[Fanfiction] Endings

[Zibbs]

Hey just wondering where I can find the beginning of this arc. Quite interesting but I don't know enough about the characters for anything to be impactful.

 

But still , quite good =3

[Shadow977]

Hey just wondering where I can find the beginning of this arc. Quite interesting but I don't know enough about the characters for anything to be impactful.

 

But still , quite good =3

Here's all the stories. They are all part of the same "arc".

 

Duty Endures https://forums.warfr...n-duty-endures/

To Be the Darkness https://forums.warfr...e-the-darkness/

What Price Honor? https://forums.warfr...at-price-honor/

Rage https://forums.warfr...anfiction-rage/

Normal https://forums.warfr...fiction-normal/

The First:Gathering https://forums.warfr...irst-gathering/

Madness https://forums.warfr...iction-madness/

Quest https://forums.warfr...nfiction-quest/

The Road To Redemption https://forums.warfr...-to-redemption/

Instinct https://forums.warfr...ction-instinct/

Healing https://forums.warfr...iction-healing/

Enemies https://forums.warfr...iction-enemies/

Rites of Passage https://forums.warfr...tes-of-passage/

Schisms https://forums.warfr...s/#entry2289005

By The Sword https://forums.warfr...n-by-the-sword/

Old Dreams https://forums.warfr...ion-old-dreams/

Only Human https://forums.warfr...ion-only-human/

Weapons https://forums.warfr...iction-weapons/

Children https://forums.warfr...ction-children/

Faith https://forums.warfr...nfiction-faith/

Syndication https://forums.warfr...on-syndication/

Fragments of Darkness https://forums.warfr...ts-of-darkness/

Innocents https://forums.warfr...tion-innocents/

Consequences https://forums.warfr...n-consequences/

Balance https://forums.warfr...iction-balance/

Endings https://forums.warfr...s/#entry5068385

[Zibbs]

Thanks :D

[FiveHours]

It makes me question what Kalenath would write next. Of course , this series has run its course and now would be the optimal tiem to end it effectively, but could he construct another universe like this one? I have my doubts.

[Temperance000]

Never underestimate the things that come out of a writer's mind, especially when low on sleep and high on caffeine. 

[FiveHours]

Never underestimate the things that come out of a writer's mind, especially when low on sleep and high on caffeine. 

If anything, I fear them.

[Zibbs]

Well another great fan fic I found on the forums is the origin story arcs by Rosing . I just actually discovered the forums even though I've been playing for 8 months or so now xD

 

The ideas and concepts on the forum are fantastic and are all quite original in their own way. All thanks to DE for making the world but not filling  it hmmm..?

Edited May 27, 2015 by Zibbs

[FiveHours]

Well another great fan fic I found on the forums is the origin story arcs by Rosing . I just actually discovered the forums even though I've been playing for 8 months or so now xD

 

The ideas and concepts on the forum are fantastic and are all quite original in their own way. All thanks to DE for making the world but not filling  it hmmm..?

Wait, arcs? I thought ROSING made only the one story

[Zibbs]

well that =3 . Was not really sure what to call it xD

[FiveHours]

But a good one at that, isn't it?

[Zibbs]

Very good. Slightly rushed but I'm not complaining. =3

[FiveHours]

Perhaps you could take it to his/her thread then, instead? I don't think we should discuss someone else's story here.

[Kalenath]

 

Horror

 

Mei ran.

 

It wasn't supposed to be like this. She had just arrived for goodness sakes. Healer Iriana and the staff of the hospital had all been welcoming. She still wore her warframe, but the hospital's rule of 'no weapons' was one she had taken seriously. Not that she really needed a weapon normally, even in a Trinity warframe. Geared for healing the frame might have been, but it was as all of the others, a living suit of armor that she alone could wear. A weapon in human form despite her wishes to just be a simple medic.

 

Iriana had just dropped her off for the newly come Tenno's first shift, promising to come by and see how she was doing when all hell had broken loose. The first warning anyone had received was when unprotected humans started dropping. Mei had hit the alarm of course. Nothing had happened. No one came to her screams for help. No one responded when she called over the com. That made no sense at all. But it got worse.

 

A few scans had shown that everyone in the area was affected by some kind of sedative gas. It wasn't in any of her warframe's databanks and nothing in the ones she had access to. When she tried to query the Tower systems, there hadn't been a response. She had heard a muffled cry in her mind on the way to the tower, but it hadn't repeated and nothing else had happened so she forgot about it in the rush to get acquainted with her new job. But now?

