[Ic]The Setup, Redux 18+

[(PSN)TheCrimsonTuckr]

Vandal nodded back and took a peek over to the opening, quickly getting back to cover when a bullet whizzed past, trying to cuss but remembered he couldn't.

[Agent_Maine]

"And I have some stuff to do back at my Liset." Silver responded to Belrev, breathing heavily as his body recovered from the effects of space.

Edited September 18, 2015 by Agent_Maine

[(PSN)SilverHades]

"Erm...I'll just carry her..." Ivan said, and picked up Odessa.

"Alright, let's move. By the way my friend ( Evan ) is still out there in space, I'm not leaving without him," he said to Orion in a serious tone.

"Ivan, we can't jeopardise one, possibly two lives just so we can look for your friend. We need to get off this ship fast and get Mythos and Odessa some medical help." Orion responded. "Unless we run into him on the way, we can't divert our objective to finding him. Sorry."

[SpaceHelicopters]

In a closet (with a nasty bucket)!

 

The doors flew open as a torrent of oxygen rushing to escape buffeted past the party. The timing was perfect for Sab; a second longer and the vacuum of space would have crushed her warframe like an empty soda can, only the can would be full of meat. So long as they were anchored to something, they could slowly fight their way back into the ship with a bit of exertion. 

 

The only bad thing to come out of the current situation was that the gases escaping from the cabin beyond rushed against the bucket of foul liquid, sloshing it about the compartment and soaking all within before being cast out into the vast reaches of space. Years later, the bucket and residual liquid would form a comet that would circuit the outer system in a stunning display of pale blue and purple light and ice once every four years.

 

Later, but much sooner than the forming of the Quetzal Comet, the group would most likely have to discard of all non-valuable items on their persons and cleanse the rest vigorously in order to rid themselves of the smell. This would require many bottles of expensive and once thought unnecessarily powerful cleanser. And perhaps fire.

 

On the other side of the threshold, the group would find themselves in an auxiliary escape pod bay. All but one pod had ejected, and what would you know, it was locked behind an encryption key. Better flex those fingers, Hex, and try to get used to the smell.

 

Meanwhile, in a non-smelly Navigations Deck...

 

With Ghostar ceasing his actions that could have caused their unconscious companion to develop shaken-baby syndrome in the background, the decoding of the file would come to a close. Along with the lock-down relief codes, it looks like the recovered file contained some rather important looking coordinates on Phobos. Most of the file was still damaged, and the fact that it was Grineer meant that the legible parts of the message were hardly so, meaning that the remnants would have to be deciphered and repaired with specialized equipment.

 

With the side-mission completed, the group could flee to their extraction point; a maintenance airlock that was not only not that far off, but reaching it with the lock-down shutdown would be a breeze.

 

Another glimmer of hope, a spark flickered within Nium's chassis: 

"Ssssss....Nium?...sssss..."

[Ghost333]

The good thing about sealed environment helmets (well, one of the good things at least): the olfactory sensors could be disengaged either at will or at a certain threshold. Such a threshold was the bucket of foul chemicals/"water," so Hexer didn't need to get used to the smell. He just turned his nose off, charged his boots and trudged forward into the closet.

And it would not be a surprise to Hexer to be fortunate enough to stumble across an escape pod. A FUNCTIONING escape pod, however...
...better to not pursue that path of thought.

 

"Anyone in favour of blowing this joint, say aye! Anyone if favour or blowing this joint up, yell nay!"

[IrishHades1798]

Sebastian had a deep frown under his helmet. The putrid liquid was all over his warframe, and were it not of his shields, they would be seeping into his wounds.He took a deep breath, the pungent odor of the liquid filling his nostrils and lungs. "Smells like a Grineer just S#&$ out a plate full of spicy curry." Sebastian stated. The smell didn't really bother him that much however, in fact he had smelled worse before in his younger days.

 

"Well after the hell we've been through, I would not mind blowing this ship apart, but we might still have friendlies aboard, so lets just get the hell out of dodge. Hexer, think you can hack this pod open?"

