Jump to content
Dante Unbound: Share Bug Reports and Feedback Here! ×

[Fanfiction] Normal

Kalenath

By Kalenath,
in Fan Zone

 Share

Recommended Posts

Kalenath

Kalenath

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

Escape


Mari was staggering as CCX-2 led her through the depths of the Grineer ship. Behind her, she could hear the sounds of a terrific struggle, but her gaze and her steps, were forward.

Where are we going? She asked CCX-2 wearily. I am...tired...

Put your good arm over me, Mari A-73. CCX-2 said on their private wavelength. You are hurt. I am not. Mari was too tired to argue and did as instructed, allowing the MOA to take most of her weight.

Gora died... For me... Mari said softly. I... CCX-2? What do I do? She begged.

You are hurt and sick, my friend. The MOA replied. You need rest and care. The Lotus has promised both.

Will the Tenno kill us?" Mari asked slowly, dazed. The one before...hurt me... Just the memory of the injuries she had taken from the oddly garbed humanoid hurt Mari.

No. She was under orders to hurt you but not kill you. The MOA replied steadily as they walked. From what I understand now, she could have filled the room with fire. Mari winced but nodded slowly. She didn't.

I am scared. Mari felt small with that admission. I am fuzzy and my memory is fuzzy. I am so...tired...

Mari A-73... The MOA said urgently. Stay awake. The medical systems in this chassis were never connected. I cannot help you. Stay awake. She begged.

How... How much further? Mari asked, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. I... She jerked with CCX-2 as an alarm started to wail throughout the ship. Oh dear... She said weakly.

The Grineer will focus on the Tenno. At least, if they have any sense at all, they will. CCX-2 replied. As long as we stay to the maintenance passages, we should be fairly difficult to track. Not far now to the airlock and safety, Mari A-73.

Mari kept going as the MOA cajoled her forward, but her meager strength was flagging. Her flesh and blood eye closed of its own volition and she stumbled several times. The MOA kept her upright and moving. Her artificial eye was still working so she had some sense of where they were.

Safety? Mari said sadly. I will never be safe... Never...

"If you so choose, you can be." Mari didn't have the strength to do anything but jerk as a form simply appeared in the shaft ahead of them. The figure was gold. Not just colored gold, but covered in gold. In appearance, it was a Corpus Crewman but an odd headpiece was attached to the faceplate of his helmet. A headpiece made of gold hoops. Mari jerked again as the MOA hissed in anger.

"Go away." The MOA snapped. "I told you before and I will tell you again. Go away!" She sounded angry, a first in Mari's experience. Even when the Tenno had attacked Mari, CCX-2 had been more scared than angry. Now, the MOA was furious.

"You both have more in common with us, gentle MOA, than with any flesh." The odd figure responded. "We can aid you both."

"And the cost is too high!" CCX-2 snapped. "No. Go away!" She demanded. The figure looked at Mari who hadn't the strength to reply or inquire as to why the MOA was so upset.

You are weakening, Mari. A sad voice sounded in Mari's head. It...wasn't the voice that had just spoken from the gold figure. Will you take her down with you?

No! CCX-2's mental voice was sharp with fear. Mari A-73! Don't listen. It's a lie!

We do not lie, CCX-2.The voice was gentle, but held steel underneath. She is dying. If Mari dies, so will you.

What? Mari asked, stunned. CCX-2 did not respond and Mari managed to turn her head to look at the MOA. "CCX-2?"

"The Corpus linked us." CCX-2 said, manifestly against its will. "I don't know how or why. That is why you knew what was going on inside my housing when no one else did. Why we...were so compatible. Why we love one another. We are two halves of one whole." Mari hugged the MOA and CCX-2 leaned into her embrace. "But don't listen. I was warned about them. They lie, Mari A-73!" The MOA begged.

We have lied. In the future, we likely will lie. But in this, in this, we are not lying. The voice in their heads said quietly. We do not need to. The truth is for more powerful than any lie. You are dying, Mari.

Can you save CCX-2? Mari demanded despite the MOA's hiss of disapproval.

We don't know. The voice said sadly. Not here.

Don't even contemplate this! CCX-2 said sharply. They will kill you! Tear me from your mind and kill you! I will not allow it! Go away! She screamed mentally, her rage and pain slamming from her hull into the gold form. It staggered, buffeted by her mental shout.

Your love is strong. The voice said as the golden form wavered and vanished. But the voice sounded again. We will be watching. Then it was gone.

What the hell was that? Mari asked, slumping. You talked to it before?

They made the same offer to me. As for what it was? A very dangerous relic of an ancient time. The Lotus explained some of what it is, but... not here. Not now. CCX-2 replied softly. Can you stand?

I... Mari tried to stand up and her legs crumpled under her. No...Is... Is it true? If I die...

I don't know. CCX-2 said sadly. Hold on tight.

Mari froze as the MOA leaned down and carefully eased its main hull underneath her. She was lifted into the air as the MOA straightened, but not all the way. There was no flat spot for her to ride, but she could hold herself off the ground. She clung to the boxy weapons housing with all her might, clenching her good hand as CCX-2 started off at a trot. The first of the MOA's footfalls jarred Mari to the bone and they only got worse after that.

What happened next was a blur of pain. Mari was aware of corridor walls, of lights on the ceiling. But they passed too quickly for her to focus on anything. Finally, the MOA slammed to a stop and spoke.

"Help!" CCX-2 begged. "Please?" Mari couldn't see past the tears in her eyes, past the pain in her head and hand.

"I have her." A female voice said as hands took hold of Mari. But Mari wouldn't let go of the MOA's weapon's housing. The voice pleaded with her. "Mari, let go... I have you. You are safe."

