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[Fanfiction] Balance

Kalenath

By Kalenath,
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Temperance000

Temperance000

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Don't worry about me, if they come after me we'll just kick their asses like we did back in 1939.

 

"We," Shadow?  Unless that's the royal "we," might I suggest you have yourself screened for schizophrenia and delusions?

 

This is Nikis we're talking about.

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Shadow977

Shadow977

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"We," Shadow?  Unless that's the royal "we," might I suggest you have yourself screened for schizophrenia and delusions?

 

This is Nikis we're talking about.

I was talking about russians not Nikis and by "we" i referred to my country.

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BaIthazar

BaIthazar

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can't really write "Pitch black nekros warframe" if it's a Prime.. too shiny,
I just want to know what Draco looks like, with or without armor...

 

Kal, if you ever "show" Draco without his armor... please give him an epic beard

badasses need dem facialswagz fo shizzle

 

VhxlE5R.png

dem beards yo

Edited by BaIthazar
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FiveHours

FiveHours

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I was talking about russians not Nikis and by "we" i referred to my country.

It was countries involved in the Winter War, not just Finland (which I'm assuming you're talking about.) Your own people actually fought with the Soviets, or at least helped them in some part, the Republic of somethingorother. And please don't bring up wars that happened nearly a century ago, it's about time to bury the hatchet.
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Kalenath

Kalenath

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Guys...

 

Lets NOT bring history into this. There is enough angst on the internet as it is.

 

A bit late today, hope to be earlier in posting tomorrow. Maybe. We shall see.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Routing

 

"Wha-?"

 

Jesse's incredulous word broke off as she realized that Draco hadn't moved. At all. Raven moved to stand beside Jesse as Ona moved to the wall. Out of the way. Jesse looked at Raven and her sponsor's head gave a tiny shake. Jesse gave a fractional nod and she relaxed as best she could. But her mind was whirling.

 

Why had Rachel called Draco that? He wasn't her master. Was he? From what little Jesse knew of Draco's past he had left the Citadel and not gone back after his father had wanted him to ... er... lead the Tenno. Jesse's thoughts slithered to a halt and she knew her face paled a little. Raven gave a fractional nod and returned her gaze to the silent pair of Tenno. Neither the Saryn Prime nor the shrouded bodyguard moved at all.

 

"Will we stand here all day?" Draco finally said. "I am not your master, Tenno Rachel."

 

"I know." Rachel nodded. "I am giving respect where it is due, no more." Draco looked at her and she shrugged a little. "Bellina and Richard chose me to lead the rest of us. It is not a burden I would have taken willingly. I much preferred to be a scientist and medic like the First Saryn." Draco nodded at that. "I am not pushing anything. All I am saying is that we all know who you are and we respect your choice."

 

"Thank you for that." Draco's voice was quiet, reflective. "I never expected to come back to tell you the truth."

 

"Your quarters have not been touched." Rachel matched his calm. Draco looked at her and she shrugged again. "At first, your parents hoped you would return. Then we didn't need them. Then... it was a memorial." Jesse fought to stay silent. Interjecting here would not help matters.

 

"Protecting Jesse is why I am here, not the past." Draco said firmly. Rachel nodded.

 

"And Jesse needs help." Rachel turned to look at Jesse who met her gaze. "The pain will flare until it passes even Cyberlancer control. But the message said that whoever came had to go in alone or nothing will happen."

 

"I may be able to mask his presence." Jesse frowned in thought. "Maybe. I don't like pain any more than the next person. But I think we do need answers." She glanced at the tiny Nyx, but Ona did not react. "All we have now are questions."

 

"If you think you can..." Rachel mused. "Then yes. I do not want to put your life in jeopardy, Sister. Ona, report to medical. We will talk after this."

 

"She may need me." Ona said, not moving.

 

"Ona." The Saryn Prime said with a snarl. "She doesn't trust you. She won't let you do anything." The tiny Nyx wilted as Jesse shook her head.

 

"What we did was wrong." Ona said quietly as she rose. "But I fear for you, Jesse. I truly do. Whatever Nikis did... I fear for you, Sister." Jesse did not react and the tiny Nyx moved away, her posture dejected.

 

"I thought I was getting to know her." Rachel sounded almost as abject as Ona had been. "I like her."

