Recon
Stephen was wary, but he was not worried. Not really.
Fighting was what Tenno did. It was what the inhabitants of the warframes were intended for and they were very good at it. Any who had been sloppy hadn't generally survived the Old War. His warframe had been modded to his specifications, his weapons and sentinel likewise. The Shade all but purred at his side and he smiled as it flitted here and there. If he wasn't tense, it was. Then again, paranoia was its job. Killing things was his. It wasn't quite bright enough to talk, but he could feel its agitation and held up a hand,. It flitted to his hand and he stroked it gently. The bond he shared with the small robot was not the same as any other Tenno. That stood to reason. He wasn't the same. He was not sure why he wasn't quite the same as the other Tenno and none of them cared as long as he pulled his weight (which he did and then some). There were things that simply did not feel the same. The sentinel was one of them. It felt female to him and it had never left his side since he had woken from cryo. He called it Almira and had no idea why the name filled him with both grief and relief when it was close to him.
He sent a query to it. A wordless feeling of concern. The feeling that came back was just as worried.
They were right to be concerned. There was no one here.
The entire Earth had been devastated in the Old War and the only true inhabitants now were Grineer. The clones were normally everywhere, their structures and armies pervasive. There were no Grineer anywhere to be seen and none of the three Tenno had found any sign of Grineer presence here since they had landed. That boded.
Cathi Gata and Galintra had melted into the underbrush in a display of stealth skill that was frankly unreal. The Valkyr couldn't turn invisible, but she sure managed to vanish when she wanted to. Galintra was a ghost. Stephen knew in his bones that if she had desired to flee, neither of the Tenno would have a chance of finding her, let alone catching her. She didn't.
The ancient traitor shimmered into view ahead, her armor still camouflaged to match the surrounding area, but visible to warframe sensors. She held up a hand with a clenched first, then splayed all five fingers. A finger pointed and Stephen felt the odd frisson that heralded his shade Ghosting him as motion came along the trail that the trio had been following through the heavily overgrown area. The Shade was not the most powerful or the most versatile of sentinels. He didn't care. What it did was hide the user when needed. The stealth wasn't as good as a Loki, Ivara or Ash's, but it was pretty darn good and often pretty darn useful. Like now. Stephen did not move as five warframe like things moved across the trail. Familiar things. Rhino, Trinity, Ash, Excalibur, Nyx. All of the warframes had the same odd armor attachments that the constructs from before had, all glowing the same disturbing color. They moved away and Stephen felt a hint of relief. Not much. That was confirmation that they were in the right place, but also a sign of deadly peril. These things had defeated over a dozen Royal Guard and fought Atlas to a standstill. He did not kid himself on his chances of fighting a horde of them alone.
Galintra moved back to where Stephen as still cloaked and her arm shimmered anew. Faint writing appeared on it! 'A patrol' the writing said! Odd, but perfectly understandable. Any noise here and now would likely draw unfriendly attention. 'They have to be guarding something. Follow trail or follow patrol?'
Cathi Gata slid down a tree trunk to stand by Galintra. Her posture was tense, but oddly relaxed as well. Stephen understood. This skulking around got very tense. Tenno knew full well the value of stealth, and were generally very good at it. That did not make it any less stressful. Both female Tenno looked at Stephen, clearly able to see him despite the shade's stealth. It hummed in disapproval, but he laid a hand on it again and it subsided. He shrugged and pointed to the trail. Both females nodded.
Their job was to find out what was going on, to see if they could find out what had happened to Nova. A patrol generally went from point A to point B and was generally looking for trouble. The last thing the three Tenno wanted to do right now was cause trouble. That would blow the mission and might get all of them killed. Maybe worse if half of what Galintra had said about necromancers was true.
Stephen waited until Cathi Gata had jumped back into the tree and vanished. He waited until Galintra nodded to him and resumed her position in front. She had the best stealth, it simply made sense to have her lead even if every single fiber of the Tenno's being was screaming at him that this was bad, wrong, a horrible idea. Trusting a traitor to lead him into what was likely a fight went very much against the grain.
