(Ic) The Lament (Updated For Chapter 2!)

[Jathaal]

Hey all, second post in RP. This is going to be a multi part story set in the eyes of my Tenno, Jathaal. If there is enough interest in it I will do another part. If there isn't any I'll stop.

 

-: Chapter 1 - Questions :-

 

Have I not done enough? What is my purpose? Questions I find myself asking in my time of dying. My loyalty has been tested time and again. So many times my death has been averted. Not by her, but by my fellow Tenno. So much death. A half million of her enemies lay in my wake. All dead at my hand. Was that not enough? Does that not prove my loyalty to her cause? I asked a question. Something simple. Something I thought I had earned. Maybe if I let my mind go back to that day...

 

- 3 Hours earlier, Eris Sector, Candiru node -

 

A dizzying array of colors swept across my eyes as an alarm called me to wake. Almost time to go. My communicator was a shrill scream in my ears, a message coming in.

 

"Good morning, Jathaal. How are you?" The Lotus asked, her voice dull, offering no comfort. The Lotus, the one who woke us. Nobody knows who she is, or if she is even real. All we know is we get missions from her, we do them to help her "Cause".

 

"Morning, Lotus," I yawned. "I'm tired. We nearly done here?" I groaned impatiently. Six weeks I'd been raiding ships around Eris. Some light tech, a few ships destroyed, nothing worth mentioning. I was on the hunt for an artifact the Corpus had been studying. What it was, it's origins and what I was to do with it, I wasn't sure. Wasn't told.

 

"This is the last ship in the sector capable of sustaining the artifact. It will be here, your mission is almost at it's end."

 

"Yeah, about that. What exactly am I looking for here? It'd be a lot easier to find this "artifact" if I knew what it was." Even through her helmet, I could see the Lotus' expression change.

 

"It is not your place to know, Tenno. You will understand, when the time comes. For now, you have your orders." Her mouth had sharpened to a sneer. If there's one thing you don't want to do, it's anger the Lotus, or so I've been told.

 

"Oh, come on, Lotus. I've fought harder than most any of our masters, killed more enemies of the cause than anyone. I think I deserve a few answers!"

 

"It is not your place, Tenno," her voice was barely above a growl. "You will be on target in five minutes. Prepare yourself. Your mission is almost over."

 

My Loki Prime hummed as power came online. I strapped in for insertion as my Liset latched on to my target's ship. I always hated this part. The sickening drop as the gravity changed from my ship to theirs.

 

I dropped straight into an empty hallway. My body shifted as I acclimatized to the ship's gravity. I took hold of my Despair throwing knives as I shifted my body from view. Five in the corridor, three crewmen, two Moas. Down. Another few enemies, killed for a cause I didn't even understand. Nobody did.

 

This ship was much bigger than the rest and far more advanced. Perhaps the Lotus was right. Maybe I was almost done here. I spent an hour, hacking my way through consoles to try and find my target. After a hundred or so enemies met their end, I found it. A massive door, similar to those I'd seen on Venus, with conduits flanking each side.

 

Cloaking again, I moved silently into the room. Five stories tall, 50 meters across, dozens of conduits all around pouring power to a massive tower in the center of the room. As I walked toward the tower, a single figure came into view, suspended in energy. A woman, maybe eighteen. Not quite Tenno, not quite human.

 

"Lotus, what exactly am I looking at here?"

 

"That is the artifact, Tenno. Well done, you have found her."

 

-: Chapter 1 - End :-

 

Hey all, sorry it took me so long to write another chapter, been going through some personal stuff at the moment that's been interrupting my focus. Keep reading for Chapter 2!

 

-: Chapter 2 - The Undying :-

 

"You want to run that by me again, Lotus? This girl is what I've been chasing for the last month and a half?" I barked into my communicator through gritted teeth. A mixture of confusion and rage filled me. My hunger for answers had never been this strong.

 

"Yes, Jathaal. She holds the artifact within her. Getting her to my extraction team is your mission now." Same old Lotus, never revealing her plans. Always scheming. I hate people that are always scheming.

 

"Your extraction team?! That was never the mission! I get the artifact out, I get it to you. I'll do this myself." I couldn't hold back my rage any longer. My Sensei thought I should have been a Rhino, too much anger to think as a Loki should, but I liked to always have the element of surprise.

