Cloning around
"This is insane."
The room was small and spartan. A storage room of some sort, almost circular with lockers against one wall and secure storage containers piled against the others. Some of those flared in Juil's augmented sight. Volatile of some kind.
The boy was clearly not still happy with his situation, but he was better behaved now. Juil and company had been at a loss on how to deal with him. They could hurt him or kill him easily, but such felt wrong to Juil after so many talks with Esther about ethics. He was never stupid enough to attack her. The Corpus employees wanted nothing to do with him at all. So, he was left to sit and stew, getting visibly angrier and angrier. He had finally lashed out verbally at Juil when the lich had arrived with Violet and Violet had taken steps. She hadn't hurt him, but the spanking she had given him had shocked him into utter silence. Juil couldn't do such without hurting him, she was simply too strong and had never been trained to handle such punishments without causing harm. She had been tempted to hurt him anyway, as had several of the other liches that had been around him, but she and they had refrained, because as one of them had put it 'Esther wouldn't like that'. Violet had no such problems. After the punishment, she had set him on his feet and led him in here. Juil had followed, more curious than worried.
Even now, the boy was wary as he eyed Violet who met his gaze without discernible emotion. For her part, Juil was bemused. How did grabbing a human, folding him over her leg and applying her hand to his rear end three times achieve such instant obedience? It made no sense.
"Life doesn't have to be sane." Violet said mildly as she touched a control panel and then looked at a screen that popped up over it. On it, the human crew were working the ship, each focused on whatever they were doing. They had seen Violet punish the boy, had all straightened and gone to work without even a word from her! Juil was impressed. Violet nodded and then banished the image. "Very little about the world we live in makes sense. What is your name?" She demanded. The boy gawked at her and she scowled. "Or do you have one?'
"What?" The boy asked, clearly confused. "What are you talking about?"
"Do you have a name or a designation or some other descriptor?" Violet said with patience that was clearly exaggerated. Juil was even more confused. Why did the boy flinch from that? Violet wasn't threatening him. Was she? "Calling you 'boy' is demeaning. For much of human history, it was an insult to call adults that. You are a young human male, but you are yourself. You are a distinct individual. Do you have a name?" She asked again, her tone going pointed.
"I…" That boy actually stammered and shook his head. "No." he admitted. "I don't even have a designation. There was nothing to show who I am or why I am here. I…" He broke off as Violet sighed. "What?" He demanded.
"We also do not know where you came from or why you are here." Violet allowed. "Alad V is a nutcase, but even he steps carefully around the Clergy. Cloning is forbidden and their rules are very strict."
"They are clones!" The boy waved at Juil who just looked at him.
"They are not human." Violet said in a mild voice. The boy stiffened as her tone registered. She wasn't happy with his comment. "They never were. They were abused by the people who made them and that made them very angry. Since then, the ones who made them have done things that have made others very angry. That said? These and I have a few common points of interest at the moment. We both cared greatly for someone we just lost."
"They are Grineer!" The boy snarled at her and Juil stiffened, but Violet was faster.
"No, they are not." The Corpus soldier snarled right back at him in a tone that would have impressed any Grineer. "Grineer are created to serve the Queens. That is what they do. Under Orokin, they traded evil masters for evil mistresses." She nodded to Juil who relaxed just a little. "These do not serve the Queens. They are not Grineer."
"That makes no sense!" The boy snapped, his face flushing.
"Life makes no sense." Juil snorted and then shrugged as Violet eyed her. "Life is chaos. Chaos by its very nature makes little sense to those who do not understand chaos theory. Even to those who do try to understand it occasionally." She made a face that Violet matched.
"True." Violet gave the hulking lich a nod. Then she focused on the boy who was gawking at her again. 'You need to learn some discipline or you are going to die young." She was dispassionate now and the boy froze as she eyed him up and down. "Is that what you want?"
"What do you care?" The boy scoffed at her.
"I don't." Violet admitted and the boy stiffened. "I see you and I see an abomination. Some kind of threat. Alad V is a nutcase. You are either meant to take his place or to discredit him in some way. It won't work." She frowned in thought. "He has too many safeguards in place. Hell, he survives Tenno assaults regularly. Various people wondered if he used cloning, but he always has a good explanation. His kind always do." Now disgust ruled her voice. "At the same time…" She interrupted the boy before he could speak. "...I could not help my friend Esther or my colleague Edmund. Maybe I can help Juil and her people. They are not Grineer."
"So… what?" The boy demanded, looking from Violet to Juil and back.
"They want to know where you came from. So, I am going to help them find out where you came from and why you are here." Violet replied. "The Corpus on this ship will obey me and the liches have their own problems." She shook her head as the boy backed up against one wall of the compartment. "If you resist, it will hurt worse."
"Hurt?" Juil asked as the boy was clearly trying to get further away form Violet, but was stymied by the walls of the room. He wasn't anywhere near the volatile containers, thank goodness.
