[Fanfiction, Now With Second Dream Spoilers] Fear The Silence, Fear The Screams

[Knayles]

Final Journal Entries of Sgt Velix, Corpus.

We had never been afraid of the cold emptyness of space, but the Tenno taught us well to fear the silence. You never hear them coming, and most times you're dead before you know they're even around. They attack without warning or mercy, murdering any and all in their path.

We thought the silence was all we had to fear, until SHE came along. I heard it today, the pained and agonizing scream of a tortured mind. She was the first Tenno to break the silence. We turned our guns on her and fired with everything we had, but how do you kill something that feels no pain? She charged straight through our bullets and ripped us to shreds one by one with her claws, the one they call Valkyr.

 

I don't think she even fired a single shot.

 

She mowed us down like weeds without even flinching as our bullets broke themselves upon her. It is my belief that the bleeding only made her stronger. My men never stood a chance.

 

I write this now as I cling to my last breaths; a warning. If you hear the scream of the Valkyr and you wish to survive, run away. Run as fast as you can and never stop.

 

 --  Edit --

 

#2; Excerpt from Excalibur's Log:

Today we infiltrated another cryotic mining facility to replenish our stocks, the Dojo is growing and we're in short supply. We flew our Lisets in close and dropped down in the heart of the facilities, a risky move but Rhino insisted. Along with him came Mag and Valkyr - whom hadn't said a single word to us since we first encountered her. Today she insisted on joining us when she learned we would be defending our drills from Corpus engineers.

 

The landing went smoothly, to my surprise. The corpus didn't detect our presence immediately but the silence didn't last long. 

"Spread out, move quietly until you find a mark" I instructed the others. "I'll take point and-" that was my last word before Valkyr took off. I could tell from the moment I first saw her that she'd be trouble, she isn't like the rest of us. I have my doubts even still that she's one of us at all.

 

She cried out with a maddened scream and charged ahead of us through the snow, Rhino was hot on her heels. I called out to them but neither regarded my words. Mag and I chased after the pair, we heard gunfire and the shrieks of MOA's before we even caught up. Valkyr had dropped her shotgun somewhere along the run and was ripping apart anything she could touch; MOA's, Engineers, Control Panels, it didn't matter. Rest assured if it was breakable, she broke it.

 

Rhino was covering her, iron-skinned and gunning down Ospreys or anything out of Valkyr's reach. I thought for a moment that we might have to abort the mission, Valkyr's disregard for orders was going to make it a challenge either way, but then Rhino surprised me.

IT seemed like hours later when the fighting was finally done, we must have killed every last Corpus in the facility. Valkyr was still smashing everything in sight, just ripping corpses apart and crunching broken machinery into smaller bits. That's when Rhino shocked us all.

 

He'd always been a loner, that one. He kept himself alive with his Iron Skin and his brute strength but seldom protected others. Today he saved Valkyr, I think, though not physically. He took her from behind and held her tight in his arms while she screamed and flailed her arms. 

 

She was like a rabid kubrow, or worse, just determined to destroy anything in her path.

 

Rhino held firm, he held tight, and he held Valkyr back until she tired herself out. Once she was under control we were able to plant some drills and get the Cryotic we needed, but I don't think we'll be taking her on another mission any time soon. 

Funny thing is, I thought I heard crying as Rhino held her.

 

#3: Nova's Log - Regarding the Tenno

It's been a while since I joined the others in their assignments. I remember how excited I was to finally be out in the depths of space with my brothers and sisters. It seemed like forever - the time I spent being observed by the Council, watched and studied like a lab rat. Out here every day seems like only a fraction of what it should be. Every minute is like the blink of an eye, ever hour like a second, with so much to see and so much fighting to be done!

 

It hasn't all been sunshine and stardust though, there have been some gruesome battles. We've fought hard and long, there were even a few battles I thought we may not win but my fellow Tenno helped me see it through. 

I'm glad that I'm not the newest Tenno in our Dojo anymore, it felt weird being the new one. The pressure has been lifted, so to say, though the newer recruits are even odder than I, I think. 

Take Valkyr for example; She sits alone in the darkest corners of the Dojo and never moves unless there's talk of a mission. Even when we're in flight to our target destination she just sits at the back of the Liset and stares at the wall as if she were made of Rubedo. She's a completely different person in battle though, it's as though she's lost without a fight. Like she just can't live without something to destroy. 

 

Excalibur is kind of boring too, but in a different way. He's always so serious, always planning and taking charge. I guess I respect him for trying to lead us like that.

I like Rhino, he doesn't talk much but he seems friendly regardless. He can usually be found near Valkyr though he keeps his distance. 

Frost is cool, <laugh> although he seems way too protective of me. I guess because I'm so young he sees me as the littlest sister, every time we fight together he sticks to my side and keeps me within his snowglobe for safety. 

 

I like Trinity, she's very nice. She keeps our spirits up, both on and off the battlefield. I hope I can be like her someday...

 

I don't know what to say about Chroma, I heard so many stories and the Lotus seems amazed that he even exists. I think we're going to learn a lot from him if he ever opens up. He seems very withdrawn, he's quiet like Rhino but I don't get that same friendly feeling from him. I don't know what to make of it.

 

Ember is my favorite, she's very confidant and bold. She's brash sometimes, hot tempered. <chuckle> She likes challenging the rest of us to do our best though, she's very inspiring. 

 

Loki makes me laugh. He's always doing something silly when we're not in the middle of a battle. Yesterday he tried a dozen different times to make Valkyr smile but it didn't seem to work. It got a laugh out of me though <chuckle>

 

Mag is the smart one, she's usually by Excalibur's side helping him plan or with Vauban making some kind of adjustment to the Liset. She seems to get along best with Vauban. I think he likes her too, she's the only one he really accepts any help from. Trinity offered to help him once, he said "You can help by letting me alone, the complexity of these devices is too astounding for the neophyte mind."

 

I've only fought by Mesa's side once. She's very laid-back and relaxed usually, even in the middle of a gunfight. She probably talks more than any of the rest of us, I've seen her butt heads with Ember a time or two. They really like to push each other's buttons.

 

Mirage is...Strange. She can be unbelievably cheerful one minute and brutally sinister the next. 

 

Nekros creeps me out. He just stands there staring at the rest of us. 

 

Volt is highly energetic. I mean very, very energetic. He gets anxious when he's not busy with something. He twitches when he's bored, which is often. 

 

Saryn is...Well...She's pretty.

 

​ I nearly forgot about Ash, but there isn't much to say about him. He spends most of his time meditating and throwing shuriken around to improve his aim. Nyx spends a lot of time with him when we aren't at battle. They meditate together usually. 

 

Our enemies call us murderers, and we have a lot more enemies than allies. Sometimes I wonder if what they say isn't true. I hope we're the good guys.

 

#4; Excerpt from Loki's Logs

Ever since the shenanigans at the mining facility on Triton poor Valkyr has been nothing but a shell of her former self...Not that there was much there to begin with. "Commander Excalibur" had the poor girl grounded until he could figure out what to do with her and she's just completely lost without something to disassemble.

 

Fortunately for her she has a brilliant Tenno like me on her side.

 

The girl simply delights in carnage, destruction and mayhem so I decided "Why not send her to the Void?"  It made perfectly good sense to me, there are plenty of derelict ships overflowing with Infested creatures to be slaughtered and very little items of importance she could accidentally screw up. Excalibur was initially against the idea of course but to my surprise Rhino stepped forth and offered his trademark "Grunt of Approval"

 

There was a catch however, isn't there always one?

 

As it was my idea - and a brilliant idea it was - Excalibur absolutely insisted that I join her to make certain that she doesn't end up dead. Rhino of course offered yet another grunt in concurrence.

 

What dramatic irony.

 

Alas it shouldn't be too daunting a task for one so great as myself, I'll remain cloaked for a while at first and just observe while the Valkyr unleashes her insane fury upon the creatures. 

 

Time to deploy, send my love and affections to all the ladies - but not physically, that's for me alone.

 

#5; Excerpt from Nyx's Logs

Just returned to the Dojo. Big Brother is stressed about something, I can sense it. Whispers and Echoes tell me hints, but I don't need them to see that Loki and Valkyr are gone. Wherever they are gone I am certain they will be well, they are strong, as are we all.

 

Big Brother worries too much. He carries more weight than he needs. I do not believe he trusts all of us. I cannot sit in judgement of him though, even with my powers I find it difficult to read the Valkyr. Her mind is like a window of stained glass, many small pieces of different colors patched together but forming no clear picture.

 

The Rhino wants to help her but doesn't know how. I see in him the concern and the doubt. I wonder if the Valkyr can be helped. Perhaps I should join her on a mission and see if there is not more to her mind than the pieced-together shards I see when she is here in the Dojo.

 

>> 01000001 00100000 01100010 01110010 01101001 01100101 01100110 00100000 01110011 01110101 01101101 01101101 01100001 01110010 01111001 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01110010 01100101 01100011 01100101 01101110 01110100 00100000 01100111 01110010 01101001 01101110 01100101 01100101 01110010 00100000 01101101 01101111 01110110 01100101 01101101 01100101 01101110 01110100 01110011

 

>> Data Upload Complete

 

Thus completes today's mission. Big Brother needs me, I will file more logs when I am able.

 

#6; Loki and Valkyr

Loki punched in the coordinates of the derelict ship, coordinates the foundry had worked out through careful triangulation of nearly a dozen navigation segments. The Liset disengaged from the dojo and adjusted it's direction immediately, steering itself towards the designation. "Ventures in the void, operator?" chimed Ordis, chipper as always. The engines fired and the little ship darted away from the dojo station, top speed, stars blurring through the helm window.

 

The Liset steered itself - or more specifically Ordis steered it - and while that little ship warped through the eternity of space Loki trekked down to the back to check up on his charge. He'd find her exactly where he'd left her, the girl hadn't budged an inch from her nest since she'd gotten on board.

 

Just down the ramp and to the right, nestled into the niche between the foundry station and the nearest wall, Valkyr sat curled with her knees hugged to her chest and a thousand-mile stare aimed straight across the ship from herself.

 

"Such a patient woman" Loki commented, smirking at her. He knelt before Valkyr and tilted his head, peering into her vacant eyes. “How I wish sometimes that I could read minds.” he’d muse softly, sighing. “Come now dear, share a word.  Violence and mayhem aren’t the only ways to have fun you know.”

 

Valkyr’s stare never wavered, dead-ahead at all times. The femme-frame didn’t so much as bat an eyelash while Loki knelt in front of her. Unmovable, unshakable, unblinking. She was slightly discomforting in that way. “And I thought Nekros was the creepy one.” Loki would finally sigh, giving up the game. “You know we do have a stasis chamber.” he told Valkyr, standing. “Pop in, blink your eyes and before you know it we’ll be mutilating infested monstrosities however you like. Though I suppose if you prefer watching the walls rust you can just sit there until we arrive.”

 

Valkyr frustrated Loki more than anyone. She was utterly impossible to get a rise out of while all the others had something he could toy with. Getting on Rhino’s nerves was ever so easy to Loki, Excalibur was an easy tease as well. Nyx was a challenge, Nova was perhaps the most fun - such adorable reactions she would have to his teasing - but Valkyr simply refused to even acknowledge his antics. In his frustration he would trudge over to the Liset’s arsenal, scrolling through the myriad of weapons available. Loki was normally the laid back and crafty type, fighting his battles with refined weaponry but today Valkyr had put him in a mood. “Something explosive…” he grumbled, selecting the Angstrum.

 

Loki picked through the list of firearms and melee weapons available until he had the loadout he felt could do the most damage, thinking to himself that he might be able to strike a nerve in Valkyr if he could only do more damage than she. She did seem to revel in the slaughter after all.

 

The Liset’s engines pushed out the highest speeds they could, ferrying the two Tenno to their destination as quickly as time and space would allow. Valkyr never moved a muscle until the Liset closed in to dock with the derelict station. She picked up her helmet and slipped it onto her head, clasping everything into place before finally standing. “It’s alive!” Loki joked, equipping his own helm. “Going to bring some weapons or are you just planning on clawing everything to death?”

 

Valkyr’s silence answered Loki’s question.

 

The Liset docked and the hatch spun open, leading unto the dark and decrepit station on the other side. “Ladies first~” Loki chimed in a sweetened tone, offering the door to Valkyr. Without a word she stepped forth, passing through the hatch. Dim lights flickered and howls echoed through the halls, the walls crawling with sickness, overgrown plants consuming everything, broken orbs and consoles. Loki stepped into the derelict behind Valkyr, his gaze cast around at the decrepit sights within.

 

“Homely” he chimed, smirking in his mask. There wasn’t a living thing to be seen though - aside from the growths wiggling on the walls and floor. Loki wondered where everything was. “I guess they didn’t get the memo.” he joked, slapping a palm to Valkyr’s bottom. “Look at you, still calm and not rampaging all over the place.” Valkyr hardly even reacted to the spank aside from angling her head slightly to stare at Loki from inside her helm. “So how does that blind rage thing of yours work anyway?” Loki went on, nudging Valkyr with one elbow. “Gotta see some blood first? Hear the right word? Attack, kitten!”  Loki pointed forth and smirked, Valkyr was not so amused.

 

The Valkyr stepped forward, crushing those infested growths under her feet as she moved through the hall. “That didn’t work either, huh?” Loki spoke, stepping into line behind her.  Valkyr clenched a fist as Loki spoke, showing the first hint ever that she was annoyed by the trickster’s antics. “Does it only work around Corpus soldiers?” Loki continued. “Triggers bad memories huh? Yeah I’ll be-” Loki’s words were finally silenced when Valkyr spun around and pushed her forearm into his neck, shoving him back several steps and pinning him against a wall.

 

“Shut. Up.” she growled, snarling inside her mask.

 

Loki finally got what he wanted but it was not what he expected. Valkyr had finally said a word to someone and he got to be the first. She shoved herself away from him and turned herself ‘round to face the empty hall. Loki coughed once and rubbed at his throat. Valkyr then let out a roar, loud as her vocal cords could handle, echoing through the halls of the ship as far as it could carry. If there were anything alive on that derelict station she’d bring them to her.  “Well then…” Loki rasped hoarsely. “Guess this means dinner’s been canceled?”  He never did know when to quit. “Straight to the action, I like that in a woman.”

 

#7; Loki and Valkyr return

Loki and Valkyr returned to the dojo with spoils of aged orokin tech littering their liset. After the slaughter Loki had gathered up pretty much anything he could find that seemed to be of value while Valkyr withdrew to her usual corner. The Tenno knew that there was usually very little of value aboard the derelict ships, most of the orokin technology was broken or aged to dust but every once in a while one could be found with treasures intact, vaults with ancient relics ripe for the taking.

 

"I don't know what good this rubbish will do but I assumed Vauban would squeal with glee when he saw it." Loki chimed. Mag was the first to greet the pair on their return.  Valkyr didn't offer even so much as a casual nod as she stepped off the liset, her expression vacant and cold as usual. She made straight for the dueling room and would retire to yet another quiet corner to be alone. Mag summoned Rhino and Volt to help take inventory of the artifacts Loki brought with him. Excalibur caught up quickly.

 

"How did it go?" the big brother asked. "Did I miss Valkyr already or is she dead?"

 

"Quite the contrary." Loki chimed, smirking. "She liked it so much she decided to stay. Plenty of corpses to butcher, dim lights, booby traps-"

"Enough with the bullS#&$ just tell me how it went."

 

Loki chuckled lowly to himself and strolled around Excalibur with a bemused smile. "So tense brother, so antsy. If you don't find some time to relax your ! will completely implode one of these days."  He chuckled again while Excalibur's eyes rolled, a sigh escaping the elder brother. "Oh come on, lighten up. It all went quite smoothly actually, even better than I'd anticipated." Loki pat Excalibur's shoulder and walked past him, heading for the grand hall. After all that action and the lengthy flights he was quite hungry. He never mentioned the little incident with Valkyr, how she snapped and pressed him to a wall. Truth be told Loki wanted to see more of that. Not so much the choking, but the emotion. He wished he could have seen her with her mask off.

