Questions

Jesse was fascinated, but knew not to do anything but sit where she had been told to sit. The clan had been dead set against her using a portal to travel to the tower where Iriana and Lisa worked. There was no emergency to summon Iriana and no one sane wanted Lisa anywhere that she could be put in danger. Just the thought of what the grandfather of the child Lisa was bearing might do if harm came to her had everyone treating the girl very carefully. Nikis was not one to cross at the best of times. So... Jesse was taking alternate transportation. Slower than a portal, but far harder to trace.

She had heard of Tenno Liset assault craft of course. Even when she had been a member of the Corpus Clergy, a med tech and student, she had heard of the tiny Tenno spacecraft. Small, fast and almost totally invisible to any form of sensor known, each was supposedly a relic of Orokin. A fragment of the long vanished civilization that had risen to such great heights and then fallen. She wasn't sure about that. This ship looked far too new to be hundreds of years old. Perhaps some form of ultra high tech maintenance system?

She did not move. She kept her hands to herself when she wanted to be stretching out, touching things. The floor was not very comfortable, but the ship had no frills whatsoever. It was designed for one purpose and one purpose only. To carry a Tenno into battle and away from said battle afterwards. She could see a distinct separation though. This part of the ship was different. She had been taken up to the control area and the view had been spectacular. But then she had asked for a spot to be out of the way, so here she sat, ensconced between some kind of genetic foundry and an odd device she was sure had something to do with modifying...something. She wasn't sure what. A quick look had shown her controls marked 'Fusion' and 'Transmute'. She was kind of afraid to ask. And...

"Really, Jesse." Raven's voice was wry and Jesse's eyes were pulled to where her sponsor sat across from her. "How long are you going to stay quiet?" She asked and Jesse flushed.

"I do not want to be a bother." Jesse said with a quiet firmness. Raven just shook her head. "I don't."

"Jesse, no one minds answering your questions." Raven said with a sigh as she looked to the side. "Draco?" The bodyguard stood by one wall, between what had to be an arsenal and the genetic foundry. He did not reply. "Sheesh, you are as bad as she is."

"His job is to keep me safe." Jesse said with a frown. "He made sure I knew how to use the safety features of the suit."

She touched the sleeve that conformed to her skin and tried not to sigh. It felt... okay to her touch, if odd to her code. She knew it was because it was mostly tech inert. Very little to break. A form fitting body covering, it would double as a vacuum suit for a time and provided limited shields as well. Not a warframe, but then again, Jesse was not a Warrior and had no desire to be one. Raven wore a similar suit. Jesse knew Raven had worn a warframe, but did not now. She had not asked the particulars.

"Jesse, I can tell you are bubbling with questions." Raven shrugged expansively. "Better let some out before you do yourself an injury holding them all in."

"I don't want to be a bother." Jesse repeated. Raven stared at her and then threw her hands in the air, muttering. "Besides, I heard all kinds of horror stories about what happens when people get distracted in space."

"I do not get distracted." The voice of the intelligence running the ship spoke up and Jesse smiled as Riana's hologram appeared in the middle of the floor. The AI was smiling. "If you have questions, Jesse, ask."

Jesse stilled as the ramp down from the control area lowered and Olim stepped down to nod to her. It had been a foregone conclusion who would carry Jesse to the Tower.

"By all means, Jesse." Olim said with a shrug. "Ask."

"Okay, first of all, this ship is not centuries old." Jesse said with a sigh as she looked around. Olim and Raven both shook their heads as Riana beamed. "You were waiting for me to figure it out?"

"Technically, it is." Riana replied. "But it was refurbished. "Gone over completely and given a new coat of paint when it was assigned to Olim."

"A little more than that, Riana." Olim said with a snort. Jesse looked at the Frost Prime and Olim sighed. "I made a bunch of messes before I remembered I was a Cyberlancer." Jesse stared at him and he nodded. "I worked alone. People did not want to work with me."

"I... can't see that." Jesse said weakly.

"People change, Jesse." Olim agreed. "I am not who I was. Be glad. You wouldn't have liked me." He went still as Raven rose from her sitting position and then he recoiled as she reached out and slapped his armored hand, hard. "Hey!"

"I promised Mori that every time you started the self pity around me, I would slap you." Raven said firmly as Jesse fought to keep from laughing. "Not your fault. So put a cork in it." She sat back down.

"Geez..." Olim gave a long suffering sigh. "Even when she is not around, she bullies me. Figures."

"Well, duh." Riana replied as a snicker escaped Jesse's tight control. "She takes her duties seriously. And she is back." Olim shrank back, obviously in humor instead of actual fear and Riana smiled evilly. "She will meet us at the tower."

"Joy." Olim replied with a sigh. Then he shook himself. "Jesse, you have questions. Go ahead. We have time, if not an unlimited amount."

"I... Okay." Jesse set herself and focused. "The major question I have is this. Did all Cyberlancers get AI companions or just the Grandmaster?" This was to Riana as much as Olim and the two unlikely siblings looked at one another.

