[Fanfiction] Children

[Kalenath]

Eeek, Nikis hauling about a chain/minigun type weapon & quoting Arnie lines. I'm both giggling with humour & hysterical fear. I can't wait for his 'physical therapy' to begin.

 

 

Um...his physical therapy is with Janet. Virtual physical therapy anyway. And that is private.

 

I know better than to intrude.

Edited October 15, 2014 by Kalenath

[NyghttheClassy]

Oh... that kind of physical therapy.

 

Say no-more. (For all our sake's, lest he hear himself)

[Evanescent]

"Physical therapy"

 

 

 

If you know what I mean

[Temperance000]

"Physical therapy"

 

 

 

If you know what I mean

 

Oh, we do know.  And since we all value having our skins in one piece, psyches intact, and all body parts properly attached, we are not saying anything.

 

*glances around nervously*

 

SO EVERYONE, HOW'S THE WEATHER?

Edited October 15, 2014 by Temperance000

[Shadow977]

Oh, we do know.  And since we all value having our skins in one piece, psyches intact, and all body parts properly attached, we are not saying anything.

 

*glances around nervously*

 

SO EVERYONE, HOW'S THE WEATHER?

Very cold and first snow storm ain't far away.

[NyghttheClassy]

Weather? I'm in glorious England in it's delightful autumn.

 

*Holds empty glass out of a window, then takes drink from the now full glass*

 

Have a guess...

[Shadow977]

Weather? I'm in glorious England in it's delightful autumn.

 

*Holds empty glass out of a window, then takes drink from the now full glass*

 

Have a guess...

I'd take England's rain over Finland's snow anytime.

[Temperance000]

And I'd trade the U.S. drought for both.  Autumn?  Still feels like late summer over here.

 

((Edit: 1111 posts))

Edited October 15, 2014 by Temperance000

[Spikey844]

Weather? I'm in glorious England in it's delightful autumn.

 

*Holds empty glass out of a window, then takes drink from the now full glass*

 

Have a guess...

And I'm spending Sunday and Monday on Salisbury Plain on a CCF field day. Fun....

[Shadow977]

And I'd trade the U.S. drought for both.  Autumn?  Still feels like late summer over here.

 

((Edit: 1111 posts))

trust me when i say that -30 Celsius isn't fun.

[HadronVictorioso]

Well, now you know what it's like in Canada.

[Shadow977]

Well, now you know what it's like in Canada.

btw which is colder Finland or Canada?

[HadronVictorioso]

Depends on the area. My relatives up in the territories had a low of -56 degrees Celsius.

[Shadow977]

I live in the center area of Finland and i've heard of temparature going under -50 Celsius but it hasn't happened during my lifetime.

Pretty sure it still happens in the north tho.

[Piranah1]

Try 30ºC. I always cannot help but feel that you can do at least something about being cold. It's gonna be a hot summer down here.

[HadronVictorioso]

With the cold, you can put on as many layers as you like until you're comfy.

 

With the heat, you can only take off so many layers before it becomes illegal.

[Shadow977]

That's where Finland's lovely summer comes in we also get +30C in summer.

[Piranah1]

It's already reaching 30C now... by Christmas its gonna be hitting above (and likely well above) the 40 mark. Dammit Australia.

[Kalenath]

 

Professionals

 

Susan the MOA was making weeping noises as she cowered by one wall. The fire that the team was putting out was actually rather quiet. Most of their weapons were suppressed after all. The fire coming in? Not so much.

 

"Watch that clump, point two!" Horatius said with a snap as he fired his Marlock methodically. Each shot ended a Corrupted.

 

"On it!" Violet said with a snarl as she aimed her Ogris. One rocket later, a half dozen Corrupted who had been trying to get close enough to rush the door way were in scattered parts. "Two clips left!" She called. Horatius sighed and slung her two of his. She as definitely... enthusiastic with the thing. Which was both good and bad. Good in that she was devastating the enemy. Bad in that when she ran out? They had problems. "Thanks!" She called as she reloaded.

 

"Save them!" Horatius said sharply. "They are soaking up our fire, trying to get us to use all our ammo. We haven't seen any of the big ones yet. We will." Violet snarled but nodded, unholstering her Brakk. He had no idea how she had gotten that. He had never really had the guts to ask.

 

"Drone!" Obmar called and Chris fired  a single shot, blowing the tiny mechanical monstrosity into a million pieces. "Good shot."