 

#8; Excerpt from Vauban's Logs

The dynamic dunces returned with a bevy of Orokin rubbish on their hands. That's right, rubbish. 83% of the scrap they scavenged from the derelict ship was utterly worthless and the rest was beyond repair; never send a cocky nitwit and a bumbling berzerker to salvage artifacts. Had it been my decision I'd have gone myself, but really anyone would make a better treasure hunter than those clowns.

 

As I said though, only 83% of the scrap was without value, and while the rest was irreperable I was able to salvage a hint of knowledge from it if nothing else. Combining my own intelligence with that of Mag and Ordis we were able to discover traces of power within the remaining artefacts, nearly burned out and beyond repair as I previously stated. These Orokin artefacts were powerful, once, and we may yet be able to find more out there - hopefully some of which might still be of use. I've sent a report of my analysis to the Council and I believe that if we are able to salvage more of this technology - in better condition - we may be able to integrate it into our warframes to amplify our powers further.

 

The council was skeptic, even the Lotus voiced her concern over the use of Orokin technology, but just think of the possibilities that could arise if we were able to harness that power.

 

Upon my adamant insistance I was able to convince Excalibur to approove of a salvage mission. I will take Mag and Nyx to scour the void for more of these Orokin vessels with the intent of recovering artefacts of great educational and practical value. If we are able to learn from this tech and adapt it to our needs we may just make another leap forward into the future.

 

#9; Berserker Rage

Vauban's gang had gone off in the Liset to seek Orokin artefacts in the void, leaving the others behind each to their own devices. The Mantis was sitting idle in the hangar bay, Excalibur in the observatory with Frost and Nova, Mesa was butting heads with Ember again in the dueling room, Ash was off somewhere meditating as usual, Saryn and Mirage were off somewhere doing...things...Volt was racing around the obstacle course and Loki was stalking Valkyr again.

Valkyr sat alone in one of the far corners of the Dojo, a room filled with water-lilies and paper lanterns. It was dark and seldom visited by the others, a great place for her to be by herself. The lily-pond was quiet and the dim little lamplights were relaxing how they flickered and fluttered in the dark.  She would sleep there sometimes, if she slept at all.

A bell sounded as another Tenno entered into the room, Loki, strutting his way across the wooden planks that formed a path over the water. “There she is!” he chimed, grinning as always. “Dark enough for you? Goodness it’s like we’re back on that orokin ship.”

He never knew when to quit.

Loki strolled across the hall as chipper as could be, his head held high and a spring in his step. He crossed the wooden planks to where Valkyr was perched, sitting on a ledge on the wall with one foot dangling off the side. She stared dead ahead as Loki approached, her gaze unwavering and lifeless as usual. She was already wishing he’d just piss off.

“The quaint gloomy charm suits you, you know? A perfect place for brooding and so on. It’s like a reflection of your inner self I think, all these little candles signify that fire in your soul. They’re on low right now but they can rage out of control if you let them.”

Valkyr just ignored him, tried to anyway. She knew if she got up to leave he’d just follow her, the pest that he is. Loki turned his back to the wall beneath Valkyr and leaned against it, one hand tucked under an elbow and the other stroking his chin.

“You’ve a lovely voice you know, you should use it more often. Like right now for instance. A one-sided conversation can be quite awkward you know. Not that I mind, I could chat for hours if you prefer.  I could tell you about some of the missions I’ve been on, or I could tell you about the other Tenno if you prefer. I don’t think you’ve had a chance to get to know any of us, always curled up somewhere dark and gloomy.” 

Loki looked up to see Valkyr’s foot dangling inches above his head. She was doing her best to ignore him. Loki lifted a hand to poke at the bottom of Valkyr’s foot and she quickly pulled the leg up out of his reach.

“Oh good, I thought you might have fallen asleep.” Loki smirked. “So what should we talk about? Personally I’d like to talk about you. Get under that hard shell of yours. You know I think everyone would be a little more comfortable with you around if they knew more about you.”

Loki looked up again, gazing for a moment at the edge of Valkyr’s ! he could see over the lip of the ledge she sat on. “Lovely” he would comment, stepping away from the wall. He had hoped to just coerce her into a peaceful chat but that didn’t seem to be working. Loki knew of only one surefire way to get her to talk and he had intended to save it as a last resort. He hesitated, knowing how badly this could end, but he felt something had to be done.

“…Maybe we can talk about the Corpus. What they did to you.” Dark waters to be treading, but Loki didn’t see an alternative. It got Valkyr’s attention sure enough, turned her eyes from the wall and onto him. He grinned as he met her gaze. “So what did they do to you, eh? All those experiments, turned you into a little lab-rat yes?” He never did know when to stop. “They said you were a by-product of the Zanuka project so tell me…Does that make you a failed experiment? Were you just there to be studied? Or were you really just an unintentional accident?”

Years of pushing other people’s buttons was about to bite Loki on the !. He thought he would be prepared for her this time; that he’d be ready when she freaked out. Aboard the derelict orokin ship she’d shown emotion for the first time. Anger, but emotion nonetheless. Loki wanted to see more of it, and this time he’d see it without the helmet on.  Valkyr’s lifeless stare had slowly turned into a glare filled with hatred and fury as Loki spoke on, and when he said the word ‘accident’ she snapped.

Valkyr dropped down from her shelf and swiped at Loki with her claws, growling at him in fury with each strike. Loki was prepared though, quick too, and dodged the first onslaught. He back-stepped along the wooden planks while Valkyr pursued and struck again.

“There it is!” he cheered, ducking and dodging. “The fire, the passion! That’s what I like to see in a woman!”

That annoying voice of his only infuriated Valkyr further, the fact that she wasn’t hitting him didn’t help her either. The rage amplified, she went from a growl to a roar and fought harder, faster! Loki was quick, swift, and even cunning. One thing he wasn’t was careful.  He back-stepped his way right off the edge of the wooden planks and fell on his ! in the knee-high water, his downfall, for just as he fell Valkyr was atop him. The berserker jumped down into the water and hit Loki hard in the face with a curled fist. He might have been knocked unconscious if not for years of experience in combat. Valkyr clutched him by the throat and hit him again, again, and again until the cunning trickster vanished from sight. Valkyr was left alone with empty hands and a raging fire still burning in her head.

 

#10; Rhino Rescue?

“Rhino, get to the southeast lily pond A.S.A.P.” came Excalibur’s voice over the dojo’s intercom. Rhino happened to be the closest to Valkyr when she went crazy and started assaulting Loki. He had vanished of course, leaving Valkyr alone to rampage around the room and tearing things apart in search of the invisible trickster. He’d taken quite a beating but he got away with his life. Unfortunately he was dumb enough to stick around and mess with the enraged Valkyr further.

A flash of light, an echo of gunfire. Valkyr turned her head to see the shimmering image of Loki firing his signature pistol at her from the left. She roared and charged him, thrusting a fist clear through the image. Another Decoy appeared to her right, she charged, then another, another. The decoy kept moving whenever she got close now, infuriating her further.

Damn Loki and his mind games. He wasn’t the only one who knew a few tricks though.

Valkyr summoned up her power and roared again, this time unleashing a wave of energy throughout the small room. Loki was knocked out of hiding and floored by the paralyzing energy, his position given away with another splash.  A deathly gaze filled with fury and hatred fell upon his form. Valkyr wanted him dead. She charged, splashing through the waters step after step until something else hit her from the side.

Rhino had arrived just in time to save Loki’s poor ! from extinction, the heavy THUMP THUMP THUMP of his feet was never heard by the enraged Valkyr. In her fury she’d gone blind and deaf to anything but Loki. Rhino intercepted her and tackled her down into the waters, holding her in another bear’s hug to keep her suppressed.

This time she would not calm.

“I’LL KILL HIM!” she roared, twisting and writhing in Rhino’s grasp. “I’LL KILL HIM, AND ANYONE WHO GETS IN MY WAY!”

The mercury-colored metal began to creep and crawl it’s way over Rhino’s form to protect him from Valkyr’s flailing while Loki staggered back to his feet. Now that Rhino was here he realized his fun was over and that there would be plenty of explaining to do. Valkyr continued to struggle, clawing at the ground in a desperate bid to pull free of Rhino’s grip.

“Good job, we’re on our way” came Excalibur’s voice again. He was suited up with Trinity and Frost, rushing through the halls of the dojo to catch up with the others.

Rhino’s grip held strong and firm on the berserk femme. Loki was confident that his grip would hold but Rhino was silently gritting his teeth knowing otherwise. The Valkyr fought every second, twisting, turning, slashing and gnashing.

Eventually the unbelievable happened.

Valkyr turned, her fury no longer fixated on Loki. Rhino was the one trying to stop her so now it was his turn to pay. She struck him across the face with her claws; once, twice, again and again until his iron skin was peeled away.  Her final strike cut flesh and the bear’s grip slacked. She shoved herself free and rolled quickly to her feet. Seeing this, Loki quickly said “Oh S#&$!” and vanished from sight once again. Rhino was left alone to deal with Valkyr until others could arrive.

 

#11; Beatdown

Rhino stomped his feet in the water and replenished his armor, the iron quickly coated his injured face again. He raised his fists in a defensive position and locked eyes with the Valkyr. He didn’t want to kill her, I fact he didn’t want to harm her any more than he needed, but that was his folly. Valkyr didn’t care, in her fury she wouldn’t hold back and for that reason she was the bigger threat.  She rushed him, right arm drawn back and feet sloshing through the water.  She punched, he deflected. She kicked, he blocked. For the first moment Rhino seemed to be keeping up with the berserker but with each blow she struck quicker and harder. Rhino swept away one blow after another until one finally slipped through his defenses and connected with his chest, another soon followed and soon Rhino was struggling to keep up with each strike. Had it not been for his iron skin he might have fallen all too soon.

The doors opened and Excalibur rushed into the room, accompanied by Frost and Trinity. Nova had been left behind in the observatory to watch on the monitors while the events unfolded. “Valkyr!” Excalibur shouted. He and his group had equipped their helmets, unlike Valkyr and Rhino who didn’t have the time. His voice went unheard by the berserker, her tunnel vision burning on Rhino for the time being. Excalibur and the others were able to catch her off-guard because of this, but it scarcely made a difference. Valkyr was much too strong in her rage.

Excalibur dashed forth and struck Valkyr in the side with his bo staff, striking as hard as his muscles could. The berserker was merely staggered by the attack which would have otherwise floored her had she not been numbed by her own boiling blood. It got her attention though. She turned and swiped at Excalibur, missing his head by inches as he ducked beneath the attack.

“Stop this now!” Excalibur barked, striking her again.

Valkyr growled and brushed off the blow again, this time gripping the bo firmly in her own hands. She and Excalibur wrestled for the weapon, glowering at one another with gritted teeth. Valkyr eventually thrust her knee up and snapped the bo in half, kicking Excalibur backwards afterwards. One-on-one any of the Tenno might have had a hell of a time battling her on these terms, but four-on-one? They had the upper hand now. Rhino grabbed Valkyr from behind, another bear hug to trap her, third time’s a charm? Unfortunately the grapple had lost it’s luster after so many uses, Valkyr jammed her heel down atop Rhino’s foot with enough force to shatter the bones and then twisted free, following up with more slashes at his face.  Rhino retreated for his own safety while Frost took a turn at stopping Valkyr. The water around their knees grew cold, white crystals formed on its surface and it quickly began to thicken. Valkyr’s rage and her movement kept the ice from overtaking her immediately but it was steadily getting its grasp on her legs. She felt the resistance halting her, the cold chilling her. The blood was still boiling in her veins but her legs were freezing on the outside. Her attention shifted from Rhino again, down to the ice around her. She growled and twisted and turned, frantically trying to break free.

“Good job Frost…” Excalibur commented, patting the cold one’s shoulder. Trinity rushed to Rhino’s aid, mending his injuries with her miraculous touch. Frost had to stay focused to keep the ice around Valkyr’s legs so in the meantime Excalibur was the only one free to approach her. He had brought a pair of manacles with him to bind Valkyr’s hands but he wouldn’t get the chance just yet.

 

Valkyr twisted, her furious gaze falling on Frost now. She raised an arm in his direction and launched another assault, nowhere near done with her rampage yet. The rip-line bolted from the bulky contraption on her forearm, whizzing past Excalibur to snag Frost. She pulled with all her might and sent the cold one flying towards her while the rip-line on her other forearm was shot towards the ceiling. When it lodged into the roof above she pulled herself out of the water – a mass of ice still clinging to her legs. Frost landed in the water where she’d previously been and she fell back down atop him, shattering the ice that bound her and crushing him at the same time.

“Volt, get in here!” Excalibur called out over the intercom, utilizing the comm device in his helmet. Volt was there seconds later, in time to interrupt Excalibur as he continued his message. “We need everyone here n-…”

Volt blazed past Excalibur and clotheslined Valkyr, dropping her back into the water. The berserker roared and rolled to her feet, quickly standing and slashing at the air. Another flash of light collided with her, moving faster than her eyes could see. Another hit, then another, another, and another! Volt was far too quick for the berserker and he was steadily wearing her down with each hit. In her mindless flailing she would scratch him a time or two but never did enough damage to slow the blazing speedster down. Eventually Volt came to a stop and pointed a finger at Valkyr, strands of white lightning jumping forth from his hand to the berserker. She was paralyzed at first, dropped to her knees and cringing, muscles clenched and locked up.

“Good job, keep her down Volt.” Excalibur said, keeping his distance this time.

Valkyr dropped to all fours next, hands and knees, fighting the electricity that was ravaging her. She crawled, in immense pain, towards Volt as he shocked her into submission. She would not be done in so easily, she refused. The berserker crawled and gritted her teeth, reaching out for the one who was stopping her. Another rip-line shot forth from her but Volt was quick enough to evade the hook with ease.  His electricity continued to eat at her, locking her muscles down, paralyzing. She let out a roar and lurched forward one final time before hitting the ground entirely.

She was done.

 

#12; Judgement

Valkyr had been bound in manacles of steel, her arms pulled tightly to her chest and chained to her. The others would not risk her becoming a threat again. The Tenno were gathered in the Observatory, all of them save for Vauban’s group who were still out on a mission and Loki who was lamenting the events of the day. Trinity was tending to Frost and Rhino’s injuries still while Excalibur punched commands into the console.

 

“Kind of impressive how she nearly annihilated the three of you~” Saryn chimed, her toxic honeyed voice striking a nerve with Excalibur.

 

“She’s a menace and she’s lucky I didn’t want her dead.” Excalibur answered, growling in his words.  

 

“There are other ways to deal with women you know.” Saryn smirked.

 

“Like you would have handled the situation any better. I doubt sleeping with her would have changed anything.” Excalibur growled again.

 

Saryn laughed at Excalibur’s biting words, they hardly stung her. She was known to be something of a seductress when she wasn’t slaughtering enemies of the Tenno but those words didn’t bother her in the slightest. “You never know, a little bit of love might loosen her up some. It’s a good way to relieve stress. You should try it sometime big boy~” Saryn eventually bit back, smirking.

 

Excalibur grumbled under his breath and continued pounding on the console, trying to get in communication with Lotus. Saryn gently pat the top of Valkyr’s head before leaving her be. The berserker was back to her usual self, sitting quietly with her back against a wall – in chains – and staring a hole into the floor ahead of her. Many eyes were upon her, some looking on in anger, others in pity. She could feel their many looks like unwanted hands upon her. She looked calm to their eyes but inside she was still raging, their looks of pity were more irritating than Loki’s words.

 

“I’m going to suggest we have her exiled” said Excalibur, tapping a final button on the console. “We can’t trust her among us but she may still be of use if we drop her on Neptune or some planet with heavy Corpus activity.”

 

“I beg you to reconsider that” came Loki’s voice in reply. He had finally worked up the nerve to join the others, his face beaten and bruised from the fight.

 

“Oh my, Loki…” Trinity chimed, hurrying over to see to him.

 

Loki pushed the healer aside even as she tried to help him and stepped forward, approaching Excalibur. He could only see through one eye, the other swollen up and sore, but he locked his gaze with the other’s and stood firm. “It’s my fault. If you’re going to blame anyone let it be me. She wouldn’t have lost her temper if I hadn’t pushed her to it, you can check the surveillance footage if you don’t believe me. I…I knew that if I pushed her enough she would snap…But in my head I thought perhaps she might find room for healing if she was pushed so far that she finally broke. Her actions are a result of mine and I claim full responsibility.” 

