Know Thy Enemy, Know Thyself (A Warframe Fanfic)

[(NSW)RoboYouDidnt]

- Chapter 1 -
Interview / Awakening

“What is your name?”

“Manmi.”

A large blueish-grey hologram floated in the air before the young woman.  Its entire form was that of a large cube flanked by smaller cubes.  The cubes floated in a pattern that Manmi could not clearly identify, posturing themselves thoughtfully.  As if pondering the small human’s answer, her presence, and her very existence.

“Manmi… what?”

The young woman looked straight forward, arms behind her back and legs together in a regal stance.  She had been led here by a friend and intended to answer the Cephalon’s questions as honestly as she could.  Unfortunately, some parts of her memory had yet to recover.  Whatever The Corpus had done to her was still preventing her from recalling parts of her past.  Parts of her identity.

“Unknown, ma’am.” Manmi said.  Normally she would cringe at not being able to give a more helpful answer, but it was easy for her to keep her nerve when talking to a Cephalon.  Something about their analytical tone of voice and lack of judgement.  There were no eyes peering at her.  No pressure.  No presence.

“Hmm, fascinating.” Suda said, “Tell me what you do remember.  Start from the beginning.”

“The beginning?” Manmi asked, “My childhood?”

“No,” Suda said, “I have ample data on the Zariman Ten Zero to categorize.  We will revisit that another time.  What do you remember from waking up after the Old War?  This is new information.”

“Waking up…” Manmi repeated, trying to get her thoughts in a row and reaching back into her memories.  “I remember… smoke.  Bright flashes of light.  Energy weapons.  I was in a… container?”

“A cryopod perhaps?” Suda offered, “Those have been surfacing in greater numbers lately.”

“Yes, a cryopod.” Manmi said, “I was put in-”

“I know why you were placed in cryostasis, Tenno.  What happened when you were awoken?”

“Apologies.” Manmi said with a slow nod of her head, “An alarm woke me up first.  The cryopod power was failing.  There was shooting going on around the outside.  Then I went back into stasis.  When I woke up next, I was on a table…”

-

Dark green eyes slowly opened, resisting the fatigue of mind and body that demanded they remain shut.  Curiosity kept her awake as she slowly turned her head from one side to another.  The room was slightly obscured by her Zariman suit, but that was a small comfort for her.  That it was still on gave her a sense of security.  That was a much needed feeling since her surroundings were far from comforting.

It appeared to Manmi that she was in a medical facility of some sort.  Her movement was restricted; flexing her arms and her legs yielded no results as powerful metal bands on her wrists and ankles prevented her from budging even slightly.  She could not even lift her head; a collar around her neck allowed for some turning but that was it.  The motion in the room was by three automatons that looked strange and yet familiar in design; something new forged from something old?  She could not place it, but they appeared to be trying to find non-destructive ways to cut through her suit.

When she began to move the machines had immediately ceased their actions and backed away.  A fourth machine hovered into view; a platform projecting a hologram.  A man’s face with more eyeliner than should be legal and… was that a painted-on mustache?  Manmi was not entirely sure what she was seeing.  There was too much going on for her to keep up.

“Praise the Void!” the hologram said, its enthusiasm almost sickening to the confused Tenno, “The Tenno lives!  I was worried the doctors would have to force their way through that remarkable suit of yours to make sure you were all in one piece.  Dreadful about the forced decryostasis you had to go through.”

“Decryo… what?” Manmi asked, her words slightly slurred as muscles she had not used in a millenia struggled to keep pace with her overstimulated mind.

“By the Void it was a nasty business.  Your cryopod was found by one of our crewmen during a routine scan of a shipping lane, but when it was logged a Grineer freighter came snooping around for it.  One thing led to another and before ya know it there was a firefight at Tesera Outpost!  You cost us quite a lot of assets, but I am certain you’ll be able to more than make up for the investment  we made by saving your life.  OH! On that note, don’t-”

Manmi had stopped listening to the face ramble as she tried to escape.  If she could not pull herself free of the gurney, she would break free of it with Vauban.  She closed her eyes and focused on her connection to her Warframe, on the Transference and the Somatic Link.  But as soon as she did she felt a sharp, burning pain shoot into her neck and travel down her spine.  Every nerve ending in her body fired at once in pain the likes of which Manmi had never experienced.

“AHHHH!” Manmi screamed as her body convulsed and her vision blanked out.  The pain lasted only a few seconds, but those seconds felt like forever.  She laid still for a moment before realizing she had stopped breathing and gasped for air.  The first thing that Manmi saw when her sight returned was the face shaking from side to side while making a ‘tisking’ sound.

“So impatient!  Remember Tenno, you are now an official Investment of the Corpus.  We can’t have you vanishing out of here, so we fixed a little accessory to you.  Any attempt to use the Void in an unwholesome manner will have certain repercussions.  But let’s not dwell on that; let’s rejoice in your awakening!  Now we can take you to some place more comfortable for your recovery.”

The hologram moved away and Manmi felt a release of the tension on her limbs.  She lifted her arm and saw the metal cuff still around it.  Before she could think about moving anything else her arm whipped to the side without her will and the thin metal band clanged against a gloved hand of someone in a technical jumpsuit.  Manmi was quickly ‘helped’ off of the gurney by the force of one person and an identically clad other.  Were they people though? She could not be sure; she saw no skin on them; just plain bulky jumpsuits with metal hands, boots, and covered heads.

“Crewmen! Take our Investment to Cell 7226,” the hologram said before blinking off.  Manmi was dragged out of the medical ward and into a narrow hallway.  They did not move so fast that she could not keep herself on her own two feet, but they did not give her enough time to ever actually catch her balance.  Her legs were hard to move as her motor skills were still rebooting and she stumbled and fell when she was released from the crewmens’ grip into a small room with a bed and a light.

Manmi crawled up onto the bed and rolled herself into a sitting position as she looked around.  A lot had just transpired that she was confused by.  A few words stuck out in her recent memory; ‘cryosleep’ and ‘Corpus’. She needed tie to think.  Fortunately, it appeared she would have plenty of that.

“Hello there!” a chipper voice came from the walls around her.  Manmi jumped to her feet out of reflex but immediately regretted it as she fell to the floor again.

“Oooo…. You should probably not do that for a little bit.  Your body is still waking up!  We can do some light exercises from the floor if you’re more comfortable there though!” the chipper woman’s voice said.

“Who are you?” Manmi asked as she worked to crawl back onto the bed.

“Amita!” the voice answered.  A red glow appeared at the four corners of the ceiling of Manmi’s room and a pinkish collection of geometric lines formed in the air in front of her.  A small red pyramid that continuously folded in upon itself surrounded by the undulating lines of a four-dimensional cube in motion.  “Your personal security Cephalon!  Well I say ‘personal’ but I’m in charge of all of the prisoners in the 7,000 block!  But you’re the only prisoner here now so let’s just say I’m your personal Cephalon for now!”

“Prisoner?” Manmi asked, “But that guy said I was an Investment?”  As she said this Manmi realized that it sounded stupid, but her brain was still playing catch up to the real world.

“Hahaha, yes, that’s Nef for you.  He’s a little eccentric.  But I assure you that you are most definitely a prisoner.  And it’s my job to make sure you stay sane and stay fit while in confinement.  So! If I say ‘pretty please’ will you extend your legs out in front of you and try to touch your toes?”

At the moment, Manmi did not want to do any stretches or exercise.  She had experience with Cephalons before and vaguely recalled that it was not going to benefit her much if she tried to refuse.  With a million questions in her head, Manmi proceeded to follow Cephalon Amita’s instructions.
 

[(NSW)RoboYouDidnt]

-- Chapter 2 --
Interview // Escape

“Your description of Cephalon Amita is atypical.  Even by Corpus created Cephalon standards.”

“Amita is atypical of my understanding of Cephalons,” Manmi said, nodding her head once in affirmation, “She described herself to me at one point as a chatterbox who thrives on gossip.  It did not take long for her to convince me that she was correct in describing herself.”

“I see.  Interesting.  I know most Cephalons, and unreliable information such as gossip and rumor are not something we partake in.  Was she a reliable source of information?”

Manmi shook her head and said, “Unclear.  She was a source of information, but its reliability is up to question.  She reported that Ergo Glast was fired for embezzlement; using stolen funds to buy rubedo high-heels.”

“That is inaccurate.” Suda said.

“She also said-”

“Let us move on.” Suda said, quickly cutting Manmi off.  The peripheral cubes orbiting around her central structure had spread out in a clear display of impatience but were now settling back into their standard pattern, “How long was your recovery?”

“Eighteen Venusian cycles,” Manmi answered, “From the time I was placed into a holding cell; I am unaware how long I was held by the Corpus prior to waking up.  They-” Motion in her peripheral vision distracted Manmi and she fell silent, turning her head to look.  There was a hazy, unfocused figure a few yards from her and a glowing bluish-white light near them.  Manmi felt a little unsettled having something suddenly appear so close without any sign or indicator.  She had not even heard footsteps.