That said… He was having a hard time reconciling the Tenno who was now ghosting forward with the evil that Cathi Gata and all the others had said she was. He trusted Cathi Gata and no one but a fool called Nikis a liar. Certainly not to his face. Atlas as well had been very convincing. Then there had been Stalker of all people! All of them called Galintra a traitor.
And here he was having hard time not liking her.
"I know you are there, Tenno." A calm female voice sounded from nowhere and everything stopped. Nothing moved in the forest as Stephen stiffened. The voice was not familiar, and Stephen suddenly felt very alone. The forest was silent. Neither of the others were visible as Stephen's sentinel lost its ability to conceal him. He felt his warframe power fading. The female voice spoke again. "Please, don't do anything rash. I messed up. I know I did. I need to talk to you, Tenno. Follow the trail. You will not be harmed. You won't believe me, but the others will not harm a Tenno. I… I erred and I nearly..." She broke off and when she spoke again, it was clipped. "I would come and meet you but I cannot. Follow the trail, Tenno. None of the others will harm you. I swear it on Talia's name."
What the heck? How would anyone from this time know of Talia the First?
A head popped out of nowhere to tilt in Stephen's direction. Even without seeing her face under her mask, he could tell Galintra was worried. He shrugged and started off down the trail. The head vanished. He couldn't see any movement in the trees overhead, but an icon on his HUD glowed green for a moment before vanishing. Cathi Gata, showing him that he was not alone. He had to smile under his face plate despite the tense situation. She did always consider the heart first.
The trail was easy to follow. It was clear of obstacles and while there was sign of feral Kubrow in the area, none appeared. Stephen blinked as the forest stopped. He stared out into a clearing that was obviously artificial. The ancient looking human house that stood in the middle of the clearing was… The only word for it was 'absurd'.
It was clearly a functional house. But the walls looked like they were made of bread. The tiles on the roof looked like some kind of candy and the bushes that lined the walk up the door that stood open were not bushes. Also some kind of candy?
"I cannot leave the house, Stephen." She knew his name! Stephen felt fear blossom as a form appeared in the doorway, but… She was Tenno. He could feel her energy from where he stood, but she was wrong. She wore no warframe and her face was sad, so sad. "I am sorry."She said weakly. "I didn't introduce myself. My name is-'
"MOTHER!" Stephen was hardly the only one to recoil as Galintra stepped into view, her armor gone and her face ashen. "I..."
"Galintra! No! DO NOT MOVE!" The other screamed as Galintra took a step forward. "Do not approach! Stay where you are!" She shouted. "You cannot approach me!"
Galintra backed up a step, her face desolate. "What have I done?" She pleaded. "Nova… I..."
"Stephen can approach me because his power had been drained." What had to be the first Nova said sadly. "Anyone else… I will likely destroy. You blaze like a sun in my sight. Oh, Galintra..." The heartbreak in her voice was beyond belief. "Honey, I am sorry."
"Sorry?" Galintra said, stunned. Then she was angry, but not with Nova. "For what? You didn't do anything! You tried to save me and I refused to be saved! I was such an ignorant little shit and you… I..." She was crying now. "I killed you!"
"Not quite, honey." Nova said with a small, sad smile as she beckoned Stephen closer. He did not move. Her smile fell and she nodded. "I apologize for the discourtesy in draining your power without warning, but I had to."
"Why?" Galintra put at least a century's worth of pain, grief and fear into that one soft word.
"I empowered you for your duel with Oris." Nova said quietly. "Neither of us really understood what we were doing. I do not blame you. He empowered himself with the souls of his followers, You needed the boost. I gave it. I have no regrets about that."
"I killed you." Galintra said softly. "You screamed and vanished… I killed you!"
"No, honey, you didn't." Nova reassured her. "Tenno are energy. What is the first law of Conservation of Energy?"
"'Energy can neither be created nor destroyed'." Galintra intoned. "Only changed from one form to anot-" She broke off and hissed. "Oh no. No. I didn't! Tell me I didn't!"
