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[Fanfiction] Only Human

Kalenath

By Kalenath,
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Kalenath

Kalenath

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This is a follow on to Old Dreams ((https://forums.warframe.com/index.php?/topic/242587-fanfiction-old-dreams/))and will clear up some loose ends.

 

 

 

 

Human

 

It was very quiet. She liked quiet. Quiet was her ally. It was not her place to run into danger, guns blazing. No. Her job was to be very calm, very precise and very quiet. The alarm sounded in the distance and she nodded to herself as she watched the guards pound away from where they had been congregated. She eased her way from her hiding place, ready to run or fight if needed. But it wasn't. None of the guards had even looked back. After all, if the sophisticated sensors arrayed all around the area hadn't picked up any life signs, there couldn't be anything there, yes?

 

Or something clad in some of the most scanner resistant armor known to man or Tenno. When she had asked, she had been told that an old Earth cockroach would have more of a signature on the sensors than she would. Which was good, since she couldn't move very fast in the armor. It was not heavy, just cumbersome. It masked her life signs from any scans and masked her visually as well. She was a ghost. She was never there. She was a Tenno Operative and she was very good at her job.  A rumble sounded in the distance and she focused on her objectives. The supplies that her handler had requested she search for were here... somewhere.

 

The problem wasn't going to be looking for stuff. There was stuff here in this huge storage space. Stuff was everywhere. Boxes, crates, containers of all sizes and shapes. The huge storage facility defined full. But... Whoever had stored items here hadn't been a good organizer.

 

Or sane She thought with a small mental smirk, careful to keep most of her awareness on her surroundings.

 

The last thing she needed was to get blindsided by a guard now. More rumbles in the distance told her that the guards had found the diversion team. Not that finding them would do the guards much good. Tenno were not lightweight enemies. They tended to leave swaths of destruction in their wake. But at the same time, they did not usually go for subtle. If Tenno had been tasked to search the warehouse that the agent was slowly making her way through, in the end, a bunch of boxes would be broken, the guards would come swooping down and the team would have to flee with little to show for their efforts. No, she was the better choice for this. She was fast, scanning each box as she crouched beside it. Every so often, she would tag one and a faint hum of energy would be felt more than heard. Each tag allowed her handlers to transport small quantities of whatever she found out of the boxes. The tags degraded quickly, leaving no trace of her passage except several empty boxes in a storage area filled with boxes.

 

The team is withdrawing. The voice of her commander came and the agent paused, then nodded. They could only stay in the area a short period of time. Eventually, the enemy would get tired of their presence and do something nasty to dislodge them. Cutting off life support on a ship, dispersing toxic spores across the entirety of a planet side habitat or filling the area with poison gas, it made no difference. Any of the potential responses could and would kill even Tenno if left long enough. Messy but very effective. Get out of there.

 

Yes Lotus. She replied, not expecting an answer. But then her scanner vibrated for her attention. She stared at it, then at the box which was... slightly different from the others. Something. What the...? Lotus! I have found something! She called and her handler was back, concerned.

 

You need to get out of there! The team has withdrawn! The Lotus said sharply, but then the agent uploaded the scanner data and the Lotus... paused. Oh my god...

 

The box held a small human form encased in some kind of protective field. She couldn't tell gender, but she could read life signs. The child was alive!

 

I will tag this box. The agent said firmly as she did just that. Then she was ghosting back to where she had entered the warehouse. With a hum, the whole box vanished.  Lotus? She asked as an alarm started blaring. She hurried her steps.

 

The box was trapped with multiple alarms! Run! The Lotus commanded. Your ride standing by. Get out of there!

 

The Operative needed no further urging. She darted for the air vent that had allowed her access to the storage unit. Behind her, she heard started and angry voices shouting, all in the Corpus language. Stood to reason, they had been robbing a Corpus facility. Luckily, she spoke Corpus. As well as Grineer, Tenno,  a couple of dozen human languages...

 

[What was that?] The harsh voice had to be a commander of some kind. [Why did the alarm trigger in here! None of the Betrayers got this far!]

 

Light shone across the area and she froze in place, praying her stealth systems would hold. She wasn't out in the open, but she was slightly visible. If her stealth failed, if they managed a solid sensor sweep... She would not leave this unit. Not alive anyway. She was privy to far too many secrets to allow the enemies of the Tenno to take her. She could not feel the needles that had sunk into her carotid arties. She had been promised that the mixture they contained would be swift, painless and impossible to counter. But she didn't want to die. She had too much left to do.

 

Half a dozen Corpus Crewmen strode into view, their Dera rifles held ready. A pair of Techs stood nearby, their Supra rifles also ready. Behind them the form of an Blitz Eximus Commander stood, his posture angry.

 

[Well?] The commander snapped.

 

{Container 475-S is missing.] One of the crewmen reported. [Other boxes report losses. We have been robbed!] An angry mutter swept the room.

 

[Aw nuts!] The commander snarled. [Lousy stinking Tenno! It is not enough that they come in here and kill a battalion's worth of people, they have to rob us too? What was in 475-S?] He asked one of the Techs, his tone turning resigned. The Tech slung his Supra and pulled out a datapad.

 

{It is marked 'Classified', Sir.] The Tech replied uneasily. The Operative did not move as a light swept over her. It kept going. [We better report this.]

 

[Who the hell puts classified materials in a storage unit here of all places? This unit is a disaster! Who organized this?] The Commander snapped. Then he groaned. [The Board is not going to be happy. There went my profits.]

 

[Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.] One of the Crewmen who was searching near the agent muttered softly.

 

[i heard that, Jackson K-67!]  The Crewman went stiff as the Commander snapped. [You are on camera repair duty.]

 

[Yes sir.] The errant Crewman saluted and barked the Corpus mantra. There really wasn't anything else he could do. [Profit numbs the feeling.]

 

[Everyone out.] The Commander said after a moment. [The Board is sending forensic bots to determine what was taken.] In her concealment, the Operative quailed a little. Forensic bots would detect her quickly. If they arrived while the Corpus were still inside the room... [Out!] The Commander nearly screamed. [We are contaminating the crime scene. That means you too, Richard W-47. Stop gawking at the boxes and move. Now!]

 

[Commander?"] The Crewman sounded young. [What the heck is an 'Ark of the Holy Grail'? And what is it doing in here?] The Operative was actually happy when the Commander rounded on his laggard.

 

[What part of 'Out' do you not understand?] The Commander actually grabbed the offending crewman by the arm and bodily yanked him from the room. The door hissed shut and the Operative started moving again, slowly and carefully. But with dedicated scanners coming, she had to be gone. Sooner rather than later.

 

She made it to the vent. The cover had been laid in place to allow her access and she moved it easily. Then she started replacing the connections that held it in place. She didn't want to leave any traces. She heard the door hiss again and the sounds of robotics, but she focused on her task. She had it. She was sliding back in the vent when a light streamed into it. She froze as an Osprey appeared at the vent, it's sensors peering in. It beeped and moved on, it's sensors apparently not detecting her.

 

Operative... The Lotus' voice was worried. Status?

 

Apparently, that child was some kind of classified material. No idea why it was in here. The operative said softly inside her mind. She didn't have to whisper in her mind. It was purely a psychological quibble that had no impact on the mission, so she ignored it. They sent for forensic bots. They will detect my passage but apparently have not yet.

 

That won't last. Get out of there. The Lotus commanded and the operative was happy to oblige. Backup is standing by in case you need hard extraction.

 

Roger that. She could guess who. Tenno had a reputation as soulless killing machines and some were in her experience. But not all. And one in particular was really beginning to annoy her. Tell me he isn't hovering at the exit? She begged.

 

He worries about you. The Lotus sounded... amused?

