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[Fanfiction] Old Dreams

Kalenath

By Kalenath,
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Vahlak

Vahlak

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Do you have ANY idea the sheer amount of paperwork involved????? NO THANKS

 

Just condense all of your stories into one one book, call it the holy bible of kalenath, give it 2 thousand years, wake up from cryo a god.

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Kalenath

Kalenath

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Also, was that REALLY necessary, man?  Really?

 

Just out of the blue "DEAD BABIES HERE! GET YER DEAD BABIES!"

 

:(

 

Was that what it was? Really? Hmmm...

 

Nikis isn't perfect. Just mean and ornery. When a shade starts pestering him,he gets MORE mean and ornery.

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Vahlak

Vahlak

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I'm lost... where is all this yelling about dead babies coming from? I mean, aside from her losing her kid and all...

I dislike children dying.  So far, Kale has been relatively good about children.  We have only had the one child death, and he was reborn as one of the sentient infested.

 

This time, a woman took a round from a Tenno weapon to the stomach, killing the fetus ( to me it matters little that it was only at most a few months into it ) and then the corpus REMOVED her organs. So she now has had 1 child die and can never give birth again.

 

And like i said, i dislike children dying. Fictional or not.

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Kalenath

Kalenath

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And like i said, i dislike children dying. Fictional or not.

 

I DO understand, I was a paramedic. The pediatric cases really hit me hard. But before you villify me or anything...read

 

______________________________________________________

 

 

Return

 

"Of all the stupid... incompetent..."

 

The sharp male voice pulled Zack from a troubled sleep. Her woke to find himself on a bed, surrounded by gear that was vaguely medical in look. It was... familiar. He did not move and kept his eyes slitted and his breathing regular as he looked around carefully. A pair of holograms were showing nearby. One was a large human male in typical Corpus attire. The other was a human female in what looked vaguely like a nun's habit. The woman scoffed and Zack tried not to move as her scorn washed over him.

 

"You are one to talk about incompetent, Frohd Bek." The old woman snapped. "Your attempt to get an agent into our ranks failed miserably. Then you had to show everyone how big and tough you were by getting the agent you threw away killed."

 

"The penalty for failure is..." The man started, but was stunned when the woman laughed at him.

 

"Shut up." The old woman said, this time with humor starting to surface. "If you even try to push this, I have enough dirt on you to bury you. Even with the rest of the Board angry with us, they will not overlook some of you... how shall we say? Indiscretions?" She asked with saccharine sweetness. "Your agents -if you can even call them that- are so laughably clumsy..."

 

"That are patriots!" The man interrupted her hotly.

 

"They are fools!" The woman retorted. "No one remotely trained would call them anything but that. Oh, sure they may be able to trick a few humans once or twice. That trick with the female doctor... what was her name? Priosa?" She asked mildly. Bek seemed to swell and she shook her head. "Anything more than human will see through their pathetic attempts in short order." She glanced to where Zack lay. "Case in point."

 

"He is mine." The male called Frohd Bek said sternly.  Zack felt fear rise, but the old woman shook her head.

 

"Not anymore." The other replied. "You sent him to us. Ostensibly as a source of DNA." She shook her head. "You wrote him off when we figured out that he was actually sent to spy on us... Frohd, Frohd..." She chided. "A 10 year old does not make a good spy..." Now her voice turned sour. "And the implants? Geez..."

 

"You will give him to me." Frohd Bek said with a snarl. "Willingly or not."

 

"He is not yours anymore." The other said, calming. "You wrote him off when he was outed. He is mine and he will remain that way. Go... play with your MOAs or something. Or even better, go find that monster you created. Find Alad V before he makes us all wish for death. Playing with Infested... Even for a former Board member, that is crazy..." She muttered.

 

"You promised us an agent in their Tenno ranks." Bek said sharply. "I don't see any agent."

