Tyl Regor struck wildly at the aquatic stone before him, his giant mechanical fists a blur as the stone turned to dust. His underlings kept their distance, well-aware that the pressure waves made by the force of his punches alone could pulverize their armor.
Large chunks of stone fell away, revealing a doorway lined with gold, "Yes! Yes! Knew it was here!" Beneath his pale mask, Regor grinned madly. After two years of searching and digging, he had finally uncovered possibly the most significant piece of Grineer history in the Origin System. Deep beneath the seas of Uranus was the supposed location of the Tomb of the Sentient, the final resting place of the race that had liberated the first Grineer from their original masters. All that was left was to open the door, and all of their history of what came before the Old War would be revealed.
With that thought in mind, Regor jammed his fingers into the small gap in the center of the door and wrenched it open with a furious shout. Some of the plating of the door flew off and struck a few unfortunate Lancers, shearing off some their armor.
Regor’s second in command, a Trooper named Delak, rushed to his side, “Sir,” Delak started in a worried tone, “are we not following the plan?”
“No. The Lizards are taking too long. Need to know now!” Regor shoved Delak aside, rushing into the chamber and cackling gleefully at the sight of the numerous burial pods that doubtlessly contained the remains of the Sentients. However, something far more interesting caught his eye. At the end of the 300 meter chamber was an Orokin gateway.
Where could it lead? He wondered to himself.
The other Grineer filed in behind him, glancing at the ornate architecture. The Orokin were very fond of whites and golds, with every corner and arch being comprised of those colors. Regor was already making his way to the gate by the time the entire platoon had entered. Unbeknownst to them, however, was the little issue that the guards posted outside the door were trying to deal with.
"Maker's sake, Laaga! Don't you think that might be at least a little brutal?" A bright orange Loki frame (1) asked, trying his best to avoid looking at the carnage wrought by his compatriot.
"Well... yeah, Nephin!" Laaga, the cerulean Zephyr frame (2) of the group chirped whilst casually stapling the entrails of the Grineer guards to the wall with long, metal stakes, "We must leave evidence of our exploits wherever we go!"
"Laaga, you are wasting precious time," Lotus sighed with nihilistic resignation.
A large grey hand gripped Laaga's shoulder, "Lotus is right."
Laaga groaned like a dissapointed child who got no birthday presents, "But Odus-"
"No," The greyscale Excalibur (3) tapped the top of her birdlike helmet, "Who knows what Regor could've found by now? We should take care of him first. The corpses will still be here when we get back."
Laaga clasped her hand together and rose to the tips of her toes, "Prrroooomise?"
"Of course," Odus unsheathed a long, ornamental sword with a handguard that flowed off the blade and looped around the handle all the way down to the pommel (4), "Reload you two. It's going to be tough as nails beyond that door."
"Why wouldn't it be?" Nephin loaded a shell into his Vectis sniper rifle (5) and checked the neural sights.
Laaga shook her Panthera launcher (6), listening for any disconcerting jingling noises while muttering something about 'fun bleeding'.
Once they were prepared, Nephin went into a cloak and passed through the door. After a few seconds, they linked comms.
"Regor's packed some heat. He's being guarded by at least thirty Lancers (7) and twenty Troopers (8). Looks like he brought along three Manics (9) and two Ballistas (10), too," Nephin sounded off.
Odus hummed to himself, "I would've expected him to bring more than that. One of his Tubemen (11), at least."
"He may well have. There's too many potential ambush spots in this room to count. I recommend caution. I'll do my best to keep bigger threats off you, but I can only do so much at a time."
"Of course," Odus nodded, "This is a critical mission, but you two are not yet finished with your training. Do not do anything too risky. That goes doubly for you specifically, Laaga."
Laaga looked up from the disembodied Grineer finger she was gently gliding along the edge of her battleaxe, "Whut?"
"Exactly."
"I suggest you start the fireworks soon," Nephin chimed in, "Regor's starting to screw with some important looking things in here."
"Let's go, Laaga."
"'Kay."
