Rena found a loose grate and kicked it. It slammed into the ground with a loud clang. Grineer screamed. Party time. She dropped from the vent, and slammed her hand into the ground, a wave of fire exploding outwards, flash-frying Grineer who'd gotten too close. Heather dropped down behind her, landing lightly, poised.
"Ready?" Rena asked.
"As always, Rena." Heather said.
"Alright Tenno, make your way to the power core. We need to shut down those guns. Your fellow Tenno are counting on you." The Lotus said.
"Yes'm" Rena replied.
"Yes, Lotus." Heather said, quietly.
"Let's go." Rena said, dashing towards the yellow marker on her HUD. Heather sprinted after her, silent. Rena leapt over a railing and threw a fireball into the back of a large, heavy-set Grineer. He exploded, cache of rockets catching fire. Rena laughed and landed heavily on the shattered remains. Two Butchers had been slammed to the ground by the blast, and they only just got up. Rena aimed, gun materializing in her hands, and let loose one shot, pellets ripping through the Grineer's armor, killing him instantly and throwing him away from her. Holding the trigger, she aimed at the other, who'd started running for the lockdown panel. She released the trigger and the second shot echoed through the halls. The Butcher dropped and skidded a short ways. Rena stood and reloaded, as Heather flew overhead, pinging off walls and cleaving Grineer with her axe, a relic from the Orokin, gold and white and sharper than anything Rena had ever owned.
"Sister, you're upset." Rena said, blasting away another Grineer before heading into the next room, a large set of guns firing round after round into the vacuum of space. Rena knew they were shooting at other Tenno, but couldn't see any.
"It's nothing, Rena." Heather said, shaking the blood off her axe. Grineer were on their way, but Rena wasn't worried about them.
"Heather, you've hardly spoken since given this assignment." Rena said.
"Rena, drop it. Please." Heather said. Rena nodded, and kept running. Grineer came around a corner, and she caused a gyser of flame to erupt underneath them. Alarms went off everywhere, detecting the fire. Rena launched through the flames, bathing in their glorious heat and light for a split second before flying out of the fire, and slamming into a Bombard, another heavy-set, larger-than-average Grineer. He barely picked up his Ogris rocket launcher before Rena whipped her dagger out and carved his chest open, black metal rending the ferrite with ease. The Bombard dropped, and Heather slammed into the wall next to where Rena stood. She kicked off, and cleaved through a Scorpion.
"Tenno, fire damage ahead. Take caution." Lotus warned. Rena smirked. More fire was only a good thing.
They pushed into another room dominated by two gigantic cannons, slinging shells at Tenno ships. Sure enough, a large hole in the hull was covered, with an even larger breach in the floor showing the shell's path. Rena smirked and dove into the hole.
"Perfect. This'll save us time." She said. Heather mhm'd, and followed after.
"Tenno!" A Grineer yelled, his deep and garbled voice travelling well despite the cacophony of alarms.
"Grineer!" Rena yelled back, nailing the Grineer with a fireball.
"Uu graaa Tenno skuum!" A Grineer yelled, opening fire. Bullets hammered Rena's shield, but didn't make it through in time. Rena let gysers erupt wherever enemies were, blasting them to cinders. She turned in time to see Heather get floored by a shotgun blast.
"Sis!" She said, blasting the shotgunner with a fireball. Heather's minimal shields had been depleted, and while her dense armor had stopped most of the pellets, she still bled from a few small spots.
"I'm fine!" Heather growled, then stood and screamed wordlessly at the Grineer, a Warcry that was nearly as frightening as a Manic's laugh. Heather leapt into the fray, swinging faster than before, cleaving through three enemies before they even had time to back up a step. Rena lost her smile, but kept fireballing Grineer who got in her way or got too close.
"Tenno, hurry. The mission hinges on your success." The Lotus said.
"On our way." Rena said. They had one room between them and the power core for the guns. They sprinted, Rena kicking off walls and boxes, Heather crashing through blockades, her Scindo ripping through the thick bullet-proof woven synthetic cloth the Grineer used to make their barricades. Grineer were either not in the way or dead before they were a problem. Rena let the gysers take care of enemies behind and to either side of her, flames punching holes in the already ruined deck.
They burst into a smaller room, with controls lining the walls. Grineer were waiting for them, but Heather just shredded them, Scindo whirling. Rena almost smirked. She went to one set of controls and hacked into the system, allowing the Lotus to find and disable the controls. The ceaseless rumble of guns firing shuddered to a halt, and the Lotus marked an exit point.
"You don't have long. Your fellow Tenno are close." Lotus said.
"C'mon." Rena called, racing out of the room. Grineer were amassing themselves, trying to form a blockade. Rena threw her hands out, covering the Grineer in a sticky, burning chemical. Many of the Grineer fell down, and most couldn't stop trying to clean themselves. She smirked for the barest instant before making gysers erupt underneath the Grineer. The accelerant caught and burned quickly, and hotter than normal. Grineer became cinders, ash beneath Rena's feet. Heather came running, flicking blood off her Scindo.
