Work is nuts atm and health is not helping. I will post when I can
Missing persons
Venus
"Where are they?" Magda asked under her breath as she stepped off the lift into Fortuna. Even as she was, with her Shade at her side, few of the Solaris paid her any mind. Warframes were a common enough sight through here that even the ones who might be curious had learned not to be. Tenno were what they were, and while few would hold honest curiosity against a being, Tenno had learned to keep their secrets the hard way far too many times to count. She would try hard not to be rude, but-
That way. Ollie interrupted Magda's thoughts and a trace appeared on her HUD. The sentinel had downloaded coordinates for the provided crime scene before Magda had dropped into the access for Fortuna. The Shade was on hair trigger, as was Magda.
There was no sign of their compatriots. No sign of the cop's mothership Laney in orbit. No messages left in any of the usual or unusual places. No nothing. This wasn't right. Achmed, Killian and Grasfil had their faults, every Tenno did, but they followed procedure. If they had been forced to go off the grid for some reason, they would have left Magda a message. They would not have just vanished without leaving word. They would not have. They knew better, especially after Narmer had taken them all. They knew Magda would worry and come looking. Outside of her group, she didn't really have any official backup that she could call, but she had left a few time release messages for Tenno she trusted in case she disappeared as well. It had become abundantly clear to her and Ollie that whatever was going on was more than a simple murder. More than even a copycat of a horrific serial killer. Right now, though? She had to find her fellow cops!
She was well away from the common areas of Fortuna now and she drew her pistol out of habit as she stalked towards the waypoint on her HUD. Fortuna was a fairly safe area, but Corpus had been known to swoop in and abscond with Solaris who they felt were not paying their debts in a timely fashion. The fates of those unfortunate enough to fail in payment to Nef Anyo's Taxmen were horrific in the extreme and thus, only the toughest or most brutal Taxmen dared to come here. No one knew how many Taxmen simply vanished into the depths of Fortuna's cavernous dark tunnels. What was worse? Whispers from Solaris United fighters said that not all of those Taxmen fell prey to their forces, so other forces were acting as well. Magda worried that Narmer still had a presence here and she was not alone in that. She had traded a few words with Floor Boss Eudico, only enough to let the de-facto leader of Fortuna know she was in the area. That was common courtesy and Eudico had responded with courtesy of her own, but she hadn't seen the team since they had arrived and started their work. No one wanted a killer like this one running around loose no matter what else was going on, so Eudico hadn't quibbled, but then nothing.
Magda was very worried even as she hefted her shrouded Corinth Prime shotgun. She had made a habit of making her weapons appear less capable than they were. It helped sometimes to let enemies underestimate her. She was Warrior Tenno and fully capable of fighting just about anything, but as had been shown against Narmer, she was not invincible any more than her team was. She shied away from that memory.
In there. Ollie said as Magda's HUD highlighted a door nearby. Both of the pair were on high alert as the Nyx opened the door and they entered, but nothing happened.
The room beyond was a standard Fortuna dwelling. No frills. No luxuries. Nothing but pure sturdy function. It wasn't like the Corpus were going to waste resources here of all places when they could waste them somewhere that their overlords might appreciate. Add to that? Solaris forms were basically work rigs, not bodies no matter what they looked like. Magda wasn't sure how much of each of them was organic. It would have been tacky to ask. But then Magda paused in her scrutiny even as Ollie scanned the area. There was one oddity but she waited until Ollie had finished his scans before she stepped into the room.
"Anything?" She asked her partner and a sense of worry mixed with negation came to her mind even as Ollie focused on what had caught Magda's eye. "Well, the body is gone, so…"
She frowned under her warframe's faceplate as she stared at the room. It was tiny. Even for Tenno who really did not need a lot of space, this place felt like a closet. It was maybe two paces form one side to the others. Since the humanoid shaped rigs that the workers inhabited did not need silly things like cleaning, sleep or food and this person clearly had no family, there were no bathing facilities or even place to cook. Magda knew that some of the residents of Fortuna were darned good cooks, but their bodies did not need the sustenance for survival. She wasn't sure who they cooked for, family meals perhaps? It had never come up in any conversations, but she had sampled their cuisine in a rare off duty moment and had been amazed. Whoever had lived here hadn't had space for cooking or much of anything else. Then again, that was the Corpus for you. To the grand high muckety mucks, the Solaris were little better than machines themselves, so why bother making their lives any less miserable? Such cost money and that simply could not be wasted on the poorest of the poor, even those who had never broken any of the Corpus' laws like the first inhabitants supposedly had. Magda had her doubts, to be honest. The Corpus were not exactly known for telling the truth. Forced labor or slave labor was very much in line with what Magda knew of the Corpus and the very idea infuriated her like it did most Tenno. She remembered Orokin even now, if just barely after all of the time spent in cryo and all of the other experiences piled on top of her memory, but she did know that the Orokin had always kept slaves and had always possessed all kinds of nasty methods for keeping their slaves. They had tried, a time or two, to enslave Tenno like all their others, but that hadn't worked out so well for them. At least until the Old War, anyway. Until they had made copies of warframes to-
Magda. Ollie's sharp tone pulled Magda out of he rumination and she saw the Shade illuminating one section of the floor.
