Riptide [Closed]

[Owlrrex]

While Valkyr's Liset got hidden in a nearby pond, sealed off and submerged in the muddy water like a tadpole that named this trick, the Tenno used the very same mud to conceal herself. Although the warframe's colors aren't that bright, they don't fit this environment, and so they get covered with mud and moss. It doesn't look like much, and Valkyr knows. Though, she values necessity and her own life over beauty-issues. A little bit. Lastly a few tangles of liana getlooped around the Vectis' barrel, and she's good to go.

 

Assisted by the data she collected while approaching and now has stored in her warframe's memory, Valkyr starts to systematically close in on the place where she expects the first squad to meet and plan their advance from. There is no need for haste, after all there still is a chance the other Tenno will call back to her. And if not, there would be traces of their progression. Gunfire, or guards missing. Holes bombed into the walls, or shadows climbing them. Once you know the Tenno are coming, it's far easier to trace them. It's not the first time Valkyr does this. And this helps her keep her calm and patience.

 

"Operator, come in."

The fact that her cephalon calls in while Valkyr is on the hunt alarms her. There are usually pretty strict rules she has set for not doing that except when it's really necessary.

"Operator Valkyr here."

"Two more Lisets have approached and engaged dropoff-course. Estimated Locations are sent now. One of them opened a channel to spearhead-squad. Shall I start deciphering?"

Now those were interesting news. Especially that one of the lisets remained silent. Did they make their plans while still in orbit? But if the Lotus decided to send in a second squad - where were the other two Lisets?

"I swear, one day I'll have a long, long talk with this..."

"Operator Valkyr?"

"Operator Valkyr here. Let the transmission be. Keep an eye out for aerial activity, log and uplink them to me." There was no sense in bothering now. But still, the four Tenno labelled 'spearhead' were predictable, their route and intent clear for now. The two lone Tenno on the other hand...

 

Valkyr changed her course. Heading for the position where the silent Liset had probably dropped off its operator, and over time swaying to base to make up for that Tennos own movement, she closed in on him to lift the mysteries of this figure first.

[Verdha603]

Listening to the chatter on his feed, Geoffrey weighed his options. To him, as well as getting credits either way, he could legitimately see his services being needed in both operations. With the underwater operation, his Snow Globe and Ice Wave would be able to lock up rooms or hallways with ease, while with the Tenno operation his Snow Globe would be able to protect defenseless Tenno in their pods while using Avalanche to lay the hurt on enemies en masse.

 

Not being able to come to an easy decision, the Frost turned to the Hydroid next to him and said "Where do you need me more? I can see myself being useful with both cells, but I want your opinion on where I can be of more use."

[Blackout751]

Keitel stayed silent throughout this complication, simply watching all the Tenno he was aware of through video feed. On the inside, he was thinking rapidly - they had to divide if this Tenno sanctuary was truly nearby. That much was obvious; the problem was who would go where. And for that, he had no answer except for one recommendation.

 

"If you are here and intend to help us, then meet us at our co-ordinates. Only then can we solve this."

 

He sighed internally, wondering mostly why this had to happen and what effect it could have on the mission. On the bright side - assuming there was one - then they would have reinforcements if... or when... everything went to hell.

[Aegia-]

Rapidly approaching her destination, all her weapons holstered for now, Mother pondered at the personalities of the squadmates she was soon to meet. Only one had responded to her transmission, but she understood that discretion was something that all Tenno... Well, most Tenno followed. Quickly drawing her shortsword from beneath the shield upon her arm, she sliced through a particularly thick underbrush and emerged on the other side, met with the group of Tenno she had communicated with earlier.

 

"Hello to you all. A pleasure to finally meet you. All of you." One could almost feel the warm smile behind her helmet as she quickly scanned her eyes along this group. She saw what looked to be a female Hydroid frame, which struck her as a bit odd; a stiff breeze blew the cold aura of Frost her way, sending a chill down her spine and causing her to glance at said Tenno; and last but not least, an ominous silence drew her eye to Ash.