 

"Well, duh..." The old woman said with a long suffering sigh. "I said we would try. Not that we would do it. I told you that the chances were slim. I know, I know, You assumed we would manage to do whatever delusion you want this week just like all of your minions are forced to. We are not your minions." She said firmly. "We serve the Corpus, but we do not serve you."

 

"You will pay for this." Bek said with a snarl. "I will see you and your little fiefdom burn." The other looked at him with what was for all the world like pity. "What?" He demanded.

 

"Darvo." The old woman said with a sigh and Bek seemed to freeze. "I am sure that the Board would be... interested to know why he fled. What he has been up to since. Who has been helping him and why." Bek stared at her.

 

"You wouldn't." Bek sounded shaken now. "We need him... We need him back!"

 

"He is a good kid." The woman said with a shrug. "I would hate for him to... suffer an accident that kept him from being able to reproduce. That would force you to make another child, yes?"

 

"You wouldn't dare!" The male Corpus said sharply. Was that fear in his voice now?

 

"You may be focused on profit to the exclusion of all else, including common sense..." The old woman's tone was biting now. "I cannot afford to be so limited. If you get in the way of the survival of the Corpus and humanity... then yes, I will have you removed to a breeder colony to... procreate. That is within my power." Bek actually gulped at that. "Oh come on, Bek... it's not like it would hurt!" Now her tone turned sly. "You seemed to enjoy it last time."

 

"It is disgusting!" Bek snapped. "You and your.... hedonists are disgusting!"

 

"Hedonists?" The other asked, curious. "Ah, a new word. You learned a new word. I am proud of you, Frohd." The feigned pride in her voice was almost enough to make Zack laugh. Almost.

 

"That one is mine!" Zack felt fear rise as the male holo pointed at him. "He was mine and he will be mine."

 

"He was taken by the Grineer and interrogated." The old woman said with a sigh. "What is left of his mind is a mess. His memory has been... purged of some information as well. You cannot use him. I can. Don't push me, Bek." She warned. "You will not like what happens."

 

"You threats do not scare me, old hag." Bek snapped, ire rising. "You have no powerbase anymore. Your last agent went rogue and you are all alone."

 

"My? Last?" The Reverend Mother of the Corpus Clergy shook her head. "Frohd..." She sighed deeply and sadly.

 

"What?" The other demanded. Instead of answering, she just chuckled a bit sadly. "What?" The male Board member demanded. "Tell me!"

 

"Board Member or no..." The Reverend Mother said quietly. "You always were a moron. You will always be a moron." A small holo appeared in between the two antagonists. "What is this?"She demanded, her facade of sadness fading and anger shone now.

 

"I don't have time for..." Bek was cut off as she waved a hand at him.

 

"What? Is? This?" The old woman demanded.

 

"I don't care what legal tricks you have up your sleeve!" Bek snapped. "He is mine and I..."

 

"Read the bottom." The Reverend Mother's voice was suddenly silky. Dangerous. Despite himself, Zack shivered. "The fine print."

 

"What have you done?" Bek demanded. "He wasn't an adult to sign that!"

 

"He was adult enough for you to send to die." The Reverend Mother said firmly. "I think he was adult enough to say who he wanted to own his contract. Any member of the Corpus may do that. You know? Even if it is rarely done, it is still on the books." Her holo leaned closer to the other. "Please push me. I am in a very bad mood at the moment. You lost me two good agents for your stupidity, not even counting the ones you have purged in your misguided attempt to be pure in your stupidity. Trying to infiltrate Tenno doesn't work. I told you the chances were less than 10%. You ignored me. Please ignore me again. Please!" Hunger sang in her voice and Bek stared at her. Then his holo vanished. The world woman sighed and shook her head. "Coward."

 

"What?" Zack managed to speak, but his voice was weak, very weak.

