Licensed Larceny. (Warframe Fanfiction)

[Defibrillate]

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Heist Day: -1. Preplanning.

0800

Mars: Colony 0459. Arcadia sector.

 

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Two figures sat on a simple unassuming bench, their attention caught on a third human shaped entity to their left – a strange, almost biomechanical titan of a man who stood cloaked in a tattered wrap of cloth.

 

Yet, it was not that which drew their attention to him as much as it did, for they already knew what he was; what they did not know was what he held that clung to his lower forearm like a spider treading on its web.

 

The man’s arm was wreathed in a cloth of the same texture and material, but was heavier than the cloak that weighed upon his shoulders; for they concealed a small disc that any security personnel may have dismissed as a child’s toy or a mere trinket.

 

Unlike most of his kin, he stood helmetless under his heavy cloak, his bald, scarred head dull in the moonlight of the refugee camp; if not for his eldritch eyes, he could have passed for a mere mercenary or a retired soldier.

 

Those eyes; in them reflected a world of pain and misery, a curse branded into his mind from a young age, they shone brightly like a beacon of hope, but burned with the fury of a wrathful demon.

 

If anyone were to look into his eyes for just a brief moment, they would see nothing but the malevolent, shattered mind filled with boundless hatred and a soul shattering gaze that would have told but a simple truth: this man was not human, for no human could possess such killing intent and not burst into a bloodthirsty rampage.

 

The two men finally turned away, and began walking at a pace they once thought impossible for themselves, as fear gripped their minds and their primal instincts flared. There was no need to lose their lives that day.

 

They knew all too well what the man was, they had heard the word uttered by terrified men and soldiers who returned from the battlefronts against the Grineer and Corpus: Tenno.

 

Phantoms of the night, their names were frequently invoked in times of peace to scare children and teach them fear. Now, in a time of war, the children were scared anyway.

 

But, even then; a truth had emerged amongst the fear and despair that had gripped the solar system’s inhabitants.

 

The Tenno were on their side, and they were very, very real.

 

They still terrified the living daylights out of everyone, even then.

 

This Tenno in particular, was an Excalibur Prime, an ancient exarch amongst his deadly kindred who was completely consumed by a path chosen by the void itself. At his waist lay his helmet, dangling like a chain under the rough cloth; opposite it, lay a gun, beautiful and elegantly functional – a masterwork of Orokin design.

 

“What’s taking her…?” The Tenno grumbled, leaning on a hollow wall made of salvage, as his dry lips tasted the bitter tang of Mars’ atmosphere; a familiar taste to the amnesiac. This was not his first posting to the now icy planet, but even time did not dull the acrid taste of polluted air; poisoned by Corpus industries over centuries.

 

As if summoned by his words, the warrior’s companion emerged from the shadows, draped in fine, silken cloths over her form-fitting armour; like him, her eyes too shined a brilliant blue in the darkness of the night, and the scars that ran from the bridge of her nose through a blind left eye.

 

With a hop and a skip, the Trinity wielder lugged her armour in what looked like a datamass – but was clearly a suitcase of sorts which held her armour phased into the void for conservation of space – what many Orokin tech dealers loved to call a ‘Pandora’s Box’.

 

She frowned, as if not noticing his presence, and then – finally locking eyes with the exarch – skipped towards him with a S#&$ eating grin that looked out of place on the seasoned warrior woman’s face.

 

“You took your sweet time.” She bit into a purple fruit, singing each word in a jolly display of excessive joy.

 

Like him, she was broken, and coped accordingly; it did not mean similarly.

 

“Mind that I was waiting for you.” He replied, tersely, unamused by her shenanigans.

 

In annoyance, she twirled her auburn hair as she turned away to the side, quickly looking to the busy civilians as if she were ignoring him, before speaking again, her voice sweet as honey like a child begging a parent for allowance, “Do you happen to have any spare change on you? I spent some on the clothes and food, I’m fresh out of credits.”

 

Sighing, the elder glared, before relenting; typing a code on a holographic display that lit up through his cloaked wrist.

 

“Ten credits, that’s all I’m giving you, now we go.” He growled.

 

“That’s tyranny! You can’t get anything for ten credits anymore! An apple costs fifteen!” She cried in outrage, as if the thought itself was blasphemy.

