Right and wrong
Avalon, at just about the same time
"And as soon as I finished there, then I came straight here to you."
This being a private audience, Jesse did not kneel. Her adoptive mother had no patience for extended formality in private. In public was another story, but here? Eliza could be herself. For what that was worth. The Empress of Orokin sat on a comfortable couch, her crown still and dark on her head. Her gown was a bit rumpled, but no one would comment. Not here. Not now. She was anything but comfortable and hadn't been since Jesse had started to explain.
"Oh crap." Eliza turned to glare at the other Tenno in the room who wasn't Royal Guard and Sun nodded very slowly. The four weapons aimed at him were barely needed. Even here, at rest, Eliza had formidable protections. She growled at the white Loki Prime who had just arrived as Jesse finished up. "Care to explain?"
"All I can say is that I did not order that. I sent a query for information from the Corps as soon as I received your summons." Sun said quietly. "As I traveled here, I read what reports I have on the Kavat Liriel. None of the healers believed Liriel would wake from her ordeal, trapped as she had been and her energy decayed so badly. None of them had any idea she was a Cyberlancer. I have no information on why Abigail was taken or why anyone would dare to do something so ignorant as to try and program even an untrained Cyberlancer." He didn't shudder, he was who he was, but there was a wince in his voice. Stood to reason. Angry Empress and angry Cyberlancer were not a good combination even for such as the Grandmaster of Tenno Interrogators. "Intelligence knows better. Trinity left clear records for both Tenno and Orokin about the dangers. Clear warnings from all of her encounters. Perhaps the cats did not inquire? No." He mused. "Isis knows better than to do something like this without information or approval. The cats can be abrupt on occasion, but again, they are not foolish. This was moronic. The Tenno, Brianna Executor, everyone will be as upset as you and the Cyberlancers are, Empress. Abigail is not well known, but Olim, Quais and Jesse are. Anyone who attacks them even in such a roundabout way had better have a damn good reason." For him to swear even that mildly? Oh, he was angry.
"Do we have another breach in Intelligence?" Eliza inquired far too mildly to be actually calm. She was pissed. The again, the last such breach had gotten Tenno Karl killed and nearly a bunch of other people. Iriana was a Healer, but only a fool pushed her past her limits. She had a hell of a temper. Good thing she didn't lose it very often.
"I have instituted another check under the Trojan Protocols." Sun admitted. "That said, I don't know. I don't think so. The cats are coming here to speak to you. I can only assume to explain."
"I hope they have a good explanation." Jesse said tightly.
"Me too." Eliza growled. "We have cut them and by extension, Tenno Intelligence who employ them, a great deal of slack due to their lack of knowledge, but if they have tried to subvert a Cyberlancer, then all hell could break loose. Especially in the light of the Umbra mess." She shuddered and Jesse shared it. The revelation of how Ballas had made his copies of warframes had shaken Tenno society to its core. "We will not allow such to happen." The royal 'we' was clear and firm. Everyone nodded agreement. "If they have done such, we will act."
It didn't need to be said that if the Empress did act, things would likely get very bad, very fast.
"We need information, Empress." Sun wasn't arguing. He knew better. "The cats should arrive any moment." Jesse tensed and Sun nodded. "I have checked the countermeasures that Avalon has in place to keep the cats' augmentation in check and it is functioning. While they are here, they will not be able to use their augmented abilities."
"That doesn't make them safe to be around." Eliza said sourly. "Several of my ancestors found that out the hard way." Jesse looked at her and Eliza shook her head. "Cats are cats. Intelligent cats are worse. They bow to no one but themselves. Others they will defer to if needed, but they are still cats. The only reason the Corps allowed me to merge them into Intelligence is that they lost all of their Elders to the Grineer."
It had taken the Grineer at least decades, maybe more, and who knew how many thousands of clones to find and expose the cats' hiding place on Earth. But when they had? The clones had done as they had done to all threats they found no matter how well defended. They annihilated it. Five of cats had survived the purge and all of them had been young, barely out of kittenhood. Only a last minute save by a pair of Tenno had saved any of the augmented felines. They had fought hard and well, but they had been overwhelmed. During the Collapse they had been ordered to hide, so they had ever since. They were not front line fighters even as dangerous as they were. No, their skill at sabotage, stealth and assassination rivaled many Tenno. They were not as durable, as the Grineer had proved.