 

He needn't. The Operative said sharply as she made her way through the innards of the Corpus facility. I have a job to do and... She screamed as pain erupted across her side and back. Her body wasn't working right, but she managed to turn her head to see a Corpus Sniper aiming at her as she crumpled slowly to her knees. She had been shot with a Lanka. Silent weapon... A perfect ambush... She couldn't...

 

The roar of gunfire was loud in the small enclosure as a dark form from nightmares strode out of the shaft ahead, a pistol in each hand. Both Magnus pistols were barking at the sniper and the other Corpus who had been closing in to try and take her alive. Not that they could, but they would try. And... they had no chance at all against him. No one did at even close to similar odds.

 

Nikis... don't... She pleaded silently as consciousness fled.

 

***

 

It was no surprise that she woke in a Tenno medical ward. It was also no surprise that the doc was annoyed.

 

"Get out, Nikis." No, Iriana wasn't annoyed. That word was too mild. She was fuming. "Now." Very few people could talk to the ancient Tenno gunfighter in such a tone of voice and get away with it. But Healer Iriana had his respect, not an easy thing to earn. Part of the Operative was sure that Nikis was amused by the Healer's ire. Iriana did not like the gunfighter scaring her staff, which he did even when he didn't want to. It was just what he was.

 

"Doc." Nikis sounded... unsure. A first in her experience. "Is she gonna be okay?"

 

"If you let me do my job, yes."The Healer said with acid tinged politeness. "Get out. Go...scare some Grineer or something." She said with all the gentleness of a mama bear protecting a cub.

 

"Gets old." Nikis was calm again. It seemed he was only ever calm these days in battle or... The operative paused. Around her. She stiffened in place. It couldn't be... Not that ancient scary, crazy Tenno...

 

"I am all right, Nikis." The Operative managed to croak out. "I will be all right." Something grated inside her. It didn't hurt, but she got the feeling it should have.

 

"Janet, shut up." Iriana snapped, her anger fanned. Janet opened her mouth again, but a finger laid on it and she closed it. "Me doctor, you patient. Shut up and let me work. Nikis. Out! Now." Something touched Janet's hand. Something cold, but... It felt...comforting. Then a door hissed and Iriana sighed. "I swear... That guy..."

 

"Iriana...?" Janet said, then gasped as something hurt.

 

"Janet, stop moving." Iriana commanded. "You were hit bad. If he had been a few seconds later in digitizing you, I wouldn't have been be able to save you." Janet forced herself to stillness and Iriana clucked. "Better." Soothing numbness flowed over Janet, her body relaxing from the pain. The doc sighed. "This is... beyond my capabilities, Janet. The bolt tore through you and did a lot of damage." Iriana said after a moment. "I will have to put you out for transport to better equipped facilities."

 

"Iriana?" Janet said through the haze of numbness that suffused her now.

 

"Yes, Janet?" The doctor said as the clicking sound of controls being manipulated came.

 

"Is Nikis... in love with me?" Janet begged. The clicking stopped. "Tell me he isn't...? I didn't... All I saw was him being overprotective. Yes, I lost my family. I didn't lose my kid like he originally thought, but I won't ever see them again." She was crying a little now as her control faltered.

 

"Oh Janet..." Iriana said sadly. Something soft wiped her face. "I don't know. He... has lived and breathed paranoia for so long... I really don't know for sure. But... I would say 'Yes'. He is acting that way."

 

"Oh crap..." Janet said with feeling. Then she was falling into soft darkness.

 

"You said it."

 

***

 

"Nikis." Iriana was not angry now as she finished prepping Janet for transport. As expected the Nekros gunfighter had come back in. He... She shook her head. He was acting more like a teenager in love than a Tenno at the moment.

 

"I apologize, Healer." Nikis said quietly. "I... ain't myself these days."

 

"And is that a bad thing?" Iriana asked softly. Nikis just looked at her. "You worry me, Nikis." She said with a sigh. "I know you worry Lisa. I bet you worry Jasmina as well."

 

"He does." The voice was familiar. Iriana smiled widely as Lisa entered the room behind the Nekros, her face a mix of worried and...  something else. The girl was a far cry from the mass of feral instinct that Iriana had seen first. She simply inhaled information, and she was so gentle and kind that even the smallest and most frightened children instinctively trusted her. Nikis slumped, acting hurt, but she just shook her head. "It's who you are, Nikis. But it does worry us."

 

"Who I have been for a long, long time." Nikis agreed. "Since I had to kill Dust's mom." Iriana glanced at Lisa who shook her head.

 

"We have been over this, Nikis." Lisa said sternly, stepping up to lay a hand on the Nekros' arm. He wouldn't let just anyone touch him, but Lisa was a special case. Especially since she was acting as a surrogate mother for his grandchild. No one sane threatened Lisa in any way around Nikis. "What else could you do? Richard needed your help. You know what she wanted. You gave it to her."

 

"Yeah." Nikis agreed sadly. "But doesn't make me feel very good about myself."

 

"Nikis..." Lisa said gently. "Janet is alive, thanks to you. Hold to that."

 

"I do, darling." Nikis said with a sigh. "I just feel... so off these days. Janet makes me feel better. I don't think I am in love with her, but I don't know. Doesn't feel the same. But... it does make me feel good."

 

"You have been alone a long time, Nikis." Lisa said sadly. "But now you are not. You have a family who are worried about you. Come on. You need to meditate." She gave his arm a gentle tug and he shook his head.

 

"If I argue, you will stand there all day, won't you?" Nikis asked sourly. Lisa just smiled and he groaned. "Fine, fine..." He groused. "Doc? I need to know." He didn't -quite- beg.

 

"The bolt hit her spine, Nikis." Iriana said with a nod. "Center mass. It missed her heart by millimeters. But it did miss. She is alive, and she is going to stay that way. Our databanks on regenerating human nerves are not as complete as... elsewhere." She said with a frown. "I could do it, but they can do it far faster and with less chance of complications."

 

Nikis and Lisa nodded. Even here in the middle of a secure Tenno sanctuary, none would speak of the last remaining bastion of the Orokin monarchy. Avalon had been virtually unknown even during the height of Orokin power and virtually undetectable in it's hiding place in the stellar corona, but it was hardly invulnerable. If enemies knew it existed, they would stop at nothing to find and either take or destroy the last known free refuge of the Orokin.

 

"Well, they don't want me going back." Nikis said with self deprecating mirth. "I made a bit of a mess when I went."

 

"I'll say." Lisa said with a snort. "Did you really make the guards soil themselves?"

 

"Hey." Nikis said with a matching snort. "Warframes won't let you do that. But yeah... They uh... respect me."

 

"They are terrified of you." Iriana corrected him." As is anyone sane." Nikis faked hurt again and she shook her head. "Nikis, I wouldn't change you for anything. We need you. But you are scary even when you do not want to be."

 

"Fear is my main weapon." Nikis agreed. "And I am good with it." He shook his head. "Keep me informed, please?"

 

"Nikis..." Iriana's voice gentled. "You... know..." Lisa looked worried, but Nikis just nodded.

 

"I don't know what I am feeling, doc." The ancient gunfighter said with a sigh. "But I ain't gonna hurt her. She has been hurt enough. I will back off." He promised.

 

"I am not asking that!" Iriana protested, but Nikis shook his head again.

 

"Better for both of us if I back off." Nikis said with a grunt as he turned to go. "I am Tenno. She is human."

 

"She deserves better."

 

Edited by Kalenath
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Kalenath

Kalenath

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Friends

 

Janet was floating. She was numb. Nothing hurt and she felt... well... she couldn't feel much of anything. It was odd. She was asleep, she knew that. So... why was she aware?