 

"It was a war, Tenno Rachel." Raven said sadly. Rachel looked at her as Jesse did the same. "War is the single worst things humans ever figured out how to do. I was a pacifist myself, but when it came down to it, live or die. Survive or don't. Simple binary solution set. I chose to survive."

 

"But taking a human's mind and warping it..." Rachel begged. "That is what the Corpus does." She froze as Jesse did. "No offense, Sister."

 

"None taken." Jesse replied easily. "I was Corpus. Now? I am Tenno and we need to figure this out." Raven looked at her for a long moment. "Yes?"

 

"An odd thought." Raven said quietly. "Not really germane to our situation." Jesse looked art Rachel and Draco. Both of them shrugged so she waved for Raven to continue. "The Reverend Mother went to your people. You came to ours." Jesse went still and Raven nodded. "Balance was maintained."

 

"That doesn't make any sense." Jesse said sourly. "The Clergy had nothing to do with what I did. The Tenno kept trying to keep me from doing it. And the Reverend Mother is still Tenno, is she not?"

 

"She follows the Code, so I would say... Yes. Odd thoughts don't have to make sense, Jesse." Raven said with a sigh. "They rarely do." Jesse had to snort at the dry humor in the Elder's words. "But for now? Let's get this done."

 

Jesse nodded and looked to Rachel who sighed but nodded as well. The Saryn started off, careful to keep her speed down to what Jesse could manage without a warframe. The architecture was familiar to Jesse. The Tenno dojo she had spent time in looked  lot like this. But the feel...

 

This place felt old. It felt... Jesse gave a tiny gasp and folded her code into her body as pressure mounted around her. Draco stiffened at her side and a hand was on her shoulder, buffering her from whatever was pressing on her. Rachel paused in midstep and spoke.

 

"Security override, authorized presence. Class A-modified." The Saryn said loudly and the pressure on Jesse faded. "Sorry about that." Rachel said quickly. "In all the excitement, I should have told you about the security systems."

 

"No harm done." Jesse swallowed hard. "Tight security. I never sensed anything."

 

"Considering that the First built it, I would hope you didn't." Rachel said with a small laugh that Jesse shared. The young Cyberlancer patted Draco's hand and the shrouded Tenno withdrew it. "Class A-modified access will get you into every non-secure part of the Citadel. You may need a guide." Draco coughed and Rachel chuckled without humor. "Or not."

 

"I don't need any more secrets than I have." Jesse said firmly. "I will get more, I know that. But the ones I have are enough."

 

"Too much information can kill just as surely as too little." Rachel agreed. "Again, I apologize. I didn't think about it. Did you try to sense things?"

 

"Not consciously." Jesse admitted. "I need to work on control. I didn't send out code, but my mind was pulled to the architecture. The feel is the same as Karl's dojo, but... more." Rachel nodded.

 

"And a spy would be looking around." Rachel said with a sigh. "Not your fault that we have had some serious betrayals here."

 

"Nor yours." Jesse said sharply and Rachel stared at her. "What happened was not your fault. The Enemy did it. Not you." Rachel nodded slowly.

 

"I am angry." Rachel admitted as she started walking again. "I miss Richard and Bellina." She jerked as Jesse reached out and took her hand. "Sister?"

 

"No one blames you for being angry." Jesse said in a voice that was suddenly husky. "No one at all." She gave the Saryn's hand a squeeze and held it. "All I know is what I was told. But that made me angry." She said with a snarl as she walked.

 

"Thank you." Rachel carefully returned the squeeze. Warframes enhanced the strength of the operator, so she could do a lot of damage if she squeezed too tight. But she was careful. "I know about my anger. I am working through it. It will take time. I will try to be what Bellina asked me to be. Even if I do not feel worthy of it."

 

"You are." Came a quiet comment from Draco.

 

"So what is it like, living here?" Jesse changed the subject. "The feelings of history and of power are intense." She said with a small frown. She did not release Rachel's hand.

 

"It is home." Rachel did not react to Jesse holding her hand. But she did not push Jesse away either. "It is just where I live." They made their way into an elevator, Raven and Draco following. Raven's face was neutral, but Jesse could see she was excited too.

 

"You have been here, Raven?" Jesse asked and Raven nodded.

