Code

"Jasmina…" Iriana breathed. The Ember Prime had no weapons visible, but both the energy form male and the female in the gown recoiled from her.

"Iriana. You okay?" Jasmina asked, not taking her eyes from the man. He also did not move at all.

"I am fine." Iriana said softly. "How did you…?" She trailed off as the Ember chuckled without humor.

"After your research…" Jasmina said dryly. "…we had you under close surveillance. We didn't trust you not to try something anyway. When your brain waves shifted, I came as fast as I could."

"I might have done something dumb." Iriana admitted. "That poor boy is dying."

"I know." Jasmina said quietly. Then she blew out a breath. "Well, First One. Empress…" The word 'Empress' was sour and Eliza winced.

"I have earned your wrath, Caretaker Jasmina." Eliza said softly. "Many times over. I need to…" She broke off as Jasmina snarled.

"You need to get lost." The Ember snapped. "Leave Iriana alone. That is all I am going to say to you." She turned slightly away from Eliza and focused on the male.

"Tenno Jasmina…" The shade of the First Tenno said slowly, still not moving. "You have a right to your anger. Both with the Empress and with Karl."

"Good to know." The Ember said sourly. "I am waiting for you to leave." She said pointedly. A toe started tapping. Not a good sign.

"Eliza… Go before she hurts you." Hayden said quietly. She nodded and vanished. He shook his head and spoke calmly to Jasmina. "You have as much a right to your anger as Iriana here does. More." The First Tenno said slowly. "But there is information you need to know."

"I am not yours anymore." Jasmina said with a snort. "What can you possibly say to me?"

"Do you want Karl dead?" Hayden asked quietly.

"What?" Iriana snapped, Jasmina did not move. "What do you mean?"

"Karl is in seclusion at the moment, meditating on what he did wrong." Hayden's voice was still quiet, but held entreaty. "He stepped down as the leader of his clan." Iriana staggered but Jasmina just shook her head.

"I don't see what that has to do with us." The Ember said with a shrug. "Still waiting for you to leave."

"Just out curiosity, Jasmina…" Hayden said with a shrug of his own. "What would happen if you gave your word to keep silence on a matter? Then, you were given a direct order from another, under oath of truth, to talk about it?" At that, Jasmina stiffened. "Either way… Speak of it or don't… foresworn…"

"He will kill himself." Jasmina said softly.

"Aw crap…" Iriana said with feeling. "No. I don't want him dead!"

"Karl goes before the Elders in a few days." Hayden nodded. "When he does… They want to know what happened to Dust and the girl he called Brownie. They will order Karl to tell them. They will ask who ordered him to aid Redi. He cannot answer them." Iriana gulped. "You know what he will do." He bowed. First to Iriana and then to Jasmina. Then he vanished.

"Jasmina…" Iriana said, her heart sinking.

"You need to rest, Iriana." Jasmina said quietly. "We will talk when you wake up. Certainly not here."

"I…" Iriana slumped and then nodded. "I… I need to know…"

"Not here." The Ember said softly. "Come on." She said gently, reaching for Iriana's hand. She took it and…


Later

Iriana woke up refreshed, but her heart was heavy. She remembered. She opened her eyes and looked around, but no one else was in the room. Well, no one but the hovering form of Twee-kee. She shook her head and rose, careful of the stump of her right arm. The sanitary facilities took some work with only one arm as well, but she was feeling far more like herself as she finished toweling her head off carefully. As she exited, Lisa was there, a mass of something in her hand.

"Lisa?" Iriana asked, her face falling.

"Healer has Curtis." Lisa said sadly. "He hasn't woken. He likely won't." She came close, the mass resolving into a set of bandages. Iriana paused.

"I don't think bandaging the scalp will help." Iriana said with a sigh, but sat and let Lisa start applying them to her skull. Nothing hurt, and the organic bandages would degrade in time, being absorbed into the body to be used as nutrients. Thankfully, she had always preferred her hair short, so the shaven patches were not to bad.