 

"Easy Zacharias." The old woman said gently. "You have a lot of healing to do." The holo winked out and a door opened. The woman from the holo appeared in it and stepped towards where he lay. "Brave. So very brave, my little Zacharias." A hand came down to touch his cheek and he felt... comforted. "Can you sit up?" He tried to sit up and couldn't. She shook her head. "Easy..." She said gently.

 

The bed inclined underneath him. He saw bandages on parts of his body. He stared at them and the old woman nodded.

 

"Your implants have been reactivated and refurbished." The old woman said quietly. "Your body will be fully operational by the end of the day. You will need rehab though."

 

"Am..." Zack swallowed hard and spoke a little more firmly. "And I cleared to know what that was all about?" He nodded to where the holograms had been.

 

"Frohd Bek demanded that we infiltrate the Tenno." The Reverend Mother said dryly. "We know they have at least one operational Orokin Tower somewhere near Mercury. But the only access we had to Orokin technology without using the old portals which are sealed to us, he managed to lose along with an entire research facility." Zack shook his head a little and the old woman patted his hand. "The Tower or Towers are hidden behind the most comprehensive cloaking systems known to Orokin. We could fly right by one at a range of a kilometer and never see it. That they exist is known. But where?" She shrugged expressively. Zack stared at her and she nodded. "You were at one. Probably. We lost all track of you."

 

"I...Don't remember." Zack tried to think of before, but there was nothing. "I don't remember..." He said, fear coloring his voice.

 

"They wiped your memory." The old woman said gently. "Not completely or you wouldn't be able to talk. Their techniques are so far beyond ours that it simply isn't funny. I told him that it wouldn't work. That the Tenno do not take prisoners if they are not ordered to. But he demanded that we try. You would be hurt in the process and taken to the Tower. Or so he thought. Moron." She muttered, not even close to under her breath. "You and Janet both volunteered."

 

"Janet?" Zack asked. "That name... is familiar..." But when he tried to pull the memory up, it wouldn't come.

 

"Another agent." The Reverend Mother said sadly. "Lost to us now. But you.. are back home. Field work is beyond your capabilities right now, but...the future is anyone's guess." She patted his arm gently. "For now? Your mission is to recover."

 

"I... What do I call you?" Zack asked after a moment. "I... remember you. Sort of. But not really."

 

"I gave up my name a long, long time ago." The old woman said quietly. "When I took up the mantle of my mentor, after she passed away. I am the Reverend Mother now, no more, no less. A guide and teacher in these dark times." She stepped back. "Can you rise?"

 

"I... Yes." Zack said slowly as he sat up straight and then slowly slid his feet from the bed. He tottered a bit as he stood, but then stood straight. "Wow... How long was I asleep?"

 

"About a week all told." The leader of the Clergy said with a nod. "You were found and... they didn't quite know what to do with you. So you slept on the ship that brought you here. Then Bek's foolishness."

 

"Where am I." Zack asked as he took a slow, careful step and smiled as he did not fall. But he was dizzy.

 

"Don't push too far too fast, Zacharias." The Reverend Mother cautioned him. "Between what we did to you in preparation for your mission, what the Grineer did to you when they caught you and what the Tenno did to you most recently, your body needs time to recover. Time we will give it."

 

"My... mission?" Zack swallowed hard. "I failed."

 

"You were not going to succeed in that mission, Zacharias." The Reverend Mother scowled a little. "I think Bek knew that going in. That he wanted you and Janet dead. But he failed."

 

"Janet. I feel odd when you say that name, Reverend Mother." Zack said weakly. "Why is that?"

 

"We implanted you with a cover story for when the Tenno caught you. It said that you and Janet were clandestine lovers. That she was with child. Some Tenno can be... sentimental on occasion." Zack went still at the old woman's words and the clergywoman shook her head. "She wasn't. There are limits to even what I will do. But then we got her back and...the docs who had her first hurt her on the orders of one of the Board. To punish me."

 

"Oh." Zack said with a wince. "So...she...?"

