Chapter Text
Ivara stalked through the treetops on old Earth, silent, her prized Dread in her hands, held ready at half draw. She was a hunter at heart, but her talent at stealth made her a natural for the infiltration missions that the Lotus asked of her.
She watched the grineer below. They patrolled. She imagined it was a boring life. Bred to die and serve the queens with no greater purpose or calling. They were almost animalistic. She thought of them as ants, or bees. A network of animals all serving a greater purpose for the few leaders.
She watched them. They performed maintenance. Checked their weapons. Patrolled. So mundane. She longed for another hunt, like when she tracked down the elusive Stalker and claimed his bow as her own. She moved on.
Ivara was nearing her target now. An information system. She didn't know what the Lotus needed from it, but it didn't matter. The faster she got this done the faster she could return to the Vallis to assist The Business on his hunts. That was where she felt the most at home.
Ivara paused. A grineer, presumably the guard for this area, was bent down, his masked face Peering at a moon dragonlily. She watched as he tenderly touched the flower, his head tilting. Ivara had never seen a grineer with an appreciation for nature. The soldier gently plucked the flower, and placed it in a hidden compartment in his armour. In that moment, Ivara saw several similar plants the grineer must have taken a liking to.
She dropped down silently, approaching him, her weapons tucked away within reach. He saw her, and raised his Hind at her, but did not call for his comrades. There was something unique in this grineer, Ivara decided. She held her hands up in a peaceful gesture, and reached into her gear.
The grineer watched as the Tenno pulled out an insignia. A globe surrounded by a ring.
"Tenno!" He warned.
The Warframe gestured to the flowers he had just picked. Shame washed over him. It held the insignia up.
"Cressa Tal?" He asked tentatively.
The warframe nodded, indicating an identification number and coordinates on the insignia. He took it roughly, placing it in the compartment on his armour containing the plants he had gathered.
The warframe's head snapped up, looking behind him suddenly, and it pulled a bow off its back.
Ivara saw another grineer, carrying a sobek and lacking a mask, enter behind the deviant. She moved to prepare her bow, but the deviant was faster. He wheeled around and unloaded his Hind into the new grineer's face, felling him. Ivara steadied herself, looking at the deviant. He turned, thrusting his Hind into her hands.
"Cressa Tal. Tenno. Skoom!"
Ivara understood. The deviant ran, shouting in their guttural language. Ivara followed, making a scene, firing off the Hind and making as much noise as possible. As they passed his ex-comrade, the deviant scooped up the Sobek.
The pair continued their impromptu performance, until an alarm had been raised. Ivara slid behind cover, watching the deviant disappear among his comrades, quickly fleeing the area. He was far smarter than a typical grineer. Her cover blew apart above her head. She broke out, running and firing off the unwieldy Hind into the grineer. She threw it down, breaking into the trees, quickly stringing up a wire arrow and leaping onto it.
The place Ivara had just been standing was rapidly filled with gunfire. She waited, hands on her Spira. Soon, grineer came to investigate. They fanned out in the forest, hunting for her. Their tactics and technique were very poor, she decided.
She started moving among the treetops to evac. The Lotus would be disappointed the mission had failed, but Ivara had given a grineer a chance to be more than a soldier in a war machine. Perhaps she would see this deviant next time she went to Cressa Tal's garrison. The Steel Meridian would always accept those who didn't see fit to operate under the queens.