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x Chapter 5 x
Sanctuary

Manmi vaguely recalled falling asleep in a sitting position, but when she woke up she was laying down. She was still on the floor of the concourse, but there was a new addition; someone had draped a blanket over her. She looked up and saw someone standing over her; a tall, hunched figure in bright blue armor with beady yellow eyes.

"Clem?" it asked tilting its head as it looked down at her.

"Uh…" Manmi did not know what to say. Her body tensed under the blanket as she contemplated striking this strange creature or fleeing. It reached for her, holding out a small red item. Manmi tried to back away but was up against the wall. It took her a second to realize that the thing was offering her an apple. Seeing the food, Manmi felt her stomach churn in hunger; she had not had anything to eat since before she was sprung from the Corpus prison.

"Clem?" it said again, leaning forward a bit to stretch its hand closer to her. Manmi reached out and hesitantly took the apple, making sure she was understanding that it was a gift and not some strange custom. It pulled its hand back once she had a hold of it and let her keep it, standing up a bit straighter and tilting its head to the other side. "Clem!"

Manmi was very hungry and chose to risk it. She tugged at the back of her hood and it split open, falling to either side. Dark blue and opalescent hair spread out atop her head and the world lost some of its filters as her bright green eyes beheld the apple without anything between them. She took a big bite and enjoyed the sweet sticky flavor as she chewed it, quickly taking another bite and then another.

"Hey Clem! Darvo's lookin' for ya," a deep voice said. Manmi leaned forward a bit to look around the small lip of the alcove she had slept in and saw a familiar looking Warframe walking her way. It was an Excalibur, dark grey with shades of blue and orange. Manmi recognized an Excalibur; they had been all over the place in the war. She did not recognize this one in particular, but all of the Warframes she had seen since coming to Vesper Relay had been far more colorful and vibrant than the ones she remembered. With the Excalibur was a Warframe she did not recognize at all; a tall and girthy frame with a large round stomach that looked like it had a wicked mouth engraved in it.

"Oh, hi!" the Excalibur said, waving with one hand at Manmi while the other rested on its waist, leaning slightly on one leg in a more relaxed pose, "You new around here? Most Tenno don't sleep on the floor. We usually do it on our ships."

"Uh, yeah, um, I uh… I don't have a ship right now." Manmi said, looking down at the apple core in her hand and the blanket on her lap. She realized that she must have looked completely pathetic.

"Oh really? That's unfortunate," the Excalibur said.

"Obviously," the large Warframe said.

"What happened to it?" the Excalibur asked, "You didn't lose it over Neptune did you?"

"No, down on Venus," Manmi said, "Shot down while trying to escape." She wanted to ask what happened at Neptune but was cut off by Excalibur's follow up question.

"Escape? What? Were you a prisoner or something?"

"Uh, yeah," Manmi said, "I was in a Corpus holding cell, they were trying to train me to fight for them, I think." She was still unclear on what Nef Anyo's plan was, but had yet to have any time to really think on it.

"Huh, that's a new one," the rotund Warframe said, "How'd they even catch ya in the first place?"

"They woke me up from cryostasis," Manmi answered.

"Oh!" the Excalibur said, standing up a little straighter, "Wait, when did you wake up?"

"About nineteen cycles ago?" Manmi said after a moment of thought, "Give or take a few hours?"

Excalibur was quiet after that, and very still. The other Warframe looked from Excalibur to Manmi a couple of times before speaking up, "He was part of the team that was trying to retrieve your cryopod. They were overwhelmed by Corpus forces and had to retreat."

"Oh," Manmi said, a little confused, "But Nef Anyo said that it was Grineer trying to capture me?"

"Grakata?" the one called Clem said, still standing by them all.

"Clem's a Grineer," the Warframe said, "A good one. But none of them were around."

"I'm deeply sorry," the Excalibur said, falling to its knees and prostrating itself on the floor. Manmi felt even more uncomfortable with that; lots of other people in the concourse were taking notice of them. "If there's anything I can do to make it up to you-"

"N-no really, it's alright," Manmi said, her jaw tense as she tried to speak quietly but urgently, "I'm fine and they didn't treat me bad. No harm no foul."

