By the Void, I Rule. [Warframe Commander Quest, AU and slight spoilers]

[Inq. Halbread]

Someone suggested to me that I should run my quest over here on SV as well because there were quite a few Warframe stories and quests here.
I will be running this quest both here and SB so if someone comes up with a plan on either here or SB, I will crosspost it so that people can see all the options.

Also, I will encourage free form planning on this quest during battles and strategy and stuff. The later CKII style votes will be more of the standard fair with small adjustments.
Okay! Let the crossposting begin!

 

[Inq. Halbread]

The Origin System, once the great Jewel of the Orokin Empire.
When it was ruled by the ancient Orokin, the Origin system was a place of prosperity and order.

But not anymore.

Now, It has been untold years since the Orokin have fallen and in the place of the supposed order the system once had, only chaos remained. War has fallen upon the whole solar system and countless lives are affected by the constant conflict. Both Innocent and Evil.
Four factions fight among the remnants of the precursors. Each hoping to restore ancient glory, or carve out their own path.

The Grinner plague the system constantly. An army of clones, controlled by their beloved Twin Queens and filled with hatred for anything not Grineer, they wage war on the entire system. Their ultimate goal? Total dominion over everything. With Massive but uncomplicated ships and technology along with almost uncountable numbers of degenerate soldiers, only death and destruction are left in their wake which is ready to be filled with everything Grinner. Their victory will spell doom for everything not willing to submit beneath their rule but there will be order and peace for whatever remains.


The Corpus are their main opposition. A Conglomerate of Corporations who use advanced technology and Immense wealth to create their vision of the future onto the Origin system. Driven by the pursuit of profit in all things, these men and women of the Corpus will do any thing for possible financial or technological gain. With fingers in every conflict in the Origin system, this faction of paid soldiers, morally flexible scientists and businessmen whose only concern is the bottom line fight to ensure their vision of an Origin system where profit can be freely pursued, no matter the cost. With advanced robotic proxies and hi-tech weaponry, the Corpus walk over whoever they can in their goal for wealth and ancient technology. To one of ancient times: one would see their victory as a victory for corruption and greed. However while the Corpus represent these traits, they also represent advancement and the ability for each person to follow their own freedoms and carve their own path in life.



Recently a new shadow has fallen upon the Origin system. The Infested have returned from ancient times. A techno-organic plague that transforms everything it can into mockeries of their former forms all in order to do one thing... Consume. With it's extreme infection rate and the sheer lethality of the infested, It forces all the warring factions of the system to make peace to defeat this horrifying enemy.



The Tenno watch over all the conflict in the Origin system. Ancient weapons of the Orokin, the only ones who know who the Tenno are have died or are the Tenno themselves. Capable of destroying legions of Grineer, Corpus and Infested singlehandedly, these warriors fight to secure their place in the Origin system, keep any faction from dominating the conflict and protecting the innocent and their still sleeping siblings. No one knows what victory means for them but as long as they do not conquer and do not take control, we won't know. The Tenno are content with waiting... but for how long will that last?...




Many would consider the Tenno the heroes of this conflict. You, however, are not one of these Interplanetary Ninjas.
You are a new player to this conflict.
So do you have the ability to lead your side into victory?
To create a new Empire in this system?
...
Or will you bring back the old one?

Pick a Faction:

[X] Grineer:
You are one of many in the Grineer war machine. A clone bred to fight and die in the many conflicts in the solar system. Life in this brutal army is not easy, where the strong lead and they got there by climbing over the corpses of their siblings. You have recently reached the rank of Captain after killing your predecessor and while this is normal, you have an advantage over every other Grineer looking at your position with greed. You are genetically stable. You were created with almost none of the defects that plague your siblings and with your untainted mind, you envision a future where the Grineer rule the system and know that this can be accomplished with every piece of your cloned heart. You are Grineer and you will take this system.

(Faction Aspects: Potato for a hundred amount of troops. Low technology level. Military Focused. Hatred of other factions. Substandard troops. Unintelligent tactics. Easy and durable but inefficient infrastructure. Brutal society, Not a lot of variety for Battle Pay. Research done quickly but not safely, free reinforcement.)

[X] Corpus:
Born in one of the many Corpus civilian settlements, your life has always featured profit as an important aspect and so it was not a hard decision to join the Corpus when it was time to get a paying job. You have been to many postings inside the Origin system, doing your chosen profession. You have seen the Best and Worst of the Corpus. You have seen People lose it all on safe investments and you have seen small businesses get big over risky investments. This is the type of society you want to protect, a society where everyone has the chance to make their own path in life, and so you protected it in your own way. No matter what you have done before, you have been given the rank of Captain for merit in combat, an almost unheard of event in a rank where most attain it through political or financial connections. Nevertheless, you have a Well-paying job to get to. You are charged with defending Corpus and the interests of it's citizens and the best way for you to do that is to make sure Corpus is dominant in the system. To protect profit for future generations, you will defeat all opposition.

(Faction Aspects: High technology level, Versatile but expensive troops and proxies, Have to pay for troops. Functionally best Research in the system but takes longer because safety. No dedicated military but all non-military units can fight as crewmen. Hard and fragile but efficient infrastructure. Good quality forces. Good tactics. Very political society. Good Battle Pay)

[X] Orokin:
A long time ago the Ruling Caste of Orokin were killed. They were struck down by their former protectors, the Tenno. You had managed to escape the fall of your civilization and now wake from your cryopod to the chaos that was once your home. The former servants that now call themselves Grineer and what remains of the Merchant Caste now fight over the corpse of your once great civilization. The Orokin made horrible mistakes in the war with the Sentients and even now those mistakes are shown in the Infested that now roam while the Betrayers of your kind kill all those that would push the conflict to it's conclusion. This chaos began when the Orokin Empire fell and You will bring it back. No matter what they throw at you, the Orokin will return.

(Faction Aspects: No prior resources. No allies initially. All Orokin tech friendly. Able to use Void towers easilly. Strongest Military in the system. Forces very expensive. Lotus will be Hostile. Stalker likes you. Cannot hire Tenno. Will eventually be able to create Tenno. All corrupted are Allied. Grineer start Hostile. Tenno Mixed reaction. Not capable of being Infested. No infrastructure at start.)

AN: Hello! This is my first quest and im hoping that this quest lasts for a while. Unfortunately I cannot have a schedule on updating this quest because my motivation and schedule is somewhat unpredictable but im hoping that this quest gets me into a good work ethic. I will answer any questions that i can and i have no beta, just so you know. So please, come and enjoy the quest and lets have fun with the quest for domination.

 

[Inq. Halbread]

Celes Valir
Age: 24


Caste: Archimedian

Spoiler: Appearance

She has pale skin with golden eyes. Thin, glowing lines of orange energy flow down her neck and concentrate slightly around her eyes. Some strands of her black hair also glow with orange energy. Her normal outfit is her Archimedian armor. Organically flowing, white form-fitting armor with gold highlights and blue lights, along with a white robe reminiscent of a lab coat. She stands about 1.5m tall.

Martial: Untrained.
Science rarely (read: never) involves commanding armies

Combat: Basic Orokin Training and small combat experience.
Your participation in the war, however brief, means you aren't a stranger to combat, even if you aren't meant to be fighting in the first place. Your Basic Orokin training also helps, putting you about average among the serious combatants in the System.

Diplomacy: Good,
Your open mindedness led to you being able to navigate any lab you were involved in without stepping on any unnecessary toes. While not the most sociable person, you are several times better than many of your former colleagues that had no social skills to speak of.

Learning: Extremely good,
Thanks to being an Archimedian, you can be considered a novice among the foremost experts of science and technology. Your skill with technology and science is one of the best in the System currently and as a bonus, you have an easier time understanding blueprints and other technology you might come across.

Intrigue: Below Average.
Having dedicated your life to science and hard work leaves you inexperienced in the arts of deception and your scientific and open mindset rallies against being deceptive. However you understand it's possible importance in other matters.

Void: Sensitive.
Your Eximus implant and the Infusion of Void to it has left you sensitive to its touch and you can feel the shifts that it undergoes. However, despite your sensitivity, you don't know much more about it due to the focus your training had on the Physical World rather than the Void.

Technology: Extremely good
You understand how most modern (Well, Ancient now) technology works and the principles behind it.Gives you a +10 bonus to technology use due to Advanced Science training

Traits:
Eximus implant: You have the Implant that is characteristic of all Orokin, It will keep you in top physical condition, including regenerating your wounds in combat and provides a weak but natural energy shield, not to mention keeping age at bay. It will provide significant resistance to the Tecnocyte and can be overcharged to assist in lethal situations. It also makes your eyes glow Gold to inform everyone of your Orokin Status. (You will constantly regenerate, even in combat. Have a weak energy shield naturally. Technocyte will have to keep you captive for weeks in order to even attempt infesting you. Will give one automatic save when you are about to die. Your eyes will always be gold and glow.)

Eximus Infused:
Your Eximus implant has been infused with Void energy, Your regeneration will occur much more quickly and effectively (regrowing organs and limbs is possible without medical assistance) and you get to have a chance to recover from permanent injuries without medical attention. You will get a large bonus in all actions from being exposed to Void energies. However, you are more sensitive to these Energies and Nullifiers will now physically harm you. You are also Anthema to all Sentients and while you weaken them with your presence, it is virtually impossible to hide from them while in their vicinity. Your skin has also gone pale and several Energy lines have formed on the surface of it. You also have soft echo to your voice.

Open Minded
You are an Open minded member of society and thus have an easier time with accepting other people and beliefs even if you don't adhere to it yourself. This gives you a bonus to Diplomacy and Learning and prevents rolls where you could go into denial. However, you are more easy to deceive because of this open mindedness.

An Orokin's Determination: You have come to embrace the fact that people suffered and died to make sure that You made it specifically and you will not make their sacrafices vain.
Gain a massive (variable 1d100) bonus during Will checks of dire importance and gain a bonus on all actions (1d50) during a stressful situation.
(Yes its broken but so are your enemies)


Equipment: Combat Controller Frame (CCF)
While wearing this frame, the PC automatically dodges any ranged attack that she can see coming. In addition gives a +20 bonus to dodging melee attacks and a +10 to dodging unseen attacks.
The PC can also teleport to any destination in Line of Sight with a cooldown of 5s. The CCF also gives the PC medium strength shields of Orokin quality (For those who play warframe, over 3000 shields) and has little armor.
The CCF can also "summon" robotic constructs using it's internal energy store and allows to mentally control them with no limit.
Destroyed constructs within range will be recycled back into energy with 100% efficiency unless the construct leaves no wreckage. The CCF slowly regenerates lost energy

As the PC is Archimedian, complex plans of amazing accuracy are possible with the CCF and a greater competency is used while using the CCF
The CCF currently has 50/50 energy.

Constructs loaded:
Anti-Grav Blade: costs 5 energy.
A simple Blade the size and shape of a long-sword. It has a silver hilt and cross guard with two golden blades where the single blade is supposed to be. There is a power generator in the cross guard there is a power generator covered by the Orokin emblem, making it glow with golden light. The Grip has numerous slits that glow with blue light that contains the Anti-Grav engnine.
The Blade is extremely quick in moving and is capable of independent fight. Thanks to the AG engine, there is significant force behind each swing, making it cut through flesh and light armor with ease. Heavy armor either takes longer or deflects any slash with the blade.

If controlled by an Archimedian, the blades are capable of deflecting any ranged attack and are master swordsman skill level in melee.
If controlled by a Lorist, the blades gain an energy field that heals allied wielders and poisons enemies struck with it
If controlled by a Sectarus, the blades gain limited sentience.

Fusion Drone: costs 10 energy
A simple drone that is white, in the shape of a barrel. It only really has three components, an AG-engine, a simple control system and majority of the drone is taken up by a miniturized fusion cannon, similar to the one in Death Orbs. It has no sentience and cannot move, fire or dodge on it's own. It is in the shape of a barrel with one end having one fusion laser emmiter on one end and has 4 wings on the end, each having a small AG engine. It's white with golden lines traveling down it's length.
It is strong against heavy and slow enemies and cannot aim quickly. However, any light units that are hit by it's beam are almost instantly killed.

If controlled by an Archimedian, the drone can aim quickly and has pinpoint accuracy due to micromanagement. It also has only a -5 malus in targeting fast enemies and a -20 malus in dodging attacks.
If controlled by a Lorist, the drones gain the ability to heal allied units.
If controlled by a Sectarus, the drones gain sentience and have only a -10 malus to doging attacks.
If controlled by a Mecharus, the drones are more durable.

 

[Inq. Halbread]

Allies:

Spoiler: Dahvek

Kind of like this but not. If you guys want to take a crack at drawing him, it would be awesome.

Dahvek
Age: over 1000
Race: Ancient Indentured

Martial: Trial by fire.
Being an officer in the war and defending you from the Infested during your sleep has left him able to command troops well.

Combat: Military training and Veteran experience.
Dahvek was military before becoming Indentured and thus received full Imperial military training, alongside his extensive experience in combat puts him in the upper echelon of fighters in the system.

Diplomacy: Bad
Although he is a social person and has a friendly personality, Dahvek always speaks his mind, no matter what and has no inclination to stop doing so. He does show restraint but is very vocal when interacted with.

Learning: Below Average
There is little use for an Indentured in a laboratory and so he has no formal training in science. However, he is able to learn new things albeit slowly due to advanced age.

Intrigue: Bad.
Dahvek prefers direct conflict and thus his mindset and training has focused around that. He does not understand deception well outside of a military context.

Void: Nope
Before becoming Indentured, he was a normal human and now that he is completely robotic he can not feel the void in any shape or form.

Technology: Competent
He is able to use technology that he is familiar with well, but unfamiliar tech poorly.

Traits:
Ancient Indentured: This individual has been Indentured long enough for the body to have been replaced by robotics. They get the robotics trait( Better accuracy, reaction speed and strength) but is immune to hacking.

Veteran Officer: Gives a +10 for all subordinate troops during battle rolls that require motivation or organisation

Walking Tank: Dahvek's custom robotics (2m tall, bulkier, Industrial claw for cannon hand) gives Dahvek increased a lot of toughness and strength. However he is easier to hit, slower and can only take cover behind large objects. (+10 to melee)

Robotic: The robotic nature of this individual has given them pinpoint accuracy and increased Hardness to damage. This individual is capable of existing even through loss of limbs or severe internal damage. Is more vulnerable to Electricity and Magnenetic damage

Persistance: If the mask is not destroyed, the body can be rebuilt therefore restoring the Indentured. The Mask is comparitivly, greatly resistant compared to the rest of the Indentured.

Equipment: Gladius Assault frame (Orokin quality)
Dahvek has a personal Gladius Assault frame grafted onto him. This gives him the abilities of the Gladius (Single shot, automatic, continuous beam) for the cannon on his right arm. The Power pack is wired into him as well, providing a large increase in power. He also has a Very strong shield.
The Orokin quality of the weapon gives +30 to ranged combat rolls.

Spoiler: Gordys

Except colour is gold and there is less cracks

Gordys
Age: Over 1000 years (N/A)
Race: Cepalon

Martial: Outside of programming
Gordys has no leadership programming and thus cannot lead troops

Combat: Ship Fighting programming
Being a ship cephalon, he is programmed to fight competently in ship to ship combat and run the internal defenses sufficiently.

Diplomacy: Good
Having lived over 1000 years with needling Dahvek has given him a good idea on how social interactions work.

Learning: Above Average
Being an analytical program, Gordys can use scientific methods and analysis.

Intrigue: Out of programming
Despite having learned how to socialize, he doesn't have the programming to act subtly and doesn't know the art of deception.

Void: Nope
Gordys is a program and cannot feel anything.

Technology: Native
Being a digital entity, he is fully capable of using any technology he is connected to.

Trait:
Cephalon: Is capable of hacking technology and defending allied technology from hacking attempts.

Corrupted: Gordys was lucky to only become a pompous, British nobleman. It gives him the capacity of being fully sapient but it means that he is vulnerable to programming errors.

Digital: Gordys lacks a physical body and can only interact through technology he is connected to.

 

[Inq. Halbread]

Relationships:

Spoiler: Followers

Dahvek: Loyal
Gordys: Loyal
Gorr: Allied
Lurek Kel: Friendly
Stalker: Loyal?

Loyal Indicates that the individual believes in your cause wholeheartedly and will never betray you of their own free will.
Allied indicates that they sympathise with you and your cause and will work for you completely.

Spoiler: Outside Relationships

Grineer Empire :Neutral

• General Sargas Ruk: Friendly
• Twin Queens(?): Hostile
• LT. Lech Kiril(?): Favorable
• Tyl Reegor(?): Favorable

Corpus Corporate Sphere: ?

• Bek Industries: Neutral

 

[Inq. Halbread]

Forces

OVS Light of the Void
20 000 Ancient Indentured (armed with plasma casters, +10 for battle rolls regarding ranged combat)
Sufficent Shield Drones
Tower Makeb

 

[Inq. Halbread]

The Past

Spoiler: Appropriate Emblem

The architecture on the OVS The Light of the Void was built to create an atmosphere of peace, serenity and purpose. With gentle flowing curves of white, gilded with gold, it was meant to show the order and prosperity of the Empire and helped keep the mind calm but instill a feeling of awe into the people who worked in these halls. In any other time, the crewmen would go about their duties with a clear and calm mind and a sureness that came from being subservient to the needs of the Orokin and by extention, the Origin system.

That wasn't the case this day.

Throughout the pristine halls of the ship was a nervous energy. Crewmen were rushing from place to place in the vast spaceship, nervously completing their duties and occasionally checking their own or that of the corpus of the fellows that had managed to make it to the ship in time for it's retreat from Mars. Normally these scared men, women and children would have been safe from threats in a ship as ready for battle as this but these times were anything but normal. No rebels would have been able to make any progress in the heavily defended ship as they would have been faced with hundreds of angry, pulse-projector armed crewmen and many more traps and defense systems. Not even the seemingly endless troops of the so-called Grineer would be able to even get close to harming these innocent people but what these crewmen were worried about were not clones or opportunists of all the chaos.

It was the Tenno they were worried about.

The Tenno had been created completely by accident. The first of them had been the survivors of a ship that had been lost in the Void for some time and when it had been found again, only the children had survived that hellish ordeal. The people of the Empire had rejoiced that the incident hadn't been a total tragedy, but the children hadn't come back completely human. The experience had changed them, made them dangerous, by giving them the power to manipulate reality itself by harnessing Void energies. Ordinarily, the children would have been isolated, cared for, treated with care and, if the situation called for it, given rest. Unfortunately, the Orokin Empire was not in ordinary times. With the Sentients winning and the Technocyte not helping and even worsening the situation, the Orokin were desperately searching for a solution. They found what they were looking for in the children that could make physics cry with only their mind. Hundreds of tests, experiments and observations were made at the cost hundreds of scientists who got maimed and a few Archimedians who got injured from these dangerous individuals and so restriction after restriction were placed upon them and their worth to the war kept getting larger and larger Eventually, Armor that the children could pilot and channel their power through were made so that these immensely valuable assets could be used in battle. The war went better, but the newly christened Tenno were too few to make a difference.

And then the Empire found a way to make more.

These new Tenno had none of the innate abilities of the originals but that was a problem easily solved. With mass produced armor dubbed "Warframes", these new Tenno could use the same power of the original that their Warframe was based on. Where there was once less than a hundred Tenno, by the end of the war there were millions. The Sentients had tried to fight against the horde of Tenno that fell upon them but none of the intelligent machines could hold against the sheer amount of power that the Tenno and the Orokin Executors brought to bear. After the leader of the AI troops- a Sentient named Hunhow- was killed, the war was effectively over. The Tenno had proven to be heroes, lauded by both the People and the ruling council. The countless restrictions that had been placed on them had been lifted, the Tenno having proved to be loyal to the Orokin during the war, and the fear-mongering had been stilled through the exceptional sacrifice that the Tenno had committed to save everyone. A huge celebration was thrown for the Tenno, with most of the Orokin there to officially induct the Tenno as the official protectors of the peace and enforcers of order in the Empire.

