Sort of Civil

"She is not a traitor, Nikis." Gem rose to and faced the Nekros warframe calmly.

"Oh, yeah. Right." Nikis allowed. "She decreed that her will was law, so whatever she willed was perfectly legal. Mindwiping people. Torturing people. Making people into slaves is perfectly justified if you are in the right. And she was always right. Because she was. Self entitled special people always are." He shook his head, just a little. "Tell me. How is she in bed? I wondered how you idiots managed."

"Nikis!" Gem exclaimed in exasperation. "There is no need for violence. I am here to help." Everything stopped again as Nikis started to laugh. "Nikis!" The Equinox warframe protested.

"You haven't changed at all, Gemina Horati. Still clueless." The Nekros said when he finally managed to restrain his mirth. "And you..." He nodded to Hans who froze, his hands hidden. "It won't work. You cannot hold me with that. Trying will piss me off. I don't recommend you do that." He shrugged a little. "Then again, common sense need not apply here. So... Shall we dance again, Gemina Horati?" Both of his pistols were in hand now, but not -quite- aimed.

"Nikis..." Gem said sadly. "The Lotus lied to us all."

"And how long have you been awake?" Nikis asked, eyeing Hans who did not move. "I thought you went into cryo with your slavemistress." This last was derisive. "You didn't see the effects of what you did. You didn't see the horrors that resulted from her machinations."

"I...read..." Gem stammered, but cut off as Nikis growled.

"You didn't see it!" Nikis snapped. "You slept all this time. You haven't had to wade through the muck. Through the filth. Through the horror that your oh so benevolent mistress unleashed on the system. Do not speak to me of lies, Gemina Horati. Do not. She who lives in a glass house should not throw stones."

"I...um..." Gem slumped a bit. "Yes. What we did was wrong." Nikis looked at the Equinox warframe and the Tenno inside shook her head again. "Nikis, we were trying to reform Orokin. It went bad..." Gem broke off again as he shook his head. "Nikis... Please."

"Maybe you were." Nikis said absently. "She wasn't."

"You are wrong. So wrong. Nikis, I do not want to fight." Gem slowly knelt into seiza. "If we fight, no one wins. Take Mavri. Help him."

"So then you 'alter' the other Elders." Nikis said slowly. Hans stared at the Nekros and Nikis snorted. "Oh, Gemina Horati didn't tell you? That thing's mistress taught it how to control Tenno." He shook his head. "At least... unaware Tenno. So another civil war. You never learn, Gemina Horati."

"Actually... I have." Gem sounded sad now. "Tenno do not fight Tenno. That is the Code. I came here to talk, not fight. But those like you with closed minds will react with violence. I do not want any kin's deaths on my conscience, Nikis."

"Yeah." Nikis murmured. "You have enough blood of kin on your hands already. We will not stand by and let you do it again."

"Nikis!" Hans exclaimed. "This is a Royal Guardswoman! How can you...?" Everything stopped again as Nikis' left hand pistol roared. Hans stared down at his right shoulder where a red hole shone. His right hand fell limp and the small device in it fell to clatter on the floor. Gem stared at it and a gulp sounded from the Equinox warframe.

"I told you not to try to bind me." Nikis snapped, one pistol aimed at the Equinox, the other at Hans. Then his voice turned sad. "You will never learn, Gemina Horati. I will take Mavri. You will not have him. As for the rest? We shall see." He strode to where Mavri lay and bent down. One pistol went back to his side, the other was still aimed at the Equinox who did not move. A burst of energy and Mavri's body vanished. Nikis heaved a great sigh "Naughty, naughty, Gemina Horati... trying to contaminate the energy of a fallen brother to infect me?" The Equinox was on her feet, a pair of hilts connected by an energy chain slapping into her hand but Nikis just shook his head as he drew his pistol again. "That is just... so gauche. I knew not to expect honor or anything like it from you."