"Their Elders passed on their knowledge by oral tradition. So, they lost a lot of their knowledge." Jesse said slowly. Sun and Eliza both nodded. "I guess I can understand that, but still… Empress, this cannot stand."
"No, it cannot. We need more information." Eliza repeated Sun's words. "Rest assured, Cyberlancer..." Jesse stiffened as Eliza's tone changed. That wasn't Jesse's adopted mother speaking. No, that was the Empress of Orokin. The unhappy Empress of Orokin. "...if they have a good reason, we will hear it and share it with you and your compatriots. If they do not have a good reason, we will hear that and take steps."
Clear. Calm. Concise. Cold and utterly unforgiving.
Eliza was a kind soul as often as she could be. She was a wonderful confidant, mentor, guide and yes, occasional punishment dealer for Jesse whose own mother the Cyberlancer would likely never see in the flesh again. Yes, she was patient, gentle, kind, all of the stereotypical mother traits. But at her core, she was still the youngest daughter of the last Orokin Emperor. The bearer of the titanic burden that was the Crown of Orokin, the key to the Orokin database. The huge and incredibly well hidden data repository that held all of the shades of the slain who had perished while connected to the Orokin network. Eliza was the woman whose evil mother had attempted to wrest control of the Empire by subverting Royal Guard and come far too close for anyone's comfort. The same evil human had very nearly corrupted Jesse far too recently for either of their peaces of mind. Eliza was the one who, as a child, had flung herself into the sea to escape her mother's brainwashing and wound up washed up at Sun's door of all people. Eliza was the woman who had lived with Tenno as a human, learned with them, loved with them and grieved with them. She had borne five Infected daughters to a Tenno sire and lost all but four of those to treachery of the absolute worst kind. She was the woman who had gotten Tenno Dust killed and very nearly started a war with the Caretakers as a result. The woman who had survived the Collapse and held the feeble remnants of Orokin together mainly by sheer force of will.
She knew pain, Eliza did. She knew loss. She know action and consequence. She knew what her duty was and no one but a fool stepped carelessly around her. Well, a fool or Nikis who simply didn't care. Anyone other than that crazy Nekros? Sanity said to tread carefully. The Empress had all kinds of ways to make her displeasure felt.
"We will await your judgment, Empress." Jesse said formally and Eliza nodded approval. Jesse stepped back to one wall where she stood next to a Royal Guard Ash Prime. The Tenno did not move, but his hand was on his skana as the door chimed. All of the other Royal Guard were on hair trigger as Eliza nodded.
"Enter." Eliza called and smoothed her gown. She did not rise. She ruled here.
Four cats entered the door as soon as it opened. Jesse was hardly the only to to stare as she saw the calico furred cat wasn't with them. Matril was nowhere to be seen. Isis led the way, as always, but Bastet, Grisha and Jumper were a bare step behind her. Two Tenno guards followed, their own hands on their weapons. None of the cats looked angry. If anything, they were sad. All of them looked almost beaten.
"Where is Matril?" Eliza demanded before anyone else could speak.
"He is hurt." Isis said quietly. "We hurt him. We didn't mean to, but we did."
"How bad?" Eliza asked, her tone moderating as Isis's dejection came through clear and strong.
"He will survive." The white furred healer was still quite, sad. "As to whether or not he will ever forgive us? I don't know. Is Liriel all right?" She begged Jesse, who stared at her. "That kind of power, even with it not just hers, it had to hurt her."
"I am asking the questions here, Operative." Eliza's tone as mild, but her eyes were flashing and every cat nodded. "What were you thinking? Subverting Cyberlancers doesn't work! Tenno and others have many, many records showing that." She shook her head, fighting for calm and succeeding. "You kidnapped Abigail from Brianna Executor's tower. She will not be happy with you."
"Yes, we did." Isis said softly. "We didn't know Liriel was a Cyberlancer. Many things became clear the moment her code appeared. We were trying hard not to hurt Abigail. She is needed, now more than ever with the Lotus gone. Every Cyberlancer is needed."
