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[Fanfiction] Faith

Kalenath

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Kalenath

Kalenath

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first he has to find me and i do not intend to make it easy for him.....

 

Take DOWN an EVA? Why would he BOTHER? One Soul Punch and the pilot is toast.

 

OR he could ask the Marines to borrow their anti-tank gun...

 

(You think ANYONE is stupid enough to say 'No'?)

 

 

Life has been... unfun, Me sick. Stepdad sick. Weather crappy... Typical end of October for me. Updates may be sporadic for a bit.

 

________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

...Not kidding

 

"Um... What?"

 

It wasn't every day that the Empress of the tiny remnants of the once mighty Orokin Empire was stricken completely speechless. Then again, it seemed to happen quite a bit around Karl and his merry band of lunatics. She just sat, her small briefing room far more secure than her throne room. And now? That was a good thing. Michelle was far from speechless and she had been the one to blurt out the stunned query.

 

"Tell me you are joking." The former Tenno turned Orokin Princess said slowly.

 

"I wish I was." Cecelia shook her head. Cecelia and Karen were the only outsiders who were here with Karl. Both of them had come to 'brief' the Empress. Or to get the docs' help regaining their sanity. Whichever came first. "I looked every record we have. Not a lot.. but what I found is... close. Very close."

 

"How close?" Empress Eliza managed to say. Cecelia nodded and a holo appeared in front of her. The red armored giant that Karen had encountered appeared. A similarly armored form appeared beside it. Aside from the color -the new one being blue- they were identical. Eliza swallowed hard. "That is... pretty darn close." She shook her head. "Okay... what are these... 'Imperium Space Marine' things?" She asked carefully. "In the game that is?"

 

"According to the thirty seventh version of the rules... Which was the latest I found in our archives..." Cecelia said carefully. "They were genetically enhanced super soldiers who were selected from the fiercest of fighters, trained and augmented for a single purpose. To protect this 'Imperium'. To do so, they were given the best weaponry, the best armor and the best training available."

 

"That explains what happened to the Grineer." Michelle said with a gulp. Eliza nodded. They had both been told the known background of this.. insanity. "They hit something that was bigger, stronger and tougher than them."

 

"Smarter too." Karl agreed. "He hit the enemy command and control first. Without leaders, Grineer obey whatever orders they were last given, no matter how suicidal those orders might be. His weapons are powerful, but ours can match them. His armor? I don't know." He said with a shrug.

 

"We haven't seen any but his personal weapons." Cecelia said quietly. "In the rules... There were more, larger..." She paled a little. "Just reading some of the descriptions was terrifying. Thinking about a hand held plasma thrower..." She slumped a bit and Karl laid a huge hand on her shoulder. "But first and foremost... they were fanatics. Loyal only to their Emperor, no one else."

 

"So..." Eliza looked at Karen who nodded.

 

"He said he had been ordered to assist here. To aid against the enemies of man." Karen said without a trace of hesitation. Since she had gone through Marine training, she had changed, but not that much. She was a bit more confident now. In herself and in her abilities. Now if only she remembered that not all of her teammates were Marines or people who could be trusted not to screw her. "He seemed..." She paused and then spoke slowly, feeling each word. "Focused? Firm?" She shook her head. "He didn't do anything that we have been able to find except for heal my wounds. And I did see an Orokin drone behind him."

 

"So..." Eliza sighed. "It stands to reason this is yet another Orokin mess." She gave a long, drawn out sigh. "Hence why you brought it to us. So... a figure from a game... in real life and shooting our enemies."

 

"So it would seem." Karl agreed.

 

"I don't see the problem then." Eliza said with a frown. "But from your expressions..." She waved a hand towards the three visitors. "There is one."

 

"We don't know how or why this... 'Space Marine' is here." Karl said with a nod. "All we know is from an ancient game. We do not know his motivations, his goals or anything else about him. But what we do know..." He paused and then sighed. "I am not political, Empress. I try very hard not to be."

 

"And it is appreciated." Eliza said with a small smile. "You have no idea how refreshing it is to see someone who is not motivated by selfish self interest." Karl... not smile and she stilled. "What?"

 

"I think I can answer." Cecelia said softly. Karl nodded to the girl and she took a deep breath before speaking again. "In the game... The Space Marines were defenders of mankind. But the 'Imperium' they served? It was anything but noble." Eliza and Michelle both froze and Cecelia nodded. "The best term I have found for it was 'fascist'."

