It didn't take the Tenno very long to help Cressa finish rebuilding Strata. Sure enough, Sargas Ruk decided to try and blow it up. That was not a surprise.
What was a surprise was that Umbra asked me to let him fight with the rest of the Tenno. This was rather difficult for him at first, seeing how he couldn't even speak, but eventually, I just used a text to speech program to get around issue. Needless to say, I was concerned by this - not so much by his sentience, but rather by him wanting to fight now, of all times. After all, he did seem rather...emotionally compromised, so to speak. Still, he insisted on fighting, and ultimately, I let him have his wish - I had a feeling denying his request would make future interactions difficult, to say the least.
Once I got him kitted out in some basic weaponry (and the word he 'd come with, which looked awesome), I loaded him and some bots into a boarding craft and made a jump toward Strata. By the time we arrived, the relay was already under heavy assault. The Tenno had formed up en-masse to defend the inside of the relay, leaving destroying the invading fleet to me.
Well, fine with me.
My forces introduced themselves by turning one of Ruk's galleons into scrap metal. From there, they swiftly began tearing into every ship that they could aim at, while Ruk's forces desperately tried to hold them off. Identifying three command ships, I had disabled all methods of escape for those ships, then sent in boarding parties to steal any intel they could from said ships. Once unlucky ship, thanks to my epic hacking powers, found its entire crew spaced, and was promptly pulled away both to act as a trophy and as a subject to study for Grineer technological secrets. The Grineer were primitive as hell, but their tech was still interesting.
Eventually, the Grineer got fed up with my ease at destroying their fleet and tried to deal with it by pulling out a larger fleet-Oh god that's a Fomorian.
And it just took out three of my Omegas.
Welp, time to focus fire on that ship...why is one of the Galleons I sent borders too turning toward the Formorian?
...Now that I think about it, that's the one Umbra is on...why did Umbra and my boarding bots just leave the ship via a dropship...oh.
A moment later, the Grineer fleet went into disarray when the galleon collided with the Fomorian. The fleet completely fell apart when the Fomorian (which was still intact) promptly started shooting at its allies.
Hacking powers are awesome.
After that, the Grineer offense finally lost it. Ruk had finally been bested by the Tenno, and was already being rushed back to his ship, which I allowed to leave - the humiliation he suffered would probably just make the Grineer do something stupid to avenge it.
Also, Strata was preserved, so that was a plus for me.
Now to deal with Umbra.
XXXXXXXXX
After Umbra returned from the mission, he immediately returned to his room and...well, did nothing. He didn't even eat the food I offered him, though to be fair I wasn't sure how he would consume it. At first I wasn't sure why, but when I decided to use my psychic powers to see how he felt, I found that I could feel quite a large amount of sorrow coming from him.
Probably had to do with losing his son. Maybe I should talk to him about that?
I was just about to go see the shadowy warframe when I got a message from Etran, asking me about why I had Umbra fighting with my forces. The minute I told him, I got silence, then a massive data upload. When I tried to examine it, I found a familiar spiral of Orokin characters - another Vitruvian. One character was already highlighted. Examining it, I found myself looking at an image of a warframe. I heard a monologue from Ballas, talking to someone about the warframes...wait, did he refer to the warframes as his audience's enemy?
So Ballas had betrayed the Orokin? Why?
….Wait, he had to kill Margullis. That was reason enough to betray them. Plus they were pricks.
As the pictures finished, I wondered what to do next, only to see another character highlighted - blasphemy. Examining it, I saw another picture, this one of a sentient. Was again, Ballas was talking, this time talking about the sentients, how they were supposed to go to Tau and bear the Orokin a promised land but rebelled because...because they knew the Orokin would bring ruin to Tau just as they had Origin. Oh. That was not what I had expected. I had assumed that the Orokin had mistreated them into betrayal.
I guess the Sentients saw the Orokin for what they were - monsters.
As the vision came to an end, I looked at more of the characters, but found nothing highlighted. Odd.
Well, time to look for more...why is there a note at the end of the download the Tenno sent me?
'Look into the mind of the shadow. Only then will you learn of where he originated.'
