//------------------------------// // Chapter 16: The Second Dream // Story: A Rift Between Worlds // by Cinders of War //------------------------------// The galleon floated silently in the darkness of space, it’s course unknown. Outside the safety of the spacecraft’s hull, nothing could be heard; though for this specific galleon, its occupants might’ve prefered the vacuum of space. Tagg ran down the corridors of the galleon, bleeding from a wound in his shoulder. He gripped at his shoulder and grunted. It hurt, but he still considered himself lucky. The others he was with had taken at least three arrows each, but these weren’t ordinary arrows. Instead of piercing their ferrite armor, these arrows sliced clean through their bodies, dismembering Tagg’s friends before his eyes. There was nothing he could do for his friends as they lay dying at his feet, the last of their lives bleeding out the severed mounts of their bodies. Troopers and eviscerators had arrived in from another entrance, immediately fighting back against their unknown assailant. Tagg didn’t stop to help, not stopping unless his legs were to give out from under him. “Gaaaaaah!” one of the eviscerators screamed as the top half of his body detached with the bottom. Tagg saw the fear and agony permanently written across his dead face as he exited out through the farthest door. Still the sounds of battle sounded behind him as he ran. The bloodcurdling screams, the gunfire, and the sound of flesh and armor falling apart would haunt Tagg’s mind for as long as he lived, though judging by the attacks, he didn’t have long. The escape pods… I must get… Escape. Only three more turns and jumps across the expansive galleon did Tagg notice the sound. The sound of silence. The screams of his fellow Grineer had died out, along with the resistance they were putting up against their attacker. Tenno. It had to be. Nothing else in the universe could tear their ranks apart like that. Nothing known, at least. The lone Grineer headed through the targetting room, heading down the slope to the exit at the far end. He had only taken two steps when a clatter of steel behind him turned him around. Tagg swiftly turned his head just as a shadow of black and red dashed for him. He turned and fired his rifle, trying to slow the shape, but he might as well be fighting the Void itself. The figure sliced his bullets to bits with a long scythe, closing the distance at the same time. “Back! Away, away!” he gasped and ran on, taking a detour down a ramp. At this rate, he wouldn’t outrun the foul beast behind him. He needed to do something, fast. Turning on his heel, he shot at one of the reactors to his side, causing it to spew steam, right into the face of his attacker. The sudden blast had caught the creature off-guard, allowing Tagg to slip away, rolling down the slope, hitting his head on the bottom. The Grineer quickly recovered from his daze and scrambled away, proceeding through a door on the far side. He could still get to the escape pods from this side, but he had to hurry. The beast was still on his scent, much faster and deadlier than he. Tagg only had a slim chance to get away, but he was willing to try it. Either way, he was going to end up dead anyway, so he figured, “Why not? Do or die.” He appeared at the top of a slope, speeding his way down, careful not to trip and fall. A few more corridors stood in his way, but Tagg finally saw the escape pod room, allowing a smile to form on his distorted face as he approached it. He was going to make it. He was going to survive and live another day. Then he was flying. Flying forward against the wall on the right. At first, Tagg had no idea what was happening, nor could he move his arms. Then he felt the pain, flaring up in his forearms and from the impact. “Aaagh!” he uttered as smoke and blood poured out of his wounds. Thin dagger-like blades protruded out of his arms, their handles black as night. His attention was too focused on the knives in his arms that he almost missed the mysterious figure walking up to him, the scythe in hand. Tagg felt a hand grab his face before turning it, coming face to face with a mask of black and red. The creature’s body was that of a Warframe. A creation that served the Grineer’s old enemy, the Lotus, but this one was different. Shadows swirled around its form, masking its body’s details, while at the same time, creating something more frightening. Pockets of knives hung on its legs, while a bow hung around its back, along with a quiver of black arrows. “What do you want?” he screamed at the shadowy figure as it squeezed at his chin and neck. “The planet your people invaded,” it boomed. The voice seemed to come from all around him. “I want the source.” Tagg saw no reason to withhold the information. “Earth! They’re on Earth! A place called…” He tried to remember the name. “Can-ter-lot.” “Canterlot…” Tagg felt the grip on his neck release, allowing him air once again. “Thank you.” Then a scythe swung across his head and everything went black. The Stalker approached the window in the galleon’s bridge, staring out into the vastness of space. According to the ship’s coordinates, the planet wasn’t far. Good… It won’t be long before I get there. Since his awakening, the Stalker had felt something. A calling. The Lotus was waking her precious Tenno once again. He had searched for the Lotus and her children for eons, unable to locate her, but this time, the Stalker knew he was close. Earth. The planet where it had all began. Fitting, that the Lotus had chosen to hide here. It all felt like a dream to him. A dream where if he woke, he would lose sight of the Lotus. The Stalker couldn’t allow this. He swished his scythe through the air and spun it once to clear its sharp blade of the blood it carried. He didn’t want to kill the Grineer here. They had done nothing to wrong him, but they were the only ones with knowledge on the Lotus’ current whereabouts, and he wasn’t going to give up that chance. The Stalker had dreamt once in deep sleep, relieving the days of the Orokin. But that time had passed. He had awoken to the barrenness of the Void, finding no traces of life but himself. Not this time. If this was yet another dream, he wasn’t going to let himself wake. To find that the people he had worshipped, gone… He couldn’t experience it again. Almost a moon ago, he had sent out a warning to those who wore the skin of the Tenno. The ones willing to fight for the Lotus. Instead of fear, he had felt something else from them. Kindness. Honesty. Loyalty. Generosity. Laughter. Especially laughter. The knaves had sent him back a picture of themselves, with words tagged at the bottom, a meaning lost to the Stalker. Whatever it meant, they were not afraid. Good, he had told himself. This way, they will learn true fear when they face me in battle. This second dream was his hope. The Lotus was down on Earth. He had found her, and this time, she and her children would find no escape. He would return home, grasping the Lotus’ head in his hand, bringing the justice his masters had deserved. “I am your reckoning…” the Stalker muttered these words. The same words he had said to every Tenno he had slain before. All Tenno and the Lotus were going to get what they should have received all those years ago, and he couldn’t wait to get started. “Your sentence… is death.” Then the Stalker activated the thrusters from the main console, setting the Grineer galleon on course for the planet Earth.