Disclaimers: I do not own Warframe.

Update A/N: Nov 12, 2017: Well, I'll be damn. I seriously was not expecting this type of attention for this story. But after 8 fav, 10 follows, and 10 reviews, I guess people really like this story. Here is an updated chapter one, with more information and storytelling along with setting up the action for Chapter two which will have the actual mission in it. If you have ideas or suggestions, feel free to tell me.

A/N: This is my first attempt at the Warframe fandom. I got the game recently and took a liking to it. Chroma is my favorite just because of his versatility. This will be a different universe than the actual game and here is a list of changes:

1. There are only as many Tenno as there are base warframes

2. They are humans inside specially made suits that help contain their abilities. They can only be outside their suits for six hours at a time, afterward, their powers start going out of control. The ages vary and each has their own reasons for staying around, they have all their abilities unlock and even a few new ones, and they each have a personality. Also, Prime and Umbra armors will still play a role.

3. Excalibur was the first to be awakened, Chroma was the second.

4. The Orbiter has been expanded to be big enough to fit all of the Tenno, Lotus, and their companions. Everyone has their own quarters and even their own landing craft within the hangar bay. There is no unlocking a planet, they go where they are needed.

5. The Orokin empire was that. It had a ruling Emperor along with a noble class.

6. Weapons load: The Tenno will have a choice besides the standard. They can ditch one slot for another; they can have two primary weapons, one melee, and no secondary or two melee, one secondary, and no primary, etc. They will never have more than three weapons unless it comes with their suit.

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST:

My username is EpicJamon on warframe and my main warframe is of course Chroma.

Whether You Like It or Not

It was peaceful deep in the part of the jungle where Excalibur was currently standing. Lushes greenery surrounded the alpha Tenno as he surveys the area, scanning for his target. His goal was no easy prey to find though, not in the slightest, for his prey was known to everyone, including the Lotus, as a loner. Whether on missions or on his own time, Chroma preferred being by himself, away from the others, only really be seen when it was his turn to stand watch on the bridge. The majority of the times when he was seen alongside the others was only at briefings, even then, only if he had to be there. The fact that he took his landing craft from the Orbiter to Earth shows how serious he was about having privacy.

Excalibur always found it a little funny that despite Chroma being the second Tenno to be awakened, after Excalibur himself, he took almost no part in their organization other than missions. By all rights, he should be the second-in-command of the Tenno in the field. Others have openly discussed that they could easily be second-in-command, though Chroma has openly stated that he would only take orders from Excalibur and the Lotus herself.

Unfortunately, a few of the other Tenno, namely Oberon, have seen this as insubordination at its finest and has put forth arguments stating Chroma should be willing to take orders from those that were in charge of whatever mission was going on. But before Excalibur could do anything, the Lotus herself step in, saying that Chroma was technically in the right. She pointed out that Excalibur was the only other authority beside herself that was recognized in their faction who can give orders. Also, that since Chroma only went out on solo missions, he was right in his statement on how he only took orders from Lotus and Excalibur.

The sound of footsteps nearby snaps Excalibur out of his thoughts as he turns to his left to see Chroma appearing out of the shadow of the trees, slowing hulking toward Excalibur. His blood-red armor was cover in an electrifying aura that sent tiny sparks to the plants around him. Excalibur remembers Chroma mentioning that he chose that element whenever he was in the forest cause it was the only one that didn't harm the vegetation.

"Excalibur", he greets in an almost welcome, yet gruffly, manner as he stood towering over the field commander of the Tenno, "What is it that you need?"

Excalibur's eyes flicker toward the Dynasty Galatine strap to Chroma's back while the elemental Tenno eyes the Dragon Nikana that hug on the Alpha Tenno's waist. Both swords were already considered powerful, even by Tenno's standards, and with Dynasty Galatine in the hands of Chroma and Dragon Nikana in the hands of Excalibur, they were nearly legendary.

But that wasn't the only thing that caught Excalibur's attention…

Attach to Chroma's back was the powerful Daikyu bow, capable of impaling a heavy armor Grineer deep into a steel wall. Not even the deadly archer Tenno, Ivara, could use the bow properly due to the strength that was required to draw and hold it. While she could still fire it off and score kills with it, she lacked the stunning accuracy she had with other bows and seldom got a headshot with it.

