[Open RP]
Space, aboard the Fortuna II
(12/02 AR)

~Seven years ago from this day, the Corpus Obsidian Dice, one of the larger of Corpus gambling associations, launched a ship named the Fortuna et Ops. A ship of incomparable luxury, and Defense. It’s outside, coated in a layer of impenetrable, rubedo-reinforced armour plating. Powerful, automated point Defense systems. An electromagnetic field barrier. Perfect for Defense against gangsters, bandits, pirates, Grineer enforcers, and even Tenno. Not that there was much reason for Tenno to attack such a ship; it was a luxury cruiser, filled with high class citizens from various colonies, classes and social structures. Anyone could get aboard the Fortuna, if you had the credits.
Alas, the mighty ship was not meant to be. A savage plague washed throughout the ship, a tide of infestation that had stowed away somehow- perhaps luggage, contaminated food- and had grown into a force that the civilians and security teams could not handle. The ship was destroyed from the inside out, costing the Obsidian Dice several million credits.
Had they learned their lesson?
Today, the Fortuna II sails through the stars, a beacon of wealth and opportunity for those daring enough to wade through the waters of slot machines, card tables and dangerously attractive women.~

Kapak:
Kapak slammed his cup down on the bar.
“Another!!” He cries out with vigor.
“Are you sure, yit?” The bartender asked nervously, pouring the oversized figure a glass of translucent green liquid. “You’ve drank the equivalent of 40,000 credits! Or 80 platinum, yit!”
“Shaddup,” Kapak slurred, “I’m not stopping’ here until I’m actually hammered. This stuff is weak! Weak I say! Oog,” Kapak burped, adjusting a bushy, brown moustache that looked like it had been glued to his cherry red, bulbous head. “I can drink like 5 buckets of that bloody stuff they have on Cetus and lose my mind for a bit, this stuff here isn’t buzzing me at all!” (edited)

With an over dramatic flourish, Kapak accidentally knocked over his glass, spilling the drink over the bartender.
“Pah!!” Kapak lisped, “just pour another one... and don’t think that that one counts towards my tab! I didn’t drink it....!”

Kapak looked around as the bartender poured him another cup of drink. He spotted a wanted poster on the opposite side of the bar.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/17uMI97EpRFwvpDoBJK0tLTL0C00L1ukk/view

"What a fool!" Kapak exclaimed as he stroked his moustache clumsily. "40k by the Obsidian dice? That mofo on that poster over there obviously pissed em off real good! Ke pooky pike yosep'kitj Alad p'ke titp'k joupp kate puskep oup ot kiy y'tuypy opp atuy! Aha ha ha ha!!"
"Yes, indeed," the bartender said as he finished pouring the drink, "Kapak, the Deceiver they call him. Screwed over Obsidian Dice years ago, and they still haven't caught him."
"What a champ," Kapak burped again as he downed the drink in a gulp. (edited)

Kapak looked upwards as he sighed, leaning back in his chair. There was an Index game on the screen above the bar, which Kapak began to observe.
It brought back memories... Vuko, Kuve... and everyone else who would gather together to watch the big games together...
Kapak snorted, pushing his emotions aside. The past was in the past. He’d lost friends before. He’d find new ones eventually.
He scratched his false moustache and motioned to the bartender again, who poured him yet another glass after rolling his eyes.

-Among all the hussle and bussle of a place as luxurious as the Fortuna II, there is one oddity that stands out like a tree in a grass field. Maybe it’s cause of the trashy clothes, or the strange vibe, or the most possible reason being that there is a sky colored Wukong just prancing about the main gaming floor on the ship with sacks of goodies hanging off it’s arms and tail. The bags itself seem to contain various prizes from many of the sloth machines from the more “relaxing” floor. However, it’s not just the warframe that leers looks, it’s the short humanoid sitting on top of it’s shoulders like a child. You’d expect everyone to dress their best for such a fancy spectacle, but not this masked fellow. Tattered, dusty and dirt stained clothes that look just barely acceptable for a hobo frame the figure. Remains of what once was a glorious Ceno armor just cover the figures legs and arms, as if the rest got torn off by something vicious. The torso is just covered by your standard latex transference suit while the figures face is covered by a very silly grineer mask, only their puffy fiery hair sticking out from above. How they got in is a mystery, but as long as credit is spent I’m sure that the Dice cares little for it too.-

Sonera
“Ah it’s so great! Don’t you think so?!” I puff out as I rest my elbows on the top of my frames head before leaning my head to rest on top of my palms. He doesn’t answer me as he keeps on walking, hauling the many bags filled with my prizes. Maybe not with words but when he wants to he wants to, so I don’t pressure him in to.

”Yes yes, all is good, very colorful, very pretty, the girls are better than last time. What was her name? From the card table? Oh – oh shoot! Should have asked! Always forgetful you are, maybe the next slap should be for them…no?” I hum in thought as I glance towards the tables, all playing all enticing. (edited)

“No, no! Keep for yourself! Last time I lost it all to that corpus kip!” I huff, tearing my gaze from the tables.

“Tell, tell, when was the last time we were here? Was it not called Fortuna back then? I’m sure I’m sure. Ah blast it all! I can’t keep it in the flow!” I look down at my Wukon but just as before he doesn’t speak to me, just keeps on marching. I laugh at him “Yes yes”

“Another!!”

“Oh?!” A yell caught my attention, making me twirl my head towards the direction of it. ”Who who? Is it a booze addict again? OH! Wait! WAIT!” I yank back on his head like pulling the reigns on a horse, stopping his advance ”See?! One of us! Yes yes? Or…no? Looks weird…hm…but familiar…”

In one graceful move I twirl back off his shoulders and land with a silent thump. Smiling under my mask I hop my way towards the bar, each step a bit to far to the sides so that I advance in sort of sideway skips. I hear him walking behind me in a slowed pace to make up for my not-so-straight trajectory. With one last jump I land on the stool – quite ungracefully - next to the pink thing, spinning around in it before finally ending up to face the bar. I call over the bartender and order a Maprico liquor ”Very tasty, very sweet, shame no pudding but will do for energy”

I notice him watching the Index causing my smile to grow wider. Leaning towards him I boom out in my cheery voice.

“Bet bet! The Reclamation Unit will lead, Lockjaw & Sol!”

I aim to nudge him with my elbow as I take a sip of the liquor. (edited)

~The other folks that wandering around the luxurious ship spat some spiteful words towards the acrobatic Tenno ("Bloody super kids!"), but otherwise left her alone. It seems as if Tenno weren't unwelcome or rare guests aboard the ship!~

Kapak:
"...y'kup p'ke toip uk you sotkey-pookitj atye sopket tottiyapot!" The Nidus cursed drunkenly, "Reclamation can SUCK MY DENDRITES. Lockjaw is a void-damn Hyena model proxy which should be MUCKIN' OUTLAWED FROM THE INDEX. Spinning bullet ballerina of death toiyy tout pejjep kieye ot teyap sappet ttos p'ke toppos ot sy y'koe..." He coughed loudly, spitting a gob of mucus on the floor, much to the disdain of the bartender.
"Pah, Claims Investigatio- I mean, what are they called now...? Zenith Galactical? Suykitj tase y'katjey They're the best team in this game. And their proxy is better than all the rest- it's a kiykatye MOA that blows people the muck up."
He paused his rant for a moment to look at his empty glass and back to the bartender. "Don't just stand there!! ANOTHER!" He slammed his fist into the table like a hammer, visibly cracking the marble surface. There was a sickening snap as his hand rose from the spiderweb of cracks, dripping a little bit of blood, with his bones sticking out at the knuckles and joints, his fingers completely mangled.
The bartender hastily poured him another drink.
"You sapa teay'k, just give me the void-damned bottle! I'll pay for it!" He snatched the bottle from the bartender, planting it into his... mouth hole? And drank it. Once the drink was gone, a smile crept across his... face... and he politely began to speak in a much less disturbing manner. (edited)

"So, a fan of the Index?"

Sonera
“Colorful this is. Yes yes! Amusing to listen to him is it not? Seems troubled…or fun? Yes yes, booze it is then!” I listen to his blurr fest with a amused expression. It feels like a long time since I’ve had a debate about the Index…or…wait…when was the last time? Do I even remember it?
A loud bash snapped me back and I look at the marble tabletop and his hand. ”Oh? He’s flesh flesh, more so than usual. Isn’t it a Nidus? Looks too skinny and too tall for one. What’s with the fake hair? And mouth? Oh! OH! A mouth!” I quickly whip my head to look over my shoulder to the Wukon standing a few paces back. His helmet is also modified to sport a mouth but it has no function apart from making faces and looks more like a mask with fangs. ”Working mouth? Yes yes! Genius”

I whip my head to look back at the infested frame ”Look look, he’ll fix up right? Infestation works fast, heals the broken…no?” With a tilt of my head I spat back with just as much vigor

“M-W.A.M.? Blah! Too skinny, easily tumbled down, you just blow on it and it falls all that fire power just to land face down and blow a grave. Whole division is made of softies! Fast but soft”

Swinging my legs back and forth, like a excited dog, I take a swing of my drink and lean on the counter top to rest my elbows on top of them before shooting one of my index fingers to point at him

“Yes yes, Index is fun, I like the turns the twists. Kind of like that twist on you”

My pointing finger tilts to point at his obviously fake mustache. “Does he adorn it for fun? Pleasure? More? Frame with hair? Maybe I should try it on him” (edited)

Kapak:
He observed his broken hand. It twitched, but otherwise remained a bloody mess.
“Cuck,” he sighed as he turned his hand over, “not healing properly. I’ve probably had too much to drink...”
He reached over the counter to snatch another bottle of alcohol from the bartender’s hands, who at this point had resigned from resisting.
“Twist on me, eh?” Kapak took a swig of the grog and leaned forward unsteadily on the counter. “What’s your name, Tenno? And what’s with that silly mask?” (edited)

Sonera
My eyes wander down to his mangled hand causing me to smile at the mess of it ”Too soft, fleshy, how can the model fight? Last Nidus I saw was a face tanker but this one looks like he’d crumble from a single bombard. Old? New? Did I miss something? Probably…”

“Tell tell, why are you so soft? Are you shedding? New?”

I lift a finger and will aim to poke the bit of him that is closest to me, to feel and determine the fleshiness. I’ve touched other Nidus models but they never looked as fragile…or maybe this one is made from another strand? Curious thing.

At his question I just shrug my shoulders and take the last gulp from my liquor, throwing the empty glass over my shoulder to him, knowing he’d catch it. Since a crash didn’t ring out the monkey probably did. I lean towards the infested frame, to say in a hushed tone

“Keep keep, I’m not really clean and it’s a fun thing to adorn, don’t you think?”

I motion with a tilt of my head towards his moustache again, winking.

Kapak:
He fiddled with his limp fingers, trying to push his bones back into the right place without success. His pinky finger broke off and rolled onto the ground.
"I'm... special. Or, different, would be more accurate." he sighed as he rested the hand on the counter, motioning for the bartender to bring more drink.
"Facial accessories are quite nice, but... only when they look good," the Nidus said candidly, "That thing on your face, I've seen work like it before.... on... Cetus, was it? That Earth colony with the big mucking Orokin Tower. There was a young child I had seen there, selling toy masks of Warframes once."
The bartender returned with another bottle of drink just as Kapak finished draining the first one. "You didn't answer my question though; your name. I'll start: they call me the Plague Doctor," he slurred as he twirled his moustache. (edited)

Sonera
”Hm? Special? Looks weaker thought…maybe special in another way? Yes yes, he does look more buff, taller, maybe it’s a mark 2? Improvement of the model…oh but wait! I don’t think there are one of them around to make things for us anymore. Maybe Alad? Naaaaaah, that deranged fart can’t make this.” I shake my head at my own thoughts, finding amusement in them. His first retort about the facial accessories earned a chuckle from me. ”What was he said? Looks depend on taste, yes? Right. Function is one over so no bother there. I like it I like it”

I make use of the bartenders attention and order another Maprico liquor. “Ah? AH! Yes yes, Nakak, very dear friend, I pay her a visit every now and then to chat and see what she might need from the Plains. Love the flares she has, make for some great fireworks and distractions.” I lean in again to whisper this great secret to him “And between me and you, she DOES sell rugs and carpets, but takes her months to finish one so you gotta be up and front if you want one of em…great quality”

I lean back and snag the new glass that the bartender set down in front of me. I take a sip while listening to him speak. ”Oh shoot!” I smack my masked face in a comical fashion ”Forgot the name! So forgetful” I blink as I heard his name. Raising a eyebrow under the mask, I turn to face him and say in my cheery voice

“Oh! We using our made up names? Yes yes! I like. In that case, call me Stoirin – no! Wait! Um…” I glance over my shoulder to the stoic Wukong before returning my gaze back at my current companion “Ignore, Stoirin it is!”

“Now” I lean down to grab on to the finger that fell on to the ground. Straightening up, I bring it to my eye level and look back at the Nidus “Plague Doctor, yes? Bet bet, is she hammered enough to not notice your surprise in her drink?” I motion with a tilt of my head towards a middle aged woman sitting by the bar to the left of us. She looks worn out by up by too much spending…or already spent and drowning her sorrow.

Kapak:
After snorting at the Tenno’s obviously made up name, he clapped his hands and laughed as she picked up his finger.
“That would be very funny to see! I bet she would think that it was some kind of a cocktail garnishing! Ah ha ha!!”
Then, instantaneously, the laughter pouring from the Nidus’ mouth halted, his muscles tensed, and he reached out to snatch the finger away from his new companion.
“What the muck am I thinking?! She would get a terrible gastrointestinal infection if she accidentally ate it or if she comes into too close contact! That would ruin too much!”
Kapak’s hand flailed as he attempted to grab the finger, another obvious sign that he was intoxicated.

Sonera
A childish pout laced my face as he went from agreeing to horror. I quickly pull my hand back as he tried to snatch the finger from it, not that I needed to as he is obviously too hammered.

“No fun no fun”

I mutter under my breath as I throw the finger, like the previous glass, over my shoulder to my warframe knowing he’d catch it. ”He knows me, he knows me…maybe he feels it and does it…yes yes” I smile in thought and take a gulp out of my current glass.

“Too much? No no, I’d call her a winner! Who finds a warframe finger in their drink? Lottery winner that one is” I tilt my head to the side “But whatever that word you said is…gastro-something, then you give it to anyone that kisses you? Or lick?” I hide my amusement behind my mask as I imagine this frame in such a situation (edited)

Kapak:
Kapak burped, patting his stomach.
“I wouldn’t recommend doing such a thing. Not to my Warframe anyways. Fluid exhange is probably much safer in my... real body.” Aside from the obvious innuendo, he seemed to hesitate when referring to his ‘real body.’
The Nidus’ slumped backwards, nearly tipping his chair over backwards before flailing wildly and managing to grab the edge of the bar.
“Void, I regret everything I ever said before, I am getting kind of wasted...”
He paused for a moment, raising his head as if listening to someone before yelling, “0.5 percent?! My BAC is at 0.5 percent? Void-damn, good thing I don’t have an actual liver! But the alcohol is totally messing with my transference signi-ow!”
Kapak slammed his broken hand into the counter in a blatantly clumsy way. It looks like the alcohol was messing with his Warframe’s motion compensation systems and synaptic overlay.
The Warframe grimaced, his moustache wriggling over his frown.
“So, what’s your reason for coming aboard the Fortuna? Come for the thrills? You seem like a gambler, the way you’re eager to bet on everything.”

~Behind the two, a pack of four Tenno wearing Corpus formal wear bickered loudly and joked rudely as they pushed through the crowd towards the bar.
“...seemed so odd and out of place. Like hey it's a good working frame, lets change it around, make it op/get people excited, then let them down and nerf it worse than it was before the change.” One of them complained.
“Shut up man, Saryn is still great for nuking rooms with the way her spores ramp up!” Another answered while pushing against him.~

Sonera
I smirk at his words, which he has no way of seeing apart from the slight tug on one of the corners of my lip “Like like! He doesn’t care for silly things, wish he’d bet more but can be worked on! Yes yes, keep it calm”

I listen to his weird words as I bring my glass up to my lower lip, not really sparing him a glance as I eye the bartender and the other occupants around the bar. ”Many fun things here, yes yes. If all goes well then I might come back…maybe keep it!”

The loud bang snapped me out and I brought my attention back towards the woozy infested frame, lowering my glass on the table top and gulping down the liquid in my mouth.

“Ahh…you can say that, yes yes. Tenno life can get tedious so need a break. It was either this or the Rathuum but they need some time to forget before I can get back in there. You? A reason to sport?”

I shift my weight on to my left butt cheek, but otherwise stay focused on the Nidus even with all the yelling going around behind me.”Yes yes, let them come, show no interest, observe…maybe they won't bother...if so, he will assist. No worry no worry”

Kapak:
"I came here because I just needed a place to destress- I'm a... scientist, of sorts, you might say. I'm always conducting experiments, never giving myself much time to stop and think. I try to use it to distract myself but..." He sighed and slouched forward, resting his chin on his hands, which lay upon the counter. "...it hasn't been working lately. Just about a year ago I lost many friends of mine. At least, I called them my friends."
The Nidus' other hand slowly lifted up, a gnobby, twisted linger tracing the rim of his empty glass. "Rathuum, huh?" He chuckled, obviously trying to change the conversation topic from whatever event he was referring to. "I always thought it would be fun to watch. It's a shame Grineer censorship is so strict. They really only broadcast the most devout defectors' losses system-wide. Besides, the whole thing is pretty rigged. Once a Grineer is sent in to face the executioners, well... the name says it all. Rathuum isn't a trial, it's just one big fancy execution."
Kapak picked up the bottle for another swig. "So, I notice your Wukong back there! C-"
His voice was cut off as he was nudged from behind, spilling the drink all over his front.
"Watch it!" He spat as he spun around, face to face with the gang of 4 Tenno.

Drasiel:
The first Tenno who stood closest to the Nidus, and who was likely the one who had pushed him, seemed like he didn't do it on purpose, but rather was brushing past. It didn't stop him from turning around and marching up to him, arms crossed.
"Watch what, pal?" He spoke scornfully at him.

Kapak:
"Watch yourself, fool! Learn a little respect- least you could do is say excuse me while passing by!"

Drasiel:
"Muck off, you overgrown pile of pork," he waved at him.

Kapak:
Kapak stood up angrily, revealing his true height, towering above the Tenno and Sonera's Wukong nearby. "What was that?"

Sibernetika:
The Tenno boy beside the first one stepped forward, a low whining noise humming through the air as an Amp on his wrist powered up, discretely from under the folds of his cloak. The prism poked into Kapak's abdomen. "What was what?" He sneered. (edited)

Sonera
I listen to his passionate words with great care. ”No surprise there, no no. He introduced with Plague Doctor…would guess infestation expert. Yes yes! Maybe mad?” My gaze dips down to his feet as he continued to speak on, checking out the heels “No no, doesn’t look like a butcher…well…no more so than the rest”

I hum under my breath, a tune of the past but no more than a few notes as he spoke about a incident ”Lose? Great war? Squabble? No no, too personal. Should I probe? Do I care? Will I ever see him again to chat?…Fickle thing this is…hard to pick. Yes yes”

I tilt my head towards him as he spoke about the Rathuum but I kept my gaze on the bartender, watching his movements as he goes about the other customers. ”Soon soon, have it down to a pattern almost. Yes yes!”

“Ah! Actually I do not watc-“ I went to correct him but I quickly stopped speaking as someone bumped the Nidus and made him spill his drink. My gaze drifts to the four Tenno in Corpus formal ware, but not specifically at them, more at anything out of the ordinary on them, like a spill on their pants, their postures, the way they smell, or the way they stand. I shift my gaze to my Wukong and grin, nodding at him as I spin around on my chair to face the moody boys. Compared to them, I might as well be a mouse standing among elephants (especially when sitting on a chair) but that doesn’t bother me at all as I clap my hands hard to bring their attention to me.

“Now now! Fellas! Calm calm. We’re all here for fun, no? Well…a less barbaric one at least! We are the same, Tenno, sailed the same ship. So come come, let’s not ruin that eh?”*

I glance to the side to see that my Wukong has vanished, leaving one of the bags of goodies on the floor. With a smile, I return my gaze back at the boys and motion to the bar for a free drink. (edited)

~The two other Tenno who hadn’t spoken yet exchanged glances, grinning at each other at the prospect of free beverages. They both relaxed and approached the bar next to Sonera, with the first Tenno joining them.~

Sibernetika:
He began to lower the amp from Kapak’s body.

Kapak:
Too drunk to care or realize that his new companion was defusing the situation in a way, Kapak grabbed the wrist of the Amp-armed Tenno, his long, gangly finger wrapping firmly around the device. The Tenno gasped in pain as Kapak’s grip tightened.
“Aren’t you going to apologize,” Kapak sneered tipsily, “don’t you know it’s rude to call someone mean names and then stick a weapon in their direction without saying sorry?”

Sibernetika:
“Go to Hades!” He hissed in pain.

Kapak:
His grip tightened immensely, causing the Amp to break apart off of the Tenno, sending sparks and a stream of wispy, smoke-like energy to drip from his arm. The commotion began to draw attention of surrounding individuals.

Sibernetika:
“Ahh! Ah! Muck!!” The Tenno cursed in pain, “you idiot! That amp cost me 120 grams of Sentrium!” He clawed at Kapak’s hand in futile as it mercilessly squeezes his own.

Kapak:
Kapak raises his other hand, his mangled one, and raised it to the Tenno’s face.
“Well, I guess I’ll have to teach you the lesson the hard way.” Kapak stepped on the Tenno’s foot and braces his broken hand arm against his chest while pulling on his arm, twisting and snapping the Tenno’s arm like a twig. Subsequently, the crowd that had began to gather gasped as the Tenno writhed on the floor, clutching his forearm which was now bent at an unnatural angle. (edited)

Drasiel:
“Hey! You li-“ the first Tenno has gotten up and stormed towards Kapak; he bore no amp himself, but his hands had begun to glow and sparkle.

Kapak:
He lunged forward, reaching out with his good hand, wrapping it around the Tenno’s face like a mask. He turned to Sonera as he held the Tenno’s face in his grasp.
“Pardon me, Stoirin.” Kapak smiles apologetically as he moves towards the bar, swiftly slamming the Tenno’s head against the counter right beside Sonera’s glass. Blood flecked off of the operator’s face as Kapak tossed him aside, the crowd moving backward and screaming as they watched.

Sonera
I smile as they started approaching the bar for that drink and scoot a bit to the side. However, my infested friend had a other plan. One of my brows slowly rose up as the violence unfolded in a burst of brutality and savagery ”Ahh…butcher it is then. No no, too bumpy from booze I say, makes for daring actions. Yes yes! But fun…is it called for?”

I glance at the other two Tenno who seemed to be frozen by fear in place as the snap from their friends arm ringed out. ”Maybe…yes yes.”

My gaze drifts to the crowd and then back to the Doctor (who?) as the other guy approached him. I let out a low chuckle at the other Tenno’s antics ”Is he dumb? Approaching a warframe of that caliber in Operator? He gonna slap it? Spit? Hurt his feelings with words? Le-le-le This is a fine show!” I think as I take my glass just in time to make way for the head smashing bit and nod in agreement to the Nidus. ”Brutal this one is…I like it!” I feel my blood boil for some action, to fight and join in the violence. But…this guy took care of almost everyone and now everyone are screaming…well those that I can’t really kill.

With a chuckle I finish my drink and throw it in the air, way up. Just as I did, two bags fall down, as if from the ceiling, to land on top of the two other Tenno. The bags aren’t so heavy that they snap their necks since they’re mostly filled with toys, but each bag holds a lot of them so you can bet your cucumbers that they’re going to feel like bricks on impact and possibly knock them out.

Following close behind the falling bags is my Wukong, who silently landed on the counter with the glass that I threw up in his left hand, a creepy smile on his fanged face. He crouches down and extends his free hand towards me. I grasp it and he hoists me up on his shoulders where I sit and make myself comfortable. I look at the Nidus and give him a mock salute (edited)

“It’s fun fun! But security should be coming round fast and I am not really on the clean side. Fight? Maybe…yes no? I know of a fast way out”

The Wukong jumps down from the counter and picks up the remaining bag from the floor with his dexterous tail but remains put, not making a move for anything just yet. I glance at the Nidus to see if he would like to join on the run or stay and fight. (edited)

Kapak:
He calmly stepped back from the two Tenno who lay on the ground, one passed out from the pain of their broken arm, and the other from getting their head slammed full force on a marble countertop.
He leaned against the bar casually, grabbing the bottle of grog and finally finishing it off.
“Nice,” he commented as the two other Tenno received their bags of presents, sprawling on the floor, completely knocked out.
He adjusted his moustache, which had gotten flipped upside down during the little scuffle, yawning and waving his hand dismissively at the monkey riding Tenno.
“Ah, truth tell, I know a fast way off the ship as well, but, ah,” he clicks his tongue, some saliva accidentally flecking onto the Wukong’s feet. “I have some unfinished business here. I didn’t come for just the drinks, you know.” He rubbed his fingers together. “Came to get a bit of cash, you know? Or, not really a little. Quite a bit, actually. Tell you what, if you stick around, help me out, I’ll give you a cut. A big cut. Like... I shouldn’t be greedy, let’s say 60/40, majority me.” He raised his hand as high as possible to offer a handshake.
“It’ll be more... fun! Heh heh.” He woozed for a moment, almost losing his footing and falling over before steadying himself against the bar. (edited)

Sonera
“Credits? Business? Fun! Always fun! My next stop can wait, yes yes! They will get their presents in no time”

I barely waited a second as I eagerly outstretch my hand to meet his for the handshake, but instead of grabbing his hand I went to grab one of his fingers and then shake cause they're closer to my clasp than that enormous branch that he calls a hand.

“Yes yes! Fun is always right! And well…I could use the credits fir wins”

I chuckled and threw my left leg over my Wukong’s head to rest on his other shoulder so that my legs are between his neck for a better balance, one of my hands clasping on to one of the horns on his modified Macak helmet just in case there is a need of jerky movements.

“Tell tell, what’s this business then? Dangerous? Negotiations? Oh please please be the first, getting rusty from all this monotone”

I muse as my ride will start following the Nidus. (edited)

Kapak:
He fumbled around with something, turning away from Sonera for a moment before turning around with a brand new, grey fu Manchu style of facial hair glued onto his cherry-like face.
“There! That should allay some suspicions for a while!” He turned and swiftly marched into the crowd of bustling people, without answering. He became difficult to track even with his tall height and muscle-red colour tones.
“Wait...!” The bartender stuttered, but it was too late.
After wading through the tides of people aboard the Fortuna II, The Nidus turned into a corridor off to the side of the grand atrium that the bar they had been sitting at was located.
Sonera would find him rummaging through a dumbwaiter on the side of the wall, as well as several garbage disposal containers.
“Ah, Stoirin, you made it! Here, hold this would you?” He tossed her a small black box with a big, glowing red button on the center of it. The button was covered in a bubble of hard plastic, preventing accidental activation if the remote were to drop.
“So you see, I’ve been a little down on my luck as of late. More than usual, that is. So I needed a way to get a whole lot of cash real quick.” He pulled several metal parts out of the trash bin, each of them covered in a clear plastic wrap.
“The Fortuna II only docks planetside once every 26 days,” he continued as he opened up the plastic bags and began to fit the metal pieces together. “They usually restock on food, recharge batteries, refuel the engines, et cetera. But they also ‘equalize’ their vault.” There was a buzzing noise as Kapak clicked two parts of metal together, the circular module on one of the pieces lightning up and beginning to spin slowly. “And by equalize, I mean either deposit their surplus liquid assets, or withdraw the deficit amount required to reach the ‘normal’ point. Usually, with the amount of food, wine and whores that people buy, they end up with surplus.”

“After all,” he continued, yawning and clicking more pieces together. “They’re a business. They gotta make profit. The rest of the money they hold onto is for the high stakes tables. Some people are fortunate enough to step off this ship with more cash than they started with.” He finished. The metal parts were now all fully assembled, and they looked like some kind of magnetic slug launching barrel. “Careful with metal stuff around the rails,” Kapak said as he picked it up. “Could you be a doll and look in that janitor closet over there?” He mentioned, pointing to the other side of the corridor. “Find the broom with the blue metal handle and bring it here.”
He looked at the metal machine he’d built. “Void, I hope I put this thing together right. I wish Isa was around these days.” (edited)

Sonera
I let out a low chuckle at his band new mustache “Master of hair! For a bundle of flesh as he is, yes yes” I turn around to face the bar one last time and throw some credits towards the liquor keeper, while my Wukong throws the empty glass at him. With a nod my Wuking will start following the speedy Nidus, weaving through the crowd with ease in a manner of childlike flexible maneuvers. But a poster in the corner of my eye caught my attention “Halt halt!” He freezes his advance mid step and I lean, almost to the tipping point, over my frame to get a better look at it ”Oh? Is it is it?!” My left leg kicks in the air in excitement, like a child when it eats it’s favorite meal. “Yes yes! Is he famous? What for? Hm…can’t understand that gibber, but there is a large sum on it. Aks? Yes yes!”

I hum in cheer and quickly whip my head around to where I last saw the Nidus, only to see that he’s missing with a crowd of people whizzing about ”Crap! Wait wait! He ducked there no?” My frame jerks to close the distance in leaps and skids as it cut around a corner. ”Ahh! There there! Oh wait…”

I tilt my head as my Wukong closes in on the garbage rummaging infestation. ”Lost something? Or-“



He broke my trail of thought and threw something, my Wukong quickly snags it off the air in one smooth movement of his right hand and we both look down at it. ”Ooooooh It’s glowing red! Is it a toy? Useful in the dark no? Hold or keep?” I grab it off of my frames hands and bring it closer to my face for inspection, all the while humming “Yes” and “Mhm” as the Doctor spoke, not really paying any attention to his elaborate run down as I twirl the curious device in my hands. ”Press or no?”

