Vessels
"This is insane, Iriana." Jasmina protested for about the fifth time. She hadn't put her warframe back on yet.
"Jasmina, we have been over this." Iriana said sourly. Lisa stood at her side, a small pack of probably unnecessary medical gear slung. "I am going."
"At least arm Twee-kee!" The Caretaker said, her posture utterly defeated. "Please? For me?" The small orange machine could not project unhappiness where it hovered by Iriana's shoulder. But it sure tried.
"And if I show up with an unauthorized armed sentinel…?" Iriana said with a patient look. "What happens? As it is, with its advanced sensors and medical gear, I can honestly say it is an assistant. Which it is. If it is hostile, or they think it could be…" She trailed off expectantly.
"Boom." Jasmina said sadly. "I… I am stalling."
"I know." Iriana said quietly. She shook herself, staring down at the stump of her right arm, at the odd fleshy garment that covered her. "I don't expect them to take my word. At least not at first. But whatever you do: Do not follow me." She cautioned. "They will be on hair trigger."
"I know." Jasmina said and then stepped forward, hands outstretched. "Be careful, please? I nearly had a heart attack when I saw you in that bed. I… You worry me." The warrior admitted.
"I know." Iriana said gently, hugging the Tenno one handed. "And I will make sure they are gentle with Lisa." It had been a hell of a shock. First to find out that Jasmina had been pregnant with Dust's child and then to find out that Lisa of all people had stepped up to act as a surrogate while Jasmina defended the mind mass. Iriana was…humbled by the human woman. In so many ways.
"Don't worry about me, Healer." Lisa said with a smile. "I can take care of myself. Now anyway." She said with a sad smile of memory. "Just keep them from shooting us and it will be fine."
"I will do my best." Iriana promised and then nodded to Jasmina who stepped back. "I am ready."
"I am not." Jasmine said sourly, but then stepped off the small golden platform. "We have routed it through five different nexus branches. It will be longer than a regular portal shift. Longer than the one we took to get here, but our systems tell me that Avalon tracked two of the three nexus jumps we took to get here, so I am taking no chances. Lisa?"
"I am ready." Lisa said, sitting down in case of vertigo so she wouldn't fall. Iriana hastily followed suit.
"We will be monitoring." Jasmina said quietly, but with force. "If you look to be in danger, we will come. Consequences be damned, I am not going to lose another loved one."
"I know. And it is appreciated." Iriana said with a smile. Then she sobered. "But don't jump the gun, please? They are going to be very surprised."
"I'll say." Jasmina said with a grin as she stepped to the wall where a small recessed panel shone. "Good journey, sisters."
Iriana smiled and held out her hand to Lisa as the room turned golden. Lisa took the hand and then…
It was longer and Iriana felt nauseous as reality shifted around her in rapid succession but it was quickly over. Suddenly they were sitting on the floor of an Orokin tower. A familiar one.
-Do not move.- A monotone voice spoke from nearby as several large turrets with menacing looking devices swiveled to aim at them. –Unauthorized portal access detected. Unauthorized transit detected. Security enroute. Identify.-
"Identification; Iriana, Healer Second Class." Iriana said as calmly as she could with so many powerful weapons aimed at her. The tower had seriously upgraded it's defenses since Nicholas and his rogue Tenno had attacked and nearly kidnapped Iriana herself, Serene and Sara. "With me are: One Sentinel, medical classification assistant drone and one guest, designation 'Lisa'." Lisa's hand squeezed Iriana's but the healer…
"Iriana?" A startled voice sounded from nearby and Lisa gave an 'eep' as a gold covered form with similarly colored hoops on it's face appeared nearby. "Is that you?" The form gasped. "You are hurt!"
"I am okay, Luc." Iriana said with a smile. "It's been… an interesting week." She said in a tone of monumental understatement.
"What happened?" The voice of the being who had once been a renegade Tenno and was now for all intents and purposes a slave to the Orokin tower said sharply. "We heard you vanished. Then that you had been hurt and…taken…by Infested…" He retreated a step.
