Networking
The battle had not gone well.
Corpus were many things. They were brainwashed, indoctrinated into the service of their Board and it's all consuming pursuit of profit. Being brainwashed meant that they often had far less flexibility than beings who could and would think for themselves. But as in all things, there were variations.
By nature, most of the beings who reached the rank of Executive in the Corpus were fairly wary souls. They were careful, timid even at times. This was understandable. While Executive had a great deal of power, they also had a great deal of responsibility and the punishments for failure were far, far harsher than the rank and file. If a Crewman or Tech messed up badly enough to be punished, they might face incarceration, fines, procedural physical rehabilitation (a clever euphemism for torture) or -if the situation warranted worse- they might face capital punishment. After all, if a Crewman or Tech lost his or her way, they could be replaced fairly easily. If an Executive messed up badly enough to demand punishment... The Board got involved. And what the Board might demand for punishment often made any physical pain pale in comparison. So it stood to reason that most Executives would toe the line exactly as demanded, not wavering from what their superiors wanted in any way. Safer for all concerned.
Most of the time.
There were some situations in which caution was worse than action. Even the lowest brainwashed Corpus crewman knew this. There were some times when inaction or slow and careful action spelled death. Or worse.
This was one of those times.
The Infestation was a horror nearly beyond imagining. Most of the Corpus had a rudimentary knowledge of the Infested. Some had more. Some wanted more. But... There were problems. First and foremost, the Technocyte Virus was not a simple disease. It acted as a disease on occasion. But it wasn't just a disease. It was more a vector for change. So, many kinds of people in lots of places tried to use the virus for their own ends. It never ended well.
Say what you would about the Corpus, they did have a formidable grasp of technology. While their knowledge base was a pale nothing compared to the glories of the past, the fallen majesty of Orokin, it was quite extensive. So when alarms had gone off for a breach in the quarantine labs of the secret Corpus research facility, the response had been instant and overwhelming. Unfortunately, it had also been utterly useless.
Before anyone had ever possessed a clue what was actually happening, the quarantine had shattered. Corpus proxies were very powerful, and they were numerous. But... something had happened. The controllers lost connection to the robotics. Ospreys, MOAS, even a Jackal. All had gone offline. That would have been bad enough. What happened next was worse.
The message came over every Corpus frequency. Despite frantic attempts to jam it or discover it's source, it played into the receivers of each and every Corpus. The voice was familiar. Most Corpus knew who Alad V was. Most hated him. The message was simple. And horrifying.
"Join us."
It repeated over and over despite many attempts to jam the transmission or shut down the com system. Then the screaming started. The Infested were coming. The Corpus knew they were doomed. But they would fight and if they could just buy their executive enough time...
"Sir?" The tech in charge of the team guarding the power room was tense. Stood to reason. Everyone was.
"This cannot be rushed, Tech." The Executive said quietly as he worked, typing keys at lightspeed as well as using a neural link to input multiple passwords. "If I mess this up, I get locked out and this was all for nothing."
"Yes sir." The tech said with a sigh as he turned back to the hallway. All of the ducts were blocked, some by the simple expedient of blasting them into rubble. No one believed that such measures would stop the Infested. However, considering that the day had started with the Tech being a part of two hundred troops designated to guard the facility and now he was the sole commander left in charge of nine troops, he would take anything he could get.
"Tech?" The Tech turned to his men and nodded. The others were on the edge of breaking down. All of them. One of the Crewmen was praying. A couple of the others were just blank. The horror that they had faced and fought would have broken -had broken- many.
"We have to hold them." The Tech said quietly as he checked his Supra. "We cannot stop them, but we have to hold them long enough for the Executive to set the facility for overload. We can deny them a nest. No more." No one would meet his gaze. They all knew they were dead. They were all probably infected already and had been as soon as quarantine had failed. He jerked as the Executive sighed and retreated from the console, which was now blinking. "Executive?"
"It has started." The Executive hefted his pistol uneasily. "It will take several minutes to build in energy. And if they get in here... They may be able to stop it."
"Sir?" The tech demanded, confused.
"I don't know." The Executive admitted. "Rumors and hearsay. Some of the renegade's minions are smarter than... Holy Profit!" He brought his pistol up and the tech spun to see the Jackal was striding towards them. But... it wasn't the proud Corpus automaton that it had been. It looked wrong. It was the wrong color. Then he realized why. It was covered in organic mass. Ospreys flitted around it. They looked just as wrong. "Keep them out of here!" The Executive screamed as he opened fire. The Cestra bolts hit the Jackal and bounced off.
"You heard the boss!" The tech called to his people as he opened fire. His team did as well. All but one. "Marcus G-12! Shoot!"
"I..." The crewman shook his head. "I... No..." He shook his head again. "No!" He screamed and then his Penta burped. But the grenade did not fly towards the approaching subverted mechs. It landed in the middle of the group, less than a meter from the stunned executive! Before anyone else could even blink, the Executive kicked the glowing metal orb. It flew out into the hallway and exploded, doing no damage. The tech had the errant Crewman in his sights, but the Executive was there.