 

"Oh dear..." Michelle said as Eliza paled slightly.

 

The word 'Fascist' had all sorts of bad history attached to it. At its core, fascism was simply a radical authoritarian nationalism that had been prevalent in the first part of the Twentieth Century, Pre-Orokin. Some fascist regimes had focused on defending their people, often using methods that others found...extreme. Others... Had not focused on themselves. The first half of the twentieth century had not been shining example of human history in no small part due to fascism. It had taken centuries of effort to recover from the mess even with the wonders of Orokin tech. Then there had been a few of the Separatist regimes whose ideologies had bordered on fascism. Some had been just as bad as the twentieth century. A few had been worse. Luckily, those few hadn't lasted very long, but the cost of stopping them had always been high.

 

"So..." The Princess filled in the silence that had fallen.

 

"So we have an insanely powerful unknown entity operating in the Solar System." Karl said quietly. "His origins and motivations are unclear. All the information we have on the game suggests that any means to his end will be used. Any at all. He will sacrifice anything, anyone to win." Eliza laid her head in her palm and Karl nodded. "We need information. Any and all information available on that game. Any Orokin who might have... I don't know... tried to make it real?"

 

"Agreed." Eliza said with a groan. "That sounds just like some of the insanity my own dear ancestors might have come up with." She shook her head. "I will have the archivists start searches-"

 

She broke off as a voice spoke from nowhere.

"Empress." The voice of the Lotus sounded...different to Karl and Karen. More... there instead of in their heads. "We have a situation."

 

"Lotus." Eliza sat up straight. "What is it?"

 

"As you know, the Tenno have been recovering data on the Archwing prototypes in preparation for a renewal of Grineer hostilities." The Lotus was calm, but worry sounded underneath her tone. "Some data has been recovered." Karl nodded. His clan had done some of the many, many excavation missions needed to find the data that had been lost for so long. "Several prototypes have been tested and function."

 

"The Grineer have resumed hostilities." Eliza's words were not a question.

 

"All Grineer forces currently in system have gone on alert. We have detected large Grineer formations at Mercury, Earth, Saturn and Uranus." The Lotus replied. "Other Grineer forces have been augmented by larger, more powerful Fomorian designs."

 

"Against the Corpus?" Eliza's tone was calm, but her face was worried.

 

"Against everyone."

 

***

 

"Move!" Horatius snapped as he led yet another group of straggling dependants and people with mobility issues into a survival shelter. "Stay here until the 'all clear' sounds." He did not wait for an acknowledgement, he slammed the door and sealed it. They would be safe in there, if not exactly comfortable. Life support, medical care and nutrition would all be provided. Of course... that depended on if anyone survived this.

 

He wanted to be back in the colony with Mercedes. But that wasn't his place. Not right now. The breeding colony was deep within the area defended by the bulk of the Corpus forces. Mercedes wasn't going to be mobile for a while. She would sleep a lot. The docs wouldn't let her hurt, but it would be very uncomfortable. That... wasn't who he was though. He had enjoyed his vacation. He truly had. Talking with Mercedes, having fun with her, trying to pick a name for their kid or simply being with her. He had enjoyed it all. But now? He had come back to work just in time for the entire Solar System to go totally nuts.

 

Vina's mining facility was on lockdown. Grineer forces were moving in massive numbers against the defenses that had stood off the initial assaults on Neptune. The facility was on the edge of the protected zone though. It was probable that Grineer assaults would breach in places. That was the bad news. The good news? He had his team back. He was armed and armored. It felt like coming home.

 

"Boss!" Cass' voice was strong and confident. "We have Grineer on approach. Looks like a harrying force. Space skiffs. The main guns can't touch things that small." Distant thumps sounded the facilities weapons firing, trying to keep the larger Grineer forces away from the facility.

 

"Right." Horatius hated what he had to do, but there was really no choice. If the Grineer roamed unchecked, they could do a lot of damage. And if the guns went silent, even for a little while. The Grineer would move into boarding torpedo range and flood the facility with clone troops. This was going to hurt, but it had to be done. Space left few chances for escape in combat situations. "Security forces, suit up and prepare to repel. Heading for..." He paused as a voice sounded from close at hand.

 

"And where do you think you are going, commander?" Vina snapped as she strode into view, half a dozen guards around her. Horatius went still. What the-?

