Solar Rails - The ULMF Posting

[lurker]

As promised to someone else, I'm reposting a story I got ongoing on the Warframe forum over here. Basicly a small little crazy idea to try and get many of the glorious Fanframe designs some air and try to get my creative juices flowing again.

Warning, large security force approaching.

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EPISODE 1: The Prototype

Chapter 1 - The Awakening

Mood Music -

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---

It has been a long time, Tenno.

The voice echoed a bit in the silent chamber in which she sat, head bowed yet alert. The space was bright white, a serene hum of the holographic projection system barely noticeable as she listened to the Voice.

The solar system had not been kind to your kind during the great sleep. Do you remember anything of your past?

A silent shaking of her head was her only answer. “No. Just a name, I think. Ember.” Her voice was sore, as if it had suffered long from underuse, but even she could feel the snap to it, as if an ember was crackling it’s protest and will to live.

A short pause happened, and Ember could almost feel the disappointment in her next remarks. I understand. I had hoped... but anyway. A matter for another time. Do not concern yourself though. You are Tenno, I will prepare you.

The world shifted around the meditating Ember, turning dark to a near black. Eventually, lights started to blink alive, as stars filled the world around her, before eventually focusing on a singular star. As it drew closer, Ember felt a deep pang of an unidentifiable feeling as she recognized it. Homesickness?

This is the Sol system. At one time, you were among its protectors. Centuries ago, the Tenno guarded this sector, the home of Humanity and all of its many facets, during a time of technological advance known to us as the Orokin Era.

Time, however, has not been kind to the Solar Rails. Humanity fractured, developing ways to advance itself and yet blinding themselves to their peers and common sense. And then, the Sentients came.

The images of the solar system flickered, as many lines appeared over the course of the system, connecting the planets together. As Ember watched, the lines, one by one, turned red, before blackening into darkness.

The war with the sentients marks the end of the Orokin era. All that we know of can be split into two things: First, the Orokin created a vast, alien creation known as the Technolyte Virus to combat the sentients, and now without its Master, it runs rampant in the galaxy. The second is that you and your fellow Tenno all went into hiding, sealing yourself to the sleep of cold eternity until it was time to be reawakened.

The ‘map before her sparked back to life, showing many of the rails slowly being replaced and recolored, once again forming to a unfractured line.

“Then who is the foe. What is our great threat? Has the Sentients returned?”

A uncomfortable silence once again hanged in the air.

The enemy now, is the extremes. Humanity has sunk far without a guiding hand.

Multiple images began to hover over the various worlds now- monstrous armored soldiers, moving in formation and overseeing great machines of war, followed by multiple robotic creatures, led around by humanoid figures in silly helmets.

This is the Grineer Empire, and the Corpus Conglomerate. Both of these factions are what are left of humanity in the Sol system. Ages ago, there was another, but they were chased off when the Sentients attacked, and the Outer Terminus still lies in ruins after all these years.

The image of the armored forces came into prominence, the various figures rotating and allowing to show every detail of them.

The Grineer are the dominant force of the galaxy now, partially due to cloning procedures and military might. They are degrading, though from age and constant aggression at any sign of treachery. They cannot be allowed to ruin the worlds they hold lordship to.

The images of the Grineer faded to the background, soon moving behind the images of the various robots.

And these are the Corpus, our greatest threat to the secrets of the Orokin Era. The Corpus care not over the sanctity of history, and wish to find ruins, artifacts, and even your fellow Tenno to exploit and break to their own power and ends. They serve their hunts with a variety of robotic proxies.

As the Corpus’s image fell back, the images faded slowly, and a silence once again came.

"Then tell me at least one thing. Who are you, and what am I to do?"

I am a guide from the Lotus. I am here to help you set the world right, and return it to the peace of the Orokin Era.