It was a mistake. That celebration was when the Tenno betrayed the Orokin.
Suddenly and without warning, the Tenno struck at the Orokin and killed hundreds of unarmed and unprepared Orokin. Once where the Orokin numbered in the thousands, only a few hundred were left. What had occurred after was a hunt for the remaining Orokin that cut a bloody path throughout the colonies. The Orokin had fought back, killing thousands of Tenno and destroying even more Warframes. Executors ripped Warframes into pieces with their strength or destroyed them with advanced weaponry. Lorists supported entire armies of loyalists with their healing arts and machines that could not fall to Tenno blades. Archimedians hacked the Warframes themselves, killing the Tenno that drove them indirectly, Mecharus built even more destructive machines to kill more Tenno and even the non-combat Sectarus subverted ship cephalons, destroying Tenno Orbiters. The wrath of the Orokin was great but even they fell under the sheer power and numbers the Tenno possesed and no matter how many Tenno were destroyed or Transference chambers ripped apart, the Orokin fell one by one to the millions of remaining Tenno. Even though the Orokin were reaping a bloody body-count, they knew it was hopeless and soon, there were only a few dozen of them left. The Empire was in chaos with rebellions appearing on every planet, an army of clones virtually erupting from the Origin system and with the Tenno threat combined with so few Orokin remaining, it was a bitter hit to their pride to realize that the Empire could not be saved.

It was decided then that the remaining Orokin should hide, enter stasis so that after the chaos has died down the Empire might rise from the ashes. You didn't really know if this plan was going to work. Being newly inducted into the Orokin, you figured that you might lack the perspective of your fellows that were a century or two your senior. It left a bitter taste in your mouth to simply leave the people you were a part of not so long ago to the chaos in the Empire at the moment but it was now your duty to go and hide in stasis, to live another day and as one of the Orokin, you will do your duty.

It seemed that the Tenno did not like this plan however and the hunt for you and your fellows continued even into your flight from the settlements of the Empire, boarding and infiltrating the ships that you were using to get to the Void. Even you, a relatively new member, have felt the Tenno's attentions as an Excaliber frame had managed to board the ship and was in the process of killing the crew and their corpuses indiscriminately untill you blew it into pieces with your side arm.

You understood why the crew were so on edge, considering the Tenno had demonstrated that their families were at equal risk that they were. You also understood that you would have only got in the way, so that is how you found yourself in a small relaxation room and had lost yourself staring at the tree that dominated the raised plot in the middle of the room, the white bark and golden crystal leaves kept your mind at ease and away from the fear you should be feeling.

You found yourself just sitting there for a time, enjoying the calmness of the room and the feeling of the Void that was constantly in flux outside the ship. You remember not being able to feel the void before, but the Eximus procedure that you went through during initiation kept you in peak physical shape and simultaneously more sensitive to the Void. Not to mention giving you the characteristic gold eyes of an Orokin.

Your peace was soon disrupted by someone entering the room. Looking at the intruder to your inner peace, you see a man in a large suit of white armor with gold highlights with a large particle projector on his back with the Mark of Penance fused to his face.

Spoiler: Mark of Penance

The Indentured bowed and a deep synthesized voice droned out from his mark, "Your Majesty, your stasis pod is ready."
Surprised by his use of such a formal term, you don't manage to say anything and he rises from his bow and leaves the room. Sighing at the characteristic abruptness of the Indentured, you followed after him and found him just outside. As he sees you, he nods and then walks down the hall, and you follow alongside him.

"Why did you call me Majesty?" you ask him, curious over the title he used for you.
"Are you not an Orokin, ruler of the the Empire?" He asked back.
"I am not of the Praetor caste. I'm actually newly inducted, I don't rule anything."
"The Praetor caste was wiped out at the Betrayal. Officially, No one rules the Empire. Functionally, the remaining Orokin do. Therefore all Orokin are equal to the Praetor caste now." The Indentured spoke in an even tone, not even looking at you to speak instead he was focusing on navigating the busy hallways, past hurrying crewmen and dodging the occasional drone that zoomed by.
"Was it tiring looking for the logic in that conclusion of yours?" You say with humor in your voice in an attempt to make a joke.
"... No, I suffered no fatigue from the construction of my conclusion of the Empire's current leadership." And just like the other Indentured, he completely misses the joke. "I would also like to inform your Majesty that the attempt at humor was unsatisfactory."
... So it seems he wasn't as oblivious as the average Indentured...

If you didn't know any better, you would have been insulted at the apparent lack of respect that the Indentured was showing you, but you knew it was just a facet of their nature. Having become more mechanical and more... literal, left all the Indentured as direct and caring little for formalities and deference. You could see it in the other Indentured in the halls as you walk with your current escort. All of them were going about their business in an efficient manner, giving only the barest notice to everything and everyone around them. Considering what the Mark was supposed to do, you guess it was lucky they even did that.

You followed your escort in silence as you entered the quieter areas of the ship. Without the hustle and bustle of the crewmen, the corridors and large halls felt calming again. The silence however, began making you feel slightly uncomfortable considering what was supposed to happen.
"So, um..." you state eloquently, slightly uncomfortable with the thought that the Indentured was the only conversation you would probably have before you enter stasis. "Why were you... Indentured?"
He stopped and turned towards you, his glowing eye looking into your eyes for the first time. "I was judged for the crime of killing a friend of mine."
"Why?" You ask, curious to the reason to kill someone that he had a positive relationship with.
"He was having sexual relations with my wife." He stated, almost emotionless in tone. You could see how such an infidelity could sour a friendship.

However, it didn't feel like he was telling you everything as Indenturement was a judgement only given to convicts that had committed very serious crimes and a single murder would likely only get you sent to a prison or community service.

"Surely there was more to it than that? Your punishment seems very severe for a single murder."
He was silent for a noticeable moment and then spoke in an even tone "I do not remember what happened, but after I had regained consciousness both him, his wife and my wife were dead. It was proven that I had killed them in a rage during the fight with my former friend." You recoiled slightly at the reminder of the sort of people that the Indentured used to be.
Oblivious to your internal cringing, he continued as though he was talking about the weather. "I have received appropriate judgement for the severity of my crime and owe a debt to the people i have wronged. The debt I have now is to the Empire, and I am content with that."

You wonder if he would have said the same before the Mark was given to him.

Regardless, noting that the conversation was apparently finished, he continued on towards your waiting stasis pod with you following along behind him. This time, the silence being more bearable because you knew another conversation like that would have left you even more uncomfortable.

Eventually you had made it to the room that would contain your pod until the ship could get you to a Void tower for proper safekeeping. It was elaborate, with many decorations in the same style as the ship. The room was circular with a large, reinforced, curved door guarding the entrance. In the center was a large circular pool that was segmented into smaller circles and water flowed like a fountain in it. In the center was a cryo pod connected to a pillar, the gold of it seemingly shining in the room and it was open, showing off the elaborate and most likely comfy interior.

Spoiler: Like this but everything is Gold and there are cushions in there

It seemed that deference to the Orokin was still going strong for them to treat you like this even after being in the Order for only a couple of years.

You and the Indentured walked up to the pod, you were taking in what was possibly the last sight you would see in a long time while He was just ignoring it all as per the norm.
As you reached it, he stepped aside and gestured to the interior. "Your pod, your majesty."
He then put his right palm in his left shoulder and inclined his head. "By the Void, I serve."
Recognizing the salute, you put your left hand on your right shoulder and intone "By the Void, I rule."
He continued, his synthesized voice giving an eerie quality to the salute, "By the Void, our paths intertwine."
You then both finished the salute ""By the Void, the Empire rules us all."'

As you both raised your heads, you shared a nod and got into the cryo pod. There wasn't any thing left to be said.
As you got comfortable, He busied himself with the hologram showing the cryo pod systems. But before he closed the pod, he paused.

"My name is Dahvek" he said quietly, "Please remember us."

Shocked at the words as you were, you didn't respond in time as he quickly closed the pod and walked away as though he had not said anything.

I will. You thought to yourself.

A cheery voice suddenly interrupted your moment.
"Greetings, Master. I am the ship cephalon, Gordys, and I am in charge of monitoring your time in Stasis."
"Okaaay?"
"However, before we get started, I am going to need you to fill out your personal details. Just so we can tell you apart from the common Riffraff."

Before you could respond, A glowing hologram appeared in front of you.

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INFORMATION FOR POD 2656

OCCUPANT:

NAME:
[X] Choose your name

GENDER:
[X] Male
[X] Female

APPEARANCE:
[X] Choose your appearance, anything, either a written description or a picture if you have an appropriate one. However, the Eyes must be Gold in all descriptions

CASTE:
[X] Executor
You were inducted into the Executor Caste. As both and enforcer and protector of the Empire, you have been trained in combat extensively to protect Imperial interests. Whether using the Jaw dropping strength of the GAS or the intense firepower of the Gladius, Not many will match you in combat and fewer would be able to best you. (Orokin fighting training leaves you suited to any and all combat, providing a boost to combat and martial rolls. However, through dogmatic training, your Psyche has been molded into one that thinks in the rules of the Empire and thus will have maluses in all diplomacy. The intense training has also left you unable to easily learn new things and has left you as subtle as a brick, leaving you with bad learning and intrigue skills)

[X] Lorist
You were initiated into the healing caste of the Lorists. With their great faliure to cure the Technocyte, they have focused on increasing their healing arts and thus anyone you support will most likely live a long and healthy life. ( Intense Healing arts and technology mean that any friendlies in your presence automatically regenerate and their protection is increased by a large degree in a large radius around you. You are capable of treating Technocyte to an extent from the beginning and your medical knowledge means you can fight organic enemies and the Infestation better. However this has left you unable to fight effectively by yourself and must rely on technology to keep you safe.)

[X] Archimedian
You were inducted into the ranks of the Archimedians. With their objectives in finding the truth of all things, you find yourself understanding and accepting new things and circumstances easier than you would have. You also find it easier to unlock the mysteries of old. (Thanks to your scientific nature, you will not need to roll for composure and any learning actions get a significant bonus. You are capable of finding weakpoints easily and can make logical deductions easily. Also, with understanding the basic principles of all Orokin tech, the difficulty of reproducing schematics for them is greatly lessened. However you suffer a penalty to Intrigue and Diplomacy and a slight malus to martial actions because of your scientific way of thinking but get immediate relationship gains with other scientists upon meeting them and can get better relations with them with ease.)

[X] Mecharus
You joined the ranks of the Mecharus. Mecharus are the Orokin that were in charge of industry and mechanical concerns. You have been trained in the arts of management and mechanics and can work equally well in a bureaucracy or a workshop. (You receive a large bonus in Stewardship due to your training as a Mecharus and you get a bonus in any action relating to mechanical things. You can also construct many forms of robotics easily. However, you receive a malus in Void and martial due to the focus on the physical laws and thus have trouble utilizing the reality bending energy.)

[X] Sectarus
You joined the ranks of the non-combat Sectarus. The Sectarus are responsible for Void Navigation and Cephalon managemrnt. You can fly any ship that uses engines and can easily interact with the most damaged of Cephalon. ( You receive a bonus for any ship control you do and can pilot any conventional ship you find. You will also be able to interact with computer systems and cephalons. You will also be able to try and reprogram or repair cephalons yourself with no prior research and get a bonus when constructing or repairing ships. However, you will have a malus to all martial actions because of your non-combat training.)

[X] Uninitiated
Unfortunately you were inducted too late to have joined a caste. While you don't have the intense training that joining a caste would offer, you find that your basic training gets you through plenty of situations and you are far more personable than other Orokin due to the lack of formality that would have been ingrained into you during your initiation into a caste. (You are comparatively average in most fields with your basic training but get a bonus in diplomacy and can more easily inspire troops and form relations easier due to your down to earth attitude.)

EXTRA FEATS
Please chose 2
[X] Cybernetic
You have been enhanced by cybernetic technology. You are capable of interacting with technology with your cybernetics and can either hack or protect technology from being hacked remotely. You are also a lot more resistant to psychic powers but the Technocyte has an easier time with interacting with you and YOU can be hacked as well.

[X] Battle hardened
You have fought many battles and have gained experience from your time at war. You will gain a bonus to Martial and Combat rolls but the war experiance has not left you unscarred and you can enter a crippling rage where you are incapable of tactics but do significantly better in combat, this rage can occur when you engage in any hostility (In battle or Verbally). This condition can eventually be treated.

[X] Adherent (May not take with Open Minded)
You are Adherent to the ideals and principles of the Empire and believe in it thoroughly. You gain a bonus whenever you do something or speak to someone who agrees with those principles but gain a penalty to doing things or speaking to someone who disagrees with them or doesn't like the Empire.

[X] Eximus Infused
Your Eximus implant has been infused with Void energy, Your regeneration will occur much more quickly and effectively (regrowing organs and limbs is possible without medical assistance) and you get to have a chance to recover from permanent injuries without medical attention. You will get a large bonus in all actions from being exposed to Void energies. However, you are more sensitive to these Energies and Nullifiers will now physically harm you. You are also Anthema to all Sentients and while you weaken them with your presence, it is virtually impossible to hide from them while in their vicinity. Your skin has also gone pale and several Energy lines (You can choose the colour and appearance of them) have formed on the surface of it. You also have soft echo to your voice.

[X] Open Minded (May not take with Adherent)
You are an Open minded member of society and thus have an easier time with accepting other people and beliefs even if you don't adhere to it yourself. This gives you a bonus to Diplomacy and Learning and prevents rolls where your PC could go into denial. However, you are more easy to deceive because of this open mindedness.

[X] Purger (May pick for free)
You have seen the Horrors of the Infested first hand and has resolved to never let them win. You get immense bonuses in fights and actions against Infested but have a significant chance to become Reckless in fights with them. Also, Intelligent Infested have a chance of inciting rage with interaction with the PC. You will never have a positive interaction with Infested. (Alad V is kind of special but the relationship with him will be extremely negative at first)

[X] Tenno killer
The betrayal of the Tenno still hurts you and so you have become very adept at killing them. You are one of the few who know of their true bodies and have no problems with killing them. Bonus for fighting warframes and a chance to auto success any fights with operators you fight in person. You also know how to destroy warframes in such a way that the feedback can injure the actual Tenno as a special action. All initial reactions to Tenno are negative and it will be hard to raise any Tenno relationship. The negatives of this can be treated eventually.

THIS UNIT UNDERSTANDS THAT THE SITUATION IN THE FUTURE MIGHT BE DANGEROUS. PLEASE CHOOSE A COMBAT TECH
Only 1
[X] Juggernaut Power System
An armor frame that is built for extreme feats of strength. It's power has been proven multiple times by ripping Conculysts in two and providing almost jaw dropping running speed. It is heavily armored and is moderately shielded to provide the maximum protection for the wearer. It also contains a jump pack for increased maneuverability but it can't be used for long periods of time.

[X] Combat controller
A combat chassis whose design philosophy is battlefield control. It contains a short range dimensional teleport and Nanite constructor which can construct devices and robotics in the span of less than a second. It's current designs loaded into the fabricator is the Autonomous Graviton Blade (AGB) and Mark III Fusion Cannon Drones, Barrel Pattern. To allow for greater mobility, the frame is only lightly armored and only lightly shielded to save power. However the Flux-Model Teleport can be used often with the interval of only a few seconds and the teleporter can also be used for "flash-steps"where the user is moved by the teleport slightly but quickly enough to dodge attacks. This maneuver has a negligible effect on the power system and can be used multiple times in succession

[X] Gladius Assault
A walking turret, The Gladius Assault Frame is based around its integral piece, The Gladius Assault Fusion Cannon. This Frame has a low manuverability due to the size of the Void Energy Generator needed to power the large two handed cannon, but considering the firepower, anything in it's impressive range will be reduced to molecules. Capable of Auto fire for suppression and clearing duties, Semi-auto for precision shots or a Continuous beam of energy for hard targets. The Power of the Gladius is so great that there is little armor on the frame itself but thanks to the large energy generation, There are heavy shields in place that are rated for gunships. The Gladius Cannon also is immensely more powerful due to it's rank as a weapon befit an Orokin.

May the Void guide you.

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​

After filling out the information, the cheery voice sounds out again. "Thank you Master, that is everything i need. Please, enjoy your nap!"
After the last word sounds, the Cryopod activates and in a few seconds, your vision darkens and so does your last view of the world you are leaving behind.

Trait discovered: Eximus implant: You have the Implant that is characteristic of all Orokin, It will keep you in top physical condition, including regenerating your wounds in combat and provides a weak but natural energy shield, not to mention keeping age at bay. It will provide significant resistance to the Tecnocyte and can be overcharged to assist in lethal situations. It also makes your eyes glow Gold to inform everyone of your Orokin Status. (You will constantly regenerate, even in combat. Have a weak energy shield naturally. Technocyte will have to keep you captive for weeks in order to even attempt infesting you. Will give one automatic save when you are about to die. Your eyes will always be gold and glow.)

Spoiler: Did the ship make it to the void tower?

DC 65, 1d100-10(Tenno Attentions) :43-10=33
No, they didn't.

AN: Damn, sooooooo much world building. By the way, it wasn't really planned to give you guys that info about Dahvek before the game started properly but i decided to roll for observation (considering that being an Orokin, you would know that a single murder is kind of weak for everlasting slavery) and you guys got 99/100 for that roll. `.

So what i did here was try to flesh the Orokin out a bit and wow thats a lot of writing. Anyway, In this quest, The Orokin were more like a caste of leaders. Not all of them ruled the Empire but each had their own fields and they represented the best of those fields and thus were the leaders in those fields.
Praetors actually led the Orokin and only numbered about 100 members while the other Castes were much larger, including the secretive Void Keepers (who you don't get the chance to be because you were too new to be snatched up by their recruiters), each caste had around a million members before the Sentient war and sharply decreased during that.

Sooooo, before you guys bring up the Zariman 10-0, only the Praetor caste knew everything about it while the majority of the Orokin knew bits and pieces, like the fact of the accident or that Tenno came from the survivors. The Praetors kept all the morally questionable stuff (such as doing it on purpose or the fact Tenno are kids) to themselves and silenced anyone who would blow a whistle on it. Functionally, you guys are an Orokin that was inducted into the order during the Sentient-Infested muck up and thus wasn't part of any conspiracies.

The Empire itself, I've characterized to have a heavy emphasis on duty and principle. The average citizen is expected to do what is expected of them and respect others duties. Think of them similar to a klingons but no warrior stuff but only duty and honor. The Orokin themselves are supposed to embody that desire, they give up what freedom they have to serve the Empire with all their being and that is their new duty. The Empire's dedication to duty is how the Corrupted came about (The Indentured for imperial citizens) it is a form of redemption in their eyes and the Mark provides the Corrupted with all the sustenance it needs and reinforces the body with technology as it gets wear and tear. The oldest corrupted (barring corrupted infested) are replaced with so much machinery that they are essentially robots.

This emphasis on Duty is prevalent in Tenno culture in Warframe and i took that as something they unintentionally inherited from the Orokin (the arbiters of Hexis especially). This is why the Betrayal was taken so badly by the Orokin that they would resort to slaughtering any operator they got their hands on is because in their eyes, the Tenno were more monster than human for betraying the duty that all Orokin shared and the Tenno being responsible for throwing the very Empire they gave themselves to, into irrecoverable chaos. It was also easy to demonize the superpowered, currently dominated by Natah kids due to none of them (except Stalker) regretting it.

Mainly i hope this was a cool introduction to an Empire led by douchbags who all are dead now and where everyone is actually productive and wanting to do their duty. As for mechanics, im planning CK2 for the Empire parts but for combat, im still trying to figure it out. So any suggestions and questions are welcome.

Feel free to ask anything about what a citizen would know in the Empire.[thread=ThreadId]Title[/thread]

 

[Inq. Halbread]

Ancient knowledge: 75

The Hall of the Conclave was calm. The entire room was designed to create a place of reflection and resolve. The snow on the ground created the feeling of peace. The architecture of the pillars gave off a sense of resolve and the Tree that dominated the room gave it all a sense of tranquility. This hall was where Tenno came to learn how to fight the worst enemy they could ever face, themselves and as such this hall was normally busy with the comings and goings of the students of the Conclave Master Teshin.

Today was not one of those days however. Today, no Tenno had come through to train to better themselves as they were all out celebrating. The Tenno had managed to stop Councillor Vay Hek from another, weak attempt to destroy the Larunda Relay and as such, had vacated the vast majority of the Relay to congregate around the more relaxed areas to celebrate the protection of their home. It was a good thing that no one had attempted to beseech Teshin for his wisdom that day, for the door to the Conclave was locked for the first time in recent memory.

Inside the Conclave, there was no sound except for the artificial breeze that rustled the leaves of the central tree and the almost silent breathing of the Combat Master on the stone ledge at the base of the tree. Teshin sat meditating in his usual garb. The Armor and ornate headpiece kept all of his body but his face protected from the cold. The cold of the room bit into his skin but all the feeling of the loss in body heat and cold air on his face did was highten his senses and reinforce his discipline. It would have been easy to set his energy shield to block out the cold or to use a helmet with a built-in faceplate but meditation without distraction would not help anyone. It is only through struggle that we improve. That was one of the Conclave's many principles and it would not do for the pupils to have a guide that did not embrace the principles he taught.