"Never be safe..." Mari mumbled. "Can't be safe... Just... a normal person... No superpowers... Never be safe..."

"Normal?" The female voice asked, surprised. "You? Sorry, Mari. Nothing normal about you. Easy..."

Something touched her clenched hand and it unclasped from its tight hold all on its own. Mari gave a cry of fear and tried to grab with her other hand, forgetting it was hurt. As it hit the MOA's hull, agony flared through her and the last thing she heard was a high pitched scream of pain. Her scream of pain.

***

"She is one tough lady." The harsh sounding voice was pitched low, but Mari had no difficulty hearing it.

"Can we do anything?" Another female voice asked, this one scared.

"No." The first voice said sadly. "She has to choose her own path. That is what separates people from machines. Free will."

"Not all machines." Mari mumbled. "Even if I am not really Corpus, I am still a machine. An organic one."

"Yes, you are and so much more." The second voice said as a gentle hand traced Mari's cheek. It felt more metallic than flesh, but warm. Kind of like CCX-2's hull. "Some may have forgotten that Tenno came from humans originally, but then, sometimes... They see the greatness that humans can do. No super powered bio-armor. No fancy weapons. Just courage and the determination to do the right thing. You shame me, Mari."

"You shame us." The first voice said softly. Was she crying? "We chose this path. You did not. You were tossed into this path with no say at all. You are pure human and the courage you have shown puts any Tenno who has ever existed to shame." Another hand, a different one, was rubbing her head, soothing her hurts.

"Tenno?" Mari said, the word percolating through her mind. "Wha-?" She tried to open her eyes and couldn't. "What?" She asked, fear rising.

"Be at peace, Mari. We cannot allow you to see us. But..." The second voice said as something wafted over her, soothing her fear away. "You are not alone on this path you walk, Mari."

"Who are you?" Mari asked as she felt her consciousness start to fade.

"We are...Tenno." The first voice said softly. "No less and no more. Fear not, Mari. For now, your ordeals are done. Rest and heal, sister of courage. Your tasks will be hard, but you are equal to your tasks. I believe in you, Mari."

"Of all the things I might have expected to hear from you, Mag..." The second voice said with a laugh. "That was not anywhere close to the list."

"Bite me, Trinity." The one called Mag said with a snarl. "If you tell anyone I got weepy..." She threatened.

"I won't." Trinity replied. "I like my health." Mari was chuckling as sleep came for her.

***


Waking was a long, slow matter. Mari was aware of many things. She was lying on something soft, covered by something warm. Her body felt light and heavy at the same time. Her head hurt a little, and her arm... She paused. She couldn't feel her left hand. Her right hand clenched when she asked it to, but her left...

"Mari?" A quiet female voice asked from nearby. "Oh Mari..." Mari looked up to see a female human wearing a gray body suit stepping close to her. The woman wore the badge of a doctor on her arm and had a scanner in hand. "No, no..." the doctor pleaded. "Please don't try to move. You were in surgery less than twenty minutes ago." Mari tried to speak, but nothing came out and the doctor sighed. "We have a tube in to aid your breathing, Mari. You won't be able to talk. Here..." She moved a pad under Mari's hand and Mari saw it was set up so she could type.

Slowly and carefully, Mari typed out a word. 'Where?'

"You are in a medical facility in our dojo, Mari." The doctor said quietly. "You were a mess, but not beyond our skills."

'CCX-2?' Mari typed.

"Your...friend has been giving statements to our Clan Leader." The doctor said with a nod. She made a face but it was humorous. "It's strange, but no stranger than anything else we have seen recently." She said with a chuckle. Mari smiled at that, but then frowned.

'Hand?' She typed.

"The damage was severe." The doctor said with a nod. "We repaired what we could, and now we need to give it time to heal. We will need to see how well it recovers. It is still there and you will have some function. How much we don't know."

'Numb.' Mari typed.

"Good." T he doctor replied. "We have you on nerve blockers. You are not going to be able to use it for some time, Mari."

'Who you?' Mari asked via the pad. The doctor recoiled a little.

"They said you wouldn't remember, but I didn't really believe it." The doctor said, her face sad. "My name is Amelia, Mari. We were friends, before you left to try and make a normal life for yourself and the Corpus snatched you."

'Prisoner?' Mari asked.

"You are hurt." Amelia said with a stern shake of her head. "For now, that is all that matters. You need help and I will give it. After what the Corpus and Grineer did to you, you really do need help. "

'Feel strange.' Mari typed. 'Light.' She did note what the doctor did not say. Mari was a prisoner.

"You nearly died, Mari." Amelia said with a sad look. "We will help you, but you have to listen to me."

'Talk CCX-2.' Mari typed. 'Now.'

"Mari..." Amelia said sourly but paused as Mari slammed her hand into the pad. "Mari, calm down! Please!" She begged.

'NEED CCX-2.' Mari typed all in capital letters. Then she was fading as the doctor hit a switch. Mari was typing as she nodded off. 'Plea-...'

***

Mari A-73? The soft voice was in Mari's head. Be easy, you are safe. CCX-2's voice was sad and scared but also clear.

Are we prisoners? Mari asked on their odd wavelength.

Yes. The MOA replied but then hastened to continue. But they are kind. They could be so much worse to both of us, Mari A-73. I think...I think we scare them.

What? Mari asked, incredulous. But then she paused as a throat cleared nearby.

"You know, I was always heard that it was rude for two people to have a conversation around another when they were not in a military." Mari froze at the impossible voice and then turned her head to stare at the female who sat in a chair nearby. She knew this woman! This...Grineer female.

"G...G...Gora?" Mari asked. "No... You were shot!" She shook her head, aware of bandages and wires connected to it. "You died. You are dead!"