"High energy scans will hurt." Violet showed no emotion at all as the boy growled at her. "There is no other way to do it. There will be no permanent damage if the boy does not resist."
"Leave me alone!" The boy's tone held fear and fury in equal measure as he set himself.
Juil went utterly still as part of the wall behind the boy opened up and a MOA stepped out! She had energy ready, but the MOA moved to the boy who crumpled as it touched him. Juil looked at Violet who shrugged. Juil stood ready as the MOA seemed to fold around the boy. No, it was picking him up and carrying him on some kind of built in platform that expanded to fit the boy.
"What is that?" Juil asked, not sure at all about this.
"It is a specialized MOA." Violet stayed where she was as the MOA shifted again and now, the boy was encased in some kind of metal webbing. "One built to secure and transport people to medical care." Juil looked at the boy and then her code soared to the MOA. The lich hissed at what she found and Violet spoke up. "Yes. It is also used for that."
"'Acquisition MOA'." Juil said with a frown. "Intended to 'acquire' non-willing subjects."
"Yes." Violet replied without heat. "This is a MOA transport, not a medical ship. We need to get him to another ship. One with specialized scanners. That is the easiest way. Those MOAs are designed not to harm their cargo." Juil glared at her and Violet shrugged. "He wasn't going to behave. Whoever made him didn't program him with even the basic behavioral mores. He was going to keep acting out. He will keep acting out. The MOA will transport him and he will not come to harm. Can you say the same for all of your fellows?" She asked reasonably.
"No." Juil agreed, manifestly against her will. "Many of us have trouble dealing with our emotions. Esther did what she could." She said quickly.
"She did. She asked my advice in dealing with such and I gave it." Violet replied and Juil stilled. "She didn't say why, she just asked and I didn't question her." Her face took on an ugly cast, but it wasn't directed at Juil. "I understand now the true burden she was operating under and I am both frustrated and sad that I could not help her."
"I do not understand most of these emotions." Juil admitted. "They make no sense."
"No, they don't." Violet agreed. "In any biological organism, be in one that was created or one that grew over time, fear and anger are the most prevalent and the easiest to understand. They are survival skills. Something threatens you, get angry to fight or flee."
"Fight or flight, huh." Juil mused for a moment. "That is understandable, but the others…" She trailed off as Violet made a face. "...are harder."
"Yes." Violet heaved a sigh as she stepped away from the console and heaved a sigh. "They can be hard even for those of us who grew up with them. From my earliest memories, I was always fleeing from those who threatened me. That made me very angry, but at the same time, it gave me strength to survive when most of my fellows did not."
"But anger clouds the mind." Juil said to Violet's surprise and the lich smiled. "Esther and I talked a lot about anger. I have quite a bit since she freed me."
"I don't blame you." Violet matched the lich's smile, but then it fell. "Freedom is often no gift. It is much easier to be told to do things. To surrender responsibility to another. I did that for years before my Boss could knock it into my skull that I was supposed to think for myself. To take responsibility for ones own actions is daunting. Are you all right?"
"No." Juil admitted. She marveled that she was suddenly trusting this human soldier, but Violet was persuasive. She was completely open and knew it. Juil's code was monitoring the human's vitals through her suit's telemetry and there was no sign of dishonesty. Trust would likely not happen, but odder things had in Juil's experience. "I wish I had possessed more time. Esther was good to me, to us. We were ready to serve her as we had served the Queens and she refused that. Se said we were free to do our own thing, but I have no idea what that might be." She admitted. "Steel Meridian wants nothing to do with us. They say we will draw the Queen's attention everywhere we go and that is true. We were made to fight, but who? The ones who abused our kind, made the Grineer in the first place are gone."
"Mostly." Violet replied and went stock still as Juil stiffened.
"What do you mean?" The lich demanded.
"There are a few true, High Orokin left." Violet said very quietly and Juil felt her world suddenly start spinning in circles. "There may or may not be one on Earth. At the very least, the tower is still standing and any who try to enter, be they human, Tenno or other, are turned away. Sometimes in pieces."
"The one that Cetus lies in the shadow of." Juil was just as quiet. "Esther warned me to stay away from there."
"Wise." Violet gave herself a shake and then spoke slowly. "There is one other true High Orokin that I know of, but she was made into that against her will." At that, Juil jerked and Violet nodded. "She was supposed to be a slave to another, but he was stopped and she chose not to act like an Orokin. She may in truth be immortal, but she refuses to act as the old overlords. She is kind, gentle even."
"A kind Orokin…" Juil all but hissed that. "That is not possible!"
"Physically, she is High Orokin." Violet disagreed calmly. "Emotionally? Mentally? She was Enginus. Made to serve and heal. I met her before she was transformed and then again after. She seemed the same being to me as impossible as that does sound." She admitted. "Maybe it was a trick, but if so, she fooled everyone. Humans, Tenno and even Sentients call her friend."
