Ship
He jerked awake to voices. He had been asleep. If you slept at the machine, the Overseer would... wait. He wasn't chained to the machine anymore. Sleep was a thing that happened very, very rarely, when the chains were removed and the slaves were taken to a bare room to lie in their filth and squabble over the meager scraps of met and small cans of water that the Grineer provided. But he wasn't there anymore. He didn't know where he was, so he listened.
"...and you expect me to believe anything you say?" A calm female voice stated. Calm, but... underneath lay fury. "Anything at all?"
"Look..." Elena sounded resigned. "I know I screwed up. I know I made a mess. I did what I thought was right."
"You cost the lives of thousands." The other's tone might have frozen liquid nitrogen. "Men, women, children, their blood is on your hands."
"I know." Elene's voice was soft and sad. "I admit it. I did it. I made the mistake of trusting. Of believing what I was told. I wanted to believe, Lotus. I really did. Please..." She begged. "He needs help. You have to..." She was cut off.
"I don't have to do a thing except to feel relief when someone finds you and ends you." A snap sounded and then Elena sighed.
"I am sorry we woke you. The Lotus and I... have history. Bad history." She sounded so abject now. The slave opened his eyes and went still. He couldn't see. Elena was quick to reassure him. "The Grineer implants access your optic and auditory nerves. The idea was that if you got inside, you could record whatever you saw and heard. I am blocking transmissions, but I felt it was safer. For both of us if you couldn't see." Something in her voice...
"That is not the only reason is it?" He asked slowly.
"No." Elena said quietly. "There are things you cannot see, cannot know. Secrets that must be kept. I am sorry."
"I am not chained to a Grineer machine now." The slave said as he leaned back. The bed was very comfortable. But then he sighed. "But now... I don't know what to do. I... don't... remember..." He wracked his brain, but nothing came to mind. A soft voice, a gentle touch. Then Grineer. Nothing more.
"From what I can tell... Your brain was damaged by what the Grineer did." Elena said quietly. "Your memory center in particular. That is why you do not remember. It was probably an interrogation."
"Can it be fixed?" He queried, swallowing hard.
"Not by me." Elena replied sadly. "I am truly sorry."
"You say that a lot." The slave said after a moment. "I have nothing but gratitude."
"I have a lot of regrets." Elena said with another sigh. "Many, many human lifetimes worth."
"I get that you are not human." The slave said quietly. "It doesn't bother me."
"I was, once." Elena said with a gulp. "A very long time ago. Now? I am so much less."
"What happened?" He asked. "Can you say?" Elena made a hmmm noise and then replied.
"Let's just say that although soldiers get a very bad reputation -and it is often deserved..." Elena chuckled mirthlessly. "...their misdeeds are generally small scale. A dozen, maybe at most a hundred people affected. When a diplomat screws up..." She swallowed again. "There was a rebellion. They happened... not often, but it sure seemed that way. I wanted the fighting to end and they promised me they did too. They lied. When our forces had relaxed their guard, the enemy attacked. Thousands of people died in the fighting, hundreds of thousands as a result of the fighting. As the Lotus so properly said, their blood is on my hands. Not that I have hands anymore." She quipped a bit weakly.
"Oh." The slave didn't know what to say to that.
"I have eternity to ponder how badly I screwed up." Elena replied. "My... fate was to watch as Orokin thrived again after the war. Then watch as it Collapsed. To see the darkness enfold everything. To see the rise of evil again and not be able to do anything but watch as humanity stood on the brink. Then to be found by Grineer of all people. If the Corpus had found me, they probably would have chopped the hull up, used it for 'holy relics' or some such." She made a throat clearing noise. "Would have killed me unknowing and I would have let them."
"If the Grineer had gained access..." The slave said quietly. "They would have done the same."
"I know." Elena said with a sad chuckle. "But it wouldn't have been my problem. But I changed my mind. Watching as they made slaves touch my hull..." She paused as the slave gasped. "It didn't happen to you. I was repaired by then. In full control of the security systems. I had set it for automatic, just in case someone breached my prison. Before the Grineer found me, I never saw any point in trying to get free. My tomb, my prison. "
"Your prison?" The slave inquired.
"Yeah." Elena snarled in memory. "I was so stupid. I went to the enemy again, tried to get them to stop. They laughed at me. They disabled most of my systems and tossed my hull into a volcano." The slave stiffened but Elena chuckled. "Let no one ever say that Orokin shipbuilders did not build well. I managed to survive although the feedback was as painful as anything I can recall in my life. Part of me wondered if that was my hell, my own particular punishment for my crimes. Then I was stuck. Only passive sensors and a few leads that I managed to tunnel through the rock. Took centuries, but I managed. Just in time to see the Sentient War." She sounded sick now. "Some of it anyway. Left alone to suffer. I was in hell. I am in hell."