...….Was the prose necessary?
XXXXXX
Cautiously, I stood before the door to Umbra's room. I reached out a hand to knock, only to stop at the last minute.
Could I do this? Could I really ask him to bring up his past, just to sate my curiosity?
…..Yes, I could. But more than that, I needed to know just what had happened when he had been with Ballas, what had left him so tortured and crazed. Only then could I lead him off this path.
Resolve hardened, I knocked on the door. After a moment, Umbra opened it.
With some difficulty, I managed to smile. "Hi, could we talk?"
For a moment, Umbra stared at me, posture unreadable.
Then, soundlessly, he put my hand to his head, and everything went dark.
XXXXXXXX
As the vision passed over me, I found myself in Umbra's place, forced to play space-Go. As I listened to Ballas talk to him, my former feelings of respect for the Orokin Executor vanished. I had assumed, based on my foreknowledge of warframe, the Ballas was the only executor that was truly decent, or at least somewhat likable. Now, those, as I heard him taunt Umbra, I realized I was mistaken. Ballas was just as bad as the others, near perfection in body, but twisted in mind and soul.
Eventually, I started to lose, with Ballas deciding to take a moment to chat with Isaah. A small break occurred as Ballas gestured for Umbra...for me...to look at a portrait. Examining it, I was surprised when a new character highlighted itself. Additionally, I heard more of Ballas' speech, mocking Umbra for how he thought he could outsmart the defector.
…...What a jerk.
XXXXXXX
As the vison faded, I examined the Vitruvian again. The new character, 'Warframes', was highlighted. Examining it, more pictures appeared, as Ballas began to lecture some more. He talked about the infestation, cultured in the outer colonies. Apparently, this was where Helminth came from. Helminth, in turn, was used to cultivate a hybrid, only partially infested, to face the dreaded Hunhow. These became the first Warframes, and they were all...failures?
...Apparently they were. Ballas actually seemed surprised that his audience (now revealed to be Hunhow) was surprised by this. After all, Hunhow betrayed the Orokin, so why would the Warframes act differently? Ultimately, according to Ballas, the secret behind these frames of war was hidden in the Void.
Hmm, interesting. There was so much that-
"Is that it?"
Confused, I turned to find my test tube son sitting on a chair some distance away, a bag of gummies in his hands.
"...How log have you been here?"
"Since you first started looking at that thing. Is this where the Warframes come from?"
"...Yes."
"Is there more?"
"Well, yes, but I need to talk to Umbra to find out about the past of it."
"Okay. Don't be too hard on him."
I felt like both myself and my son were robots at that moment, able to have a emotionless conversation over something that would cause severe trauma to a normal person. Then I realized that, to some degree, we were Machines, since both of us had cybernetics in our brains.
I needed to take Rory out more often. It would be better for the both of us if I did.
XXXXXXXX
Returning to Umbra's room, I found him kneeling on the ground, sword resting on his bed. Upon noticing me, the Warframe stared at me, before typing a question into my TTS device.
"Do you want to know more?"
I merely nodded. I had to see this through.
As the vision filled my senses, the first thing I noted was just how warped things had become. The walls of the pristine room were now covered in infested growths, which seemed to shift and twist with each moment. Ballas, meanwhile, bragged about how many stones he had taken, with Isaiah expressing concern for his father. I wondered for a moment why I felt so offended by Ballas' bragging - it just seemed like a normal thing for someone who was so prideful. Then I remembered each Komi stone was a member of Umbra's family to be culled. Now the hatred made sense.
Relief came when Isaiah tried to bring Umbra's attention toward a strong instrument called a Shawzin - Umbra's Shawzin. Ballas applause it, before turning back to menacing Umbra. As the twisted Orokin droned on, mich of my remaking sympathy for him disappeared. Really? He complained about Margulis' death? The death of the woman he loved, who could have been spared if he actually bothered to use his influence? Unbelievable.
Newsflash, man: the world isn't all about you.
The last part of his speech was chilling, though. Just how he talked about turning Umbra into a Warframe made my skin crawl. But what made me really start to lose it was hearing Ballas call the transformation 'a miracle'.