 

“Fine, ten more, now can we go? I came all the way here when your ship crashed and I’ve got missions to do, my Liset can handle a few men, so I’ll drop some ground rules. Or is that too hard for you, miss?” He ignored what looked like the gossamer touch of a pout forming on her face, and began striding out the camp towards the empty valley where his ship lay hidden in the snow.

 

They walked amongst countless refugees, all arriving from decrepit space sports and garbed in just as ruined clothing. Children, women and men all equal in their despair marching towards a faint glimmer of hope; unaware that it walked amongst them.

 

The spired hive cities of Mars were cold, unwelcoming and filled with corruption staining them from one end to another, their countless levels plagued with famine, thieves and all manner of criminal minds gathered in a wretched hive of scum and villainy.

 

Even then, such things were preferable to lobotomy and slavery, and many would rather risk their lives amongst other humans who could at least be reasoned with rather than an empire of clones and a merchant empire that held no love for anything other than profit.

 

The Tenno were not immune to such matters, but they reacted differently.

 

Where there was fear, they made it into purpose.

 

Where there was hatred, they honed it against their enemies.

 

Where there was pain, they returned it with rage.

 

At the very least, that was how the old exarch warrior reacted, his compatriot hid her emotions behind a wall of smiles and laughs; and, if the old warrior were to say in a bit bitter of a mood, trivial questions.

 

 

“How old are you?”

“Do you have any food on your ship?”

“What’s your rank?”

“How many battles have you been in?”

“Do you even sleep?”

“How’s your aim?”

 

All these were fired off without pause as they walked, an endless barrage of questions trivial and important; but none of them received any response from the ancient.

 

All except for one simple question that was asked as they finally boarded the small, manta shaped craft; a modified variant of the Liset that was slightly larger than normal, but held the same geometric elegant functionality of Tenno design, it smelt of berries and incense, but it was a smell that even the Trinity was familiar with.

 

“Why do you have so many Warframes in your armory? Don’t you only use one?” It was an innocent question, but one that struck a chord in the elder Tenno.

 

“Would you prefer a serious answer, or a practical answer?” The Excalibur said softly, with a low growl ending his question.

 

“How about both?” The Trinity replied, ignorant of the weight in his eyes growing, as she pressed on inquisitively.

 

“They are the dead. What remains of the fallen, they are memorials and reminders. They keep me going in their name, they are the lost and the damned, these brothers and sisters once fought at my side and I fought tooth and nail to recover their corpses. Now they rest, waiting to be called upon as specters of the past.”

 

His words were solemn, and his dour expression spoke of memories far more depressing than his mind would allow him to remember, but he kept his steady gaze locked upon the suits of armour.

 

“I won’t pretend to understand any of that. What’s the practical answer?” She said, bluntly, but the exarch responded calmly- even if his body language suggested his patience was drawing thin.

 

“I could use some of them, but it would be pointless; Warframes are conduits for our powers, amplifiers. I would not be able to use some, for my abilities are too different. Is that sufficient, amnesiac witch?

 

Seeing her confused look, he sighed, wondering as why he even indulged her curiousity, before continuing,

 

“I keep the rest for the other Tenno that I swap out with when I head to the relays, and unlike most I’m a Prime that still remembers my oath. Help yourself to the weapons, but remember to return them. I don’t want to see any of my guns gone when we’re done with this mission.”

 
“You said ‘other’ Tenno? Is that the source of this stench?” The Excalibur raised his brow at the question, tensing at her words; unsure if he wanted to take it as an insult, or a statement of curiosity.

 

“Stench? Explain, now.” He kept his voice level, glaring daggers at the auburn haired woman. Inwardly, he was impressed, he himself had not noted any unusual smells or scents upon his return.

 

“Well, you don’t look like the type of man who carries around explosives and chocolate.” She said, answering the question with a curious frown.

“Choc-”

 

“She’s got you there, boss.” A calm tenor rang out from the corners of the vessel, and from the darkness emerged a rugged, somewhat charming man covered from neck to toe in a lightly toned khaki Warframe which the Trinity instinctively recognised as a ‘Frost’.

