Waking
Jesse was smiling as she walked with Elenia towards the meeting that had been called. The Citadel was quiet. Not that it had ever been any other way in Jesse's limited experience. So few Tenno called this place home now, they rattled about like shotgun pellets in a washtub. You could walk for hours and not see anyone. But it still felt welcoming, this bastion of Tenno power. So Jesse could not stop smiling no matter how hard she tried. Not that she tried very hard.
"I must look like a fool." Jesse said to her companion. The Mag Prime warframe beside her shook her head. "What?"
"You look like the cat that got into the cream." Elenia had a knowing smile in her own voice. "Not foolish." She paused as Jesse stared at her. "What?"
"'The cat that got into the cream'?" Jesse asked, confused. "'Cat' I know. Small furred animal of the family Felidea. But what is 'cream'?" Elenia seemed to wilt a bit and Jesse shook her head. "Ah never mind." She slumped, just a little. "I am... a bit shocked still." Elenia held out her hand and Jesse took it. "I thought you all were going to say 'No'."
"We almost did." Elenia said as she gave Jesse's hand a squeeze. "Your way is not ours, Sister Jesse. You know this. Yes, it was special. But... Some of it made you uncomfortable." Jesse started to protest, but Elenia was having none of it. "Jesse." She said sternly. "It was special, but it won't happen again. You are not like me and Jasmina. And we will not try to make you act as we do."
"I... know." Jesse admitted, hanging her head a little. She gave a squeak as Elenia's free hand came out and tapped her cheek gently. "What?"
"You will find your own way, sister." Elenia said kindly. "You may count me as a friend. Just not a lover." Jesse swallowed hard and then quickly embraced the Mag Prime. "Hey." Elenia snorted as she gently returned the embrace. "We won't be strangers. And yes, we could use your help. Where we are has some odd problems with its systems. No maintenance in a long time. We do what we can, but it isn't always right."
"Would you trust me?" Jesse asked carefully as she withdrew a bit. Elenia looked away and Jesse nodded. "No, of course not. I understand. I will abide by whatever restrictions you demand. And I will have to keep Raven and Draco..." She trailed off, her face falling.
"No, no." Elenia said quickly. "Not that. It's not that we distrust you. It's just..." She broke off as Jesse hugged her again. "Hey."
"You Caretakers have been betrayed so many times." Jesse said sadly. "No wonder you cannot trust."
"It is not just that, Jesse." Elenia said as she held Jesse gently, as if the young Cyberlancer was fragile beyond belief. "From the beginnings of our history, Tenno have known about the perils of the Technocyte Virus." She gave Jesse a little shake. "I know Trinity told you."
"She did." Jesse's tone might have been a bit husky, but then again...
It wasn't every day that one of the Hayden Tenno's first apprentices tutored someone. Trinity was very much a legend, even discounting that she had been both Healer and Cyberlancer. The fact that she had died and the remnants of her personality resided in a somewhat macabre form of a technological afterlife did not dim her spirit in any way. Jesse knew that the being she had met wasn't the 'real' Trinity. That female Tenno had died millennia before Jesse had been born. But she wasn't gone. That was enough for Jesse.
"Tenno came from the Techocyte Virus." Jesse said quietly as Elenia released her and stepped back. "We know better than any the dangers of the Virus. Asking us to put aside thousands of years worth of animosity-" She broke off as Elenia shook her head again. "What?"
"Not animosity, Jesse." The Mag Prime replied calmly. "Wariness. We Caretakers understand that far clearer than most. Sure, the mind mass we tend is sane. But the rest are not. We have and will fight the feral Infested to protect our family and acquire biomass." Jesse stared at her, horror dawning and Elenia nodded slowly. "We need biomass to reproduce more of our kind just as the other Infested do, Jesse. But we take it from already Infested sources. Not any who have not been exposed."
"I see." Jesse's tone might have been a little flatter than usual, but Elenia did not react. The young Cyberlancer shook her head. "I am not comfortable with that."
