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[Fanfiction] Unclean

Kalenath

By Kalenath,
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Shadow977

Shadow977

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really, no replies for the new chapters?

 

*sits at the cliff of the blast zone caring for one of his kubrow, said blast zone has dug into the earth and created a natural bungee jump spot*

 

I do look forward to how Cathi will balance herself vs. "the beast within".

 

EDIT: and the new chapter was posted as I typed...

I didn't really have anything to say and couldn't make any jokes or puns either.

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Kalenath

Kalenath

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Carlos. What are you doing? Carlos stop! Don't do anything what you will regret!

 

He knows what he is doing. And whatever happens, he WILL regret it. He failed his flesh and blood sister, he won't fail Cathi without trying everything he can.

 

I didn't really have anything to say and couldn't make any jokes or puns either.

 

No problem. Cathi was pretty speechless about that too. :p

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Kalenath

Kalenath

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Life

 

"Cathi."

 

Cathi did not look up. She did not need to see him to know Carlos had his hand on his sword. She had moved to another room. This one was an aquatic Zen garden. She had always loved the gardens on the ship and Laney had worked hard to preserve some of the peaceful feeling that had been so important after stressful competitions. Apparently the people who now called the ship home felt the same way because the space was well maintained. She watched the small fish swim to and fro for a moment before responding.

 

"I am infected, Carlos." Cathi maintained her kneeling posture through sheer force of will. "There is no cure."

 

"You are wrong." Carlo's soft word had Cathi jerking right out of her meditative pose. He hadn't moved and no, his hand wasn't on his sword hilt. "You have missed a lot, sister. They didn't tell you about Alad V, did they?"

 

"What?" Cathi asked, confused. "Laney?" She called to the ship AI who she knew as listening despite her plea not to.

 

"He is not Tenno." The ship AI replied in a soft, worried tone. "We don't know if it worked or not. Our treatment will put it into remission, but won't cure it."

 

"There are secrets that must be kept." Carlos said quietly, not moving from where he stood. "But the Caretakers are unanimous with Karl's clan. Cathi needs help." The Oberon shook his horned head. "You can't. We will try."

 

"We can force it into remission." Laney sounded unsure. "I cannot fathom any other means of dealing with such a virulent problem." Cathi bowed her head and Laney gave a deep sigh. "I suppose the Caretakers would need something like that. Your choice, my friend."

 

"Friend?" Carlos asked. Cathi had to smile at his dubious tone.

 

"By some strange twist of fate or some utterly implausible coincidence, I know this ship." Cathi said with a grin. "She was my manager during the Imperial Games." Carlos was obviously gawking at her and Cathi shook her head. "Yeah, I didn't believe it either, but here we are." She let out a slow breath. "For the first time in a long, long time, I don't want to die Carlos. What can I do?"

 

"The clan has already sent missions after the Jordas Golem." Carlos said quietly. Cathi stiffened and the Oberon shook his head again. "And no, it is not just about you. It is a massive threat, and a spaceborne one so it can go anywhere. The Caretakers got the information you sent. They are upset. Jasmina is downright scary when she gets upset." He held out a hand to Cathi. "Come on, Cathi. Brianna wants to poke and prod you. A lot."

 

"What can they do that I can't?" Laney asked softly, concerned. "Cathi is my friend. I want to help."

 

"There are secrets that must be kept, Laney." Cathi said softly as she rose and took Carlos' outstretched hand. "If this doesn't work, if I can, I will come back. Either way, I want to come back. I want to talk to you. Nothing confidential or classified. But I have a friend back who I thought lost."

 

"Me too." Laney said sadly. "We are on approach to the dojo now. Docking in two minutes. Too many secrets is bad, Cathi."

 

"As are too few." Cathi replied. "There are things...that no one can know, Laney. You understand?" She wasn't quite pleading.

 

"I do." The ship replied. "But I worry about you. As much as I worry about the others who call me home, you were my friend and while I know I didn't I fail you, I feel that way sometimes. There wasn't anything I could have done to help you, not against a renegade member of the Royal Family. But the memories do hurt."

 

"I don't have a lot of friends, Laney." Cathi said quietly as Carlos guided her for the room. He wasn't pushy about it, but he wasn't going to be denied either. "But I would be proud to call you one of them again."

 

"Don't you dare stop!" The ship said in a snooty voice and Cathi laughed. "I will show up at inconvenient times and ask for things that make you uncomfortable. That is what friends do." She warned. "But I hope never to betray your friendship. We want help the Tenno as a whole. It is what we are for. We follow the Lotus' orders, but... We have our own way."

 

"Each has their own journey." Cathi grunted philosophically as Carlos led her towards the airlock. Even after all this time the layout was familiar.

