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A Warframe Fanfic - Things Best Left Forgotten.


Destro6677
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Hello everyone, this is part one of my fanfic on 'what if the Tenno were 'evil'. My apologies in advance if I infringed on copyright.

The Tenno ran down the hallway, each stride easy and measured, footfalls making hardly any noise on the metallic floor. In one hand he held a datamass case, in the other a LATO pistol. Emerging from the hallway into a connecting corridor, he rolled behind some stacked crates as a Corpus patrol passed. His heightened senses picked up the rumble of something heavy approaching, and the babble of Corpus voices. There were evenly spaced clanks too. 'MOA walkers most likely'. Watching from between the crates, he noticed an automated wheeled trolley passing, with an entourage of four plasma rifle MOAs and a dozen Corpus security guards armed with BRATONs. An unusual contraption for the Corpus', he reflected. What held his interest though was the shimmering artifact within a glass case secured to the bed of the trolley. Its graceful ovoid curves and softly gleaming lights betrayed its Orokin origin.

'Funny that the Lotus did not brief me of the possibility of finding an artifact here. Perhaps it's the sheer amount of Orokin technology being moved around Neptune' reflected the Tenno. He waited until the trolley reached the end of the hallway and the guards paused before a secured blast door. Then he leapt into action. Calling his instincts to the surface, the Tenno surged towards them, both hands grasping the hilt of his Cronus. One Corpus barked a warning and fired his BRATON, the Tenno slid down into a crouch, and the shots sailed harmlessly over his head. Spinning on his heels, the Tenno cut through the legs of the two rear-most soldiers and stood up to his full height. The MOAs were already target-locking onto him.

A single word rang in his mind, the force of it running through his suit and manifesting itself as reality. 'Blind'. An overpowering burst of light shot out from his Warframe, stunning the Corpus men and machines alike. The Tenno went to work, his augmented Cronus slicing through bone and metal with crackling arcs of electricity. In a few moments, the gurgling moans of the dying fell silent, and he was left alone with his prize.
The terminal securing the glass case was harder to decrypt than most others on the station. It was still almost too easy for the Tenno's liking . Pocketing the artifact, he made his way to the shuttle without further incident.

When the shuttle had cleared the stations orbit and was on autopilot to the Tennos' covert base orbiting Saturn, the Tenno opened a channel to the Lotus. After a brief moment of static, the Lotus's voice came through as clear as if she had been standing in front of him. 'I assume the mission went well, Tenno'. 'I have the data Lotus, although there is the small matter of an unexpected artifact', spoke the Tenno. 'We will have it analyzed upon your return to the Orokin Towers.', replied the Lotus. 'The Lotus will be pleased, Tenno'. The communications channel was then terminated. After triple checking the shuttle systems and cleaning his weapons, the Tenno sat down and began to investigate the artifact.

After careful scrutiny, he realized it was no Orokin artifact he had ever seen, and he had retrieved several for the Lotus since being re-awakened. The dimensions were subtly different, curves bent at different angles than any variant of Orokin cell. The Tenno allowed his hands to toy with it at will while he observed the passing stars. Then, something gave way in the metal. A small pop brought the Tenno's attention back to the artifact in his hands. A window had opened and blue light shone out. It was then that the whispers began. The Tenno thought at first that it was radio interference, instructing his suit to recalibrate all transmission wavelengths. After several recalibrations and no change in the noise level, he noticed the pulses of light coming from the artifact matched the rise and fall of the whispers. His train of thought was interrupted as a shadow was cast over the shuttle's cockpit, a sign that he was entering the hidden asteroid base.

The Tenno distractedly watched the two huge docking clamps rotate into place and pull his shuttle into the docking bay. The airlock depressurized with a hiss and the Tenno strode out at a brisk walk, unsettled badly enough that he almost forgot to return the bows of two robed and hooded Lotus acolytes that passed by. The whispers of the artifact still rang in his ears as he made for his private room.

Edited by Destro6677
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Some pointers: MOAs usually outnumber Crewmen, as Corpus don't have many actual humans left in their ranks due to the TCV. Also, capitalizing gear names makes them stand out negatively, disrupting the reading flow as if you are referncing Wiki entries. Using the names is fine, but in all caps, they seem oddly emphasized.

Otherwise, so far, so good. It's still neutral, so I am waiting for the twist.

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The Tenno sat in his meditative stance, lost in thought. His armor had not been removed for ritual cleansing, neither had he relaxed since he entered his cell. A restlessness lost to him since before the cryosleep taunted him to pace, but his years of discipline held it in check. 'What is this thing?'. Part of him wanted to simply lock it away, ignore it and pretend that he'd never gotten a reaction from the innocent-looking object. The other part of him wondered about the meaning the whispers held. It had called him an Agent. He was no 'Agent', he was Tenno. And yet he felt comfortable with the subtle nuances of the word. 'Agent. Agent.' The word flowed and rippled in his thoughts, impossible to grasp and define in concrete terms. He remembered language, and a sense of belonging. His armor fit him like a custom-made glove, wrapping his fragile mortal self in a caring embrace harder than the alloy of skaanas. If he could recall how to use the tools of his trade, how to interact with other human beings, then why could he not remember the reason he felt so comfortable with a foreign word?

He activated the room's data handler, a plascreen on the wall sending flickers of light dancing across the rough-hewn rock. He interrogated the database, searching for any meaning and mention of the word 'Agent'. Several thousand results filled the screen and he took his time to peruse and understand most of it, valuable knowledge from the Lotus that could prove useful in future. After some thought, he came to the conclusion that made the most sense to him. An 'Agent' was a person who acted on behalf of another, with authority bestowed upon them. In other words, the Tenno were the 'Agents' and their authority came from the Lotus. However, something of the word nagged at him. In much of the information, 'Agents' were working for a clandestine cause. Sometimes they were heroes, others, the pawns of tyrants. And finally, there were mercenaries. Too often had he seen his fellow Tenno inquire of the Lotus or each other as to what they really were, only to be gently rebuffed by the Lotus or her acolytes that the Tenno had once been the light of the galaxy, a beacon of hope. And all too often, his brothers and sisters had accepted that as absolute truth. He had to know more.

Shuffling his stance into something more comfortable, he cupped the artifact in his hands and waited for several moments. Nothing happened. He tried rubbing it, pounding on it, and eventually sat on it. Hours later, frustration tempted him to unleash a string of expletives. Finally, he begged it. 'Please. Open.' And just before a lesser man would have thrown it at the wall, it did. Blue light welled up from the window in its side and an oddly organic female voice repeated, as it had on the shuttle 'Agent, agent can you hear me?'. 'I can hear you. Please tell me what you are. Why do you call me 'Agent'? I do not answer to that name.', replied the Tenno. 'I am Hyacinth, artificial construct and aide to any Agents that require my services. My receptors identify your suit as one of Agent status, with considerable modifications I might add. I have many duties including telemetry upload, data recovery, warframe realignment,...'. The rest was lost to the Tenno as a horde of unknown phrases. However, one stood out. Interrupting Hyacinth mid-sentence, he queried 'Warframe realignment?'. 'Yes Agent, during the declining phase of the Orokin Empire, as the Grineer rebellion spread outwards from Earth, the need for able soldiers outweighed burial customs. Many Agents were ceremonially stripped of their warframes and buried in space. The suits were realigned and given to recruits. Ah, I see your suit in particular as having a large and colorful history.'