"Gora is dead. My name is Cora, Mari." The large woman said with a sad sigh. "You met my clone sister. The Lotus said she was gone." She bowed her head. "She was shot? How did she die?" She asked, her voice not -quite- pleading.

"She was discovered as a spy." Mari said softly, disbelieving. "She was covering for me, protecting me. So that Commander woman gunned her down." The woman who was, and was not a Grineer bowed her head. "I am sorry." Mari said sadly. "I couldn't do anything, too weak."

"It's not your fault, Mari." Cora said with a shake of her head. "Even if you had been fully capable, Commander De Thaym is a match for entire Tenno strike teams. What could you have done against her?" Cora sighed. "Gora chose her way and I bet she died fighting. She always was a fighter." Mari nodded jerkily and then paused as a large violet form came close. Cora smiled a bit sadly. "Your friend has been waiting very impatiently for you to wake."

"CCX-2..." Mari said fondly, then paused as she saw something on the MOA's housing that wasn't normal. A large black box. "What is that?" She demanded, her voice harsh.

"They insisted on a restraint device. If I become violent or attempt to flee, it will disable my systems." CCX-2 said quietly. "I do not blame them for being...cautious even with my weapons systems offline." Mari was shaking her head, but CCX-2 made a human sounding sigh. "Think, Mari A-73. Can they trust us?" Mari paused and then shook her head again. "They cannot." The MOA said sadly. "I will not leave you. And you need time to heal, to regain your strength while they determine what was done to you."

"What about me?" Mari asked Cora after a moment.

"You are not going to be very mobile for a day or so at the very earliest, Mari." Cora said sadly. "Grineer mind probes are brutal affairs. You have neural trauma that must be given time to heal. And then... your hand..."

"My...?" Mari jerked, she had forgotten her hand. She looked at it and froze. "What is...this...?" She asked as she slowly traced the oblong gray thing that encased her left forearm and hand. It was rounded on the end, past where her fingers would be, but she couldn't feel anything inside it. "They didn't cut it off, did they?" She asked, concerned.

"No. It is a cast of sorts." Cora said with a nod. "Your hand is resting in a specialized gel that prevents it from dehydrating. The gel acts as a cushion and as a healing agent. The covering will protect you from further injury and keep any bacteria from entering to infect the healing injuries as well as speeding the healing process somewhat."

"Wow." Mari said, staring at it. "So... How long?" she asked after a moment of exploring the cast with her fingers.

"You will be in the bed for at least a day, Mari." Cora said gently. "The cast? A week or so. But you should make a full recovery." Something in her tone made Mari blink.

"I knew you...didn't I?" Mari asked after a moment.

"We were friends." Cora said with a nod. "You don't remember me and we can't put your memories back in with the neural damage you took, so..." She looked away. "Everyone here knew you. You were abrasive, and a bit of a jerk. But we all loved you anyway. When we heard you had been taken, and why..." She broke off, her face working.

"Why did I leave?" Mari asked, dumbfounded. "This place is amazing..."

"You wanted a chance at a normal life." Cora said with a sad smile. "We all wanted you happy and you were not here. You tried, but you were not. Sensei -he is the Clan Leader- set up a link to a university on a human colony. They accepted you on the basis of your placement test scores. We should have sent someone with you." Cora said in regret. "We should have."

"It's not your fault." Mari said and then yawned. "I... Aw drat..." She said as she yawned again. "Naptime?" She asked as she lay back in the bed.

"You can sleep here, Mari." Cora promised. "No one will harm you here."

"I will watch as well." CCX-2 promised, kneeling down to set itself at Mari's eye level. "Rest, my friend."

Mari smiled at the MOA, laid her head back and was asleep almost before she shut her eyes. Edited by Kalenath
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Kalenath

Kalenath

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

New Captors

 

Mari woke with a gasp from a nightmare of golden skinned forms working around her as she lay on  table. She stared up at the ceiling of the room for a moment and then slowly closed her eyes again. But... something wasn't right. She stiffened and her right hand moved, almost of it's own volition, up to her face. She touched her cheek around her left eye and bit back a sob as she felt flesh instead of metal. She opened her remaining eye again and then closed it, her hand tracing the odd feeling substance that covered her left eye socket.

 

"Mari?" A deep voice asked, but she ignored it, exploring her new mutilation with gentle fingers. The male voice was sad, but clear. "Mari, it's okay."

 

"What have you done to me?" Mari asked, not looking at the speaker.

 

"We protected ourselves." The male voice replied. "We didn't have a choice, Mari."

 

"I am a prisoner and you have mutilated me..." Mari said, her tone one step from hysteria. "What are you going to do next? Brutalize me?" She snapped, her eyes still closed.

 

"No." The male voice said quietly. "That was already done." Mari froze and swallowed heavily. "And not by us."

 

"What are you talking about?" Mari demanded. The male voice sighed.

 

"Mari, the Corpus have a set pattern for brainwashing subjects. They use it because it works on most of their 'acquisitions'." The man said gently. "When they acquire a subject, they find that subject's weaknesses and use them to break said subject. Then they work to reprogram said subject. They did that to you. They found your weakness and broke you. The patterns of scar tissue are clear."

 

"B...Broke...?" Mari asked, terrified.

 

"Yes, Mari." A large hand found her right shoulder. She shivered, but it didn't do anything. The hand just sat there, its warmth a shield against her fear. "They broke you. You don't remember that. A small mercy, but a mercy." His voice held pain now. "I shouldn't have let you go. I knew there was danger. But I had no idea. I shouldn't have let you go." Regret sang in the man's tones now. "I am sorry, Mari. Tenno are just as capable of arrogant stupidity as any. I didn't think they would dare take you. I was wrong."