 

"There is one thing..." Laney said and Cathi paused just before entering the airlock. "Officer Killian has disappeared."

 

"Disappeared?" Cathi asked, pulling Carlos to a halt. "Where?"

 

"Eris."

 

***

 

"He did what?"

 

To say Karl was less than enthusiastic about what Cathi had just told him was probably not the greatest understatement that Cathi had ever encountered, but it had to be in the top ten. Maybe the top five. Cathi tried not to sigh. It was hard. She couldn't move. After Brianna's extremely in depth testing regime, Cathi had been taken to the Caretaker's area and then Healer had started on her. Nothing hurt and this time, she wasn't submerged in horrid looking and foul smelling viscous substance. She almost wished for that again. Almost.

 

Instead, she was lying on her back, outside of her warframe while Infested flesh crawled up and down her leg. It was wrong on so many levels. She had been glad to see Karl, but now he was being a jerk.

 

"He didn't know you had operations going after the Golem." Cathi replied evenly, not even trying to move in the restraints that held her in place. The things were not tentacles covered in small suction cups no matter what they looked like, but... She didn't look too close. Frankly? She didn't want to know what the things holding her in place were. She didn't want to know if the thing that was gliding over her leg was alive or not. There was so much she simply didn't want to know about the situation. "He went after the Golem to get a sample so they could help me. And he didn't come back. The Lotus cannot hear him."

 

"How is this our problem?" Karl demanded. "He lied to us. He hurt you. And no." He declared as Cathi tried to protest. "Carlos didn't say, but Brianna saw the marks of healing. What did they do?"

 

"He didn't." Cathi retorted. "I bit my lip. It is what I do. It wasn't him or the others. Well..." She made a face. "Part of it was. They needed to process me and I did not cooperate. Karl..." Cathi shook her head. "They were doing their job. Are you angry with them or with me?"

 

"A bit of both." Karl admitted after a moment. "And then a bit with myself. I didn't want to let them take you."

 

"I know." Cathi said with a smile. "Thank you for letting me seek closure. I needed it."

 

"Don't do that again anytime soon, please?" Karl asked plaintively. "We managed to keep everything under wraps. Barely. The Caretakers were more than a bit upset." He trailed off as Cathi grimaced. "Yeah."

 

"He saw them." Cathi said slowly. Karl nodded. "The cops are not stupid. They will put it together that the Caretakers haven't been 'visiting'. Do you have a refuge lined up for them?"

 

"They have set one up for themselves. They don't want us to know where." Karl nodded as Cathi frowned. "They have been betrayed too many times to trust, Cathi. Even us."

 

"I know." Cathi's voice was barely audible. "Tenno will not react well. I didn't."

 

"But you didn't react with hatred. Fear yes, hatred no." Jasmina's voice preceded the Ember Prime into the room. Cathi's glare slid off the Caretaker like water off a duck's back. "And no, you and Karl have both made your opinions of my trying to help quite clear." Karl and Cathi both growled at her. "I do count you both friends, but there has to be separation. We have stayed here far too long, placed your clan in jeopardy."

 

"After everything that happened, Jasmina..." Karl replied without a touch of heat. "You needed the time."

 

"We did." Jasmina agreed. "For that, thank you. But once we go... This area will have to be disposed of. We cleaned it as best we could -which is pretty darn good- but we cannot be 100% certain we got every spore. So you will have to jettison these sections."

 

"Wait, what?" Cathi demanded, confused. "Jettison?"

 

"Each level of this dojo can be sealed off and blown free of the main structure if needed. In case of quarantine or invasion." Karl replied. "Clan paranoia ran deep when we built it. That is really the only reason Jasmina's people stayed. They knew the virus wouldn't be allowed out."

 

"We take our oaths seriously." Jasmina said with a scowl in her voice. "Infecting an entire clan would be bad.  We do thank you for the time and security, but we have to go." Karl nodded.

 

"You are welcome back at anytime." Karl promised. "But we will scan." Jasmina nodded and turned to Cathi who flushed under her scrutiny.

 

"You will be good for the clan." Jasmina said after a moment. Cathi didn't know how to take that, so she did not reply. The restraints released Cathi and the fleshy thing that had been crawling up and down Cathi's leg vanished back to wherever it had come from. She pointedly did not look. "Tenno came from the Technocyte virus, Cathi. There are meditations that can help."

 

"So the cops said." Cathi said quietly. Jasmina nodded and Cathi continued. "Infection is not the end, but I will have to be very cautious. Chance of a relapse?"

 

"We think about 14%." Jasmina replied, a scowl clear despite her closed helmet. "Which is still too high... so..." She reached to her belt and pulled something off. She held it out to Cathi who took the small circular thing gingerly.