Hyacinth's words chilled the Tenno. Death in battle was the normal way for Tenno to die, but he could not imagine his suit being 'realigned' to serve another. Neither could he imagine his lowly Excalibur having any colorful history at all, drab grey in color as it was. 'Hyacinth, can you tell me what happened in between the fall of the Orokin Empire and your last known activation?' spoke the Tenno. 'Perhaps, Agent. But my data is sporadic and incomplete. Instead, allow me to call up the information from your warframe, it has been in existence since the Orokin Empire and its technocyte neural network is largely intact.' replied Hyacinth. 'How is that possible? Warframes have only been in existence for several thousand years!' argued the Tenno. 'Yes, however, the technocyte neural network has been part of your suit since it's creation, Agent. Your suit was not always a warframe. It has gone through many iterations before it's current state.' insisted Hyacinth. 'Very well. Show me the most recent information of significance that my suit recorded', huffed the Tenno. 'As you wish, Agent. However, you must connect my data shunt with the neural interface in the back of your helmet.' At this remark, the Tenno faltered. Connecting the artifact's data shunt to his neural interface would mean allowing it inside his suit. giving it some measure of control over its functions. Only Lotus acolytes performed this task for maintanence, and even then, only a trusted few. For the first time since his re-awakening, indicision gripped the Tenno.

'Very well' he responded, trying to keep his faltering voice in check. Mentally, he ordered his armor to engage maximum security protocols. Then, he plugged in the data shunt into the neural socket behind his head. An unfamiliar sensation snaked across his scalp as current flowed through the electrodes implanted in his forehead. 'Close your eyes now, Agent, the warframe is rebooting it's information storage systems' spoke Hyacinth. The Tenno did as he was told, there was a slight pain in his head, and then he was surrounded by white space. A human figure stood slightly ahead of him. He was still seated in place, and tensed his muscles to try to walk, but nothing happened. 'You must will yourself to walk' spoke the familiar voice of Hyacinth. 'The Tenno stopped trying to walk, and instead thought about the act of walking, and felt himself rise up off the ground and proceed towards the figure. As he got closer, it resolved itself into a woman clothed in bright red, with a large headdress. Her eyes glowed dimly behind a flimsy veil. He could not help but think that she looked familiar somehow. 'You are responding well to the neural environment, Agent. Your actions are significantly more fluid than I had hoped.' spoke Hyacinth. 'What is this place? Why did you bring me here? How did you bypass my warframe security safeguards so quickly?', the jumble of words flew forth in the Tenno's thoughts. 'This is an artificial environment created by the interaction between your warframe and your brain. This place exists solely within your mind. It is standard operating procedure for me to bring Agents here when they wish to review recorded information from missions. I can better help to sort and show that information based on your memories when it is viewed in this format.'

'I was able to bypass your warframe's security systems because as an assistant artificial intelligence, I have full access to its core systems. Your warframe's neural network recognizes me as such and let me in. Do you have more questions or would you like to access the information databanks now?' spoke Hyacinth. 'I would like to see the most recent information of historical significance before my re-awakening' said the slightly confused Tenno. 'Very well. Please close your eyes again and open them when you are ready.' spoke Hyacinth. The Tenno did as he was told. Oddly enough, he could feel his muscles tensing and his Excalibur contracting around him, as if he were going into battle. In the darkness, he smelt the scent of burnt propellant from a LATO, the faint rusty tinge of dried blood. He heard the wailing of a siren. And then, he opened his eyes. He was standing at a massive bay window. It looked out onto a scene of carnage, the wreckage of hundreds of ships drifting in the darkness of space. A human stood next to him, a Lotus acolyte, holding a Braton rifle, wearing his cape with the hood pulled back. The man's face was young, in his mid 30's perhaps, but prematurely lined and weathered by war. 'My lord, we cannot hold this place much longer. The Tower will fall, it is only a question of when.' The Tenno reached out, a surprisingly tender gesture, and patted the man's shoulder. 'I have failed you my lord, I have failed the Lotus. There is only one choice left for you now. Their frigates are destroyed and only the assault ships remain. The acolytes have instructions to hold the line as long as they can, but every moment counts. Should they decide to board us now, all will be lost. The self-destruct timer-'. 'Hush old friend. You have given everything you had to the Lotus. I will ensure your just reward.', the Tenno heard his own voice speaking, but it was ragged, raw with the bloodlust of war and fatigued, as if he had gone days without sleeping. 'Thank you my lord. It is no more than I deserve.', spoke the man.

The Tenno turned away from the window to a scene of utter bloodshed in the corridor. A siren further along bathed the corridor in intermittent cones of light, revealing a battleground. Corpses of Lotus acolytes and Grineer marines were piled knee high. He would have to wade among the dead to get anywhere. Mixed in with the bodies, he saw Tenno weapons. Skaana, Cronus, Boltor pistols. And yet, no Tenno bodies. With a strange sense of forboding, he turned back to the acolyte and spoke in a dialect he did not know, a ritual chant that grew louder as he pulled the Cronus from his back and flourished it in intricate patterns. He noticed the man quaking, his grip on the Braton tightened. And then, the Tenno swept his arm in a crescent arc, ending at the man's neck. The man's head dropped off his neck but hung from strips of cartilage, almost as if he was embracing it. The Tenno felt strange. He had just killed a man whom he called 'Old Friend', and yet, it seemed almost natural. Heart racing, he ran into the darkness of the corridor, even as he wept. And he still did not know why. The corridor seemed to stretch on forever, and then he fell into blackness. He awoke looking at the rock ceiling of his room, stretched out on the floor with his hands clenched into fists. He could smell tears on his face. 'Hyacinth? Hyacinth?', he called. There was no answer.

Edited by Destro6677
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The Tenno stood in front of the washbasin, looking at his own face in the mirror. It was a lean and hard face, with deep-set eyes that had seen too much. A scar ran diagonally from above his left eye socket to his chin. His jagged black hair was close cropped. Physically he was a man in his prime, but he suspected that it was wearing the warframe that preserved his youth. The stiffness in his joints that occurred when he neglected his regular exercise regimen betrayed the truth. He was a man who should not be alive, let alone fighting a war. He had awoken from his trance-like state alone, sprawled on the floor, like some toy soldier that had not been put away by an irritable child. Hyacinth had come back online moments later, to inform him that his Excalibur had rebooted itself when his vital signs had skyrocketed. She had suggested a break, and the Tenno had been quick to comply. Washing away the cold sweat on his body had a relaxing effect on his mind too. Hot water was a valuable commodity in space, and he had been quick to immerse himself in the stone bathing pool as soon as the temperature was tolerable. Other Tenno bathed in single or communal pools around him, not bothered with modesty, an unnecessary trapping of more civilized life. Several of them waved or bowed to him, and he replied in kind. The whirlwind of his thoughts was interrupted by approaching footsteps. He turned to see a woman sliding into the pool next to him, her blond hair fanning out on the surface of the water. 'Brother', she said, her voice the soft tinkle of a windchime. He turned towards her, his eyes admiring the physical fitness of her body, and the scars that marred its otherwise flawless surface. 'Yes sister?'. 'I am glad that you are alive. We have not had the opportunity to speak in many solar cycles'. 'The Lotus has seen fit to use our individual talents separately. We fight a desperate battle, sister. There are many tasks that need doing, and not enough cells to do them all.' he replied.