 

“Omar, I told you to wait at the relay.” The exarch’s stern gaze fell upon the Frost but, unlike the Trinity, he simply stared back in response with a wry smile crossing his lips like the smear of chocolate on his cheek.

 

“Yeah… well, and you told me I could come over whenever I wanted, so there’s that.”

 

The Excalibur snorted at the response and turned away.

 

“This looks like it’s going to be a fun heist. She’s joining us?” Omar continued, turning his eyes to the newcomer in the vessel.

 

“Unfortunately.” The prime groaned, as if the very thought of her being around him for more than a mere second was torment.

 

“So… where are we hitting?” Even though she had been briefed slightly, the snack eating woman did not have as much data as she would have wished.

 

Pacing back and forth, in a circle around her, Omar began explaining with a joy that almost seemed rehearsed.

 

“There’s a Grineer ship in orbit near Ceres that we have been contacted to run a snatch and grab on. Apparently, the Lotus believes that there are void keys and essential mods out on that mining vessel; we’re going to steal them back and… requisition any food or supplies we can find.”

 

Omar looked to the Prime to continue.

 

“Another team will be running distractions, they’ll raise the alarm and wreak havoc, but we cannot afford to get caught or screw this up. We need those resources, our exposed colonies near Ceres and Pluto need them.”

 

Unlike his compatriot, the Excalibur saw no need in movement, and simply leaned on a wall; sharpening his Dakra Prime with practiced precision.

 

“I like it better when we’re the distraction.” She bit on her apple, pouting ever so slightly, her gaze drifting between the two Tenno operatives.

 

“Too bad.” The Prime growled back, slotting his helmet onto his head with an audible pop and hiss; the latter of which was not related to the action.

 

“Is he always like this?” The Trinity turned to the Frost who, like his kinsmen, was also equipping his gear with no wasted motion.

 

“Oh, you have no idea.” His calm tenor turned to a hissing snarl as the helmet came over his head, coating his voice with chaotic distortion as the voice synthesiser came active.

 

The Trinity followed suit, bracing herself against the wall as she recognised the tell-tale signs of a void jump.

 

“Lunaris, begin transit, Egeria sector.” A command was barked, and the Liset’s purple glow lit up in a brilliant flare as code and circuitry flared in response.

 

“Affirmative, operator. Engaging team display.”

 

Cephalon Lunaris’ cold monotone was like liquid mercury in their minds as data flowed through their neural link; connecting their Warframes – their bodies and souls – to each other, as displays of vitals and equipment popped up in their HUDs.

 

Synchronicity, empathy and focus were key.

 

That was what the Corpus and Grineer lacked, they could not care or think of their allies, they could not work by their side as fellow kinsmen but only as soldiers. The Tenno worked in tandem, adapting, developing and aiding their teammates, in a Tenno team there was no man left behind.

 

In this case, there would be no loot left behind.

 

No bodies, no loot, no trace but the trace of nothingness. That was the terror that struck fear in fearless clones and mindless robots. They would come and go as they always did, vanishing as quickly as they came, hushed and silent like the womb of the sky.

 

There was a very good reason why certain VIP targets ‘chosen’ by the Tenno as marks fled for their lives as soon as a single shot of unauthorised gunfire rang loud.

 

“Time to get our payday, eh?”

 

“Shut up.”             

 

Silence was golden after all.

 

 

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Edited March 17, 2015 by Defibrillate

[--MZez--]

Long story but very nice i like it

[Defibrillate]

Long story but very nice i like it

Thanks!

I won't call it long though, it's barely even 3k words long.

[4G3NT_0R4NG3]

I like the story, but the one problem I have with it is the fact that it screws up the canon by having each Tenno only have one compatible warframe. By doing some research, I have discovered that in actuality, one Tenno can switch between the warframes in their arsenal and retain full functionality over all of them. I have also determined that Tenno are capable of changing gender at will so they can use warframes of both genders.

 

My research:

Awhile ago, there were two prevailing theories as to what the Tenno were and how they used warframes. The first theory is that each warframe in your arsenal contains a different Tenno, and that Tenno cannot switch warframes. However, this theory was revealed to be false at the end of "The Limbo Theorem" quest line, in which Ordis implies that you are a single Tenno switching between the warframes in your arsenal. This evidence is further backed up by the "hidden messages" quest line, in which you recover the components of the Mirage warframe to wear for yourself.

