Comfort

She wasn't being anti-social. Everyone knew that she was grieving. They gave her space. She appreciated that. She wasn't sure what to do now. Everything had been looking good, and now? It wasn't.

She knelt in the place that she had preferred before. Her robes were the same color as her environment. The Zen garden was all sand and smooth rocks. She needed the calm. She hadn't been sure at all when Karl had started pursuing her. She still wasn't entirely comfortable in this body. It had been remade as a tool for a monster in Orokin form after all and despite all of the enhancements being deactivated or removed, it still felt subtly wrong at times. She had retreated to this place to meditate, to try and seek clarity of thought. Karl had found her here and instead of pressing his case, had joined her in meditation. It had helped. They had discussed so many things, some important, some not. It had been quiet and calm. She had needed that. He had shown up several times to find her meditating here. It had taken her a bit to realize that he was still interested in her. That he was going to keep looking for an excuse to talk to her. To get to know her. Not for any nefarious reason, but because he liked her!

Some clarity of thought, huh? Couldn't see the truth when it was all but slapping me in the face. She thought wryly. She stiffened as she heard a response. No one she knew. Did she? Male voice but...

You always were too hard on yourself. So was I. She stared around, but there was no one there. There was no feel of another's mind nearby as there was with Tenno mental communication. So... The voice was so gentle. You are not alone, Cathi.

Who is there? Cathi Gata asked, dumbfounded. There was no reply and she jerked as the door that led to the access hallway opened. She schooled her features into immobility. But then she got another surprise. The figure was not a member of the clan! But it was a Tenno she knew.

"Hello, Cathi Gata." The Nyx that was the Tenno policewoman Magda said with a small bow. "May I still call you Cathi? I like to think we are friends." Cathi smiled and nodded. "Good. They say you won't speak. Well, I told them you will when you are ready. You didn't swear an oath of silence, so you are just not ready yet." She paused. "You didn't swear an oath, did you?" Cathi shook her head and Magda sighed in relief. "Good. That would be a pain in the butt."

Cathi smiled wider at that. She liked Magda despite the unpleasant circumstances of their first meeting. She waved to the sand beside her and the Nyx nodded, stepping out to sink to her knees beside the robed Tenno. She did not leave footprints ion the sand. For a moment, neither made any motion and then Magda heaved a sigh.

"This is a mess." The cop complained. "The Rising screwed up big time when they killed Karl and tried to enslave Iriana and Janna. They have never exactly been subtle, but this was over the top even for the nutjobs." Cathi looked at the Nyx and nodded. That had bothered her a bit too. Then again, she knew the mindset better than most Tenno. "Your clan captured two of them." Cathi nodded again. "Nikis took one to Sun and the other was given to you to be secured. I am not sure why." Cathi shrugged and Magda snorted. "Yeah, if Nikis or Sun told me to do something I wouldn't quibble either."

Cathi shook her head slowly. Angering the Grandmaster of the Dead or the Grandmaster of Tenno Interrogators was not a good idea. At all. She looked at Magda, her face curious.

"Have you heard what happened?" Magda asked delicately. Cathi shook her head. She had been meditating since she had returned. "The clan put the prisoner into cryo without treating her wounds. The cold did more damage. So much damage that they had to amputate her right leg." Cathi stiffened and Magda nodded. "Yes. Iriana and Janna are both very upset. But that pales beside the other thing." Cathi was shaking her head in horror, but Magda continued. "Before they put her in cryo... someone blinded her. Permanently."

For a moment, the Nyx's words simply did not make sense. When they did, Cathi was rocked to her core. She stared at the ground, horrified beyond all measure.

"What is worse is some of the responses of your clan mates." Magda said softly. Cathi jerked, staring at the cop who nodded. "They say... she deserved it." Cathi stiffened and then her face hardened. The Nyx saw her expression and raised both hands in a placating gesture. "Cathi! Think! They are still grieving for Karl the same as you are. They are angry, with reason. But..." She shook her head. "That is not something that I can see this clan doing."

Cathi had her doubts. Alicia and Aeron were both balls of rage, under control. Mostly. Will was tightly controlled as befitted a master swordsman, but his ability to fit into society was limited at the best of times and he did always think of clan first everyone else second. Ric was a mystery to Cathi. Sometimes he acted like a five year old and other times like a Grandmaster. Olim was calm and considered and kind most of the time but so powerful as to be terrifying. Quais was his trainee and busy as all get out learning what it was to be a Cyberlancer. She didn't see either of them doing such. Karen was young, but far wiser than her years. Miguel and Brianna may have been human, but no one took them lightly in the clan. That left Rica, but she had worked hard to get to know Cathi and the two worked well together. Others came and went, but aside from Tiana, those were the core of Cathi's family. A family that had lost its patriarch. Tiana was trying her best and her best was very good indeed, but...

Cathi shook her head slowly and held out her hands to the Nyx as if for manacles. Magda recoiled.

