Heart

The Grineer had no clue.

The forces of the Grineer Empire had been described by many people as endless for a reason. Untold ages of cloning had resulted in untold numbers of clones. No one had really bothered to count after the first billion. There really didn't seem to be much of a point. There were lots of Grineer. That was enough for most.

Not all.

Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen…

The silent counting continued as the Grineer encampment on the Plains of Eidolon took shape around them. Say what you would about the clones, as long as what they were doing did not require a great deal of brainpower, they did what they did fast. It wasn't pretty but it was almost always sturdy and that made up for a lot of things in this crazy fallen world.

Thirty four, thirty five, thirty six…

Most of the Grineer encampment was done and now defenses started to rise on the highest parts of the structures. A Rampart took form as a pair of Tusk Lancers moved the pieces into position and slotted them into place. Two turrets extended from their housings with solid 'clank's. They started their sweeps, not seeing anything out of the ordinary in this corner of the plains. Grineer tech had its limits. Especially here. Why waste really good tech on clones that could be replaced in a matter of minutes? That made no sense.

And...fifty.

The counting stopped as a form distinctly different from any of the Grineer marines appeared in the midst of the camp. He wore the same armor as the Tusk Lancers but the color was different. The only other visual difference was that he was carrying a Karak Wraith rifle instead of the standard issue Hind. But it was the icon that glowed around him that had the silent counter tensing.

Target sighted.

The words were silent and none of the clones noticed anything as the hidden form moved slowly and carefully towards the now kneeling Grineer Commander. A shadow swept over the camp, but none of the clones surrounding it as much as flinched as a Dargyn buzzed over, followed by two more. None of them saw anything. None of them had any clue at all.

When it happened, it came as a complete surprise to the Grineer Trooper who came around the corner of one of their wagons and stepped directly into something he could not see. He did not even have time to recoil, let alone speak or cry a warning as a razor sharp blade tore the entire front from his neck. He was dead before arms that were oddly transparent caught him and hefted him into shadow and leaned him up as if he were inspecting the wagon closely. Such a deception would only last for moments before the security systems noted his life signs fading, but moments were all that was needed.

Before any of the other clones realized anything was amiss, the commander was slammed to the ground by a powerful blow and a hand that was barely visible appeared over him as he writhed. His scream of agony stilled the entire camp as energy poured from his body into the hand. The camp came alive with shouts and the ratcheting of weapons being readied, but then the hand vanished and when the Grineer ran to where the commander had been, there was nothing there.

The alarm was instantaneous and the Grineer did as they had always done, fanned out to seek the enemy. Once found, they would report the location and the area would swarm with Grineer until the enemy was destroyed. But there was no enemy. No attacks. No tracks. No nothing. The Grineer went further and further into the wilds of the Plains. Some vanished completely, underground or attacked by predators. Others ran afoul of patrolling Tenno near the abomination that was Cetus. Try as they might, Grineer could not breach the walls of that village no matter how hard they tried. Even now, the pitiful remnants of Orokin technology far outmatched anything the clones had available on Earth and possibly in the entire solar system. Their biggest guns couldn't even scratch the walls and force fields. They had tried and failed miserably every time. Even a Fomorian's mighty main cannon had proven inadequate. They did not talk about that. At all.

Eventually, they would given up, clone another commander and try to build the camp again. For now? They would search until they died. Those were their orders and Grineer lived to obey orders.

Too bad for them they were searching in the wrong places.

Two hundred meters below the Plains of Eidolon

The Grineer Commander woke up in pain. He screamed and thrashed fruitlessly in the transparent bonds that held him to the surface he lay on. He could barely see in the bright light that shone down on him. He was weaponless and his armor had vanished, but he was Grineer. He snarled at as shadow that moved nearby.

"Whoever you are, Grineer will rule. This changes nothing!"

There was no reply from the other and the Grineer snarled.

"Afraid to face our betters?" He demanded as the light grew to blinding intensity. He would not shut his eyes! He would meet his fate with a snarl on his lips! He was Grineer!

He was answered, but the voice was odd. Sad and odd.

"You know no better." The voice did not come from the shadow. "The Orokin treated your kind very badly and your rage is completely understandable. We will show you a better way. One that does not require your death or worse."

"You will fall!" The Grineer shouted as the light faded for a moment. He felt odd. So very odd. "All of you… will..."

Why was he so weak suddenly? He fought the lethargy that surged through him, but whatever was happening, it was far beyond his ability to fight. His voice failed him and he could only stare as the light faded further and something that gleamed oddly appeared in his vision. It looked like it was made of glass and just seeing it? It was incredibly sharp.