 

"After the mess, I was one of the Elders who was sent to talk to the residents here." Raven said with a small frown as the elevator started down. "Just a trainee, but I learn fast."

 

"That you do." Rachel said with a fondness that was heartfelt. "Roger will be happy to see you again."

 

"Oh geez..." Raven complained, but it was humorous.  "He just wants to scan me more." At Jesse's quizzical look, Raven explained. "When I came here, I was still in pain. Minor, but it wouldn't go away. He pushed and pushed and pushed to treat me. I finally gave in and let him." She shrugged. "The pain did go away."

 

"If you get the chance, talk to him." Rachel said quietly. "You might be surprised." Raven stared at her suspiciously and Rachel lifted the hand that Jesse wasn't holding in a warding gesture. "Not being a busybody younger sister. Just doing my best to keep the peace here. He moped for a week after you left." Raven jerked, staring at the Saryn and Rachel nodded. "He likes you."

 

"Um..." Jesse treasured the poleaxed look that came over Raven's face for a moment before the Elder's face smoothed back into her habitual neutral mask. "Really?"

 

"Yeah really." Rachel chuckled. "He will likely hurt me in sparring next time, but I got sick of his moping. We all did." Jesse stared from Rachel to Raven and back. For her part, Rachel chuckled again. "Hey, it is what family is for. Embarrassing each other."

 

"I wouldn't know. The Clergy kept a lot from me. We were supposed to be a family, but it never really felt that way to me after Mom was hurt and Dad vanished." Jesse said softly. Rachel froze and then pulled the girl into an embrace. "Wha-?"

 

"I do not know everything that happened to you." Rachel gave Jesse a squeeze and released her. "But I know enough to know it was no fun at all. We are your family now. We may be exasperating. We may be annoying,. We may be overprotective on occasion. But we are your family and never forget that." Raven stepped close and laid a hand on Jesse's shoulder as Jesse fought to get words out past a suddenly tight throat. None would come but it didn't seem to matter.

 

"You are not alone." Raven affirmed as the elevator door opened. The hallway ahead was empty, for which Jesse was fervently grateful. Raven retreated a step as Rachel released the girl and started off again. Jesse hurried to keep up.

 

"Thanks." Jesse said in a soft voice as she followed. She came to a stop as Rachel did. The door in front of Rachel looked just like every other door along the hallway. It was locked. "Here?"

 

"Yes." The Saryn sounded nervous now. "The instructions say you are to enter alone. But Draco will not leave your side."

 

"I can mask him. Draco?" Jesse held out a hand and the shrouded warframe took hold of her hand. She let a bit of her code out. She could not get any feel of what was under his shroud -odd that- but she could add to his shroud. "This will read as part of me. So don't get too far or whatever security will probably activate."

 

"And knowing Nikis, it won't be anything good." Draco said with a snort as he moved to stand right behind her. He did not actually tower over her. It just felt like it. "Should I maintain physical contact?" He asked.

 

"Wouldn't hurt." Jesse said and then paused. "Well.." She swallowed hard. "It might."

 

Draco chuckled without mirth and laid a hand on her shoulder. Then Jesse nodded to Rachel.

 

"Raven." The Saryn said firmly as she keyed the door and stepped back. The room beyond was not illuminated. Raven nodded and moved to join the warframe.

 

Jesse took a deep breath and stepped into the dark room. Draco stayed with her. She jerked to a halt as a light came on, illuminating a chair. It looked ordinary. But it couldn't be. Was this an illusion? A trap? Jesse swept the room with both her sight and her code, but nothing seemed out of place. In the dimness, she could see a bed, a couch and a dresser of some kind. But... This was wrong. It had to be wrong. She opened her mouth to ask Draco what he thought, but a sudden squeeze on her shoulder kept her quiet. The hand on her shoulder urged her forward and she sighed but did as instructed.

 

She eyed the chair as she moved towards it. But nothing jumped out at her. A fairly standard looking chair. Then it hit her. It wasn't a Tenno style piece of furniture. It looked Corpus. But that made no sense. Not in an ancient Tenno facility that predated the Collapse. So...

 

This isn't real... Jesse said in her mind. She was not expecting an answer.