"Luc…" Irian said heavily. "Be easy. Scan me. Scan Lisa. Scan the drone. Any weapons? Any pathogens?" She pressed. Luc was a good sort, but…excitable. Smart as a whip and utterly dedicated to serving the tower now with his impressive intellect, but…excitable.
"No." Luc replied. "The…garments are…odd." He said softly. "Almost…warframes, but… organic." He shook his head. "I… Where have you been?" He begged her as a team of security drones appeared, Twee-Kee hovered protectively over Iriana as the drones surrounded the newly come trio. "Your... head and your arm. We also read…oddities in your body chemistry. Differences."
"Correlate said differences with the opiate painkiller known as 'morphine'." Iriana said calmly as the drones scanned the stationary trio. "I was hurt and rescued by humans with limited tech base. The only painkiller they had at the time was morphine."
"Changes… correlated." Luc said, his link to the tower systems allowing for near instantaneous computation. "Oh, Iriana…?" Luc asked, abject. "What happened?"
"I was betrayed." Iriana said softly. Luc stiffened and Iriana nodded. "The humans I went to help had been taken days before in a Grineer slave raid. The few survivors rescued me when I fled and was hurt."
"Then who sent the distress call?" Luc asked, confused. "It came through…" He paused and then gasped. "No…"
"I don't know all the particulars, Luc." Iriana said heavily. "And I am not going to make accusations until I do. You need to scan me completely, make sure I am clean. You need to scan Lisa too. Be gentle. She is expecting."
"As… you wish." Luc said as a team of medics approached, they were clad in hazmat gear. "The drone?"
"It's orders are to protect me and assist me." Iriana said sourly. "I bet it is going to insist on following me. It shouldn't mess up any scans. I argued, but…" She shrugged.
"It is unarmed." Luc said slowly, then stepped back as the medics came close. They were not actual humans despite their form and their actions. They were highly advanced bio-synthetic matrices that held the memories of humans. Not humans, but feeling and acting as them.
"Healer…" One of the android said reverently. "We feared for you."
"I bet." Iriana said dryly. "Did they send my key and Skana?"
"What?" Two of them said at once as they were setting up a pair of hover gurneys.
"Contact Karl's clan." Iriana said flatly. "Tell them I want my portal key and Skana back."
"This is going to be a hell of an explanation, isn't it?" Luc asked slowly as Lisa and Iriana were assisted to lie down to the gurneys. "They said… you were lost."
"I was." Iriana said softly. "But I am home now. And… There are problems to solve and lives to save. Come on…" She nodded as she lay back on the gurney. "Let's get this over with."
A few hours of poking and prodding later
"Iriana…" The soft, scared voice, pulled Iriana out of a doze. She looked up to see a familiar face.
"Hello, Karen." Iriana said gently. "How you doing?" The young human turned Tenno wore robes instead of her usual Mag warframe and her face was… awful. Haggard.
"Not good." Karen said, bowing her head. "I… I brought your key and Skana… We… We thought I would be the least threatening."
"Ah, Karen…" Iriana sighed. "Come here." She held out her hand and Karen came close. "I don't blame you, or anyone except Karl and the one he took orders from." Karen went still and Iriana nodded. "I know who it was." Karen's eyes went wide, but Iriana shook her head. "I won't say. The…reasons that the knowledge has not been broadcast all over the system are fairly easy to understand. I don't blame you, Karen."
"I do." Karen said weakly. "Everything has gone wrong. Aeron won't talk to anyone, not even me. Will hurt Kori the other day in training." Iriana's eyes went wide and Karen bowed her head. "And now Karl is gone. I don't know what to do." She laid Iriana's sword and portal key beside the reclining healer. "I need to… get back…"
"Karen." Iriana said, still holding her hand out. "Come here." She commanded.