 

There was an aching silence in her mind. A hole. Until she focused on it, she hadn't noticed it. But now? She did. The Lotus was gone. This was no coincidence. Not the guide of the Lotus and the Tower systems suddenly going silent at the same time. Add to that the gas, which seemed just to have put everyone to sleep and that equaled an attack. But by who? Who would dare? Who would be capable? She corrected herself grimly. The Corpus, Grineer and Infested would attack if they could find the tower. But they couldn't. Frankly? This wasn't their style. Grineer or Infested would flood the place with clones or biological monstrosities, respectively. Corpus would send swarms of proxies. She had seen none of that.

 

She had been checking each patient in the ward, making sure none had complications from the gas when a new voice sounded in her mind. Not the Lotus. Another woman. Not one she knew, but the feel was familair. The message was short and to the point.

 

Mei, get out of there!

 

Mei had paused for just a moment and then a pair of... She wasn't sure what they were. They looked kind of like warframes. Sort of like a Rhino and Ember. But they were not Tenno even though they carried Tenno style weapons. They had seen her and immediately opened fire. Her frantic evasion had saved her life. The patient she had been tending... hadn't been so lucky. Maybe, if Iriana could get to the man in time, the Healer could do something. Maybe not. Mei had other worries. She was being pursued and she had no idea where she was going.

 

The good news was that she was far, far faster than any of her pursuers. She had always preferred modifying her warframe for speed rather than durability. She preferred to avoid enemies while setting up attacks of her own. So she left them in her dust.

 

The bad news? She had seen at least a dozen of the not-Tenno who kept trying to surround her. Her mobility was keeping her ahead of them for now, but that couldn't last. She was unarmed. They were not. She had been hit a few times, but her powers kept her healed. That would only last so long however. She hadn't planned for battle. She didn't have an aura artifact equipped. The one time she had tried Energy Vampire on an enemy it hadn't had any effect. So they were protected somehow. She was running out of power.

 

The only good news about all of this was that her pursuers seemed just as confused as Mei was about the layout of the place. And while it was unfamiliar, it was an Orokin tower. Before she had become involved with Oracle Janet, she had spent time with Tenno strike teams assaulting some of the forgotten places in the Void. So some of the architecture was familiar. Matter of fact...

 

Mei paused as she ran into a long, rectangular room. She stared from side to side and an unseen smile curved her lips under her Meridian helmet as she saw the long energy filled tube that ran the length of it. An elevator stood at the far end and a pair of doors were visible on the right side, down a set of stairs. She turned to the right and ran up an incline, taking a sharp left and throwing herself into space. The area was hard to navigate. It hadn't been designed for any normal person to run through. But then again, Mei wasn't a person, she was Tenno. As she had hoped, one of the grates far above the floor was open partway. But it was so far. She shook her head, she had little choice. Sooner or later she would be surrounded. Without the ability to use her powers and with no weapons against foes who were armed, her chances were slim. Add to that, if the Tower systems had been subverted, then any portal would be unusable. She had not brought her ship. She hadn't planned on needing it. She froze as the door she had passed opened again and a horde of things swept out. She swallowed hard. None of them looked like Tenno. All looked wrong. A few of them were humanoid in form, but as she watched from her high vantage, some of them were morphing. Shapeshifters of some kind? She had never heard of anything like that. Or, if she had, she didn't remember. Cryo had taken its toll on Mei just as it had taken its toll on most Tenno, the long term effects of being frozen destroying much of the being's memory no matter how well stored.

 

She was...

 

Without warning, Mei was catapulted from her vantage point. A dim part of her mind saw one of the forms below lowering a Vectis. She had been so fixated on the others that she hadn't seen the sniper scanning the area. Mei fell. She scrabbled for the edge, but another shot hit her and she was falling. Tenno in warframes had a great advantage when falling. Their energy could be used in a number of different ways to slow the descent or to dampen the impact with whatever surface  they hit. But that presumed that there were no enemies tracking said Tenno as he or she fell. Mei felt multiple impacts, pain erupting as her armor was breached. She snarled and focused, trying to alter her descent, but it was no use. A closer range blast threw her to the side. She landed on her feet on top of the tube filled with energy, but she was surrounded by the things. At least two dozen of them. She didn't bother to talk. As the armed ones took aim, she threw herself into the area between the energy tube and the railing. The area below was dark and filled with machinery that she did not recognize. But if it was the choice between maybe dying by her own hand or letting these odd beings kill her, she would take her chances elsewhere.