"I need to talk to someone about this." Magda said heavily as she moved to look closer at the floor Ollie indicated. "I am very distracted."
You have a right to it. Ollie replied, worry suffusing the sentinel's tone. They were here. The body was here and now, it is gone. Magda looked at the sentinel and Ollie continued. I am comparing scans with the fragments we got in the first report. The body was here and I read residual energy from forensic scanners.
"So, they got here and did their scans. But they are not here now. Where did they go?" Magda asked very quietly. The room was tiny. "Never mind, you don't know." She paused and then looked at Ollie. "Do you?"
No. Ollie replied, not jolted at all by her sudden suspicion. What I cannot talk about is what I know about what is going on with you. I want to. Ollie said weakly. But I can't.
"You say I am not a threat." Magda said softly as Ollie flew back to her side, the shade all but quivering in distress. "Ollie. Whatever is going on… I don't blame you."
I do. Ollie said very quietly.
"Okay. You say that whatever the hell is going on inside my head that I am not a threat. As odd as that is, I believe you. We have gone through a lot together. You have earned my trust and I do trust you." Magda reached out to touch the shade and it pushed into her hand, almost like a cat. "Table my problems for now." She took a deep breath as she retracted her hand. "The team was here. They are not now. So, they left. But how did they do that without being seen? Eudico saw them arrive. She didn't see them leave and if they had gone to the landing pad, they would have been in full view of the floor boss. Even in our brief conversation, she didn't strike me as one who misses things like groups of armed warframes."
True. She does not seem that way at all. So, she didn't see them. The team left, but maybe…? Did they leave under their own power? Ollie asked and Magda felt fear rise. Whoever or whatever is leaving these bodies, murderer or no, they have to be powerful or sneaky to- He paused and then he screamed! MAGDA RUN!
She felt the shade's invisibility cover her even a sickly orange-gold power swept around the room. She was out the door before his scream finished echoing in her ears, but some of the energy clung to her! She was in full flight when something slammed into her and threw her despite her warframe to the closest wall. She was Warrior Tenno though and she recovered instantly, drawing her shotgun. She felt rather than saw Ollie's invisibility fade form around her as she stared back at the room and the evil looking energy that seeped across the floor towards her. It was blocking the only way out of this warren, clearly by intent. She stared at the slowly encroaching energy and then shook her head.
Magda! Ollie pressed.
"Ollie, you know I trust you. Do you trust me?" Magda asked as the energy moved closer to her, almost a slow moving wave of now mostly golden energy.
I am not leaving! Ollie snapped. Don't even suggest that.
"I try not to be that stupid." Magda managed a snicker as the energy reached for her and she retreated a step. Her physical weapons were likely useless against such a foe and she knew the team. If faced suddenly by something like this that no one had seen before, they would try to communicate while defending themselves. They were cops, not wanton murderers. And if so… Had they tripped a trap or been trapped? Hmmm...
Magda… Ollie said softly as Magda looked for way past the energy. There wasn't one. Whatever that is… It is reading as soul catcher energy.
"Is it?" Magda asked as she backed up a step and found herself against a wall. "Like what the spetznatz used against Sir Aziz?"
Yeah. Ollie was scared, but he wasn't leaving her side either. Such won't do good things for either of us if it- The sentinel broke off. He and Magda both stared as the energy wave slowed and then stopped less than a meter from where the Nyx stood. Um… Magda? Are you doing anything?
"No." Magda said flatly, eyeing the energy. Where was it coming from? When she spoke again, it was to thin air, not the sentinel. "Whoever or whatever you are, you are impeding an official investigation. Cease and desist or I will have you up on charges of obstructing justice." A sound came from Ollie that half snicker and half groan, but Magda only had eyes for the energy that was still blocking her way. Magda effected a 'put upon' tone even as she shook her head. "You are annoying me." Now, her tone hardened. "Move or be added to my list of potential suspects."