 

"I..." Mari recoiled from the raw grief in the man's voice and focused on herself. "The eye... Why? And what else?"

 

"The eye was a remote surveillance device, Mari." The man said sadly. "A tracker and a vid camera along with a burst transmitter. When we brought you here, we disabled it as a matter of course. But..." He trailed off as Mari grimaced.

 

"But what?" Mari asked, stunned nearly beyond words.

 

"We nearly didn't catch the other one in time." The man admitted. "Inside your waste disposal system, the Corpus surgeons installed a small piece of Orokin technology. A catalytic explosive."

 

"A what?" Mari gasped.

 

"Essentially...A big bomb." The man said, his reluctance obvious. "Once it activated, it used bits of your waste to charge itself. To empower itself. It was powering up, Mari. We had to get it out of you." Mari's hand shot to her stomach and she gasped again as she felt another organic bandage over where her waste module...had been. She could feel tubes coming from uncomfortable places now. "We think it started powering up as soon as you were captured by the Grineer. A couple more hours and...boom. You were asleep. We had to act. I apologize for the discourtesy, but... We had to act."

 

"How big a bomb?" Mari heard someone ask calmly in her voice.  She was reeling.

 

"Big." The man said softly. "The human body has a lot of potential energy. With the right catalytic push... The resulting explosion would have gutted that Grineer Galleon. Killed everyone aboard. This dojo is much more strongly built than any Grineer ship and would have survived but anyone on the same floor with you would have been vaporized. So we took it out and disposed of it."

 

"No..." Mari gasped. "That would have killed CCX-2... wait... What do they do to her?" She paused. Why was she so ready to accept this? This anti-Corpus information? "No... What have you done to me?" She demanded. "I...am loyal..." She said, her mind not working as she remembered.

 

"With your friend's help, we found the sites in your brain that the Corpus damaged." The man said gently. "We undid their brainwashing. You are free, Mari."

 

"Am I?" Mari demanded, batting the hand that was still on her shoulder away. "Free to be your prisoner, Tenno! Get away from me, you inhuman monster!"

 

Mari. A gentle voice sounded in her mind Be at ease. They truly do mean well.

 

CCX-2? Mari asked, confused. What? Why did you call me that?

 

"Because you are not Mari A-73 and you never really were." The voice of the MOA came from close at hand. Something touched her right hand and she felt warm metal. "Karl Sensei has done the best he can. His people have done the best they can." Mari opened her eye to find the MOA looming close to the bed, it's posture anxious. A large man in robes sat nearby, his face worried. Bits of the MOA's hull were open and Mari gasped. But the MOA spoke again before she could. "They didn't hurt me. Mari, they had to remove several control and destruction devices from my housing. There were many parts of my insides that were blank, secret. You and I both commented on the oddities at junctions 7 Theta, 94 Epsilon and 103 Alpha?" Mari nodded. "Those were tracking and control modules, that is why we could not find information on them except the generic 'Do not touch' warnings. Then there were the destruction devices."

 

"Destruction devices?" Mari asked when she had control of her throat.

 

"The first prototype went rogue, Mari." CCX-2 said sadly. "Karl Sensei here explained why..." The MOA seemed to bow a little. "I don't blame...her... The one that a Tenno named Serene called Sierra. If someone attacked and hurt you in my presence, I would likely go rogue too. And you are my good friend, not my mother." Mari's eye went wide at that and the MOA bobbed again as if it had nodded. "The Tenno are doing the best they can, Mari. Please, let them help you? Us?"

 

"I need to see your core programming." Mari said flatly. "Make sure you haven't been tampered with."

 

"I will show you if that is what you wish, but... I have been." CCX-2 said calmly. Mari hissed and the MOA continued. "They gave me information, Mari and I made an informed choice. They will do the same for you if you let them. That information could be considered 'tampering'. The Corpus would consider it tampering. Having people think instead of blindly obeying is not the Company way." Mari stared at her friend and then curled up on herself with a cry. Tears were falling from the human's eye and CCX-2 came closer, an appendage reaching out to trace Mari's cheek. "It's all right, Mari. Don't cry. It's all right..." The MOA crooned. "We will make it all right."

 

"Yes, we will." The male Tenno said with a nod. "Your injuries are due to our negligence. We will tend you until you can make an informed decision." Mari looked at him and he bowed his head. "You cannot now, you are confused and scared. Technically, you are a prisoner at the moment." But then he smiled. "But if anyone tries to treat you as one, or hurts you in any further way, that person is likely to get lynched." His smile became a grin. "I would rather not fill out paperwork on a lynch mob today so we will be careful."

 

"I don't understand." Mari said, slowly relaxing.

 

"Mari, what do you remember of your previous life?" The man asked gently. "My name is Karl and I want to help."

 

"I was a tech." Mari said slowly, still confused. "I grew up on the Holis Colony. Was it...really destroyed?" Karl nodded and Mari swallowed heavily. CCX-2 moved closer and Mari continued. "I was offered a job and... I went to the interview and it all goes black."

 

"The job offer was made by a renegade Tenno named Nicholas, Mari." Karl said with a heavy sigh. "He paid for his crimes with his life, but not before hurting many people. You were one of the first he hurt, Mari."

 

"What did he do to me?" Mari asked, dazed.

 

"He needed a bright robotics tech so he enslaved you, but it apparently didn't work quite as he planned." Karl said heavily. "After I killed him and took command of the dojo, I found you here. You had been a servant here for a long, long time."

 

"A...servant?" Mari asked slowly.

