed. His air was one of indifference. The king's words were clearly a bore to him, as was the entire issue. The king clenched his fist. "The people are beginning to think of you as a cruel entity. You cannot hope to con-" Tynan waved his hand once more.

"STOP IGNORING ME!!" the king roared. The golden being straightened immediately in his seat. "You chose me to rule!" the king continued. "Let me do my job! It's wrong, these sacrifices, the whole thing-"

The man grunted as he was slammed with the butt of Tynan's sword. He spun into the air and landed with a thud on the opposite side of the stone chamber. "Don't...EVER...speak to me like that again," Tynan hissed.

The king stood and, brushing off his robes, shot a final glare at the false deity before storming out of the room.

The scene shifted, though this time it did not speed up. Instead, Volt found himself outside. Tynan stood to his right, along with a few of his priests. They were standing on a tall, elevated platform, which overlooked the city. A roaring crowd stood below. They were all facing a large stone temple about one hundred yards away.

At the top of the pyramidal building, a high priest was tightly gripping a large scythe.

An eerily familiar scythe.

The king sat in a throne behind the priest, and he gave a nod signaling the beginning of the ceremony. As the high priest swung downwards, the head of a sacrificial offering to Tynan rolled down the cold stone steps. Some cheered. Others booed.

The head came to a stop near the base of the temple. It was covered in a gritty sackcloth, which had begun to slip off as it fell. Another priest at the base of the steps uncovered the head, and lifted it up for all to see. It was a woman's head, her face contorted in a mask of horror, and pain.

Volt instantly recognized her. And so did Tynan.

Tynan leapt over the crowd from his ceremonial platform, crossing the distance to the top of the temple in a single jump. He landed in front of the high priest, whose neck he quickly snapped. He lifted the man's scythe, and someone in the crowd screamed.

Tynan wailed in anger and charged into the crowd of civilians. Volt watched in dismay, unable to move, as Tynan slew countless innocents. Men, women, and children fell by his blade. As the blood spattered onto his armor, it began to darken. The once shining gold dulled, changing into a cold black carapace.

When at last there was no one left standing, Tynan walked back up to the top of the temple. The king still sat on his throne, his knuckles white and his face pale. His mouth was agape, and he trembled as though he had a violent fever.

"I...I just wanted you to se..see the cruelty...of those sacrifices..." he stammered. "What have you done?!"

Tynan's hand shot out, grabbing the king by the throat. He slowly lifted him off of his feet, ignoring the man's frantic gurgles. "How could you do this to me?" Tynan howled. "After all I did for you, ALL I WORKED FOR?!"

There was the sound of metal on flesh, and the former king's intestines spilled out onto the steps. Tynan dropped the corpse of his friend.

Volt saw as Tynan departed Earth on his craft. He saw as Tynan purposefully crashed vessel into an asteroid adrift in the Outer Terminus. He saw an Orokin Tech exploration craft, thousands of years later, being purposefully drawn to the asteroid.

Volt watched as a seemingly comatose Tynan was brought back to Earth. He felt Tynan's mind reaching out and taking hold of other minds. A scientist, getting a moment of "inspiration" to develop a cloning project. A chairman, conveniently ignoring violations of scientific ethics. An intern, hearing whispers in his head, raising his hand and suggesting they develop AIs to pilot the Warframe projects.

Everything was meticulously planned out. The Sentients, the Grineer, the Corpus. All pawns in a much larger game.

And the only player was the Stalker.

* * * * *

Volt's eyes opened. He was greeted with complete silence.

He placed his hands on the ground, reaffirming that he was there, no longer a viewer of a twisted vision.

As he hauled himself to his feet, he realized that he was not alone. The Stalker stood in place of the whirlwind Volt had seen before, watching him with silent curiosity.

Volt's hand immediately flew to his waist, instinctively seeking out the hilt of his sword. But he was grasping for air. He was defenseless.

Volt's mind raced, searching for a way out. He had to buy himself time. "Why did you show me that?" The question was simple, vague enough that it might give him some long-winded response. And Volt was certain that he'd been shown that vision on purpose. He knew by now that the Stalker was unlikely to make mistakes.

"To show you how futile your resistance has been," the Stalker rumbled. "I planned everything out, step by step, for thousands of years. I planned your very existence." Volt flinched as a fleet of Grineer warships came out of a jump above them. The vessels floated lazily overhead, circling them. They reminded Volt of wild animals, toying with prey that had been captured long ago.

"And now it is time for you to fulfill your purpose," the Stalker continued. He extended a hand. "Join me."

Volt stepped back in disgust. "Join you?!" he cried incredulously. "You killed my friends! You killed EVERYONE!!"

The Stalker tilted his head. "And that is why, inevitably, you will join me. I know you resent humans as much as I do. You saw their corruption, their hypocrisy," he spat out the word, "long before you even knew of my presence."

