Shatter

"What?" Esther demanded. "I never hurt her."

"That is not true." Janet said flatly. Everyone stared at her and she shook her head. "Ara needs to examine Ari gently. Carefully. Now that Ara has been fed, she is secreting her nanobots uncontrollably. She needs help to learn to control creation of them. If she can." Esther stiffened and Janet nodded. "Yeah. I know what you did. She doesn't. Yet."

"Ah, Janet?" Nikis asked, concerned. Janet was glowing. Never a good sign.

"The needs of the many." Janet said with a growl worthy of her mate. "That girl is a marvel. Beautiful and so fragile, like the glass she seems to be. I didn't understand. I didn't see until Mishka jerked us all up short. Then I had to understand, so I sought visions of what happened to Ari. I saw it all. I understand now." She drew her dagger and it flashed green. "If you ever touch that girl again, Tenno Esther, I will kill you!"

Not a threat. A solemn, sworn promise. Projection or no, even without her dagger, she could kill Tenno and everyone knew it.

"What am I missing?" Ara asked when no one else spoke.

"Ari was created as an Orokin spy device from the body of a human slave." Janet said as she eyed Esther who had frozen under the gazes of everyone else. "She does not remember her life before, but the life she had after that was a good one as far as such things went. She was a slave, true. But she was treated well and did her duties to her master as best she could. She was supposedly a modified servant, one who mingled with guests. While she did that, her nanobots infected them to search out secrets for her master. It was what she did. She had no control over the nanobots, her master did."

"What?" Esther wasn't faking the sudden tension that erupted from her word. Not a chance.

"You knew!" Janet shouted that. "You knew and you starved her! You lousy evil little..."

"That was the only way to..." Whatever else Esther was going to say was cut off as Janet made a slashing motion with one hand and Esther flew back to hit the wall with a loud thud.

"You never told Sun what you wanted the information for!" Janet all but screamed. "He never would have agreed to that!"

"He would have wanted her for himself!" Esther was on her feet, power flaring around her hands as Ara dove to the side. Nikis had his shotgun in hand, but all three of the shades retreated from the Oracle's wrath.

"He would have been able to help her, you stupid bitch!" Janet did scream that. "All you and your sycophants saw was a weapon! Something to hurt the Caretakers! Who cares what it does to that poor girl! Who cares?" Her dagger was up now. "I care. You will never touch her again!"

"Oracle?" Ara stood up slowly, careful to stay out of the area between Esther and Janet. "Is the girl a danger?"

"No." Janet's rage vanished suddenly, leaving sorrow in its wake. "Her nanobots will die when she does."

"What?" Esther asked, her voice suddenly tiny. The Oracle snarled at her, her rage kindled anew.

"What the hell do you care?" Janet demanded. "You got your war! You got your fight with the Caretakers! All it cost was an innocent girl's life. What the hell do Tenno care about such?"

"Oracle." Ara said slowly. "Is there no chance for her?"

"I don't know." Janet admitted. "I do know that her creators worried about shock and stress. They also worried about non-monitored release of nanobots using up all of her vital energy. She was near death when she arrived here. She never felt it, never realized how close she was to the edge. After everything else the Orokin did to her, at least they were kind in that. She wouldn't have suffered. She has been fed, and now she has no control over the release of her nanobots."

"What have you done to her?" Esther demanded, only to go flying again. She hit the wall again.

"We kept her alive where you tried to kill her." Janet snapped, her hand still up and glowing with power. "Or did you think she enjoyed being starved? That she would survive it because she wasn't human?" She growled. "Did you bother to see if what you did hurt her? No. Not your problem."

"I helped her." Esther said slowly and then screamed as Janet clenched a fist and psionic power grabbed her and held her off the ground. "I like her! She is my friend!"

"A friend you abused!" Janet snarled. Everyone took a step back as the glow around her glare burned brighter. Then Ara shook her head and stepped forward.

"Oracle." Ara said softly. "What are you saying?" Janet growled at her, but the Tenno was unfazed. "I need more information. I think the girl will be needed in this."

Janet stared at the cold Tenno and then her hand fell. Esther fell to the floor, gasping as the pain faded.