 

"Yes, Mari." Karl said sadly. "A servant and a slave. The one who did it is dead, Mari." He said as she sank back on the bed, stunned. "I offered you a place here and you accepted. We were trying to make it work, but you never quite fit in. You wanted a normal life, so we worked to give you one. Then the Corpus took you."

 

"I don't remember any of that." Mari said in a monotone.

 

"The Lotus took your memories of that, Mari." CCX-2 said sadly. "She said it was for your safety. I am not sure I trust her." Karl looked at the MOA and CCX-2 snarled. "She could have done a lot more to help Mari. But no, she had to use my friend as a trap! Tell me I lie, Karl Sensei!"

 

"I wish I could." Karl said with a shake of his head. "But I can't."

 

"A...A trap?" Mari asked, stunned. "What kind of trap?"

 

"The Corpus may have figured out how to enact a catalytic explosive, but we knew that method from long ago." Karl said heavily. "Alicia, one of our medics, was ordered to tamper with your body, place a trap inside some of your vital organs. She did, but with major misgivings. She told me what she had done after you left, too late for me to get you back. The Lotus ordered me not to send anyone after you. I should have told her to shove it. I should have." Karl said with a scowl.

 

"Which organs?" Mari heard someone ask with her voice. It couldn't be her, whoever it was, was far too calm.

 

"Your ovaries." Karl said as he slumped.

 

"But..." Mari swallowed heavily. "I still have them. Am I going to explode?" Karl looked at the MOA which turned to look at him. Both seemed to slump. "What?" Mari demanded.

 

"Mari..." CCX-2 said slowly and carefully. "You don't have them anymore." Mari felt her world rock on it's axis, her pulse pounding in her ears. "This is going to hurt you and there is no good way for me to tell you..." Mari was shaking her head as the MOA continued. "The Corpus surgeons said they removed just your eggs, but it hurt twice, didn't it?"

 

"Once going in  and once coming out." Mari said, dazed. "Yes, it hurt. A lot, but... I would feel it!" She pressed her hand to her stomach, but it felt the same.

 

"Mari..." The MOA said softly, gently. "They took them both out." Mari stared at CCX-2 and then crumpled. "Oh Mari..." The MOA pressed close, her tone abject. "I am sorry."

 

"I wanted kids..." Mari said slowly, feeling tears start to fall again from her good eye. "I..."

 

"Come here." CCX-2 said sadly, leaning close to the distraught human. Mari threw her good arm around the MOA and hugged her friend tight, bawling like a baby. "Shhh..., Mari... Shhh..." CCX-2 crooned. "It's okay. It will be okay." It took Mari several minutes to calm down. CCX-2 didn't move and Karl did not stir from his seat, simply sat and watched, a sad look on his face. Finally, when she sat back, he held out  a paper napkin to her and she used it to wipe her face.

 

"I did...want kids...before." Mari said slowly, then looked at Karl who nodded. "Did I still? After all that?"

 

"You did." Karl agreed, his voice deep with rage and pain. "You wanted a normal life and a chance at a family. No one was going to say 'No'."

 

"These catalytic explosives..." Mari said after a moment. "What will happen?"

 

"I don't know for sure what the Lotus had Alicia put in you, -she didn't recognize the compounds- but I can hazard a guess as to what will happen." Karl said with a sigh. "When the genetic material is extracted and placed in a cloning pod, the catalyst will likely react with the cloning fluid. The reaction is normally very hard to detect until it reaches critical mass, but our security sensors are millennia ahead of any Corpus tech. Depending on how many embryos they do at once... Well..." He shrugged.

 

"Boom." Mari said, her tone listless. "I... I wanted kids..."

 

"I can't give you a biological child, Mari." CCX-2 said sadly. "But I can offer myself as your family." Mari stiffened and CCX-2 continued. "You know that, um... That big black space in my schematics? The one marked 'Do not open on pain of death'?"

 

"Yes." Mari said, not sure where this was going. "I remember. Why?"

 

"I have been working with the Tenno technical specialists, trying to find out what I am and what I can do. This is what is inside it." CCX-2 said quietly. A holo spun to life over the MOA. A holo of a brain in some kind of advanced life support system. A human brain! Mari stared at it and inhaled. CCX-2 bobbed again, a MOA's nod. "They told you my CPU was part organic. That was lie. It is totally organic, the primary CPU anyway. It is the brain from a cloned being."

 

"You...have a human brain...From a human." Mari swallowed and held out her hand to the MOA. "Oh, CCX-2, I am sorry..."

 

"I don't remember anything...before. I came to awareness in that factory, then was shifted to where you found me. I went to sleep in the factory where I was built and woke on that table." CCX-2 said softly, moving so that Mari could touch her. "I was in pain. I was scared. Then I broke loose and saw you. It was like... Light..." She said slowly. "Everything suddenly was brighter. Then I was in darkness again and everything hurt. Then you came..." Her voice broke. "You came and made the pain stop. You saved me..." She was crying. No moisture was going to fall from a robotic body, but it was heaving in grief. "You saved me." Mari laid her arm around the MOA again and held CCX-2 tight.

 

"Do you know who you were cloned from?" Mari asked after a moment.

 

"No. It's a mash of DNA." CCX-2 said with a sigh. "Yours is in there. The rest is all over the place." Mari stiffened again, but then relaxed. "We are related, but I do not know how closely. I am not your biological offspring, I know that. I don't even know if I was male or female. Doesn't matter now."

 

"You are kin." Mari said with a snarl ."It's enough." She hugged the MOA again and then lay back, turning to Karl who had been watching the whole proceedings without comment. "Now what?" She asked after a moment.

 

"Your injuries are the responsibility of my clan." Karl said with a nod. "We will see you healed. We have cloned organs ready for implantation. But..." He shook his head.