 

"When she found out what they had done...she went rogue. Not sure I blame her actually." The old woman's face was very sad now. "I told her it wasn't her fault, but she fled swearing vengeance. On the Board. If they find her, they will kill her. If we find her, maybe we can help her, but our reach has been severely curtailed recently. We will recover, in time. But for now, we rest, heal and tend our charges."

 

"Our... charges?" Zack asked, his mind whirling. The old woman smiled as she took his arm in a grip that was far too strong for such an old and withered frame.

 

"Our first and most precious command, Zacharias." The Reverend Mother said as she led him from the room. To wonder...

 

The room was huge. Above, a large window showed the expanse of a large blue planet. But... not Earth. He knew that planet, somehow.

 

"Neptune." Zack breathed, but a twitch on his arm had him looking down at...

 

The small group of children in front of him looked back, their eyes far too old for what appeared to be a group of pre-teens. Boys and girls. All were different. Some had dark skin, some had light. Some had blonde hair, others red or black. All bowed to the Reverend Mother who smiled at them and waved her free hand.

 

"Go on." She said indulgently. "Your recess period isn't endless, you know." Zack had to smile as the kids dispersed. All of them running and playing as kids should. Two older children -neither of whom could have been over twenty- nodded to the pair, but kept their eyes on the kids. "They have an hour out of class every four, to run and play and be kids."

 

"Kids..." Zack said softly. "The future."

 

"Yes. The preservation of humanity." The Reverend Mother said softly. "Many of these will go to the rank and file of the Corpus. Others to Research and Development or other needed specialties. But a few, so very few..." She nodded to one dark haired girl whose eyes hadn't left them even as she ran with the other kids. "Will serve us. I am always on the lookout for agent material. We need all we can find."

 

"So..." Zack said slowly. "This... isn't like the Grineer. Obviously. They are all clones."

 

"The Grineer are a mistake." The Reverend Mother said sadly. "One that has cost and will cost humanity dearly. No, these children were all made the time honored way. Man and woman joined together to make something marvelous. Speaking of... Come." She twitched his arm again and led him off towards a building her could see nearby. As they entered, a large violet form stepped close, pushing a wheelchair. "Sheila..." The Reverend Mother said with a sigh. "You didn't have to do that."

 

"His vitals are fluctuating." The voice from the machine was... not machine-like. "He should not be up yet, Reverend Mother." The machine pushed the chair to Zack and waited. Zack stared from the machine to the Reverend Mother and back.

 

"I would do what she says, Zacharias." The old woman said with a grin. "She gets awfully testy when people don't do as she says."

 

"Testy?" The machine said in a prim voice as Zack sat heavily. "I do not get testy. I get... patient."

 

"If you are patient, I do not want to see impatient, Sheila." The Reverend Mother actually laughed as the machine  that wasn't one made a decidedly rude noise. But then her voice turned serious. "Status?"

 

"Zana and Gelly are out of surgery and should be fine. Corrine and Julie are both presenting." The machine said quietly. "Both are showing no further complications."

 

"Thank god for that." The old woman said with relief. At Zack's puzzled look, she clarified. "Both had late term complications. But we caught them in time. Both will be fine, given rest and care. Thier children likewise."

 

"None of the others are showing any change." The machine sounded sad now. "Reverend Mother... Amy..."

 

"I know." The old woman said quietly. "It is her choice. Let her do as she wishes. The child will go into the orphanage. And... we will do what must be done."

 

"I do not like this." The machine snapped. "You trained me to help people. Not let them pass!"

 

"Sheila, what Amy has isn't curable." The Clergywoman said with mild reproof. "All we do is prolong her agony. Her child is healthy and will live and thrive. We will see to that. It is her choice. Do not make me order you, Shelia. Please?"

 

"I won't." The machine's voice was small now. "I am sorry, it just... it hurts." For a moment, a small and scared female sounded from the machine and Zack surprised himself by laying a hand on it. The Reverend Mother did as well.