[(PSN)qwerty1310]

"Ivan, we can't jeopardise one, possibly two lives just so we can look for your friend. We need to get off this ship fast and get Mythos and Odessa some medical help." Orion responded. "Unless we run into him on the way, we can't divert our objective to finding him. Sorry."

Ivan thought for a while. "Er...fine. But, where are we going? I'll tell him to meet us there, if he doesn't make it then...I guess we'll have to leave without him."

"Alright let's move! We can't afford wasting more time," he said.

[(PSN)SilverHades]

Ivan thought for a while. "Er...fine. But, where are we going? I'll tell him to meet us there, if he doesn't make it then...I guess we'll have to leave without him."

"Alright let's move! We can't afford wasting more time," he said.

"Docking bay. Mining vessels. Now." Orion said to Ivan, before looking at Ampere. "Ampere, you keep on just stopping. If you continue having brain farts, we're all not going to get out of here. Grab Mythos, now. We're leaving." He said to the volt.

[IceDragonofAmber]

Nium retrieved the file from the incredibly damaged console before auickly returning to Ghostar and Four, glad to see Azelia still there and not eaten or something.

"I've gotten what we needed, and with the lock active we should be able to make it there easily."

Gemini! Glad you're back online, had a nice nap?

__________

It was at this moment that Sab came to regret ecerything in her life. She regretted the thousands of clones she murdered, the thousands of crewmen with wives and children and all those that had been forced into the chicken dance at gun point. She regretted it all because oh dear god THIS SMELT LIKE SH!T!

She didn't even have any shields left so that watery diarrhoea managed to get into her open wounds and seep in through the holes of her frame. Safe to say it didn't feel nice. In fact it felt the opposite of nice. It felt like S#&$, WHICH WAS WHAT THIS PROBABLY WAS!

"Oh f*ck!" Sab covered the area where her nose would be even though it did f*ck all. "It smells like Vay Hek's breath!" She started jogging on the spot "OH DEAR GOD IT'S WORSE!" Unfortunately for Krenn his face would make close acquaintance with the ground as he dropped in the Valk's suffering.

As the Tenno danced in pain, both physical and figurative, she raised a hand to chime in her humble opinion.

"I vote for blowing this place THE F*CK UP!"

Edited September 30, 2015 by IceDragonofAmber

[Ghost333]

Hexer himself was torn between pragmatism and petty revenge. If the power core was anywhere close, a small bomb, or several Tesla Grenades might do a trick or two. Even then, it was probably guarded by a squad of Prosecutors riding Dhraks wielding Dual Amphis' with two grakatas taped to either end. Or probably a single techhie. Probably a techhie.
Also, the stench might help, too. Not in masking, of course, but killing anything that got too close.

"Okay, so that's one for GTHOOD, and one for GDRTHO. For those confused, the acronyms bean 'Get The Hell Out Of Dodge' and 'Get Dodge Right The Hell Out' respectively. I made the last one up myself just then, and it means blowing this ship into smithereens. I'll only vote for the former if the power core isn't near here. Is there a map anywhere we can use? Because I REALLY want to blow something up."

[SpaceHelicopters]

Near the escape pods...

 

The terminal to the pod was still connected to the ship's system, so with a little technical wizardry, it wouldn't be too difficult to pull up some schematics.

 

That said, Hexer, should he pull up the ship layout, would find that they were in the complete opposite section of the ship from any power sources, auxiliary or primary. But if it were any consolation, a backup communication's array wasn't too far off. Though useless and most likely not in use, destroying the array could provide some much needed stress relief. 

 

They would need to hurry, though, for it wouldn't be long before the drive-core reached full charge, carrying them all away from any hope of escape.

[IrishHades1798]

"We probably shouldn't be pressing our luck here, now would be a good time to go. After we regroup with the rest and patch ourselves up, then we can blow the hell out of anything. I'm personally feeling like hijacking a Grineer ship with a nuke in it and ramming it into one of Regor's labs in Uranus, but that's just me." Sebastian said. In actuality, Sebastian was having a hard time standing, and thought that if he lingered here any longer some of the damage might be irreversible. He really hoped that his eye would grow back.