The pair dashed through the door, Odus launching himself through the air with a burst of void energy while Laaga fired off a volley bladed discs from her Panthera that tore through the Grineer Lancers like paper.
Odus's trajectory led him on a path directly to Tyl Regor, who was working the controls of the gate. However, two of the Manics intercepted his flight path while the third made a dead sprint towards Laaga. The air cracked as Nephin fired his Vectis from a high platform on the wall, turning the third manic's head into a cloud of red mist. Both Ballistas trained their sights on Nephin, one of them firing off a round and narrowly missing his head. He switch-teleported with the Ballista that had yet to fire, and beheaded the first one with his Ripkas (12). He then whipped around, reloaded, and sniped the Ballista he had swapped places with. Once again, he entered cloak and ran up the wall opposite to his first position, taking a new sniping position and raining thunder on the Grineer.
Odus twisted in the air, narrowly avoiding the claws of one manic while parrying the other. They continued on their flight paths, landing just out of melee distance from one another. They each cautiously circled one another in hopes of finding an opening. Suddenly, energy bunched up around Odus's sword. He raised it high in the air and released the energy in a blinding flash of light. Both Manics stumbled backwards with their heads in their hands, reeling from the sudden stimuli. Odus used the opening to bisect the both of them in a single swipe of his sword.
Laaga giggled gleefully as she tore down her opposition with a rapidly spinning bladed disc hovering in front of her Panthera. She stopped to scoop up some blood off the floor and rub it on herself as though it were soap, then continued her massacre. Some Grineer got on their knees and begged for Laaga's mercy, which made it much easier to cut their heads off, disappointing Laaga greatly.
Odus turned to face Tyl Regor, who was typing at the gate's console, "Face me, Regor."
Regor's fingers froze. He stood up straight, but did not look back at Odus, "I was hoping one of you lizards would show up. I didn't expect it to be you, Odus," He spat his name as he balled up his fists and began to shake, "I think you'll be perfect for today's little... experiment."
Odus entered a defensive stance, his sword pointed in a downward angle, "I don't know what you're planning, but I don't think you'll live long enough to see it through."
"Oh please," Regor chuckled, "You've been the perfect little pawns up 'till now. Let's see how long I can keep up my little gambit, hmm?"
Something heavy slammed into the back of Odus's head. His vision blacked for a moment. In that time, the incredibly strong arms of a tubeman wrapped around him. The screams of the other two Tenno echoed through the massive chamber.
"You see, I had originally planned to toss one of you lizards into the tomb to see if there were any threats. Got a little overexcited near the end of the plan, so that went out the window," Regor tapped a few more keys on the console. In a bright flash, the gate opened, "But I think I can salvage the plan for this," He generated an object from his personal pocket void (13) and held it up to Odus's face, "This is a special little tracking device I've designed. Still in the prototype phase, but it'll definitely work here," He attached it to Odus's ankle. A spike shot out of the tracking device, impaling his leg. Odus shouted in pain, struggling against the arms of whomever was binding him. Regor continued his explanation, "It can send signals over a distance larger than the entire galaxy through subspace. Light speed wouldn't cut it for this. Too much waiting. It'll track your vitals, too," He tapped some buttons on the tracker, "It also disables your channeling. No more powers for you!” He pointed to the portal, "You're going in there before us. If it's incredibly dangerous - and I hope it is - you'll die. We'll know from your vitals. If you don't die, then you'll be too crippled to be a threat to us when we come through."
Odus thrashed against the Tubeman holding him, "My clan will have your head!"
"Not frightened by Weeping Willow," Regor gripped Odus's chin in his hand, "Their leader will be long gone. A headless snake can do nothing but writhe."
"Yet the head may still bite!"
Tyl Regor paced beyond Odus, out of his line of sight, "Silly sentiment. A snake's head can't lunge forward,” He snapped his fingers, the Tubeman holding Odus walked toward the portal, "Just have to step clear." The Tubeman wound up, preparing to throw Odus through, "Goodbye, Odus. Don't come back. Got enough to worry about."
