Consequences
"Are you sure there is nothing I can do to help?"
It was not ever day that a high caste Orokin said such words, but then again, Brianna Executor was not by any stretch of the imagination, a 'normal' Orokin. If of course, such had ever existed at all. She had her doubts.
"I am all right, Brianna." The woman who stood in front of her looked nothing like the Tenno she had known, but that was to be expected. The events that had happened had shaken any number of Tenno institutions badly and while the results had been fairly good by most accounts, there were always going to be consequences for such things. There were many people who were trying to find her now, for fair reasons and foul. The woman she had known and liked most of the time had paid a heavy price for following her heart in addition to her orders, but Karen wouldn't have had it any other way. Instead of answering, Brianna crossed her arms and glared at the other who sighed but did not give an inch. "I am all right." Karen repeated.
"How the hell can you be all right?" Brianna demanded. "I am not and it didn't happen to me!" She shook her head. "They had no right to cast you out for following your orders!"
"Brianna…." Karen said softly but stilled as Brianna reached out to her. Futile as such was. This was all virtual and if Karen didn't want to be touched? She wouldn't be. "I knew they would. I disobeyed."
"Yes, you did and in doing so, you saved us all from the Artemis' wrath." Briana did not retract her hand even as Karen stared at her. "I have talked with the Empress. I delivered the scum Lorinos to her as she wished." She muttered something about 'not what I wished'. Karen shook her head, but Brianna wasn't done. "I know who you serve now and I can accept that. I don't like it, but I can understand and I have no choice but to accept it."
"Thank you." Karen said slowly but Brianna wasn't finished.
"I do not know what you will have to do and I probably do not want to know." Karen shook her head at the Orokin's biting tone. "But I will say this- You were my friend before this. I still count you my friend." Karen stiffened but again, Brianna wasn't done. "That is unlikely to change, Karen. It may, but I have no intention of letting you disappear. If you or yours need medical attention or a safe place to sleep for a night, you have but to call."
"Brianna." Karen's voice turned flat. "Your hospice is filled with sick kids. There is no way we would put them in danger."
"This tower is a lot bigger than the hospice." Brianna retorted. "You of all people know how big the Orokin built their hidey holes." She shook her head when Karen did. "Tell Lynn she is welcome any time."
"Brianna!" Karen protested, but the Orokin continued again.
"I know about hard choices, Karen." The golden skinned woman said with a growl. "I know about being screwed over by people I trusted. Once I trusted Lorinos and then I trusted Daniel. Both times I got screwed over. What I did, I can never undo. Will is better, but he will never be the Tenno I hurt so long ago. Kori is dead. Will should have killed me, but he didn't. Alicia should have killed me, but she didn't. I had a chance to repay the debts I owed and that was a good thing. Now? I am in charge of a whole tower filled with non-combatants." She made a face. "Small wonder so many neural sentries went bonkers."
"You do good work, Brianna." Karen said very quietly. "Let no one say otherwise."
"It doesn't feel enough sometimes." Brianna let her hand drop and looked at the floor. "The kids from Venus make me wish I could still get drunk easily."
"Lissandra's… um… siblings." Karen said delicately and Brianna nodded. "Whatever happened to the spider bot?"
"That is under discussion." Brianna's voice turned flat as she looked up to meet Karen's eyes again. "She wanted to stay with Lissandra, but that was never going to happen, and I think she knew it. I am toying with the idea of bringing her here." Karen's eyes widened and she started to protest, but Brianna cut her off. "I know! It has been said a whole lot of ways by a whole lot of people. I know."
"Considering that bot was a slave to Nef Anyo and we all know how sneaky and evil the nutcase was and is..." Karen said slowly when Brianna's ire ran down. "Not to mention who else is in the tower with you now. Can we take the chance?"
"I talked with Cassandra a little during one of the virtual interrogations. She is a nurse, not a murderer. Mentally? She is a mess and no mistake. Tanah and I could help her." Brianna said with a growl. "But the Clergy won't allow it. They have her in custody."
"What? Oh. Their conflict with Anyo is not resolved is it?" Karen asked delicately. Brianna shook her head. "And..."
"And he is being an idiot! He should really surrender." Brianna snapped. "No matter how indoctrinated or fanatic his people may be, they cannot fight fight what they cannot find! In a bit, his mad faith will be all he has left. For some incredibly convoluted guideline reason, they apparently cannot kill him, but they can make him a pauper."
"My heart bleeds." Karen retorted dryly enough that Brianna smiled.
"Mine too." Brianna sighed deeply and relaxed. "Seriously, Karen, my offer stands. I am not Tenno. I am not bound by their Code. I can set up a section of the tower for your people if you so wish. I know there are others who are trying to make contact for various reasons and I can make it private even from me. No one will be able to tell if you are here or not. Not even me."
"That means a lot, Brianna." Karen said soberly. "It does hurt, being cast out. Getting shot was more a surprise than pain. He was trying to disable me, not kill me. But that hurts too."
"He adopted you! Of course it hurts! Talk to someone about that. Soon." Brianna said firmly. "You of all people know what happens when you let such things fester."
