[Fanfiction] The Road To Redemption

[Kalenath]

Choices

 

 

He hated this feeling. Of everything he had ever encountered –and remembered- this feeling of powerlessness was the absolute worst. It was not normal. He was Tenno, a living weapon. Born and bred, trained and tested, he had survived horrors unimaginable to get to where he was. But now… Now he was powerless. His Ash warframe was fully powered, his Latron rifle and Bronco pistol were fully loaded with ammunition. His Ether sword was as sharp as the day it had been created. But… he was powerless.

 

He had been full of hope. Having the two greatest enemies of the Tenno –and the few remnants of humanity- fighting each other was a gift. The Grineer Empire and the Corpus did not like the Tenno at all, but they detested each other even more. The swift escalation of hostilities between Grineer general Sargas Ruk and Corpus executive Alad V had taken many by surprise. The Grineer were powerful and arrogant, no question, but all out invasion? Just the thought of the two massive superpowers that had been causing so much harm across the Solar System duking it out with each other instead of wreaking havoc with those who could not fight back had raised a lot of spirits. Spirits that had been quickly dashed.

 

The cause of the conflict was a group of sleeping Tenno! The Corpus had located them and were working to exploit them for something called the ‘Zanuka Project’. While the actual truth of the project was unknown at the time, knowing the Corpus, that could not be anything good, but then the Grineer had moved in to counter the Corpus gaining a significant advantage. The resulting conflict had spread across the whole of Mars local space. First the Grineer had the advantage, then the Corpus had. As bad as the conflicts between Grineer and Corpus had normally been, this had been far, far worse. Both sides had known they could not win on their own, both sides had reached out to the Tenno to aid their war efforts. Many Tenno had simply refused to aid either group, knowing that if they did, they consequences could be devastating. He had chosen to aid the Corpus to keep the Grineer’s massive empire from growing even further. He had known going in that his kin might pay a hefty price for his support of the religious fanatics, but… he hadn’t had a clue.

 

The conflict had resolved itself when both sides had tired themselves out, used up all available resources and essentially paused to regroup. Fighting still erupted in fits and starts in many places as local commanders took advantage of perceived enemy weaknesses. The downside to that was that not all of the weaknesses were real. Some of the attacks made headway, others were repulsed. That was the nature of warfare. The major problem though was not the Corpus or the Grineer. Both had seemingly forgotten that there was another powerful mass of foes in the system. Now, the Infested were in the move.

 

The Ash watched in silence from his high perch on a mountainside as yet another small human outpost was overrun by Infested. He was too far away to hear the screams as the humans ran, hid and in a few cases fought. It made no difference. The few humans who were armed were largely untrained with the weapons that they had managed to hide from the Grineer slavers who had swept through the area. Any weapon found was grounds for immediate execution. Any hint of rebellion was grounds for the eradication of entire villages. The Grineer considered normal humans to be inferior and declined to even leave garrisons in most human settlements. This left the humans woefully unprepared for any kind of attack, let alone the Infested.

 

Infested were… hard to categorize. Some of them acted with animalistic savagery. Others acted with some kind of semi-sentience. Still others seemed to be hyper intelligent. All were linked somehow through the Technocyte virus into a huge group mind. What one saw, all knew. All might not comprehend what was seen, but all would see it. The Ash maintained his vigil as a pack of Chargers dashed into the midst of the few humans who were still firing and knocked them down. The fire stopped, the rest of the Infested moved up and the battle quickly became a slaughter as the few armed defenders were slain. It was odd though. Infested did not actually kill their enemies. What they did was far, far worse. They disabled and then infected them. No one was immune to the horrible disease. Grineer, Corpus, human, Tenno… Any who were infected were lost to the horrors of the virus. Mental capacity fell away in most cases, leaving a bestial half awareness. He had heard of some who had either recovered from the virus or been treated somehow, but he had never seen any actual proof.

 

The Ash shook his head as the infested below started to scour the houses for any hidden remnants. There was nothing he could do against an entire horde. Once he would have charged in anyway, just to do something. But things had changed.

 

The town has fallen. He said in his mind. They fought as well as they could, but none escaped. The Infested are nesting.

 

Any sign of your quarry? The voice of his minder asked. Her tone was cold and remote. It hadn’t always been that way. But then again, he had given lots of people cause to dislike and distrust him.

 

No. The Ash said with a sigh. I might have been able to save a few of them. He said quietly.

 

You have your orders Tenno. The Lotus snapped. Carry them out. Then her voice vanished.

 

He couldn’t really blame her for her attitude. He had believed. He had obeyed. He had done something far, far beyond the pale. What was worse? He hadn’t had cause like the one who had taken his honor. At least now, maybe he had a chance to do something right. Maybe. He hoped so.

 

It had been so hard. Surrendering to the judgment of the Elders without a fight had been hard. He wouldn’t have been able to win. The other Tenno who had been all around him had been ready for resistance. But he was no renegade. He never had been. He followed orders. Even when the orders hadn’t made sense, he was a soldier. He served. He obeyed. It was what he did. He hadn’t like the idea of sneaking into another clan’s dojo to snatch a prisoner from it. He certainly hadn’t liked what had happened. What should have been a simple in and out mission had wound up with him carrying two struggling girls while the other Tenno with him had mind controlled two others to follow. The names they called him… ‘Traitor’, ‘Renegade’, ‘Fool’… All of that had hurt. What had hurt worse was the knowledge that he was. He was party to an attack on another clan of Tenno. It was only by some miracle that none of the prisoners had been hurt or died. Then the realization that he and his small group had transgressed for nothing. That their great plan wouldn’t have worked at all. That hurt even more.

 

Part of him had almost hoped that he would die during the fighting that had erupted when the Grineer had come. At least then he wouldn’t have had to face the scorn of his peers. The looks. The mutters. The knowledge that he was renegade. Not by his own choice, but by his commander’s. It made no difference. Tenno were supposed to be smart and he hadn’t been.

 

The Ash shook off the past and started down the mountain away from where the Infested were nesting. Making more of themselves from the bodies of the fallen humans. He couldn’t do anything for the humans even if he hadn’t been ordered not to interfere. He shook himself and his Latron came to hand as he sprinted silently away from the horrors. He had a mission.

 

After the Grineer and Corpus had exhausted themselves at Mars, there had been a quiet but clear order to find out more about the Corpus latest brainchild. The words ‘Zanuka Project’ had been bandied about by Alad V during the fighting but little had been discovered. The success of much of the Grineer invasion had allowed the Tenno to rescue many of their kin from the Corpus labs, but horror stories had percolated through the ranks, followed by what little information was available. Zanuka was a new breed of Corpus proxy. One built with warframe components. And the way that those components were gathered… He hadn’t believed until he and a team had entered a Corpus lab and run into Alad V and his abomination himself. The… ghastly bits of one of his brothers hanging on a rack to be used to build that horrible four legged thing had awakened his rage. The team had destroyed the proxy after a tough fight and tried to terminate Alad V. But the human form they had killed –torn limb from limb- had wound up being a decoy, a hapless Corpus goon who had been dressed up like that fat executive and left for the Tenno to slaughter. Other Tenno teams reported that Alad V was still operating, using captured Tenno as guinea pigs and spare parts to build new and improved versions of his monstrosity. They kept killing him, but it was always decoys.

 

The Tenno would not stop. Alad V knew this. So his ‘Zanuka Project’ was likely only the tip of the iceberg. So, Tenno had been sent to find out all that could be discovered about the project. Data raids, prisoner interrogations, smash and grab of technology, all of this had helped paint a picture. A gruesome picture. But… there was an oddity. An anomaly near the beginning of the project that none of the Tenno intelligence specialists had been able to figure out. One of the labs that Alad V had frequented had suffered some kind of calamity. All of the Corpus personnel present had died, and the lab itself had been destroyed by a reactor meltdown. But… According to the Lotus, no Tenno had been anywhere near that lab. And, even more oddly, the only clue was a door to a cell that had been broken open from the inside.

 

The Ash had been part of the recon team sent to investigate the Corpus ruins. He had found… something. An odd footprint. One that did not match any known boot used by Grineer, Corpus, Tenno or human. It looked sort of like a boot with claws. The recon team, baffled but satisfied that the lab itself held no more secrets, had departed. He had remained. He had wanted to investigate and had made arguments both to the Lotus and to the recon team commander. The recon team had left him in silence. They hadn’t even acknowledged his arguments. The Lotus had told him to search and remain covert. He got the hint. Out of sight, out of mind. No one wanted to associate with a traitor even if he hadn’t really been one.

 

He had spent the last week searching this planetoid. For such a small body, it held a great deal of terraformed area. The Grineer had invaded and taken over, but his search had continued. And now… The Infested had come.

 

The Ash shook his head slowly as he ran across the landscape. Then he froze in midstep and stared at the ground. On a sandy patch was a footprint almost exactly like the one he had seen in the facility. He thought for a moment, then called it in.

 

Lotus? I have found another footprint. He placed himself with his map and nodded. It looks like it was going away from the facility. There was no response. Orders? He nearly pleaded. Still no response.

 

The Ash shook himself a little. This was getting ridiculous. Yes, he had messed up. More than once. But sheesh. He had proof, some kind of oddity that might lead to a break against Alad V and his horrors. Why treat him like an outcast now?

 

What do I have to do to prove myself, Lotus? He demanded silently. What do I have to say? I was wrong! I know that. I… I believed Grina. That was wrong. I understand why none of my kin trust me, but please, Lotus. I want to do something right! The echoes in his head were deafening, but there was still no response.

 

The Ash slumped and looked at the footprint. It was heading towards a line of low hills in the distance. The area ahead was mostly rocky. Few footprints would be left. But he had time. He had all the time in the universe now. As an outcast, he had nowhere to go, nothing to do. Immortal in his warframe, he had all the time in the universe to remember his stupidity, his impatience and his arrogance. He started off again, his warframe sensors scanning at their most sensitive. The last thing he needed was to be blindsided by Grineer or Corpus while hunting this mystery. Then he paused.

 

Tracks led up one of the hills. The same odd tracks he had been following. Now that he could see them, they looked almost like Tenno boot prints. Almost. Where the toes of a Tenno boot would have been, claws raked the ground in places. And to each side, odd marks shone where something had trailed on the ground at times. What was he following? From the tracks, it was humanoid. Two legs anyway. He shook his head again and followed the tracks until they came to a stream and then his eyes went wide under his helmet. Someone had knelt down at the stream, probably to drink. The water ran clear and fast along this hill. The knee prints looked… wrong. Then he looked further and found more tracks leading up the hill. He shook his head again. He had to know what was going on.

 

His Latron was sweeping the area as he stepped across the stream, his steps slow and careful. He was no tracker by trade, but Tenno picked up a lot of skills in their long lifetimes. The cryo-nesia might have dampened some, diluted others, but somehow he knew that the tracks that he was following now were fresher than the ones leading up to the stream. Whoever or whatever had made the tracks had been coming to the stream for water. The question was… Why? Warframes did not need water. They were self-contained, self-sustaining. So… What?

 

It happened with no warning at all. One moment, he was walking carefully up the hill, his rifle sweeping, then he was flying through the air. He had a moment to realize that something had grabbed him and hauled him into the air, then he hit and pain eclipsed everything. He lost his rifle and scrabbled to his feet, hand sweeping down to grab his pistol only to freeze at what met his eyes.

 

The female Tenno stood in an aggressive posture. She was unarmed. Her warframe was a mess of bio-mechanical flesh and metal fused in what looked to be painful fashions. Her helmet had two wing like protrusions. Her wrists had some kind of metal things on them that had some kind of cables hanging from them, cables that thrashed as she readied herself to charge.

