White Hot but Cold
A Corpus Clergy breeding colony
Commander Horatius had gone into a number of really bad and screwed up situations in his time with the Corpus Special Forces. He had been shot up, shot down and just plain shot. He had been blown up, cut up and generally hurt in all kinds of ways since he had first been posted as a Junior Prodman in the rank and file.
For just a moment, he wished he was back at that rank. All you had to worry about at that rank was how to run in and hit things with an electrified stick. Simple. You didn't have to worry about things like budgets, resource allocation and politics. You also didn't have to be the one delegated to give awful news. Rank had it's privileges, sure. But it also had its burdens.
"Commander Horatius to see the Reverend Mother." The soldier said to the guards as he stepped off the portal platform. "Secure information. We will need a shield room."
"You message said it was urgent." The voice had him turning from the guards, who had not lowered their weapons. If they had been so sloppy, he would have beaten them to within an inch of their lives. The Reverend Mother nodded to the guards and they relaxed a little. But their weapons did not go all the way down, Horatius noted with pride. He had trained many of them.
He scrutinized the Reverend Mother, leader and mouthpiece for the Corpus Clergy and she smiled at him. She looked better. Far less exhausted than the last time he had seen her. Then again, the Clergy was up and running. They had all had worked overtime to bring her up to speed after her abrupt transition into her role.
"It is, Reverend Mother." Horatius said quietly. "But... not anywhere unsecure."
Her eyebrows inclined a bit. The Corpus breeding colony that both of them stood in was one of the most secure facilities in the Solar System. Stood to reason, this place created mush of the future of the Corpus. If he wasn't sure about its security... She nodded and jerked her head. Her followed her out of the portal facility and towards an elevator.
"You are a mess." The Clergywoman said, eying him. Horatius grunted and she nodded.
"We are in a mess." Horatius said quietly as the elevator closed. The Reverend Mother keyed her private code and it started down towards her sanctuary. "This is going to hurt you very badly. Do you have anyone on call?" The Reverend Mother stared at him and he grimaced. "You do not want to take this news alone and I cannot... I cannot..."
"Sister Gertrude is available." The Reverend Mother said slowly. "She was working on some spreadsheets for me."
"Get her here." Horatius said firmly as the doors opened and they stepped out.
"Sara?" The Reverend Mother asked, paling.
"Get Gertrude here." Horatius insisted.
"I am here." The large clergywoman said with a scowl as she strode into view. "We rotate people through to help her cope with her workload now that she will let us." She strode to the Reverend Mother's side and nodded. "What happened? You look like you were in an explosion."
"I wasn't." Horatius said quietly. "But it happened while I was there." The Reverend Mother recoiled and Horatius nodded.
"You were at the Tower." Now Sister Gertrude paled.
"While I was there, a bomb exploded inside the facility." Horatius said quietly. "I wasn't anywhere near it. I was waiting on Lila and Hoss." He slumped a bit. "There was no warning. No sensors were tripped."
"Iriana?" The Reverend Mother exclaimed. Horatius shook his head swiftly.
"She is alive. She is down with second and third degree burns, but alive. The bomb was intended for her." Horatius said softly. "Planted right outside her office."
"Who the hell would dare?" Gertrude demanded and he could almost feel the shock reverberating through the entire Clergy. He wasn't part of their group mind, but he was sensitive to it. "Karl's people are going to-" She broke off as Horatius looked away. "Commander?"
"The bomb was intended to kill a Tenno. Nikis didn't say what it was, just some kind of disruptor. Something keyed to Tenno energy." Horatius nodded as the Reverend Mother paled again. "The only reason it didn't kill Iriana is that there was someone between her and the bomb. Someone who shielded her from it."
"Who?" The Reverend Mother's voice was tiny, scared.
"Karl."
For a long, long moment, the Reverend Mother just stood there, her eyes huge. Then she spun on her heels and ran into another room. Horatius moved to follow, but Gertrude threw up a hand and blocked his way.