 

-Smart kid- The words were not human. There were not Tenno. They were... -This was a low order probability, but planned for. Implementing.-

 

"Wait!" Jesse begged, but power flared and she was falling. She fought as she felt Draco start to resist, but his hand was yanked away from her as she... She found herself sitting on something that wasn't a chair as power flared around her brighter and brighter. Her barriers held under the onslaught but she could do nothing but cry out as the physical things grabbed hold of her. Something settled over her nose and mouth and she smelled something that made her woozy. Gas. She couldn't stop such an ancient method of sedation with code. She had to... She tried to struggle and couldn't.

 

-Sleep now.- Was that aloud or in her mind? -Dream of peace and light.-

 

She thought she heard a battle cry from far, far away as oblivion reached up for her and took her.

 

***

 

"Let! HER! GO!" Draco roared as he fought the currents of power that had torn him from his protectee. She lay on what was now revealed to be a medical couch, machinery whirring around her. A mask had settled over her nose and mouth and her face had relaxed from its fearful expression into sleep. The things that held her to the couch were padded, as was the couch. She did not seem hurt. But he was blocked from her by an energy barrier. He couldn't get to her!

 

-She is hurt.- The other voice replied calmly. -She needs care that you cannot give her. We will not harm her.-

 

"And what you are doing right now is not harming her?" Draco demanded, lashing out with his swords at the energy, deflecting some of it. As if in answer, a schematic appeared on one wall, a diagram of a body. Jesse's body! A small organ in her abdomen was highlighted and flashing.

 

-No.- The voice replied calmly. -We are not. -

 

"You are an AI." Draco said as he retreated a step. The energy that had been flaring faded as he did.

 

-No.- The other replied calmly.

 

"Then what are you?" Draco demanded. He took a step forward, trying the energy and it flared as he sought weaknesses, fluctuations. There was no reply. "What are you? You are hurting one I am sworn to protect!"

 

-We are not hurting her.- The other's voice was still that calm. Maddeningly so. -We will not hurt her. Repairs will be made and she will have no impairment.-

 

"How do I know you won't rip her mind from her body?" Draco snapped, pressing forward, his swords crossed and diverting the energy as it slammed at him.

 

-Because she is Tenno and that would not stop her.- The voice was focused. So focused. As if... Draco were merely an impendence.

 

"It would make her mad." Draco said with a snarl. "And you are making me mad. If you are serious... If you are helping her... Let me touch her."

 

-You will attempt to remove her.- The other replied evenly. -If you do so before the procedure is finished, you will cause her harm. We cannot allow this.-

 

"What procedure?" Draco demanded. There was no reply and he snarled. "Fine!" He dropped his shroud and the room was suddenly lit with golden light. It gleamed... oddly dark. "I am taking her one way or another!"

 

-We cannot allow that, Tenno.- Was the other worried now? If not, he wasn't sane. -You do not understand. We are repairing what was done. We can aid her. She carries the future and she can seal the lock once more.-

 

"You make no sense!" Draco screamed. "And I have had enough of-" He broke off as one wall came alive. Or... sort of alive. He froze as a golden and black form stepped out into his light. Was that a Nekros Prime warframe? "What the hell?"

 

-This was not anticipated.- The voice sounded truly worried now. -Tenno Draco. Your presence destabilizes everything. She is in no danger. We will not harm her. We cannot.-

 

"Draco." The voice from the other warframe was familiar. Nikis! But... "This is a recording I made. Just in case. Didn't know if you would show up again or not. Doubt it, but there is too much at stake now to leave anything to chance. Whoever you are protecting, the Medicine Man is not hurting them."

 

"Medicine...? Man...?" Draco asked, stunned. "You have got to be kidding. Nikis, if this was planned for, you know I cannot stop protecting the one I am sworn to."

 

"Yes." Nikis' voice sounded rueful as his hand came up and golden-orange energy flew from it. "I did."

 

Draco never felt the wall he flew into.

 

***

 

Damn. Get her into preop. See if we have anything that might have a chance of restraining the other until we can explain.

 

Yes, doctor!

 

I hope he lets us explain...

 

Edited by Kalenath
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renleech

renleech

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All this messianic talk of Jesse carrying the future is getting annoying, and this silence from the "doctors", i mean, Nikki's slaves, is getting really annoying too.