"Maybe not." Lisa agreed. "But reminding you of what happened every time you look in the mirror cannot help either." The kindness in her words had Iriana smiling and the Healer did not protest as Lisa finished up and checked the stump of her arm. Was it her imagination or was the odd cap like thing further down than it had been? "It is growing, but not fast." Lisa confirmed.

"Regrowing." Iriana said with a nod, staring at the odd thing. "But… not Infested?"

"No." Lisa said mildly. "None of us would do that to you."

"Part of me is sad." Iriana said softly. "Part of me is glad. All of me is…" She slumped a bit. "Scared and angry." Lisa nodded and reached out to hug the healer.

"I know." Lisa said softly. "If you have questions, or just want to talk, I am here."

"I…" Iriana swallowed and then dove in. "Could the mind mass take the boy in? Sequester his mind while his body heals from the overdose?"

"We…contemplated that option." Lisa said soberly. "Our consensus is 'No'." Iriana stared at the younger woman then buried her face in her hand. "I am sorry. If we did, he… would lose himself. His body would live, but…" She shook her head. "His mind would be subsumed. He is not strong enough to survive." Lisa's eyes were glistening and Iriana's were burning. "I am sorry. I know that is not what you want to hear."

"I…" Iriana sat for a moment and then nodded soberly. "I will ease his passing." Lisa jerked and then paled.

"Healer, if you enter his mind, his cravings will hit you. They are still there, if muted by the palliative" The young woman said sharply. "They will hurt you. They may undo what Healer has done."

"Lisa." Iriana said calmly. "It is what I do."

"Healer Iriana…" Lisa said softly. "We cannot let you come to harm this way. We will…explore options, but we cannot allow you to merge with his mind as hurt as you still are. The neural trauma has eased, but you know how it can be." Iriana jerked and then had to nod. Trauma to the neurons of the brain could be very hard to detect or treat. "We cannot place you in danger. Not now, not ever." Lisa said flatly when Iriana would have protested.

"It's what I do…" Iriana said weakly.

"I know." Lisa said sadly. "Denying you the ability to do what you are called to do is a bad thing. But if you do… And his need for the drug hits you…" She hugged Iriana tight. "I am sorry. We can't let you come to harm."

"Is Jasmina awake?" Iriana said softly. Lisa nodded. "I need to talk to her."

"I saw what happened." Lisa said quietly. Iriana looked at her and Lisa made a face. "When we realized you were…experiencing difficulties, we all merged with Jasmina to help her. In case whoever was molesting your dreams proved…difficult."

"Then you know that I do not want Karl dead." Iriana said softly.

"We are… ambivalent." Lisa said after a moment. "His actions hurt me and led to Champion's…" She paused and shrugged. "I mean Dust's death. But at the same time, if Karl was following orders…" She shook her head. "Some of the beings who became part of the mind mass were soldiers. Their point of view is very different from ours."

"Tenno are more than just soldiers." Iriana said with a sigh. "At least, we are supposed to be."

"And Tenno never make mistakes?" Lisa asked softly. Iriana jerked and Lisa nodded. "Healer… I am not going to press you. None of us are. We are here to help you, no more, no less. Support, healing, listening, a shoulder if you need it." Lisa said as Iriana bowed her head. "We will not hurt you or allow you to come to harm."

"I…" Iriana said through sudden tears. Lisa hugged her again. "I need to talk to Jasmina."

"I will get her." Lisa said softly. "And Healer… It won't be long. Curtis' body… is failing."

"I know." Iriana said softly as Lisa rose and strode to the door. "I know." Lisa left and Jasmina entered a moment later. "Jasmina…"

"I am not going to pretend I am not angry, Iriana." The female Tenno said quietly. She had taken off her warframe and wore a fleshy garment like Lisa's. "But… I also know what Karl did. And why."

"Orokin." Iriana said just as quietly. "How long have they been moving behind the scenes?"

"I don't know." Jasmina said with a sigh. "Truth be told, I don't care. I am focusing on the here and now. As long as they leave me and mine alone, they can do whatever the hell they want."