"No one is asking you to be." Elenia held out a hand that Jesse took. "This job is not fun in any way, shape or form. It has it's perks, but also its burdens. We are not going to saddle you with those. We just need some technological help."
"Fair enough." Jesse acknowledged. "As soon as I can talk to Raven and Draco, I will see about providing that help." She smiled. "But, I also owe you something for a very special night."
"It was special to me too, Jesse." Elenia gave the younger Tenno's hand a squeeze and started off. "But for right now, we need to check up on what else is happening and get you back to your sponsor."
"Is Jasmina still here?" Jesse asked as she followed the other.
"No." Elenia sighed a bit. "One of us needs to be available at any time." Jesse looked at her and Elenia shrugged. "Caretakers, you know? Poor ones we would be if we were not ready to take care of those who look to us."
"Fair enough." Jesse gave herself a shake and then looked around as they walked. "I don't know this place. You do?"
"No." Elenia replied with a small laugh. "I cheated. I asked the mind mass for the floor plans and directions to conference room 34-B. The plans haven't changed since the last update that we had access to."
"Ah." Jesse snorted in matching amusement. Then she paused. Something had just caught her attention. Elenia stopped as Jesse did.
"Jesse?" Elenia asked, looking at Jesse and then around. "What is wrong?"
"I don't know." Jesse said slowly, her eyes and other senses roving. "I just saw something. It wasn't anything I could recognize. Where are we?"
"Not sure." Elenia had a frown in her voice. "We need to get to-" She broke off as Jesse started for a cross corridor. "Jesse..." She groaned.
"Something is wrong." Jesse felt odd. She did scans. Her body was right. Her mind was right. So something else was wrong. She went still as a door opened ahead of her. "Ah, Elenia?" The room beyond was dark.
"Don't go in!" Elenia commanded, a weapon coming to her hand.
"There is not call for that, Caretaker." A soft voice called to them as Jesse recoiled a step. "I just need to talk to Jesse." Jesse went still. She recognized the voice.
"Elenia, it's okay." Jesse said softly as she took a step forward. "Trinity?"
"Trinity?" Elenia exclaimed and then stepped to flank Jesse. Her weapon remained in her hand.
The two female Tenno stepped to the door and stared. Inside was a Zen garden. It was well maintained, the rocky sand that provided solace to Tenno who needed such had not been disturbed in a long time from the lack of tracks or other signs on the sand. One form knelt in the middle of the garden. A Trinity warframe, but transparent, composed of golden energy.
"Hello Jesse." Trinity sounded sad. So very sad. "I didn't mean to bother you, but my own code is distinctive. I should have known you would see it activate the systems here. I needed some time."
"If we are bothering you, we can leave." Jesse said quickly. Trinity shook her head.
"You never bother me, Jesse." Trinity said gently. "The word 'considerate' should have a picture of you beside it in the dictionary. I just thought I needed some time alone. I was wrong."
"Trinity? What?" Elenia asked, confused. She did put her weapon away. It wouldn't do her any good against the shade of a dead Tenno.
"I don't want to be alone right now, Jesse." Trinity said as she rose to her feet. She strode towards the mismatched pair and Jesse went still as she saw sand move under the shade's feet. No indentions, just... something moving. "Yes, Jesse." Trinity said by way of explanation. "I am really here. Or as here as I can be."
"That is not possible, Trinity!" Jesse protested, fear suddenly blossoming. "You are..." She swallowed hard as Trinity nodded.
"A technological ghost." Trinity finished the sentence for her. She held out a hand to Jesse and Jesse slowly laid her hand in the shade's. She felt a connection spark. "I am really here. For the first time in a long, long time. I am home."
"No..." Jesse felt the fear that had been blossoming suddenly take root and spread. "Trinity, you can't! The Balance."
The delicate equilibrium between the living and the dead was protected by the Guardians of the Dead and the shades of fallen Tenno, of which Trinity was one. The sheer power that dwelt within the database that held the shades of Orokin dead required some kind of system to keep things from going completely out of whack. But the Tenno were forbidden to simply leave the database as surely as the Orokin shades were.