 

Why not a line like "ignorant fool. You want the thruth, fine. <telephatic character>, hammer the truth in his/her birdie brain please?"

Edited by renleech
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Kalenath

Kalenath

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They had to poke the dragon -_-

 

Why is explaining things beforehand so hard in your universe Kal?

 

1) The systems were not DESIGNED around a young Cyberlancer with an escort although Nikis LIVES contingency planning.

 

2) They didn't have time. Jesse needed help. More on that later. (FYI, get in a doc's way in an emergency room and you WILL get run over)

 

But no, poking the dragon was NOT a wise thing to do.

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Kalenath

Kalenath

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well S#&$... also i guess that answers my question bout nikis frame.... so what happened to his original? did he use a bit too much boom-stick or something?

 

Do you REALLY want to know...? I CAN ask.

 

He is likely to be grumpy if I get him up for that though...

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evafan002

evafan002

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Do you REALLY want to know...? I CAN ask.

 

He is likely to be grumpy if I get him up for that though...

no no thats fine he can keep doing what he is doing no need to interrupt him for me hehehe...... I mean I quite like my head where it is...firmly attached to the rest of me

Edited by evafan002
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DJSeraph

DJSeraph

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well S#&$... also i guess that answers my question bout nikis frame.... so what happened to his original? did he use a bit too much boom-stick or something?

Seeing as it appears perfectly functional... Well, I suppose it's worth noting that Prime Warframes, as Kal's stories have made pretty darn clear, aren't common. Nikis doesn't LIKE people treating him 'special' because of some kind of position or ... well... anything other than the skill and reputation he's personally worked to gain/maintain. [Further thoughts removed prior to posting.]

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Kalenath

Kalenath

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Processing

 

Jesse was floating. On some level, she knew she should be afraid. But she wasn't. She had no idea why. Just that she wasn't.

 

"You are awake." The voice was female. It was odd to her ears. Not kind. But not aggressive either. Neutral. Jesse felt... ambivalent. "You are coming out of sedation." The voice said calmly. "You will remember. You will feel. You are in no danger now. Can you speak?"

 

"What.... happened...?" Jesse managed to get the words out past her leaden tongue.

 

"You hemorrhaged." The voice said quietly. Jesse thought about that for a moment and the voice continued. "From what we can gather, you blocked the pain from the alteration to your appendix. You likely never sensed the bleeding, did you?"

 

"Bleeding?" Jesse asked. She tried to dredge up worry, but it wouldn't come.

 

"Yes, bleeding." The other sighed. "It was not expected that a Cyberlancer would come. But it was planned for. The Master is nothing if not thorough."

 

"Master?" Jesse asked, confused. "I don't understand."

 

"We can give you some answers." The other replied. "We do not have all. What do you wish to know?"

 

"Where am I?" Jesse asked.

 

"You are in the room where you sat down." The other replied.

 

"How long did I sleep?"

 

"You have been asleep for eight minutes." The other said quietly.

 

"What happened to me?" Jesse asked. "I didn't sense any bleeding. I would have."

 

"You blocked the pain." The other replied. "It stands to reason that you blocked other inputs as well. That was not the best choice."

 

"What...?" Jesse felt the fogginess start to recede. "I was bleeding? But how?"

 

"We do not know what caused it." The female voice replied. "But we do know that you were minutes away from bleeding to death. Even Tenno can bleed to death." Disapproval sang in the other's voice for a moment and then was gone. "You would likely have revived, but just as likely, the data would have been unrecoverable."

 

"What data?" Jesse asked then she answered her own question. "Oh, the data that was inside the appendix. What is it?"

 

"The collected memory of practitioner 24." The other said quietly. Jesse frowned, she didn't understand. "The mind of the one who was lost."

 

"What?" Jesse asked, forcing her mind to obey. Something wafted over her nose and mouth and despite her wishes, her body relaxed. "What are you doing?" She asked, her mind oddly lethargic.

 

"The gas will keep you calm so you can heal. Be easy, Cyberlancer." The other said quickly. "You are still hurt. We saved your life, but could do little more. This is not a hospital despite everything the Master could do. You will need more advanced medical care than we can provide here."

 

"I don't understand." It tried to come out a wail, but was barely a croak.