Odus was tossed into the air, quickly moving into the portal. He turned as he flew, getting one last glimpse of Laaga and Nephin bound in chains and surrounded by Tubemen. Nephin was looking back at him. Laaga was trying to spear the Tubemen with the pointy end of her helmet. Odus nodded to Nephin. Nephin cocked his head, having absolutely no clue what the hell Odus was nodding at him for. Then, in a flash of light, Odus entered the gate.
In her bedchambers, Princess Celestia raised the sun. A familiar energy coursed through her as she gazed out her window, "No. That shouldn't be happening." She glided to the balcony of her tower and over the railing, angling herself into a nosedive, "I can't let our work be for nothing!"
Hidden from view of god and mortal rested a sealed chamber. For millennia it remained untouched, undisturbed; but one day, it opened. And out came a single lone, crippled Tenno. Odus lay upon the floor for an indeterminate amount of time, imagining the things he would do to Tyl Regor while working up the strength to stand. He got up into a kneeling stance, observing his new location. It was a chamber just like the one he had just left - gold-plated door sealing the exit included.
There could be miles of rock behind that door. Or possibly the vacuum of space? Some eldritch Orokin-made horror on the other side? Or Clem. Please don't let it be Clem. I'd take the eldritch horror over him.
He stopped as he noticed his sword lying in the ground a few feet away.
Must've come through with me.
He pulled himself into a full standing position and slowly hobbled to his sword. A layer of ancient dust kicked up around his feet, coating his lower legs. Odus reached down and retrieved his sword, then continued hobbling to the door. As he neared it, he raised his sword. He drove it forcefully into the center gap and tried to lever the door open to no avail. His blade was removed from the door and sheathed on his back, and the Tenno sulked to the nearest corner. Said corner was formed by a pillar connected to the wall next to the door. Odus made to sit down and mope, but jumped when a massive bang came from the door. He looked back and saw two neat dents in the door. Fearing he had been discovered, Odus ran behind the pillar. Another bang, and the door flew off its hinges. When he saw what came through, he lightly gasped.
What in the Maker's name is that?
Through the newly opened hole strode a tall, white creature. Odus noted its massive wings and the spiraling protrusion coming from its forehead. He started forming plans in his head to get around it and escape.
The fastest I can move right now is too slow to outrun it. Especially if it can fly. The horn is probably for impaling. It would have to make a straight trajectory if it wanted to pierce my armor. The hooves are more dangerous to me. Best avoid any kicks.
Then it spoke. Very loudly. Odus was thankful for the sound normalisation of his warframe’s audio input, as its voice was reduced by several hundred decibels before it reached his ears, "Invader, I know you are here! Leave now and do not turn back, for you walk upon sacred ground and breathe holy air!
The creature continued her - if the voice was to be believed - walk deeper into the chamber. Odus took his chance, hobbling as quickly as he could through the door. She kept shouting her warnings and threats, unaware of her target's rapid escape. Odus didn't stop hobbling, even as the cave opened up to a steep downward incline on the side of a mountain. He fell over the side and went into a tumble. As he fell, he caught sight of rolling green plains, a small village, a massive forest, and a city built upon the side of a distant mountain. He momentarily questioned the probability of the city surviving any sort of natural disaster before re-focusing his thoughts on how to avoid breaking any bones when the sudden stop at the bottom would come. Fortunately for him, his worries were assuaged when he impacted water instead of solid ground. He limply floated down to the bottom, unworried by the lack of air. His warframe provided him with a sizable oxygen supply.
He started a lengthy swim downstream, remaining underwater to avoid detection. After about an hour of swimming, he re-surfaced. Beyond the shore of the water lay a deep forest. Odus climbed back onto dry land and scanned the area around him. The sky was completely covered by a thick canopy of leaves and branches. Satisfied that the creature couldn't track him, Odus walked into the shadows of the Everfree Forest.
Celestia looked out over the Everfree Forest from high in the air, her expression uncharacteristically sour.
Whoever you are, whatever your intention may be, I will find you...
You don't belong here.
She flew back to Canterlot as quickly as she could. She didn’t want to be late for breakfast.