"I do not want to fight you, Nikis." The Equinox said firmly as she held her weapon in a guard stance. "But I will if I must."

"I am going to give you one free piece of advice, Gemina Horati." Nikis said severely. "You won't take it, but I have to try. That piece of advice is this: The world you have woken into is very different from the world you left. The world you and your mistress tried to conquer." He shook his head as he stepped back to the wall. This time, the door opened. Hans tried to work controls with his off hand, but Nikis' pistol roared again and the Elder stared down at the hole in his other shoulder. "Pick your allies with care, Gemina Horati. For I am as I have always been. Your enemy." Then he was gone.

For a long moment after the Nekros had left, there was silence. Then Hans collapsed with a sob. Gem was at his side in an instant, holding him up, energy washing down from her hands over the wounds in his shoulders.

"Easy. Easy boy." Gem said sadly as the warframe held the Elder. "It's okay. It is going to be okay." Strands of energy flew from the armored fingers and he stayed in the chair as the hands released him, his wounds fading. "It didn't work."

"No, it didn't." Another voice answered her as a Nyx Prime warframe stepped into the room. She moved quickly and carefully, checking each of the slumbering Elders. "No one else is hurt. You did well, Gem. He is just... Nikis."

"This feels wrong, Siri." Gem said sadly as the Equinox and the Nyx stepped back to the wall. "Really wrong."

"We have our orders, Gem." The Nyx said with a nod. "I agree, but... We have our orders. The energy that Nikis drew in should keep him occupied until we can neutralize him. Contain him somehow."

"This is Nikis we are talking about. You really think it will be that easy?" Gem asked sourly. The Nyx Prime shook her head. "Yeah, me neither. So...what will you make them remember?"

"Hans antagonized Mavri until the Elder stormed out." The Nyx had energy crackling all around her now. Bits of it flew to touch each sleeping Elder. "Raven left as well. We will need her."

"We will see what we can do." Gem focused herself and nodded as the energy holding the Elders faded. None of them even jerked, but a few of them looked a little confused.

"-and I think it is high time we replaced that old fart!" Hans was blustering as if he had been speaking for some time.

"Old fart?" The female Elder who had spoken before looked at Hans and then at the two warframes by the wall. She rose from her chair, several others following her. "Nice try, Gemina Horati."

The Nyx Prime and Equinox froze in place. How did they know?

"Wait!" Gem begged. "We don't want a war! Not now!"

"You may not." The female Elder said sharply. "But your mistress does. We will never serve her and neither will the colonies we serve. If you or any of your sycophants..." She glared at Hans who had frozen in confusion. "...show your faces in our domains, they will be blown off."

"She is not here!" Gem pleaded. "We can find her! You need someone who can take the Lotus' place! We offer one." The standing Elders looked at her and was that pity in their eyes?

"The Lotus has much to answer for, true." The female Elder said as she moved to the exit. "But she never tried to enslave us."

With that, she was gone along with over half of the Elders. The others stared at each other and then at Gem who sighed and waved a hand. Strands of energy secured each again and then Nyx started weaving her energy.

"Well..." The Nyx said in tone of forced optimism. "Now we know which ones are resistant, don't we?" Her power flared and the other Elders sat back, blissful smiles on their faces.

"We don't want a war, Siri!" Gem protested. "The mistress... will not be pleased."

"No, she won't." Siri agreed.


A very well hidden sanctuary

It was impossible. But it happened. One moment, the Lotus was alone in her chamber, with only the datastreams for company. The next, a pitch black Nekros appeared on the floor in front of her. But... he was curled up in a fetal position!

"Nikis!" The Lotus exclaimed. She could not reach him physically, so she sent drones to aid. "What happened?"

"Warn..." Nikis grated out as the drones moved him to a more comfortable position. "Warn others... Gemina... Horati..."

"Oh my god!" The Lotus swallowed and sent an alert to all of the Tenno who still listened to her. Not all acknowledged her warning and she bit back a sigh of regret. That could wait. "What happened?"

