Ko-lee and I leave the room, taking a slightly roundabout path to Tactics. Our adjusted route takes us through a hallway intersection, where we find Caz-V casually leaning against the wall and Rease animatedly talking about last night's Lunaro game. I give Caz-V a wave, and he pushes himself off the wall, alerting Rease to our presence. The four of us make our way to Tactics to find Ella already sat down, distracted by something on her headset. "Hey you," says Caz-V, eliciting a smile from the smaller squadmate, before she greets the rest of us. We each make our way to one of the seats, and like every day for the last month, the familiar avatar of Scientia blooms onto the screen.
"Welcome to Tactics! Today we are talking about engagement!" says Scientia, the light green panes of their avatar flashing in time with their words. "And I assume it's going to be as dense as the last week of class has been," I think to myself, turning on the recording function of my headset. "Thank god for this feature. I literally can't take notes fast enough." On the screen, Scientia's avatar recedes into the background, and a simplified map of the solar system fades into place. The map is color coded in a multitude of different shades, denoting which regions are controlled by which factions, along with any conflicts, current or recent. "As Tenno, we are the smallest faction within the Sol system. We do not engage in mass warfare, like the Corpus and the Grineer do," says Scientia. As each group is mentioned, their regions of space light up. The amount of space marked as fully Tenno owned is depressingly small.
"The Corpus outclass everyone when it comes to gear and robotics," explains Scientia, the screen changing to reflect her words. "Rather than send in humans, they send in wave after wave of disposable bots. The bots are rather pricey, but what you lose in cost effectiveness, you gain in time. A MOA doesn't take 18 years to become a functional solider. It rolls off the assembly line, ready to fire." I catch movement out of the corner of my eye to see Caz-V nodding along. "If given the option, the Corpus will put their robotic forces first. However, they absolutely still field humans. Though, even with their humans, the Corpus rely on their massive tech advantage to win their battles." The animation on the screen shows bullets tearing apart a cartoon force of Corpus soldiers and robots, and the virtual camera pans to show an squad of heavily armored enemies.
"On the other end of the spectrum, we have the Grineer. The Grineer rely almost entirely on brute force domination and manpower. Unlike the Corpus, they rarely use tech, and their forces consist entirely of humans. Specifically, clones. The Grineer churn out clones like the Corpus churn out bots, and in the same way that the bots are preprogrammed with directives, so too are the Grineer." The animation shows words flying from off screen into a green tube, with phrases like ONLY GRINEER and SERVE THE QUEENS getting shoved into the top of it, before a Grineer solider pops out with a mean grimace on his face. "They're implanted with memories that cause them to develop with an innate sense of xenophobia and a warlike disposition." I feel something touch my hand, and look down to realize it's Ko-lee. Tension I didn't know I had falls off my shoulders.
"While the Grineer do have access to some tech, it is limited and low cost. A Grineer weapon, like the clones themselves, are cheaply made imitations, often times barely functional. However, quantity is it's own sort of quality in this case, and the Grineer currently have the largest force in the system." A single Tenno creeps across the screen behind the Grineer and Corpus, doing their best to avoid drawing attention. "As for the Tenno, we employ a different strategy. Instead of head on conflict, we send in either operatives or agents depending on the presumed difficulty of the mission, and we engage primarily in an informational context." The cartoon Tenno reaches a terminal, and types in a password, before a big green check mark shows on the screen-in-a-screen. They pull out a datamass and plug it into the terminal, before pulling it out a few moments later, once more sneaking past the Grineer and Corpus.
"We then utilize this information by sending in warframes for a surgical strike," says Scientia, as a cartoon Volt runs across the screen behind what appears to be a Corpus member. The warframe taps the Corpus on the shoulder, and the moment they turn around, the Volt zaps them, causing their skeleton to briefly appear, before falling onto the ground, smoking, with X's for eyes. "As established in previous classes, our goal as Tenno is to support the warframes. Yes, Recruit Tygg." I look over to see Ella putting her hand down. "Sorry, not to derail us too much, but I have a question about the hierarchy from a few days ago?" asks Ella. Scientia's avatar bobs up and down, and the screen is replaced to show a flowchart I'm now intimately familiar with. At the top of the chart is the symbol of the Lotus, along with some text directly stating her name, just in case we lived under a rock. Underneath the symbol is 24 shadowed figures, split into two groups. The left group is slightly darker, and the group on the right is slightly lighter.