"Six minutes." Heather said.
"Plenty of time." Rena replied. They kept running, passing room after room. Grinner were blue and green and grey blurs that became red and orange blurs. The doors almost couldn't open fast enough, and twice Rena had to duck to avoid hitting her head on a still-opening door.
With three minutes left, they reached the extraction room. Their ships weren't in place, though they should have been.
"Tenno, there were complications. Can you hold out there until your ships can arrive?" The Lotus asked.
"We can." Heather said, voice low.
"We'll be fine." Rena added.
"Alright. I'll send them as soon as I am able." The Lotus intoned.
"Sis-" Rena began.
"I'll be fine." Heather cut her off.
"You're bleeding. Let me-" Rena started again, holding her hand out.
"Leave it." Heather growled. Grineer came around the corner then, and Rena had time only to hit them with fire, heat blasting her. Heather slid between groups and hacked away, taking one after the other out.
Rena leapt into the air and sprayed accelerant all over, the fumes burning her nose.
"Back up." She said. Heather bounced off a larger Grineer and landed behind Rena, who then set it all alight. The explosion nearly breached the hull, tearing through the metal. Rena let the heat wash over her, standing her ground against the shockwave.
"Tenno, take caution." Lotus warned. Heather dashed amidst the flames, cutting down anything that had lived past the initial explosion. Smoke filled the room, unable to escape. Rena created a walls of fire, spraying accelerant on the walls and floors and setting them alight. Grineer that had been lucky enough to avoid Heather now met Rena's fire, blasted as soon as the smoke gave her a clear veiw. One Butcher avoided the fire narrowly, and he was quickly ended by a thrust from Rena's knife.
Heather slammed into a Grineer shoulder-first, knocking him back. Her Scindo whipped around, taking another Grineer's head off, before she returned to the winded Grineer. He aimed his gun, and she kicked it down, knocking him to his knees. She brought the axe high over her head and let it fall, cleaving metal and flesh and bone like so much paper. She lifted it and whirled, hacking another Grineer down. Rena grunted, then screamed.
"Manic!" She yelled. Heather raced towards her, smoke obscuring vision, and screamed, vision tinting. She dropped her axe, claws forming over her hands, her whole body glowing a dim orange. The manic came into veiw, crouched over Rena, who's stomach was bloodied. It swiped and Rena slapped the claws away. Heather crashed into the Manic, her own claws shredding through his armor. He tried to run, but she stabbed her claws deep into his ribs, slammed him to the ground, and hacked and hacked until he stopped moving. A hand grabbed her wrist and she almost swiped. Rena was standing and holding her arm across her stomach, the other holding Rena's hand.
"Thank you, sister, but extraction has arrived." Rena said. Heather let the energy fade and grabbed her axe off the ground where it lay. Grineer were around, but Rena sent wave after wave of fire into them, keeping them from getting too close. The smoke made it hard to see anything; the Grineer wouldn't wast bullets on shots in the dark. They were safe enough to stop what they were doing and climb into the drop hatches of their ships. Once safely latched, the hatch rotated and let them in. Their ships pushed off the Grineer Galleon, and sped away.
Only a few thousand meters away, Heather initiated a transmission, her Cephalon intoning the wish to make contact. Rena's own Cephalon appeared in her helmet.
"Operator, do you wish to accept?" It asked. Rena nodded. The Cephalon vanished, and a veiw of Heather appeared. She had already removed her helmet.
"Sister.. are you alright?" Heather asked.
"Nothing I cannot mend. How about you?" Rena asked.
"I'm fine. Just a few holes.." Heather said, looking away.
"Heal yourself." Rena said.
"I will, just-" Heather began, but was cut off by an explosion. The shockwave was powerful enough, sending enough matter towards them, that their ships physically rocked side to side.
"You were saying?" Rena asked.
"Just.. I was gonna say.. just... well.. thanks.. I'm sorry I got so.. angry." Heather mumbled, looking at her hands.
"It's fine. Thank you for the swift rescue." Rena said, smirking.
"I.. could have done better." Heather said, voice low.
"We all could have, I think." Rena said, shrugging. She was almost done healing the wound. It hurt, but she'd felt worse. "Now, why were you so upset in the first place?" Rena asked.
"It's nothing." Heather said. There was a long moment of silence. Neither looked up.
"Alright then." Rena said. She glanced up at the screen.
"I'll see you back at the Dojo." Rena said. Heather looked up and nodded. They ended the transmission, and Rena sighed. They may be sisters, but Heather was so.. distant. She was strong in her own way, but she declined any help from anyone. Rena tried to be friendly, but Heather always pushed her away. Ever since they'd woken up, it was like Heather was someone else. Rena looked down at her own hands, gloves blackened by soot and scorched by flame. She sighed again, a little more upset than she cared to admit.