"Jasmina." Iriana said reproachfully. "You know better."

"What do you want me to say, Iriana?" Jasmina asked with a shrug. "Karl's adherence to orders got the man I loved killed. He essentially gave my sister Elenia to Redi to be tortured and put into a horrible machine. He may not have given Lisa to the scum too, but he didn't stop it. If Karl had…" She took a deep breath and then sighed. "Yes, I am angry."

"With cause." Iriana said soberly. "Let none say otherwise. Do you want him dead?"

"Part of me does." Jasmina admitted. "Part of me wants to see him screaming under my knife. The rest? I don't know." She said sadly as she knelt by Iriana.

"Vengeance?" Iriana asked slowly.

"No." Jasmina said softly. "Vengeance is not the answer. I know that. I just…" She slumped a bit and smiled. "Always the healer, huh?"

"Always." Iriana said with a matching sad smile. Then she shook her head. "I can't let Karl die, Jasmina. As angry as I am with that big lunk… I can't." She looked sidelong at the warrior Tenno. "Can you?"

"No." Jasmina said after a moment. "No, I guess not. The Empress is the one I am really angry at. And you know the worst part? I can see her point of view." Iriana's eyes went wide at that and Jasmina snorted mirthlessly. "I don't agree with it, mind you. But I can see it. Feral Infested are one of the worst, if not the worst threat in the Solar System currently."

"But… your… friends are not feral." Iriana said slowly. "Are they?"

"No." Jasmina reassured her. "And that is my job and Elenia's. To keep that from happening."

"Oh." Iriana swallowed hard. "I see."

"No." Jasmina said gently. "You don't. And I hope you never do. It is a horrible burden. But it is one I accepted. Much as you did when Mavri dropped the title 'Healer' on you."

"Didn't have a clue what was involved. But I get to help people." Iriana said in sad memory. "You?"

"The same even if they are not human or Tenno." Jasmina admitted. "It is my job and I am good at it if I do say so myself." Iriana smiled a bit forlornly but then shook herself. "What do you need?"

"I need to talk to Karl." Iriana said slowly. "I think we both do." Jasmina looked at her and Iriana flushed. "I am not… denigrating your loss, Jasmina. But this schism must be dealt with."

"I know." Jasmina looked away for a moment. "Part of me doesn't want to. But the rest of me knows that if I allow this anger and hate to fester it will." She slumped a bit. "I was always better at hating."

"Yeah, me too." Iriana replied. Jasmina looked at her and Iriana shrugged. "What? You think warriors are the only ones allowed to hate?"

"No." Jasmina said with a nod. "You have as much a right to emotion as anyone. And-" She broke off and jumped up. "We are needed!"

"Curtis?" Iriana asked as she rose as well. Jasmina nodded and Iriana followed her at a run.

They ran into another room where Lisa was standing by abed, her face intent on the occupant. Curtis was asleep. Or… No. Iriana's heart plummeted as she saw the medical monitors set up nearby. His heart had stopped. Training took over. She snarled and grabbed the emergency kit she had stashed nearby. Lisa moved aside, Jasmina moving to the bedside to assist as Iriana started her work. Even as the first leads went in, she could tell it was hopeless. The boy's body had simply shut down. But she refused to give up. After several tense moments, his heart started beating again, and he opened his eyes.

"Mom?" He asked, his vision obviously unclear. "It hurts…"

"It's okay, Curtis." Iriana said quietly, working feverishly. "It will be okay." She promised him.

"I wanna go home." Curtis begged. "Mom… Please… I wanna… go…" His eyes closed again.

"No!" Iriana screamed as his rhythms fell again. "No, no nononono!" This time… she couldn't get him back. She fought on. It wasn't until a soft touch landed on her shoulder that she paused in her work, tears falling. It…wasn't a hand.

You did everything you could. Healer said sadly.

"Wasn't enough." Iriana said, staring at the small, sad form. "It wasn't enough." She said through her tears. "I…" Something warm wrapped around her and pulled her away as she sobbed. Elenia stepped past her and reached out to cover the still face with the sheet that had covered him. Then she laid something beside the boy's head. "Will you… consume him?" Iriana asked tearfully.