The tower systems had scanned Iriana and Lisa thoroughly before letting both out of quarantine. The systems were fascinated by the garments that both females wore and had started fitting Iriana for a temporary prosthetic that would fit over her regrowing arm. Once they had determined that the growth on Iriana's arm was not contagious, the research staff had been fascinated as well. It apparently worked faster than Orokin regeneration techniques outside of warframes. It also built more of the garment over every bit of her arm as it was regrown. To top it all off, Iriana had managed to get hold of her psyche profile and was working to ease the remnants of her own addiction. But Karen was staring at her hand as if it were a life preserver and she was drowning.
"Karen." Iriana said gently. "I am not angry with you. Come here." She pleaded. "Please?" Karen stepped close, Twee-Kee beeped at her, but subsided when Iriana glanced at the Sentinel.
"I am sorry." Karen said simply as she reached for Iriana's hand. When Iriana grasped it, she pulled Karen close. "I am so sorry. I wasn't involved. I was out. Aeron was… I…" She was crying as Iriana rose from her bed to hug her. "I am sorry."
"You are not at fault, Karen." Iriana said softly, running Karen's hair soothingly as the young Tenno cried. "The others…" She shook her head. "I disagree with how they interpreted the situation, but… Karen…" Iriana chided the crying girl gently. "That is the past. We need to focus on the now and the future."
"You are so much better than any of us." Karen said sadly. "I don't know what to do."
"We need to fix this." Iriana said firmly. "And to do that, I need to find Karl. But before that, I need to talk to Miguel."
"Miguel?" Karen asked, confused. "I don't understand. He doesn't leave the dojo."
"I know." Iriana said with a wince. "I am going to the dojo. I need to talk to everyone, but… Miguel first. Can you…tell them?"
"Tell them what?" Karen asked, calming a little.
"Tell them…" Iriana said slowly and carefully. "…that I know what happened. I know why it happened. I am very angry. But I want to try and fix this. Helping others is my job. I know what Karl plans." Karen swallowed hard. "And I won't let him do it without a fight."
"But you don't fight." Karen said, uncomprehending.
"There are many ways of fighting, child." Iriana said, hugging Karen again and then releasing her. "But for right now, the tower systems want to analyze this garment, fit me for a prosthetic and get a full report from me on what happened." She nodded as Karen slumped. "I am not going to lie about what happened. You people tried to kidnap me. Maybe for a good reason…" She said as Karen made a noise of regret. "…but you did. There will be inquiries and punishment." Karen nodded soberly. "Thank you for bringing my key and Skana, Karen." She released Karen and lay back. "There are going to let me up as soon as the scans are checked again. As soon as my prosthesis is ready, I will be coming. Tell them."
"I will." Karen said, bowing formally. "I am glad you are alive, Healer Iriana."
"Me too, Karen." Iriana said with an impish grin that made a ghost of a grin appear on Karen's face. "Go on." She said playfully. "Scat. I will be by in a while."
"I…" Karen bowed her head and left the room.
"Healer." The tower systems always spoke aloud to her. They could project it directly into her mind, but she appreciated the courtesy. "Are you certain of this course of action? They were the cause of your injuries."
"Yes, they were." Iriana said firmly. "But Karl was my friend. Even if he did betray me, I was told he was trying to reunite me with Mishka, Sara and Serene. I don't know what they would have told you."
"This is…difficult to understand." The tower systems replied uneasily. "We have not and will not probe your mind without cause. But this is…" It stopped speaking as Iriana chuckled.
"Illogical?" Iriana asked, still chuckling. "Yes, it is. But they were my friends. Karl and the one who supported the monster Redi are to blame. The others? No." She shook her head. "And I don't want Karl dead. I told you."
"You did." The tower systems said quietly. "He is… a good Tenno."
"Most of the time." Iriana said flatly. "He needs a swift kick in the butt at the moment. Which is why I want to talk to Miguel. The human was a soldier. Before Nicholas took him."
"Ah." The systems replied, confusion fading. "You seek understanding of what orders are for soldiers or warriors?"