 

"We know." The voice turned kind now. "You are not responsible for what happened to practitioner 24, Cyberlancer Jesse. You were not supposed to feel it pass. That hurt you. We have eased the neural trauma to the point where it will hurt you no more. The other healers who tended you did a good job, but we are more practiced with it." Jesse thought about that for a moment and then realized that yes, the pain in her head was gone. Everything the other healers had done had eased it, but they had all said it had to heal naturally.

 

"Thank you for that." Jesse said after a moment. "But... Why did it die?" She asked plaintively. "None of us would have done anything to it. We wanted to know why the scan did not hurt. That is all!"

 

"We are sworn, Cyberlancer Jesse." The other said quietly. "To provide aid. We did not volunteer. But if we had been given the choice, we probably would have chosen this. They needed us, so we went. None of us knew what was entailed, but... In the end, it was our choice. It was unpleasant." The voice said in tone of monumental understatement. "But we were needed. We have purpose. The Master remade us to have Purpose. We are sworn to that purpose and we will die before betraying it."

 

"Sworn to what?" Jesse asked as she tried to sit up and could not. The gas was still making her woozy. The other voice gave cluck of disapproval.

 

"Oh this will never do. You will hurt yourself. Here..."

 

Without sense of transition, Jesse was lying on a different surface. Bright light seeped into her eyes as she cracked them and stiffened. A virtual simulation. She was lying on a bed in a small room. It did not look like anything she knew. Indeed, it looked archaic. The bed she was lying on had metal rails on either side of it. She stared around slowly, a tube led from a tank against one wall to a mask that was affixed over her nose and mouth. Tube ran from bags that hung from a pole nearby to the back of her left hand. Monitors hung on one wall, she could read the screens, but she could not feel the code. She should have been able to. Something was wrong! She...

 

"Nothing is wrong." The voice from before preceded a woman in a odd green garment entering the room.  It looked synthetic, but... again, archaic. She had an odd tubular device around her neck and a board-like thing in hand. "You are very weak. You need to save your energy for healing."

 

"A virtual simulation. Why?" Jesse asked, focusing. She could see the woman composed of golden energy. The walls were code.

 

"So we can explain fast." The other woman said with a sigh. "Before your protector wakes up and destroys the room."

 

"Not one to anger." Jesse agreed in a mild tone as she tried to sit up and could not. "What happened?" She demanded.

 

"Let me get that." The other said calmly as she stepped forward. She bent down and something under Jesse went 'click'. The young Tenno forced herself to remain relaxed as the bed tilted. Part of it anyway. The part with her chest and head was up at an angle. "Better?" She asked with a smile. Jesse realized she could breathe a bit easier so she nodded. "First an introduction of sorts. I am 12."

 

"12?" Jesse stared at the other. Then she stared around. "Wait... You said the other was 24..."

 

"The numbers go up to seventy-six." The one who called herself 12 said calmly. "Most of the numbers above 35 are interns. We need them to do the grunt work. The basic selection. Once that is done, we can start our own work."

 

"And what do you do?" Jesse asked warily. The other looked at her for a moment and then nodded. "What?"

 

"You should be able to handle it." 12 replied. "Not many could, but you are stronger than you seem." She raised her hands as Jesse bristled. "No offense. But you look like a stiff breeze would blow you away. You are far stronger than you look."

 

"Thanks. I think." Jesse said dryly. "So... what is it you do?"

 

"We were made to provide medical support for the Tenno." 12 replied calmly. "We build the tools and we collate the data from them to make the tools better." Jesse stared at her, uncomprehending and 12 sighed. "It was  a bad time, Cyberlancer Jesse. As dark as the world we have seen is now, the War was worse. Far, far worse."

 

"So I have gathered." Jesse obviously wasn't sure about this at all.

 

"No, you don't understand." 12 said flatly. "It was horror. It was desperation. It was fear, and hate and rage and all the worst things humans have shown. That was the world we were born into. The ones who became this." She waved her hands at the surrounding area.

 

"And?" Jesse prompted. "What does that have to do with Nikis of all people making medical gear?"

 

"He did not." 12 replied. "He made us to do it."