 

She startled them. That was the only explanation why half a dozen weapons missed as she threw herself into the blackness. She was about to exult when another stunning impact drove consciousness from her. She never felt the impact when she hit the first pipe. It was a mercy that she didn't feel the other dozen things she hit before striking bottom.

 

***

 

"Pity." The Vectis armed infiltrator shook it's head as it stared down into the pit. "That one was strong. It would have made a good slave."

 

None of the others replied and the mass of beings who had joined the pursuit of the fleeing Trinity broke up. They had much to do and not a lot of time.

 

"Tower systems." The sniper said quietly. "I want to know how far down the thing fell. Can we recover the warframe?" The materials would be useful when recycled. The biomass likewise. The mind within was useless and would be discarded if it could not be enslaved.

 

A burst of static answered the query and the sniper sighed and pressed a control. A metallic scream sounded and then a voice.

 

-Negative.- That was all the voice said and the sniper paused, it's hand halfway back to the control.

 

"Why not?" The sniper demanded as two others turned back to listen.

 

-Unable to comply- The machine sounded reluctant.

 

"The Healer still resisting." One of the others said quietly. "Even clamped into a converter, she is resisting. She is telling the systems to resist as well."

 

"Fine." The sniper pressed the control and held it down, listening to the scream that came from the speaker. "We need the Healer. We need her codes and her knowledge. The rest? Convert them all." It shook its head.  "Get one of our slaves to check the area below. If we can find the warframe, we can recycle it even if it is in pieces." Both of the others nodded and a golden skinned form approached. It stood stiffly, awaiting instructions. The sniper looked into the pit and nodded. "Find the warframe and bring it back for recycling."

 

It picked up the slave and tossed it into the chasm. The corrupted mech did not even have the volition to scream. Then the sniper turned and left the area. They had much to do and little time.

 

***

 

Mei woke with a scream that she strangled with the skill of long practice. Loud Tenno usually did not live very long in the field. She jerked and stared around. She was lying on some kind of platform. A tiny thing that hung over the depths of blackness that arched all around her. She took stock. She was alive but her warframe was battered. Pain flared as she tried to move and she stared down at the piece of metal that extruded from her left leg. The warframe had kept her alive but it hadn't been able to stop the sharp end of the pipe from skewering her. Armor was all well and good, but even warframe armor had limits. A sharp enough object driven -or impacted- at high enough speed could penetrate. And it had, pinning her leg in place. That meant she was stuck. She tried to focus, to pull herself off the pipe, but she could not. As strong as she was in the warframe, she had no leverage.

 

Lotus! Mei called, pleading. But it wasn't the Lotus that replied!

 

Mei! The unknown woman who had warned her came over the com. Her voice was kind. Soothing and gentle. Despite her fear and pain, Mei felt herself relax a little. How bad is it?

 

I am alive, but I am stuck. Mei said with a grunt as she tried to pull herself off again. Who are you?

 

The Lotus is incapacitated for a time. I am Mariposa and I am her surrogate for a bit. The other replied. What happened?

 

Couldn't get away. Mei said with a sigh. Tried to run, tried to hide. I was hit and fell into a chasm. I am not at the bottom, but I hit a pipe and it penetrated my leg armor. I am stuck.

 

Do they know where you are? Mariposa's voice was taut with worry now and Mei could relate.

 

I don't- Mei broke off as a golden form came into her view. It was floating on some kind of antigravity field. Oh crap. Then she relaxed. It was one of the Tower's mechs. One of the Tower mechs just found me.

 

Probabilities say they are all likely subverted. Mariposa said quickly. Play dead!

 

Mei did not argue. She remained limp as the mech scrutinized her. The mech hovered closer, it's hands grabbing for Mei. Despite everything she could do, a scream tore from her throat as it yanked her free of the pipe. It looked at her and a beam of energy played from its face. She squirmed, trying to avoid it, but it hit her and she quailed as her warframe suddenly powered down.

 

That isn't possible! Mei screamed into the darkness she was consigned into as all of her senses failed. Total darkness. Total silence. For a long, terrible moment, there was no response. Then Mariposa's voice sounded like thunder in the stricken Tenno's mind.