 

The drones were probably the most dangerous of the enemies they were currently facing. None were heavily armed or armored. They didn't need to be. Simon had been distracted by advancing enemies a few minutes before and he was unconscious now. He had been hit by a beam of some kind and gone limp. Before anyone could reach him, a golden drone had landed on his head. Horatius had destroyed the drone and  Violet had torn the small golden ball from his forehead where the drone had clamped it, but no one knew if that would stop the transformation. Horatius did not want to shoot his own man, but if it came to it, he would.

 

"What do they want?" Susan begged from where she had crouched, out of the line of fire from the door. "This makes no sense!"

 

"Susan..." Horatius said as he fired again and dropped a Corrupted Lancer before it could fire. "The machine intelligence that is controlling these things is insane. It has been for a long, long time. No one remembers why. But..." He jerked to the side and a bolt of plasma that might have cored his helmet and killed him despite his augmentation passed him harmlessly. "Are any of your systems online?"

 

"No." The girlish voice was tiny. "Just my legs. I... What do they want? Me?"

 

"No one knows, Susan." Horatius said with a sigh as he fired again, killing another enemy. "Sound off ammo status! Five clips pistol. Two clips Penta."

 

"Twenty four clips rifle." Chris called. "Ten pistol." His Angstrum was a powerful weapon, but not a precise one, so he disdained it most of the time. He fired two quick shots and two enemies fell. "We can't stay here, boss."

 

The room had very limited cover available. The only good news was that none of the Corrupted seemed to have explosive weapons. Any of those would turn the room into an instant deathtrap. The team had upended tables and placed them as impromptu firing positions. The heavy metal construction deflected some of the plasma charges, but they were being whittled down little bits at a time by the tiny bits of sun hot fury. When the cover failed...

 

"Four clips Ogris." Violet called as she peered out of her cover. "Boss I see..." She gave a shrill scream as her cover suddenly resounded with many quick impacts and some of those impacts hit her, throwing her back and into view of the main horde. She went down in a hail of golden energy and stayed there.

 

"Damn it!" Horatius snapped as he saw a pair of Corrupted Heavy Gunners finally make an appearance. They were retargeting. They were slow and ungainly, but would be very hard to kill. Behind them... a horde of other Corrupted were approaching. He unslung his Penta. Before the enemy could even realize their peril, four grenades burped out of his weapon, each seeking a large concentration of enemies. Then he keyed the 'detonate' command and started reloading. "Obmar!"

 

His team knew what they were doing. Even before the grenades had detonated, Obmar was in motion, darting from cover and dragging Violet's still form back into the slim protection. The enemy recoiled, their assault blunted by the sheer power of the grenade launcher. They regrouped, massing for another push and he pulsed a pair of grenades at the Heavy Gunners. One fell, but got back up. Heavy armor indeed.

 

"She is hit, but alive!" The melee specialist called as he worked on his stricken teammate. "They are going to overrun us!"

 

"I..." Susan sounded... unsure. "I hear... a voice..." She said slowly. "It... isn't the same one..."

 

"Do you have coms?" Horatius demanded. "Can you talk to the outside?"

 

"I don't know." Susan said slowly. "This... I don't know what this means."

 

"What are they saying?" Horatius snapped as he loaded his last full clip into the Penta. "Obmar?"

 

"She is out. Stable but out." Obmar replied hefting Violet's Ogris. "Boss... I have never used this... thing."

 

"Point the end with the end with the holes at the bad guys!" Horatius said with a laugh that the others shared. Obmar fired and the rocket flew... wide. It hit a wall and did no other damage. He ducked as return fire tore into his cover.

 

"Sorry!" Obmar snapped as he reloaded the weapon. "This thing... Blasted Grineer junk! I have a few arrows left. Not many."

 

"Do what you can!" Horatius called. But then he paused as MOA made a noise of confusion. "Susan?" But she wasn't listening to him. When she spoke, it was calm, cool and precise.

 

"Susan is occupied." The voice was...different. "My name is Sierra. I am here to help. Do you declare 'Broken Arrow'?" Horatius stared at her. What the-? That was a distress call. A bad one. When...a force was about to be...

 

"'Broken Arrow'?" Horatius sat, stunned. "This..was... planned for?"

 

"Do you declare 'Broken Arrow'?" The voice demanded. "Susan can't hold that thing for long! Do you declare 'Broken Arrow'?" It repeated urgently.

 

"'Broken Arrow'!" Horatius snapped, his aim returning to the enemies. Military speak for 'Being overrun!'

 

"Roger that." The voice said firmly. "'Danger Close'. I say again, 'Danger Close'. Get your heads down!"