 

[lurker]

Re: Solar Rails - The ULMF Posting

EPISODE 1: The Prototype

Chapter 2 - Intelligence Brief

Mood Music -

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---

It took a few days for Ember to get the feeling all the way back into her limbs again from the cryo sleep, and a few more to realize she wasn’t alone on the vessel that was her new home. The Lotus messenger that she had been talking to when she first awoke to explain quite a bit of her about her teammates that she had been assigned to, although talk to them proper had been brief, as they were in fighting shape enough to be in combat. Ember didn’t quite mind, at it allowed plenty of time for her to practice her skills again. A pairsome, known to the logs as Thrak and Trinity, apparently a fierce force that they were hoping she’d learn from. Ember wasn’t sure if that was an insult or a recommendation, to be perfectly honest.

Eventually though, it was time to put practice to the test.

The other two were waiting in the hologram room as Ember entered, readjusting the weapons strapped to her frame. Some form of magnetic locking devices on her armor, she remembered. Even still, it seemed precarious at best. Still, her Braton and Lato were ready, strapped in next to her Skana and ready for combat.

The two figures waiting on her were almost entirely opposite, the male huge and imposing whereas the female was thin and lithe, seemingly well-armored. They both looked to her as she entered the chamber.

“Ah, she’s awake,” the male stated, his voice gruff but even, showing plenty of strength in it. “Well then, ready to go this time?”

Ember simply nodded, bowing in respect. “I think I’ve shaken the sleep off. I’m eager to begin action.”

The female tilted her head a bit, her faceplate almost unreadable due to the strange energy designs over her face. “Well, don’t push yourself too much. Cryosleep can be a pain to shake off entirely. Hopefully you didn’t get any frostbite at least.”

Ember smirked under her mask. “I can’t tell if I should be mad at that remark or not,” she commented, clicking her fingers as a short bit of sparks left them.

The room around them suddenly darkened, changing to the starscape, and the three of them almost immediately turned to the center of the room.

Welcome, Tenno. I’ve got an important mission for you three in the Saturn quadrant of the solar rails.

“Shoot,” Ember replied simply, crossing her arms. She was eager to get started now.

We’ve got an operative MIA, no signal of a hardware failure or capture however. She was sent solo to a recently-discovered line on the rails, told to destroy the reactor of the base to try and sabotage it until further information could be gathered of it. However, as mentioned, she’s not reported back at all yet. We’re sending you in to ensure her safety, and then destroy the reactor of the base.

“Wait, why don’t we collect more information before we charge headlong in there?” Ember asked, her head tilting a bit.

“No real time,” Trinity countered, crossing her arms. “We need to ensure the operative is safe moreso to anything else. Any information on her that could help us find her?”

Lotus was quiet, before quickly responding in a simplified manner, as if reading from a databank. Introduction name of Drider, seems to have abilities based off... web-based attacks. Has a tendency to try and move in a stealthy manner, but seems a bit too rash at times according to simulations and rank training simulations.

“Understood. I want to know who we’re looking for so we don’t accidentally save the wrong operative,” Trinity countered. “Teams are moving all the time, after all.”

No need, replied Lotus. We’ve got full clearance on the area until the operative is out. With that said, we’re expecting more operatives to be signed up to this vessel for a stop-in for operations, so you may have allies as needed.

“Well then,” Thrak replied, cracking his knuckles under the energy gauntlets he wore, “Let’s save our friend and get the place set up for more, eh?”

 

[lurker]

Re: Solar Rails - The ULMF Posting

EPISODE 1: The Prototype

Chapter 3 - Drider

Mood Music -

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---

WARNING. UNAUTHORIZED LIFEFORMS DETECTED.

Alarms blared through the asteroid-mounted base as the heavy footfalls of Grineer echoed through the halls. It was sheer chaos, as many soldiers headed for the rally posts, all expecting a well-armed attack.

Drider watched from above as a long armor column ran below her hiding place, praying against hope that her silken strands did not snap at that moment. As the soldiers slowed, orders were barked in the harsh Grineer language, before moving back out. A comment was tossed out, this time in common. “Move ahead, I’ll guard this entry.”

Quietly and silently, Drider moved her body to a crouch against the ceiling, the rusted brown of her frame’s colors matching perfectly with the drab surroundings of the Grineer’s construction, and counted off to her head until she reached 30 seconds. The others should have patrolled away from that point, she figured. It was time to act.