 

"You helped me." The voice was... odd. Neither male nor female. Confident, but... So very young. "I want to help you." Janet tried to focus as she had been taught and the voice sighed. "I mean you no harm. You are a good woman, Operative Janet." Janet forced her mind to stillness and the voice turned chiding. "You can't hide from me. I know what you are. I know who you are. You are needed. Now more than ever."

 

Don't... Janet started to protest as...something took hold of her mind and gave a gentle pull.

 

"It is all right, Janet." The voice comforted her. "We will talk again when you are stronger. For now, rest and recover. You are hurt. They will help you. Just... be prepared to be kept in the dark."

 

Work better in the dark... Janet mused as she was falling again. The voice actually laughed at that.

 

"Yes, you do." The odd voice said with wry humor that was oddly gentle. Something touched her forehead. She tried to open her eyes but they wouldn't. "Such a good human... I had forgotten what good people were like. Surrounded by so  much evil, it was easy to lose my way. Thank you, Janet. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. You saved me. Now I have to try to save us all."

 

Who are you? Janet asked as her fall continued. She was spinning now, but it was gentle.

 

A friend.

 

***

 

"Operative Janet?" The voice was calm and confident. Janet tried to open her eyes and they did after a moment. "Ah, back with us, I see." The light dazzled Janet's eyes for a moment, and when she could see, she saw a human in a medical tunic standing beside whatever she was lying on. The man was... of medium age and tall with hair that was just turning from dark brown to gray. What Janet could see of the room was bare, white walls and ceiling. No decorations at all. What had to be a doctor nodded to her. "Good morning."

 

"Morning." Janet said with a nod that stopped short as pain erupted in her neck. "Ow..."

 

"Easy." The doctor laid a hand on her head and something went 'click'. She couldn't move her head now. She was actually glad. Whatever was holding her had stopped the pain. He moved to remain in her field of view. "You were shot in the spine. The nerves have been repaired, but until the neurons figure out that the pathways have been reassembled, you will have odd sensations and occasional pain. There is no actual damage anymore, but your brain will interpret the signals it gets as pain."

 

"Joy." Janet said with feeling but then sighed. "Ah well. I am alive. Thank you."

 

"Healer Iriana saved your life." The doctor replied. "All we did was accelerate your body's healing a few thousand-fold. You will need rehab, but you should make a full recovery. You will be out if the bed in a day if you do as we say."

 

"Good." Janet replied with a calm she didn't really feel. The sensations from her body below the neck were... odd as the doctor had warned her. "A secure facility?" She asked, her eyes flicking from side to side.

 

"Yes." The doctor said with a nod. "No names but yours. No access anywhere but this room."

 

"Understood." Janet said with a grimace. It made sense. Her job wasn't safe. If someone like -say- the Corpus Clergy could access her mind -which they could-, they could get access to any number of dangerous secrets. Secrets that could put every Tenno Operative's life at risk. The fewer Janet knew the better. She knew she had been selectively mindwiped before and was glad of it. Too many secrets was dangerous. "Full support?" She asked as various sensations made themselves known.

 

"For now." T he doctor said with a nod. "Rest if you can. Someone will be with you at all times. They may or may not be able to give you their names." He cautioned.

 

"You do not need to do that, doctor." Janet said weakly. "I don't want to be a burden."

 

"You are not." The doctor replied calmly, touching something out of her view. Gold dazzled her for a moment and her eyes slowly closed of their own accord. "You are an ally. A valued ally. One we do not want to lose. So... rest. We will help you."

 

"Won't... say no... to a vacation..." Janet said with a grin as she slid back into slumber. The doctor's chuckle followed her down.

 

***

 

"Report."

 

The word was cold and forbidding, but then again... When the Empress of the feeble remains of Orokin came for a personal report on someone in the medic's care, she usually had little time for pleasantries. Eliza had... not been herself recently. She had made some spectacular mistakes and was still coming to grips with some of the repercussions of said mistakes. But she was bouncing back.

 

"Empress. The damage to the Operative's spine was as extreme as we were warned." Chirurgeon was usually less formal, but this was... different. "The hole that was blasted through her was straightforward to repair. The neural trauma less so. Iriana did a good job, but couldn't do as much as quickly as we can. The nerves have been regenerated and she should make a full recovery. Bed rest for a day or so to make sure the nerves are working, then rehab. No more than three days to full mobility barring any complications."

 

"Good." Eliza said quietly, staring at the view screen that showed Janet sleeping in a white walled room. The sleeping woman's head and shoulders were immobilized in a golden frame."But what you said before... You are right. We should not leave her alone." The doc nodded in agreement. "How many people do we have to stay with her who are cleared to do so?"

 

"Not many." Chirurgeon said with a sigh. "And none of my staff. My people are good, no question. But they don't know operational security. It was never part of their training. Something to rectify, but for later.." He paused and spoke carefully. "Empress, if I may... why did they send her here? Iriana could have healed her. It would have taken more time, but Janet was in no danger after the wound was closed." He shook his head. "Or is that out of my security classification?" The Empress pursed her lips and he raised his hands quickly. "If you can't tell me..."

 

"I can." Eliza said softly. "But only you. It does not leave this room." The small scanner room was secure against most forms of eavesdropping and only the doctor, the Empress and two of the Empress' guards were present. The doctor nodded formally. "She has gone through hell, Operative Janet." Eliza said sadly. "She was a Corpus agent who switched sides." The doctor's eyes went huge at that, but Eliza wasn't done. "It wasn't... entirely her choice, from what I gather. Intelligence has been less than forthcoming about a bunch of things. Even less than usual." She said dryly.

 

"That is their job." The doctor said diplomatically.

 

"True." Eliza replied. "Well, who can we have sit with her? If she won't be mobile for a day or so..." She made the last a question and the lead doctor of the of the outpost nodded. "I personally went a bit stir crazy after a few hours of lying on my back after you put me back together. We cannot keep her sedated the whole time. Can we?"

 

"We could." Chirurgeon replied uneasily. "It skirts the edge of medical ethics, but we could. She isn't cleared to know anything about where we are or what we are, is she?"

 

"No." Eliza said sadly. "Which is sad. By all accounts, she is an incredible asset and she lost her family. But..." She cautioned when Chirurgeon inhaled sharply in sympathy. "She chose her path. Now, we can only help her walk it." She shook her head slightly. "Any idea who?"

 

"Ah..." Chirurgeon turned to another screen and nodded slowly. "Mostly Tenno. They don't talk as you know." Eliza nodded absently. "Sara and Serene both have high security clearance."

 

"Serene is busy with Rocky." Eliza smiled at that. She loved Serene's little boy. The scamp had most of Avalon wrapped around his little finger already at less than a year old. But then she sobered. "Sara...? Is she... better?"

 

"Somewhat." Chirurgeon said with a wince. "She is coping better. The therapists are certain that she is getting the nightmares under control." Eliza looked at him and then turned to the Tenno guards who never left her side. One nodded.

 

"She pushes herself too far." The Banshee Prime said softly. "Too fast and too far. We have all warned her. But she insists she can handle it." Eliza groaned and then Banshee nodded. "We are watching."

 

"That girl has no quit in her at all." Eliza said with a sigh. "Which is both good and bad." She shook her head. "Michelle is also chafing at the bit, clamoring to get out of the meetings and sessions I have saddled her with." She made a face and Chirurgeon nodded. "Since Raven left, she has been shouldering more and more responsibility. I know she is having trouble."

 

Being a princess was not like the fairy tales. There was a lot of work involved as well as a lot of meetings. Some interesting and easy to get caught up in. Others? Not so much.

