Intelligence
"You wanted to see me, Mender?" Nemesis asked as she entered the hive's lab section. It had grown significantly since the day that Mender had been reborn. She never would admit it, even to herself, but Mender and her assistants creeped Nemesis out now. The two lab assistance were now spindly humanoids with three clawed hands and feet. They never spoke, all of their communication was mental. Mender was almost worse. The thought of a smart blob was just…wrong on many levels.
"Thank you for the samples from the last mission." Mender said quietly as she sat, half her eyes talks on whatever she was doing with her psudeopods, the other half focusing on Nemesis. "I bother you." She said flatly.
"You shouldn't." Nemesis said just as flatly. "But yes." Mender turned all of her eyestalks to look at the towering armored form and then a pseudopod waved towards a fleshy pad nearby. Nemesis sighed inaudibly and lay down. "It doesn't feel like before. I don't think it is another personality." She did not move as parts of the pad moved up and suddenly, she couldn't have moved if she wanted to. Nothing hurt, she just couldn't move. She hated this part, but Mender was swift. A few moment slater, the restraint tendrils retracted and Nemesis sat up. "Well?"
"No sign of alternate personalities. Nothing abnormal." Mender replied, but something in her tone…
"What?" Nemesis asked.
"You…" Mender sounded… almost embarrassed now. "You are in heat."
"I…" If Nemesis' emotions hadn't been dampened, she would probably have been sputtering incoherently now. "What?"
"Your body was altered significantly, Nemesis." Mender replied. "But at it's base, you are still female. Not human, but female."
"I do not have time to procreate." Nemesis said flatly.
"Agreed." Mender replied. "I will handle it. Lay back." Nemesis did as instructed and the fleshy restraints slid back over her. She lost feeling in the lower part of her body as Mender came close. She could not see or feel what Mender was doing, but again, the medical professional was swift. "There. Problem solved." The restraints released her and Nemesis sat up
"What did you do?" Nemesis asked, curious despite herself. Mender held up a small clear pod. In it were… Nemesis made a choking noise as she saw what looked like human reproductive organs. Female ones. "You took it all out?" Mender looked at her. "You did."
"You do not need them, sister." Mender's voice was kind as a pseudopod traced down to rub Nemesis' arm gently. "The human bits were generating hormones that confused you. Your mind will be clearer soon." Indeed, Nemesis felt a tide of clarity sweep through her. "Better?" The scientist asked kindly.
"Yes." Nemesis replied. "I… I feel…" She shook her head. "I do not feel anything now. Good."
"I have another gift for you, Nemesis." Mender stated as she touched the other on the head. Nemesis went still and then… A universe opened up to the stunned warrior.
I… Nemesis stammered as she was drawn into what felt like a sea of minds. All around her. Minds working with a purpose. A hive min. The hive mind, she realized. You pulled me into the hive mind?
You were the last to enter. Mender said softly as something wafted over her. Pheromones, Nemesis realized. Calming, soothing. She relaxed, not entirely against her will. Strike is calmer with our minds buffering his. Artillery is more precise with additional input. And you… You will be able to multi task far better with our assistance. Indeed, Nemesis felt her mind start to move quicker, going in several direction at once. Tactics, plans, logistics, all of these were looked at and planned for, but then…
We need more information. Nemesis said quietly. We have found the location of a small Corpus outpost. I will get prisoners. We will drain the databanks and interrogate the humans. Perhaps we can find another recruit.
I will leave that to you. Mender replied. But sister. A waved of something washed over Nemesis and she felt… odd. Good, but odd. Be careful. Our enemies will know by now what we are and what we plan. They will attack.
Good. Nemesis said coldly. Saves me having to hunt them down.
It… was not going well. Nemesis had planned her assault on the Corpus base with the idea of infiltrating it with the controller bots. Sedating any and every human before the attack would make things much easier. But the base was patrolled by a number of different types of robotics. One of the MOAs had detected the intruding insect bots and sounded an alarm. The Corpus had forted up and the hive had to dig them out. Meter by meter. They were winning, but it was costing them both lives and time. Lives they could replace. Time? Not so much.
Tech had managed to sever all communications so the base had no chance of reinforcement. Nemesis wasn't sure why the Corpus were fighting so hard. Yes, they were fanatics. One glance at their propaganda made that abundantly clear. But there could not have been over fifty Corpus personnel on the base. The MOA fabricator shad churned out dozens of the automatons before Tech had managed to hack them and shut them all down. But the troops… Standing ground and dying to hold it did not seem right to Nemesis. Corpus were not Grineer. But…
Nemesis broke off her thinking and slammed her shield into a brave Crewman. Somehow, he had flanked her. Strike had been pulled into a fight of his own. Artillery's heavy weapon had proven ineffective in close confines so he had gone back to the ship and was now being refitted with cutting tools to breach walls and hatches. The Crewman bounced off the wall and rose, his rifle spitting defiance.
"Just stay down!" Nemesis snapped, ire starting to rise. That was wrong. Mender, help! She begged and a calming sense wafted through her. She strode towards the now cowering crewman, the shots from his Dera bouncing off the shield. She slammed him again, and this time, he hit the floor and stayed there, his rifle fell and she stepped on it, breaking it in half.