 

"The extraction team is en route. You have ten minutes to get her to these co-ordinates. It would be best if you were to hurry, Jathaal." A new blip on my mini map. I tried to breathe, calm myself, focus on the task at hand. "If you hack that console over there, it will overload the power to the stasis chamber and release her."

 

Heh, better idea. I drew a Despair across my chest. "Hasn't anyone told you, Lotus?" My voice was almost manic at this point, a vampiric smile spread across my face, hidden beneath my helm, "Radiation and Corpus tech don't mix well." I suddenly flicked the blade so hard I thought my arm would break would break, the blade whistled through the air before punching straight into the console. The lights flickered briefly, before power to the chamber hummed and died. The girl fell limp as the tethers holding her in place lost power. Quickly, I rushed to catch her. As she fell into my arms I had a chance to take in her features, undisturbed by the stasis chamber. She was pretty, soft skin, high cheekbones. Overall she was elegant, even by Tenno standards. I raised my visor as she blinked awake.

 

"Come now girl, we need to leave." I said as calmly as I could. I've met a lot of humans in my travels, none like her.

 

"Huh? Where am I?" Her voice was innocent. Almost like a child.

 

"There'll be time for that later. All you need to know is that I'm a Tenno, my name is Jathaal and I'm here to save you. Now, on your feet, we need to go." I lowered my visor once more as she scrambled to her feet. Perhaps after so much death I can save someone. What does the Lotus want with her?

 

"Ready?" She nodded nervously as I started towards extraction, the girl in tow.

 

We sprinted along a mostly empty corridor, save for the dozens of Corpus corpses.

 

"Who are these people? Did you kill all of them?!" The girl asked, terrified. Why does it always mean corpses whenever I meet a girl? Is it so hard for me to just go to dinner?

"No, I didn't come this way. I didn't kill these Box-Heads. We must have..." Before I could finish my thought, a bone chilling, giggle echoed down the hallway. Like the stalker, just more...crazy...somehow. "...company."

 

"Hello, Jathaal. The Lotus sent us to take the artifact with us. If you would be so kind as to hand her over." A Mag Prime slipped out of the shadows, her visor raised, her teeth bared. The gold of her suit glinted softly from the ship's lighting, but her eyes and her smile spelled death.

 

"I thought I made myself clear. I'll be finishing this job alone. Your kind doesn't need to step in." While I raised my visor to speak, I gently moved my charge to my side, just behind me. She moved quickly, understanding that this was going to end badly.

 

"Our master feels you have served your purpose in our cause. You've been made obsolete, old man." As the words were spoken I heard a familiar sound. Fang Primes being drawn from their scabbard. Without another thought I shoved the girl out of the way before narrowly dodging a cut to my throat. Another Loki. Let's see who's faster. Before I could lay my hands on my blades, two more of them slipped out of the shadows. An Ash and a Frost. Visors raised, smiling that same death smeared grin.

 

"I'll be finishing this mission on my own, you upstart hatchlings." I sneered as I motioned for the girl to stay down. "If you wish to leave here breathing, get out of my way." The quartet laughed in unison at the thought.

 

"Give it up, old one, you're outnumbered and out matched. If you hand her over, we'll make your death quick." The Mag chortled as her compatriots drew their various weapons.

 

"Not today, zealot." And with that, all composure was lost. At least one Tenno was going to die today.

 

"Fine." Her Lex Prime was leveled at my head, I saw the flash and then...nothing.

 

-: Chapter 2 - End :-

 

Had a lot of fun writing this one. I'll probably end up writing another chapter either tonight or tomorrow. Stay tuned! Jathaal will return.

Edited July 22, 2014 by Jathaal

[Prod_Crewman]

That's a good story!

I didn't read anything, it's just A LOT of text, which is good, you need to put a beard

I have a trash can on my head, I'm still better

[Jathaal]

That's a good story!

I didn't read anything, it's just A LOT of text, which is good, you need to put a beard

I have a trash can on my head, I'm still better

Erm...what? Not exactly constructive there man...

[SnaleKing]

Interesting. Not what we usually see in the RP forum, but not bad at all.

[_Raiklar_]

Its a good start. Would love to see more, with some more depth and plot line.

[Jathaal]

Its a good start. Would love to see more, with some more depth and plot line.

This chapter was all about setup, it's going to get a lot more depth to it soon. Thanks for your comment.

[le_badda]

MOar

[Jathaal]

Updated for chapter 2!