"Not hell. Purgatory maybe." The slave said quickly, then paused. Where had that come from? He shook his head. "So... now what?"
"Well, I am free." Elena sounded unsure now. "From what I have seen, I am faster than any Grineer ship. But there are a lot of them. Eventually they can catch me, make me expend my fuel while they corral me." The slave whimpered a bit and Elena reassured him. "I won't let them have you. I swear it." She promised.
"Thank you." The slave said with a sigh of relief. "The Corpus... I don't know if I remember them or not. But this 'Lotus' sounded like she would hunt you."
"Not personally." Elena reassured him. "But she does have hunters. I just hope that if she does send them that they only target me." She made a soft noise. "Yeah, yeah, they will only target me."
"I am right here." The slave replied.
"Tenno generally have excellent target control." Elena said dryly. The word 'Tenno' sent something through the slave. A feeling of... what? He didn't know. Anticipation? Worry? Awe? All fo these and more, but... not just those. Fear. And... Elena spoke again, sharp. "Are you all right?"
"I don't know." The slave replied. "When you said the word 'Tenno' I felt..." He trailed off. "I don't know how I felt. Just that I think I knew them. Or of them. Or.. something." He snarled softly at his inability to articulate.
"You are hurt." Elena said with a soft sigh. "I am going to try and find help for you. But... finding someone who can who does not look to the Lotus will be... difficult."
"Look...? To...?" The slave asked, confused. Then he chuckled. "Oh. Follows. She doesn't like you I take it?"
"Once we were acquaintances, allies if you will." Elena's voice held deep sadness now. "Now? She will hunt me, send her forces to hurt or kill me if they can. But I will help you."
"Can you?" The slave asked after a moment. "If you cannot take the implants out..."
"I can't." Elena said firmly. "But... I may not have to." Something wafted over the slave and he relaxed as it soothed his muscles. "Relax as you can. I will try to see if I can take control of your implants. It will not be quick if I can do it at all."
"Well, what do I do while I wait?" The slave was trying not to sound petulant and succeeded mostly. Sort of.
"Well, you don't remember your name." Elena sounded a bit preoccupied. "So, think of what you would like me to call you. Sleep if you can. This will be boring as all get out for you. But I will be busy. Very, very busy."
"Names." The slave said slowly. "I.. see..." He started thinking of what he knew of names. Non-Grineer names that was. He wasn't going to call himself by their stinking nomenclature.
Adam, Aeron, Alex...
What is in a name?
The hunter was silent. He was good at what he did, no question. His prey was the most difficult of targets. Armed. Human. Aware of his presence. It would make no difference.
"That Tenno is here somewhere!" The sharp sound of fear sang through the target's voice as the Tenno slid his way closer. "Find it! The Board will pay handsomely for a warframe!"
He could have activated one of his abilities and walked right up to his target before strangling Sergeant Nef Anyo before any of the myriad Corpus troops in the area could even react. But where was the fun in that? There had to be a certain amount of enjoyment in everything or people went insane. More insane that is. This whole 'fallen world' took a great deal of getting used to. But there was work to be done and oh the possibilities for mayhem. For chaos. For sheer delight in causing mischief. Not just for it's own sake -although that was fun in and of itself- but to serve the true lord of all things. Chaos.
The first Corpus troops to come around the corner of the shipping container he was hiding behind did not see him. The first thing any of them knew, one was airborne, propelled by a sturdy blow from the hunter's trusty Bo staff. That crewman hit the side of the container with a sick 'crack' and lay still. Before any of the other three in the group could react he was in amongst them. Only one had time to scream before all of them lay twitching. But by the time the Corpus troops reached where the ambush had taken place, all that was there were bodies. One of which had a red light on his belt. Where his grenades...
The hunter watched, darkly amused, as that squad of Corpus went flying. Plasma grenades were not generally his thing. He was more about speed and stealth, focus and finesse. But it made for creative fun. His target, unnerved by all this, was calling in reinforcements. It made no difference to the hunter. One or a thousand, it made no difference. The target was dead. The only thing was how long it took and how much fun the hunter would have in doing it. He scrutinized the area, visualizing approach paths, enemy positions...
Sun. The voice of the Lotus had the hunter pause in his planning.
Yes, Lotus? The hunter ghosted back into the air vent he had chosen for its high vantage. He could see everything that was happening. He could see his target, surrounded by troops now. All of them looked scared even through their closed helmets.
We have a priority target. The Lotus said quietly. How quickly can you get free? In other words, stop playing with them and disable the target. Did she sound... upset? The Lotus never sounded upset. Something was wrong.