“Do not mind them,” Suda said, “I have many persons of interest to speak to; they cannot hear us any more than you can hear them.  Now tell me about the Corpus recovery program.”

“Yes ma’am,” Diverting her attention from the hazy figure in the distance, Manmi looked back up at Cephalon Suda’s geometric facade, “The recovery program was brief; Amita had me perform a few exercises in my cell for three days while they fed me some sort of flavorless liquid food that seemed to be rich in various nutrients.”

“Corcite,” Suda interjected, “Or some derivation thereof.  It is how they keep their Crewmen physically well.  Continue.”

“Once Amita deemed me physically fit enough for more strenuous activity I was given to Crewman 78443 dash Q7 for training.  He knew I was having issues with my memory, either eavesdropping on my cell or Cephalon Amita was talking to the Corpus, and told me I was to be trained to fight with the Corpus.  He even gave me a gun on the fifth day.”  Manmi’s serious expression broke slightly at this recollection; her body had reminded her while training that she was not completely comfortable with firearms of any sort.  She preferred melee weapons.

“I was underwhelming during training.” Manmi continued, “By design.  I was studying 78443 dash Q7 and the guards.  I intended to escape once I had enough information about where to go and what to do.”

“That is very pragmatic of you,” Suda said, “Moreso considering the condition you were in.”

“I was trained in the Naramon school,” Manmi said, “I did not require a full picture to know what I was seeing.”

“Well said, how did you manage your escape?”

“I did not escape; I was rescued,” Manmi said, “By agents of Vox Solaris.”

- -

Manmi was startled awake by the sound of alarms blaring outside her cell.  She sat up and looked at the door and then up to the ceiling.  The lights that normally projected Amita’s apparition were now flashing bright red in time with the klaxons.  Scrambling out of the bed and to her feet, Manmi stood with bent knees and spread arms, looking at the door and waiting for whatever might happen next.  She considered making a premature escape attempt if a guard came in to transfer her someplace else.  She had been told that the Grineer were the ones who had attempted to take her while she had been in cryostasis, so it made sense that they might launch an attack to try and acquire her, and it would follow that the Corpus would want to move her to keep her safe.

“Exciting! Isn’t it!?” Amita’s voice sounded loudly from above.  Manmi looked up again and this time Amita was there. “There hasn’t been an intruder here for months!  I was worried I wouldn’t be able to use my lockdown protocols while you were here.  Tada! Your door is now sealed against unauthorized intrusion.”

“Intruder? Is this place under attack?” Manmi asked as she went to the door and pressed her hand against it. 

“Not really; someone triggered an alarm in the west wing and is now mowing down the security forces being sent to them.  They’re looking for something but I’m not sure what; there's nothing over there other than some storage lockers and fuel containers that they’re opening up and rummaging through.  They’re nowhere near R&D; that’s where the neato stuff is.”

“Can they get to R&D from the west wing?” Manmi asked.

“Of course! This facility is connected by a series of corridors that are laid out with optimal-” Amita was cut off as the door to the cell suddenly opened up.  Outside of it were three people in distinctly non-corpus uniforms.  Manmi had no idea what the Grineer looked like but assumed that the intruder had gotten this far faster than Amita had made it sound.

“Ello!” the one nearest the door said, lifting a hand only for Manmi to reach out and grab their wrist.  She twisted it and pulled the person into the cell while trying to lunge past the other two.  One of them yelled something and grabbed her shoulder while the other swung their gun up and smacked the barrel of it up under her chin.  Manmi nearly flipped backwards from the force and her jaw ached as her teeth clattered together.  The person who had grabbed her shoulder pulled her down to the floor and held her on her back while the one with the gun pointed it at her face.

“Ey mateys easy now, easy now,” the person Manmi had pulled into the cell, “Tenno wu’nt expectin’ a springjob now were dey?  We’re bustin’ ya youngsta, so now ain’t the time to be cheeky.” As they spoke the other two left Manmi and the spokesperson reached down to help her to her feet. “Blister, giv’em a sidearm.  Tenno, you can move yes? Lightfoot it? We gotta scarper straight for extraction.  One of your mates is causin’ a ruckus out front so we can sneak out the back.”

Manmi took the gun she was given and gripped it.  It was very similar to the weapons that the Corpus had her train with but it looked like an older model.  If she was not pretty certain that they were in a rush she might suspect this of being some sort of trick or trap; in any case she would play along.  If this was some sort of trick or trap, she was armed and ready.  If it wasn’t, then she was escaping.

“Oh! That daredevil slaughtering hordes of Crewmen is your friend?” Amita’s voice chirped, the recursively folding cubes and pyramids now projected outside the door, catching Manmi’s attention.  She wondered if the Cephalon was going to start lockdown protocols again to keep her contained, but the masked people seemed unperturbed by her presence.

“Aight, let’s leg it,” the leader said, gesturing before sprinting down the hall.  Amita followed along with the one named Blister and the other one.  They made it out the large security door to the prison block and then went down to the left and into a maintenance hall that Manmi had not seen before.  Before they emerged out the other side though a blast door slammed shut in front of them.

“Uh oh!” Amita said, her voice coming through speakers in the hall, “Looks like your friend got a little overwhelmed and had to retreat.”

“Bollocks,” the leader said, one hand up by the side of his helmet as he listened to something that Manmi was not privy to, “Cephalon’s right.  That Limbo sodded off and took our ride with it.”

“How long until backup arrives?” the as of yet unnamed rescuer asked.

“Too long,” said the leader, “Oi, Tenno, you know another way out?”

Before Manmi could ask, Amita cut in with “Oh! I know! This way to the repair bay,” some lights flickered down a side hall nearby to get their attention, “There’s a small cargo shuttle that you can use.”

“In the repair bay?” the leader asked, her voice laced with a healthy amount of skepticism, “That scrapper can fly can it?”

“Of course!” Amita said, “If you know how to fly it.”

“Flyin’s the easy part,” The leader said, “Dodgin’ the Corpus automated defenses is the tricky part.  We were relyin’ on our ride to get us in ‘n out.”

“I can guide the ship for you,” Amita offered, “I’d love to get out of this fuddy duddy prison and see the rest of the system!”

“We ain’t got time to be arguin’,” the group leader said, “Tenno, this Cephalon on the level?” she asked, looking at Manmi.  Suddenly put on the spot, Manmi froze for a moment, having only been partially following the conversation in the first place.  She looked up at the tunnel ceiling and then back at the masked and hooded stranger before nodding.  Thus far Amita had not lied to her, and other than keeping the door locked she had been nice and kept Manmi company in that tiny cell.

“Good ‘nuff.  Oi Cephalon, you get yourself in that ship and get her ready to fly.  We gotta get this Tenno up to Vesper stat.”

“I’ve never flown a ship before; this will be fun!” Amita said as Manmi followed the others down the side hall.

[(NSW)RoboYouDidnt]

--- Chapter 3 ---
Interview /// Terminal 

“Amita’s directions through the Corpus facility were accurate and she kept us from encountering large patrols,” Manmi continued, recounting to Cephalon Suda how she was rescued from the Corpus outpost on Venus, “Two small skirmishes and we were in the cargo transport.  It’s repair work seemed a bit less complete than the Cephalon had made it out to be, but once she transferred herself into the ship’s systems it was able to break itself free of the anchors and get airborne.  Once we began to ascend it became apparent that Amita was in no way qualified to fly.”

“Was there any enemy interference?” Suda asked, “Anything making the flight more turbulent than normal?”

“Nothing.” Manmi answered.

“A Cephalon should be able to get the fundamentals of ship flight from The Weave.  That Amita did not is very curious.”

“What is The Weave?” Manmi asked.

“A common medium shared by all Cephalon to facilitate communication and the exchange of information.  This is not new information for me.  Tell me what happened next.”

“We were in the air for a little while, maybe ten minutes. It was long enough for Little Duck - the leader of the trio - to introduce herself and her fellows from Vox Solaris, Blister and Fusel.”

“Vox Solaris was involved in your rescue?  Did they indicate how they knew you were there?”

“I didn’t have time to ask.” Manmi said, continuing her story, “Before I could think about introducing them the ship had alarms go off and it began to descend rapidly.  It was a semi-controlled crash, but we all got banged up in the landing.  Blister’s safety harness malfunctioned on impact and he was injured and unable to move himself.

“Little Duck and Fusel left to get help.  She gave me a better weapon and told me to lay low until they got back.  About five minutes after they left, Amita picked up a Corpus patrol approaching the crash site.  There were only four or five hostiles, but the ship had no defenses and many of its systems were compromised.  I couldn’t just run either, because Blister was still wounded.  Luckily, the Ventkids showed up.”

“Ventkids?” Suda asked, “I am unfamiliar with this organization.”

“I wouldn’t call them an organization,” Manmi elaborated, “But they distracted the Corpus patrol.  Some came in and helped me with Blister.  They got us both out of there.”