 

“Wait!” He called. “I am not your enemy!” He pleaded, his hands coming up empty. She ignored his words and charged.

 

He didn’t want to hurt her, but she had no such compunctions. He quickly found himself on the defensive, her blows coming faster and faster as she snarled and spat. He dodged and evaded for all he was worth.

 

“Sister! Please!” He begged her as he backpedaled. “I am not…” His foot caught empty air and he was falling. The last thing he saw as the ground came up to meet him was her warframe silhouetted against the sky. Then worse pain slammed all other thoughts from Olim’s mind and darkness followed.

[Spikey844]

Hell yes!! Kal is back.

 

Great start to what I am sure will be a great story, I guessed it was Olim about half way down.

 

Also first!

[WarOverlord]

Second!

+1..........0000000000 for kalenath.

Glad you are back!

EDIT:Also Valkyr!

Edited December 18, 2013 by WarOverlord

[StylisticChip6]

Welcome back brother, we have been anxiously waiting your return.

[Kalenath]

Prisoner

 

The Tenno known as Olim woke suddenly and completely. He knew immediately that something was wrong. He hurt in a number of places. That shouldn’t have happened, no matter how far he had fallen, his warframe should have repaired the damage he took. But it was what didn’t hurt that was far more frightening. He couldn’t feel anything below his hips. He tried to key for a diagnostic, but his warframe did not respond. He opened his eyes and went very still.

 

“Good morning, Tenno.” The human on the other side of the bars said with a smirk. He was dirty, but the Sobek shotgun in his hands was immaculate. Just looking at it, Olim count tell it was loaded and the safety was off. “Did you sleep well?” The man asked with fake concern.

 

Olim looked at the human and then around the area without moving his head. He was in a small room with rock walls. His warframe was… He exhaled sharply as he saw tattered fragments of bio-mechanical armor on his limbs. Below the waist, it was mostly intact, but above it, it was in tatters. Someone had cut most of his warframe off! That was possible, but... Olim looked around again. The bars had a large mechanical lock on them and separated the room in half. The half that Olim was in had a cot and nothing else. The other half had a door but it looked solid and had to be locked as well.

 

“Nothing to say, Tenno?” The guard asked with a snarl. “No lies?” Olim looked at the man and then sank back on the bed, closing his eyes. “Don’t ignore me, Betrayer!” The human snapped.

 

Olim did not respond. He was a prisoner. He was injured. From the feelings -and lack of feeling- his spine was damaged. Escape was not possible. He took a deep breath and focused his mind as he had been taught in training. They might have his body, but he would be free.

 

“Jalso!” Another male voice snapped. “Get out of there!” Olim paused in his meditation. What was going on?

 

“You don’t order me, Kimbel!” The guard –if he was one- snapped back, but the outer door opened and another human entered the room. This one had a Vyper machine pistol aimed at the guard. “You wouldn’t!” The man with the shotgun declared. But he did lower it.

 

“You were told to stay out!” The man with the pistol said firmly. “You got a problem with that, take it up with the Council. Now git!”

 

“You can’t trust these Tenno!” The man with the shotgun said stoutly. He did move to leave. The machine pistol tracked him. “You know what they did!”

 

“I know what I think they did. I don’t know exactly what happened.” The man with the pistol said with a scowl. “Now git!” He snapped and the door clanged shut behind the other man. He sighed and then turned back to Olim. “Sorry about that. Jalso lost his family when the Grineer came through.” He set the pistol down by the door! “I need to check your injuries. Will you let me?” The man asked. Olim just looked at him. “Even if you cannot talk, you can nod or something. My name is Kimbel.”

 

This was…very odd. Olim wasn’t sure what was going on. He sighed inaudibly and nodded, laying back. The human stepped to the door, opened the lock and entered quickly. Olim watched through slitted eyes as the human worked quickly and efficiently to check all of his injuries. It was done quickly and then the man stepped back.

 

“Do you know what happened?” The human asked. Olim shook his head and the man sighed. “We found you on a sweep. We have been looking for survivors, checking all the towns for people who avoided the Grineer slavers.” Olim stiffened and the man paused. “What?”

 

Olim thought for a moment and then discarded subterfuge. “Did you find me near a hill with a stream halfway up it?” He asked. The human was staring at him, wide eyed. “Yes, we can talk. No, we don’t in the field unless there is no choice. Did you find me near a hill with a stream halfway up it?”

 

“The hill had a stream. You were at the base of a cliff, your body broken on a rock.” The man said slowly. “We didn’t think you were alive until you started to move.”

 

“It is very important.” Olim said slowly. “There was a mountain three days walk to the east.” The man stared at him and Olim shook his head. “The village on the other side is gone. Infested.” The man’s eyes seemed to bug out of his head and Olim sighed. “Yeah.”

 

“You fought them?” Kimbel asked softly, incredulous.

 

“I was ordered not to.” Olim said sadly. “I wanted to. But orders are orders. All I could do was watch.” He slumped a bit. “I don’t blame you for hating me. No matter how much you hate me, you cannot hate me as much as I hate myself.”

“Why didn’t you stop the Grineer?” Kimbel demanded. “None of this would have happened if you had stopped them.”

 

“I tried to.” Olim said softly. “I failed.” His hands were checking over his body now and paused on something. Something that didn’t fit. Something that was stuck to his lower back just over his spine. “Nice.” He said as he ripped it off. Kimbel flinched at the sound and then paled as Olim sat up. “Did you use this?” He asked, waving the small patch at the human.

 

“I didn’t.” The human asked, swallowing hard.

 

“Where is the rest of my warframe?” Olim asked coldly. “And my weapons?”

 

“We didn’t find any weapons.” Kimbel said with a gulp. “And we had to cut you out of that armor.”

 

“So you destroyed my warframe.” Olim said slowly. “Or did you sell the bits to the Corpus?” The man’s eyes flickered and Olim had his answer. “I see.” Olim said softly. “I am leaving.” He said flatly. “You and your people cannot stop me.”

 

“You are worth a lot alive, Tenno.” Kimbel said with a grimace. “Don’t be stupid.”

 

“I should say the same to you.” Olim said quietly. “Do you know what they do to Tenno they capture?”

 

“Should we care?” Kimbel asked quietly.

 

“No.” Olim said sadly. “I guess not. Being dissected and the pieces of living flesh being used to make monsters is a proper fate for one such as me? Right?” He asked.

 

“You are worth a lot as you are, Tenno.” Kimbel said as the stepped out of the barred enclosure and shut it. “Don’t be stupid.”

 

“Good advice.” Olim said quietly. “Here is more. Take your friends and run. Now. The Corpus won’t let you live. If you are lucky…” He said with a heavy sarcasm on the word ‘lucky’. “…all they will do is kill you. If not?” Olim shrugged. “Well… I hear their brainwashing hurts like hell.”

 

“Better them than the Grineer.” Kimbel said with a snap.

 

“Odd thing that.” Olim said slowly. “You know… I worked for the Corpus to try and stop the Grineer invasions. Other Tenno tried to get me to work with the Grineer. They said ‘The Grineer take slaves. The Corpus take lives. Slaves can be freed, the dead cannot be’. For the Corpus, profit is everything. If you are not profitable, you are dead. Did you tell them where to find you?”

 

“Do I look that stupid?” Kimbel snapped. “I took them the bits, got a quote and left.”

 

“I hope you checked your vehicle for trackers.” Olim said, laying back on the cot. “Not that it really matters. They won’t pay you.”

 

“Why not?” Kimbel asked cautiously.

 

“This world is falling to the Infested.” Olim said quietly. “They have more important uses for their funding. Why waste funds when they can use lives? Lives are cheap to the Corpus.” Olim glanced at Kimbel who had paled again. “Good luck. You are gonna need it.” The human scooped up his pistol and darted out the door without a backward glance.

 

Olim sighed and lay back for a moment. His wounds were mostly superficial and healing. But without his weapons, and without his warframe, he did not give himself much chance if…

 

He went still as something changed nearby. A piece of wall had moved. Just a little, but it had. He stared at the wall and then jumped a little as a rock suddenly fell in. A hand appeared from the darkness. A hand with familiar metal on it’s wrist. The Tenno who had thrown him off the cliff? Here? It beckoned again, firmly and Olim sighed silently. What choice did he have? He rose from the cot and moved to the wall. The hole was dark and he could see nothing. The hand appeared, beckoning stronger and he eased into the hole. It was a very tight fit. If he had been in his warframe, he likely wouldn’t have been able to get past the first turn. A hand grasped his and pulled him on. The hand was armored, but he could feel the nubs of claws. Whatever fate this unknown Tenno was leading him to, it had to be better than waiting to be sold to the Corpus. Behind him, he heard a shout and then cursing, but he kept moving.

 

There was no light at all. He lost track of time. He crawled. Sometimes he could move on his hands and knees, sometimes, he had to squirm around and through natural obstacles. All through it though, the hand was there. Sometimes pulling him, sometimes just guiding him. He hoped his guide had some idea where they were going, because without light or any high tech…

 

LIGHT!

 

Olim threw both hands over his face as pain seared into his eyes. The hand was on his shoulder now, guiding, easing him to a sitting position and squeezing gently as he sat and tried to recover. When he could see again, Olim looked around. He was sitting in a small grotto. Light poured in from a hole in the wall close to the ceiling of the tiny cavern. The light was dim, but after a lengthy stay underground, his eyes were sensitive. He looked to his guide and yes, it was the female Tenno he had fought before. She sat nearby, her posture wary. She wore a heavily damaged Valcyr warframe. He hadn’t had the chance to recognize it before. He nodded to her.

 

“Thank you.” He said quietly. She went still, tilting her head as if confused. “Do you understand me?” He asked, worried. The damage to her warframe’s structure was extreme and not limited to the torso. She did not react and he slumped. “What did they do to you, sister?” He asked sadly.

 

The female Tenno reached for him and he let her touch his forehead over his eyes. Her tilted head was a question. Olim frowned. He covered his eyes with his hands and she nodded. Her hand rested on his shoulder and gave a squeeze. He covered it with his own and squeezed back. She indicated another dark opening and Olim nodded, squelching a sigh.

 

Good thing I am not claustrophobic.

 

It was long trip. Every so often, the female Tenno would stop them somewhere. Occasionally, there would be water in the cave and she would indicate for him to drink. He did, then stepped away while she did. Once, he tried to see her face when her faceplate opened, but she hissed at him and he backed off. She didn’t want him to see her face. Finally, on the third stop, Olim heard something. He froze and the female Tenno did as well.

 

“I am tell you, sir… I don’t know how he got out of the cell!” The voice was Kimbel. The human was terrified. “He was there when I left! He was in no condition to dig his way out. That tunnel was too small for a Tenno to navigate.”

 

“You wouldn’t lie to me, would you, Mr. Kimbel?” The voice was familiar. Olim started and then stared as the female Tenno seemed to wilt. Alad V. The real one or a decoy? “You dragged me out here to show me an empty cell and now you spin a wild tale of underground tunnels. Our sensors can find no trace of Tenno or indeed of anything alive for thirty kilometers. Above ground or below.”

 

“They have got to be under this hill!” the other human –Jalso- said with a snap. “The tunnels might be barely large enough for a humanoid form, but how the hell would he find his way? This is the only path that any of our remotes found. He has to be between here and the cell.”

 

“I think you two are lying to me.” Alad V said calmly. “I don’t like people lying to me. Where is the Tenno?” He demanded.