(edited)

I lift my head from the gadget “Huh? O-oh yes yes!” I boom as I throw the box in the air directly above me and slid off my Wukong’s back in a smooth backflip. My feet, and the box, land at the same time, but my feet thump on the floor and the box lands in the monkeys hand as he grabs on to it again. I twirl on my heels and hop towards the closet. With a metallic whirr I open the container and let out a “Uuu” in surprise as my eyes land on a small stash of credits as well as some clothes and the broom in question. I bend down and snag a cap that said “Maintenance” on it but in corpus. I grab the cap, the weird credit amount in one hand and the broom in the other.

I hop back towards the duo and flick the cap towards my Wukong, he grabs it and puts it atop his horned head, smirking in the process as he uses a bit more force making his horns tear through it. I put the credits in the goodie bag and then skip towards the Nidus with broom in hand, throwing the device he’d built a curious glance

“Tell tell, is this pure for the credits? Or a revenge story? Cause I saw a poster of yeh back there, you famous? Said something about 50k credits, ticket cost?”

Kapak:
“What, you mean the wanted poster? Pfsh! That’s for some criminal!” The Nidus’ jaw quivered as he giggled nervously. “Now, let’s focus on the task at hand. Yes, this is for the money. They have not only credits in the vault, but also platinum. Sweet, silvery platinum.”
Kapak strapped the device he’d assembled to his back, and began to walk back into the atrium. Sonera May notice that he no longer seemed to be drunk. His speech was much less slurred, and his movements more deliberate.
“Come on now! Bring both the broom and the button! Let’s go!”

Sonera
I tilt my head to the side, like a thinking puppy ”Trust? No no! It’s him! I know! Or is it another fleshy Nidus model? Hm…maybe? Yes no. I’ll let it slide for now. Yes yes!”

With a nod I will start following after the much taller frame, skipping next to him while my Wukong follows close behind with silent strides…apart from the occasional ring going out from the goodie back that is hanging from his tail.

“We’re throwing a surprise party right? That toy looks really interesting” I say pointing with my thumb at the black box in my monkeys hand, which he holds outstretched in front of him, with the shiny redness facing upwards.

“And this broom!” I yell out, pausing in my walk for a second to strike a fencing pose with it, holding it like a rapier, before I briskly leap and continue skipping next to the Nidus, hanging the broom over my left shoulder “Very light! Perhaps for whacking goodie bags?” I inquired, tilting my head upwards to look at the mustache wearing cyst.

Kapak:
He smiled as he walked, watching the Tenno fool around with the broom.
“You remind me of another Tenno I once worked with,” he said, his voice soggy with nostalgia, “a Tenno I almost viewed as my daughter, as weird as that seems. She was young, but far from inexperienced in combat. Always surrounded by a childlike innocence.” He leaned over and pointed at Sonera. “You are just like her!”
Kapak looked up. “Guts. Security sweeping the crowd up ahead. Keep your head down, if they are in fact looking for you.”
Ahead, Sonera can see Corpus Prod Crewmen standing against the flow of people, scanning the area with their sight. (edited)

Sonera
I tilt my head to the side at his words “Maybe, yes yes! I would like to meet her then, my personality buddy!” I threw a fist pump in the air with my free hand, feeling ecstatic at the prospect. ”Finally! Someone to play with! Bet with? Maybe? Yes yes, should meet her first…if I can…the tone in hos voice was weird when he spoke of her…hm…”

I parted my lips to ask him something but the bit about the corpus security had my head twirl towards their direction.

“Fudge”

I muttered under my breath as I know that by now security would probably be looking for a grinner masked Tenno and a sky colored Wukong. ”Heh…the double act is being seized?! Nevaaaaa! But…should have bounced by now…always follow the 30 min rule!” I mentally slap myself at the way I lost track of time. Of course they will look for the two baffoons that have bamboozled every claw game and gift shop from the fifth floor.

I imidietly lift a hand to take my mask off, exposing my mixed race childlike face, covered with pricks of old scars and wounds, battered through many fights. The most noticeable is the charred surface on my chin which got damaged in olden times but somehow fits with the whole half-corpus esthetic. My playful forest eyes blinking under the added light, without the protection of the mask. I lift a hand to smooth back what little hair I have but that puffy fiery cushion doesn't obey my intention at all and just bounces up again to spite me. With a pout, I look over my shoulder to my frame ”Ahh….nothing I can do there, no no. Let’s hope the cap is enough to fool them”

I nod, more to myself and as action for my Wukong to dip his head downwards. I turn to face the front as I briskly walk along side the Nidus, trying to keep up with his much longer stride “Let’s hope they aren’t then” I smirked, chuckling under my breath. (edited)

Corpus Guard:
"Keep it moving people! Please do not run or stand still in this area! Report sightings of suspect Tenno!" One of the Corpus Prodmen kept repeating out loud over and over again. Fortunately, it seemed like the guards were extremely bored and not focusing really at all on anyone in the surging crowd.

Kapak:
"Phew!" He said to Sonera as they made it past the makeshift security checkpoint. "I guess that's the hardest part. Now, we get to the fun part!" He nudged Sonera with his elbow. "Fun, fun! Eh heh heh!" The Nidus seemed to grow more and more excited as they continued down the ship's atrium, passing by a multitude of department stores, restaurants, tech demo booths, strip clubs, bars, and slot machines.
"She's still out there," Kapak said, continuing their earlier conversation now that they were past the guards. "Her name is Kuve. Quite the Tenno. She rescued me from Grineer forces on Mars alongside..." his voice trailed off as he continued to march down the atrium.

Sonera
I let out a childlike laugh as the Nidus nudged me. In my next step I jump up in an attempt to playfully fist bump his shoulder as a return.

“Yes yes!”

I fistpump in the air as I silently land before returning the mask on my face “No no, can’t have my real face out there! No no! And I like it…makes me feel like a certain shadow man. Scratch that! Who cares about my face?! Shadow man!” I smile and shake my head at my own thoughts as I walk next to the Nidus, but breaking my fast paced walking in to skips once more cause I can’t keep up with that stride “Hup, skip, JUMP!”

My greedy gaze skips past the various activity as we pass thought “Oh? Want want! Ahhhhhhh! But the credits I will get from this…I can buy more toys! Or just steal them? No! Focus focus! Stay with the program and maybe grab a goodie bag on the way out” I puckered up my lips, like how a monkey flashes theirs when slightly irritated.

Swerving my attention back at the Nidus as he spoke I added a shake to my shoulders as I skipped

“Oh oh? Kuve? Ahhhh….I’ll probably mix her up with Kuva” I chuckled under my breath “Is se as red as the stuff?" I wiggle my eyebrows which is invisible due to the mask. Clearing my throat I add "Yes yes! No matter how broody some of us are, we still help each other…hm?”

I hop down beside him urging him to continue as I fixate the broom on my shoulder. I look over my shoulder to my Wukong as he follows close behind me with that silly cap. (edited)

Kapak:
He gave a pained smile.
“The rest of the story is a tale for another day. Ah, here we are!” Kapk turned ninety degrees against the flow of people, urging Sonera to follow along. They entered another side corridor, this one ending with a large Corpus bulkhead door ((literally the doors on the elevators in game on Corpus tiles)). A Corpus crewman cradling a Dera stood by the control console, a black and orange cube pin sitting on the front of his uniform.

Crewman:
“Hey, sorry folks, this elevator is for staff only. If you go down the atrium and take the second left you can find the elevator to the spa-“

Kapak:
With one stride and one swing, he tapped the Corpus on the head with the bottom of his fist causing him to drop like a doll. Kapak pressed the button to call the elevator, and the door opened.
“After you, Stoirin,” Kapak said with a toothy grin, bowing forward with his opposite hand pointing towards the elevator. At this point, Kapak’s injured hand was now fully healed- there wasn’t any sign of damage to it at all, other than it being incredibly fleshy and anatomical in appearance.

Sonera
I nodded my head as he pushed the rest of the story away “Yes yes, leave him be…I will!” As he makes a sharp turn, I follow by pushing hard to that side with one leg which throws me, almost in a ballet like move, to the direction of movement on my other leg. ”Smooth! This time I didn’t trip!” I mentally cheer for myself and hop along, beside the Nidus.

Upon spotting the corpus watchman, I smile and lift my free hand to wave at him “Hey hey! Sorry to burst your bubble but-“ I stop mid sentence as the Doctor smacked the poor fool unconscious. A loud cackle spilled forth from my throat as the lifeless torso hit the ground.

“Maaaaan! It’s all violence with you! I like I like! Maybe one day we will meet on a field of battle eh? The savage crew!”

Me and my Wukong strike a gang like pose. Me crouching on my knees (slav intensifies) and holding my chin with one hand while I hold the broom up He-Man style with my other. My Wukong stood directly behind me in a high-kick pose. We held that poster like pose for a second or so before I burst out laughing at my own little silliness.

”One day, eh? If you’re cool enough to pe a part of such a epic posse”

I wiggle my eyebrows at him in a joking manner as I straighten up, refasting the broom on top of my right shoulder. I nod my head to his gentleman like bow and hop on the elevator, my Wukong jumping on as well, occupying one of the corners. (edited)

Kapak:
"Oh come on!" Kapak joked as the elevator doors closed, letting out a hearty chuckle at the posing. "I didn't even kill any of those guys back there. I tend to avoid killing where I can, but I'm not above causing very, very painful experiences." He cackled like a madman. "Besides, I'm an expert at fixing things up. Anything that undergoes metabolic processes are like machines to me, whereas I am the mechanic. Spent over 3 years as a combat medic in the Steel Meridian, 5 years as a torturer in the Red Veil, around 4 years of service in the Clan Smooth Fort-" He coughed and cleared his throat, cutting off his last sentence.
"Ah, nevermind that. I was just rambling on. Point is, I live up to my name as 'The Plague Doctor,'" he said, wiggling his fingers dramatically. He turned his head, spotting another wanted poster of himself taped to the wall, and promptly slammed his palm against it, covering it while attempting to casually lean against the wall.
"SO! UM! ANYWAYS! I guess I still haven't explicitly told you what I'm- er, excuse me, we're, doing!" He squeaked, "We are quite frankly, breaking the bank! That detonator in your hands will cause a magnetic field to be generated from a device I've planted in the ventilation system. The magnetic field will interact with ferromagnetic cryptochromes inside a very particular breed of infested bacteria that I've been growing for like 7 void-damn months. Took ages to perfect. Real pain in the anus. Ah, well, once the magnetoreceptive bacteria are activated, they will cause all the guards who have been infected to grow large tumors, incapacitating them for basically infinity. The guards I refer to have all been infected via an airborne delivery mechanism that has circulated through the ventilation system. I've made sure that the vault ventilation system has been isolated from the rest of the ship. Don't want to bug up the 'innocents,' right?" Kapak readjusted his moustache. (edited)

"The infection shouldn't be permanent though. As soon as we're done doing what we have to do, I can release an antiserum which will stimulate the tumors to begin performing apoptosis. And this is where you come in." Kapak smiled. "I'm much too big to get into the vents myself, and the um, help, that I had before seem to have wandered off. So here, I'll trade you:"
Kapak held up a small vial filled with a liquid that shimmered like molten gold. "This is the antiserum. You will need to deliver it to the dispenser once we're done taking the money. Here, pass me that broom handle, and I'll give you this."

Sonera
”Oh? OH! So he’s not what he says…Plague Doctor? Makes me think of germinating someone, a specialist at infecting not curing…or is it connected to some old world thing? Meh! Let him speak, yes yes!”

I tilt my head as I look up at the taller monstrosity, my playful forest colored gaze jumping from his head to his shoulders, his arms, the tendrils, his beating flesh and the weirdness on his chest ”Is that heart? With bones? Beating? Living? So it’s true!” I whip my head to look at my ever so still Wukong and click my tongue from the top of my mouth ”Same same….more still, more collected. Yes yes!”

I then whip my attention back at the Nidus as he spoke about on, the adrupt change of subject caused one of my fiery plumped eyebrows to shoot up ”Red veil? One of them? A torturer eh? My brothers would slap me for mingling with his sort” I mentally giggle at my own thoughts and shake my head to get rid of them. Clearing my throat, just for the sake of it, I content myself with just watching the door as he starts explaining the gist of this operation.

“A boom? Oh yes yes! Been a while since I’ve seen some fireworks” My brain just shut down during the infested talk, sciency big talks bore me, mainly cause they are how they sound. Boring! I'm not a thinker, I'm a animal of instinct and action so I leave the strategy to those that know it while I stick to my strengths of living in the fray.

I snap back at it as he hands me a vial of some shiny liquid ”Uuuu, this is pretty! Wait…did he say I have to crawl through the vents to the dispenser? Fun fun?...yes yes!” (edited)

I smirk at him and throw the broom above me, straight up, like shooting a arrow hoping he’d catch it. What? I like throwing things! I will snag the vile off his hand and put it safe under my garments, under the latex like transference suit.

”Question! How will we haul so much plat? Bags? Transfer them to aaccount? UH! Mindless mules!” I cackled in a fake evil manner, wiggling my fingers in the same manner.

Kapak:
Well assuming my teammates stop wanking around and actually be where they are supposed to be, then we’ll be able to wheel all of the goodies onto a Corpus Shuttle. From there, we can fly it to a rendezvous point, divvy it up, and deposit it. Or hold onto it as liquid asset, should you wish.”
Kapak snagged the broom from midair with a smirk, breaking off the mop head from the end of it and tossing it aside.
“Heard of the Ferrox? Corpus pole mounted gauss weapon.” Kapak reaches over his shoulder, taking whatever that machine he’d built was, and holding it out. The end of the broom snapped onto the bottom of it with an electronic hum.
“This is a special variant of it. Got the blueprint from an old friend, shall we say. A Corpus born Tenno, a real whizz with their technology. She developed this particular model of Ferrox to launch explosive Moltecoil slugs, designed to crack open metal plates using thermal shock!” Kapak ran his fingers up and down the weapon. “Well, that is assuming I built this correctly. We need this in order to actually open up the vault. This is our... key, so to speak!”

(( @Isa Tekchen Kapak thanks you for your Exploding Speargun of Boom blueprint))

Sonera
“Spend it on fluffs!” I quickly exclaim as the subject of the pay came up. I can’t be trusted with huge amounts of assets…oh boi…my Orbiter will suffer the most. ”Oh well! Gonna be more colorful eh? Yes yes”

I look over as he snaps the broom tip and reveals that it’s one of those firing spears. ”Ehhhhh Sneaky gun! But smart hiding place…”

I look up at him ”Ohhhh, A mechanical whizz eh? Does she dab in Orbiter hookups too? I have this lil’ tweak I wanna add on top…” I lean in on my tip-toes, well, as close as I get get to wherever his ear is supposed to be and whisper as if it’s something super top secret ”Between you and me…it’s a bouncy castle” I then playfully wink at him as I lower myself down.

I then shrug my shoulders ”Who knew installing one would cost so much…no no, I’d rather steal one of those guys to do it for me than pay…damn expensive technology” I shake my fist in front of me, like a angry old man that is yelling at the clouds.

I then snap my gaze at the thing in his hands and grin ”Well! I hope It won’t backfire and blast us. My clothes can’t bear anymore tear.” I eye the way he’s fondling the weapon ”Maybe give you two some room eh?”

Kapak:
“Fluffs? You mean Fluffles, the little critters that are always roaming around the surface of Tethys? They’re quite delicious.” Kapak was about to respond to Sonera’s other remarks when the door to the elevator finally opened, revealing a large square room.
The room had several doors along the sides, presumably leading to rooms like maintenance and storage. Guards and other Obsidian Dice Corpus personnel milled about in the room, checking on various control panels and also moving trollies of materials.
At the center of the far end of the room, a massive circular door reinforced with multiple bolts sat like an oni, obviously being the seal to the vault. Kapak stepped out and smiled at Sonera.
“Oooookay! You may press the button!”

Sonera
“Actually…” I lift a finger as if to correct him but then my mouth spots as the elevator door dings open. ”Oh? Show time?” I glance over at the infested frame as he exits the elevator and says those magic words that send tingles down my spine ”Yes yes! Let’s dance!”

I quickly transfer to my Wukong, his energy changing from blue to deep forest green and his fake mouth twisting in to a cheerful but disturbed grin. Long fangs clanking with delight.

I look down at the button I gave to my Wukong to hold, which is now in mine, so to speak. With the index finger of my other hand I gently lower my finger on top of the redness.

”Merry bananza everyone!”

I yell out as my finger presses down on the button, lifting my head to eat up the event with greedy eyes. (edited)

~Nothing happened.~
Kapak:
“What? Uhh... this is awkward. Maybe give it a moment...?”
Nothing continued to happen. The guards continued about their daily doldrums. One of the guards noticed them and called out, and now a small group of them had begun walking towards them from the other end of the room.

Sonera
My brows scrunch up ”Huh?” I look down at the button in my hand and press it again, noting. Dissapinted I uncoil my tail from the bag and let it drop to the floor, I step forth to stand next to the Nidus and throw the device towards him if he wants it cause I sure don’t in it’s current boring state.

”Blue balls”

I hum under my breath and glance towards the oncoming crowd ”Looks like the party isn’t canceled. Yes yes!” I turn to look at the Nidus

”Oh well! Let’s play by the music eh?” I tap the back of his neck in a playful manner and teasingly wink at him, starting to walk towards the group. I hum a tune under my breath as I hop towards them with my arms clasped behind me. My hops are in perfect sync to the tune, each step accompanied by a harsh breath, sometimes the skips and the hums overlap with a rich sound that might seem threatening to the guards, like that of thunderous predator approaching it's prey. My overall atmosphere is calm and cheerful which contradict my seemingly aggressive approach. My steps are never straight, I sometimes pull to the left and then to the right, like a drunkard that walks in a wiggly line but with rhythm making the whole thing kind of silly to look at.

”[Corpus]Hey hey! My friend kinda got us lost! Tell tell! Is this the claw machine department?[Corpus]”

I speak up and continue the tune. My hums and skips fasten in pace, twirling to the climax until I come to a abrupt stop a few paces from them with a straight military like posture, with hands still clasped behind my back as if awaiting for orders. I wait with a smile on my metalic monkey face, wait for their reactions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrIYT-MrVaI (edited)

Obsidian Dice Guard:
“[Corpus] What? This is not the Claw Machine Department! There is no such thing!” The guards stood in front of the duo, their arms resting on their Deras. They weren’t tense yet. “Are you looking instead for the Spa and lounge area?” The lead guard looked over his shoulder at the others before looking back at the two Tenno. “Actually, how did you two even get dow-“
The guard was cut off as there was explosion within the walls, the vent coverings from the ceiling all dropped down onto the floor with a clang as a red mist slowly leaked out into the room.

Kapak:
“Oh muck,” Kapak whispered just behind Sonera, “that can’t be good...”

Sonera
I smile at them, my Wukong’s metallic fangs flashing out in a non threatening way. I lift a finger to correct him but a explosion shook the room and vent covers fell down, followed by a red mist ”Huh? What’s this what’s this? His?” I look over my shoulder to the Nidus, tilting my head towards him for a explanation.

“Action?”

Kapak:
“Continue with the plan as mentioned earlier!” He said with a nervous chuckle, skipping across the room to the vault. Around him, the guards had begun to double over, clutching their heads and stomachs. “Just... uh... forget about that, um, ‘curing them’ part.”
Kapak took the speargun in his hand, kneeling down with the tip aimed at the door.
“Oh, and things are about to get really messy. You uh, may need to cover yourself in a few moments. Like, defend yourself. With weapons. Uh, yeah! Keep an eye out while I Charge this thing up ok?!”
The barrel of the Ferrox began to hum, a subtle orange light leaking out of the cracks in the weapon.
The Crewmen around Sonera began groaning inhuman growls, and shrieking out with otherworldly screams.

Sonera
I dip my gaze to suspiciously look at the screaming guards and then to the happily skipping Nidus ”Poison backlash? Not on stun but mutate? Oh yes yes…WHELP! Will have to double! Yes yes! Take one more bag of goodies before this goes up! Maybe snag that condor plushie from the second floor?”

I nod at my own added task and hop after the infested frame, making sure to skip around the screeching and mutating crew ”Sheesh! Lucky we’re immune to it…that looks unpleasant” I looks away from them and to the other warframe “So! Blowback? I though you were a Doctor not a beginner” I tease him ”Yes yes! Or maybe dabs in it for fun?

I tilt my head as I stand behind him “Oh but – “ I cut off as I notice something grab my leg. Looking down I see one of the guards, growling and shaking, clutching on to my left tight region as if holding for dear life. “Whoa!” I instinctively lift my leg, and him with it, and kick, like a bucking horse sending the poor fool flying across the room to land on one of his coworkers some steps away.

“Well…this just got more…um…fun? Yes yes! Fun!”

I smile and twirl to face the room, towards the screaming guards. Widening my stance, I bring my fists up and wait. My gaze flickers between the guards, analyzing which one is most likely to charge first.

“But you do have backup coming, yes?” (edited)

Kapak:
“Well, I mean, that’s what’s supposed to happen,” he said as he nodded his head in the direction of a crewman who now had fungal stalks sprouting from his mouth and nostrils. “But it sounds like uh, the machine broke. Basically we won’t be able to distribute the antiserum pro-“
Kapak was cut off as the Ferrox fires, sending the Nidus flying backwards in a comically oversized mass of meat. The weapon had done its job though; the vault was now covered in a large, glowing orange patch of heated metal, the slag slowly dripping down as if the sturdy metal bulwark was a piece of melting chocolate.
In the meantime, several of the Corpus Crewmen who were now fully infested thrashed about, throwing themselves at Sonera with reckless abandon, flailing their arms wildly at the Wukong. None of them seem to be interested in Kapak, however.
On the side of the room, a small squad of Corpus personnel barges into the room, tossing several plasma grenades into the bedlam of mutating Crewmen. They had their helmets on, and were also in a different room, likely the reason why they weren’t infected.

Looks like all hell is about to break loose!

Sonera
I glance towards the fungai infested crewman as the Nidus motioned towards him “Yikes! Now I’m REALLY glad we’re immune to it” I look over my shoulder to the infested frame and smirk

”When are you g-“

I cut shot as I quickly duck to avoid the backwards flying Nidus who would have rammed in to me and taken me with him. I blink and quickly straighten up to look at the vault. With a smile I whip my gaze towards where the Nidus went. I throw up my palms to put them like a megaphone on my Wukong’s fake mouthpiece to shout out

“OY! Warn a fella next eh?!”

My smile went away a second later as I saw some of the infested Corpus charge at me. ”Fighting mode engage!”

I lower my stance and brace with my left leg as I lift my right one up to slam in to the chest of the closest infested sending it backwards to crash in to his fellow infested and stagger them for a moment. I quickly leap on the closest one on the ground and stomp with my right leg on his neck, hard, as I grab on to one of his legs and pull on it so that I crush and sever the connections to the brain. With a satisfied crack I yank his body fully up and use the limp body like a hammer, preforming the Raging Whirlwind combo of Crushing Ruin to violently and bloodily beat his infested comrades back to the ground. ”Ahaha ahhhhhhh I love the battlefield!”

The plasma explosions quickly brought my attention to the side and I throw the bloody, limp, half smashed infested corpus in my arms towards them, as a distraction. I pause to look where the Nidus went and shout out

”Get your ass up! We have a vault to pillage!” (edited)

Kapak:
"Ah, Void," he cursed from the floor. "Muckin' teyoip ot peap'k from that weapon." He looked at the Ferrox, which was now smoking on the ground, its barrel melted from the heat of the launched projectile. "Oh well." He waved his hands, and two Infested Corpus paused their attack on Sonera to shamble over to Kapak and help him up off the ground.
"Thank you," he smiled, before punching them both in the face with both his hands at the same time. It didn't look like a particularly strong set of punches, but the Infested monsters fell to the floor almost obediently.
"Nicely done," Kapak grinned toothily at Sonera as he passed her. "Hit one fathermucker with another fathermucker, eh?" He looked up at the vault door, which now had a hole almost big enough to squeeze through. It would be a little while longer before it would be big enough to physically fit through, but a Wukong's ability to turn into vapour would work fine as a way into the vault.

~There was the staccato sounds of lasers behind Sonera as the side room doors opened up, several more Corpus guards unleashing their weapons on the chaotic orgy of diseased aberrant.~

Sonera
I lift my fists up, preparing to bash another wave of infested…but they…stop? I cock a head as they do a 180 and walk over to the Nidus to assist him up ”Wot wot? I mean…I know it’s HIS potion but never seen a Nidus control them before…MEH! Throw it over on the pile with his file! Yes yes!” I smile and ease up my stance, straightening up and relaxing as the Doctor walks over towards the vault. I step beside him, shoulder to shoulder and shoot my own toothy smirk at him

“When you find yourself without weapons, YOU MAKE YOUR OWN!”

I comically flex my right biceps as a show of strength. Well…I didn’t really expect for this to happen so I came onboard this ship without any weapons, but it’s not a problem for me. Anything is a weapon!

“Also nice party trick there. Yes yes!”

I flinch as another unexpected shower of guns and explosions sound off behind me. I quickly look over my shoulder to them

“Yikes! Let’s diddle daddle this, while they’re too busy with each other”

I jump up in to my cloud form and slither through the hole. With a forward somersault I jump down from the cloud and anchor my feet firmly to the floor, taking a look around for a button or something that will fully open the vault. (edited)

~There is a security pad on the wall, complete with only 2 buttons; a Corpus 1 and 0.
Begins Sonera there was the real treasure. Glass tubes of platinum chips stacked in neat rows laid next to massive crates filled to the brim with credits.
If Sonera looks up, she can see that there is some kind of large Osprey Drone hovering idly on the ceiling.~

Sonera
“OH SNAP! He wasn’t kidding with the amount! Oh yes yes! I can buy so much more fluffies with these!” I pause to gasp at a sudden realization ”And finally afford that upgrade!”

I quickly burst out in silly dance, making a circle in place like those crazies that dance around fires, my fingers snapping in tune with the hops. However, my little dance comes to a freeze as I notice the drone hovering overhead. ”Awwww Heeeeeeek!”

“Hey Doctor! There is a thingy here and a panel, but not to worry, I got this! Master infiltrator!”

I yell at the Nidus through the hole before I jump out of my warframe and he quickly jump up on cloud form, floating up to sneak behind the drone as I glance towards the panel. I step in front of it, humming in through as to what the combination could be. ”Two 1? Five 0? Try it all? NAAAAAH” I lift my fist and channel the Void to my palm with a emerald flare, letting go a very concentrated and narrow ball of fire towards it, hoping to buzz out the connections and cause a malfunction. At the same time as my Void discharge, my Wukong, that positioned right above the drone, jumps out of the cloud to fall chest first on top of it to crush it with a powerful hug before gracefully landing right behind me. (edited)

~The control panel fizzles into nonexistance as it is consumed by the fire and void. The door does nothing. Not a single shudder other than a small thump as an infested throws a Crewman into the door.
The Wukong unfortunately doesn’t do anything against the Osprey- it seems to be a Carrier Class Corpus drone with armour reinforced with oxium. The monkey frame’s attempt to take it down is met with a bounce as it dipped slightly, before the Wukong landed next to Sonera.
The drone doesn’t react at all, though. It continues to hover in place, it’s soulless sensors staring into nothingness. Sonera May notice that this Osprey doesn’t even have guns.~

Kapak:
“Hoi, Stoirin!” Kapak called through the hole, “that’s not a combat Osprey! Surely you’ve seen the Corpus use these to carry cargo all over Venus and Jupiter! It seems to be on standby, try to look for a computer nearby- you might be able to activate the drone to carry the money ‘n stuff out of a cargo access tube!”

((Hopefully you know what I’m talking about when I refer to the Carrier Ospreys. You can see them flying around the skybox on Venus levels.))

Sonera
“Huh? It didn’t work!? Heeeeeek!”

I pause to think and look over my shoulder to my Wukong before looking up at the hovering osprey.

“Ohhhhh! So it’s those floaties! Yes yes, didn’t really pay it attention” I yell back at the Nidus and twirl on my heels to look around the room. ”A computer!? He expects me to hackerman this? Technology!”

With skips and sideway hops, I make my way down the rows of credits, eying them greedily. ”Soon” I grin and stop as I spot something akin to a computer to my left, along the wall, in between the rows. I hum under my breath and approach it

“Uhhh….any ideas?”

I ask as I look over my shoulder to my Wukong, who is standing behind me. He lifts his left palm upwards and from it a projection came forth. A very messy triangle appeared, with multiple overlapping colors and triangles, all vibrating lightly in the background like a nervous tick. However, the colors and triangles don’t stay for long, as they keep shifting and changing in angles like a bad LSD trip, apart from the main one which seems to stand still among the chaos going on in the background.

Adus (Arko)
“SliGht Idea yes!” The Cephalon spoke in a low rugged voice, some static whizzing through the main triangle as it pulsates with a wide range of colors. A whooshing sound can be heard in the room, like a air support charge deploying.

“Here, override comp_Lete”

Sonera
I lean to look back at the drone and see it getting down to business, picking up stacks of credits and hauling them towards a drop chute. I smile and look at my Cephalon

“Lifesaver”

I lift a hand and high five my Wukong’s hand that held the projection, successfully cutting it off. I transfer back in to my warframe and skip along back to the door

“Oy! Job’s done! Will someone be waiting at the end of the tube or do I jump down after it?”

