19 Operation Alad V for Vendetta

Three days later, after cleaning up my quota of Grineer outposts, I return to the Orbiter to receive my updates. 

     "Ordis, what's the news from The Tau-er?"

     "Operator, I'm pleased to inform you that every task that you have ordered has been set in motion. Also, my 'better half, ' as you refer to him, is currently on the brink of completing the Limbo Theorem. He has informed me that your plan, to use void imprints transmitted through the rift as a secure method of communication, is most likely feasible but even after the Theorem is complete it may take a bit more time, to work out the kinks. Is there anything else you wish to communicate? "

     "Ahh, wonderful news, Ordis! Tell them that I'm making a slight alteration to the previous plan. Everything is basically the same except instead of waiting for the Void Imprint Rift Transference (VIRT) device to be completed we will immediately begin construction of the Traveler assuming they have already concluded the council, which they should have at this point. Tell them the WormHole tech can be implemented later and this will likely be the last time I contact them before the revealing of the Reservoir. 

     "Once they have received these orders, I expect them to make the most of the information I'm giving them and act on their own in response to any events that may occur in between now and then. Make certain they do not contact me unless something has gone terribly wrong or Ordis completes the Theorem. In the event of the Theorem's completion simply send the word 'completion' alone and nothing else. 

     "Operation Opening Scene is also being moved up. Tell Nyx to select a squad for herself and send the rest of her Specters to clear out any Grineer on Mars and lock the place down. Her task should be to acquire the required materials to construct another Pillory (for those who might not remember it's the ship building ship made from a Corpus Pillar ship and Grineer asteroid mining equipment) and bring that second Pillory to Mars, once it's completed. Use the Pillory and modified ship building drones to build a central tower fortress surrounded by a circular facilities building at a defensible location. Estimate the time of completion and begin spreading our propaganda twenty-four hours beforehand and send the Pillory back to the Void upon completion to assist in the Traveler's construction. 

     "As soon as all of this is in motion, send me the estimated time of the Traveler's completion in the simplest form possible, with no extraneous information. 

     "Now this part is extremely important so listen closely." I then begin to detail all the events that are relevant and will soon come to pass. I instruct them on preparations and reactions to certain events. Once I've conveyed all the information they might need to stay on the right track and respond appropriately to unforeseen events, I instruct Ordis to convey my message and take us to Fortuna, Venus.

     Before we arrived there, however, I'm contacted by the Lotus. "Tenno, I have some disturbing news. Despite only recently having been humiliated by you, Alad V has somehow managed to get himself infected with the Infestation. He's spewing some gibberish about people joining his 'Mutalist Empire' while crashing entire ships into colonies in order to spread this new strain of Infestation. I'm sending you to Naeglar, Eris to find out what the Corpus know about Alad. But before you go, head to the nearest relay or even to Darvo's Marketplace and acquire a recently rediscovered Warframe called Nidus. I suspect he will be immensely helpful in the upcoming battles."

     As the Lotus disconnects, my mental smile returns. 'Nice! I can finally use my Nidus freely without raising suspicions. Since the Lotus expects me to be delayed by a detour and a warframe crafting, I'll head on down to Orb Vallis, to build up my stacks ahead of time.' Once my stacks are maxed, I head to Naeglar, Eris and board the Corpus ship there. 

     Of course, I clear these trivial missions like a boss and continue to follow the Lotus' directions until we arrive at Xini, Eris where Alad's laboratory is located. 

     I've been through enough enemies, by this point, I feel comfortable using all four of my abilities. Now that I'm actually inside of his lab, I take the first inconspicuous moment to lay down my Ravenous and send out my maggots. Instead of having them attack the Infested, I guide them to collect as much Mutalist Flesh as they can fit inside their little bellies. I then send them to a specialized inventory I had placed in my Nidus specifically for collecting live samples. Making sure I take samples from every source around, I make my way through the lab wrecking shit, until I reach the reactor, which I destroy and book it back to extraction. 

     Back aboard the Orbiter, the Lotus tells me to stay on standby, until she's able to locate Alad V. With a little bit of time on my hands, I decide to look through some of the information we obtained, from our previous missions. As it turns out, Alad only managed to run one experiment, before immediately becoming infected while attempting to run a second one and has been deteriorating ever since. Most of the rapid progress he made, in the second experiment, is due to the Infestation's influence. 