 

Mei, listen to me. You are only going to have one shot at this. Mariposa's mind was distant, but there and Mei grasped it with all of her might. Can you open your faceplate?

 

I don't... Mei felt madness start to seep in, but she squashed it ruthlessly. I don't know.

 

She forced her brain to move in a neural sequence that every young Tenno learned. Emergency override. She waited an eternity and then a click sounded. She fought back a gasp as light seared across her eyes. She was flying. No, she was being carried. She lay still in the golden arms as the dark walls flashed past. Then light beckoned. She forced her mouth to remain closed as the mech jolted to a landing and then started off, every step agony to her hurt leg.

 

What do I do? Mei begged as the mech continued. She could see a bit around her. The Tower was still. No noise. No nothing. It was as creepy as any of the abandoned Orokin towers. She halfway expected... Mei coudl not restrain a gasp as she saw a human woman lying on the floor nearby. She recognized the woman Pat. One of the medics in charge of the hospital. But a silver thing was enclosing the woman's face as Mei watched. Her eyes flicked her and there. She was alive! She was paralyzed or something.

 

Mei! Mariposa snapped as Mei tried to struggle to no avail. Her warframe was an inert mass of metal. A biotech straightjacket. If they realize you are alive, they will kill or convert you. Your only chance is to hide.

 

They have the Tower. The immobile Trinity pleaded. What can I do?

 

They have the Tower. Mariposa said quietly. But they do not have you. We will need real time intelligence inside the tower. So, you need to get away from them in a way that they think you are gone.

 

And how am I supposed to do that? Mei demanded with a mental snarl. I can't move!

 

I know. Mariposa's voice soothed Mei's fear. It will be dangerous These things are just as dangerous as Tenno if not more so. Most Tenno have honor. These do not.

 

What are they? Mei asked as she saw a group of the things carrying still human forms. One of them looked at her, but did nothing else as it carried the unconscious human to where a line of them lay. Another of the odd forms was placing small silver blobs on each human's head. Mei tried not to gag as each blob grew to encompass a human's head. Man, woman, child, injured, hale, it made no difference. Each was treated the same.

 

They call themselves 'The Forgotten'. Mariposa said softly. And they were. They kept to themselves until they felt they had a decent time to strike. Their first attack critically injured the Lotus and may have cost us Oracle Janet. We do not know.

 

Why are they doing this? Mei begged as a door head opened. She quailed as she saw a recycler open wide. Wide enough to receive her warframe and all.

 

Get ready, Mei. Mariposa said firmly. To your left, low down. A panel. Is it open? Mei looked and yes, the panel was there. Behind it, a small tunnel gaped.

 

Yes. Mei replied, steeling herself as energy started to coruscate inside the recycler.

 

The recycler has a tray on which the mech will lay you. As soon as it does, you need to exit the frame and get into the duct. Mariposa instructed. It will be narrow, but you should be able to fit.

 

But... the mech... Mei protested as she started the unsealing sequence. It will see me.

 

The mech was ordered to recover your warframe and recycle it. Mariposa said softly. Nothing was said about the occupant. The Tower systems are still fighting the control, but they are losing ground. The systems will delay the recycler dumping the warframe in, but it can only do so for a few seconds, be ready!

 

I am ready. Mei swallowed hard as she finalized the commands and her warframe opened down the back. The mech set her warframe down on its face and she slid out of it. She rolled away, arms up in a warding gesture, but the mech just stood back, eyeing the warframe as it plunged into the recycler. Mei gasped as pain fared across her neural link. She hadn't know that would happen. She shook herself firmly and slid into the duct, ignoring the pain in her leg. She glanced behind her and stared as the mech turned and left the room without even looking at her. Slick.

 

We do not have lot of time, Mei. Mariposa said sternly. Follow that duct three junctions and then turn left. The access ways should all be open.

 

Where am I going? Mei asked. And does Karl know about this?

 

Remembering Karl always warmed her heart He was so many things. A peerless warrior and paragon of honor. A legend in so many ways. Her cheeks burned as she remembered other things, but now was not the time.

 

In reverse order, yes Karl knows about this and he is very unhappy. Mariposa's tone conveyed worry. And...

 

You are going back in time.

 

[Zibbs]

My bad then xD

[Shadow977]

I don't think bringing time travel into this is a good idea Kal. It tends to screw up everything.(See Sonic '06 etc.)

Unless you're talking metaphorically then it's fine.

