Waking a Dragon
Janet materialized beside Jesse, Brianna and Cecelia. All of them were in the same attire. Jesse and Janet were holographic. Brianna and Cecelia...were not. Nikis stood nearby, his attire the same as it had been in the virtual world. The man in armor likewise.
"Nikis...?" Janet asked slowly, staring first at herself and then at Jesse, who were both attired as they had been in the virtual world. Stood to reason, since they were holograms here, projected through a device Ric was tweaking.
"Let me do the talking." Nikis said quietly. "Brianna will need to check him out once he wakes. Cecelia... try not to say anything." He commanded. "You are not protected as well as Ric and myself are." Cecelia paled but nodded as she moved to stand by the two holograms. Brianna remained where she was.
"Where are we?" Jesse asked, her eyes roving. "This place...feels familiar."
"It should." Nikis said with a smile in his voice. He nodded as Janet stared around and inhaled sharply. The decor was Orokin. A Tower! "This is where Iriana works. I have to say, of all the places he might have picked to hide... this one was inspired."
"He wasn't hiding, Nikis." Ric said quietly. "He was doing penance. He figured it was eternal."
"Nothing lasts forever." Nikis growled. "Shall we?" He nodded to what was apparently a wall. Janet could...feel something. A pressure. Something was crawling up her spine, screaming 'Run!'
"Nikis..." Janet said softly. "I feel...something odd." Jesse nodded as well. Brianna and Cecelia just looked confused. Nikis looked at Janet and Jesse and then at Ric who nodded.
"The wards were built to keep everyone away." Ric said with a sigh. "Good work too. I can't turn them off." He looked at Jesse who nodded back.
"You think I can." Jesse said slowly. "What kind of wards?" She asked, her eyes not leaving the wall Nikis was also staring at.
"Emotional aversion and physical repulsion." Ric said with a grunt as he stepped towards the wall and then took a step back. "Dang, still live after all this time. I surprise myself occasionally."
"You always were a wizard when it came to tech." Nikis agreed. "Jesse?"
Instead of answering, Jesse's hologram stepped forward, her hands glowing with dark blue code. She took another step, passing Ric who waited. She laid a hand on the wall and the dark blue code flared brighter.
"This is..." Jesse inhaled deeply, her voice turning awed. "This is beautiful."
"Be careful." Ric warned. "I put a trap in. I bet he did the same."
"Yes..." Jesse's voice was distracted, her eyes far away. "I can... see... Oh... That is sneaky..." She said to no one in particular. "I... Hmmm..." She paused and her focus returned. She looked at Ric. "Was your trap an Orokin soul catcher?" Ric went still and she sighed. "Guess not."
"A soul catcher? Jesse! Get away from that!" Janet demanded as she stepped forward. Soul catchers had been built to grab and hold energy forms. Not necessarily gently.
"It can't touch me, Mom." Jesse said with a sigh as she held up a hand, barring Janet's way. "It can take you. Please, Mom, step back." She begged. "I can do this."
"Nikis!" Janet pleaded as Jesse turned back to the wall.
"Jesse..." Nikis said slowly as he stepped up to where she was still touching the wall. "Those are very dangerous."
"I know." Jesse said with a grunt as she focused. "Trinity told me a little about them. It seems... Kind of like what warframes do to digitize prisoners?" She queried as Janet made a strangled noise.
"Kind of." Nikis said softly. "Jesse... let me handle it."
"All right." Jesse said, stepping back. "There are two other traps I can detect." Nikis paused, his hand halfway to the wall. "One seems to be a Mind Pull into a virtual environment, I bet an unpleasant one..." She looked at Ric who nodded. "The other... I think is an alarm. At least I did not find any dangerous mechanisms anywhere connected to it. Set to signal and nothing more."
"Yours?" Nikis asked Ric who shrugged.