 

He stayed firm and kept his head high, determined. Valkyr rolled her eyes at his speech.

 

“That doesn’t change the fact that she just tried to kill four of us.” Excalibur argued. “It may be your fault this time but it’s not the first time she’s lost it and I’m sure it won’t be the last. She’s a menace and a threat to every one of us an-“

 

He was cut short by another voice interrupting, loud enough to be heard but calm and collected.

 

“Then just kill me and be done with it” Valkyr scoffed. She looked up, glaring with all her hatred at the two bickering. They looked at her in shock, surprised that she was actually speaking. “Don’t f***ing look at me like that!” she barked, baring her teeth. “You morons wonder why I hate all of you so much, why I snapped and tried to kill you?”  She stood up, chains rattling around her. “Ever since the day you found me you’ve all been looking down at me. Every single one of you! Whether it’s fear, mistrust or pity every one of you has looked down at me!”  She shouted, her voice echoing through the observatory room while the others looked on at her in awe. Some of them turned their heads in shame realizing that she spoke the truth; they had pitied her.  “Poor little Valkyr, all f***ed up and braindead. That’s what you think of me isn’t it? Those Corpus bastards may have ripped me apart and stitched me back together but you all have been treating me like an abomination since day f***ing one! They cut me open and poked around and took whatever they could from me but that’s fine. I can handle more physical pain than any of you can imagine. It’s you lot, looking down on me, talking about me behind my back, treating me like a pariah that makes me so sick I want to ruin everything in sight.” She moved closer to Excalibur, coming face to face with the one the others called big brother. Her gaze penetrated his, all her fury and rage burning a hole through his head as she spoke. “You’re the worst of them all, so hear this and hear it good. If you let me free I will kill you. It’s not that I’m a monster, it’s what you deserve. You treated me like I wasn’t one of you, well I’m not. I don’t wanna be one of you.”

 

Excalibur was silent, everyone in the room was. Their voices had been stolen by Valkyr’s speech. Many of them felt the guilt hanging around their necks. Silence filled the Observatory for a while, broken only when the voice of the Lotus came from the console.

 

“Interesting story, Tenno.”

 

“Lotus” Excalibur turned, saluting as her image came on screen. “You finally answered.”

 

“I’ve been on the line for a while actually, I heard a lot.”

 

“Then I’m sure you understand why I contacted you. I…” he paused, turning his gaze to Valkyr a moment. He too felt a tinge of guilt for mistreating her for so long. “There was an incident earlier today. I don’t know how to resolve this.”

 

“Do your best, Excalibur” Replied the Lotus. “But don’t give up on your fellow Tenno.”

 

The Lotus disconnected with only that having been said, leaving the decision of what to do about Valkyr on Excalibur’s head. He let out a sigh and hung his shoulders, at a loss.

“…Put her in stasis for now” he ordered. “I need to think.”

 

#13; Nova

Valkyr had been sealed in a cryopod for everyone else's safety and stored away in the barracks until Excalibur and the others could decide what should be done about her misbehavior. She was left alone while debates and discussions were held, though she wasn't without visitors.

 

Chroma stopped by on occasion. He never did anything beyond stare at her frozen figure.

 

Atlas, new to the dojo, would pause in passing from time to time.

 

Excalibur avoided looking her way even when he had to pass through the area.

 

Loki was often there to think about what he'd done and to wish that he could talk to her about it.

 

There was one visitor however who was more talkative than the rest. One who came daily and sat down with her back against Valkyr's pod. The young Tenno Nova was as reliable as could be; sitting there every evening at the same time.

 

"I'm sorry they did this to you." she said on her first visit. "Loki and Excalibur argued about it for hours but the majority vote leaned in favor of freezing you. I don't know if you can hear me in there or not but I...I know how you feel. They don't trust you, they're scared of you, some of them worry, others look down at you because you're different."  Nova sighed softly, her shoulders sinking. The slender girl tilted her head back until it touched the glass of Valkyr's cryopod and stared up at the cieling. "They treat me differently too, because of what I am. It's not completely the same as how they treat you but...I know the frustration.  Excalibur treats me like a kid, everyone seems to wanna protect me, Loki teases me for 'overcompensating' (Whatever that means) and some of them..." She tilted her head forward this time, staring down at her feet. "Sometimes I think they're scared of me too. I know that my powers are extraordinary, sometimes even I'm amazed at what I can do. I remember the first time I turned an entire army into a chain-explosion of bright vapor. I was terrified by how much destruction I had at my command."

 

Nova was quiet for a moment, then stood. She turned to gaze into Valkyr's pod and laid a hand gently upon the glass. The violent berserker looked at peace for the first time when entombed in the stasis chamber. She never moved even a hair, as expected, but Nova hoped and dreamed that her words might still get through.

 

"My point is...When you get out of there...I hope you'll forgive the others.  They can be idiots sometimes but that's just what happens to people when they care."

 

#14; Excerpt from Mag's Logs

Excerpt from Mag's logs - Orokin Tech

 

Our team returned from a week-long venture in the void to find everyone in distress. We find that Valkyr has been locked in stasis for causing an uproar and Excalibur is uncertain what should be done. It's a rather awkward and unusual thing to come home to.

 

Regarding our mission in the void; Vauban, Nyx and myself succeeded in locating an Orokin tower and scavenging it over for working technology. The mission was a rousing success only daunted by the risks incurred; Corrupt Orokin minions are in large supply and the readings we've taken do not suggest good outcomes.

 

Vauban is insistant that he can reverse-engineer the technology to build us new warframes, modeled after the primes of old and augmented with Orokin technology to amplify our powers further than our usual frames output peramiters. If his theory is correct then we may soon see ourselves with a far more powerful arsenal in our grasp but my concerns remain prevelant. I fear that working with Orokin technology may put us at risk of corruption, resulting in Orokin control

 

>>Objects Recovered Include:

>Orokin Cells x23

>An assortment of damaged weapons

>Helmet from corrupted Corpus soldier

>Helmet from corrupted Grineer general

>Corrupted Moa Power Unit x43

>Death Orb Core

 

Vauban is busy reverse-engineering many of these devices in effort to produce blueprints for a primed version of Excalibur's frame. I pray my concerns will be proven false.

 

#15; Too Many Feels

Ordis' Audio Logs - Nyx Speaking

 

>>It's wrong.

 

>>Everything is wrong.

 

>>Big Brother, his heart is so heavy.

 

>>The silence is everywhere.

 

>>Pain.

 

>>Frustration.

 

>>Everyone is hurting.

 

>>It's wrong, I don't understand it.

 

>>Loki tells me of the fight, he hurts, he never hurts, this is wrong.

 

>>Grief, guilt everywhere.

 

>>It hurts.

 

>>It hurts this one.

 

>>It must be fixed, it must be cured, but how?

 

>>The guilt and grief, the weight, it's pressing down on everyone.

 

>>Only one mind is free.

>>One is quiet.

 

>>She sleeps, but it isn't right.

 

>>She is frozen but her mind wanders.

 

>>Memories.

>>She see's a different body, older, pure.

 

>>Was it before the Corpus changed her?

 

>>No, no, must stop this.

 

>>Too much weight.

 

>>This one must meditate.

>>Block out the thoughts.

 

>>Must focus.

 

--End Audio--

 

#16; Freeing the Beast

Weeks were passing and nothing was being done about the Valkyr. Excalibur couldn't bring himself to make a decision regarding the rage-filled berserker and noone of the other Tenno felt right making a decision either. They still felt the guilt of judging her but it was slowly fading, in time it seemed they might forget all about her. All but for a few.

 

Loki had stopped visiting altogether, the guilt he felt was greatest of all. Every time he saw her frozen in the cryopod it cut him deeply. Chroma had lost interest. Atlas only occasionally glanced at the berserker when passing through the area. Excalibur avoided the area as much as Loki, unable to face the decision with certainty. Trinity visited on occasion to check the berserker's vitals, if nothing else but to make sure that her 'rest' was healthy. Limbo kept the room tidy but did little else. The rest simply didn't visit by lack of convenience; they were often busy with their missions or something of the like. Vauban, for example, remained cloistered away in the research labs working on his experiments. Only two Tenno remained reliable visitors to Valkyr's glass prison.

 

"Blasted infernal worthless scrap!" came Vauban's voice shouting from the lab, followed promptly by a hunk of flying metal. The curse and thrown object missed Nova by mere inches when she passed the lab door.  She peeked inside briefly to see Vauban ranting in front of a melancholic Mag. “This garbage is an abysmal waste! I can’t reverse-engineer anything of value from this heap!”

 

“You picked half of it yourself you know, you were there, in case you forgot” sighed Mag.

 

“Semantics!” Vauban shouted back. “I was pre-occupied with other tasks; I would have expected at least one of you to find me something of value to study!”

 

Nova shook her head and moved on quickly, avoiding that scene before she could be dragged into it. Vauban was such a difficult fellow.  She could still hear the two bickering as she moved on down the hall and slipped into the stasis room where Valkyr was being held. She did this almost daily, the routine was simple. Nova checked the room for other visitors before seating herself in front of Valkyr’s pod, only talking when she was sure they were alone.

 

“Hello again…” Nova waved at Valkyr’s pod as if the other Tenno could see it, sighing when she realized the folly of it. “…I can’t believe you’re still in there, it’s been almost a whole earth-month. I’m sorry to say it but I think Excalibur has just forgotten about you.”  Nova paused in contemplation, sighing as her gaze fell to the floor. She’d been thinking since day one; thinking about what could be done to solve this situation with everyone satisfied. She never had to make difficult decisions before. Most of that was handled by the others. She had been thinking on it for weeks now though and with no one else making the call she felt like it was her turn to step up and take charge.
 

The young Tenno stood up and took a deep breath, fixing her gaze upon the berserker’s sleeping face. She wasn’t going to allow this to continue, she couldn’t let Valkyr spent the rest of eternity frozen in stasis.  Nova stepped forward and reached out her hand, pressing all the right buttons on the cryopod’s interface. Air hissed as the pod opened its vents. “Stage one awakening process initiated” spoke the interface. Nova felt her pulse quickening as she anxiously awaited the result of her interference. She checked the door to see if anyone was coming and there she saw Nyx, already standing by and watching.

 

“Nyx!” Nova gasped. “This is…I…”

 

She didn’t need to say anything, for the psychic knew it already. “You wanted to help” said she, approaching the pod. “You’re wrong. Big Brother has not forgotten this one. He still doubts, but the doubt is fading.” 

 

Nyx touched a hand to the pod, gazing into it as it hissed again. “Stage two initiated.”  The Tenno within began to stir, adrenal boosters were being pumped into her systems and the cryogenics were thawing.

 

“Please don’t tell anyone, I just…We can’t leave her like this forever Nyx.”  Nova pleaded with hope in her heart that she could go through with her plan, fearing what might happen if it were stopped so soon.

 

Nyx gazed into the cryopod at the twitching Valkyr and felt herself twitch a little as well. Thoughts were flooding her mind, not her own but those of Nova and the awakening Valkyr.  “You just want to help her…She just wants to be left alone.” Nyx declared.  She laid a hand upon Nova’s shoulder and met her younger sister’s gaze. “You’re going to get in trouble for this eventually, you know…But since it’s what you believe is best, I will help.”

The cyopod hissed loudly once as the cryogenics vented one final time. The door cracked open and raised out of the way.  Valkyr groaned weakly, her body weary from stasis. She fell from the pod and hit the floor with a thud. Nova cringed, worried that someone else might have heard all the noise. 

 

“Get her up, quick!” Nova commanded, kneeling.  She took one of Valkyr’s arms and slung it over her shoulder while Nyx took the other. They stood, raising the weary Tenno to her feet.

 

“What’s going on?” Valkyr asked softly, even her voice was faint with the weakness she felt recovering from stasis.

 

“Shh, we’re getting you out of here” answered Nova.  “Let’s get her to the hangar, she’s not going to be safe here…”

 

“You want her to leave” said Nyx, reading the young Tenno’s thoughts again.

“It’s not that I want her to leave, I-“

 

“You know if she stays here Big Brother will most likely have her put back in stasis…”

 

Nova groaned a little. It always annoyed her how Nyx could tell what she was thinking. “I hate-“

 

“When I do this?” Nyx interrupted again. “…I apologize.”

 

The two carried Valkyr safely through the Dojo and to the hangar without a single incident. Nyx was able to sense when her fellow Tenno were nearby and made sure that they were not seen in transit. By the time they arrived Valkyr was able to stand on her own two feet – though wobbly.

 

“Just take one of the landing crafts and go…” said Nova, pained inside. She had helped Valkyr out of a frozen prison but this alternative wasn’t much better and she knew it. Valkyr would be a fugitive unless Excalibur and the others could be convinced to leave her be, but surely it was better than stasis…Right?

 

The berserker staggered toward the liset without saying a word to those who helped her. They watched as she disappeared inside.  Nova felt conflicted, uncertain. Was she really doing the right thing?

 

#17; Gone

Excalibur stood at the dojo’s command console in the observatory, typing in commands and observing the universe in its grandeur.  All was quiet save the soft hum of energy pulsing through the dojo, occasionally the footsteps of his fellows as they moved about the room and the random blips from an alert popping up on the screen.  He was about to plan the next mission when a new alert popped up.

 

“Liset departing from hangar dock”

 

Valkyr was aboard alone and flying away at top speed. Ordis was with her of course, being rather obnoxious at that.

 

“Operator, weren’t you supposed to be in <bzz> time out popsickle <bzz> cryostasis, I mean?”

 

Valkyr ignored the comment and programmed in a flight path. She knew she’d be tracked as long as she was in the Liset, in fact she suspected that Ordis might even turn the ship around itself if ordered.  She needed a fallback plan.

 

Back at the dojo Ordis was making every attempt to alert Excalibur of the current event. The console blipped with an alert before Ordis’ voice came over the speaker.

 

“Sir, the Liset is currently in route towards Neptune with one passenger aboard. I’m sure you can guess whom.”

 

Excalibur mashed at the console, growling lowly. “Turn that thing around Ordis, now.” He pressed the intercom button and spoke to the rest of the dojo quickly. “Mag, Volt, meet me in the hanger!”

 

Valkyr pushed to her feet and turned her back to the nav console aboard the liset. She had a backup plan but it was a bit rushed, probably not the best plan. She walked to the back of the ship, still leaning on the walls for balance while her strength slowly returned. For her backup plan she needed an archwing and the Liset always had at least two aboard. The ship began to turn just as Valkyr opened up the arsenal.

 

“I’m sorry Operator, but I must return you to the dojo.”

 

“Good luck with that.”

 

Valkyr strapped herself into an archwing and reached for the airlock. Ordis could take the ship back to the dojo but he couldn’t stop her from getting off of it.

 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea Operator; we’re too far from any other station.”

 

“I’ll take my chances.”

 

Valkyr pulled the manual release and broke the airlock. The door rotated round and jettisoned the berserker into the depths of space! She tumbled through the dark vacuum while the Liset sped back home, fumbling around to turn on the archwing’s engines.

 

“Sir, it seems Valkyr has ejected herself from the Liset.” Ordis informed Excalibur over the communicator.

 

“Truly?”

 

“She ejected with one of the archwings, I can’t seem to override the controls for that device.”

 

Valkyr managed to right herself and engage the archwing’s engines after tumbling through space long enough. Unfortunately for her she had no idea where to go now. The tumble had ruined her sense of direction and even though she could see the glow of the Liset’s engines in the distance she couldn’t tell exactly which direction it was going. She decided she would just move away from it in whatever direction felt right and did just that.

 

“Damn” Excalibur sighed. “The archwing does have a tracker on it; we can still try to catch up with her.”

 

“I want to come then!” Nova cried out from behind the others. She’d been in the hangar the entire time but she’d hidden when she heard the others coming.

 

“Ordis would like to mention that it was Nova and Nyx who helped Valkyr aboard, sir.”

 

Excalibur clenched his fists growled at the younger Tenno. “You helped? What were you thinking?!”

