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[Fanfiction] Normal

Kalenath

By Kalenath,
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Kalenath

Kalenath

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((Who doesn't want a normal life? Then again... What is 'normal? For one, it may be one thing. For another, something different. And then add other things into the mix. Espionage, religious fanatics, technological wonders or horrors, and then... the Tenno. It WILL get messy. This is a fanfiction. I own none of the rights to Warframe.))

 

Situation Unknown

 

Everything was metallic shades of bluish gray. The human woman lay on her back on something that gave slightly underneath her. The lights overhead were bright, but not harsh. She could see a gray ceiling and gray walls. She could hear machinery around her, machinery that her brain catalogued as medical in nature. She looked down at herself and she wore a gray garment of some kind. It fit her like a second skin. She looked around further but her head spun and she lay back with a sigh.

 

"Patient A-73?" A melodious voice asked. "Are you well?"

 

"What?" She asked, confused. "Who are you?"

 

"I am the nurse in charge of the patients on this floor." The voice said quietly. "Are you all right? You seem confused."

 

"I don't know." The human woman said softly. "Where am I?"

 

"You don't remember what happened?" The voice asked, concerned.

 

"No." The woman said, her pulse starting to pound. "Last thing I remember was going to a job interview, then It all goes black. Where am I?"

 

"Be cam, Ma'am. You are in a medical facility at the Niaid colony in the Neptune sector." The voice said gently. "Do you remember being brought in?"

 

"No." The human woman said, fear starting to surface. "What happened?"

 

"We don't know." The voice said quietly. "You were found, injured, aboard a derelict transport ship. The survival pod you were in had malfunctioned." The woman in the bed went stiff. "Be at ease, Ma'am. You are okay." The voice said gently.

 

"Pod?" She asked, dazed. "Ship? I was at the Jupiter colony, Holis habitat. I was asked to study some tech that had been uncovered. It sounded intriguing so I went. But..." She shook her head, the memories refused to come. "I can't remember!" She exclaimed, looking about wildly. A sign on the wall caught her attention. Did she know the language? Something clicked and she relaxed, her focus ebbing.

 

"You were injured." The voice of the nurse said gently. "From the mechanism of injury, you struck your head at least once. We have done what we can."

 

"So..." She shook her head, aware now of something covering it. It felt like bandages. "What will happen to me?"

 

"For now, rest." The voice urged her. "We will talk some more when you feel up to it." She felt lethargy seeping through her and was swiftly drifting. "Do you remember your name?"

 

"Mari." The woman slurred. "My name is Mari..."

 

"Well, my name is Gina, Mari." The nurse said gently. "Sleep now. Rest. When you wake, we can start your rehabilitation."

 

Mari laid her head back against the pillow of the bed and closed her eyes. But then something happened and she couldn't open them again. Fear came, but then something washed over her and it vanished. All emotion did. She felt something click around her head.

 

"Report." A cold male voice sounded from somewhere nearby.

 

"Physical trauma repaired." The voice of the nurse -if she was one- was calm and concise. "Partial amnesia, possibly caused by cryo stasis. Level one Indoctrination complete."

 

"We need her operational, tech Gina." The other voice said with a snap. "When?"

 

"Sir." The nurse said diffidently.  "I am ordered to bypass the standard breaking procedures. I must formally protest. The procedures are clear and proven."

 

"Go ahead and protest." The cold male voice snapped. "We need her now. We took an awful risk snatching her en route to that university. But the reward is worth it. Her scores in robotics design were off the charts."

 

"You asked for my professional expertise, sir."The voice of the nurse sharpened. "It won't work."

 

"Explain." The male voice was colder now.

 

"We don't know enough about her to make a story that will hold up to even passing scrutiny. Even with the drugs, she is noticing inconsistencies. I can keep her calm and disinterested, but no more than that. We don't know where she has been, or what she was doing." The nurse said with a matching snap. "All we know is that the habitat that she claims to be from was destroyed hundreds of years ago. During the Collapse."

 

"And?" The male voice pressed.

 

"She has odd neural scarring." The tech said after a  moment. "Her injuries are inconsistent with the damage that the pod she was in suffered. It must be a set up of some kind, sir."

 

"And that is why you are a tech and not a executive."The male voice said with a cold laugh. "Of course it is a set up. The question is by who and for what."

 

"She doesn't know." The tech replied. "Her memories end after a certain period. Wiped clean."

 

"How?" The man asked, concerned.

 

"Unknown." The tech replied a bit uneasily. "It's not any brainwashing technique that we have on file. Her memories are simply gone. As if someone reached into her head and pulled them out. That is not possible." She paused. "Is it?"

 

"Not that I know of." The executive said slowly.

 

"There is no chemical residue." The tech said after a  moment. "No sign of energy trauma. The memory clusters are just gone."

 

"I don't like mysteries, tech Gina." The executive said with a scowl in his voice. Then he sighed. "Can you break her without impairing her cognitive function?"

 

"Yes sir." The tech replied with confidence.

 

"Do so." The executive snapped.

 

"Well..." The voice of Gina was a little sad now. "Sorry Mari A-73. I tried to do it the gentle way. Don't struggle, girl."

 

Cold mechanical hands touched Mari now. She felt her clothing coming off, but couldn't muster the energy to protest, let alone fight. Cold things suddenly touched her and she shivered.

 

"Such beautiful hair..." Gina said with a sigh as clippers started to buzz. "What a waste, but long hair under a helmet doesn't work." Mari felt cold metal against her scalp and then tugging as a buzzing sounded. "There..." The tech said quietly. "All done with the preparation. Computer, begin phase two."

 

Something cold encircled Mari's scalp and she felt a tingling. Mari felt things cover her ears. Suddenly a drone of soft sound was pouring into them. It sounded like words, but they were too soft for her to make out.

 

"Subliminal online." The tech said quietly. "Visual..." Mari's eyes opened without her command and she had a moment to see a screen in front of them before a bright light played into her eyes. It hurt for a moment and the tech made a clucking noise. "There we go, corrected for depth of vision..." She crooned.

 

The light changed and Mari found herself seeing pictures. A man in an unfamiliar uniform stood in front of her, but he was a hologram. He opened his mouth and the noise in her ears abated for a moment. The word 'Obey' appeared in her eyes.

 

"You are now property of the Corpus." The holographic man said calmly. "Your old life has ended. You live to serve." Mari tried to fight, tried to protest, but a sting in her arm had her floating. "You will serve. You will obey. You are Corpus. You are property of the Corpus."

 

"That's it, Mari..." The tech crooned to her. "Just relax and let the programming take hold." Programming? Mari jerked a little and the tech sighed. "Okay, the hard way."

 

Something took hold of Mari's face and she gagged as a tube forced its way down her throat. Then she gasped as objects went into other sensitive places. Nothing hurt, but it was all uncomfortable.

 

"You are no longer in control of any aspect of your life." The recording droned on, the holographic man in her eyes and the sound in her ears in perfect synch. "We now control everything. You prefer that. You want to be controlled. You want to serve. You want to obey."

 

Mari tried to shake her head, to scream. But nothing worked. Everything was fading. She was fading. Then it all went away. She floated in darkness that murmured to her. The darkness was interspersed by flashes of oddly soothing light. She hung there in limbo for a time that she had no way of measuring. It might have been minutes, or centuries.