[BaIthazar]

please tell me that "going back in time" is purely a figure of speech..

please don't bring time travel into this, it goes wrong 9/10 times

[WarOverlord]

please tell me that "going back in time" is purely a figure of speech..

please don't bring time travel into this, it goes wrong 9/10 times

I think you mean 27/10 

Numbers get screwed up when you mess with time...

[Temperance000]

"The timeline was already this broken when I found it, I swear!"

-Ekko, "The Boy Who Shattered Time," League of Legends

 

Yeah, time travel has historically proven to be all sorts of messy.  I would suggest taking refuge in a scheme-proof bunker, but then we'd be packed in like sardines with a bunch of Mary Sues.....

 

*sigh* Oh well, always did love waking up to a Kalenath-nuke in the face.

[FiveHours]

And how might Kalenath dig himself out of this one? 

[Spikey844]

Time travel?

 

Oookaaayyy... This will really be interesting. 

[evafan002]

well S#&$ things MUST be bad if they are sanctioning time travel... wheres that dragon with an assault rifle when you need him.... also the forgotten? well if what they have done so far is any indication no wonder people wished to forget their very existence

[Kalenath]

 

Trapped

 

Back in time? That is insane!

 

There was no reply from whoever Mariposa was. Mei was alternating a stooped walk and crawling through the ducts. None of them were large enough for a person to stand. Which was good. She had managed once to get past a half closed hatch, but she despaired if she encountered one that was sealed. She had no hacking equipment, no way of cutting through-

 

"Hsst."

 

Mei froze in place as a hiss came from the shadows of a tiny duct that crossed her path. She stared at the duct, but she couldn't see anything in it. Nothing human size could have possibly fit in it though. She edged to the far wall and went totally still as a voice came from the darkness inside the duct.

 

"We don't have a lot of time." The voice was male. Or... sort of. It sounded... off. "You are Mei." It wasn't a question.

 

"Who are you?" Mei demanded, her hands up in a warding gesture. If this was one of the shapeshifters...

 

"My name is Matril." The voice said quietly. "Quick. How did you trip Karl into bed?" Mei jerked and shook her head. "Look, we don't have time to chase our tails. Answer the freaking question!"

 

"How do I know you are not one of them?" Mei demanded. "A shapeshifter could..." Her words trailed off as a small furred form stepped into the light at the end of the duct. It was a calico cat. Or...something that looked like a calico cat.

 

"Because according to the limited intel I have developed since Iriana's scream woke me up..." The cat said as if it were perfectly reasonable for a cat to be speaking. "They cannot shift their shapes into anything my size. They have too much mass. They have to keep their shapes vaguely human sized."

 

"You are talking." Mei felt faint, but the cat just smiled as only a cat could.

 

"And you are mistress of the obvious." The cat had plenty of snark it seemed. "Answer the question or I vanish and leave you to fend for yourself."

 

"I got him drunk." Mei said quietly. The cat looked at her and she blushed a bit. "I did."

 

"Okay." The cat jumped out of the tiny duct and walked up to Mei who stood frozen as he brushed up against her leg. "We have problems. They have the tower, but it is trying to keep some of its parts free. They got Healer Iriana."

 

"No." Mei breathed, horrified. "What will they do to her?" The cat shook his head.

 

"I don't know. Nothing good. We can't help her, not just the two of us." He said reasonably. "There are a lot of these 'Forgotten' things. I have counted three dozen. But they keep arriving. Not sure from where, haven't been able to see the portal controls."

 

"What can we do?" Mei begged, feeling her fear start to rise. She fought it back. This was bad, no question. But she was Tenno. She would not surrender.

 

"Come on." Matril started off down the larger duct. "We need to get somewhere that they cannot scan us when they finally do get the tower under their control completely."

 

"Do you have any idea what they are or why they are doing this?" Mei asked as she followed, trying to ignore the oddity of following a cat.

 

"No." Matril's voice was angry now. "Woke up hearing Iriana scream and ran for the ducts. Couldn't do anything else. Not against a bunch of things with guns." Now sorrow overlaid his tone.

 

"Me neither." Mei sighed. "No weapons, so I just ran. Did Mariposa contact you?"

 

"Who?" Matril paused, turning to stare at the Tenno who flushed a bit.

 

"I don't know for sure." Mei admitted. "She told me to flee, just in time. She was on the same wavelength as the Lotus, but she isn't the Lotus. Mariposas are flowers just like lotuses. I think." She shrugged. "She helped."