 

"Cover!" Horatius called, praying he wasn't making a huge mistake.

 

The world lit up.

 

***

 

The Orokin Marine Corps had always prided itself on being self sufficient. The ability to go anywhere humans could exist -and then some- and do just about anything had always been their hallmark. Not just warfare although that was what they were undoubtedly best known for. They had done humanitarian missions, they had assisted in natural disasters as their predecessors in the US Marine Corps, Royal Marine Corps and Marine Spetznaz had on occasion. It wasn't just good public relations, it was also good training. Natural disasters, whether they were earthquakes on the motherworld, massive sandstorms on Mars that buried entire settlements, acid storms on Venus that ate huge holes in the planetary domes that provided protection from the caustic vapors that still persisted in the atmosphere, or anything else, all required a degree of coordination and organization that few civilian relief firms could match. And it was good PR too. So, most of the manpower of any Orokin Marine unit was ready and able to move at literally moment's notice.

 

It made a massive difference in wartime too. The Sentients had been overwhelming. But the Marines had stymied them again and again until worn down by sheer weight of numbers. The lack of ability to use tech had hindered them, sure. But the ability to mobilize, to maneuver and hit an enemy where an attack wasn't expected had been their stock in trade. Be everywhere and nowhere. Never where the enemy thought they were. And... One of their primary tenets was old style Russian, taken from their Marine Spetznaz forebears. если сомневаетесь, получить большую пушку! 'When in doubt, get a bigger gun'!

 

The notion of 'portable artillery' was nothing new. As far back as the Middle Ages, humans had been ingenious in finding new and better ways to hurl instruments of death and destruction for long distances. The advent of mobile armored vehicles in the First World War had started an arms race between armored vehicles and the means of defeating those armored vehicles that had not ended until the advent of the Orokin Empire.

 

The 'Ballista' anti-tank weapon was in many ways a throwback to earlier days. The first anti-tank weapons had simply been enormous rifles that fired insanely large and powerful cartridges. These had been sufficient to break the treads of the primitive armored vehicles of the day or in some cases, penetrate weak spots and damage or destroy the actual vehicle. As the vehicles had improved, anti-tank weaponry had improved. But the problem was fundamental.

 

A fixed position was always going to be defensive in nature. Any fixed position could be out flanked or out maneuvered. So, the Marines had designed the small -well, comparatively small. The bore on the weapon was 200mm!- anti armor weapon to have its own portal generator. It could teleport! Add to that the self contained munitions, each tiny and sealed with no means of hacking and you had a insanely powerful means of destruction with the only restriction on damage being lines of sight. But it also had its problems. It was incredibly expensive. Each round for the weapon cost somewhere in the neighborhood of 100000 credits. Then you had to power it.

 

The dozen Marines who had come as crew and security had all been carrying short term fusion power packs. Each of which connected to the machine. Not for the shot, mind you. For the shield.

 

As each Marine connected his or her power pack to the machine, set it down and backed away quickly, a hazy blow glow appeared on either side of the end of the barrel. The glow solidified into a glowing shield of blue energy. That was all that stood between the Tenno and Marines and a very quick death. They were...

 

"Broken Arrow!" The call came.

 

"Up!" The crew leader snapped. "Fire!" He screamed and ducked. The weapon hummed for a moment as the gunner hit the firing sequence and prayed. No one had actually fired the weapon in millennia.

 

No one had dared.

 

Not only had no one known how to use it, but the sheer size and complexity would have made any reasonably sane person look at the size of the barrel and go 'Ahh!" before running fast the other way. Grineer had tried to reverse engineer a buried one they had found. It... hadn't worked out so well for them. The crater would stop smoking in a few years.

 

But this one had not been buried in mud for all that time. It had been sitting in an armory, well maintained by the automated systems. It had been checked and rechecked by every trained specialist when the Marines had been reconstituted. They were still nervous. Who could blame them? Some ancient wit had scribbled 'One Death Star, pocket sized' on the gunsight housing.

 

But everything worked.

 

The tiny self contained cartridge propelled it's microscopic piece of sun hot fury forward. The shields blocked most of the heat of the shot from reaching the Marines and Tenno. The temperature in the corridor became stifling and the deck would have burnt any feet not protected by armored combat boots or warframes. But that was just the side effects. The backblast.

 

The plasma charge that had been designed to pierce the heaviest armor hit the door and... went right through it. One moment, a large and armored locked door stood, blocking the way. The next? The whole door was gone. A glowing hole shone in the wall as the edges of the hatch coaming melted. As the gun commander stared, he could see bits of Corrupted standing along a long line of destruction that extended through several walls. The small bits that were left of the Corrupted were melting as well. But in the distance, the portal flared and more Corrupted were coming!