 

"She never complains." Chirurgeon said quietly. "She keeps trying even with every headache we give her." Pride sounded in his voice now. Not surprising. Most of the residents of Avalon felt something for their princess. Especially now that she was expecting an heir.  It was early days yet, but she was a good sport about everything. But both Eliza and Chirurgeon knew that Michelle had limits beyond which it was... unwise to push her.

 

"She is a good kid." Eliza agreed. She sighed deeply. "Sara is in class for a few more hours. I will go rescue Michelle from the latest Resource Allocation meeting and send her down here. Anything else?"

 

"There was a scanned oddity." Chirurgeon turned to his controls and perused them for a moment. "It may have been neural trauma, but then again... it may not have been."Eliza stiffened and the doctor nodded. "It wasn't any reading I am familiar with. She wasn't pulled into a virtual world. But the reading was odd. I recommend we keep a guard close. Just in case."

 

"And Sara?" Eliza asked softly. Then she shook her head, a rueful smile crossing it. "Never mind. Lis won't leave Sara's side, will she?" It was really, really weird having what was essentially a slave as a servant for Sara and Serene, but Lis was another special case. A former renegade who had surrendered, she had been enslaved by the Orokin tower that Serene had been staying at. Aside from the golden hoops on her forehead -a control mechanism that none of the residents of Avalon had needed to keep Lis in line- the Tenno was smart, capable, funny and very, very good with both Sara and Serene. She was patient, kind and gentle. Mishka -Healer Iriana's daughter- and Sara -Serene's daughter- both adored the former renegade and Lis returned the affection. Eliza shook her head. "Mishka is not authorized..."

 

"We will keep her occupied." The Banshee said quietly. Eliza nodded her thanks and the Banshee chuckled. "She likes the music classes." Then she sobered. "Your next meeting is in twenty minutes, Empress Eliza." The Empress of Avalon sighed and nodded.

 

"Someday, I hope to be able to sit and just listen to music for a couple of hours myself." Eliza said sadly. "Alas, not today. Keep me informed, Chirurgeon." With that, Eliza was gone.

 

The doctor sighed as well. He knew the feeling. But he had several patients, two of whom were in critical condition. At least the agent was stable. He would make sure she stayed that way. He shook his head as he... Wait a moment? He stared at the screen that showed Janet and then shook his head. He could have sworn that he had just seen another person in the room with her. But that was impossible. The sensors would have gone berserk.  Now, there wasn't anything on the screen but Janet sleeping.

 

"Must be tired." Chirurgeon said to no one as he secured the room. "Two more patients and I can rest."

 

He never noticed a shadowy form that materialized in the room behind him as he closed and locked the door. The sad faced little girl shook her head and vanished.

 

***

 

Janet woke to a familiar feeling. She was hungry. She opened her eyes and gingerly tried her fingers and toes. After a few moments, all of them worked. They hurt, but they moved. Which was a good thing. She went still as a young female voice sounded nearby.

 

"Operative Janet?" A young dark haired face came into her field of view. The girl was young. Janet couldn't tell her age and usually the agent was pretty good at that. Somewhere between five and ten at a guess. But the little girl's eyes were far older than her face.  "How do you feel?"

 

"Like I got hit by a Grineer Galleon." Janet said with a faint smile. "Who are you?"

 

"My name is Sara." The girl said with a smile. A hand found Janet's. Small, but strength could be felt in the gentle grip that squeezed her hand. "I have the clearances so I have been detailed to stay with you for a while."

 

"It is appreciated." Janet said with a smile of her own. It was hard to maintain though. She was still immobilized, her neck and head strapped down. "How long was I out?"

 

"About an hour." Sara replied calmly. "Do you need anything?"

 

"I think..." Janet focused on herself as she had been taught and frowned a little. "I feel strange. Part is likely the drugs. Part is my injury. But I am hungry and thirsty."

 

"Those I can fix." Sara said with a smile that faded a little. "The docs don't want you to eat solid stuff for a while, but I can get you something to drink and some soup."

 

"Soup sounds marvelous." Janet said with a smile. Sara retreated from her view and the sound of containers being opened was loud in the quiet room. In a moment, Sara was back, a cup with a straw in hand. Janet let Sara place the straw in her mouth and carefully took a sip. It was just water, but it tasted like the best beer she had ever had in her life. She drank slowly and carefully, Sara watching her with a nod of approval. She swished the water around in her mouth and then swallowed, letting some of the water soak her parched cheeks and tongue. "Ah, that is good." She said after a few sips. Then she paused. "Sara?" Her eyes went wide. "Sara Priosa?" Sara had been extending a cup that steamed slightly through the straw, but she retreated a little. Janet wilted. "I am sorry..."

 

"You were not involved." Sara said softly. "I would remember you." She held out the cup again and Janet took a slow drink, trying to settle her suddenly roiling mind. "The past is past."

 

"What was done to you... to your mother..." The bedridden woman frowned. "Your parents." She corrected herself quietly. "Was horrible beyond belief. And what they planned to do to you after..."

 

"It is over." Sara said, her face relaxing as the palpable sorrow in Janet's voice soothed her a little. "It turned out... reasonably okay. I am alive, Mom is alive."

 

"And the Tenno who they hurt to make you?" The hate that soured out of Janet's mouth had Sara recoil a little. The cup... didn't shift, Janet noted. Iron control in that little girl who wasn't one. "We were trying to stop them, Sara. We could be cruel, the Clergy could be. But there were limits. You don't have to believe me, but I remember that. We were trying to get an agent in to see what they were doing. When we found out..." She took another sip of the soup to calm herself.

 

"I thought your memory was wiped." Sara said, a bit concerned.

 

"My memory is a mess." Janet said with a sigh. "Before I was told the truth. Before I swore to the Lotus... it is patchy. Some of that was intentional. The last mission I ran strictly for the Clergy, apparently I took a memory implant that covered a bunch of stuff up. Like the fact that I was married to my partner and had two kids." She couldn't -quite- keep the bitterness from her voice. "After that, it is blank." She tried to shrug and couldn't. "Ow." She commented. "That was dumb." She said with a sigh. "Anyway... we found out what they planned. We found another... prototype... She was... hiding.Terrified."

 

"Another?" Sara's voice turned sharp. "Another C&C MOA?"

 

"It...wasn't finished." Janet said quietly. "She wasn't... They hadn't been able to finish her. She was alone and scared. Crying. We took her. Hid her away. Helped her." Her smile turned sad. "She called herself Sheila." Sara stared at her and then slowly relaxed.

 

"I have a sister..." Sara said quietly. "Another..."

 

"'Another'?" Janet said weakly, then snarled. "No! I am not cleared!" She snapped. But...something...

 

"Janet?" Sara's voice was worried as Janet felt...something happen. "Janet!" Sara's voice was sharp with fear as Janet felt her world start to fray. "Janet! Stay! We need you!"

 

I... Dimly Janet heard alarms start to wail. Help? She begged.

 

No! A familiar voice sounded in Janet's head. No, Janet, you can't do this!

 

Janet could do nothing as her world dissolved into a haze of blue, green and gold.

 

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Kalenath

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Everyone is just quietly sitting in the bunker, waiting for the enevtable nuke to drop.

 

Nikis in love wasn't ENOUGH? Wow...

 

I'm just waiting with popcorn for things to get really interesting.

 

GET interesting? Oh... dear... be careful what you wish for...

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Visions

 

Janet was watching. Somehow. She wasn't able to move, to speak. Just to watch as a scene appeared in front of her. The place was a Corpus facility from the signs and machinery. A Jackal mech stood, it's guns smoking as a violet hulled MOA fell over, obviously it's target. But it was the black armored Banshee warframe that took all of Janet's attention. Two? No... This wasn't Two.