 

"Huh?" Jesse was even more confused. "That makes no sense. He is Grandmaster of the Dead. Not a technician. He deals in souls. Not..." She froze as 12 nodded slowly. "No..." She breathed. "Oh my god! He didn't..."

 

"I cannot speak for everyone." 12 said softly. "But before I became, I was terrified. We knew the enemy was coming. When a black form appeared out of nowhere and knocked me down, I knew my life was over. But... it wasn't." She shook her head. "I was not happy about what was done but I have come to accept it. I do have Purpose now." Jesse stared. That last sounded rote. As if...she had been programmed. A sentient being. Kind of like what Jesse had always imagined the Corpus rank and file might sound like. Brainwashed.

 

"What did Nikis do?"

 

"12, tend her." A new voice sounded as a man in similar garb to the woman's appeared in the room. He had brown hair and dark eyes that sat behind ancient looking spectacles. He nodded to Jesse. "Cyberlancer Jesse. I am 1."

 

"The first of...whatever happened?" Jesse asked as 12 sat by the bed and started working on something. The pain that Jesse had been ignoring faded.  The man who called himself 1 nodded. "So... what did Nikis do?"

 

"He followed my lead." 1 replied calmly. Jesse just stared at him and the man sighed. Then he leaned against the wall. "Many of our people made... suboptimal choices. Before the war and during it. Desperation is a far quicker path to ruin than greed, but just as damaging in the long run. Not all Orokin wanted to be rich or powerful, Cyberlancer. Actually... they were the minority. Most of them were apathy made in human form. But some of us wanted to help others. Many of us who went into medicine took that path. Not for fame, or riches. But to take broken bodies and minds and make them whole."

 

"Healer." Jesse said softly and 1 nodded.

 

"That was the appellation that was stuck on me." 1 agreed. "I never wanted acclaim. I just wanted to do my job. But then I found out something that horrified me. A fraction of our people needed medical care and were not getting it." Jesse stared at him, uncomprehending and 1 smiled a bit sadly. "The Tenno had no reason to trust us or our technology. After all, technology was turning out to be a horrible curse against the Sentients. Then the betrayal at the Citadel and the creation of manufactured Tenno. So, I wanted to give them medical tech that could not be subverted."

 

"You..." Jesse swallowed hard. "You are the reason the AI died!" She growled dangerously, but something happened and she sank back to the bed. She turned her head to where 12 was withdrawing a ancient looking hypodermic syringe from the tube on Jesse's hand. Some kind of virtual cue of a calming agent.

 

"Be calm, Cyberlancer Jesse." 12 begged her. "This is going to be bad, but we can help. Please let us."

 

"What are you doing to me?" Jesse asked as she felt a listlessness pervading her body.

 

"We are trying to help." 1 replied as 12 bent back to her work. "Your physical body is being repaired as we speak. But your mind was also sorely hurt. If you try to pass from your shell in this state, you will not go to the database. You will vanish and we will not allow that. Please be calm. There is nothing you can do to help us." He shook his head. "What was done, was done a long, long time ago. And yes, I am to blame. I chose this path. I did not expect everything that happened. I have done my best to ease the others."

 

"You... chose... this...?" Jesse managed to get out as the haze around her solidified further.

 

"I did." 1 replied. He smiled as she felt her eyelids start to close. "It is not pretty. It is not nice. But it works. Perhaps you can help us make it better. Rest now."

 

"Wait..." Jesse begged as she felt herself start to fall.  She fought to remain conscious. "Don't wipe my memory! Please!" She focused her code on her mental barriers. But... nothing was being done that she could detect.

 

"We will not." 1 replied evenly. "Not that that we could. We are programmed to aid Tenno. Not harm them. You were dying when you entered the room That supersedes all other programs." He shook his head. "Please, Cyberlancer. You need to rest now."

 

"Will you self destruct now?" Jesse begged. "Please don't."

 

"The Balance must be maintained." 1 said sadly. "That is why I did what I did. That is why the others were selected and reconditioned to this."

 

"But there is no need!" Jesse screamed, fighting the sedation. "No!" She reached out and grabbed hold of 12 who tried to pull back, but Jesse's code held her tight. "If you go, you take me with you!"

 

"You will die." 1 sounded upset now. "We cannot allow that."