 

"And you said it might take two shots." Nikis chided Karl as the Rhino stood, his jaw obviously slack despite his closed faceplate. "Power up and get out of here!" He snapped at the Marines who were also staring at the destruction. They bent to their tasks, focusing on getting the anti-armor weapon away before the Corpus could get scans of it. "But for what it is worth? Ooo-rah!"

 

"Ooo-Rah!" The Marines replied as Nikis stepped forward, his BFG tracking. The four other Tenno followed, weapons ready. Karl, Two, Alicia and Aeron all stepped into the gaping jaws of hell, ready to meet it.

 

***

 

"What the hell was that?" Chris was not normally a loud sort. Loud snipers didn't generally live very long. No one blamed him. Everything that had been in the corridor...was gone.

 

Horatius found himself curled protectively over the sobbing MOA as she lay on the floor with no memory of how he or she had gotten there. A quick glance showed the others rising to their feet. All except Simon and Violet who lay still.

 

"Violet?" He said harshly as he rose and checked his Penta. Susan rose slowly, her sensors whirring as she stared about. Four rounds, no spare clips.

 

"She is a mess." Obmar said, shaking his head as he stared at the long lines that had been scored in the walls, floor and ceiling of the hallway outside the room. The Corrupted hadn't had a chance. "Plasma? That was bigger than any of ours."

 

"She said... the plan was messed up. Had to change to a backup plan?" Susan queried, concerned. "She... I can't hear her now."

 

"Whoever it was just saved out asses." Horatius snapped. "We need to... Oh S#&$..." He went still as several Tenno appeared. He knew the warframe types. A Rhino, a Banshee, a Trinity, a Loki. But it was the Nekros that was leading them and the huge weapon in its hands that had the Special Forces operator freezing. "Uh..."

 

"Boss..." Chris said, not daring to move as the Trinity stepped forward. She stood over Violet's still form and nodded. Then she moved to where Simon lay. She seemed to slump. The Trinity turned it's featureless face to Horatius and slowly and distinctly shook her head.

 

'"The Enemy of my Enemy'?" Horatius asked the room and the Tenno all nodded. "You are here for the portal too." The Nekros and Rhino nodded too. Horatius made a snap decision. Fight and die or accomplish the mission? No choice. "I think the MOA can close it. She took the name 'Susan'."

 

"What are these?" Susan sounded terrified now and Horatius laid a hand on her housing. "More monsters?"

 

"No." A new voice sounded. One Horatius...seemed to remember? It came from a woman in a familiar uniform as she strode forward. The weapon too was familiar. An Orokin Marine. Horatius eyes went huge under his helmet as he saw the insignia. One stripe. "We may not be nice, but we fight the monsters. So people like you don't have to. PFC Karen. Orokin Marine Corps." The woman said to Horatius.

 

"Commander Horatius, Corpus Special Forces." Horatius said formally, lowering his Penta slightly been though the Marine did not lower her own rifle. "We need to shut the portal, but I have people down."

 

"She can be saved." The PFC said quietly, nodding to Violet's still form. "He can't be." As Horatius turned look at Simon he went still. The man's helmet had turned gold. Horatius slumped. He knew what he had to do.

 

"I have got it." Horatius said with a sigh. "Can you.. Wait!" He tapped his com. "Cass?"

 

"Evac is still here boss." Cass' voice came into his ears. "You still have sixteen minutes. Although the two Marines with rifles on me might make it a bit hard to keep my deadline..."

 

"I have a litter coming." Karen said quietly. "We cannot stay. We opened the door. That is all we could do."

 

"Much appreciated. And them?" Horatius nodded to the Tenno who hadn't moved.

 

"Commander... I am a PFC." Karen said with a laugh. "I know better than to try to order anyone! Especially Tenno. They wanted in on this. They got in. Don't know why. Don't care."

 

"What is going on?" Susan begged as a pair of Marines ran in with small device between them. They slid it under Violet's still form and she was lifted into the air. They guided the unconscious Special Forces soldier out the door and towards where the entrance had been.

 

"Susan." Horatius said softly. "You were made to open the portal. You can close it. We can get you close enough." The Tenno nodded. "If you touch it, it may close. Or we will figure it out. But we have to move now." The Trinity stepped close and touched the MOA on the hull. Susan..stilled, her sobs quieted. What the-? Since when did Tenno comfort?