     "Tenno, I've located Alad V on an Infested Derelict. I've sent you the coordinates. Go there now and bring an end to this nuisance… permanently this time."

     "With pleasure, Lotus! Ordis...Oh, we've already departed. Excellent work, Ordis!"

     Now I just need to trust my crew to handle the delicate bits and we can put this Alad V business to rest for good.

---------------POV Change---------------

     I had only just received the Operator's orders, from Ordis, and already we're receiving the signal to begin Operation Alad V for Vendetta. It seems a bit too soon but the Operator clearly stated that he was unaware of exactly when these events would occur. Well I'm certainly not about to let him down. As General of the Operator's forces, I know he has high expectations for me and I plan to meet and surpass everyone of them. 

     I gather up my personal squad consisting of Mirage, Chroma, Gara, and Volt. I recruit a couple of Ivara Specters and a modified Nova that specializes in utilizing our newly perfected WormHole technology. A task that wasn't really that difficult given how much information we already knew about the nature of Nova's abilities. Knowing it would take little time to complete, we front loaded the WormHole tech research to get it out of the way.

     I equip a Galatine, an Opticor, and a Gamacor then board my Orbiter. We head immediately to the coordinates given to us, by the Operator. 

     Once we're aboard the Derelict, I send the Ivaras out to scout the ship and locate Alad V. Using my mind control abilities I'm able to utilize lesser tier Specters to a greater degree than would normally be possible. I can actively give them commands from a distance, control them completely, or even just hijack their senses. Once I've located Alad V, we rely on our Ivaras to keep us invisible until we've reached his current location. As soon as we spot him, we locate a laboratory device large enough for us to hide behind and send everyone except me and an Ivara back through a WormHole. Ivara and I await the Operator's arrival while the others, back on the Orbiter, await our signal. 

     Nearly an hour later, my Ivara's Sentry picks up a lone Tenno heading in our direction. Alad is still merrily meandering around his new laboratory operating various devices, while talking to himself. 

     As soon as the Operator steps into the room, he points both arms in Alad's direction, a Gamacor attached to the left and a Hema on the right, and immediately opens up a relentless volley that sends Alad reeling and ducking for cover. Alad begins talking a bunch of nonsense and the Operator continues ignoring him while lighting his ass up. Once it's clear that Alad's Bio-energy reserves are nearly depleted, the Operator slings a modified link towards Alad and I take my cue and signal the others. I immediately drop down between Alad and the Operator slamming my Galatine onto the ground causing a large area of effect force to push both the Operator and Alad back about five yards. As I recover, WormHoles open up behind me and my squad begin to secure Alad. I stand in front of Alad facing the Operator, with my Galatine's point on the ground, both hands resting on its pommel, and feet spread slightly apart. 

     "Who the hell are you people? Aren't you Tenno as well? Do you know who that man is and what he's done? Why are you helping him?" The Operator recites passionately and convincingly.

     "You need not worry about Alad V. His days of terrorizing the system with his madness are over. We, however, still have a use for him and will contain him from here onwards. Our organization has not yet made itself known publicly so I'll not mention its name. You only need to know that we serve the best interests of the Tenno. Whatever you choose to believe, it is not our concern. We have what we came for. Goodbye, Tenno." 

     Having played my part, I step backwards into the portal behind me and order our modified Nova to open a portal to The Tau-er. The Orbiter pulls through the portal and docks in The Tau-er. We take Alad V to a secure location and resume our duties, while awaiting the Operator's next signal.

---------------POV Change---------------

     "Lotus, what the hell is going on? Who the fuck are those assholes who just stole my goddamn kill?"