'Even so, I worry for the safety of our cell. Many nights I have laid awake in my room, in these cold, empty shells that we call bases. I yearn for the warmth and light of the Orokin Towers. I miss the laughter and companionship we once had. I miss you.', she embraced him fiercely, her wet hair wrapping around his shoulders, her body tense against his. 'Rhino and Volt are not the same without you, they seem more anxious and irritable with each passing year. Loki-'. 'Shh, dear Trinity', hushed Excalibur gently, as he pushed her hair back from her face to reveal tearful eyes. 'You always worried too much about our cellmates. Many times I saw you revive them from the brink of death, healing impossible wounds with a mere touch. I know that I can count on you to hold your place in our cell. Rhino is solid, he has always been a reliable warrior. Sometimes, he just needs to know that he is needed. Volt was always jumpy and hyperactive. Let him work off his excess energy. Tell me though, about Loki. I fear for that one.' Trinity continued 'Loki has not been the same since you left us several years ago. His mischevous pranks decreased quickly, and he increasingly withdrew from the rest of us, speaking less as time went by. One day, he left a note in the middle of our communal mat. He had requested the Lotus to transfer him to Uranus, where his skills of misdirection and espionage could be better realized. I queried Lotus on the matter, and she replied that he is now a formal intelligence gatherer. He is operating alone around Uranus, to infiltrate the Grineer cloning facilities there and spy on them. His bounty among the Grineer is quite high now, as he sacked and burned several research stations when he felt they were getting too close to repairing their genome. I hear that even Tyl Regor has taken an interest in him. I fear for him Excalibur. I fear he is still trying to prove himself to you'.

Edited by Destro6677
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You are doing good.

I can see you are weaving something here, that has a lot of dark overtones. I like the way that you use the amnesia or lack o information to draw a vague, broody background and raise questions. I enjoyed reading this quite a bit, and even if feedback is (and will be) scarce, keep going. It is a learning experience, and it will help you in your future when facing long texts and verbalising large concepts.

You are doing good. :)

PS: Trinity's always the romance option. Goddamnit, Bioware.

He tried rubbing it, pounding on it, and eventually sat on it.

PPS: I lost it briefly at this line, bursting out laughing so hard, the guard dog of the friend I am at now bolted out of the bedroom and barked at me.

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Excalibur's face hardened briefly in the flickering torchlight of the bath house, shadow obscuring his eyes. Trinity had buried her face in his shoulder, and though no sound came from her, he could feel the trickle of tears down his skin. 'Loki has nothing to prove to me. He has already demonstrated his accomplished skills as an infiltrator and assassin on many missions with our cell. Endangering his life further is pointless.' Trinity mumbled from his shoulder 'Without you Excalibur, he lost his sense of purpose. He felt there was little reason to remain with our cell. Rhino and Volt treated him like an immature prankster. Only you saw his potential and showed it in a way he could understand. Without you, he was alone. Your praise and guidance molded him, taught him to respect his gifts and instincts'. 'What of you, Trinity? You must have spoken with him at some length. Why did you not try to convince him to stay?' asked Excalibur. Trinity turned her face towards him, her blue eyes now bloodshot, tears staining her sharp features. 'It was you Excalibur. It was always you. You were our leader, the heart of our cell. No one could guide us into the fire and bloodlust of battle, no will strong enough that we knew success would be ours. No one to ensure we would make it out alive. It was always you.' and with that, Trinity pulled Excalibur's arm around her, dragging him beneath the edge of the bathing pool.

Something roared deep within Excalibur, another of his instincts, like those triggered in the heat of battle, only this urge sought not to kill, but to dominate, to claim another as his own, an ancient call that fogged his mind and senses. Heat rushed over him, both his own body heat and another's. He felt strong legs twine around his back, tender lips met his own. He grappled with this unknown other, seeking to subdue, not kill. His body felt the other's softness even with water between them, his arms seized the other in a vice-like grip. His teeth dug into the other's flesh. The other thrashed in response, stirring the water of the bath, sharp talons dug into his back. An unfamiliar sensation stirred in Excalibur's groin, and just before he propelled himself forward to act upon it, years of iron discipline forced him to open his eyes. Trinity lay beneath him, gasping weakly, her hair in disarray over the edge of the bath, a bite mark imprinted upon her shoulder. It bled slightly , red drops dissipating in the water.

The smell of blood woke Excalibur from his daze. Shaking his head, he disengaged himself from Trinity. She was breathing heavily, and appeared to be in some kind of trance, her eyes closed and mouth open. She was gasping out words, and Excalibur leaned in closer to hear. 'Take me, take me now,' she said. Excalibur wondered at the meaning of these words, but decided that the best course of action was to wake Trinity. The dull ache in his groin subsided, as he gently checked Trinity's pulse; it was elevated beyond normal. Faint scars were on her shoulder now, a row of indentations in a semi-circle. 'Strange', thought Excalibur. 'Trinity, wake up.'. Trinity came awake rubbing her eyes, a gesture that Excalibur had not seen since being re-awakened. 'You were dreaming', spoke Excalibur. 'My emotional distress must have overtaken me. My apologies Excalibur. It will not happen again.' replied Trinity, drawing her long blonde tresses over her breasts. 'I should go now Excalibur. I must help attend to the wounded. It was good to have the opportunity to converse with you again. Perhaps we should share a meal before we leave on other missions'. 'Indeed Trinity, it was good to see you again. May the Orokin watch over you.' spoke Excalibur. He bowed to Trinity, but she had already turned her back to him and begun walking. Excalibur looked at the chronometer on the wall. It had only been fifteen chronocycles, but the bath water was already cold to him. 'Strange', he thought. Excalibur rose out of the water and dried himself. Regardless of the cold, he would perform his daily calisthenics. Bowing to three Tenno who had just entered the bath house, he left the cavernous room with unconsciously hurried strides.

Edited by Destro6677
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The Tenno stood and stretched in the middle of his room. His body ached. He had spent many hours running, jumping, rolling. He had also run the holo-sim and trained his swordplay on virtual enemies. He was still unable to dismember an armored Grineer with one quick slash, something he would have to practice further in future. Trinity lurked at the edges of his mind, and he could not banish thoughts of her easily, like shadows that returned after light has passed by. 'What happened there?', he thought, recalling the incident in the bath house. He wondered if he had somehow offended Trinity. His second cleansing and subsequent meditation had only rested his body, his mind unable to focus after the day's events. He pulled Hyacinth's data module from its hiding place behind the data handler and laid it carefully on the mat. Checking the sliding door to his room was locked, he disrobed and put on his warframe, murmuring the proper activation rituals. As the faceplate closed, briefly immersing him in darkness, he wondered if he was making the right choice. The live feed from his warframe soon filled the faceplate, giving the Tenno a new view into the world. Contrasts of light and shadow that he could never hope to see with his own eyes came to life, the starlight from the viewport dancing around the room and illuminating objects at random. The dull glow from Hyacinth's data module in his armored hand flowed like a river. The warframe's vision never ceased to amaze the Tenno, and if he need not leave it to eat, sleep, bathe, he might not have. The warframe gave him strength, perception, clarity of purpose. When he left the soft, warm confines of the armored carapce, he was but a man. When he put on the suit, he truly was Tenno. Plugging Hyacinth's data shunt into the Excalibur's neural interface, he closed his eyes and waited for the headache to subside.

Something was different this time. As the Tenno opened his eyes, a warm glowing light nearly stunned him. He squinted reflexively, and slowly his vision began to correct itself. What he saw next amazed him. A path wound its way between tall plant organisms with brown, cracked skin, and large leaves. A flash of living color darted in front of him and paused on a limb of a short plant that bristled with small green leaves. It was a two-legged creature, with a sharp pointed mouth. It spread wings and flew off with a melodious cry, pleasing to the Tenno's ears. Others soon followed. If the Tenno had describe their vocalizations, he would have used the term 'music', as some of the acolytes called the sounds they produced with their stringed instruments. 'Hyacinth?', he called. 'Over here Agent', came the answer from further down the path. The Tenno thought of walking down the path, and as he did, he felt warmth beneath his feet. He thought of looking up, and he did, the faceplate dimming as he did. Above him, a shielded glass canopy stood between him and a roiling sea of liquid fire, with the blackness of space around it. The Tenno realized he could only be looking at the sun. His heightened senses picked up the sound of flowing water, and a sweet aroma pierced his nostrils. He walked on, finding water trickling slowly between rocks. It was clear, and the Tenno bent to touch it, finding it to be cool as well. His skin felt warm and cool by contrast as he continued down the path beneath more large plant organisms, whose leaves shaded him from the sun above. He saw a sunny opening at the end of the shaded corridor and his feet carried him quickly towards it. The first thing that hit him was color. A sheer blast of undiluted, undimmed color. The Tenno had to close his eyes. He was more used to the drab grey of space station walls or the dull brown of asteroids. What he was seeing now literally took his breath away.