 

"No!" Serene screamed, jumping out of cover and running at the Jackal while throwing sonar at the thing. Her HUD picked up a weak spot and she pummeled it with her bolto until it ran out of bolts, then dropped it and drew both of her skanas, stabbing and slicing at the robot's closest leg. It convulsed under fire from the other two Tenno, then fell again and she plunged her swords into it's innards again and again and again. She stabbed it until it stopped moving and then she kept stabbing it.

 

"Serene..." The voice seemed to come from far away. She looked up to see Excalibur aiming at her again, but Alicia was not. The Trinity spoke softly. "It's dead."

 

Serene ignored Excalibur as she rose, dragging her swords from the machine's guts. It had about twenty holes in it, all skana sized. She shook her swords off and sheathed them on her back, walking to where the violet hulled MOA lay twitching. One of it's legs lay far away and the other ended above the reversed knee. Massive craters had been blown in it's hull, showing burnt and blackened machinery inside. She knelt beside it, scared. The two other Tenno looked at each other, but she ignored them.

 

"Sierra?" The Banshee asked, hesitant.

 

"Is it dead, Mom?" Sierra asked weakly. "Did... Did we get it?"

 

"We did, honey." Serene said sadly as she touched the still machine. It was...cooler under her fingers. "We got it. How bad are you hurt?"

 

"Diagnostics are offline, mom." Sierra said slowly. "Nothing hurts, but... I don't think that is a good sign. Is it?" Her tone was odd, not fearful. More resigned.

 

"No." Serene said sadly. "It isn't." She turned to the others. "Alicia...?" She begged the healer.

 

"I wouldn't know where to start, Serene." Alicia said sadly. She scanned the MOA and shook her head. "This is an unholy mix of tech and organic. And some of the tech is Orokin tech." She said uneasily. "I am amazed they got this lash up to work at all. I am sorry, Serene. I can't help her." Serene started to sob quietly.

 

"Mom, don't cry. It was my choice. To help you. I will be free soon." Sierra said gently. "Here..." A port opened on an undamaged part of the MOA. A datamass slid out. Serene took the data packet and held it out behind her, not caring who took it. One of the others did. "The data on the Control MOAs and how they were designed and this one produced. And... code for the vault..." Another port opened and a data pad slid into Serene's hand. This one she kept. "I... I am sorry, Mom. I messed up."

 

"You didn't mess up, Sierra, you did fine." Serene reassured her stricken daughter who had started to cry again. "Easy... Easy..." She crooned.

 

"Don't... Don't let them... do this... to any... more... girls..." Sierra said, her voice fading and then vanishing.

 

"I won't." Serene promised. There was no reply. "Sierra?" She reached for the MOA. "Sierra?" She begged, heart in her voice. "Sierra, please...?" She shook the still form, but it didn't respond, didn't move. "No."

 

She bowed her head and felt something inside her give way. Something dark and terrible reared within her and for the first time in a very long time, Serene did not repress her inner darkness. Indeed, she embraced it. A calm settled over her. The calm before the storm...

 

"Oh... my... god..." Janet swallowed hard as the...vision faded. "Sara's sister... I..." She was crying. "Family..." She jerked as the scene changed. "What the...?

 

"Dad?" The young woman asked as the man in the chair held the gurgling baby gently. "Mom isn't coming back, is she?"

 

"Reverend Mother?" Zacharias asked the old woman in the nun's habit who stood behind him.

 

"I am afraid not, Jesselle." The leader of the Corpus Clergy said sadly. "She had to make a choice. She chose to stop an evil. I can say no more."

 

"Is she... alive?" The girl begged.

 

"Alive and as well as she can be." The nun replied sadly. "If the Board catch her, they will kill her. Both to spite me and for betraying us. She knew she couldn't come back. We... couldn't fix the damage that was done, Jesselle. Both to her memory and to her body. I...wanted to tell her bring her back to you and your brother. But... she wasn't fertile anymore."

 

"Only fertile females allowed in the colony." Jesselle said with a sigh. "And breeders." She looked at her father who nodded slowly. "I am ready to serve."

 

'Serve'? As a breeding mother? Janet felt the blood drain from her face and then she was screaming again, but none of the people in the scene in front of her took notice.

 

"No Jesselle." The Reverend Mother said gently. "You have two years yet left before your term of service begins. Don't waste them on thoughts of vengeance. There is too much hate and strife as it is. Hold tight to your family and know that even if your mother doesn't remember you, she does love you. Never doubt that. Janet is alive and I hope she is well. I pray she stays far, far away from any of our holdings. I... do not want to have to order her execution if she is caught. And I would have no choice."

 

"I know." The girl was crying softly as Zacharias leaned close and held her gently. The Reverend Mother stepped close and took hold as well, all sharing the grief of a lost loved one.

 

"What is going on?" Janet begged the stillness around her. "What is this? The past? The future? I... No!" She begged as the scene changed yet again.

 

This time, the room was huge. A Grineer facility. Grineer stood all around. Some held weapons ready, others looked to a dais on which two huge thrones had been built. Janet quailed. She knew what this was even if she had no idea where it was. If anyone did find the Grineer Queens, well,... The Corpus had nuclear weapons and would use them. But it was the small, still form that lay at the base of the dais that had Janet freezing in shock and fear. Human... Female... Dark hair... She couldn't see the face and Janet was suddenly glad of that. Nothing living was quite that still, and the bullet holes in the human female's clothing showed what had killed her. But it was the other form that stood by the dead human that had Janet quailing down to her toes. The black Nekros warframe bent down and touched her cheek gently. Then he stood up again.

 

"That was a mistake." Nikis said in a cold and deadly voice. "She was no threat to you."

 

"We rule here, Tenno." The voice was... odd. Was it two voices or one? "You will die now."

 

"Oh yes." Nikis replied offhandedly. "But so will you." Many of the Grineer in the room stepped back from the sheer malevolence in the ancient Nekros' voice. "She was a good soul. So much like my Kalina... So... out of respect for her. I will give you one chance, ya evil *@##$es. Let me leave with her body and I won't come back. Don't...and this is gonna get... messy. Very, very messy." The matter of fact tone belied the dark and sinister forces that swirled within it. "You think you know evil? You don't have a clue." His chuckle was cold and hard. More than one Grineer quailed from it. One of the shadowed form on the thrones made a gesture and a Grineer in ornate armor raised a weapon, but the Nekros waved and the clone fell. Then he... dissolved into orange energy that flowed into the Nekros' armored glove. "You have no idea what you done, ya silly cows..."

 

"Vor!" The odd voices demanded. "Defend your queens!"

 

A form shimmered into being halfway up the dais between the thrones and the Nekros. But he stood still. Captain Vor was a known threat, but...after his supposed death at the hands of a Tenno strike team he had become far, far worse in many ways. Appearing and disappearing at random. Striking Tenno, Corpus and Infested as he deemed. But...

 

"You..." The spectral Grineer sounded afraid. "No... Not you. Not here.. not now! My Queens! Let him go!"

 

"Go? Why would I go? I have what I want here and now. Even energy forms can die, Vor." Nikis said softly, menace oozing from every pore. "You are part of the database, but I control it now. I won the Game. The power is mine. Orokin is mine."

 

"What have you done?" Vor screamed as power flared from the Nekros. Awful power. "No!"

 

"For so long, I have played the nice guy. The somewhat addled old coot with only a few lapses here and there." Nikis said softly as a wave of energy pulsed from his body, instantly incinerating fifty Grineer who stood too close. All the rest retreated. The Queen sat on their thrones, a shield of some kind between them and the furious Nekros. "That is over. First my wife, then my son, then Kori... Now Janet..."

