Crisis
At nearly the same time
"Karl…" Kori was crying. "I don't know what to do! He won't talk to us!" Alicia was working on Kori's arm and Karen stood by, silent. None wore warframes and blood had fallen from Kori to puddle on the floor despite the towel that Alicia had wrapped around her hurt sister's arm. Karl nodded and left Medical.
"He will talk to me." The Clan Leader said stoically as he strode down the hall of the dojo towards the training room. He wore robes instead of a warframe and he felt… wrong. But it wasn't his lack of armor or armaments.
Karl had expected something like this. This…situation was out of control. Everything was spiraling out of control. First the mess with Dust and Jasmina, both of whom his clan had liked. Dust dying the way he had, then Jasmina… telling the Empress off and vanishing. Karl had wanted to do the same. He had so wanted to. When she had ordered him to help the scum Redi, he had balked for some time. The arguments for using the machine… had seemed cogent, but… there had been holes in the plans. So many holes. Far more than either Karl or the Empress had known. Neither of them had known the extent of Redi's madness. That the machine would kill anyone touched by Technocyte? Including Tenno? He hadn't even suspected and he should have.
Then… He hadn't known what Eliza had planned. Until he had gotten back, he hadn't known that Janas had 'removed' Lisa from care. Again, he should have suspected. He had wanted to make it right. He couldn't believe that Jasmina had sided with Infested of all things, but… she had. And what was worse? She was in the right. He barely remembered the Caretakers of the Unclean. Most Tenno had derided them at least to themselves, even when acknowledging that the Caretakers did a very useful service in keeping the Infested contained. But then… The Infested had spread like the plague they were. Most had assumed that the Sentients were responsible for the sudden influx of horrors into the warzones and elsewhere. If what Jasmina had said was true however… He could see an Orokin Emperor doing that. Worse, he could see Eliza doing that if she felt she had no other choice. He wondered suddenly… The Emperor… Cut down. By who? The Tenno who he had been supposedly 'honoring'? Or his own guards if he had proven 'unworthy' of his crown?
Karl shook himself. Later. Answers would come in time. He likely wouldn't like them, he rarely did. But this took precedence. Will was… having problems. Karl opened the door of the training room and paused as something whirred by the door.
The Glaive spun and bounced off a wall, then returned to the hand of the Excalibur Prime who had obviously thrown it. The Excalibur looked at Karl, then turned, the glaive humming as it flew to bisect a target, bounce off another and then return to the Excalibur.
"Will." Karl said as he stepped in, mindful of the whirring blades. "That why you tossed everybody out?"
Kori, Karen and Alicia had been training when Will had stormed in and ordered them all out. When they had questioned him, he had ignored them and started throwing the Glaive. Kori had actually been hit by the weapon, not seriously, but enough that on any normal day, training would have been halted while her injuries were tended. This was not an ordinary day. Will did not respond to Karl's question.
"Will, talk to me." Karl said sharply as the Glaive flew again, slamming through a target to bounce and hit another before returning to Will. "What are you trying to do? Do what Dust did?" At that name, Will paused in his throwing.
"Jasmina did it too." Will said, his voice odd and scratchy, as if he had been crying. Or screaming. "She made it dance. She made it appear from nowhere and she made it dance."
"Yeah, she did." Karl said softly.
"I didn't know what to believe when I saw Dust do it." Will said in a throaty rasp. "Some kind of spin, aerodynamics, angles of attack… something… But then what Aeron said. Then what Jasmina did…" He was crying. "I… Karl, what have we done?" He begged the clan leader.
"We got Dust killed." Karl said softly. "No…" He corrected himself harshly. "I got Dust killed. Then I drove Jasmina away." Will turned to look at the robed Clan Leader. "I was trying to get Dust to talk, get him to stop so we could figure the mess out. I knew Redi was lying. I… had no idea how badly. Then the girl and Iriana leaving as she did." He admitted. "The Elders are going to demand an explanation. I will give them one."
"Karl…" Will said slowly. "You gave Eliza your word."
"I did." Karl agreed.
"And if they order you to tell them who gave you the orders to help Redi?" Will asked, concerned. Conflicting orders could be… bad for someone like Karl. "If they demand to know how Redi got out of lockup? They will. They are not stupid no matter how they have acted on occasion."
"You know what will happen." Karl said quietly. Will stared at him and then nodded jerkily. "Trying to get it to dance?" Karl nodded to the Glaive that hung forgotten in Will's hand.
"Yeah." Will said softly. "It… flies, but it doesn't dance." His voice was small now. "I don't know, Karl. I just got shown how much I don't know… I thought I was… good. Not even close to perfect, but good."
"You are good, Will." Karl said firmly. "Dust was better."
"Yeah." Will slumped a bit. "Yeah, he was. I am going to miss that irreverent son of a gun."
"Me too." Karl said sadly. "You hit Kori." Will jerked and Karl sighed. "You never saw her, did you?"
"I… I what?" Will asked, stunned. "I… How bad?"
"Grazed her arm." Karl said with a sigh. He took a deep breath and straightened himself. "Okay, this ends now. Summon the clan." He said firmly as he turned to go.