 

"Don't know her." Matril's voice was flat. "Can't trust her." Mei bristled a bit and the cat shook his head. "Look, as far as you know it could have been one of those 'Forgotten' things."

 

"So how do you know what they are called?" Mei demanded, stopping short. Matril turned to look at her. "I didn't until she told me."

 

"I looked them up while I had database access. Not a lot there, but what is there is terrifying." Matril snapped. "We do not have time to debate here. The Tenno will launch an assault sooner rather than later, and if these things are half as smart as I think they are, the Tenno will walk right into a trap designed to stop them." Mei stared at him and the cat snarled. "Don't tell me Tenno are invincible. I know better."

 

"We are not." Mei replied, suddenly scared. But not by the gloom of the duct. If Karl and his people attacked, and these things were ready for them... "Come on." She started off, moving faster. Matril shook his head and loped ahead of her. "How far?"

 

"Not sure." Matril replied. "I was checking the ducts for the Healer. I can go places that humans and drones cannot. But this place is huge. Hundred of levels. This is one of the oldest though."

 

"She said I had to go back in time." Mei mused. Matril stared at her and she smiled a bit wistfully. "I didn't think she meant actual time travel. Even if that is possible, which I do not know if it is or not, it is forbidden."

 

"Well good." Matril grunted. "What little I know about the idea makes me want to barf. Too much math and way too many bad outcomes if anything goes wrong."

 

"True." Mei ducked to avoid a low hanging pipe and continued. "So, go to the oldest section of the Tower and do... what?"

 

"The records for this section are ancient and hard to decipher even for linguists." Matril sounded uneasy now and Mei could not blame him. "Of which I am not one. I have some files on the structure and..." He broke off as Mei stopped. She didn't have a choice. The cat stared at why she had stopped. "Oh boy."

 

The door ahead of them was not large. It was sturdy. Just looking at it, the architecture was ancient. It didn't look quite like the surrounding area. It also hadn't been opened in a long, long time as was seen by the deep rust that pitted the molding around it.

 

"I am betting that this is where we were supposed to go." Mei said a bit weakly. "But..." There was no locking mechanism. No keypad. No way to open it. "How do we get in?"

 

"Any writing anywhere?" Matril was examining the parts of the door he could reach carefully. "I don't see or sense any mechanisms."

 

"No." Mei said after a moment of searching. "Why build a door in a duct anyway. These are for maintenance transit, right?"

 

"Some of them are." Matril said fiercely. "Not all. There are all kinds of tunnels throughout this place. Some for fluids, some for wastes. Some of air. The one we have been on was for air, but... not used recently. None of the fans I found were functioning."

 

"Good." Mei said with feeling. "Didn't relish the thought of having to jump through such a thing without a warframe." Matril smiled at her and she smiled back. But then she frowned. "A door is meant to control access to an area. So...whatever is here was not meant to accessed."

 

"At least not under normal circumstances." Matril agreed. "But almost any door has some kind of override. I don't see anything." Mei nodded, but her eyes were speculative as she stared at the door. "What?"

 

That crack." Mei pointed to the left side of the door. "Does that look rusted to you?" Matril leaned forward and shook his head.

 

"Not rusted, no." Matril extended a paw and claws came out. "Let me..." He gave a screech as Mei batted him to the side. Just in time. Both stared as a beam of energy played across where the cat had been. A faint smell of scorched fur was detected.

 

"Are you all right?" Mei begged the cat who nodded.

 

"Just singed." He showed her his paw which had a blackened piece of fur. He started licking it. "Thanks."

 

"Something hidden and well defended." Mei shook her head. "Any attempt to force it will trigger the defenses." She shook her head. "We are stuck." Just as she said that, a rumble sounded and both jumped back as the door opened. "What the hell?"

 

"I didn't do anything." Matril said slowly. "You didn't do anything..."

 

"Actually she did." A new voice spoke. Mei knew the voice. She stared into the room and a holo of a woman in a full face mask stood. She was smiling. It was not the Lotus, but the garb was similar if of different colors. "The code to open the door is 'We are stuck'."

 

"You are kidding me!" Mei and Matril both exclaimed as one.

 

"When this place was built, the people building it wanted something simple and easy to remember." The holo said calmly. "I am Mariposa, I stand for the Lotus while she is injured. She will not be out of action for long but we do not have a lot of time."

