Fear
Jo ran. There was nothing else he could do. It was useless and he knew it but he had to try and get away. He ran through ducts that were barely larger than he was and scuttled through drain that left bits of his supposedly indestructible jumpsuit hanging from sharp corners. His mother would be upset... He choked back a sob.
It had been a normal day. Jo had gone to class with his peers. He wasn't the best in his class, but he wasn't the worst either. But when he had arrived, the teacher had not called them to order. The man had simply sat at his desk. More than one student had been surprised at that, but one of the more adventurous sorts had stepped to the teacher and discovered the man was asleep. But far more than normal sleep. Some kind of barely visible energy had been wrapped around the man. The girl who had gone to him had tried to remove the wrapping and collapsed herself, similar energy wrapping around her. That had been enough for everyone else. The class had bolted. That hadn't been covered by lessons. They had slapped alarms and none of the panels had functioned! But it was what came next that was frankly terrifying.
One by one, the fleeing children disappeared. They tried to stay together, but each one simply vanished, a few between one step and another. Finally, there had only been two and the girl -Cara- had nodded and darted off another way as Jo had slid into the ducts. He knew she would try to find an operational alarm. Sound an alarm. It was what had to be done in the case of invasion, which was what this had to be. But... an odd one. Not Grineer in overwhelming loud numbers. Not Corpus. No robots anywhere. Not even Infested. The children had been well trained in recognizing the biological monstrosities. Not that they could do much against any of those, but forewarned was forearmed. The colony had defenses. Several of the residents had weapons and knew how to use them. If they had warning it would-
Jo jerked up short as a sound came through the ducts. An anguished scream of terror and pain from a familiar voice. Cara. It cut off abruptly.
"No." The boy said softly as he started off through a smaller duct. This one was tiny, barely large enough for his seven year old frame and he could barely fit even as... He jerked as something grabbed at his leg, shaking free of whatever it was and slid further into the duct. He stared back at ...the odd looking armored hand that was sweeping around, seeking him. He made himself as small as he could and bit his lip to keep from crying out. He slid further, but then the duct narrowed and he couldn't go any further. The hand vanished.
"Boy." The male voice was...wrong. He didn't know how or why. But it was wrong. "We won't hurt you. Come out of there." He did not reply, simply scrunched himself up tighter. "Come on, kid. We don't want to hurt you. No one is dead yet. A few injuries but nothing major. Come on. Don't make us tear the wall apart to get you out."
Something slammed the duct near Jo, but he didn't move. He braced himself in it and the voice outside sighed. He jerked again as a piece of the wall bent outward and then he was pushing further into the too small vent as something dropped into the vent beside him. It... It wasn't anything he knew. It was round and covered in veins. He stared at it as it started to glow. He didn't even have time to scream as it burst, covering him in foul smelling green gunk. But... he went limp. He tried to struggle. Tried to fight. Nothing was working! He was floating on a sea of lethargy as the wall of the duct was torn out with a horrendous screech. Vicious clawed fingers reached for him and he quailed inside, but the hands were gentle as they pulled him out.
A figure from nightmare had him. The form wasn't human! It was...vaguely female looking? Sort of. It looked... He wasn't sure what it looked like. Maybe a flower? Maybe something else? It pulled him out and set him on the ground, laying him out straight.
"Dumb kid." The male voice sounded sad. He tried to look for the source but he couldn't move at all as the female form knelt down, the scary looking hands gentle as they checked his injuries. "Running like that."
"The unknown is always frightening, Shaun." The female voice was older, sadder. Maternal. He felt... something odd and he was floating again. "He is reacting to the toxin. I thought I moderated it enough. Damn. We need to get him to Gillie. Now."
"The others are being shifted as we speak. We don't have a lot of time." The one called Shaun said as Jo was lifted into the air. Arms that were oddly gentle for being made of metal were cradling him gently. "See what you can do. This is the last of them. We need to get to the...portal... Oh no."
The voice trailed off and Jo felt the arms holding him tense. He couldn't move. He was tired. So tired.
"How many?" The female voice said tightly.
"Three. Excalibur, Banshee, Valkyr." The male replied just as tightly. "Nikis isn't with them. Still..."
"We cannot fight them. They are dupes, not enemies!" Jo was falling asleep. He tried with all his strength to stay awake, but he was only seven years old.
"Are they?" The male asked. "We did provoke them, even if we did not mean to. We killed their clan leader even though that was not our plan. Get the boy to Gillie. I will draw them away."
"Shaun..." The female sounded nearly in tears.
"Go." The other snapped. "The boy is fading. Go, Diana. I... I need to do this."
Then Jo knew no more.
The Saryn ran through the tunnels that the humans had called home, her heart in tatters. Behind her, she knew her brother would be making his stand. Right on time, she heard his Braton open fire. Three distinct weapon sounds answered her brother's defiance and she wept inside. Shaun was good, no question. But three to one and all three of those furious?