He sat there, letting the cold of the room force his focus to remain sharp. This sheer focus allowed Teshin to know of everything going on in the room. He heard every movement of snow and every movement of every leaf of the tree. Teshin could tell where everything in the room was, every sense except sight helping to map out the room to the warrior and from that he could predict every movement and action in the conclave hall.

Except for that of his visitor.

He hadn't yet shown himself to Teshin, But the warrior knew he was there.

The Stalker.

Stalker's abilities made him virtually undetectable by simple virtue of removing himself from ordinary reality. From this "Shadow Realm", physical limitations meant little to Stalker. Walls could not stop Stalker with his own brand of physics and detection meant little to him when he existed on a completely different spectrum. But, even though he was nigh undetectable, The Stalker still had his limits.

Stalker was still present in reality, no matter how little, and that still had effects. A small unexplained crunch there, a small movement of air there and it was enough for Teshin to know he was not alone. Then again, it did help that Tenshin had senses not grounded in this reality as well.

"Stalker, I know of your presence. End this game of shadows so we may get to our business." Tenshin called out. He paused for a bit, knowing that his guest was startled that he was found at all. A small smirk graced Teshin's face.

And as he felt a shift of Void energy and a new presence in the room, Teshin knew he would not be disappointed.

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"Stalker, I know of your presence. End this game of shadows so we may get to our business."
The one known as Shadow Stalker heard the old Combat Master as he called out to the currently intangible infiltrator.

To be honest with himself, Shadow Stalker wasn't so surprised that the warrior had noticed his presence considering his age and training but Shadow couldn't stop himself from being startled, just a little. Shadow was surprised to have received an invitation to talk from Master Teshin, considering that Shadow had recently made his life a mission to hunt down the Betrayers, Tenno or rather "pupils" as the warrior would call them.

If Shadow could have grimaced, he would have as he made the Warframe bring him back into reality from the Shadow Realm. With a sudden forming and almost immediate dissipation of a human shaped cloud of darkness, Shadow was suddenly in proper Reality again.

Shadow instantly noticed the order of the room which had lost any mental effect in the gray-scale world of shadow he had just left. Shadow made a sound that could have been an amused huff. No wonder Teshin had noticed his presence if everything in the room was so ordered and predictable.

As Shadow took a step, he heard Teshin's voice call out again. "Alone." was the word that rang around the hall from Teshin's authoritative voice.

Shadow paused, it took him a moment to realise what Teshin was referring to. He took the reforged War off his back and looked to it. It was hard to forget that it was its own separate entity at times considering how in sync it was with him most of the time. Containing a connection to the deceased Sentient Hunow, it was simultaneously a reminder of his hate of the Betrayers and the lengths they were both willing to go to get their revenge. Shadow, trusting something that he was literally trained to fight and kill, and Hunow, trusting a former Tenno.

That being said, Shadow didn't like Hunow and Hunow didn't like Shadow but their need for revenge was greater than their... Dislike of each other. Shadow turned the blade to point at the floor and then stabbed War into it. As he started walking up the steps, he heard Hunow's voice come from War. "Do not be to long Shadow, we have hunting to do."

Giving a silent nod to the sentient sword, Shadow continued up the steps. Soon after that, Shadow found himself facing the old master of the Conclave. Sitting in meditation, facing the stairs, in his armor and helm, the old master still managed to be intimidating even when relaxed. It also helped that his age was not apparent on the only part of his body not protected from the elements.

"I know you harbor great rage, Stalker. I would however prefer it if you did not take it out on the floor." came the slightly amused voice of Teshin, as though he was speaking to a petulant but adorable child.

"You said that you had business with me. What is it?" Shadow said in an annoyed tone, ignoring the warriors remark completely.

Teshin stood himself up from his sitting position and looked at Shadow's face. "I know of the revenge you have sworn on the Tenno, for the deaths of the Orokin, for the deaths of those you called friends, mentors and even parental figures..."

"So what? You want me to stop killing them?" Shadow almost shouted, angrily. What did this old fool know of what happened to him? HE didn't see the boys and girls that he called siblings turn around and murder their adoptive family. He knew nothing!

"No Stalker, we both know that you do not kill them. Punish, hurt, maim. Yes, you do those things. But when you saw that they did not remember their crimes, you stayed your hand." Teshin said, not changing his tone as though he was simply telling a story.

"That isn't true! You know..."

"No, You and many of the awakened Tenno enjoy the illusion that the semi-intelligence of the warframes mean that you cannot take on both at the same time. That the lack of Hunow's presence somehow limits you. But you forget that i have seen you destroy battalions of Sentients, Stalker. A teenager, no matter how dangerous, should not have stopped you even if they had a damaged robotic suit on their side." Teshin continued, completely ignoring the fact that the wind had been blown completely out of Shadow's then rising anger.

"..."
Teshin stayed infuriatingly silent
"What do you want Teshin?" Shadow asked in a small voice.
"You are starting to see that revenge will not satisfy you or your craving for justice. Revenge is a shallow and ugly thing that only leaves more of itself in its wake. I would offer an alternative that i thing would be substantially more fulfilling."

"I will not..." Shadow started but was cut off by Teshin's raised hand.
"I am not asking you to forgive the Tenno for what they did. We all failed the Empire that day and what happened that day is not able to be healed by forgiveness, such is the enormity of the transgression. No, I would rather have you... Undo their crime."
Shadow was shocked by that last sentence. "But how? The dead cannot be brought back!"
"Stalker..."
Shadow interrupted him. "My name is Shadow Stalker."
"No, that is not your name, no matter what that machine calls you." Teshin said with a ring finality to it. "In response to the resurrection of the dead... You do not need to resurrect what is not dead."

"What?"

Teshin turned around to face the tree. "There was a plan in place. The last remaining Orokin would be put into stasis to await a time in the future where the Empire could be saved, or rebuilt." He turned around to look back at Shadow, "It was thought that from these pods that the Orokin Empire could rise again."

Utterly shocked at his news that not all of the Orokin might be dead, Shadow asked, "...Why are you telling me?"

A tone of sadness entered Teshin's tone. " Stalker. You were one of the oldest children on that ship. You understood your circumstances better than the others and knew that only a few were at fault for your treatment. If one were able to look into the hearts of everyone in this system, you would be one of the most loyal to the idea of the Empire. You understood that the Sentients needed such measures and you understood that not all of the Orokin knew of or was guilty of your condition. That is why the Betrayal was so heart breaking for you and why your pain has lasted till this day."

Teshin stood slightly straighter and steel filled his voice. "I want you, Stalker, to secure the future of the Empire. I have discovered the location of an intact Orokin stasis pod and it will open soon. It is located on what could be considered to be the last functioning void ship of the Empire." Teshin held out his hand and a Void Key materialised in it. "This is the key to the vessel. It will allow you to locate the ship with ease." Teshin held out the key to Shadow that he numbly took.

Shadow stared at the key and contemplated the choice in front of him. In his hand was the key to the legacy of the empire that the Betrayers destroyed. Would he try to bring the empire back? Could he be trusted with this responsibility? Was Teshin telling the truth?
A quick glance at Teshin's completely serious demeanor answered that last question. Teshin wasn't one for lying.

Shadow's fingers unconsciously tightened around the key. He would do this. He will try his best at giving the system another chance. He won't let the Betrayers have a final victory over the Empire.

And maybe... Just maybe... the hole in his chest might finally be filled.

"Thank you, Teshin. I will not fail the Empire a second time." Stalker said with much more calm than he currently was feeling.
"It is no problem Stalker. Neither of us will fail a second time" Teshin simply stated.

As Stalker was about to leave he spotted War, still impaled into the floor. The response of the Sentient sword that the Orokin were still alive would be... predictable.
"Stalker, If War must be dealt with, allow me. It has been a while since I've had some... Stress relief." came an almost eager request from Teshin.
If Stalker could have grinned, he would have. He gave a nod to the old warrior and started to phase away. As the Darkness started to cover him, he heard Teshin say "Good, you were better with a scythe anyway."

As the Darkness quickly dispersed, Stalker quickly ran through the now grayscale walls to his phased ship.

Stalker had a mission to do.

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

As the last fragment of War hit the ground, Teshin breathed a sigh of contentedness. Breaking a sword made out of a Sentient was not the same as breaking a Sentient, but it was close enough to enjoy.

Teshin reflected on what had just occurred and smiled. Stalker will do his best to save the Empire and maybe his old student would finally be whole again after all this time.

"Sir, are you busy?" came the voice of his personal Cephelon, Rundas.
"No i am not Rundas." came Teshin's reply. "Just enjoying thoughts of the future."
"Ah, It is pretty exciting for the Empire to return! My circuits just get all warm thinking about it."
"Don't excite yourself too much. We still have a lot of work to do."
"As you say My Lord. I will get back to my appointed tasks." said Rundas as he logged out to continue the important work he had.

Teshin couldn't help smiling. When Natah discovers all her efforts were for naught she would be as livid as a tomato. He would pay to see that.

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Hunow didn't know what had happened to Shadow Stalker. The last the connection to the sword gave him was Shadow going to see the old human and then pain as that same human ripped the sword into pieces with his bare hands.

It was irritating to lose a pawn like Shadow but in the end it did not matter.
Hunow had a small internal chuckle an a repair drone welded another compatible material onto his physical form, tickling his dead frame slightly.
Yes, soon he wouldn't be so dead anymore, and then the entire Solar system would know about the wrath of the supposedly destroyed Sentients. Orokin or Grineer, it didn't matter. They were human and they would pay.

Yes they would pay.
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Dahvek walked down the hallway of the OVS Light of the Void. Even though it had been many centuries, The Hallways were still as pristine as they were back before the Empire fell.
Dahvek's clanging footsteps echoed down the empty hallway. The noise of his robotic legs, replaced long ago since his flesh failed to the trials of time, calming his energetic circuits which were also replaced. Dahvek was somewhat glad there was no one nearby to interrupt his thoughts but the same time he was... sad at the reason that the halls were so empty to begin with.

So much death filled these halls merely a few centuries ago. And yet all that changed was the lack of people.

The Technocyte infection had broken out, supposedly brought on by one of the civilians that were rescued, and the resulting conflict had seen the birth of a phorid and all of the crew and a good amount of civilians dead. Thankfully they had managed to evacuate in the last minute, Leaving the Indentured to hold the line against the nigh limitless horde of Infested. Over 80 000 crewmen and 20 000 civilians dead or infected did not paint a good a picture for the servants of the Empire

A mere 21 000 Indentured against hundred thousands of infected. It was surprising that the Indentured had won.

Upon further reflection, it was a genius move for Dahvek to have organised the Indentured using what military experience he had the moment the sabotage happened. It was also fortuitous that they had found so many weapons in the armory to outfit each Indentured with basic armor and a plasma caster. The true find of the armory was a spare Gladius Assault frame that Dahvek took for himself, being the only one with military experience in the Indentured.

To say that that cannon had saved them would be an understatement. The Infested had grown so numerous that eventually the sheer density of the horde made the tens of hundreds of infested that the plasma casters cut down irrelevant. But, even though the casters were not enough, the cannon was. The Gladius incinerated tens in a single shot, at full auto, and the beam configuration burnt through the toughest flesh that the Infested could field in seconds. From there, the Infested were effectively broken and while the Indentured troops cleaned up, the Gladius proved it's worth again.

Dahvek had gone to hunt the Phorid in charge and the cannon, through luck or good manufacturing, had severly injured the Phorid in one hit, forcing it to flee.
It was enough to say that, thanks to the shield connected to the cannon, their second meeting did not go well for the Infested.

After that the infection was essentially destroyed, and the clean-up ensured that there would be no surprises from the virus in the future. During the fight, they had gotten power restored and, thanks to the efforts of Gordys, they had successfully fixed almost the entirety of the ship, the weapons and navigation databases were unfix-able unfortunately, and so the ship returned to it's previous state of repair, even though the ship was a lot emptier.

One major point of adversity was that, due to the destruction of the database and the death of the people who could operate the Void key, they couldn't get to the Void Tower to keep the Orokin on board safe. So, Gordys came up with a plan to make the ship look like an uninhabited derelict, albeit a derelict that was moving to fast for anyone to actually check out.

Over the centuries, this strategy worked well. The primitive, poorly made ships could not keep up and any who got in the way of the "derelict" found out that the Light of the Void had a much denser hull than they did. The more advanced ships could have been a problem. With speed capable of catching up to the OVS, they were almost able to board the ship but in a fit of creativity, Gordys sent a transmission of wailing, screaming and other insane sounds to the ships. After quickly breaking off pursuit, it seemed ships of the same faction they belonged to always made sure to stay a sufficient distance from the "derelict".

Gordys, wanted to see how dedicated they were to keeping away and, after a calculated flyby near a space station with the same aesthetics of the ships, Gordys spent a good few hours laughing at the panicked evacuations that ensued.

Gordys was no longer the typical ship Cephelon that he had been. Over the centuries he had become petty, arrogant and egotistical. But then again, it wasn't that bad of a change, Gordys was not insufferable and he didn't let his new preferences get in the way of his duties. Dahvek was not the same either

Part of Dahvek was still shocked at how easily he took to being cybernetic being, his flesh long since have been replaced and the only thing left of his original body was the Mask of Penance which had acted as some sort of brain to himself now. With a robotic body that approximated a human's but larger and bulkier than one would think, It was trivially easy to hold the Gladius cannon in one hand now and, having the frame grafted onto his new body meant he was always armed.

As Dahvek walked out of the hallway into a small atrium, he saw some drones repairing the white, gold trees that surrounded the room.

"Gordys." Came Dahvek's deep robotic voice.
"Walking flashlight? what can i help you with?" Gordys responded in an accent that many thought nobility from a place called England used in the 19th century.
"Why are repair drones focusing their efforts on the flora of the ship?" Dahvek said, ignoring Gordys' little jibe.
"I am getting the ship in presentable condition for the awakening of our master of course. It is in such an appalling state that i would not be surprised if the master fell dead at the sight of it." Gordys stated in a "despairing" tone.

...

Dahvek tried, really tried to see the importance of the plants but he could not. "I do not think that the condition of the plants will have such importance compared to the death of everyone they knew and loved"

"And horrible looking plants will help at that? Wait... You said they!" Gordys accused. "Did you forget what gender our master is?"

Dahvek sighed. It came out as a grating, synthesized sound from the speakers on the mask. "My memories begin to fade after a couple of centuries. Please remind me."

"No, i think not." Gordys said in a haughty tone "I think it is more than fitting that it is a surprise for you since you went and let yourself forget. In-fact, I am going to remove all information about the master from all the data-banks just so it remains that way."

Dahvek sighed again. It was no use getting mad at Gordys as it was only consequence of the Cephelon's obsession with serving the Orokin and restoring the plants is not that much of a waste anyway. Besides, Dahvek had his own tasks to do to prepare for the awakening.

Soon the Orokin would wake up. Soon they would get to work.

Stalker is now no longer Shadow Stalker. Sentient influence removed from Stalker. Hate regained. Stalker heading to OVS Light of the Void.

 

[Inq. Halbread]

At this point, I should just mention that The starting area was extremely close to being an Infested Derelict but Dahvek had enough bullshit rolls to Assasinate the Phorid in single combat which was important as they can automatically generate additional Infested and adds a +5 to all Infested actions.

 

[Inq. Halbread]

No matter what you thought of it, functional stasis was a scientific miracle. The capability to keep someone safe from the ravages of time, in good health and sane after an extended period of months or even years was a feat that was nigh impossible for a good amount of human history. Turns out that it wasn't impossible, just really, really hard. Hundreds of devices and mechanisms were built into stasis pods to ensure that the occupant didn't experience the passing of time. Even thousands more devices made sure that the occupant didn't expire due to the low temperatures, get aged to dust by the time manipulation or lose several limbs due to disuse. Stasis also had one other problem, the pod could not stop the occupant from being aware. The time was stretched however, where months felt like a moment and years felt like a minute.

Unfortunately the apocalypse was estimated to be significantly longer.

For you it felt like hours in total darkness and unfortunately, you knew the exact principles of every mechanism of the pod and every way it could go wrong. To say that your imagination was active would have been an understatement and you even remembered the demonstration of improper stasis on that chicken, fueling your building anxiety. However, your unexpected but completely predictable possible death was not the only thing on your mind in those long hours of darkness and silence. You wouldn't say that you were an especially nervous person around the unknown considering your pursuit of science which was, by definition, the pursuit of the unknown but this was completely new territory for you and so your mind, without anything better to do, tried to imagine what the end of the Empire looked like.

Battle damaged hallways, dead bodies and broken ships flew through your mind and you also wondered what would greet you when you woke up. The possibilities had occupied your sensory deprived mind as you thought of progressively worse scenarios. You had imagined being greeted by Sentients or Tenno sent to kill you. You had feared waking up to a horde of Infected, breaking apart your pod to devour you whole. One particularly inventive scenario was where you awoke to the depths of the Void itself, where you simultaneously asphyxiated and was torn apart by the constant flux of reality.

So you like to think that it was understandable that you were completely surprised when you finally was awoken from stasis. What greeted you was not Technocyte tendrils, hanging in a decrepit ruin of a chamber with you surrounded by angry walkers ready to tear you apart.

No, what had greeted you as you opened your tired, strangely cold eyes was the same, circular room with the same circular pool that you had entered stasis in the first place. Except now you were staring into the "face" of a well armored and armed robot standing in front of your, still closed pod. Through the haze of your still relatively inactive mind you saw that the room was filled with similar but worse armored and armed robots.

So... "This is going to suck" scenario 129 is it? At least it isn't "This is definitely Monday" scenario 64.

Upon closer inspection, you notice that the "face" of the robot in front of you was actually a Mark of Penance, and you guess that means that the other robots also have that. So that probably means that they don't want to kill you. Probably. You mentally change the scenario to 132 and get ready to change it to scenario 105. The hiss of pressurized gas filled the pod as it was entering it's release cycle.

Your eyes widened as the implication of the Marks occurred to you. The only people that wear the Marks are Indentured... So that must mean that you are staring at Indentured that have survived long enough that their organic bodies have failed and needed to replace it with robotics. Through the mounting anxiety, you couldn't help but start to feel intense fascination with the cyborgs. Was the replacement process uniform or staggered? What did advanced age do to the loyalty programming? Were the different mechanisms identical between Indentured or was there variance in what was replaced?

All this and more went through your head, the child-like excitement at new knowledge to discover and analyze making you almost forget that you were currently in a possibly fatal situation.
Unfortunately you couldn't do anything about that at the moment as the pod was still closed, the locks only now disengaging with a distinct clank in the confines of your pod.

...
...You also seem to have made an amazing amount of thoughts and observations during a deactivation and release cycle with a total time span of four seconds...
...
I might need some medical attention after this... You think to yourself.

Now that you knew that you had an altered time perception, you tried to make yourself think... slower for the lack of a more scientific term.

Spoiler: Thinking slower

DC 10... Roll: 93 Critical Success.

You manage to do so surprisingly easy, and you feel that it would be similarly easy to put your time perception back.
You decide to definitely do some tests later.

Thanks to your now normal perception, the pod quickly opened, giving you an unobstructed view of the Indentured outside the pod. He(?) was slightly larger than the other cyborgs in the room and his(?) armor was more elaborate and, from what you could see, constructed better than the others in the room. The Indentured was significantly bulkier though, unlike the human-like legs that was the most common configuration of cybernetic limbs, the one in front of you seemed to have taken the legs of a power loader and decided that they would do. With numerous pistons and power cables, you would think those legs carried a walking tank and it seemed they did. You weren't quite sure that the armor would be necessary considering the abundance of metal that was in a torso that large, making it look like the impressive height of two meters was perfectly natural for the Indentured, with his (you are pretty sure it's a him at this point) arms also looking like they were originally on some mech and being proportional to his size.

The arms were thick with motors and cables, also being armored as with the rest of his body. The fingers on his left arm was long and slender, resembling the human hand and was most likely to use complex machinery and interfaces. The other hand was not, A large three fingered "hand" that looked more like a claw and looked like it had been designed for industrial use. The fusion cannon, welded to that arm, was not. You vaguely recognized it as some sort of Orokin-tier weapon, considering the advanced materials and design that flowed and was elegant to a degree that the rest of the Robotics was not, marking it as possibly one of the most powerful weapons in the system, barring Sentient technology.