"Tried to subvert... Elders..." Nikis snarled and forced himself upright. "Mavri... caught. Killed himself. They held him. Poisoned his energy."

"And you took him in." The Lotus breathed in horror. "Is he... I mean...can he be saved?"

"Dunno." Nikis tried to rise. He couldn't and collapsed again. "Don't...trust. But... no choice."

"I am sorry, Nikis. I..." The Lotus said weakly. Then she snarled, her anger an odd, echoing thing. "No! I will not allow this!" No one but Nikis saw as her form...detached from her chair, stepped to where Nikis lay and knelt, pulling the stricken Nekros up into her lap. "Shhh, Nikis. It will be all right."

"Don't..." Nikis begged but he obviously couldn't move.

"No one knows you are here but me and likely Janet. And she will not interfere as long as the system is not threatened. As long as you are safe. You are." The Lotus slowly stroked his helmet, a gentle caress. "No one knows you are hurt but me and likely Janet. And no one will. You are safe, Nikis. Let go, Grandmaster. I have you." Her hands moved, energy flowing from them to soothe the sorely hurt Tenno. "If Mavri can be saved, I will. I give you my word, Nikis."

"Stop... her..." Nikis pleaded, his voice fading with his consciousness.

"I will, ya old fart." The Lotus held him until he lay still. Then she rose, the limp Nekros in her arms. She strode to one wall where a panel opened, showing an enclosure lined with shining machinery. She laid Nikis inside it and then shut the enclosure. For a long moment, she stood, her head bowed, hand against the wall of the enclosure. "Rest well, most ancient of Nekros. Sleep. Dream of your love and better times."

She turned and looked at her chair. She looked at it for a minute. Then two. Then she shook her head. When she spoke, it was sad.

"Eliza. I have news."

"Rebeka?" The Empress sounded stunned. Then again, she had been asleep, but that particular channel was open at all hours. For good reason. "What?"

"Gemina Horati has taken some of the Elders." The Lotus said as she moved to another wall of her chamber. "Siri was seen at the same time." The Empress let loose a vile oath and the Lotus nodded. "The other Tenno won't be able to fight them, especially if the others are active as well."

"I know what to do." Eliza agreed. "Will you... ward?" The Lotus did not respond and the Empress hissed. "Rebeka, you are not a Warrior anymore!"

"For the first time in my third life, I wish I was!" The Lotus gave a tiny sob. "They will subvert... my... my children. Like they did before. It is what they do. They believe in what they are doing. You know what they will do."

"I do." Eliza said softly. "We need you, Rebeka. We do." She heaved a breath. "What do we know?"

"I have received word from Raven and the other Elders who escaped." The Lotus said after a moment's perusal of the datastreams. "The Elders are upset with the revelations of my past. Some of them want to... to replace me." Pain sang in her voice. "With her."

"Oh no." Eliza stammered. "No, no, no... Rebeka. I..." She broke off and took a deep breath. "What can we do? She was stopped once before."

"After she had subverted more than a dozen of the Royal Guard!" Lotus snapped, and then froze. "No. I.. I am sorry, Empress. This is... most distressing."

"No need to apologize." A door opened and Eliza stepped into the room, the only person in the Solar System authorized to enter. She froze as she saw the woman out of her chair, horror blossoming all over her face. "Rebeka..."

"They do not trust me now, Empress Eliza." The Lotus said sadly. "Few of them responded to my warning. I need to fix this. And to do that..."

"No." Eliza snapped, moving to block the door. "No! I forbid it! Rebeka! You can't!"

For her part, the Lotus moved to another wall. She reached out and touched it. A hidden locker opened and she reached in. She pulled out a pair of pistols that slid to her hips. She pulled out a pair of ornate but totally functional swords that she slung to her back. Then she bowed her head as the Empress shook hers.