 

"Executive." Horatius said quietly. He didn't like her, but he now had a bit more respect for her. Talking with Mercedes had been...enlightening. "Why are you still here? You were supposed to be on the last transport." He glared at the guard commander who shrugged.

 

"This facility and it's personnel are my responsibility." Vina said with a snap. "I will not abandon them."

 

"The Company comes first!" Horatius snapped. Not that he could give voice to the real reason. Mercedes loved Vina as much as she loved Horatius. If the Executive died...

 

"Holy Profit!" Vina said with a snarl worthy of an infested. "I don't have time to argue, commander. You are coming with me to the command center."

 

"I need to lead..." Horatius paused as Vina stepped close, her face stern.

 

"Yes." Vina said sternly. "You need to lead. Not get your head blown off by some dirty clone." She shook her head. "We have not been idle, commander. We have upgraded our defenses. But we need someone who is qualified to command them. I am not." She held out a hand. "Please?"

 

Horatius went still. For the arrogant and stuck up witch to say something like that... He knew she had changed. That she had been changed when she had lost her ability to reproduce. Then the mess that had followed. Mercedes had said repeatedly that Vina had changed even before asking the Clergy to take her in, to keep her on track. To keep her guided. Horatius hadn't wanted to forgive. He had known Gen H-12 as Gen. He had liked her. She had snapped. One bad mission too many. He understood. Oh did he ever. But Vina... Vina had changed.

 

"I was wrong about you." Horatius said with a slow, heavy sigh. Then he nodded and took her hand to give a shake and release it. He knew where he was needed. "What kind of 'upgrades'?"

 

"I think you will like them." Vina said with a smile. "For the duration of this emergency... All guards report to you."

 

"Okay." Horatius said with  a nod. "Then my first order is this. Get yourself into some armor, Executive. This is going to be... messy. We will likely be boarded at some point. So, two of you, get her to the armory, get her into a suit and stay with her. She doesn't go anywhere without at least two guards."

 

"Yes, sir." Vina gave a credible salute and started off, two guards hustling to keep up.

 

"Just when you think you have seen everything..." Horatius said with a shrug. More than one of the guard chuckled at his dry humor. "Okay.. which way to the command center? We have work to do."

 

"This way, commander." One of the guards started off. "We have three squadrons of drones ready to deploy and four more queued up."

 

"Drones won't be enough." Horatius said with a sigh as he followed. "We are going to lose people.  It will happen."

 

"Six squads are ready to go as well, sir." The guard replied as he approached a well guarded door. "But for what it is worth? I am glad you are here. Vina is brave... but..."

 

"Next time, knock her out and sit on her." Horatius said with a snarl as he entered a large and state of the art command center. A large holo display showed the mining facility and its surrounding space. He took in the scene at a glance. A large Grineer force was shown approaching. "If we lose her, everything else is for naught. The Board will just retake or downsize the place if we survive."

 

"I just want to know where she got the Bronco, sir." The guard said. Horatius paused and the guard nodded. "We were going to sedate her and she drew down on us. Gave us the choice of assisting her or dying."

 

"I see." Horatius said with a smirk that he hid carefully.

 

He might actually be starting to like that woman...

 

***

 

No one noticed until it was too late. Everything was chaos. The Special Forces trainees who had been undergoing their usual dose of programming were oblivious to the situation. Tucked away deep inside the facility as they were, they were safer than most of the Corpus personnel. None of the Corpus forces had time to spare to check on them in any way except via sensor. And since sensors were not infallible at all, no one saw or heard the red armored form appear in the room, bend over the still form in the bed and lay a golden device on it. Then he was gone. Abigail vanished as well in a puff of golden energy. Only then did alarms start to scream. Far, far too late.

 

***

 

Abigail slept, unaware of the furor that followed her being snatched. She did not see machines cut away her sleeping garb. She did not see her body laid out on a slab of metal, being changed, her form enhanced, strengthened, augmented. It was a good thing she was not awake while her body was changed. The pain would have been excruciating.

 

Not content to alter her body until it was the size of a full grown woman, the energy played over her muscles, enhancing each until her physique was equal to any human athlete's. She could run a marathon, jump almost as high as she stood. Fast and strong as humans could be, but no more. Not an ounce more. Physically, she was at the peak of human performance but that was the least of the changes.

 

Her normally dark brown hair turned raven black as energy played over and deep into her skull. Her eyes were closed, so no one saw when they changed color as well, from their original hazel to a deep, sapphire blue. But again... physical.