 

"I see we have a variety of talents at our disposal here."

Edited September 8, 2014 by Starnsy_Warnsy

[Psychotoxin]

Klara had been patrolling the rooftop for a while now. This was her tenth lap around the facility, and she was feeling rather dull. Her usual missions did not involve idle prancing around rooftops.

Three more Ballistas had joined her on the rooftop some time ago, but these were stationed now in specific spots, and constantly scanned their sectors. Klara took it on herself to gather observations from the Ballistas every now and then, and relay them to the Lancer at the stair case.

 

Oddly enough there was no one facing the marshes, so she stopped at that position more often, and stayed there for longer. The shade coming from the comm tower also ensured that she molded with the shadows quite well, when standing at the edge of the roof.

 

'Eleven...' she thought to herself somberly.

 

A slight breeze picked up, and rustled the leaves across the marshland. Klara stopped and stared at the bushes, slowly raising her rifle. She could`ve sworn that she saw a figure standing there.

Klara was now standing still and taking aim. She was waiting. She was ready. If only the wind would pick up again.

'Oh c`mon. One more gust...'

[CupcakeBomber]

Loke moved slowly through trees, looking for any signs of other tracks. It was right about now he wished he knew where he was supposed to meet up, or even what his instructions actually were. He felt tempted to contact Vladimir and ask him to read it over the comms, but that was a bad idea for two reasons. First off, anybody could just intercept the message and learn about the mission, which probably wouldn't be the best idea for the rest of his cell. Secondly, he'd be at the mercy of Vladimir who would most definitely make getting those instructions a pain. After a minute or two of thinking, Loke decided what to do. Making sure that his tracks after this point were thoroughly covered, he branched off for higher ground. The nearest hill had hardly any foliage and would prove difficult to stay hidden on, but that's where his warframe's invisibility would come in handy.

 

Once Loke reached the summit of the hill, he went prone and unhooked his Vectis from his back. He could peer through its scope and make out a lot more of his surroundings than previously before. Still, this new vantage point seemed almost wasted until out the corner of his scope Loke spotted movement. Adjusting himself and looking through again, he found colors that didn't match the environment just peaking from between some trees and foliage. The distance was still too far for Loke to tell if this was a fellow tenno or not, but it was something new to work off of nonetheless. Getting ready to move, he decided to descend the hill walking backwards. It would make his tracks look like they were climbing up the mountain, and if anybody was following him it'd probably confuse them. Loke couldn't help it, even if nobody was following him, he liked the idea of messing with people too much not to look like a complete fool to anybody who might have been able to glimpse him at that time. That would have been a hypothetical glimpse, of course, not like anybody would find him if they weren't explicitly looking for him already. Glimpsing aside, Loke was heading quickly to this new location, eager to find out what was hiding in that foliage.

[Owlrrex]

Keitel's transmission connects to Valkyr, just as she watches Loke head over to the hill. She acknowledges his skills, had considered contacting him. But the broadcast makes her not need it - if he's here for the same reason than them she won't need to, they'll meet soon enough. Backing off a bit into the foilage, she replies directly to Keitel, since she doesn't feel the need to make this message an open call too.

"'Valkyr' closing in, t minus 1. Meet you there."

A few moments she still waits if there's any sign of the Loki responding to the call and changing his route - but either way, she then turns away and retreats, circling the hill in cautious distance to reach the meeting point.

 

 

It takes her one minute and twenty-one seconds until she steps on the clearing where the Tenno waited: A mudclad Valkyr-frame with Bastet-helmet, greens stuck to her. And even worse: They're not the only things stuck to her. Slightly moving outgrowths resembling fins are attached to her Arms and Feet, not to mention the giant tail on her back or the strange pulsating bulge on one of her thighs. All of this eerily resembles te infestation, though seems to be a merged part of her warframe...