Then there was the Ferrox that Chroma was holding in his hand, the Corpus spear gun that the Tenno took off the corpse of Derim Zahn when he came across him while on an operation against the Index. Normally, Chroma had a certain level of respect for the dead when it came to their belongings and usually left them alone; but he made an exception for the Ferrox after witnessing first-hand the deadly potential it had. With it ionized shot that disintegrates whatever it hits and the fact that it can create a field of attraction that can hold a number of enemies in place and it completed Chroma's deadly array of weapons that he took into the field.

"The Lotus is calling for a meeting", Excalibur explains, bringing his attention back to the matter at hand, "All Tenno are to attend."

Excalibur swore he saw Chroma raise an eyebrow underneath his pelt.

"You could have just told me that over the comm-link instead of coming all the way down here", he said as he pointed upward, "Ordis is constantly scanning them to make sure they're secure, even at a distance."

"It's urgent and you know how you like to dally. Plus, I wanted to talk to you about something else", Excalibur said as he walks closer to Chroma, "The Lotus believes it's time for you to start taking on team missions once more."

"Is this an order?", came out of Chroma's mouth.

"More like a suggestion", Excalibur assure him, "The Grineer are diverting more of their forces at us and eventually, even you are going to have trouble going solo and lets be frank, most of your abilities are gear toward supporting a team."

"They're also gear toward supporting just me. Look, when the day comes that I need someone watching my back out there again, you'll be the first to know.", Chroma states as he begins walking pass Excalibur.

"That day may come a lot sooner then you think", Excalibur says, causing Chroma to stop in his tracks.

Silence passes between them for a moment as the two of tell stood there, facing away from one another.

"Do you remember what your life was like?", Chroma asks, breaking the silence, "Before you got put into the warframe? Before the Zariman Ten Zero? "

This wasn't just some random question that came out of nowhere. None of the Tenno have a full memory of their past. They might remember certain faces and events, but never all of it for there are too many blank spaces in mind. Too many questions and nowhere close to enough answers.

Chroma watches Excalibur intently as the Alpha Tenno looks up at the sky in remembrance...

"I was the son of a high-ranking Orokin general, born into prestige and wealth. I was taught the sword from an early on and was deemed a protege at a young age while Nyx started down the path of becoming highly successful in the art of philosophy, winning debates against even the wisest philosophers the empire had to offer ", Excalibur answer as he thought of his little sister, Nyx. The two of them were the only blood relatives among the Tenno and that did give them some advantages on and off missions. Generally, it gave each of them someone to talk to, someone they could relate to, "I was to march next to my father as he led the military column at the Emperor's Grand Celebration while Nyx watched from the Imperial Balcony alongside our mother and the Imperial Ruler himself, you?"

"I came from a primitive nomad tribe of hunters/warriors back on Earth. We worship dragons and we believed that a man's worth was measured through the strength of his sword arm. Blades and bows were the weapons of my people and we avoided the main cities of the Orokin, only trading with them only when necessary along with paying our dues to his imperial majesty. I didn't even know what a gun was until that cursed Orokin ship found us while we were traveling, looking for promising prospects for the Emperor's Grand Celebration", Chroma reply before looking up at the skies, "But there will be more time to talk about that later; let's get going to this urgent meeting."

"One more question, Chroma", Excalibur says, "What are your thoughts on Mesa, the gunslinger Tenno?"

To say Chroma was caught off-guard by the question would be like saying Octiva enjoys singing as the Dragon Tenno turns around, "Why?"

"Just want your honest opinion on her, you seem to have a knack for being brutally honest.", Excalibur quickly explains, to which Chroma couldn't help but agree. His blunt nature and his tendency to speak without thinking have almost gotten him into a couple of fights with his fellow Tenno onboard the Orbiter, especially Nezha.