- - -

Manmi had one hand on Bobo’s shoulder and the other out to the side for balance as he tore out away from the crash site with her on the back of his board.  They were moving at great speed and when he bent his knees Manmi did the same, following his movements as best she could.  He jumped up as they came over the crest of a bank of snow and the board lifted high into the air.  I then spun around three times before landing, leaving Manmi momentarily disoriented.

“Keep up keep up!,” Bobo yelled over his shoulder at her, “Can’t gutterball the plank or the glinties gon blow us out.  Can’t be suckin’ wind with MOAs in our vape.”  The K-Drive banked hard to the left to avoid hitting a boulder too vertical to go up and Manmi had to use both hands to grab Bobo’s shoulders to stay on board. Up until now she had always thought that she had good balance but this was a whole different level.  It was uncanny what this kid was doing, and she felt like dead weight slowing him down.  

He leaned the opposite way and and they banked to the right, weaving between two boulders just as glowing blue bursts of energy struck the snow behind them.  Looking back, Manmi saw three of the bipedal robots chasing after them.  One of them planted itself in the ground and shook as it fired a three shot burst of blue energy at them, but it missed as Bobo dropped the K-Drive over the edge of a cliff.  Manmi felt her stomach rise up into her throat as they fell and then it dropped to her toes when they landed; vapor and snow exploded out from them and coating Manmi’s Zariman suit.  She was glad that the suit was insulated and keeping her warm-ish, otherwise the frigid atmosphere and the speed that they were going would have frozen her down to the bone.

Bobo had the board hop and did a three-sixty before jetting off forward again.  He zigged and zagged the K-Drive up another cliff from the one they’d fallen from earlier and then he took them into a cave.  It felt very confined for the speeds that they were going and Manmi squeezed Bobo’s shoulders again out of nervousness while trying to make herself smaller behind him.  There were brief moments where she felt as if her shoulders or her head were skimming against the rocks of the cave.  The ride was terrifying, but very very short and they were soon emerging out into the open air of the Orb Vallis again.

Manmi yelled as she was nearly thrown from the K-Drive when Bobo turned sharply and took them back up the mountainside rather than down.  He laughed at her reaction and jumped a small gap before tilting the board to the side and killing all of the momentum, bringing them to a stop at the very peak of the mountain.

Bobo took a half step off of the board and planted one of his boots in the snow as he adjusted the goggles he was wearing, looking down to one side.  He said “Checknah,” and motioned for Manmi to look down as well.  She saw movement; two figures traveling rapidly over the snow and heading southward.

“That’s Kuvac and Glide,” he told her, “Your pal’s still wit’em.  We got the null-units off their exhaust ports.  This is terminal! Reckon we can run a lark back to 'ome base."

“Run a… what?” Manmi asked.

“Oi! She speaks! Hahaha,” Bobo said with a laugh, smacking Manmi’s shoulder, “For a sec I reckoned you’d been brainshelved.  Heh.  Aight, check it,” he pointed almost due south, “That there’s ‘ome base.  Fortuna.  We gonna take this vert downa then up that road through the Grow Site,” his finger traced the route for Manmi, pointing at a cluster of buildings much closer than where they were heading, “Coolant river past that we can landbridge over.  Catch the road on the far side ‘n cut it downways to the big cluster there,” he pointed south-east to a large land mass in the middle of the massive lake, “Keep to the road ‘n bank it over to Fortuna.  Chek?”

Manmi had followed the route he pointed out to the best of her ability, but was only about seventy-five percent sure what most of what he said meant.  The general idea was pretty straightforward, but it seemed to her that they were taking the long way around.

“Wouldn’t it be faster to just go straight there?” she asked, pointing south at Fortuna.

“‘Course it’d speed us,” he said dismissively, “But Kuvac ‘n Glide get the short run t’day; gotta get Blister back fast don’t they?  We’re scapegoatin’ the glinties away from’em.  Pull their lenses this way ‘n the others can go thatway.  Chek that?”

“I understand,” Manmi said, putting some of the pieces together in her head after a few seconds of thought.  Bobo got back on his board and held out his hand to help Manmi back on.

“Hold on to ya hood, gonna turf it this time.” he said.  As soon as Manmi was on the board and holding his shoulders he kicked a hidden switch on the board and they accelerated quickly, this time going much faster than before, and that was before they started going down the steeper slopes.

[(NSW)RoboYouDidnt]

---- Chapter 4 ----
Interview //// Relay

“Bobo and I made it safely to Fortuna without too much trouble.” Manmi said, shifting her weight slightly.  Standing for so long was starting to tire her, but she felt like it would be inappropriate to slouch or pace.  The constant stream of hazy figures running in and out of view in the middle distance all around her was also unnerving.  Did they see her hazy form? Did any of them make multiple trips and recognize that someone was just standing around? Was this unusual? All of them were very uncomfortable thoughts.  Suda did not notice or did not care about Manmi’s mood or comfort though.

“That implies there was some trouble.” Suda said, her holographic form pulsing softly with light as she spoke, her voice coming from all directions at once.

“I… fell off the board at one point.” Manmi hesitated to answer, looking down as she felt the sting of embarrassment heat her neck and tense her jaw, “It was when he took the turn by the lake; he went up on a rail and I was not ready for the sudden movement and I fell off and rolled through the snow a few meters.  He came back and picked me up before another Corpus patrol got too close.”

“The Ventkids seem rather reliable,” Suda said, “Perhaps I should consider extending communication to them to acquire their services.  Continue; what happened after you made it to Fortuna?”

“Boon was waiting for us by the entrance; he’d seen my fall and was amused.  They showed me into Fortuna and took me to someone named Smokefinger; he saw the binds on me and offered to cut them off.”  One of Manmi’s hands went up to her neck, now free of the metal collar that had been there since she woke up, “The first thing I did when they were off was try Transference, but it didn’t work.  I’ve been separated from Vauban too long.”  The realization of that had hurt back in Fortuna, but saying it aloud made it feel more real, and more painful.

“After that the Ventkids took me to their hideaway while we waited for Little Duck to check in on Blister.  They insisted I practice my balance on a K-Drive using a system they had rigged together to let them board in place in the confined space.  I was with them for about an hour before Little Duck came back.  She told me that Blister was going to be fine and that she had found someone to get me off of Venus.”

“Did they repair the cargo ship?”

“No, there was another Tenno there.”

- - - -

Riding along in a landing craft brought back a lot of memories for Manmi.  Memories of war, of combat, of victories and narrow escapes.  Her fingers twitched in the passenger seat as muscle memories woke up and her desire to pilot the craft wormed its way through her mind.  The scenery around her was somewhat familiar, but the small details were off.  Gaudy bright colors on every surface, floofs and decorations shoved into every nook and cranny; it was very cluttered.  

Cluttered and uncomfortably quiet.

Little Duck had introduced Manmi to Estella by way of the Warframe that she was operating.  Now she was seated close by Estella’s Warframe in the small landing craft.  Not Estella herself; no she was safely aboard an Orbiter on the far side of Venus at the moment.  Estella’s Warframe was a fleshy bipedal mass of Infected. Manmi had never seen a Nidus Warframe before and it made the small hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.  Estella was focused on flying the landing craft and said nothing, so Manmi was quiet as well, but the pulsing red veins on the greyish-brown bits made her feel even more uneasy than normal.

She was glad when they finally landed at Vesper Relay.  Like the landing craft, stepping foot on the landing pad filled her with memories.  Squads forming battle plans, wounded being carried to-and-fro.  Like the landing craft, things were different.  Warframed were running this way and that, but none of them looked wounded.  There was a certain joviality to many of their movements.  A freedom Manmi had not seen in a long time.

“This way,” Estella said, her voice somewhat deepened and harsh coming from the Nidus Warframe.  Manmi knew where to go; the layout of the landing pad was very familiar to her, but she did not want to act like a know-it-all to someone who had been kind enough to get her off of Venus and away from the Corpus.  It had been a long day and she was not going to let her tired attitude make a bad first impression.

Manmi followed the Nidus through the entrance and into the north wing of the relay.  She was taken first to Mission Control where the Nidus showed her the current operations of Tenno across the system.  They then went to the Conclave where Manmi was shown the in-depth training simulations that the Tenno competed in.  Both places were familiar to her, but Manmi was surprised by the extent to which the Tenno had gotten reengaged with the solar system after their long sleep; and the current lack of coherence among them.

She contemplated asking Estella about this but decided not to. She was already feeling out of the loop and thought that Estella seemed a little upset that she was having to show her around.  Little Duck had told the other Tenno to give Manmi a tour, which was a nice gesture but Manmi already knew her way around.  This place had not changed all that much.  So Manmi opted to stay quiet and pay attention to what the Nidus was showing her and saying, nodding attentively at times like when they crossed the main concourse where other Warframes and non-Tenno were interacting in many ways; trading, talking, generally socializing around the massive statue of Rhino with cascading water all around.