 

"Good luck." Karen said as she retreated, her eyes on the distance. "To all of you." Then she was gone.

 

Everything went still as the Nekros laughed. Susan shied away from the sound and Horatius could not blame her. He felt... as if death itself was talking to him.

 

"Fools trust in luck." The Nekros said if the thought of Tenno talking was matter of course. Horatius had heard the Tenno Banshee on Larissa, but this... this was worse. The Trinity laid her hand on the MOA again and Horatius could swear she was talking to the MOA, calming the girl who wasn't one. But that was insane. Almost as insane as the Nekros sounded. "Professionals trust in skill and firepower."

 

You! The voice of the insane neural sentry was angry, but also held fear? You will not imprison us alone in the blackness again! You will not!

 

Horatius could see Corrupted approaching as he picked up Violet's fallen Ogris and transferred it's ammunition to his own weapon. Lots of Corrupted. Even more than before. And these were not the fodder. These were Heavy Gunners, Corrupted Ancients, even Corrupted MOAs. Drones hovered as well.

 

"No?" The Nekros said snidely. "Well then... I only have one thing to say. 'SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND!'"

 

The world seemed to explode as the beast of a weapon in his hands came to life.

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

(Nikis' weapon of choice in situations like this- http://darksector.wikia.com/wiki/Gatling_Gun )

 

Edited October 16, 2014 by Kalenath

[Shadow977]

Action! Yay!

[Temperance000]

Kal, I am laughing my arse off at Nikis'....unique brand of humor.  One of the perks to being the oldest entity in the system: you can make all the dated 21st century jokes you want and baffle the crap out of everyone, then proceed to hand them all one-way tickets to hell on the BFG express.

 

I think he's actually scarier now...

Edited October 16, 2014 by Temperance000

[Piranah1]

Eek.

 

I have to say, I actually feel kinda sorry for the corrupted...

[Spikey844]

One Death Star, pocket size...

He he, cheers for that Kal.

[Temperance000]

Eek.

 

I have to say, I actually feel kinda sorry for the corrupted...

 

I don't.  It's funny to watch them get slaughtered.

[Kalenath]

 

The unlikeliest of allies

 

Horatius had seen all kinds of combat. All kinds of means of dispensing death. But this...

 

The long tubular thing in the Nekros' hands was whirring. There were no discernible gunshots. More a whine. But what was undeniable was the sheer torrent of metal that was flying towards the Corrupted. Horatius stared in awe as a Corrupted Heavy Gunner simply disintegrated in the metallic hail. Then the whine stopped, but a whoosh sounded and a fiery trail arced from the Nekros to a group of enemies. The rocket exploded and pieces of Corrupted went flying. But they were still coming through the portal! The Nekros took a step forward, and then another, the weapon tracking.

 

"We have to close it!" Horatius shouted over the resurgent whine that heralded lots of metal flying. He grabbed a set of ammo that had fallen nearby from one of the Corrupted and wonder of wonders, it fit his Penta! "Protect Susan!"

 

The Tenno split up. The Rhino ran off into the near distance, scooting forward, long golden blades flashing. The Banshee stood back, her bow at half extension. She would aim, fire and draw a new arrow in less time that Horatius took to breathe once. Every so often, he caught Obmar staring at her. Lusting for her or her golden bow? He didn't know. Or really care. The Trinity was hanging back, her own weapon, sort of like golden version of a Burston, was firing precise bursts, each hitting exactly where she wanted. But... she was standing between Susan and the horde of Corrupted that were now closing despite the carnage the Nekros was wreaking. The other? Horatius paused. Was that a Snipetron in that Loki's hands? He hadn't seen one of those for a while. But the Tenno fired slowly and carefully. Each shot dropping a Corrupted no matter its size. Chris hunkered in cover nearby, his own Latron burping shots that were if not as powerful, then just as precise.

 

The insane Nekros was taking steady steps towards the gaping portal Horatius could see in the distance. No more Corrupted were coming out of it. Was that a good thing or...?

 

He dropped his right hand from his Penta, drew his Marlock and fired once from the hip. The drone that had been trying to blindside Obmar disintegrated. The former Prodman never noticed. He was lashing Corrupted with his Prova as the Marlock went back to Horatius' hip and the team leader fired a grenade into another clump of Corrupted. But Horatius' mind was whirling as he fought. Multi-tasking had come early.