"It... was known to happen." Olim replied a bit uneasily. "I would hope that whatever path you take is slightly less painful than my own was."

"Not a merging." Jesse mused and both the Frost Prime and the holographic AI shook their heads in unison. "Good." The visible faces smiled at Jesse's fervent thankfulness.

"We are partners, Jesse." Riana said with a smile. "Not merged. Which is for the best. I cannot imagine the trouble Olim would get into if he had to try and figure me out from the inside."

"Yeah." Olim groused to snickers from Raven and Jesse. "I have enough trouble figuring her out from the outside."

"Well, good." Riana smirked as he groaned. "I do not want to be predictable."

"No trouble with that." Olim muttered, not quite to under his breath. Riana made a rude gesture at him and Olim sighed. He shook his head and focused on Jesse. "So, Jesse. What do you think?"

"I never thought to see a Tenno ship. Especially from this point of view." Jesse said as she looked around, her wonder not dimmed yet. "The inside is bigger than I expected."

"We could do most of this in virtual environments." Olim agreed. "But having space to move, even limited, is a good thing when we are stuck in these for long periods of time. Even Tenno mental disciplines have their limits."

"Everything does." Jesse agreed. "So yes, Questions. The ship is a both base of operations and an assault craft?"

"Technically, the Liset has two parts." Olim replied as he squatted on his heels. His fist went to the floor and cold surrounded it for a moment, making the air crack with suddenly condensed moisture. "The assault pod and the orbiter that you are sitting in." He shrugged. "Not going to assault anything today. I hope."

"Me too." Jesse agreed. "How long to the Tower?"

"Another four hours." Olim replied. Jesse made a face and Olim chuckled. "If you start saying 'Are we there yet?' I will have to do something horrid to you." Draco made a noise and Olim shrugged. "Fine, I will make Draco do something horrid to you."

"Let's not have that." Jesse said quickly. "And no, I won't ask that." She took a deep breath. "Okay, I was told about the drives but nothing in detail. If the reactionless drive uses only energy to provide thrust, how does the ship manage to counter what has to be insane amounts of inertia and keep us -the passengers- from becoming greasy smears on the walls?"

"You have such a way with words, Jesse." Raven complained as Riana looked thoughtful. "I did not need that image."

"True though." Jesse pressed and Riana nodded.

"Artificial gravity has any number of uses, Jesse." Riana replied. "Not the least of which is to counter the effects of acceleration. Did you study any of the theory?"

"Some." Jesse said a bit dubiously. "It didn't make a great deal of sense to me. The math is fairly elegant, but the actual theory is not quite so clean."

"No." Riana agreed. "No it isn't. But as long as you know the theory, we can start from there. Gravity is a constant unseen force..."

Jesse smiled a she focused on the AI's words. It took her mind off of what would likely come at the Tower. She doubted it would be so pleasant.

The Tower

Jesse hadn't known what to expect. She had been in the tower before, but she had been weak and sick and then running to try and save young lives. She had seen a room, a set of ducts and an airlock. This was very different. Raven and Draco stood by her side. Olim and Riana had missions to run, but promised to keep tabs on her. The Saryn that had strode up to him hadn't spoken, the pair had just entered the airlock and left. Jesse did not feel slighted. He had work to do.

But the place she, Raven and Draco now stood in was gorgeous. It felt old and... oddly peaceful. She had heard of Orokin of course, and she had spent a great deal of time in virtual environments that mimicked it, but this was the first time she knew of that she had actually been fully cognizant while entering an Orokin facility. It was... calming. She felt calm. Calmer anyway.

Part of that was the greeting party. Jesse would have bowed to the Healer, but Iriana was having none of it.

"How you doing, Jesse?" Iriana asked as she pulled the younger Tenno into a hug that Jesse returned gratefully. Lisa smiled at Jesse's expression.

"Ups and downs." Jesse said with a sigh as she released Iriana and stepped back. "I need to talk to you about a couple of things."

"So the message we received said." Iriana frowned slightly. "But it was vague."

"There is a reason." Jesse grimaced and nodded to Raven and Draco. "They did the genetic scan on me." Iriana paled but Jesse reassured her. "I am okay. But it was weird. It didn't do what it was supposed to."

"They got the scans." Raven said hurriedly when Iriana flinched. The healer relaxed. "But something happened afterward."

"Something?" Iriana queried.

"There was an AI in the scanner." Jesse said softly. Iriana and Lisa both froze in place and Jesse bowed her head. "The scan did not hurt. It was supposed to hurt. When it didn't, the clan started disassembling the scanner. Looking for an answer. When they did... The AI self destructed." Iriana's hand shot to her mouth and Jesse nodded. "I felt it die."

"Oh, Jesse." Iriana pulled Jesse close and again and held her tight. "I am sorry."

"It hurts, Iriana." Jesse said weakly as the Healer held her. "It is going to hurt, but I have to go on."

"So the reason you are here..." The Healer hugged Jesse once more and let her go.

"You worked on such a scanner." Jesse said calmly. "Do you have one here?" Iriana looked at her and shook her head. "Any idea why?"