Dozens of short to medium height plant organisms surrounded him, colorful growths erupting from the ends of their brown limbs. A flotilla of small creatures flew around these growths, multifaceted eyes reflecting the color that seemed to infuse everything in this place, their tubular mouths hungrily probing the insides of the growths. The Tenno was so overwhelmed that he felt himself simply sit down on the closest appropriate object, a stone that was part of a low wall. The Tenno looked down over the wall and was hit by yet more color. A mass of organisms swam in the water below. They had no legs, instead strange membraneous limbs emerged from their sides. Tails propelled them through the water, their tubular rough-textured bodies a riot of color. Red, white, black, yellow, other colors the Tenno had no way of describing. It was as if these creatures had been some lunatic artist's canvas and he had splashed paint on them randomly. The creatures swam towards him, as though meeting his gaze, and hungry mouths opened to reveal toothless jaws. The Tenno felt no hostile intent from them, rather it seemed as though they were begging him for food. Finding that the tall armored being had none to spare, the creatures returned to the middle of the water and cruised in a circle. The Tenno looked right, back up the path he had come from, and saw that the water had trickled down through a series of rock formations that were overgrown with yet more plant life. Across the creature-filled water, more plant life grew abundantly, some had odd bulbous growths hanging from their branches, and these were being attacked by small winged creatures similar to those he had seen earlier. He looked to his left and saw Hyacinth seated on the stone wall, dropping small objects into the water from a ceramic jar. These were being greedily devoured by the colorful creatures in the water. The Tenno saw the wall curve and disappear around the bend amidst plant organisms. The path continued straight on, down another corridor of shade. The Tenno rose from his seat, observing that he and Hyacinth were in a small open area. Across from him was a bench, ornately carved in the shape of a snarling beast. The Tenno glanced back at Hyacinth, noting the almost-human smile on her face, and he opted to give her some more time alone with the creatures.

He approached the bench to inspect it closer. It was carved of a greenish metal that he had not seen since being re-awakened. It was a predatory animal, four large fangs stood out in its mouth, a ruff of fur surrounded its snarling face. Bands of darker color snaked vertically down its powerful body. Its muscular legs ended in rounded feet with claws emerging from the toes. A lashing tail completed the picture. The animal's back formed the seat of the bench and a carved bench back was bolted to the animal's side. The Tenno sat down on the bench, one hand resting idly atop the sculpture's head, which faced outwards to the water. 'Hyacinth', he called gently. Hyacinth smiled at him, left the ceramic container atop the rock wall and sat down beside the Tenno on the bench, her hands placed in her lap. 'Where are we?' asked the Tenno. 'I do not know, but it is beautiful, Agent', replied Hyacinth. 'What do you mean you do not know? Did you not bring me to a room of white emptiness previously? And please call me Tenno.'. Hyacinth frowned slightly now, 'I would have brought you to the dataview interface, but your suit had other ideas. It had a strong urge to reconstruct this place from its memories, and I obliged.' 'Why did you do that without my permission, A.I.?', demanded the Tenno, looking Hyacinth in the face. Hyacinth's face was wiped of emotion and she responded blankly, 'I was hoping that using the information stored in your suit would help you regain your memories. And, I was curious.' 'An A.I. can be curious?' asked the Tenno incredulously. Hyacinth permitted a small smile to cross her face and responded 'I was programmed dynamically. I am capable of learning. Among other things.' The Tenno detected a slight coyness to her voice, but declined to pursue the matter futher.

'Why here then? Why this beautiful, colorful place?', he asked. Hyacinth shook her head, 'I am not sure Tenno. From the distance of the sun above us and my own stored data, I would assume that we are in the pinnacle chamber of an Orokin Tower, orbiting Mercury. These chambers are gardens, designed to provide relaxation and fresh air to the inhabitants of the tower. Fully functioning ecosystems, supported by advanced Orokin technology. 'But why this particular room in the tower? I don't remember hearing any mention of a garden chamber in the years I was stationed around Mercury with my cell. This makes no sense', insisted the Tenno vehemently. 'It appears that your suit was acting on memories and thoughts that are important to you. Its technocytes are neurologically linked to your own.' The last sentence Hyacinth spoke evaded the Tenno's normally sharp attention. 'My thoughts?'. There were many things littered throughout his mind, like crippled vessels drifting in the blackness of space. As the Tenno struggled to fathom what it could possibly mean, Hyacinth's image flickered. Long blond hair spilled from behind her headdress, a diaphanous gown replaced her red robes. The Tenno looked up to see the slender woman he had embraced in the bath house and a shocked murmur escaped his suddenly dry mouth, 'Trinity!'. The Tenno shook his head in disbelief and Trinity was gone, replaced by Hyacinth. 'Are you alright Tenno?', the A.I. asked, her facial expression showing some concern. Excalibur was lost for words and remained silent for several moments. When he spoke, his voice came out almost as a whisper, 'Yes.'. 'Let us feed the koi fish a while. I think you need some relaxation', spoke Hyacinth gently, taking Excalibur's arm and guiding him to the rock-walled pool, his movements more mechanical than those of the artificial being that supported him.

Edited by Destro6677
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  • 3 months later...
Excalibur's mind roiled. He was the water of the koi pond, stirred up by the koi as they greedily snatched at morsels of food. He was the burning surface of the sun, it's rays not so warm now. Emotions collided within him, stirred up by what he had seen. The acolyte he had granted a swift death. Trinity appearing in the garden. A Lotus battlefleet, broken in one last, horrific stand against a superior enemy.

 

A drop of water fell into the koi pond, barely a tinkle to the trained ear, but a sonorous chime to Excalibur. He opened his eyes. He was seated on the carved bench, hands in his lap. Hyacinth stood unobtrusively to his right, looking at him from a respectful distance. A whitish vapor had obscured the far edges of the koi pond. Drops of water fell from the leaves overhead, and Excalibur felt one hit his shoulder and trickle down his suit. Hyacinth offered her hand, and Excalibur took it wordlessly. His nerveless fingers couldn't feel her synthetic flesh. Hyacinth led him gently down the path, drops of water continuing to fall around them from the plants. 

 

'Are you alright, Tenno? Would you like to return to realspace now?'

 

'No. I must know more. These memories, they are mine. I knew nothing of my life prior to being re-awakened. I was not encouraged to search for files of my existence before I climbed out of the cryopod. Search I did, but nothing came out of the Lotus' databanks. If this suit can help me uncover my past, I will willingly undergo any risk to remember the man I was.'

 

'Why Tenno? Why does the search for your past hold such sway over you?'

 

'You are capable of learning, yes Hyacinth? And you are also capable of empathy with sentient beings. So I will ask you to imagine with me. Run a hypothetical scenario in your logic engine. Imagine that you were put into storage, your data reserves saved to permanent memory. However, when you were reactivated, your permanent memory reserve had been erased. You have nothing left but your programming, subroutines, and logic-feedback loops. It would be as the day you were first activated. What is your logical conclusion towards your performance as an assistant artificial intelligence?'

 

'My performance would be greatly degraded due to my lack of information and experience in dealing with Agents.'

 

'Exactly. And what else would be missing from you, Hyacinth? What else makes you uniquely you?'

 

They walked on in silence for some time before Hyacinth spoke 'My empathetic programming and emotional subroutines would be underdeveloped.'