 

Without warning, everything changed. She came back to herself with a click. Mari found herself lying on a bed in a Corpus medical facility. She was wearing a standard jumpsuit. It's brown colors soothed her. She preferred to be controlled. She felt better when she obeyed.

 

"Mari A-73?" A familiar voice asked. Mari turned her head to see a med tech scrutinizing her. "Are you cognizant?"

 

"This one is aware." Mari said in a monotone. "Orders...?" She didn't feel anything.

 

"Oh, that will never do." The tech said with a sigh. "Robotic voices are for robots... Hold on..." The tech said as she worked controls. "Try now."

 

"Try what?" Mari asked as she felt...something change. She felt curiosity and worry peak. "I don't understand. Is there a problem, med tech?"

 

"No." The tech said gently as she rose and walked to Mari's bedside. "No problem at all. Just some emotive tweaks. Your Indoctrination is complete." Mari sat up and the tech took her arms as Mari weaved a bit. "Take it easy, Mari A-73." She said quickly. "You have been unconscious for two days while we worked on you."

 

"Two days?" Mari asked apprehensively. "Was there a problem?"

 

"No." The med tech reassured her. "We wanted to make it gentle, keep the cognitive patterns intact. That was what drew us to you, your brains. We need you in our R&D division as soon as  possible."

 

"I am ready to serve." Mari said quietly, checking her jumpsuit's readouts. "I live to serve."

 

"Good." The tech replied. "Your implants are all in place. You will be able to access your workload and training materials via neural link. One thing..." She raised a cautionary hand as Mari swung her legs off the bed. Mari paused and the tech continued. "The excretory bypass is...not optimal. Your body will not accept the newer systems. Our programming for the shunts wasn't quite right. Where most of our personnel don't have to use the toilet, you will until we can determine a workaround. That will be a few days until the surgery teams have time for you."

 

"Yuck." Mari said slowly. "But that will take time away from work." She said, worry dawning. "That is suboptimal, med tech." Most Corpus had waste modules that they replaced regularly. Far more efficient than having to go and relieve oneself in the middle of a work shift.

 

"I know." The tech said sadly. "But it was the best we could do with the differences in your body. The Indoctrination systems are not set up to do anything different and would cause long term harm if we tried. We will get it fixed, but it will require actual hands on surgery, not automated. Your superiors have been notified. They understand your limitations."

 

"This isn't right, med tech." Mari protested. "I live to serve and if I can't, then-" She froze in mid sentence as the tech hit a control.

 

"Easy, Mari..."T he med tech crooned. "What is this odd mental jump?" She was scrutinizing her readouts. "Hmmm.." She mused. "I haven't seen that kind of jump before. Your alpha and theta waves are all over the place. Were you controlled before?" She asked, rhetorically. "No matter. We will keep you healthy, happy and whole. You are part of us now, part of the Corpus." She hit the control again.

 

"-then I need repairs." Mari continued from where she had been speaking and paused. "Did I just lose a minute of time?" She asked, worried as she checked her implant time keeper.

 

"I took you offline for  minute and thirteen seconds. You had an odd mental episode. Nothing abnormal detected." The tech reassured her as Mari winced. "We will monitor you closely, Mari A-73."

 

"Understood." Mari replied evenly. "Orders?"

 

"You are to report to R&D." The tech said quietly. "I am to take you."

 

"I am ready to serve." Mari said quietly as she rose to her feet. She stood easily. The tech smiled and nodded before waving for Mari to follow.

 

The med tech led Mari through the corridors of what looked to Mari's inexpert eye as a standard Corpus facility. They passed a multitude of Corpus personnel doing the various jobs that were required to keep the ancient and often obstinate. They also passed several robotic proxies that Mari examined with dispassion. She could see various flaws in the designs just from looking at the two legged proxies. The med tech smiled at her.

 

"Ready to go to work?" The tech asked as she led Mari towards a door guarded by two Crewmen with laser rifles.

 

"Yes." Mari replied.

 

"ID." The higher ranked crewman said dispassionately. Mari paused. She hadn't been issue done, had she? The guard  lowered their rifles into firing position when she didn't immediately comply.

 

"This is Mari A-73. She just finished her indoctrination. Executive Seim is waiting for this new recruit." The tech said quietly. "He said you would have an ID for her." The guard who had spoken looked at her and then nodded slowly.

 

"Remain still." He said to both of them. The guard that had spoken lowered his rifle and produced a scanner. The other's rifle did not leave Mari. He scanned her quickly and efficiently only to pause as his scanner beeped. "What is...this?" He asked the med tech.

 

"Her..." The tech had the grace to look embarrassed. "Ah, yes. I made a full report. Her excretory bypass is not fully functional. Until  we can set up for a full surgery, she will need a toilet facility. The backlog of non-critical cases in medical means she will be a few days at best. At worst, a week."

 

"The only toilet facility available in R&D is in disuse, med tech. It hasn't been used in some time." The guard said with a shake of his head. "I do not know if it will be satisfactory."

 

"As long as I can remove wastes, it will be satisfactory, guard." Mari said quietly. "I live to serve."

 

"We live to serve." The tech and both guards chorused in reply. The tech looked at the guard and he nodded.

 

"Remain still." He commanded as his compatriot raised his rifle from firing position.

 

He slung his rifle and then reached out for Mari, a gleaming object in hand. She did not react as he clamped the device around her left forearm. A stabbing pain tore through her but she did not flinch as the genetic ID was fused to both of her bones. As soon as he retracted the device, she held out her arm to be scanned. He nodded to her as he scanned it.

 

"Welcome home, Mari A-73." The guard said formally. She bowed her head in acknowledgement. "Obey all instructions from security personnel."

 

"I will obey." Mari said quietly. Both guard raised their rifles in salute and stepped aside to let the two females pass.

 

"I am going to add to that." The med tech said calmly as the doors built in scanners swept over them. "I want you be on guard. You had some...anomalies.  We will need to schedule more comprehensive scans for a later date."

 

"Anomalies, med tech?" Mari asked.

 

"For lack of a better term, yes." The med tech replied. "We don't know what caused them, or why they happened. You are needed, so we will use you." Mari felt a surge of pleasure at that. She belonged. "If anything odd happens, report it immediately to your supervisor."

 

"Yes, med tech." Mari said quietly as she followed the other woman into a brightly lit area. They both froze as a scream sounded.

 

"Shut it down!" A voice called from nearby as a violet hulled proxy ran towards the door. It was about to slam into Mari when it suddenly froze in midstep and collapsed in a shower of sparks.

 

"Help me..." A soft, scared voice begged. It sounded young.  It was coming from the MOA! Then it jerked and was silent.

 

"Damn it all!" An armored figure appeared nearby, "Not again! Of all the..." He paused, seeing the med tech and Mari looking at him. "Ah, our new design specialist?" The med tech nodded but Mari was examining the MOA.

 

"This is Mari A-73, she is..." The tech broke off. "Mari?" She asked as Mari bent down by the MOA.

 

"I heard crackling from inside the housing. I think the actuator assemblies are shorting." Mari said slowly. "This is...suboptimal..." She said examining the MOA closely.

 

"That is one way to put it." The armored form said sourly. "I am Foreman Kilis."

 

"Oh!" Mari jerked back to her feet and stood at attention. This was her boss! "My apologies, Foreman."  She looked back at the MOA. "This is not a standard design."

 

"No, it is not." The foreman agreed, his tone grudging. "We are trying to redo a lot of research that was lost. Unfortunately, we lost so much that we had to start from scratch." Mari winced and he nodded. "Well?" He indicated the MOA. Mari took that as permission to examine it closer.