"All I said is that he shouldn't be mad if people mistake him for a girl", Chroma thought before answering, "She's too loud for missions that require one to be silent. From what I read on reports and overheard from those who have done operations with her, she has a tendency to "go loud" as she likes to put it and disregard stealth and go straight for a frontal assault, drawing the whole enemy base to her location. The fact that she doesn't even carry a melee weapon with her to combat only puts more of a burden on her teammates who have to cover her while she reloads. I acknowledge her pistol marksmanship with is the best among us all and she is one of our top tier snipers, but it doesn't make up for the fact that she is more of an obstacle than a help on missions; thus I'm not that surprised that she has gone on so few solo operations. It seems she constantly needs someone watching her back."

Excalibur stood there, taking in everything Chroma just said about the gunslinger Tenno...

"Thank you, Chroma, for your...honest opinion", he gently said as he looks back toward the sky and sees two landing craft heading toward them, "If there are still gods in this world, I ask that you watch over me for the task ahead."

Onboard the Orbiter

"Wisp, thirty-three. Hildryn, thirty-four. Ash, thirty-five. Gara, thirty-six and finally, Chroma, thirty-seven", Ordis sound off, "Well, all Tenno are accounted for, except for Revenant, Garuda, Gauss, Grendel, Protea, and Baruuk but for now we get this briefing done so we can- bring down the vile Grineer regime- carry on with our duties."

"Well, isn't this a surprise?", Loki commented as he glances around the briefing room, everyone already knowing that the prankster was smiling under his helmet, "Almost all of us here under one roof for the first time in forever", as his gaze falls upon Chroma, who was standing off in a corner, away from everyone else, "Even the mighty lone wolf of the group has decided to grace us with his presence."

Chroma merely grunts in response, buying no mind to Loki's and his antics. He could hear his Effigy growling inside the depths of his mind, begging to be unleashed upon the trickster Tenno.

"No, Aforitos, now is not the time", Chroma order, "Whether you like it or not, he is an ally, regrettably. Plus, you know it's not allowed."

Ever since Ember and Frost had a fight over how an ancient Earth beverage call coffee should be served, (Ember said hot and Frost said cold with ice), which left half the ship either frozen or scorch, the Lotus has forbidden the use of weapons or abilities being used outside the training room unless you had hers or Excalibur's permission to do so. Any violators of this rule and there have been a couple, were given clean-up duty to which they had to pick up after the kubrows and kavats whenever they "answer the call of nature". Even Chroma found it hard to suppress a laugh upon seeing Rhino sweeping up a huge pile that someone's kubrow left in one of the hallways after he decided to test whether or not the walls of the ship could survive one of his charges.

The Lotus entering the room alongside Excalibur snaps Chroma out of his thoughts as she walks to the center and began to address everyone…

"I see that everyone is present so now we can begin this briefing", as a hologram showing Captain Vor appear in front of her, "Intel from Dravo and our contacts in the syndicates have discovered that Captain Vor has been promoted back to the rank of Admiral."

A mutter erupts through the Tenno.

"As I sure you are aware, this means that he now has access to more resources than before and no doubt will be using them against us and our allies", Lotus said.

"Why the sudden promotion?", Atlas asks, "He was demoted specifically because he disobeys orders from the Queens; why promote him again?

"Our intel suggests that despite the blows we have dealt Captain Vor and his forces, there have been a few times where his forces have prevented us from completing our mission objectives; so far he has been the only Grineer commander to do so. So it would seem that the Queens believe that giving him access to more forces will garner more victories."

Silence descended upon the room as the information sunk in.

"What can we be expecting?", Mirage asks.

"At least three full divisions of Grineer infantry", Lotus reply.

"Well, shit", Ember said.

"Exactly", Lotus said, "Which is why we need to eliminate Vor and his lieutenants, especially lieutenant Lech Kril, before they arrive. Our spies say that the forces are still five days from arriving at Vor's new experimental base located on the surface of Mercury, so if we take him and his leadership out before they show up, they will be diverted back toward their original posts. Also, it seems that the majority of Vor's forces are spread out throughout the system; assisting Grineer forces in combating the Infected and certain Corpus factions. His remaining forces number just under a thousand strong."

"Stills sound pretty risky attacking Vor at his headquarters", Volt pointed out to which more than a couple of the Tenno agreed, "Also, seeing how our shields may have trouble dealing with the high temperature of the planet's surface."