You are stressed. Mender replied. End the fight as soon as you can. Prisoners would be good, but do not waste the lives of the hive.
This one will serve. Nemesis said coldly as she slapped a set of tendrils onto the still form. They grew instantly to cover his body in a tightly woven mass of flesh. Brave but stupid. The hive can use his bravery.
And teach him when not to be stupid. Mender agreed. Get it done, sister.
I will. Nemesis shared a quick plan with the surrounding hive warriors and they accepted it. They could do nothing else. None of them were sentient anymore. All that was left to them was instinct. Their bodies all showed signs of change as well. Antennae were growing from their heads and their hands… Luckily the weapons reconfigured easily to suit claws.
Nemesis strode forward, her shield deflecting fire from many weapons now. She knew it could not keep that up indefinitely. Indeed, she was seeing fluctuations in the grid already. But then she was in position. The enemies ahead poured fire at her, all exposed to shoot at her and her shield was failing.
Now! She commanded and threw herself flat. All of the warriors fired their secondary weapons. The miniature gas grenades exploded in the midst of the enemy strongpoint. Even Corpus spacesuits would not shield them from the corrosive nature of the gas and all of the enemy were shrieking in pain in moments. Then they fell and went still. "I wanted prisoners." Nemesis said coldly as she rose. "But I will make do with biomass."
"And why do you want prisoners?" A soft, gentle voice answered her and Nemesis went still as another Corpus appeared. But this one was different. She stood alone and unafraid as the hive warriors took aim. A quick thought from Nemesis had them standing down. This woman wore an odd garment. One Nemesis swore she recognized from somewhere. A quick check with Tech's database showed it was a nun's habit? It was reinforced and had an odd, pale membrane across the woman's face. Some kind of life support no doubt. The human woman shook her head. "All this death? For what? To gain information? You could have just asked." Her voice turned slightly sour as she stared at the carnage all around her.
"Would you have given it?" Nemesis asked as she stepped forward.
Careful, Nemesis! Mender's voice was sharp with fear now. Something is wrong here.
"If you seek knowledge, it will be made available to you." The odd human woman replied. "You are not human. But you were. I can tell."
"What are you?" Nemesis asked after a moment. "You are not Corpus."
"Oh yes I am." The woman said with a soft, tinkling laugh. "Just not a warrior." She took a step forward. A hand came up slowly, so slowly to touch Nemesis' armored cheek. "So… strong. Marlena. Your name was Marlena." Nemesis felt… something and then a scream came from Mender.
Nemesis! No! The healer shouted. Kill that one! Now!
You don't want to kill me, Nemesis. The woman's voice was inside Nemesis' head now. You want to let me go. Something gentle but irresistible wafted through Nemesis and she staggered from the soft touch on her cheek.
I… Nemesis fought against whatever it was holding her, but it wouldn't budge. Let me go!
Easy. I need information too, Nemesis. The voice replied. And then…
Nemesis! Mender snapped. She is accessing the hivemind! Accessing our databanks! She is downloading information! Tech can't stop her! Kill her, Nemesis! Now! Nemesis tried to fight, tried to move, tried to do anything. She couldn't. Her frantic calls to the silent warriors nearby rebounded off something that the other had erected inside her mind.
I… I can't… Nemesis said as the data flow through her doubled and redoubled. Stop!
I too have a master. Well, a mistress. The woman replied sadly. And orders. You can kill this vessel. You cannot kill the Clergy. The Corpus will live on no matter how many of us you kill. You cannot kill faith. You and these will have to perish I am afraid.
I think not. Nemesis went still as the voice of her master sounded in her skull.
You… The woman sounded curious now. How long have you played behind the scenes, monster? Did the Sentient War not give you enough amusement? Or must you do as you always do and foment discord and strife because you can? To kill and torture because you can? To hurt people because you can? There was no anger in the woman's voice, just honest query.
Who are you? The master demanded. You are not the human woman standing in front of my vessel.
Ah, no… The voice turned sly. That would be telling. I hold your avatar in my grip and you hold mine. But this is not an impasse. No.
What have you done? The master demanded.
You are very, very good at what you do. The voice replied. Stands to reason, if half of what our meager records show is true, then you and your proxies were responsible for death and destruction for millennia before Orokin fell. Something changed. But you are neither omnipotent nor omniscient. You may take this vessel. The woman in front of Nemesis suddenly collapsed in a heap. But I will take far more.
Just like that, the voice was gone. Nemesis jerked, her sword arm coming up to cleave the now motionless woman at her feet.
Wait. The master said slowly. He sounded… unsure. That bothered Nemesis greatly. We have a prisoner for interrogation. Tech is downloading the databanks and you need to come back to the ship and get checked out, Nemesis.
Yes, Master. Nemesis wouldn't have even thought of resisting the compulsion that turned her on her heels as one of the warriors moved up to bind their prisoner. What was that? She asked as she walked. A few, very few Corpus troops were being picked up for processing into hive techs.