"But all miracles require sacrifice."
Then, oh so subtly, Umbra's vision...MY vision...turned toward Isaah.
XXXXXXX
As the vision subsided, I was surprised to discover that Umbra no longer stood in front of me, but had somehow retreated back into a corner of the room, where he had collapsed on the ground, clutching his head once more in pain and anguish. I felt pained just looking at him, before returning back to my main computer room. Rory barely managed to say hi before I pulled him into a hug, which he soon returned. Once we finally let each other go, I pulled up the Vitruvian once more. One last character was highlighted - Tenno.
I clicked it.
As various pictures appeared, Ballas noted how, before some vain faith, the Orokin had believed in duality. Every being had two part - the body and the mind. Among the Tenno, the Warframes were the hands, and the operators the wills.
Before he could finish, though. I brought the transmission to a halt.
Now, I think I knew what I had to do.
XXXXXX
I sat cross legged on the bed in Umbra's room, giving him the space he desired. The frame had insists that I stay away from him, unwilling to let me get close. Nearby, his sword lay imbedded in the ground. My powers told me that he was scared I would come to harm if I got too close to him. He just wanted to be left alone. Only alone could he weep in peace.
Well, I was not going to let that happen. Cruel as that may sound, I needed to get him over this.
This, once I was ready, I closed my eyes and forced my way into Umbra's mind.
The scene was heavily warped - Infestation now covered almost all of the walls, leaving the once pristine room a lot of nightmares. Yet Ballas made that look childish in comparison. The sheer menace he exerted without raising his voice was horrifying.
Eventually, though, Umbra seemed to grow weak. Ballas, seemingly deciding to take pity on the old warrior, told his son it was time, prompting Isaah to admit he was honored to be Umbra's son.
Then Ballas talked to Umbra.
"Don't worry, old friend. I'm not going to kill your boy..."
Then how were-
"You are."
Oh...oh no.
Immediately, Umbra's vision turned red, as his attention began to focus on Isaah. Confused, the boy tried to ask his father what was going on, before crying out in shock as Umbra fell upon him.
My vision blacked out again, before refocuising into...something weird. It was best described as a golden island floating in the sky. Here, I could see a path leading toward a squat figure trembling in the dirt. With a calm wholly unlike my normal self, I strides toward the figure, watching as golden lights passed by me, until I came upon the trembling form of Umbra.
XXXXXXXX
Rory stood before the terminal, unsure whether or not to go through south his actions. Then he shrugged and clicked on the arrow.
XXXXXX
Soundtrack start: Warframe OST: Smiles From Juran
Kneeling, I put my armor on Umbra's shoulder. As the shaking in his body began to slow, I focused my mind on his.
The Orokin had created monsters they could control. They had tortured them, brainwashed them, broken their minds...and yet it did not work. Not until the Tenno came. And it wasn't the Tenno's Void powers that had allowed them to control these mighty frames.
In the end, it had simply been their ability to lol at something that was suffering, and try to take away its pain.
XXXXXXX
Umbra watched as the Foase Tenno's memories floated past him - of his greatest achievements,his greatest regrets, and his moments of mediocrity.
Most interesting, though, was the past year. There, in those memories, Umbra saw all that the boy had been through, from being placed in the Ancient Machine, to this very moment.
As he observed this, a sense of peace fell over him.
Now, he knew the False Tenno was not a monster.
Indeed, they were, ultimately, very much alike.
XXXXXXX
When the golden scene finally faded, I was back in Umbra's room. This time, though, I wasn't in my body, though I could still see. It on the bed.
No, right now, I was in Umbra's body.
Cautiously, I took a step forward.
No resistance.
I took another one.
No resistance.
I walked up to the sword in the ground. This time, I could feel another presence, but it did not interfere.
Finally, I put my hand around the hilt of the sword. Surprisingly, the new presence gave me a set of mental pictures, which o followed and used to twirl the blade.
Despite currently lacking facial features, I smiled. At long part, the poet of the Warframe was mine.
XXXXXXX
AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!