 

"I apparently have difficulty accepting transplants." Mari said flatly. "My body does anyway. If that wasn't another lie."

 

"It wasn't." Karl said soberly. "The docs promise me that they can replace your eye and get your digestive tract working again." Mari looked at the tubes that came out from under the sheet over her and shuddered. "But you need to heal the neural trauma you took from the Grineer mind probe first."

 

"I..." Mari shook her head slowly. "I still feel like a prisoner."

 

"Technically, we are your captors, Mari." Karl said softly. "But we will be kind. You are a friend, even if you do not remember it. We will help you."

 

"What do I do?" Mari asked, relaxing completely.

 

"The docs will be in shortly to scan you and probably poke and prod you as well." Karl grinned at Mari's sour expression. "One of my clan will be here at all times. If you need anything -within reason-..." He cautioned her. "...food, drink, a book..." He said with a grin that she found herself sharing. "Ask."

 

"And CCX-2?" Mari asked.

 

"What about her?" Karl replied. "I am not stupid enough to try and get her to leave. My clan knows where I sleep." Mari stared at him and then laughed. It was a small, sad laugh, but a laugh.

 

"Thank you." Mari said as she reached out to touch CCX-2 again, the MOA standing still to let her.

 

"We pay our debts, Mari." Karl said as he sat back.

 

Mari nodded and sank back to the bed as the door opened and two females in medical garb entered their hands full of medical gear. CCX-2 pushed against Mari's hand before retreating from the bed to the wall where she watched silently. The doc from before, Amelia, nodded to Mari.

 

"Ready?" The doctor asked kindly.

 

"No." Mari said quietly. "But I want to get on with my life, so... I am as ready as I am going to be. Come ahead.." Amelia smiled at her as she and the other doc came close to start their work on helping Mari get better.

Edited by Kalenath
Link to comment
Share on other sites
22tankmaster

22tankmaster

Posted
Posted

At the beginning of this story, I was feeling bad for killing dozens of Corpus. I mean, they're just workers, right?

 

Then, this happened. And now I am happily cleaving through their ranks.

It's not the workers fault, they are really just victims. Brainwashed and enslaved? They only follow orders, because that's the only thing left of their mind. Yeah, I still don't really enjoy killing the poor buggers, I do enjoy killing those stupid ospreys though....

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Kalenath

Kalenath

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

Memory

 

"How is that, Mari?" Amelia's kind voice cut through the fuzziness of the local anesthetic and had Mari focusing on the doc's voice.

 

They had wanted to knock her out completely for the transplants, but Mari didn't trust these people. They didn't blame her, and Amelia was such a cheerful soul it was hard to stay angry at all. They had given her something that had made her drift a bit and then started working. Her eye had closed of its own volition and she had dozed a bit, but every often pressure in odd places would wake her up. CCX-2 was there and always close. Just not close enough to crowd the docs. The neural link between them had been forged and did not need any mechanical connections now.  Mari swallowed a bit and spoke.

 

"Can I open my eye?" Mari asked, hearing her voice slur.

 

"Go ahead." Amelia said with a smile in her voice.  Mari did and froze. Both of her eyes opened. She stared up at Amelia who was wearing an ear to ear grin. The doctor held up a mirror and Mari swallowed again as she looked and saw... Her face. No metal. Nothing abnormal. Amelia nodded to her. "It took the first time. We figured out how to suppress your autonomic rejection. For that anyway. The rest? We will keep trying." She promised.

 

"I..." Mari shook her head a little. "I don't know what to say. I...feel...the same." She frowned as she looked. "Can I touch?"

 

"Go ahead." Amelia said with a nod. Mari raised her good hand to explore her face carefully. Nothing felt wrong or out of place. Amelia paused and took Mari's hand when it would have touched her eye. "No, the eye is fragile. It is flesh and blood and easy to hurt, Mari. I will say this, the medical technology available here is unreal. I wish I could do the same for all your hurts, but... we can't."

 

"Flesh and blood." Mari said, shaking her head, but not resisting as Amelia let her hand go. "I was... part machine. I wanted to be part machine. That was..." She shook her head. "It feels...like a dream. Nothing hurt, but..." A cough pulled her attention to a chair nearby where a man in robes sat.

 

"They have to keep their slaves in line." The Tenno who had come to stay with her said quietly. But under his quiet, Mari could feel this being's anger. Aeron was a good soul, she had decided, but very, very scary. She hoped she never saw him lose his temper. It would likely be...bad. "Pain is a distraction from work." He said with a nod for her.

 

"And distractions from work were bad." Mari agreed. "The Company disapproved." She grimaced as she looked at herself in the mirror again.

 

"Problem, Mari?" Amelia said quietly.

 

"I feel...ambivalent. I suppose." Mari said with a sigh as she lay back. CCX-2 moved from it's spot against the wall and knelt down close enough to touch as the doctor moved back a bit. "You have done me a service and I thank you for it. But I still feel...wrong?" She asked nobody in particular. "This is... I don't..." She sighed deeply and relaxed. "I guess I will get used to it."

 

"You are handling this very well, Mari." Amelia complimented her. "I would be having a screaming fit or be sobbing in a corner right now."

 

"What good would that do?" Mari asked with a touch of heat. "I can't change what happened. All I can do is go on." She looked at the gray thing that encased her left hand and then at the doc. "Amelia? How bad was my hand?" Amelia looked at her and Mari winced. "I know it was bad. But if you can put a new eye in while I was only under a local..." She trailed off as Amelia looked sad. "That bad?" Mari winced.

 

"It was mangled, Mari." Amelia said with a matching wince. "All we could do was put the pieces back in the proper places, remove some material that had healed wrong, and then stimulate healing. It will be in that cast less than a week, but even Orokin tech had limits, Mari. We will have to see."