"She will be." Janet said quietly. "If she survives what this fool did to her."

"I helped her!" Esther said savagely, caution forgotten in her rage. "She was lost, crying and alone when I found her. She needed help! I gave it!"

"And you never asked why she suddenly followed you around like a lost puppy." Janet snapped. Esther stared at her, dumbfounded and Janet relented a little. "She was a slave, Tenno Esther! She knew no other way. So you fed her. Not enough to thrive on, just enough to keep her alive. Suddenly, for the first time in centuries she had a source of power that made her feel good. Someone to talk to for the first time in who knows how long. And what did you do? You hurt her."

"I didn't!" Esther was shaking her head in denial. "I never used her! I only touched her when she was hurting. I tried to comfort her."

"No, you never did that." Janet snapped. "Because while she looks aesthetically like a pretty human female, she isn't one. Instead, you used her nanobots. If you manage to survive this mess, Grandmaster Sun is going to have words with you about spying on other Tenno." Esther wilted a little at that.

"Where is Sun?" Nikis asked suddenly. "I half expected him to show up for this."

"I don't know." Janet admitted. "He can hide from my sight as well as Stalker can. I hope he is not trying to find Ess. That would not end well."

Ara and Esther stared as both Nikis and Janet shared a wince with Hayden and the other two shades.

"What is wrong with Ari?" Esther demanded. "I didn't hurt her!" Janet raised her hand again, but now, Ara stepped between them.

"She believes that, Oracle Janet." Ara said quietly. "She truly cares for her friend. You are emotional."

"I know I am not ambivalent." Janet said slowly. "They threaten the lives of my friends. But what I saw turned my stomach. I have lost two daughters and that girl's predicament tugs at my heartstrings."

"I never touched her inappropriately!" Esther pleaded.

"No." Janet bit the word out. "You didn't. Some of her master's 'guests' did for their own sick amusement. Did she ever tell you about that?" Esther shook her head, stunned. "And what was worse? They tried to make her enjoy such things. They couldn't. She wasn't physically capable. But they did warp her enough that her master performed a mindwipe. It didn't quite take so he was going to do it again." Esther gasped and Janet nodded. "That is why she was so still when Nikis was called in to cleanse the place. She had been ordered to sleep after her master found her crying in corner. He was kind to her."

"Wondered about that." Nikis mused. "So… Is she in danger, Janet?"

"Yes." Janet slumped, her anger fading completely as Esther gave a tiny sob. "And to top that off, she was fighting with everything she had not to hurt anyone. And guess what you made her do?" She demanded of the suddenly petrified Tenno.

"No." Esther begged.

"You made her kill!" Janet snapped. "She has killed Anne. You know it!"

"I didn't!" Esther said just as savagely. "She told me it could be stopped!"

"By who?" Janet demanded as Esther stared at her. "By who?" She snapped, patience gone. "Who can stop Ari's nanobots?"

"The First can." Esther said slowly. She stiffened anew as everyone in the hall but her shook their heads. "She said the First can!"

"What she said, Tenno Esther..." Janet said slowly and precisely. "… was that she thought the First could. They cannot. She has killed Anne. Well done, Tenno. Way to corrupt a innocent for your needs. Stalker would be very proud of you."

"No." Esther said softly. "The Caretakers… They did this! They did something to the human. Something that can be stopped."

"You don't get it." Janet said sadly. "The Caretakers saved Anne's life. She was suffering from progressive neural shock. You know what that means, Tenno. No one else could treat it. Iriana tried. So many others tried. They all failed. She was fading, slowly but surely." The Oracle snarled and Esther swallowed hard. "She was a soldier, not a Tenno. She doesn't have your training or your ability to shift meat forms. But she was available so you attacked her. Ari tried to tell you many times. But you just had to kill the Caretakers. Well done."

"They are Infested!" Esther said sternly. "Killing Infested is what Tenno do!"

"We tell you and you do not believe." Janet said mildly. "Tenno Ara is new to this time, but she is an expert on Technocyte infections. Tenno Ara, is Mitchell Infested?"

"No." The other female in the hall said firmly. Esther stared from her to Janet and back. "He has an organic device implanted in his skull, but he shows no signs of Technocyte infestation otherwise."

