Best laid plans...
He was glad he was training. Something about Alicia had changed during the conversation they had. Oh she was still the upbeat, almost perky female he knew and liked, but... Something else was going on. Something he didn't understand. For all of his life among the Tenno, he had focused on learning to be one of them and then to fight as one of them. To use a warframe with skill and honor. Fighting was really all he was. When she said things like "But you are not alive.' it made him very uncomfortable. He didn't really understand her. Truth be told, understanding females had never been germane to his existence. He had wanted to be a Tenno, so he had become one. An adopted one to be sure, but still one of them. But that didn't change the fact that something about her had made him very nervous when she had looked at him before departing for her own ship. For the first time, he had hoped she would take off her helmet so he could see her face, which made no sense at all. What visual context could he get from an unshielded face? The ship seemed much smaller without her aboard to brighten things up, but he persevered as he always did.
The exercises, a combination of mental and physical programs, were designed to stretch his capabilities to their limits. He was halfway up a wall, firing at targets that presented themselves when an alert chime sounded and he was unceremoniously dumped back at the starting circle. He knelt just in time. Three other holograms appeared nearby all taking similar kneeling positions. In ancient times, the posture was called 'seiza' by various martial arts practitioners. Now? It was just a meditative pose. The fact that it allowed for easy access to weapons was a plus to the Tenno.
One of the Tenno who appeared was Alicia of course, the others he knew as well. Jean wore an Ash warframe and Li a Saryn. He smiled under his helmet. This mission was going to be a mess any way you cut it according to the intelligence reports he had received and been perusing while running the obstacle course. Multi-tasking came early for Tenno or they never wore warframes. He had picked it up after a lot of work, and it still didn't come as naturally as it could have. Having sneaky sorts simply made sense here. Some might not call a Saryn sneaky. he thought with a smile. But they don't know Li.
"We are all here." Alicia said simply. "What do we know?" She asked, her voice calm and quiet.
"Not much." Excalibur admitted. "That particular settlement hadn't been used since the Great Plague." All three of the others looked at him and he shrugged. "Lots of those in this system."
"It was here, wasn't it?" Li asked in her harsh voice. He knew the tone was due to a bad case of vaccuum exposure that even Tenno medicine couldn't fully heal and not arrogance. Far from it, she was about the humblest being he knew. "What happened to you?"
"Europa yes." Excalibur said with a nod. "But not this habitat. The one where I was hurt was destroyed." The other three nodded at that and Excalibur took a deep breath. "I don't know what 'sword' they may be talking about. If it was one of mine..." He paused, thinking. Then he shook his head with a shrug. "The sword I had that day was a ugly piece of work, I remember that." Alicia and the others stiffened and he made a soft noise of dismay. "Handling a Mire is not something you forget. Even through a warframe, the feelings were awful"
"A Mire?" Jean asked for all of them. Excalibur nodded and Jean whistled soundlessly. "Those things are nasty! What were you doing carrying that?" He shook his head. "Who in their right mind gives a rookie on their first mission a Mire?"
"Desperate times." Excalibur said with a shrug. "I don't remember much, just thinking I was really going to need a bath after handling it. I..." He paused and the others let him think. "I wasn't alone..." He said after a moment. "Whoever it was handed me the sword. I..." He grimaced under his helmet as the memory bit faded. "Lost it. Dang it, this gets old." He said sourly. Then he took a deep breath and blew it out. "We are going groundside. A dig site at these coordinates on Europa." A representation of the moon in question appeared in front of them and showed a pulsing green spot. "A recon overflight showed power at the site, but no other signs of life."
"Enemy presence?" Alicia asked quietly after looking at the holo for moment.
"Corpus definitely. It's their signal and their dig site." Excalibur said with a sigh. "And then... there is this..." He keyed a sequence and the holo swept in until it showed an overhead view of what had to be the habitat in question. A very recognizable ship sat on a landing platform just outside the entrance to the habitat. A small transport used by only one group in the solar system.
"Aw crap." Alicia swore mildly. "Grinneer."
"Yeah." Excalibur agreed. He detested the Grinneer and all they stood for. Survival was all well and good, but honor had to have some kind of place. Not in Grinneer society. The only 'duty' they understood was the 'duty' of all others to bow down to them and be exterminated. The transport could carry a full company of Grinneer marines.
"But..." Jean shook his head. "The Grinneer and Corpus hate each other as much or more than they hate us. No sign of battle?" They looked over the holo of the dig site, but there were no blast marks, no burning buildings. Nothing out of the ordinary. They all looked at each other.
"No." Excalibur said with a nod. "And that makes me very nervous."
"If this is a trap..." Li said softly. "What are the mission parameters?"
"Get in, get information." Excalibur said with a nod. "If it is a trap, we egress, preferably without causing a stir. But no matter what, we need information. We need to know what happened here and why."
"Right." Alicia said with a nod. "So, we land and move in quietly?"
"Jean will lead with his bow." Excalibur said quietly. The Ash warframe nodded. "I am second, in dash range in case he gets swarmed. Then Alicia, then Li." The two females nodded and he continued. "I have no idea what we are going to face down there, but this is very unsettling. We get information and then we get out. Clear?"