 

"What is this?" Cathi asked, looking at it. It didn't feel like metal, or plastic, or anything she knew. Then it heated in her hand and she nearly threw it away. "What is this?" She repeated, staring at the circle of whatever-the-hell-it-was.

 

"That is a Glaive." Jasmina replied. "A very special Glaive. I know you prefer heavier blades. But that one will serve you well. You won't be able to duplicate it. Heck, we can't."

 

"Jasmina, I cannot accept this." Cathi said slowly staring at the thing in her hand. "Is it made of flesh?"

 

"No and yes." Jasmina reached down to pull Cathi up. The recumbent Tenno let her. "Karl? I need to show her and you. But the rest... The rest is up to you. To say or not."

 

"Jasmina..." Karl said slowly. "You didn't..."

 

"She needs help, Karl. Both with the chance of relapse and with everything else." Jasmina said sadly. "We won't be here, but if you need, focus on the Glaive and think of me or Elenia, Cathi. We will hear. We will come."

 

"Jasmina...." Cathi rose to her feet, with Jasmina's assistance, still staring at the thing in her hand. "I cannot accept this."

 

"Come." Jasmina said simply and started for the door. Cathi stared at Karl who shrugged and both of them followed the Caretaker.

 

The room they followed Jasmina into was empty except for number of targets set all around it. The odd looking things hung at various levels, some high, some low, some behind others.  Cathi stared around, confused, Karl just shook his head.

 

"This is my training area." Jasmina said quietly as a Prime Glaive sprouted in her hand. "We set up a room specifically for my practice." Cathi stared at the Ember. She hadn't seen that Glaive attached to the hardpoint on the Ember's forearm. She should have. "Neither of you are in any danger. I will not harm you." This was an oath.

 

"Jasmina, she is not ready." Karl started and then Cathi gave a small cry as Jasmina threw the Glaive. At Karl!

 

The unarmored Tenno started to move, then froze as the Glaive... arced. It was not aerodynamics. It was not wind. It was not anything that Cathi could see or sense. The Glaive flew through one target, two, three, four, fix, six... Cathi was sure her jaw was sitting on the floor as she stood, shaking her head. Jasmina inclined her head to Cathi as the Glaive sought her hand and vanished.

 

"I can't do that." Cathi said weakly. "I am not the First." Karl did not move from where he stood, but she could see his tension.

 

"Neither am I." The Ember stepped close and took Cathi's hand in her own, the one with the odd lump. "It is not some sacred ritual or anything, Cathi." The Ember chided the unarmored Tenno gently. "As with any skill, it takes practice. Will is almost there, but don't tell him I said so. He needs to discover it on his own."

 

"And I don't?"  Cathi demanded, sudden anger rising. "Why are you doing this?"

 

"You were born Tenno, Cathi." Jasmina wasn't fazed by Cathi's outburst. "Every Tenno born has certain innate differences. We..." The Ember nodded to Karl who shook his head slightly. "...were made. You were born. You have the capacity within you. You have just never needed it." The Ember shook her head. "The dance of Astral Twilight helps to focus. It really does, sister. I need it myself more often than I care to admit."

 

"You have a horrible job." Cathi stared down at her hand. The thing didn't feel like a Glaive. It felt like a lump of inert matter. "This... I don't know."

 

"Cathi." Jasmina went to her knees in front of Cathi. "Trust me. Let go. You will need it." She snorted. "Not the least to give everyone who demands that you be lesser than they are a kick in the teeth."

 

"Let go?" Cathi asked, confused. "I don't know..." Her words broke off in an 'eep' as the inert mass in her hand suddenly became far less inert. It sprouted three long curved blades that extended far beyond her arm. It felt... she was...

 

"And... now..." Jasmina said softly. Cathi didn't look at her, simply threw the Glaive. It flew wildly, but then altered course in mid-flight. It flew through one target, then another, then another. It flew back to Cathi's hand and she stared at it as it morphed.

 

"This is... I..." Cathi stared at the thing that was not a Prime Glaive, Or a regular one, Or even a copy of the First's as it had been before. It looked... Infested? She stared at Jasmina and her voice was tiny. "How?"

 

"You are who you are, Cathi." Jasmina rose from her knees and nodded to the stunned female Tenno. "We did you a disservice, taking a piece of your warframe along with the Infestation from your wound. But you will need an equalizer. Hayden Tenno could have become a monster when he was infected. He chose otherwise. To transcend his humanity and become far more. Now? You have the chance to become far more than that evil *@##$ who took you and hurt you wanted you to be. No matter what you choose, that Glaive will never forsake you."