 

Susan and the other who had spoken through her had spoken of a plan. What plan? That didn't make any sense. He hadn't known about all of this. Who could have possibly known about this? And why would they have set Tenno and Corpus Special Forces into an area together? Under normal circumstances, all that would have done was trigger a fight that the Corpus Special Forces would lose. He was brave but not give to self delusion. Three of his people hale versus one Tenno would have been bad. Against ­five? Even not counting the monster gun that the Nekros was still using with cackling glee. No chance. So what the hell?

 

"Susan." Horatius said as he reloaded, staying close to the MOA as the Trinity did the same. "Did the other voice say anything else?" He could feel the Trinity's scrutiny, but the Tenno did not pause in her firing.

 

"The...the mad thing was hurting me." Susan said and gave a cry as plasma arced close to her. Horatius dropped a grenade into the midst of the small group of golden forms that had managed to avoid the Nekros' fire and they all fell apart. "It wants me to hold the gate open. It said if I do... it won't hurt anyone. But I could tell it was lying. I said no and it hurt me. The other... she came. She was... kind. But..."

 

"Honey, it is okay." Horatius reassured her. "I know it is scary. I know that thing hurt you. But we have to close the portal."

 

"I know." Susan said softly. "She told me the plan. I... I can close it." Her voice hardened. "But I have to do it alone. Get me to the portal and I can do it."

 

"All right." Horatius took aim and fired off all five of his grenades in rapid succession. As they detonated, he reloaded as he darted forward, the MOA at his heels. The Trinity kept pace with them. He saw Obmar slide into a group of Corrupted, golden limbs flying away from each hit of his heavily modified weapon of choice.

 

He paused as Chris rose. He bit back a groan as the sniper took a hit, but... The Loki spun in place, a sword coming out from somewhere to strike the Corrupted Ancient that had blindsided the pair. He knew what Chris had done. The Tenno sniper was more valuable for the mission and the mission came first. He prayed his teammate was alive, but they were closing on the target now. Corrupted were thinning. How many had they killed? Hundreds? Thousands? He ripped off his last Penta clip and slung it, drawing his Marlock and placing himself between the MOA and the few remaining...

Everything seemed to stop as an explosion sounded. The Nekros flew backwards but then he got up.

 

"You... broke my favorite gun." The Nekros sounded... off. Almost childlike. Almost. Horatius went still and moved between Susan and the Nekros as the Nekros made a sound more akin to an Infested Ancient that anything that looked human. Anger, sadness, rage, pity... all of these... More. "You broke... my BFG..." He bent down to touch it. It was bent and obviously was not going to function again. "That was my BFG. You broke my BFG..."

 

"Uh oh..." Was the voice from the Trinity? Horatius went still as the Trinity moved to shield Susan from the Nekros too.

 

"All right." The Nekros said with a sigh. "I tried it the Healer's way. Now we do it my way." All four of the other Tenno were watching the Nekros warily and the Corrupted all seemed to retreat a step. An oddly shaped weapon seemed to simply appear in the Nekros's hands. It had two barrels and... was that a wooden stock? Real wood? The Corrupted... retreated again. Everything stopped again at the sound of a shot. Or was that two? A Corrupted Heavy Gunner stared down at the huge hole that had been blasted completely through the former Grineer's body before falling and lying still. "Oh no you don't!"

 

"Wha-?" Susan started to speak, but she went still as both Horatius and the Trinity laid hands on her housing.

 

"Don't move." It was the Trinity speaking. What the hell? Tenno did not speak. Most thought they couldn't! "Don't move." Was she begging Horatius or Susan?

 

"You killed three of my kin last time..." The Nekros said, apparently calm as the weapon in his hands broke open and he fed two...things into it. "Now, you broke my favorite gun. So be it. No more Mr. nice guy."

 

You will not bind us alone in darkness again! The insane machine intelligence snapped.

 

"No." The Nekros said, firing almost absently. Then again. Two Corrupted Heavy Gunners simply fell apart. "This time I am going to destroy you. So... Might as well get on with it." There were less than fifty Corrupted left now, and no more were coming through the portal. "Listen up, you Corrupted screwheads! THIS... IS MY BOOMSTICK!"

 

Power erupted from the Nekros and Horatius could only stared as at least twenty Corrupted appeared around him. But... These...were transparent, composed of some kind of orange energy? Some kind of Tenno power? All turned their weapons on the other Corrupted. It was suddenly a general melee as the insane Nekros charged the remaining Corrupted, a pistol in one hand and the odd twin barreled weapon in the other.

 

"Holy crap." Horatius said but then he realized. The Nekros was drawing the enemy's attention! The way to the portal was clear! "Susan!"

 

"Stay here." Susan said quietly as she started of the portal, the Trinity beside her. The other three Tenno were moving to flank them. "Please."