[Ghost333]

The General sighed. "Doesn't help that some of us can't really stand, can it? The Grineer get lucky on this one. Gimmie a moment, hacking the escape pod open. If anything comes by and tries to kill us, kill it first."
Besides, how hard could it be to hack open a Grineer security lock? Apart from that ONE on Ceres...
...so many wasted drones...

[(PSN)qwerty1310]

"Docking bay. Mining vessels. Now." Orion said to Ivan, before looking at Ampere. "Ampere, you keep on just stopping. If you continue having brain farts, we're all not going to get out of here. Grab Mythos, now. We're leaving." He said to the volt.

"Alright," Ivan replied

He contacted Evan through his comms, though he wasn't sure if he could hear him.

"Evan, if you're still alive, and you can hear this, my team and I are going to the docking bay to evcuate using one of the vessels there. If you wanna STAY alive, then I suggest you get there. We won't be waiting so...I suggest you go there now, good luck." Ivan looked at Orion. "Let's go."

Evan heard the message, and was a bit giddy due to him sharing oxygen with Kardin. He shook his head and looked around. "Docking bay, where is it...?" He looked around, and after finding what he assumed was the docking bay, he flew towards it, dodging the projectiles fired from the Grineer forces.

[SpaceHelicopters]

While I did separate the parts according to group, I seriously recommend reading them all. I purposely intertwined the scenarios. Part two will come tomorrow, which will allow the new fellas to join in. Sorry, but it’s late here, and I need to get up early.

 

Also, have some depressing music to set the tone. Sorry if it isn’t your taste, but it really conveys that feeling of soul-crushing depression, desperation, and helplessness that I’m trying to create.

The Flee

Escape pods

Hexer would easily be able to crack the pod open as the ship continued to violently rock from his own men shelling its hull, perhaps not realizing that they were causing more harm than good considering that the ship’s population at that point was more Tenno forces than Grineer. But they couldn’t possibly know that.

 

Free-floating debris scrapped against the pod’s hull as it was purged from the freighter, nearby ships of both factions opened fire, confused. The little metal shell threatened to rupture and spit out its contents, and it would have were it not for the interception of Lady Luck.

 

A coincidence to top all coincidences, the signal transmitter from Keya’s Cichlid – a device the size of a platinum coin that had somehow managed not to get sucked into the white light that took the rest of the ship’s wreckage – wedged itself in-between two plates in the hull deformed by the sustained fire.

 

Mining Vessel Docking Bay

The run Orion and Ivan would make while encumbered could only be explained as pure chaos. Compromised, systems failed, fires broke out, and the corridors shook violently from the shelling and drive-core nearby reaching the end of its charge cycle. The fear of not making it out was all too real; Death himself was waiting for the group on that ramp into the dinky, battered little mining vessel. He held an Old Earth coin in his hands_­­ and flipped it as they tore up the ramp.

 

 The transparent field at the mouth of the bay flickered and gave out, the torrent of escaping gasses forcing the contents into the gnawing blackness of the abyss. As those in the cabin tumbled about – the ramp closing at a painfully slow pace – Death moved his hand, his decrepit eyes locking with those pressed into the worn and scuffed metal surface of the currency resting on his wrist.

 

The ramp didn’t close fast enough. The scene was so surreal, as if time paused for each conscious member to have it forever burned into their memories. Orange flowers of fire outside lit the interior of the Grineer mining vessel, making the suspended droplets of crimson twinkle like distant dying stars. Death gently took the hand of the unconscious Corpus woman and slowly led her pale figure towards the exit. Odessa’s other hand stretched towards the group, just barely out of reach. They were so close, and yet, they might as well have been lightyears away – her fate was sealed, and there was nothing they could do to stop it.

 

In an instant, she was gone; swept up in the arms of Death as the ramp sealed and her casket shut, the silence of the abyss her deafening funeral march as Orion and Ivan watched from reserved seats in the front row. Even if they didn’t know her personally, she was a teammate, and one who had put herself in critical condition to protect them. All that was left to remember her was the knife with her name engraved in the blade currently in Mythos’s shoulder.