"It is, that's why this will be an all-team effort,", Lotus said, "All Tenno will be participating in this attack, expect for Revenant who is keeping an eye on the Grineer in Cetus, Garuda who is monitoring the Eris situation between the Corpus and Infected, Gauss and Grendel are on Sedna, Portea who is aiding Maroo, and Baruuk who is still negotiating an agreement between us and Solaris United on Sol Fortuna. There is no time to call any of them back seeing how Vor is still in the process of relocating his base to the surface and thus is not fully fortify yet. Now is the perfect time to strike while he is at his weakest. Your shields and the interior cooling system should hold up as long as you don't stay in direct sunlight for a prolonged extension of time. But it would be best if you seek shelter as soon as possible."

"Be that as it may", Volt voices up again, " All the Tenno there in one spot. For all we know this could be a trap."

"I believe you're giving Vor too much credit. Besides, it's the only way to be sure. Usually, I'm against doing this sort of thing but there is a lot is on the line here", Lotus explains as a battle-map came up, "One of our Syndicate allies, Cressa Tal and her Steel Meridian, will launch a large assault on a nearby outpost not far from Vor's headquarters, forcing him to divert forces there in an effort to repel them. Once that happens, one team consisting of the majority of you will be drop into the facility, close to Vor's most likely location. Another team will be drop on the far side of the facility to act as a diversion to get the remaining enemy forces to gather at your position."

"Why just Steel Meridian?", Wukong asks, "We're on good terms with all six syndicates. Hell, each of them owes us at least a dozen favor, we could easily have a larger force given to us for this mission."

"Other than the obvious fact that they hate one another? The fact that if we send too large of a force to attack the outpost, Vor will most likely not even bother sending reinforcements and will instead just fortify his position even more. We need a large enough force that will cause the outpost to call for help while being small enough that Vor will send additional forces to aid them. Seeing how we're sending Steel Meridian forces, the most-hated syndicate for the Grineer, this will surely catch Vor's attention", Lotus explain as she went back to the battle-map, "Moving on, the diversion team will consist of-"

"I'll do it ", Chroma immediately volunteers from his corner of the room, causing everyone to look at him while Excalibur could only shake his head.

"Here it comes", he mutters as the Lotus began to speak.

"Actually, Chroma, you were selected to be on the diversion team", she began.

"Okay, what resistance can I be expecting?", Chroma said.

"I wasn't finish talking, Chroma", Lotus interrupted, catching everyone by surprise excluding Excalibur, " Like I said, you were selected to be part of the diversion team, as in there will be more than one of you fulfilling this goal."

An eerie silence descends upon the briefing room as even Loki had stop grinning, (not that anyone could tell). No one ever thought of Chroma as being a "team player". In fact, most of them thought that he was incapable of acting as one. He was rarely seen outside of his quarters, his time in the training simulator was always by himself, and he even kept his personal weapons, which he gathered the materials and made himself, locked away from the others in the armory. Other than bridge watches, mission control, or patrols, no one really ever interacted with Chroma, (it didn't help that during all those duties, he rarely ever spoke.)

The silence continues for well over a minute as everyone waited for Chroma's reaction. He was just constantly staring at the Lotus, like a predator eyeing its prey, ready to pounce. Those closest to his position could see a small billow of smoke coming out of his nostrils.

Finally, Chroma spoke.

"Who else is going to be on the team?"

"Mesa", Lotus answers and this time full flames came blazing out of Chroma's nose as his eyes turn into a glare and he slowly turns his head toward the gunslinger Tenno, but not before shooting a fiery glare at Excalibur.

"Is my choice of teammates optional?" he nearly growl now realizing why Excalibur asked him that question earlier.

"Well shit, suga", Mesa spoke up as she laid back in her chair, "If I didn't know any better I say you didn't like me."

Before Chroma could say anything, the Lotus spoke up...

"Mesa's abilities are the most suitable alongside yours in this mission, so that's a negative on changing partners" she stated, "Her long-range capabilities along with your melee expertise will allow you two to hold off the Grineer indefinitely until the assassination is complete. Now seeing how Mercury is still six hours away even at our top speed, everyone is to rest up for the time being. You will receive a more detail brief once Mercury is within range."