 

"Susan..." Horatius chided her gently. "My job it stop this. I have to do the job." He moved to follow.

 

"You can't." Susan said sadly. "Please!" She begged. "You have already lost two of your soldiers!" Horatius shook his head. "I won't ask you to die for me!"

 

"Susan..." Horatius said firmly as he kept pace with her. "My mission is to and I quote 'Ascertain the situation and if needed close the portal'. The situation is out of control. We need to close the portal."

 

"It will not be out of control for long." Susan said firmly. She tried to move faster, but her chassis couldn't handle it and she slowed again. Something in her tone...

 

"Susan..." Horatius said quietly, maintaining his place as the Tenno closed ranks around her. The Nekros was tearing the remaining Corrupted to pieces with the aid of his holographic allies. Obmar was rising from Chris' still form. The melee specialist shook his head and started towards Horatius and the odd cavalcade.

 

"Closing the portal won't be enough." Susan said firmly, more firmly than she had spoken before. "If we do, Bek will simply start this again."

 

"How do you know that name?" Horatius asked, stilling. "We never said that name."

 

"No." Susan said sadly. "Sierra did. She explained the plan. It is a good plan." The Trinity laid her hand on the MOA's housing again as Susan gave a small cry. "You-..."

 

Whatever else she was going to say was tabled as a shot rang out. All eyes turned to where... Simon's form stood. It was half golden! Horatius's shot was joined by four others and his former compatriot simply vanished.

 

You lose! The insane neural sentry snapped triumphantly as Susan's robotic form fell in a sparking heap.

 

"SUSAN!" Horatius screamed as he went to his knees beside the MOA. It twitched. "Susan? How bad?"

 

"Systems failing." Susan said sadly. "Get... Tenno will... put me in portal... run..." She said weakly.

 

"No." Horatius said firmly as he scooped up her form up. It was wet. Oil? Blood? Or something worse? "Obmar. Get to Cass and get out of here. That is an order!" He snapped as his com chimed. "Cass?"

 

"Boss... Violet is aboard and stable. Marines are gone. No scans. Everything is jammed." Cass' voice was worried. "I... we have to go. A response team is inbound. From the ship size? At least a company of troops. Bek's, I think." Obmar sighed and moved to take part of Susan's mass.

 

"Cass. Go." Horatius said softly. "We will be okay."

 

"Boss..." Cass said weakly. "I..."

 

"We will accomplish the mission." Horatius said quietly. "Get Violet and the noncombatants out. Go." He ordered.

 

"Yes sir." The reply was soft, but Horatius could hear the transport's drives scream in the distance. If they got far enough away, fast enough, no Company built scanners could track them. "Hold the line, boss."

 

"Hold the line." Horatius agreed to an empty com band. He stepped towards the gaping portal with Susan's sparking form in hand. "So..." He asked conversationally as the Nekros stepped close. All of the Corrupted in the area were down. "Good plan. Backups and contingencies. Lots of intricate moving parts and most worked. That rarely happens in my experience. Whose plan?"

 

"Yours." The Nekros said as he too took part of Susan's mass. They were bare steps from the portal.

 

"Mine?" Horatius demanded. "Is that some kind of joke, Tenno?"

 

"No joke." The Nekros said firmly as Obmar also seemed to freeze, his gaze sweeping from the Nekros to Horatius and back. He did not release his grip on Susan. "This is very important. We are going through the portal. We cannot do what has to be done on this side. Whatever you see, whatever you hear, do not let go of the MOA. If you do... you will be lost. And I need to talk to you."

 

"To me?" Horatius swallowed hard as the portal yawned close. The Rhino and Loki stepped through., Then the Banshee and Trinity. Then they were there. "I..."

 

"If this doesn't work out..." The Nekros said as he took another step. One more... "You make an old, angry man proud. Your mom would have been proud too"

 

"What the F-?"

 

Then they passed the threshold.

 

***

 

The heavily armed response team of Corpus troops swept through the facility with grim purpose. But... they were not Special Forces. They were trained and programmed to follow orders. No more, no less. The Crewmen had about as much volition as the Ospreys and MOAs. Maybe less.

 

It wasn't really their fault. Their orders were to find out what had happened and report in. They found destruction and dead Corrupted in large numbers. The portal had closed. The jamming field prevented them from reporting so they sought the source. They found it.

 

The tiny device wasn't anything that they knew, so they called a Tech up to work on it. It wasn't his fault that the trap had been set to go off at the first close range scans. Orokin Marines liked their secrets to stay secret.