 

"Without opening it up to see what was shorting..." Mari mused as she touched the hull. A spark shot from it and she jerked as a voice sounded inside her head.

 

Good girl, you are in, Mari. Stay safe and stay quiet. She was about to mention the voice to the others, but the need to vanished along with the voice.

 

"Ow." Mari complained as she jerked back. "Definitely a short somewhere. Probably more than one." She said as she touched the hull again and this time nothing happened. "I will need to look inside to find out where." She looked up at the foreman who nodded slowly.

 

"We will need to fit you for proper protection." The foreman said, his tone respectful now. "We are having problems with shorts. They tend to corrupt the command protocols."

 

"Ouch." Mari said with feeling. "Are any of these armed?" She asked, looking around the room. No, it was a huge bay. She saw other figures in armored suits working on various MOA forms.

 

"No." The foreman said with a shudder that Mari matched. "Thank goodness. We have enough problems without them shooting up the area."

 

"Let me see your hand, Mari A-73." The med tech commanded. Mari held out her hand and the med tech sprayed a gel over it that immediately dulled the pain that Mari had been ignoring. The med tech sighed and turned to the supervisor. "Don't let her ignore herself. She will need the toilet every so often. If I have to come back, I will have to report to the executive."

 

"If she can hear shorts from that distance and figure out the problem that quickly..." The foreman said with feeling. "Then no, we won't lose this one."

 

"Good." The med tech said with a smile. "Mari A-73?" Mari looked at her and the med tech laid a hand on her shoulder. "Stay safe. Work well."

 

"I live to serve." Mari said evenly as she rose. "I serve the Corpus."

 

"We live to serve." The others chorused.

Edited by Kalenath
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ThePandarine

ThePandarine

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spoilers if you never read any of Kalenath's previous work

 

And Kaleneth returns!

 

Ooh, command MOAs, Corpus indoctrination, and a possible Tenno? Looking good so far.

 

 

if you mean possible Tenno you mean Mari? but wasnt Mari one of the thralled humans Sensei Karl freed? Still completely possible that she's named Mari just like how Cora the Grineer just happened to be named Cora :P

 

but then that would beg the question, aren't the Tenno here in Kaleneth's works unable to be indoctrined the usual way bar the helmet linking thingy (yes, I am doing injustice now)? if so...how did this one work?

 

Is this a prequel? Hard to tell.

 

I too am not sure

 

Oh, and looks like its time for me to no longer lurk :P

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Kalenath

Kalenath

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spoilers if you never read any of Kalenath's previous work

 

 

 

if you mean possible Tenno you mean Mari? but wasnt Mari one of the thralled humans Sensei Karl freed? Still completely possible that she's named Mari just like how Cora the Grineer just happened to be named Cora :P

 

but then that would beg the question, aren't the Tenno here in Kaleneth's works unable to be indoctrined the usual way bar the helmet linking thingy (yes, I am doing injustice now)? if so...how did this one work?

 

 

I too am not sure

 

Oh, and looks like its time for me to no longer lurk :P

 

I guess I should make it clearer. Mari is human, not Tenno. She hung around Tenno. As for how she wound up in Corpus clutches?We shall see.

 

And it's a sequel.

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SLI-fox

SLI-fox

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How fast are you writing these stories? It was yesterday when you finished last story

 

Kale tends to update daily during the working week. So he either has a storyboard all planned out, or he's REALLY good at making chapters on the fly and working with past material.

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Kalenath

Kalenath

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Work

 

Mari was having fun. She didn't remember everything that had happened to her, but this was something she enjoyed. Taking machinery apart to see what made it work, then making it work better. She was bent over the hull of a brown hulled MOA when the foreman Kilis' voice sounded.

 

"Mari A-73." Mari nodded, but her focus remained on the polymer bundle that she knew was the problem in this particular machine. If she could just get at it... "Mari A-73, step away from the MOA." The foreman said, slightly exasperated. Mari jerked and stepped back as ordered.

 

"I beg pardon, Foreman Kilis." Mari said calmly. "But I nearly have this fixed. The secondary CPU was defective and was shorting out sections 3-A to 3-L of the muscle polymer bundles."

 

"You are a space hamster on stims, girl." The foreman said, shaking his head. "How long have you been working on that?" He demanded.

 

"Forty seven minutes, eighteen seconds, sir." Mari said, not comprehending. "Was my work unsatisfactory?"

 

"Your work is quite satisfactory." The foreman said with a nod. "But you are pushing yourself too hard. I was ordered to keep you from ignoring your needs."

 

"My...needs...foreman?" Mari asked, nonplussed. "I don't understand."

 

"Mari A-73, you need rest, nourishment and to relieve your waste systems." The foreman said sternly. Mari jerked and then stared down at herself. She gulped. She had... He nodded, his boxy helmet jerking."Yes, your suit's systems reported the mess."

 

"I..." Mari shook her head. "I didn't feel anything, Foreman. I..."

 

"Mari A-73, be calm." The foreman said gently. "Go clean yourself up. Then get something to eat and drink." Mari started to protest and he snapped. "That is an order."

 

"Yes, foreman." Mari said dejectedly. "I didn't feel it..." She said sadly. "Should I report to medical?" She asked, concerned.

 

"Toilet facility is marked on your HUD. Clean up first, eat and drink, then talk to the nurse here in the bay. She can see if it needs to be pushed up the chain" The foreman said with shake of his head. "We do need you. But if you do not take care of yourself, then we will." Threat sounded in his tone, but it was worry that predominated.

 

"Yes, Foreman." Mari set the diagnostic station to standby and closed up the MOA that she had been working on. She paused as the foreman stepped close and laid a hand on her armored forearm.

 

"Now, Mari A-73."The foreman snarled. "Go." Mari nodded and left the station even though every instinct was telling her to finish her work. Behind her, she heard the man sigh "Space hamster on stims  indeed..."

 

She didn't understand the comment, but she didn't want him any angrier than he was. She found the toilet facility and cleaned herself quickly and efficiently.  She shook her head. All the high tech that went into the armored vac suits that all of the techs wore and she was unable to use some of it for some weird physiological reason. She used the facilities quickly and stepped out of the room quickly. As the guard had warned her, it hadn't been used -or cleaned- in some time. She would probably do it herself if given the time and materials. She strode to the small mess hall that served the techs and procured a meal for herself as well as a restorative drink. Then she sat at an open space. None of the others seemed willing to converse and she accepted that. Her mind was whirling with schematics, designs, plans and thoughts for improvements to all of the above. She finished her meal quickly and efficiently and put her tray up to be recycled. Then she paused. That felt... right but...not. She stared at the recycler for a moment and then shrugged minutely and went to find the duty nurse.

 

She found the medial practitioner filling out paperwork for the tech who had been injured when the violet MOA had rampaged and waited for the woman to look up.

 

"Yes?" The nurse asked in a tired voice.

 

"I am Mari A-73." Mari said quietly but clearly. "I am experiencing...distress with my excretory system."

 

"Distress?" The nurse asked and then her eyes widened. "Oh, yes. Tech Gina messaged me about your problem. What happened?"

 

"I...lost control." Mari admitted sheepishly. "I never felt it." The woman's face became sympathetic.