"Not a chance, Cathi." The policewoman said severely. "You have been here since you got back. That is documented. Brianna wanted to talk to you and you wouldn't. She was upset, but let you come here alone." Cathi bowed her head. It hurt her to see Brianna trying so hard, but Cathi simply wasn't ready yet. "That means you are the only one of the clan with an ironclad alibi since she logged the date and time that you entered here. No one has entered or left the room." Cathi stared at the cop and then pointed at the ceiling, a quizzical expression on her face. Magda grimaced. "Tiana insists that her name be on the list too. But she called me in."

Cathi was shaking her head in bemusement now and the Nyx copied her. Cathi pondered for a moment and then rose to her feet. The Nyx scrambled to follow as Cathi strode from the garden, her footsteps leaving imprints in the sand showing her desire for speed. Magda hastened to keep up, despite her warframe.

"Cathi?" Magda asked as Cathi entered an elevator, the Nyx following. Cathi nodded and keyed for Medical. Magda shook her head as the elevator started off. "What are you doing?" Cathi shook her head and the Nyx snorted. "Stupid question. You never know what you are doing, do you?"

Cathi grinned at her friend, but schooled her features as the elevator stopped. She strode forward, ignoring everything but the door ahead of her and the guard beside it. Aeron wasn't happy. He jerked at seeing her with Magda, but did not speak as she passed him. She swept into Medical and then started for the single closed door that led to a private room. Iriana was standing just outside the door as Cathi stalked towards her, the Healer's face a mask. Iriana nodded and opened the door.

"You need to eat, Tenno Diana." Janna's voice was firm as she sat beside the bed where... Cathi felt her guts freeze as she saw the female Tenno. The... wreck that had been a female Tenno warrior so shortly before. The eyes were covered by bandages and the leg... Cathi snarled to herself and started forward. Janna looked at Cathi, her face bleak.

"I don't think I could keep it down, Tenno Janna." Diana's voice was firmer than Cathi had expected. There was no trace of self pity or remorse. Just fact. Cathi found herself warming to this sort of enemy. "It didn't hurt, but... I don't think I can keep it down. Not even soup right now." She gave a small cry as Cathi grabbed her hands. "What?"

Cathi pulled Diana's hands up to her own face. She guided the hurt Tenno's fingers to sweep over her face, letting her 'see' the only way the blind Tenno could. Letting Diana feel the tears that were falling now. Janna stared and then looked away. Iriana and Magda both looked away, humbled by the emotion -the trust- that the standing Tenno was showing.

"Who...?" Diana asked as she felt Cathi's face carefully. "Who am I... touching? Who is crying?"

"My name is Cathi Gata." Cathi said softly. "You may call me Cathi."

"I..." Diana would have retreated, but Cathi had hold of both of her hands, keeping her fingers in contact. "No! Let go! I..."

"This clan has wronged you." Cathi said firmly. "We have hurt you sorely. Enemies we may be, but there are limits. Karl would not approve. You will be harmed no further. I swear it." Rock would have shifted from her voice. Wise rock anyway. "You need care. Sustenance. Ease. We will give you all of these. I know not what the future holds, but this I do know. No one will hurt you again while you are here. No one." Her gaze swept the room and the others all bowed, acknowledging the oath.

"I..." Diana swallowed hard, her fingers gentle as they explored Cathi's face. "Thank you. This is hard."

"Yes." Cathi said sadly. "We Tenno are supposed to be better than this. We are not supposed to kill each other, torture each other. We have fallen so far." She held Diana's hands as the bedridden Tenno turned her face to the standing warrior.

"No one is perfect." Diana said softly. "And you lost your clan leader." She paused as Cathi stilled. "Oh... He was a friend. Wasn't he?"

"He was." Cathi worked to keep her voice calm, but it was hard. Diana was very perceptive for not being able to see.

"I..." The bedridden Tenno slumped a bit. "I don't know what happened. They said that it wasn't us. That Gillie -the leader- did not order it. You cannot believe me. But I don't think they were telling me falsehoods."

"We will get to the bottom of this." Cathi promised as she sat on the bed beside Diana and laid the Tenno's hands back beside her. "For now though, you need to recover. Listen to the Healer."

"I always listen to Healers." Diana protested with a small grin. Cathi snorted and Diana's grin widened a bit. "I do!"

"I bet." Cathi smiled as she took the woman's hands in her own again, this time giving them a squeeze. "There is a policewoman here who is investigating your injury." Diana stiffened as Magda cleared her throat. "The Warlord is not happy and called her in."

"I...see." Diana said with a frown. "I was unconscious."

"Which means you are not a suspect." Magda said with a grin in her voice. Diana stared at her and then laughed.

"Good." Diana was chuckling as she turned to Cathi. "Is Janna still here? I think... maybe I am hungry after all."

"Be right back with your meal." Janna promised. She nearly flew from the room, but her face was radiant. Iriana smiled from where she stood.

"I don't blame your clan for being upset." Diana mused. "I mean... if someone killed my clan leader, I would be kind of pissed too."