 

'In a human, the same things would mean personality. I do not know myself Hyacinth. I laugh. I cry. I eat, drink and sleep. But in all this time, I have never felt truly at peace. The tasks I perform for the Lotus seem meaningless. I do not see how I fit in the larger scheme of things.'

 

'What are you hoping to accomplish Tenno? Would it not be better to have your past remain undisclosed so that you might start anew? We artificial intelligences' accept permanent memory wipes and reformatting as a matter of course.'

 

'If I do not learn from my past, Hyacinth, I will repeat the same mistakes that I did hundreds of years ago. If I truly am to make the most of this chance to start anew, I must know what I did wrong in my life before. Please, take me to the white room so that I might view my memories.'

 

As Excalibur and Hyacinth walked down the path, the fog swallowed them whole. The room faded into grey, and then bright light cut through the fog from ahead. 

 

Excalibur noticed that two chairs were set up, islands in the sea of white, and he proceeded to sit on one. It was a comfortable, ovoid chair, with a single 

 

leg. Its molded frame fit him like a glove. Hyacinth sat down across from him and tapped the floor with her foot. A terminal rose up out of the floor in 

 

front of Excalibur. It was a data handler.

 

'What is this data handler doing here?' queried Excalibur.'

 

'It is simply a familiar form I created out of your memories stored within the suit. I believed that this was the most comfortable form of interfacing with your neural network.'

 

'Very well. I will attempt to view the first memory that I had upon donning the suit.'

 

Excalibur tapped the data handler's keys tentatively, the small plascreen that was attached to it showing still views of battles long gone. The suit's memories spanned thousands of years. As he scrolled the data stream, he finally managed to locate the section that was only a few thousand years old. He finally settled on one frame that was earmarked with the data signature for a significant event. It showed a still of a sterile room with an acolyte bending in front of the frame. Taking a deep breath, he pressed the key that would play the memory. Immediately, his vision blurred and a fuzzy humanoid figure in front of him gradually resolved into a Lotus acolyte.

 

The cold steel of an operating table was hard beneath Excalibur. He flexed his muscles and slowly tried to sit up, his head groggy with fatigue. The room around him was a drab grey. Medical equipment and monitors were stacked high around him, gentle beeps punctuating the hiss and sigh of an air compressor.

 

'Easy, young master', spoke the acolyte soothingly, gently disconnecting the tubes connecting Excalibur to several machines.

 

'Where am I? Who are you?' spoke Excalibur. No sound emerged from his mouth. Excalibur tried to gesture, but his hands did nothing. In fact, they felt quite like blocks of lead.

 

'It was a hard realignment, young master. The warframe is cantankerous, unwilling to accept a new master. You fought it long and hard for control, but in the end, you won.'

 

'How long has it been?' Excalibur heard his own dry, cracked voice rasp.

 

'Three standard galactic days my lord. Or about an Earth week, if you prefer.'

 

Excalibur started. He had been in a coma-like state for three days? Was that really how warframe realignment worked?

 

'Where is my master?' rasped Excalibur.

 

'He is in the Tower my lord. You may go see him after I administer-'

 

The acolyte was cut off as Excalibur wrenched the last tube out of his chest and staggered to his feet. The muscle fibers of the suit flexed around his body as he moved drunkenly towards the door. The acolyte continued to babble incoherently until Excalibur had slid the door shut behind him. Excalibur found himself in a grey corridor with gold decorative patterns on the wall. A lotus motif was repeated at intervals stretching down the hallway, which was wide enough for three men to walk abreast. Several Lotus acolytes bustled around the hallway, entering rooms seemingly at random. From the medi-pads they carried, Excalibur knew them to be surgeons and healers. Several Tenno floated down the hall in hoverchairs, some were missing limbs, others had bandages wound about them or drip-feeds implanted in their skin. A large male Tenno in a hoverchair floated by Excalibur, flexing his shining bionic arm. He grinned broadly at Excalibur and nodded in his direction as he passed.

 

'Sam!'

 

Excalibur turned to look for the source of the sound and saw an Ash warframe leaning casually against the wall, a grey-and-gold trimmed drawstring bag on the floor next to him.

 

'Cedric.' he heard his own voice rasp.

 

The Ash bounced jovially off the wall and did a pirouette in front of him. 'Ta-da!' He laughed joyously. 'I told you that you'd be alright, that old suit wouldn't be able to get the better of ya.' 

 

He punched Excalibur's arm good-naturedly and made an exaggerated hand wringing gesture. Although Excalibur could not see the Ash's face behind his helmet, he knew that the Ash was laughing fit to burst.  

 

'Come on, I've packed you a box lunch. I knew that the first thing you'd want to do upon besting your suit would be to meet with Lord Katashi. Here, take off your helmet, I'll hold it for you.'

 

As Excalibur tasted the unfamiliar food and absentmindedly responded to Cedric's rambling, he took the time to observe his surroundings. His body moved of its own accord. He saw a strange world. His body and Cedric had boarded an unfamiliar transport,that ran on silvery rails, from a platform jutting out from the side of the medical building. Many Tenno and their attendant acolytes had also boarded and were sequestered in private compartments, just like Cedric and himself. A city of gleaming silvery metal sprawled beneath them. Excalibur saw hundreds of private shuttles coasting through the sky, and massive, ovoid ship hulls peeked through the clouds of the thin atmosphere above. Delicate spires rose from the city, and upon closer observation, Excalibur noticed that they were actually towers. 

 

The transport slowed noticeably, and Excalibur noticed that they were approaching a massive tower. A gigantic gold lotus motif was superimposed on its facade. As they got closer, the sheer scale of the building became apparent. Landing bays bustled with shuttle craft activity at intervals in the building. Multiple gun turrets swivelled to track all nearby sky traffic, and hard shields flickered as the shuttles entered or left the building. Suddenly, an alcove opened in the space between several shuttle bays and Excalibur had the barest glimpse of a formidable spacecraft. It was sleek and ovoid, painted space-black with gold trim. Its gun-turrets swivelled to track nearby shuttles and the setting sun glinted off the curved projections of its stabilizer vents. It blasted past him with a supersonic roar that shook the transport. Even to Excalibur's heightened vision and time-dilation senses, it had been almost too fast to spot.

 

'There she goes, our latest hunter-killer model. What I wouldn't give to have one of those', remarked Cedric.

 

Excalibur was forcibly reminded of a ravenous predator, one that swam in the dark space between the stars, with a mouthful of rending fangs. A creature that lived only for bloodlust and carnage. Hunter-killer indeed. Excalibur would have named it something out of the dark legends of the spacer acolytes. A space-shark.

 

'Well, here we are', spoke Cedric, and Excalibur detected a hint of tension in his voice. 

 

The transport slowed and came to a stop at a large platform jutting out at about three quarters of the building's height. Three warframes stood in front of the transport debarkation ramp, a Mag, a Banshee and a Frost. All three were heavily armed. Boltor pistols were clamped on their thigh plates and the Frost held a Latron in his hands. The hilts of plasma swords protruded from behind their backs. The Mag stood off to one side with a data slate in one hand while the Frost ordered the passengers to disembark in single file. Excalibur felt vibrations throughout his warframe as the Banshee scanned him using sound waves. As he was being scanned, the Mag turned to the Frost and nodded. The Frost returned the nod and spoke to Excalibur using the speakers in his helmet.

 

'Isamu Kenji. We welcome you back to the Tower of the Lotus. Lord Katashi has been expecting you.'

Edited by Destro6677
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Isamu Kenji. So that was his name. Excalibur felt mixed feelings upon hearing it. He finally had a name. And the Ash who had been by his side was obviously his friend. A niggling feeling itched at the back of his mind. If the Ash was his friend and cellmate, why was he not with the rest of the cell when they had been found in a derilict escape shuttle, buried on an asteroid?