"Rebeka!" The Empress begged. "Don't do this! This is what they want! What she wants! You vulnerable!"

"They threaten my children, Empress." The Lotus said firmly as she settled the weapons. "How can I stand aside now? How can I... just watch as they subvert my loved ones?"

"You can't." Eliza said sadly as she stepped close. "But Rebeka... This isn't you anymore." She reached out to tap the small blue pistol on the Lotus' left hip. "You haven't been a warrior since my ancestors sent you with the others to that horrid place with the blue star."

"I AM NOT THAT TENNO! NOT REBEKA!" The Lotus screamed. "I haven't been her... since... since..." She was shuddering and her mouth worked in sobs, but of course, no tears fell past her mask.

"Yes, you are." Eliza reached out to embrace the crying woman. "Your mind and so many others were pulled into the horror my ancestors created. But you... You came back." She hugged the Lotus tight. "I don't care if the body you now inhabit was formed as a weapon after your mass made it here through the Void. You remembered. You rose above that. You chose to embrace life, not death. You are Rebeka to me. Now and always."

"I am not..." The Lotus cried in Eliza's arms. "I can't... No one will follow me. No one will listen to me."

"Oh yes they will." Eliza said flatly.

"We will make them listen."


A specific Tenno dojo

"Any idea why she wanted both of us?"

Jasmina was not upset. Not really. Her life had turned upside down yet again, but this time, she found herself surrounded by both family and friends. Karl just grunted at her side and she made a face under her helmet. Of course he didn't know. He didn't really care. He had received a request for himself and Jasmina to be present to meet someone at the next scheduled portal transit to Avalon. Communication between Avalon and the rest of the system was difficult at the best of times. Now? With the Lotus held suspect by so many?

These were not the best of times.

"We will need to leave, Karl." Jasmina said after a moment. Karl nodded. "I.. thank you for the hospitality. But..."

"It was never intended to be forever, Jasmina." Karl said with a shrug. "Lisa and Dustin can stay or go as they wish. The humans with you likewise. We will need to check each time of course."

"Healer agrees." Jasmina said with a grin. "I swear, that kindly mass of flesh is more scared of the virus than we are." Kark just looked at her and the Ember Prime wearing Tenno stiffened. "She is."

"I will have to take your word for that, Jasmina." Karl replied in his offhand way. "You know I cannot hear them. Mishka still with her mom?"

"Yeah." Jasmina bowed her head "She and Jesse have hit it right off. Kind of scary how well those two mesh. But they both need recovery time. If they can sit still long enough." She said with snicker.

"Jesse falling and striking her head was not funny at all." Karl admonished the Caretaker and Jasmina nodded.

"No, it wasn't." Jasmina said with a sigh. "I do take responsibility. Draco was with her, but she was so curious. We knew the flooring in the area was unsafe. But no one expected it to cave in under her."

"We all take responsibility."Karl replied. "It is my dojo and I told you those floors were cleared and safe. At least Draco got to her quickly and Healer tended her in less than a minute. The biosuit helped a lot."

"Head wounds bleed a lot." Jasmina said with a sigh. "But my heart wanted to stop when I saw her through Healer's eyes. I really thought she was dead until Healer accessed her vitals." She gave herself a shake. "Anyway... that area has been reinforced. No more unsafe floors. She is alive, whole and recovering. And making life hell for the nurses and Draco from what I understand. Iriana has her hands full with her and Mishka in the same place at the same time."

"Why does that not surprise me?" Karl asked sotto voice and Jasmina jerked a laugh. "Time."

The Rhino and the Ember Prime both watched as the portal flared golden. A single figure appeared on it, but even warfame sensors would have difficulty seeing through such energy releases. Both waited until the energy faded and then both froze stock still as the traveler stepped off the pad to stand in front of them and bowed formally.

"Good morning." The Lotus in physical form said in a mild tone.

"We have a lot to talk about."