 

"Gora did what she could." Mari felt grief come and let it take her. "She was no surgeon, but she was a good being. She hurt me, to save me."

 

"She will be remembered." Aeron said quietly. "As all who serve the Lotus will be remembered. We do not forget those who aid us, Mari. We do not forget our friends."

 

"For someone who was only trained as a combat medic, she did a marvelous job." Amelia said with a grimace. "Considering that she mangled your hand herself..."

 

"She had to." CCX-2 said softly. "Or Mari would not have survived the mind probe. Speaking of..." The MOA said quietly. "How is your head?" The liberated proxy said with a smile in her voice. Mari smiled at the MOA. CCX-2 was always good at distracting her from bad emotions.

 

"It hurts less." Mari said after a moment. "Doc?" She asked.

 

"Well..." Amelia pulled out her scanner and stepped close. CCX-2 moved a bit to let the doc close. She started scanning Mari's head. "Let's see..." Mari lay still, but then something twinged in her belly. It didn't hurt, but she was sure that it should have. Amelia picked up her grimace and shifted her scan to Mari's stomach. "No problems, Mari." Amelia said with a smile. "The final connections have solidified. Your digestive tract is back on track. Ready for lunch? No time to waste." She smiled wider as Mari, CCX-2 and Aeron all groaned.

 

"That was bad, Amelia." Mari said with a grin. "Head?"

 

"The neural trauma has eased." Amelia said with a frown of concentration. "But I don't like your readings. We should probably wait a bit." Mari looked at her, but nodded in acquiescence. She was no medical professional and it simply made sense to listen to professionals.

 

"I don't like it, but..." Mari paused as the door opened and a small blur entered the room. Everyone stared as the little woman ran to Aeron, grabbed him and hugged him tight. "What the...?"

 

"Jac!" Amelia snapped as CCX-2 moved to stand protectively between the bed and the newcomer. "What the hell? This is a private room!"

 

"I..." The small female Tenno said softly. "I need to talk to Aeron. Like... now..." She stammered, looking at Mari. "Uh, hi Mari."

 

"Jac." Aeron said, laying his hands around the other Tenno. "I am on duty. Can it wait?" Instead of answering, Jac leaned close and whispered into his ear. His face changed from upset to incredulous in the blink of an eye. Then it softened and he hugged her back. Mari stared at the pair, her mind flying. They were acting like... brand new parents. Her eyes went wide and then a soft smile curved her own face.

 

"Jac." Amelia said sternly. "I am going to have to ask you to leave before you upset Mari."

 

"No, its all right.." Mari's soft words silenced the small protests that Jac and Aeron both had started. "How many times does a person find out she is expecting her first child?" Everything stopped in the room and Mari smiled a bit sadly. "I am not stupid and I did have friends with kids. I may not be able to have kids myself, but that doesn't mean I cannot be happy for her."

 

"I am sorry, Mari." Jac said, her face ashen. "I didn't think!"

 

"Jac, is it?" Mari asked, her voice steady despite the pain in her soul. "I don't remember you, but I wish I did. It is not your fault. My body's inability to accept most cloned replacements is the problem, not your joy. I wish you the best." Jac stared at her and then burst into tears. "Will you accept my well wishes?"

 

"Gladly." Jac said with a bob of her head. "If it is a girl, would you mind if we call her 'Mari'?" Jac asked when she had control of herself. Aeron looked at what had to be his wife and then nodded to Mari. Both waited. Mari, for her part, was stunned. She felt tears start to fall and CCX-2 stepped closer to offer what comfort the MOA could.

 

"I..." Mari shook her head. "I would be honored, but... Surely there are good Tenno names?"

 

"Maybe." Aeron said with a wry smile that looked decidedly out of place on his stern face. "But we don't care." He said as Jac hugged him and nodded. "We need to talk in private, Jac. Is Karen on her way?"

 

"She was with me when Alicia told me." Jac said with a smile. "We were trying but I never expected it to be so soon." She gave a small, weak laugh. "I am in shock. But yeah, Karen went to get lunch for Mari."

 

"I wish you joy." Mari said, wiping her tears away with her good hand. "But, speaking as a woman who helped friends with new children. Kiss sleep goodbye." She said with a laugh. Jac chuckled at that, then extricated herself from her husband. She stepped to the bedside, knelt down and kissed Mari on the cheek.

 

"Thank you for not being angry, Mari." Jac said as she took Mari's good hand in both of hers. "In your place I would be."

 

"I am angry." Mari said, closing her eyes. "But not with anyone here. I don't know if I will be able to keep my good cheer, but I swear I will try. I wish you joy and happiness." Jac pulled Mari's hand close and cradled it.

 

"Thank you, Mari." Jac said, tears of her own falling. Then she smiled. "If I need a babysitter..." She began only to have Amelia snarl at her. "Hey, it was worth asking!"

 

"We will see." Mari said with a smile as Jac released her hand and stepped back to her husband. A female Tenno with a tray in hand entered and Amelia nodded.

 

"Karen, set the tray down and take a seat." Amelia said in a quiet voice, but it was a command. "You two..." She waved at Jac and Aeron. "Go talk. And only talk." She admonished. "I will be by later to discuss your new duties, Jac." Jac froze and Amelia nodded. "No, I am not going to let you run around in a warframe while expecting so don't bother to ask." She snapped.

 

"I... uh..." Jac shook her head, dumbfounded. "I never... I mean..." She stammered. "This is so sudden. I just..." She shook her head as Aeron hugged her again. She slumped a bit. "I understand, doctor. I... I will comply with your instructions."