"WHAT?" Juil stared at the human in dumbfounded shock.
"I know." Violet shrugged helplessly. "It boggles the mind. But that is true. Scan me if you think I lie." She opened her arms and waited.
"I have been reading your suit telemetry all along." Juil admitted. "I have to be on guard." Violet nodded, not insulted at all. "Either you are controlling your body's responses better than I can detect, are hacking your suits systems cleaner than any human hacker in my own experience, or you truly do believe that madness."
Considering the facts that Juil knew about life under Orokin? Oh yes, that was madness. The high Orokin had only cared for themselves. She had studied a lot under Esther's direction. Even now, the loss hurt.
"Before I met her, I would have called it madness too." Violet lowered her arms. "She convinced me. She is confined to her own tower and it is hidden beyond the sight of any. Inside that tower she is the next best thing to a goddess, but she refuses to act as such. She is kind, gentle and she is running a hospital there."
"That was tried before. At Mercury." Juil said instantly, worry replacing her ire. "It was attacked and destroyed by an ancient Tenno scourge."
"Yes." Violet shook her head. "Iriana-" She broke off as Juil stilled again. "You know that name?"
"I do." Juil snapped.
"And your intentions towards her?" Violet asked very slowly.
"Esther made us all swear. Any who try to harm the Healer will die." Was not the response that Violet was expecting from the lich. She goggled at the hulking clone who growled at her.
"What?" Violet asked, confused. "I have only met her a few times. What do you know of her?"
"Esther told us more but we all knew of Healer Iriana before Esther freed us. Grineer know of Healer Iriana and would give anything at all to see her dead." Juil fought for calm, but it eluded her. "Esther considered her one of the greatest beings in the solar system at the moment. A healer without peer. One who works tirelessly to help those in need. The sick, the hurt, the lost. She spreads hope everywhere she goes."
"Oh." Violet swallowed hard as realization dawned. "The Queen don't like that, do they?"
"Not at all." Juil finally managed to calm herself. "Fear is what keep the humans scattered, separated. Grineer are numerous and powerful, but they cannot match humans for ingenuity and adaptability. They can clone to overcome obstacles, but humans adapt to them. If the humans ever manage to reunite under one banner, Grineer are doomed. It may take centuries, but they are doomed."
"I don't see that." Violet countered, curious now. "Grineer have virtually limitless numbers and mighty weapons. Only Tenno can fight them on equal footing and expect to win."
"Tenno can win battles, true." Juil was fully calm again. "But they cannot win a war with Grineer. There is no way. The cloning facilities are too widely scattered across too many places to destroy. Even when they depopulate a Galleon or force a cloning facility's reactors to overload, the troops can be replaced in minutes and the facilities in hours. No matter how many Tenno wake up and fight, they cannot win against a foe that can infinitely replace itself. They will fight. It is what they do, but they cannot best the Grineer any more than they can best the Technocyte virus. They fought that since before Orokin was founded for goodness sake's and could only beat it back, not defeat it! It is not possible to win against in such a way."
"But…" Violet sounded very small suddenly. "Then how can humans…?" She broke off as Juil reached out with a slow hand and laid it on Violet's shoulder. A massive show of trust and care!
"I don't know." Juil admitted. Violet looked scared, but Juil just patted her shoulder and retracted her hand. "I am limited. I was created for one purpose and one purpose only. To fight. Now, I am far less limited, but I am always going to be less than humans are capable of."
"I don't understand." Violet was all but shaking. "Humans are sneaky and smart, but we are no match for Grineer physically. There is no way I could even hope to fight your kind."
"That is just it, Violet." Juil smiled at the human's shock at the lich saying her name. "Humans were never a physical match for woolly mammoths or for lions or for great white sharks. Why are your kind still around?"
"We…" Violet's face went blank. "We adapt. We learn and adapt."
"We cannot do that." Juil shrugged as Violet stared at her. "If we are designed for it, we can adapt to a certain degree. I developed an immunity to certain kinds of ammunition while I was hunting Esther. But that is physical and built in to my body. I do not know if I can adapt further now. You can. You are adapting right now."
"But…" Violet shook he r head. "I do not understand and I do no think I will. I will need time to think on that, For now? The boy will not be in danger while he is carried. He will not cause problems. We have enough."
"Indeed we do." Juil agreed. "So… What do you suggest, Violet?"
"We need a place to hide. Somewhere that no one would look for us." Violet frowned but then looked at Juil. "I think I know a place but getting there may be hard. I know where we can find information on where to start looking."
"Where?" Juil asked.
"A neutral trading post run by a shady character. I think you will like her." Violet smiled a bit grimly. "But word of advice, don't start anything. Lots of Tenno go through there."
"And if they are hunting Jac Friend of Esther?" Juil asked even as she started for the door and Violet followed.
"Even Tenno know not to start fights in Maroo's Bazaar."