 

Engines reluctantly sputtered to life as the mining vessel navigated the wreckage – one team member short.

 

Strike-team ΚΩΣ

Gemini gave a fuzzy smile within Nium’s programming, a hazy form appearing within his head. As pleasant as her smile was, her appearance was unsettling; she appeared small, helpless, and weak, like an abused child, but most notably, there was only one of her, when there should have been two.

 

She was about to reassure him, explain she was simply running at below optimal power, but the entire group would be alerted as a powerful vibration rocked the entire ship. Their death-bell was tolling; the drive-core was fully charged.

 

For the first time since they met, Gemini screamed with an emotion other than joy; pure, unadulterated fear. “RUN!!!” her voice pierced, directly exiting Nium’s speakers to alert the others.

 

Even with her dwindling energy, Gemini worked tirelessly to calculate, even if it was against her charge’s wishes. She shouted directions to the others, used the stolen relief codes to raise the doors in their way and shut others to seal away raging fires that were beginning to break out, and analyzed the jamming signal coming from the Galleon above. Even though it was supposed to be a short sprint to the extraction zone, every second that ticked by felt like an eternity. Death was all around, seeping in through the doors, rising up from the floor, spilling in from the vents above, and scraping their nails against the walls.

 

As they reached the maintenance air-lock, Gemini used what remained of her energy to suppress the jamming signal, screaming in agony as her programing was strained. The little girl in Nium’s chassis clawed at her head and fell to her knees as her already unstable form warped, her screams distorting unsettlingly. The taxing of her processor would have serious consequences, accelerating her degradation by several centuries.

 

But her suffering had purpose, Fessa’s voice flooded their local comms. She was laughing, the sheer uncertainty of survival sending waves of ecstasy up her spine as she narrowly dodged incoming fire. Hearing that her group was alive only pleased her more; she couldn’t have possibly predicted that outcome. She loved how the sheer, indomitable will to survive could go against the odds. Completely unpredictable, and she loved all of it.

 

Gemini dropped the counter signal and collapsed, assuming a fetal position before she once again faded out of Nium’s programming. The pneumatic door hissed open as Fessa’s insane, ecstatic laughter neared, the group feeling the chill of space for a split second before they met the comparably warmer metal floor of their Cichlid.

 

Cheeks flushed, legs tightly crossed, her breathing labored as drool leaked out of the corner of her mouth, Fessa was already overflowing with the ecstasy of the uncontrollable. But a sudden blip on her holographic controls pushed her over the edge, another fit of discomforting laughter erupting from her as she curled her toes. It was statistically improbable; the odds were so low, they were in the millionths decimal place! Keya’s signal was broadcasting from a pod currently in the middle of her flight path, but she saw that white light, she knew what it meant, she helped make it for Lotus’s sake.

 

Perhaps it was only because she was high on adrenaline, – were she in her right mind, she probably would have decided against it – but she went against rational thought and activated the magnetic landing strips on the bottom of her ship and snatched the pod violently, narrowly avoiding a volley of thumper missiles.

 

Regardless of whether or not the people inside the pod could hear her, she cackled insanely over the local channel, “I hope you aren’t a group of Grineer trying to escape, because I have a group of angry Tenno onboard who would be more than happy to rend you limb from limb!”

 

Cichlid 17

Vidic continued to curse in his native tongue as he multi-tasked between avoiding shells and frantically searching the scrambled comms for any voice other than his own.

 

It was then that they would all be met with a horrifying sight. A low rumble echoed out from the Cargo Freighter, deafening the explosions and ricocheting of rounds on hull. The massive metal behemoth began to ever-so-slightly move forward, and suddenly, a boom devastated the silence of space. The Grineer ship was gone, taking with it hundreds of Tenno operatives who had failed to escape themselves. Waiting for them on the other side of the jump was a fate worse than death.