Celestia strode regally trough the halls of Canterlot castle. On the outside, she maintained a façade of pure serenity. However, her state of mind proved the opposite.
Nothing good could have come through that gate. If the age is coming to an end, I must prepare Equestria for the worst. I've reversed the gate's polarity, but it won't take long to fix. How long do I have?
She entered the dining hall of the castle. Before sitting down, she summoned a servant to her side, "Yes, your majesty?" The servant bowed deeply.
Celestia put on a small smile, "Can you get Captain Armor? I need to speak with him urgently."
"Of course, Princess."
The servant ran off, leaving Celestia to her thoughts. How much technology have they brought with them, whoever they are? Are they a scout? A one-creature army?
The palace chefs exited the kitchen, and laid down a small spread for the Princess's breakfast. Celestia paused her thoughts to eat, savoring the rich flavor of banana crepes and tea loaded with cream.
She ate for five minutes, until Guard Captain Shining Armor pushed the doors open, "You called, Princess?"
She swallowed her last bite, "Yes. I need to speak with you about a matter of great importance."
"Is there more we should know about Nightmare Moon's retur-"
Celestia raised a hoof, "This isn't about that. Something is lurking in the Everfree Forest."
Shining cocked his head, "What... would that 'something' be, your highness?"
"Its form and intent I do not know," she sighed, "but it could be wielding unimaginable power. If allowed to run free, it could pose a greater threat than my sister's return. I want you to set up organized search parties in the Everfree. Find it."
"If this thing is really as powerful as you're saying, I'm not sure a group of guards could handle it themselves."
Celestia shook her head, "You need not fight it. Just contain it. You're a master of shields, Captain. Once you can keep it in one place, send for me. I'll handle the rest."
Shining Armor saluted stiffly, "Yes, Princess."
Celestia made a dismissive gesture with her hoof, "You may go."
Shining silently bowed, then made his way out of the room.
The sun princess turned back to her meal and returned to her thoughts, continuing to ponder the fate of Equestria and its neighboring countries.
Oh sister... when you return, your kingdom could be little more than ashes...
Odus was not having a good day. His warframe's healing factor had finally taken hold, but it sure as hell didn't help with the alloy-plated spike running through his ankle. Ordinarily, removing such a thing would not have been a problem. However, the spike was barbed, and he had forgotten his health restoration devices (14). Still, he was very tempted to jam his Dakra Prime into the wound and cut the thing out. Not to mention he was quite hungry, even if his 'frame sustained him with void energy.
Still, he was amazed by his surroundings. Colorful flowers, healthy trees, soft soil... Completely different from the twisted great-trees, oily water, and dry dirt of Earth. No place in the Origin System could ever support an ecosystem as complete as this. Even the digital oasis of Cephalon Simaris (15) didn't hold a candle to this. It was so vibrant and alive.
An incessant beeping interrupted Odus's sightseeing. He opened his UI to see the warframe's energy running low, the meter slowly ticking down second by second.
I've got to find a void cavity (16) somewhere or get some food.
Odus wandered for another hour or so before his injured leg gave out on him. He stumbled forward, his hands and knees digging into the soil.
This is bad... I've got to get the tracker out! I'll seal the wounds with woven grass or-
A bush to his right rustled. Odus slowly turned his head and looked at the bush. A pair of gleaming red eyed leered back at him. The creature removed itself from its hiding place, revealing an animal with the head of the ancient birds of Orokin history and the body of the mythical dragon. It glared at him predatorily. Odus did not know what the creature was, or why it wasn't running from him. Only one thought went through his mind:
FOOD.
In one smooth motion, Odus unsheathed his Dakra Prime and swept it through the creature's neck. It's head was flung back into the bush while its body crumpled where it stood. He crawled to the corpse and kneeled before it. Reaching past it, he plucked a leaf from the bush. His warframe analyzed the leaf and deemed it to be safe. He grabbed a few more leaves and laid them flat across the ground as a bed. Odus then used his Dakra to strip the creature's body of scales. After a few minutes of cutting, nothing remained but meat, bone, and the organs. Odus started cleanly slicing strips of meat off the carcass and placing them on the bed of leaves.