 

“I don’t know!” Kimbel said with fear in his voice. “Look, it has to be here! You can dig…”

 

“And now you want me to dig?” The Corpus executive said with a sigh. “Ah well, and our partnership had so much promise.” Olim stared as the female Tneno sudden collapsed. He was on his feet in the small cave, moving to kneel beside where she lay, shivering. “You have cost me time. In my business, Mr. Kimbell, Mr. Jalso, time is money. You brought me out here for nothing. Ah well.”

 

“No!” Jalso begged. “No! Please…”

 

“Oh, don’t worry, Mr. Jalso.” Alad V said calmly. “I will turn a profit from selling your bits.” Both men screamed. The screams cut off abruptly at the sound of Corpus weapon’s fire. “Idiots. Tech, any signs?”

 

“No sir.” The voice of a Corpus tech said with conviction. “These hills are rife with ore deposits that confound our sensors but we should pick up something. If a Tenno was here, it is long gone.”

 

“They got the parts of that one warframe somewhere.” Alad V said with a snarl. “I want proxies sweeping those tunnels.” Olim froze, but the female Tenno didn’t move. He laid a slow hand on her shoulder and she was quivering. “Pack up everything but the search proxies. And yes, take the bodies. I am sure we can sell them… somewhere.” The sound of Corpus forces faded.

 

Olim leaned close to shivering female Tenno and spoke in a low tone. “We have to go. We have to go now.”

 

She stared up at him, not comprehending. Olim sighed and then made a motion of walking. She nodded slowly and rose, indicating another small tunnel nearby. She crawled into it and he followed her into the tunnel. He was immediately in blackness again.

 

What followed was a timeless crawl through darkness. He had no idea how long they were moving. Once she stopped and let him rest for a bit, then she woke him from his doze and they started off again. Olim had always prided himself on being strong, but this… There was something almost alive about the darkness around him. Alive and hungry. It seemed that the universe was compressing down into a pitch black tunnel with a guiding hand as his only connection to the outside. Was he going mad? He wondered. He didn’t know.

 

After who knew how long, Olim followed his guide into a dimly lit area that was larger. She paused by an oddly shaped shadow and beckoned him close. He stared and then smiled as his eyes adjusted and he saw his weapons piled.

 

“You picked up my weapons.” He said softly. He ran a hand along his Latron, his Bronco and his Ether sword. The female Tenno was watching him carefully but stiffened as he picked up the sword and held it out to her handle first. “You can probably use this better than me.” He said quietly. Instead of taking it, she backed away. He stared at her, dumbfounded. “Without a warframe, I can’t carry all of this at once and expect to use it.” Olim said calmly as he laid the weapon back down. ”You can use this.” He said as he waved towards the blade before stepping away himself.

 

“My name is Olim.” The male Tenno said softly. “What is yours?” The other just stared at him and Olim sighed. He pointed at himself. “Olim.” He pointed at the other and she did not react. He shook his head. ‘What happened to you, sister?” He went still as the other made a noise. It was not anything he recognized. “What?” He asked.

 

Olim froze as her hand came up and…pulled mass of metal from her throat! His eyes had to be as wide as dinner plates as she set the piece down and turned her head to show him… the ruin of her throat. Her entire voicebox was gone, replaced by some kind of breathing apparatus. He slumped in place and then to his knees, his eyes burning. She couldn’t talk!

 

“Do you understand me?” Olim asked slowly and carefully. The female Tenno stared at him and Olim sighed. “You don’t or cannot make yourself understood. You need help, sister. Help I cannot give. We need help. We need to call for help.” He shook his head. “Sooner or later, no matter how well we hide, the Corpus will find us.”

 

Somehow, that got through to her and she slumped to the floor as well, bowing her head. Olim sighed and then shook himself.

 

“I don’t know how we are going to get out of this, sister.” Olim said softly. “But we will. I swear to you, we will get out of this. But first, we both need rest and I need to figure out how to communicate with you. I bet trying to call for help without explaining to you how and why I do will not go over well with you.”

 

He lay down on the floor, making sure his Latron was within reach. The other did the same, slowly and carefully, never taking her eyes from him as she replaced the metal on her throat.

 

Alad V cannot suffer nearly enough for what he has done. Olim thought bitterly as sleep took him.

[Spikey844]

Last line, so true

[Suzaku]

I've been looking forward to this new story of yours for a long time. I am glad it's out now.

[CommanderCorgi]

Kal is back. All is right in this subforum.

[Kalenath]

Communication

 

Olim woke immediately when his odd companion shifted a bit. Then he heard it. The low hum was familiar. A Corpus Osprey was nearby. The Valcyr was growling, but subsided as Olim rolled to his knees, his rifle coming to his hand.

 

“Where?” He asked softly, then kicked himself mentally. She didn’t understand him.

 

He held out an empty hand and waved it towards the sound. He made a face as if he were straining to hear and tilted his head from side to side. The Valcyr looked at him, shook her head, and then moved towards the wall that they had come out of. She pulled a fist back and waited. Olim nodded and moved to another wall, away from where the machine would emerge. He was the bait. Gunfire would bring every Corpus proxy in sensor range. But if one was destroyed by a physical impacts? Well… Olim had always heard that caves were dangerous. He paused and then, with a feral grin, sank back to the floor, arranging himself as if he were still sleeping. The Valcyr looked at him and he smiled at her, a gentler smile before putting his head down. He kept his eyes open and could see the entrance out of the corner of his eye.

 

The hum grew louder and then, it appeared. The Osprey was very much the worse for wear. It was covered in mud, much like Olim and the Valcyr. It’s hull was dinged in places and a rock had apparently hit it hard at one point, leaving a dent the size of Olim’s fist on its main housing. It seemed to hesitate for a moment on sensing him, then it moved further into the cavern. He was a bit surprised that the Valcyr didn’t strike immediately, but then another Osprey appeared behind the first! They both moved towards the ceiling and then towards him. He didn’t recognize the design, but if he could-

 

Suddenly Olim came awake. An earsplitting howl was echoing through the cavern as the Valcyr pulled one of the Ospreys to her. He jerked. What had happened? He stared down at himself and cursed vilely as he saw a small metal ball fall off his bare torso. A Corpus stunner. He shook himself. How the hell was he awake? Then he saw a rock fall off his chest as well. The Valcyr had apparently thrown the rock to knock the stunner off him before attacking. But she had one of the Ospreys in hand and was ripping it apart with apparent glee. But the other…

 

His rifle was up and tracking as the silver ball flew from the second Osprey. It hit the Valcyr and she fell without a sound.

 

“No!” Olim shouted as he fired.

 

The Latron bucked wildly in his hands, far more than it would have in his warframe and he barely clipped the Osprey. He dropped the Latron and rolled to where his Bronco lay. The damaged Osprey was hovering nearby, something whirring. Reloading? He didn’t know or care. It spun to face him and he was in motion. He rolled to his right into a sitting position as another silver ball hit the floor nearby and fired before he was even sure he had the target. He needn’t have worried. The spread for the Bronco’s pellets was more than sufficient to completely saturate the damaged Osprey’s shields and tear it’s hull apart. The recoil of the Bronco hurt, but Olim was looking for the other Corpus robotic. It whined on the ground, it’s wings torn off. He took careful aim and blew it away. Then all was quiet.

 

Olim listened for a moment, then dropping the Bronco, went to his knees beside the still Valcyr. He snarled, picked up his pistol and brushed the stunner sphere off of her warframe. Then he laid the pistol down again and carefully eased her limbs so she would be more comfortable. Without a warframe of his own, he had no idea at all how to help her, or if he could. It had been… a long time since he had left his warframe. Now…

 

He stared down at the tatters of his armor and sighed. The legs were still intact. The torso was just bits of bio-mechanical armor. The arms were mostly intact except for the wrists where his blades usually came out when he used Bladestorm and his shuriken dispenser. Careful inspection with his fingers showed that his helmet was almost intact, with just his faceplate missing. Maybe…

 

Lotus? Olim asked inside his head.

 

Tenno Olim? The Lotus’ voice held worry. Where are you? She demanded.

 

I am not sure. Olim replied quietly.

 

What happened? The Lotus asked.

 

Again, I am not sure. I…found what I sought. Olim said with a sigh. The anomalous footprints came from a sorely hurt Tenno. She is… Olim slumped a bit. Ah, Lotus… She is a mess.

 

We cannot localize your position. The Lotus said after a moment. You are on planet, but… What happened, Tenno Olim?

 

I am underground. I was ambushed by the female Tenno. Olim said sadly. She is…not all here, Lotus. The Corpus did… things to her. Her warframe is a mess, but mostly functional. Mine is in worse shape. But… She can’t talk and is exhibiting animal behavior.

 

Tenno Olim… The Lotus said, horrified. Is she sane?

 

I can’t tell. Olim replied softly. Probably not.

 

Get out of there, Tenno. The Lotus commanded. If your warframe is damaged, you have no chance against her if she turns on you!

 

I am not leaving her. Olim said with a snarl. She saved me from humans who were going to sell me to the Corpus. I owe her.

 

You cannot pay a debt if you are dead! The Lotus snapped. Get aboveground and I will arrange pickup.

 

I am not leaving her alone. Olim replied.

 

Tenno Olim, I gave you an order! The Lotus snapped, patience gone. Olim sighed and shut down his com.

 

“Well…” Olim said sadly as he sat. “I guess now I am renegade.” He shook his head. “At least it isn’t me being stupidly selfish this time. Just stupid.” He settled himself to wait.

 

It wasn’t long before the Valcyr moved a little. But… He could tell immediately that she wasn’t awake. But she was thrashing. A nightmare? Tenno did not usually have nightmares but if anyone had a right to them, this poor female did. He couldn’t comfort her physically, if he tried, she could hurt or kill him without realizing. He could sing, but audible sounds would likely bring more Corpus down on them. Instead, he opened a very short range com channel and started to hum. The Valcyr stiffened and then relaxed as the humming soothed her fear and anger. Once she was sleeping again, he stopped.

 

Whatever they did to you, sister… Olim promised himself. I will do what I can to help.

 

It wasn’t long before she woke up again. This time, she was on her feet, staring wildly around the area before he even realized she was conscious.

 

“They are dead, sister.” Olim said calmly and quietly. The Valcyr spun to face him, her hands up in an offensive stance. Olim laid his pistol down carefully and rose to stand before her unarmed. “We can’t stay here, sister.” Olim said with a shake of his head. “The Ospreys were likely set on an autonomous search pattern, but when they do not report back others will be sent. We have to go.” He repeated.

 

She obviously did not understand his words, but she did relax a bit. She tilted her head from side to side, perusing him. He stepped away from his pistol and then knelt down in seiza in the middle of the cave. She stared at him for a moment, and then copied his motions and stance. Once she was situated, Olim held out a hand to her, palm up. She stared at it and he held it there. After a moment, she reached out with her hand to take his in a surprisingly gentle grip. His other hand came up slowly to encompass hers and she stared as he gave her hand a squeeze. She quivered a bit and he released her immediately. He pointed at her, then at himself. Then he made the walking gesture he had made before, only to pause as she shook her head violently. He lowered his hands to his knees.

 

“Oookay…” Olim said with wince. “We are not going anywhere.” She didn’t understand the words. That was clear. But she did relax. Then he froze as her hands came up slowly. They reached for his left hand and then, taking it in both of her, she gave it a squeeze. “You do understand.” Olim said softly. “Or… partly…”

 

He shook his head slowly, this was not his field. He was used to breaking things, not trying to make sense of them. He froze solid as her right hand traced up his left arm, her fingers exploring the ragged edges of his warframe. He was fully aware of the claws on her wrists, of the strength of her hands. But they were oddly gentle as they traced up his arm, to his shoulder and then to his neck. He shivered a bit as the fingers traced his jaw. She stopped and retreated.

