Author's notes:

Hello everyone, my name is Vadexid. This is my new Warframe-based fanfic. English is not my native language, so you might possibly find some grammar errors. If that's the case, please forgive me, I'll try to improve. I hope you'll enjoy it!

Warframe belongs to Digital Extremes and I certainly do not own it. I only own my OCs.

The Empire Game

Chapter 1 - For the Orokin Empire

Dream … not of what you are … but of what you want to be.

Long time ago the Orokin Empire ruled over the Solar System. Humans, aristocrats, in their white and golden halls. Immortals of unnatural beauty, with shining eyes.

But not all humans were Orokin. Most humans were workers and soldiers, under the rule of the Golden Aristocrats, exploited almost like the Grineer.

Builders, slaves, not human, but clones, those were the Grineer. Created in factories, doomed to do the most dangerous and strenuous works, just like machines. Their skin was already old since their first moments of life. A horrible appearance for a horrible existence.

Everything was under the control of the Orokin, the Deathless Lords. Their choices decided the destiny of every planet of the System. Celestial bodies, already colonized, in the process of being consumed. Everything those planets could offer, sacrificed for the glory of the Empire. In their endless lives, they casted their debts on the future generations.

The Orokin would not spend much of their energies and resources on the Solar System's recovery. They had a more glorious idea than fixing the damage caused by their destruction. They would extend their kingdom beyond the orbit of the most remote planets of the System: Pluto, Eris and Sedna.

That's why they forged the Sentients. Mere machines in the eyes of the Orokin, but powerful, with the ability to think and evolve. Terraforming-tools able to adapt in every condition.

The Sentients had been sent far away into the emptiness of the Universe, to create a new home for the glory of the Orokin. The Golden Lords waited, until the Sentients came back. Not as tools, but weapons, no more servants, but conquerors. They brought war to their creators.

Many weapons had been created those days, many resources used to forge armies. Grineer, humans, a multitude of life forms changed for the purpose of the war. But the Sentients were winning, adapting to the weapons the Orokin used to destroy them, copying those weapons and using them against the Golden Lords.

Those were the days when the Grineer started to reclaim their lives, when the people wanted freedom. The days when the foolish Orokin knew the desperation. The days when they rebuilt gun and sword, and threw us in this war.

We, the children of their errors, the Tenno.

What is the difference between Warframe and Tenno? I didn't know at that time. I thought they were just synonyms. "The Warframe is the hand and the Tenno is the will." This is what someone said.

I thought they meant that the Waframe was the body and the Tenno was the mind that controls it. Like the Cephalons, the conscious programs that control the Tenno ships, that follow the orders of their operators as the Orokin commanded them to do.

I had been sent to a great number of expeditions, to fight Grineer rebels, Sentients, and to ensure safety for the Orokin. I went were nobody could survive, where no one wanted to go. All I did, alone or accompanied by soldiers, was for the glory of the Empire.

One day I had been selected for a mission on Mercury, the nearest planet to the Sun of the entire System. The planet was a desert. In past, it would be completely inhospitable, but with the help of technology it had been colonized. During the Orokin era it was possible to find even oases.

I had been embarked on a space ship, with a group of human soldiers. Followed by two other ships, carrying twenty soldiers, two pilots, weapons, resources and a Tenno each.

The ship wasn't large. It was used for short trips, and since we came from a space station close to the planet, we didn't need much space, especially me. The inside was similar to a corridor with walls, ceiling, and floor, completely gray. Both to my left and right, there were ten seats, filled by the soldiers. In front of me there was a metal door and, behind that, the control cabin with pilot and co-pilot.

I was standing at the end of the ship, behind the seats, unmoving like a standby machine, but I was aware of everything around me. The sound of the engines, the breaths of the soldiers, their eyes on me when they dared to turn around and see the machine of terror that was accompanying them. I could feel the breath and warmth coming from the black and white Kubrow near my feet. He was Celeris, my companion.

The Kubrows, canine animals, fruit of genetic mutations, once pets, now machines of war. Those were a type of companion that soldiers and Warframes could receive. They used to wear a Kavasa collar that created a magnetic shield around the animal, protecting it in battle.

They were loyal pets, ready to risk their life defending their master. We, Tenno, did the same for our Golden Lords.

I could feel the worry of those soldiers, not only about the imminent fight we had to engage, but about me.

The dreadful warrior capable of facing the Sentients, to do something the Orokin themselves failed to do. A tall, gray figure in the dark side of the ship, showing off golden horns. A design inspired by deadly animals and the brutal revenge of nature. That was for sure my most used Warframe: Oberon.

PILOT: "We are approaching the atmosphere. Be prepared for some turbulence."

His voice resounded in the ship, coming from the speakers.

The ship started to vibrate. We were landing on the planet. The ship decelerated rapidly, the bodies of the soldiers reacted to the deceleration, bowing forward. I could feel the force pushing me too, but I resisted it.

Some instants passed and I heard an explosion. One of the ships behind us had been shot and, with one engine on fire, it was falling.

PILOT: "Vulture 2, split up!"