 

The force of such a massive object blew smaller ships off-course; Dargyns and Cichlids were thrown into each other, Archwing pilots were crushed by debris. Vidic barely regained control of his ship, but he was filled with a powerful, bestial rage that he only knew he possessed thanks to his fiancée. His cold, mechanical eyes scrutinized his surroundings, he expended the last of his ordinance, annihilating any Grineer in his path.

 

Spying another Cichlid who was towing a Grineer escape pod, he developed a devilish idea. He spotted a struggling mining vessel and burned the engines, engaging the docking magnets and stealing the ship just like the other Cichlid took the pod.

 

Little did he know that the ship he took didn’t contain the tools for recompense that he so desired.

 

Floating in Space

Evan and Kardin were in quite the predicament. Energy was dwindling, air was already beginning to stale, and to top it all off, the largest source of life-support was now on its way half-way across the system. Not only that, but the two were now spiraling out of control, the amount of energy required to stabilize exceeding the amount required to keep them alive for a few minutes longer.

 

Meanwhile, Nisette happened to be flying nearby. Things were grim; ammo was low, and she lost contact with her strike-team a long time ago. In short, she wasn’t getting paid, which upset her. But what upset her more was the fact that she was dancing on the devil’s dancefloor, and she was beginning to trip on her own feet. She was going to jump, she should have just jumped! Why get yourself killed saving some ungrateful Tenno who’s probably going to get killed in the future anyway? Besides, she was mortal, they were unending so long as they didn’t get shot. Why the hell didn’t she just jump?

 

The side panels retracted on her ship as she deactivated the inertial dampeners on her Cichlid and drifted towards the spiraling couple of Tenno. As soon as she heard the clunk of them hitting the floor of her ship, she sealed the doors, re-enabled the inertial dampeners, and engaged the afterburners, preparing the void drive to enter the rift.

 

“You two better thank me for this if we survive!” she cried out into the cabin as she narrowly avoided enemy ordinance.

____________

 

One after the other, each of the three remaining Cichlids engaged their void drive-cores, the Banshee’s earsplitting shriek shattering the silence of the vacuum.

 

The following silence of traveling in the rift would be welcome to the remnants of the melancholy team, allowing them a respite from the horrors they had just experienced.

 

It was finally over, the mission failed.

[(PSN)SilverHades]

Orion carried Mythos' heavy body through what would only be seen as a nightmare. The ship was falling apart; fires jumped to life in every corridor and hallway, floors collapsed and electronics exploded. His small, feeble hands just couldn't take the weight of Mythos' body, but he just had to continue.

Even if it meant permanently going offline.

As he navigated through the ship to the docking bay, he looked to his right, seeing Ivan carrying Odessa. Activating his medical scanners, he analysed Odessa, only to see the only thing he didn't want to see.

She was dying.

His attention was completely diverted when they arrived at the docking bay. He motioned to Ivan to go to one of the mining vessels, and as they went in, he put Mythos in one of the seats, before going to the controls and starting the engines. Fire encompassed the outside of the vessel, and Orion closed the ramp while the vessel started to lift off. He tried to navigate the wreckage around the ship, but as the Grineer Ship jumped, the vessel was blown away. As he waited for the vessel to calm down, he remembered one thing.

Odessa!

He jumped out of the cockpit, before heading to the seats. He didn't see Odessa anywhere.

No.

He placed both his hands on his head. Odessa had been sucked out into space.

What am I feeling?

He lent down on one of the seats.

Emotion?

He looked out into space.

Emotion. For one reason. I'm a failure.

A medical bot, such as I, let this happen.

Edited October 9, 2015 by (PS4)SilverHades

[Ghost333]

Rumbling. Gunfire. Metal scraping metal. A scythe, a whet stone, a twenty-sided die.

An angelic choir sounding as the Fickle Lady smiled upon her favourite pawn.

Twentyyyyyyyy

The General shuddered. Then started laughing. It was the laugh of a madman, or rather the laugh of someone who had just gone through hell, kicked the devil in the nads and got out alive.

"WE MADE IT! HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAA! WE DAMN WELL MADE IT!"