Her profession, on the other hand, is hard to miss. The Vectis in her hands, still with lianes tangled around it, shows it off pretty clearly. Still, she also wears the big Kronen-blades above her shoulders - might be a good sign, that she still uses Tenno-Weaponry, and not some sort of infested Poison. And she seems to be sane at the moment, even better.

 

"'Valkyr' arrived." she discloses as her own introduction, her gaze swaying over every single Tenno present and establishing her link to the groups communication, if accepted. If there hasn't been a message from the Loki she has heard, she adds: "There's another sniper, a Loki, at the same distance as me when you called last. He might be here every moment." 

Edited September 9, 2014 by Drandko

[CupcakeBomber]

Loke was still closing in on the mysterious, out of place colors in the foliage. Just 30, 20, 10 meters away when he sliced through a bush with his Orthos Prime, and stood battle-ready before a group of not Grineer, but Tenno. Before him stood a warm and friendly looking Trinity,  a Frost with water condensing on him, and a female Hydroid, the likes of which Loke had never seen before. Also, there was an Ash. He really should have expected this, why did he even go for the dramatic entrance? Sheathing the polearm back onto his back, Loke muttered out "Oh boy, found you guys. You wouldn't happen to know what our mission objective is, would you?" One could almost feel the embarrassment of him having to ask, but these are the kinds of things you have to do when you have only an unsafe defective ship to ride around in. At least by finally finding the cell, he wouldn't have to worry about getting jumped as much. He had this sinking feeling like somebody had been following him, and the last thing he wanted was to lead some lancer or elite to his new cell. That just reeks of unprofessionalism.

 

Having gotten lost in his own thoughts again, Loke snapped out of it and hoped one of them didn't already answer him while he was zoned out.

[AutobotRaven]

Stepping out from the thick underbrush and joining the group was an Ember Prime covered in mud. 

"For the love of the Orokin gods, it had to be a swamp." she grumbled to herself. She held a small fire ball in her hand and began drying out the mud on her warframe, as the mud slowly turned back to dirt and fell from her warframe she looked around the group.

She remained silent as she cleaned her warframe, she had stumbled over a tree root and fell in the mud on her way to the meeting location.

[Aegia-]

The motherly Trinity turns to meet the new arrivals, giving them a look over. She nodded, turning in such a way that she could face the entire group as she casually levitated a small orb of healing energy within the palm of her hand as she waited. Seeing as how she was one of the last ones to be here, she thought it smart to not try and suggest anything, and wait for the mission leader to give the orders.

 

"Well, it seems we've all arrived, yes? I've not been notified of anymore Tenno entering the area, so I believe it's just us." She spoke through the comms to keep it as discreet as possible.

 

She glanced about, her attention seeming to shift from each of the Tenno standing in the clearing. It vaguely occurred to her that standing in a clearign may not be the best idea, but she had seen no Grineer in the time that she had been here, so she simply assumed they weren't far in enough to encounter any.

[Owlrrex]

Her Vectis still in hands, the usually perfectly polished golden inlays now smeared with dirt, Valkyr holds the rifle leisurely, but careful not to hit the sensitive weapon against something while cowering half-kneeling so she has a lower profile and seems just to feel more comfortable that way. It also, on the downside, makes her unusual tail brush the ground where it sways from side to side. She gives Loke a distinct nod, since she recognizes him as the one she had seen before, and furthermore as a companion by profession, even with the same weapon. 

 

When the Ember Prime erupts from the bushes, and she sees all seven Tenno around her, she musters them again while signalling them to sit, kneel or reduce their silouettes otherwise. 

"I'm certain my cephalon had notified me about other lisets in the area. We are the only Tenno that arrived here at this time." she explains without doubt. "That you met up here means you still have to discuss the plan. Share the intel you have, then we shall decide." Despite her rather ferocious appearance, Valkyr has a rather professional, nearly military-like tone. Focussing on the facts often helps her own temperament in check. 

[Psychotoxin]

The wind picked up again. Klara smiled, and readied her trigger finger.

...