"The time for Balance has passed, Jesse." Trinity said sadly as she pulled Jesse into an embrace. It didn't feel like a corporeal hug, but it was a hug. "Don't be afraid, Jesse." Trinity pleaded. "No matter what happens, I love you. I always have and I always will. Remember that."
"Trinity!" Jesse screamed as she grabbed for the other, but the shade was gone. "No. Oh god! No!"
"Jesse?" Elenia had her weapon out again, but nothing appeared. Nothing happened. "What?"
Instead of answering, Jesse strode out onto the sand. She wasn't perfectly balanced, her feet left indentions. Elenia followed her, weapon still ready. She did not leave footprints. The Caretaker came to a sudden stop as Jesse saw what she was dreading and fell to her knees before a line of tiny stones.
"Jesse?" Elenia repeated, worry rising.
Instead of answering, Jesse slowly and gently brushed a layer of sand from the tiny flat stone directly in front of her. On it, writing became clear.
Lynn Tenno
Trinity
1979 Gregorian - 235 Orokin
Sister, Healer, Cyberlancer, Friend. You are missed.
Jesse stared at the words and then broke down and cried.
"Trinity's memorial." Elenia breathed. She stared around at the other stones visible all around. She staggered a bit as she saw the writing on each. Hayden. Ash. Nyx. Saryn. Volt. Excalibur. Rhino. A memorial garden. This was the First Tenno's memorial garden! The very first one! Then her eyes went huge as the later date on Trinity's memorial changed as Jesse wept. To the current date. Elenia stared around and all of the dates were changing.
"Oh no..." Horror sounded in the Caretaker's words as she embraced Jesse. From her tone, it was also reverberating through the mind mass she was part of."No. We need to tell someone! Anyone!"
"They know." Jesse managed to get out and then bawled like a baby. Or a daughter whose surrogate mother had just passed on.
"They know."
Avalon
No one expected it. No one had planned for it. After all, no one in their right mind would possibly attempt it. No one who knew about the possibility wouldn't dream of doing it.
Avalon was probably the single most secure facility anywhere in the Solar System. Perhaps the Corpus had a vault that was more secure. Probably not. No Grineer vault even came close. The station called Avalon had originally been a hideaway for Orokin rulers. Perhaps not the greatest of vacations spots. The tiny station hidden within the Sun's stellar corona was not large. It had always been luxurious. Most of the rulers of Orokin had never stinted on their own comfort after all. But the basic idea was for a highly secure location that was nearly impossible to find and completely impossible to get to without specialized help. The stellar corona's average temperature of a million degrees Fahrenheit made that possible.
No one paid the Trinity Prime warframe any mind as she made her way through the tightly packed corridors. Prime warframes were not common, but on Avalon -the sole remaining bastion of Orokin- they far outnumbered the other kind. The Royal Guard, Tenno who had been selected and trained to defend the Orokin rulers- had only used prime warframes for centuries. Now they were using others, to fit in with other Tenno outside of the hidden sanctuary. But this was a prime Trinity. No one paid her a second's notice. After all, Tenno had been the guardians of Orokin and the Royal Guard were well known. If anyone had been in a position to question, they might have seen that her identification was out of date by several centuries. But no one thought to question. No one paid her any mind as she made her way down through the labyrinth of tunnels that had been built originally as servants' passages. Now they were maintenance tunnels.
She made her way through the tunnels, her steps sure. She had a mission and she would carry it out. Nothing else mattered. Only as she approached her goal did anything seem amiss. She paused as she saw the door she had been seeking. Something was wrong. That door was always guarded. She had come ready to disable the two guards. Surprise and speed would have allowed her to get close and take them down without harming them. Just the thought of harming other Tenno made her sick. She would not. Not if she could help it. But something was wrong.
The portal chamber she was approaching hadn't been used recently. Not since a young, distraught Tenno named Sara had taken an unplanned jaunt across the Solar System. That had finally ended well, but it had been touch and go for some time. Sara was recovering, finally. Lis would take far longer, but she would recover. Physically anyway. Emotionally? Spiritually? No one knew.
The doors hissed open and she went still as a familiar voice called out to her.