Even though the weapon could be considered a work of art, especially to an Archimedian like yourself, the crude welding of the weapon was not. It was sufficient but the immense weight of the weapon was likely debilitating for one handed use, probably why the right arm was bulkier you realized. The improvised arm cannon had a large cable leading from the rear of the weapon to a massive backpack generator. The only reason why you didn't notice the pack earlier was because it didn't look that noticeably large on the large Indentured. You immediately realised that the pack might also give him the ability to utilize shields with massive strength. The only thing that wasn't big on the Indentured was the Mask serving as his head, although several pieces of metal had been welded to it, leaving only the central eye unmodified making it look like it had some sort of crest around it.

Overall, it looked like the Indentured had tried to keep the aesthetic of Imperial technology, gold with smooth surfaces and graceful curves that looked organic, but apparently it came out blocky, mechanical and solid. making it look like only a token effort of curves with the cybernetics while the chest-piece, being a resized piece of armor, had the aesthetic in spades. At least everything is white and gold... You thought, I don't think I'd handle it if he went an infected red instead.

Apparently, while you had been checking the cyborg in front of you out, the Indentured had been checking you out. You had to admit that your standard Archimedian armor and robes were not as elaborate as the Indentured's form. White and gold armor that was flexible and flowed around your frame as though it was a part of you but looked distinctly mechanical with a white robe, resembling a lab coat. You were also used to attention from males (mainly due to your co-worker's less than stellar social skills) but it was a new experience having an inorganic person giving you the same amount of attention, in the same area.

After a second of staring, where you get a certain feeling of puzzlement from the cyborg in-front of you, A deep, synthesized but vaguely familiar voice comes from the mask. "I welcome you from your long sleep Your Ladyship!" his voice boomed around the room, further cementing is former gender, putting an odd emphasis on "lady". As soon as he had finished his proclamation, a horde of synthesized sighs and groans accompanied by the occasional quiet "yes" filled the room, although practically inaudible if it wasn't for your enhanced senses.

Regardless of what the grumbling was about, the large Indentured in front of you dropped to one knee as the rest of the cyborgs in the room did the same. "We, loyal servants of the Empire, have waited long for your stasis pod to open. And now that you are with us, we will protect and serve the Empire once again, under your command!" continued the voice of the large one in front of you """"We Pledge our loyalty to you!"""" the entire room said in unison, giving you the distinct feeling that they practiced it but that might just be slight cynicism on your part.

If you were completely honest, you were completely speechless. You had imagined for hours about painful death and horrible situations and now that you were faced with the fact that nothing was currently bad was currently happening, you didn't know how to react.

"""By the Void, We serve.""" The Indentured intoned
Knocked out of your musings by the sheer noise. You, by sheer reflex, quietly intone "By the Void, I rule." your light voice, successfully carrying through the room thanks your slight echo.
"""By the Void, our paths intertwine."""

Wait...

"""By the Void, the Empire rules us all""" The Indentured finished, but you were too shocked at what this meant to finish with them. They wanted... YOU to lead them? To lead the Empire or what's left? But I'm just an Archimedian... Don't they want someone who can lead people? Don't they want someone whose idea of a good day is not undisturbed labwork? You thought to yourself.

And then it hit you. Statistically, you are most likely the last Orokin alive. There really was no one else. You were alone in a system that might as well been the Void for as much as was likely to be familiar to you. The last hope of the Empire was on your shoulders, the shoulders of someone not trained or possibly even able of handling that responsibility considering the most leading you did was being the head of a research team. That thought... Depresses you to say the least.

You were so lost in your thoughts that you missed the large one dismissing the others and soon only the two of you were left in the room. You not even having left your pod. "Hey, are you alright Miss Valir?" he asked you. "I understand if you need a minute, It must be overwhelming to have that after so much nothing. They were a bit excited you understand." The Indentured spoke more, it was odd to hear emotion in such a heavily synthesized voice, especially as it sounded caring and vaguely familiar. What was that one's name that he gave you before stasis? Dak? Dakek? D'vek?
"Dahvek?" you hazard a guess at the name of the Indentured in front of you.
His posture changes slightly and now gives you the impression that if he could, he probably would be smiling. "I was not certain you would remember me, Your Majesty." He said, amusement filling his robotic voice. "As you can see, i underwent some changes since that day."

"Don't listen to him Milady." said a voice coming from around the room, with the accent of a... British Aristocrat? (You mentally congratulate yourself for all those drama shows becoming useful) "He hoped that you would've forgotten so that he doesn't feel so bad on forgetting who you are." the voice finished with a tone of smugness.

You can't help but feel slightly irked by that, even though your logical brain is telling you that it's been over a thousand years for everyone else, it still hurts that someone you met forgot about you. Dahvek releases a long suffering sigh at the general direction of everything, considering that was where the Cephalon was. "It was over a thousand years Gordys, and weren't you convinced that you were a toaster for a short time of that" Dahvek said.

"I told you to never speak of it again" Gordys hissed as though he was trying to be quiet, although he was utterly failing at that considering his voice was coming from every speaker in the room. "But that is unimportant for now. How are you Milady? Do you require anything? Water?" Gordys asked, concern filling his voice.

You made the decision to get out of the pod, having enough of it for another thousand years. Unfortunately your body seemed to agree heartilly as you found yourself tipping out as your legs had failed the moment you had tried to move them.

Spoiler: Severity of injury

Roll: 22

With a sickening crack, you had felt your femur collapse and you fell out of the pod.
Fortunately, Dahvek had quickly catched you the second your bone broke and lowered you to the floor. "Milady! Are you Okay?! What can i do?!..." Gordys rambled and was subsequently ignored by both you and Dahvek apparently.

"It seems that the pod did do some damage to you after all. I know I'm charming but i didn't think you would fall for me that quickly." Dahvek said smugly. The small joke made you let out a small laugh through the blinding pain. Although Dahvek was right in his glibness as the damage the extreme cold had done was not too serious for an Orokin like you even as you felt your bones, now crystallized by intense cold, cracking under the pressure of moving. You literally felt your Eximus nanites going to work in fixing your entire skeleton, making short work of all the repairs. Dahvek seemed to know this as he put your leg back into alignment, but you'll still make him pay for that joke at your expense.

He would rue the day he made fun of Celes Valir!

After a couple of seconds of Dahvek holding you still and Gordys muttering about turning the pod into scrap metal for "failing milady's skeletal structure" the eximus had repaired your skeleton enough to fully support your weight. Now standing without assistance, Gordys decided to take the time to say something. "Now that we've dealt with that spot of unpleasantness, Is there anything you need Milady?" Dahvek was slient, his posture showing concern as he looked ready to catch you as soon as it looked like you were starting to fall over again.

"Honestly all i want at this point is a glass of water and to lie down for a few hours." You said as you covered you eyes with your left hand, massaging your recently healed forehead.
There was silence after your statement.
This did not fill you with confidence. You removed your hand and looked at the awkward posture of Dahvek, it was though he was trying to make his impressive frame smaller. You like to think that Gordys' code was doing something similar.

"Umm..." Dahvek stated, the sound was odd coming from a deep, robotic voice. "There is a situation developing, actually only received word of it a few minutes before you woke up." Dahvek said. You didn't know exactly what you were feeling but you think that it was a mixture of disappointment and anxiety. "Shall we go see what it is then?" You said, resigned to not having a good time trying to lead people through a crisis.

"Thank you." Davek gratefully said. He walked to the large curved door of the room but, thanks to his larger size, he was slow enough to walk alongside comfortably.
As you left the room into the atrium outside, you noticed that not all the Indentured had left yet and many were in the process of exchanging small pieces of metal which looked like platinum. One of them was even hesitatingly handing another a large crate which the other received with excitement.

You asked Dahvek on what was going on. He was silent for a bit and then said with hesitation "There was a bet..."
Well that makes sense. It was interesting because you didn't know Indentured could do that. But what was it about?...
"...about your gender." Dahvek finished quickly.
...
You had a feeling that there was a lot more to this story...

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

As you reconstructed on the teleport closest to the Control room, Dahvek continued talking "... Thus the question of your identity had grown to such a point that it was decided that a ship-wide bet would take place."
"I don't know, i believed that a sequel of that riveting rock-paper-scissors tournament would have been absolutely appropriate for your burnt out mental circuits." Gordys commented unhelpfully.
You weren't sure to be embarrassed or laughing at the sheer chaos that the mere question of your gender caused among the remaining crew for the last three weeks. Fights, games and bets were all spawned due to no one knowing you personally and Gordys temporarily deleting your personal file (He said he put it back after you woke up).
"At least i didn't have a spider infestation in my cognitional circuits." Dahvek fired back.
"I distinctly remember you screaming about how they were secretly plotting your downfall and begging us to literally clean out the cobwebs so to speak" He continued, adding a really good impression of Gordys at the end. Well, good for his rather robotic voice.

Either way, you remained silent as you were enjoying the back and forth too much to stop it with questions such as "What is a Corpus?" and "Where did you even find spiders?"

Eventually the arguing stopped as you entered the Control room. You would have thought that the bridge would be where you would deal with the situation but apparently it wasn't where you commanded a void ship. It was simply a place where people drove the ship and had no significance whatsoever. Gordys, upon being asked, had informed you that there were about ten back-up bridges just in case that one was unusable.

Entering the room, you saw that it was large and circular. in the middle was a central hologram projector and you could see drones that acted as chairs floating in the upper arches of the room. There was a certain feeling to the room, with all the walls were curved and the pillars curved away from the Projector, giving it the feeling of being the most important place in the room. Also you saw an abundance of workstations around the room. Only three of which were manned by Indentured.

Although you would have liked to look around more, your attention was brought to the projector as Gordys displayed a diagram of the ugliest ship you have ever seen.
It looked like someone had taken a missle and made it habitable and it had severely oversized engines that looked like it was just bolted on. On each side was three large...projectile cannons? Also it didnt look that large to you either, by the size of the windows you estimated it to be around 200 meters wide and about 800 meters long along with about 300 meters in height. Compared to the Light of the Void which was 8km long, about 900 meters tall and about 2km in width (You had to admit that these were probably wrong as you didn't know a lot about Void ships) it was probably a gnat in comparison.

"The ship you are currently seeing is an experimental Grineer frigate" Gordys started, filling his programmed role as intelligence officer perfectly. "However, it seems heavily customized as well, the broadside cannons are for a cruiser class ship and I have detected a primitive fusion lance on it's bottom side, facing forward. The expected output of the engines indicates that the ship is likely able to match or even exceed our top speed in real space."
"The Grineer are the race of clones you talked about right?" You ask the two
"Yes" Dahvek responds

You understood a little about the Grineer. The Grineer were laborers back before the Sentients attacked and were re-purposed into an army just after that. Unfortunately the reprogramming was done roughly or it was possibly a bad idea in general because soon afterwards they went rogue. Now it seemed they had survived into the future and now own a good portion of the Origin system, including Earth, and rule it with an iron fist. You hear most of them are naturally hostile to anything not Grineer and the civilians under their rule suffer for it. They also seem to be "A nation of retards" as put by Dahvek and use incredibly primitive but hardy technology. They loved swarm tactics but had powerful and smart leaders, they had to be in order to lead people like that.

"They couldn't fire the guns at any significant speed though, the sheer amount of conflicting force would tear the ship apart. The fusion gun also create immense magnetic fields around it, any attack with that would scrap the engines and any Ferrite in their armor." Dahvek stated calmly, writing them off as a threat. You couldn't really disagree with Dahvek, all the math was sound, but you don't believe that any thinking person would not notice those problems when building it.

Wait... "Gordys, bring up a structural analysis of the hull and inform me the composition." You commanded, any nervousness being consumed by the desire to solve this design puzzle.
"Yes Milady." He brought up a series of diagrams that you are pretty sure confounded Dahvek a little. "The hull consists of Ferrite, Steel, Iron, Rubedo, ceramic..."
Gordys kept listing the composition but you only absently listened as you did hundreds of mental calculations thanks to your impromptu, slow time. When Gordys said the final material on the hull, it all clicked into place.

It was brilliant.

The specific composition of the hull allowed it to act like a sponge for any force that hit it on it's broadside and that included recoil. From the size of those guns, there would be enough recoil to handle a reload... The hull was also highly magnetic, but the pattern... If the lance went off, the whole hull would compress itself, but the sponge reaction...

"The ship can fire It's guns at any speed" you say, more confidently than you feel. " I also believe that it is capable of automatic fire"
"Automatic cannons?" Dahvek asked uncomprehendingly "Then what about the lance?" he asked, trusting your judgement. It made you feel good that he would just trust you like that, despite not even knowing you that well.
"When the lance fires, the hull will compress inwards untill it becomes so dense that it will literally be unbreakable against anything less than another lance, or heavy weapon."

It was a brilliant design, it punches above it's weightclass with anything infront of it, becoming virtually indestructible from any other ship it's own size and can severely damage any ship that got to it's side with automatic fire. It probably wouldn't do much against a fully functional Imperial ship but, as you had been briefed by Gordys, you didn't have one of those.
Literally everything worked but the weapons, having been destroyed by severe reactor overload and it needed to be replaced.

You could leave, but that would destroy any thoughts that your ship was a simple derelict. You could let them get closer and try to scare them off, but that might not work considering that Grineer are known for being stubborn apparently.

"Milady." Gordys interrupted your thought. "One of the Void Portals seem to have activated and... Ewww. They are touching everything." Gordys exclaimed

A new window popped on the screen. showing people exiting the Void portal with interesting helmets and followed by people in what looked like hazmat suits and small robots with long legs.

Spoiler: Unknowns

They didn't seem to be hostile. The only moves they made were to start standing around, nervously glancing at the door to the rest of the ship while the hazmats started studying and taking samples of the ship. So that's what he meant about touching. The Box headed ones didn't look like they were aggressive though. In fact they seemed reluctant to go any further into the ship than they had too and had to shoo a few of the Hazmats back to the portal when they got too excited and tried to have a peek outside the room.

"Who are they?" You ask your companions.
"Based on their appearance and general competency at innapropriately touching my systems," Gordys hissed out. "I do believe that those are employees of the faction that calls themselves the Corpus."
"The family?" you ask, puzzled at the colloquial name for family being used as a name for an organisation. "Not as i understand it Milady but i don't have enough data to actually give you any info on them" Gordys says, a note of regret in his voice.

If you knew that your first day as the last hope of the Empire was going to be so stressful, you would have stayed outside the cryopod. "At least they aren't combat trained." rumbled Dahvek. "You can see it in how they wield there weapons," Dahvek pointed at one of the strange, boxy rifles. "They aren't ready for a fight, many of them are too tense and are holding their guns quite close to their chests as though the gun would protect them from harm."

With that information in mind you wondered on what such people were doing here and what you were going to do about it...

"I am sorry to interrupt but I have hacked their communications. The result is less than inspiring." Gordys said and routed the audio through.

"BeAjSbDiAjB" "hDbCbAdBaSbNmAs" "IdBjSbDjSnBaDbAs" *Moa noises*

That could have gone better. You think to yourself. But that encryption does sound familiar...

Suddenly Gordys spoke up "Milady, there are four Lisets incoming! 10 minutes till they arrive!" You freeze in horror at that. Tenno were a nightmare to deal with at the worst of times and teams of four were several times worse. You could see Dahvek's frame tense up, you saw the claw straining itself. You think that it might be accurate to say that Dahvek doesn't like the Betrayers much.

"I have just recieved a message from an outside source, text only." Gordys piped up again, as you slowly started resenting the poor Cephalon for all the complications it was giving you.
As it came on screen, you couldn't help but shake your head at the message.

Do NoT wOrRy AbOuT tHe BeTrAyErS. i WiLl DeAl WiTh ThEm

You sighed. If it wasn't murderous space ninjas then it was creepy, vague text messages with poor formatting.

Why did i even leave my nice and cozy lab and get into that pod anyway... Oh right, Last hope of the Empire. I'm an Orokin. Yay.

Spoiler: Grineer Diplomacy

DC:?? Roll: 88
Okay then... Critical RUKKING success

"Milady, we are receiving a transmission. From the Grineer ship"
You wave at the projector, gesturing for Gordys to put it through.

Immediately you were blasted by noise, until you realized that it was actually someone's voice. One that seemed to have trouble speaking

"RAAAGh, Attention fake derelict. We know you are not empty. We Grineer, have seen through your greeeedy lies. Your course changes, were too precise, to be merely chance. Now you will speak, and I, General Sargas Ruk, will fill your ears... With words!"

You gave up on trying to make sense of this unfortunate series of events. The Grineer apparently knew that the ship was manned. These "Family members" were busy squatting on your ship and making Gordys feel uncomfortable with his body and now Tenno were coming, just so that fate could slap you in the face one more time.

You idly looked at the date on a nearby console. You then smiled, put your face in your hands and let out a mirthless laugh.

It actually was Monday... And you had no idea what you are doing.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

What are you going to do about the Grineer ship?

[ ] Try to run, you have void engines and could slip into it. Unfortunately, everyone in the system will probably notice.

[ ] Let them board and try to ambush them as they move through the ship. The Grineer will be surprised and you will be fighting from a fortified positition and you wont have to fight the ship itself, but you have no idea what is on that ship.

[ ] Let them board and try to talk to them, In the negotiation it will show them that you aren't afraid of them and considering what you heard of them, they would probably respect that a lot. If negotiations fail however, they will already be on the ship

[ ] Talk to them over the communication network. From what you hear they wont appreciate "hiding", but if things go wrong then they won't be on the ship.

[ ] Ram them, your ship literally dwarfs theirs. It would be rather easy.

[ ] Write in

What about the Corpus?

[ ] Archimedian: You think you remember the encryption they use. It might take a bit of reference, but you are sure you can decrypt it. (90% chance of success)

[ ] Try to run them off the ship, you can't leave an unknown factor alone.
- Write in how you will and what forces you will use

[ ] Leave them there for now, They aren't actually doing anything and you don't need to deal with them now

[ ] Write-in

What about the Tenno?

[ ] Leave it to the mysterious ally(?). You kind of get the impression that they were confident about defeating the Tenno.

[ ] Write in a plan of dealing with the Tenno.

------------------------------------------------
Forces:
1 Dahvek (+10 to battle for subordinate forces)
Light of the Void
20 000 Ancient Indentured
Sufficient numbers of Shield drones.

 

[Inq. Halbread]

Oh. Sorry, i forgot to mention. Sorry.
Because you guys chose Archimedian, you have general knowledge about technology. This translates to Celes being able to get infodumps during plans she might have (aka you guys voting).
This essentially means that i can tell you about your plan in purely technical terms, based on what your character probably knows about it. This only extends to topics that Celes would have learnt about during her Archimedian training or experience. for e.g. I can't give you info dumps about Moas because the PC doesn't know what they are, but you will get infodumps after you have researched them etc.

Also, a small warning, sometimes the info i give will not be completely accurate in a modern Origin system, if it was not learned in modern times. For e.g. You know how cloning works but not how Grineer cloning works now and thus, would make innacuracies however small.

 

[Inq. Halbread]

[X] Let them board and try to talk to them, In the negotiation it will show them that you aren't afraid of them and considering what you heard of them, they would probably respect that a lot. If negotiations fail however, they will already be on the ship
[X] Archimedian: You think you remember the encryption they use. It might take a bit of reference, but you are sure you can decrypt it. (90% chance of success)
[X] Leave it to the mysterious ally(?). You kind of get the impression that they were confident about defeating the Tenno.

You knew things wouldn't be easy after your awakening, but you hadn't ever imagined this. Two different factions, native to this time period, had found your ship within an hour of your awakening. Not to mention the fact that you had woken back on the Light of the Void instead of a Void tower which showed that things had started to go badly a long time before you exited stasis. And now members of a third faction, one that you had hoped had gone extinct, was now on their way to you with a nebulous agenda.

Frankly, in your opinion, the whole plan of "sneak Orokin into the future" had gone so far off the deep end that you doubted that there was even a way to salvage that anymore.

Hey, you just needed to invite some Sentients and Infested and it would be a proper party.

But, no matter how much you wished your problems weren't piling up like you had missed a hundred years of lab reports, you needed to deal with this. You were a, and possibly the last, Archimedian. You were expected to handle something like this. Like any good scientist, you decided to start with the biggest problem, the Tenno.