 

"What is happening?" Mei demanded as Matril stepped forward, carefully scouting the small room. It had a bed and a desk with a terminal. A wall dispenser showed food and drink available. Nothing else. The cat jumped up on the bed, kneaded it for a moment and then jumped to the chair. He stared at the terminal and then at Mei. "What?"

 

"This place has full access." Matril said slowly. "This is..." He shook his head. "This cannot be..."

 

"This is where the supervisor lived when the tower was under construction." Mariposa said calmly. "Yes, it has access to everything the Tower has built. But you must move quickly. You must take the systems offline."

 

"What?" Mei demanded. "Why?"

 

"Because the Forgotten will have full control in a few minutes." Mariposa was still calm. "And when they do, they can either shift the Tower's entrance somewhere else or fortify to the point that any conceivable assault is suicide. Even for Tenno." The masked woman shook her head. "We cannot stop them. We can only slow them down."

 

"But... without the Tower systems..." Mei said softly. "The inhabitants will die." All of the hospital staff. All of the patients. "The systems control life support." Matril coughed and she looked at the cat. "What?"

 

"This access can do that." Matril said with an odd look on his face as he scrutinized Mariposa. "But to do that, she has to join, doesn't she?"

 

"Join?" Mei demanded. Mariposa's visible face was sad now.

 

"Mei, it is the only way." Mariposa said sadly. "If they gain access to the full Tower, everyone here is doomed. You don't know what they will do. They will make more of themselves using the raw materials of the people here." Mei felt all of the blood drain from her face and Matril went stiff, his fur standing on end. "They will break Iriana and use her. If they gain this place as a secure base of operations, they can and will use it. It is conceivable that they could conquer everything in that case. We cannot let them do so."

 

"You are asking me to die." Mei said slowly. Mariposa nodded. "One life for many."

 

"I will do it." Matril said firmly, but Mei shook her head. "I will!"

 

"You are good, Matril." Mei said softly as she moved to the chair. "But your physical form cannot handle the stresses. I know about such things. I wanted... to be a doctor."

 

"Don't do this." Matril begged. "We don't know her!" Mei reached down to the cat in the chair and scratched behind his ears.

 

"Matril, do you want these monsters to win?" Mei asked kindly as she picked him up. Matril stared at her and shook his head silently. She gave him a pet and then laid him on the bed. "What do I do?" Matril shook himself, but slunk down on all fours to watch.

 

"We don't know if it will kill you or not, Mei." Mariposa said quietly. "This system hasn't been used since well before the collapse and never with a Tenno." Mei just looked at her and Mariposa slumped. "But it probably will. Sit down." She waved a transparent hand to the chair. Mei sat without comment. "There is a power switch on the right armrest. Turn it on and the interface will do the rest."

 

"All right." Mei nodded and touched the switch. Then she paused and looked at Matril. "Please tell Karl... I didn't love him. But I did. His heart was not for me. I wish it had been, but it was not to be. Tell him, from me, 'Honor is satisfied'."

 

"I will." Matril sounded a bit husky, but his eyes were clear.

 

"Thank you." Mei smiled a bit forlornly. "Try to save Iriana if you can. If not, make it quick." The cat nodded.

 

She pushed the switch.

 

***

 

None of the Forgotten had any idea what was happening. All of them reacted on instinct, readying for battle, as the lights of the Tower flickered. All of them.

 

"Tower systems!" One of them demanded as it worked to secure the last of the slaves. "What is happening?" There was no reply. He -it wasn't really a male, but it copied one generally- called the team in the computer core. "What is happening?"

 

"We don't know!" Came an aggravated response. "The Tower is not responding to anything. Not our overrides. Not our controls. Nothing. We have control of the area, but not the systems. It is as if it went into a reboot."

 

"That is not possible." Two other voices chimed in. The Tower systems controlled everything. From the air to the reactors to the gravity to the waste reclamation systems.

 

"I know." The irate response came. "If it had, we would all be dead of asphyxiation or blown to atoms. Since that hasn't happened, I have no idea what is happening or why. We are still in control, but it is local only."

 

"Any sign of intruders?" The first speaker demanded. A chorus of negatives came back. "Good. We will shore up the defenses, set the defenses to local control only. That means we need attendants at each entry and exit. We have enough personnel, but we will need more. I will begin the changes."

 

The com clicked off as he strode to where a line of still forms lay by one wall. He shook his head and turned to another room.