 

The second theory is that you play as one Tenno and switch between the warframes in your arsenal. What Ordis says about Limbo and what Lotus says about Mirage would seem to confirm this theory, but the one problem with it is that you play as both male and female warframes that have clearly defined sexual characteristics. How is it possible that one Tenno can use both male and female warframes?

 

One explanation for this is that the Tenno are not humanoid, and do not have genders. This theory is proven false in two ways. First of all, we see Tenno outside of their warframes in cryopods on defense missions, and they are very clearly humanoid, and second, if Tenno didn't have genders, why do the warframes have clearly defined sexual characteristics?

 

So how does one Tenno use both male and female warframes? The answer is deceptively simple. Who says Tenno aren't capable of changing their gender? Certain animals here on earth are capable of doing the same. The Tenno we see in defense missions would seem to support this as well, since all of them appear to be male.

 

But hey, who am I to complain about fanfiction screwing up the universe's canon, right?

[Austell]

A delightful read! I am especially fond of well-developed prose, and there's plenty of that here. That Stolen Dreams reference didn't go unnoticed, either.

Edited March 18, 2015 by Midtime

[Austell]

But hey, who am I to complain about fanfiction screwing up the universe's canon, right?

 

While I can't claim authoritative knowledge of canon, I can say you have this dead right: there is no reason to complain about this. Fanfiction does not exist to adhere strictly to a work's canon. It exists to explore its themes, ideas, and potential. It is derivative work. Sticking to known events and facts is usually advisable, but hardly always, and in the case of canon information which may well have been influenced by the original work's purpose as an enjoyable game more than as a storytelling medium, I don't think it is important enough to raise a fuss about. They may be suits of armour, but the frames are presented to us with personalities and histories as well, and tying a fan-character to a specific Warframe can provide excellent ground for further development. This complaint is, frankly, off-topic for the thread.

Edit. Oh, dear. I didn't mean to submit this as a separate post.

Edited March 18, 2015 by Midtime

[Defibrillate]

I like the story, but the one problem I have with it is the fact that it screws up the canon by having each Tenno only have one compatible warframe. By doing some research, I have discovered that in actuality, one Tenno can switch between the warframes in their arsenal and retain full functionality over all of them. I have also determined that Tenno are capable of changing gender at will so they can use warframes of both genders.

 

My research:

Awhile ago, there were two prevailing theories as to what the Tenno were and how they used warframes. The first theory is that each warframe in your arsenal contains a different Tenno, and that Tenno cannot switch warframes. However, this theory was revealed to be false at the end of "The Limbo Theorem" quest line, in which Ordis implies that you are a single Tenno switching between the warframes in your arsenal. This evidence is further backed up by the "hidden messages" quest line, in which you recover the components of the Mirage warframe to wear for yourself.

 

The second theory is that you play as one Tenno and switch between the warframes in your arsenal. What Ordis says about Limbo and what Lotus says about Mirage would seem to confirm this theory, but the one problem with it is that you play as both male and female warframes that have clearly defined sexual characteristics. How is it possible that one Tenno can use both male and female warframes?

 

One explanation for this is that the Tenno are not humanoid, and do not have genders. This theory is proven false in two ways. First of all, we see Tenno outside of their warframes in cryopods on defense missions, and they are very clearly humanoid, and second, if Tenno didn't have genders, why do the warframes have clearly defined sexual characteristics?

 

So how does one Tenno use both male and female warframes? The answer is deceptively simple. Who says Tenno aren't capable of changing their gender? Certain animals here on earth are capable of doing the same. The Tenno we see in defense missions would seem to support this as well, since all of them appear to be male.

 

But hey, who am I to complain about fanfiction screwing up the universe's canon, right?

I actually did mention that he could use some of them, but his code as a Prime who has mastered the Excalibur prevents him from doing so.

 

A delightful read! I am especially fond of well-developed prose, and there's plenty of that here. That Stolen Dreams reference didn't go unnoticed, either.

Thanks! If you're up for looking for references you can look out for the other hidden references!

I'll be popping up a second chapter sometime in the next few weeks, I have a very tight schedule filled with work Q_Q