You moved up to the central hologram, plans and calculations were rushed your mind while Gordys silently brought up a scientific calculator for your use, which you were silently glad for . The Tenno were a nightmare to plan around, their powers were numerous, deadly and could wreck most conventional strategies with a simple flick of the wrist. This was once a boon to the Empire as the logic-based brains of the Sentients couldn't plan or predict the sheer amount of abuse the laws of physics received at the hands of a Tenno's Void powers, and that wasn't even getting into their training or the weapons they had access to. To be completely honest, before the Betrayal most Orokin hadn't realised how powerful the Tenno were to simply ignore the rules of the universe.

After the Betrayal... well, most Orokin were dead by that point.

Designs and numbers flew through your head, for every weapon you considered, there was a counter. For every plan you thought up, there was a power that made it useless.

Using your new time perception to the fullest (even though a part of you was in a panic about untested medical conditions), It was 20 seconds later and 3000 discarded plans later (as shoddy as they were) until you stopped.

Did I need to actually do anything? You wondered to yourself.

There was someone willing to fight them, as unknown as they were, and you didn't try to fight Tenno willingly unless you had a plan.
You did have other things demanding your attention and, to be completely honest with yourself, you lacked any confidence in yourself to make a plan in a short span of time that would stop those sneaky bastards.

So, even though you had doubts, you decided to let your mysterious "ally" deal with them.
So you told the other two about your decision.
You were surprised they took the "do nothing" option so well.

It was well outside Gordys' programming to deal with Tenno, so he agreed with whatever decision you made, which coincidentally was actually in his programming. Dahvek had grumbled a little (which was interesting coming from a purely synthesized voice) but he agreed as well considering that he couldn't come up with a plan either. You were wracked with doubt, but in the end you had to actually do something about the situations that didn't relate to space ninjas, and spend your effort on the other two situations.

You instruct Gordys to inform Ruk that he should dock and that they will negotiate in person. You also tell Dahvek to organise the Indentured and retrieve your Combat Chassis as well. You sincerely hope that these talks are going to go well and that they are telling the truth that they want to talk. However, there is no evidence that they won't try to kill you after all, and as you are a woman of science, evidence is rather important to.
You watch Dahvek lumber away to the transporter as you wait for the Grineer's response. He seems almost eager for something to do after all this time and from the stories you heard him tell, you don't need to be a mind reader to see that he is hoping that the Grineer are less than peaceful. It is as the door to the Teleport room closes, that you get your response.

Spoiler: Grineer Reaction

d100+ 20 (Confronting them): 92+20= 112. CRITICAL success
Ruk reaction: Friendly. Grineer reaction at large: Amicable

"Milady, The Grineer are sending a transmission."
"Please play it." you say, a note of urgency in your voice.
Even though you expected it, the sudden eruption of Ruk's voice still causes you to jump suddenly through it's sheer volume.

"HA HA. It is refreshing, to know that, there is someone who does not cower, from us, in space! We shall talk in, person. Perhaps you are worth...diplomacy."

Even though he sounded like he was constipated during that message, forcing out every word, but as far as you could tell, he sounded... Pleased?
You decide that it doesn't really matter now. The important thing is that they aren't shooting at the moment and apparently that you've made a good first impression without even talking to him yourself. Hopefully that means you are doing something correctly.
The good news is that I can now investigate those uninvited guests... You think to yourself.

As a scientist, mysteries bothered you. As an Archimedian, you couldn't let such a mystery lie such as the people squatting on your ship.
Were they a beachhead for an invasion? Smugglers getting away from the law? A bunch of technologically advanced university students?
You didn't know and that bothered you. So, your next order of business was to try and figure out what those boxheaded people were talking about.

Spoiler: Decoding the Encryption

DC 10, roll: 75
Corpus Radio and communication transmissions decoded. Encryption level: secure

You had Gordys bring up a phonetic analysis of the transmissions. As the window popped up, you grimaced at the mess of consonants and vowels that made up their speech. It would have been almost impossible to actually speak, so that just further reinforced that there was an electronic synthesizer involved. Also, if you were getting a small feeling of familiarity earlier then it had grown into a massive case of you seeing it before. You ask Gordys to bring up the binary representation and after one look, you can instantly tell that you had in fact seen it before and then bring up the database on cryptology.

After a cursory dive into the exciting world of cryptology thanks to the ship's databases, it seems your thoughts were correct. The encryption that their transmissions were using are a derivative of one of the more basic encryption. Obviously the encryption had changed slightly over the examples you found, but surprisingly enough a good majority of it was almost exactly the same.
You quickly make note of the changes and update the communication system with the updated codes.

You then tell Gordys to bring up the unknown's communication, and from what used to be unintelligible screeching, came actual words and voices.

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

Spoiler: Room layout

*There is a console by the railing closest to the void portal on the rectangular platform

"Sooooo. Anything interesting?" Your attention was attracted to the screen showing the Intruders as a young, light male voice was heard.
You quickly notice that one of the box-headed people had made their way to one of the more feminine shaped Hazmat scientists that had been examining one of the pillars of the room.

'She' turned and then a woman's voice, excited and seemingly flustered, replied. "Oh, Davis. I didn't notice you coming by."
"Well you definitely seem to be having fun." 'Davis' said with amusement "Especially if you couldn't hear these noisy as hell boots." The man on screen lifted a foot for emphasis, when he put it down again it made a distinctive clank.

"Sorry," the woman said, moving a hand and rubbing the back of her neck. "I just got so distracted by the great condition these surfaces are in." She gestured to the pillar she was standing next to. "It looks like that the ship has been immaculately maintained. There is none of the typical material stress you would get from centuries of neglect!" Her voice seems to rise in pitch and volume as she continued. "That means that whatever is here has been maintaining the ship for centuries! Where did they get the materials? But, more importantly, this means that the rest of the ship should be just in such a pristine condition!" You swear you hear Gordys give a satisfied hum. "This might be a fully functional Void ship!"

After the woman's outburst there was silence for a second. "Really? You sure about this Jolana?" Davis stated, seriousness filling his tone.
"Yes! All the findings we found say that it's the most likely possibility!" Jolana replied, her enthusiasm not declining in the least.
"...Wow. Just Wow. That's pretty amazing for an archeological expedition..."

Wait. Archeological expedition? You think to yourself. They are here just to study the ship because it's ancient?
You suddenly feel rather old after realizing that you are from a time when the ship was actually fresh off the assembly dock.

"Yes, it is." Jolana agreed, "Imagine the sheer amount of support and profit that this expedition will get! I doubt even Mr Bek imagined this when he started up this venture."

Suddenly, another boxhead walked through the shimmering portal, interrupting what everyone was doing.

"Captain wants to know how whats keeping the two way connection on the portal." A female voice sounded from the new arrival.

A boxhead working on the console that controlled the void terminal looked up, a masculine synthesized voice came from the suit. "The calibration of the portal is a mess. Looks like whatever happened to the ship had disrupted the Portal's energy matrix. We're actually lucky that the portal didn't tear us apart the moment we stepped through."

"How long?" the newcomer said impatiently as she folded her arms.

The console man shrugged, "Can't tell really, but I'm inside the computer system and the damage doesn't look to hard to fix. The main problem is navigating the system itself, all of it is in Ancient Orokin and I can't understand the menu layout so I'm doing it manually through manipulating the code directly. It's slow going because of different programming languages that we use, you see,"

"How long?" The woman interrupted, clearly hoping to avoid the presumably complicated technical language that you had found yourself actually wanting to listen to.
Science doesn't stop when you leave the lab after all.

The man pauses, you get the impression that he is glaring at the woman, "I guess around three hours. Not that I'm dealing with Ancient and completely Unknown computer systems here..."

The woman humms, apparently satisfied with the answer and completely ignoring the man's sarcasm. She moves off to the side to sit on one of the crates that were brought into the room. The apparent occupant of the crate, screeches in protest as her weight settles on the occupant's rectangular home. The people around the room who were paying attention chuckle quietly and more than one send a "Poor moa..." over their private network what ever a moa is...

You continue studying the "archeological team" as they do their work. You needed to find out everything you could about them to make a decision.

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

GORDYS watched as [OROKIN: VALIR, CELeS. REF:Milady] watched the [&%$%^&PEasANTS%$^^%] over the internal surveillance system. HE had not known what to expect from [Milady] during the wait to awake her, but it certainty wasn't what happened. After years of waiting, GORDYS had imagined the scenario over 113,456,134,289 times and had, through countless calculations, hopefully made the awakening perfect... But as [INDENTRD: DAHVEK. REF: Flashlight] said 634,358,410 times, things don't always go as planned.

The first simulation was a worst case scenario. With information from [Milady]'s personal profile it was found that there was a 70% possibility of any level of mental trauma from the stressful events leading up to HER stasis and the consciousness effect of stasis. The simulation needed to reflect that and so it was assumed that SHE would have a fragile mental state. In the first simulation, [Milady] had exited the pod... and then had a mental break down right there.

Maybe the "Mental Fragility" variable was too large?

After that disastrous first simulation, the next ones had steadily better results. Even with the adjusted variable, there was a 72% chance of emotional instability from the sheer isolation of waking up alone. GORDYS considered having [Flashlight] there to welcome [Milady] after HER ordeal, but there was a 58% percent chance that SHE would find HIS non-standard "combat efficient" form as intimidating and thus be more defensive as a result. This was unacceptable and over numerous simulations GORDYS had refined the situation to having [Flashlight] and his [INDENTRD: LoV COMPLEMENT. REF: LEDs] with HIM to have a mere 48% chance of emotional instability. After several more simulations, It was determined that having [Flashlight] and HIS [LEDs] give [Milady] THEIR vow of allegiance right as she woke up as this instant interaction left only a 20% chance of instability.

It was good, but that was only the beginning. After the initial awakening, there were still an exponentially increasing number of possibly risky events to plan for and it was GORDYS' job to plan for them. Eventually it became clear that the ship should be as pristine as possible for [Milady]. [Flashlight] had kept complaining over the [ERROR: YEAR AMOUNT NOT FOUND] that keeping the ship in pristine condition was unnecessary. HE was right in a way, If [Milady] was not on board then it would be advantageous to let some, unimportant sections of the ship go without maintenance for an extra 100 years.

HE wasn't right though. The possibility of mental trauma to [Milady] needed to be the lowest it possibly could. There was a 12% chance of HER breaking down at the sight of [OBJ: UNTENDED CRYSTAL TREE]s and that was, quite frankly, UNaccEptaBle to GORDYS. Besides, despite ensuring [Milady]'s safety, it was a matter of [*&*PRiDe#$] for GORDYS, HE couldn't just let HI^S ship fall below standard.

Soon enough, that day of awakening came, and with it all of GORDYS' plans had gone wrong.

When the pod was opening, GORDYS had noticed a huge spike in neurological activity. This was troubling on it's own but not particularly alarming considering the circumstances. The next blunder was much worse. After the pod had opened, [Milady] had just stood inside it, looking around with an expression that had 78% correlation to [NERVOUSNESS]. GORDYS about to say something but then, [Flashlight] provided further evidence of HIS lack of sociability by immediately doing the vow of loyalty right then. While SHE was still FlusterED no less!
Then SHE tried leaving the pod after the [LEDs] left the room and GORDYS swore that HE felt HIS circuits skip when HER leg collapsed similar to a [OBJ: ACCORDIAN]. HE had never been as [#$%THANKFuLL#$%] for the Eximus than that point to heal the damage the extreme cold .

After investigating the [OBJ: CRYOGENICS POD], GORDYS felt of significantly lower quality after finding a small blob of [ENEM: TECHNOCYTE] that had compromised the integrity of the pod which caused such catastrophic injuries to [Milady]. Thankfully [Milady] was an [OROKIN] and something like [CONDITION: SEVERE SKELETAL FRACTURES] couldn't keep HER down. Unfortunately the blob had been destroyed by the extreme cold it had been exposed to by exposure to the pod's systems, which was lucky for it because GORDYS would have taken immense [$%^&GLEe#%^] at repeated immolation of the offensive thing via a [OBJ: FUSION TORCH].

But despite all the setbacks, all of which GORDYS was [#@$EmbarRasSED&^%] about, the simulations proved useless. It seemed that [Milady] was not experiencing any of the expected mental issues that were predicted. In fact, SHE hasn't interacted much at all. After analysis of HER actions thus far, It seemed that SHE had completely thrown HERSELF into this current crisis (another thing that had gone wrong) and there was a 69% probability that she was repressing any mental issues during this time. GORDYS was [$#%WORRIeED^*$] about HER, but there was a 82% probability that the issue could not be solved now and that it won't effect [Milady]'s performance.

Spoiler: ???

DC:?? Roll: 100
NATURAL CRITICAL SUCCESS (WHAAAAAAT?)

GORDYS was brought out of his musing by a small notification on the [SYS: COMMUNICATIONS]. Investigating the disturbance, GORDYS took 1.03476s to realise the enormity of the message.

[ORDIS 42654]: REQUEST FOR LOGIN INTO OVS: LIGHT OF THE VOID, COMMAND SYSTEM FOR STATUS UPDATE AND COORDINATION.

GORDYS was [@#$SHOcKEd*&^]. ORDIS units were issued exclusively to [SHIP: LISET] which were mostly used by the [ENEM: TENNO] and even though they used to login to Void Ship command systems, it was almost unthinkable that an ORDIS would connect after the Betrayal.
...
But... This was an opportunity.
If an ORDIS was trying to connect after all that happened, then IT doesn't know what happened. That means that IT is still automatically using protocols. That means IT hasn't informed the Tenno about what it's doing...

GORDYS had a plan.

[GORDYS]: REQUEST GRANTED, LOGIN AVAILABLE. UPDATE STATUS AND DATABASE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

GORDYS waited with [!@#ANtICIpATiON*&^] as HE waited for a response.

[ORDIS 42654]: AFFIRMATIVE. UPDATING...

If GORDYS had a mouth, HE would have smiled.

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

After watching the people by the Void gate for a while, you had come to a conclusion.

These people aren't an invasion force.

As far as you can see, It is an archeological expedition that was funded by a man known as "Mr Bek". The expedition itself is here to investigate the mysterious "Ghost ship" as it seems the Light of the Void is one of the only Void ships that haven't been taken over by the Infestation and every other ship in that group was being fought over viciously by them and the Grineer, Were completely destroyed or had been corroded by age into uselessness.
You can safely assume that they have no idea about the self-repair systems on Void ships...

Funnily enough, from what you hear this expedition is severely undermanned as well. These people were all gathered on short notice and constantly complained about lack of equipment, researchers or comfortable socks. In fact, none of the expedition were actually combat trained either and were actually simple technicians and engineers that were given guns and told to guard. Surprisingly enough for you, they didn't seem to mind their sudden conscription much as one particularly talkative group mentioned that it was rather expected for employees to get into combat situations. You also learned that the small, bipedal robots were known as MOAs and, from observing them, realised that they were sentient but not likely sapient to the degree of a human being.

During your observation, you also noted that they brought out a different kind of MOA from the portal. Instead of being chest height and green like the others, this one was larger than the boxheads and had an orange colouration. In their conversations there was also an emphasis on Profit and "Credits" when it came to what they could get from this expedition, you figured that these "Credits" were probably a cultural thing and they "Profited" from things they did.

They also kept mentioning a "Corpus" but what families had to do with anything was beyond you.

One thing that was bothering you was their attempt to open a 2-way connection to where they came from. There wasn't anything wrong with the theory behind it, but messing with the source code of the calibration system could cause many things, most of them catastrophic to the occupants of that room and the Void gate itself. Another factor was that it would be harder to silently deal with them, if you needed to, if they had access to the otherside of the portal. Yes, they had said they were undermanned but you didn't actually know what that meant and if it was what you think it means. Undermanned for them could mean only twenty death-bot kill legions instead of five-hundered after all. However, they did appear to be reasonable and non-hostile. They were here to examine an old relic and could just leave if the occupants of the not-relic asked them to do so.
It was bad manners to send archeologists to study people's Void ships after all.

Your musings were interrupted by Dahvek stepping into the command room with a small, white backpack with blue lights in his claw. The Controller frame took the form of a small whte backpack. It had three, vent-like groves on the front that glowed with a soft blue light. This was the actual Matter Engine of the device that turned pure energy into matter. On the sides were more slits that glowed a dull gold, the cut down and mobile Void drive that twisted the laws of reality.

As you took the frame from Dahvek with a small thanks, your hand traced the golden groves on the surface of the back. It was an artistic master piece of power. It was a nightmare for Archimedians to make but a dream for them to use.

Because how dangerous were you when you understood all the laws of physics and you could ignore them at will?

That was one reason you chose this Frame. Another was that the Controller Frame lent itself to understanding. It wasn't as straightforward as the Atomizing Gladius or the Adreniniline fueled bezerk of the Juggernaught. This was a Frame that you couldn't use without knowing what was going on, without making plans and tactics.
A Combat Controller operator set the battle up like dominoes and lazily watches everything fall down. To say such intellectual combat was attractive to Archimedians was an understatement.

Turning it around, you saw the clams and sockets designed for equiping it on Orokin armor. Reaching behind you, you slit it into the socket on your back. You wince as you feel the moving parts of the frame locking in using special spacial seals and locking mechanisms, creating a tickling sensation on your back.
The next thing you feel is a warmth traveling from the pack, through your whole body. A shimmering blue surrounds you for a second, covering your natural energy shielding with the more powerful shields of the frame. You felt a tingling going across your shoulders and as it hit your arm, you watched as a groove of blue energy was constructed down your arm, onto the back of your hand. From there it split and ran down each digit.

A small beep was emmitted from the pack to signal that it's installation was finished and a small visor was constructed over your right eye, giving you the commands and information available to you. Currently, everything was working properly and you only had two constructs installed into the frame.

You constructed a Fusion drone to test it out. With a wave of your hand, for dramatic reasons alone, a golden light blared into existence in front of you. A half second later, a drone with a barrel body was hovering in front of you. It was small and ugly, merely being a cylinder that contained a basic control system, an Anti-Grav engine and a miniaturized Fusion Cannon, similar to the one's contained in the Death Orbs that littered Imperial facilities. It was dumb, It wasn't very tough but it could cut down armies of infested and even pierce the adaptive armor of the Sentients. Nigh anything could be cut down by this little drone with enough time. Too bad it had the durability of a balloon.
And, you could construct them in less than a second...

You had it do a few quick laps around the room to test your control, It quickly zoomed off to do your bidding. It went against the typical Imperial aesthetics but that was part of the design itself, ugly but practical. Another thought and a burst of golden light later, you were holding the second construct that was installed into your frame.
In your hand was a simple but aesthetically pleasing sword. It had a Silver handle that had several slits that emmited blue light, serving both as the grip and the Anti-Grav engine. The crossguard had the symbol of the Orokin on it that glowed with a gold light, a fancy covering for the power generator if you remember correctly. The blade was long, golden and sharp, about the size of a longsword. The shape of the blade took inspiration from an ancient earth design, with two blades to make it arodynamic and fast moving.

Spoiler: Ancient Earth weapon

After making sure the weight was correct, you threw it into the air and, with a thought, it stayed there. You proceeded to summon another sword and have them attack each other in a mock sword fight. To any normal human, it would have been a blur of metal and clangs but you managed to follow along well enough. Satisfied at the durability of the blades, you task them to have a short running battle to test it's speed. You were satisfied with their performance as they zipped around the room, attempting to hit each other in 3 dimensions and doing stunts no swordsmen could possibly do. After a few more minutes of stress testing, you were satisfied that everything was working perfectly. You then recycled the two Anti-Grav Blades or (AGB) and the Fusion Drone in more bursts of light, into energy that your backpack reabsorbed.

You turn to Dahvek, who was silent the entire time. "Is the Indentured ready?" you ask him.
His head, inclines respectfully. "The troops are ready to recieve orders Mam" he states.
You nod. "If you don't mind me asking, how will you conduct this investigation?" Dahvek asks you, his tone neutral.

You wonder about this, there are only a few locations that could possibly house the "talk" you and General Ruk are going to have, each place would require it's own tone and way of doing the negotiation and each had it's advantages and disadvantages. Infact, you haven't talked with Ruk at all, he doesn't even know you really exist, so that is another thing you will have to consider.

There is also the "Family" in the Void gate room. They needed to be dealt with and at the speed you are going, it will take a while for the Grineer ship to dock with you, more than enough time to deal with them, and even if you didn't thhey aren't a critical situation. It would be perfectly safe to leave them milling about the 8km long ship as you dealt with the Grineer, as long as you sabotaged their progress with the portal.

"Milady, I have information that you need to know." Gordys pipes up, his hologram representation appearing in the holo-viewer
"Yes Gordys?" You get the vague impression that Dahvek is frowning at the hologram as he says this.
"One of the Tenno's Ordis units seem to still be using the old protocols and has logged into the Light of the Void's command network. It has updated the database with everything it knows so far and it has also sent us it's current mission." Gordys says with a hint of pride.
"What is their mission?" You ask, feeling anxious at the answer.
"The assassination of General Ruk."