 

Excalibur pushed aside the whispers of curiosity as they assailed him and tried to concentrate on the memory at hand. The Frost was gently guiding him down a massive hallway as the Mag and Banshee flanked him as an honor guard. The hallway was brightly lit by the rays of the setting sun, which cast shadows across the enormous statues of Tenno that were arranged at the sides of the hallway. A cavernous ceiling arched overhead and a waterfall tinkled spray in a grand foyer. Pale, luminous trees stood between the statues, their cold pale light providing a contrast to the sunlight from outside, Giant roots with glimmering bulbs erupted from the floor seemingly at random and twisted into the walls and ceiling. 

 

As Excalibur entered the main foyer, he felt himself turn to look up at a statue placed in the corner of the room. Stern, pitiless features gazed down at him out of a face that looked as hard as the rock it had been carved out of. The deep set eyes seemed to bore into Excalibur's soul. The figure was a broad-shouldered, powerful man, with sculpted close cropped jagged hair. He held a massive Gram sword, blade downwards and was cloaked with a gigantic cape of a soft, shimmery material that Excalibur had never seen in his life.

 

'Your ancestor was a great warrior, Isamu. He died a hero, fighting in the Old War against the Sentients. I wish I could boast of sharing his bloodline', spoke the Frost reverently.

 

'Be careful what you wish for, kinsman. Sometimes the answer is not what you seek', spoke Excalibur hollowly. He heard a trace of bitterness in his own voice.

 

Excalibur turned around to look for Cedric, who had been following him at a distance since the Frost had escorted him off the landing pad. He caught just a glimpse of Cedric's warframe before a horde of bustling acolytes obscured his view. There was a minute beeping in Excalibur's helmet and a message flashed up on his visor. 'Carry on, this is as far as I go with you. Cedric.'

 

The Frost led Excalibur up a flight of stairs to a pair of jet-black doors with a lotus motif engraved on their surface. The Frost touched the surface of the doors and they slid open, revealing an elevator. The Frost dismissed the Banshee and Mag with a gesture and they bowed before walking away. THe Frost then pushed the highest button on a panel just inside the doors. The elevator whirred and came to life, speeding upwards so fast that Excalibur had to swallow his saliva to cope with the discomfort of decompression. After a few moments, the doors opened to reveal a circular room. It was bare save for an armored guardpost set right in the middle. Two Rhinos in the guard post levelled large, ugly machinguns at Excalibur and the Frost, who immediately raised his hands. One of the Rhinos came forward, and after a moment of silent discussion with the Frost, respectfully motioned Excalibur to come forward. The Frost bowed and departed in the elevator. Excalibur recognized the machineguns as being of Grineer manufacture. Beneath their finely retooled exteriors, these were weapons of mass murder, coming close to the Gorgon machinegun that his own Rhino liked to wield.

 

'Hello young master. It is good to see you again. The last we met, you were but a boy trailing at Lord Katashi's feet like a playful puppy', spoke the Rhino who had beckoned him forward.  

 

'Likewise Anga', rasped Excalibur. 'It has been a while since I have seen him. My training has taken me far from the Tower and he is a very busy man.'

 

'Indeed. He misses you. He may not show it, but he is extremely proud of you.'

 

'May the Orokin watch over you.'

 

'And forever light your way.' replied the Rhino as he escorted Excalibur behind the guard post to another lift, one of several that stood in a row. He bowed as the doors closed with a melodic chime. Unlike the previous lift, this one had no buttons and shot up immediately after the doors closed on Excalibur. When the doors opened, he had to close his eyes. The rays of the setting sun shone in from large glass windows, illuminating a luxuriously decorated room. Excalibur was amazed at the fine furnishings that he saw before him, so much that it seemed cluttered compared to his bare cell in the asteroid base. Large carpets were spread over the floor and he marvelled at their softness. A writing table and voluminous amounts of paper sat in the middle of the room. Chairs and couches with cusions softer than his sleeping mat were in abundance. 

 

'Isamu. It has been a while', spoke an ancient and grizzled voice from the far side of the room. 

 

Excalibur turned the corner and walked out onto a balcony. He was high above the city now, and could see it stretch on to the horizon, a shining sea of silver. Outlined by the setting sun against the balcony was a powerful figure dressed in black and gold robes, that shone in the sunlight. Lord Katashi turned to look at Excalibur and Excalibur felt a moment of surprise. The same harsh features and deep set eyes from the statue in the foyer were present in Lord Katashi's face.

 

'Lord Katashi.', Excalibur heard his own voice say curtly.

 

'Now, now my child. This will not do for a greeting.' and with that, Lord Katashi embraced him. Excalibur could smell fragrant oils on the man, and the smell of old age, like old paper. 'This is a fitting day and time for you to say your vows as a warrior of the Orokin. As a Tenno. This is a most important day. I am glad you survived your confrontation with the warframe, but even more delighted that you emerged fully bonded to your armor. It will serve you well. Wait here while I don my armor.'

 

Excalibur gazed out over the city as moments passed and time seemed to stretch interminably, the sun neither becoming brighter nor setting. He saw the tall spires of the towers set aflame and marvelled at the flotilla of shuttles that rose into the sky towards the full-bellied ships that, one by one, began to withdraw from the atmosphere, giant jets of flame vaporizing some of the clouds as the behemoths turned their noses skywards. 

 

'It is time.' spoke Lord Katashi from behind him. 

 

Excalibur felt his knees give way as he knelt before the great lord, resplendant in his gold-and-grey Excalibur Prime armor.

 

'Recite the cathecism of the warrior', spoke Lord Katashi solemnly.

 

'Seek perfection of character. Be faithful to the teachings of the Lotus. Endeavour in all training. Be respectful to both friend and foe. Loyalty is the essential duty of the soldier.' 

 

'Rise Isamu Kenji, and receive the reward you have earned. You are Tenno.', spoke Katashi warmly, and in an aside, he added 'I am proud of you'.

 

Katashi handed Excalibur a long-bladed Cronus, its edge wickedly sharp. A set of Boltor pistols were next, mag-locked to his thighs. And finally, a golden Latron. Excalibur's eyes widened as he recognized the weapon was a Prime weapon, its value incalculable in the present time.

 

'Now, Isamu. There is something I must tell you before you leave to join your cell. We are the bearers of Excalibur warframes. We have been designated as leaders of the Tenno by the Lotus. I only ask that you remember the last line of the cathecism. Loyalty is the essential duty of the soldier. Without loyalty, we are nothing. Dark times are coming, and you will have to make hard choices.'

 

Isamu stood still for a few moments, watching a cloud of red dust rise ominously over the horizon, threatening to swamp the city below him.

 

'You may leave now, Tenno. Your friend Cedric has been summoned and is waiting for you in the foyer. And Isamu.'

 

'Yes grandfather?'

 

'Your father would be proud.'

 

Isamu felt the heat of anger spread through his body as he clenched his fists and stalked to the elevator, not once turning to look at Lord Katashi.  

Edited by Destro6677
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Excalibur turned to look for the source of the sound and saw an Ash warframe leaning casually against the wall, a grey-and-gold trimmed drawstring bag on the floor next to him.

 

'Cedric.' he heard his own voice rasp.

 

The Ash bounced jovially off the wall and did a pirouette in front of him. 'Ta-da!' He laughed joyously. 'I told you that you'd be alright, that old suit wouldn't be able to get the better of ya.' 

 

He punched Excalibur's arm good-naturedly and made an exaggerated hand wringing gesture. Although Excalibur could not see the Ash's face behind his helmet, he knew that the Ash was laughing fit to burst.  