You sure now how to spoil a guy's fun, Lotus. The Tenno replied with a sigh as he drew his Vectis sniper rifle. A high powered shot and Nef Anyo was on the ground, bleeding his life out from a hole in his helmet. The Corpus medics would patch him up, they always did. The troops belatedly opened fire on the vent, but the Tenno was gone. As he ran, he focused his thoughts. Mission accomplished. He didn't bother not to sound petulant for her spoiling his fun. What is the target? Grineer, Corpus or Infested?
None of the above. The hunter nearly stumbled at the Lotus's calm words.
You are going to let me hunt the Stalker? Really? Sun demanded as he ran, outdistancing the alarms, skirting through enemy forces, cloaking himself when he absolutely had to. Aw, Lotus... You shouldn't have!
Such a test of his abilities! He had been hoping for such a call ever since the news about the First Rhino and who had killed him. The few times he had faced the kinslayer, they had been evenly matched. He loved a challenge. He always had.
The Stalker is not your target. The Lotus said quietly and the hunter stopped short. A passing Corpus crewman had time to gawk momentarily before a swift strike from the hunter's Bo staff put out his lights. You need to move.
I want the Stalker. Sun said sharply. He at least will be a challenge. Not like these Grineer scum and Corpus morons. The less said about Infested the better in his personal opinion. They wouldn't know a joke if it bit them. Another Corpus crewman gawked at the still warframe in the hallway and fell to a spinning roundhouse kick. You promised me a challenge, Lotus. None of these are a challenge!
Sun... The Lotus rarely sounded exasperated. But he managed occasionally to get a rise out of her. He treasured those moments, even if it cost him. He did know the line however. He never tried to hack her systems like one fool had done. A billion lines of writing later, that fool had learned. Sun wouldn't do that. At least not if he didn't have a very solid alibi. Target is a ship intelligence.
Sun's mental antennae twitched at that. Ship intelligences were very rare. Grineer ships had stupid computers for the most part. They didn't trust anything smarter than they were, which was most everything. Corpus ships had AIs of course. But they were limited. Infested? Well, they didn't have ships for the most part although some of the stories about J-3 might means... He shook himself. A squad of Corpus troops appeared in the distance and he started moving again.
A ship? Sun asked as he vanished from sight, leaving the Corpus to flounder in his wake again. What ship?
An Orokin diplomatic ship that was supposed to have been destroyed hundreds of years before the Collapse. Sun paused. The Lotus sounded... angry? A first in his experience. She should have stayed gone.
Lotus. Sun said quietly as he made his way to where his own assault ship waited. Is this... personal? Instead of answering, the connection was cut. He stepped into his small ship's central chamber shaking his head. "What the hell...?"
Master. You return. A small voice had him smiling under his helmet as he turned to see the large furred form that sat beside the control chair. I grow strong. She was larger than she had been.
"I know, Maxine." The Tenno said as he checked his weapons reflexively. "But you still have some growing to do, girl."
He patted her head and she gave out a sound that was half hum, half purr and all Kubrow. He had been granted the honor of growing a partner for himself and had availed himself of it. He remembered... another... But it was hazy, indistinct. Cryo did that to one's memories. He was as skilled as ever and rarely worried about what he couldn't remember. He had his work and his fun. Nothing else mattered. Normally anyway. She rolled, begging for a touch and he gave it to her.
I hope to work with you soon. Maxine said as he rubbed her stomach. She gave out a sigh of contentment and relaxed. Hard to believe she was less than a week old.
"You will." Sun scratched behind her ears and then smiled as he sat in the command chair of his small craft. "Let's see..." He pulled up his mission summary and nodded as he saw the reward for the target down had been deposited. He was and wasn't -strictly- a mercenary. He wasn't paid to fight. He was given rewards for jobs completed. "Another job well done and... hello..." He stared at a file that was unmarked. "What is this...?"
There was no sender information. No taunt from the Grineer or Corpus. Soemtiems when he did missions, some of their grand high muckety mucks took offense. It... rarely worked out very well for the Corpus or Grineer. He had been targeted by Alad V's harvester and the Grustag 3 a few times. Each time, they had wound up chasing their own tails before he had bored with that and ended the battles. The one person he had always hoped to get a message from was Stalker, but the kinslayer seemed wary of him for some reason. Odd that. Maybe this was from the kinslayer? He had seen messages that other Tenno had received from Stalker though and all had addresses, or at least some kind of subject line.
He shook his head and opened it. In moments, it was clear that it wasn't from Stalker. Indeed, it was from the Lotus. A line of text.
'Target is the Orokin Imperial Diplomatic Ship Elena Greensky.'
Sun sat back in his chair and swallowed hard. Whatever he had expected, this wasn't it. He knew the name. Almost every Tenno knew the name. Not every rebellion against Orokin had targeted Tenno. Most were not that crazy.
Oh... shit...