 

"It's okay, Mari A-73." The nurse said gently. "These things can happen with new recruits. Your body has changed and it likely hasn't settled down yet. Let's see what I can do to help." She waved Mari to a chair nearby and Mari sat gingerly. "It's not going to bite you, girl." The nurse said with a laugh.

 

"I am just afraid I am going to make another mess." Mari admitted. "I wish they had managed to get the waste modules to work for me."

 

"They will get to it when they can. And if you do make a mess? I can handle it here." The nurse said with a nod. "Let's see..." She started a series of scans and watched the readouts. "My name is Ginger L-89 by the way."

 

"Pleased to meet you, Ginger L-89." Mari said without moving as scanner energy played along her lower body. "You are the medic for the bay?"

 

"Yep." Ginger replied. "For my sins and because I took courses in industrial medicine, they made me the bay's medic and safety officer." She said sourly.

 

"Rough job?" Mari asked softly, still not moving.

 

"It has it's rough moments." Ginger admitted. "High energy plus less than proper safety protocols and...well..." She nodded as Mari winced. "Yes, it can get messy." Then she shook her head and blew out a breath. "Well... I don't see anything wrong."

 

"There has to be something." Mari said, her tone nearly begging. "Some reason for it."

 

"I don't find anything wrong, Mari A-73." Ginger said with a sigh. "But just out of curiosity, how focused were you on your work?" Mari froze and the nurse sighed. "I see."

 

"I always follow all pertinent safety protocols." Mari said with a gulp. "As you say, high energy."

 

"That is good." The nurse said with a nod. "But... If you get wrapped up in your work and forget to take care of yourself, bad things will happen." She shook her head.

 

"I didn't feel anything off." Mari protested. "That can't be normal. I would have felt something, anything."

 

"Well, there is nothing the scanners can detect." Ginger said with a sigh. "They are not perfect, but they are pretty good." Mari slumped in her chair and Ginger smiled at her, "Well, if we can't go for a high tech solution, how about a low tech one?"

 

"A low tech solution?" Mari asked slowly.

 

"Yeah."' The nurse opened a drawer and started pulling out items, some she placed back in and others she set on her desk. "If you can't tell when you need to go, or have gone, then you can and will sit in your filth and we can't have that."

 

"Stinky." Mari agreed. "So... What?" The nurse held up a package so that Mari could read the label and the woman in the chair went stiff. "You have got to be kidding..."

 

"Hey, they work." Ginger said as she tore the package open. "It will interface with your HUD so as to tell you if there is a mess for you to clean up."

 

"I can't wear that!" Mari protested.

 

"Mari A-73..." Ginger said calmly as she held up the diaper. "It's this or a set of catheters. This will be far more comfortable." Mari stared at the nurse and shivered before nodding and opening her armored jumpsuit. The nurse was quick and professional.

 

"Fine." Mari said with a wince when Ginger was done. "Whatever. Can I go back to work?"

 

"Let me get you a package of them." Ginger said with a nod. "Actually... You have a locker assigned, don't you? I will have them delivered there."

 

"I have never used it, but yes. What are you doing with diapers?" Mari asked after a moment of settling herself. It wasn't uncomfortable, it was mainly the feeling that is should be. "Is this a common..." She broke off as Ginger spun to face her, the nurse's face set in stone.

 

"Don't. Ask." Ginger said flatly. "Just...don't..." She shook her head and her smile came back. "No one will find out about your problems from me. I will tell the foreman they are handled. Okay?"

 

"Thank you, Ginger L-89." Mari said quietly, a bit unnerved by the nurse's sudden shifts in emotion. "If you have a tech problem and I have time..." She paused. "That is allowed, is it not?"

 

"The thought is appreciated. Depending on the problem..." Ginger said with a nod. "I may need to get clearance for you. But it shouldn't be too hard. You are already cleared for most of the bay anyway and there really isn't any need to exit it, now is there?"

 

"No." Mari agreed, settling herself again. "Self contained. Thank you again, medic Ginger L-89."

 

"Get back to work, Mari A-73." Ginger said with a smile to take the sting from her words. "And if you need me, call."

 

Mari smiled as she left the medical area, but it faded as she walked. She wasn't uncomfortable, but...she should have felt something. No matter, she finally decided. She had to get back to work. The foreman was waiting for her as she neared her work area.

 

"Mari A-73?" The foreman asked. "All done?"

 

"Ginger L-89 corrected my problem." Mari said with only the hint of a flush. "I have cleaned myself, eaten and drunk as ordered. May I return to work?"

 

"Your rest period will begin in four hours." The foreman said with a nod. "Your dormitory is shared with nine other females. Your HUD will lead you there. You will rack your suit for maintenance and sleep for eight hours." He stated. Mari nodded silently. "The MOA that you were working on has been finished. Once you identified the problem, it was an easy fix if time consuming." Mari nodded again. "The new project requires your attention."

 

"As ordered, foreman." Mari followed the foreman into a sealed off area and presented her ID to a set of guards who nodded to her. They passed her and the foreman through a set of locked doors and into a... Mari froze in place as the wailing of a child in distress was heard.

 

"They are not really children." The foreman said quietly. "Distressing, I know."

 

Mari looked around. The area was small. A MOA fabricator sat against one wall and a large diagnostic station was humming nearby. A violet skinned MOA lay on the table, partially disassembled. The wails were coming from the MOA. The techs working on it ignored the noise as they worked.

 

"If not a child...?" Mari asked slowly. "Am I cleared to know what is making that noise?"

 

"The Command and Control MOAs use cloned brain tissue as the basis for their neural net." The foreman said with a nod. "There really isn't supposed to be enough to act on its own. But we have been having...problems." He said dryly. "You saw one."

 

"It tried to flee and spoke." Mari said, bemused. "That is atypical from what I know of proxies."

 

"Yes." The foreman sighed. "The initial design used actual brains as the basis for the CPU." Mari hesitated in mid step and the foreman nodded to her as she hurried to follow. "Barbaric, but effective."

 

"What kind of interface?" Mari asked, her tone clinical.

 

"Initially, a direct neural feed." The foreman replied as he led her to another room, this one packed with computers. A data entry terminal sat on one side and a chair had been paled in front of it. "We need to improve the control functions. Let's see what you can do."

 

"Yes sir." Mari replied as she sat, but waited until he had authorized her access to the systems. When he stepped back, she nodded and raised her hands. A holographic interface appeared and she pulled up the first file, the one marked 'Command and Control'. She stared at the design schematics that appeared and shuddered. "This is...a very inefficient design." Mari complained after a moment. "It is almost as if this thing was designed to be a torture device instead of a proxy."

 

"It may have been." The foreman agreed. Mari looked at him and he shrugged. "We don't have a lot of information on the initial design. Like we said, much of it was lost with the prototype." Mari didn't ask what had happened, that wasn't her business. But...

 

"What are my parameters, Foreman?" Mari asked after a moment. "What does the Company require from this proxy?"

 

"We want to see if we can make the standard proxies smarter." The foreman said with a nod. "As they are, they are expendable weapons platforms. The Hyena, Jackal and Raptor autonomous models are much more capable but also far more expensive to produce. This would be a middle ground between the two."

 

"It would be a weak link, foreman Kilis." Mari protested mildly, her eyes intent on the design. "If something were to happen to the command and control node, then the linked proxies would either revert to their base programming...or..." She broke off and blanched under her helmet.