"And what happens if he is disconnected from that device?" Janet asked relentlessly.

"The feedback will kill him." Ara was still on firm ground.

"And what does the device connect to?" Janet asked.

"Unknown at this time." Ara replied. "It is not any form of technology I am familiar with. The signals it sends and receives are not any kind of communication I understand." Janet and Nikis looked at one another and then Nikis nodded.

"We need to call them in anyway." Nikis sighed. "Guess we can ask if they want to present a defense. Not that some would listen, but hey, we can try."

"You know what the others will do." Janet protested. "Same as this one would. Kill Infested whether they are hostile or not." She glared at Esther who met her glare with one of equal intensity.

"All Infested are hostile!" Esther snarled, only to have Nikis, Janet and Hayden all laugh at her. "What?" She demanded.

"Might want to check your assumptions at the door, girl. It will hurt less." Hayden said with a grunt. "I will be around. Jun, Kor, stay with Ara." With that, Hayden vanished.

"All Infested are hostile!" Esther declared. Nikis and Janet looked at one another and then shared a sigh. "You know this."

"What I know is that nothing we say is gonna change your mind." Nikis shrugged as Janet glowered at Esther. "There was time I thought the same. But despite what some say about me, I do try to keep an open mind most of the time. If I didn't, you and yours would be dead for threatening my grand kid. You don't threaten my kin, brat. Ever." This last was cold and hard. The temperature in the corridor seemed to plummet.

"He would have survived." Esther said into the sudden cold.

"Sure." Nikis waved a negligent hand. "You have power over ricochets and where shrapnel goes in explosions. Sure you do. I don't." His voice was snide now. "You were gonna send in an assault of controlled Grineer but of course, since you control them, they will have better fire discipline than Grineer usually have. They won't throw grenades and rockets around willy nilly. Because you are special and the normal rules of physics and war don't apply to you." The sarcasm in his voice could have cut a diamond in half.

"We wouldn't have hurt him!" Esther snapped.

"Bullshit." Nikis sounded bored now. "Lie to yourself all you want. Lie to me and I will call you on it. You don't care who you kill as long as you kill your targets."

"She does seem to care about Ari, Nikis." Janet said sadly "Maybe there is hope for her."

"Ari is not dead!" Esther said savagely. "I can..." She broke off as Nikis and Janet both glared at her.

"You can stand in front of the Elders and watch as they pronounce their judgment." Nikis said sternly. "And yes, I think this is fair. If they judge Mitchell needs to die, you get to do it. Yourself." Esther recoiled but Nikis wasn't done. "Tenno are killers, it is what we are, what we do. Shouldn't be a problem for someone like you, killing an unarmed, defenseless human."

At that, Esther flinched back. Small wonder. Such an insult was almost unbearable. Tenno prided themselves on their ability to defeat opponents, but they chose worthy ones. In battle, there were only the victors and the slain, but out of it? Tenno who used warframes were Warriors, not wanton murderers. To imply that one was only good for killing a defenseless opponent? Ouch.

"I won't." Esther snapped. To her credit, she did not flinch as Nikis' right hand pistol simply appeared in his hand, aimed at her.

"You want to kill Caretakers." Nikis snarled. "Fine. If it comes to that? It won't be in battle. There is no honor or glory to be found here. They probably won't resist if it comes to it. And do you know why?" He demanded. Esther shook her head. "Because unlike some, they do not want a schism. They honor the Code!"

This last was a very quiet scream.

"They are not Tenno!" Esther snapped, facing Nikis' pistol with admirable calm.

"You do not get to decide that." Nikis' tone was downright frightening now. Cold, calm, matter of fact. Ara bowed to him and then nodded, placing herself so she was out of his line of fire as she looked at Esther as if the other female were some kind of bug. "The Elders who are so loud in their silly denunciations do not get to decide that. You who do not wish to follow the Code declare them anathema?" Nikis chuckled, a dark and terrible sound. "Hypocrite much?"

"If you are going to kill me, do it." Esther said flatly. "I am done being afraid."