Above all 24 figures is the text "Tenno High Council", and below the left and right groups is the text "Shadow Council" and "Light Council", respectively. An arrow points from the Lotus to the Tenno High Council, then two arrows point down from the Shadow Council and Light Council. Underneath the Shadow Council is the text ITO and ETO, which I know from previous classes stands for IntraTactical Officers and ExtraTactical Officers. Underneath the Light Council is the text FO, for Field Officers. On the left, the ranking for the ITO/ETO's are listed, and on the right, an entirely different set of rankings. In the middle are the subranks, and I do my best to avoid smiling when I once again notice that "Master Chief" is a completely legitimate Field Officer rank. "I gotta keep it in! I looked like a crazy person last time I laughed at that, and then I couldn't even explain why I found it so funny," I think to myself.
Arrows stretch from both the left and right portions to point down at a final list of rankings. Agent, followed by Operative, followed by Recruit. To the left is also a bit more text talking about the subrankings; Special and Petty, but it's all relatively straight forward. "If it sounds cooler, it's more important," I think with a grin. At the bottom, next to the text Recruit is a spinning star, helpfully labeled with the words, "You Are Here!" "So, from what I understand," continues Ella, "you're saying that warframes don't lead missions? Are they in charge at all?" My eyes wander back up to near the top of the diagram, where a single arrow is stretching off from the Lotus to point to a group of loosely floating warframes. There's no arrow pointing from the warframes to anything else. "Correct. Warframes are not in charge, if you are on a mission with them. Commands issued by a warframe are ignorable without repercussion by your commanding FO, assuming that you survive," Scientia explains. Ella pauses for a moment, but doesn't react. "Day one Ella would've been quaking in her boots. They grow up so fast."
"So... I guess I'm confused. We support them, but indirectly? Not actually in the field together?" asks Ella. Scientia wobbles back and forth. "Sometimes, a Tenno will directly support a warframe in the field. It is uncommon, but it does happen. More likely than not, however, a warframe will perform more prominent actions in a main location, while an Agent takes action in a secondary location. For example, A warframe might draw attention by engaging in combat, leaving a Tenno to hack into a database, or to commandeer a high value resource while unobstructed." I feel a spark go off in my head. "It sounds like they're describing a survival mission," I think. "Or sometimes, a warframe might locate and protect an asset until it can be extracted," they continue. "And that sounds like a defense mission," I note. "But more commonly, they will simply need someone to maintain and pilot their Orbiter during a solo mission," finishes Scientia. I raise my hand.
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"What about a ship Cephalon?" I ask after being called on. Scientia bobs a little slower, and their light green colors shifts towards blue. "Very few orbiters have ship Cephalons. Whatever gave you the idea that such a thing was common?" they ask. I feel the tips of my ears grow warm. "I dunno, just heard it somewhere," I mumble. Thankfully, they don't press me on it. "Sometimes," says Scientia, "a warframe will rescue a Tenno from an operation gone bad. While it would be nice if this didn't happen to you, statistically, you will all experience this at least once during your five year mandatory service. Luckily, you won't be taking part in any operations that dangerous for a while, so there's nothing for you to worry about!" Everyone in the squad gives each other side eyes, but none of us make a comment on it. "If there are no more questions about the warframe's role in an operation...?" asks Scientia. No one responds, and they bob up and down once, like an assertive nod. "Great! Returning to our original discussion, engagement with the other factions."
"Our main method of engagement is, in nearly all cases, to avoid doing it. A Corpus Manager or Grineer Lieutenant tend to be a much higher physical threat than any one specific Tenno. So, barring augmented Special Agents, it is recommended that all non-officer Tenno avoid engaging with the enemy, in combat or otherwise. But, sometimes, such a thing simply isn't avoidable. In cases like that, I'd like you all to remember DIE!" The equivalent of big blocky letters pop up on the screen in blood red. "Deception, Isolation, and Extraction. If you don't want to die, remember to DIE!" says Scientia, in an incredibly unnerving and chipper tone. Rease giggles, and Scientia glows a bit brighter before continuing. "First, Deception. In many operations, you will have a basic set of credentials that allow you to maneuver around. These credentials are often maintenance focused, opening the door to access tunnels and the like when attempting to navigate the various faction's facilities. These credentials are more effective with the Corpus than the Grineer, but we will go over the finer details of how these credentials work in a later class."
"Along with the credentials, you are given disguises that will be passable at a glance. In the case of a Corpus disguise, it is worn over your TEPA, while for the Grineer, you are usually given fake armor pieces that work in tandem with the MCS. These disguises are merely meant to help you blend in, and won't stand up to even moderate scrutiny, so be sure to keep yourself at a distance at all times. With deception, the goal is to move quickly and purposefully, spending as little time interfacing with the enemy as possible. Sometimes you will need to speak, and your ocular system will feed you translations, if you request one using the tactile interface." My mind drifts back to the class from a few weeks ago where Scientia had explained a wholly separate way to interface with the TEPA; sensors on the edge of the forefingers on both hands and thumbs that enable navigating the menus with motions similar to a joystick. I do my best to drag my mind back towards the present, to avoid missing too much.