"Put it down, Marcus G-12." The Executive said quietly, pulling the Penta from the Crewman's nerveless fingers. "Put it down. The rest of you, keep firing." He commanded the others. The Crewman did not resist. The others fired, destroying several Ospreys and driving the Jackal to its knees. All knew it would not stay there.
"I am sorry, Sir!" The crewman was actually crying. "I can't stop it! They are in my head! I can't..."
"I know." The Executive sounded sad now. "I am sorry. Profit numbs the feeling." His Cestra barked and the Crewman fell, a hole in his helmet. His killer rose and turned to face the hallway, his posture angry now. "Blast you madman! You cannot just take our profits, can you? You have to try and take our souls too?"
"Sir..." The tech said quietly as the Executive took cover near the door to the room.
"It has been many years since I used a pistol, Tech." The Corpus boss said quietly. "But I haven't forgotten how." He nodded to the Jackal. "When it gets up, focus fire on its right front leg, That will bring it down again. When that happens, pour everything we have at its body. We can't kill it. We can slow it." At the tech's curious look, the Executive shrugged. "I studied proxy weaknesses, trying to find ways to overcome them. That design is flawed in some ways, but normally perfectly functional."
"Too bad the Infested got hold of it." The Tech grunted and the Executive nodded. "Did the message go out?"
"Yeah." The Executive said softly. "They will stay away now. I added the roster. Everyone's next of kin will know."
"Thank you for that." The tech let his mind wander for just a moment, thinking of his wife and child. But then a sound of tortured metal came from the Jackal. "You heard the Executive! Right front leg! Fire!"
The fire from six Deras, a Tetra, a bootleg Braton that someone had hoarded and a Cestra joined the Tech's Supra. All of the bolts hit the leg of the machine. It turned and the tech swallowed as metal flanges opened on its forward shoulders. He had a bare moment to pray and then the world lit up.
Something pulled him back to pain. Everything was wrong. He was wrong. He felt wrong. It was...
Metal screamed nearby and his gaze was pulled to the hallway where... two dark forms were surging against the Infested Jackal. One was tall, one was short. Both held blades. Tenno!
What the? He tried to speak and could not.
Don't try to move. The words were calm, clear and precise. And they were inside his head! You are badly hurt. He couldn't tell where the words were coming from. I am not there, Tech Julian H-67. Look to your left. He did and something inside him quailed as he saw another Tenno. This one was kneeling beside him. Behind... it... he could see pieces. A hand, still holding a Cestra. A helmet. A boot. None connected to the bodies they had been part of. The voice came again as the Tenno slowly bent down to touch his cheek. Hello.
Tenno do not talk. Tech Julian H-67 said softly. I am going mad.
No, you are not. The other's voice was gentle. You are changing.
Knew I was dead as soon as quarantine broke. Infested or Corpus clean up teams. Same difference. Julian H-67 said sadly. But... The bomb!
Still ticking. The gentle voice said. We have five minutes. You fought well.
No way to win. Julian H-67 sighed and relaxed. What happened to me?
You were caught in the blast. Why was the Tenno gathering him up? Holding him as he shuddered? You are the only one who survived in any way. And you are Infested.
Kill me then. Julian said sadly. Can't go back.
No. The Tenno was still that odd gentle. But you do not have to die. I can help you adjust. Care for you. It is what my duty entails. To care for those who are Unclean, but not lost.
I don't understand. Julian H-67 said slowly.
It will always be your choice. Live or die. The Tenno replied as she rose to her feet. If you die, your biomass will be absorbed by feral infested and used by them. Even with the bomb, they will return and use any biomass they can find. If you live, you can never go back to what you were before.
I... Julian swallowed hard and froze as something whipped past his face. It... looked like his hand, but... wrong. I can't live like this. Kill me.
Is that what you choose? The other asked, still gentle.
Yes. Julian H-67 said softly.
You did well, Julian H-67. The Tenno's tone was sad now as she laid him back down. An odd three bladed saw appeared in her hand. Rest now.
Jasmina, Caretaker of the Unclean, rose from her grisly business and turned to scrutinize the battle. She had faced Jackals before, but never this kind of odd mish mash of Corpus tech and Infested flesh. Alad V had been melding Corpus tech with flesh to make his monstrosities, but this was the first time she had seen a Jackal fall prey to such. And she had to admit, the pair assaulting it was unlikely.
The tiny Nyx warframe was known to her. Ona was one of Nikis's students, a product of Orokin genetic manipulation during the war with the Sentients. She was half Jasmina's size, but she wielded her Skana expertly. The bolto pistol she had slung across her back seemed incongruous, but it was better than her companion.
Jasmina had met the shrouded warframe who called himself Draco before. But this was not the remote and forbidding bodyguard she had met on Avalon. Going there had been rough, but she admitted, she was better for facing her demons. But it wasn't the fact that she couldn't see what warframe he wore that had her freezing in place.