 

“You don’t want to scare me.” Olim said, confused. “And I don’t want to scare you.” He pointed to himself. “Olim.”

 

The Valcyr made the noise she had made before and Olim sighed. She couldn’t speak. And he… He paused. He held up a slow hand and then looked on the floor for a damp patch. Since this was a cave, it didn’t take him long. He pointed at the patch and slowly, so slowly, traced his name on the damp rock. The Valcyr stared at him, then at the rock.

 

“Olim.” The male Tenno said with a nod.

 

The Valcyr warframe seemed to growl. Then she was in motion. Olim had a moment to dive to the side, but she wasn’t attacking. She was fleeing! She made for the hole on the rock wall, but Olim got there first, blocking it with his body. She growled at him, but made no motion towards the weapons on the floor. But then her body language registered. She wasn’t hostile, she was terrified!

 

“You cannot understand speech, but you understand writing.” Olim said with a scowl. He found another patch on the floor and wrote ‘Why?’ in huge letters. She snarled at him and he shook himself. He smoothed the patch and wrote again. ‘What have I done to you?’

 

The Valcyr bent down, never turning her face from him. She wrote a word on the damp rock and Olim rocked back on his heels, stunned.

 

‘Traitor’

 

“I…” Olim shook his head, dumbfounded yet again. Yet again, his past caught up with him. He slumped, then stepped away from the hole in the wall. He waved towards it as he moved to the other wall, where he sat, his head hanging. An odd noise had him looking up. The Valcyr hadn’t moved. He smoothed the floor near him and wrote again. ‘Go.’ She just stared at him as tears started falling. “Go!” He yelled.

 

She didn’t. Indeed, she didn’t move at all. Then, to his amazement, she smoothed the patch she had written in and wrote another word. ‘Why?’ Somehow, he knew she wasn’t asking why he told her to go.

 

‘I did what I thought was right.’ Olim wrote. ‘As usual, it was wrong. Please. Go.’

 

‘Why?’ She wrote again.

 

‘I will mess up.’ Olim wrote ‘I always do.’ To his amazement, the Valcyr did not move. Indeed, she just stared at him. Then she stepped towards him. He did not move, indeed, did nothing as she stepped up to him. But then… she pulled him up to stand in front of her. He could not meet her face plate. Her hand cupped his cheek and slowly, so slowly, eased his chin up so that he looked the warframe in the face. Then her faceplate retracted.

 

Olim inhaled sharply. The female Tenno’s eyes were gone, replaced by some kind of wires. Where her nose would have been likewise was a mechanical device. But her mouth was still Tenno and it was smiling sadly. She pulled him close and held him as he cried. Finally, she released him and he sank back to his knees. Her faceplate snapped shut and Olim was ashamed of himself that he felt gratitude for that.

 

‘I will mess everything up.’ Olim wrote ‘It is what I do!’

 

The Valcyr sat on a convenient rock nearby and shook her head. ‘No.’ She wrote.

 

‘I don’t want to hurt any more kin!’ Olim protested in writing.

 

‘Then don’t.’ The Valcyr replied.

 

‘Easy to say.’ Olim wrote. ‘Not so easy to do.’

 

‘Easy is not for Tenno.’ The Valcyr retorted in writing. Olim choked a sour laugh and sighed.

 

‘No.’ He admitted. ‘No it is not. I didn’t mean to help the Corpus. But I couldn’t help the Grineer.’

 

‘I know little of this time.’ The Valcyr admitted. Olim froze as she slumped. ‘I woke in a cage.’

 

“No…” Olim breathed, horrified. “No…” The female Tenno did not respond and he shook his head. He focused on his writing. ‘You understand writing. Not speech?’

 

‘They took my ears.’ The Valcyr replied. Olim felt his guts clench. ‘I saw you on a monitor that the head researcher used to track our kind. Your name. It showed you fighting beside them.’ She looked at him.

 

‘I did.’ Olim wrote, shame coloring his face. ‘The Grineer are evil, the Corpus are evil. I had to choose.’ He bowed his head. ‘I am sorry.’

 

‘You did not do this to me.’ The Valcyr wrote. ‘Only you can say whether what you did was right.’

 

‘It wasn’t.’ Olim replied in kind. ‘But I did not see any other choices. I will pay for my stubborn stupidity for the rest of my life. But I would never have left you in their clutches if I had known, sister.’

 

‘I know.’ The Valcyr replied. ‘For what it is worth, you have my forgiveness.’ Olim stiffened. ‘Now you must forgive yourself.’

 

‘I can’t.’ Olim wrote and then sank back against the wall. The Valcyr looked at him and then made an elaborate shrug.

 

‘Can you tell me about this world I have woken into?’ The Valcyr asked in writing after a moment. ‘I remember going to sleep. The world was ending in fire and blood.’

 

Olim looked at her, nodded and then set himself to start writing. ‘You remember the Collapse.’ It wasn’t a question, but the Valcyr nodded anyway. ‘May I know your name, sister?’

 

‘My name is Raven.’ The Valcyr –Raven- replied. Something about that name spoke to Olim, but he had no idea what. He knew it, he was sure he did. But from where? The feelings about the name were not bad, so he shelved that until later.

 

‘Well met, Raven.’ Olim wrote and then shook himself. ‘I was woken from my cryo sleep by a being we call the Lotus. The Grineer have been taking over for some time and need to be stopped…’

 

It was about an hour later when Raven finally called a halt. She was fascinated by much of the world that Olim had been working and fighting in. His ‘soldier’s eye’ view of the massive conflict was flawed, he knew that better than many. But she was kind and gentle about asking.

 

‘We can’t stay here, Raven.’ Olim wrote. ‘They will send more of those Ospreys. And then troops. With only a rifle, a pistol and a sword, we cannot fight off a Corpus assault.’

 

‘This is as far as I have explored, Olim.’ Raven wrote, her posture worried. ‘I found a number of places in my explorations that were very dangerous. I did a lot of spelunking before the Collapse.’ She stopped writing.

 

‘Raven.’ Olim wrote. ‘Why did you shy away from my sword when I handed it to you?’

 

‘I am not a fighter, Olim.’ Raven wrote with a visible shudder. Olim looked at her and she wilted a bit. ‘Not anymore.’ She wrote again.

 

‘Raven?’ Olim asked, concerned. ‘You fought the drones.’ Raven shook her head savagely and Olim sighed. ‘Raven?’ He pressed.

 

‘That wasn’t me.’ Raven wrote. Olim stared at her and she snarled a little. ‘It was… someone else. Someone else in my head. She is vicious. Dangerous.’

 

‘What can I do?’ Olim asked.

 

‘Leave me.’ Raven wrote. Olim shook his head as savagely as she had and she made an exaggerated sigh. ‘Olim, don’t be stupid. Your warframe is destroyed. If the other in my head decided to, she could kill you.’ She paused and then shuddered again. ‘And she would ENJOY it.’

 

‘I do not leave my kin in trouble, Raven.’ Olim wrote slowly. ‘I do not know how I can help, but I will.’

 

‘Stubborn Tenno.’ Raven wrote and then slumped. “I do not want to come back to myself standing over your corpse, Olim. Please?’ She begged.

 

Whatever Olim was going to write was tabled as one wall of the cavern suddenly fell in. He rolled for cover, grabbing his rifle as he rolled. He had a moment to see several warframe shapes and then the sun seemed to blossom in the dim light. Olim couldn’t see! He prayed Raven was in cover.

 

“Stand down!” A familiar voice shouted and Olim cursed silently as he tried to get his eyes to work again. “Stand down, Olim!”

 

“This isn’t what you think, Karl!” Olim declared as he laid his Latron on the ground. He had to have several weapons tracking him as he rose, first to a kneeling position and then to stand. His eyes were clearing and he was not surprised to see the Rhino aiming a Hek at him. The Ember beside the Rhino was a surprise. “Jasmina…” He groaned.

 

“Don’t move.” The Ember snapped, not moving the muzzle of her Boltor. “Where is the other?”

 

“I don’t know.” Olim said honestly. “I lost sight of her when the light blinded me. I can…” He turned a little and then he was thrown backwards as fire blossomed from one of the other Tenno’s hands. The sick pain was familiar, but this time, it was not dampened by a warframe. He had been shot! His hand came up to touch his chest and then he was falling. Slowly, so slowly…

 

An enraged roar was the last thing he heard as comforting blackness took him.

Edited December 19, 2013 by Kalenath

[Spikey844]

Well that escalated quickly.

[SLI-fox]

Jasmina, the tenno who always manages to make a mess of S#&$. Here's hoping Olim ain't pinned to the wall.

 

Kal I've been waiting for you to post more stories. Welcome back.

[22tankmaster]

:D Kale's back! I guess I was late to the party!

[Suzaku]

:D Kale's back! I guess I was late to the party!

Better late than never! :D

[CommanderCorgi]

We're on the first page and Kal's already back to his super suspenseful ways. Jeeeeeeeez.

[Kalenath]

Assumptions

 

Olim woke to the sounds of fighting. He couldn’t have been out long. He was crumpled on the floor, and he could feel wetness on his chest. He rolled on his side and gasped as pain erupted again, but he had to see. He looked up to see Karl’s Rhino grappling hand to hand with Raven’s Valcyr. Another warframe lay nearby and a Trinity frame was bending over it, green mist coming from her hand. The Trinity had been the one to shoot him. He started to rise, and a blow threw him back to the floor. He looked up into the muzzle of a Lato, held in the rock steady hands of a Loki.

 

“Go ahead.” Olim said with a sigh. “Shoot. Do me a favor.”

 

“Stay down.” The Loki said with a snap. “It will be over soon. If she had simply listened, she wouldn’t be…”

 

“She can’t hear, you moron!” Olim screamed loud enough to be heard even over the combat. “The damn Corpus took her ears!” He slumped in place. “She can’t hear you…”

 

“What?” The Loki demanded.

 

“What part of she can’t hear sound do you not understand?” Olim demanded. “That bastard Alad V took her ears! She won’t surrender. She can’t. Not… Not after what just happened. If she is even the one fighting. Raven…” He begged. “Oh, Raven. I have to stop this. Somehow…” He rolled onto his hands and knees.

 

“Raven?” The Loki demanded. “That is Raven?” Olim expected a shot or a blow as he tried to crawl towards where the Valcyr and Rhino were locked in combat. None came. His strength gave out halfway to the battle and he collapsed in a heap.

 

Suddenly, there was silence in the cavern. Olim couldn’t spare the strength to look up. He just lay, waiting for death. It didn’t come. Finally, he mustered the will to look up. What he saw was…unexpected. The Valcyr was down but was heaving to her feet as Olim watched. The Rhino had thrown her against the wall and… withdrawn?  The Valcyr set herself to charge again and somehow, Olim found the strength to stand. He staggered between the enraged Valcyr and the Rhino and stood there, panting. Raven moved to go around him and he moved to block her. The Loki had withdrawn, his pistol still ready. The Trinity had the Ember up and both had fallen back to the hole that had been cut in the cavern wall. Both had weapons aimed at the Valcyr.

 

Olim was shaking with both pain and fatigue as he knelt down and wrote on the floor. ‘Raven. Stop.’

 

“What are you…?” The Rhino started, only to be cut off as Olim snarled at him.