"Not yet." Gertrude said firmly. "Let her..." An loud explosion sounded from the next room and Gertrude winced. "Let her work her rage off." Another explosion, and then another. "Good thing we got that room set up in time."
"Is she all right?" Horatius asked carefully as the explosions sounded faster and faster.
"She has blocked us out from her mind, so the answer is 'no'." The large clergywoman said sadly. "First her sister and now the father of her child. Oh, someone's not going to enjoy the rewards of their labors."
"Nikis promised Iriana that he would do whatever he could." Horatius said softly as the explosions continued. "But she is vulnerable. So are Vina, Mercedes and the others."
"Iriana is a Healer," Gertrude said slowly. "None of us would dare to target her. The Grineer might but..." She paused. "Oh no. No. Not going to happen." Horatius shook his head and Gertrude snarled at him. "Do you have any idea the mess that would make?"
"Yes." Horatius said quietly. "Vina and the others are more vulnerable. We have to get them somewhere secure. Iriana is going to be stubborn. She won't leave her patients. Nikis said we should move her while she is unconscious from the burn treatment. But we do not know if she was the only target." He went still with Gertrude as the door the Reverend Mother had dashed through opened and she stepped out. Aside from a hint of soot on her cheek, she looked totally normal.
"You were there, they will blame us." The Clergywoman said firmly. Horatius nodded. "We have to prove we had nothing to do with it. We didn't, did we?" Not an accusation, a fair question.
"It wasn't a Corpus weapon." Horatius said with a grunt. "Nothing in our arsenal could shatter an Orokin Tower corridor so thoroughly and be undetectable long enough to get in place." He should know, he had used most of the Corpus arsenal in his career, including many weapons he had no business having access to.
"That sounds like an Orokin weapon." The Reverend Mother sounded calm, but her eyes. Oh... no, she wasn't calm. "They had assassination down to an art form. They learned not to try it against Tenno though." Both of the others looked at her and she scowled. "Long story. Messy story."
"I bet." Horatius shivered. "The point of a terror attack is to terrorize. Iriana is loved by a whole lot of scary people. My dad included." The Reverend Mother and Gertrude nodded. "This is the kind of thing the Red Veil would do."
"The Red Veil are fanatics, but they are not stupid." The Reverend Mother said slowly. "Attacking an Orokin Tower is stupid. The Tenno will respond." She bowed her head. "Karl's clan will respond."
"They...actually are not the ones I am worried about." Horatius said slowly. The Reverend Mother stared at him and he frowned. "Nikis was with me when we found Iriana. And Karl. He was pissed."
"Yeah." The Reverend Mother gave herself a shake. "Okay. Damage control time. Gertrude, see if we can set up some housing. Vina and Mercedes cannot come back."
"Vina is officially dead and Mercedes is wanted so they can dissect her. Let alone what Bek wants Sheila for. Yuck." Gertrude had a pad in hand now and was typing fast. "We have some unused dormitory space. It won't be secure."
"Oh, yes it will be." Horatius said firmly. The two women looked at him and he snarled. "They tried to pin this on us, I bet. There will be more attacks."
"Get to the Relay. Initiate plan 'G'." The Reverend Mother keyed the portal built into one wall of her sanctuary live and Horatius stepped to it. "I... need to make some calls. I..." Horatius reached out to squeeze her shoulder and she covered his hand with his own. "Anything we can do, tell us."
"I will." Horatius said with a grim nod as he stepped into the portal.
Avalon
"WHAT?"
It wasn't every day that the Empress of the feeble remnants of Orokin felt as if the world had fallen out from underneath her where she sat on her throne. She had power, if not even close to the unlimited power of her ancestors. Which hadn't been close to unlimited no matter what anyone said.
The two Tenno who had begged an audience with her stood before her throne, fully armed. No one was about to question them. Not now.