As they went up the stairs towards the east wing of Vesper Relay, the Nidus Warframe pointed in the opposite direction and said, “That is the west wing.  We’re not going there because I am not on good terms with either the New Loka or Perrin Sequence syndicates.”

“What are they?” Manmi asked, “The syndicates, I mean?”

“Factions of influence in the solar system who have ideological differences among each other,” Estella answered, her voice flat and making Manmi feel like she had asked a stupid question, “I worked with Cephalon Suda and the Arbiters of Hexis a few too many times for the others to be comfortable with, it seems.  And since they cannot take their frustrations out on each other, they take them out on Tenno like us.”

“Cephalon Suda?” Manmi asked, a spark in her eyes and a bit more excitement in her voice.  She enjoyed talking to Cephalons; it was easier than talking to other Tenno.

“Yes, she is through these doors,” Estella said, gesturing for her, “If you wish to speak with her go ahead; she is always welcoming to new sources of information.”

“I think I will,” Manmi said, taking a few steps towards the door.

“Farewell,” Estella said, walking away without breaking stride.  Manmi hesitated, wishing to thank her but then thought she waited too long and it would seem weird if she ran after her to catch up.  Instead she decided to walk into Suda’s enclave.

- - - -

“And that is how you got here, now.” Cephalon Suda said, getting a nod of affirmation from Manmi, “You have had an eventful day, by organic standards, and there are a lot of recent events that you have yet to be informed of.”

“What do I need to know?” Manmi asked.

“Another time.  I have other things to attend to, but I invite you to return tomorrow or another time at your earliest convenience.  I want to know more about your original training as a Tenno.”

“I shall return,” Manmi said, bowing her head before backing away.  When she was far enough that the datascape of Suda vanished from around her and she was once again in the small enclave, where some of Cephalon Suda’s assistants were discussing things with garishly decorated Warframes, Manmi turned and exited back out into the east wing.  She looked left and then right as she tried to get her bearings.  She knew where she was, but not what to do or where to go.  From the unexpected escape in the morning to her adventure in Orb Vallis to her brief tour here and her extensive interview with Cephalon Suda Manmi had been too distracted to realize the one biggest problem for her; she did not know anyone.

The realization hit her like a ton of bricks and Manmi felt a sudden emptiness in her chest.  An absence that somehow weighed more. A hollow mass.  A black hole.  A void that needed something.  It left Manmi aimless for a moment.  Aimless and uncomfortable.  She grasped for the only thing that she knew at that moment; a small datacube in a pocket on her Zarimon suit.  She slid her thumb across a recessed control and the small red cube began to glow with a purplish light as inner workings powered up.

“Hi again!” Amita said, a miniaturized version of her holographic display projecting above the cube in Manmi’s palm, “So! Am I going to get a new ship? I can’t wait to try flying again!”

“Not right now,” Manmi said, “I’ll try to, but I don’t even know where to start.”

“Welllllllllllllllllll let's start by figuring out where we are!  I take it we made it off Venus?”

“Yeah,” Manmi said, walking down the stairs back into the concourse, looking up from the hologram from time to time to avoid bumping into any of the Warframes milling about.  “We’re on Vesper Relay, in orbit around Venus.”

“Yay!” Amita cheered, her inverted pyramid expanding to momentarily absorb the four-dimensional cubes, “Is the ship I crashed getting repaired?”

“Maybe,” Manmi said, “But if it is I think Little Duck is going to keep it.  We got a lift here by another Tenno.”

“Oooo! Did you make a new friend? Can you introduce me?”

“I, er, don’t think she liked me,” Manmi said, walking up to a mid-level platform in the concourse to tuck herself into a small alcove in the wall.

“Aww, why would you think that? Who couldn’t like you?”

“I don’t know,” Manmi said, leaning against the wall, “Her Warframe was kind of creepy but she just seemed really quiet.  I didn’t know what to say and it was awkward.”

“You should go find her!” Amita said, “We could-”

“I think I need to sit for a little while,” Manmi said, sliding down the wall until she was seated on the floor, “I’m really tired.”

“Oh I bet you are!” Amita chirped, “Twelve hours ago you were doing your morning calisthenics! Your entire life… oh!” She noticed that Manmi’s head had tilted slightly, and even though she could not see through the red and orange hood of the Zarimon suit it was quite apparent to her that Manmi had nodded off.  “We can keep talking later.”

[(NSW)RoboYouDidnt]

x Chapter 5 x
Sanctuary 

Manmi vaguely recalled falling asleep in a sitting position, but when she woke up she was laying down.  She was still on the floor of the concourse, but there was a new addition; someone had draped a blanket over her.  She looked up and saw someone standing over her; a tall, hunched figure in bright blue armor with beady yellow eyes.

“Clem?” it asked tilting its head as it looked down at her.

“Uh…” Manmi did not know what to say.  Her body tensed under the blanket as she contemplated striking this strange creature or fleeing. It reached for her, holding out a small red item.  Manmi tried to back away but was up against the wall.  It took her a second to realize that the thing was offering her an apple.  Seeing the food, Manmi felt her stomach churn in hunger; she had not had anything to eat since before she was sprung from the Corpus prison.

“Clem?” it said again, leaning forward a bit to stretch its hand closer to her.  Manmi reached out and hesitantly took the apple, making sure she was understanding that it was a gift and not some strange custom.  It pulled its hand back once she had a hold of it and let her keep it, standing up a bit straighter and tilting its head to the other side.  “Clem!”

Manmi was very hungry and chose to risk it.  She tugged at the back of her hood and it split open, falling to either side.  Dark blue and opalescent hair spread out atop her head and the world lost some of its filters as her bright green eyes beheld the apple without anything between them.  She took a big bite and enjoyed the sweet sticky flavor as she chewed it, quickly taking another bite and then another.

“Hey Clem! Darvo’s lookin’ for ya,” a deep voice said.  Manmi leaned forward a bit to look around the small lip of the alcove she had slept in and saw a familiar looking Warframe walking her way.  It was an Excalibur, dark grey with shades of blue and orange.  Manmi recognized an Excalibur; they had been all over the place in the war.  She did not recognize this one in particular, but all of the Warframes she had seen since coming to Vesper Relay had been far more colorful and vibrant than the ones she remembered.  With the Excalibur was a Warframe she did not recognize at all; a tall and girthy frame with a large round stomach that looked like it had a wicked mouth engraved in it.

“Oh, hi!” the Excalibur said, waving with one hand at Manmi while the other rested on its waist, leaning slightly on one leg in a more relaxed pose, “You new around here?  Most Tenno don’t sleep on the floor.  We usually do it on our ships.”

“Uh, yeah, um, I uh… I don’t have a ship right now.” Manmi said, looking down at the apple core in her hand and the blanket on her lap.  She realized that she must have looked completely pathetic.

“Oh really? That’s unfortunate,” the Excalibur said.

“Obviously,” the large Warframe said.

“What happened to it?” the Excalibur asked, “You didn’t lose it over Neptune did you?”

“No, down on Venus,” Manmi said, “Shot down while trying to escape.” She wanted to ask what happened at Neptune but was cut off by Excalibur’s follow up question.

“Escape?  What? Were you a prisoner or something?”

“Uh, yeah,” Manmi said, “I was in a Corpus holding cell, they were trying to train me to fight for them, I think.”  She was still unclear on what Nef Anyo’s plan was, but had yet to have any time to really think on it.  

“Huh, that’s a new one,” the rotund Warframe said, “How’d they even catch ya in the first place?”

“They woke me up from cryostasis,” Manmi answered.

“Oh!” the Excalibur said, standing up a little straighter, “Wait, when did you wake up?”

“About nineteen cycles ago?” Manmi said after a moment of thought, “Give or take a few hours?”

Excalibur was quiet after that, and very still.  The other Warframe looked from Excalibur to Manmi a couple of times before speaking up, “He was part of the team that was trying to retrieve your cryopod.  They were overwhelmed by Corpus forces and had to retreat.”

“Oh,” Manmi said, a little confused, “But Nef Anyo said that it was Grineer trying to capture me?”

“Grakata?” the one called Clem said, still standing by them all.

“Clem’s a Grineer,” the Warframe said, “A good one.  But none of them were around.”

“I’m deeply sorry,” the Excalibur said, falling to its knees and prostrating itself on the floor.  Manmi felt even more uncomfortable with that; lots of other people in the concourse were taking notice of them.  “If there’s anything I can do to make it up to you-”

“N-no really, it’s alright,” Manmi said, her jaw tense as she tried to speak quietly but urgently, “I’m fine and they didn’t treat me bad.  No harm no foul.”

“It’s unacceptable to leave one of our own behind,” Excalibur said as it stood back up, “We should have held out a little longer for extraction.  There has to be something I can do to atone for my failure.”

“There really isn’t,” Manmi said, not sure if suggesting ‘try harder next time’ would be wry like she intended or insulting, “Unless you’ve got a spare Warframe and a working Somatic Link?  Mine’s not working and I don’t know where Vauban’s at, or if its even still in one piece.”