"You saw their ability to help their own, and yet their constant refusal to do so. Humans are cruel, and vindictive, and they always have been! My vision should have shown you that," the Stalker added.

Volt felt like vomiting. Because the Stalker was right. Volt had always been furious with his society. The Orokin Era had looked to opulent and successful, but deep down it had been full of poverty and corruption. And he wasn't alone in those views. He remembered staying up late into the night with Mag, taking comfort in their equal dissatisfaction with the world...

And then he had the strangest urge. Volt felt like laughing. And so he did.

The Stalker clenched his fists. "What?!" he demanded. Volt kept laughing. He felt tears build up in his eyes and his sides began to ache, but he kept on laughing.

"STOP!!" A blast of lightning caught Volt in the chest, and he flew back. He smashed into the ground, his metal frame rattling around him.

"Ugh," Volt groaned as he once again stood. "You're wrong about me," he declared.

The Stalker made a derisive snort. "Oh really?" he asked dryly.

Volt nodded. "You're wrong...because I always saw the potential for good in humanity. And no matter how much bad we may do, it's not worth throwing all the good away. Which is why I'll always be standing between humanity...and you."

The Stalker's limbs had gone stiff in shock. He truly had not planned on this, and it was infuriating to him. "And what makes humanity so much better than me?" he hissed.

"You murdered your only friend."

"HE MURDERED THE ONLY THING I EVER LOVED!!" the Stalker roared.

"Then why do you call her a 'thing?'" Volt countered. "You never loved her, you loved the power you held over her. You loved the power you held over everyone."

A beam of red lightning once again streaked from the Stalker's palm, but Volt was ready for it this time. It exploded against his own blue electricity, casting sparks over the cold rock of the asteroid.

* * * * *

Ruk's flagship approached the ancient military base. The general stood at the helm, eagerly awaiting what was to come. He could feel the tension on the bridge, the fear of his crew. He drank it in, reveling in the adrenaline.

"We're ready, sir. The tracker indicates that the Tenno are nearing the Stalker's location, along with the rest of the fleet," one Grineer reported.

Ruk grinned. The Tenno were falling right into the trap. The Stalker would deal with them at the Outer Terminus, should they refuse his offer. Ruk knew they would. The Stalker was an excellency planner, but he would be mistaken this time. The Tenno would never join him. They would continue their rebellion against Grineer supremacy.

But first, Ruk would take away their home. "Open fire," he commanded.

He watched as the cannons fired mercilessly on the towering structure. Glass shattered, iron twisted, and spires collapsed. All in perfect silence. It was an awe-inspiring sight, watching the destruction of this base.

* * * * *

"There he is!" Ash pointed out the window of the ship, down towards the asteroid below.

"Uhh, yeah, but what are we gonna do about those?" Nyx gestured to the group of a Grineer vessels hovering above them.

"Nothing," Mag ordered. "If this is a trap, then it's too late. We can't do anything about them, but we can reach Volt."

Nyx grunted and pulled up on the controls. The ship tilted downwards, descending next to Volt. She opened the boarding ramp, and Mag quickly ran out of the ship. She was greeted by a flash of light, and the crackle of electricity.

Mag ducked, fearing the worst. Was Volt really that upset? Would he attack them?

After a few seconds, Mag realized that the blast hadn't struck her, or any of the others. Instead, she watched as Volt countered the crimson lightning of the Stalker with his own. "Volt!" she shouted.

Volt tore his eyes away from his foe, facing his friends. Mag frantically waved for him to get onto the ship. "We have to leave...now!"

He glanced back one more time, then took off. Volt dashed up the boarding ramp, with Mag following closely. The ramp rose up behind them, shutting off their enemy. At Mag's command, Nyx lifted off from the asteroid.

"So what now?" Frost asked. "We just hope those ships ignore us?"

Volt took a moment to catch his breath.

"Yes."

* * * * *

"You let them escape?!"

Sargas Ruk was furious. He couldn't believe that the Stalker had let this happen. He had been loyal to the Stalker his entire life, and now he had discovered that the Stalker had been unable to carry out his own plan.

His master seemed dismissive, unbothered by this setback. "It doesn't matter. The Councilor is already well ahead of the main force. He'll take out the final human colony, and then advance to Neptune. We'll arrive shorty after, and this war will be over," the Stalker insisted.

"Hek?" Sargas snorted. "That politician doesn't have what it takes to lead an army. He's a coward."

The Stalker slowly made his way over to the massive window that dominated the bridge of Ruk's command ship, folding his hands behind his back. "You don't need to concern yourself with that, General. I can assure you, we will have victory soon enough."

Not too long ago, Ruk would have readily agreed with that statement. Now, he wasn't so sure.

[Grievous40]

That's going to be the last chapter for a little while, since I am currently working on Chapter 14.

[(PSN)batman200087]

continue this.its amazing