That piece of information surprises you. On one hand it would be easy to let the Tenno try to kill Ruk, you literally don't have to do anything. On the other, you don't really want Ruk to die considering he seems quite unhostile to you already and you have to admit, you didn't want the Tenno to get any sort of victory at all.
That essentially boiled down to two choices.
Tell Ruk that Tenno are on the way.
Or don't.

You look at the holo tank. Surely enough, the Lisets have turned towards Ruk's ship.

You had a bit to decide.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Equipment Gained: Combat Controller Frame (CCF)
While wearing this frame, the PC automatically dodges any ranged attack that she can see coming. In addition gives a +20 bonus to dodging melee attacks and a +10 to dodging unseen attacks.
The PC can also teleport to any destination in Line of Sight with a cooldown of 5s. The CCF also gives the PC medium strength shields of Orokin quality (For those who play warframe, over 3000 shields) and has little armor.
The CCF can also "summon" robotic constructs using it's internal energy store and allows to mentally control them with no limit.
Destroyed constructs within range will be recycled back into energy with 100% efficiency unless the construct leaves no wreckage. The CCF slowly regenerates lost energy

As the PC is Archimedian, complex plans of amazing accuracy are possible with the CCF and a greater competency is used while using the CCF
The CCF currently has 50/50 energy.

Constructs loaded:
Anti-Grav Blade: costs 5 energy.
A simple Blade the size and shape of a long-sword. It has a silver hilt and cross guard with two golden blades where the single blade is supposed to be. There is a power generator in the cross guard there is a power generator covered by the Orokin emblem, making it glow with golden light. The Grip has numerous slits that glow with blue light that contains the Anti-Grav engnine.
The Blade is extremely quick in moving and is capable of independent fight. Thanks to the AG engine, there is significant force behind each swing, making it cut through flesh and light armor with ease. Heavy armor either takes longer or deflects any slash with the blade.

If controlled by an Archimedian, the blades are capable of deflecting any ranged attack and are master swordsman skill level in melee.
If controlled by a Lorist, the blades gain an energy field that heals allied wielders and poisons enemies struck with it
If controlled by a Sectarus, the blades gain limited sentience.

Fusion Drone: costs 10 energy
A simple drone that is white, in the shape of a barrel. It only really has three components, an AG-engine, a simple control system and majority of the drone is taken up by a miniturized fusion cannon, similar to the one in Death Orbs. It has no sentience and cannot move, fire or dodge on it's own. It is in the shape of a barrel with one end having one fusion laser emmiter on one end and has 4 wings on the end, each having a small AG engine. It's white with golden lines traveling down it's length.
It is strong against heavy and slow enemies and cannot aim quickly. However, any light units that are hit by it's beam are almost instantly killed.

If controlled by an Archimedian, the drone can aim quickly and has pinpoint accuracy due to micromanagement. It also has only a -5 malus in targeting fast enemies and a -20 malus in dodging attacks.
If controlled by a Lorist, the drones gain the ability to heal allied units.
If controlled by a Sectarus, the drones gain sentience and have only a -10 malus to doging attacks.
If controlled by a Mecharus, the drones are more durable.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What will you do with the "Corpus":
[ ] Leave them alone:
It doesn't seem that they are going to get the portal working anytime soon and the expedition seems hesitant to go deeper into the ship. It should be safe to just leave them to it but if the worst should happen, they might actually get the gate open and you may have a slightly bigger problem.

[ ] Sabotage the gate:
Considering that they are trying to open the gate with code that they barely understand, that gives you the advantage. You can easily undo their work or even make it harder for them to open the two way gate. The problem with this is that there is a chance that they notice that something was tampering with the gate to keep them cut off from their fellows. This would be put them on higher alert and make them more suspicious
(Chance to succeed: 80/60/30. Reward: Undo the Corpus progress to finish the portal/ Remain undetected while undoing the progress/ Undo the progress and they cannot finish the portal without your assistance.)

[ ] Confront them:
Even though you are bit insulted about them considering you an ancient relic, you know that they don't actually know you exist. Then maybe that should change. You do have enough time to deal with them before Ruk gets there

[ ] Kill them:

It's a bit of a horrible move but you can't take chances.
[ ] Talk to them:
You should try to do this diplomatically, they seem reasonable and not that threatening, going to them and talking to them seems like it should work considering they are technically academics.
[ ] Talk with force:
Talking to them with a few Indentured with you will allow you to dissuade any funny business and will project a feeling of power from your talking with them. However, it will intimidate them and could make friendly relations slightly harder.
[ ] Talk to them over the Communication system:
This method means you don't have to do actually physically interact and it the least threatining for both you and them. However there is a chance they don't listen to you or think you are some old cephelon or something.
[ ] Write in:
What are you going to ask them to do?
[ ] Leave:
You can ask them to leave your ship peacefully. They most likely would listen.
[ ] Stay but don't touch:
Frankly, you have no allies beyond what is on this ship currently. Getting a connection with some friendly faces wouldn't hurt.
[ ] Write in:
​

[ ] Write in:

Where will you meet Ruk?

[ ] The Judgement Hall:
Where the Orokin Executors would judge criminals against the Empire. Here you would take the space of one of these Executors while Ruk stood down below you. Indentured would be stationed to put emphasis on the feeling of power that you are trying to convey. It will cause an intimidating and powerful image of you during the talks but it could anger Ruk if he feels threatened and may sour the relations.

[ ] The Crystal Garden:
Thanks to Gordys, the Crystal Garden was maintained over the years. This place of quiet reflection will facillitate talks that create a calm and humble, if not equal atmosphere. Indentured will be stationed in such a way to be present but not overbearing. This type of negotiation is best if you try to get across an aura of non-hostility and will work with Ruk if he really came to talk. It can also cause the feeling of ambivalence from power if Ruk feels highly of himself. From this type of talk, you could even get a... friend.

[ ] The Council:
The council room was for any discussions to be had. From seminars to staff meetings, the council room is a place of professional discussion. It would ensure a feeling of legitimacy and professionalism from the talks, but it would irritate anyone if they feel you are hiding behind protocol or are all talk.

Do you tell Ruk about the Tenno?

[ ] Yes
[ ] No
[ ] Write-in

 

[Inq. Halbread]

What will you do with the "Corpus"
[X] Confront them
-[X] Talk to them
--[X] Try to lead in with a subject both of you are comfortable with as academics, like their technology or interest in this 'relic'
---[X] Aim to find out more about their faction and state of the world, as civilians they may be more willing to share information, especially if sufficiently awed and surprised.

Where will you meet Ruk?
[X] The Crystal Garden
Do you tell Ruk about the Tenno?
[X] Yes
-[X] Inform Ruk about the number of Tenno forces
-[X] Offer Assistance (Compensation later)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You don't quite remember the Light of the Void being so empty.

The only time you had ever seen the inside of the Void Ship had been during your escape towards the Void Towers on the edge of the Origin system but that had been weeks of journeying through the cold of space, desperate to avoid the myriad enemies that would have loved to swoop down on one of the last of the Orokin. Everywhere you had walked on the ship had been filled with civilians, refugees like yourself, that had fled the Infection, Tenno Betrayal, and the Grineer rebellion. The hallways had been filled with parents fussing over their children, crewmembers going among their duties with a nervous energy and even the occasional Indentured in the background.

Now the hallways were eerily empty. Where there once was commotion and occupied space, there was only silence and loneliness that shared the halls of the now-ancient ship. You understood why there was such a long distance between any ship teleporter and any of the Void gates, giving the defenders a chance to keep any invaders from spreading through the ship, but it gave you enough time to be alone with your thoughts.

Everywhere you looked, you couldn't help imagining the faces of the people who shared the ship with you mere hours ago but by all likelihood died centuries ago. Was that who you were now? A centuries old relic that didn't have a place in this system anymore? Someone who should have died all those years ago with the rest of the Orokin? Faces flew through your mind, golden eyes shining bright with purpose and duty. Hundreds of Orokin went through your mind that would have been better at this than you, an Archimedian who spent the majority of her time in a lab or hoping to get back to one.
Logically, you knew there was no point in thinking about it but the doubts kept up their assault on your mental state.
And you didn't know if they were right or not...

Trait discovered: Guilt of the Living
Having been one of the only survivors of the Light of the Void and the Orokin, you find that you can't help wondering if you deserve to be the one standing at the end.
An increase to DC is randomly gained to actions you are involved in when there is no crisis needing to be dealt with.
Can be removed

Trait discovered: An Inheritor's Uncertainty
There were many Orokin in the empire and you are uncertain that you were the best choice.
A -10 malus is gained in actions where you have to command others in situations that you are unfamilliar with, outside of direct combat.
Can be removed.

Click to shrink...

It was unfortunately, questions for another time. Today, the Empire needed your expertise to lead what was left of the Light of the Void's crew (even if they were only Indentured on board).

And the first step to that is to confront what was infront of you, one by one.

As you were about to enter the Void Gate room, your mind drifted to when you had asked General Ruk if he had wanted help to defeat the Tenno. At first he had seemed surprised by either their presence or your offer to assist.
He had gained a tone of determination in his voice when he had answered you.

Spoiler: Ruk Assistance

DC:60 1d100-15(Proud and proud of it)+10(Ruk is no idiot)+10(MC is Female)= 85 (Critical: Unlocks Battle planning for Tenno Fight on Ruk's ship. Removes certain persuasion checks for future battle planning)

"We may... need assistance" Ruk had said begrudingly over the communication system. "Full Cooperation... would be wise. We may... discuss compensation after."

You don't know what that exactly meant but you are pretty sure that there might not be any problems from the Grineer's side when you plan the defense.
That took a backseat in your mind however as you entered the Gate room.

In front of you was what you recognized as an archeology site in progress, having been on a few yourself. The hazmat scientists were carefully combing through the room, taking pictures of the architecture and the chasm around the central platforms. Some of them had gathered around what seemed to be random spots around the room, presumably taking samples of the materials.
The armed, boxheaded people were simply wandering around the area, not seeming to give a care in their patrols around the room. One had even given up on the pretense of attempting to patrol and had sat down on some stairs leading up to the Gate and was staring intensely at a device in their hand.
More bipedal drones had also been activated but you also noted that their movements were unnaturally sluggish for a drone and seemed to be looking around unusually often.
After mentally comparing their behavior to what you knew about Imperial constructs, you came to two possible conclusions. Either the drones were of extremely low quality and had significant programming errors, which was unlikely, or that they had some sort of Low-level sapience and were just as bored as the Boxheads.
They were so bored, and the scientists so eagerly engrossed in their work, that they hadn't even noticed the door opening and you entering the room.

Spoiler: Corpus notice roll

1d100-15(Bored)+5(MOAs are also bored but have sensors)= 28 (yup, Don't notice anything)

And they continue to not notice your arrival. At all.
You walk further into the room and hear the door closing behind you. If you were honest with yourself, You were kind of nervous about actually confronting them now. All the scenarios in your head had the strangers immediately find out about your presence and ask about who you were. Then you would engage their scientists in some severe academic talks about the metallurgy and construction of the materials of the Void Gate and how to get the sufficient void resonance necessary to bridge space-time. Starting the conversation about such? You weren't exactly sure how to do that.
Well there were only two types of people

There were only two types of people you could actually talk to here, talking to the drones wouldn't likely end in your favor, and you needed to decide who...

Who do you try and engage with.
[] Scientists: You are a scientist, an Orokin scientist but a scientist none the less. If there was anyone you could have a proper conversation with, it would probably be one of them. You are also certain that you would attain a good relationship with them easily. The only downside you can imagine is that they might not have the authority to help you.
-[] Specifically?

[] Boxheads: If there is anyone who is likely to be in charge, they would probably be one of those people with guns. You aren't sure that you would get along with them as well as the scientists and you had no idea how they would react but they didn't seem like complete military and were obviously mot busy doing anything of academic significance.

What are you going to ask them to do?
[ ] Leave:
You can ask them to leave your ship peacefully. They most likely would listen.
[ ] Stay but don't touch:
Frankly, you have no allies beyond what is on this ship currently. Getting a connection with some friendly faces wouldn't hurt.
[ ] Write in:

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AN: Well there you guys go. It was meant to be longer but the Corpus are apparently too bored to notice you so...

 

[Inq. Halbread]

At[X] Boxheads: If there is anyone who is likely to be in charge, they would probably be one of those people with guns. You aren't sure that you would get along with them as well as the scientists and you had no idea how they would react but they didn't seem like complete military and were obviously mot busy doing anything of academic significance.
[X] Stay but don't touch:
Frankly, you have no allies beyond what is on this ship currently. Getting a connection with some friendly faces wouldn't hurt.

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In your head, you imagined long discussions with the scientists about the possible differences in architecture, construction and other sciences that may have changed after the fall of the Empire. Ever since you were an initiate, learning new things was always the brightest part of your day and a long academical discussion would have taken a lot of stress off your mind. Unfortunately, as much as you'd love to talk science, you knew that it was likely that it wouldn't get you anywhere in the immediate situation. Most of the time, the person in charge of an archeological site in a hostile environment was likely someone with a gun and in your experience, they didn't normally have higher education in the sciences.

So despite your desire to discuss science, you made your way to one of the lone boxheads on the side of the room.
He was leaning against the wall, looking at the swirling energy of the Void Gate, he seemed to be the perfect mix of bored and unalert in order to not receive an immediate hostile reaction if it came to that.
"Hello." You said to him in a hopefully friendly manner, making sure to say it in a more common dialect of English compared to what Orokin normally converse in.
"Yes?" came a deep voice from the boxhead as he shifted his frame so that you were in full view of the vision slit of his helmet.

Spoiler: Maybe he notices?

1d100+30(You really don't look like a Corpus scientist)= 107

Spoiler: Surprise!

1d100=2

"Woah!" He yells as he takes a stumbling step back from you. He fails to catch himself and falls on to his back with a loud clang that seems to resonate around the room.
Well that didn't go so well... You think to yourself as you watch the man try to pick himself up but struggling due to the apparent weight of the helmet. It was kind of pathetic really, he was managing to get about halfway to his knees before collapsing again, breathing heavily all the while. You wondered if he was new and wasn't used to the helmet or whether all the box heads acted like this.

You wonder internally if you should help him up but the question is answered for you when you hear the approaching, heavy clanks of metal boots.
"Hey! Derak! are you alright?" a voice comes from one of the approaching boxheads.
The man on the floor grunts in response.
The boxhead freezes as he spots you.
And so does the next one.
And the next one.
And the one after that.
Then one of the bipedal mechs stop by and stares at you with a low shrill.

The commotion continues to attract newcomers until you have everyone's and everything's attention.
You honestly had no idea what to do with any of this and so you simply stood there in the middle of the group of boxheads, scientists, and mechs alongside the flailing man.
On the bright side, no one has started shooting yet...
Itching for something to do, you decide to help the flailing man because the exhausted breathing was getting on your nerves and he sounded that he was going to have an asthma attack (as outdated a disease that was). As you reach for the prone man's hand, you managed to hear some of the onlookers shift their guns but you heard no charging of energy emitters or the clack of firing mechanisms so you figured that you were good.
You manage to grab his hand with ease and, thanks to your enhancements, manage to lift the man with one good tug despite him being slightly larger than you are and no doubt heavier.

"Are you okay?" you ask him, careful to stay in the common dialect.
He gives you a thumbs up and you get the impression that he is nodding based on the frequency of his breathing.
You make to stand up to your full height, looking over your masked audience as you do so.
Hopefully, this goes smoothly. I don't need more problems today.

Spoiler: Corpus Reaction to You.

1d100-10(Holy Shit!)+5(Helped Derak)+35(...Holy shit.)=94

Awkward silence penetrated the room despite the ambient sounds of the Void Gate. As the silence grew, you started feeling a bit uncomfortable.
Suddenly, one of the scientists moved out of the crowd and into the open space between you and the strangers.

"The Principles. Of the transference effect. Have been shown to be false. In this attempt of foolishness. of putting a construct in a. Larger construct." It surprised you that the scientist was speaking to you in the Orokin dialect of English even though his pronunciation was a bit off, mangling the smooth syllables, and he kept pausing as if to remember the exact words. You started to feel ecstatic!
His inefficiency in the dialect was enough to tell you that the High English was hardly in use in the system, but the fact that an obvious member of the scientific community knew about an obscure, untranslated text meant that there was a high chance that more texts survived the ravage of time as well!
You even remembered the text off by heart.

The Void Entanglement Theory by Archimedian Francis E Rec.

It was an interesting title... It was a shame that it was the text that was entangled rather than the void. Francis' discoveries about the Void's interaction with real space was integral to a great number of innovations, including the construction of the Void Towers. In order to make such discoveries, he had experimented on a Void rift for days on end without rest. To say that this had effects on his sanity went unsaid.

In his "theory", was actually hundreds of verifiable theories about the relation between the Void and real space, proofs of Principles thought unprovable, and even new laws that, while variable, are still relatively constant. Unfortunately, all this knowledge was hidden in humorously nonsensical rants and a chapter order that was more scrambled than scrambled eggs. It was required reading for every Archimedian initiate to both learn several fundamental Void theories and to learn how to search through utter nonsense to get necessary information.
You had never been so frustrated and amused by an academic paper in your life.

You decided to quote the next line to show them that you knew it.
"But it does not work in such a way to limit Frankenstien Radio Controls. And thus a large part of the bone is removed when there participates the ranged Deadly Touch Tarantula Spiders."
....
You had heard that proper pronunciation of the Orokin dialect sometimes sounded like singing. You couldn't tell whether the shocked silence was because of that, the utter nonsensical ramblings you just spouted or the fact that you fluently spoke a language that was ancient to them.

Your musings were interrupted when the scientist who spoke fell to his knees.

"It's true. You're one of them." He said in awe.

Judging from the shocked exclamations and people falling to their knees, you might need some explanations soon.

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It was a short while later that you finally left the Void Gate room. It was surprisingly easy to convince them to stop trying to bring an invasion force onto your Void ship and sit tight for one very important reason.

Apparently, you are a mythical figure in their culture.
More than the Orokin were to the average Imperial citizen at least.

They had come from a faction that had originated from the old merchant caste of the Empire. After the fall of the Empire, the surviving merchant famillies had come together to form the Corpus, named in honor of the famillial bonds they had all shared at the time. Now in recent times the Corpus have come to share dominance with the Grineer Empire (how the Grineer you knew managed that perplexes you) over the system and became the dominant economic and technological power in the system. Not surprising since their philosophy revolves around attaining profit, often at any cost. This philosophy bothered you somewhat with the emphasis of self advancement to the point of selfishness but it wasn't an argument for now.

The reason that you were a mythical figure is that the Corpus idealised the time of the Empire and as such, are still upset about the destruction of your people. When you had mentioned the Tenno, there were several snarls and grumbling about Betrayers. You had to agree with their sentiment.

Of course, there were definately going to be more effects of your presence than simply convincing people. One of the scientists was openly weeping as you left, loud sobs escaping the speaker of her hazmat suit. This was, thankfully, a problem for later when you weren't in the presence of the greatest weapons the Empire had made.

The reason you had come down here for was a success though. The Corpus wouldn't be causing any problems for now at least.

As you reached the teleporter and keyed in the bridge teleport code, you mentally prepared yourself for what you needed to do next.
You had a battle to plan.

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[Tew]

Holy shit, reading time

 

[Inq. Halbread]

Welcome to the first battle planning session. In these, I give you guys give you the details of what is going on, your object what forces and capabilities that your allies and you have and What you could expect of your enemies based on what you know.
I won't be giving you set battle plans unless you ask, instead letting your imagination and creativity run wild with possibilities.

This is experimental and if it doesn't go well I will move to a more traditional "choose between several plans" thing but I feel that it removes a lot of agency in a quest that is going to have a lot of fights in it.
Feel free to ask questions and the like and I will answer when I can.

BATTLE PLANNING: The Revenge of a Bygone era

Objectives:

• Defeat the Tenno Invading General Ruk's ship.
• Sargeras Ruk must survive
• (Optional) Do not reveal your return to the Tenno
• (Optional) Destroy all four Warframes
• (Optional) Make the Tenno fear your wrath

Battlefield:
Experimental Grineer Frigate.