"There is a difference between being upset and what they did to you." Iriana said heavily. "I am working on repairing your leg. The eyes..." She slumped a bit. "I don't think there is anything I can do."

"Healer... I am alive." Diana said softly. "That is more than I expected to tell the truth."

"Well..." Cathi smiled as she set Diana's hands down again, but held onto her right one.

"Let's see if we can do better."

Ceres

The cavern was small and out of the way. No one with any intelligence whatsoever wandered around this area. Ceres was a massive Grineer shipyard. The whole planetoid had been converted into manufacturing facilities for the Grineer fleets. The sheer number of Grineer worker and soldier clones boggled the mind. That said, even Grineer could not be everywhere.

It helped that several Grineer had been 'adjusted' to keep the area clear of other patrols.

"Shaun?" Gillie looked like hell. She was tired. She had been running herself ragged, trying to fix what had happened. They had lost a lot of resources with the laboratory that Iriana had blown up. "How you doing?"

"I am alive." The Chroma was slumped in a pod that was repairing his warframe. He couldn't exit it with the amount of damage he had taken in the battle. If he did, his body would fail immediately. "Hurts, but I am alive. Status?"

"Viveka is gone. Diana too." Gillie said sadly. "No contact with either of them. It was a risk, but we needed the personnel."

"Tampering with Iriana was a mistake." Shaun said softly. Gillie nodded. "The others?"

"Still in deep cover." Gillie said with a frown. "They will stay there until we can recover. This is bad. I thought..."

"You didn't think." A dark, cold voice sounded and both turned to see a white Loki Prime simply ooze from one wall of the cavern. "Do you have any idea the mess you have made, Executor?"

"Sun..." Gillie swallowed hard and nodded. "Yes. I do."

"This is about as bad as I could have imagined." Sun didn't move, didn't draw any weapons. The cold and calm scorn in his voice could have cut steel. "Really? Kidnapping Iriana? Programming her? What the hell were you thinking?"

"She was resistant to the demons' influence and..." Gillie froze as Sun gestured at her.

"You know what they are." Sun snapped. "I know what they are. But now...? The Lotus and Nikis are both madder than hell. They are not going to stop digging now. You cannot hide from them. One or the other, maybe. Not both." Shaun and Gillie both winced at that. "Going after Iriana was dumb!"

"I..." Gillie bowed her head. "Yes. It was. But... Grandmaster Sun, it was her only chance."

"Blowing her up was her only chance?" Sun demanded.

"Grandmaster Sun..." Gillie said weakly. "We didn't do that." Sun just looked at her. "If you interrogated Viveka..."

"I did." Sun said coldly. "She was most informative." Gillie winced at that. "You really should have kept her on a tighter leash. Sending her to the Relay was a bad idea."

"Her idea." Shaun said softly. Sun glared at him and the Chroma seemed to wilt. "Tried to stop her."

"Not hard enough." The Loki said coldly. "Shooting her would have been kinder than what Nikis will do to her. The only reason she is not dead right now is that he has no proof she was directly involved. If he gets that, her life will be measured in milliseconds. Her death? Centuries."

"Grandmaster..." Shaun said weakly . "She wasn't involved. None of us were."

"It was your weapon." Sun said flatly. Gillie winced again and the Loki Prime looked at her. "Do you deny it?"

"No." Gillie said weakly. "We lost track of it. Him. The command protocols should have brought it back to us. Instead..." She bowed her head. "The first we knew was when the alert went out. When all Tenno felt Karl's passing. We... We didn't do it, Grandmaster Sun. We didn't."

"Evidence says you did." Sun said flatly. "They backtracked from Oracle Janet's vision, identified the carrier. He was known as one of yours. Really? Putting them into your own people?"

"I wanted to see if I could." Gillie said slowly. Sun just looked at her and she flushed a bit. "Yes, I know."

"There are many reasons that no one sane uses those weapons, Executor." Sun said firmly. "They tend to piss off every Tenno who hears about them. They did when your peers used them. They will now."

"I..." Gillie slumped a bit and then nodded. "I know. It was never intended to be used at the Tower or against Tenno. Against the Corpus maybe. Or the Grineer. Not that. Never that. I have no idea how it got there or how it was keyed to the Healer."

"Someone keyed it to Iriana." Sun said flatly. Gillie and Shaun both stared at him. "Someone wanted to start a conflict between that clan and your group. Someone wanted you distracted, maybe destroyed." He shook his head. "They have succeeded in getting you out into the light where they can see you, hunt you."

"We need to figure out who." Gillie said slowly. "There are not that many who could..."

"Gillie.." Sun interrupted her. "That is beside the point. Your job was to remain unnoticed. To do small things. This was not small." Gillie slumped and nodded.

"No." Gillie agreed. "But we know she was in danger! We had to get her safe."

"She was safe." Sun retorted. "You blew your cover."

"And I can't have Intelligence Black Ops teams blowing their cover."