 

Janet went still as some of the power flowed around the corpse at Nikis' feet and the hair moved. It had her face! She was screaming again as the Nekros raised both his hands. Vor gave a shrill scream and seemed to evaporate. Whatever composed him was pulled into the Nekros' open palms.

 

"I won't leave this room and I DON'T CARE!" Nikis screamed aloud, madness sounding clearly. "I will make every last one of you BURN for eternity! Everything in this SYSTEM will BURN! I am Nikis, Grandmaster of the Tenno. I am Caretaker of the Dead no longer! Now I OWN the dead!  And you... You.. ALL OF YOU! Are DEAD!"

 

Power flared and everything in the room was turned to ash, but the power... didn't stop... Nikis stood for a moment, shadowed in the corona of his unleashed power. His armor was melting off as Janet watched and his face... His ageless face was streaked with tears. The curmudgeon gunfighter was crying as the power of death flared across the entire solar system! Everywhere Janet looked, things died! The sun... winked out like a cheap candle flame. Planets... evaporated... Parents with their children, soldiers at their posts, craftsmen at their tasks, all had a bare moment to feel fear before they all were washed away. Then Nikis too wavered and he too was gone. Then there was nothing... just darkness.

 

***

 

"NO!" Janet was screaming aloud, writhing, trying to fight the image that had been seared into her brain. Nikis dissolving in his power. Everything in the room... in the SOLAR SYSTEM dissolving in his unleashed, untempered, undiluted power... A crack sounded and pain flared across her back, but she was beyond noticing. Or caring.

 

"Janet!" The voice was familiar. Sara. This was Sara! A hand was on her arm as worried voices spoke around her. "Janet, please! Come on, stay with us!"

 

"Let me die..." Janet croaked. "If I die... he won't love me... He won't..." Something gripped her arm and she was falling, but she was screaming in terror as she fell. Then... she wasn't. She was calm, but... it was imposed. She was still terrified, but somehow it didn't touch her.

 

Janet, Janet... The odd voice was calling to her. Easy... It is a possible future. Not immutable. Easy, I am sorry. I didn't mean to let you see that. You were not supposed to be able to do that. Not yet. Once you went, I figured to let you see your family. Nothing more. You are far more strong willed that I had thought. It... isn't set, Janet. You can change it!

 

He killed everything... for me... I... Janet felt arms around her and sobbed as someone held her.

 

No. The voice said sadly. It was not just you. Nikis has been falling for a long, long time. His love for his son kept him sane. His hate for the Lotus and the Elders kept him focused. Now...? He has lost those. His sanity is crumbling and he knows it. He is seeking death, but there are few foes who could possibly give it to him and most of those know better than to try.

 

I don't want to be responsible for the death of everything... Janet begged.

 

You are not. The voice reassured her as the arms around her gave a squeeze. I am here to help Janet. That is what friends are for. And you are my friend.

 

Wha-? Janet pleaded, trying to arc her head around to see who held her. Who? But she couldn't move. It should have frightened her, but it didn't.

 

Not yet. The voice said gently as lethargy dragged her down. But this time, the voice was singing. The tune was unfamiliar, but the words were Old Earth Russian. A lullaby. Janet was comforted as she fell asleep.

 

***

 

"What the hell was that?" Sara demanded as the doctor's slowly withdrew from Janet's now still form. They had finally gotten her to stop convulsing, placed her in what amounted to a chemically induced coma. But they couldn't leave her that way for long. Sara rubbed her cheek where Janet's hand had caught her and shook her head. "That...wasn't the woman I had been talking to."

 

"I don't know, Sara." Chirurgeon said with a sigh. "For now, she is stable. This is... unlike anything I have ever encountered. I will need to do some research." He nodded to her. "Come by when you get the chance. We need to see to the bruising before Serene sees it." Sara gulped and nodded. Serene had all the grace of an angry mama wolverine when Sara was hurt.

 

"I...will, but for now... I will stay with her..." Sara said weakly as the doctors packed up their gear and left. Another presence came.

 

"Sara." Eliza's voice was worried. "You okay? I heard...some of it."

 

"She was begging us to kill her, Empress." Sara said weakly. "I am not sure why. She said..." Sara paused and thought back. "She said 'If I die, he won't love me.' Whatever that means." She was shivering and a blanket wrapped around her. She nodded her thanks to the Empress who nodded back.

 

"That sounds more like a vision than a nightmare." Eliza mused. Sara looked at her oddly and Eliza shrugged. "Some Tenno have used meditation to see the past and future. Supposedly..." She made air quotes. "...some humans could do it. It was never well documented."

 

For good reason. The voice was odd. Eliza grabbed Sara and recoiled as a form appeared beside Janet's bed. Both of the Empress' guards had weapons up and ready, but the figure did not move. Please do not fire. My form is not there and all you will do is kill Janet.

 

"Who are you and how did you get in here?" Eliza demanded.

 

My name? The figure paused and shook it's head. It has been a long, long time. But... I think my name was Mira. I think... Please, don't hurt Janet. She saved me. I want to help. I didn't mean to hurt her. When she...travelled... I went with her. I just wanted to show her family to her. I should have known better. And as for being here? I am not. Not really. This is a projection.

 

"How?" Sara demanded, not moving from where the Empress had placed her. Behind one of the guards and near the door.

 

I don't know, to tell the truth. The form said sadly. I have just always been able to do it. Master Rasputin said it had something to do with spectral transposition, but I never listened that well in his classes. He was... boring. The form wavered and suddenly a young girl in archaic looking clothing stood by Janet's bed. She bowed to the Empress. I am not your enemy, Empress Eliza. Janet saved me from the Corpus. I wanted to help her.

 

"That attire is nineteenth century Russian..." Eliza said slowly. "Mira...?" Her eyes went wide.

 

There is much I cannot say, Empress Eliza. I should not have revealed myself. The young woman said sadly. But Janet was hurting. I am not your enemy. I am Janet's friend. With that, her form wavered and was gone.

 

"Mira?" Sara asked slowly and carefully. Instead of answering, Eliza pulled a pad from a pocket and keyed it on. A few key strokes and a holo shone over it. A face with text underneath it. The face was the same but the name wasn't Mira. "Maria Nikolaevna of Russian. Grand Duchess. Daughter of the last Tsar. Murdered in 1918...?" Sara looked at Eliza quizzically . Eliza shrugged.

 

"I read a lot." Eliza said with a smile. "History was always my thing. History of royalty seemed appropriate. There was always some question as to whether or not the children of the Tsar were killed with him or they escaped or were doubles. It was never answered fully. Sure looked like her, didn't it?"

 

"So... either we have ghost..." Sara said slowly. "Or... something..."

 

"Or something." Eliza said with a sigh as she reached out and slowly turned Sara's face around with a gentle finger. She shook her head. "Better get that seen to before Serene sees it. The last thing we need is for her to get angry again."

 

The last time, Serene had broken a few pieces of furniture. Things that were supposed to be indestructible were... not around the former Banshee when she got angry.

 

"That bad, huh?" Sara asked weakly. Eliza nodded. "I will. But... Janet should not be left alone..."

 

"Michelle is covering my meetings." Eliza said as she sat. Her guards stood by the door. Sara stared at the Empress and Eliza bowed her head. "I don't know what is going on, but... I do know that Janet is hard to scare. For her to be that terrified..." Sara gulped and nodded.

 

"It is going to be bad." Sara said with a nod as she left the room.

 

"Empress..." The Banshee who was still guarding her sounded worried. "The recording..." The room's sensors were very powerful, they had literally followed everything Janet had seen in her mind. Eliza had seen it in real time and been shaken herself.

 

"For now, we watch and ward." Eliza said quietly, but with command. "I won't execute her without far more cause than a scary vision."