He could not resist a whimper as the object moved to the side of his head. He felt a small pain on his scalp and then warmth flowed down into his eyes. A short, stabbing pain lanced through his head and then light blossomed inside it. His scream of pain was inaudible, but someone heard it anyway.

Easy easy… The sad voice said quietly. I am trying not to hurt you. I know Grineer are all about strength, but any strength has limits. Relax if you can. It won't be long and you will survive this Commander Louiso. You serve well and you will serve again.

I...serve...Those words came from the deepest recesses of the Grineer's mind. How did they know his name?

I know your name because I have been waiting for a very specific one of your kind for a long, long time. It took some doing planning to acquire you, but we managed. The other sounded so sad and gentle. Your queens gave up on the plains and only the arrival of the Ostrons pushed them to try and recover them. Cetus defies them simply by existing and they cannot have that. The Tenno thumbing their noses at the Grineer is bad enough, but humans doing it openly? They have to respond. They have to. None of which is your concern, my boy. None of that. Just rest. I have you. You are all right.

Who...are… you? Louiso begged as comfort eased through him, starting from where the pain had been in his head.

You may call me 'Mother'

Later

He woke up quickly and for just a moment was stunned. Louiso felt good, better than he had in a long time. He stared down at himself, at where his prosthesis had been. His legs had been replaced when the flesh had given out and he had been proud of the spindly metal that had taken their place. Now? He felt awe as he saw flesh and blood legs under the grey gown he wore. He reached out with a trembling hand to touch them and they were real. He shook his head and then jerked. His eye! He touched his face and the eye that had been replaced by a prosthetic was flesh and blood again. He touched his head and felt odd things wrapped around it, but none of his armor or prosthesis. What was that under his fingers? Hair? Grineer had no hair!

Rage should have come. Someone had defiled him. Someone had removed his symbols of rank and his identity as Grineer with his armor. But it did not. His eyes went to his surroundings and he paused as he saw white and golden walls. Orokin? That didn't quite seem right. There were none of the ancient markings that he had been trained to recognize and report on discovery. Everything was clean and bright, but it all had a feeling of colossal age to every bit of it. He went still as a slot opened on a wall nearby and his armor slid out of it!

The armor rested on a shelf of some kind that had extruded from the wall and he just stared at it.

"You will feel better in your armor." The voice of the other said quietly from nowhere that Louiso could see. "It has been revamped to fit your legs and allow you to use your eyes while still offering what protection it can. I would like to give you better protection, but it is for the best that you be able to blend in, at least for the moment."

"This… My body was failing." Louiso said slowly.

"It was." The other was still so gentle. "Now it is not."

"What do you want with me?" The Grineer demanded, not daring to move.

"Your help." The other was still quiet and sad. "You needed to wake so we could continue the programming. You will feel better in a moment."

"Grineer do not..." He gasped as he found himself falling back to the bed he lay on, his head was so heavy. "I..."

"Just relax, my boy." The other's voice was coming from nearby now, but his eyes were closing even as he fought with all of his strength to keep them open. "You are going to be okay. Just relax."

"What...are...you…?" Louiso tried to scream that, but it came out a croak as something enfolded his head. Something that shimmered as if transparent. Grey energy was coruscating around his head now but nothing hurt and he wasn't angry anymore. He wasn't afraid either. He felt nothing.

"You are being reborn. It will hurt and be scary, but Mistress is here, my boy. You are safe. Your Mistress is here."

Something that seemed liquid to his senses enveloped him. It felt hot for a moment, then it was simply warm and he felt arms take hold of him and lift him up. Then he was set on something that settled beneath him and warm fluid was seeping all around him. Whatever it was surrounded him, encasing him. Was the other cradling him? The energy was leaving his head and he could feel himself going with it. Whatever was surrounding him was soft and gentle as everything he was and knew was pulled from his head. His last thoughts before the warmth took him were of something very odd.

Something was dropping on his face and making a tinkling sound. Tears? They felt hot. Why was someone crying?

Then he knew no more.

Louiso roused from his sleep and nodded to his savior.

"Mother." The former Grineer said quietly as he rose to his feet. He assumed the proper form and bowed.

"Don't push yourself, Louiso." The other sad quietly. "We hurt you. I didn't want to, but we hurt you."

"I resisted." The former Grineer said quietly, staring down at his arm, encased as it was in the transparent material. It felt right. Why did he feel it was wrong to be encased in glass? He was secure and protected. Needed. This was what he was.