No. Healer replied. He was more than just biomass. He was Curtis, a boy.

"A victim." Iriana agreed. "As are we all." Whatever was holding her released her and two sets of arms hugged Iriana as she stumbled away from the bed. "You asked me if I hate, Jasmina. I hate that." She waved her hand at the still shrouded form.

"You didn't fail him, Iriana." Jasmina said nearby.

"I know." Iriana's tone belied her words. "I hate it when my true enemy wins."

"Your…true enemy?" Lisa asked, confused. The touch was back on Iriana's shoulder again.

Death. Healer said softly.

"Death." Jasmina agreed and Lisa made a soft noise of understanding. "Some of us deal Death, she battles it. Come on, Iriana. Come away." The hands and what had to be a tentacle were gentle, but irresistible as they led her away from the bed. "We will… be gentle with him, sister."

"I know it is just a shell." Iriana said, still crying. "But…"

"No." Lisa said softly. "His corporeal from is a representation of him. Of his life. Of his pain. Of his struggle. Of our loss." Iriana nodded jerkily.

"I… I need…" She staggered a bit and hissed as the hands held her. "I can walk!" She protested.

"I know you can." Jasmina said softly, but did not let go. "We need to talk. All of us."

"All of…" Iriana looked up to see that Jasmina and Lisa had led her into a room where the humans were all sitting. They must have heard, all looked sad. Jal and Pat, near the front, looked angry. "I am sorry." Iriana said, bowing her head.

"We are not angry with you, Healer Iriana. You have nothing to be sorry for." Pat said quickly, Jal nodding energetically. "We are angry that it happened. That it was allowed to happen. The course of events that happened to set us all here." Iriana paused in her tears and Pat continued, her tone considered. "Tenno Jasmina and her…friends have been more than fair. More than generous."

"You have been given few reasons to trust my kind. Infested or Tenno." Jasmina said in her own defense. "Courtesy in extremity is the least I can do."

"You have been far more than courteous." Jal said. Iriana noted that he was holding Pat's hand and Pat…wasn't shying away. Leading to something? Maybe. Maybe some good would come from this horror. "We want to help."

"Help?" Iriana asked, confused. "With what?"

"There is too much death in the Solar System." Pat said firmly. "Too many lives casually snuffed out by greed, by ignorance, by racism or by apathy. I bet the way you and Tenno Jasmina are is the way your kind are intended to act, Healer Jasmina. And Artus. Noble, selfless, considerate and caring."

"Don't compare me to Artus." Jasmina said in a quick and somewhat silly voice. "He might get mad." Chuckles went around the room and the subtle tension that had been building vanished. "We…" Jasmina said with a sigh. "I have ulterior motives. The more friends I have who are not Infested, the better our chances. The mass of Infested who are sane is hugely outweighed by the masses of Infested that are not. The others… are as dangerous as you have heard or more so."

"So we figured." Pat said with a nod. "But… What happens to people when the battles are done? When the Tenno have slaughtered the enemy and left? Tenno cannot tend wounded that are not their own. Cannot mend lives and heal souls." Iriana went stiff.

"Pat…" Iriana asked, stunned. "You are not proposing what I think you are. If a staff were coordinated in one place, a hospital… The Grineer would slaughter any hospital staff they can find! The Corpus would descend in droves, first to sell their garbage and then to steal people to brainwash, hale or not. And Infested…" She shuddered.

"I am not saying it would be easy." Pat said softly. "But it would let you fight your enemy on your own terms. We ask you to lead us in making this goal a reality."

"Me?" Iriana squeaked. "I… I am just a healer." She sagged, exhausted.

"And you are tired." Pat said with a nod. "Rest. We will have a fleshed out idea for you when you wake."

"There is something else I need to do before we even start to contemplate this." Iriana said as Lisa and Jasmina started to guide her away.

"My enemy is after someone I once considered a friend. I will stop Death from taking Karl."