Then she sighed in disappointment, and lowered her rifle.

 

"Just a Kubrow..." She whispered and got up. She resumed her patrols and felt disapointed. Seems like this deployment would be horribly uneventful.

Coming out of the shade of the comms tower, her armor flared up, and became bright again. Sometimes she hated that.

[Aegia-]

The Trinity knelt down where she stood, placing a hand on a nearby root to balance herself, looking around at the various Tenno she saw. She idly swayed back and forth ever so slightly, waiting for the plan.

 

"So, there are seven of us in all..." She restated the obvious, glancing about the  area they were in. "It's obvious we can't stay together, a group this large would be spotted fairly easily. And we've already discussed splitting into two cells of four and three. I guess our next order of business is to choose who goes with who?"

 

She looked around the group, hoping for some sort of agreement.

[BladeAngel]

Ari nodded at her companions as they arrived, her attention split between them and the puzzling mystery of the practically unguarded, soggy expanse just beyond the line of ferns in which they huddled. The Grineer were rather proud of their power and fortifications, but even they weren't so stupid as to leave such a glaring weakness in one of their fortresses. What could they possibly-

 

At that moment their Ember user broke in with a revelation: a supposed Tenno memory bank apparently lay somewhere near their coordinates, and she was looking for others to join her in an escapade to see if she could regain any lost memories at the site. The Hydroid wielder frowned beneath her helmet, her expression clouded.

 

"I can understand the overwhelming need to regain what we have lost during cryosleep," she began gently. "But we were assigned this mission for a reason. The transmission that was intercepted... the implications are too great. Sargas Ruk could be on the verge of discovering an artifact that will completely upset the balance of the galaxy, which is tenuous enough as it is."

 

She placed a pacifying hand on the ornate goldwork of her companion's shoulder armor.

 

"Believe me, I too one day hope to regain my memories. But why we're here on Earth, what we're doing now, this is the present. This is the fate of our future. Whatever we did in those days past, they've all led to this moment. We still have the power to preserve and protect. Would not the past be a sad, dead thing were it not connected to a brighter and worthwhile future?"

 

As she spoke, the Tenno sharply glanced in the direction of shuffling flora and a muffled growl. Sensors came online, and the codex overlay brightened her optics before revealing that a kubrow alpha was snuffling around in the mud not twenty meters to her left. A little further along was one of the ramshackle branch huts that the creatures used to mark the entrance to their dens. It was surprising the Grineer left such territorial creatures this close to their base. She turned her attention back to EAmorr, just as an unfamiliar tone sounded in their shared comm channel.

 

"Reinforcements?" Ari pondered out loud, taken slightly by surprise. 

 

Had their mission status been elevated? Had the Lotus decided the outcome of their incursion was so important that more Tenno were to be devoted to the cause? Soon, they were joined by a calming Trinity, a rather mischievous-looking Loki, and a Valkyr that gave off almost a feral vibe despite her clipped, professional tone. They now numbered seven.

 

Not only that, but some of them seemed very interested in what EAmorr was saying about the possibility of Tenno memory repositories. Could it be that the Lotus had instead verified the data while they were speaking and had routed nearby comrades to investigate the possibility? It was true, if such a place existed the information would be quite valuable.

 

"Well, I suppose that puts us in a position to take advantage of both objectives," the female mused, oddly disconcerted by the lack of command's communication in the matter. "We have a diverse group of talents, we could form two cells of formidable power. Should we opt for balance in both, or delegate most firepower to the Grineer? I can't imagine the archives would be well-defended if they still stand."

 

Her attention was drawn again to a much nearer growl, as apparently the pack of feral kubrow had decided that the mechanical humanoids were far too close to the den for comfort. The canines were emerging mere feet away, taking cautious yet threatening steps forward. Curiously, they kept to the treeline, picking their way through exposed roots rather than just running at them across the edge of the open expanse right next to them.

 

"Away, beast," Ari muttered, waving an armored wrist at the nearest creature in an attempt to drive it away. 