Those blades... The mind of her partner Elenia was as stunned as Jasmina herself. Those... can't be...
Every Tenno, be they warrior or not, knew blades. Every Tenno knew a great deal about blades. How to use them, how to maintain them, how to counter most forms of attack with them. And every Tenno knew some of the history of the blade in Tenno culture. It was part and parcel to what Tenno were. Masters of Blade and Gun. Some, like Elenia and Nikis, preferred to use firearms, but all knew the basics. The blades that Draco was wielding, parrying attacks and striking with such speed and grace that Jasmina could only whistle in awe, were known to her. Just as they would be known to every Tenno who saw them.
'Honor' and 'Duty'. Dust's mind was -if anything- even more stunned.
Then, as if he was aware of the scrutiny or had simply tired of the combat, Draco lashed out with both blades. Ona struck as well, her diminutive form hiding strength far beyond human norms. Jasmina fought back another whistle as one of the Jackals legs simply flew off. Another hung by a few artificial tendons, obviously useless. Ona's strike, obviously by plan rather than accident, bit deep into the machine's hull. Directly over where the CPU was housed. He had dropped it exactly where she could reach to kill it with one blow! Talk about teamwork!
Lets... not fight this guy. Dust said quickly as Jasmina stared. Ever. Wouldn't be pretty.
No. Jasmina agreed as she stepped forward. She spoke evenly. There were no living enemies anywhere nearby. "We have three minutes until the bomb goes off. Why are you here?"
"Looking for you." Draco replied. Jasmina stiffened and Draco nodded. "I come in peace." He swung both blades in an ancient gesture designed to clean blood from them, then they were back in the saya at his hip. Nothing flashy. Nothing showy. He was a lot like Nikis in that regard. He had done it for so long he made it look effortless when it wasn't. "Will you trust our ship if I give my word you will take no harm?"
What the hell? Dust asked for the entire mass mind. He doesn't need to ask. He could easily force you. The he paused and scoffed at himself. No, actually he couldn't. Not with 'Honor' and 'Duty' in his hands.
"You bear the past." Jasmina nodded to the swords. "They accept you?" Draco shrugged.
"It has been a long time, but yes." The shrouded warframe said quietly. Ona did not speak. That was odd to Jasmina.
"We should go." Jasmina started off at a run and the others kept up with her easily. "I will ride with you. If just to find out where you found those." She jerked her head to the swords.
"They found me." Draco replied calmly. That cryptic statement puzzled Jasmina as they ran through the destroyed Corpus facility.
They made it to the airlocks with a minute to spare and cycled through. Jasmina had already called off her own ride. They would remain close in case she needed an extraction, but somehow, she doubted she would. The interior of the Liset seemed extra crowded with three in it, but Ona moved up to the cockpit without a word. Jasmina stared after her and then turned her full attention to the shrouded warframe.
"Why me?" Jasmina asked.
"Because I needed to talk to a Caretaker." Draco knelt slowly into seiza. But his hands were steady in his lap. "And you were the only one that anyone had any kind of trace on." Jasmina shook her head a bit ruefully. "You did no wrong, sister."
"I still fall back on old habits at times." Jasmina retorted. "Warning the Lotus about the Infestation outbreak there seemed the right thing to do." She sighed.
"Why wouldn't it be?" Draco asked reasonably. Jasmina looked at him and he shrugged. "Nikis told me nothing about your quarrel with the others except that your mate died." He paused and bowed his head. "You have my condolences."
"Thanks." Jasmina slowly knelt into seiza as well. "Our trust has been abused." She ignored the pokes from various parts of the mass mind with the skill of long practice. They did not like her fixating on her hatred.
"I have not done so and I will not." Draco said calmly. Then he snorted. "If I did? The swords would correct me. And not so gently."
"They really do that?" Jasmina asked and then froze as another mind spoke.
We have our purpose just as you have yours, Tenno Jasmina. Jasmina swallowed hard and bowed her head. Be at ease, Tenno. Our wielder is an honorable being. Any who would try to make him act otherwise will learn to regret it.
"I... believe they would." Jasmina said with a sigh. "My anger is strong. My hate is strong. I scare my family with it." Draco nodded.
"In the end, we are the sum of our experiences, Sister." The shrouded Tenno said in a voice that was not unkind. "Yours have been bad. Mine?" He shrugged. "I crossed the line when my former protectee was taken. I hurt innocents. I did penance for that. I thought about what I did and why. In the end? I am stronger for it."
"So, why do you need a Caretaker?" Jasmina asked after a moment. He did understand. That was clear. He knew hate. He knew rage. He knew.
"Because Jesse is in danger and we cannot find the answers." Jasmina stiffened at his words and the shrouded Tenno continued. "She is in stasis, for now. And we were told that no human, Tenno or Cyberlancer could find the answer."
"Maybe an Infested can."