A new player in the game. The master replied. A powerful and canny player. She sacrificed a pawn, but… what did she gain?
I don't think we are going to like that answer, Master. Nemesis aid as she entered the ship and Mender waved for her to lie down. I really don't think we are going to like that.
The Revered Mother, Leader of the Corpus Clergy, sat back on her heels with a sigh that mixed regret and pain. It… was both fatiguing and painful to mesh minds with unwilling hosts. When those unwilling hosts were not human anymore? Ouch.
"Reverend Mother?" Janet, as always, was right there. As dependable as the Reverend Mother's left hand and just as inconspicuous at times, Janet had been with her through good times and bad. This…was going to be bad.
"I got what I needed." The old, old woman said with a sigh. "That is the good news." Janet paled slightly at her tone.
"I don't want to know, do I?" Janet swallowed hard.
"No." The Reverend Mother said sadly. "It is them." Janet went still and the Reverend mother nodded. "Their goal is as it has always been. Extermination." Janet staggered as if struck and the Reverend mother nodded. "And… As fractured as everything is…? They might just succeed this time. End the human race."
"How do we fight something like that?" Janet pleaded. "They are worse than Tenno! Tenno at least ape the mannerisms of humanity."
"Janet." The flat tone in the Reverend Mother's voice brought the other up short. "I know it is hard, after all of what you were taught. After fighting Tenno. But they were human. Once. Long ago. Most of them remember being human." Janet was shaking her head and the Reverend Mother shook hers. "The Board has forgotten. Or they ignore the facts. Tenno were human once. They evolved. Some say mutated. Changed. It doesn't really matter now." She said sadly. "They are not human anymore. But…" She mused. "They are far more human than any of those abominations I just spoke to."
"What of Lilly?" Janet asked, fear in her voice now.
"She activated the capture protocols. Wiped her mind as I left it." The Reverend Mother said sadly. "She is gone. They got her body, but no more." Janet was trying not to cry and the Reverend Mother held out a hand and gripped the younger Clergywoman's hands with it. "Go ahead, cry for our sister. We are in trouble. Every human in this system is in trouble now. This… evil gave Orokin fits."
"You know what it is?" Janet asked as tears fell like rain. "What is it?"
"A remnant of the ultimate evil in human form." The Reverend Mother said quietly. "Fragments of various beings' memory pulled together. It happened many times over the recorded history of Orokin. There is no way to find each and every strand of DNA that is left behind. They tried everything. They nuked the sites of the outbreaks." Janet went still at that.
"Nuclear weapons?" Janet, if anything, went more pale.
"Yes." The Reverend Mother said sadly. "And… it didn't work." Janet looked like she was about to pass out and the Reverend Mother guided her to sit. She shrugged. "There is simply no way known to find every single bit of that monster's remnants. It is sneaky. It leaves bits all over. Its memories are genetically coded. A single strand of its DNA can start the whole mess again."
"Then what do we do?" Janet begged. "We have to stop them!"
"We will." The Reverend Mother replied. "But it will take more than just us." Janet stared at her, uncomprehending. "Even the Grineer will get it through their thick heads soon that there is a problem. But…" She mused.
"But?" Janet asked and then she groaned. "Oh. They wouldn't do well against this, would they?" Numbers would not prevail in such a battle. They would be subverted or destroyed easily.
"No." The Reverend Mother replied. "And that leaves us only one option. One the Board is not going to like."
"Oh… dear…" Janet swallowed hard as her own mind followed the Reverend Mother's train of thought. "Why would they help us?"
"Because they know what we face as well." The Reverend Mother said with a sigh. "Our proxies slowed them, but could not stop them. We need to stop them. Hard and fast." She met Janet's eyes with a nod. "And you know who can do it."
"Tenno."
"You have got to be kidding!" Miguel's voice was hardly respectful, but no one was going to protest. Not here. Not now. "Charlotte said Marlena was next to a destabilizing reactor. How the hell could she have survived that?" None of the assembled clan as much as flinched from his vehemence. No one blamed him. The word from the Lotus had been that Miguel's evil sister had been part of the attacks on human colonies in the Pluto region.
"I don't know. She was augmented by the Grineer, we know that. But this…?" Karl said quietly. "This is… not good. Matrilis' condition?"
"He was hurt." Alicia replied. "He is in quarantine. They found residue of several bio weapons on his warframe."
"Yuck." The word was spoken by several of the clan. But then…
"If I may." All eyes turned to the Oberon that stood beside a Nyx. "May I see that image again?" Alicia looked at Karl who nodded. Carlos and Kori were not –quite- guests, nor were they clan. They were… slightly separate, but both worked hard to earn trust. Kori wore a neutralizer now of her own free will. Alicia ran the sole clear image that they had from the Excalibur warframe that had responded to the distress call from the human colony that had been attacked and the Oberon hissed. "Oh crap…"
"What?" The word came from several throats.
"I know that form." The Oberon said, his hand going to his dagger hilt. "And we have serious problems if that monstrosity is rising again. That is Nemesis."
The silent Oh Bleep was deafening.