"I see you have found yourself a... crew."
Newborn spoke from behind the murky black of the Holo-comm screen, seeing Maroo, Mor, and Xarra packed into the cockpit of the Swallow. "Cephalon Mor, wanted by the Corpus Board for over two million credits in stolen or destroyed property, and Xarra: the 'Pillager of the Junctions.' Their talent certainly is not lacking."
Xarra clenched the armrests of his seat.
"I didn't call you so you could mock them," Maroo said. "I have my reasons."
"So, you have an update?" Newborn said.
"Vey Hek is the one leading the transfer."
"... He is probably the most loyal to the Queens, therefore their best candidate."
"He hasn't left his compound in a week. We're en route to see if anything has developed there," Maroo said.
"A week? Which one?"
"One on Earth."
"If he's had this task for that long, you will have to do more than scout," Newborn said.
"You mean it might already be there?"
"That, or whatever Hek is planning is about to come to fruition. There is no time to waste, Maroo."
"I need time to—"
"There is no time. You will just have to infiltrate and get any intelligence you can."
"You can't just tell me to sneak into Vey Voiddin' Hek's military stronghold! You think spying is something people do on a whim? Something like this should take weeks of prep."
"I know it's not that simple, but there is no other option."
"...Any other 'suggestions' I should know about?"
"One trace of evidence and our deal is off."
"What?" Maroo said.
"It will not be by choice. If either Hek or the Queens feel their Orokin Blood is at risk, they will hide it, or destroy it."
"For muck's sake..." How is it this precious to the Grineer, and I've never heard of it? At first, she was just trying to play along for the money, but the evidence pointed to the Orokin Blood being real.
"All you need is a transfer location and time. Once you have that, get out."
"Don't tell me how to do my job, Baby-man. I'll let you know when I have any more info," she slammed her fist against the holo-comm, cutting the connection. With a sigh, she leaned into the cushioning of her chair, hearing a noise she shouldn't have heard—metallic clicking.
"Mor!" She turned. "Is that... is that my Pyrana?"
"Uh..." The Cephalon tapped her fingers together, one hand clutching what looked like a miniature artillery cannon. "It was... but it's better—"
"You better have a way to put it back the way it was, dammit!"
"But it'll explode when you finish the clip!"
"Fix it, or I'm ejecting you into the Voiddin' sun."
The Cephalon slumped, "Fine."
YOU ARE READING
Maroo: Orokin Blood
Science FictionMaroo's way of life was dying. The Tenno, their Warframes, had changed the Origin System: both on the front lines of the war, and in the shadows of the black markets. Jobs were getting harder to come by, money even more scarce. So when a mysteriou...