 

Instead, the kubrow locked its considerably powerful jaws onto the Hydroid and worried the plating like the bones of a fresh kill. In mild aggravation, the Tenno tried to shake it free as the rest of the pack began to sound their hunting howls in a keening crescendo... something that would surely attract the attention of at least several Grineer in the nearby fortress.

 

"Quickly, silence them!" Ari hissed at her companions, she herself trying to knock out the animal that was still locked onto her arm. 

 

In a last ditch effort, she punched the creature's skull and flung its dazed body just past the edge of the clearing. Better that their enemies see a wounded kubrow supposedly fighting for dominance than they be discovered before even-

 

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

 

It was like the world had exploded beneath her feet. Discordant warning alarms sounded repeatedly across her HUD, her vision completely obscured by the roiling inferno the swamp had become. Aftershocks ragdolled Ari even further, to the point that she couldn't even tell which way was up anymore.

 

As audio and visual distortion began to correct itself, the Tenno could feel the intense heat of the accelerant-fueled flames licking at her armor. What was much more terrifying, however, was the fact that the large field itself had caved in a guided fashion to reveal an enormous lift platform. Upon the elevator squatted a monstrous machine the likes of which only the Grineer could fathom.

 

It vaguely resembled an Erisian cave hunter, massive arachnids known for simply overpowering their prey rather than stalking them. Hydraulics hissed and steam pierced the air as the fifty meter death trap rose on five supporting legs, each one thicker around than the smoldering remains of the giant trees that had surrounded the group but moments before.

 

As her vision completely cleared, Ari could see that the machine was itself a vehicle: it practically bristled with Grineer in addition to its own impressive arsenal of flamethrowers, enormous miter barrels and countless warhead tubes. How could sensors possibly not have picked up such a blatant energy signature? Was the polluted swamp that good a mask?

 

It didn't matter. Ari was on her feet in the next second, drawing her blade with one hand and gathering blackened water around the other as it clenched tight to a fist. In the base beyond, lights began to flare and illuminate the torched field almost like a spectacle. Indeed, most of the Grineer upon the bastion's walls were jeering and brandishing their weapons into the fetid air.

 

"Tenno skoom!" a lancer gargled down from the war machine, his deteriorated vocal cords barely able to form the words. "Here... you... die..."

 

The endless weapons calibrated and took aim at seven Tenno, and the world was set ablaze once more as Ari began to charge foward.

[Owlrrex]

While the female Hydroid had still pondered about the best ways to split the teams up, Valkyr was already busy returning the threatening growls and hisses to the Kubrows, assumed an menacing stance and obviously tried to scare the beasts away by impersonating an even greater beast. Sadly it didn't work, but as the Hydroid commanded to silence the wild animals, one set of golden claws already gashed towards one of the Kubrows, to slice it's body open and throw it towards the other, lurking members of the pack. The other hand still held the Vectis, casually around the middle.

 

When then the ground tore apart and spat out this abomination of steel and steam, the shockwave took her from her feet as she just wanted to engage further attacks. Flat on the back she dropped, gnarling ferociously about the interruption and the unpleasant, discraceful landing. Still, protecting her Vectis from mud, dirt or hitting a stone was far more important than pride, since her very life would depend on this weapon.

Springing back to her feet in a cowered stance, readying the rifle, she saw the same Ari just discovered. And although she knew how good the swamp did in hiding machines - like her Liset - she could far not comprehend what exactly the Grineer had brought up there. But what it was able to do was, typically, quite apparent. Without having to think, she hissed her advice into the commlink with a tense, rather commanding tone:

"Split up in 4 groups, don't let it catch you alone. Avoid grouping more so it can't pin us all down. Search for Operators or mechanical vulnerabilites, it still is just grineer-trash!"her voice sounds and, hopefolly, in its intensity stops any Tenno from staring frozen in place, while she dashes to the side, parallel to the edge of the forest, grabbing the first Tenno she passes to follow her. 

