Allies

It was downright embarrassing. All the fighting, running, shooting, slicing... All of the massive -not to mention UGLY- enemy forces he had faced and what had felled him? Not a blast from a gun or a blow from a fist or shock prod. A door. A fracking door! A laser barrier that activated just as he was passing a door. He had seen green and then everything had gone black. All the enemy on that level had been down, he had been moving on. Too hurried? His teachers would be so annoyed with him for losing situational awareness. Almost as annoyed as he was with himself.

Being knocked unconscious was no stranger. But waking up in a cell, stripped of his warframe and anything that might get him out of said cell. That was humiliating. All he could do was sit and wait. The irate voice on the com that bleated at him he ignored. Lock him up, they could. Make him talk? Not hardly. Tenno did not speak aloud in the field. If one did not speak, one could not let out any information. When they absolutely had to communicate, they used short range ultra secure com units. They always used sound dampeners to hush their voices when they used those to, so silence was their hallmark. It always amused him that people feared Tenno for the fact that they did not speak. They didn't need to. Years -centuries even- of working alone for in small groups had taught the Tenno how to read each other without the need for easily overheard oral communication. So he was silent. But he was afraid.

That was no dishonor. Fear was not a bad thing, in and of itself. He did not fear pain, or even death. He had known pain most of his life as a Tenno. What he feared was that his kin would try to rescue him. How many would be hurt or even killed in the process? He hated losing kin. There were not many Tenno left now. Centuries of attrition and now the depredations of the Grinneer and Corpus had left their marks. He would fight, they all would, until the last breath left them. It was what they did. What he-

He stiffened in his kneeling position. He had heard a sound from outside the cell. It had been faint, but there. Years of training had honed his senses so that could parse data from his warframe's auditory sensors easily and quickly. What was it? Were they coming to take him to interrogation? That would be fruitless. Tenno were trained how to resist any form of interrogation. Anything from crude torture to sophisticated drugs and mental probes, they could and did resist fairly easily. More than one interrogator had been driven mad trying to get a Tenno to break. Every being had limits, but Tenno were trained how to die rather than let any information fall into the wrong hands. Not that he knew much. Which was intentional. What he did not know, he could not divulge. His warframe connected directly to his ship and most of the sensitive data was stored aboard that. He smiled silently. Tenno ships were small, fast and highly maneuverable. Not to mention they were practically invisible to most modern sensor systems. Each ship had a small living area, which Tenno rarely used. Most preferred to stay in their warframes while in transit. The discomfort was minimal and-

There it was again! The sound. What was that? He couldn't identify it. Then he stiffened more. Someone was keying the console outside, The beeps were distinctive. He did not move, he knew he was under observation. But internally, he was preparing. No one sane entered a cell with a Tenno unprepared. It was a quick route to a painful death. One of his teachers had put it best. 'No tool is dangerous in and of itself. Only the being behind the tool makes it dangerous.' Tools such as warframes, swords, pistols... What he would give for a pistol... He did not look up as the door hissed open, but then his head jerked up as movement registered and a familiar form entered the cell. Another Tenno!

He didn't know her. Did he? She wore a Trinity frame and the colors were not familiar. A mix of blue and white, appropriate for a healer. She made a quick gesture and he rose to stand in front of her, clad only in his clear under suit. Nudity did not bother him. It hadn't for a long, long time. He stood while the Trinity seemed to wait, but he knew she was accessing the sensors in her suit, checking him for injuries. A hand came close and he remained still while it touched his side. A hiss and green energy poured from it to... He stared down at the neat hole in his suit and the burnt patch underneath. He had been hurt far worse than he had thought. He made a face as he looked at the Trinity and she nodded. Just from her posture, she was not happy. A hand vanished to her back and came out with a small sidearm which she held out. He nodded and took it with a smile. Then she moved to the door, her rifle coming down from her back and he followed slowly, carefully. He was aware of how vulnerable he was. One good shot from a MOA or crewman laser rifle and he was a corpse. He froze at her gesture and then jumped as noise sounded outside.

What the? Someone had a Gorgon machine gun and was firing it like they had unlimited ammo. A shotgun sounded as well, and then both sounds faded as if the firing people had moved off. He paused and then nodded. A diversion. All of the security troops would be looking for the people who were being loud. As long as he and the Trinity didn't do anything dumb -like run under a security camera- they should be in the clear.