 

Inside, Abigail was sobbing as she was rocked in huge golden arms.

 

Rest, my Daughter. The huge voice was everywhere. The golden glow suffusing every pore of Abigail's mind as she was soothed. You are needed, Sister Hospitaller Abigail.

 

I... serve... Abigail managed to speak the words somehow before the golden glow pouring into her soothe her completely to sleep. Or... part of her.

 

-Personality overlay complete-

 

Sister Abigail woke, aware of differences. Something had changed. She wasn't sure what. She looked around. She wasn't in a cloister. She wasn't in any facility she knew. The facility was... She paused. A Space Marine of the Blood Angels chapter was working on something by one wall.

 

She wasn't quite sure how she felt about that. Space Marines were not human. But they defended humanity. They had once been human. But they had given up their chance at salvation to defend humanity. Noble. But... Blood Angels. Their gene seed was...tainted. She went still as  the Marine turned to look at her.

 

"I am Abrahaim. I am ordered to defend this system." The Space Marine said calmly. "It is not the Holy Terra we know, but it is similar and beset by many foes."

 

"The Emperor will prevail." Sister Abigail said formally.

 

"Yes he will." The Marine agreed. "But there are many who will need succor in the times to come. I am not a healer. You are."

 

"I am to work with you?" Sister Abigail asked, examining herself. She found no abnormalities. No scars beyond her ritual deformations. A quick glance at the medicae readouts nearby confirmed her own self diagnosis. But.... things were not -quite- right. A feeling of doubt came to her and she shrugged it aside. A sister of the Order of Serenity did not doubt. She rose from the slab and a servitor approached with a set of light armor and white over-robes. A quick glance showed her tools ready to her hands. A Sister Militant she was not, but she would serve.

 

"At times." Abrahaim said quietly. "My own missions will require a great deal of speed. Yours will require your own special skills."

 

"There are lives to save then." Sister Abigail said firmly as her armor closed around her. "The Emperor protects."

 

"The Emperor protects."

 

 

http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Orders_Hospitaller

 

 

Edited by Kalenath
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Temperance000

Temperance000

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Spread the grimdarkness!  *sarcastic yaying*

 

If this tower makes any more "acquisitions," it's going to be facing a Tenno strike team very soon.

 

Then again, Horatius may beat them to it, as soon as he finishes wiping the floor with Grineer faces.

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Kalenath

Kalenath

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...they took a tech genius and turned her into a medic.

 

Wasteful.

 

Also...

 

What FEMALE Imperium options would they have for a tech oriented person in Warhammer 40K?

 

Adeptus Mechanicus? No females. And... No Space Marine will EVER trust one of those as far as he can toss a Land Raider.

Inquisitor? (Yeah, right. TRUST? HAHAHAHAAHAHAHA!)

Imperial Guard? Um... Not very tech adept.

Militant Sister of Battle? Again not very tech oriented.

 

Hospitaller is sort of tech oriented.

 

Now... there MAY be ulterior motives here...

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renleech

renleech

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Mechanicus with no females? haven't you heard about Koriel Zeth? Kal, you're disappointing me. There's even another example of female techpriest, forgot her name, she worked with Comissar Cain for a time.

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Kalenath

Kalenath

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Mechanicus with no females? haven't you heard about Koriel Zeth? Kal, you're disappointing me. There's even another example of female techpriest, forgot her name, she worked with Comissar Cain for a time.

 

Ok, so I am not a total 40K geek. Haven't read all the books.

 

Still, even the TECHMARINES are looked a bit askance in the chapters since their loyalties are to Mars first and chapter second.

 

WOULD a Space Marine TRUST an Adeptus Mechanicus, male or female?

 

 

The EMPEROR didn't. and he had cause.

 

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Vahlak

Vahlak

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they re-wrote her mind with an imprint of a Hospitaller, one of the Adepta Sororitas aka. the brides of the Emperor. Abrahaim will trust her to a degree since they are both servents of the Emperor. he would not trust many others outside of the Space Marines.

Thats all well and fine.  But if you can rewrite someones mind to serve the emperor, why would making her a "Adeptus Mechanicus" and rewrite her mind to serve the emperor anyway be an issue.  The logic is flawed.  There is no issue no matter WHAT they made her, they rewrote her MIND, she is what they make her, if they made her untrustworthy then it would be on them.   It's a waste of talent.