"I am scheduled with Lynn in an hour to talk about it." Karen said with a small, sad smile. "There is a lot I cannot say, but I can say this: I consider you a friend as well. That paints a big red target on you, Brianna." Brianna just looked at her and Karen made a face. "I know that Kat won't leave your side and anyone dumb enough to harm her will get what they deserve, but I will worry."
"She makes one heck of a secretary." Brianna said with a smile. "She is making this place hum with far more than power." Her face fell. "I may need to consult Lynn at some point. Olim, Quais and Jesse have all been incredibly helpful, but I worry about Abigail. She is so bright, but she doesn't understand the consequences of some things."
"Tell me she hasn't hacked the tower!" Karen said quickly.
"No." Brianna reassured the other. "Close, but not quite. She tried to hack one of the subsidiary systems and my security reacted." She made a face as Karen paled. "No harm done in the end but she won't make that mistake again."
"Is she-?" Karen broke off whatever she was going to say and sighed. "She is bored."
"Yes, she is." Brianna heaved a sigh of her own. "She and Mary are both bored, but both of them are far too fragile to send out anywhere else. Abigail still needs healing and Mary..." Brianna looked at the floor. "That girl has no quit in her. That is the only reason she survived." Karen swallowed and Brianna nodded. "That is why I need to talk to Lynn. She has seen far more than I have. Maybe… Maybe she can help."
"Mary? How bad is it?" Karen asked very softly.
"Every time she starts getting better, she has another seizure." Brianna's tone wasn't much louder. "I have done everything I know, everything I have been able to research. Iriana has done everything she can and… I fear it isn't enough." Karen looked devastated and Brianna nodded. "I don't know everything that happened. Tanah says that odd things happened to her, but he can't talk about them. He too says she should be getting better."
"And she is not." Karen's voice was barely a whisper and Brianna nodded. "Lynn won't take that well."
"About as well as I am." Brianna admitted. "About as well as Iriana is." Her facade of stoic power cracked and a scared, hurting woman showed underneath for a moment. "I miss Amelia. She would know what to do."
"You know what she would do." Karen said firmly. "You saw her work often enough. She would call in specialists. Put the girl in stasis if needed. She would not ignore her feelings, but she would set them aside until she had done everything she could."
"Yeah." Brianna gave herself a shake. "I have inquired for specialists from various places. Janet and Ess have said they too will inquire, but they have to be careful."
"Ess?" Karen had stiffened and Brianna nodded. The Marine and former Tenno growled. "You know the rules, Brianna."
"I do." Brianna replied in a similar tone. "I am searching for any possible treatment for the girl, but she would not forgive me if I went too far, hence why I asked Janet and Ess to ask instead of Kat." Karen's eyes widened slightly and then she nodded. Kat loved Mary too and she had some very odd resources. "I am not stupid Karen. I know the limits and I have no intention of letting another pitched extra-reality battle happen in my tower. The Oracles will be careful."
"The ones who came to help Kat surprised the hell out of the Sentients." Karen said, relaxing.
"Those crazy beings blew three entire floors into scrap metal." Brianna retorted, face sick. Karen shared it. It wasn't every day one met human looking people who could blow Orokin built walls -and Sentients! - into twisted wreckage without apparently trying. "Hunhow wasn't the only one surprised. We are still finding damage but repairing it is straightforward at least."
"I will tell Lynn." Karen promised. "She will want to try and help. I know that about her without even asking, but we have to be careful." Yes, the being who had once been the First Trinity would want to try and heal. It was who and what she had been for so long. She was not the First Trinity now and that grated a lot of people. What was more? Lynn wasn't sure she considered herself Tenno and Brianna had no idea how that was going to play out.
"Yes, you do." Brianna agreed. "Nikis and Rachel have both asked if I can set up some kind of communication with your group since I am basically neutral, but I have put them off. This mess with the Clergy and others has set all of my plans askew." Her face turned sick again. "The Reverend Mother left a representative as well. She is apparently trying to find a way to apologize to Liriel."
"I wish her luck." Karen's face might have been sculpted from iron. "Lynn told us what happened. It was… bad."
"Yeah." Brianna looked at the floor. "Eleven young lives snuffed out. The Clergy didn't know what Liriel was. Trinity thought she was dead or brain-dead. The Tenno, likewise. They couldn't save her, so they tried to make kittens from her. Trinity was apparently sworn not to say what Liriel was and Alicia didn't know. They were trying to do good and they did horrific evil. I can't blame her for being upset."
"The word 'upset' does not do the Queen of Cats' feelings justice." Karen said quietly. "No one who knows the facts blames her in the slightest. That said, if she ever meets Tenno Alicia or Falcon in the flesh, they will die." She warned.
Even Zarimon children were not proof against the Queen of Cats' rage and power. Energy for or no, if the kavat queen met those she considered enemy? She would be hurt, they would be dead.
"I know." Brianna swallowed hard. "Alicia is coming here." Karen stilled anew and Brianna nodded. "She wants to do penance. Both for what happened to Liriel and what happened to Lissandra. Tenno are no more perfect than humans or Orokin, but most expected her to suicide."