 

'Come on, I've packed you a box lunch. I knew that the first thing you'd want to do upon besting your suit would be to meet with Lord Katashi. Here, take off your helmet, I'll hold it for you.'

Sweetie... I think we need to have the talk 2.gif

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Isamu paced within the confines of the elevator on the way down. He literally could not stop his body from doing it, being that this was a memory. He felt the burning heat of anger in the pit of his stomach and at the same time, remorse, as though he had lost something. He had only felt this feeling a few times since being reawakened, when Tenno he had been with on missions had not made it back alive. Wordlessly, his body walked past the two Rhino guards, who bowed to him as he left their round room. In the second elevator, he realized that the disconnect between his mind, emotions and body might better allow him to analyze the memory rationally.

 

Cedric was waiting for him at the base of the stairs, and the burning anger in Isamu's stomach cooled as he approached.

 

'So, how did the meeting with old ironsides go?'

 

'Not particularly well. He brought up my father', came the curt reply.

 

'I see the old bastard still hasn't lost his touch', remarked Cedric as they walked out of the foyer into a different corridor.

 

There were more acolytes here, and the noise level had increased exponentially. A grey-and-gold robed acolyte foreman was shouting orders to his blue-robed subordinates to move an overturned crate of ordnance that was blocking the corridor. As Isamu was about to squeeze past the acolytes, he felt a light nudge in his back.

 

'Hey Sam, let's help them out. It's not like we really have anything better to do today.'

 

'I don't know Ced. You know that the Lotus doesn't like us mingling with the acolytes.'

 

'What harm can it do? Besides, we were no different from them a few days ago.'

 

Isamu felt his shoulders shrug in agreement. It took more than a few chronocycles for Cedric to convince the foreman that they were willing and eager to help, and the foreman only reluctantly allowed them near the crate. The crate in question was so heavy that it took both Isamu and Cedric to push it upright from one end and six acolytes to pull on the other. Once the crate was firmly settled on its four wheels again, Cedric approached the flustered foreman and activated his helmet speakers.

 

'Are you alright foreman?'

 

'Yes, although this is most regrettable my lord. A most regrettable incident. Fortunately it was not explosive ordnance or-'

 

'The mess would have been terrible.' Isamu heard himself cut in. 'Count yourself lucky that I do not report you to the Tower officials for censure.'

 

'A most regrettable incident my lord. I will ensure that it does not happen again.'

 

To Isamu's conscious mind, the foreman sounded as though he was about to lose control of his bowels. Isamu also took note of his own quickened breathing, the heat in his belly, and the film of sweat that he felt on his skin. Cedric indicated to the terrified foreman that he was dismissed, and the man quickly sent the crate trundling down the hall, bellowing much louder than was necessary.

 

'What has gotten into you?', asked Cedric over a private comm channel.

 

'Seek perfection of character. Endeavour in all training. Don't you remember the catechism of the warrior?', Isamu heard his own voice speak mockingly.

 

'Be respectful to both friend and foe.', Cedric chided gently.

 

Isamu felt some of the heat leave the pit of his stomach at the words. He and Cedric continued down the corridor in silence for some time before Isamu heard himself speak again. 

 

'I'm sorry Ced. Sometimes I see more of my grandfather in myself than I'd like to.'

 

'Don't be sorry. After all, he did take both of us in. He was the dominant role model in your life. Of course you'd take after him.'

 

'After we were both orphaned in a mishap that he had the power to stop!' Isamu snarled bitterly.

 

'Our parents died doing what they thought was right. There is no chance in the galactic abyss that he would have risked the Mars battlefleet to aid them. They took on the mission knowing full well what the risks were. And there was a very great risk that the Grineer would not have honored the ceasefire.'

 

'I will make the Grineer pay tenfold, a thousandfold, for what they did to our parents and the rest of the Tenno present there.' growled Isamu. 'By the blood of our brotherhood I swear it, and by the great lords of Mars, you had better help me!'

Edited by Destro6677
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I almost dont want to comment because i dont want to break the flow of the story on the page, but i have to say im really enjoying it.  Looking forward to seeing it develop, im really interested in the concept of re-using the warframes and that they could have their own inherent memory and possibly personality or eccentricities.  Thank you for taking the time to write and post it, i know its a labor of love.

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Isamu tried to remain calm as his body walked through the streets of Mars with Cedric. The approaching cloud of dust he had seen from Katashi's balcony had turned into a raging dust storm. Thousands of dust particles lashed at him, scouring the surface of his warframe. Isamu felt the warframe register every impact but the sensory input was blunted. It was as though the warframe knew when to insulate it's wearer from external stimuli. 

 

The raging storm around Isamu mirrored the storm of doubt within him. If Cedric was his blood-brother, what had happened to him? What was this mishap that Isamu had heard himself speak of? It seemed only logical that the Grineer would not honor a ceasefire. In the present time, Grineer would not even look at a Tenno without calling to kill him in their guttural language. Isamu was not one to dismiss evidence however, and if it presented itself, he would weigh the facts before deciding what was true. After all, he reflected, the Lotus had been less than specific about the Tennos' origins and purpose.

 

Isamu followed Cedric down a broad section of walkway with a clearly demarcated barrier of lights and a road for hover-vehicles beyond that. Ovoid hover-vehicles moved in their direction through the dust storm, static cleaning waves undulating across their cockpits. Isamu was fascinated by this display of lost technology and would have enjoyed observing it further if his head were not down, braced against the storm. As his body stood up straight to look both ways before crossing the road, a hover-vehicle pilot hailed him with a blast from its alert siren. The pilot was a fleshy, flabby male with a female in the co-pilot seat and two smaller androgynous human beings in the rear. All four grinned and waved. Isamu saw Cedric return the wave and felt his own arm wave in return too. The vehicle then sped off, still blaring its alert siren. 

 

'They think we are heroes', Isamu heard himself scoff. 'Little do they know we may bring damnation down upon them'.

 

'Will you cut them some slack, Sam? They're in this just as much as we are. Mars is going to war. These people are not trained soldiers, and yet they are prepared to fight and die for the Lotus. Sometimes I can't help but think this isn't right.'

 

'Pity needst not be given to those who speak on equal ground', muttered Isamu darkly.

 

'Is that you speaking or does Katashi have an android wearing that Excalibur?'

 

Isamu was silent for several moments before replying 'My apologies Cedric. That man was the closest thing to a Grineer this side of Mars.'

 

Laughter broke the rising tension as they crossed the street and stepped in to a brightly lit doorway on the other side. They stepped into a circular depression beneath the lights. Isamu heard the wheeze of a pneumatic seal being applied behind him. A blast of air from overhead vents then stripped the dust from his warframe. Finally, an opaque curved piece of glass slid away in front of him to reveal a darkened room, illuminated by small lights set into the shadowy corners. A small-sized human female sat behind a table. As they stepped into the room, she stood and bowed reverently.

 

'Honored Tenno. Welcome to our humble restaurant. Would you like help in choosing your seats?', she smiled broadly and bowed. She wore a strange garment, with sleeves that ended at her elbows and a row of buttons down the middle. Her black pants were more familiar to Isamu. 

 

'It's alright, we're regulars here. You just don't recognize us, Mariko,' spoke Cedric warmly as he removed his helmet with a hiss of escaping air.

 

'Cedric!', she squealed and leaped forward to embrace him. 

 

Cedric's light brown curls bounced and his smile flashed in the gloom as he swept Mariko off her feet and tussled with her. For a moment, Excalibur felt a pang of sadness. He had never been that carefree since his reawakening. It took him a few moments to remember his name was Isamu.

 

'Well, if you're Cedric, that can only mean this tall grey stranger is Sam,' Mariko winked at him.