The boy slept in her arms. He wasn't fading now. She had managed to neutralize her toxin. She had only intended it to sedate, but Saryn toxins were very potent. He only had a little time before her palliative wore off and his vital functions were suppressed to the point of death. She had wrapped her Izvara syandana around him to try and keep him warm. They were a long way from the rendezvous point, the boy had managed to flee quite a distance from where the rest of her group were preparing the rest of the humans for transport to their new lives.
She was torn about this. She was Tenno. She served. It was what she was, what she was for. She had been raised and trained for service as a Warrior Tenno. But then, she had been selected for another position. Very few Tenno had been selected for that position ad she had been justifiably proud of her ability. Then it had all gone wrong. She didn't know what had happened or why, but Orokin had fallen. Her devotion to her cause, to the ones she had been sworn to protect, hadn't been enough. Her duty... She had failed her duty. The one she had sworn to die protecting had been disappeared one day. No sign of a struggle, no word. Just silence. No one had said anything, she was hardly the only one whose charge had vanished such. So, she had sworn to serve an Executor and done so with honor. It wasn't her fault that he had fallen. She knew this. She had fought so hard. But she had still failed.
She had fought during the Collapse, it was what she was. What she was for. But... her cause was lost. Diana hadn't really expected to wake from cryosleep. To be woken by the last Executor was... unexpected to say the least. Diana had never really known the one who called herself Gilliananhorisa. Diana had seen the Executor, of course, but she had never been one to mingle. The Executor had been kind and gentle, had worked to ease Diana into the dark and forbidding world that they now inhabited.
Diana had done a lot of things as a guardian of the Council of Executors that had bothered her. Gillie was a good one though. She listened. She listened to and talked to her subordinates. Not all of the servants that Gillie had found were...
"Freeze!" A harsh female voice came from nowhere. Diana did as instructed. She recognized the voice. Something stung her leg and a cloud of energy settled over her. "They are here."
"Damn." Diana peered forward and her guts turned to ice as she saw two warframes in the area ahead. A Vauban and a Trinity. It had been a cleared spot in the tunnels, some kind of meeting area. It had been designated for the group to bring their new recruits to be marshaled for transport to their new lives. Better to call it that than the truth. Diana did not like this. At all. But it was needed. The demons had to be stopped. "Only two?" She whispered.
"That I have seen." Viveka's harsh voice came back from wherever the Ivara warframe was concealed. "Probably more."
"The others?" Diana looked, but she couldn't see any of the group's servants or any humans lying on the ground.
"I think they got away." Viveka replied. "Run. Now."
"Viveka... I can't." Diana said sadly. "This boy is dying."
"He is human. Unimportant in the grand scheme of things." Viveka retorted. "We need to stop the demons and getting killed won't stop them. Leave him and get to your ship." Her tone gentled a bit. "They will tend him. You know that. You need to go. He is not important."
"He is a living sentient being that I hurt." Diana snapped. She slumped a bit and laid the boy on the deck. "Not that you would understand such."
"I understand that if we don't get out of here right now, we are dead." Viveka replied without heat. She wasn't stupid. She was just driven. Being touched by the demons had done something to her. Gillie tried to help, everyone did. But... Diana feared for her sister. "Come on." An invisible hand grasped hers and led her off.
Diana stared at the boy who lay on the ground and then resolutely turned her back. She did no one any good if she died here. Then she felt her guts turn to ice again as the lights flickered.
You cannot run from your past.
"No..." Diana swallowed hard as she felt Viveka's hand tense. "Viveka. Run. Now."
"I am not leaving you to him." Viveka's retort was calm. Diana sighed. Arguing with the fanatic was kind of like arguing with a piece of space rock. It didn't work very well. "I can hide you."
"Take it slow." Diana said as a barely audible snap sounded and energy surrounded her.
Your crimes against Phorid will not be forgotten.
"What?" Diana asked softly. "Why the hell is he coming after me for an Infested?" She hadn't ever faced the kinslayer. She hadn't been awake that long. But she had gone after Phorid with a cell of Tenno, it had been a tough fight, especially since most of her equipment had been lost or damaged in the time she had slept.
"Shh!" Viveka hissed sharply. Both Tenno in the distance were approaching now. And yes, both wore the symbol of Karl's Shadow, the clan whose leader their group had inadvertently slain.
"Viveka! Get out of here." Diana said as the Trinity paused and knelt by the unconscious boy. "They know we are here!" The Vauban had a Some Prime in hand and his aim swept everywhere.
Your sentence is death!
Stalker appeared in a flash of black smoke and Diana charged. She wasn't the fastest or the strongest of the group. She couldn't really call it a clan. It wasn't one. They were all sworn to the Executor, so... She threw a set of Spores and had the satisfaction of... wait a moment! Why was Stalker suddenly glowing? Where had that sword come from? He used a scythe. Didn't he?