"It is not your place to decide her path." Jesse snapped and then paled, looking at Eliza who waved her lapse away.
"Cyberlancer Jesse is entirely correct." Eliza said quietly. "You had no right to push her in such a way and such never ends well. Matril tried to warn you and you ignored him. Why?" She demanded.
"He is in love with Liriel and we didn't think she knew what she was talking about." Isis said sadly. "We were wrong."
"What did you do to Liriel?" Eliza asked. It wasn't- quite- a demand. "Did you make kittens from her?"
"The short answer is yes." Isis replied evenly, despite Jesse's sudden hiss of anger. "We didn't think she was going to wake up." Eliza waved at her to continue and the white furred cat did. "We have had our disagreements, Liriel and I. Heaven knows, they have been loud enough. We didn't want her dead, Empress. We never wanted her dead. We could all see that she is a good soul, even not knowing she was a Cyberlancer as well." She begged Eliza. "When she wouldn't wake up, after she was found, we all feared for her."
"What did you do?" Eliza was frowning in thought. "It is not possible for cats to mate with Kavats. You are two different species. Feline, yes, but two distinct species. One engineered, one not."
"I can't say." Isis said softly and everyone tensed.
"You can't say." Eliza slowly sat up and her face was remote now. "I speak as Empress, Isis. You will tell me."
"I cannot, Empress." Isis said weakly "Not without Liriel's permission. I have done too much as it is, hurt her too much as it is. I cannot speak of this. Please, Empress. Please believe me when I say I want to, I burn to, but I cannot. Not without her permission."
"Without Liriel's permission?" Eliza asked, confused. "You don't answer to her." Isis did not respond and the Empress slowly shook her head. "Isis."
"She doesn't remember." Isis said sadly. "She wiped part of her own memory. To spite us? To fight us? I don't know. When she woke in the dojo and asked for me of all people, I was surprised to say the least. She hates me. She has cause. I can say that her kittens are safe and healthy. Matril is with them now and they are tending him as best they can along with all the others. He won't trust me again. Small wonder."
"What have you done?" Jesse breathed. Isis looked at the Cyberlancer and Jesse looked at Eliza who waved for her to continue. "Liriel didn't remember what you did. She wiped her own memories?" Eliza looked a question at her daughter and Jesse frowned. "Such is possible, but hard. Incredibly hard even for a Cyberlancer and Liriel's powers were blocked. She can't have wiped her memories completely. They will come back, probably at the worst possible time. They did with me." Shame mixed with sorrow in her voice. At that, every one of the cats suddenly stilled. Jesse stared at them. "What have you done?"
"We didn't." Isis said weakly. "We offered our aid. She accepted it. We tried to help. She wasn't… I..." She broke off, overcome. "We may hate each other, but there are limits, Empress, Cyberlancer! She is not our enemy, far from it."
"She is someone you violated!" Jesse snapped.
"No!" Isis begged. "It wasn't non-consensual! She asked. Matril agreed! She was kind to him and he liked her. She doesn't like me, but she likes him."
"Isis, start at the beginning and tell me everything! I cannot aid you or judge you without more information." Eliza said sternly. "Liriel was asleep after being trapped in the closet, yes? No one could wake her. She was dying. Her energy was fading beyond the point of recovery."
"Yes." Isis seemed to wilt. "But she wasn't gone." At that, everyone went still, Tenno and Orokin as one.
"What the hell did you do?" Jesse's soft, scared voice spoke for everyone. If Isis had knowingly abused the powers of a Healer, Iriana would be involved in whatever happened and the Healer had few qualms about hurting people who did such.
"She was fading." Isis said weakly. "We wanted to help her! I tried to help her. Instead, I... I think I enslaved her."
"You WHAT?" That scream of both rage and fear came from Jesse and Eliza as one.
Every one of the Royal Guard Tenno in the room had weapon in hand as Eliza finally jerked to her feet. But then, Sun stepped forward. His hands were empty.
"Isis." Sun said flatly. "Give a full report. Now." That was a command and Isis jerked but then nodded.