The round Warframe shrugged and shook its head while Excalibur looked down and touched its chin pensively.  It nodded after a second and said, “I might be able to help you,” he pointed towards the north wing, “Take the elevators down to the lower level and go to the room on the right.  Cephalon Simaris is there; tell him you’re an aspiring Hunter and Faltiya sent you.  He’ll give you what you need.”

“Oh, really?” Manmi said, looking across the concourse, “Thanks.”

“Clem, can you show… er what’s your name?”

“Manmi.”

“Clem, can you take Manmi with you to the elevators?” Faltiya asked.  Clem nodded enthusiastically and grunted in affirmation, quickly gesturing for Manmi to follow as he started to walk away.

“Good luck Manmi,” the round Warframe said as it and Excalibur waved and headed off to the west wing.  Manmi waved back but followed after Clem, bringing the blanket with her and still nibbling on the apple core; finishing it after climbing the stairs out of the concourse since she did not know where to put it and just held onto the stem in her fingers.

“Clem clem,” Clem said, pointing at an energy field after they walked through the portal to the north wing.  Manmi looked at it and saw a Warframe walk in and float down through the floor.  She figured that was the elevator that Faltiya told her to use.

“Thank you Clem,” Manmi said, “And thanks for-” she was holding up the blanket and Clem reached out and took it, folding it up while walking away and grunting some sort of tune that Manmi didn’t recognize.  She watched him walk away for a moment then turned and entered the elevator, floating down to the level below.

It was easy to find where to go; there was a room with a lot of Warframes walking around and talking loudly and a large hologram of a Cephalon floating above everyone.  It was an orange one, and composed of four large quadrilateral shapes with a dozen smaller ones between them.  All of the shapes centered around a bright golden light that seemed to peer at her with a paradoxical combination of passive indifference and mild interest.

“Greetings, Tenno, and welcome to Sanctuary.” the Cephalon said; his voice booming yet smooth, deafening yet comforting. His form loomed over her; large and imposing, but Manmi did not feel threatened.  She felt exposed. Naked.  Like an insect being examined by a greater intelligence.

“Manmi.” he said, “Tenno of Naramon.”

That caught Manmi off guard.  She looked up with wide eyes and blinked as she tried to wonder how he knew that.  

“Cephalon Suda subsumes, accumulates, categorizes, and collates much information.  A significant portion of it is available on the Weave for certain Cephalons to access, should they desire or need.  I am one such Cephalon.  I have experience working with Tenno and I have found that your kind, from the school of Naramon, make excellent Hunters.  When Suda blunders across a specimen that fits those parameters, I investigate.  Your arrival without summons is expected of your kind.”

Manmi took a deep breath and stood up straighter.  Speaking to a Cephalon was easier for her; she did not feel the need to connect or feel as though she was speaking with an equal.  She just had to give Simaris the information relevant to the situation.  She could remove her feelings from it and not try to interpret or explain herself for him; he was smart enough to know what she meant better than she could.

“I was told to come here by an Excalibur named Faltiya,” she said, keeping her voice even and level. She placed her hands behind the small of her back and kept her feet together as she looked up at the bright mote of light that was the center of SImaris’s ‘eye’.  “He told me that you can supply what I need.  I require a Warframe and a ship.”

“And no doubt a Cephalon to pilot your ship.” Simaris said.

“I have a Cephalon for that duty,” Manmi said, “Cephalon Amita; she was rescued from the same Corpus facility that I was.”

“Indeed,” Simaris said, “Very well; I can provide you with the equipment that you need, but I will need your services in exchange."

[(NSW)RoboYouDidnt]

 -x Chapter 6 x-
Ivara

“Before we begin, please place your Cephalon datacube on the pedestal,” Simaris instructed Manmi.  As he spoke, a pedestal rose up from the floor just to Manmi’s right.  She looked at it for a moment and then to the datacube in her hand.  Introducing Amita to Cephalon Simaris had been a bit nerve wracking for her, but Simaris had been mostly disinterested in Amita after he learned that she was not connected to The Weave.  

“Go ahead! I can’t wait!” Amita told Manmi, her mini hologram blinking out as she prepared for whatever form of data transfer that would take place.

“Do not be alarmed for your Cephalon,” Simaris told Manmi as the Tenno set the cube on the pedestal.  It began to retract into the floor as he continued, “I intend to give it a limited access to The Weave.  She will be trained in how to manage a Hunter for Sanctuary; including proper piloting protocols.  Now, follow the indicator lights into the side room.”

A trail of lights with a slightly different glimmer than those already present in the room lit up and formed a trail for Manmi to follow.  Obediently, Manmi walked off away from the central position of the room towards the right side, walking around a terminal with numerous Warframes gathered around it and through a section of wall that slid aside at her approach.  She passed into a much smaller room with a large machine built around a pod.  

A Somatic Link.

“Please enter,” Simaris’s voice said from above, “You will be linked into my simulacrum for testing and training.  Before will can be trusted with valuable materielle, your viability as a Hunter must first be ascertained.”

“I understand,” Manmi said, though she had an idea that Cephalon Simaris did not care one way or another.  As long as she followed his instructions and performed well, Manmi would have direction again.  She would have purpose.  She needed this grounding; something firm to latch onto and stop the swirling that was her life in recent days.  Without hesitation, she settled herself into the pod and closed her eyes as it sealed around her.

-x/x-

“Welcome to Sanctuary,” Cephalon Simaris’s voice boomed through the very air itself, no source detectable nor necessary.  Manmi was now inside a virtual world; vast emptiness as far as her eyes could see, but the immediate area was stark grey pillars and pathways floating in the endless datascape.  She looked around for a moment, intrigued by the setting, but when she looked down she saw that her legs were not her legs.  

Manmi was in a Warframe.  A model unfamiliar to her; light brown legs fading to yellow then to orange around her shoulders and wearing a hood of some sort, the frame had wide hips and long legs.  She took a few steps and felt a remarkable lightness, but a power in the lower limbs that she knew would let her move fast.

“I have placed you in a simulacrum of Ivara,” Simaris said.  That answered Manmi’s question about what Warframe it was.  She knew of Ivara Warframes by reputation, but had never seen one in action herself.  From what she remembered, they had tended towards more stealthy assignments from the war, whereas Manmi had spent much of her time on the front lines in direct combat.  

“If you prove yourself sufficiently here, I will bestow the Ivara Warframe to you back in the material world,” Simaris continued, “And using her you will hunt specimens for Sanctuary at my direction.  Her abilities will aid you greatly in your hunts.  You will find her quiver provides with  four unique types of arrows.  The Cloak arrow will create a sphere of refracted light, within which you can hide from view of your quarry.  The Dashwire arrow will create a zipline that will allow you to traverse any environment with impunity.  The Noise arrow will create a distraction at a point of your choosing.  And the Sleep arrow will put your targets into a harmless sleep to allow for live capture.

“With Ivara you will be able to assume direct control over any projective you fire.  This will allow you to ensure that you always hit your target.  But most importantly, Ivara will give you the ability to turn invisible at will and walk among your enemies unseen.  Should stealth fail you, Ivara can summon a powerful bow to fight with.  She is the perfect hunter, and with her I will expect you to succeed in any hunt I give you.   Now, practice for a short time while I prepare your trial.”

Practice was exactly what Manmi had in mind.  She took a few more steps and then started a sprint.  It was a much faster pace than she could do with Vauban, and when she jumped she felt herself soar.  The landing was soft and silent, and Ivara was able to transition from the landing into a slide across the ground and back up into a full sprint as fluidly as water coursing over pebbles.  She got to the end of the path she was on and stepped around the corner of a tall grey pillar and stopped in her tracks as she was close to the back of a figure.

“Get to the end of the corridor without being seen.” Simaris’s voice sounded from all around.  It was easy to activate Ivara’s invisibility; once one was in a Warframe one knew its functionality.  Its abilities were like breathing; a natural part of their existence.  Some thought was needed to activate them though, so less like breathing and more like jumping. One could jump with ease if one decided to.  It was only through practice that one could jump well though.

Once invisible, Ivara carefully moved slowly to the side to walk around the tall and bulky figure near her.  It looked like a shiny Clem with a few more inches of height. Once past it, Ivara could see several more down the now narrow-feeling path.  The next one was also standing still, but looking right at her. Or through her as the case was.  Once she was past it Ivara had to walk around a couple of pacing figures before she came to a gap.  Jumping the gap was easy, but doing so had broken her invisibility.  Fortunately she was away from any of the mimeographs and able to re-activate her Prowl ability.  

I can’t make any fast or sudden movements, Manmi noted as she continued forward to the next set of enemy projections.  They were standing in a wide area, spread out and looking in various directions.  Some were meandering about the space while others seemed to just stare off in one direction.  This seemed like an obvious place to sneak through, but they were all so cluttered that Ivara needed a distraction.  The solution to that was as obvious as using invisibility, and Ivara grabbed one of the noise making arrows and fired it off to one side.  It struck a tower and made a loud sound that attracted the attention of all of the mimeographs and caused enough of them to walk to that side for Ivara to quietly walk across the opposite side of the space.  