All the Tenno proceed to leave the briefing room, only for the Lotus to call out to Chroma and Mesa.

"Not you two, you are to report to the simulator room."

This catches everyone off-guard as they turn to stare at the Lotus.

"I know what you all are thinking, but while Chroma and Mesa skills are more than enough to complete this job on their own, they have never been on a team together before and therefore I believe a co-op simulator run is in order", Lotus states as she turns to the alpha Tenno, " Excalibur, if you will come with me to the bridge."

Orbitor's Bridge

"I can sense that most of the Tenno do not approve of this mission", the Lotus said as she and Excalibur enter the bridge, the door sliding behind them.

"That's a bigger understatement the time you said that Rhino may be a little peeved after you cut down his gym time", Excalibur responded.

"He didn't need ten hours in there, but that is beside the point", Lotus began, "Why do you think they feel like that?"

Lotus often look to Excalibur for guidance just as much as he look to her for it. When it came down to it, he was closer to the rest of the Tenno then she would ever be just by the fact that he was one of them.

"Two things, Lotus", he began, "First off, the fact that we're sending everyone at Vor may make it seem like he is an even bigger threat to us than he actually is."

"Excalibur, how many attempts have we made on Vor's life?", Lotus asks, causing Excalibur to let out a sigh.

"Four ", he answers, "Once by me, once by Loki, once by Ivara, and once by Ash."

"And seeing how he is still alive, it's safe to say that none of those attempts work", Lotus says while turning to look out into space.

"Those were all solo missions with no available backup whatsoever!", Excalibur argue, "All of us were lucky to make it back alive and even Ivara and Ash were out of commission for a good two weeks afterward with their injuries! If we would have sent a team in-"

"Which is precisely what I'm doing", Lotus interrupted in a calming voice while still looking out into the stars, "I am sending in the whole team to kill Vor and his lieutenants to make sure none of them escape this time."

Excalibur shakes his head in frustration before moving on, "Fine, if that's what you want, though I still fail to see why all of his lieutenants are important, Lech Kril is the only dangerous one among them."

"Precisely why he will be the top priority after Vor. While Lech Kril is the most dangerous, by wiping out all of his command in a single strike, we are able to ensure that no one will be placed in a position to take over for Vor", Lotus explains, "Now on to the second thing."

Excalibur lets out a breath as he slightly shook his head, "At first, I was all for Chroma doing team missions, but upon seeing his reaction in the briefing room, I'm starting to have second thoughts."

"And why is that?", Lotus inquires.

"Chroma has only done one team mission, despite what almost everyone believes", he began.

"Yes, I recall you two partnering up to rescue Valkyr once Dravo informed us of her captivity quite some time ago", Lotus remembers.

"Then you also recall what happened upon us waking her up out of her cryopod."

"She attacked you."

"That's a light way of saying she went full-on berserk aka Hysteria on us and it took both my Exalted Blade and Chroma's Effigy to finally subdue her, which was hard seeing how they're meant to finish opponents off", Excalibur said, "But ever since then, Chroma has avoided going out on anything that wasn't a solo mission or an awakening mission, and those were only alongside me and me alone."

"And you feel that by forcing him on a team mission will bring about disastrous consequences, yes?", Lotus asks.

"I feel that they won't be positive", Excalibur admitted.

"Well then, let's see how the simulator run goes then", Lotus said, "Ordis, bring up the simulator room."

"Yes, Lotus", as a screen appears in front of her, showing Chroma and Mesa standing alongside one another on top of holopads in the center of a large all-white room, neither one talking or even looking at the other, "Both operators have inserted training mods into their weapons and warframe and are awaiting -the word to go all out- further instructions."

"Bring up Mercury course, delta-one-alpha-Zulu-two, Ordis", Lotus commanded.

"Lotus, that course is un-finish due to lack of proper intel gathering of the actual site", Ordis responded.

"It's a seventy percent near perfect replicate of Vor's headquarters, thus it will have to do", Lotus reply, "Let's go with five full platoons of Grineer marines. You may start when ready."

"Yes, Lotus", Ordis answer.