 

“Shut up! You have done enough!” Olim snapped and held out his hand to the Valcyr. Raven stared at him and then slowly, so slowly, straightened from her combat stance. Olim bent down again and wrote on the floor. ‘Kin.’ Raven shook her head savagely. Olim felt faint, but managed to write again. ‘Misunderstanding. Not enemies. Please, Raven.’ He begged her.

 

Everything seemed to stop as Raven bent down as well. Somehow she did not take her gaze from the four warframes, but her hand traced the dirt. ‘They hurt you.’ All four of the other warframes went still at that.

 

‘They had cause.’ Olim wrote. ‘I am renegade. Please Raven.” He gasped as the pain in his chest suddenly grew. ‘I have made too many mistakes. Please.’ He begged her. He looked at Karl. “She can’t hear. They took her ears… They… took…” He crumpled, but strong arms caught him and held him carefully. He looked up into the faceplate of the Valcyr and smiled as consciousness fled again. 

 

***

 

Olim hurt when he woke. He hurt worse than before, which was saying something. But he also felt a draft over bare skin and sighed. He could hear medical equipment around him.

 

“Not dead.” Olim said sadly.

 

“Yet.” A sour voice spoke from nearby and Olim turned to see the Loki from before watching him. He knew this Loki even without the Snipetron sniper rifle that the Tenno carried. The Lato he preferred was aimed at Olim’s head and there was exactly zero chance for the sniper to miss at this range.

 

“Aeron.” Olim said with another sigh. “I thought you were a better shot than that.” He looked around and yes, he was in the medical bay of a Tenno dojo, probably Karl’s. He wore a patient gown and was strapped to the bed. His captors were taking no chances. He could feel a bandage on his chest so he probably wouldn’t die. “Should have killed me.”

 

“I didn’t shoot you.” Aeron said with a sneer in his voice. “If I had, you wouldn’t have gotten up.”

 

“Great.” Olim said with feeling. “So… Interrogation? Or just torture for the fun of it?”

 

“We are not like you, traitor.” Aeron snapped. “We don’t do it because we can.”

 

“No.” Olim replied. “You do it because it makes you feel better. Go ahead. Hurt me.”

 

“Don’t tempt me, traitor.” Aeron said with a snarl. “You hurt my wife and nearly killed our kid. Don’t tempt me.”

 

“Yes, I did.” Olim agreed, closing his eyes. “And anything I say will be ignored or misinterpreted, so…” He shut his mouth and lay back.

 

“You are no innocent.” Aeron declared.

 

“I never said I was.” Olim agreed. “Despite what many of you may think, I have never lied to you. Not about to start now. Is Raven okay?”

 

“Why?” Aeron asked, suspicious.

 

“Because she has been through enough already.” Olim snapped right back. “I don’t remember her from…before. I do remember the name. But never mind.” He said with a groan. “I am lying.”

 

“I don’t care what you or your compatriots say, traitor.” Aeron said with a snap. “You are…” The door behind him hissed open and a Nyx warframe entered the room.

 

“Aeron.” The Nyx said in warning. Olim stiffened, he knew that voice.

 

“Back off, Kori.” Aeron said sharply. “I am on shift.”

 

“So am I. And you are emotional.” Kori replied. “Tell me I lie. If you are going to blame someone, Aeron, blame me!” She snapped and the tension in the room seemed to skyrocket. “I was here too.”

 

“Kori, no.” Olim said into the sudden silence. “Karl had reason to…doubt my faithfulness before this last mess. Aeron has a perfect right to his anger.”

 

“I am not saying he doesn’t.” Kori said reasonably. “I am angry too, with myself and with Grina. But that doesn’t change the fact that Aeron is emotional and should not be when he is on guard duty. Or you could very well push him into killing you before we have the answers we need.” Aeron stared from Kori to Olim and back. Kori scoffed. “Olim isn’t an idiot, Aeron. Just…impulsive at times. Of course, he is not the only one. Alicia shouldn’t have shot him.”

 

“She shouldn’t have missed.” Aeron snapped.

 

“Our orders are to keep him alive for interrogation. Get out.” Kori snapped. “Or do I have to get Karl?” Aeron snarled, jerked to his feet and stalked out the door. Kori sighed as the door hissed shut. “Goading him is stupid, Olim.” Olim did not respond and Kori sighed. “Olim, talk to me. What the hell were you thinking? We who followed Grina were all in enough trouble and you had to tell the Lotus to shove it?”

 

“I didn’t say that.” Olim said softly. “She ordered me to abandon a sister in pain.” Through slitted eyes he watched Kori sit. “I told her I couldn’t do that.”

 

“We will have the truth out of you, Olim.” Kori said softly, sadly. “Don’t resist.”

 

“I have nothing to hide.” Olim replied. “Go ahead, do what you will. Not like I can stop you.” Tenno knew how to keep other Tenno from suicide.

 

“Olim, please.” Kori pleaded. “Just tell us what we need to know.”

 

“I have told you everything I know. And I bet you interrogated me some before I woke fully.” Kori jerked and Olim made a face. “Figured. Good thing I am a renegade.” He said sourly. “Treating real Tenno like that is bad. Luckily it is only me. I hope you are not treating Raven like this.”

 

“Raven…” Kori said slowly. “…refuses to communicate with us.” Olim stiffened, his eyes going wide. “We gave her writing materials and she demands to see you. That is all she does. Well, that and doodle pretty pictures.”

 

“What?” Olim asked, confused. “Why?”

 

“Like I say, we have no idea.” Kori shrugged. “She refuses to do anything. So we need to find out why she is acting this way. What you did to her.”

 

“What I did to her?” Olim could barely believe his ears. “I talked to her, Kori. That is all.” He paused. “Well, I wrote things on the floor and she replied the same way.” He clarified.

 

“But you did communicate with her.” Kori said softly.

 

“Somewhat.” Olim said with a sigh. “Look, she is a mess. She woke from cryo in a Corpus cage. Have you seen what they did to her?” Kori gulped and he nodded. “You have.”

 

“What did you say to her?” Kori demanded.

 

“She asked about the world we live in now.” Olim said quietly. “I told her I was a renegade. She didn’t ask why.” He paused. “Odd that.” He mused.

 

“Not so odd.” Kori replied with a sigh. “Considering she was one too.”

 

“What did you say?” Olim felt a faintness that had nothing to do with injury.

 

“Raven.” Kori said sadly. “Last Tea Mistress of the Tenno Knarlist Party. Outspoken critic of the Royal House. Convicted of being a Sentient spy.” Olim was shaking his head, stunned. “You don’t remember?” Kori asked.

 

“Knarlist… I remember…some. Now that you have brought it to my mind.” Olim said faintly. “She refused to defend herself in court. She was convicted on hearsay evidence. She was remanded to the custody of the Warriors to be sent to die in battle. There was no proof. If she had defended herself, she wouldn’t have been convicted. I remember my Master commenting how perfectly she seemed to have been set up.”

 

“Olim…” Kori said in warning. “They found a Sentient transmitter in her house. She was a spy. They could have shot her. Instead, they took her to the front lines to die fighting. And then she survived the Collapse.” She shook her head.

 

“And then the Corpus found her and gave her torments that might have given even the Sentients pause.” Olim said with a snarl. Kori looked at him and he snarled at her. “Do whatever you are going to do, Kori. What am I going to do? Spit on you? Bleed on you?” He demanded.

 

“I am sorry, Olim.” Kori said as the door opened again and two forms in surgical garb entered the room. “We need to know what you know.”

 

“And the fact that certain parties will enjoy seeing me scream is just a bonus.” Olim said bitterly as his head was strapped down and a menacing looking machine was swung over it.

 

“It’s not like that, Olim.” Kori said firmly.

 

“You keep telling yourself that.” Olim said with a grimace as energy started to play across his skull. “Whatever…ugh…” He grunted as pain started deep inside his head. “Whatever helps you sleep, Kori. I am lost… I know… this…” The pain was coming in waves now. “Just… give… Raven a chance…”

 

Then all he could do was scream.

 

 

***

 

“I am sorry, Olim.” The voice came through the waves of nausea that seemed to be all that Olim could sense. It was fading and the pain was rising. Kori sounded abject now. “I am so, so sorry…”

 

“Sure… you are…” Olim said with a wince as he dry heaved again. They hadn’t just looked at his time with Raven, they had scanned all of his memory. Accessed parts he had blocked away for good reason. Parts that made him sick just in memory.  The medics were very good. The first time he had lost control of his stomach, they had suctioned out his mouth before he could aspirate any of it. Then they had suctioned what little was left in his stomach. “Are we done? Can you kill me now?” He demanded. “Is your honor satisfied?”

 

“No.” Another, deeper voice replied. Karl.

 

“What more do you want from me, Karl? How much more will you make me suffer?” Olim screamed. “I told you everything. Just do it!”

 

“We can’t kill you.” The master of the clan said formally. “We have wronged you. I… have wronged you.”

 

“Just… End it.” Olim had no strength to resist as hands worked around him. He stiffened as… the straps holding him to the bed were removed. “I am…nothing. Meaningless. Give… Give Raven a chance… That is all I ask.” He managed to grate out past the pain in his head.

 

“We are.” Karl said calmly. “We are bringing her. Amelia, help him.”

 

“I will.” Another abject female voice said from nearby. Gentle hands eased him into a sitting position. “Easy, Olim. Easy…” He was shivering with both fear and humiliation. “I am sorry. We are sorry. None of us knew… what Nicholas did to you…”

 

Olim stiffened at that. He had buried the memory deep, so deep. The humiliation of being cornered in his family’s home by renegades that he hadn’t known were renegades, then beaten unconscious over the dead bodies of his sister and father. Waking in captivity. Tormented and worse. Then left to be found by a Tenno patrol, a shivering, broken wreck of what had been a Warrior. A statement by Nicholas to the Tenno as a whole. A Tenno family slaughtered, the sole survivor broken. Small wonder Olim had taken the shot when he had seen Karl fighting the arch traitor. Honor duel or no honor duel, few wanted Nicholas dead more than Olim did. But he had buried his past too well and none had known why.

 

“I am so sorry, Olim.” Amelia said, her voice breaking. “To see it was bad enough…”

 

“Leave me alone!” Olim snapped, recoiling from her hands. “Just… leave me alone!”

 

“Olim, you are not alone.” Amelia said, trying to soothe. “I know the feelings well. I… Please, let me help…”

 

“You have friends, a family…” Olim snapped as she tried to ease his limbs. “They… They killed mine in front of me while I lay helpless… If you are not going to kill me, then leave me be!” He snapped, jerking away from her touch again. He couldn’t move far and his head felt like a Gorgon was firing inside, but he tried. She let him go.

 

“Olim, what they did to you was horrible beyond belief.” Karl said softly. “I knew what they did and why. I was hunting them. I didn’t know it was you. You changed your name. I understand now why you shot Nicholas. I would have done the same.”

 

“Go do whatever the hell you do!” Olim screamed. “I hate you! I hate you all!”

 

“And we have earned it.” Karl said sadly. “Amelia, Kori… Go.”

 

“But, Sensei…” Amelia protested, and then she gave a small cry. “Olim… I am sorry.”

 

Then the door hissed shut and Olim was alone with his freshly exhumed memories of horror. But only for a moment. The door hissed again and movement came close. An armored hand touched Olim’s arm, but he was too wrapped up in his horrid memories to react. A warm mass sat down beside him, then an arm was around his shoulder and he was crying in pain and grief as Raven held him.

 

After several minutes, he stopped. As he opened his eyes, a hand with a writing pad appeared in front of him.