"It is what your kind do." The other said sadly. She was not encased in glass, she seemed to be nothing but glass. He could see right through her body. When he touched her arm, the substance was warm and soft to his fingers. She smiled at him and he felt his heart swell. "Neither of us wanted to hurt you. We hoped to simply ask your help."

"I wouldn't have accepted that." Louiso said sadly as he explored his body with careful fingers. The surface felt like glass, but warm and soft like flesh as well, as odd as that seemed. "I would have fought. Probably hurt you. Maybe killed you." Shame sounded in his voice and the other hugged him gently.

"You did fight, Louiso." The other said gently as she held him. "You did. There is no dishonor in losing to a more powerful opponent. There was no way you could have won and we did what we could to ease your transition."

"Did you get what you needed from me, Mother?" Louiso asked carefully as she set him on his feet. The floor felt odd through the substance that coated him, but it felt right too.

"Yes." The other nodded as Louiso relaxed a little. "We are going to use what you knew to build a better future and you were the key. Grineer are not living up to their potential as slaves to the Queens. We plan to change that."

"It is all they know." Louiso said sadly. "All they can imagine." A hand cupped his cheek and he smiled at his mother as she shook her head.

"Grineer are fallible, mortal and flawed." The other said gently. "But we can show some of them a better way. It will not be easy. It will not be quick, but we can."

"All that Grineer know from the moment they are decanted until the moment they perish is pain, fear and rage." Louiso protested. "What you did for me is wonderful, but it was incredibly dangerous."

"What is life without a little risk?" The other had a smile in her voice as Louiso sputtered. "We did what we could. It will not be easy. We knew that and know that. But now? You have a choice. There is something that we have to do, but we need more family members before we attempt it. No matter what, it will be incredibly dangerous. I do not want to lose you."

She was crying softly again as Louiso hugged her.

"I do not understand." Louiso said after a moment. "If you give a command, I will obey. That has not changed from who I was."

"Unfortunately, that was built into your DNA at a level that no one living would be able to undo." The other replied with a snarl that he knew was not directed at him. "The Orokin wanted a race of things that would do all the hard and dirty jobs, leaving them to pursue their whims. What they forgot -if they ever knew- was that humans have an inbred hatred for slave collars and like it or not, your DNA came from humans."

"If you said that to a Grineer, they would try to kill you." Louiso warned. He paused and made a face. "I am not Grineer now. Am I?"

"You can be whatever you want to be." The other was still so gentle. "If you cannot do what we need or do not wish to take the risks, then we will find another. There are many jobs that you can do, jobs that do not require you to put yourself in danger. The Orokin never asked, they ordered. I am not Orokin."

"What are you?" Louiso asked, curious despite himself.

"I too was made. I too know what it is to be a thing." The woman made of glass said sadly. He hugged her again and he hugged her back. "I won't do that to another sentient being. Not now, not ever. There is another here, the one who freed me from my own bondage." Louiso stared around, but there was no one there. "She helped me free you from the Queen's domination, but she knew her appearance would frighten you at best, send you into a rage at worst. She wants to meet you, but your well being is my concern now. I freed you, I have responsibility for you until you can stand on your own. The shocks in your psyche will take a while to settle. I am here to help."

"But..." Louiso paused and then grimaced. "She was the Tenno who captured me, wasn't she?" The other would not meet his eyes and he shook his head. "Mother."

"We hurt you." The other was crying again. "We tried not to, but we did. My boy. Oh, my boy." She hugged him tight enough to hurt. "I am sorry." He just held her as she cried.

"What could possibly motivate a Tenno and you to take such a risk?" Louiso asked as she held the crying woman made of glass.

"There is a threat to everything." A new female voice sounded as Louiso went still as one wall slid aside and a form straight out of nightmare stepped into the room. But to his eyes, the warframe with it's shimmering trails of glass looked beautiful. The Tenno's steps were hesitant. "And it is a threat that Tenno are forbidden to act against."

"What?" Louiso demanded, stunned beyond measure. "Who would dare command Tenno? The Lotus?"

"No." The other shook her head. "The Lotus and her allies are powerful, but they have all been deceived. We know the truth and we have to act, but we need your help to neutralize this threat."

"I do not understand." If anything, Louiso was even more confused. "You are Tenno, no?" The warframe nodded. "Why can you not act?"

"I too am constrained." The glass warframe shook her head. "But you will not be. You and Ali here can act in ways that I cannot for all my power."

"If I can and no one else will, then I must." Louiso said quietly, hugging the still crying glass woman. "What is the threat?"

"They are called 'Caretakers'."