"I believe your worries are unfounded, Excalibur. I am certain that Chroma and Mesa will excel to the best of their abilities and put aside their differences for the sake of the mission."

Three hours later on the outskirts of Mercury

Silence reign supreme in the briefing room, despite almost everyone on the ship being there, minus a few sentinels, kubrows, and kavats. Everyone was exchanging glances between Chroma, who stood by himself in his corner with his eyes closed, then to Mesa, who was sitting arms cross next to Octiva in silence, and then at the Lotus, who was standing at the front center, with a faint scowl on her lips.

And that's where it began…

"Chroma. Mesa.", the Lotus began in a flat tone voice, devoid of any emotion, " I...have seen many things over the years. I have witnessed the birth of the syndicates, back when there were over a hundred of them before the great Syndicate Wars. From afar; I have observed the rise of the Corpus and Grineer and their countless wars against one another. I have seen colonies prosper, I have seen them wither and die, either through war, famine or swept away by the Infested."

"How old is she?", Excalibur wonder, knowing full well that he wasn't the only one thinking that, "I know she's definitely not human despite her appearance, but she has never really disclosed any personal information about herself."

"But what I witness today in the training simulator was by far the most undisciplined, childish, and unprofessional, spectacle I have ever had the misfortune to witness!", Lotus said, her voice steadily rising, with anger beginning to seep in, "Not only did you two fail to complete your goal, you had the sheer audacity to start bickering in the middle of a gunfight, afterward ejecting your training mods from both your weapons and your warframes and began to fight one another!"

Both Chroma and Mesa at least had the sense to turn their heads away after this accusation; though thanks to their helmets no one could tell if it was in embarrassment, anger, shame, or a mixture of all three.

"The both of you have caused unimaginable damage to the training simulator room and if it wasn't for Excalibur going in there and stopping you, no doubt the damage would have exceeded beyond that room!"

Mesa thought back to that particular moment when she and Chroma were in the middle of fighting another when Excalibur bust into the room. She was in the proceed of flipping of the way of a swipe from the Dragon Tenno sword and had drawn her Regulators and had them aim at his head when Excalibur came in with his Exalted Sword fully draw and shining so brightly that it almost blinded her. When he demanded that both Mesa and Chroma cease their actions, Mesa immediately retracted her Regulators and threw the rest of her weapons on the ground, (though it broke her heart a little to see her precious Akvasto hit the steel floor. Out of all the Tenno, she spends the most time tinkering with her guns to keep them in prime condition), but when she glances toward Chroma, she spotted something that surprise her….

Chroma had yet to drop his sword.

In fact, he still had it raise up, his hands tighten around the grip as though he was ready to strike. The look he was throwing Excalibur was so heated that Chroma could have breathed fire and it wouldn't have been as hot as the look in his eyes. But Excalibur wasn't backing down either as he held his blade of pure energy up in a fighting stance. It was only after a few, high tension, moments that Chroma sheath his blade and stomp his way out, never once looking back at Excalibur as his heavy footsteps echo throughout the training room and the hallway afterward.

"I honestly thought Chroma and Excalibur were going to fight. Seriously, what the hell happened between those two?", Mesa thought before returning her attention back to the Lotus, who was winding down from her, surprisingly calm, tirade.

"Furthermore, along with you two taking on syndicate jobs in over to pay for the damages you cause to the training room, you two will also be taking double shifts on bridge watches, mission control, and patrols until I say otherwise", the Lotus ordered.

"Fucking perfect", Mesa thought and briefly looks over her shoulder to see Chroma's reaction to the news, "Still just standing there, arms cross and everything."

Now we will have to delay the assault by at least a full day while we reorganize the teams and put Mesa into an appropriate squad and find another task for Chroma ", Lotus complained aloud, "Ordis, send a message to Cressa Tal, telling her to hold off on her attack until further notice."

"Right away, Lotus. I shall contact her imm-", Ordis replied before getting cut off, "Hmmm, well, that is *fucking awful* unfortunate news."

"Ordis?", Lotus asks.

"Lotus, it would seem that Cressa Tal and her Steel Meridian have already launched their assault on the outpost", Ordis answers.

"WHAT?!", resounds throughout the room, "The attack wasn't supposed to go off for another three hours!"