 

"Healer..." His voice was low and mocking. "Time to rise and shine and serve your maste- Urk!"

 

The triangular shaped mono-molecular edged blade went right through the neck of his form. That wouldn't kill him. He was a shapeshifter after all. But it did deny him his voice for a moment and that was a moment too long. A sharp crack sounded and he was pinned to the wall staring at... the dark forms with visored helmets that stood just inside the room. One held a Grineer submachine gun in a professional grip. The other a pair of pistols. The darker form in red and black armor that was gathering the still form of Healer Iriana up in strangely gentle arms. The helmet of the red and black form was silver, like some of the slaves. But none of the rest of it was. All of the other slaves were being encased from head to foot. Iriana lay in the dark warframe's arms, her own skull encased by the converting device. She had been fighting it, but she was weakening, it was spreading down her neck.

 

"You things just made a serious mistake." The voice from the dark warframe was awful. Pain and fear and horror all mixed with rage. "Set it!"

 

The soldier or whatever it was with the submachine gun nodded and bent down. The Forgotten warrior quailed as he saw a small device start to glow. The readout on it was counting down.

 

"Oh don't worry." Stalker said with a snarl. "That will only take out the room. I know the others will feel you die and I want the rest of them to suffer." His laugh chilled the room as a golden archway appeared behind him. Both soldiers moved through it. "And I want you scum to remember. You started this. We will end it."

 

Something pounded on the door as Stalker stepped backwards into the archway and it vanished. But the stricken shapeshifter could only watch as the countdown reached zero.

 

The bomb was small. It only blew the room to atoms. But shrapnel killed three more of the shapeshifters as they breached the door.

 

***

Iriana woke with a scream.

 

"Easy, Ma'am." A soft female voice came from the side and Iriana turned her eyes to it. But she couldn't see! She felt metal all over her skull. "We are trying to get it off. I don't know if we can."

 

"Another trick." Iriana slumped. "I won't help you. I won't."

 

"Healer Iriana, it is all right." A hand found hers and it didn't feel like one of the shapeshifter's hands. "We got you out. They wanted you alive to serve. To use."

 

"Liars." Iriana said weakly as fatigue soared up to claim her.

 

"We are not lying, Ma'am." The other said quietly. "And we will prove it."

 

***

 

"Sir."

 

The medic did not want to say. But the subject of her words nodded and she was sworn to his service just like the two guards behind him.

 

"Speak."

 

"It is growing." The medic said softly. "I slowed it, but I can't stop it. I stopped it for you, but it was on your armor. This has intricately merged with her flesh. I do not know if anything can stop it." She bowed her head, waiting. "I failed."

 

"You did not fail, Medic Wilmi." The dark apparition who had demanded her oath of silence before showing himself to her said quietly. She had known him of course. But not as he truly was. Now? She was trapped. He was just as devoted to justice as ever. More than any of the Arbiters of Hexis had even guessed. "If you cannot fix it, we will find someone who can."

 

"I, Arbiter Kat, this is... beyond my ability." She slumped a bit, but his hand on her shoulder was gentle. "It may be beyond anyone's."

 

"It may be." Stalker said quietly. "But we have to try. I don't matter. She does. They took her because she can probably figure out a way to stop this. So..."

 

"We need her to help us."

 

Edited June 2, 2015 by Kalenath

[renleech]

This time travel reminds me of RTS game C&C : Yuri's revenge. In that game, Yuri's plan was too well built to give a chance for retaliation. Time travel was the last resort. But there, the people from the past believed what happened in the possible future. Will Mei have this luxury?

 

At the same time, time travel creates a dangeous precedent, already explored in Marvel and Terminator franchise. New timelines are created and nothing is ever solved for good. Considering this line of thought, can these "Forgotten" be truly defeated? Master Mold and the Skynet were never defeated...  when i say defeated, i mean annihilated, no chance of returning at all.

 

And people say extermination is not necessary...

Edited May 30, 2015 by renleech

[Spikey844]

We all jumped to the obvious conclusion. And we have just been shown that going back in time does not necessarily mean physically.

This is going to get really interesting.

 

Also Kal are you in the Mod queue for posts? Your posts sometimes appear behind other posts.

Edited June 2, 2015 by Spikey844

[S3EK3R]

Awesome! We got pretty good things set up now. The Arbiters are finally involved in a meaningful way. Great work as always!