 

Unless your telling me that people who can forcibly grow your body, change your genes, and rewrite your entire mind lacks the capability to force the very same mind to be exactly what you want it to be? (Trustworthy)

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Protector152

Protector152

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Adeptus Mechanicus AKA Tech Priests serve the God Machine. not the Emperor, the God Machine. Last i checked the God Machine was also known as the Dragon, one of the C'Tan.

 

Unless your telling me that people who can forcibly grow your body, change your genes, and rewrite your entire mind lacks the capability to force the very same mind to be exactly what you want it to be? (Trustworthy)

the best the Imperium can do is elimate your personality via Mind Clensing, however that requires resources that Abrahaim will not have access to as a Space Marine.

 

I am talking about what the Imperium can do since i would think that the tower has to preform to an internal logic that is consistant with WH40K. That logic says that a tech priest serves the Machine God, not the Emperor.

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Kalenath

Kalenath

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The what tower?

 

Grimdark is a term used for describing Warhammer 40000

 

'In the Grim Darkness of the far future, there is only War!'

 

But guys... I do not have a cult. I am not a deity., And I REFUSE to pretend to be one with Space Marines around... Would get... messy...

 

 

Support

 

"Where the hell did you come from?" The dazed militiaman asked the white garbed form who knelt beside him. "You have to get out of here! There are Grineer everywhere!"

 

"They will be busy in a few minutes." The armored woman replied absently as she read some kind of scanner. "Arm and leg?"

 

"Yeah." The man was wearing cobbled together armor, but he held no weapon. His right leg was...gone from the knee down. His left arm was bent at a bad angle. "They... they hit me and left me to die."

 

"Mutant scum." The medic snarled. "Hold still." She commanded as she started working. "Won't take long." The militiaman jerked and lay still as she worked. The sounds of fighting came from nearby but the medic did not falter in her work. She was aware of scrutiny, but ignored it until her work was done. When she looked up she nodded to the dark form that stood in the shadows nearby. "This one is alive and will remain so. Others need my care. I go."

 

She was only mildly surprised when the Tenno -that was what it had to be- followed her. She found two other militia fighters. One was dead, the other screamed as she worked, but then subsided as she finished. She patted the unconscious man's arm and rose only to pause as the dark form that had been following her stepped out of the shadows. Her first instinct was to scream 'mutant' and run the other way. Her second was fascination. In form, the Tenno was humanoid. The armor was far thinner than her own or any Imperium design, but it was obviously functional from the scars that marred it. In form, it was probably male. But it... It was looking at her. She shook her head.

 

"I have work to do." She declared and checked her scanner. Another human life reading shone nearby and she started for it. The Tenno moved to stand in her way and she snarled at it. Him. "If you are going to kill me, then do it. But if not? I have work to do!"

 

She could swear the thing seemed...startled. But it did move out of her way as she started for the life signs that were failing. She was hyperaware of the shadow behind her, but as soon as she found the battered human form, her attention was focused on saving the man's life. She was so focused in fact, that the stunning impact that hit her and threw her to the deck was a complete surprise. She crawled back to the man's side and finished her work, aware of fighting all around her now. Only then did she check her own wound. It had impacted her armor and would leave some spectacular bruises, but no more. A minor injury all told. She was...

 

***

 

Where was she? This...wasn't the training center! Special Forces recruit Abigail stared around wildly, aware of fighting all around her as she hugged the deck. She was wearing odd but comfortable garb that seemed armored. The helmet had readouts that she could not understand, but seemed oddly familiar.  She had no weapons. She had to...

 

***

 

Sister Abigail snapped back to awareness, conscious of something wrong. She had been lying in place for four minutes according to her helmet chronometer. She shook herself savagely. She would need thorough checks when she returned to the Apothecarium. Maybe even a mind cleansing although she quailed at that thought. She was firm in her belief. The Emperor would prevail.

 

The Emperor protects.

 

The Sister Hospitaller rose to a crouch and moved off, aware of combat all around her. But her scanners had picked up another fading life reading. She had to help. It was her calling. Her duty.

 

Unfortunately she was not warrior trained. If she had been, she likely would have seen the missile that was fired at the Tenno who had been shadowing her and sought cover instead of looking for the wounded human.

 

She didn't.

 

***

 

Well that sucks...