"Mine is a short term jaunt into a virtual world where disembodied voices scream at you in four languages. Two minutes real world time. Virtual time would vary. It wasn't meant to be lethal. Just to scare the hell out of people and make them stay far away." Ric said quietly. "The other? I have no idea. But I wouldn't put it past him to have a watch set. Mine was basically a 'Keep out'. His?"
"'I will steal your mind and imprison it until your body falls apart'." Nikis grunted as he laid a hand on the wall and it was suddenly glowing golden. "Wow... he is good." The gold flared then was gone. "I think I tripped the alarm."
"You did." Jesse said quickly as Ric stepped up and laid a hand on the wall. A flash of brownish energy and suddenly where a wall had been, a shimmering expanse of golden energy was in its place. "I can... probably open this..." Jesse said a bit dubiously.
"Yeah, you probably can." Nikis agreed. "But there is no need. I have it." He slid a ring onto his finger and tapped the shimmering gold with the finger the ring was on. "Open Sesame." The wall... winked out, showing a dark space beyond.
"Open Sesame?" Janet demanded, incredulous.
"Hey, it worked for Aladdin." Nikis said with a snort as he stepped forward. A light came from his gauntlet and illuminated the dark area. But... it was empty. "What the hell?" He turned to Ric who was standing dumbfounded.
"I..." Ric stammered. "This is where he was! He went into the pod here and..." He shook his head. "This is...wrong."
"Freeze!" Jesse screamed as Nikis took another step forward. Everyone did. "Look at the floor!" All eyes went to the floor where a series of golden lines set in a circle were slowly starting to glow. "Grand Master Nikis... Let me..." She said slowly as she stepped forward. Nikis shook his head as the golden code erupted into fire. "I can do this."
"Jesse..." Janet begged. Jesse smiled.
"I can do this, Mom." Jesse said softly. "I can." She stepped to where Nikis stood, staring at the fire. "With your permission?"
"Be careful." Nikis said in an undertone just for her ears. "If you get hurt, your mom will flay me."
"There... is danger." Jesse said heavily. "But I can do this." Nikis nodded to her and stepped back to where Janet was staring at her daughter who was suddenly wreathed in dark blue energy. "You have your abilities, Mom." Jesse said calmly. "I have mine. I can do this."
"You better come back intact or I will tan your backside." Janet said sternly and more than one person smiled.
"I know." Jesse said with a grin that faded as she stepped closer to the fire. She held out her hands in front of herself, palms outward and dark blue code arced from them into the fire. She took a deep breath and slowly spread her hands. More than one set of eyes went large as the fire... split in front of her. The golden code on the floor it had come from flared and went dark in front of her. The area...inside the circle of fire was darker than night. Darker than space. She bowed her head and spoke in a language Janet did not know.
"What-?" Janet asked, but Cecelia made a hush motion and Janet stilled.
"She said 'We come in peace to speak the truth.'" Cecelia said softly. "Old Orokin. She learned a lot from Trinity." Everything seemed to stop as a deep voice answered her in the same tongue. One word. Janet stared at Cecelia and the girl swallowed a little. "He said... 'Leave.'"
Janet shook her head as Jesse spoke again, her tone respectful, but firm. Then Nikis spoke in the same language and the darkness in front of them seemed to recoil a little. He laid hand on Janet's holographic arm and suddenly...
"You..." The words were clear to Janet. She stared at Nikis who nodded. He had taught her to understand the language somehow. "Why did it have to be you?"
"Your oath was to do penance until the world ended, Ser Draco." Nikis said quietly. "It did."
"And yet, here you stand." The voice was calm, but... sad?
"Orokin met an enemy they could not face." Nikis said heavily. "They fared...poorly. They made... mistakes. They paid for them. The Empire fell. Collapsed. The Golden Age is gone. The Age is Dark. We need heroes once more."
"Heroes?" The other asked. Then it turned angry. "What use are heroes? Dead men and women do not serve. They do not aid others. They do not gain honor! They rot! Leave me!"