 

"Then you cannot suicide!" Jesse snapped, holding 12 despite the machine consciousness's struggles. "Because I won't let you!"

 

"Jesse." The flat voice had her jerking. She opened her eyes and a Tenno stood there, in robes instead of a warframe. His hair was golden and his eyes were alight with fire that matched his hair. Unlike most Tenno she knew, he had a short beard that was trimmed neatly. But it... It did not make him look civilized. Not even close. This being was one short  step from feral. "Let them go."

 

Jesse froze. She knew the voice. She had never seen the face under the shrouded warframe, but no one else had such power, such raw terror in the words they projected. Not even Nikis. 12 and 1 both froze in place. Jesse did not blame them.

 

"I cannot do that, Draco." Jesse said weakly. "My duty is to help machine intelligences. However these came to be, they are machine intelligences."

 

"And my duty is to keep you alive." Draco said sternly. "To protect you from all threats, both external and internal." He shook his head. "How bad was the hemorrhage?"

 

-The bleeding came from the joining her of her appendix to the intestines.- The voice did not come from either of the holographic beings. It was the same voice that had greeted Jesse when she entered Nikis' quarters. -Every carrier has had similar problems. The organ was not designed as a data repository, but with speed and care, the danger is minimized. You were delayed and that put Cyberlancer Jesse's life at risk. We cannot allow that.-

 

"How long have you been awake?" Jesse asked, still holding onto the writhing code in her grip. It could not escape her no matter how hard it tried.

 

"I woke just as you did." Draco replied evenly. "But then they said you had been bleeding so..." He shrugged.

 

"So you listened." Jesse said with a grunt. "Thoughts?"

 

"What do you sense?" Draco asked, not moving. Jesse stared at him and then focused on herself. Between the drugs or whatever and the conversation, she hadn't been able to before. But now, Draco's sudden appearance had cleared the fogginess from her head. She managed to restrain a gasp, but it was hard. There was blood in her abdomen. Lots of it. Her code swirled down to its source and she nodded a little as she saw the appendix was different. Back to Tenno normal flesh. "Well?" Her guard pressed.

 

"I was hemorrhaging." Jesse said weakly. "I never felt a thing." Draco stared at her and then nodded a little. "Why not just say so?" She begged the other.

 

-If we had said, what would your guard have done?- The other replied. Jesse jerked little and looked at Draco who nodded.

 

"Draco would have grabbed me and bodily carried me to Medical. Where they would have healed me, but the data... It would have been lost, wouldn't it?" Jesse asked, stunned. There was no reply and Jesse sighed. "I don't want your secrets. I just want to keep you from expiring!"

 

-We cannot answer you, Cyberlancer. We are sworn to the Balance.- The other replied. -You will not hear from us... No!- The other said sharply as Jesse snarled and sat up, her code suddenly bright and everywhere. -Do not!-

 

"I will not let you die." Jesse declared, her tone as soft as steel. She pulled the bit of code that she held into her own and grasped it tight despite its sudden struggles. "You are sworn to aid Tenno. Not to harm them? Well, I am sworn to do the same for AIs and other artificial intelligences. We are at an impasse. But there are always alternatives."

 

"Jesse!" Draco stepped forward, only to pause as her code blocked him too. "What are you doing?"

 

"They cannot expire while I am holding part of them. It would kill me." Jesse said with a snarl that actually set him back a step. "They are forbidden to harm Tenno. So... They cannot suicide while I hold them."

 

-We cannot break the Balance!- The voice wailed.

 

"You won't." Jesse was calming as she wove a tight grid of code over the fraction of a mind she could feel straining in her grip. The mass of code in her grip paused in its fighting and the holographic form of 1 stared at her. "Draco. I am going to draw a blade. I will not harm myself permanently." This was an oath. Draco stared at her and then bowed slowly.

 

"Jesse, are you sure about this?" Draco asked. "It is going to cause problems. If Nikis did..."

 

"You know him better than I do." Jesse said softly. "Was he capable of kidnapping people, ripping their minds from their bodies and programming them to serve as slaves?"

 

"Nikis? Oh yes." Draco said in a soft voice as Jesse drew a tiny knife. He bowed to her as she cut her palm and spoke.

 

"By Blood and by Steel, I will see this made right. The Balance will be maintained."

 

 

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