"Galintra, step back." Nova commanded. "You cannot approach me. You must not approach me. Honey, please. I am alive. Hold to that."
"Mother..." Galintra was crying as she backed up a step. "I..."
"If we can find a way to fix this, then we will." Nova promised. "But whatever happens, it is not your fault. I offered. You were wary, but I insisted. You are not at fault."
"You were my responsibility." Galintra said weakly. "I… They all were. I failed them all but you the worst."
"You have grown up." Nova slowly shook her head. "I… I don't know what I expected on seeing you like this, but this?" She smiled. "I am proud of you, girl. Galintra, it is okay. I am not as I was, but I am alive. You are alive. You cannot approach me. No Tenno can approach me and live with their power intact." Stephen hissed and Nova nodded to him. "Yes, that is why I drained you as soon as I detected you. You likely do not know me, but I know you Stephen. You were memorable. I do not want to hurt you. We do not have a lot of time. I have made a hell of a mess and I do not know what to do to fix it."
"You are alive, but… opposite." Galintra said softly.
"Yes, I shifted polarity completely." Nova said with a sigh. "My energy is exactly opposite of Tenno energy now. Any Tenno who comes close with energy not greatly lessened risks being destroyed. I… I touched one. Once." She wilted. "I destroyed her utterly, Galintra. Body and soul. Gone. She trusted me, only wanted to comfort me and I destroyed her." She shrugged weakly. "Some great physicist, huh?"
"Neither of us knew what we were doing." Galintra offered. "But.. how long have you been here?"
"Not long." Nova replied as Stephen took a slow step into the clearing. Nothing happened and she smiled at his hesitation. "I don't blame you for being leery. Hell, I would be running away right now. Gingerbread houses never ended well in fairy tales."
"Stephen, don't." Cathi Gata's voice came from nowhere.
"I knew when the three of you landed." Nova said quietly as Stephen wrestled with himself. "You all burn as brightly as stars in my sight. My little girl most of all." She smiled a bit sadly. "My little Gal all grown up and with the weight of responsibility dragging you down. I thought Nikis destroyed you." She said sadly. "When I detected your energy, I didn't think. I just reacted. I have no other excuse for sending the others to collect you. For attacking other Tenno to try and rescue you." She bowed her head. "I will pay for that. Did any die?"
"No." Galintra replied instantly. "Drained, unconscious but not dead."
"Good. That is good. One small piece of good news in a world of bad." Nova relaxed a bit and nodded to Stephen. "That moron had no idea what he was doing any more than we did. Idiot."
"What?" Stephen inquired carefully.
"After I reincorporated here..." Nova said quietly. "I tried to figure out what had happened. A Tenno found me and she was jubilant. Her name was Saliah and she was so nice to me. I warned her that I didn't know what was happening but she didn't care! She hugged me and I…" She broke off and looked away. "All I heard was 'poof'." She said in very sad voice.
"You absorbed all of her energy." Galintra said very quietly. "Ah crap."
"Negated it, yes. Like matter and antimatter." Nova said weakly. "As soon as that happened, as soon as I realized what had happened, I shifted this spot out of time and space. I am a danger to every single Tenno! I would have stayed there. I should have stayed there."
"What happened?" Stephen asked as he took another step. He was close enough to touch Nova now but every instinct was screaming at him to run. He ignored them to take her in his arms. She stared at him and started to cry. "It is all right, sister. You are not alone. It is all right."
"NO IT'S NOT!" Nova screamed as he held her. "I am… am out of control! He took my control and I cannot..."
"Whoa." Stephen gave her a squeeze and she relaxed a bit, fighting for calm. "How long has it been since someone has been able to touch you?"
"I stopped counting." Nova echoed Galintra earlier words. "Thank you, but… Your energy is recovering, You cannot hold me for long. Please. Stephen, please! I don't want to hurt you! I can't drain you again without harm and you cannot hold me much longer!" She begged as he squeezed her again. "Back away. Please?" She begged as Galintra stared helplessly.