"Ser Draco." Janet could barely believe she was speaking. "We need you." Somehow, she was speaking the same language. She had to ask Nikis how he did that.
"Who are you?" The voice asked, his tone more respectful. "You attire is familiar but you are not... Kalina. Where is Kalina, Nikis?" Nikis bowed his head and the voice gasped. "No... oh no..."
"Kalina passed into the database. She was taken and hurt by evil men, but now she is free." Nikis said softly. "This one... found me and I found her. Kalina approves."
"And you wondered why I stayed away from that foul necromancy?" The voice asked sourly. "You were always crazy but this... Nikis... I cannot..." Janet spoke before Nikis did.
"It was not your fault." Janet said firmly. "Your responsibility? Yes. What you did was...excessive. Perhaps it demanded some kind of punishment, but this... No." She shook her head firmly. "We need you. I need you."
"You... need me?" The voice asked. "You know not of what you speak."
"Perhaps not." Janet admitted. "I am not Tenno. My daughter is. Now." She could feel the scrutiny of whoever was in the darkness beyond the light's beam shift to Jesse who remained still.
"Cyberlancer." The male voice mused. "You may relax." The fire...died. The beam of the handlight did not pierce the darkness beyond where the fire had been.
"If it all the same to you..." Jesse said quietly, but did not relax. "I know you not. These say you are honorable, but I do not know you. I mean no offense, but my trust has been abused. I will not lower my guard."
"Well said." The other replied. "I can respect that."
"Not to mention that if I let you, you would toss us all out on our rear ends." Jesse said with a snort. Everyone stared at her, but the dark voice... laughed.
"I would probably be a bit more polite about it." The other replied. "Nikis has a temper."
"You don't say!" Janet, Jesse, Cecelia, Brianna and Ric all chorused. Nikis made a rude gesture at them.
"That is not very 'royal', Nikis." Janet said with a smile. "Remind me to punish you." Nikis just shook his head.
"You are a good match for him." The dark voice sounded... considering now. "What is it you wish?"
"Me?" Janet asked sadly. "I want my life to stop being so crazy. I want my injuries to heal. I want my children safe. I want to live without fear and I want the same for my family and friends. But I am needed, so I must serve."
"Why?" The other asked. He sounded honestly curious. "You are human, not Tenno. Why must you serve?" Janet looked at Nikis who shrugged.
"I am an Oracle." Janet said quietly. The darkness was silent and Janet bowed her head. "I have seen what will happen if I do not aid. If I do the wrong thing. I am mortal, fallible. Fragile. But I cannot stand by and do nothing while the world gets even worse than it is. If I must be a sole beacon of hope in this dark time, then so be it."
"Beacons burn." The dark voice said softly. "And so do you. You flare brightly in my darkness." He sounded... so sad. "You bear a terrible curse, Oracle." Janet nodded. "And yet you continue to strive? Why?"
"Because I must." Janet replied. "May I see who I speak to?"
The darkness... uncoiled. Cecelia gave a gasp and retreated a step. Brianna remained where she was. Nikis, Ric and Jesse did not move as a huge reptilian form slowly stepped out into the light. Janet shook her head.
"Pretty." Janet nodded to the serpentine form. "But that is not you."
"Ah, just once I wish you wouldn't warn them, Nikis." The huge form vanished and a humanoid form stood in its place. Behind him, an Orokin cryopod hung open. The warframe...wasn't quite right. Bits of it shimmered in places. Different colors of energy kept the eye from focusing on its parts, no doubt deliberately. He was fully armed. A sword and rifle hung at his back, a pistol at his side.
"Having people faint or have heart attacks is not good for public relations." Nikis replied evenly. "But... You do the illusion well." He said with a nod. "Chinese?" He asked, curious.
"I did Welsh last time and French before that." The Tenno said as he took another step forward. He nodded to Jesse who hadn't moved. "Who trained you? You do not feel familiar but your energy patterns are."
