Reveals

"What do you mean, 'They are out of our reach'?"

As soon as Elder Tims had sent an alert out, Tenno of all sorts had converged on the colony. Many had come ready to assist, a few had come to say 'I told you so'.

"Tenno have no reliable defense against such attacks." The sole warframe clad escapee from the facility said calmly as he stood as he had since the Elders had been called in. Martin wasn't happy, but he understood the Elder's extreme displeasure. "If the projectors are set right, they can adapt almost as fast as Sentients can." More than one of the listeners winced. "The only good news is that they are very short range. If they were not?" He actually winced. "Orokin learned."

"Hard light." Mavri ignored Han's bluster to stare at the table they stood around, at the holographic diagrams of the secure psyche facility that had been provided. "That certainly explains a few things." He looked at the pair of warframes that stood off to the side and his face tightened. "Are you all right?"

Cathis Gata shook her head. She wasn't good at dealing with large crowds even now. After all the horrors she had endured, she wasn't exactly a social person in groups that she did not trust implicitly. But it was the other warframe that had everyone tense.

The Mag warframe had simply appeared with Cathi Gata, daring anyone or everyone to say anything. No one dared even though several of the Elders had problems with the Caretakers. Elenia hadn't made a single wrong move, had simply walked in and stood with Cathi Gata. No one dared comment, especially when Cathi Gata had made it perfectly clear that she was ready and willing to defend Elenia. Considering that the Gersemi Valkyr clad Tenno was one of the few who could naturally control a Glaive in flight? She was incredibly dangerous even for a Warrior Tenno and no one wanted to press her. Not to mention, Elenia had said she had information.

"Hard light holograms can be either incredibly helpful or incredibly dangerous." Elenia said quietly. "They don't have to be dangerous, but as has been shown, they can be."

"Begging your pardon, Caretaker..." Another of the Elder's spoke and her tone held more than a bit of derision. "How would you know that?"

Cathi Gata went still and Elenia laid a hand on her arm.

"It is a valid question, Cathi Gata." Elenia gave the Valkyr's arm a squeeze and Cathi Gata visibly relaxed. "Rudely put, but valid. To answer your question, Elder..." Elenia met the woman's gaze firmly. "We used them in the quarantine."

"You did?" Martin stared at her and then he nodded. "Of course. No chance of infection if the hologram never physically leaves the area. Very wise." Respect shone in his tone and Elenia nodded to him. "What can you tell us?"

He ignored the angry look the female Elder shot him. Raven, Mavri, Hans and Tims all looked calm.

"Our holograms were limited to the quarantine enclosures." Elenia said after a moment. "I wasn't the main hologram technician, but all we all learned a bit. There were not enough of us to remain specialized in every way. Hard light holograms are force fields that take the shape of whatever the hologram is. None of ours acted like the...characters that have been encountered." She had a grimace in her voice now. "That said, there are few limitations to such technology if applied properly."

"Or it faces a Sentient." Cathi Gata said tightly.

"Or that. Yeah." Elenia winced. "There is some question as to whether or not Sentients used such technology on occasion. It is not something that is ever likely to be answered. Certainly not safely."

"No, and no one who is not completely irrational is going to experiment." Mavri said flatly. "So… what happened here?"

"I can only surmise that the facility planned to use hard light to handle patients." Martin mused. "With so few staff, they had to use something." Most of the Elders nodded, but the angry one was still glaring at Elenia. Martin shook his head. "Elder..." He warned. "Don't."

"They are not going to like us." Elenia shrugged "Many think we spread the Virus."

"You don't." Mavri, Raven, Martin and Cathi Gata all chorused. All of them were glaring at the angry Elder who did not flinch.

"You won't change their minds." Elenia said mildly. "They have a right to their opinion just as we have a right to ours. What is important now is getting our friends out of there. The only good news I have heard is that this place is designed to keep Tenno alive." She suddenly choked back a sob and Cathi Gata laid a hand on her arm. "Seeing this place, his prison. It hurts."

"You should be thrown in there!" The female Elder said savagely.

Everyone glared at her and Tims had finally had enough.

"Elder Rilla, you are not welcome on my colony any more. Please leave." He declared. She drew herself up and Tims shook his head. "Antagonizing the Caretakers is a bad idea. Antagonizing them here with Cathi Gata ready to tear you into very small pieces at the first sign of physical hostility? That is just plain dumb."

"They are traitors!" The female Elder said savagely, only to freeze as Cathi Gata's hand clenched and her Glaive grew out from it. It hadn't been mounted on a hard point. She didn't need one. Today, it took the form of a normal Glaive, but it wasn't one. Not hardly. She did not ready it, she just held it but that was more than enough.

"Actually no." All eyes turned to Mavri who moved to stand beside Elenia. "No matter what you might think, they are following the commands of the First as they have since the quarantine was established. They did not open the quarantine and let the Infested loose to fight the Sentients. They protested when ordered to do so and were locked up. You know not of what you speak, Elder Rilla. Stand down. Now. There will be no conflict between Tenno today. Cathi Gata is well within her rights to end any such in any way she deems fit. Stand down."