I crouch down so that I can see through the hole to try and spot the situation in the room. (edited)

Kapak:
“Uh, I dunno!” He yelled at Sonera, his voice muffled behind the wall, since he wasn’t in view of the hole. “I mean, assuming my-“ There was an interruption as someone yelled and there was a loud slam against the vault door.
“Assuming my helpers are actually doing their void damn job! Just to be safe though, I’d follow it down! Just make sure you get as much of that money as you can- the chute leads to a Bay Area where we can load up our landing crafts easily. Now-“
There was another interruption as a high tech Corpus gun rattled off, creating several dents in the thinner portions of the vault door.
“Holy muck that’s a Supra!! Uhhhhh...! I gotta get to cover! Just- just get all the monies and jump down the chute and I’ll rendezvous with you in a moment!”
There was the pitter patter of feet followed by an explosion sound before the noise behind the vault door faded into unholy din of the melee that was currently progressing.

~Through the hole Sonera can make out a ridiculously crazy, chaotic scene of Infested Corpus sprinting along the catwalks and tackling Corpus off of them onto the floor. Explosions erupted as grenades were thrown, the air painted blue as the beams of Corpus energy weapons streamed across the room.
Sonera could just manage to hear the PA system say:
“Attention. Lockdown is in effect. Attention. Lockdown is in effect. Please proceed to your designated waiting area. Refrain from using elevators during this time.” The message repeated itself in Corpus.~ (edited)

Sonera
”Awwww! Looks like I got on the boring side of the fence!” A light pout pulled down on my Wukong’s face. All kind of fun sounds were coming from the other side that I just wanted to jump back through and get some of that action! The shooting, the howling, the explosions, the gurgling, they all riled me up in all the right places.

“Yes yes!”

I smile to myself and jump up in the cloud form as a preparation to go through the hole and to the fun side of things.



“Aaaaaaaaaaaaa! Dung! Not fun!”

I jump down from my cloud form and exit my warframe. In a totally frantic dash – like manic toddlers that realise they have 10s to clean their room before mom finds out - me and my Wukong start hauling the goods – along with the slow ass drone – towards the chute, just throwing credits and plat in like crazy. Some don’t even make it in the hole and just hit the rim and flop over, spilling all around it. I don’t really care, it’s all about time now!

In the middle of it all I stop and look around, more than half of the monny got thrown down. ”Good enough? Yeah. Drone got this! Maybe…if they don’t overrite no?” I shrug my shoulder and transfer in to my Wukong, hauling the last pilon towards the chute and throwing it down. I lift my gaze to the drone and then to the door ”Yes yes! They got this””

I smile, a mad grin, as I pop in the tube for a wild ride down

“WOHOOOOOO”

I let out with a laugh as I bump and tumble along the walls making a heap ton of noise as my frame scrapes along. I coil in to a ball for maximum speed, laughing and wohoo’ing along the way in a totally ungraceful manner.

“CANONBALLLLL!”

I yell out just as I shoot out from the end of it at incredible speeds, ramming back first in to the off-facing wall.

“UFF”

I smack it hard and flat, the momentum stretching my limbs as far apart as possible, even making me stick to the wall it for a short second before I just drop down from the wall face first.

“OHH”

I quickly jump up on my feet as if I have springs in the soles of my warframe, I lift my fists up in a boxer like stance as I take a look around to where the hell have I arrived. (edited)

~Sonera appears to be in a massive hangar, although it was empty for the most part. On the far side of the room, there was a massive open space where the room opened up into... well, space.
Various Corpus paraphernalia were littered about the hangar, like crates, barrels, batteries, load lifters, and even a few small Corpus ships.
All around Sonera lay the haphazardly thrown cash that had fallen out of the chute before and with her.
Fortunately for her, there didn't seem to be any Crewmen around. The red and orange emergency lights were flashing however, likely due to the chaos that had been unleashed by the Nidus' device.
Adjacent to Sonera was a bay door that either led to an elevator, which was likely down, or a staircase.

What does Sonera choose to do next?~

Sonera
“Huh?”

I relax my posture, lowering my hands to flop beside my sides and straightening up. I look to the left and to the right but there doesn’t seem to be anybody here. ”Either he was lying or those helpers of his are real lazy…hm…Yes yes”

I hear a loud tumbling sound and quickly whip my head towards the tube that I just flew from. Curious about what was rapidly approaching but then I remembered that I was standing dead front of it. “Oh crap!” I quickly duck as another bag of credits flew from it and over my head, to the wall behind. I stand up and look over my shoulder, smiling

“HEY! He’s still doing it! Go drone buddy!”

I throw a fistpump in the air out of glee. With careful steps, I leap over the mess of plat and credits on the floor around me, skipping out of it like a snake wiggling out of it’s old skin. I stop at the outskirt of the huge mess and strike a thinking pose with my left hand wrapped around by abdomen, my right arm resting on top of it with the elbow and my chin resting on the coiled knuckled of the right hand. With a hum I look towards the Corpus ships

“Hm…I forgot to ask what ship was his…”

I then glance back at the pile that is starting to get bigger since more and more drop down the chute.

“EH! Arko! Send landing craft over here”

Adus (Arko)
“The Liset has been dispatched it will arrive shortly…but I’m not sure it can get in, it’s on lockdown and the doors probably won’t open upon arrival”

Sonera

“Ahhhhhhh…heeeeeeeeeeeeeek. Nevermind! I’ll think of something”

I step out of my frame and we both start – once again – hauling the goods in a more orderly fashion towards the off side of the hangar, towards the ships. Me and my Wukong stack the bags of plat and credits near the cargo area of the hangar in neat little stacks, preparing them for quick boarding in the current Corpus ships or if one craft arrives. (edited)

~With a sudden angry alarm blare, the hangar’s massive doors began to close, meaning that any craft would be unable to fly out, or in.~

Corpus Harbourmaster:
“Attention all personnel, in order to quarantine the infested outbreak, all escape pods have been disabled, and all hangars have been locked down. Please wait at your designated waiting zones for Reinforcements. Civilians and other clientele are still to be escorted to their own waiting zones. Make sure that- OH WHAT THE- GET OFF OF ME...! AHH! NEF ANYO PROTECT ME- AAAUUUGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!”

~The bay door that was next to the drop chute opened suddenly, revealing a psychotic scene. Corpus Crewmen were laying waste to a seemingly endless, unstoppable horde of infested runners. Some of the runners bore the remains of elegant dresses and suits- the infestation must have somehow reached the Civilians areas.
While the Corpus held off the steadily advancing swarm, a group of about 13 Corpus and Colonist tourists screamed and ran into the hangar. Looks like these Corpus Crewmen were trying to escourt them to safety?~

Lady:
“Ah! Tenno!” One of the ladies in a bloodstained, torn dress pointed at the Wukong. “We’re saved!”

Man:
“Oh!! Tenno!! You must help us!”

Younger Lady:
“Tenno protect us! There are monsters!”

~Soon enough, the hangar was filled with pleas and cries for help as the innocent people stumbled to the floor before Sonera, bowing down to her in some attempt to curry her favour.~

Corpus Security Squad Captain:
One of the Corpus Crewmen with a more decorated helmet turned around at the commotion, spotting the Tenno.
“Hey, Tenno!! Why don’t you do something and help us with the infestation here? There are women and children at risk! Don’t jus-“
The Captain was cut off as a Infested runner charged down the hallway, shrugging off several energy bolts from the Corpus’ Deras, and tackled the Captain to the floor. It shoved its malformed, hardened hand into the Captain’s face, the clawlike spike smashing through the visor and into his skull.
The Runner was then obliterated by a volley of lasers from the other Crewmen. (edited)

Sonera
I freeze at the new onslaught of alarms and twirl on my heels to look towards the hangar doors

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Executor balls!”

I smash the last bag of credits down out of pure frustration on top of the neat little pile me and my Wukong have made. I lift my gaze to look at him, standing two steps to my left and looking at me with that flat expression of his. I let out a huff and angrily yell out at him.

“Yeah well at least it WAS a plan! I don’t see you jumping to any!”

He stands still, continuing to gaze at me in silence, but speaking volumes. They think he can’t speak, he can’t express, but he can, in my eyes he is all. I let out a sigh, causing my shoulders to slump.

“Yes yes…will work on it”

I smile and look up to try and quickly think of some other solution ”Maybe blasting it open? Yes yes! I’m sure these…”

The sudden commotion caused me to literally jump out of my current “skin” and transfer in to my Wukong, a impulsive and instinctive response to any fearful situation. I whip around towards the bay door, fists at the ready. The infested have broken through, or well the concoction that the Nidus set loose. They are tearing at the civilians, rampaging, screaming, howling, hungry. I barely notice the cries of the desperate as my eyes fixate on the hoard.

(edited)

(edited)

A devious grin cracks across the monkeys face, polished white fangs flashing in the light in a malicious manner. A surge of untamable hunger travels up my limbs, my spine and pools around my head, like a tsunami sweeping across everything logical and replacing it with this simple drive, this savagery. Was that a memory? Who cares?! It already faded in to the fog once more, as all does. Can’t hold on to it, never have! But the important part remains. The raw emotion, the primal fury that screams for one simple need. The need to play!

“Yes yes!”

I leap over the bowing crowd and while falling summon my Iron Staff with a flash of green energy. Upon landing I break in to a mad dash towards the infested. Leaping over the corpus frontline I activate my Defy and drop in to a roll that breaks in to a slide attack to slip in the thick of the fray, infested tightly surrounding me now as I break through their frontline. I slash, I crush, I beat and I dice everything that I see.

With each strike my staff grows longer, catches more, slices them faster. Blood, ooze and guts start painting the walls and floor, and replacing the sky blue color of my Wukong. Liquid splatters on my helmet, they soak and drip from my front as I hack through the mass but I don’t really care. It’s fun!

Performing the Rolling Boulder Rush combo I push through, crushing, brutalizing and mangling everything in my wake. (edited)

~Within mere seconds, the hallway was empty of infested, although the shrieks of people and the unholy monsters they had become continued to resonate through the ship.~

Corpus Crewman:
"Thank you, Tenno." He said, dropping to the floor in a bow. The other surviving crewmen did likewise, and the civilians followed. Some of the people wept for joy. Others kept babbling praises to their saviour. Two children smiled happily at the legendary guardian that had just saved them.
The moment of respect was interrupted when an explosion rang out through the hangar, ships left and right exploding violently, sending shrapnel raining across the metal halls. The shockwave propelled Sonera a little down the hallway, but the Corpus and civilians were rended apart by waves of fire and metal shards. Sonera had only survived because she had been far enough in the hallway to block the sea of flame that had poured out, and the shrapnel was not able to travel far enough down the hall.
When the heat had cleared, all that remained was the pile of credits and platinum in the hangar, along with the scorched, shredded bodies of the people she had just saved.

Kapak:
"Hello?! Do any Tenno read me? If you're still alive, we need backup on decks 4 and 7! That's where we've brought all the people! (No, void-damnit, I'm not gonna stick around with you, I'm just making sure they're protected before I'm skedaddlin'. I have to find my uh, friends.) I repeat! All Tenno to decks 4 and 7!" The familiar voice of the Nidus rang out through the general comms that Tenno could broadcast on.

Sonera
Even after clearing them all, and drenching the hall with entrails, that maddening smile never wavered from my face. I lift a hand to wipe the liquid from my neuroptics, not that it did anything since my once sky blue Wukong is pretty much colored puke green and crimson from the fight, some still oozing off the frame and dripping on the floor.

The sudden cheer and praise made me blink out of it, my grin shifting down in to a smile as I twirl around to face the crowd. With a flick of my wrist my Iron Staff disappears in to green smoke and I offer the crowd a mock bow, as a great showman closing the curtain on the entertainment. ”Yes yes, keep it down. Do it for them yes? No!” My gaze shifts to the neat pile of credits and plat ”Yes yes! Do it for that!”

My smile grows wider as I start walking back in the hangar but then out of a sudden this huge explosions ripples through causing me to flop backwards, being carried by the blaswave that ripped though my front. Shrapnel and heat penetrating.

“Keyk!”

My back hits the floor hard but bouncing me up to be carried further by the relentless momentum.

“Ypak!”

The wave rolls me backwards, my neck bending in a weird angle against the floor. A muffled “Blop” sounds comes up as my defy pops

“Ykip!”

I bounce away like a basketball, every few hits my Defy activating due to me hitting the floor in weird and (silly) fatal angles.

“Puyk!”

I finally stop, smacking in to a wall in the hallway, legs first with all of the accumulated momentum making me flatten against it like a thrown gelo. A a uncomfortable crack sounds off which is then followed by another Defy pop before I peel off the wall and flop down on the floor on my ass.

“Uhhhh”

I groan shakily standing up with one hand on the back of my neck and one on my lower back. The pain rippling through my entire body from that vicious tumble. (edited)

“Holly…that didn’t feel too good”

I grimace at the pain as I try and straighten up, cracking joints with each breath I take. ”Lucky for that Defy eh?!”

I let out a loud laugh but quickly regretting it as my ribs tug along in agony making me cough out at the end. Cracking my neck I look down the hall in to the hangar only to notice the lack of people. With a skip in my left leg I bounce back towards it to see the situation. I frown at their corpses and the smell of burning flesh ”It’s useless…” A wave of a unknown emotion hits me, like a river rising up to drown me…what is it? I can never give it a name.

My gaze then finds my once perfect pile of credits and plat now a even bigger mess as the bags got thrown all around the room

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA MY PERFECT PILE!”

I yell out in frustration, my face twisting in horror as my hands shoot up to grab on to my head.



I pause ”Yes! Blame him!”

I smirk and turn around to dash out of the hangar and down the hallway…well…first skip, then jog and then the full on out bullet jumping comes out, whizzing up the floors with ease, dodging any infested, along the way by just power pushing through them with my Defy activated.

“Third…one more!”

I exclaim as I catch the number on the side of the walls as I enter another level. However something catches my eye and I skid to a stop. ”OHHH Last one eh?!”

I make a quick dash for the arcade and bust the glass to one of the claw machines, taking out a little kubrow plushie that had the hound pelt, colored in two shades of red. “Awww. Will work!”

I grab it with my tail and continue down the corridor that leads up to the fourth level (edited)

~The fourth level was the ballroom. There was always music and food in the room, rich couples dining or dancing at every hour of the day. Well, not now. There on stage was a group of civilians huddled together, all of them either in a state of crying or screaming. A few of the survivor men were holding onto Cestras, barely controlling the spray as they hosed down the infestation barreling down on them. All around the stage, infested monsters sprinted towards them, leaping over tables and chairs to try and take a bite of the survivors.
On either sides of the pile of terrified survivors were Kapak and some other Tenno in a Vauban. Kapak had a fire extinguisher in his hands, and was using it to surprisingly good effect. He splattered apart Infested after Infested, his fire fighting took now caked in grey, slimy matter and blood.
Additionally, what seemed to be little insects kept crawling down Kapak’s legs before leaping into the oncoming hordes and exploding in a ball of fire and ooze.
The Vauban was keeping himself busy by flinging trap after trap into the rows of tables, causing the monsters to trip, fall, fly across the room and splatter against the wall, explode, get electrocuted and more.
No one has seen Sonera yet, as the lights in the ballroom were broken or flickering, save for the dramatic spotlight that was shining on the stage.~

Sonera
“Yes yes! There it is!”

I dash through the infestation, punching and pushing my way through till I skid right outside the entrance to the ballroom. ”Wowza! How did I miss this place?! Yes yes! Look at the lighting! The infest- OH CRAP!” My eyes land on the huddled people on the stage and the number of infested just charging through.

As graceful as ever, I jump up to run across the hoard, my feet stomping in their heads, shoulders, back? With each step I leap higher, stomp harder, trying to smash or slow them down at least as I sort of crowd surf towards the stage. With one last stomp, I propel myself in the air once more and with a frontflip silently land next to the Nidus, popping my Iron Staff but dispelling my Defy for the time being.

“You really know how to trash a place eh?”

I speak up to him as I swing my staff to decapitate a charging mutated corpus

FREZ
A seemingly normal-looking civilian passenger sprinted down the corridor. He wore a rather expensive set of clothes, with a hat that obscured his face rather well. At the moment, he was completely unarmed as he ran in a general direction, hoping to avoid the Infested. He was mostly following anybody else that he saw, hoping that they would lead him away from the Infested.

So, Frez didn't have a very good history with Fortuna et Ops, it seems. The first, he had accidentally stumbled the abandoned husk of upon after getting stranded several years back (Siren's Call thread). Now, after a couple of years of doing his best to not die on Eris, he decided he needed to get away from the Infested for once.

Anywho, you can imagine his surprise when he heard the alarms, and found out that Infested were on board this Fortuna et Ops. He had grown a bit better at dealing with the Infested, sure, but they still absolutely terrified him beyond the capacity for rational thought. That, and he didn't have a gun.

~In the ballroom, the amount of infested pouring in from the doors and vents never seemed to slow... it was getting hard to believe that this many people were actually aboard.~

Kapak:
“Note to self; remove spores’ hardened cell wall and decrease fomite developmental pathways...” he rambled as he slammed a crawler backwards like a golf ball into the growing pile of deceased Infested. “This void-damn one is spreading a lot faster than in my clinical trials!” He chuckled as he crushed another infested monster under the fire extinguisher.

Vauban:
“I have no clue whatchu talkin’ ‘bout homie, but it whack as fuh,” The Vauban delivered a roundhouse kick to a leaper mid air, sending it back into the swarm.
“Yo, look! There’s another Tenno, man!” The Vauban pointed as Sonera lept across the crowd.

Kapak:
“Ah, Stoirin!” Kapak smiled awkwardly as she landed. “Trashing the place was not my intention, believe me. But I won’t deny that I am quite excellent at it.” He looked at the Vauban.
“Um.... well, now I can’t leave.” He said as a maggot crawled down into his palm. He tossed it like a grenade into the crowd where it exploded in a brilliant flash of orange. It is apparent he was hoping there was some other Tenno who would come along to save these people so he could escape with a clear conscience and a full pocketbook.

Vauban:
“Damn straight you ain’t leavin’ me behind, fool!” The Vauban said spitefully as he tossed an assortment of his own grenades.

~Meanwhile, Frez ran theough hallways that were so familiar and yet so different. They were still clean and polished, the decorations still full of colour and not faded. It looked exactly like Frez had stepped aboard the Fortuna et Ops once again, and then travelled back in time to an age where its glory was displayed in full. Of course, the presence of Infestation was the primary common theme between the first and second ship.
No infested creatures were on his tail just yet, thankfully, but their inhuman screams mingled with the cries of their victims seeped through the air from all around him.~

Corpus Guard:
“Hey! Wait!” A voice called out as Frez passed a room.

Sonera
I let out a sarcastic “PSH!” at the Nidus as he said that trashing the place wasn’t his intention. I lift my leg and kick a leaping charger square in the mouth hole as he tried to leap past us, sending him flying backwards in to the hoard without teeth. ”Maybe yes? Believe, but he’s true, he IS good at trashin’” My grin widens ”Yes yes! Maybe he would be good for it!”

I slash them down, as relentless as they come, so do my jabs. I poke thought their heads, their torsos, sheering anything that dares lift a eyelash to the stadium. With guts and ooze splashing on to my front again, I glance at the Vauban and smile at him, offering a simple nod before my gaze drifts to the people on the middle of the podium. Couldn’t be more than 30. I then look up before reverting my gaze back to the Nidus

“Oh oh! Idea!” I cut a charger in half

“I see no end to this but-“ I stomp on a crawler, like a bug making it crunch

“What if I cloud surf them up-“ shoulder bash another charger to push it back in the infested crowd

“To the vents!”

A leaper lunges at me but I catch it mid flight with my hand and viciously slam the infested creetin on the floor with the force of a Opticor boom, making it splatter like a watermelon.

“Gonna take me a while, but!- HECK!”

Something grabs on to my left leg and yanks me down from the podium but I manage to server the mutated arm with my staff and quickly leap up to my feet once more, just in time to slide attack out of there.

“Better than staying in this loop eh?! Or…is the potion still spreading through them”

I look at the Nidus from the corner of my vision as I grow my staff in volume to smash

FREZ
Frez was used to running for his life at this point. Honestly, his cardio was amazing by now. He could keep up this sprint for a while. He knew he didn't have to be in front of the rest of the fleeing people, he just didn't have to be at the back. He kept running, right up until he heard the "Hey, wait!" from beside him. He looked in the direction the voice came from, visibly shaking from a combination of adrenaline and sheer panic. Right now, he really wished he had a gun of some sort. At least then he might stand a chance if something caught up to him.

Kapak
“Can you do that?” He grunted as he crushed a runner attempting to climb into the stage. “I mean, it shouldn’t be airborne anymore. I altered this strain’s genome to suppress the formation of fruiting bodies. It’s probably been spreading via fluids with a remarkably short incubation period. Way, way too virulent.”
Kapak unleashed an otherworldly, unholy screech, causing the closest three Runners to snap their own necks.

Vauban:
“Ye ye shut da hell up fool, talkin’ bout yo science bull. Yo, Monkey! Let’s do this!” He tossed a Bastille emitter at the base of the closest vent to attempt to clear a path.


~For Frez, he seemed to get lucky. The room the guard was standing in was shared by a couple others, all armed seemingly to the teeth with Corpus rifles. Perhaps this was finally Lady Luck smiling on Frez? An ironic situation considering the namesake and history of such a vessel.~

Corpus Guard:
“Get in here! Quickly!” The guard in the front beckoned him into the office-like room. (edited)

Sonera

“Yes sir!”

I throw the Vauban a mock salute and dispel my staff with a flip of my wrist. I quickly dash towards the huddled survivors and crouch down in front of them so to be on their eye level. I smile at them, flashing platinum fangs at them in a non-threatening manner, which to them might just seem opposite as to how unnaturally upwards the “lips” pull on the helmet. I take a moment to scan them all, bouncing between the children first. ”Cloud too slow…” I look over my shoulder to the never ending charge “Too many of them…need for speed!”

“No worry no worry!” I assure them, accompanied with soft hand gestures

“You will all be safe soon but kids go first. Two by two, with me”

I extend my arms as the survivors start pushing their children towards me, I grab on to one and flip him on my back, grabbing on to both his arms and guide them to my neck so to hang on there. I look over my shoulder to him and nod “Firm, hard, don’t let go” I tell him as I feel his legs coil around my waist. I then reach out and grab on to another one that I hold against my front, my left arm securing him firmly. Kids are light, easy to handle but adults will slow this thing down by a lot. I stand up and with a smile nod at the rest, assuring them that I will be right back.

I break in to a dash towards the cleared path that the Vauban secured. I stand directly bellow the vent “Hold on!” I holler at the kids and I feel their grips tighten around me before I slam the ground with my Iron Staff which sends my flying upwards like a rocket. My momentum carries me easily and I grab on to the vent with my free hand, dangling off it.

“Go go!”

I tell the one on my back but he holds tighter, probably frightened by the height. I lift my tail to press against his back as added support

“Safe, secure, you can’t fall. Trust”

He probably felt safe enough to do it and uncoiled himself from me as he leaped inside the shaft. He then quickly turns around to help the one I have holding in my other hand. The first two make it and they smile at each other.

“Stay here, help the rest”

I then let go of the vent and fall down in to a crouch with a silent thump. I use the crouch position to propel myself towards the crowd in a powerful leap, traveling in long two-legged hops, like a lemur.

“Keep it up chief! 20 more trips to go!”

I yell towards the Vauban as I pass him in the first leap, winking and throwing him a two-finger salute. By the end of the second I was already back towards the survivors and waste no time in scooping 2 more children for the next trip, repeating everything exactly like the previous. (edited)

FREZ
Frez ran into the room, gasping for breath once he was in the relative safety. "W-what's going on? Why are there Infested? Where did they come from?" Frez asked, desperately looking for answers. He had come here specifically to escape the Infested. He's been fighting for his life against the Infested for several years now, and he wasn't eager to deal with them again. He almost suspected that maybe the universe was just messing with him at this point, but that was just absurd, right? Still, he couldn't ignore the fact that it seemed wherever he went, the Infestation seemed to be there.

Kapak:
“Nice!” The Nidus commented as he grabbed an infested runner by the arms and tore it in half, showering himself in blood. “Just keep at it! These muckers got nothing on me!”

Vauban:
The Vauban said nothing other than making a few grunting sounds as he tossed more and more gadgets out.

~Meanwhile at the office where Frez was, the door was shut quickly and quietly as the other Corpus guards shuffled around to make room for Frez.
It was a beautiful office with wooden walls, high quality paintings of Corpus businessmen, a dust-free red rug on the floor, a stout imposing desk in the center of it all.~

Corpus Guard:
“Wish we knew,” the Corpus who had opened and closed the door answered, “I heard some staff screaming on the radio about the outbreak appearing on the vault level. Perhaps some contaminated credits made their way inside. Honestly who knows? But the next thing we all know, we got infested civilians running down everyone on practically every single Void-forsaken level on this voiddamn ship!”
As the other Corpus personnel moved to accommodate Frez, it became a little more clear how many were there: 5 security guards, 3 Crewmen, 3 Civilians in dirty torn clothes, and a janitor. In the background, a deactivated MOA sat on the floor, its armour painted jet-black with orange stripes; a typical design for Obsidian Dice’s custom proxies. The Corpus Crewmen shared similar colours on their jumpsuits: black with orange decals. The Guards wore familiar distinct forest green jumpsuits that Prod Crewmen typically wore.

Corpus Crewman:
“The Bridge went on lockdown too,” one of the Crewmen spoke up as his other two comrades nodded, “basically right as the alarm went out. It might have been too late though, since no one can get through to the Captain, and Bridge lockdowns can only be lifted from the bridge.... so yeah, the ship’s dead in the water right now.”

[1/3]

Other Corpus Crewman:
“If we could find a plasma cutter or a Tenno with a giant-arse sword we could cut our way in!”

Corpus Crewman:
“Most of the Tenno seemed to scatter right away! I haven’t any idea why though, I thought the Infestation wasn’t a huge problem for them?”

Janitor:
“Load of cowards, the lot of ‘em! Greedier than His Richness Nef Anyo himself!” The janitor spat, his red jumpsuit stained with grease and other filth. He shifted the weapon in his hands; a Corpus rifle known as the Glaxion infamous for its ability to freeze things solid.
“Probably didn’t want to lose all th’ money they ‘earned’.”

[2/3]

Corpus Guard:
"Well, stuff a bank card in it, you old fart, it's up to us to survive now!" The civilians murmured in agreement.
"Daico!" He waved to one of the guards behind the big desk. "Give our friend here something to keep him warm!"

Daico:
The Corpus Guard nodded and pressed a button on the corner of the desk, causing the 3 paintings on the wall behind him to flip, revealing an alarmingly lethal variety of Corpus manufactured weapons.
"Executives always keep a stash of weapons in their offices," Daico sneered as he plucked arm after arm off the display, "usually for 'self defense' and 'protection of assets'."
He thrusted a pistol forward towards Frez, the peculiar sidearm sliding across the smooth surface of the desk. "Arca Sisco, they call that one," Daico commented as he reached for a different weapon, "Corpus special forces grade weapon. Analyzes weakspots on the fly and blows them the muck up. Want something a lil bigger? Try this on for size!" He held out a rifle with a bizarre X shape at its muzzle. "The Tetra, they call it. Pretty standard in terms of performance, just watch out for the bullets- they tend to ricochet!"

Corpus Guard:
"What's yer name, by the way?" The Corpus Guard asked Fez while he made his picks. "You can call me Elax."

[3/3]

Sonera
At some point I just became a sky blue, blood soaked blur that went back and forth from the vent and the survivors. Each trip pushing me to go faster, urgency rising as it came to the adults turn. I can’t carry more than one at a time and there were dozens of them so I had to move faster. Every now and then my head twitching to the side to the infested as they swarm around the Nidus and Vauban ”Hnn, I want in! No no! Focus!”

I drop down from the vent for I don’t even know what time, it feels like I’ve been doing this for ages. With those lemur like hops I make my way back to the survivors, only to find two of them waiting for me. By the looks of it a young couple that probably came here on their honeymoon or just to spend a day or two just with each other. The man – dressed in a fine tailored suit – stands up and drags his wife up with him – who is wearing a tight fitting crimson dress – and kisses her on the cheek “Right behind ya” I hear him say, squeasing her hand before letting go.

I grab her, bridal style, and quickly hop back towards the vent. Propeling myself up with my Iron Staff I grab on to the vent and the people inside help her in. I smile at them all.

“One more, then we go”

I tell them as I let go and drop down. I quickly dash towards the man and scoop him up in the same fashion and hop back under the vent. I Reach forward with my right arm to summon my Iron Staff and – huh?

I extend my arm down to jab but nothing happens. ”Aaaaaaaaaa HEK! No energy! And no pizzas!”

I lift my head up to look at the people looking down from the vent, waiting. “Hek hek hek hek hek hek hek hek”* I glance around for the Vauban

“Ey! Can I get a boost?!”

I point at my feet for him to place a bouncy grenade if he can

FREZ
Frez quickly grabbed the Arca Sisco and the Tetra. He seemed to be comfortable holding the weapon, which would certainly be odd for a civilian. Frez had used it back when he was stationed on Phobos, after all. "Alright, uh... Frez Haffon." He introduced himself quickly, walking over to the paintings to grab more energy cells.
"Listen, we need to get to the bridge ASAP if any of us are getting out of this place alive." Frez wasn't sure about this moments before, but now he decided he needed to take charge of the situation. He was still scared out of his mind right now, but decided to ignore that the best be could. "Any volunteers?" Frez knew it was probably a bit odd to see what looked like a civilian giving orders, but he didn't bring that up yet.