 

Quais wasn't on Mars, but fighting Grineer was nothing new. He relished it even if his own personal quest to 'remove' every Grineer from Mars would have to wait. The Grineer were fighting hard, but not particularly smart. Not that they ever did. The few he had killed before finding the oddly garbed woman tending wounded had fallen easily. But the woman... Something was... wrong about her. He couldn't say what it was. Or why. But she wasn't afraid. Not of him. Not of the Grineer. Cautious... Sort of. But then she had risen just as a rocket had come at him and he had not been able to restrain a wince as the explosion tossed her into a wall to slide down boneless. He killed the Bombard and after a Bladestorm, the immediate area was clear. He knelt beside the fallen woman, intrigued. He froze as a groan sounded. She lived!

 

He knew little of human physiology, but the blood seeping from places that her armor hadn't protected her was not a small amount. This was nothing he had ever seen and his clan leader had given strict orders to report any more 'oddities'. He hadn't managed to get fully briefed yet with the utter insanity that had broken out with Vay Hek's newest madness, but it would come soon. Until then? He had Grineer to kill and a mystery. But... he needed orders.

 

Lotus? He said in his mind. I have encountered an oddity. He did keep an eye on his surroundings.

 

Tenno Quais? The Lotus sounded calm and serene as always. Sometimes he envied that serene. Sometimes he did not. It was life. What kind of oddity?

 

A human woman in odd armor. Unarmed. Quais said, perplexed. A shuriken dropped a Powerfist absently. She was tending the injured militia here and was injured by Grineer.

 

Are her injuries serious? The Lotus replied. Wait... She said, cutting Quais off when he would have replied. Examine her armor, is there any insignia?

 

It has golden flowers of some kind all over it. Quais had never heard of a fleur-de-lis and likely wouldn't have cared what it was. Lotus, she is badly hurt. Orders?

 

Unarmed you say... The Lotus sounded... confused for a moment, and then her voice steadied. Understood. Get her to support. But... full quarantine. Medical and electronic. Make sure they understand that.

 

At once. Quais agreed. The battered woman did not even scream as he digitized her. But...

 

NO! The voice in his head was screaming. No! Don't! It was female, young. Don't... It begged and then screamed, a long drawn out wail of agony and loss.

 

Quais shook his head as he sequestered the data that comprised the human female in a secure partition of his warframe buffers. The screams cut off with dreadful finality.

 

What the hell was that? Quais asked nobody as he started off. The few remnants of the human's fighting forces withdrew as the Tenno did. The Grineer pressed forward, but were too late to stop the escape.

 

Too late... for lots of things...

 

Only after the Tenno had left the small colony did a red armored form appear. But this time... instead of a rifle... his weapon was the size of an old style motorcycle and the shells it fired were far, far larger than his rifle had boasted. The Grineer charged. It was what they did. But they fell as wheat before a scythe. Or just about any human sized infantry before a Heavy Bolter. The heavy machine gun version of the boltgun.

 

 

http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Heavy_Bolter

 

 

***

 

Quais had delivered his prisoner to the Tower and had expected to be sent back out into the field. But he had been asked to wait. So he did.

 

"What hit her?" Iriana asked, stunned as she watched through the quarantine field as drones worked on their 'guest'. Until they were sure she posed no threat, she would be tended remotely, every scrap of data going anywhere near her would be carefully checked for tampering of any kind.

 

"A rocket." Quais replied calmly. Iriana turned to stare at him and he nodded. "She should be dead. But her armor must have saved her."

 

"It did." Iriana said with a frown. "Lots of damage. But she would have survived. For a while anyway, until she bled out." She said with a sigh. "This is... odd." Quais stiffened at her tone.

 

"Healer?" Quais asked carefully. "What is odd?"

 

"I am reading three different wavelengths inside her mind." Iriana said slowly. "Which isn't possible. Two I can see. Cognitive dissonances are known. But three? No..." She shook her head. "No. She wouldn't be able to function with three minds fighting for control."

 

"She was functioning." Quais shrugged. "And she was skilled at healing. Just not at combat."

 

"An armored medic not trained for combat?" Iriana asked, confused. "That makes no sense."

 

"I know." Quais agreed. "And then... when I digitized her, I heard a voice -not hers- screaming." Iriana froze and turned to look at him. "Healer?"

 

"You need to be checked, Quais." Iriana said slowly. "Your warframe systems may have been compromised. If you heard her..."

 

"I understand." Quais said with a sigh as he started the unsealing sequence. "It wasn't her voice though. It was younger sounding. And..." He paused. "She was terrified." He finished the sequence and stepped out of his warframe. "With your permission healer, I will do a set of checks myself."