 

"We think that is what happened to the prototype, Mari A-73." The foreman said with a shudder. "All the MOAs it encountered suddenly turned on their masters. Hence the security here. And the fact that our prototype has no communication gear except voice. Security has orders in case this one goes rogue. They will destroy it. Which would stop us in our tracks. This is the only one we have managed to build so far."

 

"We can't have that." Mari said softly as she perused the design. "I can see a number of places that improvements can be made. With your permission, foreman?" She asked.

 

"I will be back in three hours and twenty six minutes." The foreman said with a nod. "To make sure you rest." Mari nodded and keyed an alarm on her console for three hours and twenty one minutes. "Good girl." He said with a grin in his voice as he turned to go only to pause as Mari spoke.

 

"Foreman?" She asked. "Can I exit this area to use the facilities if needed?"

 

"Yes." He said with a nod that bobbed his whole torso, connected as it was to the boxy helmet . "I will have a word with the guards."

 

"Thank you, foreman." Mari said quietly as she focused on her work.

 

The foreman left without another word. But...she couldn't concentrate very well.  She could hear into the other room and the wails from the MOA were continuing. Then she paused.

 

"What the...?"

 

She stared at the readouts and then pulled up a graph of the sound the MOA was making. Her eyes went wide under her helmet as she saw something very odd. She rose from her terminal and walked into the main room. The other techs were busy with their work and ignored her as she stepped up to the MOA. She touched it slowly and carefully, reaching into an access port and disconnecting a certain power junction. She pulled a blackened connector out as the wails cut off abruptly. All the techs turned to stare at her and she sighed.

 

"Wha...?" The voice she had heard from the MOA before sounded dazed, scared and hurt. "Who...?" It sounded young, and sort of female.

 

"I pulled a connection that was shorting, it was causing you pain." Mari said quietly. "I apologize for the discomfort you have endured."

 

"It hurt..." The childlike voice sounded. "It hurt so much... I couldn't understand anyone..." The voice pleaded.

 

"If something had been sending electric shock into my brain, I bet I wouldn't have been very coherent either." Mari said with a snap. The others techs quickly found work to do. "My name is Mari A-73. I will help, but I need yours."

 

"Anything I can do." The voice said, sounding immensely grateful. "Just... please don't hurt me again. I will help. I will do anything... I was built to serve. But it hurt." She said sadly.

 

"Well, pain is done for now." Mari said with a sigh. "I am detailed to upgrade your chassis. It needs a lot of work. Will you help me?"

 

"Gladly." The MOA replied. "I am CCX-2."

"Pleased to meet you, CCX-2." Mari said with a smile as she turned to her terminal. "Let's get to work, shall we?"

 

***

 

"What the...?" Foreman Kilis' voice was startled as Mari finished shutting down her terminal. She still had three minutes before the end of her shift. "Mari A-73, why is the MOA released and standing beside you?" He demanded.

 

"Foreman Kilis?" Mari replied as she finished up. "This is CCX-2. It's problem was a faulty motor assembly that was putting current directly into the neural feeds." The foreman inhaled sharply and Mari nodded. "The pain had to be indescribable."

 

"I...see..." The foreman said with a wince.

 

"I apologize for my actions." CCX-2 said sadly. "I did not understand. Everything hurt and I couldn't make myself understood. I was built to serve, but I couldn't." It sounded abject. "Mari A-73 and I have found other problems in my housing and are working on fixing them. Don't punish her please? She is kind."

 

"It's all right, CCX-2." Mari said when the foreman didn't speak. "Now I need some downtime. Are you going to be good for the other techs?" She asked quietly.

 

"Yes, Mari A-73." The MOA replied calmly. "I will do my best. Rest well." The MOA returned to the table and lay down where it had been restrained when Mari had arrived.

 

"How did you do that, Mari A-73?" Foreman Kilis asked, nearly in awe. "Get it to help?"

 

"I used a carrot instead of a stick."

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Kalenath

Kalenath

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Colleagues

 

Mari walked into the dormitory and paused, looking around. Nine other females shared the shift with her and like her, had just gotten off shift. Not all were present however. Ten beds were laid out in orderly rows. Each had a suit hangar and a personal locker beside them. One suit hangar was empty and Mari moved to that one. The women on either side nodded to her as she took off her protective armor and racked it for maintenance and recharging but then paused as they saw what she was wearing under it.

 

"What?" A woman with dark hair who was sitting on the bed next to hers asked as she stared at Mari. "We have a baby with us!" Mari ignored her. "What? You come in here with that on and think you can ignore us?"

 

"Hush, Kintas." One of the others said sharply. "She has a problem. Don't make yourself a problem." The loudmouth woman flushed a bit, but Mari just shook her head.

 

"You didn't speak to me. I didn't hear anything to take offense to." Mari said as she stepped into the dorm's refresher area to a chorus of small laughs.

 

She took off her still unsoiled covering and discarded it with a grimace. Then she chose a small shower cubicle. She relaxed and let the sonic pulses scour away the grime of a day's hard work inside a sealed protective suit. She arced her shoulders and let the worries of the day flow away with the dirt. The cycle finished and she smiled a bit sadly as she stepped from the cubicle, onto to find the woman who had spoken waiting for her, a towel in hand that she held out to Mari.

 

"I apologize for being rude." The woman said with a bob of her head. "I was startled."

 

"No more startled than I was when the nurse suggested it." Mari said with a sad smile as she took the towel, and wrapped it around herself. "Thanks."

 

"You should find a disposable covering in your locker every night, but since you are brand new, you wouldn't know that yet."The woman said with a shy smile. "My name is Kintas O-87."

 

"Mari A-73" Mari said in reply, her own smile coming out. "You work in the lab?"

 

"I work on data entry." Kintas said. Mari made a face and the other woman nodded. "I know. Not the most stimulating of work, but needed."

 

"Don't I know it." Mari agreed as she started for the door. "How long until 'lights out'?"

 

"About five minutes." Kintas said with a shake of her head. "Zana is not going to make it." Mari raised an eyebrow and Kintas sighed. "She has a...friend... in another dorm. They...talk."

 

"A friend?" Mari asked and Kintas made a leering face. Mari sighed. "That kind of friend?" Mari asked slowly. Kintas nodded. "Um... Isn't that...?" She broke off, not sure how far she could press.

 

"Fraternization on company time is against the rules, yeah." Kintas said with a sigh as they entered the dorm again. This time no one paid Mari any mind. "I mean, no one really cares if she sees a guy on her time, but..." She shrugged.

 

"She is not on her own time, is she?" Mari asked softly.

 

"No." Kintas said sadly. "Our downtime is company time. But she insists she can get away with it."

 

"She is wrong." Mari said with a shiver than Kintas shared. She moved to her bed and Kintas sat on a bed nearby. "Yours?"

 

"Yeah." Kintas said sadly. "I had to apologize. And,... I am curious. How did you know the proxy was shorting? Nothing showed on the meters." Several pairs of eyes were watching Mari now, but she ignored them as she focused on Kintas.

 

"I heard a crackling." Mari said as she opened her locker and yes, a covering was within as well as a bundle of the disposable things that she was coming to loathe. "I am going to hate these things..." Mari said sourly as she wrapped a new one on. Then she pulled the covering on, not surprised that it fit as if it had been made for her. It had been. "And then the wailing matched the oscillations of a particular motor. Thanks for the towel." She said as she placed it in the dirty laundry bin.

 

"No problem. You heard...?" Kintas asked, stretching out on her bed. "Oh..." She made a face. "You were not wearing a helmet yet."