Vauban:
“Hell yeh you can get a boost!” The Vauban reached to his side and fumbled with his devices.
“The fuh...? Shiiiiiiiiiiiii-“

Kapak:
“And that’s why you don’t rely on little party balls to get things done!” The Nidus roundhouse kicked an infested away from the stage, right into a large crowd of the fiends that had been barrelling down the aisle. With the wave stunned, Kapak whipped a ball of meat at the vent which stuck to the side with an unceremonious splat.
“Hold on!” He called out as he turned away and dived headfirst into the crowd of infested.
In mere seconds, the ball of meat exploded into a swarm of frenzied, waving tentacles- two of which hurled themselves at Sonera at an alarming speed.
At the same time, an infested Corpse lept through the Vauban’s fully loaded bastille and snarled aggressively. It ran at Sonera! Ahh!

[1/2]

Elax:
“Um, Frez, no disrespect, but you really have to trust us on this.” Elax stepped forward.

Corpus Crewman:
“Yeah man! Didn’t you listen? The. Bridge. Is. Locked. Down.” The Crewman huffed condescendingly.

Daico:
“Look Frez, I get you just want to help, but we’re professionals here. And the best option right now is NOT to charge through this infestation riddled ship.”

Other Corpus Guard:
“Yeah man, we’re completely under equipped too. I mean, these three have never fired a gun in their life!” He geatured towards the 3 Civilians, 2 men and one woman. They clutched their weapons awkwardly- each armed with Flux Rifles. Not hard to aim or use at all.

Janitor:
“Geez man, y’ sound like yer some milita man’r sumthin’.” The janitor reached into the front pocket of his Corpus jumpsuit and stuck a cigarette in his mouth. He pulled a lighter out and regarded Frez once more before lighting it.
“M’void, don’t be such an idiot, boyo. If yeh want to git killed, th’ door’s thataway. In the meantime though, sum o’ us are tryn’ t’ live here!”

Elax:
Elax sighed and rolled his eyes. The Corpus guards behind him did the same.
“Stuff it, man. Let’s at least hear Frez out. How do you suppose we get into the bridge?”

[2/2]

Sonera
“Hek man! What’s a Vauban without his trinkets?!”

I yelled at the Vauban in a teasing manner as I saw him fumble around for his gadgets. Then again he has been throwing them out at a alarming speed so it’s no surprise that he would run out pretty soon.

“I-is everything alright?”

I hear the man in my arms ask and I look at him with that unnerving toothy grin, nodding my head

“Yes yes, only professionals!”

I mean….it’s kinda correct. Children yes but battle bred children so the man felt somewhat at ease. Here he was, in the middle of his chaos and there are three Tenno trying to save him…I’d say he just spent a lifetime of his gambling luck right here.

I whip my head to the Nidus as he yelled out and watched him throw a weird meat thing up on the vents ”Huh?" I wrinkle my brows in confusion as I watch the mass. But, my confusion is soon replaced by realization as the tendrils burst out, reaching towards me with enormous speed.

Adus (Dresden)


Sonera
I don’t even spend a second to think about it or to doubt the familiar voice that came through my comms, he knows the battlefield like a hard worn veteran and I trust him with my Oro. I quickly throw the man up, towards the tendrils hoping they’d catch him just in time, as a split second after the runaway charger slammed in to me. With a violent push I’m thrown on my left side and land with a thud on the floor, the charger on top of me, clawing and gnawing at my side and arm.

“FRICKING-“

I use my right elbow to smack the monstrosity in it’s head, sending it rolling over to the right. I quickly roll after it and pin it down by trapping it between my knees. I coil my hands in to fists and start punching it square in the face. At first they were shallow, but as each punch landed in the same cavity the sounds got louder, the wound got deeper, skin, tissue and bone cracked and spilled under each powerful hit, blood and ooze squirting forth in to my face. (edited)

“FRICKING”

Punch

“WAIT”

Punch

“YOUR”

Punch

“TURN”

Punch.

I lift to land the next punch but stop, seeing as the now unrecognizable mass bellow me has stopped twitching 10 punches ago. I smile, admiring my handy work (literally) but it quickly fades as I look towards the man, to see what fate befell him. (edited)

"I'm special forces. I was stationed on Eris for a few years, so I've fought my fair share of these things. I was on the original Fortuna. You can trust me. I know what I'm doing." Frez did his best to sound as confident as possible, doing a fairly decent job. "So, if anyone on this ship is gonna survive, we need to reach the Bridge and try to regain control of the ship. So, any volunteers?" He was screaming in panic internally, but he had plenty of experience with hiding mortal terror.
"If this ship is built anything like the original Fortuna, the vents should be able to get us virtually anywhere on the ship, the Bridge in particular. If anyone has schematics of the ship, we need those if we're getting to the Bridge." Frez also grabbed a couple of grenades (if there were any) just to be sure, and stepped away from the paintings. (edited)

~Fortunately for @Sonera , it appeared that the man had made it to safety. The other survivors were helping him out of the tangle of the Nidus' larvae, the tentacled ball already withering and decomposing into a slush. The man gave a thankful smile and thumbs up before ducking back into the vent with the rest of the survivors.~

Kapak:
"Alright, great work guys, time to gooooo~"

Vauban:
"You sly motherfuc-" the Vauban cursed above the din of infestation which seemed to get more and more torrential. "You can't just leave those peeps in that hole in the wall 'n call it a day!"

Kapak:
"Then save them you lazy dickhole!" Kapak yelled as he slammed his fists against a Runner's skull, smushing its head.

Vauban:
"Who's the lazy one here, homie?!" He angrily kicked several crawlers out from around him. It was a good thing all the survivors were gone- the infestation were beginning to pour out from the backstage area now.

Kapak:
"Stuff a sock in it you choo-choo train looking, lunaro throwing, ketyot j'ko pikey po kate yetpietpy y'piyk p'keit yotyupyyp atsy uk p'keit tuppkope!" Kapak slide across the stage, knocking several infested monsters off of it, scooping up one of his maggots as he did so. At the end of his slide, with a maggot in hand he delivered a literal explosive uppercut to a Leaper, wiping out the surrounding infested in the blast wave (as well as his own arm).
"I don't know about you, but I don't really want to be stuck in this room in a perpetual state of slaying zombies!" Kapak's arm began to grow back, finishing just in time to grab another Leaper by the throat and tear out its trachea, or at least what was left of it.

~The flood of Infested dwindled and then suddenly stopped.~

[1/2] (edited)

(( @Darkjunior ))

Elax:
"Eris, huh? Spec ops?" He looked at his fellow guards, each of them shrugging.

Corpus Guard:
"Hey man, he definitely doesn't sound like a crazy fellow. Seems to have his head screwed on right."

Corpus Crewman:
"I have partial schematics for the ship..." The Crewman reached into the back pocket of his jumpsuit and pulled out a datapad. "Let's see... garden irrigation... plumbing.... power... fuel lines.... where the keyk it p'ke jot'pp is the ventilation layout?!"

Janitor:
"Oy," the Janitor spoke up, holding out his own datapad. "Here." He passed it off the the Crewman who looked at it up and down quickly.

Corpus Crewman:
"This is it.... yeah, there's a path to the bridge in the vents! But uh...." He frowned for a moment, turning the layout several times. "Looks like there's some fans in the way. No other way around 'em. Power's still on in the ship as of now so those fans WILL be going."

Daico:
The Corpus Guard who had helped Frez get his weapons slammed a large, heavy weapon onto the desk.
"This, my friends, is a PENTA. Guaranteed to blow the brains and bolts out of anything up to fifty meters away. Also a great fan-stopping-slash-removing tool." He smiled and gave an enthusiastic thumbs up. "Looks like Frez here was right about the vents leading to the bridge. Seems like enough for me to trust him."

Corpus Crewman:
"Nice! Excellent! Now we won't have to try and find the energy control center and manually shut the power down. That grenade launcher will definitely save us some time." The Corpus staff members and guards began to load their weapons up as well as helping the civilians with their own. They grabbed ammo packs, grenades, and a few medkits.

Elax:
The head guard pulled Frez aside. "When you say you were on the first Fortuna et Ops, do you mean you were on board the ship when.... it happened? Or were you one of the saps who tried to board it after it had been floating adrift? Just curious."

[1/2]

Sonera
I smiled up at him, offering a wave as well. But it was short lived as a body rammed in to my back, sending me topping to the floor yet again. I angrily grab on to it’s leg with my strong and flexible tail and fling it off my back so that I can get up. In one swift leap I kick it’s head off and pick up the lifeless body. My gaze drifts to the side and the bursting mutation and at the Vauban and Nidus as they exchange pleasant words causing a chuckle to cackle from my cold throat ”Hah! These fellas! Amusing!”

“Ey ey! Fellas! Let’s leave the pissing competition for later eh?”

I smirk as I throw the lifeless corpse in my right hand at another approaching charger.

“Yes yes!”

I boom after the Doctor’s last words. Stay in here forever? Sounds fun! But…better things to take care of, people too.

But then it just…stops? “Huh?” My first drop to dangle by my side and I look from the mountains of flesh to the Vauban and Nidus. ”No no, impossible to kill every infested onboard so fast…or…bored?”

I hum under my breath and look up at the vents where the people are probably looming over, if they haven’t headed towards somewhere.

“Hey hey! I’ll go with them, heard towards the lower emergency exits, we can meet up there. There gotta be a switch that opens the flight doors. Or! The pods! Use force!”

I smile and nod my head, which is more for myself than anyone. My blank gaze jumps from the Vauban to the Nidus, waiting to hear their thoughts or…if the flesh one can tell more as of why they stopped advancing.

FREZ
"Found it adrift. As far as I know, though, I'm one of the only people to escape." Frez explained to Elax. Frez had managed to reach the primary reactor, grabbing the fresh energy shell his shuttle needed, before getting out of there. "The situation here should be more manageable, since the Infested haven't taken over yet." Frez was sorta saying that to comfort everyone, imcluding himself, but he hoped it was true.

"So, we have the equipment and a plan. All we need now are volunteers." Frez was hoping at least a couple people would stay behind to keep the civilians safe, as bringing them with could slow them down. Right now, he really wished he had actual armor instead of his civilian clothes. "We're gonna have to move quickly, if we're gonna make it to the bridge."

Wanting full field of view, Frez took his hat off, revealing his face, scarred by years of accidents on and off of the battlefield. The face certainly didn't match his normally nervous behaviour. He imagined it would be a tad jarring to see his face, at least to a civilian. The plasma burn covering half his face, the scratches on his cheek where he had been hit by an Infested charger back on the Fortuna, the burn from where he tried to contain his cyst before it was removed, and the various other scratches one would recieve from plenty of combat.

Kapak:
“Whoa whoa whoa, Stoirin! Where’s the money!?” Kapak stomped his foot impatiently as if emulating a 7 year old angry schoolgirl.
The Vauban sighed and would’ve rolled his eyes if his Warframe had any.

~It remained quiet. Much, much to quiet.~

[1/2] (edited)

Elax:
“We’re all going to stick together,” The Corpus Guard spoke as he stepped towards the Civilians. “The Infestation already have a numbers advantage on us. The Civilians will have a better chance of getting to an objective if we all stick together. More firepower all in one place, after all.”
The two men and woman nodded furiously.

Daico:
“Yeah, we stick together. Probably best chance of survival. I’ve had plenty of friends on other Corpus ships who’ve been overrun because they didn’t have enough people watching their back.”

Janitor:
“Voiddamn, boy, th’ ‘ell ye get that from? You uglier than me, pal!” The janitor chuckled as Frez took off his hat. He dropped his cigarette on the floor and stomped it out. “Eh, actually I dun give a shizzle. Makes ye look like a badarse tho, heh.”

~The door to the offixe creaked open as one of the Corpus Guards opened it, peeking both ways before silently signalling all clear.~

Elax:
“Mino,” Elax quietly called to the Crewman with the datapad, “you’ve got the schematics. You lead the way. Frez, you cover him. We’ll cover your back. Civilians in the center, make sure safeties are off, and don’t dawdle. Let’s move!”

~Mino nodded to Frez before moving out the door past the Guard, pausing to let Frez catch up.~

[2/2]

Sonera
I stop, freezing as I just remembered about the money business. Like when your mother comes in your room and asks you if you’ve cleaned the attic like she asked you to 10h ago and you stop all that you are doing as your brain starts burning 100 GB/s to roll the day back and remember the exact time she asked you to, and you start filling up with dread cause she DID ask you but you’ve spent the last 10h just playing games and being a useless sack of potatoes. How do you respond to that? I forgot? Whelp! Get ready to get smacked! ”CURSE this easily swayed mind! Hek hek! It’s too fast!” It’s like letting down everyone around you cause you can’t focus on one important thing even if your life depended on it!

A expression of shock and horror forms across my Wukong’s face as I yell out in clear panic.

“THE MONEYYY!”

My hands shoot up to grab on to my frames horned head

“HHHHHHHHHHHHHEK! It got blown up in the hangar!”

I look towards the Nidus

“BUT THE DRONE! Yes yes! I must still be throwing down if it did not get smacked down! Fresh piles!”

FREZ
Frez sticks to the front of the group, moving at a rather fast pace. He checked both sides of the wall for an air vent large enough for a person to move through, while also keeping an eye out for any Infested ahead of them. He had his Tetra ready, safety off. He didn't say anything to the group, trying to make as little noise as possible to avoid detection.

Kapak:
Kapak grunted in frustration and clutched at his temples.
“Fathermucker!” He swore, clearly unhappy. It was obvious that the money was Kapak’s whole reason for even being on this ship.
“Grrrrr... Alright! Go with the survivors, make sure they get to an escape vessel or s-“

~Kapak was cut off as the doors to the ballroom suddenly exploded and a pent-up wave of Infested literally swept across the room in a tsunami of angry infested flesh.~

Vauban:
“Awww.... SHIIIIIIIIIIIIII-“

Kapak:
“Ok just go!!” Kapak screeched at Sonera before colliding with the tidal wave. Kapak blended in with the massive body of creatures, his own flesh camouflaging him perfectly against the rest of the monsters.
The Vauban disappeared into the mess as well.

[1/2]

Mino:
“The vent should be coming up in a couple meters,” The Crewman whispered to Frez from behind him. The soft padding of feet from the rest of the group was as quiet as they were going to get- there was also a faint whirring noise, as some of the Crewman were able to activate the MOA Frez may have seen in the office earlier.
Altogether, the convoy of Corpus, civilians and robot made their way down the hallway, wary of any movement or sounds. There were some echoes of screams and growls from down other halls, but thankfully nothing nearby.
Eventually, the group came across the air vent, still clear from any Infested encounters.

Elax:
“Flashlights on,” the lead guard commanded to the Corpus guards. They had some useful flashlight attachments on their weapons. The Janitor also had a lamp that gave off some extra ambient light, much to the relief of the incredibly nervous Civilians.

[2/2]

Sonera
My head quickly snaps towards the sudden burst of infested “Aiyeeee!” I reel back from the hoard and quickly turn around, dashing towards the vent before the wave engulfs me. In long and powerful strides I reach under the vent and propel myself up with the agility of a monkey. My hand grabs on to the vent and I pull myself up, rolling inside but dipping my head out to see the squirming sea.

“Ahhh ha ha ha! Fun fun!”

I clap my hands in congratulations to myself but then I freeze, remembering that the people I helped up are still inside. I slowly look over my shoulder to see them looking at me as if I’m a maniac.

“Uh…”

I cough, clearing my throat, replacing my adrenaline filled grin in to a more pleasant smirk.

“Err…safe! Yes yes! Now, follow me!”

I squeeze past the majority to break through to the front of the group. Walking on all fours I start scurrying down. Oh but wait…where am I even going? ”No no, not built this…no idea!” I hum under my breath. Hangar is dead, burning or worse, only hope now is maybe some escape pods at the lower levels. Right?

“Pst. Got anything for me?” I mumble quietly and a light broke out in the darkness of the vents as a projection of a twinkling triangle came in the view in front of me. The triangle never stood still, it’s lines vibrated, various other triangles come and go in the background, the main color constantly changes – pretty much the projection itself seemed like it was drunk and can induce headaches if looked at for too long.

Adus (Arko)
“Ah ye-s yez” Whirred the projection with a somber yet slurred and static filled speech, each glitch in it’s words is accompanied by added static in the projection, making the main triangle buzz out or stretch “Pulle-d out the blueprints of zis place, eEezy thing. N-oW, for the paaaAth. Hmmm” He paused speaking as he started calculating the most efficient way down to the lower levels through the vents, looking over every possible route.

FREZ
Frez knew these vents take a fair bit of force, so he shot at a couple pieces of metal with his sidearm to weaken them a bit, before kicking through the now-weakened metal, giving the group access to the vents while also looking awesome. He gestured for everyone to get in, watching out for anything coming after them. He didn't say anything, wanting to make as little noise as possible. Yes, even after firing his weapon.

Frez took out his Tetra again, doing one quick check of the hallway before following everyone into the vents. Better safe than sorry, after all. And right now, he knew ignorance will almost definitely get everyone killed.

~Adus’ analysis would reveal that the fastest way the the emergency deck was to take the next 2 lefts, down, and then forwards until the end. That would hopefully bring the group of survivors and Sonera to a location where there would be escape pods. There was still a chance that someone either jettisoned them already, they were broken, or overrun with more Infested.
Alternatively, Adus would be able to see a slightly longer path that led to the crew escape craft fixed to the back portion of the bridge. Unfortunately the vent system they were currently in was not directly connected to the vent system leading into the bridge- additionally the doors to the bridge appeared to be in administrative lockdown, and could only be opened from within. Again, the same risks applied to the escape craft there as to the escape pods on the lower deck. Time to make a decision!~

[1/2]

Janitor:
“Nef Anyo on a stake, watch where yer firin’ thet thing, boy!” The Corpus staffmember jumped in surprise, not because he was in any danger of Frez’s shots, but more because he was startled by the sudden noise.

Daico:
“Shut the Void up!” Daico whispered with a hiss.

~The group crawled into the vents, stepping lightly, as sound travelled quickly through these passages. One of the Crewmen stayed behind to reprogram the MOA into muted mode to prevent any machine language from escaping its ‘mouth’.

From down various connecting vent passages, there were the angry, ferocious, gurgling roars of the Infested intermingled with the occasional scream of some unfortunate victim that had managed to survive this long.

Mino continued to guide Frez by tapping him on the shoulder and pointing the right way whenever they needed to make a turn. The guards moved deftly without sound. The Crewmen remained silent, and the Civilians did their best to silence any peeps. The noisiest thing was the soft whirring of the MOA’s legs as it brought up the group’s rear.

So far, everything was so good... until they reached the pulsating mass of Infestation in the middle of the vent.

It appeared that a Corpus gentleman had been aggressively launched sideways into the vents, his body suspended by the shards of metal still half stuck into the vent grate’s frame. The body itself was no longer just a corpse. Its flesh bubbles and pulsated, shifting like the ocean on a windy day. His eyes were sunken and lifeless, and eerie pink glow at the pupil’s core. The mouth hung open, several strands of grey, fleshy matter hanging like a ragged, serpentine tongue covered in glowing spots matching the colour of the corpse’s eyes.~

Elax:
The head guard shuffled his way past Mino and next to Frez.
“What should we do?” He whispered.

Mino:
“There’s no way around this point,” Mino whispered from behind Elax, “this is literally the only way to get to the bridge using the vents. Past this is are the fans, and then the bridge. We’re pretty close!”

[2/2]

[RP is also now closed to newcomers]

FREZ
"Alright, on my mark, everyone open fire on that thing. It can't infect anyone if it's a charred piece of dead flesh." Frez raised his Tetra, crouching down so others could get a line of sight. "Anyone with explosive or high-energy weaponry, hold your fire. We don't need this thing exploding on us. It'll just spread it faster. And remember, no one touch it." Frez has attempted a similar method of dealing with Infested before, but never with this much firepower.

"Alright, 3, 2, 1..." Please don't splash everywhere, please don't splash everywhere... "Fire!" Frez squeezed the trigger of his Tetra, unloading the entire energy cell into this thing. (edited)

~The front group of Crewmen and Guards unloaded their own weapons briefly before ducking and falling backwards to avoid the ricocheting bolts of Frez’s Tetra. Fortunately, in the end no one was hurt except the infested corpse mass.~

Elax:
“Blimey! That thing didn’t stand a chance!” The Guard wiped his helmet as if to clear sweat off of it.

Daico:
“Everyone okay?!” Daico called back to the others. He was met with some groans, but everyone seemed fine.
“Right on then, sir!” He said, turning his attention back to Frez and his map. “Just straight on ahead and then up, and that should lead to the fan room!”
The group’s spirits seemed reinvigorated at the prospect of being so close to the bridge. They got back into their feet, ready to follow Frez forward.

FREZ
Frez led the group onward down the vents. He tried to minimize any sounds made by his footsteps. He reloaded his Tetra quickly, discarding the used energy cells. He peeked out of the grates as he moved through the vent, checking for any signs of Infested outside. He knew thet were so close to their destination, and he wasn't going to let the group get attacked now.

"So when you say 'straight ahead and up', how easily traversed is the 'up' part?" Frez asked Daico quietly. If it was completely vertical, that might pose a bit of an issue for the civilians in the group. "A vertical drop? An incline?" (edited)

Daico:
“According to the schematics, it should only be a couple feet. We can easily boost each other up, especially with the MOA in the back.”
As if right on cue, the vent pathway in front of them turned 90 degrees upward. The height discrepancy was only 8 feet.
“We can definitely manage this. I’ll give you a boost!” The Crewman crouched slightly and brought his hands together in a cup, ready to boost up his ally.

FREZ
Frez used the boost, and managed to grab onto the top of the ledge. As soon as he climbed up completely, he immediately had his Tetra out, pointing it down the corridor, seeing if there was anything waiting to jump out and attack them here. Assuming there was nothing there, he would give the rest of the group a thumbs-up.

Adus (Arko)
The colorful and fragmented projection whirred to himself in a amused manner before speaking up from his moment of silence, his words riddled with errors and glitches and yet accompanied by a relaxed and somber hum

“AhhHh Yee-s! I see tw-O Twoo paaths. One di-irrect, leAAds to puBliCCk eskape Pooods. Otther longKer but leadSS to tHe crewWW eskape cra-fts, mayBE hig-g-g-er chanCe dere. BUT! Proble-m! With-with-with the-e doors”

Sonera
I let out the hundredth groan of the evening and slump my head down, stopping my advance and stopping everyone behind me as well. So two paths eh? One is fast and the other is riddled with problems…neither guarantying in what is needed…good thing we’re at a gambling cruiser cause this will require a lot of gamble…now…where are the fricking dice?!

“Um…everything alright Tenno?”

Someone from behind shyly speaks up and I lift my head up to look over my shoulder to the crowd of scared but hopeful faces ”Ahhhhh! Fek fek it! Haste! Fast! Dance to the tune of the song eh?!” I grin, more to myself than to ease their worries

“Yes yes! All good! Now! Keep up”

I start crawling again and take the first left, going down the fastest route to the passenger escape pods, keeping a eye on the projected of a very buggy map that my Cephalon has put up in front of my visor. What if there are none? Ditch? No no…no?

~Frez would have been presented with a clear hallway- there was nothing but a larger chamber up ahead where Frez would be able to make out the three massive 3-bladed fans spinning at a brisk speed. But no Infested!~

Elax:
The Guard climbed up onto the same level as Frez, boosted by the Crewman just the same.
“The Void smiles upon us,” Elax said with clear relief in his voice.
“Let’s deal with these last obstacles. Daico! Penta!”
There was a clattering as the Corpus grenade launcher was tossed up the vent and landed next to Frez.
“I’ll let you do the honours.”

~There was a groaning sound, almost as if the ship was suffering from indigestion. The air rattled the vents, garbage and food wrappers dancing across the floor.~

[1/2]

~For @Sonera, the journey was a good break of pace as there were no dangerous encounters along the way. The only sounds were the sounds of the group scuttling through the metal vents, and the occasional scream in the distance.~

Civilian:
The young man directly behind Sonera, clearly bored, or nervous, or a combination of both decided to strike up a conversation with the Tenno.
“S-so Tenno, what brought you aboard the Fortune et Ops? Y-you came to get some m-m-money to buy some weapons?”

[2/2]

Sonera
I keep a easy pace as I lead the way, the shuffling and thumping of the people behind me resonating in the tube but also letting me know that nobody is panicking nor that there are any unwanted guests roaming about…for now. ”Good good, for now? Yes yes! Calm…too much of it, no? No no, better…for now…till the abort!”

I glance at the glitching map and at the red dot that represents my position as it travels slowly towards the destination that looks like it’s about 40m further. ”Hope they remain…blow the crew off, get back to job! Yes yes!” I grin to myself and my little silly mental plan of how this all should go till I hear someone from behind speak up and I snap my facial expression back down, my Wukong’s lips yanking in to a more presentable face – so to not appear like a crazed smiling maniac.

I look over my shoulder to the boy that spoke up and put on a thinking expression by pursing the fake lips of my Wukong

“A-ah…yes yes! Something like it! Mostly for the thrill, the gamble, the fun…the toys!”

I lift my tail up to show him the little kubrow plushie that Is still dangling from it, albeit it’s covered in mucus and blood now but even now it has that certain cuteness to it.

“Platinum is extra, a boost! Welcomed in this system, always is!”

I twirl my head to look at the map and see that we are really close, one last corner and we’re there.

“You? Similar reasons?” (edited)

FREZ
"Alright. Stand back." Frez took aim, and fired several grenades at the fan, trying to only hit the stationary parts to avoid the chance of a grenade bouncing off or being prematurely detonated. Once he had fired all of the grenades, he started to back up. He ignored the sounds of the ship groaning, not wanting any more stuff to worry about right now. Once he was sure everyone was at a safe distance, Frez detonated the grenades.

Civilian:
"I came here to try and help my uncle out," the civilian said solemnly, "he's my only living family left. He got detained by Anyocorp because he couldn't pay his taxes for 4 months. Those bloody money-snakes doubled the income tax rate anyways! There was no way for him to pay in time." He sniffed for a moment as his voice cracked.
"He got sent to the real Fortuna. The one on Venus, that frozen hellhole. I haven't seen him for 4 years. I've been working so much, trying so hard to make enough money to support myself and save up to buy his freedom. But it would take me 36 straight years to raise enough cash, and that's assuming Anyocorp doesn't raise the income tax even more. So I decided to try my hand at gambling. If I could get lucky enough, I could make 30 years worth of wages in only a week. And I was on a roll too- I had about seventy-six percent of the money!" He sniffed a bit and regained composure.
"But then these damn Infested fecal-blobs get loose on the station. That money's good as gone... but with your help Tenno, I'll get out of here alive to live and work another day!"
The man's face was wet with tears, but he smiled radiantly through it all.
"Thank you, Tenno."

~The vents ended. The grate was in place, but the lighting systems on the other side of the grate were on enough for Sonera to peek through.
On the other side, Sonera would be able to make out a catwalk with 6 total staircases leading to the sides of the ship's hull, where there were still escape pods sitting! The coast seemed clear too- there were no Infested crawling around at all.~

[1/2]

~With a mighty BOOM! the vent fans blasted off of their hinges, sending shrapnel bouncing around the chamber for a few moments before finally settling.~

Daico:
"VoidDAMN! That's what I'm talking about!!" The Corpus guard whooped. Behind him, the civilians and other Corpus climbed onto the top of the vent until the entire group was in the fan chamber.

Mino:
"Alright!" the Crewman with the map exclaimed, "we're almost home free! The bridge is almost right up ahead!"
The ship continued to creak and groan. There was a slight tremor through the ground and walls, a faint rumbling in the distance, almost as if a stomach deep within the belly of the ship had unleashed a violent flatulent wave.
"Life Support has been breached by something," Mino reported from his datapad, "something tore a hole in the side of one of the O2 tanks and it appeared to ignite. Major damage along the starboard side. Does this throw a wrench in our plans?" He shuffled his feet. "We'll still have several hours of oxygen, so suffocation won't be a problem for now. We're also far enough away from the combustion that we won't explode with anything."

[2/2]

FREZ
"There might be more uniforms on the Bridge. They may have self-contained life support." Oh, Frez wanted to be in a Crewman uniform right now. They had shields, and offered at least a bit of protection. He hated these civilian clothes now. "And we can do what we can to redirect remaining life support once we get there."
Frez was walking even faster ahead now, gesturing the group to follow as he gave the now-empty grenade launcher back. They had to get moving, now. He figured their best and potentially only chance at survival at this point was to reach and secure the Bridge.

Sonera
I listen to his words with mild interest as he explains his situation with his uncle. A worthy cause as any – to help the only thing you care about, or the only thing left in this rampant world. How did that feel? Did I ever feel like that? It’s hard to gauge, to shuffle and keep hundredths of years of memory in a finite box. No no, let it slip, let it go…all but one, all but him.

I smile to myself as he went on. Why? I don’t know, but his story brought a smile on to my face. Like when you catch a scent that suddenly throws you back to your early days but you can’t remember from where it is or what – you only smile cause you know of the emotion that you felt at the time…and nostalgia hits you like a floodgate on Uranus.

I look over my shoulder as I hear him sniff under his breath, his words cracking. ”Ahh…no good in these situations…no play, no play” I think to myself and yet…part my lips to speak up to him.

“Hey hey, all good. This here, builds character! A good story to tell eh? Went to gamble, got hit with infested and saved by Tenno!”