 

“I thought somebody needed to do something instead of leaving her locked in stasis forever!”

 

Nyx approached the group and laid a hand upon Nova’s shoulder, coming between her and Excalibur. The psychic laid a second hand upon Excalibur’s shoulder and looked from one to the other. “We must not bicker amongst ourselves, it will only lead to more pain” said she. “Ever since this began I’ve felt the weight of everyone’s guilt and your indecision…I cannot say if the little one’s decision was right, but it was better than doing nothing.”

 

“We can’t just leave her alone either, she’s dangerous” Excalibur conjectured, pushing Nyx’s hand aside. “Besides that, she’s too far out in space to get anywhere safely with just an archwing, she’ll die if we don’t go after her.”

 

“Then take me with you, this is my responsibility!”

 

Excalibur gave in to Nova’s begging, reluctantly, and turned to face the dock as the Liset returned. “Get aboard then” he said, motioning to Volt and Mag. “I still want you two with me in case she tries to kill us again.”

 

The four boarded the returned Liset and set off, following the archwing’s tracker. They travelled in silence - awkward silence rather than the usual kind. Nova kept her gaze fixed on the depths of space hoping to see some good news, fearing the worst for Valkyr. The tension she felt grew more intense with each passing moment, could it be that she had sent Valkyr to her death instead of freeing her?

 

“Operators, the archwing seems to have slowed down. We are catching up” Ordis chimed.

 

Nova began to worry even more now. She expected to see a corpse coming into view any moment. Instead the Liset would catch up to find the archwing floating through space alone, abandoned.

 

“What the-…Where is she?”

 

#18; Allegiance

Fate had delivered Valkyr unto a new path, be it good or bad. Coincidence is a funny thing and truth is often stranger than fiction. The archwing would never have gotten her all the way to a safe place on its own merit, even fully-charged. She was doomed to die drifting through space until another ship crossed her path.

 

How convenient was it that a trade ship would be passing through the area? Even more convenient that it was a corpus ship venturing from planet to planet. We all know how much Valkyr hates those guys right? The berserker was still lacking her full strength at first but nothing gets one’s blood flowing like mindless slaughter.

 

Valkyr literally crashed through one of the port-side windows of the ship after disconnecting from the archwing and once the window had been sealed with blast plating she got right to work. She was rusty from spending an entire month in stasis but like riding a bicycle one never forgets the graceful art of mass-murder. All the weapons had been left behind on the Liset she ejected from but Valkyr was well known for being every bit as lethal without a weapon as she was with one. Some say she’s more lethal this way. The berserker cut through man after man, her energy returning with every bloody kill. She grew stronger and stronger as she bathed in the crimson that flowed from her victims and soon was tearing through MOA’s like paper. Just like the good old days.

 

She painted every inch of the floor red before moving from one room to another. It was a massacre, plain and simple. Frankly times like this were the only times when she felt, well…Not quite happy…Not at peace either…But good. Yes, good. She was far from happy, she was angry, very angry, but killing just felt good. Valkyr’s mind was normally bubbling with thoughts when she was at rest, she remembered things, usually bad things. When she was quiet on the outside she was screaming on the inside. In moments like this she was raging inside and out but at least she didn’t have to focus on her memories. She could focus on the slaughter, her thoughts numbed by the tunnel-vision her race induced. She felt at home here, burning with her own fury, bathing in the blood of the fallen, roaring and screaming so loud that her own thoughts and memories couldn’t touch her.

 

Unfortunately other things could.

 

During this time Excalibur and the others were discovering the abandoned archwing. The ship Valkyr was now aboard had moved on but wasn’t too far to be seen. In the distance Nova caught the glimmer of the ships engines and the crew aboard the Liset set off to catch up.

 

Someone else would beat them to it.

 

The lights began to flicker aboard the Corpus vessel, dimming and blinking in a way all too familiar to the other Tenno. Valkyr had never seen this phenomena before but she was much too caught up in the slaughter to notice it. She didn’t even hear the whispers of a voice known by the Tenno as an omen of darkness.

 

“Alone? Foolish” the voice echoed through the ship. “But this is a new one; I haven’t seen your frame before.  No matter, you’ll die like the others. I am retribution!”

 

Valkyr was just crushing the life out of another corpus minion’s throat when he appeared, the Stalker, wielding his scythe and dashing right towards the berserker. She turned in time to see him, her tunnel-vision fixating upon that dark figure just in time to react. She was fortunate to be in that fit of hysteria, she was always stronger and faster this way. The corpse she held in her hand was hurled at him first; he cut through it with ease and continued on his way to Valkyr but now she met him with all her fury. She stopped his axe with a clawed hand and struck at his jaw with the other. He fell back and she charged him instead. The stalker struck again and again but was surprised to see such resilience from the unfamiliar Tenno.

 

“That fury of yours, a power, yes?” he realized, waving his hand through the air. “Your Tenno powers are useless against me!”

 

Valkyr halted in her pursuit, suddenly. Somehow the Stalker had silenced her fury. To his surprise, however, she would hesitate for only a second before roaring with fury once more. The stalker cast another wave of his hand and silenced Valkyr once more, again only for a second, and then it was his turn to retreat while the berserker assaulted him relentlessly. If he could not stop that power of hers like he did so many others then his other option was to absorb the fury instead. He began to meditate and a psychic field similar to Nyx’s formed around him. Valkyr struck at the sphere over and over only adding her power to the Stalkers and once he was ready he unleashed it in a mighty burst. The Valkyr was knocked back but rolled to her feet within seconds.

 

“Most interesting.” The Stalker commented, waving his hand again. Valkyr’s hysteria was silenced once more but this time she felt the force of the burst that she was previously numb to. “Let’s take a moment and talk, shall we?” the Stalker asked her, a brand new plot forming in his head. Valkyr was a bit different from the other Tenno he’d seen, he had no intel on her either. If he could learn anything from her he would try while he had her hesitating. Valkyr clutched at her chest and breathed heavily, feeling the pain of her own blows. She glared through one eye at her foe while kneeling, coughing up a little blood.  “Not much of a talker then?” the Stalker asked. “Just answer my questions if you want to live a little longer.”

 

The Liset was finally catching up to the corpus vessel and the four Tenno aboard were gearing up for an assault. Whether Valkyr was still alive on board or not they expected resistance in their pursuit of her. “I want everyone to focus” Excalibur noted. “Nova, remember why we’re here. Valkyr can’t be left on her own, she’s dangerous, she needs to learn some control.  We’ll take her alive if we can but I don’t want anyone to hesitate if we have to kill her. You understand, right?”

 

Nova understood, but she didn’t like it one bit. She was here to make sure that Valkyr was given every opportunity to survive this without returning to a life in stasis. Truth be told she had begun to doubt Excalibur’s decisions. For a long time she had wondered if the stories about the Tenno being the real monsters wasn’t true.

 

The Liset docked with the larger vessel and the group boarded; weapons at the ready. They encountered minimal resistance, the ship was already on alert and the few remaining men aboard were headed toward Valkyr anyway. It only made the group’s job easier really; they only needed to follow the alarms and the MOA’s that were headed to Valkyr’s position. In pursuit they only killed a handful of enemies along the way but the real shock came when they arrived on Valkyr’s location.

 

They found their berserker cutting down the Corpus MOA’s that had reached her location, a sight that – by itself – wasn’t out of the ordinary. What surprised them was that the Stalker had joined her, the two were slaying everything in sight side by side.

 

“They’ve come, at last!” the Stalker cheered, grinning under his mask. “Claim your revenge, Valkyr. I’ll claim mine!”

 

#19; Spilled Blood

The Stalker had gotten Valkyr to talk, although not without some difficulty. The berserker told him her story, why she was alone; a story of hatred and betrayal. He could sense her disdain for the other Tenno, a feeling he shared all too much. She wasn’t like the others, not quite, and if she desired to kill them then why not let her?  He could always stab her in the back later and if she managed to take down even just one Tenno in her rampage he’d be all that much closer to fulfilling his own brand of vengeance. An alliance was made that day, however temporary it may be, and it was sure to be a terrifying one indeed.  Valkyr’s rage was akin to his own, though their motives were not entirely the same. He fought for what he considered to be retribution, she just fought for revenge.

 

When the other Tenno arrived a battle immediately ensued. Excalibur quickly ordered Mag to keep Valkyr separated from the Stalker and for Volt to help keep her occupied. Nova was instructed to stay back – for her own safety of course – and unleash hell on the stalker from afar.

 

Unfortunately for the group none of Excalibur’s orders would prove fruitful.

 

Mag used her signature pull to yank Valkyr across the room, the berserker retaliated with a pull of her own. While being hurled through the air Valkyr launched her rip-line back at Mag. The line connected and Valkyr used the other Tenno as an anchor to land herself with. Mag was staggered by the weight of Valkyr’s velocity and then immediately tugged again by the berserker and hurled into a solid steel wall. Excalibur charged in to do battle with the Stalker one-on-one while Volt kept Valkyr occupied. The berserker had stunned Mag for a moment but she had no time to hesitate. Excalibur and the stalker clashed blades, sword against scythe. All this while Nova stood at a safe distance and watched with concern.

 

The youngest Tenno was uncertain. Her soma was raised to aim but not fire for fear of hitting Excalibur instead of the Stalker. As accurate as she could be there was no predicting the movements of her fellow Tenno – nor the spread of bullets from that automatic rifle. She feared using her powers on either foe as well; in her mind she believed her abilities too lethal to be used so closely to her allies. As such the youngest Tenno hesitated, shifting her attention from the Stalker to Valkyr. Nova didn’t want any of her brothers or sisters to die from this, not when she felt like it was partially her fault.  “Valkyr, stop!” she cried out instead, hoping her pleas might reach the furious one. Such pleas would fall on deaf ears, unfortunately. In her hysteria Valkyr could hear nothing but the sound of her own claws slashing at Volt while he evaded every move. “Valkyr please, we’re not here to punish you!”  Again the words went unheard by the target but Nova continued even still, hoping that something might get through.

 

In the meantime Mag had recovered and Volt was steadily keeping the berserker occupied but every attack he dodged only served to intensify Valkyr’s rage. She struck harder and faster, Volt kept moving faster, and Mag tried to pull the berserker again.

 

This time both she and Volt would be stopped in their tracks.

 

The Stalker shoved Excalibur back and swept his hand through the air, cackling as he dispelled all the active powers in the room. “I wonder if the rest of you have learned to recover as fast as your insane friend!” he mocked them, dashing at Excalibur again for another clash of blades. Volt was slowed, Mag was silenced, Valkyr’s rage was paused, but the berserker recovered faster than the others. Valkyr cut Volt across the chest with her claws and struck his jaw with a left hook. 

 

“No!” screamed Nova, raising her rifle to take aim at the berserker. She didn’t want to harm Valkyr but she knew this had to be stopped somehow. Valkyr turned to strike Mag next but she would find herself suddenly slowed. Her body tingled, strangely, and her movements felt oddly hindered. “Stop it, we don’t want to kill you!” Nova cried again. 

 

It mattered not what she said, Valkyr continued to fight despite the handicap.  Violent and now volatile; the berserker continued to strike at the Tenno. Nova had slowed her but at the cost of putting her at an even greater risk. It wouldn’t take much to make her explode. Volt and Mag could only avoid her sluggish attacks now.

 

The Stalker wouldn’t let this pass however, not when there was such amusement to be had. Fighting the Tenno by himself was a righteous calling to him, something he believed he had to do, but watching Valkyr try to destroy the Tenno instead was just the greatest show he’d seen in all his life.  The Stalker pushed Excalibur back again and dropped a smoke screen at his feet, immediately teleporting away. He reappeared behind Mag, striking her hard in the side with his scythe. Mag’s shields absorbed the majority of the impact but she was still injured with a piercing wound. “Now, now, is this any way to treat your siblings?” the Stalker mocked, casting his infamous dispel again.

 

Valkyr lurched, freed from the binding ability that previously slowed her. Excalibur dashed into the group aiming once again for the Stalker but Valkyr would catch him instead.  Weakened but still able to fight; both Volt and Mag turned on the Stalker instead. Mag retreated and equipped her pistol, taking aim while Volt drew his ether blades. Even without his powers Volt was normally able to strike faster than any one of his allies – especially with lightweight weapons like these – but he was bleeding and sore.  Nevertheless he made a match for the Stalker, able to evade or parry the slower movements of the scythe. Mag took careful aim and fired her pistol, a hit! The stalker’s shoulder took the bullet but he wasn’t going to let that slow him down.

 

Valkyr had intercepted Excalibur’s dash, she stepped into his path and thrust her fist heavily into his gut.  He cut her across the chest and she followed up with a right hook to the side of his head, ignoring the pain as usual. Nova was hesitant again. Her powers couldn’t help anyone here, not with the Stalker’s dispel to counter it. By now everyone except her was bleeding in some form or another and she couldn’t allow this to continue. The young Tenno felt her stomach twist into knots as she raised her rifle and took aim. She had to risk hurting one of her own to end this, otherwise it was guaranteed to end badly.

 

“Volt, down!” she shouted, squeezing the trigger a second later.  Volt didn’t skip a beat.  The brother Tenno dropped low as a rain of bullets pelted the Stalker up high.

 

“No you don’t!” growled the Stalker loudly. He suffered several shots to the torso before vanishing again, teleporting himself to Nova’s back. Like Mag; the youngest Tenno was struck. Nova yelped out in pain as the Stalker’s attack not only hit her but threw her to the ground. His axe was raised to deliver a killing blow but the young Tenno would be rescued by the unlikeliest hero. It wasn’t Mag or Volt who stopped the Stalker – Mag was ready to shoot again and Volt could have rushed in but it was Excalibur who saved the day.

 

Sort of.

 

Actually it was Valkyr who saved the day; having done so by hurling a rip-lined Excalibur through the air towards the two. She had just grabbed Excalibur when she heard Nova’s pained cry. For some reason it reached out to her when nothing else did. Valkyr turned and saw the young Tenno hit the floor of the ship, and then threw Excalibur just in the nick of time.

 

Stalker was hit by the flying Tenno, knocked over like a bowling pin. Nova quickly scrambled to her feet and distanced herself while the two men wrestled on the ground. Both injured, both sore, both tired; Excalibur and Stalker fought with grapples and punches now while the rest watched in awe.

 

Except for Valkyr.

 

The berserker’s rage was still not sated, her vengeance unfulfilled. She hadn’t forgotten who it was that put her in stasis to begin with, nor who made her feel the most unwanted when she was quiet and withdrawn at the dojo.

 

Excalibur.

 

Valkyr charged, seething with hate.  She grasped the horn on Excalibur’s helmet and peeled him off of the Stalker.

 

“Valkyr stop!” Nova cried, raising her soma again. Mag took aim with her pistol as well but her vision was starting to blur from the blood loss. Volt, too, had lost quite a bit and Nova was hesitant to shoot Valkyr. She cared too much…And it cost them all.

 

The Stalker grinned behind his mask as Valkyr raised Excalibur up. “Do it!” he urged the berserker. “Punish him!”

 

Valkyr held Excalibur’s horn firm in her right hand and impaled him through the back with her left. Nova froze in horror while Valkyr topped it all off with a twist of Excalibur’s head, snapping his neck.

 

Big Brother had fallen.

 

As his body went limp Mag unloaded her entire ammo clip firing wildly at the berserker. Most bullets missed and even those that hit her were ignored again. The Stalker’s cackling laughter drowned out every other noise that could be heard. Volt rushed forth, the Stalker jumped to his feet. Valkyr dropped Excalibur’s corpse to the floor while Volt and the Stalker clashed blades again.  The berserker had claimed her vengeance, some of it anyway. The Tenno she hated most was dead and with no corpus left aboard ship to slaughter she was…Well…Done. She stood there, silent, staring at his corpse, still burning but appeased while the others continued to fight the Stalker.

 

Mag reloaded her pistol while Volt stabbed at the Stalker with everything he had left. Nova was too terrified to do anything else but stare with shaky breaths at the sight of her fallen brother. She’d never seen one of her own kind die before.