Indeed, as the Trinity led him through the bowels of the ship he had been incarcerated on, he didn't see another soul. Someone was pacing them however. He caught glimpses of dark blue armor, but never a clear image. He made a questioning gesture to the Trinity when she looked at him and her return gesture alleviated his concern. Friendly. He nodded and keep close to her. Then both froze as the sounds of sudden combat came from nearby. What the hell? He spun to see a red and black armored form that had just materialized sparring with the blue armored form he had glimpsed before. The Trinity had her rifle up, but no clear shot with the two combatants in such close proximity. She cast a power on the enemy, one he recognized. It would heal every Tenno in close proximity every time they landed damage on the enemy.

The red and black armored form got a solid hit in and the blue armored Tenno fell to land in a heap. The black one raised it's sword to finish it's foe, but then the Trinity's rifle barked. He fired the pistol she had given him as well. He knew his chances of actually doing any damage with such a puny weapon were minimal, but he also knew from experience that any rounds impacting on a warframe -which this obviously was- were distracting. The red and black armored form turned, seemed to stare at him, and then... It vanished. It was there one moment, then it was gone.

The Trinity was in motion as soon as the red and black armored form vanished, moving to stand over her fallen..sister? Yes. This blue armored warframe was a Banshee. Green healing energy poured from the Trinity's fingers and the Banshee rose with a nod. She picked up her bow from where it had fallen and nodded to him as well. He made an interrogatory gesture and they both shrugged. The thought was obvious. Later. They would talk later, once they were safe. The Banshee started off, a tingle on his skin saying she had activate her sonar so as not to be blindsided again. She drew and fired in a single supple movement and an arrow sped away to impale a crewman who had stepped out of a door marked 'refresher'. An alarm started to warble and they ran. The Banshee went first, her arrows singing as she found and eliminated targets. Neither he nor the Trinity had time to acquire a target much less fire as the Banshee moved like water through the corridors. He saw an airlock ahead, the distinctive shapes of Tenno warframe attachment points beside it. He stiffened and then was on motion, slamming into the Trinity and throwing her out of the line of fire as a Railgun MOA leveled it's weapon at her back and fired. Directly at him. He heard a female scream of denial as his world went black.

Some time later

"That was dumb, X." A sour female voice sounded from nearby. He struggled to wake up. What had happened?

"What?" He paused. Where was he? He opened his eyes and found himself lying on the couch in a Tenno starship. The small, cramped quarters served any number of functions. Staterom for passengers, meeting area, training area for virtual simulation, medical ward... He was strapped down, various tubes and wires all over himself. He looked up at the Trinity and smiled. "Glad to see you, Trinity." He said with a grin.

"My name, X..." The Trinity said sourly. "..is Alicia. And that thing wouldn't have hurt me. Knocked me down. Stunned me maybe, but Serene was there and killed it just after it fired. We thought it had killed you. Silly male. All that effort expended just to have you get yourself killed right before we leave? Really X, you know better."

"Seemed like a good idea at the time." He said with a sigh. "Wasn't really thinking, just reacted. I guess I am not that far evolved from my caveman ancestors after all. How bad?" He asked carefully.

"You are going home." The Trinity -Alicia- said with a nod. He stiffened, but she shook her head. "X, I cannot tend what happened to you. I can't even put you back into cryo."

"That bad?" He asked slowly, dazed. Only the absolute worst injuries prevented the use of cryo suspension to preserve an injured being.

"Yes, that bad. Your undersuit was designed to be vacuum resistant, not railgun resistant. It tore through you. Made a hell of a mess of your innards." Alicia replied sadly. "I am going to put you to sleep for the trip." She stepped close, but paused as he spoke.

"My ship?" He asked, dreading the answer. He stilled as she reached down and patted his shoulder.

"They tried to access it's systems and it self-destructed." Alicia replied sadly as he sighed in loss. His ship had been all he had really ever possessed. "I am sorry, X. I need to put you to sleep."

"I know." The Tenno known as X said with a sigh. "Thank you. Thank the others for me too. Any...losses?" He asked carefully as he hand came down to cup his head in a gentle grip.

"No." Alicia said kindly. "Sleep X. When you wake, everything will be better." He never felt the hum of power that put him into a deep healing sleep.