"Karl…" Will said, worried. "What are you going to do?"
"Get everyone together in the secure room." Karl said as he left the room. "Now."
A few minutes later
The entirety of Karl's clan was assembled in the secure room in the middle of the dojo when Karl arrived. Will and Alicia, Two and Amelia, Kori and Briana, Miguel, Cecelia and Ric, Mori and Olim and Janas Cora stood with Jimmy. Karl entered the room, still in robes, entered and shut the door.
"I screwed up." Karl said quietly before anyone else could. Everyone went still. "Eliza gave me orders I had a problem with, and I did not question them enough." Janas went still, Mori did not.
"Karl…" The Saryn said gently. "It wasn't your fault."
"No?" Karl asked the room. "I knew Dust was unpredictable. I knew he was dangerous, easily a match for any of us. I didn't know what he could do, but… I knew enough to know he wasn't irrational despite everything. I didn't have a clue at how the Infested would react. Or why. I didn't know that Elenia was a Caretaker. I never asked."
"We didn't really have a lot of time, Karl." Two said quietly.
"That doesn't matter, Two." Karl said firmly. "You made your reservations clear when we were ordered not to hinder Redi. I don't think any of us expected him to ambush Elenia like that. To… hijack her will like that." Heads shook all around. "I should have shot him." The large Tenno said quietly, regret singing. "Orders or no orders, I should have shot him."
"Hindsight is always clearer than foresight, Karl." Mori said softly. "You know this."
"I do." Karl agreed. "Which is the only reason I haven't gone to the Elders and demanded punishment yet." Cries of shock and alarm went up around the room. Karl just stood, waiting.
"Karl!" Two snapped. "That is… extreme." She said, trying for calm and mostly succeeding. Amelia held her arm and Two subsided a little more.
"Dust is dead, and Jasmina has become a Caretaker for the Infested. She is lost to us." Karl said calmly. "Both are my responsibility. That is why I am stepping down as Clan Leader at this time." Another storm of denials swept the room. "Will can work as interim leader until and unless they find someone qualified that you can work with."
"Karl!" Will protested. "I am no leader!"
"Neither was I, Will." Karl said sadly. "You will learn the same way I did. By experience."
"Karl…" Mori sounded flabbergasted. "No…"
"Mori, what is the First Law?" Karl asked softly. "The absolute first law as was put forth by the First Tenno?"
"'Follow your heart'." Mori quoted in a monotone. "'Follow your instincts. They will not lead you wrong.'"
"No. And I didn't." Karl said sadly. "I need to… seclude myself for a time. The Elders will want answers, an explanation. I will…give them one."
"And when they want the name of the person you took orders from?" Janas asked, his tone oddly formal. "What happens then?"
"What do you think will happen?" Karl asked snidely, a heavy weight seeming to hit his shoulders. He slumped. "I cannot answer their questions or be foresworn. I cannot disregard their questions or be foresworn. That leaves me one recourse." Ritual suicide. More than one Tenno in the room inhaled sharply. Cora suddenly spoke.
"This isn't right!" The former Grineer said urgently. "This isn't right!"
"Cora." Karl stepped to the forlorn looking Grineer and laid a huge hand on her shoulder. "I messed up. It is my responsibility."
"We all followed you." Two said, biting back tears. "We agreed… Not with all of it. But stopping the Infested. We agreed. We didn't know what he was going to do!"
"Two…" Karl said with a shake of his head. "It doesn't matter. I took orders. I gave orders. It was my responsibility. My duty to see the orders and say 'This is wrong'. I didn't." He shook his head. He shook himself. "For now… I just need to say this. It has been an honor knowing all of you. Serving with you. Whatever comes, meet it with honor, my friends." Then he strode to the door, unlocked it and left before anyone could find their tongues.
Once more, Karl was leaving the dojo. He wore his Rhino warframe and had his favorite weapons as well as what he had left in his ship. Most of his arsenal now graced the clan armory. This time, he wasn't sneaking out with his brother's renegades hot on his heels. But he felt a similar rush of shame. This wasn't something he could fight with blade or gun. This… shame of knowing how badly he had screwed up. He just hoped that he could do some good. Save the clan some of the pain he saw coming. He made his way to the airlocks that led to the small spacecraft that Tenno used to conduct operations and paused. The clan, his clan, were lining the walls for the corridor to the airlock. All of them. Will stood closest.
Karl started for the ships, but paused as Will held up a hand.
"You think you are totally responsible, Karl." Will said softly. "You are not. We all are."
"The Elders won't punish the clan if they have a scapegoat." Karl said just as quietly. "This is my job, to protect the clan. I screwed up, Will. Now I pay for it."
"Not alone." Will said simply. "Where you go, we go."
"Will…" Karl said, feeling his throat tighten. He loved these crazy people. But… "I was in command. I gave the orders."
"And we acknowledged them." Aeron said in a monotone. "We were all wrong, Karl. Not just you."
"I can't bring Dust back." Karl said with a snap. "Or Jasmina. Or Iriana. All I can do is offer apology."
