What evil?
Draco, Ona and Jasmina materialized in an empty room. It was fairly large and its purpose was clear with just a glance. It was a medical clinic. But it was empty. No one at all. Draco looked at the others and shook his head slowly. He moved to one wall and Jasmina moved to another. Ona nodded and moved to a bank of machinery nearby. She started tapping controls. Draco moved along the wall and Jasmina mirrored him. Neither Tenno had weapons in hand but both had hands on weapons. No enemies presented themselves, but neither lowered their guard. Jasmina moved to the single door and glanced outside. Draco waved a question to her and she shook her head. Nothing. Draco stared at her and then shook his head. Something was very wrong here.
Nothing at all? Draco asked mentally. Jasmina shook her head again the tiny Nyx did not respond. Draco turned her but she was focused completely on the machinery. He focused his mind and sent another message to Jasmina. This is not right, is it?
No. The Caretaker replied slowly. These are the right coordinates. This is a medical clinic. Where is everybody? There should be someone here. Staff, patients, someone. Every medical clinic I've seen… She trailed off as Draco waved at something nearby. What?
Instead of answering, Draco pointed to the table nearby. On it, a datapad lay. It was still active. Draco moved to the table and examined it. It was a medical text of some kind. He did not know what kind. He turned to the Caretaker and shook his head.
We are too late. The bodyguard sounded resigned. He turned to where Ona was still working. But the tiny Nyx did not acknowledge him. He shook his head and turned back to the Caretaker. Whoever was here took him already. Do we have any sensors in this area we can trust?
Not that I know of. Jasmina sighed.
"Internal sensors are offline." Ona reported. "There were several anomalous energy discharges and then everything seems to have turned off. Slick." She shook her head and turned to the table where the datapad lay. The scanner appeared in her hand and started to whirr. "How would they moved him? Humans are fragile. Portals tend to do damage unless the person is protected." She nodded a bit. "Energy discharge residue here. Readings are consistent with a paralysis beam. You were right." She said to Jasmina. "They wanted him alive. But for what?"
"I don't think we will like the answer to that." Jasmina said with a scowl in her voice. "Can we track the residue?"
"Probably." The diminutive Nyx said quietly. "But if we head out into the colony, we're going to attract attention."
Draco nodded and his hand that was not on the longer sword's handle dipped to his waist. He tossed a small object to Jasmina and another to Ona. Then his form wavered and where a shrouded warframe had stood a dark haired human man in a nondescript bodysuit now stood. He smiled at them as a skintight helmet covered his head down to his mouth..
"Bodyguards learn all kinds of tricks to protect people." Draco moved to the door. "You should be able to access the holo disguise interface with your neural connections. Give them a try."
Jasmina stared at the tiny device. Then her form wavered and a woman with fiery red hair appeared in her place. She wore the same kind of bodysuit Draco did. She shook her head as it was covered as Draco's was.
"How good are these and how long will they last?" The Caretaker stared down at herself and gave herself a shake. Her body moved as it should. "These are sneaky."
"If you're not cheating, you're not trying hard enough." Draco said with a grim look. "I would prefer you don't tell anybody about these. I like my secrets to stay secret. As for how long? They run off your warframe power supplies. The drain is negligible. With a basic level of power, the disguises will last for at least eight hours." He and Jasmina turned to the other Tenno who was eyeing the device. "Problem?"
"Will this make me look like a child?" Ona asked. Draco shook his head and Ona stared at him. "How?" He just looked at her, his face blank. The tiny Nyx sighed and then her form wavered. In moments, a small human female appeared where the tiny Nyx had been. Not a child, a small adult. She had dark skin and hair. Again, the suit covered her head, leaving her mouth free. She stared down at herself and then that the others. "I don't feel any different." Then she smiled. "Duh. It's an illusion."
"Right." Draco agreed. "Let's try not to make a mess, but we do need to find out what's going on here. Weapons tight and try to let me do the talking if we have to."
"Can you track the energy?" Jasmina asked as she moved to the door again. Ona nodded but then paused.
"My scanner is a Tenno design." Ona frowned. "It's unlikely they will have seen anything like it."
"We are investigating odd energy readings." Draco shrugged. "Stands to reason that we would have gear specialized for such. Let's go."
The trio moved in concert to the door, Ona with her scanner in hand. Outside of the clinic, the streets of the colony were busy. It wasn't a large colony, but they had arrived during a shift change. Their bodysuits fit in, everyone wore similar garb. No one paid them any mind even when Ona's scanner beeped and she led the way down a side tunnel.
The colony was built into the rock of the planet. Which stood to reason. Even Orokin shielding would have had trouble keeping a colony full of humans safe on the surface of the planet. Avalon was a once off. The former getaway for the Orokin emperors was protected by insanely powerful shields, but more than half of its power accumulation was devoted to simply keeping said shields powered. If they failed, even for a second, everyone on the hideaway station would die. No one but the Orokin emperor could have afforded such shielding. For normal people, building a colony in the depths of the rock of the planet made far more sense. It was far easier and less expensive to maintain life support in such a place.
Ona had an eye on her scanner as she walked. Draco and Jasmina watched the area. No one bothered them.