"...deception does not work, then we move to Isolation. If you absolutely must eliminate a target to prevent them from blowing your cover, you do so in isolation. This doesn't simply mean physical isolation; we want to isolate them from everything. This means from cameras, from auditory range of other potential enemies, from panic buttons, and anything else that might cause an issue during elimination. Now, in an active combat situation, you will all likely struggle to take down a soldier regardless of faction, but in a case where their guard is down - both physically and mentally - you will be on a more equal footing. I'm sure you have learned some of the various methods on engaging with an enemy on equal footing in your physical training class, so I won't spend too much time on it. Regardless of whether you are able to deal with them lethally or non-lethally, isolate first." A few memories from weapons training and physical training flash in my mind; the best places to aim a shot, how to quickly deal with armor or shields, how to tell from a glance if someone is augmented before engagement, and so on.
"Lastly, is Extraction," continues Scientia. "It's important to know when to cut losses. Obviously, a failed operation will be a mark on your record, but we'd rather have living Tenno and no resources, than dead Tenno and still no resources. If you need to extract, you will always have access to a multiband high power transmitter, and they will allow you to get in direct contact with your overseeing field officer. The device is hooked directly into your TEPA, and can be utilized hands free with subvocalizations. If you are unable to Decieve or Isolate, then call for Extraction, and remove yourself from the situation however possible. It is preferred that you maintain cover when extracting, although it's understood that in cases like this it is simply not always possible. Standard operating procedure for the various factions is different, but broadly the will try to restrain you and identify you, before they lethally engage with you. Yes, Recruit Caz-V." He clears his throat, casting a glance at all of us, before speaking.
"Uh, for the Corpus... I mean, I guess it depends on where the operation is taking place, but the standard equipment is a Prova and a Plinx. But you're also told not to use them, if possible. The rules were to activate any metal first- sorry, like, MOAs and things. So, activate the MOAs, and then, depending on training, keep them there with words. The 'hands-on' certification is sort of pricey, and it's a whole liability thing if they touch you and then it turns out that you're someone important, so I'd imagine you can just... go around them. We definitely weren't allowed to physically attack unless given the green light ahead of time, or if the suspicious personnel is believed to be dangerous, like if they hit someone or killed them." Scientia bobs up and down, shining brightly, and Rease holds his hand out for a fist bump. "Hell yeah man, insider knowledge," he says, grinning. Caz-V looks a little uncertain, but gives him a fist bump back, before once more trying to adopt his "cool kid" persona.
"Thank you for the insight, Recruit Caz-V! First hand experience is always quite helpful. In any case, we will cover more specifics in the following week's class. But if there's one thing I want you to take away today, it's to remember DIE! I will see you all in equipment training!" Then, with the now familiar abruptness, the screen flickers off, taking Scientia with it. We all turn towards each other a moment later. "Thanks for the heads-up," I tell Caz-V. He gives me a non-plussed look. "It's whatever. We were talking about it, I knew something about it. Its no big deal," he says dismissively. Ella gives him an achingly sweet smile. "Even if it's not a big deal for you Caz, it is for us. It could mean the difference between life and death. So... I think I speak for all of us when I say we're very appreciative, and thank you." Caz-V's lips twitch, as though he's fighting the urge to smile at the compliment.
"Transparent as a window," I think, watching Caz-V for a moment, before looking back at the rest of the squad. I notice Ella's smile dim slightly. "I didn't realize that we were going to be on our own for our operations though," she says, looking at the rest of us. Rease looks at her, confused. "We won't be on our own though? I'm pretty sure we'll be together," he says, confidence in his voice. "She means that she's surprised that we won't be accompanied by a warframe," explains Ko-lee. "Although, I'm surprised that you weren't aware." Ella shakes her head. "Well, when you hear about the Tenno, you're really hearing about the warframes. So... in my mind, they're sort of one in the same. I knew that it didn't make sense for them to be on every operation, but hearing it out loud, now, for the first time..." she gives a small huff.
I nod my head. "Yeah, I totally get it. Isn't it kind of crazy that they're only just now telling us as well? Why wait this long?" I ask. "We only just got the information on the heirachy a few days ago," says Ko-lee to my right. "Maybe they just didn't want to bring it up until then, so we knew how they fit into the picture." Rease gets a sinister grin on his face, before opening his mouth. "Or maybe they don't want to talk about the warframes, because there's some big secret about the soldiers who pilot them," he says, looking at the rest of us conspiratorially. It takes every ounce of willpower to prevent me from reacting. "Well, it doesn't matter. Now I know. We can always talk about it more at lunch, but right now we've got to get to weapons," Ella says, standing from her chair. We all stand, and one by one trickle out of the room, and towards the next class.
Discord, it's where all the cool kids are!