 

"Even one of Nikis destroying everything in the system for her."

 

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Echoes of Anger

 

When Janet woke, she was aware of several things. One, she wasn't where she had been. The room was larger and more comfortable. It's decor was very like the Tower that Iriana worked at, but... subtly more so. Two, her neck and back no longer hurt. A dull ache pervaded much of her body, but nothing hurt. And three? She wasn't alone. The woman sitting beside her was familiar, but that was odd, since Janet had never seen her before. And what was that on her head? Janet's eyes nearly bulged out of her skull when the crown on the woman's head started to glow softly.

 

"Hello Janet." The woman said quietly. "Back with us for good?"

 

"I..." Janet glanced away, seeing two Tenno in warframes at the door. Both were... Prime frames. But... She had never seen a Banshee Prime or a Trinity Prime before. She fell back on her training. "This room isn't secure." She said weakly as she lay back.

 

"It is as secure as we are going to get." The woman wearing the crown said quietly. "And far more comfortable than the cell. Right now, that is important. For you."

 

"Do I know you?" Janet fought to keep a pleading note from her voice and sort of succeeded.

 

"You have been semi conscious for some time." The woman said quietly. "My name is Eliza and I have been sitting here for a bit, getting you to drink when I could. My daughter Michelle, Sara and Sara's parent Serene have also taken turns."

 

"How long was I asleep?" Janet said weakly. "And... Please tell me that was dream. A nightmare."

 

"Almost forty eight hours." Eliza's voice was sad now. "And... I wish I could. I don't know, Janet." She shook her head. "The others... don't know what you saw. I do. The scanners in that room were reading your brain impulses. They tracked your mind when it went...wherever it went. Your body...reacted badly to what happened and it took some work to heal. But it has. Now we need to face this. Stop it."

 

"Should have let me die." Janet said fiercely. "I mean... If he doesn't... fall for me... Then..." She shook her head. "This is insane! I hated Tenno! I can barely stand Nikis. It was... partly imposed, but..."

 

"Part was the memory implant. Part was your injuries." Eliza agreed. Janet goggled at her and Eliza quirked a smile. "I have authorization. Intelligence reports to me." Janet stared at her and then at the crown. Eliza nodded. "Yes, I lead the remnants of Orokin."

 

"Empress..." Janet felt faint. "I..." She bowed her head. "Command me." She said weakly.

 

"Stop that." Eliza said sharply. Janet jerked upright and the woman was actually glaring at her. "You are trained. A strong and tough operative of Intelligence. Act it!" She snapped. Janet felt her spine straighten a little and then she nodded.

 

"I am afraid." Janet said softly.

 

"Anyone would be after what you saw." Eliza said, her tone gentling. "Nikis is terrifying enough as it is. But that..." She shook her head. "He was mad at me once. I deserved it, but sheesh... I never want to go through that again." Her voice turned conspiratorial. "To tell you the truth? I went in my robes." . Janet tried to stop the laugh that bubbled out of her, but the Empress cracked a smile and Janet relaxed a little.

 

"Can't say I blame you." Janet said weakly. "Oh..." She wilted a bit. "Why me? I mean... I get he is a male. I get he is alone. But I am not Tenno. I... He was married, yes?"

 

"He was." Eliza said sadly. "She died. It was... bad. What happened to her." Janet slumped a bit.

 

"What do I do?" Janet begged. "I was married. I had kids... I won't ever see them again... but I was married."

 

"What can we ever do, Janet?" Eliza asked gently. "We go on." She shook her head slowly. "Can you sit up?" Janet thought about that for a moment and then slowly levered herself up until she was sitting upright. Her head swam a bit, but she stayed that way. "Tough..." Eliza said with a smile.

 

"Determined." Janet said, cracking a tiny smile that faded. "Empress... I... I don't know what to say. What to do." Then she jerked. "Wait... I need to report! To tell people..."

 

"Janet..." Eliza's voice was kind now. "Until we know what happened and why or how to stop what you saw from occurring... You are off status." Janet grimaced, but nodded. If Nikis was in love with her and she went off and got hurt again... Worse, if she was caught by the Grineer... She shivered. Eliza saw that and frowned. "Are you cold?"

 

"Not... physically." Janet said with a wince. "But seeing that... I still get chills. Seeing my dead body at his feet was bad enough. Seeing him extinguish the system like a cheap light with its circuit cut?" She swallowed hard and Eliza mimicked her. "I knew he was powerful, but... geez."

 

"Janet." Eliza said gently. "Stop thinking about it. You are in control, not your memory of that horror." Janet looked at her, eyes glistening and then nodded slowly. "Are you hungry? We have a meal ready for you."

 

"I... think so." Janet thought for a moment and then nodded. "Yes. I am hungry." But then she paused. "Why are you here?" She asked, concerned. "I am just an Operative."

 

"No, you are not 'just an Operative'. Right now, you are the single most important person in this solar system." Eliza said with a sigh. Janet froze and Eliza nodded. "Get used to it. You will not be left alone or unprotected."

 

"I... don't understand." Janet said weakly.

 

"Janet..." Eliza sighed heavily. "I do not have the right to speak of this to you. Your meal will be here in a few minutes. When it does, the guards will step outside. The person bringing the meal and someone else will talk to you. It will be as private a conversation as we can make it. I won't be able to hear what you say." Janet's eyes went wide at that and she shivered again. Eliza shook her head and rose. Janet did not move as the Empress went to a barely visible locker, grabbed a blanket and brought it to the bed. Her eyes went even wider as Eliza wrapped the blanket around her. "I can't say this will be okay, Janet." Eliza said as she retreated a step. Both guards had tensed, Janet noticed, but neither had drawn weapons. "All I can say is that we will help as we can." This was the royal 'We'. "Keeping you from getting a chill is the least we can do." The door chimed and Eliza nodded."That is your meal. We will go now."

 

"Empress... I..." Janet swallowed hard and then bowed her head. "Do what you must."

 

"We will." Eliza said formally. "But... that does not involve taking your life. For all we know... that could set him off as well." Janet went still at that and then nodded slowly. Eliza's voice was gentle as she moved to the door. "You are not alone, Janet."

 

Then she was gone. The guards nodded to Janet and left as well. Before she could even blink, a woman in a gown had stepped in, a tray in hand. Her legs were artificial.

 

"Hello Janet." The woman said and Janet knew the voice!

 

"Serene?" Janet stammered. "I..."

 

"Eliza was...circumspect about what happened." The Tenno she had last seen in a vision about to go berserk sounded... painfully normal. "But Sara said you were crying in your sleep. She said you were talking about seeing her sister die." Serene set the tray down on a table that Janet hadn't seen and sat in the chair Eliza had recently vacated. "What did you see?"

 

"You were fighting a Jackal." Janet said in a monotone. "It hurt Sierra and you killed it."

 

"Yeah, I did." Serene said heavily. "Not... my finest hour." She paused as Janet growled. "What?"

 

"She was your kid." Janet snapped. "My people..." She shook her head. "The Corpus are not my people now, but they were... My people hurt your daughters. They hurt Sara and they killed Sierra. I would have nuked the place."

 

"Oh, I pretty much did..." Serene said with the ghost of a smile that faded. "Sara said you mentioned another?"

 

"The Clergy were investigating odd rumors that had come out of that lab." Janet said with a wince. "We acted as a secret police force on many occasions. What the scum did there was just plain wrong. My... husband and I were tasked to infiltrate the place, find out what was going on. His cover was a doctor. Mine was a tech."

 

"You were both lucky not to be there when I went." Serene said with no trace of arrogance. Simple fact.