 

‘I didn’t know.’ Raven had written. Olim stiffened and wrote quickly.

 

‘Did he make you watch?’ Olim demanded.

 

‘No.’ Raven replied and Olim relaxed. ‘One came and wrote what they had seen as soon as they saw. I don't trust them but... I had to help you so when they motioned me to follow I did. I remember hearing about the incident. That was the main reason why, when Nicholas’ scum came to me begging an alliance after I had been sentenced, I fought his people and drove them away. I may have been a renegade, but I was nothing like him.’ The arm around Olim gave a squeeze.

 

‘You were loyal opposition. A Tenno who disagreed with the government, but legally.’ Olim wrote. ‘I am sorry.’

 

‘For?’ Raven asked.

 

‘I don’t know.’ Olim wrote. ‘Maybe everything? There is so much I have done that I could have done differently. That I should have done differently. And now, matters are worse.’

 

‘The world has changed, Olim.’ Raven wrote. ‘Tenno will change to meet it. Perhaps you and I can find a purpose in this new world. Or at least find a path to do some good before we fall.’

 

‘I am tired, Raven.’ Olim wrote. ‘I am so tired.’

 

‘I understand.’ Raven replied in writing. ‘Rest, Tenno. We have both been abused and survived. Maybe it is time we both started living again.’

 

“I don’t know how.” Olim wrote carefully as sleep reached up to claim him. ‘Do you?’

 

‘No.’ Raven replied. ‘We will find a way. Tenno survive. It is what we do.’

 

“If I still am Tenno…” Olim said as he slipped into sleep.

[Kalenath]

To Tenno or not to Tenno

 

This time when Olim woke, he was in a standard dojo room. Occasionally, he had spent time in Tenno dojos, but not very long. He…did not fit with normal Tenno, if there was such a thing. He took a moment to check himself and found his chest wound nearly gone. What had been a deep hole in his upper left chest was now a red circle and he knew even that would fade. He looked around and found a Tenno bodysuit on a chair nearby, complete with boots. Without looking, he knew it as his size. He did not put it on, he just sat on the bed.

 

“If you want to walk around the dojo naked, you can.” A voice came as the door opened. “But people will talk.” Kori came to stand in the door. She wore her warframe, but he noticed a collar on it that he hadn’t before. A neutralizer. It would inhibit her powers unless authorized and if she tried to run, it would knock her unconscious or worse.

 

“Trust only goes so far, I see.” Olim said, not moving.

 

“We gave them no reason to trust us, Olim.” Kori said sadly. “And many reasons not to. How is the head?”

 

“Still attached.” Olim replied with just a trace of the anger he felt.

 

“Pain, nausea?” Kori asked. Olim shook his head and she sighed. “Olim, we screwed up, we all know this. Even Aeron… Aeron was aghast at what we saw. We want to make it right.”

 

“The only thing you screwed up was not killing me.” Olim said quietly. “I am a traitor and a renegade. Death is the punishment.”

 

“You helped a sorely hurt sister.” Kori said sadly. “You were so patient, so careful. You did everything you could and then Alicia shot you!” Kori could not be faking the outrage in her tone now. She shook her head. “Olim, Brianna and Amelia want to talk to you. They specialize in mental traumas. They can help you.”

 

“And if I don’t want help?” Olim asked softly. Kori recoiled a bit.

 

“You want to die.” Kori said evenly. “I do understand that. But Olim, if you die… Then Nicholas and his scum win. Even after they are dead, they win.”

 

“They have already won.” Olim said quietly. Then he was flung backwards as an open hand slapped him across the face. He slammed into the wall and then down to the bed, holding his jaw in both hands. It felt like the front of his face was about to fall off, but then again, when one got slapped by a warframe…

 

“Oh!” Kori exclaimed. “Damn it, Olim. Stop trying to make me angry!” She was at his side, her hands gentle as she examined his face. “You want me to kill you and I won’t.” She looked at the ceiling. “I need a medic. Not Alicia!” She called.

 

“Don’t bother.” Olim managed to grate out, trying to extricate himself from her hands.

 

“Don’t move.” Lori snapped as she held him carefully with one hand. “I will knock your stubborn butt out.” A contact stunner appeared in her free hand. Olim sighed and relaxed in place.

 

“What the hell?” The voice was familiar. “Kori?” Olim looked up to see Brianna enter the room, medical gear in hand.

 

“I slapped him. He is pushing us to kill him, Brianna.” Kori said with a snap. “I’ll stay close just in case he tries to take you hostage or something equally dumb.” Olim did not react as Brianna knelt down beside the bed and pulled a medical scanner from her bag. “Do you really think you are the only one with horrors in your past, Olim?” She demanded.

 

“Kori.” Brianna said quietly. “Calm down.” Olim did not move as the medic scanned him and then sighed. “Hairline fracture of the right mandible.” She looked at Olim and glared. “Are you going to be stupid or let me fix it?”

 

“What is the point?” Olim asked through the pain in his mouth. “I am dead. That is what you do to renegades.”

 

“Are you?” Brianna asked coolly. Olim stared at her, confused. “I asked a question, Olim. Are you a renegade?”

 

“I don’t want to be.” Olim admitted. “But I could not obey the Lotus’ order to run and leave Raven to her fate.”

 

“You were in a cave with an unknown, possibly insane Tenno.” Kori said sourly. “What was she supposed to tell you to do? Play some chess?” Brianna chuckled but shook her head.

 

“Why can’t you just end me?” Olim demanded. “That is all I am asking! All I want!”

 

“Because it would be wrong.” Brianna said quietly. “Olim, please. You know about doing the wrong thing. So do I.” Olim stiffened as she pulled out a small device and started playing energy across his jaw. “You may not be able to fix your mistakes. I can’t ever fix mine. What I did to Kori… to Will… Can’t be fixed. Kori is never going to be as she was. Will is never going to get the memories I destroyed back, Olim. Ever.” She said, tears starting to fall. “I have to see him, every day, Olim. I have to see my failure. My horror. My mistakes. Please, don’t give up. You are not alone.”

 

“I…” Olim was stunned by the sheer pain in her voice. “What do I do? I don’t know what to do.” He admitted in a small voice.

 

“What can we do? We go on.” Brianna said softly. “It is all we can do. And we need your help.”

 

“My help?” Olim was confused. “What could I possibly help with?”

 

“Raven is… a mess.” Brianna said slowly. “You said it and you were right. We have done what we can, but…”

 

“But?” Olim prompted her when she did not continue.

 

“Olim, in order to help her, I need to be able to talk to her.” Brianna said with a sigh. “She won’t talk to us. She followed me when I got her after… after we scanned you, but now she won’t respond at all. I don’t really blame her for distrust or fear. Not after what happened when Karl and his people found you both.”

 

“I expected what happened to tell the truth.” Olim said with a shrug. “I expected them to kill me.”

 

“It wasn’t right.” Kori said quietly.

 

“Right and wrong don’t come into it, Kori.” Olim said just as quietly. “I attacked Karl’s people with you on Grina’s orders. I did not -could not- swear to any leader after being booted from Jasmina’s clan. I swore to Grina because she gave me no choice, but… Small wonder they don’t trust me. I cannot trust myself. Even the mind link we shared… I couldn’t trust.”

 

“I know. For what it is worth, Olim…” Kori said quietly. “You have my trust. We need you.” The stunner vanished back into her pocket. “You can talk to Raven. She talks to you and no one else. If… If she does have another personality buried in her mind, we need to find out. Soon.” Olim did not flinch. They had pulled out every nuance of his conversations with Raven during the mindprobe. He could still see every bit of what they had pulled out. Every. Single Thing.

 

“Collar?” Olim asked softly as he sat up.

 

“No. You don’t have a warframe anymore.” Kori said sadly. “The pieces of yours were… unsalvageable. You will be under full time surveillance, but… No collar.”

 

“I figured it was junk.” Olim said with a frown. “Funny… I never liked the Ash. It was just what was available when I…” He slumped a bit.

 

“When you got out of the hospital.” Brianna finished for him. He nodded. She laid a hand on his arm and he tried not to flinch. “Olim, this is going to be rough. It has been rough for us and we swore to Ric.”

 

“I can’t…” Olim said slowly. “I cannot swear to anyone. Not now. Maybe not ever. Grina took me in and gave me a place even without a full oath. And we know what happened. I am a screw up, Brianna, Kori. It is all I am. All I have been since…” He trailed off and looked at the floor. Ever since his personal bout with horror. The feelings rose again and his gorge rose with them.

 

“Olim, we can help. Amelia and I can help you.” Brianna said, her tone gentle. “But you have to want to get better. If you don’t, then we can talk until we are blue in the face. Kori can take control of your mind…” Kori snarled in negation at that, but subsided at Brianna’s glance. “…or others can beat you until their arms fall off and it won’t make any difference. If you don’t want to get better, you won’t.”

 

“I don’t know what I want.” Olim admitted.

 

“We can help you find out.” Brianna said soberly. “It won’t be easy or quick. But we can help you. If you want to. If you let us.”

 

“Or?” Olim asked softly.

 

“Or you will be locked up in a small room for the rest of your natural life.” Brianna said just as quietly. “You will be fed and tended, but you will never leave the room.” Olim shuddered at that and Brianna nodded. “You have a right to your anger. We screwed up. None of us knew, Olim.” To his surprise, she hugged him. “Jasmina is… pretty upset.”

 

“Not her fault.” Olim replied.

 

“She blames herself.” Kori said sadly. “We blame ourselves and you blame yourself. What happened to you is not your fault. The one whose fault it is, is dead. Will you let us help you, brother? And help us help Raven?”

 

“Help Raven? Yes. Help myself? I don’t know if I want to.” Olim said after a moment. “This is… I have been this way for so long. It feels wrong to think any other way.” Brianna and Kori just looked at him and he sighed. “What do you need me to do?”

 

“We want to get better scans of Raven’s injuries.” Brianna said with a nod. “To do that, we will need to take parts of her warframe off, but…” She trailed off as Olim hissed.

 

“Her warframe is fused to her body.” Olim said with a grimace. “Even I could see that.”

 

“Parts of it, yes.” Brianna agreed, her face sick. “We want to help her, but to do that, we need to talk to her. And since you are the only one she talks to…” She shrugged.

 

“Right.” Olim said with a nod. “Give me minute to get dressed.” He rose and reached for the bodysuit.

 

“Don’t push yourself too hard, Olim.” Brianna cautioned as he pulled the suit on. “Your injuries have healed, but we hurt you badly with the scan. If you get headaches, odd flashes of light or nausea, tell us immediately, okay?” She pleaded.

 

“Even if I am not Tenno anymore, Doctor…” Olim said quietly. “…pain and I are old friends.”

 

“The only one who can decide that about you is you, Olim.” Kori said stoically. “No one else can take it from you.” Olim paused in pulling on his boots as he heard the sincerity in her voice. Her voice held a grim edge now. “And if anyone were to try? Well… Karl would kill them. As upset as we are… He is quietly furious.”

 

“I see.” Olim said as he finished dressing even though he didn’t really understand. “Where to?”

 

“Meal first, then we go see Raven.” Brianna said with a nod. “I don’t… I don’t know if she even sees us. She doesn’t acknowledge us.”

 

“You gotta remember, doc…” Olim said softly. “If what I remember about her is true… She was convicted. She was sentenced to death. She accepted her death. So… She is in limbo of sorts now. Not even counting what the Corpus did to her.”