Diana threw herself to the side and the massive sword tore through where she had been, missing her warframe by millimeters. No, pieces of fabric fell, cut clean by the energy that surrounded the huge sword. Her Lacera tore through the air, the chain an extension of her will as she tangled his arm with the chain and pulled. She used the leverage to close the distance. She was inside his guard and struck deep with the scissor blade. But he was glowing again! Her blade was pushed out and she was flung backwards. Agony roared through her leg as she tried to roll away from her much stronger opponent.
She jerked backwards, her weapon held to guard as Stalker turned to face her. His armor...wasn't as it had been described to her. It looked different. Oddly alive, but not. Then her gut went cold again!
The other two Tenno were watching. Just watching as she was mercilessly battered back and then back again!
"You... call... yourselves Tenno?" Diana gasped between strikes. "You leave me to him?"
"Why not?" The Vauban asked coldly. "You would do the same for us. Murderer." The scorn in his words cut Diana to the quick.
Stalker did not pause in his battering assault. Diana was forced back and back again, his attacks hitting like a battering ram. Her fewer responses were batted aside as inconsequential. It could only end one way. Finally, she missed a block and the huge sword struck far swifter than she imagined such a massive chunk of metal could. The energy was... cold, but hot as it bit deep into her side and Diana fell. She stared up at the red and black armored form as it raised the sword in a two handed grip over its head.
She gasped as...something got between her and the falling sword. Her vision was going dark now. But she saw... a golden bladed staff parrying the red sword.
Was that... a transparent white Rhino holding it? No. Couldn't be. She was... It was...
"Ric..." Alicia's voice was hushed as Stalker was beaten back. "What do you see?"
"I don't know." Ric customary good humor had deserted him as Stalker was beaten back. By an Orthos Prime that hovered in midair! No one was wielding it! Stalker struck at where the wielder had to be and hit nothing but air. The return strike cut deep. "Do you believe in ghosts?"
"No." Alicia said firmly. "Ghosts are folklore. Human mythology. I have seen shades, but...that isn't a shade."
"No." Ric shook his head as Stalker fell and lay still. The kinslayer's body vanished as always. "Ah..." The Orthos Prime spun as if the wielder was cleaning it of gore. Then it hovered oddly. It took a moment to realize... it was saluting Ric and Alicia. Then it vanished! "What the hell?"
"Good question." Alicia shook her head as she looked at the fallen Saryn. "Very good question. Well, one less." She paused and her hand snapped up to intercept something that flew toward her. An arrow! She had caught it! Ric stared. She had caught an arrow made of energy! How the hell? She flipped her hand and it vanished. "Well, well, well, Tenno Viveka..."
Ric threw a Bastille down but wherever the Ivara was, she was outside it's radius.
"I can kill you right now." The hidden Ivara said coldly.
"Go right ahead." Alicia replied, just as coldly. "I will come back. Wherever you run, wherever you hide, we will find you. We will have vengeance!" Her Bolto pistol was in hand and aimed. At the fallen Saryn.
"So you are no better than Stalker?" Viveka snapped. "And you call us murderers?"
"Slight difference, fanatic. We don't use bombs." Alicia did not take her eyes from the fallen Saryn but Ric was quartering the area with his Soma Prime. "You killed Karl because you wanted to. We will kill you because you killed our friend."
"He wasn't the target!" Viveka nearly screamed. "He was... in the way."
"So?" Ric demanded. "That makes it all better, ya evil witch?" He shook his head. "Nice invisibility." Then he dropped Bastille again and Viveka screamed in rage as she appeared, hanging in midair. "Oops. You blew it." He aimed his Ballistica, but a new voice sounded in the tunnel.
"Ric. Stop." Another warframe strode into view. Another Trinity, but this one was very different. Her armor looked far thinner for one thing. For another, instead of Alicia's Meridian helmet, this one's head was nearly bare and had an odd circle thing hovering behind it. Her skirt was tighter, thinner, but more ornate. The long ornate staff she held was glowing. "This isn't right."
"Janna!" Alicia and Ric both snapped. "You shouldn't be here."
"Janna?" Viveka said weakly from where she hung. "No! Demon lover!" She started to struggle.
"Demon?" Janna asked mildly. "More than a bit of the pot and the kettle in that one, Tenno Viveka." She knelt by the fallen Saryn and shook her head as she looked at Ric and Alicia. "The boy is sick. He needs help. This one..." She touched Diana's chest and energy flared from her fingers.
"Leave her alone!" Vivieka snarled from where she hung, thrashing impotently.
"She is dying, Tenno Viveka." Janna said sadly. "The kinslayer's blade bit deep. But I will not let her go without a fight. I do not kill kin." Her hand was suddenly glowing and the Saryn was bathed in red-gold energy.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Viveka screamed as she broke free of the Bastille. Her hand raised, her Artemis bow flaring to life in it.
"You do not want to do that." Janna said mildly as Ric and Alicia both moved to shield her physically. "Please don't."
"Shut up, demon lover!" The Ivara aimed. "You have nothing..."
"Wasn't talking to you."
The roar of a Magnus pistol was loud in the tunnel.