"There!" Ona cried as a small conveyance drone appeared ahead of them. On it, a large crate was laid. She bit back a scream as a small device rose from the crate and turned towards them. Both of the other warriors had weapons in hand as the Sentient drone turned to face them.
"Keep anyone who might investigate away!" Draco commanded as he stepped forward, a Braton rifle appearing in his hands. Ona nodded and turned back the way they had come. They were in a small tunnel, far away from the main colony. But that did not mean it was untraveled. And any humans coming along would be in terrible danger. "Hold!" He commanded and the conveyance stopped. "Surrender your prisoner!" The drone did not respond and Draco's visible face scowled.
"Looks like we do it the hard way." Jasmina said with a sigh as her rife appeared in her hand. The Synapse bio-rifle crackled with energy as she powered it up. She dodged to the side as a beam of energy flew from the drone. It missed her. Draco's quick burst of return fire did not miss and the drone exploded into fragments. "We need to hurry!" Jasmina said as she stepped towards the transportation drone. "Those shots will bring people!"
"Maybe." Draco said with another scowl as he covered her. "Then again... if they hear shots, what will they assume?" Jasmina paused and then nodded.
"They will assume someone is attacking them and either fort up or run like hell." The Caretaker said with a sigh. "When nothing happens, they will investigate. We need to be gone by then."
"Don't touch that!" Ona exclaimed as Jasmina held out a hand. Jasmina jerked it back as the disguised tiny Nyx pushed past her. "If it is Sentient tech, it is very dangerous. Both to humans and to us."
"If he is in there, we cannot just leave..." Jasmina started to say and then broke off as the crate...opened. What met the Tenno's eyes was horror.
It was a young human male. He was folded up inside the crate which wasn't quite large enough for him. Tubes ran from the sides of the crate into his body in various places. A mask covered his nose and mouth and his eyes were shut. Easy to see, since a dingy gray beam of energy was just finishing evaporating his bodysuit. A tendril was extending from the end towards his head and it held a large bowl shaped object.
"Don't let that touch him!" Ona snapped. "That is an enthrallment device!" Quick as thought, Draco lashed out with one of the swords at his waist. The tendril parted easily and an eerie screech sounded as the machine fell to the bottom of the crate. She stepped closer, her scanner whirring.
"Well?" Jasmina asked after a few moments. Ona's mouth was set in a grim line as she turned back to the others.
"I don't know." Ona replied, her tone angry. "Definitely Sentient bio-tech but... odd." She shook her head. "They have begun the enslavement process." She slumped a bit. "I don't know of any way to stop it. Jasmina?" She nearly begged. The Caretaker looked at her and Ona stiffened. "What?"
"I just consulted the mass mind. That device..." Jasmina indicated the bowl shaped object with the muzzle of her rifle. Her voice...was odd. "...is not in any databanks we have access to." Draco stiffened at her tone. "We have been allowed access to far more than we had before. Ona." She said slowly. "How did you know what it was?"
"It looks like various Sentient devices..." The disguised Nyx trailed off as Jasmina shook her head.
"No, it doesn't." Jasmina retorted evenly. But her rifle's aim point...shifted a bit. "How did you know?" Ona stared at her and then slumped a bit. "We trusted you." Now Draco was aiming at the tiny Nyx as well.
"If you believe nothing else we have said..." Ona said quietly, not moving. "Please believe this. We are not enemies of the Tenno." Before either of the others could react, she reached out and touched the crate. It -and she- vanished in a haze of dingy grey light.
"What the hell?" Draco and Jasmina both exclaimed as one. Then both went still as the sounds of humans in the distance came to them. Investigating the gunshots. Without a word, both started off, deeper into the tunnels. Well, without an audible word.
I knew we couldn't trust them! Draco fumed in his mind. We need to get back to the Citadel. Now. Jasmina shook her head.
Something else is going on here. The Caretaker replied. And I do not know if I would be welcome there.
No one will dare. Draco replied, his anger a cold and dangerous thing. You are with me. But we will need a ride to the Tower. I can get us to the Citadel from the Tower.
They knew. Jasmina said slowly. They knew what was happening. I bet they were far more involved than she said.
For now, let's just get out of... aw frack! Draco and Jasmina came to a sudden halt as the tunnel ahead of them erupted in light. A dozen hulking forms appeared behind the lights. Grineer.
"Bases! Surrender and take your rightful places in servitude!" An amplified voice sounded. "For the Queens!"
Draco and Jasmina looked at one another and then without a word, they both dropped their camouflage. The Grineer had a bare moment to gawk as the two incandescently furious Tenno charged and started to take out some of their frustration.
This was not a good day to be Grineer.
The Citadel
Raven was tired. But she was sitting in vigil. Jesse's pod was closed up tight and the girl slept peacefully. The Elder ran a hand over it for a moment, her heart sad. Jesse was so good. Bright, always trying to be cheerful, young but not innocent and-
She never heard the small form that came up behind her and activated a small device. It froze her in place. The form -it was an Excalibur in small- held up five fingers and three other forms appeared. All were warframes in miniature. One of then -a tiny Trinity- scanned Raven and then the pod. She nodded to the others. A tiny Ash laid something on the pod that Jesse lay in. In moments, a dingy gray haze enveloped the sleeping Cyberlancer. Then she was gone. He tapped the device again and another form appeared where Jesse had been. In form, it was the Cyberlancer. None of the scanners surrounding the pod reacted at all.