 

“Wait. If she accepted her death… Then how did she get into Cryo?” Kori asked, curious. “If she had accepted her death, why did she work so hard to survive?”

 

“Accepting death and dying are two completely different things.” Brianna said with a sigh. “I accepted death when Will appeared on Europa. I was ready to die and he didn’t kill me. It was…jarring.”

 

“Oh.” Kori sounded very lost and alone for moment. “I had…forgotten…”

 

“It’s okay, Kori.” Brianna said sadly. “It was… bad.” She slumped for a bit and then shrugged. “We didn’t go through what you did, Olim. But it was bad.”

 

“I don’t deny it.” Olim said with a frown. “How… How do you deal with such things?”

 

“We talk about them.” Briana said quietly. “Dissect the situation in detail. Then we discuss our feelings. It can be very rough.” She gulped. “The hoods help a lot, but we have to conserve those.” Olim nodded, he had encountered the bio-tech hoods that allowed people to share surface thoughts. Those had been the whole reason that Grina had sent Kori and him into Karl’s dojo.

 

“I thought you got the blueprints.” Olim said as the group paused at an elevator. “Can’t you make more?”

 

“We can.” Brianna agreed. “Whenever the medical establishment gets off their duffs and lets us.” Olim’s eyes went wide at that and Brianna sighed. “They don’t like the idea of Orokin tech out of their control. The ‘sharing’ faded within a week, but they are worried about overdoses or addiction...”

 

“Or that someone might put those quacks in the secure psyche unit out of their cushy jobs!” Kori snapped, irate. Olim stared at her and she gulped. “Sorry. I am a bit… um… upset with them still.”

 

“I’ll say. But you are much better.” Olim looked askance at Brianna’s words and the doctor laughed. “She has made a lot of progress.” The doc admitted as the elevator opened. “She used to punch holes in the walls.”

 

“Miguel asked me to stop doing that since he had to fix them.” Kori said primly. “I like Miguel.” Olim shook his head and then froze as the door opened and another Tenno in a warframe stood there. The Trinity didn’t move to let them pass. Brianna and Kori pushed by her and Olim followed, not looking left or right. Only when they had passed two doors did Kori let out a breath. “I thought Alicia was off on a mission?”

 

“So did I.” Brianna said with a grimace. “That girl…” She sighed. “She overreacted. Karl read her the riot act even before you all got back. You were not armed.”

 

“I don’t blame her, actually.” Olim said with a sigh. “Part of me wishes she had hit me square.” The other two looked at him, and he shook his head. “But the rest of me is happy she didn’t.”

 

“Good.” Brianna said with a smile. “I don’t know about you, but I am hungry.” Olim nodded and they entered a small room that was set up as a mess hall. He and Brianna took trays of food from a wall dispenser and sat down at the sole table. A girl in Tenno robes was sitting nearby and reading a datapad as she ate. “Karen. Studying I see.” Brianna said with a smile.

 

“Advanced ballistics.” The girl said, turning to smile at the three. Her smile did not change as she saw Olim, but her eyes were sad. “One of these days I will manage to get it down pat. For now? I have to study.”

 

“Don’t forget to sleep.” Brianna said with a trace of caution. “I know you are eager, but don’t push too hard.”

 

“I won’t.” Karen said with a nod. Then she looked straight at Olim, examined him with her eyes and smiled. “Good to see you, Olim.”

 

“You too… Karen…” Olim said, surprised.

 

“You are not alone, Olim.” Karen said quietly, laying her pad down as she finished her meal. “The one who hurt us both is dead and gone. If you want to talk, I am here.” She finished her food, picked up her tray and took it to the disposal slot. Then she reclaimed her pad and left without another word. Olim, stunned, turned to look at Brianna and Kori, but both of them looked just as stunned.

 

“Do I want to know?” Olim asked slowly as he ate.

 

“When Karl took this place…” Brianna said slowly. “He found her here. She had been…taken.” Olim froze, a bite halfway to his mouth. “And whatever you can imagine, it was worse because they wanted her to breed for them and she couldn’t.”

 

“I see.” Olim said slowly, then at the bite mechanically. He shook his head slowly when he had swallowed. “I don’t know how I feel about that. Angry. Sad…” He sighed. “She is human. We are supposed to protect humans.”

 

“She was.” Kori replied softly. “Not anymore.” Olim thought about that and then nodded. “She is Aeron’s apprentice and downright scary with a sniper rifle.”

 

“I don’t doubt it.” Olim replied with a shudder. Aeron was scary enough. Anyone who could keep up with him? He finished his meal and waited for the others. Kori wasn’t eating, but then again, she was in her warframe, so didn’t need sustenance. Brianna as polishing off the remnants of her meal. “Is she…okay?” He stiffened as another voice answered him.

 

“Karen is about as far from okay as it is possible to be and function. Btu she is managing.” Aeron said as he entered the small meal hall. He walked to where Olim sat and held out his hand. “I am sorry.” He said simply.

 

“I hurt your wife and kid.” Olim said with a shake of his head. “I don’t blame you for being angry.”

 

“Actually you didn’t.” Aeron said with a shrug. “A fact that was pointed out to me, loudly. I don’t mind making mistakes if I can fix them. I made one.” He left his hand hanging.

 

“I don’t think you did.” Olim said with a sigh, but he took the hand and shook it. “But apology accepted.”

 

“When you get the chance, check out the range.” Aeron said with a nod. “I can set up anything you like.”

 

“You trust me with firearms?” Olim asked, incredulous. He was not expecting Kori and Brianna to laugh sourly. “What?” He demanded.

 

“Aeron doesn’t trust anyone with firearms, Olim.” Kori said with a smirk in her voice. “He doesn’t even trust his own wife! The security systems will knock anyone with unauthorized weapons out cold without warning.”

 

“Is it paranoia when they are all out to get us?” Aeron asked, unfazed by Kori’s words.

 

“No.” Olim replied. “I could probably use a refresher. When the docs let me out of their clutches, I will be in touch.”

 

“Rifle or pistol?” Aeron asked calmly.

 

“Akimbo pistol, preferably.” Olim said with a nod. Aeron nodded as well and then left in silence. “Okay, that was a surprise.” Olim admitted.

 

“He may be scary, Olim.” Kori said with a nod. “But he is fair.” Brianna finished her meal and Olim rose with her to dispose of his tray. “Now…”

 

“Raven.” Olim said with a nod.

[Spikey844]

Happy days...

[KF5AQX]

Oh man, and I was just about to give up on the forums all together.

 

I think I'll be hanging around a while now!

[WarOverlord]

Oh man, and I was just about to give up on the forums all together.

 

I think I'll be hanging around a while now!

Yesss!

You think you can write some more fanfiction?

Take a few tips from kalenath.

[KF5AQX]

Yesss!

You think you can write some more fanfiction?

Take a few tips from kalenath.

 

I do actually intend to write more. Just not for some time. Life is gonna be a bit too busy for the next four months.

 

And I'll be honest, Kalenath is the guy who made me want to post my stories on the forums.

[Kalenath]

Quoth the Raven…

 

Olim followed the pair of female Tenno through the dojo, his mind whirling. Aeron had been the most overtly hostile of Karl’s people that they had met so far and to have him walk up and apologize. He really hadn’t expected that. What was worse was how it made him feel. He felt…cheated somehow. He wanted to be angry. Well, he was angry. But it was very hard to stay angry when everyone was saying he was right. He…wasn’t used to people saying that. He had been a screw up for so long…

 

The trio passed through the dojo corridors quietly. Finally Brianna and Kori stopped outside the door to what looked like regular living quarters. Olim looked around, confused.

 

“She isn’t a prisoner.” Brianna said quietly. “We have her under surveillance, but then again, we all are. We are very worried about her, especially since she will not talk to any of us.” She made a face. “Well, respond to our writing.”

 

“What do you want me to do?” Olim asked with a sigh.

 

“Talk to her.” Kori said with a nod. “That is all. Ask her if she can talk to our medical personnel. We want to help. We really do.” She pleaded as she handed him a holo pad that could be written on and have said writing projected on any flat surface. “We will be watching, but we won’t come in with you. We want to help, not get her to withdraw even more than she has.” Olim grimaced but then nodded. “If you need help…” She trailed off as Olim grinned sourly.

 

“I’ll scream loud.” Olim promised and made for the door. It opened in front of him and he stepped into… wonder.

 

The room had stared out as the same kind of bare bones living compartment as he had woken in. A bed, a chair, and a desk were the sole furniture. A small sanitation facility would provide for Tenno not in warframes to keep clean. That was normal. The myriad of drawing on what looked to be honest to goodness paper were not. He stared around, amazed. Each drawing was done in line work on the paper and each looked to be unique. He saw architecture, flora, fauna, people that he didn’t recognize, warframes, weapons, all kinds and sorts of things with no discernable rhyme or reason. But they were all good. He was no art specialist, but all of the work was good. Raven sat on the bed, her warframe’s legs curled up underneath her, a piece of paper laid out on a pad in front of her and a pen slowly tracing on the paper.

 

Olim did not want to startle her, so he moved to the side and waited. After a few moments, she looked up and froze, her pen stopping in mid stroke. He bowed to her formally and held up the pad that Kori had given him. He saw a twin to it sitting untouched at the other end of the bed. He slowly and carefully typed on his screen.

 

‘Raven’. He held out the display, not that she really needed him to. She could likely read such small print from a kilometer away with her warframe sensors. She just stared at him. ‘Are you all right?’ He asked in writing, worried. The warframe on the bed did not respond and Olim started to feel very alone. He shook his head and knelt on the floor, consciously placing his head below hers. ‘Am I communicating with Raven?’ He inquired.

 

The female Tenno on the bed slowly shook her head and Olim bit back several foul curses. This wasn’t Raven, this was the ‘other’ that Raven had feared.

 

‘May I know your name?’ Olim asked, keeping his typing slow and careful. He was fully aware of the warframe scrutinizing him and his own vulnerability. The other looked at him without moving for several long seconds and then shrugged. He let out a slow breath and raised a hand to point at the bed. The female Tenno turned her hand and then jumped a little, as if seeing the pad for the first time. Maybe she was. ‘You can type on that and communicate that way.’

 

He sat and waited while she thought, then did not react as she reached out slowly to take the pad on the bed. She picked it up and turned it on. She typed and then turned the screen to him.

 

‘Leave.’

 

Olim felt as if he had been punched in the gut. He bowed his head, but then started typing.

 

‘I can’t do that. You are hurt. You need help. The medical personnel want to help.’ He showed the sentences to her and froze as she jerked to her feet. She was obviously upset as she paced back and forth. He had no doubt that if she could speak, she would be cursing. He typed again, slowly. ‘I don’t want to see you hurt any more than you have been. I want to help. Please, let me help.” He pleaded in writing.

 

On seeing that, the Valcyr froze in place, her body suddenly quivering. For a moment, he couldn’t figure out what was going on and then, it clicked. She was crying! Olim rose to his feet, fully aware of the murderous claws on the warframe’s wrists and toes. He ignored them as he stepped closer. He stopped as she backed up.

 

‘I want to help.’ He wrote and underlined. Then he waited. She seemed uncertain. She started typing, then stopped, erased what she had written and then typed again.

 

‘You cannot.’ The other finally showed him.

 

‘Let me –us- try?’ Olim begged. ‘You are hurt, badly. Our enemies hurt you. They used you for their evil. But you are a sister. You are kin.’

 

‘I am nothing.’ The other wrote and Olim felt his stomach falling. ‘A ghost of a fool. Nothing more.’ She froze as Olim snarled. Maybe she couldn’t hear him, but she had to see his facial expression.