 

"Fine by me." Iriana said as the Ash warframe as lofted by a set of drones to be scanned carefully. "Just..." She shook her head, face furrowed in thought.

 

"Healer?" Quais asked as he knelt in a corner. The checks were fast. He was clean.

 

"She has been... modified." Iriana said heavily. "Her body altered. I..." She paused. "These techniques are known. In our database." She shook her head. "This makes no sense!" She complained. "According to every reading, she is only in her teens. Why would someone change a teenager? And into this?"

 

"Because that was what it was designed to do." A new voice had both Quais and Iriana turning. The Frost Prime warframe looked... wrong on close inspection. It wasn't until you looked hard at it that you realized it's surface was covered in glowing circuitry. Quais went still as Iriana nodded.

 

"Olim!" The Tenno healer said with a wide smile. "You made it."

 

"Yeah." Olim said sourly. "Three days worth of talking to that... thing and it finally gave me some of the information I asked for." Quais looked at the Cyberlancer and Olim sighed. "The only source of information on the game that we knew of was Cephalon Suda." Quais went still and Olim chuckled without mirth. "Yeah. Talk about long winded..."

 

No one was sure if Cephalon Suda was an AI, a hybrid AI/human or something else entirely. No one had ever gotten a straight answer from it. The Lotus might know, but she was very tightlipped about it. Stood to reason. Cephalon Suda's endless quest for knowledge at any price was well known to many factions within the Solar System. And not all of them appreciated it. The Lotus was neutral, painfully so in the squabbles between various factions that had aligned themselves against each other. The 'Syndicates' as they were known, were distinct from the Grineer Empire and Corpus megacorporation, but no less pervasive.

 

Quais himself had been emailed by another syndicate a few times. He had little use for Grineer however, even Grineer deserters. He was more drawn to the Arbiters of Hexis and their philosophy, but parts of that clashed with the Code, so he was reserving judgment.

 

"So what do we know?" Iriana asked. "This girl needs help."

 

"More than you know, Healer." Olim said sadly. "You see... The game was originally designed as a LARP by a group called the SCA."

 

"A what by the what?" Iriana demanded. Olim sighed.

 

"LARP is 'Live Action Role Play'. A form of storytelling in person. The players become the roles." Olim said with a shrug as Iriana stared at him. Quais was still. That... sort of made sense. "And... apparently, two centuries or so after Orokin was founded, a group called the Society for Creative Anachronism made a way to take part in the Warhammer 40000 game. In person. For real."

 

"What little I have read of the game said it was dark, horror filled." Iriana protested. "Why would anyone want to play such a game in real life?"

 

"I don't know." Olim admitted. "If Cephelon Suda knows, it isn't saying. And..."

 

"And I am not going to do that again!" An irate female voice sounded as a holo of a young woman appeared nearby. Her face was half flesh, half metal. An AI. "You will not make me talk to that... that... librarian again, Olim!" She snapped as Olim just sighed again. "It was... insufferable!"

 

"Riana." Olim said mildly. Quais just shook his head. He had heard about the Cyberlancer's AI sister. Who hadn't? But the actual reality was far more than any story.

 

"Three days your time, Olim." Riana said was a snarl. "Do you have any idea how many 'requests for further information' it sent me in three days? And now it has my contact information. You had to give it my contact information! You just had to! Gah! Another one! Another 'Hello, can I ask about...?' email! Three hundred in the last twenty minutes alone!" Now she was growling. "That thing is going to get accidently wiped and formatted! I swear!"

 

"Riana, it was needed." Olim said softly. "And you agreed."

 

"I did." The AI replied tightly. "But geez... One virus Olim. Just a little virus? Please?" She begged.

 

"No, Riana." The Cyberlancer master said with a sigh. "We can't. Tempting as it is, we can't. If we destroy or even just damage the Cephalon, it would create all kinds of chaos. And what is our primary function?"

 

"Protecting against such." Riana said in a small voice. "I am sorry, Olim." She said, her ire fading. "But that thing made me so mad... It was and is distracting me." She said with a sigh. "I wasn't a lot of help."

 

"Yes, you were, Riana." Olim reassured her. "While it was focused on trying to figure you out, I managed to get the information we needed. Most of it." He qualified as Iriana smiled. He shook his head a little. "The live action game was designed as a game. Not dangerous. So something changed. And the facility was not just shut down, it was destroyed during the war. A survey drone that was sent into that pocket of the void found nothing functioning."