"No." Iriana mused. Then she shook herself. "Come. This is not a good place to be standing and talking. We have emergency cases coming in fairly regularly." She started off and Jesse followed. The young Cyberlancer noticed that Lisa seemed subdued, but the young human smiled as Jesse looked at her.

"How are things going here?" Jesse asked as Raven and Draco followed a few steps behind. "I didn't see much of the place the last time." Iriana scoffed and Jesse smiled. "No running away this time."

"Good." The Healer replied with a matching smile. "We have had some problems. A few integration issues. " Jesse looked at her and Iriana sighed. "Some of our patients think this is heaven and don't want to leave." Jesse's felt her eyes go huge and Iriana nodded. "I am most certainly not an angel."

"Could have fooled me." Raven said in a soft voice. Iriana glanced at her and Raven smiled, but did not speak again.

"Yeah, well, it can be a real pain at times." Iriana wasn't complaining. Not really. Her heart wasn't in it. "Especially the littlest ones."

"But they cannot stay." Jesse said softly. Iriana shook her head. "It's not safe for them."

"This place was originally designed as a sanctuary of sorts." Iriana said sadly. "But things changed. Now? It is a base of operations. The hospital is merely a small fraction of the Tower." The Healer led the way into a small conference room. Half a dozen chair surrounded a small table. Iriana selected one and sat down with a grunt. "Sorry. It's been a long day."

"Healer. You put more hours in than anyone else I know." Jesse said mildly as she sat in another chair nearby. Raven sat beside her. Draco moved to one wall and Lisa... stayed by the door. Odd. Jesse glanced at the human and then focused on the Healer. "When you worked the scanner at the colony were you ever given the idea that an AI might have been inside?"

"No." Iriana said after a moment's thought. "I was trained in operating it of course. The only time it acted odd was when Serene threw herself into the beam." She sighed. "I didn't know Serene at the time, of course. But having a stark naked Warrior run in and then throw herself between the emitter and her daughter was shocking to say the least."

"Can you request a records check from the colony?" Jesse asked calmly. Iriana looked at her and Jesse frowned. "I have a hypothesis, but no information to prove or disprove said hypothesis. I was told that there are more AIs." Iriana went still, Lisa likewise. "I was also told that they would all react the same way if discovery was imminent." Lisa hissed and Jesse nodded. "They will kill themselves. I won't let that happen again."

"What do you need?" Iriana asked, her face pale. Jesse nodded and pulled out small datapad. A touch fo code had it flashing far faster than even normal Tenno could read. But she was no normal Tenno. She could read it just fine.

"I need the specs for the scanners." Jesse said after a moment perusing the pad. "The one that Karl's clan had was refurbished after Mei was found. She wanted to help and she did."

"Mei." Iriana swallowed. "Karl's people...?" Jesse shook her head and the Healer sighed. "They have cause to hate, but she was a victim too."

"I agree." Jesse said with a frown. "She doesn't know I am going to ask this, but I will. Do you have space for a trained medic?"

"Going behind her back won't endear you to her." Iriana warned. Jesse nodded.

"She is as proud and stubborn as any Tenno I know." Jesse shrugged. "She will do her best, she cannot do anything less. But Karen and Miguel are not going to give her any chance. So, I am looking into options to give her."

"She wants to stay with Karl." Iriana protested. "I did the psyche eval on her. She is remarkably well adjusted for someone who was killed and woke up in the body of her killer." She shivered a little. "Then again, she has had time to adjust."

"She has some off moments." Raven said with a shrug of her own. Everyone looked at her and the Elder smiled. "She is mortal. Fallible. Just as we all are." Then she smiled. 'But she doesn't have Alicia's temper."

"Thank god." Iriana and Lisa chorused. They looked at each other and chuckled. Iriana took a deep breath and spoke again. "What do you need, Jesse?"

"I need to know who delivered the scanner to the colony and if possible, where it came from." Jesse said quietly. "What few records the clan had... don't seem to make a lot of sense."

"What did you discover?" Iriana asked, concerned.

"It was during the war, so the records are sporadic, but Mei checked her logs. The ones she kept before..." Jesse trailed off, not wanting to give offense. Iriana nodded. "The scanner was delivered by Grandmaster Nikis."

"Nikis?" The shock in Iriana's voice was palpable.

"I know." Jesse said quietly. "If there is anyone I have met who is less medically minded, I do not know who it might be. But Grandmaster Nikis has disappeared."

"He is resting." An unexpected voice sounded and all eyes turned to Lisa who sat, stiff and pale. "He was so very tired. We are helping him rest and recuperate."

"For how long?" Jesse asked slowly.

"We do not know." Lisa said sadly. "He needed the rest. Needs the rest."

"Why now?" Jesse asked into the sudden silence that followed Lisa's words. "Why rest now? Just after we discover an AI in a scanner he personally delivered to a Tenno dojo?" Lisa would not meet her eyes and Jesse slumped a bit. "This is no coincidence, is it?"

"No. It is not."