 

"Hold tight to that feeling, Shelia." The Reverend Mother said quietly. "That is what makes you human. The ability to feel. Now go on. You have work to do. I will take Zacharias where he needs to go."

 

"It is good to see you again, brother." The machine pushed against Zack's hand and then ran off. Zack stared after her and then at the Reverend Mother who sighed.

 

"I rescued her from a lab of horrors. She is the only one of her kind that will ever be now." The old woman's eyes were misting a little. "She is good with the kids, patient and kind with the mothers."

 

"She seems... sad." Zack said softly then paused as the Reverend Mother started pushing his chair. "Hey!"

 

"Don't argue." The old woman said sharply. "You are still weak. It isn't far."

 

Indeed, a door ahead flashed and opened as they approached it. The wail of a hungry baby sounded as the old woman pushed the chair into a small but comfortable room. Zack looked around in curiosity., The room was... gentle. The bed, the chair by it, the small bathing area... all of it was set up to accommodate someone who couldn't move very well. An Osprey drone hovered near one wall, but not a combat model. This one held medical gear! He ignored it for the woman sitting on the bed, holding a small child who was now greedily sucking on a bottle she held.

 

"We didn't... totally lie, Zacharias." The Reverend Mother said as Zack stared at the baby. "You and Janet did love one another. Stood to reason. You were married." She quirked a grin.

 

"Are you saying...?" Zack felt his world suddenly start to turn in circles.

 

"They say you do not remember. We will help. Come and meet us. Meet your son, Dad." The young woman who was tending him said gently as Zack moved the chair closer to the bed.

 

"My...son...? Dad?" Zack felt tears start to fall, but it didn't matter as the young woman held the child out to him and Zack took his baby boy in shaking but gentle hands as the Reverend Mother, arrogant and powerful mistress of the Corpus Clergy, watched with a fond smile.

 

"Welcome home."

 

Edited by Kalenath
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Kalenath

Kalenath

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My brain is doing backflips. I'm really confused now.

 

So is everyone else which is the idea.

 

I will summarize:

 

Zack and Janet worked for the Reverend Mother as agents. Spies, assassins, essentially the whole 'James Bond' package in a married couple. They had a girl and a new son on the way.

 

Frohd Bek demanded the Clergy infiltrate the Tenno to determine the location of the Orokin tower at Mercury. (The one where Iriana works)

 

The Reverend Mother had lost some support so she couldn't say 'No' even though the idea was completely the wrong side of stupid. Janet and Zack volunteered for what was essentially a suicide mission. They knew the Reverend Mother would see their kids taken care of. They were programmed with a cover story (the one Nikis found in the interrogation files) and sent off after Tyl Regor's files, coincidentally just as a Tenno strike team hit the Grineer scientist as well. (Not really a coincidence btw. The Lotus was watching.)

 

Janet was hurt by the Tenno. Zack held the Grineer off to buy her time to escape just as the plan had entailed. But that was where the plan failed. The Tenno left him to the Grineer. They wouldn't capture anyone just because they could and the Reverend Mother knew this. But she couldn't come right out and SAY that she worked with the Lotus, now could she?

 

So, Janet wound up back at a Corpus facility where the docs under Bek's command hurt her before the Reverend Mother could get her out. She served the Reverend Mother well through the events of "Enemies' and 'By the Sword'.

 

Zack wound up a Grineer slave and THAT is where this story began.

 

Clear as mud?

 

(And yes, Zack will NOT be happy that his wife went rogue, even though he will understand. He will likely want Bek's privates on a platter himself.)

Edited by Kalenath
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Vahlak

Vahlak

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I DO understand, I was a paramedic. The pediatric cases really hit me hard. But before you villify me or anything...read

 

______________________________________________________

 

Oh no, no vilifying, just stating my displeasure.

 

And after reading it, just after waking up, i don't know what i feel.

 

This one was more complicated than the others. Like, waaaaay more.

Edited by Vahlak
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