"Anything that can take out a company of Grinneer troops without them shooting at anything..." Li said in the silence that fell. "...should be approached cautiously."
"Right." Excalibur agreed. "So silence and speed are the plan. Any questions?" The others looked at him and shook their heads. "Jean, a moment?" The females vanished back to their ships and the Ash nodded.
"What's up, Excalibur?" Jean asked calmly.
"Alicia demanded I take a sentinel with me." Excalibur said with a sigh. "And I have no idea how to program one and I don't want it blowing the mission before we even start."
"They can be a pain." Jean said with a smile in his voice. "Shade or Wyrm?"
"Shade." Excalibur said with a half hearted snarl. "I don't want to take it, but Alicia is so stubborn." He paused as the other warframe looked at him. "What?" He demanded.
"Nothing." But the other male was obviously trying to restrain mirth.
"What?" Excalibur demanded. "Is it going to affect the mission?"
"Knowing the people involved?" Jean asked with a grin in his voice. "No. You are a professional, so is she. Just..." The Ash shook it's head. "I am not the one to talk to about this. Talk to Li. Or better yet, talk to Alicia."
"Jean..." Excalibur hated the whining aspect that entered his voice but the Ash looked away, obviously pulling up schematics. Excalibur calmed himself slowly and carefully. "I really hope to have an answer someday, brother."
"You will." Jean said, mirth gone. "Probably when you least expect it."
"You are making less and less sense as this conversation continues." Excalibur said with a sigh. "Ok, let's get this hunk of junk programmed." Jean nodded and pulled up a holographic keyboard. His fingers started flying as Excalibur pulled up a list of mods that would fit the sentinel and started sorting them. But then Excalibur paused as Jean spoke again, very quietly.
"You need to talk to Alicia or Li." Jean said in a quiet voice. "Before we go in." Excalibur started to protest and Jean shook his head. "Trust me, brother. Do it now. I have this. I'll get your sentinel sorted for you." Excalibur could only stare as his holo suddenly vanished, pulled over to where Jean was working.
"Okay." Excalibur said with a sigh. He keyed for a private channel to Alicia's ship. When he did he was startled to hear something he never would have expected to hear if he lived to be a million years old. Alicia was crying. "Alicia?" He asked hesitantly.
"Oh!" The crying cut off abruptly and Alicia appeared on the screen, her face hidden by her helmet. "X? Is there a problem?"
"You tell me." Excalibur said slowly. "Why are you crying?"
"Because you won't." Alicia said with a sigh. He stared at her and she spoke a bit more harshly. "If you don't need me, I need some time alone."
He nodded, unable to speak and she cut the connection. He stared at the blank holo for a moment and then shook himself. That was totally unlike Alicia. Oh, she wasn't perfect by anyone's stretch of the imagination. But she was always trying to be upbeat and cheerful. To hear her sobbing hurt. It really, really did. He looked at Jean, but the male Tenno had his hands on two sets of holo keys and was looking at four different holo screens. Excalibur sighed and keyed for Li. When she responded, she sounded normal for her. The holo showed her helmet and shoulders.
"Yes." Li asked quietly.
"Li... Um..." Excalibur actually stammered, a first in his memory. "Something is wrong with Alicia."
"Wrong?" The female Tenno asked sharply. "What do you mean?"
"I just tried to talk to her." Excalibur said with a mental wince. "She was crying and hung up on me."
"Oh." The Saryn replied, her tone odd even for her. "I see."
"Well, I don't." Excalibur protested. "What did I do?" He asked plaintively. "Did I make her cry?"
"The short answer is yes, Excalibur." Li said sympathetically. "You made her cry."
"I didn't mean to." The male Tenno protested. "What did I say?"
"Excalibur..." Li said gently. "This is going to take a bit. You didn't say anything. You don't understand, do you? You were just a boy when you joined us. Then you were hurt..." Her voice was sad now.
"No, I don't understand. Please don't start crying." Excalibur said seriously. "One of you crying is bad enough." He paused as Li laughed sadly.
"I am not going to cry, Excalibur." Li reassured him. "Although you two make me want to." Excalibur made a strangled noise and she spoke a bit more sharply. "I am going to say something and I want a straight answer. How does she make you feel?"
"What?" Excalibur demanded. "That makes no..." He broke off as the Saryn actually snarled at him. He froze he did not want her angry with him. He had seen what happened when she got mad. It was...impressive. "Uh, she makes me feel good. She makes me feel special. She makes me feel... strange. But not bad. It feels... good... I think."
"I see." Li said softly. "Well... good." She sighed. "I guess."
"I don't understand." Excalibur said with a half snarl. "Why was she crying?"
"Because her brother was hurt." Li said simply. "And she can't help him."
"I have watched her hold a dying brother while he bled out." Excalibur protested. "There was nothing she could do. She cried, but not like that."
"That was her brother, Excalibur." Li said gently. "Not the man she loves."
"Loves?" Excalibur said slowly. "Well, yeah. She loves us all..." He broke off as Li coughed.
"No, Excalibur." The Saryn said in a kind voice. "She likes us all. There is only one person she loves." Excalibur froze. Li nodded in the holo. "I am sorry to be the one to tell you this, but she won't because she doesn't want it influence you in any way. She loves you, Excalibur."