"I am alone." The Trinity Prime slumped a bit and then shook herself and stepped forward. Indeed, it was as she had feared. Princess Michelle, Heir Apparent of Avalon stood just inside the room, her back to the portal control console. "I came alone. I made the others stay away. Whatever you are doing, Trinity, I cannot let you do it."
"Princess..." Trinity -the First- said weakly. "It must done."
"We need you!" Michelle pleaded. "All of you!"
"And that is why we have to go!" Trinity replied calmly. "We are not gods, Princess. We are no better or worse than any other people." Michelle nodded and Trinity looked around. "Where is Commander Petra?"
"Guarding the access way that leads here." Michelle said quietly. Trinity went still and Michelle shook her head. "I ported down here as soon as I saw you arrive. Jasmina screamed at me as soon as you left Elenia and Jesse. They are both freaking. They saw the stones."
"Yeah." Trinity gave a deep and heartfelt sigh. "I should have set the date change for a longer delay. Jesse has some very sharp eyes. I never planned for her to find out until it was done. We did not plan for anyone to know. Princess. What must be, must be."
"She loves you. This will tear her apart!" Michelle accused. Trinity nodded. "Then tell me why! I was a sister of yours. Please?" She begged.
"The ability to use a warframe does not make you a sister, Michelle." Trinity said kindly. "You followed the Code your entire life until you found another calling. Protocol be damned, you will always be our sister."
"Then tell me why!" Michelle screamed, tears starting to fall. "Why now?"
"There is more going on than anyone knows, Princess." Trinity said softly. "The Balance has been broken. By us. By others. The temptation to use any power is strong. For someone like you or me, the temptation to use such powers to help others is nigh irresistible. The database is too big, Princess. We know this. So do you. You saw it, felt it." Michelle swallowed and nodded. "We cannot keep them from leaving, Princess. Not now." Michelle paled and Trinity nodded. "That leaves us one choice. One that was put down by the First Tenno and the First Orokin Empress."
"You..." Michelle seemed to stagger. "No! Trinity! There are trillions of shades. Tenno and Orokin. You can't!"
"You think I want to, Princess Michelle?" Trinity replied angrily. "I was a Healer! I tried to save lives. Causing pain was the worst thing I ever had to do. But sometimes... in order to heal a wound, one must cause harm first." She bowed her head. "We have debated for centuries of real world time, Princess."
Michelle stared at Trinity, eyes wide. Virtual worlds, such as the database that the Orokin and Tenno shades resided in, ordinarily were set to work in compressed computer time. Years could be spent in a virtual world and when the person came out, minutes would have passed. The reverse was also true, but far, far rarer.
"And all have agreed?" Michelle pleaded.
"No." Trinity allowed. "But we have an absolute majority. Far more than we needed to fulfill Hayden's and Talia's command. Step aside, Princess Michelle."
"I can't do that, Trinity." Michelle said, setting herself. "I am sworn to protect the database."
"You will want to step aside. At least to the other side of the console." Trinity did not move. "The portal is about to activate." Michelle stared at her and then at the console which was lighting up. Michelle jumped over the console, but her hands were close to it. "Do not interfere, Princess Michelle. You will make her mad."
"Who?" Michelle asked and then gave an eep as the portal flared, but the light was white, not golden!
When the light faded, four forms stood on the platform. Three in armor, one not. All four were corporeal. Two warframes. An Excaibur and a Loki. Both Primes. Trinity bowed deeply to the other two. Michelle's eyes were huge as the woman in the golden gown smiled at her. She knew the woman! But it was the man in the warframe that wasn't one who drew her attention and held it. It was sort of like an Excalibur warframe, but not. His right hand hung loose and she knew why. To keep his Glaive ready to hand.
"If we had any decent alternatives, we would take them, Princess." Hayden Tenno said as he gave his physical body a shake. "We don't."
"But..." Michelle pleaded as the gowned woman took a step forward and held out a hand to her. "Empress... I..."
"It is all right, Michelle." Talia -the First Empress of Orokin- said kindly.
"It is going to be all right."