"Trinity." Jesse replied evenly, still not lowering her guard. The other seemed to stiffen and then he nodded.
"Ah, that explains it." The other Tenno replied. His gaze fell on Janet who fought not to flinch. "Oracle... You know not what you ask."
"Can you explain?" Janet kept her voice level through sheer force of will. This Tenno exuded power and terror. Nikis used fear. This being was fear. No wonder Nikis had said he was scared of the guy.
"I can try." The odd Tenno said as he sat... in midair. Janet pursed her lips and he shrugged.
"Showoff." Nikis had fond exasperation coloring his tone.
"Takes one to know one, huh,. Nikis?" The other replied. "As Nikis stated, I am Draco. Called Ser by my peers within the Society. Of whom Ricard was one." He glanced at Ric. "I did not expect you to betray me, Ricard."
"He did not." Nikis said firmly. "I demanded his aid. And he is no longer Ricard. His memory was damaged." The other went hissed and Nikis continued. "He forgot much. Forgets much. But Ric is still the best with tech I have ever seen."
"The world...did end..." Draco said softly, almost bewildered. "I...see."
"There can be no forgiving." Ric said sadly. "I knew that."
"You are wrong, my old friend." Draco said gently. "If he spoke as the King? Which no doubt he did... Could you disobey?"
"I could have." Ric said softly. Cecelia moved to stand by him and laid a hand on his arm. He nodded to her. "But there are so few of us left. So few of us who want to remember the good of the past. And now? I cannot remember so much."
"Be easy, Ric." Draco said quietly. "Ricard swore the oath to me. And Ric or Ricard... No matter who you are... You could no more disobey the orders of the King of Sol West than you could swim through molten magma without a warframe." Ric jerked but then he nodded. "It is good to see you."
"May I examine you, Sir Knight?" Brianna asked calmly. "I am Brianna, sworn to the service of Ric's Order." Draco inclined his head and she approached, a metal object in hand. It looked ancient and crude, but it hummed with the same noise of any modern scanner as she swept it over his warframe. "You are... very articulate for just having woken from cryo."
"I have been awake for some time." Draco replied. She stared at him and he shrugged. "I woke from the cryo sleep about a year ago." Everything stopped at that and Draco shrugged. "I could not leave."
"It was sealed. From the outside!" Jesse sounded horrified and Draco nodded. "I... You would have spent eternity in here... alone..."
"Yes." Draco agreed. "I do not know if they told you, young Cyberlancer. But I was... distraught after my last assignment. I failed. Failure is to be expected if not appreciated. No human or Tenno can succeed in everything." She shook her head and he continued. "But I crossed the line. I hurt innocents. I asked for punishment and it was refused me."
"You wanted more than we were willing to do." Nikis sounded calm. Mostly. "Yes, what you did was excessive. I would have done worse."
"Begging your pardon, Nikis, but you are you. Not me." Draco said calmly as Briana finished her scans. "Apothecary?"
"You are in good shape." Brianna commented. "The cryo-nesia will have left gaps in your memory, but it may or may not be recognizable." Draco nodded to her and she returned it as she stepped back. "Be well, Sir Knight."
"I will try, Apothecary Brianna." Draco turned his head back to Janet who was looking a bit bemused. "Problem, Oracle?"
"I do not know." Janet said with a grunt. "You seem... too good to be true. A true knight. And not as damaged by the long sleep as so many were. We have been tricked before. To our cost."
"I can but try to assuage your concerns." Draco replied evenly. "What would you have of me?"
"My daughter really, really needs a minder." Janet said and Draco stiffened. "I know what happened the last time someone asked that of you." She reassured him. "I do not ask it of you now. I merely ask for you to hear me -us- out. Then decide. If you choose to return to your prison, we will let you." All of the others stiffened and Janet shook her head. "Coercing him to service is no better than what the Grineer did to Jesse." Draco stared at her and then shook his head.
"What's the Grineer?"