 

"The auditory filters built into the armored helmets can cut a lot of small noises." Mari agreed as she lay down. "My first electronics teacher had us listen for hours, trying to hear a circuit arcing. It can be a lifesaver. Power doesn't always arc but the sound has kept me from grabbing a few wires in my time." She shuddered dramatically. "So I like to hear what is going on around me."

 

"You know... you can deafened for life if something big goes bang nearby." Another woman said quietly.

 

"True. There are always tradeoffs." Mari agreed, laying her head down and immediately feeling the somatic unit start to power up . She sat up again, not wanting to fall asleep immediately. "The armor helps a lot. Wish I had possessed something like it when I started my work."

 

"You didn't have protective gear?" Kintas asked, confused. "Where was this?"

 

"I grew up in a small colony habitat." Mari said as she sat up. Several of the others were listening. "I...don't remember much of how I go here." She said a bit sadly. "I was told I was found in a survival pod. That I had been there for some time."

 

"A cryo pod?" Kintas asked, worried. "But don't those mess with memory if you spend too long in them?" Mari nodded and Kintas inhaled Several of the other women looked sympathetic. "I am sorry." KIntas said holding out a hand. Mari took it and Kintas gave her hand a squeeze.

 

"The docs aren't sure what happened to my memory." Mari admitted as she retracted her hand. "But my memories from before that are clear. My training, my work in robotics." Kintas nodded slowly and smiled. Mari shared the smile. "I can help, I can serve."

 

"You will be a great asset to us." Kintas said quietly and a murmur of agreement went around the room. Then the lights flickered. "Time." She waved to Mari and Mari lay down. All the other women lay down as well, all of them slowly going under from the somatic induction field projectors embedded in their pillows.

 

"One person unaccounted for." A mechanical voice sounded. "Zana I-34 will be punished. Rest time will begin in thirty seconds. Serve the Machine. Obey all commands from Corporate officers."

 

"We serve the Machine." Mari intoned with all the others. "We obey all commands from Corporate officers."

 

"We are all cogs in the Machine." The voice intoned again. "We have purpose. We have meaning."

 

"We are all cogs in the machine." Mari intoned along with the others despite her eyelids slowly closing against her will. The field that the projector was using was gentle but very strong and was geared to her brainwaves, soothing them into sleep patterns. "We have purpose, we have meaning."

 

"We obey and we are rewarded." The voice intoned. "We disobey and we are punished. We serve."

 

"We serve." Mari said as she nodded off to a soft drone of noise. The speakers that were also embedded in her pillow would reinforce her Indoctrination while she slept.

 

***

 

Mari jerked. What the? What had just happened? She had been sliding into sleep and now she was...somewhere else? A woman sat in front of her, a woman whose face was covered by an odd helmet/mask thing.

 

"We don't have a lot of time, Mari. I can't keep this signal going for long or it will be detected. It will be anyway, but I do not want to push things too soon." The woman said with a nod. "I know you are confused and scared. It's okay." She said gently.

 

"I serve." Mari said, trying to dredge up worry, but it didn't come. "I live to serve."

 

"No." The woman corrected her. "No, you don't. You will remember when you need to, Mari. But you saw what they did to that poor girl. We need to stop them and you are the key. But they do not trust you yet. They must trust you for you to achieve your objective, so we will act to gain you their trust. You will not die."

 

"This is...wrong..." Mari said, jerking back. "You are not Corpus. I must not associate with others. Others do not believe. Others do not follow. Others are evil." She held up her hands in a warding gesture.

 

"It's all right, Mari." The strange woman said with a gentle smile. "I will not harm you. Karl and the others know where you are and what you are doing. Go back to sleep. Do not fear, Mari. I am the Lotus and we are watching." She was fading. Or Mari was.

 

***

 

Mari jerked awake, her pulse pounding, but nothing came to her senses. She looked around, but all the other women were fast asleep. She could feel the somatic unit buzzing, but her jolt of adrenaline kept her from going under again. A soft exclamation sounded from nearby. A uniformed Proctor came into her field of view. The Proctors were responsible for keeping the peace within each dormitory and also for keeping all their charges healthy.

 

"Mari A-73, are you well?" The woman asked, her face stern.

 

"No." Mari said quietly. "I... I do not know what just happened. I do not remember a dream or a nightmare, but I... Something happened."

 

"Do not move. Let me check your bed's systems." The proctor said. Mari waited as the woman pulled up a hologram and then shook her head. "There is an anomalous signal embedded in your somatic unit. I cannot trace where it came from."

 

"Have I been subverted by the evil ones?" Mari asked, scared.

 

"I do not know, Mari A-73." The proctor said softly. "I will summon the guards. Sit up." She commanded. Mari did as ordered. She waited while the Proctor hit a series of controls. "Obey the guards." The Proctor said with a nod.

 

"Of course, Proctor." Mari said, not daring to move as a pair of armored guards, weapons ready, entered the dormitory. The Proctor waved to them and they came close. One motioned for Mari to stand with the muzzle of his Dera rifle and she did. She did not flinch as the other guard clasped quick restraints on her wrists, binding them together. "What must I do?" She asked, her tone one step up from terror, when the guard stepped back.

 

"Come." The guard with the rifle said as the two guards moved to stand on either side of Mari. She walked in silence as the two guards led her from the room. They led her into another series of corridors, one she hadn't seen, and past a door marked 'Security'. As soon as the door opened, Mari heard screams. The guard who has spoken nodded to Mari. "Disobey and be punished."

 

"I will obey." Mari said terror oozing from every pore as they passed a set of racks where various struggling forms were restrained while energy played over them. "I will obey." Mari said, clinging to her obedience as they passed into another room, a smaller one where a large chair was set up as the sole furniture. It had rests for arms, legs and head. All of which had straps attached.

 

"Sit." The guard prodded her gently and Mari jerked out of her fear. She had to obey.

 

"I obey." Mari said as she sat stiffly.

 

"Mari A-73, you will sleep here." The guard said as he and his partner started moving her limbs into the proper places and strapping them down. "Your brainwaves will be scanned and your memories scrutinized." Mari would have nodded except the other guard was strapping her head to the chair.

 

"I understand." Mari said quietly. But then she heard herself ask. "Will it hurt?"

 

"That is up to you." The guard said quietly. "If you do not resist, there will be no pain."

 

"I will not resist."Mari said as a machine lowered from the ceiling. It shone with energy. "I obey."

 

"Good girl." The guard said approvingly. "Now if only that idiot Zana I-34 would be half as obedient as you..." He said sourly as the machine unfolded to slowly clasp around Mari's head, obscuring her vision.

 

"They really need to curb her appetites or there will be major problems." The other guard said. "Do not be distracted from your duty, Mari A-73. Company time is company time."

 

"The company is my master." Mari said calmly. "I owe the Company everything. I will be diligent and obey all instructions."

 

"Good girl." The first guard said, his voice approving. "Rest, Mari A-73. We will get to the bottom of this anomaly." Mari was asleep before she could form a proper response.

 

***

 

Mari woke suddenly to find herself back in her bed in the dormitory. Had that all been a  dream? She looked up to see the chrono for the shift change from a soothing red to a bright green. She jerked out of the bed and into motion as the alert claxon that sounded the shift change started. The covering tore and she tossed it into a recycling bin in passing as she stepped into her armored suit. A quick check showed its power cells recharged and all system in green. A note showed as her HUD powered up. A glance showed that it came from Security.