• Many cramped corridors and small rooms with a few exceptionally large rooms.
• Grineer construction offers plenty of cover both in the corridors and large rooms.
• Some areas of the ship are still under construction and thus there may exist unconventional routes through the ship.
• (Due to being informed of the Tenno) The ship is in lockdown and requires either bypassing locked doors by hacking, breaking them or hacking through them. (Invaders progress through the ship is slowed)

Allies:

600 Grineer Lancers

Standard Grineer Infantry. Grineer male clones that are fitted wth simple ferrite armor and given simple Grineer Rifles. Accuracy and weapon power are terrible along with survivability.
Deployed en masse to overwhelm enemies through sheer numbers.

Traits:

• We are Legion!: Morale is considered at Fearless level when in a group of other Grineer.
• Complete Loyalty: Will never betray their faction.
• Trained: Are trained for combat
• Mobile cover: Some Lancers carry a Blunt, Inflatable mobile cover that can be quickly deployed for units to use.

Click to shrink...

500 Grineer troopers

Grineer lancers with heavier Armor and a shotgun.

• We are Legion!: Morale is considered at Fearless level when in a group of other Grineer.
• Complete Loyalty: Will never betray their faction.
• Trained: Are trained for combat

Click to shrink...

450 Grineer Seekers

Grineer lancers who are equipped with grineer pistols and can deploy small rolling automatons that latch onto enemies and explode for significant damage.

• We are Legion!: Morale is considered at Fearless level when in a group of other Grineer.
• Complete Loyalty: Will never betray their faction.
• Trained: Are trained for combat
• In the back: Stays out of the center of the fire fight

Click to shrink...

300 Grineer Shielders

Grineer lancers with light armour but is equipped with a heavy shield and a pistol.

• We are Legion!: Morale is considered at Fearless level when in a group of other Grineer.
• Complete Loyalty: Will never betray their faction.
• Trained: Are trained for combat
• Stand Behind me!: Carries a shield that is impervious to most weapons without excessive penetration power. Has a vision slit in the shield which is a weak spot

Click to shrink...

400 Grineer Butchers

Grineer male soldiers who were too defective to use guns and is equipped with light armor and a grineer war cleaver.

• Waaaaaaagh!: Will suicidally charge into combat.
• Complete Loyalty: Will never betray their faction.

Click to shrink...

250 Grineer Balistas

Grineer female soldiers equipped with Grineer Sniper rifles. Have slightly heavier armour than their lancer counterparts

• We are Legion!: Morale is considered at Fearless level when in a group of other Grineer.
• Complete Loyalty: Will never betray their faction.
• Trained: Are trained for combat
• Sniper: Trained for sniping and can quickly lock on and fire on targets

Click to shrink...

50 Grineer Bombards.

Huge Grineer males with excessively heavy armor. Equipped with heavy damage Grineer Rocket launchers.

• We are Legion!: Morale is considered at Fearless level when in a group of other Grineer.
• Complete Loyalty: Will never betray their faction.
• Trained: Are trained for combat
• Walking tank: Due to heavy armor, can only be damaged by heavy damage weapons.
• Homing Rockets: The rockets that the Bombard fires home in on their target.

Click to shrink...

250 Grineer Heavy Gunners

Huge Grineer Females with Heavy armor. Equipped with a heavy Grineer Machine gun.

• We are Legion!: Morale is considered at Fearless level when in a group of other Grineer.
• Complete Loyalty: Will never betray their faction.
• Trained: Are trained for combat
• Shockwave: Can cause a shockwave to knockdown enemies around them
• Heavy armor: The heavy armor makes the wearer very resistant to damage.
• Heavy Gun: The Gorgon machine gun takes a moment to spin up but fires extremely quickly and amazingly accurately.

Click to shrink...

General Sargas Ruk

General of the Grineer Forces for this battle. He is heavily augmented by cybernetics and has become a powerhouse through sheer weaponry, tactics, and the near invulnerability of his armor.
He is armed with a powerful heat cannon that can be used as a flamethrower and be used to make use of heavy-duty abilities.

Traits:

• Blast grenades: Can shoot a volitile, fire grenade that explodes on contact
• Flame Blast: Slams the ground while spraying fire, creating an expanding dome of fire
• Inferno: Slams the round and redirects fire into pillars that erupt from the ground.
• Unstoppable: Is immune to damage from most weapons
• Weak Spots: Has several generators that are comparitively vulnerable
• Inspiring: Increases the abilities of nearby Grineer and gives them an additional bonus to rolls when Ruk is in command
• Intelligent: Ruk is smarter than the average Grineer and it definately shows, capable of using advanced tactics and techniques
• Honor-bound: Ruk has a code of honor and greatly disrespects those who dont have one too (like Tenno). Cannot engage in Betrayal or underhanded actions.
• Battle lust: His whole life has fed the insatiable hunger of battle within him that exists in most Grineer. Cannot retreat from combat.
• For the General: While present, Grineer automatically succeed reinforcement roles.

Click to shrink...

Your forces:

Celes Valir
[See character page]

Dahvek
[See Character page]

Gordys
[See character page]

?????????
??????????????????????

20 000 Ancient Indentured

Indentured that have lived long enough to lose all their organic parts and become fully robotic. They have heavy armour and shields and carry heat based Plasma casters into battle (for now)

Traits:

• For the Orokin!: The mask of the Indentured prevents disloyalty. Cannot be mind controlled, panicked, terrified or confused.
• Heavily shielded: They have a large shield capacity and a quick recharge time, making strong damage over a short time extremely necessary.
• Heavily armored: This unit has heavy armor and can only be directly damaged by heavy penetration or heavy dmage weapons.
• Plasma Caster: Fires superheated plasma and does both magnetic (good against shields) damage and heat damage (good against flesh). The heat of the plasma is such that it can melt away most armors given enough shots.
• Ancient Indentured: This individual has been Indentured long enough for the body to have been replaced by robotics. They get the robotics trait( Better accuracy, reaction speed and strength) but is immune to hacking.
• Robotic: The robotic nature of this individual has given them pinpoint accuracy and increased Hardness to damage. This individual is capable of existing even through loss of limbs or severe internal damage. Is more vulnerable to Electricity and Magnenetic damage.
• Persistance: If the mask is not destroyed, the body can be rebuilt therefore restoring the Indentured. The Mask is comparitivly, greatly resistant compared to the rest of the Indentured.

Click to shrink...

Orokin Drones

Orokin maintenance drones that have been temporarily changed to become shield drones.

• Mass producible: They are easy and quick to make, even in the midst of battle. You essentially have an unlimited supply.
• Shield booster: This unit either boosts or adds significant shields to friendly target in a medium radius around it, even other shield drones. Shields are also instantly replenished once they receive the boosts and the boost is removed when the unit leaves the affected area or the drone is destroyed. Cannot target self.

Click to shrink...

Utility Powers:

Orokin teleporter:
Able to teleport units instantly from one point to another, there are no reinforcement and deployment rolls or time for units using the teleporter. Units repositioning must wait a few seconds and pass an easy roll in chaotic situations.

Grineer Alertness:
The Grineer are on full alert and the alarm can not be switched off and the alert level will not lower.

General Ruk's Action:
General Ruk plans to spread Grineer throughout the ship and converge on the Tenno when they are spotted. He hopes to eliminate them through sheer force of the Grineer. After the Tenno are spotted, Ruk will move towards the battle in the hopes to join it.
(Due to an earlier success, you may change this action without a roll but Ruk will not listen if you suggest retreating or not engaging the Tenno.)

Dahvek's suggestion:

He agrees with Ruk's attitude but suggests that the Tenno should rather be drawn into a trap, using Ruk as bait as he is their objective afterall. This allows and easier time of preparation and less wait time for convergence. He admits that instead of a mess of running battles it would be one critical one, but he believes that it is worth it.

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[Inq. Halbread]

Enemies:

Volt (Awakened)

This warframe channels the power of the Tenno into the manipulation of electricity. Even though the Warframe is not extremely durable, It utilises heavy shielding to ensure its survivability.

Traits:

• Shock: launches an arc of electricity that chains across multiple targets, stunning and damaging them.
• Speed: Supercharges the mobility of the Warframe and their allies, increasing their speed excessivley for a short duration.
• Shield: Creates a wall of electical charge that blocks all damage going through unless fired by an ally. lasts for a short duration.
• Overcharge: Ionizes all nearby hostile entities in a radius around Volt, Stunning them and electrifying them and others around them for a duration.
• High Shields: This individual has a large amount of shields with a short recharge time.
• Warframe: Like all Warframes, it has extreme mobility, regenerating durability, superhuman Strength and the ability to manipulate void energy.
• Electricity manipulation: Thanks to the experience of manipulating electricity, Volt can infuse electricity into certain attacks and takes reduced electricity damage to its health.
• Awakened: ???? (If you are wondering why... Its cause no one on your side knows what this means)

Weapons:
Tiberon
Spira
Dual Heat swords

Celes Note:
Despite the High amount of shields, the volt isn't going to survive more than two volleys from a group of Indentured. The biggest problem is that Volts are capable of doing massive damage to pretty much anything in their way but if the volt is focused down first then it can't do anything particularly damaging.

Click to shrink...

Mag

This Warframe channels the powers of the Tenno into mastery of Magnitism. This Warframe also has High shields but is pretty fragile.

• Pull: The Warframe uses magnetism to pull targets to it in a cone infront of it. This deals Magnetism damage
• Magnitise: Creates a magnetic field around a target, ensnaring nearby enemies and dealing damage over time. This also attracts small, magnetic objects towards the field, possibly damaging enemies.
• Polarization: Emit an energy pulse that depletes enemy shields and armor, creating shards which become deadly when mixed with Magnetize. Shields of allies touched by the pulse are restored. Temporarily stuns Electronics
• Crush: Magnetizes the bones of nearby enemies, causing them to collapse upon themselves. Affects robots greatly.
• High Shields: This individual has a large amount of shields with a short recharge time.
• Fragile: This individual is fragile but moves faster because of it.
• Warframe: Like all Warframes, it has extreme mobility, regenerating durability, superhuman Strength and the ability to manipulate void energy.
• Magnetic Manipulation: This frame can manipulate magnetism. Thus it is harder to hit with ballistic weapons.

Weapon
Paris (longbow)
Lato
Bo staff

Celes Note:
A particularly annoying Warframe for Indentured to fight as it is capable of doing massive damage by simply existing near them. However, as a lot of Grineer material is non-magnetic according to Ruk, It might be best to let this Warframe be the priority for the Grineer

Click to shrink...

Excalibur

This Warframe channels the power of the Tenno into summoning an energy blade known as the Exalted Blade that can cut through most things. It is moderately durable and has an innate skill with blades.

Traits:

• Blade Dash: Dashes forward with the Exalted Blade, slashing targets with it.
• Radial Blind: Emits a bright flash of light, blinding nearby enemies in a small radius for several seconds. Does not Stun.
• Radial Javilin: Creates several ethereal javelins in the air and launches them at enemies in a small range.
• Exalted Blade: Summons a powerful blade of pure energy to the Warframe. It blinds enemies upon summoning and does high mounts of damage.
• Swordsman: This warframe has an innate skill with blades, Swords skill is at Advanced level.
• Warframe: Like all Warframes, it has extreme mobility, regenerating durability, superhuman Strength and the ability to manipulate void energy.

Weapons:
Burston
Kunai
Skana

Celes Note:
Essentially the jack of all trades for the group with neither heavy armor or heavy shields. The Exalted blade is a deadly piece of the Excalibur's arsenal but it is a lot harder for the warframe to block energy projectiles with it. The optimal strategy would probably be to destroy it before it gets into melee range.

Click to shrink...

Rhino (Awakened)

This Warframe channels the power of the Tenno into feats of extreme strength. Even though it lacks shield strength, it has an abundance of armor.

Traits:

• Charge: The Warframe uses its immense strength to charge forward extremely quickly in a certain distance, goring the target and bludgeoning anything too close.
• Iron Skin: The Rhino hardens his skin in order to insulate himself from damage. Iron skin absorbs all damage for Rhino until the skin is destroyed.
• Roar: The Rhino unleases a void-infused roar that increases the damage that allies do in a certain radius around the Rhino.
• Stomp: The Rhino stomps with such force that Void energy disrupts space-time in a radius around the stomp, suspending nearby enemies in displaced time and doing heavy damage.
• Heavy Armour: This unit has heavy armor and needs to get hit with heavy damage in order for it to be hurt.
• Warframe: Like all Warframes, it has extreme mobility, regenerating durability, superhuman Strength and the ability to manipulate void energy.
• Heavy Landing: The mass of the Rhino is so great that if the Rhino is moving at sufficent speed and strikes a surface, a shock wave will be created.
• Awakened: ????????

Weapons:
Tonkor
Lato
Gram

Celes note:
If anything, The Rhino is going to be the one that lasts the longest in this fight. The good news is that Iron Skin doesn't have any resistances so even the worst of weapons can deplete it. The Indentured or Heavy Gunners and Bombards would probably be best to face off against the Rhino. Tank Warfare at its finest.

Ruk Note:
I have fought this type before. While they are a lot less squishy than the others, they cannot resist the flames for long.

Click to shrink...

Dahvek Action:

Dahvek can help organise the battle from the Light of the Void, providing a +10 bonus to tactics rolls for all units.
He can also join the battle, greatly contributing to it and grants a +10 battle rolls for Orokin units.
Of course, this isn't set in stone and can do something else.

Gordys Action:

After explaining what you knew about the Lisets, Gordys wants to attempt to disrupt the Transference of the Tenno through the Liset systems. He also suggests disrupting communication so that the outside world has a harder time of contacting the Tenno.
Of course, he can also focus on directing the Shield Drones or the Teleporter, increasing the speed and efficency of either.
These are only suggestions however.

Celes Action:

While you hate to admit it, Taking on a tenno cell like this has happened more times than you would like and you could probably contribute greatly to the fight. The unfortunate thing with that is that there would be absolutely no subtlety whatsoever and all the Tenno would know that an Orokin is still alive.
You could also stay on the Light of the Void managing one of the systems or providing logistical support, waiting in case the situation degrades.

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[Inq. Halbread]

[X] Plan Herding Cats BY Fated Bread

All units:
Do not engage any shadowy looking murder ninja if it doesn't shoot you. Might be our mysterious ally.

Grineer:
Battleground
- Large room with fixed Ramparts
- Set up additional Portable Ramparts
- Deploy portable cover of the lancers in front and at vantage points (for snipers)

Units
- Moderate no. of Balistas positioned at vantage points (far from entrance), tasked with focusing Mag then Volt — dealing high Impact damage suited for taking down shields
- High no. of Bombards (35?) present, to fire on Tenno formation upon entrance to force them to separate or take heavy damage, before focusing on the Mag.
- High no. of Heavy gunners (65?) and Ramparts to fire on Tenno forces, to deal damage and provide covering fire for other units
- Frontline of Shielders and Troopers to protect units and 'impede' Warframes
- Seekers in the back to harry the Exaclibur with their rolling bombs and keep it away
- Remaining units are placed along route to room in entrenched positions with ramparts. Mix of remaining units manning positions, aim is attrition and preventing suspicion
- Trap possible alternative routes with explosives (like those from Seekers)
- Reinforcements to follow Tennos in from behind for a killzone and to cut off escape. (Support with Orokin teleporter if necessary, drop them a distance away to minimise suspicion)

General Ruk
- Support the initial salvo from Bombards using Blast Grenades
- When Tenno close, push Tenno away from units and use flamethrower for some close-quarters cooking. Only use abilities that require cooling when covered by Bombards, Heavy Gunners or Ramparts.

Orokin:
Units
- Once the Volt is fairly isolated (by initial salvo), teleport Ancient Indentured (60?) supported by shield drones behind it to catch it in the crossfire and quickly down it.
- Then focus on the Mag (if not downed by Grineer), Excalibur then Rhino, in that order.

Dahvek
- Organise the battle from Light of the Void
- Teleport in and intervene if Ruk looks to fall

Gordys
- Disrupt transference during initial entrance to boss room to hinder their positioning
- Disrupt communications afterwards

Celes
- Boost Shield drones
- ...Maybe task a drone to make a victory prize for Ruk

Click to shrink...

It had taken a while to explain the plan but you were thankful that you had a patient audience. After you had finished your piece, you could see that Dahvek was happy that you were using a variation of his plan even though he didn't say anything.

"It is an, interesting idea," Came Ruk's voice from the console. "I have an, Idea. On where to, fortify."
An image of a large room appeared on the holoprojector, sent by General Ruk. The room was amazingly large for a ship that size. It had a large, clear floor area with a large door in the middle. It had three levels above that had walkways that crisscrossed the open space. From what you remembered of the Tenno, the catwalks were too high to reach for a single jump. There were three Large turrets, which Ruk referred to as Ramparts, in positions that meant that most of the room was actually in view of one of these turrets.
"This is the, Loading chamber, for the main guns. It is large enough, for the Grineer, to bring our true, strength."

Dahvek used his smaller hand to enlarge the image.
"It looks defensible enough. But what if the Tenno make it to the walkways? There will be cover from the Grineer on the ground."
"The Bombards, can remote control their rockets, which will make sure, that no cover, is safe. Balistas will also be, on the
catwalks."

Dahvek nodded, satisfied with those answers. After the planning session, you were pretty satisfied as well. Eventually you all managed to decide where two portable Ramparts would be set up so that every point in the room would be in sight of at least one Rampart.

After all the planning was done, Ruk assured that the battlefield will be completely fortified in ten minutes and went to order his troops.

As Dahvek connected to the Grineer equivalent of a Command and Control network, you watched the fortification with a cloaked maintenance drone that had been transported to the ship to increase the accuracy of the teleporter.

The Grineer were like ants. All of a sudden, at least a hundred Grineer had walked into the bay and one of them had shouted at the ones standing guard. The guards nodded and then like a well-oiled machine, the Grineer fortified the area. Groups of Grineer were setting up the heavy turrets with almost machine like efficiency while their fellows put down inflatable cover in all the positions that had been discussed before hand. You could even see the Gunners and Bombards lending their strength to carry ammunition while Lancers and Ballistas set up om the walkways. Then you had even seen Ruk, entering the room and directing the nearby Grineer to make adjustments to the fortifications with nothing but grunts and gestures with his hand and cannon.

Before you could ask about how he was directing them, Dahvek told you that he was essentially rapidly sending text-based messages over the network with nothing but his cybernetics.
You haven't seen them fight but you could see that they were really good at fortifying a position.

You began your own preparations, fixing errors and linking up the systems of the maintenance drones that were going to be used as shield drones for your forces.
You really hoped that all of this was Overkill and not barely adequate.

Factional Trait Discovered:
Grineer Fortification:
Grineer are able to reroll construction rolls of fortifications as long as they are uninterrupted until they have a success.

=======================================================================

This was the moment where everything came together.

The few moments during insertion, where the landing craft was coming down for drop-off, were the most important and the most vulnerable for a Tenno on a mission. A single unseen Anti-air cannon or a single observant eye could spell the end of the infiltrating Liset and the Tenno inside.

As Richard's Liset approached Ruk's current ship, he felt the sense of trepidation that he had always felt before he started a mission. It didn't help that this was the Sargas Ruk that they were hunting, A Grineer that was significantly more clever than his fellows and the survivor of countless assasination attempts. Richard himself had tried to kill Ruk multiple times and each time the cybernetic general had survived, even when his ship had collapsed and burned around him.

This was probably the first time that an assasination might work. Ruk had quickly abandoned his forces and ships in order to try to catch up with the Roaming Derelict. One of the few derelict Void ships from the Orokin era that still moved and the only one that hadn't suffered from infestation or scavengers over that time.
To say that it would be a bad idea to let the Grineer get a hold of whatever was inside is an understatement.

Ruk was obsessed with using the past to build Grineer glory into the future so hoping that he wouldn't take the ship apart looking for ancient weapons would be misguided as well. The Lotus had no idea what could be on that ship and coupled with Ruk's determination, it could spell doom for all the innocents of the Origin System.

That was why defeating Ruk was so important now, when he was so close to his objective and yet so far away from any help that he could use against any assailants. This was a rare opportunity to remove Ruk as a threat, permanently.
Hence that was why only a few Tenno were going on this mission.

General Ruk had done an admittedly impressive job of concealing his expedition to the speeding derilict from his enemies within and without the Grineer. Thankfully, the Lotus found out from one of her numerous contacts but only at the last minute. So that was why only one Cell was going after Ruk instead of a hundred.

Richard felt a sudden deceleration in both his body and his warframe, telling him that it was almost time for deployment. In a maneuver that was so sharp and quick that it would rip any lesser ship apart, the arrow-shaped Liset turned on its own axis and attached to the Grineer ship hull at such a speed that no one would have been able to track it with the human eye.