 

Weakened and weary the Stalker knew that he couldn’t finish this battle alone. It was over, for now, but he wouldn’t leave without one more cut.  Nova’s rain of bullets had done more damage than anyone else that day; the Stalker would make sure she paid for it. Like many times before he vanished, teleported, appearing again behind Nova’s back.  His scythe was raised to strike, this would be a killing blow, the Tenno would lose not one but two of their ilk this day – if not for Valkyr.

 

The berserker saw it from the corner of her eye. She wasn’t sure why she felt the urge to protect Nova but her instincts kicked in faster than she could think to stop them. Nova was spared the reaper’s scythe by the skin of her teeth, pulled away by Valkyr’s rip-line.  Hate scratched Nova’s back as she was yanked away. Valkyr caught the young Tenno in her arms and snarled at the Stalker viciously. He knew right then that it was over.

 

“I see…Until the next time, Tenno…”

The Stalker vanished in a puff of dark smoke, retreating to mend his wounds. Four living but injured Tenno were left alone with one dead Tenno at their feet. Valkyr’s rage was cooling; she now felt the sting of the many injuries that she had suffered throughout it all. Of them all Nova had suffered the fewest injuries thanks in part for Valkyr’s protection.  The berserker let go of Nova and began lumbering away slowly, knowing that the others would not forgive her for the murder of their kin.

 

“Don’t let her get away” Mag groaned, holding herself in pain. Volt clutched a hand to his bleeding chest and agreed, commenting “She’s gotta pay for this one, Nova.”

 

So it had all fallen upon Nova to stop Valkyr this time. Fitting, since she was the one who released her in the first place. Nova knew they were right, Valkyr had to pay for Excalibur’s death, yet in her heart she still felt differently.  She hesitated, looking towards Valkyr.  The berserker was slowly lumbering away, bleeding, injured like the others. Chances are she’d die if left alone and Excalibur would still be avenged.  Nova couldn’t leave it like that.

 

“Why did you save me?” the young Tenno asked.

 

Valkyr stopped in her tracks, wavering in place. She wondered the same thing. 

 

“You could have let me die too but you didn’t. You saved me twice.”

 

“Nova, what are you doing?” asked Mag, struggling to stand on her own.

 

“It’s because you care, right?” Nova continued, ignoring the others. “You care and that means you aren’t a monster like everyone else thinks. Right?”

 

Valkyr stood silently, wavering, gazing vacantly at the hallway ahead of her. Was Nova right? Did she care? Why?  Valkyr couldn’t remember ever caring about anyone, she couldn’t remember anything before being torn apart and rebuilt by the Corpus. All she remembered was the pain, the torment, her hatred…Was this something new then?

 

“You do care…” Nova nodded, hopeful. “You’re not a monster, Valkyr. Regardless of what anyone thinks you’re one of us.  Just come back, we’ll find a way to work this out.”

 

Volt and Mag watched in silence now, unconvinced. Valkyr slowly turned, halfway, still staring vacantly at nothing in particular. She pulled off her helmet, showing that lifeless gaze of hers to the others.  “There’s no fixing this and you know it” she said. “If you take me back to the dojo I’m going right back into a glass prison, or worse, and if that doesn’t happen I’ll end up killing another one of you eventually.”  Valkyr sighed, her gaze dropping to the floor. Excalibur wasn’t the only Tenno she hated after all. She could tolerate most of them but some still infuriated her – Loki for example. If he’d been here he’d probably be dead too. “Just leave me alone” she said. “I’ll stay out of your way if you stay out of mine.  I’ll just go hunt Corpus until I die.”

 

“No” Nova argued, shaking her head. “We’ll find a way, I know we can. You’re not a monster, you’re Tenno. Please…We’ve lost enough here today.”

 

#20 Gazing Inside

Nova was at the helm, tapping the coordinates of the dojo back into the liset’s nav console. The group was one the way back home. Mag and Volt were resting in the back, their wounds patched up with some of the on-board equipment. They would need better care eventually. Excalibur was with them, though he was beyond repair. He lay dead on the floor with the other two looking over him in disbelief. Nobody expected him to die this way, not after the many battles he had survived. His death would be the end of an age, for he was a leader to all his siblings until today. All except Valkyr, anyway. Many of the other Tenno looked up to him, they were sure to take the loss hard when the liset returned home.

 

Nova sighed as the landing craft took off, adjusting itself into the right direction. She wasn’t sure what to feel about the whole situation. On one hand she felt as though she was coming into her own; she was making decisions, taking charge, even managed to talk Valkyr into coming home with her. Yes, Valkyr was aboard. The berserker sat up front with Nova, apart from the others, huddled in a corner by the codex archive. She was quiet again, neutral, her gaze fallen vacantly on the flooring at her feet. Nova wasn’t sure what would happen when they returned to the dojo but she was determined to protect the berserker from too harsh a punishment. In the meantime Nova wanted a heart-to-heart, a chance to get inside the berserker’s tough shell and understand her more. She believed deep down that all of this was a result of nobody understanding Valkyr. So while Ordis piloted the ship back Nova approached and sat down next to Valkyr, squeezing into the tight little nook between archive and wall.

 

“How are you feeling?”

 

There was no response from the berserker, just the cold and lifeless stare of hers boring a hole into the floor. She never had been easy to speak to, in fact Loki had been the first to get her to speak a single word and that didn’t turn out well. Nova sighed and hung her head, eyes lidding shut.

 

“Valkyr…What happened to you in the Zanuka Labs?”

 

Nova was taking a risk by asking such a thing. Loki’s experience proved that Valkyr did not respond well to any mention of the things she’d gone through. It certainly got her attention too. The berserker’s eyes lifted from the floor and she took in a sharp breath. Nova twitched, nervously, as the berserker turned her head.

 

“You really don’t want to know.” Valkyr answered.

 

It was something, it wasn’t quite an answer but it wasn’t an attack either. It gave Nova a little bit of hope, though she was still somewhat terrified of the possible outcome. Nevertheless she pressed on, daring to continue.

 

“I kind of do, I mean, all of us have wondered at one time or another. The others were just too afraid to ask you, I think. I want to understand you Valkyr, I want to be your friend.”

 

Silence fell again and the berserker stared silently at the other for a time. Nova could see sparks flying behind Valkyr’s eyes. She could see the berserker’s pain as those memories surfaced again, pain that was regularly a forbearer to mindless slaughter. Valkyr’s left eye twitched as she thought, fingers curled. She reigned herself in this time, somehow. Eventually her head turned away from Nova, eyes falling once again on her own feet. Those memories were painful but they never seemed to leave. Valkyr was stuck with them, and she knew it.

 

“I don’t really remember how I was caught” Valkyr began. “There are a lot of things missing from my head, but I remember waking up on a table. I was strapped down and they were cutting into my spine. I was numb but I wasn’t completely out. I could feel them tearing open my flesh and peeling it back, sticking things into my back and cutting things out. I don’t even know what they did back there, I just…” She gritted her teeth, her head hung low. Memories, the pain, the thoughts in her mind. It all hurt so much. “I…It hurt. That’s all I can say. It hurt so much that it eventually knocked me out. I really don’t know what they were doing, or why…”  Valkyr raised a clawed hand, touching the left side of her head. Scars, physical and deep were there. Her head, too, had been cut open and looked at. “When I woke up for the second time…After it was all over…I wondered what had happened, if it had been a bad nightmare. Then I felt the scars. I started to wonder what they’d taken from me, or what they’d put into me, or…Or if I was even me anymore.”  Valkyr was trembling now, head hanging low, hidden between her knees. “I was…I was scared” she whispered. “I thought they might have turned me into some freakish machine of theirs, like they might flip a switch and have me following their every command…And then…”  Valkyr’s head lifted from between her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks. Nova saw what nobody else had ever seen before, might never see in fact. The fearless murder-machine known as Valkyr was crying. “I heard a voice” she said. “It was mine, but…Not me.  It said it could make all the pain and fear go away.”

 

Nova furrowed her brows warily. A hand reached out to touch Valkyr’s shoulder. “Is that voice…The other side of you?”

 

Valkyr stared at the floor a moment, silent, expression deadening. The tears dried and she seemed to be back to her old self; the quiet, emotionless self. “The voice told me to let go, and I did…I blinked and everything was dead. Every time it happens I just lose touch with reality, everything goes red and I don’t feel anything anymore. I wake up when it’s over and everything’s dead.”

 

Nova was at a loss for words, unsure.  What do you say to that? She thought carefully what her words might be, what she might ask the Valkyr next.

 

“They broke me.” Valkyr said. “They cut me open and used me for study, then…They just tossed me into a cage and forgot me. They built that thing, Zanuka, and…I had nothing. No one tried to stop them, or to rescue me.”

 

“But we came” Nova answered, squeezing Valkyr’s shoulder in her hand. “We were…Well…Late, but we came. You’re with us now, you’re one of us, you just…Well…I think we all just needed to understand each other better.”

 

“It doesn’t matter.”

 

“It does matter. You’re one of us, you’re Tenno, and I’m going to make sure nothing like that happens to you ever again.”

 

A kind sentiment, yet Valkyr was still unconvinced. The berserker was tuned out again, apathetic, uncaring. Nova meant well, sure, but what good would it do? Valkyr had killed Excalibur, wounded several others, and still wanted to crush Loki’s windpipe. These crimes were unlikely to be forgiven and she knew it.

 

#21 The New Path

Valkyr’s eyes were empty the rest of the trip, having fallen back into her usual safe place within her head. It wasn’t truly safe there either, but at least it was…Well it wasn’t quiet either. Valkyr was always fighting with terrible thoughts and memories, screams inside whenever there were none outside. The only time she was truly at peace was when she let go, when she let the pain flow and the screams unleashed. When Valkyr was slaughtering her enemies her mind was truly blank. She needn’t think of anything, not even her own safety. She just let the fury blind her, the rage dull her senses, and the rivers of blood flow. In a way it could be said that Valkyr hated herself most of all.  Nobody else among the Tenno knew it but Valkyr was always suffering. She longed only for the next battle so that she could shut everything out again.

 

Now was not the time for battle though, now was the time for diplomacy. Nova had a task ahead of her and quite a task it was; to break the news of Excalibur’s death to the others without them turning on Valkyr for revenge. The berserker was left alone aboard the Liset while Nova, Mag, and Volt broke the news. The others did not take it well. Nyx more than anyone seemed truly hurt by the loss of her big brother. For half an hour she was spouting nonsense, repeated messages, confusion, heartbreak. The Tenno were distraught but Nova kept their minds off of Valkyr, their tempers calmed. 

 

It was then that something curious happened.

 

“Operator?” Ordis’ voice rang out aboard the liset. “Operator? Valkyr?” The cephalon spoke again, but the berserker never reacted. “I know you’re there operator, I <gzz> WAKE UP <gzz> I have an important message for you from the Lotus.”

 

“I know this is going to be difficult to deal with, but seeking vengeance on Valkyr is only going to make things worse.” Nova assured the others. “All this started because none of us trusted her, we ALL shunned her and made her feel like an outcast. What we need now is to forgive her and stop treating her like she isn’t one of us. Valkyr is our family, she is Tenno…”

 

“She’s running away again.” Loki’s voice chimed in.

 

On the console screen the Liset was seen pulling away from the Dojo again, adjusting its trajectory slowly.  “What the-?!” Nova spurted, rushing to the console. “I…I can’t believe this!” For a moment the young Tenno felt betrayed, tricked. How long had Valkyr been planning to run away again? Then she wondered if maybe the berserker wasn’t afraid, scared that the others would never accept her now that she’d killed one of them. Then came another message from the Lotus.

 

“Do not be alarmed Tenno. I’ve sent Valkyr on a very important mission. She is not fleeing from you.  Right now it is imperative that you all listen to what I have to say; the Stalker is on the move. Armed with a new arsenal of lethal weapons he is attacking the very heart of the Tenno’s power. Valkyr is on the way to stop this from happening. I need all of you to band together and pledge your support to her, she needs you now more than ever and likewise you need her more than you may realize. I have a second mission for four of you in the meantime. You must enter the void and track down an artifact I have recently located to aid in your struggle. The coordinates are being uploaded to your Scimitar. Good luck Tenno, and do not lose faith in Valkyr or yourselves.”

 

#22 Secrets  [With Spoilers]

Nyx, Ember, Vauban and Mesa were chosen to explore the derelict orokin ship while Valkyr undertook her own mission, one the Lotus wouldn’t explain to the rest. Why she’d been chosen for a secret assignment was a mystery to the rest. Why Valkyr, of all Tenno, sent alone on a mission so secretive the other Tenno couldn’t be told of it? Many questions were wondered with no answers to be found yet. It seemed they would have to wait and see. In the meantime the four were on their own mission in pursuit of an artefact they had no description of. Yes, the Lotus had even kept that from them. The Lotus was being extremely secretive today. The four knew something suspicious was afoot. Lotus had kept secrets before but never quite on this scale. Why now were so many things being kept behind tight lips?

 

“I don’t like this one bit.” Vauban uttered, clutching his Penta firmly in his hands. “Anyone else get the feeling we’re about to get stabbed in the back? This is utterly nonsensical!”

 

“Shut up already, I don’t know how Mag can listen to you all day without shooting herself in the face” groaned Ember. She walked ahead of the group with Mesa at her side, the four of them undetected so far by Orokin security.

 

Mesa chuckled and nudged the other femme with an elbow. “Probably the same way I tolerate you firin’ yer mouth off all day. Just push the right buttons an-“

 

“Please” Nyx chimed in suddenly, interrupting the two. “No innuendo. This one already sees enough. Does not wish to hear more.”

 

“Ya really are a buzzkill Nyx” sighed Mesa back at the psychic. 

 

The four continued on oddly unobstructed. The walls were crawling with infestation yet nothing had found its way to attack them yet. “Where are all the freaks?” Ember queried, groaning again. “This is boring, I want to burn something!”

 

“The infested are here, ancients” said Nyx, gazing around slowly at the dim surroundings. “They know we are here yet they wait…It is strange. I-…”  There was a sudden pause, Nyx’s head jerked slightly to the left. She felt something, something strangely familiar. No, not something…Someone.  “…Brother?”  The psychic took off suddenly, racing ahead of the others. They picked up their pace to follow, calling out to her to stop or wait. She paid her siblings no mind as she moved, passing through another door into a massive antechamber. Infested were swarming this area; above, below, across the hall and even some just climbing around on the overgrown trees within. Across the hall she saw a door, a vault, surrounded by the monsters. She could feel him there, Excalibur, he was here! She knew he was, she could feel it in her gut.

 

“Nyx, what is it?” Mag questioned as she caught up.

“You know it’s awfully difficult to keep up with you females in your light outfits.” Vauban grumbled, last to catch up. “You’re not toting about a grenade cannon either, I’d appreciate if you didn’t outsprint me.”  He could run as long as any of his siblings but he was far from the fastest of them. Keeping up was sometimes a hassle.

 

“He’s here, Brother is here.” Nyx told the others, raising her weapon.  “There!”  She fired, unleashing a torrent of ballistics upon the distant Infested creatures. 

 

“Brother?” Mesa chimed in, firing her twin pistols into the fray.

 

“Excalibur? No, Nyx he’s dead. We all saw it, are you sure about this?” 

 

“It’s Brother!” Nyx answered, pausing her gunfire. She charged forward again and leapt, clearing the gap that went down into the bowels of the tower. She started firing again, clearing a path to the door while the others made the jump across. Mesa took the back, gunning down whatever got too close while Mag yanked things down from above with her Pull. Vauban would fire his penta into the distance, aiming for crowds he could take out strategically. “Open! It must open!” Nyx fussed, banging on the vault door.

 

“Calm down girl.” The engineer chimed, stepping backwards toward her. “Banging on it won’t do you any good, here. I brought this with me, built it ages ago but never bothered carrying it around.”  He handed her a key, one he’d designed based off of other Orokin interface devices he’d studied in the past. He hoped it would eventually allow him to take command of an entire Orokin command subsystem but for now it merely a prototype.  To both his and Nyx’s surprise the door hummed with energy. Locks discharged, gears turned. The door slowly gaped open while Mesa and Mag held back the flood of Infested while Nyx stepped into the vault.