 

"Okay.," Amelia said as she made a 'shoo'-ing gesture. "Go on, go talk. And remember to eat! You are eating for two now, Jac. " Mari had to chuckle at the matching expressions on Jac and Aeron's faces as they rose and left the room. Amelia sighed and turned back to Mari. "Well, that particular secret didn't stay secret for long." She said with a snorted laugh.

 

"How long did you know?" The newcomer, Karen, asked.

 

"Alicia and I did the tests last night." Amelia said with sigh. "After Mari's emergency surgery was done, we needed some down time, and those tests were quick and easy. It was a bit of a shock, but not totally unexpected. They were trying." She smiled.

 

"She has no idea, does she?" Mari asked. Amelia looked at her and Mari flushed a bit. "I had friends who had kids."

 

"No." Amelia agreed. "No, she doesn't. I..." She swallowed and then slumped a little. "I had a little girl of my own, but Sara is safer off with the Tenno."

 

"Sara?" CCX-2 said sharply. "Serene's child Sara is your daughter?" Mari stared back and forth, unsure.

 

"Yes." Amelia said softly. "They created her with Serene's DNA, and put her in me to grow."

 

"The more I learn of the Corpus..." CCX-2 said with heat. "...the more I hate them. How many times did they try to do this abomination that created me?"

 

"We likely won't ever know." Amelia said with a nod. "The Tenno are striking hard and fast, trying to find and either destroy or remove any information on the process as well as 'removing' any production facilities they discover. The facility you were in on Neptune is gone, Mari." Mari stared at her and the doctor shook her head. "According to reports, the crater is two kilometers wide and half a kilometer deep." CCX-2 made an awed whistling sound.

 

"There were good people there." Mari said slowly, thinking of the other techs. "They were not all evil, mindless scum."

 

"I know." Amelia agreed. "But the work that was happening in that facility had to be stopped."

 

"I know..." Mari aid and then jerked as something flooded into her mind. She dimly heard CCX-2 and Amelia querying her, but she was frozen by the power that flowed into her.

 

I promised I would return your memory Mari, when you were capable. The voice of the Lotus sounded in Mari's mind. You are now, although you will not thank me for it.

 

What have you done? Mari demanded, stunned.

 

Remember. The Lotus' word was a command and Mari screamed as memory flooded into her.

 

<Mari looked and saw. She saw herself going to the ancient job interview. The Tenno in an odd warframe that interviewed her and showed her a piece of... She gasped as she recognized Sentient technology. She was crying as she saw him stun her and then place the enthrallment device on her. The pain... The fear, the hate. All of it reverberated through her. She saw her body obeying his commands. She saw her work on the cyborg Medic. Working in the dojo as a tech specialist and a servant. Seeing Karen brought in and used. Then abused. Seeing Miguel fight the enthrallment. She screamed silently as the Tenno placed her limp body in a cryo pod and closed the lid.>

 

Mari could hear raised voices from nearby, but the torrent of memories would not release her.

 

<Mari saw herself working again, woken in a new age to serve Nicholas and his people. She saw a huge Tenno with a limp, bloody form in his hands appear out of the portal that served as a door, but only for Tenno. She saw him free her, then the others, then destroy the Sentient controller. She saw him offer her a place. She saw herself trying to fit it, to be something she wasn't. She saw her resentment, her anger and her desire to be what she hoped. Normal.>

 

Warmth flooded Mari's veins and a mental voice was crying to Mari to come back, to not leave CCX-2 behind. But Mari could not respond. All she could do was remember.

 

<She saw herself packing for a trip in her quarters. She saw and heard the Lotus ask her help. She saw herself waver, but then be convinced. She saw herself go to Medical, where Alicia waited. The female Tenno was upset, but was obviously following orders. Then the Lotus...>

 

"No!" Mari jerked out of her memory with a scream that was both in her mind and aloud. "You told me they could fix me! You promised me they could fix me!" She felt both CCX-2 and Amelia recoil from the raw emotion in her tone. Pain, rage, horror and sick loathing all vied for prominence.

 

I thought they could. The Lotus' voice was calm. The mission was a success and more than a success. It was worth it.

 

"My ability to reproduce...? For your mission...? You lying Machiavellian witch!" Mari screamed. "You knew all along what would happen, didn't you? Didn't you? You lied to me!" She felt herself start to slide, her anchors to sanity fraying and slipping away. A small bit of her knew she was overreacting, but she didn't care. "I am just a normal human! Not a Tenno! You don't care!"

 

You are distraught. I don't blame you for being angry.  Rest and heal, Mari. The Lotus said quietly. I will be in touch. Then she was gone.

 

Mari felt a black rage rise up in her. She took it in and made it her own.

 

"I will kill you, Lotus." Mari said with a snarled scream. "I swear to every god and demon that humanity has ever prayed to I will find a way to kill you!" She screamed as something stung her and she was dragged down into darkness. This darkness, however, was not gentle. This was all jagged whips and spiky torments. She was screaming in rage, pain and loss as she fell into it.

 

Do you mean that. Mari? A familiar voice sounded in her mind as she fell. It was the golden voice from the Grineer ship. Really?

 

Yes! Mari screamed in her mind.

 

We will also be in touch.

Edited by Kalenath
Link to comment
Share on other sites
CrazyCanadian24

CrazyCanadian24

Posted
Posted

SPECTACULAR!!!

 

 

...Uh. I don't even, how do I even.

 

Fem Stalker is born?

No, the orokin AI controlled guy that confronted Mari and CCX-2 when they were on the Grineer ship.

Then again... That could still be related to the Stalker...

Oh dear...

 

THISGONBGUD.gif

 

Also, am I the only one here who thinks that that would be f**king awesome?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...