That was the only thing that I could hear from the pilot as the booms of explosions covered everything else. The evasive maneuver was so violent, that it made me lose my balance. Celeris started to bark, if the soldiers hadn't had their safety belts, they would have probably found themselves on the floor.

We flew for a little more, until the explosions ceased, then we landed.

PILOT: "Ok, everybody out."

A mechanism activated behind me and the wall got lower, becoming a metal bridge that led out of the ship. The Tenno were always the firsts to enter the battlefield, that was a rule, so I made my first steps on Mercury.

The Sunlight on that planet was dazzling. Around the ship there was a desert of rocks, with pinnacles of stone and rifts. In front of us, far away, I could see some trees.

Celeris followed me out from the ship and, behind him, the soldiers went out with protective helmets equipped with obscured visors. Seven of them formed a perimeter, pointing their guns, ready to shoot. Three were consulting a map, speaking to the pilot. The co-pilot tried to reach the space station with a transmitter, meanwhile a soldier was trying to contact the other ships using another one. The remaining soldiers were checking the bags.

CO-PILOT: "No answer from the station. Maybe they are interfering with the signal."

SOLDIER 1: "I reached Vulture 2. They are ready to act at the other side of the caves. Nothing from Vulture 3."

PILOT: "Good, the ship is too exposed here. The co-pilot and I, will find a safe place for it and try to contact the station. You proceed as programmed, even without Vulture 3."

The pilot and co-pilot took the ship meanwhile the soldiers prepared to proceed.

SOLDIER 2: "Come on, we have to reach those trees. Tenno, quick, lead the way."

I did as he commanded, and ran towards the direction of the trees with the soldiers and Celeris after me.

The arid climate wasn't a hindrance for me, unlike for the soldiers. I heard their breaths being more and more heavy, like their steps. They could keep up, but they would have arrived at the battlefield in non-optimal condition.

That's why they sent three Tenno. The Grineer are thought capable to resist hard conditions and carry heavy armors to protect themselves during the fights. Those soldiers had light armors and small, portable, magnetic shield generators. Not enough to face a massive Grineer attack, something that surely we were going to encounter.

We reached the trees. Taller than I thought, their trunks were gray and their leaves green and yellow.

SOLDIER 2: "Hold on!"

We stopped immediately.

SOLDIER 2: "Now that we are covered by the trees we'll proceed with caution. The Grineer might have placed some traps and maybe they are waiting for us, hiding around. Be silent and prepare to fight. Tenno, you have to dispatch them as fast as possible, no Grineer must call reinforcements."

We were fine for a while, until we saw the body of a human soldier lying on the ground. One of the soldiers who were with me ran in the direction of the body.

SOLDIER 2: "Wait, no!"

We heard a shot. The soldier who tried to reach the body fell down.

SOLDIER 2: "Find a shelter!"

Many shots reached us. The soldiers lurked behind trees and rocks, firing. I used my shield, Aegis, to protect me. I saw a Grineer fall down behind a tree. Another one near his dead comrade jolted, scared. I could not see where the other Grineer were, but I could use my Warframe's ability to discover that.

I casted Smite, focusing energy into the scared Grineer. He fell down on impact. Orbs of energy flew in the direction of the enemies revealing the position and shooting.

I followed one of the orbs. It shot one Grineer, a Lancer, confusing him. I rushed and hit him. Then I followed a second orb, leaving behind me the dead corpse of the Grineer. Meanwhile, other enemies fell, killed by the soldiers.

I reached my target, she was a Ballista, a sniper. But she wasn't alone, a Lancer was with her.

Celeris arrived behind the Lancer, biting his leg. When the Lancer fell down, the Ballista turned around, distracted by the unexpected attack. Celeris was already on the Lancer with his jaws around the Grineer's neck when I killed the Ballista.

Celeris looked at me for an instant before seeking out his next prey. On the other side of the battlefield, the soldiers were exterminating the remaining Grineer.

I saw some movement behind the soldiers' formation. Three Grineer were approaching the humans from behind. I took my bow and three arrows, and aiming at my targets, I released them.

I shot one of them in the head, killing him. The other two didn't die, but screamed in pain. The soldiers turned around and, noticing the Grineer, they fired, killing only one of them. The other vanished. Almost immediately he appeared behind me and struck.

My magnetic shield went down, protecting my Warframe that took a small amount of damage. Celeris came out from a bush and, getting up on two paws, he bit the Grineer's head.

While Celeris was trying to knock his desperate prey to the ground, I heard sound coming from a tree-less space. A Ballista was running in fear, she would have alerted the other Grineer. I could not allow that.

I chased her. When I was near enough, I jumped and fell next to her, hitting the ground with my shield, releasing a shock wave accompanied by a ring of flames. The attack pushed her away and made her stumble, but she was alive.

I got closer, she, still on the ground, turned towards me. Her face half burned and full of despair. She talked in the Grineer language that I could not speak. The only word I understood was 'Tenno', but I know what she was saying. She was begging me for mercy.

I raised my arm, holding the mace, Silva, wrapped in flames, and seeing the terror in her eyes, I repeated to myself, "For the Orokin Empire."