 

“Brother…”

 

There, housed within the vault, hung on the wall like a great trophy was an aged and preserved cryo-pod with an intact warframe inside. What’s more; this frame was of Orokin design, from the days of old, when the warframes were at their prime.

 

“G-get it open, he’s in there! He’s sleeping, but that’s him!”

 

“Impossible…” Vauban stared in awe, lowering his gun at the sight. He stepped forward, laying a hand on the glass pod.

 

“Not impossible” chimed the Lotus in his ear. The others stepped into the room and sealed it behind themselves, all gazing up in awe while the Lotus spoke to them. “All will be explained in time, I apologize for the confusion you must all be suffering. For now you must take him and leave this place; he should be awakening…”  Pressure within the pod discharged, venting into the air outside. The locks popped and the glass began to rise.  “Now.”  The prime warframe twitched, it jittered, and then it fell to its hands and knees on the floor.

 

“…Brother?”

 

“…What happened…Where am I?”

Edited January 21, 2016 by Knayles

[Dia_Arazkus]

Please make this a story. PLEASE.

[Knayles]

Content too long for posting in #1 anymore, the rest will go here for now:

 

#23 Stalking the Stalker

The moon; lost for ages, thought to be gone, a myth. Now Valkyr stood upon it herself, her own two feet treading upon sacred ground that had not been seen in…Well nobody even remembered how long exactly. She disembarked from the Liset with warnings from Ordis chiming at her back. “Operator, this place seems…Familiar. Ordis may have been here before, but cannot remember.”  The cephalon was ignored by the berserker, she stepped forward armed with only a tigris shotgun and her claws. This place, it was so…Strange. Something felt horibly wrong about it. It was terrible, terrifying, yet equally intriguing. She found herself compelled to be here, pulled toward something unknown. “Follow it” the Lotus told her. “You will find what you must protect if you follow that feeling. Even the Stalker cannot find it faster.”

Valkyr stepped forward, gazing ‘round at the interior of the halls that stretched across the moon’s surface. It was amazing, all of it, and yet that feeling that urged her forward sped up her steps. She found herself running, racing ahead for no reason other than that urge. “It’s close” the Lotus urged her on. “Everything will become apparent soon.”

 

Meanwhile back at the tower Excalibur was getting reacquainted with his siblings. He had trouble remembering how he got there, what had happened before.  “You…You died.” Mag informed him. “We saw, Valkyr…She killed you, you were dead!”

 

“I don’t remember that…” Excalibur took a few steps, feeling sort of clumsy in his new frame. It would take a little getting used to. “I was…We were on the Liset trying to catch up to her right?”

 

“No, we…We were on a corpus vessel, the Stalker had turned her against us. She killed you, Volt and I were injured!”

 

Excalibur shook his head, the memories simply weren’t there. “I remember docking with the corpus ship but…” he paused, lifting his head to stare at the ceiling. “It was like I woke up from a dream, that’s all I remember. Next thing I knew I was here. How long has it been?”

 

Nyx stepped forward, hugging her brother tightly. She was all too happy to have him back. “It matters not” she assured him. “You’re here now, we have you back.”

 

Valkyr moved deeper into the moon’s halls, further and ever closer to the strange thing that compelled her to find it. “What is it?” she asked aloud. “Lotus, what am I going to find?”

 

“Patience” the voice answered. “It’s not far.”

 

Excalibur was given a weapon, one of Nyx’s sidearms, a bolto pistol. The group readied their weapons, reloaded, recomposed themselves and then opened the vault door to return to their ship. Guns blazed as the horde of Infested flooded into the vault. Burstfire from the gun barrels lit the dim Orokin derelict with flickers of light. The group pushed forward, shooting their way through the mob of foes and crossing the gap again to make their way back to the ship.  Vauban cleared the way ahead with penta grenades, Mesa kept the followers at bay with careful precision shots and Mag sent them all flying when too many had gathered. Nyx stayed by Excalibur’s side, helping him when he tripped or faltered. His new frame felt strange to him, different, he needed to adjust.

 

A grand hall; Valkyr found herself in a glorious chamber with water flowing from the ceiling. The water poured over…What were they? She moved forward, steadily. The feeling, it was coming from here. Something felt off about it, something felt…Wrong. A pulse skipped in her heart. She paused. “What is this?” she asked.

 

“Watch.”

 

The device ahead of her began to move, the things – leaf shaped in their design it seemed – they moved and spread out. One in particular turned towards her. Another heartbeat skipped. The lone petal moved forward and laid back further, little by little it came towards her. “Lotus…What is it?”

 

No answer.

 

The device hissed and opened, finally. A pod. Within there was…Was… W—w-w-z—z-z-z-zz

 

Valkyr awoke upon the floor. Something felt wrong, terribly wrong. She tried to move, her limbs felt weak. “Lotus, what…?” she groaned softly, hearing a new voice. “Lotus?” Who’s voice was this? “What happened, what did…” That was when she looked up and saw her body. Her old body, her frame, slumped on its knees just feet away.  “…Lotus?” she whispered this time, looking down at her hands. These were not her hands. “Ah!” she gasped, sitting up. Her hands, her legs, everything, it wasn’t her. “No, no…” she whimpered, feeling legitimate fear in her mind. “This is wrong, Lotus! Where am I?!”

 

“You’re in your real body.” The voice came from her warframe’s audio sensors, but she could still hear it even from here. “You have to move now, you must stand. You are more powerful than ever right now but it will be harder to control without your warframe.”

 

“No, no, I don’t understand” Valkyr whimpered, shuddering. “What is this? This isn’t…This can’t be real.”

 

“It is real, Tenno. This is the real you, this is what I’ve been protecting for years. You must move, the Stalker is coming. Get to your ship!”

 

“This isn’t real!” she screamed, emitting a pulse of energy in her fury. The room filled with a mighty shockwave and the Stalker was revealed, standing at the door she had entered through.

 

He stepped forward, hissing out his words. “Tenno…”  How joyous it was for him to find Valkyr, out of all of them, at his mercy. She who betrayed him personally. “Now you will suffer.”

 

The stalker stepped closer, the blade War raised to deliver a killing blow. “Yes, Shadow. Do it now, end this one and then we can end the rest.” This voice came from the blade, Hunhow, urging the Stalker on. He paused though, staring at the blade. No. He would not end it like this. He turned and thrust the blade into Valkyr’s frame, impaling it upon the weapon. “I want to crush this one’s throat with my bare hands…”

 

Valkyr crawled away, backwards, trembling with fresh fear. It was terrible enough being out of her frame, seeing it impaled, now at the mercy of the stalker? She had never felt such fear, this was many times worse than what had happened to her during the Zanuka project. “No, no stay back! STAY BACK!” she yelled, a hand thrust out toward the Stalker. Her power triggered, a beam of pure energy shot forth, such power the likes of which she’d never seen. Even the Stalker could not challenge this might. He was blasted far away, crashed against a wall, hissing as he made impact.

 

“What did I tell you? Fool, you should have cleaved her wretched hide when you had the chance…” Hunhow spoke, the Stalker knelt and gazed on at the Tenno in pain. “You’re wondering if you were one of these too, yes? One of their kind?  It matters not. You are what you are now, come Shadow! Claim me and destroy her!”

 

Valkyr looked at her hand in awe. Had she done that? Such power…The Stalker, he too looked at his own hand. For a moment she felt connected to him. As if…

 

A new thought occurred, Valkyr crawled back to her frame. She reached out for it. “No, now Shadow, quickly!”  The Stalker stood, but he was blasted back again as Valkyr turned her hand to him once more.  She crawled further, reaching out.

 

“Move, damn you…”

 

The frame twitched.

 

“Move!”

 

She clenched her eyes and focused all her mind upon the frame. Slowly it came to life, raising its hands. “Shadow, move!” the blade cried again.  The frame grasped at the blade and pulled on it’s forked blades, it cut deep into her chest and the palms of her hands but she pulled until it splintered in half.  The blade was removed, one half tossed aside. 

 

“Yes, now fight!”

 

The frame stood, approaching the Stalker now.  He watched, his mind wandered. Like Valkyr new things were revealed to him, he had seen a different side of…Everything. This was wrong, he needed answers. “Save it, Tenno.” He hissed, standing. “I will spare you for now…But I will return.”

 

Holding on was hard, and before long Valkyr fell unconscious. When she awoke she was back in the Liset, in the arms of… “Nnh…Wait, who are-...?”

 

“Shh, rest my child.” Came the familiar, soothing voice. No longer heard over an intercom or an earpiece. “This has been a long day for us all, you more than any.”

 

“Lotus…What…What happened? What is all this?”

 

“I’ll explain now. It is time for everyone to know the truth.”  The dojo had been alerted, the five who were flying home in the Scimitar were alerted, live video appeared on all their screens. They saw the Lotus and Valkyr, the Tenno, in her true form. “My children, all of you, I am sorry for keeping this secret from you for so long. This…Is the real you.”

 

“This is impossible…” Valkyr denied, looking at her hands in horror again. “This isn’t me, I want my body back.”

 

“It is you, Valkyr. This is what you’ve always been. The waframes were merely tools, devices built to protect you and house your immense power.”

 

“This isn’t my body, put me back…”

 

“You were all changed by the void, when you came back-“

 

“I said put me back in my body.”  Valkyr’s fear turned to aggression slowly, her eyes now glared at the Lotus.

 

“…Your frame is damaged, can you not see that? It must be repaired before you can go back”

 

“I don’t care! Put me back, this body is weak and terrible! I want MY body back!”

 

This body, it was so frail. She barely had the muscle strength to hold herself up. She had been in the pod for too long, all of them had, their bodies wasting away when their consciousness was inside the frames. It felt foreign to Valkyr, it sickened her. This flesh, this frame, it was hideous and weak. She wanted her frame back, the body she knew to be her own.

 

“I’m sorry Valkyr, but it must wait. The pain would  be excruciating right now, you would most likely sink into shock and snap right back out of it.”

 

The girl, the Tenno, she trembled and shook. Tears formed in her eyes. Her hands raised to cover her face as she cried. “This isn’t me” she repeated, denying herself. “I want my body back.”

 

Natah, the Lotus, she sighed with a heavy heart. She hadn’t expected Valkyr to take it this hard. The others were likewise shocked but none so sickened by the truth as she. “Tenno, I need the rest of you to recover…Yourselves. Collect your bodies from the moon and bring them all somewhere safe. I will explain more when you are all ready to hear it.”

Edited January 20, 2016 by Knayles

[Dia_Arazkus]

I might. I fully ship RhinoxValkyr and I had a good idea for that

 

I honestly think it could be amazing if you really put the time into it. Hell even make it a book if you can! I'd love to read it!

[Knayles]

Excerpt from Excalibur's Log:

 

Today we infiltrated another cryotic mining facility to replenish our stocks, the Dojo is growing and we're in short supply. We flew our Lisets in close and dropped down in the heart of the facilities, a risky move but Rhino insisted. Along with him came Mag and Valkyr - whom hadn't said a single word to us since we first encountered her. Today she insisted on joining us when she learned we would be defending our drills from Corpus engineers.

 

The landing went smoothly, to my surprise. The corpus didn't detect our presence immediately but the silence didn't last long. 

"Spread out, move quietly until you find a mark" I instructed the others. "I'll take point and-" that was my last word before Valkyr took off. I could tell from the moment I first saw her that she'd be trouble, she isn't like the rest of us. I have my doubts even still that she's one of us at all.

 

She cried out with a maddened scream and charged ahead of us through the snow, Rhino was hot on her heels. I called out to them but neither regarded my words. Mag and I chased after the pair, we heard gunfire and the shrieks of MOA's before we even caught up. Valkyr had dropped her shotgun somewhere along the run and was ripping apart anything she could touch; MOA's, Engineers, Control Panels, it didn't matter. Rest assured if it was breakable, she broke it.

 

Rhino was covering her, iron-skinned and gunning down Ospreys or anything out of Valkyr's reach. I thought for a moment that we might have to abort the mission, Valkyr's disregard for orders was going to make it a challenge either way, but then Rhino surprised me.

IT seemed like hours later when the fighting was finally done, we must have killed every last Corpus in the facility. Valkyr was still smashing everything in sight, just ripping corpses apart and crunching broken machinery into smaller bits. That's when Rhino shocked us all.

 

He'd always been a loner, that one. He kept himself alive with his Iron Skin and his brute strength but seldom protected others. Today he saved Valkyr, I think, though not physically. He took her from behind and held her tight in his arms while she screamed and flailed her arms. 

 

She was like a rabid kubrow, or worse, just determined to destroy anything in her path.

 

Rhino held firm, he held tight, and he held Valkyr back until she tired herself out. Once she was under control we were able to plant some drills and get the Cryotic we needed, but I don't think we'll be taking her on another mission any time soon. 

Funny thing is, I thought I heard crying as Rhino held her.

- End Log -

 

-- Edit --

*Changed "Carriers" to "Ospreys"

Edited September 26, 2015 by Knayles

[(PSN)Cerata_]

The first entry bugged me a bit, only because grinder aren't generally that eloquent, Tyl Regor is the only one so far who seems capable of such complexity... But that Excalibur entry was really, really great. Bravo.

[Knayles]

The first entry bugged me a bit, only because grinder aren't generally that eloquent, Tyl Regor is the only one so far who seems capable of such complexity... But that Excalibur entry was really, really great. Bravo.

I wasn't even trying to be eloquent, but I guess it happened anyway. However I don't think it's impossible for any Grineer to be a little bit more complex, though unlikely. The Steel Miridian Leader seems like she's fairly capable and she's Grineer (I think) but alas. Thanks for the comment and compliment. I've had that image of Rhino bear-hugging the Valkyr since she was first released.

 

-- Edit --

 

Open to suggestions for who I should write about next, I blew my load on those two :P

Edited September 26, 2015 by Knayles

[Knayles]

-- Nova's Log - Regarding the Tenno --

 

It's been a while since I joined the others in their assignments. I remember how excited I was to finally be out in the depths of space with my brothers and sisters. It seemed like forever - the time I spent being observed by the Council, watched and studied like a lab rat. Out here every day seems like only a fraction of what it should be. Every minute is like the blink of an eye, ever hour like a second, with so much to see and so much fighting to be done!

 

It hasn't all been sunshine and stardust though, there have been some gruesome battles. We've fought hard and long, there were even a few battles I thought we may not win but my fellow Tenno helped me see it through. 

I'm glad that I'm not the newest Tenno in our Dojo anymore, it felt weird being the new one. The pressure has been lifted, so to say, though the newer recruits are even odder than I, I think. 

Take Valkyr for example; She sits alone in the darkest corners of the Dojo and never moves unless there's talk of a mission. Even when we're in flight to our target destination she just sits at the back of the Liset and stares at the wall as if she were made of Rubedo. She's a completely different person in battle though, it's as though she's lost without a fight. Like she just can't live without something to destroy. 

 

Excalibur is kind of boring too, but in a different way. He's always so serious, always planning and taking charge. I guess I respect him for trying to lead us like that.

I like Rhino, he doesn't talk much but he seems friendly regardless. He can usually be found near Valkyr though he keeps his distance. 

Frost is cool, <laugh> although he seems way too protective of me. I guess because I'm so young he sees me as the littlest sister, every time we fight together he sticks to my side and keeps me within his snowglobe for safety. 

 

I like Trinity, she's very nice. She keeps our spirits up, both on and off the battlefield. I hope I can be like her someday...

 

I don't know what to say about Chroma, I heard so many stories and the Lotus seems amazed that he even exists. I think we're going to learn a lot from him if he ever opens up. He seems very withdrawn, he's quiet like Rhino but I don't get that same friendly feeling from him. I don't know what to make of it.

 

Ember is my favorite, she's very confidant and bold. She's brash sometimes, hot tempered. <chuckle> She likes challenging the rest of us to do our best though, she's very inspiring. 

 

Loki makes me laugh. He's always doing something silly when we're not in the middle of a battle. Yesterday he tried a dozen different times to make Valkyr smile but it didn't seem to work. It got a laugh out of me though <chuckle>

 

Mag is the smart one, she's usually by Excalibur's side helping him plan or with Vauban making some kind of adjustment to the Liset. She seems to get along best with Vauban. I think he likes her too, she's the only one he really accepts any help from. Trinity offered to help him once, he said "You can help by letting me alone, the complexity of these devices is too astounding for the neophyte mind."