"I have the intellectual knowledge." Iriana said with a nod. "Definitions and such. But I need to be sure. Before I find Karl, I need to be sure."
"Are you sure you can find him?" The systems asked calmly.
"Not before he faces the Elders." Iriana admitted. "If it takes barging into their midst to stop him, I will."
"Healer." The tower systems actually groaned.
"I know, I know." Iriana said with a sigh. "How is Lisa?"
"She has so many questions." The tower systems said with approval. "Her child is doing well. We will do as you ask, although… the dishonesty does seem…" The voice trailed off as Iriana nodded.
"I will not place her back in their hands." Iriana said flatly. "I told her, before we came, that I would leave her here for a time. She was… not happy about it, but she acquiesced." She paused. "A bit too easily actually. Keep an eye on her, please?"
"We will do so." The tower replied. "Your prosthesis is ready, Healer." It declared as a machine swung down from the ceiling. Iriana did not move as an appendage arced down to cover her right arm. She jerked as something hurt, but then the appendage retracted, leaving Iriana to stare at a golden arm.
"Permission to test?" Iriana asked, not moving. But... she could feel.
"Granted." The tower systems replied as the appendage retracted back where it had come, vanishing into the smooth ceiling as a door slid shut.
Iriana slowly raised the gleaming appendage so she could look at it. As she moved it, she tried to curl her fingers and they worked. She turned the arm in several directions, trying each range of motion. It was fabricated to mimic a human arm, so the range of motion was familiar.
"Okay." Iriana said, sitting up. "The sooner I get there, the sooner I can get back. I need to…"
"Alert!" The tower said sharply. "Unauthorized portal use! Guest designate 'Lisa' has left the tower!"
"Lisa!" Iriana shouted as she scooped up her key and Skana. She ran from the room, Twee-kee following. "Where did she go?"
"She distracted the drone sent to accompany her and used the settings Tenno Karen used." The Tower systems said. Iriana cursed. "Apologies, healer."
"She is far smarter than she looks!" Iriana snapped as she skidded into the portal chamber. "Set it for me and send a com to tell them I am coming?"
"Done." The systems responded. "Healer!" It called and she paused.
"Yes?" Iriana asked, stepping towards the platform.
"Be careful." The tower begged her. "We nearly lost you. Please…"
"I will." Iriana promised as Twee-Kee hovered near her, obviously upset by this course of events. She stepped onto the platform and…
"Lisa!" Iriana shouted as she saw the girl lying on the floor nearby. A ring of familiar Tenno stood nearby, some in warframes, some not. All were armed, but… All but one of them were aiming their weapons at the other. A familiar Ash that had frozen, a small box in his hand. Lisa lay curled up in a fetal position, her eyes shut and her face slack. Iriana stepped forward, anger rising. They had done it again! Hurt Lisa again! "What have you done to her?"
"Iriana…" Alicia actually stumbled backwards, despite her warframe. Her rifle drooped as she stared at the Healer. "I… She came out of the portal and collapsed. Janas pointed that box at her and she collapsed!"
Iriana turned to look at the Ash. Her lips curled in a snarl. "Gonna take her back to your mistress again, Guardsman?"
"Over our dead bodies." Came from a Saryn nearby. "Hello Iriana."
"Mori." Iriana said, calming slowly when the Ash didn't try anything. "Should I trust you?'
"No." Mori replied. "We have given you no reason to. Many reasons not to." The Saryn did not lower the Acrid that was aimed at the Ash. "Put it down, Janas. Eliza did not order you to hurt the girl. Who did?"
"You… too?" Iriana felt her world suddenly start turning in circles. "How many others are here?" She demanded.
"Just us currently." Mori replied, her weapon steady. "What is it going to be, Janas? Explain, or die? Why have you done this?" Iriana dodged to the side as the portal behind her lit up, but… The woman coming through was alone. She wore civilian clothes, but she was no civilian. She…was not wearing her crown.
"I'd like an answer to that too." Eliza said with a tired nod.