I turn to look upfront just as the grid came and pause, lifting a hand up so that everyone behind me can see to stop. “Here?” I peak through the grid to catch any signs of moment but I see none which I don’t know of a good or bad thing. “Wait wait, will scout” I quietly say to the boy behind me, counting on him to relay the message all the way back.

I push my hands through the gaps of the grid and as gently as I could, push it open. In one swift movement I frontflip off the vents and silently land on the floor. I look around as I lower the grid to rest against the wall bellow the opened shaft. ”No toys? Luck or speed? Maybe both!”

I look to the sides where the pods rest and smile. As vigilant as ever I make my way over towards one of them and flick my screen on “Hey hey, functional, safe?”

Adus (Arko)
The Cephalon buzzes

“Yeee-s aAs faar as I c-c-can see. SafFe and ffffunctiooOnal”

Sonera
I grin and quickly make my way back to the vents to motion to the crowd that it’s safe to proceed and help them down. “Go go” I whisper getting the feeling that loud noises could attract unwanted guests.

(Just thought to give it a PUSH if there is something wrong with the pods hit me up and I’ll edit)

~The group of Civilians and Corpus personnel followed behind Frez. Their boots echoes out within the metal floors and walls of the fan room as they crossed over the metallic debris left over from the once massive fans.~

Elax:
“So once we get to the bridge, what are we planning on doing next? I-“ The Corpus leader’s head snapped upwards to gaze upon something.
“Oh muck... GET DOWN!!”

~There was a violent explosion, the sound deafening almost everyone’s ears. Ears ringing, the Civilians, Guards and Crewmen stumbled forward and sideways, trying to avoid some unseen threat.
The MOA began to fire off rounds upwards, energy bolts passing through the overhead smoke clouds. Each laser blast cast enough light to see the large silhouette of.... something.~

Civilian:
“Move!!” A Civilian tripped on his own steps as he tried to brush past a Crewman towards Frez and the bridge, but a red, glistening tentacles whipped down from the ceiling and wrapped around him. The monstrous appendage swiftly lifted the Civilian into the smoke.~

[1/2]

~For Sonera, things were really looking up. The Civilians were happily opening up the escape pods and preparing to disengage.~

Civilian:
As the other escape pods began to launch, there was a clattering sound to Sonera’s left. The young man who had been talking earlier was standing next to one of the escape pods with an elderly man and a woman with her daughter. It seems like the door hatch jammed and wouldn’t open.
“Hey Tenno, a little help here please? The door’s jammed or something!”

[2/2]

Sonera
I stand back, letting the people pass freely from the vents to the awaiting pods which brings a smile on to my Wukong’s toothed maw. ”Long time no? Yes yes! Feels great to guide, to help” I tilt my head towards the boy as he shouts for me and I hum under my breath feeling something akin to unease bubbling up from my belly.

I shake my head at the feeling and smile, striding over towards them with smooth and silent steps “Hmmm? Space space”

I wave my hands at them to back away from the pod so that I can examine it better. I stand directly in front of it and put my hands on either sides of the hatch, giving it a little tug. To which the pod responds by letting out this metallic groan as if it’s protesting on being woken up. I let go of the door and straighten up in to a thinker pose, with my left arm wrapped around my hip and my right resting against it by the elbow with my chin resting on the back of my right palm ”No force…If I do then won’t close for exit, can damage”

I glance to the right where a projection of my Cephalon appears once more. His brightly colored triangles overlapping with static and glitches.

“Adus…help help, can you?”

Adus (Arko)
He buzzed and whirred

“Let’zzz see” (edited)

FREZ
Frez retreats back down the vent, firing his Tetra as he fled. He wasn't accurate in the slightest, and many of the shots ricochet. Luckily, the ricochet in the direction of whatever was further down the corridor. The moment he reached something to hide behind, he reloaded the weapon.

"Someone pass the grenade launcher!" He shouted, firing wildly down the vent. He was on the verge of having some sort of breakdown, only barely keeping his focus. He did a quick head count, to see how many of the crewmen and civilians had survived.

~ @Sonera’s cephalon would find that there was something lodged in the door’s hydraulic mechanism. Everything else about the pod seemed to be in working order.~

((If you want to try and force the door open, you can use @RPBot to roll a d5. If you score a 4 or higher, you will open the door without damaging anything.))

[1/2]

~Frez would see that thankfully, there were no other casualties so far other than the poor sap who had just been grabbed.~

Daico:
“Here! I got it!!” Daico had picked up the Penta after Frez had finished using it on the fans, and was now aiming upwards. He fired off several of the weapon’s grenades upwards, the explosives disappearing into the smoke. But before he could detonate them, another tentacle whipped down from the ceiling. It smacked Daico in the head, shattering his boxy helmet while pushing his skull into his torso, killing him on the spot. The weapon dropped from his hands to the floor with a metal clatter.
The unseen beast above them roared as the others kept running, passing Frez towards the other end of the vents, where hopefully the bridge was. The room shook.

Elax:
“Let’s just run!” Elax yelled at Frez. The Penta was lying on the ground only a few meters away, however.

[2/2]

@RPBot roll d5

@Rosencratz rolled 5.

Adus (Arko)
“Aaaah I seeEeee. Someth—ing lodgggGed in hydddddraulics. I’m afrAid you wiL-L haf to ffff-orce it”

Sonera
I let ouf a huff under my breath and turn my eyes back at the door in question and then I look over my shoulders to the others in the room as they board their pods, some already activating them and blasting off. ”Well well, only wat to pull eh?” My Wukong cranes his neck to gaze at the people behind me, at the boy and the elderly couple. “Yes yes!”

I motion for them to step back further before latching my arms on the door. Sucking in a deep breath of air, preparing for the strain. “Let go let go!” And I pull, hard. I hiss under my breath as the door let’s out a metallic whine, not budging at all.

“Ppiykipp yote!”

I lift my left leg and slam the heel of my foot against the frame next to the door, adding more strength in to the pull. I see it budging ”More more!” Little by little before It just let’s out this lout POP and opens up like a can of beans, causing me to flop backwards due to the sudden stop of resistance.

“Ayayay”

I prop myself up with my elbow and look up, towards the door. I grin as I royally motion towards it with my opened palm.

“You may proceed!” (edited)

FREZ
Starting to panic again, Frez acted quickly. He slid across the ground, grabbing the grenade launcher. He tried getting to his feet, fumbling with the weapon. Right as he started running for the Bridge, he detonated all of the grenades, hoping that they would provide enough of a distraction to get out of there. He dropped the penta after detonating the grenades, figuring he probably didn't have enough time to reload and fire again.

"EVERYONE, MOVE!" He shouted as he ran through the vent, stumbling occasionally. He was doing his best to ignore the fact that he had seen Daico get brutally murdered by this thing, not wanting to panic now of all times.

~The civilians thanked the Tenno and began to move inside. It was dark within.~

Woman:
"Wow! Light's aren't on in here! Someone know where they are?"

Elderly Man:
"Let me see, usually there's a switch on the side here...."

Girl:
"Mommy I'm scared! It's dark!"

Civilian:
"Ah here! Found it!" With a click, the young man flipped the switch, and the escape pod's interior lights switched on.

Revealing an Infested Spider made of the previous occupant's corpses.

With a screech, the monstrosity lept upon the mother, tearing her head off and pulling her stomach out through the wound. The blood splattered across the little girl's face. She screamed.
The young man grabbed a fire extinguisher off the wall and batted at the creature, sending it shrieking and flying backwards into the cockpit.
The elderly man scooped up the little girl and tried to help her get out of the escape pod, but began to trip over the mother's body...!

[1/2]

~As Frez an his group moved for the grate to the bridge, the Janitor pushed his way past a civilian, knocking them down onto the ground.~

Corpus Dude:
"Aughhh! Ow! Help!!" He struggled to clamber back onto his knees. In the meantime, Elax was up ahead, cutting through the vent with the help of one of the Crewmen who had a Flux rifle.

(( @Darkjunior must roll a d10 if you want to save the Corpus Dude. Rolling an 8 or higher yields no negative repercussions with 100% success. Rolling a 5 or lower will be bad. Anything in between can result in anything.....))

[2/2] (edited)

Sonera
“Huh? Screaming? No good!”

I quickly hoist myself up from the floor and in one smooth leap, I enter in the pod and the horror filled mess that awaited me. I didn’t stutter however, but quickly jumped to action as my orbs gazed upon the spider monstrosity. I waste no time in ducking and yanking the elderly man with the little girl from the floor, pulling them as gently as possible – but at the same time with haste – towards the exit, almost flinging them out

“Run run!”

I yell out to them as I quickly whip around back inside and hop towards the civilian. Without a word, I extend my left arm towards him, aiming to yank the fire extinguisher from his hands in one forceful tug, while grabbing him by the collar and pulling him behind me with my other in a rather violent tug. I see no time to exchange words with him as I swiftly leap towards the monstrosity to take advantage of it’s current dazed state. I raise the extinguisher high over my head, aiming to slam the boot of it on whatever I think his head is in one brutalizing strike, the momentum of my leaping fall adding in to the force. (edited)

FREZ
"Get that vent open!" Frez shouted, before he saw the fallen Corpus dude. Frez froze up for a moment, not entirely sure what to do. Did he risk his own life to save this person, or did he just keep moving? After a split second of hesitation, though, he tried to pick up the Corpus dude as he ran through the vent. This wasn't going to end well, was it?

!roll 1d10

@Darkjunior rolled 7.

~Sonera’s vicious blow succeeds in cracking the deadly, Infested arachnid’s head open like a walnut. However, what it was NOT successful in was actually killing the creature.
Its flesh began to bubble, its meaty, raw limbs shifting like an amorphous fluid until one of the assimilated victims’ heads rose from its cyclone of a body. It opened its mouth and screeched once more, landing on top of Sonera. It launched a fearsome blow with its leg at the Wukong’s face!~

[1/2]

~As Frez helped the man to his feet, the ground behind them shuddered as something large dropped down from the upper region of the fan room. Whatever it was, it was huge, but only its outline was visible; the smoke had flooded the place, obscuring its true form.~

Corpus Dude:
“Oh my Void!!! Aaahhhhh!!!!!” The Corpus sprinted towards the vent door, where there was the relieving sound of metal falling onto metal. Elax had carved a hole through the vent and was now ushering people through, but one at a time.
Those waiting to get through screamed and fired their weapons into the mist, trying to slow down the huge, encroaching monster behind them.
As Frez ran, he would hear the sound of a whip cracking, and would see a flash of red as one of the monster’s tendrils whipped against the wall next to him. Suddenly, the fleshy whip of a limb reversed direction and began to travel towards Frez’s head.

[2/2]

Sonera
“Oh HHH-“

Is all I managed to say as I was quickly tackled on to my back with that monstrosity towering above me causing the extinguisher to fly over my head and bang against the wall of the pod somewhere over my reach ”Hek hek hek hek hek”

Mild panic over takes me but the ever so reliable combat Cephalon buzzes is my ear

Adus (Dresden)
“Dodge left, grab, twist”

Sonera
I don’t even waste a second to plan it out and just do it. I twist my head to the left so that it’s leg punctures the metal beneath me. Using his short window of opportunity I quickly reach out with my hands to grab on to one of the legs on the other side from the one that striked at me. Using it as a big hung of flesh I will start rolling like a barrel to the side hoping I’d either break or mangle the leg under my roll, or force it on it’s side where I am free from it’s weight. ”Hoping for the latter!”* (edited)

FREZ
Frez reflexively ducked under the tendril, stumbling for a moment. He fired his Tetra blindly behind him as he ran, trying to reach the vent exit. He waited in line, of course. He opened fire on this thing as well, really hoping that this was slowing down, and not just making it angrier. He desperately gestured for the rest of the group to go faster, getting pretty scared himself at this point.

~Sonera’s maneuver flipped the spider sideways and hard into the wall of the Escape Pod, which shuddered violently as the mass of the beast collided with the side. It was dizzy now, stumbling over itself and its Infested legs. The old man, little girl and Civilian moved backwards until there was a sizeable distance between them and Sonera’s back, where they would be safe.~

Civilian:
“Kill that thing, Tenno!” The young man cheered.

[1/2]

~As Frez ducked, the Tendril smacked into the vent walls once more with a deafening crack. A massive dent was left where it had struck.
The MOA must have been reprogrammed by the Crewmen at this point, as it had now turned around and was marching forward against the being, firing all of its weaponry into the mist with extreme prejudice.
The monster howled in either pain or anger, buying Frez and the few remaining civilians more time to get through the vent.
There was a crashing sound from behind Frez as the MOA was squashed unceremoniously by a large dark shape- the monster was moving forward now at an alarming pace.

Janitor:
“Thet thing’s a-comin’! Close thet vent up!” The purple Corpus man wrenched the vent grate from one of the other Crewman’s hands, forcing it back into its place while Frez was still trapped on the other side with some of the other Corpus Guards.

Elax:
“No! Let them through, you son of a-“ Elax lunged at the Janitor from behind his back, trying to push him down, but instead he received a faceful of wrench as the Janitor clobbered Elax’s helmet with some sort of tool.
Elax fell over backwards into the remaining civilians arms, who screamed at watched, frozen in horror.

[2/2]

Sonera
I quickly bounce up to a standing position as soon as I managed to fling the monstrosity off me. I take a second to look over it and a quick “Nope” flag lit up in my head. The previous head I smashed did little to damage it and it looks like it can just shrug off wounds…and even if I kill it this pod will surely end up more damaged than useful after the tumble so…

I swiftly whip around and dash out of the pod, grabbing on to the civilians to push them out if they aren’t already. As soon as everyone have vacated the pod – apart from the fumbling monstrosity – I grab on to the door and slam it closed, pressing my back against it just in case the spider tries to ram it open or if the latch doesn’t work.

“Adus! Launch it! Sun!”

I yell out to my Cephalon, hoping he could remotely activated the pod and set it’s course.

FREZ
None of Frez's weapons could concievably damage that door. So, he started firing his Arca Scisco at this thing as he backed up. This was not going well. Firing the entire clip of the pistol, Frez turned around and attempted to bash the grate open. He was almost certainly just gonna give up if this didn't work. The panic was already impairing his ability to really do anything.

~Adus appears to be successful! The pod detaches from the main catwalk- hopefully Sonera doesn't slip off while leaning on it!- and begins to move down a small rail system towards the jettison doors in the side of the ship. Just as the pod reached the doors, there was a thud as the spider slammed itself against the side of the pod. Sonera and the other civilians would be able to watch as the spider pushed its head through a small breach in the escape pod's hull, giving out one last screech and struggle as the doors closed on the escape pod and it was jettisoned out to space.~

Civilian:
"Whew," the young man breathed, "I'm happy and thankful we're alive, Tenno. But, I thought that it was a bad thing to throw the Infested into space? Doesn't that mean there's a chance they can resurface somewhere else and begin infesting?"

~In the meantime, the elderly man points at the one last remaining escape pod. Thankfully, it was left open already, and there was nothing unsavoury inside.~

[1/2]

~The Infested monster bellowed in pain, sending a deafening howl resonating down the vents of the ship. It was so loud even @Sonera might hear it on the other side of the ship.
Whatever Frez had managed to shoot blindly must have been vital, as the beast began to recoil. Its shadowy mass lifted back up the fan room, disappearing into the thick smoke that lingered there.
Frez's bash was also successful, sending the grate flying back, landing on top of the Janitor with a crack.~

Janitor:
"Owww! Ah! Piss! My arm!! Arghhhh my bloody arm!!!" The Janitor pushed the grate off of himself, revealing an arm with one too many bends in it. Looks like that grate is actually heavier that it seems. No one helped the Janitor up however, instead the remaining Corpus Guards fixed their weapons on him.

Elax:
"What is WRONG with you?" Elax spat as he stood up. His helmet had a mean-looking dent in it, and his visor was shattered, revealing the head Guard's angry eyes. The civilians he had landed on gave him a small pat on the back as if to try and measure whether or not he was ok. It seems like he was.
He turned to Frez. "You alright?" He glanced back at the Janitor before stepping closer to Frez.
"What do you think we should do about this guy? If we get put under that kind of pressure again, you know he'd do something similar."

~The room the group was in was unmistakably the back room of the bridge. There was a large computer terminal in the center of it, and large sliding doors off to the side. The doors' lights glowed yellow, a nearby control panel flashing yellow as well as Corpus alert messages flew by; LOCKDOWN IN EFFECT. On the other side of the doors was the main bridge, no doubt.~

[2/2]

Sonera
As soon as I feel the pod rumble I quickly hop backwards and watch as it travels down the launching rails. A victorious smile spreads across my frames face, which quickly narrows in to worry as the monster inside makes the pod shake violently making me think that it might just nudge it off the rails. BUT NO! The pod managed to hold on and I watched as it got jettisoned off in to space HUZZAH! Victory!

I look towards the civilian that spoke up and lift my right index finger up in the air in a as-a-matter-of-fact pose.

“No worry, no worry, my Cephalon redirected it’s path towards the Sun…hoping”

I hum under my breath, hoping that indeed Adus managed to steer it towards doom and not to fall like a plague star on some unsuspecting planet. BUT OH WELL ”Problem for another day, yes yes!”

I glanced towards the little girl that just ended up motherless and I quickly hop towards her, catching her just before she boards the pod. I crouch down so to be to her eye level and smile. Lifting a hand I wipe some of her tears with my thumb and lift my tail up – still holding on to the kubrow plushie as if holding on to dear life. I grab the toy with my hands and give it a good shake to get rid of as much blood and goo as possible. ”Clean clean”

“Here, he will keep you safe”

I gently say to her and outstretch the sullied plushie towards her. I know that a silly toy won’t replace her mother but maybe it brings her comfort? Or it will remind her of the day she lost her… ”No no, keep hope, keep hope”

_ _
“Careful, he bites”

I will playfully wink at her and as she grabs it I will comb back her disarrayed hair, leaning in for a firm hug, not letting go till she wants to.

“Stay strong, stay strong, live for her”

However, the dull scream that rippled through the vents made me jump in the embrace and I uncoil myself from her needy hands. I look over my shoulder, watching.

“Go, quickly”

I say with haste as I stand up and motion for them to get inside the pod, waving at them as they depart.

As soon as they’ve gone – and after making a quick scan of the area to make sure that everyone has evacuated – I bring up my general coms to speak to every Tenno in the vicinity

“Civilians evacuated. Doctor, where you?! Things getting hectic!”

I head towards the vents, hoisting myself up to scurry towards – well…anywhere! ”On the move, yes yes! Standing still is death”

FREZ
Frez quickly dragged the grate back over to the vent itself, and attempted to put it back into place, struggling a fair bit. May as well close the vent again, just in case that thing came back. He paused for a moment, to catch his breath and calm down a little bit.
"Keep an eye on him, I guess... If we leave him, he'll just turn into another Infested thing, and this ship has... by my estimate... a lot of those already." Frez reloaded the pistol, his hands still shaking. The bridge was right there! They were so close! "Alright, so... how do we get past the doors? Can we melt through? Bypass security? ...More vents?"

~ @Sonera is unsucessful in her attempts to hail the bizarre Nidus from earlier. Could he be dead? Ironically ripped apart by his own creations?

Sonera does pick up something though- the staccato notes of some kind of heavy, rapidfire weapon bounced through the vents. Then, almost if echoing the sound, the unmistakable sounds of a laser gun coming from the opposite direction. Sonera was again presented with two options: head towards the bigger gun sound or the smaller gun sound...!~

[1/3] (edited)

Elax:
"Barrels on him at all times," Elax instructed to his remaining men. His visible eyes seemed to glow with furious determination- undoubtedly fueled by the few men he'd lost.

Mino:
The Corpus Crewmen had set his datapad down shakily next to the console. He took off his helmet to peer at the screen, the yellow glow illuminating his dripping, sweaty face.
"Oh, for Anyo's sake. How could I forget!" He turned to Frez, his eyes filled with fear and tiredness. "This was a bridge instigated lockdown, meaning that the password to lift it is separate from the password the rest of the Crewmen have to deal with lockdowns along the rest of the ship."
The other nearby Crewmen nodded in agreeance, although they didn't look like they had given up yet. They sat around and leaned against the walls, clearly deep in thought of ways to bypass the security systems.
"And of course, there aren't any other vents directly into the bridge other than here." Mino concluded.

Janitor:
"We're muckin' dead, I say! MUCKIN' DEAD! Should've fed that Voiddamn fathermucker to th' monster while we cou-"

[2/3]

Elax:
Elax kicked the Janitor's ribcage with his boot, silencing the man.
"The door is reinforced too. We'd probably waste all of our ammunition trying to melt even the smallest hole through this thing. Past! What I wouldn't give for a Tenno's blade and strength right now!"

Corpus Guard:
"Aye, sir, I've heard of some Tenno with the strength of the mountains, capable of punching with the might of a terrifying landslide!"

Elax:
"Let's be reasonable here," he scolded, "Tenno are real, with realistic strength. I highly doubt they're THAT strong."

Mino:
"I don't know how to hack," Mino spoke up to Frez once more, "but you might be able to bypass the password requirement if we dig into this console's source code...? I'm not entirely sure though. I don't know much about coding and stuff, I'm an engineer really." He gazed around at the other Crewmen.
"Anyone here good with programming??" Mino was met with a grumble of 'no's from the others.
"Well," he said, turning to Frez, "how about you? Want to give it a shot? And I mean, don't actually shoot it, I don't think that will work..."

~Frez can either decline to hack, attempt to hack, or shoot the console.... or go back through the vent that they came from. Or he could just wait around for a while with the others, chat it up.... whatever he feels like.
However, if he wants to try to hack, @Darkjunior must roll a d50 and get a 40 or higher to successfully pull it off.~

[3/3]

Sonera
The brows on my Wukong wrinkle in confusion as no responses came through. ”Did I broadcast on correct? Yes yes…but…no response? Means no other Tenno in the area?! All evacuated? Ran? Defeated? What about the Vauban? They’re fine yes? The-”

My thoughts are cut short as the vent shakes violently with sound making me freeze in my advance out of surprise. ”Two, one small – laser, one big- fast.” He tilt my head to the side so to better pin point their locations ”Far apart, opposite sides”

I glance down the pathways in the vents, turning my head from one source to the other, deciding ”More need? More haste? Big is fast, more bang. Small fast sounding but quiet. Hm hmmm hmmm. SMALL!”

I start crawling again, with more vigor and speed, heading towards the source of the small sounding laser thinking that anyone that has big rapid firing guns should be able to take care of themselves…probably? SO! Priority is small, yes yes!

”Guns! BLAH! So un-fun!” (edited)

!roll 1d50

@Darkjunior rolled 17.

FREZ
Well, at least Frez tried, right? He barely knew a thing about hacking, so this was a struggle for him. He stepped away from the console, and thought for a moment. Well, what else could they do? They needed to reach the bridge no matter what, and they seemed to be out of options.

"Well, uh... that won't work. Try looking for any alternate entrances. Vents connected to the bridge itself, or maintenance passages, anything. If anyone finds anymore uniforms lying around, we should probably get everyone suited up." And with that, seeing that he probably had nothing to lose, Frez fired a shot into the console. Maybe he would get lucky and have it hit something important.

~As @Sonera moved down the vents and approached the source of the sound, the weapon firing promptly ceased before the entire vent shook violently. A beast's savage roar produced the sound, and in the tight space, the sound waves would've likely pushed back, if not knocked down, the Wukong.
The end of the vent still wasn't in sight. Sonera would have to keep crawling.... or turn back?~ (edited)

[1/2]

~Frez's weapon's beam penetrated the console, causing the screen to blow out and sparks to fly. It was completely unusable now... and the doors didn't seem to react nicely either- the lights flashed from yellow to red as an angry buzzer sound was emitted. That couldn't be good.
The others looked around, but to no avail. There was't anything useful in this room. After all, it was just computer housing chamber.~

Elax:
"Nothing here, man," Elax said to Frez, rubbing the back of his helmet. He exposed eyes blinked tiredly.
"The only other way to go is back through that vent- although I really would prefer not to. Perhaps if we split up- keep the civilians safe here, in this room, and leave some of the Crewmen to watch 'em. The rest of my men, you, and I can travel back out there and try to find a way to break through the bridge's main doors. How about that?"
He shuffled. "Of course, if you would prefer to stay here, I'd be fine with that. You've been through more than enough if your tale is true." (edited)

[2/2]

Sonera
The lack of firing awakened this fast rising urgency within me so I speed up my shuffling, hoping that whatever those guns were firing at didn’t get to them. However, the sudden vibrations and the ear rupturing scream, threw me backwards, pushing me back a couple of meters by sliding on my front. I instinctively throw my arms up to grasp on to my ears – both on my frame and in person. ”Heeeeeek! This is –“ I grit my teeth as I coil up in to a ball to hold up against the vibrations and audio assault. My head feeling like it’s going to split.

However, lucky for me it didn’t last long enough to do so and as soon as it passed I quickly uncoiled and pushed myself up with my hands. I glance over my shoulder to the passage behind me. I wait, in complete silence for a moment, just watching the darkness behind me ”Good good…no others that come for help…but” It seems the yell didn’t attract any infested…at least none that seemed to travel trough the vent system.

I look forward and immediately start scurrying towards the sound, to at least get a check on the situation if any more civilians are in the area that that void screaming monstrosity is stalking.

FREZ
"No, our only chance at survival is to get onto the Bridge. Of course I'll go." One of the most valuable lessons Frez had learned was how to act far, far more confident than he actually was. "If this ship is losing oxygen, we don't have time. And we have to get onto the Bridge before the Infested come after us again." Frez fumbled to reload his weapons, and looked around.
"A small group might be able to move quickly and find some way through. We'll maintain contact with the other group, of course." Frez was kinda regretting shooting the console now. Eh, hacking would take too long.

~Sonera’s agility granted by commandeering the Wukong allowed a swift arrival at the vent’s end. What Sonera would see was a massive chamber, taller than it was wide or long.
It was remarkably empty, as if whatever had been in it was now broken- structural support shafts at the sides of the room stuck out slightly, but majority of the pieces had been fractured off. The walls were adorned with scorch marks, telltale signs of an energy weapon gunfight. Most bizarre of wall was the massive hole gorged in the upper corner of the room to Sonera’s right. It look like someone had taken a Grineer mining tank and just drilled their way through the ship!
Down below, Sonera would be able to see two passages, both of them vent entrances.
And hark, footsteps! Someone or something was moving down there! It was coming from one of the enterances, moving closer and closer!~

[1/2]

Elax:
“Good man,” Elax spoke as he gave Frez a clap on the shoulder. His eyes wrinkled slightly in response to the smile forming on his face.
“Alright men, stay tight! Since we’re going back to where there’s supposedly still a hostile entity, weapons are free.”
There was a clicking sound as the guards switched off their safeties.
“Let’s do this,” Elax nodded to Frez.
One of the other guards removed the vent grate and set it aside, where a Crewman stoodby ready to move it back into place.
Another Crewman waved and fingergunned the group as they departed.
One by one, the squad moved through the vent and cautiously reentered the fan room.

[2/2]

Sonera
The moment I saw the end to the vent I immediately started to slow down, to minimize any sound I could be ricocheting around in all of that metal. Not that I make any sound in general! Light feet yo! I approach with caution and slowly poke my head past the vent to gaze in to the room. The urge to throw out a impressed whistle battled with my urge to stay stealthy and luckily for me, the latter won. But common! This is one huge ass room with a LOT of conflict signs.

My eyes dart to the enormous gaping hole and I scurry forwards in the vent to get a better look at it through the darkness. Sitting on top of my crouched legs, and with my tail twitching to the left, I ponder on the nature of the hungry emptiness ”Whoa…what caused that? Infested? That big on here? Or a Corpus weapon? No no” I shake my head to myself ”Not in knowledge! So the first! Could it be?”

I hum under my breath and tilt my head down to spot the two vents. I grab the edge and prepare to hop down and inspect it. But the sudden echoes of footsteps approaching made me froze up and my eyes shot wide open.

I quickly flatten myself on my belly inside the vent, hoping that whatever is approaching doesn’t look up and spot me. Shows is for allies, ambushes are for enemies

FREZ
Back into the fans, huh? Frez looked up every once in a while, paranoid that the thing from earlier was gonna come back. He was holding his Tetra, and shaking slightly. He was very much still anxious about this whole thing. Oh, he really wished he had a uniform or something. At least that would protect him.

"Start scanning. If anything that looks even slightly suspicious gets near, let me know." Frez wasn't gonna be taking any more risks, even if they found civilians or sonething. "Any estimates on how long we have before something catastrophic happens? How much oxygen do we have left?"

~As Sonera watches from the darkness of the upper vent, she can gaze upon the people who have entered, revealed to be some surviving members of the Fortuna et Ops' security team. They're proceeding slowly, cautiously, shifting their weapons' aim around the room as if wary for something that they all couldn't see.~

Elax:
"I'm not sure how much more air we got," Sonera could hear one of them say, their hushed tone echoing upwards to the Wukong's audio receptors, "But considering most of the things left on this ship are probably Infested, I'd say plenty. The air leak alone won't drain things too fast, and we have less competition when it comes to breathing."

Corpus Guard:
"Ah yeah, I've read some papers 'n stuff. They say those suykit'j jeitpoy don't all respire like we do. They can move without breathing. Toippast y'teeky!"

~The Corpus team moved into full view into the now empty fan room. There was one oddball out- a Corpus wearing civilian clothing appeared to be in the middle of them all, his presence a stark contrast against the rest of the Corpus' black and orange-striped Crewman jumpsuits.~

Elax:
"All that smoke from earlier is gone... sopket ot Otokit, look at that!" Elax pointed to the massive hole in the ceiling.
"Whatever that thing was, looks like it went through there! We might be safe, then."