 

"Indeed." Janet agreed sourly. "I found an odd MOA hiding in a closet. It was... crying." She said with a sigh. Serene went still and Janet nodded. "MOAs do not cry so I knew something was wrong instantly. I broke cover. I took the MOA and ran. When we got her back to our base, she started babbling. It took some time to calm her down, but we were gentle. She was just a kid..." Janet said sadly. "Just a kid." She bowed her head.

 

"Sierra was a day old." Serene said softly. "What.. was her name?"

 

"Is." Janet said quietly. Serene went still and Janet shook her head. "Don't even think about it. Tenno are good. I know that to my cost. But there are limits. She is in one of the breeding colonies. The security there is airtight. Literally. There is no way in or out for your kind."

 

"Why keep her?" Serene demanded. "If she was a failed experiment..."

 

"She was a kid!" Janet snapped at the Tenno and Serene actually recoiled. "A hurt, scared, crying little girl! I had... have a little girl! No, I was not about to leave her there or let the Board downsize her!" She shook herself. "Sorry... She... I wasn't prepared to love her. But I do. We all do. She is special."

 

"I find that very hard to believe." Serene said after a moment.

 

"After your own experiences with the Corpus?" Janet said with a sigh. "I am not surprised." She shook herself again. "We called her Sheila. She liked the name."

 

"Why all the 'S's?" Serene asked carefully. "I mean... Sara... I called Sierra that because I didn't want to call her Sara Jr or something equally idiotic. But Sheila?"

 

"Serene..." Janet's voice turned gentle. "The project's label was 'S'." Serene recoiled and Janet nodded. "For your name."

 

"How much did they get from me?" Serene asked, stunned. "And from Amelia?" She was not expecting Janet to laugh. "Excuse me?" She demanded.

 

"Serene, they didn't get diddly-squat from you." Janet said with a wide smile. "They didn't even get your name until they pulled Amelia in. I..." She slumped a bit. "I was one of the ones detailed to clean up the mess. After." She eyed Serene a little. "And you made one hell of a mess. I couldn't have done better myself." She sounded appreciative.

 

"It was what I did." Serene said quietly.

 

"And you were damn good at it." Janet said with a smile. "Sheila is safe." She said quietly. "The only Corpus allowed in the breeding colonies are either Clergy or very closely watched. The Clergy will protect her. She was a child who was abused. Most of our agents... were abused in some way. Executive don't...always play by the rules when they see someone pretty and young. On the job we all saw it daily. We tend to err on the side of overkill in cases like that. From what little I remember, she was training to be an adjunct to our healers. Anyone trying to hurt her again will die."

 

"On that we can agree." Serene said with a smile. "You food is getting cold." She said with a nod to the table.

 

"A mother hen Tenno. Now I have seen everything." Janet said with a matching smile. Cold and dark, but at the same time, warm and loving as odd as that sounded. It worked. She reached for the tray and started piling pancakes. "Haven't had these in a while."

 

"I had never had them that I remember." Serene said with a shrug. "Before I came here anyway. Eliza makes great pancakes through and the staff try to emulate her."

 

"She shouldn't have shown herself to me." Janet took a bite and savored it. "I am a security risk."

 

"Janet, you heard her and she is right. Right now, you are the single most precious thing in this system." Serene said as Janet took another bite. "I know that makes you uncomfortable... Hell, Nikis terrifies everyone sane." The former Banshee said with a sigh. "It is what he is. What he does. What he has done for a long, long time. As bad as me losing it was...he is exponentially worse. Maybe logarithmically." She mused.

 

"No argument." Janet said, her meal turning into a lump of lead in her stomach. But she continued to eat. "I don't get it though. Why would he fall for me?"

 

"I don't know." Serene said quietly. "I doubt he does." Janet looked at her over the last bite of pancake and Serene sighed deeply. "Janet, you are human. We Tenno came from humans. Like it or not, we share a number of things. Emotions are one of them."

 

"External anatomy for another." Janet said with a frown as she mopped up a little spilled syrup with her finger, then licked it. "These were good." Serene smiled at that but remained silent. "What do I do, Serene?" Janet asked plaintively. "I mean...? He is Tenno. I am human. If I was Tenno or he was human, we could try things out, see if we were compatible. But..." She shrugged helplessly as Serene removed the tray and set it aside. Janet's eyes popped as the tray simply vanished. "What the-...?"

 

"They have extra power for what you or I would call frivolous things." Serene said with a nod. "They don't think anything of using a quantum entanglement transporter to move dirty dishes." At that, Janet whistled in awe and Serene nodded. "They make up for it in being so tight on physical resources you can hear the Salvage creak under their tight fingers." Janet almost laughed, but then she realized that Serene was being totally serious. "This place has hidden since the Collapse and it has survived by recycling everything."

 

"Oh." Janet deflated a bit. "So... Eliza really is the Empress of Orokin?"

 

"Yes." Serene said with a sigh. "And said Empire consists of less than six thousand people." Janet went still at that and Serene nodded. "I don't have to tell you how the Corpus would react if they found out about this place." Janet shook her head savagely.

 

"It wouldn't be good." Janet said with a gulp. She was doing that a lot, she realized. She had to stop. This was intense, yes. But she was better than this. "The words 'feeding frenzy' come to mind." Serene nodded.

 

"If we were that lucky." Serene said quietly. "They might just send robotic reclamation units. Tear the whole place down with the people still inside to get the tech." Janet gulped again -she kicked herself- and Serene nodded. "Why should they care if a few thousand humans die in the process?"

 

"They might not." Janet said sternly. "I would. They will not find out from me." This was an oath and Serene nodded a little. "So... what can I do? I mean... I am not Tenno."

 

"You could be." Serene said softly. Janet stared at her.

 

"Excuse me?" Janet asked, trying very hard to keep her voice level. "You cannot mean that."

 

"Janet." Serene's voice was kind now. "Tenno evolved from humans with the help of the Technocyte Virus. The First Tenno was exposed to the virus and changed as a result. Some of the others who followed him were as well. But not all."

 

"I don't understand." Janet said weakly.

 

"I know." Serene smiled a little sadly. "And this is coming at you very fast. Suffice it to say that humans have become Tenno in the past. It took time and not a little work, but it was done."

 

"I...can't see that." Janet said softly, her mind whirling. "I mean... yes, you look human. But you are not."

 

"No, I am not." Serene sighed. "Janet, you do not need to make any choices. We are going to be giving you information. Options. No more. No one sane will pressure you into doing anything." Janet forced herself to relax from the stillness she had assumed when Serene dropped her bombshell. Serene nodded. "It has been done, but not recently. I don't know how safe it would be. We lost... a lot."

 

"Everyone did." Janet agreed sadly. "That... might work. If I were Tenno I would be his equal. But then again... if my being human is what is attracting him..." She paused as Serene shook her head. "Yes?"

 

"No one I know of is Nikis' equal, Janet." Serene said quietly. Janet went still and Serene nodded again. "He is far, far older than anyone outside of the Tenno has guessed. Maybe your Reverend Mother knows. No one else, I don't believe." Janet was shaking her head and Serene sighed. "He has survived everything the universe had thrown at him and shrugged it off. Often laughing at it." Janet gulped yet again and Serene laid a gentle hand on hers. "He is one of only two people I have ever met who told an Orokin ruler to 'F*** off' to their face and got away with it."

 

At that, Janet actually jerked. "He didn't..." She wasn't sure if she amazed, amused or even more afraid.

 

"Oh yes, he did." A new voice answered her. Janet went still as a hologram appeared in the middle of the room. The female Tenno wore a Zephyr warframe without a helmet. She nodded to Serene, but her eyes were on Janet. "He had cause, mind you."

 

"Hello Janet. My name is Kalina."

 

Edited by Kalenath
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