The other side of the wide space was a dead-end.  There was another space on the far side of a gap.  Ivara could make that jump, but she would lose her invisibility if she did.  Manmi figured the best thing to do would be to fire a Cloak arrow at a spot on the far side to land in.  So she backed up and sprinted forward.  She could feel the thin veil of light bending invisibility fracture and flake off of her like glass as she moved.  Jumping, Ivara grabbed her bow and aimed an arrow.  Time seemed to slow down as she floated forward; a sensation that had been lost to memory until now.  Clashes of her past danced across Manmi’s inner-eye as she remembered various weapons in various battles being fired through the air in this manner.

Ivara released the arrow and landed in the bubble of refracted light, keeping her unseen from the mimeographs on this platform.  Before she could move forward from her landed position, though, they all vanished.

“Well done, Hunter in training.” Simaris said as the world around Ivara changed, “The next trial will be the most important; you need to prove competence in scanning targets for Sanctuary.”

-x/x-

The Somatic Link opened and Manmi sat up and climbed out of it.  Simaris had released her after she proved her ability to use the Synthesis Scanner and the Kinetic Siphons to a degree that pleased the Cephalon.  Manmi was not overly worried; the scanning was a trivial task when Ivara was invisible.  Simaris was being meticulous with his choices and testing even the most minute skill sets.  That was a quality Manmi admired.  She returned to the main room of Cephalon Simaris’s Vesper enclave and approached the large hologram as it peered down at her, impassive as ever.

“You have proven your skills adequate, Hunter.” Simaris said, his voice loud and shaking the air itself, “In simulation at any rate.  You are worthy of a trial run.  I am granting you a Jhagha-class orbiter so that you can go to Earth and find me a specimen of a Grineer Ballista.  It is ready for you in the Relay’s hangar.  Your Cephalon is already integrated into the ship’s systems.  She has received an upgrade to her flight protocols and should be able to adequately navigate the space between worlds.  Provided she does not attempt to land the orbiter.”

“Thank you,” Manmi said, bowing to the hologram, “Cephalon Simaris.”

“Your Ivara Warframe is also on the orbiter,” Simaris continued, “If you succeed in synthesizing the target, I will permit you to keep the equipment.  If you fail, I will send another Hunter to recover your remains.  I advise you not to waste the time of another Hunter.”

Manmi was not sure if that was a threat or a bad joke, but she left the Sanctuary enclave with a spring in her step and strange tightness in her chest.  She was excited; she had a duty again. A mission.  She was eager to prove her worth to Cephalon Simaris and to serve a greater purpose again.

[(NSW)RoboYouDidnt]

-x- Chapter 7 -x-
Junction

The Orbiter floated away from Venus and quickly escaped its gravitational influence.  Amita was very excited about the smooth flight and the freedom that the larger vessel was giving her, but Manmi was more interested in the Railjack escort that accompanied them from the Relay on the way to the Venus-Earth Junction station.She was still inhabiting Ivara as she stood in the empty metallic room on the port side of the Orbiter, watching the massive ship below.

“Flying in space is soooo much easier than flying in the atmosphere!” Amita chirped energetically as her hologram appeared in a small projector pedestal nearby, breaking Manmi’s reverie “Just aim and go! There’s no interference from gravity or atmospheric conditions!  The information that Simaris uploaded to me is super helpful too but the simplicity is just great!”

“Just aim and go?” Ivara asked as she walked past the hologram and out into the corridor, “What about debris? Enemy ships?”

“This thing has SO MANY SENSORS! You don’t even know!”Amita chirped excitedly, her voice coming through speakers in the passage between rooms, “I mean, being integrated into this magnificent ship must be like you being in a Warframe right? Just so much… more of everything!”

“Hmm, something like that.” Ivara said while standing in front of the Somatic Link pod.  Manmi was keeping it closed; it was a very disorienting feeling looking at herself while looking at herself when she opened it up without breaking the link.  But she had spent enough time without a Warframe on Venus that she was more than happy to stick with the one she has.  Even if Ivara lacked in certain areas compared to Vauban, she was a very capable frame for Manmi’s purposes.  Especially since her purpose was to hunt.

“Amita, how long until we reach the Junction?” Ivara asked as she left the Somatic Link room.  She wanted to get to Earth as soon as possible so that she could synthesize a “Ballista” for Cephalon Simaris and prove her worth as a Hunter.  Once she did, she could have a steady stream of missions to perform and meaning in her life once again. Since the Orbiter was meant to, well, orbit a planet it lacked the Void Drives necessary to travel the vast distances between planets itself, so it relied on the old Junctions to make the big jump between planets in the system.  

“Not long now,” Amita said, “We’re already in range of the Vikhandan’s weapons so our escort pulled back to Venus.”  There used to be armadas of Railjacks throughout the system.  Manmi remembered the one she served on back during the War, the Stambh, but it went down with so many others in the battle against Hunhow.  Now it seemed that there was barely enough to make a single fleet, and they split duties such as escorting and protecting the Junctions.  If they didn’t, the Grineer and the Corpus would likely destroy them to cripple the ability for Tenno to travel across the system.  Manmi was not entirely aware of the full scale of operations, but from what little she had seen it seemed that the Grineer and the Corpus would quite like to stop the Tenno from traveling around so freely.

Ivara approached the automated weapon rack and activated it.  Two weapons came into view, the only two available to her.  Manmi was completely reliant on Cephalon Simaris at the moment for all of her gear and equipment.  So far he was only willing to invest so much materielle on her, but fortunately for Manmi they were weapons that she was well acquainted with already.  The Vectis sniper rifle was one of her preferred weapons back in the old War, and the twin Fang daggers were not her favorite weapons for getting up close with her enemies, they were more than capable of getting the job done in a pinch.

“Amita, how long have you been operational?” Ivara asked as she walked to the front of the ship to watch the approach on the Junction.  The Vikhandan was visible and growing larger with each passing second.  

“I was first activated six point seven two five years ago,” Amita said, “I was the seven-hundred and fifty fifth in a line of five thousand Cephalons specialized for operating and maintaining secure locations, but it's really boring. Why?”

“I was just curious what I’ve missed since while I was in cryostasis,” Ivara said, “Everything is different now.”

“Well that’s easy!” Amita said cheerily, “How long were you in cryostasis?”

“I don’t know.”

“Oh… that’s less easy,” Amita said in a ponderous tone, her hologram appearing in a small pedestal by the navigation console, “What do you remember before you were cryostasised?”

“That’s…” Ivara started, but shook her head and decided to ignore the fake word, “I went into stasis with many of my brethren after we brought down the Orokin.”

“The what?”

“The Orokin?” Ivara asked, looking at the hologram, “The system-spanning empire? They ruled… everything.”

“Hmm… nope, never heard of them.” Amita said, “Next time we talk to Simaris I’ll ask to get plugged into the Weave again and find out.  Maybe we’ll be close enough for radio contact with some other Cephalons when we get to Earth that I can ask them too.”

Manmi was incredulous for a moment.  How could anyone not know about the Orokin?  But she reconciled the idea that if Amita was only half a decade old and the Orokin were wiped out a significant amount of time ago - long enough for the Corpus to become an apparent threat and the ‘Grineer’ to be on par with them - then it was plausible.  If Amita was only given the information required to run a prison then she likely did not have much in the way of historic knowledge.  

“Yes, please do that.” she told Amita.  She wanted to follow up on the idea some more but her mind was distracted as they came upon the Junction.  Manmi was usually able to keep her focus, but there was so much for her to take in and so little time to do it that she found her mind wandering from subject to subject.  She had so many questions, but thus far her only source of answers was a six-year-old Cephalon who knew more about who was stealing office supplies in a Venusian accounting department than the largest, most influential empire in the history of the Origin System.

The Orbiter made its final approach to the Junction.  The beam of energy powering the station passed across the field of view and came to a stop a few hundred kilometers away.  At that point a bright blue flash exploded in the black emptiness and a swirling vortex appeared.  Amita guided the ship towards the portal while vector graphs appeared on the navigation console.  Ivara had no idea what they meant; she was not uneducated in the physics of interplanetary travel, but the graphs and text scrolled too fast for her to keep up.

“Alright, make sure you’re sitting down for this part,” Amita said in an excited tone, her hologram whirling energetically on the projection pad, “Simaris told me it would be a bit bumpy!”

“Cephalon Simaris said ‘a bit bumpy’?” Ivara said while looking for a seat, her tone flat and implying disbelief at the notion, “There aren’t any seats in-”

The moment  that the Orbiter touched the threshold of the portal there was a sudden jolt as the ship was teleported across the vast distance of space between Venus and Earth.  Ivara was almost knocked off-balance from the jolt, and when it emerged from the other side she fell forward into the console.