 

"I... I can't..." Cathi stammered, staring at the mass in her hand. "If they think I am infected..."

 

"That is a Cerata." Karl spoke up for the first time. "Right, Jasmina?"

 

"It is." Jasmina agreed. "You can ask the weapon to assume any form you wish. It will take practice." Hers appeared in hand. Suddenly, it was  regular Glaive. Then a Prime one. Then something that looked vaguely Grineer. Then a boomerang. Then it mimicked the mass in Cathi's hand and vanished.

 

"Is it alive?" Cathi asked, still not taking her eyes form the thing in her hand.

 

"When Technocyte is involved, there are no easy answers, Cathi. You know this." Jasmina chided her gently. "The line blurs to the point of invisibility. I personally would say 'No'. But that is just me. You will figure it out for yourself. We all thought you would need the help. So, we made that and determined to tell you how I do what I do. I hope and pray we never find ourselves in conflict, sister. It would not be good."

 

"No. No, it wouldn't." Cathi said weakly. "Thank you?" Her words were more question that statement.

 

"For that..." Jasmina nodded to the Glaive. "...you are welcome. For the rest?" She stepped close and opened her arms. "Come here, sister." Cathi stepped forward and the Ember embraced her gently. "You suffered and will bear scars from your sufferings. But now? You have a chance to be what you were meant to be. You have a fresh start. Not many get that. I am honored..." The Caretaker put a great deal of emphasis on the word. "...to know you and call you 'friend'. Be well, my friend."

 

She gave Cathi one more hug and then was gone before Cathi could formulate a proper response. The unarmored Tenno stared after the Ember and then at Karl who shrugged again.

 

"They do what they do." Karl's voice was reflective now. "They would not hand you something infectious after so much effort to cure you."

 

"It is not." Cathi replied absently, her eyes tracing the horrific lines of the weapon her hand. She closed her eyes and focused. Karl's indrawn breath had her opening her eyes to see the Glaive in her hand had become a copy of the First Tenno's. Cathi relaxed, but the Glaive remained as it was. "I am going after Killian."

 

"I make no arbitrary demands on my clan. My own feelings make no difference." Karl replied evenly. "If you wish to, that is your right. But not alone."

 

"No." Cathi nodded. "You are coming with me." Karl stared at her. There was something new in her voice. Not confidence, because she had always had that. Something more.

 

"Cathi..." Karl groaned. "I don't want to help him."

 

"I know." Cathi replied evenly. "We will argue on the way."

 

"But you are coming."

 

Edited by Kalenath
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Kalenath

Kalenath

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oh boy talk about Irresistible force meets immovable object.... I dont know who is more stubborn Karl or Cathi...

 

Karl is not immovable, but yes, he is stubborn.

 

Cathi has an advantage here and will use it ruthlessly.

 

That Atlas really is ROCK-stupid isn't he?

 

Actually, he wasn't stupid at all. When he arrested Cathi, he was doing his duty. When he went to try and find something to help her, he was trying to appease her clan. He is not stupid, just moved by events more than desires.

 

NONE of what happened was Killian's fault.

 

Of course, DO NOT expect Karl or the others to EVER admit that.

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Shadow977

Shadow977

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Actually, he wasn't stupid at all. When he arrested Cathi, he was doing his duty. When he went to try and find something to help her, he was trying to appease her clan. He is not stupid, just moved by events more than desires.

 

NONE of what happened was Killian's fault.

 

Of course, DO NOT expect Karl or the others to EVER admit that.

Yeah but going after the Golem on his own? Not that smart.

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evafan002

evafan002

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I don't know.  Do you want to ask him?

 

I'll be over here.  In a Vault.  Inside a bunker.  Under a mountain.  With a 9mm and some cyanide just in case.

Silly Tenno that won't save you! Nikis is grand-master of the DEAD for a reason!

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Kalenath

Kalenath

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I don't know.  Do you want to ask him?

 

I'll be over here.  In a Vault.  Inside a bunker.  Under a mountain.  With a 9mm and some cyanide just in case.

Silly Tenno that won't save you! Nikis is grand-master of the DEAD for a reason!

 

A pitch black Nekros strides into view and clears his throat loudly.

 

"Janet sent me. The author asked her to tell you guys he has the flu. He will try to put something up tomorrow. I recommend you don't push him. He makes me look silly or soft again and its gonna get bad around here." He taps his pistol butts with clear message in his fingers.

 

He turns to go and then pauses.

 

"Good puns have their place. Bad ones do too. Take that however you want it." Cold threat sings as he stares around.

 

Nikis sniffs loudly and vanishes back to wherever he came from.

Edited by Kalenath
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