Memory

He knelt in place, his mind focusing on trained patterns. The small colony bustled around him, but he ignored it. It wasn't important to him. He was trying to quiet his unruly mind. It wasn't working very well.

When the man who called himself 'Excalibur' had woken, his injuries had been being tended. Tenno colonies were small to facilitate concealment, but self sufficient. The medical technology available at any colony dwarfed the gear that any Tenno starship could carry. He looked down at the robe he wore and against his will, his mouth quirked a little. No scars would remain. No physical ones anyway. The Trinity -Alicia- had done a good job in the field. His thoughts paused. Alicia. All Tenno had names. He had a name, not just 'Excalibur'. He couldn't remember it. It had been so long. He had been a Tenno for so long, but... not quite one. Oh, no one was rude or hostile. Indeed, many seemed almost awed. But there was always that subtle divide. He hadn't been born one of them. He wasn't truly one of them. He was...different. No matter how hard he tried, and he had tried for a very long time, he couldn't be exactly like them. He pressed that thought away and tried to focus his mind again. Again, it didn't work. He shook his head minutely. He could do this. He would do this. He would remember. He would do it this time...

He became aware of scrutiny and opened his eyes to see a young Tenno in an acolyte's robe waiting a little ways away. The young male couldn't have been more than five or six and his face was grave as he looked at the kneeling man. No one else came close, the meditation space that had been set up in the main square of the colony was intended as a place of solace, of introspection.

"Yes?" The man who called himself Excalibur asked softly. The boy bowed deeply.

"The Master asked to see you, sir." The young Tenno said in a reverent tone. Excalibur's eyes narrowed. Was that deference for the Master? The acknowledged trainer and teacher, the leader of the colony? No. The boy's eyes were on him and Excalibur stiffened slightly. This could not stand. He would not be the cause of dissent in the colony. There were too few Tenno colonies as it was. The mere thought of conflict erupting inside one was abhorrent to him. He had seen war for so long, been a tool of war for so long... Just the thought of war coming to this peaceful retreat was horrifying to the extreme. And if he was the cause...? No! He would not let it happen.

"Do not revere me." Excalibur said quietly but firmly. "I am Tenno. No more, no less."

"But..." The boy started to protest but then stopped himself and nodded. He bowed from the neck, this time in simple respect to an elder. "If I have given offense, I apologize."

"I took no offense." Excalibur said with a internal sigh. Was he seeing things that were not there? Was he unbalanced? The docs said 'no', but he wasn't so sure. Later. He would worry about that later. "The Master, you say?" The boy nodded again and Excalibur rose to his feet in a smooth motion, no wasted effort. "Thank you."

"It is my duty to serve." The boy intoned formally.

"Our duty, young one." Excalibur said with a small smile. He bowed his head to a hand woven banner that hung nearby. On it, the Tenno Code was embroidered. The boy bowed with him and then Excalibur started off without a glance back.

As he walked, he noted a number of Tenno glancing his way. He ignored them. This was not his place. He was a visitor. A peaceful one, one who needed time and care to recover from his injuries, to regain his strength and train himself back to his exacting standards. Now he had. He hoped the Master had good news for him. What little he knew of the war with the Grinneer did not bode well. He shook his head minutely as he walked. He was a weapon. A tool to be use. No more. He would give his life if needed. He had given his life to a cause. The Tenno.

As he walked the short distance from the square to the Master's quarters, he looked around a little. This colony was small. Less than a thousand souls called this self contained habitat home. He...could not. This was not his home. He had spent time in places like this, while the Tenno Elders had debated his wish to join them. The Tenno for the most part had been kind to him, a human foundling. Then he had started the training which had been anything but kind. Not having grown up in the Tenno, he had lacked the basic conditioning and skills that every Tenno took for granted. It had taken years for him to develop the reflexes to be able to run along -or up- a wall. Tenno had to prove they could do it without a warframe before they could be trusted with one. But that was only the smallest bit of the training. So much to learn and it never really stopped. Only when one died did one stop learning. But one could forget.

His memory was faulty. He remembered his time with the Tenno in exacting clarity up to a point. It had been a mission, a bad one. The Great War had been raging. Massive fleets had done battle all over the solar system. He had known when he had joined the Tenno that he would be called to fight. He had...gone out... He could almost...

"My son?" The soft, concerned voice pulled him out of his reverie. He jerked and found the master of the colony looking at him with a concerned look. "Are you well?" The face of the old Tenno was creased by lines of fatigue, pain and worry. But the blue eyes that fixed him were alive with curiosity and concern.

"No." Excalibur admitted. Honesty was part of the code and lying to one's self was just as bad as lying to others. "I was trying to remember. I can...almost..."

He trailed off as the Master laid a hand on his arm. He stifled the immediate, trained response to break the arm that grabbed him and stood there silent. The Master smiled and nodded before giving a small squeeze and retracting his hand. Not that the Master wasn't capable of defending himself, far from it. But he was also used to dealing with Tenno who had been a long time in the field. Caution was warranted.