FREZ
"Are there any maintenace entrances to the Bridge? If one of them isn't blocked off, that might get us access." Frez was looking up at the hole in the ceiling rather often, as if he was expecting it to return at any moment. It was sort of odd that they haven't encountered more... standard Infested, though. That big monster and the weird guy in the vents were really all they've encountered so far. "Are any of the sensors picking anything up yet?"

Sonera
”OH?” I pull myself towards the edge of the vent to peek down at the small crowd that had just entered. My Wukong’s emerald energy dimming and my eyes dropping to scan each of them through this darkness for weapons. ”Yes yes, they have. One, two, three…four?” My gaze hits one the guards hips, through in this blackness that what’s dangling from him can be anything.

But, despite my unease at the weapons a slow smile started to spread across my frames face. ”Friendly yes! I suppose no? Ahhhhh….they will shoot…spooked? But…”

I tilt my head to the side, pondering on how to approach them best cause they have ran in to a lot of stuff and are more trigger happy than I’d want…”BLAH! Guns! So violent…ehhhhhh! Fast! Yes, do it fast! Like a burn!”

I shake my head and shuffle my legs upwards, sneaking them beneath me so that I push myself off my belly and crouch on top of them – making sure to make minimal noise. Poking my head beyond the vent I tilt and look to the left then right, seeing nobody else in the room I nod my head yet again and turn my gaze back at them, looming above them like a night watcher. ”Ahhhhh no! Wait! It will spook them! But…no other way…yes…no….yes….no….yes….no…”

Feeling enough of this internal debate I hit myself on the forehead to activate my Defy which let’s out this stiff plop sound to bounce around the room. Then in one swift leap I jump down from the vent to silently land right in front of their flashlights, all superhero landing like. I then quickly straighten myself up, like a showman at the end of their act waiting for applause. Throwing my hands up in the air I try to show them that I am not a threat, saying loud and clear

“Friendly, no harm!” (edited)

Elax:
"Unfortunately, no. Mino told us as much... we'll have to take a direct path." The head Corpus guard continued to eye the giant hole.

Corpus Guard:
One of the other guards spoke up from across the room.
"I think most of the Infested are on the lower decks, the civilian areas. The casinos, strip clubs, bars, ep yepeta."

~As Sonera hit the ground, all the Corpus immediately turned and aimed, the sound of weapons powering up filling the room.~

Elax:
"Hold your fire, men!!" Elax yelled upon fully drinking in the Warframe, "It's a Tenno!"

~One by one the Corpus began to lower their weapons and speak.~

"A Tenno?"

"Thank goodness! A Tenno! Not all of them had abandoned the ship!"

"Tenno! You must help us!"

Sonera
My gaze flickers from one to the next to soak up their weapons, postures and clothing. "Ahhhhh! Guards! And ehhhhhh" My Wukong's head drifts towards the oddball in the squad "Civilian?" My head tilts and I lower my hands to dangle by my sides. At the urgent call of help from one of them, the expressive helmet of my Wukong stretched far to flash a toothy grin, my voice coming out fast paced and excited.

"O-oh!? Yes yes! I can help!"

I then clear my throat in a rather loud way as if it's a cue for my whole demeanor to switch. The smile went away like a candle light in harsh winds and a stern look replaces it, brows wrinkle, lip curling downwards, the playful and jumpy atmosphere that constantly circles me has shifted towards a heavy tone. My shoulders tense up as I lift to cross my arms over my chest and with the eyeless visor of my frame I gaze at the one who spoke to me last, even leaning a bit towards him. With the voice of a rumbling rhino, I say to him in such a serious tone that he might feel like he's done something wrong

"Point me towards the fire and I will snuff it"

Then just as fast as it came, the stern expression went away and replaced by my friendly smile once more, showing that the whole shift from before was just a silly little act. What? Aren't cool guys supposed to act like that? Well...at least those that can fix anything do! "Yes yes! I was so cool there!" (edited)

FREZ
Why were the others so trusting of a Tenno, of all things? Frez had a number of close calls with them himself he just hid in a crate every time he was caught in a Tenno attack, and he had actually raised his weapon at Sonera for a moment. As the others lowered their guns, he kept his aimed at the Tenno, finally lowering his own weapon last.

"Look, if you're serious about helping... uh... Look, I'll be honest. We need help." Frez admitted after lowering his gun, walking a bit closer to the front of the group to take over for Elax. "We have a problem. We need to get onto the ship's Bridge. We've got civilians waiting on the other side of the fan room, and I don't know how long we have before something finds them. Can you help us?" For once, Frez was actually trying to take charge of the situation. (edited)

Sonera
A more serious demeanor washes over me as the civilian stepped up to speak about the problem at hand. My right hand wraps around my waist, acting as leverage as I prop the elbow of my left arm on top of it and coil the back of the hand to meet my chin. A classic thinker pose...well...a standing one at least! A soft PLOP is heard as I dispel my Defy as well as the light sheen of dull green that came with it.

I listen to him, nodding my head ever so slightly and humming under my breath "Oooooh...must be them that were firing at uhhhh" My eyes drift to the huge gaping hole "Better hurry yes? Of course! Not run in to madness!" I purse my lips and return my stare towards the civilian, my stoic expression breaking in to a smile as my left hand drops down from my chin to lightly clasp his right shoulder as a friendly gesture.

"Alright!"

I exclaim and lift the hand from his shoulder, not wanting for him to feel threatened by it in any way. I take a couple of steps past him, my longer and much stronger tail coiling around my left thigh.

"Techno stuff is bleh! But! If it's in need of a bashing I'm it! Tell tell, in what condition are the doors?"

I tilt my head backwards to gaze at the ceiling of the room as I lower my hands to clasp behind my back, not really trusting this stilness...not at all! (edited)

~The metal above creaked and groaned softly under the structural strain caused by such a gape.~

Elax:
"The doors ain't weak, that's for sure," Elax spoke up from behind Frez, "but they're not reinforced. You got a weapon big enough to blast it open?"
He gave the Tenno a short bow. "Name's Elax, by the way. This here's Frez- he's a veteran when it comes to dealing with the Infestation. What do you call yourself, Tenno? Or, I guess, what should we call you?"

Sonera
I hummed under my breath, uncoiling my arms from behind my back to cross them over my chest. I dip my head down from the ceiling to look towards the one that spoke

“I might, yes yes! Cannot blast, but can ram it! Or try at least try”

I huff through my nose, which came out as a hiccup on my Wukong. I glance at each of them as they get introduced. Smiling I lift a hand to bump my chest and say in my hyper tone

“Yes yes, call me Stoirin or Wukong…I don’t really mind! Now…where is that door?”

I look about, waiting for them to lead me towards the thing that needs breaking. ”Standing still for too long! Move move!”

FREZ
"Well, uh... I guess it's worth a try. We just have to be careful about noise. If we attract too many Infested, I dunno if we can hold them off." Frez always pictured most Tenno being a lot more... stoic than this one. Granted, he's never really talked to one, but still. Sonera seemed a bit odd. "Come on, let's get moving. We shouldn't waste any more time."

Frez started backtracking down the vent, gesturing for everyone else to follow him. He was walking rather quickly, almost speeding up to a jog. As he walked, he attempted to contact the crewmen that had been with the civilians. "We're on our way back. We're bringing a Tenno with us. We should be back in a few minutes."

~In less than a minute, Frez, Sonera and the rest of the party return to the computer room, and the remaining civilians and Crewmen are overjoyed to see the Tenno. A saviour to them in this time.~

Mino:
"I don't believe it! We're saved!" Mino approached the Wukong and quivered excitedly.
"Please, Tenno, we need that door broken down." The Crewman pointed to the door behind him.

Sonera
I hop after them, skipping along to a silent beat that is bouncing around in my head ”Pa da da PA du du PI ha ha Huf up a A!” Why walk when you can hop skip, twirl, wiggle and jump to your destinations?! Honestly, it not only keeps you light and sharp with silent steps but you also work on your dexterity on the way! Now isn’t that a treat!?

As we arrived I threw the excited crewman a pleased smile, feeling something for his emotion and yet, what is that? A sense of worth? Emphaty? BAH! ”No no, it’s too fast, too little” I wave my right hand in the air next to my head, as if getting rid of these invisible insects.

“Ah? Wait wait! Don’t think much of it, I have yet to try and save it!”

I speak to quivering crewman and lift my gaze to study the door.

“This is it? Well…let’s see”

I add with a hum as I step in front of it. Lifting my left palm I softly knock on the metallic surface with my knuckles, listening to the thickness. ”Oof! Tough crack tough crack” I tilt my head to the side and crack this devilish grin, my Wukong’s fangs peeking from the folds of his fake mouth piece.

“Step back, back back”

I say from over my shoulder and take a step back from the door. Assuming they have done as I said, I join my hands and with a flash of dull green summon my sapphire Iron Staff. I take another step back and roll my shoulders in preparation.

In perfectly executed fluid motions I twirl my staff in my right hand, slice once in front of me and throw it up where it does a light spin before I grab it once more, but as soon as I swiped it from the air It tripled in width and I make a fast 360 spin on my heels to grab some momentum. At the end of the spin I use the larger point of my weapon like a ram, bashing it in to the door with the force of a charging Rhino, hoping something gives in.

FREZ
"Wait, they might know what they're doing." Frez interrupted Mino. After the first Fortuna, and many less optimal encounters, Frez had a wierd combination of fear and respect for what Tenno could do. He watched as Sonera did all of this stuff, and as they summoned the staff. He did back up upon seeing the weapon, though, gesturing for everyone else to do so as well.

~The door crumbles like wet tissue paper being beaten by a bat. With a mighty crash that echoed though the small room, the door bent inwards and collapsed, revealing the starlit interior of the Fortune et Ops' bridge.~

Mino:
"We did it!" Mino threw his hands in the air excitedly as the other Corpus around him celebrated alongside.
"Err... I mean, YOU did it, Tenno," he sheepishly corrected himself.

Elax:
The Corpus Guard leader signalled quickly to his men, who responded by powering up their energy weapons and turning on flashlights, quickly covering both angles into the room. No one had stepped into the room yet, but awaited orders to do so.
"Frez, looks like the bridge is ours. Nothing is screeching at us yet, or running at us, or puking poison. And we've got a Tenno. It's looking up! But what do we do now? What's your plan?"

Sonera
A wide smile spread across his face at the sight of the bashed door ”Yes yes! Still got it! Still break it!”. But then, my brows wrinkled and I return my staff back to it’s original width with a simple flicker of my right wrist. Lowering my weapon holding arm to dangle by my side, I look over my shoulder to the gathered Corpus, their guns lifting and whirring up for the charge. ”Wait wait…just questioned…why go in main room? Why not run to safe pods?!” I ponder for a moment but eventually shrug my shoulders, deciding that they probably know something that I don’t…and I know I can get out of any situation that runs at me in here…can they?

That trademark smile returned on my face and I say to them in my chipper tone

“I go check it out, you hash eh?”

I don’t really wait for any confirmation or counter suggestion as I lift my Iron Staff in front of me in a block stance and leap in the room

FREZ
"Take the Bridge, find any survivors and eliminate Infested. I'll... probably explain further when that's all dealt with. Just focusing on getting control of the Bridge." Frez ordered, moving into the room and gesturing for the rest of the non-Tenno to follow him. This Tenno seemed to have this handled, but a bit of backup certainly couldn't hurt. Well, that, and the fact that he still didn't actually have any plans for what they were supposed to do once they got this far. Some ideas, but by no means a full, cohesive plan.

Corpus Guard:
"Sir, room's clear!" one of the Corpus called out to Elax after they made a quick sweep of the room. The guards had quickly filed into the room right on Sonera's tail and they hadn't found anything.

Elax:
"We may just be in luck. Sadly, no survivors, but thankfully none of those blasted monstrosities. Can someone get the lights on his here?" A few of the Corpus Crewmen quickly ran off to the side of the bridge, opening a small supply closet that would've contained the energy distribution panel.

Corpus Guard:
"Give it here, Tenno!" one of the Corpus Guards raised his black and orange glove, making a fist and holding it out to Sonera.

Mino:
Mino went straight for another Terminal in the room.
"I'm gonna try and find out some more info of what happened here. I mean, a Bridge Lockdown gets initiated from within the Bridge, but it doesn't look like there's anyone here... let me see if I can find some footage from the cameras."

Elax:
The head Guard took off his broken helmet and set it on a nearby table. He regarded some of his men escorting the Janitor into a corner of the bridge before turning to Frez.
"Alright, well... you've done pretty good so far, son. You managed to get us to the bridge. What do we do from here?"
A few of the nearby Corpus Guards, Crewmen and Civilians stopped and moved a little closer to listen.

Sonera
“Huh”

I huffed through my lips and lowered my Iron Staff to dangle by my side, somewhat disappointed by the lack of conflict ”No no! It’s good! Yes yes! For them not you!”. With a twitch of my wrist and a twirl of my thumb I dispel it, evaporating it in to green dust that dies in the darkness.

I take a second to look around the room in this light starved surrounding, making sure no bodiless shadows are lurking about, but the shout from one of the Corpus made my shoulders twitch back and my green lit visor to snap towards him. A wide grin plasters across my Wukong’s fake mouth piece, my excitement rising once more at the sight of the outstretched fist. ”A-ah! Social cue! Time to nail it!” With a bit more strength than the poor Crewman might have expected, I slam my first against his, probably wobbling him off his balance.

“Aha! Yes yes! Piece of cake!"

I exclaim with a toothy smile.

"Lucky I ran in to you huh? But...why here? Why no run? Pods? Escape?”

FREZ
"Uh... does this ship have internal scanners? Can we see if any parts only have Infested? We might be able to open the airlocks in anywhere that doesn't have survivors, amd suffocate the Infestation. That would also give us more time before we run out of air, ideally." Efahz suggested hopefully, and walked over to the Bridge's entrance, observing the absolutely destroyed door. If more Infested showed up, they would be able to get in easily. "Try and look for any survivors here. Someone had to order the lockdown, and they might still be here. If you do find anyone, be sure to check them for any traces of the Infestation."

Crewman:
The Corpus guard weakly shook his hand off, obviously trying to disguise the fact that @Sonera’s Steel-skinned Warframe fist hurt a lot more that he was expecting.
“I dunno, Tenno! That civ, Frez or whatever, came up with the plan.”
He rubbed his knuckles.
“I mean, until he showed up we were just hiding in an empty office.”

[1/3] (edited)

~Elax and the others looked around at each other. There was some brief mumbling as they discussed the ideas presented by Frez.~

Elax:
“I heard some strains of Infestation are an-air- something-“

Civilian:
“...anaerobic.”

Elax:
“Yeah yeah, whatever... they can breathe without needing air or whatever.”
Elax shrugged. He obviously didn’t know too much about the Infestation, but he likely had heard rumours and Corpus reports of the anaerobic Mutalist strain that plagued the orbits of Eris and Pluto.

Mino:
“Cameras all broken!” Mino called out as he fiddled with the terminal.
“Looks like they were interrupted from being able to properly save their footage. Surveillance systems are also half broken. Majority of cameras are down, but we have eyes on the atriums on levels 6, 8 and 13, as well as the strip club on 10, a bar on 8, and both the mens’ and womens’ room on level 7. Everything is a mess. No survivors seen... there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of Infested in sight though. But there’s plenty of other places that they could be that we can’t see.”
Mino drummed his fingers on the front top edge of his helmet.
“Unfortunately we don’t have scanners installed on this ship. I explored other security options, but it seems like there’s some hardware failure that’s disconnected the bridge’s access to the security room. This means Senta Turrets, Bursas, and laser gates are all inaccessible.”

Elax:
“Mino! What about comms? Can we broadcast anything? Is there any history of a broadcast?”

Mino:
After a brief moment of typing and tapping, Mino announced,
“A distress beacon was lit up about an hour ago. I suspect help is on the way- Obsidian Dice knows how much money is on this ship, surely they will send teams!”

Elax:
The Head Guard scratched his bald head.
“Frez, what do you think? We have a choke point right now at the front of the ship, and we might be able to just sit tight and wait for a rescue team.”

[2/3]

~A Crewman jogged into sight.~

Corpus Crewman:
“Sirs! Tenno! We found something... you might want to take a look at.”
He turned and jogged back towards where he came from- the supply closet. Two other Corpus Crewmen stood outside of it, shining their flashlights into the room.

[3/3]

Sonera
“A-ah”

I muse under my breath at the Crewmans words, pondering on the chain of decisions that brought them all here. Still confused as to why they fought through the trenches to get to the heart of the ship instead of running but oh well! ”Human nature…confusing, yes yes. Or instincts? BAH!” I shake my head and start walking forward, to go once around the room and poke or look around any holes and suspicious blobs that stand out in the blackness, not really interested in the current conversation cause… a demon cannot decide to walk through the fire and expects those that cannot cross it to follow.

”Yes yes…cannot gauge, mingle, talk like them…nope nope...”

However as the appearance of the jogging Crewman, I lift my head towards him, taking in his words.

"OH?! Found something? Is it fun?!"

I muse to myself and quickly hop after the fellow with precise and dexterous hops of my toes (edited)

FREZ
"In that case, uh... reduce life support in non-critical areas of the ship by 25%, if possible. That might buy us some more time until reinforcements can show up. Speaking of..." If Frez had remembered one thing from his time on Eris, it was that docking with contaminated ships was a bad idea. They needed a warning. "How are our comms? What's our max range right now? We might need to establish a link with the rescue ships."

"Get some people on guard duty on the door. They get first priority on any heavy weaponry. Nothing can get through that door, okay? And don't forget to watch the vents, of course. The Infested like the vents." He ordered Elax, as he started pacing back and forth and fidgeting with his own pencil. He took a deep breath, trying to look calm in front of all of these people.

His head turned rather quickly when the crewman ran up to them, glancing over at the Tenno quickly. "What did you find? Is it dangerous?" He asked, very clearly anxious. He followed the crewman at a rather fast speedwalk, sidearm (hopefully) ready.

~The Corpus guards, who'd been well trained, immediately took up positions. Fortunately the only vents into the bridge opened in the computer room, like Mino's schematics had shown. A wall of Deras, Detrons and Supras faced the dark vent from which the party had come.~

Mino:
The helpful crewman tapped away on the terminal to check on the status of the comms system. He would probably have details for Frez when he got back from his trip to the others.

~At the side room, the Corpus Crewmen with flashlight stepped to the side to let the Tenno and Frez look inside. They continued to shine their lights inside.
What Sonera and Frez saw would be another Corpus Crewman, his helmet removed to expose his peaceful looking face. His chest was a different story- a large gash had been struck across him, tearing up the thick polymer jumpsuit that he wore. In the center of the slash was a deeper gash, right where the man's stomach would be. The most fascinating thing was that he seemed to be alive! His chest rose and fell, just a little bit, but enough to clearly see the man was struggling to keep up with a regular rhythm of shallow breaths.~

Corpus Crewman:
"He's alive, sir, and Tenno," the Crewman said, flourishing his hand.

Other Crewman:
"He's really weak though- pupils don't dilate in response to the light, his hands are cold, his face is cold-" the second Crewman flicked his light to the floor, which reflected back with a red shimmer. Blood. A lots of it.
"He's lost a lot of blood, but he's obviously survived in this state for too long. I'm not sure we can stabilize him. At least, not with what we have."

[1/2]

Corpus Crewman:
"Y'putt a peypiy'pe it ip! If only we had that criminal with us now!"

Third Crewman:
"You mean Kapak? The Infested bozo who probably started this whole mess??"

Corpus Crewman:
"Yeah, but he's like, y'taby great surgeon from the reports I read."

Other Crewman:
"Speaking of Infested," one of the Crewmen said, turning to Frez, "we checked him. He's clear- no glowing inside his eyes, no tentacles or fruiting bodies growing out of his wounds. He's clean..."

[2/2]

Sonera
I step inside the room and my gaze quickly falls down towards the butchered man…well…not him precisely, more at his wounds. My head quickly races with words as my gaze bounces from one point of his body to the next ”Gash. Looks precise. Clean. Not Infested. Weapon?”

My Wukong narrows his brows and I let out a loud huff through my nose, my right fist coiling tightly ”Ahhhhhh No no”

I shake this unease out of my head and I crouch down beside the poor fellow so that I can look at the wounds more precisely. At the call out that he is in fact clean, I pick my head up to look at the corpus that said that.

“Clean? Not infested…one of the block heads? But…why…”

My gaze drifts down at the barely living man, knowing that I can’t do anything for him…apart for lending him a quick death. For now I wait and see if anyone else can do something for him…but…”No no…not even he can help…no no”

FREZ
"Criminal? Infested? Are you talking about someone who was on the ship?" The guards made it sound like this whole thing was not only this Kapak guy's fault, but that they were aware that he was on board. That was ridiculous, though. Right? No way they would let someone like him on to the Fortuna Et Ops, of all places. While he was pondering this, Frez crouched down to look at the wounds himself. They were right, no Infested. Huh. "Try to... try to do what you can for him. Failing that, I dunno... maybe make it less painful." If they died, Frez didn't want them suffering.

Frez stayed to hear the other crewmens' answers about this 'Kapak', honestly not sure what he could do. They may have lost another person. Frez was... no, he wasn't used to it. Not even desensitized. He knew there nothing he could do about it, though. He wasn't a medic.

Other Crewman:
One of the three Crewmen stepped forward and knelt down next to the person, taking off his glove and feeling the man's wrist.
"I'm no doctor, but I can at least try to see what this guy's pul..."
The Crewman trailed off as he turned the man's hand around, poking and prodding at it.
"That's... bizarre. I can't feel a pulse at all... and his fingers are so stiff..." To emphasize his point, he attempted to lift the stiff arm in the air to display.
"I took a first aid course on Jupiter only a few months ago, I know how to check a pulse..."

Corpus Crewman:
"You're probably just p'tayk to be honest," the Corpus who had called Frez over commented. The other crewman seemed to shake his head in annoyance, his helmet displaying a surprising amount of emotion- mostly exasperation.
The Crewman turned away from the body to face Frez.
"You haven't heard of Kapak? The Deceiver? He's a terrible... thing. Some people aren't even sure if there's a Tenno underneath that walking ball of meat. As for whether or not he was on the ship- well, honestly it's hard to tell. He's got a fortune of a bounty on his head, and so he's learned how to become a master of disguise. But this whole incident definitely seems like something he'd do."

Third Crewman:
"Hey, Tenno," the Crewman whispered to Sonera, nudging the Warframe's arm, "think after we get out of this mess I can get a signature? I'd be thrilled, and I'd finally have something to brag and show off to my coworkers!" (edited)

Sonera
My gaze drifts towards the corpus that leaned over the body to take a pulse, only for him to say that there is none. My Wukong’s flexible mask twists in to a toothy frown, unsure if I heard that right ”Wait wait wait…alive? But not? Breathing? But not? No no…too tightening, too many points not connecting…” I glance at the body, as the thought of ending him quickly flashed in my head. This situation isn’t standard, and when something isn’t standard that usually means one of two things. Either it’s far dangerous than thought, or a new exploit. ”Or…”

I listen to the talk about this Kapak fellow once more, wondering who he is to have his name spread out so much. While yes, I do know who started this all…but I don’t feel the need to explain it to them…not the time.

I look towards the Corpus next to me as he whispered to me about a autograph, causing my stern expression to lift back up in to my trademark smile. ”A-ah! Autograph? AH AH! How? What do I use? AH! Later for that worry! This now!” A simple nod is what I offer him before turning my attention back at the others…and him.

I don’t like this situation, not one bit. There is a dead man that is somehow still alive…and I’m not so keen to find out as to how he still breathes without a pulse. Sure, I love puzzles and mysteries but not ones like this. So, I shoot out my right arm, coiling my long and dexterous hands around the throat of the bleeding man, making sure not to put too much pressure just yet. My emerald gaze, albeit much more menacing than before, hits the gathered people as I say, in a lower and serious tone

“No help for him, mercy only left”

I wait…just for a moment…to see if anyone thinks of something more rational. (edited)

FREZ
Walking ball of meat, Tenno, Infested, 'Deciever'... wait, Deciever sounded like... Oh, no... DCV-1R. He recalled the Plaguewatch file, and the encounter they had... Watching his team get eaten... Oh no. The moment everything clicked in his mind, Frez's whole body language seemed to tense up. DCV-1R was on the ship? That's impossible, though. No way Plaguewatch could have let him escape Eris. Then again, he was Tenno...

"We need people on every single entry point, now. Vents, doors, maintenance passages, everything." Frez ordered quite suddenly. He walked/speedwalked/jogged over to Mino, everything about him seeming much more dangerous. "That... thing. 'Kapak'. He's dangerous. Really dangerous. Just tell me we have some way of detecting him." He almost begged of Mino, as he nervously glanced at the door and vents. What if DCV-1R was already on his way? He didn't want to watch these people get eaten.

Elax:
The head guard appeared behind Frez and slapped his back.
"Hey man, no worries- there's only two ways in here. The main door which is still locked, and the vent we came in, which has a ton of barrels aimed at it." He paused.
"DCV-1R? Te-"

Corpus Guard:
"Sirs," A guard interrupted, "Tenno. We found something you'll want to see."
The guard quickly rushed over to the opposite side of the room and went around a corner. He stopped and pointed at the corner of the wall.
"Holes, sirs." The guard's finger was directed at a head-sized hole that looked like the metal had been chewed through... literally.

Sonera
My gaze drifts towards one of the guards as they stormed in to call for my attention yet again…but I pause on following after him…after all, I am holding on to the throat of the dying man. I return my look towards the poor fool, my eyes dipping to his still face…what is this? I feel like I’ve…

_ _

_ _


My Wukong’s lips stretch apart in to a soft smirk. ”Maybe he can…yes yes…maybe he can” I look at the bleeding man and nod my head to him, knowing full well he didn’t see it.

“Yay kpopip pokkoj”

I whisper over to him before letting go of his throat and rummage through my poor gear for a moment. ”I know I have one of them uhhh….HERE!” I pull out a Clotra Stim and carefully inject it in to the neck of the bleeding man, throwing away the empty vile. I stand up and bend over to carefully scoop him up in my hands, bridal style.

I look over to the others

“No safe here, we must move, now”

I turn to heard towards the exit

FREZ
Frez walked up to the hole in the wall, inspecting it for a moment. Was it Infested? Corrosion? Weaponry? Either way, he had the exact same plan, but it was worth at least trying to determine. Stepping back a bit, Frez gave his next order.

"Weld it shut. Weld them all shut. I know for a fact that Infested can still crawl through a hole of this size. Completely disregarding what DCV-1R might be able to do." Better safe than sorry. If there's only a few entry points, the odds of something sneaking past them were very unlikely. There was a paranoid glance around the Bridge from Frez, before he continued. "Honestly, I can't stress enough how much of a hazard he is. I've seen him recover from things that... nothing should be able to recover from. I've seen him eat people. Completely. He's insane, and very, very much a hazard."

Frez continued his paranoid sweeps of the room, as he tried to think of a backup plan. Shattering a window? He wasn't in a uniform, so he didn't have life support. Nor did the civilians. Uh... drop him out of an airlock? No, he'll just eat someone again. Frez turned around just in time to see Sonera leaving, and was understandably distressed that they were leaving now.

"Hey, Tenno! Where are you going?" He called to Sonera, really not wanting to be any more screwed over than this group already was. The Tenno was the only thing levelling this playing field.

Sonera
I pause mid step, still lingering by the doorway with the bleeding man in my arms. I look over my shoulder to the one that called out to me.

“A-ah! Not safe, not safe! It’s a corner, yes yes! They will corner…greater numbers than you have pow-pows. Move, yes yes, move for pods…if there are. Or for place my Orbiter can pierce. Yes yes!”

While accompanying and indulging in this little game of their was FUN, I can’t help but feel like a lot of boring things are to happen if we stay. What was their purpose for entering this room? I still don’t know! But…staying here has a greater chance for death…even if they don’t come the air will run out by just sitting around.

I pause and wait for their response. I’m not staying, that’s for sure, but they have to decide…will they come with me or stay.

FREZ
"You're escaping? We're already outnumbered and outgunned as it is! We need everyone we can get!" No, this can't be happening. They needed this Tenno. They would almost certainly die, otherwise. They could bottleneck the Infested, and this was a good defensive position, but Frez was fully aware that they couldn't hold out forever. "If we can stay here until rescue arrives, everyone will get out of here in one piece. I'll admit, we need all of the help we can get."

Frez started pacing back and forth again, trying to calm down. He was honestly desperate. DCV-1R could probably singlehandedly massacre every single survivor here, and there had to be thousands of Infested creatures on board. What were they supposed to do? They might end up running out ammo before the Infested ran out of corpses to throw at them.

~The body Sonera gripped was stiff. It was cold. Just like... a corpse. But the subtle movements in its chest were surely was a sign of life?~

Elax:
“Tenno, I wouldn’t normally mistrust your great wisdom,” Elax spoke up as he crossed over, “but Frez here does seem to have a point. We have a bit of an advantage here, and we’ve got Civilians here who aren’t trained to move through hostile territory.”
He slapped his chest. “Void, even my men and I aren’t soldiers! We’re mucking security guards.”

~The body jerked suddenly in Sonera’s arms.~ (edited)

Mino:
“A ship just dropped out of punch,” the Crewman called out from his station at the comm terminal. As he turned to face the others, he revealed his face devoid of colour.
“It’s a Grineer vessel.”