 

‘You are far more than that.’ Olim typed when he was sure he was calm enough type coherently. ‘The other you is scared of you. I am not.’

 

‘You should be.’ The female Tenno typed with a snap. ‘I am a monster.’

 

‘So am I.’ Olim retorted. She shook her head, but he wasn’t done. ‘Sister, I do not know what they did to you. I know why they did it.’ She tensed and he nodded. ’The Corpus wish to use our strengths to conquer their enemies. They are the fools, sister. They have no idea at all what they are playing with. They have found bits and pieces of Orokin technology and think those bits make them mighty. What they do not know is the dangers that await them. We know, sister.’ The other nodded slowly and Olim took a deep breath before typing again. “What happened to you is horrible. And it will happen again, to other unsuspecting kin if we cannot stop it.’ She shook her head and he looked at her.

 

‘This…’ She paused and then started typing again. ‘I was a failure. I could not be controlled. They came to kill me and I killed them and escaped, but I knew the masters would continue their horrors, their ‘Zanuka’.’ Olim nodded.

 

‘They did.’ Olim agreed. ‘We are trying to stop it.’

 

‘You are trying to stop what they did to me?’ The female Tenno asked after a moment.

 

‘Yes.’ Olim replied.

 

‘I wondered why the ones who kept me here left me alone. Why they gave me paper.’ The female wrote slowly. ‘I cannot hear. They-‘ Her typing stopped as Olim rose and stepped close. ‘No!’ she pleaded on the pad.

 

‘What is your name, sister?’ Olim asked her, his face sad, but firm.

 

‘I don’t have one.’ The other typed, her posture dejected. ‘I am nothing. I am so angry. I hurt you and then you helped me. I saw you shot for me and I am always so angry. I don’t want to hurt you.” She pleaded.

 

‘Then don’t.’ Olim typed on his own pad. He held his arms out and waited. The battered warframe slowly closed the distance until she was standing inside his arms. He slowly closed them and held her as her body wracked with sobs that she could never express. Then she jerked in his arms and he released her to retreat a step. She stared at him and then at her hand with the pad. She brought it up and typed fast.

 

‘WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, OLIM?’ The writing seemed to leap at him from the page as she fell back another step.

 

‘Hello Raven.’ Olim typed, a sad smile on his face. ‘Good to see you.’

 

‘”Hello Raven”? HELLO RAVEN?’ The other wrote, her hand flying. ‘Are you completely out of your mind?’ She demanded. ‘You are not even in a warframe!’

 

‘I am not threat to you or your other part, Raven.’ Olim said with a nod. ‘She knows that.’

 

‘She is anger, Olim!’ Raven nearly snapped the datapad, as hard as she was typing. ‘That is all she is!’

 

‘You are wrong, Raven.’ Olim replied. ‘She is also scared. Of me, of you. Of herself.’ He hadn’t been sure until he had seen her crying, but somehow, he knew it was the truth.

 

‘Of ME?’ Raven demanded.

 

‘Raven, you are part of her. Part she cannot control.’ Olim wrote patiently. ‘After what you went through, of course she is scared. I-‘ He stopped typing for a moment and then sighed. ‘I know about feeling helpless while people hurt me. While they… strip pieces from me… while they… do things to me…’ He was shaking hard as he typed, barely able to see the pad through his own rage and pain.

 

“Oh Olim.’ Raven wrote after a moment. ‘You cannot help me.’

 

‘You do not know that.’ Olim wrote. She paused and considered that for a moment and Olim pressed his advantage. ‘We both have been abused. We both have been hurt. I think it is high time we both showed that the ones who abused us have not won. At least we can try to.’

 

‘Olim, I am only half of me!’ Raven protested, shaking her head.

 

‘I know.’ Olim replied, glad that typing didn’t allow for squeaks in his voice. ‘When she comes back, and I bet she will, I will offer her what I am offering you. A partner in this long, hard road that we will be walking.’ She stared at him and he swallowed hard. ‘I cannot be a true partner, with what I lost. But I can be here for you. All the parts of you.’

 

‘Genitalia does not make a Tenno, Olim.’ Raven replied after a moment. ‘It doesn’t make you brave or strong or smart.’

 

‘Many thought it did.’ Olim replied, heaving in memory. He did not move as Raven stepped close, her free hand coming to touch his arm. “I don’t know what is coming, Raven. But if you agree, I will meet it with you. Together, we are stronger than apart.’ He laughed a bit and Raven looked at him, obviously able to see his facial expression even if she couldn’t hear his chuckle.

 

‘What?’ She asked.

 

‘Nothing really.’ Olim said with a shrug, but she didn’t move and he shrugged again. ‘For so long I equated alone with strong. Silly, huh?’

 

‘When all you had was your own strength and skill?’ Raven typed, her shoulders slumping. ‘Small wonder you felt that way.’ She shook her head. ‘What do we do?’

 

‘The docs want to run some scans, see if they can repair some of the damage.’ Olim typed and did not react as Raven recoiled. ‘I know.’ He typed.

 

‘That Trinity shot you.’ Raven typed fiercely. Olim nodded and she typed again. ‘You did nothing and she shot you!’

 

‘I had a history with her clan.’ Olim explained in writing. ‘A bad one. I do not blame her for her reaction.’

 

‘I do!’ Raven typed sternly. ‘Big tough Tenno, shooting an unarmed being!’

 

‘Raven.’ Olim admonished her a bit. ‘It’s okay.’

 

‘I don’t trust her.’ Raven retorted. ‘Not if she is so quick to shoot before thinking. Reminds me of another Trinity I knew. Always shooting before she thought.’

 

‘For what it is worth, I think the rest of her clan are just as annoyed with her as you are.’ Olim wrote with a smile. He sighed. ‘Raven, please. Let us try to help?’ He begged her. ‘Maybe we can’t, but please let us try!’

 

‘I am scared of what might happen if she gets loose.’ Raven wrote, her hand shaking a bit.

 

‘She won’t.’ Olim promised her. ‘This dojo is very secure.’

 

‘Olim.’ Raven typed. ’She nearly got out of the Orokin lockup because they underestimated her. Don’t make the same mistake. She is sneaky. She is likely playing on your emotions.’

 

‘Maybe she is.’ Olim wasn’t so sure. ‘But they won’t trust either of us near anything critical, I am sure. Wait…’ He paused. ‘Are you saying she was around before you went into cryo?’

 

‘Yes.’ Raven said with a wince. ‘She was… my temper, but more so. From my earliest recollection, she was my doom.’

 

‘Oh Raven.’ Olim shook his head. ‘I am sorry.’

 

‘Olim, you cannot take the chance.’ Raven typed carefully. ‘For all I know, there is another personality inside me that was a spy for the Sentients.’

 

‘That is why you didn’t contest the charges.’ Olim felt as if he had been sucker punched.

 

‘I didn’t know.’ Raven admitted. ‘I couldn’t know. And while I disagreed with much of what the government did, I was no traitor. I couldn’t know if I was spying or not.’ She bowed her head. Olim shook his head and then reached out slowly to lift her chin so she could easily see what he wrote.

 

‘Raven.’ Olim typed. ‘We can find out.’ She jerked and stared at him. ‘But we need your help and your other half’s as well.’

 

‘You cannot trust me, us.’ Raven typed. Then she went totally still as Olim stepped close to her, reached down with his free hand and pulled her limp hand up and around until it circled his throat. It stayed there when he released it, as if Raven was afraid to move.

 

‘I think I can.’ Olim typed with his free hand. She jerked away, backing fully to the wall before she stopped and he let her go.

 

‘You are CRAZY!’ Raven nearly broke the pad again. She jerked and this time, he could see it happen. When the flustered and frightened Raven was suddenly replaced by a fierce tenseness, a readiness to run and strike.

 

‘Hello.’ Olim typed on his pad. ‘I upset her.’

 

‘So I feel.’ The other side of Raven’s personality said. If writing could be dry, this was. ‘Do you have a death wish, Olim of the Tenno?’

 

‘For a very long time, yes, Ma’am. I did.’ Olim wrote. She paused and stared at him. ‘Now? Maybe I have something to live for again.’

 

‘What?’ She inquired after a moment.

 

‘Helping you.’ Olim typed and then sighed. ‘And maybe helping myself in the bargain.’

 

‘How?’ She asked, caution in every movement.

 

‘The healers want to do some scans, see if anything can be done for your injuries.’ Olim typed and then sighed as she shook her head savagely. ‘They know about you and Raven. They want to help.’

 

‘One of those supposed healers shot you.’ The other female Tenno typed, slamming the keys hard. ‘Then she started trying to make nice to me. And then she just retreated and stopped doing anything. I have no idea why. I couldn’t hear what they said to each other. I am supposed to trust them?’

 

‘No.’ Olim wrote. The other Tenno stared at him, obviously confused. ‘Trust has to be earned. But they have promised not to hurt you any further and I will be there.’

 

‘You trust them?’ The Valcyr typed her question slowly.

 

‘Not entirely.’ Olim admitted. ‘But they have been trying to make up for hurting me. And you do need help.’

 

‘I…’ For a long moment, she didn’t type any more. Then she bowed her head and relaxed herself visibly. ‘I trust you, Olim of the Tenno.’

 

‘Please don’t.’ Olim wrote. She jerked and stared at him. ‘Every time people trust me, bad things happen.’

 

‘But you do not do them.’ The other Tenno said with a shake of her head. ‘You do what you must, when you must. You obey orders.’

 

‘Even when I shouldn’t.’ Olim agreed. ‘Even when I know better. Even when I know it will cause far more problems to obey the orders than not to, I do. Because I am happy being a screw up.’

 

‘No you are not.’ The other replied sadly. ‘I have only known you a couple of days and I can tell that already.’

 

‘I hope I never disappoint you, sister.’ Olim sad sadly. ‘May I call a mental specialist in?’ The female Tenno shrugged and sat down on the bed again. “Brianna?” His voice sounded loud in the silence that had been near absolute.

 

The door opened behind him and he felt a presence beside him. But the voice that sounded was not Brianna.

 

“Don’t move.” Alicia said sharply as Raven suddenly stiffened on the bed and something round and cold dug into the back of Olim’s neck. A pistol barrel.

 

“She can’t hear you.” Olim said with a gulp, leaving his hands were they were.

 

“She is lying. It is what she does.” Alicia said with a snap. “Go ahead, traitor! Try it!” She said with a growl as Raven slowly moved, but…

 

‘No!’ The projected words slammed up on the wall. ‘Let him go, Alicia!’ Olim paused. How did Raven know Alicia’s name?

 

“I don’t think so, traitor.” Alicia snapped. “Go ahead, move and die! You should have died a long time ago and-“ The sound of a weapon being taken off safe was loud in the room. Out of the corner of his eye, Olim could see Karl’s Rhino stepping in there, his Hek shotgun leveled. At Alicia!

 

“Alicia.” Karl’s voice was cold. “Something you want to tell me? Like why Kori and Brianna are unconscious in the hall?”

 

Instead of Alicia speaking, new words sprang up on the wall. Impossible words.

 

‘Rhino. Please don’t kill my little sister.’

[Suzaku]

Truly a master of cliffhangers.

[Spikey844]

Oh my god

[CommanderCorgi]

WHAT. THE. ****.

 

WHAT.

[Kalenath]

WHAT. THE. ****.

 

WHAT.

 

Is there anyone who can make you madder than family? EVER?

 

But have no fear. All is not as it seems.

 

Actually... you might want to fear... just saying...

Edited December 22, 2013 by Kalenath