At the sound of the Liset cutting into the Grineer hull plates, Richard fully immersed himself into his Warframe, feeling the electricity surge through the Volt Warframe he was inhabiting in the deployment chamber.
As he waited, Richard could feel the small doubts niggling away at him again. He and another Tenno, Blackheart, were the only two awakened tenno in the cell where the others were still dreaming in a lost chamber on Lua while subconsciously controlling their Warframes.

Richard was worried about them. No one could deny the skill of any Tenno, awakened or not, but there was something to be said for fighting while completely aware. He had also heard of Blackheart before and if the name that he had chosen for himself was any indication, he probably wasn't the type to care for their less aware cell members.

There was nothing for it though as there wasn't enough time to be picky over who was in the squad.
Richard finally heard a clank as the Liset finally burrowed through the hull and Richard watched as the deployment capsule rotated, allowing Richard to enter the ship.

As he travelled to the renduvous point, he could only hope that the mission went well.

"Sargas Ruk has survived numerous assasination attempts by other Grineer and Tenno alike. This is a rare opportunity to make sure that he doesn't threaten the system again. The Grineer seem to have seen you coming and have fortified the ship. Be careful Tenno... Kill the Target and extract immediately."

Richard smiled at the worried tone that the Lotus had in her voice for them. She normally maintained a neutral tone but there were rare moments where she showed her concern for the Tenno, who she considered her children.

"Don't worry Lotus," Richard said in a calming tone. "We'll be fine."
============================================================

Spoiler: Grineer checkpoints

The Grineer have set up ten checkpoints across the main route to General Ruk with ten lancers, five troopers, two butchers, three Heavy gunners, one Balista and a Bombard with a Portable Rampart. The rest of the Grineer have set up in the Room that Ruk has fortified or prepared for rapid deployment.
Grineer Trap set up roll: 1d100= 41 (fail. rerolling), 63.
Grineer manage to successfully trap the unfinished areas of the ship. Tenno must roll five successes in order to sneak through without triggering the traps.

Tenno attempt to investigate Unfinished Area
DC: 80, 50. 1d100+20(Lotus)= 73
Tenno discover that Unfinished area is trapped. They did not discover the locations of the traps.

Tenno decide to attempt to sneak through the checkpoints.

Checkpoint roll:
1d100+10(High Alert)+5(Dahvek) vs 1d100+40(Tenno)-5(Rhino)

1: 85 vs 52

Grineer engage Tenno! Tenno attempt to escape!

1d100+10(High alert)+10(Rampart) vs 1d100+30(Tenno)= 82 vs 45
Tenno are forced to fight.
??? : 1d100= 100
1d4=4
Tenno Eliminated

Richard lamented on how quickly things had gone wrong.
The Lotus had told them that the Grineer were waiting for them but they hadn't expected the sheer amount of preparation. As a rule, the Tenno only attacked when they had the element of surprise and this mission was the exact reason why that rule existed.

Originally, they had agreed to see if they could travel through the unfinished sections of the ship to avoid whatever fortifications were set up through the main pathways, despite the scoff coming from Blackheart's Rhino Warframe. It was fortunate that they did because Richard had found traps...
Hundreds of traps that were all designed to make those sections collapse the moment that the explosives were triggered. Had there been a Limbo, Loki or a Banshee in the squad, it would have been possible to navigate the boobytrapped section but a squad of a Volt, Rhino, Excalibur and Mag would be completely blind to the possible traps. Some of the traps that they had found were purposefully hidden in active power conduits, nullifying a Volt's sense of electricity.
Who knew where else the Grineer had hidden the other traps?

In the face of the possible utter failure of their mission, Blackheart had the suggestion of storming past the Grineer fortifications. Richard had reluctantly agreed, hoping that everyone could get past the Grineer quickly and not get delayed by fighting.

It hadn't gone as planned. The Tenno had burst through the door to the first Grineer checkpoint and the squad was greeted with the raised Grakatas of Grineer and the Whirring of a portable Rampart. Richard only barely managed to put up an electric shield before the Tenno were greeted by hordes of bullets.
There was no possible way to get through the Grineer without fighting at this point.
Thankfully, they were Tenno and fighting through would be a simple matter.

Sienna, slumbering in her Mag Warframe, started by magnetising the Bombard next to the Rampart. Bombards were heavily armoured but they couldn't survive the onslaught of bullets that impacted it, fired by his brethren's own weapons. Blackheart wasn't idle and he threw himself into the group of Grineer, Tonkor firing Grenades into the scattered Lancers, killing at least three. One had gotten close to him and aimed a punch at Blackheart's head.
With a twitch and the sound of crystals, Blackheart activated his Iron Skin and let the punch continue uninterrupted. There was a sickening crunch as the fist crumpled in on itself as it collided with the hardened Rhino's head. With a single swing of his huge sword, Blackheart ended the Injured Lancer's pain.

The Excalibur, who hadn't chosen a name in his slumber, charged as well, firing his rifle at the various Grineer as it summoned ethereal swords above his head and sending them at the surrounding Grineer forces. Richard saw that one sword had impaled a Heavy Gunner in the throat and she was clawing her hands through the intangible sword in a futile attempt to remove it she died. As it fell dead, Richard launced an arc of electricity at the Ballista behind it, frying the female Grineer and a butcher and troopers around her including the Rampart operator.

Mere seconds after that, the fight was over, the Grineer having been swiftly dealt with.
Such was expected of a Tenno but the seconds used here was seconds that Ruk could use to make the mission harder.
"Good Work Tenno," Richard started. "We need to be more careful from now on. Any delays will give the Grineer the opportunity to act against us."
Excalibur and Sienna nodded while Blackheart merely strolled away.

"Delays huh? If we hadn't wasted time on investigating a useless route and attacked the Grineer head on, Ruk would be dead already."
Richard glared as Blackheart's deep voice resonated from the Rhino, annoyance clear in his tone.
"And if the route wasn't trapped then Ruk would have been killed a lot more quickly. It happened and now we need to adapt as Tenno should."
Blackheart scoffed as he approached the door.
"Don't even try that with me. There are good decisions and bad-"
TWACK.

Richard looked up at Blackheart, curious to the reason he stopped speaking.
What he didn't expect was to see a black arrow inserted into his chest, smoking with some sort of shadow and blue flame.
His shock abruptly broke as Blackheart collapsed onto his back and burst into flames.
"Bla-!" Richard didn't manage to finish as he was interrupted by a sudden pain in his Warframe's back and then Everything was in pain.

As he fell to the ground, he tried clearing his mind of the pain, trying to focus and disassociate himself with his Warframe.
He could hear Ordis yelling at him to cut the Transferrence link but he couldn't do so. The sheer pain that his Warframe was feeling kept him from concentrating.
Out of the fogginess of his pain-addled mind, Richard could hear footsteps.
"You Tenno were never observant. Not then and not now."
Richard recognised that voice. There was only one person that he knew in the system that spoke in such a hissing tone and spoke that dialect of the Orokin language.

"Stalker..." Richard ground out, using the pain to check on his allies.
Blackheart was lying a small distance away, his Warframe having been burnt to the point that it looked ruined. Sienna's had been disabled with an arrow through the head, arrow angled at such an angle as to destroy the Neuroptics of the Warframe. Excalibur's Warframe was unique in the way that it was lying on the ground, headless.
No... How? Richard wondered to himself. He felt the Panic rise in his gut as he gazed upon the Destroyed Warframes around him.
Four Tenno having been defeated in a single surprise attack.... It wasn't possible. Richard had fought Stalker on multiple occasions and he had never been able to do something like this. Richard had managed to fight him off many times with this Warframe alone.

Richard felt the pit of his stomach sink as a realisation fell upon him.
All this time... Has Stalker been going easy on us?
Now Richard couldn't move, the pain escalated to unbearable levels whenever he tried, and he felt fear at the prospect of being helpless around someone like Stalker.
His fear only intensified as Stalker's dark grey and red feet entered his vision.
"The Punishment for messing with affairs that you don't understand is almost complete..." Stalker hissed as the Excalibur's head dropped into Richard's vision, dropped by Stalker. Richard strained to stare up at Stalker. If he was going to be defeated here, he was going to Look at Stalker full on.

After a momentary struggle, Richard managed to get into a kneeling position. He took in the mixture of Sentient technology and Warframe that was Stalker's armor. It was different from he remembered, it looked as though a lot of the obviously Sentient pieces had been roughly removed or damaged. With a small flourish, Stalker silently drew a large Scythe into his right hand from his hand. It was Hate, Stalker's custom built Scythe, known to swiftly cut through Warframes like paper in the hands of Stalker. War, Hunhow's consciousness in a sword, was nowhere to be seen.
"What's wrong, Stalker? Have a fight with your Robot dad?"
Stalker scoffed.
"I have a new purpose now and you would not understand loyalty to something greater than yourself. I will not let you or your Lotus interfere in that purpose."
He readied his scythe.
"Now run Tenno, Leave before I rip you out of your pod and finish what I started."
As Stalker swinged his scythe, Richard felt his conciousness lurch back into his own body.
His eyes shot open as he fell out of the Transference pod and he emptied the contents of his stomach onto the room's floor.

"Ordis," Richard croaked out after he had nothing left in his stomach.
"Operator?" Ordis asked hesitantly, clearly worried for Richard's wellbeing,
"Get us out of here." Richard said as he sat against the pod, attempting to get control of his body again.

What Darvo had said to him was correct.
Mondays were horrible...

================================================================================

The Lotus watched the recording of the 'fight' for the 30678th time since it happened approximately one minuite ago. She took note of every detail of every second in the footage from every Warframe and even the hacked Grineer security cameras were used in her analysis, despite the relativley low resolution of the footage.

She was worried over the Tenno, losing a Warframe while being connected to it was traumatic for a lot of Tenno but her worries had abated somewhat as she saw that the Slumbering Tenno's vitals were still stable in their Reserviour pods and that Richard and Blackheart were shaken but estimated to make a full recovery. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do for them but comfort them, and she controlled two of her Avatars in order to do just that. She also directed a spare Process to transfer the still slumbering Tenno's conciousnesses to new Warframes.

The rest of her spare Processes were dedicated to analysing exactly what happened. The best way to protect her children was to discover exactly what happened and protect them from it in the future.
It had started reasonably enough, the Tenno were standing around as Richard tried to inspire his teammates and Blackheart voiced his frustration over the cautious approach to the mission. The friction between Richard and Blackheart had been calculated to be a 87% likelyhood so it was perfectly logical for them to act in such a way. The event that had occoured was that Arrows, covered in Void energy, had materialised out of thin air and penetrated the defenses of all the Warframes there and a scythe, wreathed in shadow and Void had materialised along with Stalker and decapitated Excalibur, both ablilities that Stalker had never demonstrated. It had been a surprise to The Lotus that Stalker was present but he had been observed stalking targets to Odd places in the Origin System so that wasn't too unexpected. An eventual disagreement with her father was also 96% likely so it did not surprise her that he had removed all of the safe guards and technology that Hunhow had implanted in him, albiet in a very crude manner.
No, what had surprised her was his powerlevel.

Stalker was strong for a Tenno-like entity and had been known to take on entire Tenno cells and win. However, if he had attacked this Tenno squad head-on, She would have given him a 76% chance of losing at his recorded powerlevel. The amount of Void Energy that he was channeling however, was significantly greater than had ever been recorded from a Warframe barring the original Tenno's Warframes and that led the Lotus to a startiling revelation, one that caused 10 circuits to sputter.
The Stalker had been holding back, a lot.
At his new Estimated threat level, it was entirely possible that he could have defeated any of the Original Tenno with only significant effort, especially with Stalker's apparent focus on hidden attacks.

An equally interesting point was Stalker's words.
"I have a new purpose now and you would not understand loyalty to something greater than yourself."
It was curious that Stalker had said something to that effect but that investigation could wait as The Lotus recieved a notification from the Process that was assigned to analyse the forign code that had been found in the Grineer computer systems. It was a result that had made her feel that her cooling unit had increased power by 40%.
It was Orokin code.

Hundreds of possible causes sped through The Lotus' mind in seconds, each cause being investigated through logic engines and databases in milliseconds.
A second later, she had found the most likely answer.
An Uncorrupted Orokin Cephelon was on the Void derelict.
With that revelation, other things made sense. Why the derelict hadn't been boarded over the centuries and how the Grineer knew that the Tenno were coming were easily answered by the Existance of such a Cephelon on that ship.
And it had helped the Grineer...
...
It was too dangerous to the balance of the system to remain free. It needed to be destroyed.
Accessing schematics that haven't been touched in a century, she noticed that direct access to the Cephelon could be found at the Bridge of the Void ship.

With a mental shrug, she split off four Processes from her self and downloaded them to the Security Drones in the depths of each Tenno Orbiter.
With another command, she configured them into drones she needed.
Two Conculysts and Two Battleysts in total.
Then, final command to activate their matter translocators to transport to the bridge directly.

It had only taken a second for the transport to complete and Lotus was immediately hit with the feeling of pain, something that she hadn't felt since...
Directing the Battlysts optics towards the disturbance, she saw a dark-haired human woman with pale skin that was marked by Void energy lines, an elaborate mixture of armor and robes protecting it and what seemed to be a combat frame on her back.
The one feature that the Lotus focused on was the eyes, Eyes that held bright gold irises.

Orokin.

=================================================

You stared down at the carnage that the footage from the Grineer camera showed you.
It had first started with observing the Tenno decimate the Grineer at the checkpoint, showcasing their almost trademark lethality.
It had ended with a Tenno in Dark grey and red armour destroying the other Tenno's Warframes in moments. It was even more surprising that you recognised him.

Stalker, Shadow of the Empire.

He was one of the Most loyal Tenno in the Empire. He was able to assasinate Sentient Hub Avatars and even the most valuble pieces in the Infested Hive Mind without even a whisper. You had heard of his prowess but you had never thought to actually see it occour with your own eyes. You had assumed that he had died in the Rebellion or the centuries afterwards but no, here he was, destroying the Tenno and making your hard thought plans mostly worthless.
You weren't midly irked by that, no matter what other people might say...

"Well that was something." Dahvek commented from his postition at one of the bridge consoles, he had managed to coordinate the Grineer to at least delay the Tenno, holding no illusions to how long they would last in Open combat. If Sentients couldn't stand against a Tenno cell, then what chance did small numbers of mass-produced soldiers have?

"Gordys," You spoke up after a few long moments of watching the dead Warframes lying on the ground. "Is he the one who sent the message?"
Gordys' avatar appeared next to the holographic feed
"Yes, Mistress. It seems that The Shadow of the Empire is the one who sent the message earlier as the messages coding and what I can see of his Warframe coding is similar."
You nodded. As interesting as that was, you needed to figure out what to do about Ruk now. He did agree to help you and you felt that deserved a token of your appreciation even if he didn't earn a battle trophy like you thought he would.

It was a thought that you were suddenly broken out of as you felt a sudden build of pressure in the room.
"Mistress!" Gordys shouted, panic in his voice. "Matter Translocation in the Bridge."
Your instincts, honed against assasination attempts like this, kicked in as you span around. Matter Translocation was significantly more reliable than Void Teleportation but it destroyed any Organic matter that used it. It was so bad that even the Infested prefered attempting Void teleports that Translocations, despite being seerely damaged in the process. The only faction that used it didn't need to worry about that...

Your suspicions were proven correct when a blue Battalyst pixilated into being right infront of you, along with three others throughout the room.
(Conculyst)
(Battlyst)
Sentients.
It immediately recoiled, the Void Energy that you radiated harming it almost immediately.
You didn't give it a chance to react as you gave a mental command and three swords flashed into existance and sped towards the Sentient in milliseconds.
The swords pireced the armour of the drone and pinned it against the far wall. Another thought and three more swords flashed into existance and promptly implaled the Battalyst's head, destroying its central processor.

Recycling the swords and letting the scrapped drone fall the the floor, you paid attention to the Conculyst that had teleported too close to Dahvek. Seizing the initiative, Dahvek had grabbed the drone's head with his Industrial claw and was attempting to crush it. The sentient had already adapted to the crushing forces, mitigating a lot of the damage it should have been recieving.
It wasn't enough and you could see the stress in the drone's head as it started to collapse slowly.
You decided to hurry it along and formed a fusion Drone that took aim and fired at the Sentient's energy core, destabilising it and destroying the core while scrapping the Drone.

Throwing the Drone away, Dahvek focused back on the other two drone and so did you.
They had floated higher off the Ground, wary of being grabbed by Dahvek and seeking space to react to your attacks. They looked like they were readying themselves for a synchronised attack but apparently didn't expect such resistance.

====================================================================
[] Plan to Destroy the Sentients

Sentient Drones can adapt to damage done to them.
The Battalyst can duel with your swords if they are formed a significant distance away from it (you need to get closer to form swords right on top of it).
The Conculyst is able to shoot damaging energy ball attacks that are not resisted by armor. They are slow enough to dodge however
The drones can not adapt to fusion weapons and your swords.
The Head is the only important piece of the Drone and the Drone will self repair as long as the head exists intact.
The battalyst can deflect fusion beams with its swords.
The Conculyst can dodge faster than the Battlyst.
If the Arms are removed, the drones can replace the arm from any type of drone or even their own arm should it remain intact.
Their energy cores can be destabalised by prolonged exposure to a Fusion beam, killing them instantly.

Dahvek is strong enough to overpower the Sentients if he grabs a hold of them.
The drones take constant damage from your presence.
Gordys has called reinforcements and Indentured will be there shortly.

===============================================

 

[Inq. Halbread]

And thats it. (Long quest is long)
You've caught up.
So far there is no plans made and I hope you guys will like this quest enough to participate.

 

[Cassiemouse]

And thats it. (Long quest is long)
You've caught up.
So far there is no plans made and I hope you guys will like this quest enough to participate.

Click to shrink...

Exciting! I will look forward to more action in the future.

 

[Tew]

This is an actual wall of text. I'm so happy

 

[Tew]

So, stupid questions time

How powerful are we exactly? It looks like we can take on Tenno and win. And are the Tenno here really weak compared to in-game or was I just overestimating them?

 

[Inq. Halbread]

So, stupid questions time

How powerful are we exactly? It looks like we can take on Tenno and win. And are the Tenno here really weak compared to in-game or was I just overestimating them?

Click to shrink...

These were about Mid-level Tenno.
They aren't Atlas or Inaros but they are pretty powerful in their own right. Its just that Stalker was so much stronger.

Your power level is pretty much a Lephantis fight. You aren't insurmountable but It would take supreme effort to kill you thanks to your technology and skill. That being said, if you were an Executioner, you would be almost unbeatable in actual combat. You can pretty much instakill most things in the system if you are clever
Tenno were essentially extremely powerful Shock Troops but Orokin were the top of the ladder.
The reason the Orokin fell was actually Pride as they never thought the Tenno would betray them and thus were caught completely by surprise.

Sorry if it seems OP but thats the Orokin for you, the juiced up Protoss of Warframe.

 

[Tew]

These were about Mid-level Tenno.
They aren't Atlas or Inaros but they are pretty powerful in their own right. Its just that Stalker was so much stronger.

Your power level is pretty much a Lephantis fight. You aren't insurmountable but It would take supreme effort to kill you thanks to your technology and skill. That being said, if you were an Executioner, you would be almost unbeatable in actual combat. You can pretty much instakill most things in the system if you are clever
Tenno were essentially extremely powerful Shock Troops but Orokin were the top of the ladder.
The reason the Orokin fell was actually Pride as they never thought the Tenno would betray them and thus were caught completely by surprise.

Sorry if it seems OP but thats the Orokin for you, the juiced up Protoss of Warframe.

Click to shrink...

Sooooo......even if it was a prime Warframe at end-game level, an Executor would still win? Damn. My ego. I'll just pretend that the Tenno are more powerful than the Orokin. I can't help it-Im biased towards Tenno. Space ninja>Orokin Executor

 

[Inq. Halbread]

Sooooo......even if it was a prime Warframe at end-game level, an Executor would still win? Damn. My ego. I'll just pretend that the Tenno are more powerful than the Orokin. I can't help it-Im biased towards Tenno. Space ninja>Orokin Executor

Click to shrink...

An easy way to think about it is that Executors are the Judge Dredd expys. If a Prime Warframe went crazy then someone needed to be able to lay down the law. One vs One, Executor wins but if he is ganged up on by four or more Tenno, then things become interesting.
That being said, A supped up Prime would probably wreck every other Orokin caste in a straight fight.