The female Elder glared around the room, but suddenly, she was the only one on that side of the room as everyone else moved to stand by Elenia. The Caretaker bowed her head, acknowledging the respect she was given, but Cathi Gata eyed Elder Rilla.

"Go, Rilla." Elder Tims said flatly. "You are not welcome here."

"You cannot side with these scum..." The irate Elder was reaching for her waist and gave an 'eep' as Cathi Gata drew back her hand to throw. But Tims caught her arm and Cathi Gata froze in mid motion.

"My colony. My problem." Tims said mildly. Cathi Gata stared at him and then nodded, her Glaive vanishing. Tims strode to where Rilla stood frozen and shook his head. He took her by the arm and twisted, her face turning into grimace as he pulled her towards the door. "I know you are scared, but acting irrationally won't help anyone. Whatever you were going to do, no. I won't allow it. Go home, Rilla. Think on what you just did and know that the Caretakers are far more lenient of your insults than I would be." This last was savage as he handed her off to a pair of security troops who had appeared at the door. "Get her to the portal. She is not welcome here until she learns some more self control."

Only after she was gone and the door was closed did Tims turn back to Elenia and bow from the neck.

"My apologies, Caretaker, but you do bother people." The Elder said with a shrug as he started back for the table that showed the diagrams of the facility.

"That is why I am here and not Jasmina." Elenia agreed. "I can hold my tongue." She jerked and more than one of the others stared at her. Mavri chuckled.

"I assume Jasmina just... um…" He broke off as Elenia nodded jerkily. It wasn't common knowledge that Caretakers shared a link, but the Elders all knew.

"She made her displeasure felt, yes." Elenia sighed and relaxed. "This place… She couldn't see it in person and not try to burn it to ash. She found him here. I am the only one who could come. I am the only one left who remembers the quarantine procedures. They will be different here, but… I have to try. I won't leave Tiana and the others to suffer what Dust did."

"This place is not the prison that held Tenno Dust for so long, Caretaker." Tims said quietly, beckoning her to the table. She moved and Cathi Gata moved with her. "I made damn sure of that. If the main power fails, the cells open. That might cause its own problems, but it is far better than the alternative." Elenia stared at him and he bowed his head. "What happened to Dust was a horror beyond imagining. The fact that he came out of it even remotely sane was a miracle. We do not know the pain that Jasmina feels having lost her mate, but we all lost a brother."

Elenia reached out and slowly took the Elder's hand in her own. She gave it a squeeze. He scoffed and pulled her into a hug. She returned it very gently since she was in a warframe and then retreated.

"Can we cut the main power?" Mavri asked.

"As soon as Martin explained, I tried." Tims said heavily. "The facility is designed to be self sufficient. The power supply controls are internal. Here." He highlighted a spot on the holo and everyone scrutinized it.

"I will go in." Elenia said quietly. Everyone stared at her and Cathi Gata shook her head savagely. "Cathi Gata, I know these types of systems. I can get in. I can do this." The Valkyr moved to the door and blocked it, but paused as it opened and a voice sounded from outside.

"Not alone." Everyone went totally still as a cloaked woman entered the room, followed by two prime warframes, a Frost and a Rhino. Both held weapons in hand.

Elenia and Cathi Gata both froze as the woman threw back her hood and the crown on her head started to glow!

"NO!" Cathi Gata and Elenia both declared, moving between the woman and the Elders. Both female Tenno had weapons in hand now. Neither of the Primes reacted. Martin just stood as if stunned. The Elders that remained stared at her. Raven jerked and moved to stand by Cathi Gata and Elenia.

"My name is Eliza." The woman said quietly. "I have more information."

"That is..." Mavri managed to stammer. "You… No..."

"No matter what else happens, Tenno Elder Mavri..." Eliza said quietly. "Know this: I have no authority over Tenno. None. I do not rule Tenno. I do not command Tenno. I know better."

"You cannot be here!" Cathi Gata said weakly. "Not with that!" She fell to her knees, keening.

"Cathi..." Eliza said sadly. "Oh Cathi." She paused and shook herself. "No. Cathi Gata is what you wished to be called now. A new start and a deserved one." She reached out slowly and laid a hand on Cathi's shoulder. "It was not your fault. I forgive you."

"You can't!" Cathi pleaded. "No! I don't..." She broke off the woman tapped her head. "No..."

"Get up." Eliza said in a tone of command. "Tenno kneel to no one. Least of all to me." Her hand reach down to take Cathi's arm and pulled. It should have been ludicrous, a human woman pulling a warframe to its feet. It wasn't somehow.

"Eliza was the name of the youngest daughter of the last Emperor." Tims said slowly. Eliza nodded to him. "You..."

"Technically, my name is Elizabeth Regina Natalie Sarah Portia Grousa Helga Bethany Rosha Silvia Isabella Rocca Flavia Mika Sina..." She broke off as Cathi coughed. "And fifty five other names plus the emperor's family name. Don't bother trying to remember them. Not even the most sycophantic of courtiers could remember them all without aid. I try hard not to remember them all. When I ran away to live with the Tenno, I went by the name 'Eliza' and that suits me just fine. In the name of expediency, just call me Eliza."