"I obey. Liriel had been left at loose ends after the convocation and she was remanded into the care of the Karl's Shadow clan of Tenno. Our care even though she is not a cat. We did not agree on much of anything. She kept trying to escape, to find Ariana and we knew she couldn't. Then she just vanished. Into that closet, although none of us knew that at the time. Our last words before that were angry." Isis curled up on the floor, her entire posture one of dejection. "It was such a stupid argument. About fur styles of all things." The other cats sat beside her, not quite touching. "I couldn't let her die, Empress!" She begged.
"Isis, report!" Sun snapped. "Not emotions, facts."
"The fact is that when Liriel was found, and how she was found, we all felt guilty." The white cat was clearly fighting for calm, her fur spiking and then slowly smoothing as she succeeded. "She was such a pain in the tail, but a good soul. She wasn't evil. She wasn't even bad and that made things worse for us. We knew how to handle enemies. But someone like her who wasn't one, but refused to be a friend? We didn't know what to do. I tried to get through to her and I… I did." She bowed her head. "Ancestors help me, I did."
"You told Iriana and others you couldn't get through to her." Jesse was somewhere almost beyond incredulous.
"We lied." Isis said flatly. Before anyone else could speak, she continued. "To protect Liriel."
"To protect her?" Eliza demanded, stunned. "From who?"
"Many people." Isis said sadly. "Many will want her dead or as a servant when they discover the truth. I cannot speak it, Empress. Please!" She begged. "We cannot lose Liriel! Not now!"
"Liriel is a Cyberlancer." Jesse said slowly. "You say her enslaved her, that isn't possible. Any bonds you place in her mind will melt under her code now that it is active." She sighed. "Unless it is psionic and-" She broke off as Isis nodded. Jesse paled. "No." She hissed.
"Princess, please! We owe her!" Isis pleaded. "We cannot harm her nor can we disobey your orders. Please do not order us to speak. We do not wish our oaths to be in conflict, but they will be if you demand such. If so, we must choose who we follow. We honor you and the Empress, Cyberlancer, but Liriel calls to us on a deeper level."
"Liriel is not a psi." Eliza said slowly and carefully. "Cyberlancers are not psionic."
"On one level, it is psionics. Mind over matter indeed." Jesse said, manifestly against her will. "But nowhere near the level of power of say, my birth mother. Thank god!" She said fervently and more than one person nodded. One of Oracle Janet was more than enough.
"Yes, thank god." Eliza shook her head. "Isis… What did you do?"
"I cannot say, Empress." Isis said weakly. "Confine me if you must or whatever, but I cannot say. Not without… her consent."
"Wait." Sun spoke up as Eliza opened her mouth to speak. "Empress..." He said slowly. "There was only one group of beings who the cats would obey to such a degree. Even more than your family who raised them up, saved them from slavery so long ago. Their loyalty was bone deep, genetically engineered into them. She cannot answer you. Not without orders to do so." Isis' face came up and it held gratitude and fear equally as she looked at him.
"You… No." Eliza paled. "You didn't. You couldn't have! Liriel is not a cat!"
"I didn't know what I was doing!" Isis pleaded. "I didn't mean to!"
"You... made Liriel... an Elder of your kind...?" Jesse was somewhere beyond shock. "Oh-" She swallowed whatever else she was going to say but Eliza spoke up.
"Shit." The Empress said flatly and everyone stared at her. "'Oh shit' pretty much covers that. Liriel will need help. Lots of help."
"We tried!" Isis begged and the other cats nodded.
Eliza, Jesse and Sun all looked at one another and then, as one, they sighed.
"Okay." Eliza calmed and now, Jesse was calmer, if still in shock. "If she is an Elder of your kind, then we owe her. You owe her obedience, but we owe her for not helping you and your people. We did not know you survived the Collapse, but that does not excuse our lack of aid. We must help her. We will help her. Begin again, from the beginning, Isis. This time, don't leave anything out."
"Yes. Empress." The cat relaxed, just a little. Whatever she had done paled beside the fact that if Liriel was an Elder of her kind, then yes, the Kavat was in grave danger. From all kinds of people. The Feline Corps was not well known, but they were feared by those who knew about them. An Elder would be leverage over the cats and many would seek to control or destroy her.
"After she was found and would not wake, I pulled Liriel into a virtual world to talk to her and I was quite surprised when she pulled all of us into it and then we couldn't get out..."