“Yep!” Amita chirped, “The Jhagha-class orbiters have an older model of acceleration dampeners so there’s some jittering between the two points of space. You’ll get used to it! Oh but maybe we should install a chair or two.  Or five! What if you get a full crew! That would be a-may-ziiiiiiiiing! Well a crew isn’t really needed, I got this whole ship covered.  But friends! Friends would be great! We could tell stories and talk about our days and…”

Amita’s voice faded out of Ivara’s attention as she looked out through the orbiter’s view at Earth.  Earth. The origin of life in the system.  Everything that ever was and is came from there.  A world she had never seen with her own eyes.  A world she had never set foot on before today.  But more awe-inspiring than Earth was the cracked and snared Lua off to the side.  Lua, the capital.  Lua, the battleground.  Lua, the last place Manmi remembered being before waking up from cryostasis.

Is Vauban there? She wondered silently.  She would have to find time to investigate.  Once she earned more help from Simaris perhaps.  She needed to start earning that now.

“Amita, prepare the landing craft,” Ivara said, walking deeper into the Orbiter.  It was time to land Earth.  It was time to hunt.

[(NSW)RoboYouDidnt]

--x- Chapter 8 -x--
The Hunted

Landing on Earth was easy.  Flying the landing craft, ejecting through the vessel’s belly, landing with a sharp impact, there were so many memories.  It felt right.  The hard metal platform that she landed on clanged when she hit the ground but the sound did not travel far. Not that there was anyone or anything around to hear it; the Grineer foundry was a massive structure that stretched at least a kilometer on each side from what she had seen during ingress.  Possibly even further; large swaths of it had been covered by the thick forest canopy. 

“I sense the Synthesis Target in your area,” Simaris said, a small projection of his avatar appearing in the side of Ivara’s vision, alongside other information regarding her physical status, ammunition, location, and other important details for the mission.

“Hiiiii! Testing testing testiiiing!” Amita chimed in, the red pentahedroid of Amita blinking into existence, taking the spot in her field of vision previously occupied by Simaris, “Wow! I can totally track your position through this link!  This is so cool!  So which way are you going?”

“Please refrain from interrupting me,” Simaris said, his avatar now appearing on the opposite side from Amita, “I am instructing the Hunter.”

“Whoops! Sorry!” Amita said, “I’ll pop off and see what some of these subsystems do.”

“I may have to divert my attention from you to your Cephalon, Hunter,” Simaris continued when Amita blinked away, “If she endeavors to destroy the Orbiter, I will lose the link to you and have a harder time collecting the specimen.  Until then, please equip the Synthesis Scanner.”

Ivara did as ordered and her view of the world was quickly changed.  A new H.U.D. took over her field of vision and certain objects of interest were highlighted in green against an orange backdrop.  She looked left and right and the scanner seemed to automatically zero-in on whatever item she focused on.  There was a blooming flower not too far away; some of the petals were visible to her from around the root of a tree but the rest of it would have been hidden were it not for the scanner giving her a green outline through the wood.  After looking at it for a second it flashed and information regarding the flower’s species appeared briefly.

“Well done.” Simaris said, “Find the trail, find your target, and scan it.”  Simaris vanished and Ivara was left to search for clues to track the Grineer Ballista.  She had limited information available as Simaris did not want to make her first hunt too easy; he gave some absolute basic information to get her started but otherwise she was on her own.  She did not even quite know what a Grineer was other than Clem.  From that she imagined the strange being from the relay, but with a sniper rifle.

Ivara walked over some mossy rocks and found a large cylinder of metal.  It looked like a bit of an engine casing from a smaller ship, but whatever it might have been was lost to time.  There was so much rust and moss over growing it that there was little, if any, chance of getting any useful identification.  But it was a fortunate find as it created a gentle slope down an otherwise vertical cliff as well as provided cover from any potential eyes in the trees.  

Unless she were to step on a bit of loose moss and slip, which she did.  Ivara rolled down the metal incline, burping into a few rusted crates and some metal parts held to the fuselage by some weak vines and plant growth.  The cumulation of her tumbling and bumping into things caused a miniature metal avalanche  that she rolled with to the ground below.  It did not ‘hurt’ in the typical sense, but Ivara knew there was some small damage done and her shields had depleted from the cascade of small impacts.  They would be back in a few seconds, so she was not worried until a bullet struck her in the shoulder.

“S#&$!” Ivara turned invisible and dove to the side, immediately causing the thin veil of bent light to break and expose her again to the unseen shooter.  Another bullet cracked through the air nearby as Ivara rolled behind cover of a large boulder.  A bullet ricocheted off of the top of the stone.  She knew she was pinned down but had a way out and activated Prowl once more.  This time she was patient and careful and stepped around the large tree to the side.  She tried to duck under a large plant but the rifle strapped to her back caused the leaf to move and a bullet flew too close overhead for her comfort.

Retreating through a gap in the trees, Ivara backed away from the direction the shots had been coming from until she was out of energy and forced back into visibility.  She turned around to try and find tracks again but saw over a dozen of what had to be Grineer.  There were a few Clem looking ones, some that were bigger and greener, and some that were smaller with less bulky armor.  She stood still, thinking for a moment that she had not been spotted.  Then one of the ones wielding what looked like meat cleavers pointed in her direction and yelled ‘Tenno Skoom!’.

There was shouting and shooting and a lot of movement.  Ivara kept jumping and sliding around the outside of the camp while trying to aim her rifle.  She managed to fire a shot and caught one of the bulkier ones in the midsection but before she could aim a second one but was tackled by something moving really fast.  Ivara rolled head over heels a couple of times before she could stand again only to have her shields depleted by a screaming Grineer waving red-hot cleavers at her.

Ivara ducked and dodged, rolling around the mad Butcher while drawing the two daggers she had come with.  Stabbing one of the Fangs into the mutant clone’s back, Ivara saw the dog-like creature that had tackled her before charging again. While trying to get the knife up to stop the charging Kubrow a flurry of bullets struck her in the side.  Her shields had not yet recharged so the impacts did some damage and Ivara needed to leap away from the beast and find cover.  Invisibility still was not an option as she had not regained enough energy to activate it.

Thinking fast and feeling the Grineer pressing in from all sides, Ivara grabbed her bow and fired a Zipline arrow from behind the cluster of tree roots protecting her across the clearing to a higher point in the distance.  She anchored the thin blue line of energy and climbed on, balancing as she fled up the makeshift incline.  Bullets cut the air all around her and the sounds of near misses filled her with the exhilaration of escape.  The sudden impact on the back of her leg broke that feeling as it broke her balance, sending her careening into the forest floor below.  All was not lost though; now she was significantly further from the camp and no longer surrounded.  

The sound of shouting and gunfire was not too far away though and Ivara had to run.  She followed a path between some trees and a cliff into a gully that quickly became a dead-end.  She tried to turn invisible again but was still too short on energy for that.  She found an opening behind some branches while looking for a vine or a crevice to grab onto and climb. Ivara ducked into the small opening and squeezed her way along the narrow winding path, the sound of Grineer becoming more distant as she moved.  The path widened after a little ways and she was able to walk, with much more care this time, into a wide sunlit clearing. 

With a few towering trees holding up the canopy of the grove, Ivara was still as she tried to detect any more possible hostels. But there was something about the clearing that felt different than the rest of the forest.  The soft trickling of water at the base of a large overlooking cliff caught her attention and then movement near a pile of rocks at the summit drew her gaze.

“Well met, Tenno.” the woman at the stone pile said, holding her hands in front other chest as if she were holding a small, invisible ball.  Ivara could not make out much of her face as the eyes and top of the head were covered by fabric that had a leaf-like pattern, matching the rest of the woman’s clothing.  “Are you here to anoint the shrine?”

“I am sorry,” Ivara said, opting to try and navigate what she perceived as a possible trap, “But I am unfamiliar with this shrine.  I’m lost, running from a squad of Grineer.”

“I see,” the woman said after a moment of silence, “The Grove has brought you here, guiding your movements even if you did not know it. One of your people saved it from the Grineer taint not long ago, so it has seen fit to return the favor.”  The woman put a vial of some sort in her pocket before walking away from the stones and down around the side of the overlook, “I will take it as a sign that you arrived as I completed my service.  The Grove now needs me to take you from here to some place safe.  We shall go to Cetus,” she said, gesturing to Ivara to follow as she headed for a small gap in the dense trees.

“What’s Cetus?” Ivara asked, cautiously following.  She did not know if she could trust the woman or not, but at least she was not Grineer and was not being actively hostile.

“It is a settlement not too far from here,” she said, “My ship can get us there in a few minutes; I normally do not go there personally but I have some personal guards who visit from time to time for trading purposes.”

“Guards?”

“Ah, I beg pardon,” the woman said, “I am Amaryn of New Loka.  I lead my syndicate in the ways of returning purity to Earth and Humanity.”

‘New Loka’ sounded familiar but she could not place it.  Instead, she introduced herself to stay polite, “I am Manmi of the Tenno.”