"Will wouldn't let her." Karen's words were statement, not question. Brianna nodded.
"He said it wasn't honorable, her seeking an end that way without even trying to atone." Brianna mused. "I can see his point, but she was very unhappy with him."
"Alicia is damned good at what she does." Karen was trying hard to be fair and Brianna nodded. "That said, she messed up big time. Both with Liriel and Lissandra."
"Agreed." Brianna replied. "I will keep an eye on them, but I do need the help. Even with all of my retainers, I cannot be everywhere. I do need to sleep." She made a face. "Not that my dreams are pleasant unless I cheat." Orokin had all kinds of ways to cheat such, technological, pharmaceutical, the list went on and on, but all had consequences.
"Do you need help?" Karen asked. "Lynn will ask."
"Probably." Brianna said in a very small voice. "I never wanted this, Karen. I just wanted to make up for what I did to Will, Kori and Alicia."
"You didn't do anything to Alicia." Karen said sternly. "Do not take more on yourself than is your to bear. Believe me, I understand all about that now."
"I would have, if Daniel had given me time." Brianna gave herself a shake. "The past is past. We can run from it or learn from it. I fully intend never to repeat the same mistakes. Call me anytime you wish and I will see about replying this way."
"I will pass your offer up my chain of command." Karen said with a small frown. "They may be in touch, they may not. You know how it is."
"Vsedga veren." Brianna said with a smile that Karen shared. 'Always true' in an imperfect translation of an ancient language. The battle cry and motto of the Orokin marine spetsnatz, the special operations team of a highly specialized fighting force. Scary, dangerous, all of that and as well probably the safest place for Karen and the young soul she warded.
"Vsedga veren."
The hologram of the woman who looked nothing like Tenno Karen vanished and Brianna focused her feelings, trying to regain her equilibrium. Calm was needed in her tower. There was precious little of it at times. So many hurt kids, but only a few of them were in danger now, thanks to Brianna's ultra high technology and so many falling all over themselves to help. There were some who simply could not be helped.
Case in point…
"Brianna Executor." Brianna fought hard not to sigh as she came back to herself to find Kieko kneeling nearby. Despite her wishes and many people having problems with it, Kieko had sworn to Brianna's service. Brianna herself had massive problems with it, but Kieko hadn't budged. Her first clear memory after her horror had been Brianna's kindness. She rose even before Brianna opened her mouth. "The floor is actually comfortable, Mistress."
"Just because I cannot find a slave protocol inside your mind doesn't mean he didn't put one in there." Brianna snapped as she stood. Kieko did not recoil this time. "You are not my slave, Kieko. Do not act such."
"To me, the floor is more comfortable than the chairs, Mist-" Kieko broke off as Brianna growled at her. '"Apologies. Brianna." She carefully said the Orokin female's name. The discussion about her calling Brianna 'Mistress' had been both long and loud.
"I..." Brianna forced herself to relax. "Yes. I guess it would be." She admitted as Kieko looked at her oddly."'You spent a lot of your previous life in prayer. That is usually done kneeling. But I find it abhorrent to see you kneeling before me, Kieko. Please don't treat me like a goddess."
Some Orokin had reveled in the ideal of immortal, omniscient rulers on high. The stories, most horror filled, boggled the mind. Brianna had seen some of that first hand and promised herself never to act that way. It never ended well, especially for a mental healer. Now, if she had been a ruthless, heartless evil scum like the previous owner of the tower? Things might have been different. She wasn't him and wouldn't be if she had anything to say about it.
"I will do my best, Ma'am." Kieko smiled when Brianna made a face, but it was comical. Kieko normally defaulted to 'employee' since so many of the other humans who had taken her service offer were former Corpus. They had been caught up in the fight between Brianna and Lorinos and she had been stuck with six living breathing Corpus troops who she refused to subvert. Instead? She had hired them. Violet came and went as she willed, considered friend by both Brianna and Kat, but she was bound by her oaths to the Corpus Special Forces.
"What is it now?" Brianna asked, relaxing as best she could.
"Gerald's team found a cryopod on floor Sixty Seven, Quadrant Theta, Ma'am." Kieko had tensed and Brianna did the same. "An occupied one."
"Tell me they didn't touch it!" Brianna felt fear rise. Lorinos had been evil incarnate in so many ways. What he had done to her, to Kieko, to so many humans, had boggled the mind and Brianna hoped that whatever the Empress did to him would be both painful and long. It could not possibly be enough to make up for all the lives he had casually snuffed out, but it would ease her own mind a bit.
"No, Ma'am." Kieko reassured her. "They did as you instructed, scanned from a distance. There is one thing, however."
"Oh?" Brianna inquired as she started for the door of her far too large and luxurious quarters. Every attempt she had made to move to alternate, smaller quarters had been ignored by the tower and she had always woken in this room. Annoying.
"The readings are clear, Ma'am." Kieko looked worried and Brianna felt her heart plummet. "The occupant is Tenno."
"Oh dear."