 

Isamu smiled inwardly and expected himself to wave, or respond with another form of greeting native to Mars. Instead, he merely felt his shoulders shrug indifferently.

 

'Sam is tired after his long ordeal. We just decided to stop by to get him something to eat. Besides, it might be a while before we can come back here. We're getting our first mission as full-fledged Tenno soon,' spoke Cedric happily. 

 

'How exciting!', smiled Mariko. 'I'll be over soon to take your order. You two got lucky. Your regular table is free at the moment.'

 

'Thank you Mari,' spoke Cedric as he led Isamu through the restaurant. Isamu saw about a dozen humans sitting at tables, eating out of bowls and talking casually. A few of them turned to observe the Tenno as they passed, but most simply greeted Cedric with a quick word or a wave. Cedric led Isamu past all of them, to a shadowed alcove at the rear of the restaurant. He fiddled with something on a low table, and a small shaded light lit up. 

 

'Ahh,' sighed Cedric contentedly as he climbed onto the raised portion of the floor in the alcove and crawled towards a pile of cushions in the corner. 'This is the life. I wish I could've worked here longer. Too bad I couldn't continue part time after they sent me to the assassination training camp,' he said as he lay on the cushions.

 

Isamu said nothing in return.

 

'Cheer up old boy. You're a Tenno now. You've finally got what you've always wanted,' spoke Cedric encouragingly as he lounged on the pile of cushions.

 

'You don't know what it's like Ced. You can't,' Isamu heard himself mutter.

 

'Just try me Isamu. Just try,' spoke Cedric, who had pulled himself up straight. His soft brown eyes met Isamu's gaze squarely.

 

'Hey Sam, I brought you some Mars Special. It'll make you feel better,' interrupted Mariko, who gently placed a bowl in front of Isamu.

 

'Thanks Mariko,' Isamu heard his own voice speak in a monotone.

 

'Now don't be that way Sam. Hey Cedric, maybe he needs something other than food to cheer him up. Mind if I take him upstairs after dinner and show him the real special?', Mariko winked at Cedric.

 

Cedric coughed hard and laughed heartily. 'Off with you Mariko! You know he has something going for Valerie.'

 

'Then I guess there's only one option left,' Mariko said to Cedric in a voice that dripped with sweetness.

 

Cedric smacked her affectionately on the rump and pushed her out of the alcove, yelling after her 'Just bring us the usual ramen will ya?'.

 

'Is that why you're so concerned about the people, Ced? Is it her?' Isamu heard himself say.

 

Cedric's beaming face suddenly became serious. 'Yes Sam. She's a big part of it. I would die to protect her. But I don't know if my death really will accomplish that.'

 

Isamu felt his own hand slide across the table, it's surface firm and smooth beneath his fingers. Wordlessly, Cedric squeezed it fiercely.

 

'If it's any consolation, I've got your back. Brother.' Isamu heard himself rasp.

 

Just then, Mariko arrived, bearing two large bowls of food on a tray. Isamu and Cedric helped her to unload them and the eating implements. She looked over her shoulder at Cedric as she left, swinging her hips, and said 'I'll see you upstairs later'.

 

Isamu reached into a slot at the side of the alcove and pulled out a screen that blocked the alcove off from view of the main restaurant. A painting of two obscenely colored creatures was stenciled on it. The creatures were locked in battle. One reminded him of the beast he had seen in the garden, a fanged beast on four legs with a lashing tail and a ruff of hair around its neck. This one was red with gold vertical patterns. Its jaws were clamped around the long neck of a creature with nine heads, all mounted on long necks, eight of which snapped ineffectually at the four legged beast, which had maneuvered itself underneath the chin of the head it was biting and clung tenaciously to its neck. The nine-headed creature had skin the same texture as the koi, and was painted in noxious hues of blue, white and green. While the four-legged beast had not a scratch on it, the nine-headed creature had several rents in its skin from the sharp claws of the beast. Metal gleamed through the tears, and it bled a milky white pus. The two creatures fought on a glittering background of stars.

 

'The nerve of some of these painters! Expressing our conflict with the Grineer as a battle between a red tiger and a terribly-colored hydra,' remarked Cedric.

 

'Yes, the nerve of them,' murmured Isamu in agreement.

 

'How kitsch it must have been for an employee to suggest that restaurant management put this here.'

 

'How incredibly kitsch,' Isamu turned to face Cedric and saw a broad, sly grin across his face.

 

Isamu felt his own hands disengage his helmet, and their raucous laughter faded as his audio-visual feed blacked out.

Edited by Destro6677
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  • 4 weeks later...

Isamu sat alone in the darkness. Unfamiliar sensations slid and scratched across his tongue and into his nostrils. A pungent, yet comforting aroma of hot food. A strange hot broth that made his eyes water. Not just heat, it would taste this hot even if it were cold.

 

'Hyacinth', he whispered, the smells and tastes of food almost overwhelming him.

 

'Yes Tenno?'

 

'Please forward my warframe's memory to the point the audio-visual feed resumed.'

 

'Of course Tenno.' Hyacinth's voice echoed gently in the darkness.

 

Light returned to Isamu's eyes gradually, his warframe compensating for the low lighting in a non-combat situation.

 

He looked up in time to see Cedric embrace Mariko and whisper a few fond parting words to her. Isamu saw the tension between them in the way Mariko gripped Cedric tightly in her embrace, as if by crushing their bodies together she could unite them into a single entity. Isamu could not see Cedric's face, obscured in Mariko's hair, but he saw sadness weigh heavily upon the Ash, sagging his shoulders and making his movements lethargic. Isamu knew then, that Cedric truly did have something to lose if he did not defend the people of Mars. The knowledge made a pang of regret rise in his stomach. Present-day Mars was a planet of ruins controlled by the Corpus, and that could mean only one thing. Mars had fallen, and its people, Tenno and human alike, had lost their most precious possession - a world to call home.

 

Isamu had only dreamt of Mars several times since his reawakening. The dreams had been dreams of war. Silver cities consumed by fire. Legions of Grineer, butchering unarmed humans in all their bloodthirsty madness. Tracked armored vehicles rolling across fields of bones, that had been crushed into the ground so tightly packed as to be a road. He had not known it was Mars, the burning spires of silver a stark contrast to the broken and rusting superstructures he was used to seeing during covert reconnaissance or intel operations. He had believed the dreams to be a mere product of his imagination. 

 

Now, he knew that his dreams were truth. Part of the truth. He would have to delve deeper into the memories stored within his warframe. His memories. Stolen from him by a thousand years or more of cryosleep.

 

He would uncover the truth, no matter the cost.

 

Isamu wished he could take a deep breath, but his chest would not move to ease the sick feeling within his thoughts. He willed himself to focus as he saw the low table in the alcove fall below his line of sight. He was leaving the restaurant with Cedric.

 

Isamu turned around as he left the shelter of the restaurant and saw Mariko furiously waving in his direction from the shelter of the doorway. He felt his arm lift in a half-hearted gesture of farewell, and he then turned towards Cedric. Isamu grinned inwardly, hoping to see his friend waving back too. Instead, all he saw was Cedric heading forward into the dust storm, shoulders set in grim defiance.

 

'I suppose Lord Katashi will want to test our mettle on this first assignment?' Isamu heard his voice rasp.

 

Isamu felt concerned by his younger self's nonchalance to what had just happened. Cedric, Isamu's closest friend, had turned away from the woman he loved, and had strode into the storm without pausing to look back. The telltale signs of stress were plastered across Cedric's body, from the set of his shoulders to the furious pace of his stride. If Isamu had seen Loki or Rhino acting that way, he would have immediately confronted them, knowing that a clear mind and calm emotions were key to their survival in battle as a cell. He was disturbed by the fact that he had been this uncaring for his cellmates in his younger years.

Edited by Destro6677
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