"Me?" Nikis laughed as he holstered his pistol. "Oh no. I won't kill you. I have a better idea. Tenno, witness." Ara bowed her head and clasped her hand in front of her. Both shades did likewise. "I declare this convocation open as of this moment and Tenno Esther the designated executioner for it."

"What?" Esther staggered as if in shock.

"You want to kill people?" Nikis demanded. "So be it. Whoever the Elders as a whole decide must die will fall to your blade. Whether it be Mitchell, the Caretakers, Ari, your tame Grineer or even yourself, you will carry out the decision of the convocation. You will kill them in cold blood."

"You cannot do that!" Esther screamed.

"Wanna bet?" Nikis had ice in his tone now. "We are ready, Nyx."

Everything seemed to stop as another shade appeared in the corridor. The Nyx Prime warframe hefted a massive two handed ax. A Scindo Prime, an Orokin executioner's weapon. She lowered it to the floor and its points embedded in the floor in front of Esther, the handle sticking straight up. Esther stared at it as a cobra might a mongoose.

"I won't." Esther tried to back away from the battleaxe, but her feet skidded on the floor as Nyx let go of the handle and it glowed, power arcing from it to Esther who screamed again, this time in pain. "No! I won't!" She fought the energy, but then screamed louder as it wrapped around her in implacable golden coils. Her screams choked off in unintelligible gurgles.

"Yes, you will." Ara's voice was soft and sad as she looked at Nyx who nodded to her. "This seems cruel, Nikis."

"This whole thing is cruel, Ara." Nikis said heavily. "But I can't be the executioner and neither can you. I am chair and you are lead forensic specialist. She wants to kill, so let her."

"Nikis." Janet said softly as Esther's body slowly relaxed, the power seeping into her. Binding her to her role. She wasn't under control, per say. Simply bound tighter to the Tenno Code by Nyx's power. "Ara needs to examine the girl."

"Gently, Ara." Nikis' words were a command and Ara nodded. "I will go start the folderol. I bet it will take an hour or so to get the ceremonial claptrap out of the way. Then the fools get to start blabbing."

Ara moved to the door that Ari, Michelle and Mishka were behind and paused, looking at Esther who was moaning softly now. Nikis stalked away, muttering to himself.

"What did she do, Oracle?" Ara asked. "Your rage seems excessive for the amount of information I have."

"She gave Ari just enough of her own energy that the girl wouldn't starve to death." Janet said in a flat voice. "Never enough to fully sate Ari's hunger, and never enough for Ari to feel free. She basically enslaved Ari all over again. What was worse? The frequency was wrong. Do me a favor?" She asked the female Tenno who stared at her. "Check Ari's form for microfractures. I fear they will be spreading."

"Micro- what?" Esther gasped. "What are you saying?" She shook her head, and then stared at the ax in her hand. "What have you done?" She snapped as she tried to drop the ax and could not.

"Until this is over, the only people you will be able to kill are the ones the chair of the convocation tells you to kill." Nyx said in a very soft voice. "You will be able to holster that, but you won't be able to swing the ax at anyone else. I recommend you do not try. You also will not be able to drop that. It will only allow itself to be either holstered or in hand, it won't go anywhere else."

"Why?" Esther demanded of Janet as Nyx vanished. "Why me?"

"Because you have likely killed an innocent. The energy you gave Ari wasn't quite right for her." Janet said just as quietly as Nyx had spoken. "It was just enough out of tune that the damage wasn't readily apparent."

"Damage?" Esther tried to drop the ax, but it seemed stuck to her hand.

"What happens to glass when it is hit by a shock?" Janet asked. Esther just stared at her and Janet sighed. "Your energy hurt her on the molecular level, shattered some of the the molecular bonds. I fear the damage is spreading. I don't think it is anything we can fix. Ara, please be gentle."

Ara bowed to the Oracle and entered the room, the shades following her.

"I… I didn't." Esther said weakly as she lowered the ax to the floor, still trying to remove it from her hand. It wouldn't come off. "I didn't!"

"Why would you care?" Janet asked. "You got what you wanted. A shot at the Caretakers. Who cares who else dies in the process?"

"How do I know you are not lying?" Esther demanded, still trying to get rid of the ax. She went still as Janet sighed.

"I wish I was. She seems a good kid."