[(PSN)qwerty1310]

Ivan looked at Orion, then out to space. She was gone, forever.

"You don't have to blame yourself for this Orion, it was my fault. If I came to you guys earlier, she would probably still be alive. And...I...should have...held her," said Ivan, trying to comfort him. It was the first time he saw a bot experience emotions. He looked at the ground, before taking a deep breath, then, he headed towards the cockpit and navigated the vessel, he looked around for Evan.

"Guess he evacuated long ago," he thought. He looked back at Orion, before letting out a sigh.

Evan looked around, before putting Kardin down. "God you're heavy," he thought, and detached himself and Kardin from his Archwing. He put his ear on Kardin's chest and listened for a heartbeat, "Boom, boom..."

"Thank god," he said. He took a deep breath, then, using all his strength, he stood up and headed towards the cockpit. He looked at Nisette, nodding his head.

"We may not make it out alive so...thanks. Like, alot. What can I do to help?" He asked.

Edited October 9, 2015 by (PS4)qwerty1310

[IceDragonofAmber]

Sab smiled and laughed with the general, even if it wasn't entirely genuine. Her voice was strained.

The Valkyr stretched out her arms before resting them behind her helmet, cushioning the wall she was sitting against.

"If any lf you guys are gonna need me I'll be spending my fortune vacationing on Phobos, catching some sun, fishing some skates and slaughtering the occasional undermanned outpost."

She gave a strained chuckle before an angered edge returned to her voice.

"Lotus better be breaking the god damn bank after all that sh!t."

Although her frame may have finally sealed up the Valkyr's wounds had done the opposite and right now she was slowly bleeding out in her own protective suit. Didn't help that the affects of Sebastian's "drug" had worn off too.

Edited October 8, 2015 by IceDragonofAmber

[(PSN)TheCrimsonTuckr]

Vandal breathed heavily and smiled, it was over... They had escaped. It seemed a lot more peaceful in the Ridt than just hearing screaming, gunfire and just death altogether. He looked at Belrev and gave him a thumbs up before closing his eyes and resting.

There was something else following them in the Rift, a small Liset just off the radars of the Cichlids that were escaping to the Way-Station. A Tenno was looking at the destination and with a small smirk she sat on the floor, leaning against the cold wall of her Liset, adjusting her Vectis' barrel for the indoors.

[(PSN)batman200087]

It was over. One of the most brutal battles he has ever been in, is now over. He looked over to his allies, no his Friends. He gave a thumbs up to Vandal and Silver, and gently pat Kage on the head.

It felt good. But that feeling came with the thought of knowing that other Tenno have perished during the fight. Hundreds of them possibly. Their Families also. Broken...

 

Just like his own.

They lost their lives in the pursuit of justice and for that Belrev honored them silently.

He just stared at the wall in silence. Thinking. Yes just thinking. 

 

The question of survival came to him. If he dies, then no one will be able to continue his mission. But if he lives and others die... then his mission was increased ten fold.

"I know how it feels, Master Belrev. I am sorry that you did not have the chance to save them. Their sacrifice will not go unnoticed. Those Tenno gave their lives for Justice, and the gates of eternal peace have welcomed them with open arms."

 

"Is there anything I can do Master?"

 

"No Corion. I'll...be fine."

 

There was a silence felt between the Self aware Sentinel and the damaged Tenno. Both cared deeply for each other.

 

And yet both hurt each other.

 

Corion let out a whirr of sadness, as he perched himself onto Belrev's shoulder.

"It reminds me of you in a way."

"How so?"

"All the sacrifices you made. To save others, instead of yourself."

---

"I honor you, Master. Even after how I betrayed you, you were still there for me. I may not be a biological organism, but I do have feelings. You bring the good ones, Master."

Belrev just stared at the wall continuously.

And pondered his words.

 

-------

 

"We are a team little light. Never forget that."