"It will come." The Master said kindly. "Or it will not." He said philosophically. "You were very badly hurt during the War."

"I don't remember that." Excalibur said slowly.

He didn't. He had woken, suddenly, in another colony. One much like this one actually. They told him he had been injured. That he had taken serious brain injuries. Injuries from both physical trauma and toxins. The wounds were so serious in fact that many had wondered if he would wake at all or be the man he had been. It was very odd. He had the strangest gaps in his memory. He could remember every instant of his training, but not the instructors names. He could remember his first family, but not their names. He couldn't remember who he had been...before. They told him the name, but it wasn't him. At least... He thought they had. His earliest memories after that waking were hazy, indistinct. That colony had been attacked shortly afterward and destroyed. He had been evacuated with the other wounded. At the time, he had wondered if he had drawn the enemy there somehow, but the other Tenno had assured him that was not the case.

"You must not dwell on it, my son" The Master said with a nod. "The past is past. We must learn from it, but we must not dwell on it." Excalibur nodded stoically and then bowed formally. They were at the door to the Master's chambers. How long had he been standing there, lost in his faulty memory?

"You wished to see me, Master?" Excalibur asked calmly.

"I did." The Master nodded and led the way into his chambers. He knelt at his short desk and Excalibur knelt as well, the proper distance away. It was just far enough that a sword wouldn't reach either of them. "How do you feel?"

"Physically, I am fully functional." Excalibur replied with a trace of caution. "Mentally? I am not sure." He was not expecting the Master to laugh.

"Oh, my son..." The old Tenno said with a smile. "Who is?" His tone was devilish and Excalibur found himself smiling. It was easy to smile here. So far from the blood and guts of his life, it seemed...surreal. But at the same time, it was totally real. More real than much of his remembered life it seemed. Then the old Tenno sighed and his face turned melancholy. "If it were my choice, I would let you stay until you felt whole again." Excalibur stiffened and then nodded slowly.

"I am called?" He asked, his tone almost reverent. The Master looked at him and he winced. Was that too eager? Tenno who thirsted for blood were dangerous. To their enemies and their allies. "I..." He broke of what he was going to say and then slowly spoke. "I am conflicted." He admitted.

"Yes, you are." The Master agreed. "Ordinarily, I would not certify you to go back in the field as upset as you are." Excalibur stared at him and the Master sighed. "There is another reason as well."

"I want to serve, but am unsure how well I can." Excalibur agreed. "I made a stupid mistake and paid for it. I could have gotten every member of the rescue team killed and-" He broke off as something slapped him. As fast as Excalibur was, the Master hadn't seemed to move! Excalibur's cheek stung, but the Master hadn't budged from his spot. How the hell...? He was still out of reach!

"Stop that." The master commanded. "Stop dwelling on the past." His eyes were cold now.

"How did you do that?" Excalibur asked, curious. "You are out of reach."

"A being's reach should always exceed his or her grasp." The Master said evasively with a twinkle in his eye. "And I DID learn how to use a warframe before I was called to this posting."

"Let me guess." Excalibur said with a dry smile. "Loki." The Master just looked at him and Excalibur shook his head. "Never mind." He didn't want to irritate the master after all. "I will try not to dwell on the past, Master. But if I have been called, I must go." To his amazement, the Master rose and bowed. TO HIM!

"Be well, my son." The master said sadly. "I hope you find what you seek."

"Master?" Excalibur asked, concerned. The old Tenno did not speak again. He nodded to the side and a concealed door opened on the wall. A room appeared behind it and... A com unit. Nothing else shone in the room. Excalibur rose, bowed deeply and formally to the Master and then strode from the Master's chambers into the new room. He heard the door hiss shut and lock behind him, but he ignored that. He walked to the middle of the room, knelt and waited. He didn't wait long. A familiar female voice sounded in his head.

Tenno As always, the Lotus was calm and precise.

Lotus He acknowledged. I await instruction.

A new warframe has been readied for your use. The Lotus said formally. You will find it similar to your old one. You will want to train with it. You will do so en route to your new mission.

Where am I sent? He asked, aware of the fierce joy that surged within him and the need to clamp it down. He was no berserker. He focused his mind and it obeyed this time.

The Corpus have found something odd. The Lotus said with a trace of worry. Their transmissions from that dig site have been...erratic.

What did they find? Excalibur asked. More Orokin technology?

They say they found your sword. The Lotus said softly.

My... Excalibur hadn't know he could get that stiff. What? He demanded. Which sword?

We don't know. The Lotus replied. This may be a trap.

Only one way to find out. Excalibur agreed. Where? He asked again.

Europa. The Lotus' voice turned cool. You will not go alone.

I know. Excalibur said with a wince. He much preferred to fight solo. Different styles of fighting rarely meshed all that well in his experience. Tenno were trained to do it of course, but they didn't always work well together. He would deal. He was good at that. I will await the others there.

Fare thee well, Tenno. And just like that, the Lotus was gone from his head. Another door opened and he rose to start off towards his future, not looking back.