"We don't know who." Alicia said sadly. "We don't know why or how. All we know is that the bomb contained an Orokin energy disruptor." Eliza slumped back on her throne, stunned out of speech. "It.. it went off outside of Iriana's office in the Tower. Karl was there to talk to her and... It could have been any of us." She broke off.
"Oh my god..." Princess Michelle was shaking her head. "Mother, if it was an Orokin weapon..."
"Right." Eliza snapped. She waved at Michelle who moved to a wall to start talking urgently in a com. "Check the armories. Physically verify the location of everything we have that might do such. I know the arsenals here have a lot of weird stuff." Michelle nodded, but did not turn back. "How is Iriana?"
"From the reports, second and third degree burns on her leg." Alicia said softly. "The disruptor hurt her, but Karl stopped enough of it that it didn't kill her. He wasn't expecting an attack!"
"Not in a hospital, no." Eliza said softly. "Alicia... Who do you think did it?"
"I have no proof, Empress." Alicia said quickly. "But it is the kind of thing the Rising would do. Blatant, loud and viscous. Targeting a healer is just their kind of tactic."
"Are they really that stupid?" Eliza said and then paused and groaned. "Never mind. Fanatics don't care about the consequences as long as they get what they want."
"Oh, they are about to start caring." Will said coldly from where he stood beside Alicia. Eliza looked at the Excalibur Prime and he nodded. "Whoever the hell did this killed our clan leader. And not in battle. The cowards just started a blood feud."
At Will's cold words, everything stopped in the throne room. Michelle stared from the intercom at the pair of warframes. Tenno were weapons. Highly trained, highly disciplined weapons. But as in all things, there were limits. Even to Tenno discipline. There had only been a few recorded instances of a clan actually declaring a blood feud. A situation in which every member of the clan would be hunting the ones they were feuding with. Those few instances were enshrined in the history of the Tenno as warnings. The Purge of Bolgo. The Not-Quite-A-Siege at Julis. The Scouring of Geminanh. All well documented. All horrific. Small wonder everyone sane usually went out of the way to avoid such things.
"Whoever did this thinks they know what terror is." Will continued into the silence that had fallen. "They don't have a clue. Yet."
"It could have been someone else." Michelle managed to find her voice as everyone else recoiled from the Excalibur's words. "It could have been the Red Veil. It could have been the Grineer."
"Nikis and Sun have both pledged to help find us the proper target." Will's words were still quiet. "When we do, we will act."
"Nikis and Sun." Eliza swallowed hard.
"Nikis was there when they found Iriana and Karl." Alicia said softly, her voice breaking. "He is mad."
"Empress?" An unexpected voice had everyone turning to see a woman in a gown standing at the doorway. Jenni looked terrified. "I just received word from the Clergy. Commander Horatius was there as well. He and they are offering any assistance needed."
"Will, Alicia..." Eliza bowed her head slowly. "We will get your clan a target."
"That is all we ask." Both warframes turned and strode from the room. Eliza put her face in her hand and slumped.
"Nikis and Sun. The Clergy and Corpus Special Forces. A blood feud." Michelle sounded dazed and who could blame her? "Karl... I..." She crumpled a bit. Eliza was out of her throne like a flash holding her daughter as Michelle cried. "He was so kind to me. I was Infested and he was kind!"
"He was the best of Tenno. Honorable to a fault, but not stupid about it." Petra, Michelle's chief guard, spoke up from nearby. "Warrior Tenno do not die in bed. But like that?"
"Hell is coming to breakfast." Jenni said weakly.
"Yeah."
Red Veil HQ
There was no warning at all.
The Red Veil were not stupid. Stupid terrorists did not usually live very long. Their HQ was well hidden in the depths of a mountain on an isolated planetoid and very well defended by over hundred well armed and trained soldiers.
None of that mattered.