 

"So... She likely has the answers we need." Iriana shook her head. "This girl needs help Olim. She cannot help herself. Not with three of her fighting inside her mind."

 

"I know." Olim said quietly. "But Iriana..." He paused and looked at Quais.

 

"I have not been briefed." Quais said quietly. "I do not know what I am cleared for."

 

"Karl offered you a place and you accepted." Olim replied just as quietly. "I can help her, Iriana. And I will need Quais' help. And... no matter what I do, it will change her. For the better? For the worse? I don't know."

 

"You have but to ask." Quais said with a nod. "But what would we do?"

 

"To fix the problem, Riana and I will have to enter her mind." Olim said with a frown in his voice. "And as soon as  we do, we will be vulnerable to whatever changed her. If it comes to it... if I start to change... I need your word, Brother." He said formally. Iriana froze.

 

"No!" Iriana said sharply, "No! There has to be another way!"

 

"Maybe there is." Olim said quietly. "Do we have time to find it? To talk to the Cephalon for a week to find whatever scraps of information it lets drop?" Riana made a disgusted noise but subsided when Olim turned his helmet to look at her. "Brother? Can you do it?"

 

"I..." For the first time in a long, long time, Quais was speechless. Olim was asking the other male Tenno to kill the Cyberlancer if he was subverted! "I do not wish the deaths of any kin, Cyberlancer Olim." Quais said after a moment. "Can you send me instead?"

 

"You would be more vulnerable." Olim sounded reasonable. "The thing is... If whatever did this to her and the other wanted to hurt us, it could have. The other saved Karen when it didn't have to. This one was working as a medic. Helping people. That is atypical behavior for any of the characters I know of from the game. Admittedly..." He said with a shrug. "I only skimmed stuff. Riana?"

 

"I read through most of the available works." Riana frowned. "Some of it was good reading. Most was horrifying. Horror stories were a favorite of that twentieth century for some reason and that game took them to a new level. But so many of the stories flatly contradict each other and that is flatly ignoring the stuff by someone named C. S. Goto..." She shook her holographic head. "Talk about silly..." Olim coughed and Riana nodded. "Okay, okay, sheesh... Lighten up, Olim."

 

"You are silly enough for both of us, Riana." Olim had a smirk in his voice as she made an obscene gesture at her. "And where did you learn that? Mom would spank you." He shook his head and answered his own question. "Never mind. You have been talking to Karen. Crazy AI and crazy Marines... figures." He sobered. "Quais? I can ask for another if you cannot. There is no shame in such."

 

"This girl needs help now." Quais said with a shrug. "I stand ready." His warframe reappeared and he slid into it quickly. "Any discrepancies?" He asked the healer as it sealed.

 

"No." Iriana said, her face working. "Olim... I..."

 

"It may not come to that." The Frost Prime said quietly as he stepped toward the airlock door that led to the quarantine area. Quais rose and matched his pace. Riana's holo vanished. "There is... one thing... The chip you detected..."

 

"In her sternum, yes." Iriana said quietly. "Encoded."

 

"I have the codes." Olim said quietly. "We got them from an interrogation a while back."

 

"She is Corpus Special Forces."

 

Edited by Kalenath
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Temperance000

Temperance000

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Posted

Sorry about the cult thing, Kal.  I/we will stop if you prefer.

 

It really was intended as just a bit of harmless heresy.

 

*hear a chainsword rev behind him*

 

Umm...I probably shouldn't have said that out loud....

 

 

Anyway, great chapter, as usual.  I particularly liked your depiction of Cephalon Suda, even though I am a member of that Syndicate myself.  Can't wait for the next installment.

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Kalenath

Kalenath

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Posted (edited)

Sorry about the cult thing, Kal.  I/we will stop if you prefer.

 

It really was intended as just a bit of harmless heresy.

 

*hear a chainsword rev behind him*

 

Umm...I probably shouldn't have said that out loud....

 

 

Anyway, great chapter, as usual.  I particularly liked your depiction of Cephalon Suda, even though I am a member of that Syndicate myself.  Can't wait for the next installment.

 

All will fear the LIBRARIAN!!!!

 

Arbiters of Hexis is where I went, but I am allied with the Librarian. I DO NOT want her mad at me... Too many overdue library books...

Edited by Kalenath
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