"Her vanguard teams are already hitting the first line of defense even as we speak", Ordis continued on, "Grineer radio chatters indicate the outpost is requesting aid and the main base is in the process of mobilizing at least five full companies to go aid them. "Lotus, by my calculations, base on monitor radio chatter and intel reports, that is almost - a shit ton-half the base responding."

"That's more than what we expected", Lotus realize while also feeling a headache coming on, "How many Steel Meridan soldiers are attacking?"

"At least three hundred, including Cressa Tal herself", Ordis answered, "Radio chatters points to the logical conclusion that this is why they're sending so many. The Grineer Queens have recently placed a high bounty on her head, promising any officer who brings her to them a council position."

"Tell Cressa Tal to withdraw, for now, we can't risk losing one of our allies, no matter how unstable they are", Lotus ordered, only to be met with silence from Ordis.

"Lotus, a recently intercepted radio transmission states that Captain Vor himself, along with Lieutenant Lech Kril, are preparing to go out to the outpost as well, via dropship, in an effort to, and I quote, capture the alleged war criminal themselves", Ordis said, "They are leaving a small skeleton crew at the main base and taking a majority of the garrison with them to aid the outpost. If I'm reading the radio chatter right, they're planning to execute encircling maneuvers to prevent Cressa Tal from escaping and are ordering their anti-aircraft guns to shoot down any approaching aircraft that don't belong to their side. Steel Meridian's dropships would no doubt have extreme difficulty getting through their screen. By my calculations, if Captain Vor's forces are able to pull off these maneuvers, the Steel Meridian forces will be -slaughter to a man- wiped out within an hour, if not less. I have tried reaching Cressa Tal and her forces to warn them, but have been unable to raise them."

Lotus' facial expression said it all. If Cressa Tal is capture or worse, the rest of Steel Meridian, along with the colonies they were protecting will fall as well in no time. Not only will this shift the balance of power among the syndicates, but also the system as a whole. She had a choice to make and she had to make it fast.

"Alright, new strategy", Lotus announce, "All the Tenno who were not assigned to the distraction team are going to be landed behind Captain Vor and his forces in their respective teams and hit him from behind. His and Lieutenant Kril deaths are still a top priority, but if you see a chance to aid Steel Meridian, take it. This also changes the mission parameters as you will more than likely be assaulting enemies forces from across the planet's surface. Try to avoid prolonged exposure to the sunlight as your shields will already be pushed to their limits and take cover when you can. Also realize that Cressa Tal and her forces, along with Vor's, are facing the same conditions. Grineer are tough, but even they won't last long in these conditions."

"And what about Chroma and Mesa?", Excalibur asks.

"Those two will be drop into Steel Meridian's position to aid them", she states as she turns to look at the two Tenno in question, "Under any other circumstances, I would not be considering this, but too much is at stake here and I hope you realize that and are able to put your difference aside for the sake of the colonies that this syndicate protects for if Cressa Tal dies, Steel Meridian dies with her. Your orders are simple: keep her alive at all cost. Failure to complete this mission will have dire consequences; for you and everyone else."

"All Tenno!", Lotus ordered after a few moments of silence, "Prepare to launch! You got five minutes to get ready! You will receive any additional information in-flight to your drop positions! Now go!", and with that, the Tenno ran out of the briefing room in a mad, but somewhat organize frenzy.

By some coincidence, both Chroma and Mesa were running alongside one another down the hallway.

"You stay out of my way out there and you might not get a bullet in your skull, suga", Mesa calmly threaten.

"You stay out of my way out there or else the last thing you'll see in this life is a blade coming down on top of your head", Chroma responded back.

A/N: Let's see how this goes. Please note that updates may be slow because of my other stories. Is Mesa going to have a Southern accent this far in the future? Well, if the game can have guys like Clem and Ordis, then yes she can. Chapter two will have the mission in it. I wanted to save the actual action for the next chapter which is why I didn't do the simulator, just the aftermath of it. Also, I know that there are no bases on the actual surface of Mercury, but decided to do this to make the combat more ...realistic, I guess.

Dynasty Galatine is Galatine with the Chroma Dynasty skin on it.