     "Tenno, calm down! I'm just as confused as you are right now. I have no idea who they were, how they got here, or whether or not their intentions are as they claimed. I should be aware of any and all Tenno. If a group of them were operating some secretive organization, I should've at least heard whispers or something. I'm not sure I buy their story. Not only is it highly unlikely that such a competent Organization of Tenno would go completely unnoticed by me, I couldn't detect any form of Transference from that Nyx frame and the rest were just Specters. I suspect that something else is going on here, though I have no idea what. Once again, Tenno, I know that this is frustrating but please stay calm, until I can get some kind of lead as to what has just happened. As a matter of fact, I'm assigning you a new mission right now. I'm tasking you with visiting every planet in the system to offer your assistance to anyone who might need it. While on each planet try to build as much good will as possible and use that to ferret out information regarding these interlopers."

     "...Fine. I suppose it is better than just sitting around being pissed off. Ordis, take us back to Cetus."

     "That's the spirit, Tenno. I'll contact you, as soon as I learn something."

     Once the Lotus disconnected, I transfer all of the Mutalist samples I collected into a specialized Biohazard container. 

     I depart from the Liset not far from my destination, with Mirage and her Arch-Frame equipped. I make it to the designated cave and follow it to its end and what looks like just another rocky cave wall. I pull out my Might Light and engage its light beam. The light given off by the Might Light reveals an indentation on the wall the same size as the Might Light's handle. I point the Might Light directly at the indentation and insert it into the wall. Once the entire beam is buried in the wall and the handle clicks into the indentation, the wall begins to shimmer. I then turned the Might Light off and the illusion is dispelled. A small closet sized room is revealed, with an intricate door sized framework etched into the opposite wall. Part of the framework has another Might Light indentation. I once again engage the beam and insert it into the indentation. Once it's fully inserted, a portal very similar to Nova's WormHole fills the framework. Not wanting to waste anymore time here than necessary, I toss the Biohazard container through the portal, disengage the beam, and remove the handle. With the portal closed, I reinsert the beam into the first wall to reactivate the illusion. I then head back to the Orbiter to fashion and attach my new emblem and equip my Nidus. 

     Already knowing everything that the Lotus is curious about, I obviously don't need to ask anybody anything. This, however, is an excellent opportunity for me to spread my reputation as Dark Star. So I head back to Cetus, only to discover that Konzu doesn't have any bounties right now. Not really surprising considering the circumstances. Instead I ask around Cetus for the information the Lotus is looking for just to keep up appearances, then I spend a day exploring and collecting resources on the plains. I then decide that now's as good a time as any to start a Kubrow egg collection and a Kavat genetic code collection. The next day, after acquiring several dozens of eggs, I finally head off towards Fortuna. 

     Here in Fortuna, I've just spoken with Thursby and he's made his expected proposal. After acquiring a K-drive and a variety of kit guns, I step out into Orb Vallis and begin tackling my first mission here, while showboating on my K-drive. It takes until around noon to sort the whole situation and to make sure Nef Anyo's attitude has been sufficiently checked. With young Thursby, now Legs, having switched from selling scrap to MOAs, I might as well grab one. I visit a couple of more places on Venus inquiring about the Federalists before heading back to the cave on the plains to check for updates. Now that the dead drop room is available there's no need for us to risk normal means of communication. The only thing safer would be the VIRT device and apparently that will have to wait. 

     Back at the dead drop, I pick up a plain Skana style dagger that I already know has a Void Imprint on it. I can't wait to get back to the Orbiter to find out what it says, although I already have an idea. I toss in the whole lot of Kubrow eggs and the Kit Guns. I also leave a Void Imprint on one of the guns letting them know to establish a team for acquiring and optimizing Kubrows and Kavats. I also leave instructions, to research all robotic companions and to begin working on our own models. I never really paid much attention to the robotic or biological companions because I figured they might end up being more of a burden than a blessing. According to Darvo, however, it seems that many Tenno use them and I always see them at the Relays. 

     Having made my pick up and drop off, I head back to the Orbiter and task Ordis with decoding the Void Imprint. 

     "Operator, Helminth reports that he has completed the Intermediate Strain, implemented your specifications for The Flesh Tau-er, and he is now solely dedicated to completing your Ducalidium research."

     "Hah, I knew it! Thank you, Ordis. This is yet another glorious step towards our goal. Ordis, take us to Pluto and then to Neptune for a little bit of eavesdropping and perhaps even some do gooding if we run into the right people."

     "Right away, Operator."