Sonera
I hesitate at the doorway as they spoke their logic to me. My gaze lifts to pierce the darkness and follow along the civilians inside the room, faces white and frightened. ”Yes yes, they move slow…far greater risk at capture…but…can’t stay…must move”

“I see I see…but…far great-“

I stop mid sentence as I felt the cold body in my arms jerk sudently ”What the hek?” I furrow my metallic brows as I look down at the fellow. A rush travels through me, like a thought but much faster to be so…more like a instinct, a hunch, a fading feeling that only exists for the split second that sets my mind ablaze with alarms.

I look over my shoulder to the hungry darkness, feeling uneasy about this all. ”No fun no fun….start already” I murmur under my breath and turn to look towards people inside, and then at the body in my arms. My main goal was to separate him from the rest or at least take him to my Orbiter where a certain someone can do a complete scan of the flesh but…looks like that isn’t a option now.

I carefully crouch down by the doorway, gently laying him in to a sitting position with his back propped against the against the left beam. Don’t trust him enough to bring him back inside with the rest but I don’t leave him out to the infested just yet.

I look up at the survivors, still crouched down beside the bleeding man, holding his back straight against the metal frame by the collar with my right arm. “I stay...but only to see this DCV-1R“ I smirk.

At the sound of the Grineer vessel I sprun my head towards the darkness beyond the room once more, speaking in my high pitched voice.

“Grineer vseeel? Scavenge or curious yes yes....“

I hum under my breath, flicking on my coms with a flick of my left wrist, trying to hail my Cephalon as well as any lingering Tenno in the area once more.

“Adus...Doctor...?“

FREZ
"No no no no no... Uh..." Frez sounded in shock for a moment upon hearing the Grineer ship get mentioned. This was literally the worst thing that could possibly happen right now. An entire Grineer vessel. "Tell me we have something working. Security, guns, short-range comms, anything to delay them. We still have reinforcements on the way, right?" He started pacing back and forth rapidly, as he desperately tried to think of ideas.

"If anyone has ideas, now's the time. Remember, our objective is to hold the Bridge." Frez looked to the security guards, and the Tenno. He was aware that he was appearing to be a bit unsure in front of everyone, but this really was desperate. Infested, DCV-1R, and now Grineer. What's next, is a Formoriam going to show up and blow them all to pieces?

Mino:
"Yes sir," Mino replied to Frez's question about reinforcements, "or, at least we should be. No message confirmation was received yet... but it's been several hours since HQ would've been notified on ship status. Again, there's a lot of money on this ship-"

Corpus Crewman:
Another Crewman piped up.
"We don't have any capable offensive systems aboard this ship, since this thing is purely a pleasure vessel. All we have is a point defense system for dealing with celestial debris and asteroids, but it won't have the range or firepower to even dent Grineer Ferrite plating."

Civilian:
"Are we going to die??"

Corpus Guard:
"My question is where the Void all the other Tenno aboard this ship went?! I saw at the very least 14 of those brats inside the gentlemen's club where I was stationed!" The guard hesitated as looked sheepishly at Sonera.
"No offense, of course."

~Sonera would've been successful in contacting Adus, but no Tenno responded. In the meantime, the body in the Wukong's arms had become passive once more.~

Civilian:
"We're going to die!"

Corpus Crewman:
"This is it! I never should've taken this job!"

Civilian:
"I want to go home!"

[1/2]

Other Crewman:
"We can still self destruct from here, I think! Let's just do that! Muck those Voiddamn Zits and those Voiddamn Grineer! Muck 'em all to the Void!"
Soon enough, the entire gathering of people aboard the bridge was shouting at each other, screaming and crying. The only people level headed enough to not start falling apart were the valiant Guards stationed at the vent, who were looking over their shoulders at the commotion. Exasperation was clearly visible through their helmeted heads.
The yelling was abruptly ended by a gunshot into the ceiling.

Elax:
"EVERYBODY SHUT THE MUCK UP!" He boomed, his arm still raised with his sidearm in hand.
"We're going to be fine! The Infestation will protect us from the Grineer, believe it or not, and all we have to do is sit tight here like Frez says! Eventually, Obsidian Dice rescue craft will arrive. Even possibly, Anyocorp might send their own ships, since they have a pretty major stake in Obsidian Dice. Either way, people will come to rescue us."
Elax wasn't entirely sure of things, since Corpus greed may result in any rescue craft to save only the most important thing aboard the ship- the money. But there was still a shot.

[2/2]

Adus (Arko)
“Sssssssssss static SooNNeraaa!? FinallLy! What-t-t-T hapennned? Therrrrr-E iz a Grin-neeR Bata-bata-battalion out hHere. No-t Look-k-kin goo-D”

Sonera
A bring smile spread across my face as the projection of my Cephalon lit up from my right palm while still holding the suspicious body against the doorframe with my left one. The glitching and twisting triangle buzzing on screen with head ache inducing colors.

“Ahhhh! Yes yes, I hear. Listen listen! Need eject near me fast yes yes! Look for craft dock, make one if need be!”

Adus (Arko)
“Eent-ry? Hmm-Mm” (edited)

Sonera
Giving my cephalon the moment it needs to scan around the main hull of the Fortuna near my proximity, I lift my head to look towards the panicking crowd and the ringing gunshots. ”Ah! Too fast too fast, people fall apart too fast”

I shake my head, more to myself than to anyone around me

“Ah yes yes!”

I pipe in with what the gun shooter was yelling and pull my left hand away from the lifeless body, letting his upper half flop forwards in to his lap. I dig around my gear before I start pulling out little balls, dropping two just in front of the door, one to the right and one to the left.

The ball on the right bursts in to life, to reveal a Eximus Lancer specter, with a glued on purple paper tiara on top of it's head. The one on the left blew up in to a Clem specter with tea cups taped at the end of it’s Grakatas.

“Here here! Bombo and Clempo! First line, protect!”

I boast, pointing towards the duo that just stood there, pointing at the ceiling…probably following some movement above.

“Got more, yes yes, more help but…”

I pause to look back at my right palm where the projection of my Cephalon floated, waiting to hear if he got anything for me. In the meantime my left hand sneaking back to the lifeless body, to lift his upper half up and press it firmly against the doorframe yet again (edited)

FREZ
"Yes... What Elax said. The Infestation will create a barrier between us and the Grineer. At worst, we'll deal with stragglers." Frez stood there beside Elax, having also been a bit caught off guard by the gunshot. In reality, everything Frez has said was... not quite the truth. Luckily, Frez was a decent liar. All he could think about were the many ways the Grineer could make this worse. They could board close to the Bridge, or come with flamethrowers. Or, even worse, they could all be turned by the Infestation, and the group of survivors would be forced to deal with even more than were originally thought to be here. Still, though, best to give them some hope. "And Obsidian Dice will come to rescue us, soon. They should be able to get a handle on things. We can hold out until then." Maybe another lie.

Frez turned around and saw the specters, and was... confused at first. Their appearance was a bit odd, in all honesty. Really, though, he didn't mind. More guns. More things between them and death. Good thing they had convinced the Tenno to stay. They could be the difference between escape, and dying here.

Mino:
"Transmission incoming, sirs, and Tenno," The Corpus Crewman announced from the comms console, "from the Grineer ship... it's... not a Grineer frequency."
As Mino spoke, the Grineer galleon in question swerved around into full view of the bridge's window. There it was, only a few kilometers in front of the Fortune et Ops II, its broadside perfectly orthogonal to the Corpus ship. Curiously... there was Tenno script spray painted on the side of the Grineer vessel. Those able to read it would see it read:
SUCK MY BALLS, MUCKERS!
"Um..." Mino said, staring out the window, "should I... patch the transmission through?"

Sonera
“Ahhhh”

I clamp my right hand up, shutting off the transmission to my Cephalon since he’s taking so long to get back to me…ahhhhhh…the struggles of having a fragmented one! ”No no, he’s fun fun!” I smirk to myself and lift my head up towards the Crewman that spoke up, my head twisting to gaze towards the windows to see the passing craft and the…”PFFFFFFF”

I snort out loud, letting out a bubbling laugh

“Ey ey!”

I say in a excited manner, pointing towards the windows

“Right right! No Grineer writing on Grineer ship! Either they upping their masking game or….”

I trail off as my gaze drifts towards Mino

“Yes yes! Let’s listen!”

FREZ
Frez couldn't understand Tenno writing, but he could tell that it wasn't Grineer or Corpus. He stared out of the window for a few silent moments, watching as it turned broadside. Was it going to open fire? Honestly, at this point... he knew there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn't stop an entire Galleon, much less with a damaged luxury cruiser. It was impossible. But if they were willing to talk... Maybe they would open fire if they didn't like what Frez said.

"... Patch it through. Let's see what they have to say." Frez ordered, almost halfheartedly. He knew a little bit of Grineer, but was kind of hoping they would be speaking another language. He just knew how to identify some basic Grineer orders and stuff. "And... keep an eye out for the Obsidian Dice ships. If this escalates... they might be our best bet."

Mino:
“Patching it through now.”

~Over the bridge’s speakers, something no one was expecting began to play.
A male voice cries out, and soon, a plethora of other voices join...
_“I wish I was in Cetus’ Bay 🎵
Chop tower flesh all of they day 🎶
But I’m stowing Kuva in the hold below 🎵
Below below below! 🎶
**HEY HO BELOW BELOW! 🎵
STOWING KUVA IN THE HOLD BELOW! 🎶
HEY HO BELOW BELOW! 🎵
STOWING KUVA IN THE HOLD BELOW! 🎶 **_”

Elax:
"What the mu-"

~The voices cut out for the lone singer once more before joining again, completely drowning out anything Elax was trying to say.
_"The J.M. White, she's a new ship 🎶
Port to bow she's mighty fine 🎵
Beat any ship on the Grineer line 🎶
Stowing Kuva in the hold below 🎵
**HEY HO BELOW BELOW! 🎵
STOWING KUVA IN THE HOLD BELOW! 🎶
HEY HO BELOW BELOW! 🎵
STOWING KUVA IN THE HOLD BELOW! 🎶**"_

Sonera
The song wave hit me harder than that blast wave that ripped through the cargo bay some time ago. My feet start shuffling, my tail swishing and before I know it I’m up and twisting, twirling around to the rhythm of their singing, forgetting all about the cold body that I was holding up against the wall, letting him flop forward once more. Claps and feet-stomps thump to their rhyming, my weight gracefully hopping from one foot to the other in a clear display of enjoyment to the tune.

“Ey ey! Good good! Hail hail! Ask for band name!”

I boost with a bright smile, still hopping from one foot to the other, hand claps and hums following

FREZ
"Please, uh... turn the feed down a bit." Frez can barely tolerate all of these noises, and he didn't want too much noise here on the Bridge. Might attract Infested. He was... confused, to say the least. What was this Grineer ship doing? What was with the singing? Tenno writing? "And... patch me through to them. Let me talk to them." Frez ordered, after a few paranoid glances at the various entrances. He wasn't really confident with his diplomatic skills, but he had done well at leading the survivors so far.

~Mino managed to crank the volume of transmission down, but the singing continued in the background.~

Mino:
“They’re not responding to hails,” Mino said with confusion.

Corpus Guard:
“What the Void is going on?!”

Elax:
“Mino can you get ANYthing out of that ship?! Info? Anything?” The head guard stood next to Mino as the Corpus Crewman tapped on the screen.

~_”The Engineer shouts through his mic 🎵
‘Tell the mate we got bad news 🎶
Can’t get Void for the argon in the flue!’ 🎵
Stowing Kuva in the hold below 🎶
**HEY HO BELOW BELOW! 🎵
STOWING KUVA IN THE HOLD BELOW! 🎶
HEY HO BELOW BELOW! 🎵
STOWING KUVA IN THE HOLD BELOW! 🎶 **_”~ (edited)

Sonera
My hopping, clasping and swaying continued to the tune of the singing in a rather harsh way, perfect for this chanty like tune. All other thoughts and obligations just flew out of my head, as if I was in my Orbiter listening to a relaxing song. I forget it all, where I am, what I was doing...all there is is this and him "Yes yes, this and him!"

"HEY HO BELOW BELOW!
STOWING KUVA IN THE HOLD BELOW BELOW
HEY HO BELOW BELOW
STOWING KUVA IN THE HOLD BELOW"

FREZ
"Keep trying to get a connection. Hack in, if you need to. We need to establish communications." Frez was pacing back and forth once again, glancing occasionally at the singing, dancing Tenno. This was the Tenno they were all depending on right now, huh? The Tenno currently distracted by music of all things. Fantastic. Hopefully either Obsidian Dice or AnyoCorp came soon. If they didn't, well... this situation was already looking pretty bad.

Mino:
“I’m not a Voiddamn hacker,” Mino cried out, “but I keep hailing their ship. It looks like they’re receiving the transmission but... they’re ignoring it?”

Elax:
“Things around here are either going to get much weirder or much worse. Either way, I don’t li- whoa!”
Elax jumped backwards to dodge the Wukong’s dancing body.
“Nef Anyo’s holy funds, I will never understand Tenno.”

Mino:
“Oh muck.”
Mino whispered to himself before suddenly running from the console to the back corner of the Bridge.

Other Crewman:
“Hey Mino, what’s the big idea, huh?”

Mino:
The Crewman pointed out the Bridge’s viewport. Three Tenno Landing Craft hurtled at full speed through space, straight towards the Fortuna et Ops II.

Elax:
The head guard took notice and immediately fell back as well.
“The muck? Did those come from the Grineer ship? Oh, for muck’s s- GUTS! BRACE!!”
Within moments, the ships would make contact with the Bridge by the look of their trajectories.

~Even as the Landing Crafts flew towards them, the music didn’t stop. In fact, it seemed to get louder. It would’ve been completely deafening if Mino hadn’t turned down the volume.
_”The Captain’s on the quarter deck 🎶
Scratchin’ away at his strong neck 🎵
And he cries out, ‘Heave the graviton lead!’ 🎶
Stowing Kuva in the hold below 🎵
**HEY HO BELOW BELOW! 🎶
STOWING KUVA IN THE HOLD BELOW...!**”_

Sonera
My hopping pauses for a moment as someone yelled out “BRACE” My head snapping towards the windows just in time to see the Tenno landing crafts zooming towards us. I smile, wide and gleeful, my hands lifting to clasp in front of my chest in a happy clap. My excitement starting to rise fast and strong, almost shaking my hands from my will to stop this emotion from spilling out too much.

“Yes yes! Adus! Shoot craft Pinklebutter at them!”

I yell out to my glitched companion, hoping he managed to get that! I then turn to face the group, saying to them in a boastful tone

“Get ready get ready! Guests are arriving! Or…invaders?” I tilt my head to the side, pondering on the motive of their boarding. ”Nah nah!” I shake my head and continue speaking “No matter! It’s your way out of here so smiles! And places!”

I crouch down to pick up the bleeding man that’s been leaning by the doorway in a bridal carry…or…is he even still alive? EH! And point towards the door with a swish of my tail.

“RUN!”

I yell out and step back, deciding to go through last just in case someone tumbles in the oncoming stampede and needs a help.

---Meanwhile, a Liset craft has departed from Sonera’s circling Orbiter, all streaked in various ugly shades of pink. It traveled at maximum speed with a set trajectory, trying to reach a point where it gets right in front of at least one of the Tenno crafts in a kamikaze way, to blow them up before they reach the Bridge--- (edited)

FREZ
He was already running, gesturing for everyone else to follow. Oh no, oh no, oh no... Frez lacked any sort of armor or uniform, and was unfortunately aware of this fact. If that window broke, he and every single civilian was going to die of something or another. Maybe being launched into space, lack of oxygen, the sudden drop in pressure... Running was useless, but it was all they could do. Especially with that broken door not being airtigh (or intact) in the slightest. He was really hoping that none of the crewmen would actually brace, because those ships could easily wipe out the entire Bridge if they impacted. Figures, it takes them so much effort to reach the Bridge, just for this to happen.

"_**HEY HO BELOW BELOW! 🎵
STORING**... HEY WHAT THE FU-"_

~The sudden pink Landing Craft that had barreled towards the approaching Lisets was partially successful- it managed to force one of the three ships off course. The Liset- a blue and red one- veered off to the side,avoiding both Sonera's craft as well as the Fortuna et Ops II altogether.
The civilians, Corpus crewmembers and guards all grabbed a hold of something and tucked their heads in. Even the Janitor had crawled into a corner of the bridge and had grabbed the side of a console.
At the last moment, before impact, right when everyone on the bridge had a closeup view of the Lisets' paintjobs (one was black and red, the other yellow and green), the ships veered upwards and seemed to just... disappear?
Nevertheless, the music stopped.~

Elax:
"Wha-" The head guard unfurled himself slowly from his position braced against a large terminal in the center of the bridge.
"What happened? Is everyone alright?"

~One by one, he was met with 'okay's and 'I'm alright's from the group. No one seemed hurt.~

Mino:
"Tenno?" Mino called out for Sonera.

Elax:
"Frez! You okay?" Elax ran over to Frez, who had made it back to the mouth of the vents that had led them to the bridge in the first place. Looks like a few civilians had followed, but stopped when the Landing Crafts had passed.
"I don't know what the Void just happened, but we're alive. Think we should get outta here? I don't know where those Landing Craft went... Maybe we should use the Tenno to bust open the main doors to the Bridge? You know, the PROPER way in..."

~Something shifted in the ceiling. There was a loud clang, and... shouting? Footsteps...~ (edited)

Sonera
I huffed under my breath as almost everyone decided to sit in the room. I mean common! Move damn it! I started stomping back inside, to yank everyone out before the crash but then…

“Huh?”

I halt my stomping, my body freezing as my gaze hits the window and the crafts just…pulling up? HUH?! I run up to the window, pressing my cheek against it so that I can see up and try and catch a glimpse of the crafts but none.

“What the…”

I paused as I heard creaks from above as well as shouting. A devious grin spread across my maw as I took a couple of steps backwards from the windows. I crouch down, to lay the limp man against the left wall, to a spot that I deemed far away from a possible confrontation. Glancing around at the people, I nod my head…as if silently saying them that it’s gonna be alright and that I can handle this. ”Can I? Yes yes! Should be a walk! A bloody walk if it has tooooooo!”

I stop, stand and listen to the movement from above, waiting to see if they’ll drop down to the front door or make a entrance of their own. My hands coil and uncoil in to fists, my tail swishing from left to right, my excitement rising and rising like a predator waiting for it’s prey to make a mistake

FREZ
Frez was gesturing for the civilains to stop running, when he heard the noise in the vents. His pistol was immediately pointed at the ceiling, and he was slowly backing toward some form of cover. Should these intruders come in through the ceiling, he would have somewhere to hide. He looked away from the ceiling just long enough to glance at the rest of the crewmen and security guards, gesturing for them to also focus on the source of the noise. Preferrably, with weapons draw.

"Someone... motion scan, please." Frez requested as quietly as he could, while still being heard by any nearby personell. What were they dealing with? Grineer? Tenno? Were there a couple, or was this an entire boarding party about to barge in here? Seems like the moment things calm down, they just get worse again.

Elax:
"I'll see if I can get someone with a scanner to take a look." Elax began to softly step towards the main Bridge again, as quietly as his Corpus boots could.
The rest of the group was quiet, all intently listening to the strange sounds in the ceiling above.

Corpus Crewman:
"Psst! Tenno!" One of the Crewmen whispered to Sonera, "What is it? Can you protect us from it??"

~The sounds continued above them, the sounds of feet pressing against metal, and several muffled voices.~

Civilian:
One of the civilians by Frez looked at him with terrified eyes.
"Will we have to go back into the vents? With that... that monster?"

Sonera
My gaze drops towards the Corpus that hailed me, that creepy smile never leaving my toothy maw. I crouch down, my hands grasping on to my ankles in a effort to quell the rising current enough so that I can answer him without shouting at the top of my lungs in my moment of excitement.

“Yes yes”

I whisper back, hands clenching harder around my ankles

“Listen listen…even footsteps…some at least…no Grineer…they modified, uneven in walk…”

I silence myself and glance around the room, at the positioning of everyone in it. ”If they drop in middle…chaos will come, panic even! I must follow!”

I unclench my hands from my ankles and silently stand up. I start walking, my steps as light as the wind as I focus and listen to the footsteps from above, trying to mimic their heading direction. If they do make a hole through the floor above…I can at least make sure they drop on me…at least make it a surprise for them! Yes yes! Such fun! (edited)

FREZ
"Maybe not, but... be ready." He whispered to the civilian, nodding to the rest before turning his attention back to the source of the noise. Okay, so if it wasn't Grineer, and it couldn't be Corpus... it had to be Tenno. They might be saved, but what if they saw the civilians as hostages or something? What if their objective was to kill the guards and soldiers? It was unlikely, but Frez always assumed the worst. While he waited for someone to do a motion scan, he stood his ground near the civilians, finger hovering over the trigger of his rifle. A Tetra was better than nothing, but he wouldn't mind having a heavy weapon.

~In a sudden jarring popping sound, two fountains of sparks began to rain from the ceiling. The metal around the sparks took on a fiesty orange glow as whatever was the source heated it up. The two sparks danced across the ceiling in arcs, ending once they had formed a full circle.~

Elax:
"Here they come! Jeakoty uk, set!" Elax and the Corpus guards moved away from the vents and aimed their guns at the ceiling. He looked to Frez, his one exposed eye showing no fear. Seems like Elax was ready to make a stand- nowhere to run, anyway.

Corpus Guard:
One of the guards next to Sonera nodded his head at the Wukong, whispering.
"It was an honor to be protected by a Tenno, no matter how short it was."

~The circle of melted metal was complete. After a brief moment, the round plate of seared ceiling dropped onto the floor with a clang that made everyone jump a little. Thankfully, it missed Sonera, or anyone else, but landed only a few inches from the Warframe's feet.
The hole in the ceiling revealed nothing, however. The interior was dark, made to look even darker thanks to the still-glowing edge around the hole. The hot metal mixed with the colder exterior of the room, adding an additional veil of fog to obscure sight.~

Elax:
"Steady men," the lead Corpus instructed.
"WHO'S THERE? IDENTIFY YOURSELF! THIS SHIP IS PROPERTY OF OBSIDIAN DICE, A DIVISION OF ANYOCORP!"

~Elax was met with silence. Then all at once...
In almost a blur, several figures dropped from the hole, too quick to count their numbers. One of them dropped directly on top of Sonera, something incredibly hard coming down on the Warframe's shoulder. Not a lethal blow, but enough to disorient the Tenno for a moment. There was a flash of red light and the sound of blade metal drawing from its sheath. The Guard who had stood next to Sonera flew backwards, hit by something.
Something killed two Corpus crewmen standing right in front of Frez, their blood spraying outwards as their bodies fell over, riddled with holes. Gunshots rang through the bridge, deafening in the small space.
Then, the Corpus returned fire. Their reactions were slow, or at least seemed lethargic in comparison to the wicked speed of the assailants attacking them. All surfaces in the bridge lit up blue, reflecting the laser fire of the Guard's weapons.~ (edited)

Sonera
“Huh”

I hum under my breath as I saw the bright flashes spark from the ceiling, their appearance causing a gleeful smirk to spread across my metallic maw. ”Yes yes! The drop! Yes yes! Prepare! Prepare!” I inwardly squeal and take a step back from the forming circle in the ceiling. I take a moment to look around the room, towards the positions of everyone in it, dotting where they all are before this chaos is unleashed.

I return my gaze just as the cover clanked down, my smile growing wider, pointier as I gaze up towards the gaping hole, my hands clenching and unclenching in anticipation of a fight! ”Fun fun! Yes yes! So fun fun!” I lift one of my hands up to smack my forehead, activating Defy.

And just as anticipated – with a small dramatic pause – they came down. Something heavy and strong thumped on my shoulders and I bent down from the force, bending my knees instinctively at the impact to minimize the back damage, making me end up in a crouch. I register the fall of several bodies around me, since I’m practically at the epicenter of the assault, and waste no time in analyzing further. They strike, they’re hostile!

I reach out to grab on to the ankles of the assailant in front of me, or the closest one to me. Using my crouched position I yank backwards and upwards, hard, to sweep the ground from beneath them and make them faceplant the floor. Smiling, I will use this new found log to try and swing him around me like the Broken Bull spin combo from the Cleaving Whirlwind stance. Hopefully smacking and staggering those close to me.

---Meanwhile, the Lancer and Clem specter that were positioned by the door have turned their weapons inside, towards the commotion. They seem to be tracing the enemies but don’t shoot as of yet…probably lining up that aimbot which takes forever if they’re on HOLD and there are allies and cover around---

FREZ
First thing he had seen was the ceiling being cut open. He kept his gun on the hole, waiting for movement. Everything was so... abrupt, though. Next thing he knew, he was being showered with the blood of some of the other crewmen... The Tenno was hit by something... The bridge was a convoluted mess of colours... Reflexively, he ducked into cover behind a console, doing his best to ignore the blood staining his clothes. He wished he had an actual uniform, rather than civilian clothing...

"GET OUT OF HERE!" He shouted to the civilians, gesturing for them to escape through the vents. "WE'LL HOLD THEM OFF! GET MOVING!" He was panicking, to say the least. Luckily, he was trained. Said training took over, as he peeked out from cover and opened fire with his tetra. Maybe he would be able to buy the civilians enough time to escape. They had a Tenno of their own, after all.

~As Sonera reaches to grab the legs of the assailant, there is a cry of surprise. It sounds human.~

???:
“Ragh!” The figure cried out. As Sonera tries to yank, the limbs become... water? There’s a rushing sound of a waterfall as liquid splashes against Sonera from seemingly every angle. Then, all sounds become muffled. Sonera floats for a moment, suspended in darkness, with the lights of the bridge shining through the surface above. It appears the Wukong is submerged in some kind of pool, which is constantly pushing down whenever the Warframe attempts to travel upwards.
After only a few seconds, Sonera is yanked violently back onto the bridge, dripping with water. However, as she emerges, she’ll sense the arms of someone wrapped around the Warframe’s torso, and the glint of a metal made on its masked face.
The return to above the water greets Sonera with a loud blast as the sound and light of gunfire fills the bridge, but it isn’t enough to drown out the voice of the Wukong’s captor.
“Call them off,” Sonera hears the voice growl commandingly. It’s a discompassionate voice, speaking with nothing other than an imperative tone.
“I’ll call my own off if you do. There’re civilians among us, aye? Wouldn’t want ‘em to get hurt.”

~As Frez fires the tetra, the bullets pierced a humanoid shape of... a Warframe? A Saryn Warframe, at that. Unfortunately, the energy bolts strike not at the actual assailant, but at a strange, fleshy decoy left behind by the fast- moving opponent.
It’s fast enough to knock the weapon out of Frez’s hand. Before Frez knew it, he was standing face to face with a orange and yellow Saryn, its weapon pointed at Frez’s skull. A Convectrix, electricity humming as it’s two prongs vibrate in malicious anticipation.

Saryn:
“No need to fight, amigo,” a male voice said from the frame, “we not here to hurt innocent, hmm?”
The Saryn outstretched its arms to stop the civilians from reaching the vent.
“You listen to us first, then you decide to run or not, okay okay?”
The Saryn turned around, lifting the weapon away from Frez’s face and back toward the bridge, where the Corpus Guards continued to fire at some other attacker who had moved to the far side of the bridge.
“Hey seester,” The Saryn yells, “be sure not to shoot the windows okay? We all get suck out!” (edited)

Sonera
My hands clasp on to a solid frame and my expression stretches in to glee…only for it to twist in to confusion as the firmness turns to liquid that oozed through my fingers. ”Huh?” I pause for a second, looking at my wet hands, wondering what happened. Only when I got sucked in to a endless pool did I realise my situation. Hydroid. That fucker sucked me in his pee pool!

I clench my jaw as I float in this endless darkness, my hands reaching out to swim out of it but unable to do so, like suspended in a void. I feel furry rising from deep within me ”Hate hate! Fight with fists! Cowards!” Anger overflowing through me, surging like a endless wave that travels from toes to head, pooling around my mind, griping it with sharp claws. It yells like a beast, it screams, it demands for retribution!

I saw light once more as the pool spits me out, my ears absorbing the chaos from the drop. ”Hate hate hate hate hate hate” The words repeat in my head like a broken record and with each repetition this unhindered fury howls more and more, crumbling down the playful demeanor that once reigned supreme. There is no smile on my face, in it’s place is this unusual flatness that tells the story of someone who is clearly too pissed to care for expressions.

I feel a hand reach out and grab on to my torso, something sharp pressing against my throat. I don’t even register their words as my right hand instinctively shoots out to grab on to the wrist of the knife-holding hand. In a burst of speed, I aim to kick the knee of the assailant behind me with a quick and precise heel-jab of my right leg. If I feel that I’ve staggered the person behind me I will use the hold on their wrist, as well as the kick, to flop them forward over my back and smack them on the floor in front of me. A fast, yet powerful, stomp with my right leg will fall, aiming it anywhere I assume will be their chest area. (edited)

FREZ
There he was, huddled behind the console, as the Saryn looked away. This was his chance. He wasn't just going to give up. He's lost enough people under his command on enough occasions. That wasn't happening again. He had one more plasma grenade, maybe he could put it to some use... Those civilians were too close, though. Luckily, that distraction from Sonera was exactly what he needed.

While the Saryn was looking away, he took his pistol, and ducked away before running at full speed to another console. Maybe this distraction would buy enough time to let the civilians run. Frez wasn't about to trust these Tenno, especially with the crewman blood currently staining his clothes.