You have no idea, do you? That wasn't Tenno mental speech. That wasn't any kind of communication that Magda had ever heard, even while Veiled. It was wrong on so many levels.
"The only idea that I have is that you are impeding an official investigation." Magda snapped, her patience fleeing. "Identify yourself!"
Why? The other inquired. Not hostile, almost curious. What will you do if I refuse?
"I will ask you to move so I can vacate these premises." Magda snapped, ire fully fanned now. "And if you do not, I will assume you are hostile and act accordingly."
Hostile. The other sounded bemused now. That would put a dampener on our relationship, would it not?
"Yes, it would." Magda snorted. "I do not think I have a quarrel with you." She paused. "Unless, you are involved in these bodies that are popping up."
And if I am? The other was intent now.
"Then I will ask for an explanation." Magda retorted, aware of Ollie pressing up close to her. "If it is a good explanation and no laws have been violated, then I will let you go. If it is not or any laws have been broken…" She trailed off as a snort of derision came from the other.
Laws? Laws are only for the lower levels of society. The other said firmly. Rich and powerful are not beholden to laws. They can do as they wish, when they wish and no one can say 'nay'.
"Sometimes." Magda admitted and the other seemed to pause. "We saw way too much of that when Orokin thrived to be easy when laws are ignored in the name of greed or power. But I refuse to be that way and so do my compatriots. We know better than to let such happen again."She shook her head slowly. "They were here. Now they are not. I am assuming you are involved."
And if I am? The other inquired, not quite anticipatory.
"Then you will not like what happens." Magda said flatly. "Whoever you are, you clearly have power but you know I do too. If you impend my investigation, I will take steps you will not like." Then she made a soft noise that was half sigh and half growl. "And if you have harmed my colleagues, I will enjoy said steps."
You enjoy violence? The other asked, still bemused rather than worried.
"No. I do not enjoy violence like many I have seen do." Magda admitted. "Violence for its own sake is wrong. It is often needed in the world we inhabit, but it should never be the only choice or the first choice. We Tenno were made to be weapons, but that is not all we are. We can be more if the world lets us be." Now, her sigh was pure regret. "It rarely lets us do so."
Well… The other was respectful now. For what it is worth, I admire that point of view. The end result is what matters and when chaos and madness are the only desired results, bad things follow.
"Violence without purpose is just madness for the sake of madness, true." Magda replied. "Are you going to let us go?"
I am afraid I cannot do that, Officer.The other sounded regretful even as Magda tensed.You are in grave danger and you cannot see it.
Say nothing! Ollie spoke up from Magda's side even as she started to inquire. You know not what you do! The sentinel chided the other.
I know more than you, Officer Ollie and I know your partner will break before she bends. As she did before. The other replied even as the energy swept forward to encircle Magda. It is not your fault, Officer. I will help you if I can.
"You cannot." Magda said flatly as the energy tried to constrict around her failed! Her own power flared around her as the seeping energy hit her barriers and was rebuffed. The other paused as her power flared white and then brown! Narmer colors? That thought faded as power came to her call and swept out from her in a wave of mind altering chaos energy. Whatever this threatening force was, it was clearly sentient, so it had a mind and was thus vulnerable to her powers. Now, as to if she could find and exploit said vulnerability before she was overwhelmed? That was the question. "You took the others by surprise. You will not take me so easily."
They and their companions have not been harmed and will not be. The other said quickly even as the energy retreated from Magda's wrath. I do not wish to harm either of you. I can help. If you let me.
"I have a job to do." Magda snapped, her energy flaring brighter. "I am going to do my job."
For who? The other asked with a growl of annoyance as Magda tested the limits of her power and found them far wider than she recalled. That thought faded.
"Does it matter?" Magda asked even as the orange energy retreated. "I am a police officer and a crime has been committed. These are both facts. My duty is clear."
Is it? The other asked very quietly even as Magda pushed the energy back despite Ollie worried hum. You have no idea what is going on, do you?
"It doesn't matter." Magda replied, firm in her convictions now. "A crime was reported. I have found oddities, true and I am investigating. I do not know what is happening and frankly? I do not care. I have a job to do. Get out of my way."
I cannot do that, Officer. The other said sadly and then Magda's heart froze solid in terror as a white Loki warframe appeared nearby! One she knew! Sun! Former Grandmaster of Tenno interrogators and now, ally to the Orokin Marine spetznatz! Even without his rank or his access to Tenno intelligence, this was no minor threat! He did not draw a staff, he drew a Lacera that crackled with energy. "I give you my word, Officers, I will kill neither of you."
Then he charged.