 

Edited October 8, 2015 by (PS4)batman200087

[IrishHades1798]

Sebastian gave a light chuckle with the general. He laid his head back, closing his eyes briefly, going over in his head all of the events that had transpired. He opened his eyes and frowned. As far as he knew, Kardin had been lost to space. Sebastian had yet to contact his fellow Dojo members, and was concerned for them. He had no idea of their situation, and for all he knew, they had to fight a full platoon of that abomination in the cargo bay.

 

"How many do you think we lost?" Sebastian asked. It was unlike him to ask such a question. He would ponder over it and answer it himself after any rough mission, usually wanting to spare the others in his group the discussion. But just now... He might be just close enough to breaking.

 

'I need a drink.' Sebastian thought to himself.

[SpaceHelicopters]

The Unaware

Donn Waystation, Pluto

The Donn Waystation is much like any of the other thousands of Waystations littered across the system. Nestled quietly in Pluto’s outer orbit, the station serves as a checkpoint between many Dojos, the Orcus Relay, and is no more than a stone’s throw away from any of Pluto’s sectors. That said, waystation Donn is seldom ever visited due to its popularity being dwarfed by its sister station Morríghan, which features more modern technology. However, the dwarf planet’s size makes it easier to reach its dedicated relay, meaning that most visitors just go the extra mile and avoid the waystations altogether.

 

Still, emergency stops must be made to either refuel or repair the ship or pilot’s equipment, so the stations are kept in operation. Volunteers from nearby dojos, the relay, and syndicates come to keep everything maintained and functional, and while most visitors usually don’t stay too long, some find the Donn’s clamshell design rather charming and cozy.

 

The design of the station is simple, yet functional. Two massive domes with massive gaps to allow entry into the docking ring encompassed the cylindrical, primary structure at the heart of the docking ring. The structure features several levels; a storage floor only accessible by the staff in the basement, syndicate offices for the patron syndicates – Perrin Sequence primarily with some assistance from New Loka -, a common hall divided between a med bay, canteen, and training area, and lodging for weary pilots and exhausted operatives.

 

The med bay was manned by some Corpus doctors from Perrin Sequence, several Trinitys and Oberons, and plenty of New Loka nurses. The bay itself only featured roughly a dozen medical beds that could double as operating tables, but some of the most advanced medical technology Perrin could get their hands on. On either side of the med bay were doors that exited onto a catwalk that surrounded the primary structure and offered a rather breath-taking view of the planet below and the docking ring.

 

The Canteen features multiple tables and a fully stocked kitchen for those who would like to prepare their own meals. Should they lack the patience or skill for such endeavors, a food synthesis machine nearby could provide a warm, nourishing meal for a rather fair price. The nearby training area, safely sectioned off from the rest of the commons area with thick, sound-proof walls, has a foundry open to the public, dueling ring, simulation chamber, and bathrooms for both sexes featuring showers near the entrance of the training area. It should be noted that these are the only bathrooms on the station, so be conscious of your distance to them.

 

Lastly, the housing on the station on the top floor of the primary structure featured cozy rooms with rather Spartan furnishings. The rooms only contain cryo-stasis pods and a locker for personal belongings. The pods however are relatively newer models, and while they possess the usual feature of doubling as a bed with toggle-able stasis set to a timer, the pods also feature localized customizable environments and net access for late night browsing, gaming, streaming, etc.

 

____________________

 

Today, like most, is a relatively slow one for those manning the station; the crew and visitors unaware of the rush they was about to hit them. The crew on the docking ring were socializing and lounging around the large bits of million-credit equipment, save for a few who were cleaning blood and shrapnel off of the dock from a rather enraged and battered Grineer visitor who had wrecked a couple hours ago. Lights in the med bay were off while the medical staff conversed in the canteen, making sure to avoid the angry Grineer woman at the counter who had denied all assistance rather violently. At this point, the staff had just given up on trying and thought it best to leave her be. Grineer temperament was rather finicky, after all.

 

While mostly quiet, Milton, a Perrin staff member with a great personality whom everyone was rather fond of, had been kind enough to bring an ancient mixtape he had found while scavenging. It took most of the engineers on hand the better part of the day to get the archaic technology hooked up to the station’s PA system, but they had nothing better to do, and the change in atmosphere was rather welcome. Even if the staff or patrons didn’t like the music, it wasn’t worth complaining about. I mean, it’s Milton. Who doesn’t like Milton?