Leaping from her perch above the solitary sentinel, she quickly grabbed the hilt of her twin daggers. Before the Lancer knew what had hit him, Drider had pounced onto his shoulders, one of her Fangs diving into the frontal plate armor, piercing above the heart and sinking home, while the other quickly dived into the side of the helmet, piercing first armor and then flesh on its way to the clone’s blood vessal.

As she jumped from her victim, she took the briefest of seconds to grab the Grakata from the corpse’s hands, wrenching it free as she began to run. She needed to get to the reactor and get out of here, before they had a chance to capture her again. She was foolish for letting herself get hoodwinked the first time, she argued with herself, a gloomy look echoing against the Tenno’s visor that only she could see.

“There he is!!! STOP RIGHT THERE CRIMINAL SCUM!”

The shout caused Drider to whirl around, and before she had even identified the attacker she was squeezing the trigger on the Grakata, hosing shrapnel at the Lancers spotting her. One of them took a spray in the helmet, and quickly fell over, and as the Trooper that had flanked him rush forward, his approach was met by another burst of angry fire as Drider rushed forward, quickly moving through the door they had been guarding.

She realized her mistake at rushing so fast, however, when she entered a large cavern, ringed with platforms, and several handfuls of Grineer were staring her down, bullets soon peppering at her location.

Still, she wasn’t too concerned. She knew ways to fight them that they didn’t even know to counter.

Focusing quickly, Drider pointed her arms towards the sky, and twin strands of webbing burst to existence around her palms, arching and catching into the ceiling. As Drider tugged hard at them, she was sent soaring into the air, the shrapnel that had been pinging off her shields soon missing entirely as the Grineer gave several cries of surprise, wild fire soon following her accent.

Recorrecting her flight as she reached the ceiling, Drider landed upside down, and took only the briefest of time to ensure she was secured before aligning her next shot, the twin strands of webbing smacking heavily behind a Trooper that huddled with around eight of his fellows on the catwalk. As Drider dived towards them, assisted by her guiding webs, she let out more bursts with her salvaged weapon, striking down a few more of the Grineer before she landed. As soon as her feet touched the floor, she focused again, flinging her arms out wide and causing a chaotic spray of webs to coat her enemies.

Cries of surprise and terror filled Drider’s head with a dark humor, and a fell laugh came from her as she scooped up a pair of Vipers that had been discarded from her victims. As the Grineer she had entangled squirmed savagely with her strands, she took her time, releasing a burst of bullets to silence their screams.

“Is this it? Is this the best the Grineer Empire can throw at me?” she chuckled, clipping the Vipers to her side and drawing the Grakata, preparing to finish off the rest of the enemies near her.

A sudden rush of electrical pain and agony would sear through Drider’s body, causing her to collapse to the ground, sputtering and trying to get control of her limbs again. Managing to crane her neck to her legs, she noted a round, metallic object stuck to her suit, generating the electric shockwave.

“I really don’t get why the Empire discontinued those things,” a cold, feminine voice echoed behind her, followed by heavy clanking feet, the steps mismatched by the robotic prosthetics that took over the Grineer’s side.

Great. The Corporal had shown up, Drider thought dryly, fighting for control of her limbs again. The rest of the Grineer were very swiftly closing in, weapons drawn and pointed at her incapacitated form.

Corporal Kiva Surgat didn’t look too different from the other Grineer heavy gunners, sans her armament of a Kraken and a pair of Furax, of course. But there was no way she was going to let this Tenno run around her base. “Right, enough of shenanigans, interloper. Under normal Grineer restrictions, we’re to hold you until proper interrogation. But you’ve caused me FAR more trouble than it’s worth...” the Corporal growled, drawing her Kraken and leveling it at Drider’s head. “By order of General Sargus Ruk, I sentence you to-“

The Corporal’s death threat was suddenly interrupted as another Furax-wielding arm slams into her from behind, sending the oversized Grineer female to fly off of the catwalk and smash into the stone floor below it. Almost immediately, Drider ducked as the sound of a firefight echoed around her, and she’d only look up again when the Nervos was suddenly removed from her, fizzling out and detonating in a small burst of broken circuits.