Edited September 11, 2014 by Drandko

[Psychotoxin]

Klara walked up to the Ballista on the corner of the roof.

 

"Everything clear?" She asked the woman.

 

"For the tenth time. Yes." The Ballista answered in a bored tone.

 

Suddenly there was a howling, and a Kubrow tumbled out of the bushes on the left side. Both Ballistas took aim.

 

"Ah, it`s just a wretched Kubrow." The Ballista eased up, but Klara looked at her with a scolding look, and whispered:"It wasn`t fighting a Kubrow. There was a howl, only from this one. And if there woul-..."

 

She was interupted by, what seemed to her, the world exploding. The ground shook, and a platform ascended from the pit, that recently was a marsh. It carried a five-legged monstrosity, that was spewing flames and seemed to be able to annihilate anything in it`s path.

 

There was a name written on it in the cubic Grineer writing. It read "ARAKNIS".

 

Klara noticed movement to the side of the machine. As sirens started to blare, she scanned the figures. They were Tenno, no doubt. But what were they doing here? 

Many of her comrades had already taken aim, and the horde that was on and inside this... Araknis... were shouting profanities and threats at the Tenno.

The brownish one dashed to the side, while the one that resembled a man in a funny outfit charged the machine.

 

Klara stood still for a moment, and then ran back into the shadow of the Comms Tower. She would be a bit safer in the darkness, and the enemy could well miss her. And of course the blinding floodlights that now illuminated the field, like it was the surface of the sun. As soon as she reached the shadow, her armor reacted. It started to turn black, and after a couple of seconds she was nearly invisible, if she didn`t move. She had no intention of doing so. And her comrades would keep the Tenno occupied.

Klara took aim with her Vulkar, and almost took a shot, but then remembered how the Tenno could raise a seemingly dead one to it`s feet in a matter of moments. She stalled a bit, and was puzzled what to do. But she shook the thoughts off, by thinking that no one could possibly rise up if they were caught in this hail of bullets, blades, flames, and rockets.

 

She aimed at the running one, and took a shot at it`s feet, just as it pulled another Tenno with it. The bullet flew out of the barrel, not making much sound. Klara was back in her element. Hunting the running target. Just like that Corpus VIP that she downed before the Gradivus incident.

Edited September 11, 2014 by Psychotoxin

[AutobotRaven]

"NImshi!" EAmorr cursed as she jumped back from one of the huge legs that attempted to knock her off the platform. She dodged the first two swipes but the third hit her in the side of the head with a blow that could have knocked the head clean off of a lancer. She skidded near the edge of the platform, she rose to her hands and knees. In blind pain she hurled a fire ball at the mechanical beast but missed before it hit her again this time on the back, crushing her flat and trapping her beneath the heavy mechanical leg. 

[Aegia-]

Mother could only try and keep her balance on the enormous platform, trying and only half-succeeding, ending up kneeling upon the metal platform. As it stopped moving, she muttered under her breath at the colossal metal monstrosity. Spotlights from the base nearby turned on one by one, each focused upon the scene and nearly blinding her. After her eyes adjusted, she became aware that there were Grineer upon the platform, already firing away. She staggered to her feet, her shields thankfully taking the impact of many of the bullets they sent her way. As a small exclamation mark flashed near her shields as a warning, shecalled forth her energy and link her shields to that of three nearby, random Grineer. In the hail of bullets coming at her, they ended up killing said three Grineer relatively quickly.

 

"I thought that would last longer." She drew her Soma and readied to fire, but upon glancing to her side, realized one of her comrades was pinned beneath one of the enormous beast's legs. Her shields thankfully continued to take the brunt of the damage, but knew they could not hold out forever. She growled and activated the Aegis upon her left arm, using the shield to block the bullets as she retreated to EAmorr.

 

Specifically targeting the metal beast's leg upon the Ember Prime, she focused a Well of Life upon it, forcing its leg to levitate slightly and giving EAmorr just enough room to slide out from under it. "This isn't gonna last forever you know. I'd hurry out from under there if I were you."