"It's unacceptable to leave one of our own behind," Excalibur said as it stood back up, "We should have held out a little longer for extraction. There has to be something I can do to atone for my failure."

"There really isn't," Manmi said, not sure if suggesting 'try harder next time' would be wry like she intended or insulting, "Unless you've got a spare Warframe and a working Somatic Link? Mine's not working and I don't know where Vauban's at, or if its even still in one piece."

The round Warframe shrugged and shook its head while Excalibur looked down and touched its chin pensively. It nodded after a second and said, "I might be able to help you," he pointed towards the north wing, "Take the elevators down to the lower level and go to the room on the right. Cephalon Simaris is there; tell him you're an aspiring Hunter and Faltiya sent you. He'll give you what you need."

"Oh, really?" Manmi said, looking across the concourse, "Thanks."

"Clem, can you show… er what's your name?"

"Manmi."

"Clem, can you take Manmi with you to the elevators?" Faltiya asked. Clem nodded enthusiastically and grunted in affirmation, quickly gesturing for Manmi to follow as he started to walk away.

"Good luck Manmi," the round Warframe said as it and Excalibur waved and headed off to the west wing. Manmi waved back but followed after Clem, bringing the blanket with her and still nibbling on the apple core; finishing it after climbing the stairs out of the concourse since she did not know where to put it and just held onto the stem in her fingers.

"Clem clem," Clem said, pointing at an energy field after they walked through the portal to the north wing. Manmi looked at it and saw a Warframe walk in and float down through the floor. She figured that was the elevator that Faltiya told her to use.

"Thank you Clem," Manmi said, "And thanks for-" she was holding up the blanket and Clem reached out and took it, folding it up while walking away and grunting some sort of tune that Manmi didn't recognize. She watched him walk away for a moment then turned and entered the elevator, floating down to the level below.

It was easy to find where to go; there was a room with a lot of Warframes walking around and talking loudly and a large hologram of a Cephalon floating above everyone. It was an orange one, and composed of four large quadrilateral shapes with a dozen smaller ones between them. All of the shapes centered around a bright golden light that seemed to peer at her with a paradoxical combination of passive indifference and mild interest.

"Greetings, Tenno, and welcome to Sanctuary." the Cephalon said; his voice booming yet smooth, deafening yet comforting. His form loomed over her; large and imposing, but Manmi did not feel threatened. She felt exposed. Naked. Like an insect being examined by a greater intelligence.

"Manmi." he said, "Tenno of Naramon."

That caught Manmi off guard. She looked up with wide eyes and blinked as she tried to wonder how he knew that.

"Cephalon Suda subsumes, accumulates, categorizes, and collates much information. A significant portion of it is available on the Weave for certain Cephalons to access, should they desire or need. I am one such Cephalon. I have experience working with Tenno and I have found that your kind, from the school of Naramon, make excellent Hunters. When Suda blunders across a specimen that fits those parameters, I investigate. Your arrival without summons is expected of your kind."

Manmi took a deep breath and stood up straighter. Speaking to a Cephalon was easier for her; she did not feel the need to connect or feel as though she was speaking with an equal. She just had to give Simaris the information relevant to the situation. She could remove her feelings from it and not try to interpret or explain herself for him; he was smart enough to know what she meant better than she could.

"I was told to come here by an Excalibur named Faltiya," she said, keeping her voice even and level. She placed her hands behind the small of her back and kept her feet together as she looked up at the bright mote of light that was the center of SImaris's 'eye'. "He told me that you can supply what I need. I require a Warframe and a ship."

"And no doubt a Cephalon to pilot your ship." Simaris said.

"I have a Cephalon for that duty," Manmi said, "Cephalon Amita; she was rescued from the same Corpus facility that I was."

"Indeed," Simaris said, "Very well; I can provide you with the equipment that you need, but I will need your services in exchange."