The tiny team of Tenno retreated as swiftly as silently as they had arrived. The Trinity was the last one to leave. Her posture was resigned as she touched Raven's shoulder before retreating. Raven jerked and stared around, but nothing was out of place.
"I must be more tired than I thought." Raven said with sigh. "Ah, Jesse. I better meditate. I get the feeling this is going to stress both of us."
Prophetic that.
Elsewhere
Jesse roused. Something was wrong! She was... it was...
"Easy Jesse." The young Cyberlancer did not know the voice. She tried to call code and it would not answer her. "Easy." The other crooned. "Just relax. We are almost done." A jerk inside her had Jesse flinching and then she recoiled into her mind as energy burrowed into her mind.
"No!" Jesse screamed as she closed her mind up tight around the code she had gathered from the machine in Nikis' quarters. But then something smashed through her outer barriers as if they did not exist, tweaked her mind and she was falling. So slowly.
"Damn." Ona said as she worked feverishly, trying to extract the Sentient code from the Cyberlancer's own. "Can we cover that up?"
"I don't think so, Ona." The tiny Trinity was monitoring Jesse's vitals as the diminutive Nyx worked. Her voice was sick now. "If we wipe that from her memory, it will leave traces that our kin can detect. They are going to look. They will figure it out."
-We can aid- The voice of the Sentient machine came to both of them and Ona snarled at it.
"Shut up! You have done enough!" The Nyx was not happy. Not at all. "If you had simply followed the program... But no. You had to put out feelers, keep your scanners under your own control. Moron. As soon as that old scanner came online, you demanded it follow its original function. Had to replace it when it was found out. You may have doomed this poor sister as much as you doomed that human!"
-Neither is lost, Tenno- The voice of the machine was calm. Irritatingly so. -We do as we were programmed.-
"Sure you do." Ona snapped and turned to a tiny Vauban warframe. "Can you shut it up?"
-Tenno, we are designed to assist!- The machine begged as the Vauban moved to a console. It's voice trailed off into a hiss of static and all of the small warframes relaxed, just a little.
"And we cannot trust anything that it does." Ona retorted into the silence. "Nikis commanded it. Nikis had the codes. We don't. All we have are hardwired overrides, which it will find a way around eventually." She paused and then sighed. "Damn it, girl! What the hell did you do?" She slumped back away from Where Jesse lay and shook her head. "She bound it up tight in her own code. I can't get it out without doing irreparable damage."
"And we can't kill that thing with Jesse bound to it because that will kill her as well." A tiny Frost said slowly and the others around them looked at each other. "Damn." He echoed Ona.
"Why don't we ask her help?" The Trinity asked into the silence. "She isn't stupid."
"She is bound by her code as surely as any of our kin are." Ona said with a sigh. "To help AIs." She gently stroked Jesse's brow. "Even that monstrous thing that we helped make."
"Then we explain it all." The Frost replied and Ona stared at him. "As Suno says, she isn't stupid. She knows about the Sentients. But there is simply no way she can know what she has bound herself to. Nikis himself didn't know until it was too late."
"I know." Ona said with a sigh. "I guess...now is as good a time as any. Wake her." The Trinity -Suno- nodded and laid a hand on Jesse's brow. In a moment, Jesse groaned. "Easy girl. You have had rough day." The tiny Nyx said sadly. "And that is entirely our fault."
"Ona?" Jesse asked, her eyes cracking. She froze as she stared around. "Where am I?"
Ona knew what she was seeing. This facility was nothing like the gleaming halls of the Tenno Citadel. It had been carved from living rock by sheer power. It still looked -by design- like a cave filled with technology. But for Ona, it was home.
"This is where we lived before we went to the Citadel, Jesse." Ona forced her voice into gentleness even though tension sang through her. "We um... kidnapped you."
"Why?" Jesse did not react externally, but Ona could feel her energy start to solidify into barriers as her code went to her aid. Instead of answering, Ona turned and pointed to one side. Jesse looked that way and gasped as she saw a human lying on a table covered by dirty looking medical gear. "What have you done?" She demanded. She tried to sit up and could not. "What have you done?"
"Jesse, please. You are in no danger from us." Ona begged her. "We are trying to undo our mistake. But to do that, we need to explain. And we will." Jesse glared at the Nyx and then slumped a bit, her code still flaring.
"Then why not just do what you want to do?" Jesse demanded. "After all, that is-" She broke off as Ona shook her head savagely. "What?"
"If we did what we wanted to do, with no regard for the consequences, you would be dead, Jesse." Ona replied without heat. The Trinity shot her a glance and Ona sighed. "We want the abomination that Nikis had us make destroyed."
"And I bound it to me." Jesse said slowly. All of the tiny warframes in the area nodded. "So you cannot."
"Which is why we need to explain."