He consumed the meat, and never wondered why he couldn't taste the flavor. Eventually, the corpse of the creature was stripped completely of muscle and fat. All that remained were the bones and organs, which the tenno left for the other creatures of the forest.
Odus remained in place, choosing to meditate to restore his warframe's energy. His mind slowly began to wander, replaying the events that lead to his situation.
"Operator, you have a message from the Lotus."
"What does she want, Efka? Read it aloud for me."
"Okay. 'Odus, you must go to Uranus. Our informants there have gone silent; but before they did, we received this transmission.' There is a video file attached. Shall I play it?"
"Of course."
A holographic window opened in front of Odus, showing a blurry video. Said video was a feed from a Grineer helmet camera. The double agent the camera was connected to looked left and right, showing a platoon of Lancers. Line upon line of Grineer were all in a salute, their arms crossed over their chests like an "x", their hands unfolded and palms facing upward. At the far end of the room, Grineer scientist Tyl Regor stood upon an elevated platform.
"Brothers and sisters..." he started, "Today is a great day, for we have finally found The Tomb!" hushed whispers of astonishment sounded throughout the crowd, "However, I cannot tell you it's location, because we have some traitors among us!" the whispers grew louder, some Grineer shouting exclamations of shock and disgust, "They have been feeding information to that filthy *Lotus!*" The double agent's camera shifted slightly. Odus noted that the movement likely meant that the agent was searching for escape routes.
"But you don't need to worry," Regor continued, "the traitors have already been identified. Rehn Telar, Edax Ukk, *step forward!*"
The camera shifted as its owner did as instructed. Tyl Regor looked at the camera’s owner, then somewhere out-of-frame, “You two are charged with high treason against The Queens. Anything to say?”
Suddenly, a rocket flew into frame and exploded right where Regor stood. The rocket fragmented into several grenades, which also exploded. The camera panned to the left. A dozen meters away was a Lancer with a Kulstar rocket launcher in his hands (17). He was trembling in fear. He shoved aside the other Lancers, making a mad run for the exit. There was a quiet whistling, then an incredibly loud percussion that peaked the camera's microphone. In the next frame, Regor stood where the agent used to be. His mechanical fist was buried several centimeters into the floor, coated in blood. The viscera of the agent was all over the floor, nearby Lancers, and Regor himself.
“This,” Regor stood up and turned to face the crowd, not bothering to remove any of the blood or bone chippings coating his body, “is why you do not cross me.”
The camera’s owner raised a Marelok (18) in Tyl Regor's direction.
“FOR STEEL MERIDIAN!” The camera’s owner opened fire on Regor. The shots all hit his head, but each one bounced off of his shields. Regor loosed a low chuckle. In the next frame, his fist took up the entire screenspace. The video cut to static for the final seconds of the video file.
Cephalon Efka chimed in again, “There is more text. Do you want me to read it?”
"No. I'll read it myself," The window that contained the video switched to a wall of text. Odus tracked down the place where Efka left off.
We must locate the Tomb before Tyl Regor. Bring your apprentices. It's clear that Tyl Regor has accelerated his cybernetics research. He is far too dangerous to leave alive. Eliminate him, and exterminate all Grineer forces in the area. We cannot allow them to open the Tomb. Our scans are showing increased activity in the Titania sector, meaning that it is the probable location of both Regor and the Tomb. I have the utmost confidence that you will succeed.
-Lotus
"Efka, set a course for the Titania sector. Also, send a message to Nephin and Laaga. Tell them to meet me there."
The sound of a twig snapping pulled Odus from his meditation. He didn't move, but his eyes scanned the area in front of him while his radar covered the area behind him. Then pink happened. Odus jumped as a pink shield rapidly constructed around him. Just across the line of bushes in front of him, he noticed a slightly brighter pink glow that connected to the shield.
"Send a message to the princess," a masculine voice sounded in the direction of the glow, "We've found it."