---

Thrak smirked as he watched the work of his Furax’s punch fling from the catwalk, but it was no time to celebrate, as the Grineer who was covering the youngblood were quickly taking interest in the new threats. Moving quickly, he charged energy into his fist and slammed the metal floor he stood on, sending the soldiers falling backwards, many of them soon joining their commanding officer.

“Trinity, Ember, hold them off, I’ll get the youngblood out of here!” he barked back, bending down and scooping up the incapacitated Tenno without another thought.

As he stomped back the way they came, Thrak allowed himself a smile as he glanced back, the burst of an inferno followed by the throaty bark of a Latron firing over and over again from his partners. Soon though, he reached the point they had entered the room, and very swiftly half-dragged half-carried the weakened Drider into the vents to safety. After a few short moments of combat, he was joined by the others.

 

[lurker]

Re: Solar Rails - The ULMF Posting

EPISODE 1: THE PROTOTYPE

Chapter 4 - Escape

Mood Music -

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---

The tenno rushed through the ventilation, quickly darting between openings and passages as the sounds of trampling boots echoed in the man-sized pipes. All four of them knew it would be a grossly prolonged battle if they lingered for a moment, and it was only when they reached a vertical shaft that they managed to scale that they then lost the pursuers.

A few moments of silence were left to gather composure, the four companions quietly looking to each other and listening to the sounds of sprayed fire up the passage they had scaled.

“Well then, now that we got formalities out of the way...” Ember managed to point out, attempting to break the ice. “Drider, right? What’s going on here?”

Drider groaned. “They sent a cleanup crew already? I’m not done yet dammit!”

“Actually, it was a rescue crew,” Trinity pointed out. “Still, what’s the situation? We heard you were told to destroy the reactor here, so what’s with the sudden security breach when we got here?”

The spiderlike tenno sighed again, stretching her arms a little bit. “Look, that was the plan to start. However, I got wind of something, well... big.”

Thrak quietly checked the ammo on his weapons as he looked over to Drider. “Go on...”

“Simply put, the Grineer captured a few Corpus engineers, and are putting them to work on some form of combat robot. I was attempting to gather more information when I got cornered by the station’s command cadre. Almost beat me to hell before I did a tactical retreat...”

“You mean ran away,” Trinity shot back, giving the youngblood a stern look. “You’ve been awake long enough to know to not leave survivors.”

“Yeah, and that’s surely going to help against several heavy gunners and low on ammo,” Drider shot back, giving a scathing look to the healer.

Ember meanwhile simply looked to Thrak. “Perhaps we should leave this tunnel and let them get it over with?” she deadpans.

Thrak just sighed. “Look, we can worry about this afterwards. Anyway, from there the alarm was triggered and we’re in this situation, yes?”

Drider nodded in affirmative. “Sans my original guns, but those got chucked in the scrapper by now I bet. However, that leaves the slight dilemma of how we’re going to do our objective with everything riled up so much...”

The Rhino shrugged his shoulders, laying his weapon to his side. “We wait. And we recover. They will become unguarded eventually.”

Ember simply sighed, slinging her own long-gun to her back. “What makes you so sure of that?”

“Truly, do you expect several hundred military men to be able to be completely on their guard just for some missing soldiers? More than likely, something will happen that will catch their attention. Then, we strike.”

Trinity quietly laid her rifle down across her lap. “And if that’s the case, perhaps it may be best if we split up. Thrak and I will try and figure out the source of this data, and see if we can get the data on it before we extract. Meanwhile, the two youngbloods will deal with the reactor."

Drider and Ember exchanged a look, swiftly before both of them asked the same question: “Why split?”

“Because, which do you think will be more guarded, highly top-secret data on an experimental weapon project that hasn’t been leaked yet, or a easily-replaceable ship reactor?”