One moment, all was calm at the entry portal. The next, the calm was shattered by a roar of gunfire. A dark form stepped out of a golden archway that had appeared on one wall, pistols in both hands spitting fire. But... The guards recoiled as their weapons fell apart. Not a single one of the dozen guards present took a hit to their flesh. They stared at the dark form that now resolved into a black armored Nekros who was reloading his Magnus revolvers.
"Do I have your attention?"
The voice... More than one of the guards soiled themselves at the dark and terrifying sounds that came from the Tenno. A few of them recognized the voice and soiled themselves again. They had been here the last time Grandmaster Nikis had 'dropped by'.
"What the hell?" The voice of one of the Red Veil commanders came over a hidden speaker and Nikis turned to it. "What is it this time?" The female snapped.
"I came for a straight answer and you better give me one." Nikis voice was calm even as more troops poured into the room, these heavily armed. "No one is dead. Yet." His pistols went back to his sides and he drew a Boltor rifle. "Tell me what I want to know and let me corroborate it and I am gone. I won't even leave any Kubrow crap this time."
"It took us a week to clean that out of the base! A month to get rid of the stench!" The female nearly screamed. "What the hell do you want?"
"Simple question." Nikis replied. "Did you or did you not plant a bomb in Iriana's hospital?"
"What?" The voice from the intercom sounded stunned. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"The hospital that the Tenno healer named Iriana was running at the Orokin Tower." Nikis clarified. "I know you have heard of it. I know some of your people have been treated there. Did you plant a bomb there?"
"Why?" The female asked, sudden worry surfacing.
"I am asking the questions." Nikis replied evenly. "I am not angry right now. You don't want me angry. If you did, say so and I will leave. Then you get to explain why to other people. If you didn't, say so and I will leave after I corroborate that." More than one of the guards shifted uneasily. Nikis might have been carved from stone.
"You think I am going to betray the organization to you?" The female laughed scornfully. "You may be scary, but you are one Tenno and Tenno can be killed." Nikis did not reply and she laughed again. "Nothing to say, scary man?"
"Out of respect for someone that I deemed worthy of respect, I tried to do this the easy way." Nikis said softly. He did not raise his weapon. "You make your choice, darling. Go right ahead. I promise. You won't die. Not for a long, long time."
"Shoot -" The female started to say, but it choked off as Nikis raised both hands to shoulder height, palms outstretched. Power arched from his hands in orange streams. Around and around the power flowed, arcing up from the floor and forming things as they arched. Forming... humanoid shapes that suddenly took form. Tenno. In warframes. Dozens of them!
"Iriana wouldn't like a complete slaughter." Nikis said as half a hundred holographic Tenno drew weapons around him. "Leave... five of them alive. And the leader we give to Sun. Don't let them wipe the computers or blow the base."
"Five huh? Hale?" A Mag Prime -No! MAG! The First Mag!- asked with glee as she drew a pair of Fang Prime daggers.
"Knock yourself out, Mag." Nikis had a feral smile in his voice as the holographic Tenno eyed the Red Veil soldiers who shifted uncomfortably. Hard to blame them.
"You are bluffing!" The Red Veil commander sounded unsure though.
"Is he?" A man wearing something that was not quite a warframe stood up to where Nikis stood, a Glaive held negligently in hand. "You don't know much about Nikis, do you?"
"Don't start telling stories, Hayden." Nikis retorted. "I might tell some of yours. Like the statue?"
"You had to bring that up." The First Tenno said sourly. "I still wish I had managed to blow that blasted thing to smithereens. But you all convinced me it wouldn't do great things for my reputation."
"Ain't reputations fun?" Nikis asked the shade of his first teacher in the ways of the Tenno and Hayden scoffed. Now his Boltor came up and aimed at the closest guard whose posture said he wanted to be anywhere but where he was. "You know... Iriana would want me to try to be nice..." He shook his head.
"Nah."
He opened fire and the holographic army of Tenno at his side did likewise.