 

Add to that the plan that Horatius had come up with had always envisioned this. Leaving anything of the facility for the Company to reverse engineer was a bad idea. But the noncombatants hadn't done anything, so... Remove them. Then the inevitable Corpus response... They would follow procedure. It was hardwired into their brains. They could not do anything else. They were not Special Forces, trained to adapt according to the situation. Trained to think. Trained to be insanely paranoid about traps. So...

 

As explosives went, the fusion charge that had been laid under the jammer wasn't that big. It didn't need to be. Less than ten seconds after the first scan beam had hit the jammer the entire facility -including several very surprised personnel who had been left on the Company transport- were glowing embers orbiting Pluto. No evidence.

 

Bek would not be pleased.

 

***

 

Down was up. Up was down. Everything was spinning, but he held on the MOA. Someone was screaming. It... sounded like his voice.

 

"Don't let go!" The voice of the Nekros snapped in his ear and Horatius jerked as he opened his eyes. He stood...somewhere. But it felt... familiar somehow?

 

The room was... bare. The walls, ceiling and floor were composed of coruscating golden energy. He still held Susan's still form. Obmar held on with a grip that was likely as white knuckled as Horatius' was. And...where were the other Tenno? Just the Nekros was present.

 

"What is going on?" Horatius asked, aware of his throat hurting. He had been screaming.

 

"This isn't real, Commander." The Nekros said firmly. "This is a virtual world. We had to get here so we could take the battle to the AI. You were supposed to leave with your ship. But... the plan changed."

 

"Plans usually do." Horatius said with a grunt. "So... what now?"

 

"Now you stay here with the MOA." The Nekros said firmly. "We have...some backup coming. They are... a little different."

 

"Different like you?" Horatius couldn't believe he had just said that, but the Nekros just laughed.

 

"No." The dark and sinister form said calmly.

 

"So... what happened?" Horatius demanded.

 

"We went through the portal." The Nekros said with a shrug. "You are currently lying the the floor of an Orokin tower, to all appearances unconscious."

 

"But we... are not." Horatius said as Obmar stared around.

 

"Your minds have been sequestered for your safety." A new voice stated and Horatius went still as half a dozen tiny forms appeared around them. The... They were warframes, but... small. The speaker was a tiny Nyx warframe. "If the neural sentry can get access to you or... Susan is it?" She asked kindly.

 

"He called me Susan, but I dunno..." The voice of the MOA was scared and Horatius rubbed the hull gently. "You...were not supposed to come through." She said weakly.

 

"It's okay, Susan." The tiny Nyx said gently, kneeling beside the MOA. "Are you in pain? We can help."

 

"No." Susan said sadly. "But that isn't good, is it?"

 

"We have time, Susan." The Nyx's voice was soft and gentle. "Not a lot, but we do have time."

 

"I am ready." Susan said quietly. "All of you... so brave..." She was crying softly. "What can I do but act the same?"

 

"Susan..." Horatius wasn't sure what was happening, but suddenly, the tiny Nyx had his hands and a tiny Frost held Obmars and no matter how he tried, Horatius could not move. "What? No!"

 

"We will not let you come to harm." The tiny Nyx said firmly as she moved Horatius hands away from the MOA who...stood. "This is virtual. Teacher. Go. They need you." The Nekros nodded and vanished.

 

"What is going on?" Horatius demanded, but a lethargy was seeping over him now. He felt... good. But...that was wrong, wasn't it?

 

 

"You were right." The small warframe that held him said softly. "There is only one way to stop this. To end this threat. Susan..." Sadness came into her voice now.

 

"I am not going to die, Ona." Susan said firmly. "Everyone was kind. They all explained. I can do it."

 

"Do what?" Horatius demanded, trying with all his might to fight the feelings that were sweeping over him.

 

"Be at ease, Commander. You were right." Susan said, stepping close. Her robotic muzzle touched his arm. "I haven't had many choices. But this I do choose. I will not die. Rest now. You have done all you could. Now it is time for me to do what I must. I will get you home."

 

"Susan..." Horatius was fading. "What is going to happen?"

 

"Something wonderful."

 

Music soared in his skull. It...wasn't Clergy music. He was carried away by it as a voice started to sing a tune he didn't know. The voice singing was familiar. Susan. Darkness roared it's anger and fear, but the music would not be denied. The beautiful melody soared, eclipsing the darkness and erasing it from existence. Horatius was crying as he fell asleep.

 

Tears of joy.

 

Edited October 17, 2014 by Kalenath