“Well met again, Manmi.” Amaryn said, “So tell me, what did you think of the Silver Grove?  Beautiful, was it not?”

[(NSW)RoboYouDidnt]

--x-- Chapter 9 --x--
Old Acquaintance

The New Loka cadre waiting for Amaryn by her ship near the grove was very friendly to Ivara when she arrived.  They were polite and talkative and pointed out a lot of the natural beauty around them, even going so far as to tell her stories about some of the plants while the ship prepared to take off.  Once they were all boarded and airborne, Ivara asked some questions about Cetus, not being familiar with the village, and they were more than happy to tell her all about it.  Ivara was fascinated at the idea of a community built around, and protected by, an ancient and sapient Orokin tower that survived the Sentient assault of Earth.

When her questions were all sated, the New Loka operatives began to ask about her.  She was not one to talk about herself and felt rather uncomfortable doing so, but they showed great sympathy with her plight at the hands of the Corpus.  When her time with Cephalon Suda and her mission for Cephalon Simaris came up, though, the atmosphere of the transport became suddenly quite chilly. She wondered what she had said but did not work up the nerve to ask.

Before long the ship landed and she was semi-politely deposited on the outskirts of the village of Cetus.  Once escorted off of the ship, the New Loka guards bid her a curt farewell before getting back on board.  Ivara cleared the area before they took off and watched the ship fly away.  While she was thankful for their help she also was not sad to see them go after the abrupt change in their manner.  Opting to try and forget about that for now, she turned her attention to the village.

Walking past a crew of people in nearby shallow water, Ivara paused a moment to watch them in action. It looked like they were sawing through a chunk of wall to peel off a layer.  Beyond that, she saw a massive Orokin tower.  A tower of the kind she vividly remembered attacking in a different time and a different place.  She remembered sitting in gunnery on the Stambh and strafing around the upper turrets, aiming to take out the defensive weapons mounted there.  The ship shook with the incoming fire as the Orokin monsters fought desperately to resist their onslaught, but-

A loud splash and the soft spray of water snapped her out of the memory.  Ivara looked back at the wall that was being cut and saw that it was now a bloody mess.  That was interesting.  Gross, but interesting.  It was as if they were harvesting chunks of the Orokin tower.

“Hey Manmi guess what!” Amita’s voice chirped in her ear, “Too slow! I found a friend of yours.”

“A friend?”

“Yeah! You told me you were part of that Naramon thing during training, remember?  Another Naramon is in orbit, isn’t that exciting?”

Another student of Naramon? Manmi hadn’t thought to look for any others.  From what Amita had told her, she had been asleep for at least a thousand years, and the few Tenno she had met at the Relay seemed very different from how she remembered.  The whole system seemed very different.  But it stood to reason that there were other Tenno like her that woke up relatively recently.  Perhaps the Naramon school was still active.  Could Master Naramon herself still be alive?

“Cephalon to Manmi, you hear me? Is the transmission bugged?”

“No, I hear you.  Where is this Tenno?”

“No idea,” Amita said whimsically, “Want me to ask Sere?”  

Manmi was on the verge of asking who Sere was when the context of the conversation returned to her and she realized that Sere was obviously the other Cephalon she was in communication with.  She resisted the urge and instead said, “Yes.  Please.”

“Oki-doki! Sere says that Guanjin is excited to meet a new one of you!  He’s out in the ‘Plains of Eidolon’, whatever those are, and is on his way back, aaaand to meet him inside the front gate in about fifteen to twenty minutes.  Can we look around the village until then? Everything looks so neat!”

Guanjin? Manmi knew Guanin.  They’d been on several missions together back in the War, but even before that they were friends on the Zarimon.  She remembered playing games with him in the corridors, and she remembered him helping her escape when their parents-

“Oh what’s that?” Amita asked, highlighting a place out of Ivara’s line-of-sight.  She looked that way and headed into the cluster of huts and tents, walking away from the bloody water that she’d been standing in for the last few minutes.  Her thoughts had been interrupted but this time she was actually grateful for Amita’s distraction.  It let her focus more on the interesting people and strange wares they were selling.  Food she had never seen before, little trinkets, Orokin artifacts, and a mask stand momentarily caught her attention.

“Ello, surah! Welcome to Masks and Oddities!  C’mere for all your knickknack and curiosity needs.  I’m Nakak and you are clearly a traveler of taste!  I’ve just the trinket for you,” a quick talking young woman said, dancing around the stall and grabbing a hooded mask, not unlike the one she wore, and held it up to Ivara, “Spittin’ image of your frame.”

Ivara looked at the offered mask for a moment, appreciating the effective use of simplicity to convey the desired design.  She shook her head after a moment though, and said, “This one is just a loan.  My Warframe is lost.”

“Sorry to hear, but I’ve a range of masks if any remind you of your lost face.” Nakak said, gesturing broadly to a couple dozen masks hanging all around the stall and sitting out on the carpets.  Ivara was not inclined to get anything but politely looked them all over before thanking Nakak and quickly walking away.  She wanted to ask where the gate was exactly but felt it would have been rude to ask for information without buying something.  

The large wall visible over the tops of the huts and kiosks was Ivara’s current goal.  She figured that she could head towards it and find the gate easily enough.  On the way she spotted a couple of Corpus crewmen talking to each other beside an empty kiosk.  Ivara walked a little bit faster past them, not liking the way they looked at her.  She rounded another cluster of locals and saw the large entrance and exit through the wall.

“Gate found,” she said.

“Yay!” Amita cheered, “Now we just wait for our new friend to meet us here.”

Ivara jumped up onto a curved segment of wall by the stairs and kept an eye on the gate.  It opened and almost a dozen Warframes came into Cetus through it.  Some she recognized - Excalibur, Mag, Loki, Rhino, Valkyr, Nova - but some were quite foreign to her.  A broad shouldered-beast that lumbered through, a black one with gold trim that reminded her somewhat of her lost Vauban, and one with bright yellow head wrappings around its eyes that walked towards her.  The shades of orange and the bright, almost glowing, insignia on the Warframe’s chest made it somewhat obvious that they were affiliated with, or maybe a fan of, Cephalon Simaris.

“Hey! Manmi!” the orange Warframe said, holding out a hand.

“Guanjin?” Ivara asked, extending her hand.  They grabbed forearms and simultaneously pulled each other closer, embracing.  It had been so long since Manmi had seen Guanjin.  Even before the cryostasis.  

“I haven’t seen you since the Stambh went down,” Guanjin said when they released each other.

“I thought you went down with it.” Manmi, “The reports said there were no survivors.”

“Report my ass, ha!” Guanin said, surprising Manmi.  She had not heard him laugh since before the Zarimon incident.  “I was able to get out in my archwing before it hit the ground.  I got back to orbit but the only ship heading out was busted.  Didn’t know that until after I landed and was almost out of fuel of course.  Stranded on a derelict for a while before I was found and frozen.  But enough about me, what happened to you?  I mean, rockin’ an Ivara?” The orange warframe stepped back and looked Ivara up and down, “Not really your style is she?”

“Uh, er, no, this is a loan,” Manmi admitted, “I don’t know what happened to Vauban.  I’m trying to hunt something for Cephalon Simaris but-”

“Ah Simaris, hell of a guy,” Guanin said, though the more he spoke the less Manmi accepted that it was the Guanin she knew.  He was not acting like the Guanin she remembered, “Hey how about you come with me back to the Naramon Dojo? I’m sure you can find some hunting help there.  I’d offer to myself but I’ve got a mission of my own to report on.”

“Dojo?”

“Yeah, it's our headquarters.  Master Naramon set it up after we took out the Orokin.  We go there to rest, relax, recover, research, r… I can’t think of an ‘r’ word for practice and train.  Come on,” the orange warframe gestured and Ivara followed, heading back through the kiosks and homes around Cetus to the more open area of the bay.

“Alright, er, can you send Amita the coordinates?” Manmi asked as they walked.

“I can but it won’t help, unless you have your own Railjack.”

“I don’t… why?”

“Because it's outside the planetary orbits.  It's above the system, and the relays can’t get to it.  Need a Railjack.  One of the best ways to keep it safe.  The Guateval is here to take us there.”

“The Guateval?”

“Yeah, refurbished railjack.  Took a dozen of us a few months to scour the system for parts from old railjacks and rebuild it.  Now it ferries us out into the system every morning so we can get some work and collects us at the end of the day if we can make it to rendezvous.  I’ll have Sere tag your orbiter to let you on board.”

The dropships came down to pick them up and Amita took care of the rest.  Manmi had a lot to think about.  Guanin had changed; he used to be far more focused and serious.  Not necessarily dour, but he had never acted so aloof and carefree as far as she could remember.  And the Naramon had a dojo outside the system?  They rebuilt their railjack from scraps?  Manmi pondered all of this as she stood beside Ivara in the front of the orbiter, watching as Amita docked it in the Guateval along with half a dozen other orbiters.