"Karl…" Two said, her tone one step removed from tears. "Please, don't go." She begged him. "This is your home as much as ours. You helped build it! And us." She pleaded, and a murmur of support went down the corridor.
"And I failed you." Karl said softly. "I need… some time, Two. I will face the Elders when they call. I hope I am ready when they do, but... I need to think." He started forward, his steps heavy.
"We will be here when you return." Alicia said with a calm he knew she didn't feel. He patted her on the shoulder and moved on.
As he walked, others murmured words of support, words of encouragement. He replied in kind, but then, he was at his ship. HE turned to enter the alcove and they were all saluting him!
"Good journey, Tenno." Karl said as he stepped back into his ship, letting the hold tights grasp his warframe. Only when he was finally inside his ship, alone in it, did he open his faceplate and cry.
The ship docked to the asteroid with a clank. To all intents and purposes, the asteroid was bare rock. Unless you knew where the tiny airlock was, you could search for days, weeks, and never see it even with the best sensors. Privacy at its best.
"Nikis." Karl said softly into the short range com. "I need to talk to you."
"They said you would be coming." The voice of an old…acquaintance said calmly. "I will be waiting."
Karl took a deep breath to steady his nerves and stepped into the alcove. It hadn't been a long trip. Not nearly long enough. Nikis was…a hard one to deal with at the best of times, which these were not. The ancient Tenno was as close to a shaman as Tenno could get. Part medicine man, part wise scholar, part pain in the ass. He was wise and very good at seeing what others did not… But… Every time Karl came here, he wound up hurt in some way. He usually deserved it. He had known Nikis since his earliest misadventures with Serene. Part of his punishment had been to help the cantankerous old Tenno. Time had not mellowed the old fart. If anything, it had honed the creep's snarkiness. He wasn't sure if Nikis had gone into cryo or not, but he bet not. Karl was pretty sure Death would have taken one look at the shaman and said 'Hell no! I don't want him!'
As the airlock of his ship released him, Karl stiffened. Why was another Tenno ship docked here? This was… odd. Never in Karl's experience had there been another Tenno present when he had spoken to Nikis. The old fool apparently knew somehow when Karl was going to arrive. Occasionally, he had mentioned other visitors, but Karl had never seen any. This was… different. Karl was on edge as he stripped off his weapons, laying them beside a Vulkar, Ether Sword and Lato that another Tenno had left. He felt naked without his Hek, Orthos Prime and Kunai, but Nikis wouldn't let him in armed. Karl shook his head and strode to the door. He pounded on it.
"Let me in, you old fart!" The Rhino called.
"Old fart, is it?" Nikis' voice came from a speaker nearby. "Is that the best you can do? I thought you had learned something in your travels?"
"I don't want to scorch the ears of your guest." Karl said reasonably. "And… it's been a bad month." He said softly. He was shocked by what happened next.
"So I have heard." Nikis' voice sounded… sad? "Come on in, boy. You are just in time for tea."
Tea? Karl shook his head as the door opened. Nikis had a tea set that was older than he was. Karl didn't have any idea how old the clay pot and cups were. He did know that they were ancient. Hand-made and irreplaceable. But Nikis never used them. He had a series of other tea sets, some precious, some not. So when Karl entered and found a robe hanging, he was not surprised. He put on the robe over his warframe. It fit as if it had been made for him. It had been. He stepped to the inner door and paused. He opened his visor and knocked politely and carefully. The last time he had cracked the wood, well… Nikis hadn't been happy. Old, the other Tenno might be. Harmless, he was not. To this day, Karl would bet on Nikis against anyone in a fight.
"I see your long sojourn has taught you some manners." Nikis' voice was sharp and Karl was smiling a bit sadly as he entered the room. Another Tenno with a robe over his warframe was sitting in sieza near one wall as Nikis… readied his ancient clay tea set! The ancient Shaman snorted at Karl's look. "What?"
"Nothing." Karl said softly, kneeling carefully at the spot Nikis waved him to. "I just… I didn't think you used that set."
"I don't use it regularly." Nikis said with a snort. "Bunch of crud brained, ham handed fools would trip over it or worse, use it for throwing practice."
His own warframe, a Nekros, was covered in a robe very similar to Karl's but ornately decorated with arcane symbols. Once Karl had worked up the guts to ask about them and been told they were the souls of fools. Karl… hadn't pressed. But…he was setting four places!
"Are we expecting someone else?" Karl asked as Nikis set a cup in front of him.
"No." The ancient Nekros said calmly. "Artus is here. You are here and now Hayden is here."
"Hayden?" Both Karl and Artus exclaimed as a golden form appeared across from Karl, sitting in seiza. He nodded to both stunned Tenno.
"Is it a gift, Karl?" Hayden Tenno asked sourly. "Or do you just have to find the worst possible situations to step in every single time?"
"It's a gift." Karl said weakly as Nikis poured the tea.
"I could have told you that, First One." Nikis said sarcastically. "Karl always manages to find ways to land on his face."
"Well, this time…" Hayden said sadly. "It's not just him…"