Bonus points if you can get the reference I’m making.

Come and Get Your Love – Redbone

 

Being careful to give the angry lady a wide berth, Nisha, a bubbly and bright-eyed young Tenno volunteer from a nearby Dojo, made her way to the fridge in the kitchen for a “complimentary” drink. Waving her pass to negate the fee, she took the last can of “Etetjy”, a Corpus energy drink, popped the top and began to guzzle the contents.

 

Currently, the company made a huge recall on the drink after some study found that it contained traces of Cryotic radiation caused by a faulty seal. The liquid would stay cold no matter how long it sat out and wouldn’t lose carbonation, but it also killed three people and hospitalized four thousand with moderate to severe radiation poisoning. Almost all of those victims were human, Corpus, or Grineer (Most Grineer), but she wasn’t going to be done in by a drink of all things, she was a Tenno.

 

She let out a satiated sigh and took a step to throw the can away, only to slip and fall from a fresh, cold puddle near her feet.

 

“Oh, right,” she suddenly remembered, annoyed, “I’m not a Tenno; I’m a copy of a Tenno.” The Specter sat up, upset that she just wasted her drink, but even more-so that she was going to get yelled at for making a mess. 

[Agent_Maine]

Silver sighed, and looked at Belrev, Vandal and Harley. They had made it. After all that, Harley going partially insane, Vandal getting shot, Omnipotence's Threats, Quin being captured, after all of that, they had survived. 

 

How unlucky.

[Owlrrex]

Donn Waystation, Pluto

 

Of the visitors on the station, some were already well known to the staff for their regular visits, and some were not. Souna was definitely one of the latter, she had only been here a few times before. When she approached merchants and experts, most of them Corpus or civilians, more often than not they felt rather uneasy around a Tenno. In those cases, she proposed continuing the negotiations on neutral grounds, and remote stations like this were her preferred choice. The Perrin members made her buisness partners feel at easy, and the close Orcus relay gave Souna all the reassurance she needed.

 

When she arrived, she had to be rerouted to another port in the last minute to make way for the stranded Grineer-ship. She had heard of the commotion and seen it from afar, but not really cared about it. Grineer were trouble, everyone knew that. Even when loyal to Steel Meridian or other Tenno-friendly groups, she still did not like the degenerate clones. 

 

Plus, they rarely had any offers that interested her. Their weapons were clumsy, their technology crude, lacking the grace or at least sleek efficiency that is so important to her. And for what she is here now, neither weapons nor equipment, the Grineer are even less proficient. She is here to buy code. In her early adolescent years she had already accepted that even the worst equipment could be improved significantly by pairing it with the right applications, extending the HUD or the Orbiter's and Liset's systems. She's missing the time and in-depth-proficiency to code those herself - she faintly remembers that once she knew people who did that - but she has searched for Corpus who supply Relays and Tenno-Stations with their systems, and found some who serve private individuals as well. 

 

If only this one would be on schedule. Since roughly half an hour Souna was sitting in the cafeteria, a public place where noone had to fear for his or her hide, and waited for the trader to join. Half an hour she could have spent much better. Sure, she can see that on a station like this, when you're not familiar with it, you might be late a few minutes. That's all fine. But this is pure insolence!

Regularly checking her messagebox, clad in her full Zephyr-Warframe, she's sitting at a table with only one other chair, legs crossed and one foot rocking constantly, arms crossed as well. Even though she wears her helmet, one can tell her bad mood while she decides that if that person finally arrives, she better not hold back her displeasure.

With a bright-yellow, nearly golden glow of her energy, at her shoulders and ankles Daedalus-armor pieces materialized, giving her a much broader appearance than she actually is and back up her fury. They of course fit the color scheme of the warframe and the long, thin Udyat-Syandana that she carefully put over the chair's back: Pure white, matched with black contrasts and ornaments imitating the bronze-goldish tone of Orokin decorations.