 

'Someone hacked your somatic unit. We believe you were the target of attempted industrial espionage.' The note read. 'Report any and all such changes in routine immediately. We are watching.'  Mari inhaled sharply. Kintas, nearby, paused in her own activation cycle.

 

"Mari A-73?" Kintas asked.

 

"Someone hacked my somatic unit last night." Mari said clearly. All the woman in earshot froze momentarily. "Possible industrial espionage. Security will send a warning to all I bet, but extra diligence cannot hurt. Did anyone else have anomalies?" Heads shook around the room and then each went into the boxy armored helmets. "Good, maybe it was just me. I hope Security catches them quickly. I do not want to worry myself to sleep tonight."

 

"Security will catch them." Kintas said as she closed up her suit. "Check me?"

 

 She asked as Mari did the same. Mari did a quick but thorough check of all the seals of Kintas' suit then waited while Kintas did the same for her. Automated checks were all well and good, but nothing had ever been invented -yet anyway- that could take the place of a buddy check system.

 

"Looks good." Mari said quietly. "Let's go get breakfast. We have a lot of work to do today."

 

"Indeed." The mechanical voice from the night before sounded. "Live to work. Work to live."

 

"We live to work." Everyone in the room spoke as Mari did. "We work to live."

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KF5AQX

KF5AQX

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I don't know why everyone has such a problem with Stalker. Even the first time he hit me, I didn't die. Only time he's "Killed," me is when I lose him in the level, keep playing, and get ambushed by the other enemies.

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Kalenath

Kalenath

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Attack

 

She was chortling when it happened. CCX-2 was not a standard proxy by anyone's stretch of imagination. Mari had been assigned to the proxy exclusively and the pair had turned into an efficient team. That stood to reason, the proxy had been programmed to serve and so had Mari. They understood one another, and while there was a bit of friction occasionally - mostly since CCX-2 was essentially an innocent- Mari did not hold it against the proxy. She -Mari had difficulty remembering to call CCX-2 an 'it' now- had made Mari laugh. Mari had commented on how times had changed since her last memories and the MOA had asked for some basic history files. It had taken some time for the request to work its way up the chain of command and back down, but then Mari had been given a huge file of...stuff for the MOA to peruse. All kinds of stuff. Ancient records mostly. She had looked for the records of what had happened to her colony, but some thoughtful person had deleted that file. Probably for the best even though the pang of grief still hurt. But then CCX-2 had dredged up something that had made Mari giggle.

 

The proxy had been trying to get Mari to laugh after she had looked for her colony's information. It had depressed her a bit that she didn't know what had happened.  So CCX-2 had taken it upon itself to lighten her mood. One of the things that they had managed to hook up properly on the chassis was a hologram projector. Mari didn't know here CCX-2 had gotten that particular image, but it was hilarious. CCX-2 had asked Mari how it looked and when Mari had turned, she had seen the MOA with a tall hat of some kind, an odd hairy thing that moved attached to it's beak -was that a mustache? Mari wasn't sure- and what looked for all the world like a large glass lens of some kind over one ocular sensor. All holographic of course, but still... Then it had asked if she wanted some tea in an odd dialect. She had burst out laughing and all the other techs had spun to see what she had seen and all had been chortling at the MOA's odd sense of humor.

 

She was turning back to her terminal after dressing down the MOA for misuse of company property. Not seriously, of course, but with everything recorded, she wanted to make sure that the security types didn't overreact to the childlike MOA's joke. So she had told the MOA never to do that again while at the same time, laughing. CCX-2 had understood. But then Mari had gone back to work and seen something that had made her freeze. It wasn't anything that she understood.

 

The odd silhouette was in one of the large air vents. That duct always had a slotted cover, but now it was gone. The shadow within the duct was humanoid in shape, but...not. From somewhere in her mind, she dredged up the feeling that it was a female shape, but from the shadows it clung to, she couldn't be sure. It had an odd thing on it's head, it looked kind of like a crest. Or... Mari went completely still as the shape catapulted itself from the vent to land silently in front of her. She stared at it, now revealed. It was female proportioned. It had white and brown coloring, with reds and oranges in various places. The crest was odd. It looked like a flame, sort of.  Mari stared at it and then her eyes went wide. Not Corpus. Other! Intruder! She jumped for an alarm panel nearby.

 

Something slammed into Mari from behind as she slapped the panel and every alarm in the facility suddenly went off. All eyes turned to Mari as she fell, her lower body suddenly numb. She heard someone scream a word. One she didn't know.

 

"Tenno!"

 

Then there were more screams as Mari fell to the floor, trying to get up, to help, to do anything. She couldn't. She managed to roll onto her back despite pain that immediately seared through her to see the other unarmed techs herded to one side of the room as the odd humanoid form moved towards the MOA which was cowering in a corner. Mari managed to get her voice working.

 

"Leave..." Mari was amazed her voice was as clear as it was. "Leave her alone..." She called in a weak voice.

 

The intruder paused, turned back to look at Mari and then something flashed from it's hand. It happened too fast for her to even cry out, but suddenly warm liquid was running down her face as one of her eyes stopped working. It didn't hurt, but she knew it should. She heard CCX-2 scream.

 

"Mari A-73! No!" The MOA shouted and suddenly it darted from the oddly shaped humanoid and moved to stand protectively over Mari. "Bad! Bad person!" CCX-2 shouted. "Go away!"

 

Shouts nearby heralded the arrival of a squad of security troops who opened fire immediately. The odd female humanoid dodged through the plasma fire effortlessly and jumped back into the vent. Then it was gone. The guards pursued it as one of the techs ran to a first aid locker and pulled the kit before running to Mari's side.

 

"Mari A-73..." The MOA said, stepping away a bit. "You are leaking...That is not good. Is it?" It begged, pathetic in its need for reassurance.

 

"No." Mari admitted as the other tech started working. "But... I will be all right, CCX-2." She grunted as something hurt, but kept pain from her voice through sheer effort. "Start... Start working on the redesign for the secondary motor assembly please? I will be... a while."

 

"Stop talking and moving, Mari A-73." The commanding voice of nurse Ginger L-89 came. "You have an embedded object and other injuries." Mari stopped moving as the nurse came close, taking the place of the tech who moved aside gratefully. "Sleep, Mari A-73." A hiss sounded and Mari fell into blackness.

 

***

"What happened?"

 

The voice of what had to be an executive sounded, pulling Mari out of a troubled sleep. She was lying on something soft and nothing hurt, but she couldn't move and didn't want to. She tried to open her eyes and couldn't. But it didn't matter. Nothing did. She listened, disinterested.

 

"A Tenno got past our security." The voice of a guard sounded. "It entered the research lab through one of the supposedly secured ducts." His voice was sharp. "I have crews sealing all the ducts now."

 

"What was it after?" The executive demanded. "And how did it get past the outer perimeter?"

 

"We do not know what it was after but as to how it got in? It killed two patrols." The guard replied with hate in his voice. "Ambushed them and slaughtered them all along with all their proxies before any could sound an alarm. No survivors."

 

"Blasted Tenno." The executive swore. "It just isn't fair. They are our property! Why can they not accept that?" No one answered and the executive sighed. When he spoke again, it was in a calmer voice. "The damage to Mari A-73?"