"You are not alone." Stephen gave her one final squeeze and retreated to the edge of the clearing. "You said someone took your control? Who?"
"He never gave a name." Nova sighed as power flared around her and both Stephen and Galintra shied away from the wrong feeling that came from her. "I spent my time trying to find a way to either reverse this or at least dampen it, to make it possible for me to touch others. I did. That is the only reason I didn't run right back into the Void when I was pulled out."
"Pulled out?" Galintra's tone had a dangerous edge now and Stephen understood completely.
"Galintra, as I am, I am a danger to everyone!" Nova said with a snap. "You know this. Every single Tenno in existence is in danger of my energy. My… anti-Tenno energy. I wasn't going to leave the Void. As bad as what happened between you and that silly little fruitcake Oris was, this is worse. Far worse."
"Yes, it is." Galintra heaved a deep sigh. "Especially since a young human is now showing signs of turning into a Tenno." Nova stared at her, dumbfounded and Galintra nodded. "Yeah. Just like I did to mine, if slightly less wrong."
"That is why they are here." Nova eyed Stephen and the trees. "You are a prisoner."
"What I did was wrong, Mother." Galintra said quietly. "I have learned quite a bit since then. I have seen any number of things that could have gone horribly wrong with what I did. As in 'the extinction of humanity' levels of wrong." She slumped. "You tried to get me to stop and I didn't listen."
"It wasn't just you." Nova snapped, patience fleeing. "Yes, you were over the line and yes, you didn't listen to me. Yes, I should have spanked you more as a kid until you started to enjoy it." Her grin was wicked and Galintra actually pinked a bit at that. Then the elder Tenno shook her head. "You and Oris were on a collision course the moment you met. As soon as he started making Tenno, of course you would to. I disagreed with your methods, tried to help you find better ways. You bothered me." She admitted.
"Why didn't you just kick sense into me?" Galintra begged. "You could have!"
"You know the answer to that, Galintra." Nova smiled a bit sadly as Galintra bowed her head.
"Yea." Galintra sighed deeply. "Yes, I do. Love blinds us to all kind of things, doesn't it? I had it all and threw it away in the need for glory. To prove I was better than Oris." She gave herself a shake. "Okay. Who took this 'control' of yours? We will get it back for you."
Barely controlled fury sounded in her voice and Stephen nodded. This was something that any Tenno would understand completely. She was a threat, but she didn't want to be one. If they could help her…
"He never gave his name and I was barely coherent after being dropped here." Nova shook her head. "I have been… using my energy to...well… trying to use it, shape it, trying to focus without the control. I can't." She waved a hand and another bush thing appeared in the clearing. Galintra stared at her and Nova smiled. "You always did like the Brothers Grim."
"He is not Hansel and I am not Gretel." Galintra was smiling when she said that though. "What can you tell us about this thief?"
"He was Tenno." Nova said quietly. Stephen tensed and so did Galintra. "As I say, he never gave a name. He grabbed the control and ran as soon as my power spiked. I screamed at him to come back, to bring it back. But he ran off, spouting some gibberish about replacing the Lying Lotus, whoever that is." She slumped a bit. "It was wrong of me to make facsimiles of Tenno I had known, but how else was I going to find it? I can't go myself."
"No." Cathi Gata slid down form her tree to stand by Stephen and Galintra. "But we can. 'The Lying Lotus'." She said to Stephen who nodded. "That sounds familiar." She bowed to Nova who bowed back.
"This is not his style." Stephen sad with a wince. "He is a nut, not a thief."
"You know who did this?" Galintra's voice held rage, but it was under control. For now.
"Maybe." Cathi Gata sighed. "Not that I like talking with him. As Stephen says, he is a nut and this seems out of character. He is not one to risk his own skin."
"Who?" Nova and Galintra both snapped as one. They eyed each other and shared a smile. Stephen shook his head and when he replied, it was resigned.
"Our clan's least favorite conspiracy theorist. His name is Lou."