[Verdha603]

Geoffrey rolled off to the edge of the platform, his large bulk giving him enough weight to not get pushed around too easily.

 

Recognizing the time for talking had temporarily passed,he raised his Braton and fired off a long burst of fire into the arachnid-like machine, dumping the magazine into its forward section before seeing EAmorr take a hit from one of the legs. As he saw a Trinity try to levitate the leg, he assisted by firing off a Freeze attack, freezing the limb before doing the same to two more limbs and reloading his primary, interested only in putting down this monstrosity as quickly as possible.

 

"Go for the limbs! The faster we immobilize this thing, the faster we can turn it into scrap!"

[Blackout751]

The next few seconds was a blur.

 

He reacted instinctively, flipping backwards and away from the incoming abomination of technology with a Fang and Ballistica out upon landing. It took him a moment to analyse this new playing field, and the odds were only slightly in his favour - so one wrong move could mean more than a dead Tenno. Thinking fast, he formed a plan that could (and was unlikely, but possibly) work while dodging the hailfire of bullets coming their way from the Grineer fort.  "All of you, take it down and don't die. Loke, follow me."

 

Keitel sprinted forward towards the robot alongside Valkyr and, when he came close, slid directly underneath and fired a charged shot into its underside before coming out the other end and rolling forward back into a sprint - across an open plain, towards the hellfire coming his way. He didn't check whether the Loki was with him, following such an insane command, but he prayed to the Lotus that he was. If not, the Ash knew he, and the other Tenno, might not even survive this first assault.

[AutobotRaven]

Pulling herself out from under the leg with the help of the trinity EAmorr began hurling fireballs at the legs of this metal creature. She was lucky that her shields took the brunt of the blow to her head and that her spine hadn't been crushed was extremely lucky. When her energy had been depleted she grabbed her Soma only to find that it had been launched under the belly of the giant metal spider. She swore again in ancient Orokin and dove into a slide under the metal contraption and hoping it couldn't sit down.    

[Owlrrex]

Just as Keitel parted from him to charge at the beast - a risky, but valid tactic since Valkyr didn't grant that machine to be very flexible - she felt the heavy jolt on her leg that was the impact of the well-aimed Vulkar-round. Stumbling, but rolling off, she ignores the warning sign flashing her vision: She knew her shield-generators never were the same after her warframe went through all those unvoluntary modifications, barely capable of keeping the high-velocity-round away. On the other hand, the woven tissue that the frames armor consisted from was not even scratched by the bullet, it might become a bruise later, but not much more.

"They have snipers." she stated calmly over comm.

After she rolled off she came to halt in kneeling position, her Vectis in firing position pointed towards where the shot came from - though she can't see a thing. Compensating for the bright light shining down from the floodlights down onto the battlefield, what lies between and beyond is just pitch black. Though, the brave advance of Keitel and the blazing flames on the other side of the machine gaver her an idea: There was one more weakness of the machine. An even greater, that noone except her could exploit. The Grineer in their arrogance had built a giant war machine - how could they have considered that there existed things that could attack this giant from above?

 

A bright string of energy shooting from her hand, Valkyr ran further around the enemy, occasionally turning or stopping randomly for a moment so her path wouldn't be that easy to lead like the last time. As sharpshooter herself, she knew what would annoy the unseen snipers and disrupt their aiming.

When the ripline connected to one of the upper limbs of the machine, there was no stopping anymore. Drawing herself in, she was flung into the air by her own power as well as the machines movement. It was like a catapult, launching her in a high arc that would probably end somewhere in the jungle. But until Valkyr reached her peak, there would still be time. And she planned on using that. Closing her eyes for a second during the fastest part of the ascend, she only focused on using all her five limbs - including the infested tail - to keep her movements stable and gain height. Then as the ripline detached and she soared even higher above the machine, she opened her eyes and aligned herself for a shoot towards the floodlights, which area of illumination she had left now - she could see far better than from the ground. The shadow of the base's tower was clearly visible, and Valkyr could guess where the shooter had roughly hidden. And there she shot, probably not hitting, but at least buying some time the Grinners hidden troops would be careful.