 

I've only fought by Mesa's side once. She's very laid-back and relaxed usually, even in the middle of a gunfight. She probably talks more than any of the rest of us, I've seen her butt heads with Ember a time or two. They really like to push each other's buttons.

 

Mirage is...Strange. She can be unbelievably cheerful one minute and brutally sinister the next. 

 

Nekros creeps me out. He just stands there staring at the rest of us. 

 

Volt is highly energetic. I mean very, very energetic. He gets anxious when he's not busy with something. He twitches when he's bored, which is often. 

 

Saryn is...Well...She's pretty.

 

​I nearly forgot about Ash, but there isn't much to say about him. He spends most of his time meditating and throwing shuriken around to improve his aim. Nyx spends a lot of time with him when we aren't at battle. They meditate together usually. 

 

Our enemies call us murderers, and we have a lot more enemies than allies. Sometimes I wonder if what they say isn't true. I hope we're the good guys.

 

-- End Log --

 

[[ I didn't know what to say about Zephyr and I personally don't like Banshee so I'm sorry those two were left out. IF you disagree with any of these "Personas" then let me know in a constructive way and perhaps we can flesh them out as a community. Bear in mind this is all from Nova's perspective, basically, and I kind of see her as the naive youngster due to being the most recent creation of the Tenno Council. ]]

[Knayles]

Ordis has been instructed to collect daily log entries from every member of the Tenno caste. The purpose of this collection is for the Lotus to study and better understand her Tenno. This task, however, has proven to be a challenge in and of itself as some Tenno stubbornly refuse to record anything. In lieu of such Ordis has taken to visual records for those who refuse to file their own logs.

 

This, too, has proven futile. Lotus was unable to learn anything from the fifteen minute video of Valkyr staring vacantly at the nearest wall. Rhino's own video records were also somewhat uninformative as he spent most of the video grunting and stepping out of focus.

[Knayles]

-- Excerpt from Loki's Logs -- 

 

Ever since the shenanigans at the mining facility on Triton poor Valkyr has been nothing but a shell of her former self...Not that there was much there to begin with. "Commander Excalibur" had the poor girl grounded until he could figure out what to do with her and she's just completely lost without something to disassemble.

 

Fortunately for her she has a brilliant Tenno like me on her side.

 

The girl simply delights in carnage, destruction and mayhem so I decided "Why not send her to the Void?"  It made perfectly good sense to me, there are plenty of derelict ships overflowing with Infested creatures to be slaughtered and very little items of importance she could accidentally screw up. Excalibur was initially against the idea of course but to my surprise Rhino stepped forth and offered his trademark "Grunt of Approval"

 

There was a catch however, isn't there always one?

 

As it was my idea - and a brilliant idea it was - Excalibur absolutely insisted that I join her to make certain that she doesn't end up dead. Rhino of course offered yet another grunt in concurrence.

 

What dramatic irony.

 

Alas it shouldn't be too daunting a task for one so great as myself, I'll remain cloaked for a while at first and just observe while the Valkyr unleashes her insane fury upon the creatures. 

 

Time to deploy, send my love and affections to all the ladies - but not physically, that's for me alone.

 

-- End Log --

[Knayles]

-- Excerpt from Nyx's Logs --

 

Just returned to the Dojo. Big Brother is stressed about something, I can sense it. Whispers and Echoes tell me hints, but I don't need them to see that Loki and Valkyr are gone. Wherever they are gone I am certain they will be well, they are strong, as are we all.

 

Big Brother worries too much. He carries more weight than he needs. I do not believe he trusts all of us. I cannot sit in judgement of him though, even with my powers I find it difficult to read the Valkyr. Her mind is like a window of stained glass, many small pieces of different colors patched together but forming no clear picture.

 

The Rhino wants to help her but doesn't know how. I see in him the concern and the doubt. I wonder if the Valkyr can be helped. Perhaps I should join her on a mission and see if there is not more to her mind than the pieced-together shards I see when she is here in the Dojo.

 

>> 01000001 00100000 01100010 01110010 01101001 01100101 01100110 00100000 01110011 01110101 01101101 01101101 01100001 01110010 01111001 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01110010 01100101 01100011 01100101 01101110 01110100 00100000 01100111 01110010 01101001 01101110 01100101 01100101 01110010 00100000 01101101 01101111 01110110 01100101 01101101 01100101 01101110 01110100 01110011

 

>> Data Upload Complete

 

Thus completes today's mission. Big Brother needs me, I will file more logs when I am able.

 

-- End Log --

[FiveHours]

I wonder what Grineer movements, though. Interesting.

I like the series so far. Clear distinction of characters. Avoid capitalising nouns, though.

[Knayles]

I wonder what Grineer movements, though. Interesting.

I like the series so far. Clear distinction of characters. Avoid capitalising nouns, though.

I was under the belief that all Proper Nouns called for capitalization, but I might have been wrong about what is and isn't a proper noun. I'll take that into consideration from now on when I'm writing, thank you.

 

Storytime:

Loki punched in the coordinates of the derelict ship, coordinates the foundry had worked out through careful triangulation of nearly a dozen navigation segments. The Liset disengaged from the dojo and adjusted it's direction immediately, steering itself towards the designation. "Ventures in the void, operator?" chimed Ordis, chipper as always. The engines fired and the little ship darted away from the dojo station, top speed, stars blurring through the helm window.

The Liset steered itself - or more specifically Ordis steered it - and while that little ship warped through the eternity of space Loki trekked down to the back to check up on his charge. He'd find her exactly where he'd left her, the girl hadn't budged an inch from her nest since she'd gotten on board.

Just down the ramp and to the right, nestled into the niche between the foundry station and the nearest wall, Valkyr sat curled with her knees hugged to her chest and a thousand-mile stare aimed straight across the ship from herself.

"Such a patient woman" Loki commented, smirking at her. He knelt before Valkyr and tilted his head, peering into her vacant eyes. “How I wish sometimes that I could read minds.” he’d muse softly, sighing. “Come now dear, share a word.  Violence and mayhem aren’t the only ways to have fun you know.”

Valkyr’s stare never wavered, dead-ahead at all times. The femme-frame didn’t so much as bat an eyelash while Loki knelt in front of her. Unmovable, unshakable, unblinking. She was slightly discomforting in that way. “And I thought Nekros was the creepy one.” Loki would finally sigh, giving up the game. “You know we do have a stasis chamber.” he told Valkyr, standing. “Pop in, blink your eyes and before you know it we’ll be mutilating infested monstrosities however you like. Though I suppose if you prefer watching the walls rust you can just sit there until we arrive.”

Valkyr frustrated Loki more than anyone. She was utterly impossible to get a rise out of while all the others had something he could toy with. Getting on Rhino’s nerves was ever so easy to Loki, Excalibur was an easy tease as well. Nyx was a challenge, Nova was perhaps the most fun - such adorable reactions she would have to his teasing - but Valkyr simply refused to even acknowledge his antics. In his frustration he would trudge over to the Liset’s arsenal, scrolling through the myriad of weapons available. Loki was normally the laid back and crafty type, fighting his battles with refined weaponry but today Valkyr had put him in a mood. “Something explosive…” he grumbled, selecting the Angstrum.

Loki picked through the list of firearms and melee weapons available until he had the loadout he felt could do the most damage, thinking to himself that he might be able to strike a nerve in Valkyr if he could only do more damage than she. She did seem to revel in the slaughter after all.

The Liset’s engines pushed out the highest speeds they could, ferrying the two Tenno to their destination as quickly as time and space would allow. Valkyr never moved a muscle until the Liset closed in to dock with the derelict station. She picked up her helmet and slipped it onto her head, clasping everything into place before finally standing. “It’s alive!” Loki joked, equipping his own helm. “Going to bring some weapons or are you just planning on clawing everything to death?”

Valkyr’s silence answered Loki’s question.

The Liset docked and the hatch spun open, leading unto the dark and decrepit station on the other side. “Ladies first~” Loki chimed in a sweetened tone, offering the door to Valkyr. Without a word she stepped forth, passing through the hatch. Dim lights flickered and howls echoed through the halls, the walls crawling with sickness, overgrown plants consuming everything, broken orbs and consoles. Loki stepped into the derelict behind Valkyr, his gaze cast around at the decrepit sights within.

“Homely” he chimed, smirking in his mask. There wasn’t a living thing to be seen though - aside from the growths wiggling on the walls and floor. Loki wondered where everything was. “I guess they didn’t get the memo.” he joked, slapping a palm to Valkyr’s bottom. “Look at you, still calm and not rampaging all over the place.” Valkyr hardly even reacted to the spank aside from angling her head slightly to stare at Loki from inside her helm. “So how does that blind rage thing of yours work anyway?” Loki went on, nudging Valkyr with one elbow. “Gotta see some blood first? Hear the right word? Attack, kitten!”  Loki pointed forth and smirked, Valkyr was not so amused.

The Valkyr stepped forward, crushing those infested growths under her feet as she moved through the hall. “That didn’t work either, huh?” Loki spoke, stepping into line behind her.  Valkyr clenched a fist as Loki spoke, showing the first hint ever that she was annoyed by the trickster’s antics. “Does it only work around Corpus soldiers?” Loki continued. “Triggers bad memories huh? Yeah I’ll be-” Loki’s words were finally silenced when Valkyr spun around and pushed her forearm into his neck, shoving him back several steps and pinning him against a wall.

“Shut. Up.” she growled, snarling inside her mask.

Loki finally got what he wanted but it was not what he expected. Valkyr had finally said a word to someone and he got to be the first. She shoved herself away from him and turned herself ‘round to face the empty hall. Loki coughed once and rubbed at his throat. Valkyr then let out a roar, loud as her vocal cords could handle, echoing through the halls of the ship as far as it could carry. If there were anything alive on that derelict station she’d bring them to her.  “Well then…” Loki rasped hoarsely. “Guess this means dinner’s been canceled?”  He never did know when to quit. “Straight to the action, I like that in a woman.”

[Knayles]

Loki and Valkyr returned to the dojo with spoils of aged orokin tech littering their liset. After the slaughter Loki had gathered up pretty much anything he could find that seemed to be of value while Valkyr withdrew to her usual corner. The Tenno knew that there was usually very little of value aboard the derelict ships, most of the orokin technology was broken or aged to dust but every once in a while one could be found with treasures intact, vaults with ancient relics ripe for the taking.

 

"I don't know what good this rubbish will do but I assumed Vauban would squeal with glee when he saw it." Loki chimed. Mag was the first to greet the pair on their return.  Valkyr didn't offer even so much as a casual nod as she stepped off the liset, her expression vacant and cold as usual. She made straight for the dueling room and would retire to yet another quiet corner to be alone. Mag summoned Rhino and Volt to help take inventory of the artifacts Loki brought with him. Excalibur caught up quickly.

 

"How did it go?" the big brother asked. "Did I miss Valkyr already or is she dead?"

 

"Quite the contrary." Loki chimed, smirking. "She liked it so much she decided to stay. Plenty of corpses to butcher, dim lights, booby traps-"
 

"Enough with the bullS#&amp;&#036; just tell me how it went."

 

Loki chuckled lowly to himself and strolled around Excalibur with a bemused smile. "So tense brother, so antsy. If you don't find some time to relax your &amp;#&#33; will completely implode one of these days."  He chuckled again while Excalibur's eyes rolled, a sigh escaping the elder brother. "Oh come on, lighten up. It all went quite smoothly actually, even better than I'd anticipated." Loki pat Excalibur's shoulder and walked past him, heading for the grand hall. After all that action and the lengthy flights he was quite hungry. He never mentioned the little incident with Valkyr, how she snapped and pressed him to a wall. Truth be told Loki wanted to see more of that. Not so much the choking, but the emotion. He wished he could have seen her with her mask off.

[(PSN)Cerata_]

This just keeps getting better, please continue.

[Knayles]

Thanks for the compliment, really.  It's hard to know whether or not people are interested in this when they don't comment. Good or Bad I appreciate anything people have to say about the story. Rest assured there will be more to come :)

[Knayles]

-- Excerpt from Vauban's Logs --

 

The dynamic dunces returned with a bevy of Orokin rubbish on their hands. That's right, rubbish. 83% of the scrap they scavenged from the derelict ship was utterly worthless and the rest was beyond repair; never send a cocky nitwit and a bumbling berzerker to salvage artifacts. Had it been my decision I'd have gone myself, but really anyone would make a better treasure hunter than those clowns.

 

As I said though, only 83% of the scrap was without value, and while the rest was irreperable I was able to salvage a hint of knowledge from it if nothing else. Combining my own intelligence with that of Mag and Ordis we were able to discover traces of power within the remaining artefacts, nearly burned out and beyond repair as I previously stated. These Orokin artefacts were powerful, once, and we may yet be able to find more out there - hopefully some of which might still be of use. I've sent a report of my analysis to the Council and I believe that if we are able to salvage more of this technology - in better condition - we may be able to integrate it into our warframes to amplify our powers further.

 

The council was skeptic, even the Lotus voiced her concern over the use of Orokin technology, but just think of the possibilities that could arise if we were able to harness that power.

 

Upon my adamant insistance I was able to convince Excalibur to approove of a salvage mission. I will take Mag and Nyx to scour the void for more of these Orokin vessels with the intent of recovering artefacts of great educational and practical value. If we are able to learn from this tech and adapt it to our needs we may just make another leap forward into the future.

 

-- End Log --

[Knayles]

Vauban's gang had gone off in the Liset to seek Orokin artefacts in the void, leaving the others behind each to their own devices. The Mantis was sitting idle in the hangar bay, Excalibur in the observatory with Frost and Nova, Mesa was butting heads with Ember again in the dueling room, Ash was off somewhere meditating as usual, Saryn and Mirage were off somewhere doing...things...Volt was racing around the obstacle course and Loki was stalking Valkyr again.

Valkyr sat alone in one of the far corners of the Dojo, a room filled with water-lilies and paper lanterns. It was dark and seldom visited by the others, a great place for her to be by herself. The lily-pond was quiet and the dim little lamplights were relaxing how they flickered and fluttered in the dark.  She would sleep there sometimes, if she slept at all.

A bell sounded as another Tenno entered into the room, Loki, strutting his way across the wooden planks that formed a path over the water. “There she is!” he chimed, grinning as always. “Dark enough for you? Goodness it’s like we’re back on that orokin ship.”

He never knew when to quit.

Loki strolled across the hall as chipper as could be, his head held high and a spring in his step. He crossed the wooden planks to where Valkyr was perched, sitting on a ledge on the wall with one foot dangling off the side. She stared dead ahead as Loki approached, her gaze unwavering and lifeless as usual. She was already wishing he’d just piss off.

“The quaint gloomy charm suits you, you know? A perfect place for brooding and so on. It’s like a reflection of your inner self I think, all these little candles signify that fire in your soul. They’re on low right now but they can rage out of control if you let them.”

Valkyr just ignored him, tried to anyway. She knew if she got up to leave he’d just follow her, the pest that he is. Loki turned his back to the wall beneath Valkyr and leaned against it, one hand tucked under an elbow and the other stroking his chin.

“You’ve a lovely voice you know, you should use it more often. Like right now for instance. A one-sided conversation can be quite awkward you know. Not that I mind, I could chat for hours if you prefer.  I could tell you about some of the missions I’ve been on, or I could tell you about the other Tenno if you prefer. I don’t think you’ve had a chance to get to know any of us, always curled up somewhere dark and gloomy.” 

Loki looked up to see Valkyr’s foot dangling inches above his head. She was doing her best to ignore him. Loki lifted a hand to poke at the bottom of Valkyr’s foot and she quickly pulled the leg up out of his reach.

“Oh good, I thought you might have fallen asleep.” Loki smirked. “So what should we talk about? Personally I’d like to talk about you. Get under that hard shell of yours. You know I think everyone would be a little more comfortable with you around if they knew more about you.”