"You… were the one Nikis brought when we were trying to get Karl to explain how Redi had escaped and Dust had fallen." Elder Hans was nothing like his normal self. He almost looked scared as Eliza nodded. "How the hell did even Nikis manage that?"

"He can be very persuasive." Eliza said in a perfect deadpan.

Hans stared at her and then he jerked as his lips started to curl. Eliza smiled at him and he slumped a bit as the crown glowed little brighter.

"The crown." Cathi Gata pleaded. "You can't be out here with that!"

"Cathi Gata." Eliza laid her hand on the trembling Valkyr's arm. "The crown is just a symbol. It is a powerful symbol to be sure, but now just a symbol with the database sealed." All of the Elders jerked at that and Eliza nodded. "That is why our feeble remnant was hidden away for so long. We were securing the only full access to the database. I claim no authority over anyone but my own domain. I had to come though. I was invited."

"What?" The chorus went around the room.

"I too have seen a fictional character come to life." Eliza said quietly. "One I knew long, long ago. Back when I first arrived among the Tenno. Before I healed and found my place among the Tenno of the time." Martin jerked and Eliza speared him with a glance "If you want to question him, be my guest. I will not speak his secrets. I know better."

"Uh… no." Martin actually gulped.

"Smart Tenno." Eliza's expression might have been called a smile. The same way shark's might. Then she relaxed. "I had to come." She repeated. "I know what this is and why it is and no, it is not a prison. It is not a mad AI taking control of a stupid excuse for a sanitarium. It is someone trying to help."

"Pardon me, Empress..." Mavri said slowly. "But how can we know if you are a hard light hologram?"

"Good question." Eliza nodded to him and before anyone could move, reached out and grabbed the point of the Galatine Prime sword that the Frost Prime warframe who had accompanied her carried. Blood immediately started to fall even as the Tenno recoiled, his blade flashing away from her.

"Eliza!" Every single warframe clad Tenno in the room exclaimed as one, matching tones of disgust, amazement and worry sounding.

Before anyone else could move, Cathi Gata had the Empress' hand in both of her own. She clucked as she rotated the hand gently. Eliza smiled as Cathi Gata's hands suddenly oozed green and the bleeding slowed.

"That was dumb, Eliza." Cathi Gata said sternly. "He could have cut your hand off!" She froze and would have recoiled, except Eliza clenched her wounded hand over the Valkyr's.

"Hard light holograms can bleed if programmed for it." Eliza said quietly. "But it doesn't look or act right. They also do not feel pain." She made a face. "And yes, I know that was dumb. But Cathi..." She paused and a look of desolation crossed her face. "No, no, Cathi Gata. I keep forgetting. I am sorry. I feel so strongly about this. About what happened. You were punished for what I did."

"You were abused!" Cathi Gata declared. "I dragged you back over and over every time you ran until the last. I didn't think it was wrong, what she was doing to you. Nothing about it seemed wrong and it was!"

"My mother was a hell of a manipulator." Eliza said quietly as Cathi struggled feebly to get out of the Empress' grip without hurting her. "I have done a lot of thinking in the last few days. You need help and so do I. Both of us are still horrifically scarred by what she did. This place was meant to heal such hurts. Not as the doctors of this time think, but as originally intended. I have the codes to get in and out."

"No!" Cathi was still trying to get warframe hand out of Eliza's grip, but the Empress would not release her. "You can't. They need you."

"This won't hurt us." Eliza said firmly. "If harm had been desired, hard light holograms could have swarmed through this colony and none here would have survived. What happened to Jill was an anomaly. I am not sure why one of them was sent to fight. That doesn't make any sense. He didn't build anything that would hurt people. It wasn't in him to do such."

"Him… wait..." Martin inhaled sharply. "You don't mean this is Anatoly's Library?" At that, all of the Elders looked blank, but Martin hissed as Eliza nodded to him. "Holy fraking..." He broke off whatever else he was going to say as Eliza glared at him. "Sorry."

"Anatoly?" Mavri asked for the other Elders when all looked blank.

Martin looked at Eliza who shrugged. He nodded and started to speak.

"Anatoly was one of the second generation of Tenno. Not one of Hayden's first students." He paused and scoffed. "According to many sources, Hayden flatly refused to ever call them 'disciples'. Said it caused too many problems with religious types."

"That is true." Eliza said mildly and everyone looked at her. She shrugged. "Hey, I have sources too."

"So, this Anatoly was Tenno." Mavri mused. Eliza and Martin both nodded. "And he… what?"

"He decided he didn't want to be a warrior." Martin shook his head. "Not that anyone was going to force him to fight. He could and did on occasion, but he wasn't really a killer at heart. Not like Mag. Not like many of them. He was closest to Nyx, I think. He fought when he had to and only when he had to. He wasn't a pacifist, but he was non-violent when he could be. He decided to make something special."

"And he did." Eliza agreed. "No one has ever matched his Library."

"For good reason." Martin groaned. "No one could ever find it!" Eliza chuckled and Martin stared at her.

"Because he hid it in plain sight."