 

Then Valkyr started to reach her apex, and gain distance to the grineer machine. And she obviously didn't want to leave now. She just started. Putting the vectis into the magnetic lock on her back with one hand, she fired another ripline at the mechanical beast's back, where she suspected to be its weakest spot: Dozens of meters above the ground, protected by the legs of everything except an aerial attack. When Valkyr got herself launched towards the steel body, she landed with a deafening CLANG of her claws digging into the armor-plates. She drew one of her Kronen-Blades, the other hand free to latch onto anything to aid her footing on the rocking and moving ground, her position low cowered to not get shaken off. She searched for a latch to enter and maybe weakspots in the armor, maybe at the legs joints and moving parts.

[Psychotoxin]

Klara cursed silently. The target was still mobile. And now it moved in an erratic pattern. She tried to take aim at the moving... creature... But couldn`t place any direct shots, all of her rounds passing near the target but never connecting.

 

Then her target did something that she didn`t expect. It shot a beam of energy into the Araknis, and used it like some sort of a grappling hook. It was launched high in the air and soared above them. While Klara knew that she was near-invisible she still scampered away. This one seemed to be using a sniper rifle too, so it would try to eliminate other snipers. Sure enough, a few seconds after she had moved away, a bullet hit the roof right where she had been.

 

Klara cursed again, and tried to pinpoint the target. Sure enough the downward movement was in a straight line, and she easily could hit her mark. She raised her rifle, took aim and... *click!* In all the confusion she had forgotten to reload.

 

The target now landed on the Araknis, and moved out of her view. Klara hoped that the amount of Lancers on that thing would be able to stop the intruder. But she switched to a new target. After a moment she found her next mark. It was the Tenno with what looked like a tricorne on it`s head.

[CupcakeBomber]

Loke checked his energy reserves. They were relatively high, which meant he had a shot at easing up the firepower coming at the Tenno. He cloaked himself in invisibility and followed the Ash, being sure to stay far enough away that any bullets directed at him couldn't hit himself instead. As Keitel slid underneath the monstrosity, Loke split off for a moment to try and alleviate the stress for the other Tenno. Climbing up one of the legs, he could feel the energy channeling through his arms, nearly bursting from his fingertips. Just a little bit higher, and he leaped onto the lower platform that housed some of the weapons. He was close enough now. 

 

Loke's arms swung about him and energy flew out of his frame, breaking any of the Grineer's projectile weapons in range. That was only part of what Loke was trying to do, He jumped from the opposite end of the platform, his invisibility just running out. He looked back and marveled at his work. Behind him, a sizable chunk of flamethrowers and miters could no longer fire. "That should make this thing easier to deal with," he thought as he plummeted back down towards where Keitel was still running. He hit the ground and rolled again, being careful not to run in a way that wouldn't be easy to lead for a sniper. As useful as that trick he pulled was, he didn't have enough energy on him to go invisible again.

[Aegia-]

Mother mowed down a group of Lancers rushing forwards with the stunsticks they now carried instead of their traditional Grakatas, listening to their screams of pain and watching a few more stumble over each other. Leaving one alive, she took aim with her hand, and a blue energy began to project outwards from the one unlucky Lancer that decided to get close. She could only imagine what it felt like to have your energy drained as he gripped his head in pain. 

 

"Check your energy reserves, they should be refilling." She spoke into the comms as she blocked more bullets with her Aegis, taking a shot from a Grinlok to the leg from somewhere she could not discern. Her shields took some of the impact, but not enough to lessen the pain.

 

She gritted her teeth as she retreated to the edge of the platform. She took advantage of the scene that the Loki and Ash had created to slide under the metal colossus and fire the rest of her Soma clip into its underside as she slid through, hoping the underside was less armored.