As he vaulted over another console and into cover once again, Frez took aim with the the Arca Scisco. Hopefully, this Tenno had a weak spot. He fired as fast as the gun would allow, trying to do as much damage with the pistol as possible. Anything to buy the civilians time to escape and to allow the other crewmen to fight back. (edited)

~It didn't seem like the attackers were fully prepared to meet such resistance.~

Hydroid:
"Now th-" Sonera's quick movements disarm the attacker successfully, a worm-like, wriggled knife recognizable as the smaller blade of the Nami Skyla weapon set.
With a pained cry, the Hydroid was flipped onto the ground in front of Sonera. But Sonera's stomp struck nothing but the floor, as the Hydroid quickly rolled backwards and back onto his feet, his movements extremely fluid as they were hidden by a lengthy cloth cape fixed to his back.
He rearmed himself with the larger of the two weapons he bore- the Nami Solo cutlass. Its blade glinted in the dim light, and now Sonera could see the attacker in his full glory.
The Hydroid was coloured black from head to toe, or at least he bore extremely dark colours. The only actual colour from the Warframe came primarily from the large, glowing red eye in the center of its helmet.
"You don't want t' do this, my Tenno friend," the Hydroid spoke as he brandished the blade, waving it in the space in front of him with purpose, "believe me when I say we be not here to pick a fight with you."

Saryn:
The Saryn stood guard for a moment, watching the scene before Frez began to run.
"Where you go-" The Saryn began to yell before being pelted with Frez's attacks
"Ay caramba!" The Tenno cursed as the Corpus pistol's rays struck the Saryn's weakened shields. "HEY CABRONE, CUT THAT OUT!"
The Warframe raised its hands as it weathered the Arca Sisco's beams, its shields giving a faint blue flicker as they fizzled out of existence, the lasers not beginning to sear the armoured skin on the Saryn.
"If you don't cut that out, mi amigo, I will drop a big spore and make everyone here melt into big puddle of goo!"

~There was another flurry of gunfire, more and more Corpus Guards and Crewmen falling to the last Warframe attacker- over by the far side of the room. If anyone was watching, they would notice that none of the civilians were getting shot.~

Elax:
"Pie!" Elax shouted as he fired back at the Warframe at the far end of the room. He was one of the few Corpus Guards still alive.
Mino seemed to have already met his fate. The Crewman lay on the floor next to Elax's cover, which was actually adjacent to Frez's own spot. There was a gaping hole in the Crewman's helmet, a hefty pool of blood encircling his corpse. (edited)

Sonera
A low, animalistic growl rumbles up from my throat as my stomp lands on the floor beneath instead of the comfy crunchy chest of the Hydroid. ”Ah ah! Close close! But…more fun like this! Yes yes!” My head lifts up to glare at him as a amusing devilish smirk started to spreading across my flexible mouth piece. I hear him…but I’m no believing. I glance down at the dropped knife and swiftly lift it up with a precise kickflip of my left foot, hoisting it up from the floor where I grab it out of it with my left hand, however I don’t keep it there and casually fling it over my shoulder where I precisely snatch it out of the air yet again with my special made flexible tail, a motion I’ve practiced over the years by throwing random shit over my shoulder for my tail to catch. The tip of the longer-than-usual tail curling around the hilt, pointing the blade down towards the floor. I lift my fists up in front of my head in a defensive boxer stance, while my knife-brandishing tail swishes slightly to the left and holds there with the blade pointing down, my knees bending slightly in preparation for a pounce.

“I hear I hear”

I answer him, my voice harsh, hoarse and low, so unlike my usual cheerful one.

“But look look”

I motion with a subtle nod of my chin towards the killed crewmen on the floor, making sure not to break my vision on him.

“You pick fight with them, I assist them…or tell tell, is that red juice? Not harmful?”

I pause, waiting for his answer. The curiosity to hear his excuse outweighing my carnal instinct to fight…for now. (edited)

FREZ
Okay, the shields were down, but... He didn't want to become a puddle. Nor did he want the civilians to become puddles. This was a dangerous Tenno, though. Okay... Frez stood up from behind the console, pistol aimed directly at the Saryn. He was shaking with fear, and he was at the point where he was relying on the pistol's automatic targetting, since there was no way he was keeping this thing stable. Come on, Frez. You can do this. Just try to... negotiate? Was negotiation even possible? He kept the gun pointed at the Saryn, as he cleared his throat.

"Then... l-let them go... Let them go, unharmed... or I'm gonna shoot." Face-to-face with a hostile Tenno, there was fear in his voice. Fear, but also just a little hint of aggression. He was prepared to fire at the Tenno again, if need be. With their shields down, he might actually be able to do some damage. It would probably look a bit odd, though, for someone that looked like a civilian to be threatening a Tenno. "Let t-them all go... don't touch them..."

Hydroid:
The Hydroid Prime's vehement carmine eye stared at Sonera.
"That red juice is just strawberry juice... No, of course it be blood, and of course I had to blow them men down!"
He twirled his cutlass.
"But you... you be Tenno, like me 'n me mates. And those other people be innocent- notice how me mates haven't slammed a single iron through any of th' wenches 'n laddies you be guardin'. Only th' scurvy dogs sportin' Obsidian Dice's colours."
He lowered his blade slowly, taking a step back.
"Why don't we lower our arms and you calm your friends down, matey? Then we can get to real introductions. I can explain to you real good th' reasoning as to why we cut your so-called allies here were cut t' th' brisket."

Saryn:
"Hey muchacho, the Saryn said, keeping its Convectrix aimed back at Frez. In the Warframes other hand a fleshy orb formed, a nebulous, vile mixture of something swirling within its translucent membrane. "put down your gun and no one else get shoot, okay?"

Elax:
"He's lying Frez! Waste this fathermucker!"

Mesa:
From the darkness, the third Warframe appeared. A Mesa, now with one of her Regulators planted against Frez's skull.
"Hey little man," a feminine voice called from within the metal figure, "you sure you want to pull your trigger?"

Sonera
My gaze flickers from the Hydroid to the Saryn, keeping tabs of her happenings as well. Can’t have a bubble spreading goddess walk around without control. ”No no, she melts all with a snap of her fingers…no no”

I snap my gaze back at the Hydroid as he spoke, gazing at him through my raised fists. ”Logic yes yes, he makes it good…but” I look to the side at the running civilians ”No innocent hurt…truth” Then it travels to the bodies ”They deserve? Truly…” What reason could he have for killing the workers? ”Oh who I kid! I chopped down Corpus for the silliest of things! Yes yes! One had the data mass and I’m not a lurker so off they all went till one dropped!”

I let out a firm gruff through my nose and relax my shoulders, letting my hands flop down to my sides. I straighten up in my posture, my legs no longer in a tense spring-like readiness, however my tail still holds a tight grip on the dagger with the blade pointing downwards, showing that no hostility is in my intentions as of yet. The others should pick up my actions as a cease fire cause if the Tenno isn’t fighting then they shouldn’t as well. I might be a impulsive and battle-driven buffoon but I am not one that escalates situations that hold great collateral. Then again, if it was just me here then I’d just go bangers against them! ”Oh who am I kidding! I wait wait! Must boop him back for the puddle! Yes yes!”

A sly smirk spreads across my maw, my vision drifting to the side to bounce from the Saryn to the newly appeared Mesa. I point towards them and return my gaze back at the Hydroid with a WELL?! I’M WAITING! look on my Wukong’s flexible face. (edited)

FREZ
Okay, let's just step back and recap this. Everything happening to Frez. So, here he was. Arca scisco pointed at a Saryn between him and the civilians. The Saryn had a gun on him, and was already preparing to wipe out every non-Tenno in here with whatever was in that orb. There was a Mesa holding a Regulator to the back of his head, and their reaction time was almost certainly faster than his. Mino was dead, and Elax couldn't do anything now that the Mesa was here. Even worse, the Wukong was distracted or something. In a situation like this, what could Frez do? Surrender could lead to his death, but fighting... that would kill the civilians for sure.

"Look..." Frez kept the gun on the Saryn, and his finger over the trigger. He wasn't going to pull it, though. Not yet. His voice was still full of fear, but there was still enough of that tiny bit of aggression. Yes, he was still shaking. Yes, he was still terrified. There were many lives on the line, though. Finally, Frez started lowering the pistol. Slowly, as to not provoke anyone. "Just... Please, don't hurt them. Let them go. None of them have done anything... Including the crewmen." And yet, most of the crewmen and security team were dead. Tenno always seemed to shoot first, ask questions later.

Hydroid:
The Hydroid sighed as he looked at the situation unfolding between Frez and his two allies.
"Sorry... it's just... oh sweet Lotus, y' tars!" the Hydroid yelled after quickly apologizing to Sonera, "just disarm th' son of a biscuit eater 'n we can get on with th' pleasantries!"

Elax:
"Muck you!!" Elax yelled, his gun making a rapid clicking noise- out of ammo, it seems, and the invading Tenno knew it. They ignored him.

Saryn:
"Okay boss man," the Saryn said, the spore dissipating back into the Warframe's palm. There was a humming noise as the Convectrix powered down and folded up.

Mesa:
"Aye aye, captain," the Mesa said, swiftly performing a disarming maneuver with the speed and dexterity that only a Tenno could achieve. Before Frez knew it, he had no weapon.

Hydroid:
The Hydroid stepped around Sonera and walked into the center of the bridge, running his fingers of his Nami Solo Prime over and over. He stopped and raised his voice over the sudden silence that had now filled the room.
The civilians, all bundled together next to the Saryn, darted their visions around the room in a mixture of curiosity, fear, and confusion.
"Me name is Captain Vec Lightburn, a servant o' th' Lotus, a member o' th' Tenno Order, and leader o' Clan Smooth Fortune."

[1/2]

Elax:
"You... YOU SON OF A KUBRODON, WE HAD A D-" Elax began to curse at Vec, before the Mesa abruptly put the Corpus Guard into a headlock from behind.

Captain Vec:
"Ahem, excuse me," Vec said with a hint of annoyance in his voice, "what I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted by this cur... ah yes, you all have nothing to fear."
Vec waved his hand in the direction of Frez and the civilians.
"I mean, assuming you all don't do something stupid," Vec shook his head, "after all, our scans show that th' rest o' yer vessel here done been overrun with th' bloody pimpleheads, aye?"
The Hydroid boosted himself up backwards onto one of the consoles, sitting down on it with a sigh.
"Anyways... y' might say we be th' rescue party. We be here to rescue you all from an otherwise terrible fate. Ah, and before I forget, how rude of me, these are two members o' me crew. That Saryn there is Dimalgo, a real loose cannon if I do say so."
Vec guffawed, as if there was something funny about his statement. Dimalgo chuckled as well. Perhaps some kind of inside joke they shared?
"That lady o'er there with the two... er, now three shootin' irons is Dimalgo's sister, Quila. She's got a fine eye and a steady hand, all for shootin'... though I've never been quite so sure whether that be from her choice in Warframe or her actual talent."
Vec paused for a moment, looking between Frez and Sonera for a moment. Silence slowly trickled back into the air, with Elax's muffled protests making the only ripples.

[2/2]

Sonera
My gaze jumped from the Hydroid to the Mesa and the Saryn as they spoke and exchanged actions. ”Interesting interesting! Yes yes!” I hummed to myself as I bring my knife-wielding tail up from between my legs, where I grab on to the dagger with my left hand. I start twirling the smaller piece of the Nami Skyla around my thumb as I continued to listen and watch their movements, a amused smirk spreading across my toothy maw. My right hand pressing behind my back to project the bearing of a noble soldier.

“I see I see”

I start as the Hydroid finished speaking. I quickly halt the spinning dagger in my palm, with the flat side of the blade pressing tightly against my forefinger, both pointing towards a nearby dead crewman.

“I bet they feel saved no?” I say in my lighter tone, my head tilting to the side as I looked at the Hydroid.

While my words seemed serious, my face said otherwise by cracking in to a devilish smirk. I shrug my shoulders and pull back my left palm from it’s pointing pose to continue it’s dance of the twirling dagger. I start walking, slowly, my strides light as if I’m walking through a thick liquid.

“Then again, we’re warframes! No care no care for others eh?” I chuckled to myself, finding this whole satiation quite ridiculous ”What he says and does! OH oh! So different! Yes yes…like a Bolarola in heat!”

I throw a glance at the Mesa and then to the Corpus she was currently choking, my expression phasing in to a mix of boredom and curiosity.

“Tell tell”

I huff out as I stop four paces from the Mesa, the twirling dagger stopping it’s spin on my palm as I bring it up to tap it’s sharp end against my metallic lower lip. My empty gaze hitting her eyeless face, intently, as if looking for a weak spot in her nerve.

“What happens now? We escape? You tell us the rest of the story? We dance onboard your ship? Or…”

I pause as I tear my gaze from the Mesa to look over towards the Hydroid once more

“…do we hug it out?”

_ _
My lips pulling back in to a full bloomed smile, silver fangs flashing in the dim light, giving the whole expression a sense of danger, as if a hungry monkey was ogling you before dinner time.

FREZ
"What kind of rescuers murder the people they're supposed to save?" Frez asked, with a sort of gesture to the dead body of Mino. At least Elax was still alive, but it didn't take a genius to tell that the rest of the crewmen were likely dead by now. "We had rescuers on their way, already. Then, you all showed up... And look at what you've done... same thing you Tenno always do. Just kill..."

Frez actually sounded almost... defeated by now. He had just wanted a vacation, and here he was. At gunpoint, surrounded by dead bodies, in a ship full of Infested. There was no point in fighting anymore. To make things worse, he was surrounded by what had to be some of the dumbest Tenno in the system. Some crazy monkey person with little to no regard for the lives of anyone here, and a bunch of wannabe pirates. His fault for assuming Tenno would be helpful, though. Looks like the Corpus here were screwed either way.

"I... don't really care about any of your names. Please, just let us go. None of us have done anything." Frez glanced to Elax specifically this time, really hoping he was just being muffled and not choked. Could he really handle anyone else dying today? Best not to find out.

Captain Vec:
The Hydroid walked forward towards Frez, kneeling down on one knee before the Corpus.
"I wouldn't expect you t' understand," the Captain spoke, "after all, you'd be Corpus too... aren't you?"
Vec stood up again and walked over to Elax, who was still locked in Quila's arms.

Dimalgo:
"Ay, Tenno!" the Saryn called over to Sonera, "You say you like the dance, hum? You come with us, we introduce you to very musical others. You get along well with The Ambassador, I can tell. He also dances all the day long, hoo wee! Probably you like Jek too, everyone like Jek."

Captain Vec:
"The Wukong is welcome to come with us," Vec said, keeping his gaze locked onto Elax, "but you... you're not."

Elax:
"MMfffmmf!" The Corpus Guard managed to grunt.

Captain Vec:
"You see, this ship is scuttled, but there be a good portion of booty on a ship of this... nature, no?"
The Hydroid turned to face Frez.
"The Corpus are greedy. It be what drives them. Well, I tell you what, lad. Me n' me hearties be driven by money as well. We take money from th' stupid, box-headed, Crack Jenny Teacup drinkin' tars that be mirin' this Voiddamn vessel, and give it away t' people in much deeper need. You ever heard of a place called Fortuna? No, not this bloody ship, but the prison colony. Those people live in perpetual debt t' you Corpus scum. Other places, like several lil' unheard of villages on th' Green Mother 'erself, and beyond... they all struggle to make ends meet while th' Corpus gorge themselves on their ill-gotten plunder. Pah!"
Captain Vec reached behind him and wrapped his hands around Elax's throat as Quila released him, his face never turning away from Frez.
"But you poor planetlubbers be more innocent than th' grubby filth I be holdin' right now. Which is why we'll see t' it you be saved. But you..." Vec finally turned to face the choking Elax.
"You'd just report back t' your scumbucket boss Kota about this little mishap, hmm?"

[1/2] (edited)

Elax:
"Ghhghgghhhhagahghhhhh..."

Vec:
"Th' only reason we ever allied ourselves with you scurvy dogs is because of that no-good, pimply, grog blossomed coward Kapak. Or what is it you boxheads call him? DC-1VR?"
Vec's fingers twitched as his grip tightened evermore with each passing second.

Dimalgo:
"Ay, mi pequeña amigo, you and the others are free to go," The Saryn said to Frez, leaning against the wall, "I mean, if you guys want to. If you don't come with us, we maroon you here on ship full of zombies. We actually intercept and scramble your distress signal... no other help come, no no."

Civilians:
The gathered civilians looked at each other, and at Frez. None of them said anything, but they shuffled nervously.

[2/2] (edited)

FREZ
So, you know how everyone always has that little self-preservation instinct at the back of their mind, that little voice that warns them when something is a bad idea? That voice that always made Frez worried and scared of stuff. Well... that sort of... shut up, for lack of a better word. Seeing Elax get strangled was the last straw. Frez has been through too much. He just sorta... snapped.

"And you think we're to blame for some debt colony? You think Elax is to blame? Me? Mino? Anyone you've killed? You want to know what I do? I'm not involved in that." Frez took a step toward Vec, almost seething with rage. He was shaking. Not with fear, just raw anger. "You just act like some wannabe pirate. That's all you do, I bet. Fly around in your Tenno ships, take what you want, kill anyone in your way. And then you come here, kill survivors, and claim to be rescuing us?" He took another step forward.

"I spent months stationed around Eris. You want to know what I did? I fought Infested. We were trying to find a cure. Some way to stop it. I went head-to-head with it. You want to know what else I went head-to-head with? DCV-1R. He killed everyone under my command. Many times. I had to watch him tear them apart. He ate them." Frez was almost shouting by now. "But at least he was probably just protecting his fellow Infested. You just showed up and started killing. You're almost worse than him. All of you. And now you're about kill another innocent."

Sonera
The possible aspect of hearing their songs and dancing along once more, released a wave of cheer within me, my smile bordering on crazed territory! But…it quickly faltered as the mood in the room got, for a lack of better term, killed. Lingual disputes suck out the fun in me faster than a depressurized chamber. ”No like, no like” I gruff to myself under my tone, my expressive face curling in to a frown as the Hydroid and one of the crewmen engage in a verbal show of dominance on who has the better morality ”Boring boring boring! A fight with no victor!” Truly, why do they feel the need to voice their opinions and sides when all that is fleeting and not graspable?! Actions matter, they do something, be it good or bad…words only paint pictures that are pleasing to look at. BORING!

I let out a huff through my nose and fling the dagger towards the Saryn with a careless throw, hoping she’d catch it. I walk over towards the Hydroid with calm and light strides, showing no hostility in my posture nor movement. I firmly plant a hand on his shoulder, my fingers digging in to his frame to grab his attention for him to see the stern and calm expression on my face, one that silently screams Stop boasting and drop the Corpus, you proved your point

But…I say nothing, and simply release his shoulder from my grasp – not caring if he reads in to what my silent stare meant – and make my way towards the corner where I put the poor bleeding fool…who I’m hoping is still alive for whatever reason. I crouch down and hoist him up in a careful princess carry, turning to look towards Frez, my expression changing once again with a touch of melancholy, dark empty eyes looking alive all of a sudden.

_ _
“You fight a war with no end, you will get lost” I strain the last bit with a firm tone, reassuring him that I know what I’m talking about. Will he get what I’m talking about? BAH! A mortal cannot fathom what a everlasting being learns during it’s lifetime…mainly through mistakes.

I then look up towards the Hydroid and nod my head to him

“I come…”

I pause to look towards the civilians huddling in the corner with no where to go or turn to, apart from me and the blood-stained warframes.

“…survivors too”

I add with a soft tone, my gaze hardening which seems as if another Wukong was standing in the room, no longer the cheerful and bouncy one.

"All of them"

I finish, pressing the body in my arms closer to my chest as if trying to keep all of his insides in the right places with the pressure. (edited)

Captain Vec:
The Hydroid began to chuckle as Frez ranted on, eventually bursting into full-on laughter by the end of the speech.
“My, my,” Vec guffawed, “I do like you, little man. Sink me, you’ve got some kind o’ determination burning inside you that most people of yer kind don’t.”
He took a step towards Frez, Elax still choking in his grasp.
“I’d say you have a solid argument... but then again, someone as mortal as you do lack a certain kind of clarity... These men,” Vec turned to face Elax’s purple face, “they made their decision. They doomed themselves once they decided t’ work for ol’ Nef Anyo n’ his wretched businesses.”
Vec paused at this point, listening to Sonera. In the background, Dimalgo catches the knife after fumbling it for a moment.
“Hmm. Very well, Tenno.” Vec dropped Elax, who crumpled to the floor, gasping and wheezing. It was too dark to tell, but Elax’s throat would be marred with bruises at this point.
“Trissa?” Vec spoke, likely to someone on his comms, “please tell me you’ve cleaned out enough of Kapak’s voiddamn trash out o’ th’ medbay.
...uh huh? Yes, very good.
...what? Oh, no. Hmm. No, we got Civilians. 4 of em. Also 2 voiddamn boxheads, one in a condition that looks pretty ruined. Aye, we be coming aboard. Aye. Aye, we’ll abandon the money and get these folk to a safe place. ZJ says what? Well tell ‘er if she do it again she gets dropped int’ a Void tower for an hour. Aye.”
Vec sighed as he obviously cut out his communication and turned back to Frez.
“Well, my little friend, let’s get you and the others out of here, aye?”
He turned to Sonera. “We need to get that guy back t’ Trissa, our medic, as quick as the sun shines. W-“

W-“

~The next events occurred simultaneously, throwing the room into chaos.~

Janitor:
“Y’ stupid Tenno forgot to kill me when ya had the chance! Die!”
The Janitor, who had survived the initial assault simply due to him lying on the ground the whole time. He cradled a Glaxion in his unbroken arm, pulling the trigger to unleash a beam of freezing energy towards the general direction of the group. It’s unclear whether the Janitor was incapable of aiming, or if he was aiming at everyone.

~The body of the almost-dead man revealed the true nature of the fleshbag as his face exploded open, showering Sonera with a smoothie of brain, blood and bone. With a squeal, an Infested Maggot leapt from the rended skull towards Frez.~

Sonera
I was just about to nod my head to the Hydroid when he spoke about the medic when the shit hit the fan! Or err…more like the blood hit my face! A full-body twitch rippled down from my torso as the head of the guy in my hands unexpectedly explodes and splashes me across my head and chest. A wave of anger quickly replaces the short lived shock and I smack the lifeless body to on the floor, quite forcefully at that, bone cracking ringing out for a short second.

“Again?! I- WHOA”

I quickly crouch down as the unmistakable sound of a Glaxion shoots out. I quickly lift a hand up to wipe the blood from my already stained face. ”What what?! It was resolved no?!” My gaze quickly falls on the stupid Corpus that is wiggling the Glaxion like a hose.

“Stupid stupid”

I don’t even waste a moment to think as I swiftly jump in to action, trying to subdue him before the other warframes had their chance to kill him. I practically spring myself in to a powerful leap for a full frontal body glomp, not minding that I take the full force of the Glaxion since I didn’t dispel my Defy just yet from the previous battle opportunity. The goal here is to incapacitate him by the sheer power of my weight that is about to drop on top of him.

FREZ
"You think we all want to work for the company? The alternative is starving to death. It's the only way to get a decent paycheck." Frez took yet another step toward the captain, seeming to no longer be fearing the possibility of death. What was the point? Either Sonera would do something, or he would die anyway. "And look at what you're doing! Killing people, because you wanted a few credits-"

He was interrupted by that maggot bursting from the sorta-corpse and throwing itself at him. Reflex took over, as it tended to do in these situations. Without a gun, he would have to deal with this the next best way. This wasn't his first time killing a maggot with his bare hands. When you normally had to save ammo for the big scary things, it really was the best way to deal with them. Right before it hit him, he swung at it and tried to swat it onto the floor, which would be followed up with a stomp to finish it off, if the first bit worked.

~Sonera's shields were obliterated in seconds, the frigid temperature of the Corpus weapon overloading the barrier's structure quickly. However, by the time that happened, the Warframe landed on the man, causing him to wheeze in pain, dropping the weapon as Sonera now had him pinned.
Frez was also successful- the maggot was soon a puddle of blood, other fluids and small, twitching Technocyte gobs of meat.~

Captain Vec:
"Hmm!" The Captain mused, "I'm impressed!"
He crossed his arms, looking towards Sonera and the Janitor.
"Normally I don't take so... mercifully t' people who try and kill me." He held out his hand, and Dimalgo quickly returned the other half of his Nami Skyla to him.
"But, I'll let him live this time... as a token of goodwill."
With a flourish of his cape, Vec walked back towards the center of the room, looking out into space, where his ship floated before the Fortuna et Ops II.
"We'll agree t' disagree, little Corpus," Vec spoke, "after all, there are pretty major differences between meself and you. I would say one day you'll understand, but your life will be too short for you to."
Vec turned around to face the group, Quila silently standing behind him, watching the rest of them.
"We've got extraction ships coming up, and we'll see to it you civilians get some proper medical treatment. We'll screen you for Technocyte infection and get you safely to the nearest Corpus outpost."
He nodded his head, exchanging a glance with the Mesa.
"So much for getting that money t' Ira. Her n' her family will have to wait another month."
Vec sighed. His Warframe's jet black colouring and red eye were impossible to act as windows into Vec's mind but, he was ultimately at peace with getting these innocents to safety rather than picking up several lifetimes' worth of credits and platinum."
There was a roaring sound as one of the Tenno Orbiters flew into view, docking with the zone the pirates had entered in from above.

[1/2]

"There's our rides. Tenno, Corpus.... let's get you out of this place, hmm?"
The civilians began to move forward, being helped up by Dimalgo and now a fourth Tenno from above to the Orbiter.
Quila approached Sonera, pointing towards the Janitor and gesturing to pick him up. She pointed upwards as well.
Vec stopped Frez and the still raspy Elax, gripping their shoulders tightly before growling in a low voice.
"If you ever, EVER tell your bosses," Vec poked Elax's sternum, "I will scour this system and find you, and I will gut you to th' brisket. Not a word of what happened here today. There won't be a single place in explored space that will hide your miserable existence."
Vec turned around, his cape flapping air into Frez and Elax's faces before he effortlessly launched himself up and into the ceiling hole above.

Elax:
"ᵀʰ⁻ ᵗʰᵃⁿᵏ... ʸᵒᵘ... ᶠʳᵉᶻ... ᵃⁿ... ᵃⁿᵈ ᵀᵉⁿⁿᵒ..." Elax managed to rasp. It appears that Frez and Elax were the only ones (besides Quila and Sonera off to the side) who were still in the bridge.

[2/2]

Sonera
“Oh? IT WORKED?!” I chuckle with a wide and bring smile, hoisting myself up on my feet and dusting off my chest, at the same time shedding off the soft green aura from me, signaling the end of my Defy protection. I quickly kick the Glaxion as far away as possible and reach down to grab the foolish man by the back of his body-tight suit, lifting him up with little effort, bringing his face up close to my customized one. I smile at him, fangs shining.

“Foolish foolish! Almost ruined everything!”

But, I don’t give him any room to justify himself and practically fling him up to the hole in the ceiling like a bag of potatoes, hoping the one up top manages to grab on to him. I then look around the room, noticing that only me, the Mesa, the arguing Corpus and the chokey boi, remain. I stand to the side and motion with a point of my thumb for Frez and Elax to step up and go before me. (edited)

FREZ
Frez crouched down beside Elax, trying to make sure he was okay. Just a quick check for anything that might be fatal, or permanent. He was still glaring at up at the ceiling every once in a while, as he checked up on Elax. Well. he was alive and speaking, so that was a good sign.

"Are you okay...? Any broken bones?" Frez asked Elaz. May as well make sure he was stable, before they tried moving him out of here. "I think everyone else is safe..." Well, except for all of the dead crewmen. Looking at the dead body of Mino for a moment, Frez felt decidedly unhappy about this. A few of the survivors may be safe now, but a lot more were dead. (edited)

Elax:
The Corpus survivor nodded at Frez, still weakened by the Hydroid's prior grip. He patted Frez on the shoulder, then allowed himself to be boosted up into the ceiling by Quila the Mesa.

~After Sonera and Frez were also safely aboard the Tenno spacecraft that awaited them, the Liset departed from the hull of the fallen pleasure vessel. Frez, Sonera and the survivors would never see the Fortuna et Ops II again, for the Tenno ship faced but away. Sonera made it out, and the other sub-Tenno beings who were still alive had escaped the nightmare. Lives, lost. Unnecessarily. Too much blood spilled. Sonera knew the source of the hellscape that had formed within that derelict ship, but Frez and the others would never quite understand why the things that transpired there happened... at least for now.

The Fortuna et Ops II still floats, lost and darkened, its halls still filled with the roaming monstrosities born of the greedy and lustful flesh that had once enjoyed its amenities. No one would step foot aboard that ship again.

...for now, at least.~

[END RP]

EPILOGUE:

Kapak:
"Stoirin! I hope you receive this message! Man, I tell you, things got pretty voiddamn crazy, but eventually I was able to eat my way through those muckers that swarmed us in the ballroom. That Vauban fellow got his Warframe ripped to shreds unfortunately, but he's a Tenno so he'll be alright. I hope you got those civilians out! It'd be a damn shame if you didn't!

So uh listen, I was actually able to get the money. ALL of it. I had some help aboard, and they were actually supposed to meet up with you, but I guess you took a wrong turn somewhere, because they never found you. Anyways, I think it'd be best if I gave you a good cut of the spoils from my little heist, after what you did. I mean, I'm long gone now- some unsavoury folk appeared and I decided to skidaddle. Those muckers in the graffiti coated Galleon? They're a real ball of cocksuckers. I hope you didn't have the misfortune of running into them!
Anyways, attached to this transmission is 20 million credits and 2.5k platinum. I hope you appreciate it! Who knows... maybe we'll meet again.
Take care."