Loki looked up again, gazing for a moment at the edge of Valkyr’s &amp;#&#33; he could see over the lip of the ledge she sat on. “Lovely” he would comment, stepping away from the wall. He had hoped to just coerce her into a peaceful chat but that didn’t seem to be working. Loki knew of only one surefire way to get her to talk and he had intended to save it as a last resort. He hesitated, knowing how badly this could end, but he felt something had to be done.

“…Maybe we can talk about the Corpus. What they did to you.” Dark waters to be treading, but Loki didn’t see an alternative. It got Valkyr’s attention sure enough, turned her eyes from the wall and onto him. He grinned as he met her gaze. “So what did they do to you, eh? All those experiments, turned you into a little lab-rat yes?” He never did know when to stop. “They said you were a by-product of the Zanuka project so tell me…Does that make you a failed experiment? Were you just there to be studied? Or were you really just an unintentional accident?”

Years of pushing other people’s buttons was about to bite Loki on the &amp;#&#33;. He thought he would be prepared for her this time; that he’d be ready when she freaked out. Aboard the derelict orokin ship she’d shown emotion for the first time. Anger, but emotion nonetheless. Loki wanted to see more of it, and this time he’d see it without the helmet on.  Valkyr’s lifeless stare had slowly turned into a glare filled with hatred and fury as Loki spoke on, and when he said the word ‘accident’ she snapped.

Valkyr dropped down from her shelf and swiped at Loki with her claws, growling at him in fury with each strike. Loki was prepared though, quick too, and dodged the first onslaught. He back-stepped along the wooden planks while Valkyr pursued and struck again.

“There it is!” he cheered, ducking and dodging. “The fire, the passion! That’s what I like to see in a woman!”

That annoying voice of his only infuriated Valkyr further, the fact that she wasn’t hitting him didn’t help her either. The rage amplified, she went from a growl to a roar and fought harder, faster! Loki was quick, swift, and even cunning. One thing he wasn’t was careful.  He back-stepped his way right off the edge of the wooden planks and fell on his &amp;#&#33; in the knee-high water, his downfall, for just as he fell Valkyr was atop him. The berserker jumped down into the water and hit Loki hard in the face with a curled fist. He might have been knocked unconscious if not for years of experience in combat. Valkyr clutched him by the throat and hit him again, again, and again until the cunning trickster vanished from sight. Valkyr was left alone with empty hands and a raging fire still burning in her head.

[ThunderPyre]

I'm loving how this series is going so far. Hope to see some of the new frames like Equinox and Atlas show up. And will the Primes make an appearance as well? 

 

Love this series, you really captured how Valkyr would interact with the other Tenno and how the others see her. I'll be keeping an eye out for any updates! :D

[Knayles]

Eventually yes I'd love to include all the Frames, just gotta come up with ideas for them all. I think Equinox would have MPD and Atlas would be similar to Rhino. I've got no ideas whatsoever for Zephyr/Banshee honestly.

 

I do have an idea for the Primes as well, but those will be revealed later.

 

Thanks for showing interest, I hope the story continues to impress.

[Knayles]

“Rhino, get to the southeast lily pond A.S.A.P.” came Excalibur’s voice over the dojo’s intercom. Rhino happened to be the closest to Valkyr when she went crazy and started assaulting Loki. He had vanished of course, leaving Valkyr alone to rampage around the room and tearing things apart in search of the invisible trickster. He’d taken quite a beating but he got away with his life. Unfortunately he was dumb enough to stick around and mess with the enraged Valkyr further.

A flash of light, an echo of gunfire. Valkyr turned her head to see the shimmering image of Loki firing his signature pistol at her from the left. She roared and charged him, thrusting a fist clear through the image. Another Decoy appeared to her right, she charged, then another, another. The decoy kept moving whenever she got close now, infuriating her further.

Damn Loki and his mind games. He wasn’t the only one who knew a few tricks though.

Valkyr summoned up her power and roared again, this time unleashing a wave of energy throughout the small room. Loki was knocked out of hiding and floored by the paralyzing energy, his position given away with another splash.  A deathly gaze filled with fury and hatred fell upon his form. Valkyr wanted him dead. She charged, splashing through the waters step after step until something else hit her from the side.

Rhino had arrived just in time to save Loki’s poor &amp;#&#33; from extinction, the heavy THUMP THUMP THUMP of his feet was never heard by the enraged Valkyr. In her fury she’d gone blind and deaf to anything but Loki. Rhino intercepted her and tackled her down into the waters, holding her in another bear’s hug to keep her suppressed.

This time she would not calm.

“I’LL KILL HIM!” she roared, twisting and writhing in Rhino’s grasp. “I’LL KILL HIM, AND ANYONE WHO GETS IN MY WAY!”

The mercury-colored metal began to creep and crawl it’s way over Rhino’s form to protect him from Valkyr’s flailing while Loki staggered back to his feet. Now that Rhino was here he realized his fun was over and that there would be plenty of explaining to do. Valkyr continued to struggle, clawing at the ground in a desperate bid to pull free of Rhino’s grip.

“Good job, we’re on our way” came Excalibur’s voice again. He was suited up with Trinity and Frost, rushing through the halls of the dojo to catch up with the others.

Rhino’s grip held strong and firm on the berserk femme. Loki was confident that his grip would hold but Rhino was silently gritting his teeth knowing otherwise. The Valkyr fought every second, twisting, turning, slashing and gnashing.

Eventually the unbelievable happened.

Valkyr turned, her fury no longer fixated on Loki. Rhino was the one trying to stop her so now it was his turn to pay. She struck him across the face with her claws; once, twice, again and again until his iron skin was peeled away.  Her final strike cut flesh and the bear’s grip slacked. She shoved herself free and rolled quickly to her feet. Seeing this, Loki quickly said “Oh S#&amp;&#036;!” and vanished from sight once again. Rhino was left alone to deal with Valkyr until others could arrive.

[dsadsgamer]

Well looks like Loki just unleashed hell unto himself and maybe to others as well..

[Knayles]

In case you wondered what my Valkyr looks like:

 

 

 

 

And the room she punched Loki's face in:

 

[Knayles]

Rhino stomped his feet in the water and replenished his armor, the iron quickly coated his injured face again. He raised his fists in a defensive position and locked eyes with the Valkyr. He didn’t want to kill her, I fact he didn’t want to harm her any more than he needed, but that was his folly. Valkyr didn’t care, in her fury she wouldn’t hold back and for that reason she was the bigger threat.  She rushed him, right arm drawn back and feet sloshing through the water.  She punched, he deflected. She kicked, he blocked. For the first moment Rhino seemed to be keeping up with the berserker but with each blow she struck quicker and harder. Rhino swept away one blow after another until one finally slipped through his defenses and connected with his chest, another soon followed and soon Rhino was struggling to keep up with each strike. Had it not been for his iron skin he might have fallen all too soon.

The doors opened and Excalibur rushed into the room, accompanied by Frost and Trinity. Nova had been left behind in the observatory to watch on the monitors while the events unfolded. “Valkyr!” Excalibur shouted. He and his group had equipped their helmets, unlike Valkyr and Rhino who didn’t have the time. His voice went unheard by the berserker, her tunnel vision burning on Rhino for the time being. Excalibur and the others were able to catch her off-guard because of this, but it scarcely made a difference. Valkyr was much too strong in her rage.

Excalibur dashed forth and struck Valkyr in the side with his bo staff, striking as hard as his muscles could. The berserker was merely staggered by the attack which would have otherwise floored her had she not been numbed by her own boiling blood. It got her attention though. She turned and swiped at Excalibur, missing his head by inches as he ducked beneath the attack.

“Stop this now!” Excalibur barked, striking her again.

Valkyr growled and brushed off the blow again, this time gripping the bo firmly in her own hands. She and Excalibur wrestled for the weapon, glowering at one another with gritted teeth. Valkyr eventually thrust her knee up and snapped the bo in half, kicking Excalibur backwards afterwards. One-on-one any of the Tenno might have had a hell of a time battling her on these terms, but four-on-one? They had the upper hand now. Rhino grabbed Valkyr from behind, another bear hug to trap her, third time’s a charm? Unfortunately the grapple had lost it’s luster after so many uses, Valkyr jammed her heel down atop Rhino’s foot with enough force to shatter the bones and then twisted free, following up with more slashes at his face.  Rhino retreated for his own safety while Frost took a turn at stopping Valkyr. The water around their knees grew cold, white crystals formed on its surface and it quickly began to thicken. Valkyr’s rage and her movement kept the ice from overtaking her immediately but it was steadily getting its grasp on her legs. She felt the resistance halting her, the cold chilling her. The blood was still boiling in her veins but her legs were freezing on the outside. Her attention shifted from Rhino again, down to the ice around her. She growled and twisted and turned, frantically trying to break free.

“Good job Frost…” Excalibur commented, patting the cold one’s shoulder. Trinity rushed to Rhino’s aid, mending his injuries with her miraculous touch. Frost had to stay focused to keep the ice around Valkyr’s legs so in the meantime Excalibur was the only one free to approach her. He had brought a pair of manacles with him to bind Valkyr’s hands but he wouldn’t get the chance just yet.

 

Valkyr twisted, her furious gaze falling on Frost now. She raised an arm in his direction and launched another assault, nowhere near done with her rampage yet. The rip-line bolted from the bulky contraption on her forearm, whizzing past Excalibur to snag Frost. She pulled with all her might and sent the cold one flying towards her while the rip-line on her other forearm was shot towards the ceiling. When it lodged into the roof above she pulled herself out of the water – a mass of ice still clinging to her legs. Frost landed in the water where she’d previously been and she fell back down atop him, shattering the ice that bound her and crushing him at the same time.

“Volt, get in here!” Excalibur called out over the intercom, utilizing the comm device in his helmet. Volt was there seconds later, in time to interrupt Excalibur as he continued his message. “We need everyone here n-…”

Volt blazed past Excalibur and clotheslined Valkyr, dropping her back into the water. The berserker roared and rolled to her feet, quickly standing and slashing at the air. Another flash of light collided with her, moving faster than her eyes could see. Another hit, then another, another, and another! Volt was far too quick for the berserker and he was steadily wearing her down with each hit. In her mindless flailing she would scratch him a time or two but never did enough damage to slow the blazing speedster down. Eventually Volt came to a stop and pointed a finger at Valkyr, strands of white lightning jumping forth from his hand to the berserker. She was paralyzed at first, dropped to her knees and cringing, muscles clenched and locked up.

“Good job, keep her down Volt.” Excalibur said, keeping his distance this time.

Valkyr dropped to all fours next, hands and knees, fighting the electricity that was ravaging her. She crawled, in immense pain, towards Volt as he shocked her into submission. She would not be done in so easily, she refused. The berserker crawled and gritted her teeth, reaching out for the one who was stopping her. Another rip-line shot forth from her but Volt was quick enough to evade the hook with ease.  His electricity continued to eat at her, locking her muscles down, paralyzing. She let out a roar and lurched forward one final time before hitting the ground entirely.

She was done.

[Knayles]

Valkyr had been bound in manacles of steel, her arms pulled tightly to her chest and chained to her. The others would not risk her becoming a threat again. The Tenno were gathered in the Observatory, all of them save for Vauban’s group who were still out on a mission and Loki who was lamenting the events of the day. Trinity was tending to Frost and Rhino’s injuries still while Excalibur punched commands into the console.

 

“Kind of impressive how she nearly annihilated the three of you~” Saryn chimed, her toxic honeyed voice striking a nerve with Excalibur.

 

“She’s a menace and she’s lucky I didn’t want her dead.” Excalibur answered, growling in his words.  

 

“There are other ways to deal with women you know.” Saryn smirked.

 

“Like you would have handled the situation any better. I doubt sleeping with her would have changed anything.” Excalibur growled again.

 

Saryn laughed at Excalibur’s biting words, they hardly stung her. She was known to be something of a seductress when she wasn’t slaughtering enemies of the Tenno but those words didn’t bother her in the slightest. “You never know, a little bit of love might loosen her up some. It’s a good way to relieve stress. You should try it sometime big boy~” Saryn eventually bit back, smirking.

 

Excalibur grumbled under his breath and continued pounding on the console, trying to get in communication with Lotus. Saryn gently pat the top of Valkyr’s head before leaving her be. The berserker was back to her usual self, sitting quietly with her back against a wall – in chains – and staring a hole into the floor ahead of her. Many eyes were upon her, some looking on in anger, others in pity. She could feel their many looks like unwanted hands upon her. She looked calm to their eyes but inside she was still raging, their looks of pity were more irritating than Loki’s words.

 

“I’m going to suggest we have her exiled” said Excalibur, tapping a final button on the console. “We can’t trust her among us but she may still be of use if we drop her on Neptune or some planet with heavy Corpus activity.”

 

“I beg you to reconsider that” came Loki’s voice in reply. He had finally worked up the nerve to join the others, his face beaten and bruised from the fight.

 

“Oh my, Loki…” Trinity chimed, hurrying over to see to him.

 

Loki pushed the healer aside even as she tried to help him and stepped forward, approaching Excalibur. He could only see through one eye, the other swollen up and sore, but he locked his gaze with the other’s and stood firm. “It’s my fault. If you’re going to blame anyone let it be me. She wouldn’t have lost her temper if I hadn’t pushed her to it, you can check the surveillance footage if you don’t believe me. I…I knew that if I pushed her enough she would snap…But in my head I thought perhaps she might find room for healing if she was pushed so far that she finally broke. Her actions are a result of mine and I claim full responsibility.” 

 

He stayed firm and kept his head high, determined. Valkyr rolled her eyes at his speech.

 

“That doesn’t change the fact that she just tried to kill four of us.” Excalibur argued. “It may be your fault this time but it’s not the first time she’s lost it and I’m sure it won’t be the last. She’s a menace and a threat to every one of us an-“

 

He was cut short by another voice interrupting, loud enough to be heard but calm and collected.

 

“Then just kill me and be done with it” Valkyr scoffed. She looked up, glaring with all her hatred at the two bickering. They looked at her in shock, surprised that she was actually speaking. “Don’t f***ing look at me like that!” she barked, baring her teeth. “You morons wonder why I hate all of you so much, why I snapped and tried to kill you?”  She stood up, chains rattling around her. “Ever since the day you found me you’ve all been looking down at me. Every single one of you! Whether it’s fear, mistrust or pity every one of you has looked down at me!”  She shouted, her voice echoing through the observatory room while the others looked on at her in awe. Some of them turned their heads in shame realizing that she spoke the truth; they had pitied her.  “Poor little Valkyr, all f***ed up and braindead. That’s what you think of me isn’t it? Those Corpus bastards may have ripped me apart and stitched me back together but you all have been treating me like an abomination since day f***ing one! They cut me open and poked around and took whatever they could from me but that’s fine. I can handle more physical pain than any of you can imagine. It’s you lot, looking down on me, talking about me behind my back, treating me like a pariah that makes me so sick I want to ruin everything in sight.” She moved closer to Excalibur, coming face to face with the one the others called big brother. Her gaze penetrated his, all her fury and rage burning a hole through his head as she spoke. “You’re the worst of them all, so hear this and hear it good. If you let me free I will kill you. It’s not that I’m a monster, it’s what you deserve. You treated me like I wasn’t one of you, well I’m not. I don’t wanna be one of you.”

 

Excalibur was silent, everyone in the room was. Their voices had been stolen by Valkyr’s speech. Many of them felt the guilt hanging around their necks. Silence filled the Observatory for a while, broken only when the voice of the Lotus came from the console.

 

“Interesting story, Tenno.”

 

“Lotus” Excalibur turned, saluting as her image came on screen. “You finally answered.”

 

“I’ve been on the line for a while actually, I heard a lot.”

 

“Then I’m sure you understand why I contacted you. I…” he paused, turning his gaze to Valkyr a moment. He too felt a tinge of guilt for mistreating her for so long. “There was an incident earlier today. I don’t know how to resolve this.”

 

“Do your best, Excalibur” Replied the Lotus. “But don’t give up on your fellow Tenno.”

 

The Lotus disconnected with only that having been said, leaving the decision of what to do about Valkyr on Excalibur’s head. He let out a sigh and hung his shoulders, at a loss.

“…Put her in stasis for now” he ordered. “I need to think.”

Edited October 12, 2015 by Knayles