 

"Her spinal cord was cut at the second lumbar vertebrae." The voice of Ginger L-89 was clinical and precise, but held anger. "The blade went right through her armor and then through her. It tore through her intestines and made a mess of her right kidney and spleen before exiting out her front. We found it embedded in a wall. We were in time to prevent any organ death, but she will need extensive repairs. The second blade that hit her was aimed to kill, but it was slowed by her helmet armor, and she must have been turning at the time, so it caught in her left eye socket. She lost the eye, but the blade did not penetrate to her brain. Again, time consuming to repair, but not long term damaging." Mari should have felt fear, pain...something. But she was suspended in a gray haze. "She is alive and she was speaking, so no cognitive impairment. She is coming around."

 

"I see." The executive said calmly. "How soon can she be back up?"

 

"If we get her into surgery quickly..." Ginger said quietly. "By the end of shift today. She was scheduled to go in anyway for repairs to her excretory system, but not for two more days. All her preliminary tests were done."

 

"I am being pressed for results. The Board wants something now." The executive said with a sigh. "I will expedite her entry into surgery. But, how can we keep this from happening again?"

 

"Sir." The guard said quietly. "My department has repeatedly requested more personnel and funding. We don't have the manpower or proxies to cover the areas we need to. We are stretched too thin."

 

"I know that." The executive snapped and then sighed. "My apologies. I know you are doing the best you can, but with everything else going on and the Grineer threatening our stockpiles... I keep putting your requests for personnel and funding up the chain and they keep punting them back to me as non-essential."

 

"Well... We do have one ultra secure facility on planet, sir." The guard said quietly. "No way a Tenno would get in there."

 

"You cannot be serious." The executive sounded thoughtful rather than dismissive though. "Medic?" He asked.

 

"She is going to need time to recover no matter what. At least a day." Ginger said calmly. "There are facilities in there for research and development. If we sent her in with the MOA...She can work on it there, maybe help them streamline the process? From all accounts, she does more with it in minutes than all our techs have managed in weeks."

 

"I don't know if I can swing that." The executive said with a frown in his voice. "She hasn't been fully indoctrinated yet."

 

"She sounded the alarm, sir." The guard said diffidently. "From her recorded reactions, she had no idea what the Tenno was. When she realized it wasn't Corporate, she acted in our best interests and nearly died for it."

 

"I don't know." The executive replied with a sigh. "I will ask. But they may ship her off to HQ for full decompression and analysis while they fix her up. Don't grimace like that, Medic Ginger L-89." He said with a snort. "Mari A-73 is a priceless asset. We must protect her until we can duplicate her expertise."

 

"I know." Ginger replied. "The Company comes first, but she is fitting in here."

 

"And uprooting her on top of the extensive repairs she will need will cause more psychological trauma." The executive agreed sourly. "Is she awake?"

 

"Yes sir." Ginger said after a moment. "But not all the way. Mari A-73? Can you hear me?"

 

"Yes." Mari managed to get the word out.

 

"You are hurt, Mari A-73." Ginger said gently. "But the executive and the guard captain wish to speak with you. Your eyes are covered and you are strapped down, so don't struggle, okay?"

 

"I understand." Mari said, her words coming as if from far away. "I obey."

 

"Yes, you do." The executive's voice was gentle now. "What do you remember?"

 

"I was...working..." Mari said slowly, her drug fuddled brain operating far slower than it should. "CCX-2 was trying to make me laugh and succeeded. I was... distressed not to find information on my colony."

 

"The proxy was trying to make you laugh?" The guard captain asked in disbelief.

 

"CCX-2 is not a normal proxy." Mari said defensively, but then her ire faded as something clicked and she drifted a little.

 

"Easy, Mari A-73." Ginger reprimanded her gently. "Don't stress yourself. We have you on support, but there are limits. Guard Captain, check your recordings of what she has done with that MOA. It is not a normal MOA by any stretch of the imagination." She said in reproof.

 

"I will take your word for it, medic." The guard replied evenly. "But it is my job to be suspicious."

 

"Indeed it is." The executive sounded as if he wanted to laugh. "I just perused that file and... I would have laughed too at that hologram." He chuckled but then his voice turned serious. "And then?"

 

"I saw something in the shadows, in the duct. There was supposed to be a cover on that duct. There wasn't." Mari said slowly. "I couldn't make it out. And then it jumped out. Nothing human can move like that. What was that?" She asked, fear coming despite the drugs.

 

"Easy, Mari A-73." Ginger said as a hand rubbed her arm. "It's okay. It's over." Warmth spread through her from her arm and lassitude eased her. "It was a Tenno."

 

"A Tenno?" Mari asked, scouring her memory, but coming up blank. "What is a Tenno and why did it attack me?"

 

"Tenno are relics of ancient times." The executive said with a snap. "Dangerous relics. We use the ones we acquire. But they have minds of their own and are very dangerous. As for why it attacked you? We don't know."

 

"It was moving towards CCX-2." Mari said slowly. "The techs had run -there was no way for them to fight it unarmed- and it let them. It was focused on the MOA. Why?" She said softly. "CCX-2 isn't armed. It was less of a threat than the techs were. Why did that...Tenno..." She worked her mouth around the odd word. "...do that?"

 

"We don't know." The executive said with a sigh. "We need to find out."

 

"What can I do to help?" Mari asked after a moment. "CCX-2 is a priceless asset. She...it is a.." She broke off.

 

"Are you empathizing with a proxy, Mari A-73?" The executive asked softly.

 

"It is hard not to." Mari replied. "It...trusts us. It has the mind of a child and wants to be good." Her breath was coming in gasps now but she continued as best she could. "It... It trusts me. It considers me a friend and it is hard not to reciprocate." She slumped, spent.

 

"Well..." The executive said after a moment. "Your results speak for themselves. Rest for now, Mari A-73. I will report to the board, see what they say. But your first priority now is to heal. We need you whole and functional."

 

"Yes sir." Mari said quietly. "Did they find out who hacked my somatic unit? I am scared to sleep." She admitted.

 

"Not yet." The guard captain said quietly. "The signal came from a disused terminal in an abandoned section of the base. It should have been isolated from the network, but apparently someone managed to hook it back up. We have disabled it permanently now."

 

"Am I a threat?" Mari asked, scared despite the drugs.

 

"No." Ginger snapped. "Will all due respect, Executive Seim, Guard Captain... You are stressing my patient. While she is injured, she is my responsibility and she needs sleep to rest and gain strength. Especially if she is going into surgery today."

 

"She is right." The executive said in a placating tone. "I will lean on some people to get Mari A-73 into surgery  today. And you guard captain, will find out who tried to hack her and why the Tenno tried to steal our prototype and kill our best robotics tech." The quiet words were a command.

 

"Yes sir." The guard replied calmly.

 

"All right, they are gone. Enough excitement, Mari A-73." Ginger said gently. "Sleep now." Mari drifted off into a world populated by violet MOAs, crying children and oddly garbed strangers with otherworldly powers.

Edited by Kalenath
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Kalenath

Kalenath

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Was that Ember a known character? Because if so, brb, off to strangle Jasmine.

 

If it WAS, she was acting under orders. And whoever it was, you notice she DIDN'T kill Mari... A Fireball, Fire Blast or World on Fire probably would have. Corpus armor may be good against fire, but there are limits... Mari's armor was intended for a somewhat hazardous workplace, not combat.

 

And do you really think it was an accident that the Ember missed killing Mari with either of the Kunai that were thrown?

Edited by Kalenath
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