Taking in a deep breath, Melissa opened up a portal before her. It was time to harass her Commander again.
Cassidy darted in first, ready to have some fun with Rory and his siblings. Melissa merely smiled and wistfully whistled before joining her child aboard the Extinction.
Really? That was the name her pawn had chosen for his flagship? Could he really not choose an edgier name? What was he, thirteen?
Ultimately, though, she had to admit that little bit of childishness was rather endearing to her. Not romantically, of course - she enjoyed screwing him over too much to harbor those feelings. But still.
As the portal closed, she took in her surroundings. She had arrived on the ship's observation deck, where her pawn was busy working on a warframe...Umbra, to be exact. So, he was still trying to get it mobile? Fat chance - it needed the power of a Tenno work. His attempts to master them would only end in failure. Not that those defeats would stop him - he was far too stubborn to give up.
And that made his struggles all the more amusing.
At last, her pawn noticed her arrival, and turned to greet her. "Oh, you're here again. How're you doing?"
"Quite well. Still trying to unlock the secret to mastering control of the warframes?"
"...Not anymore."
Before the ROB could ask him to elaborate, the Umbra frame began to move. Eventually, it stood upright, briefly looking over the ROB before turning its attention to the Commander, who was smirking at his...sponsor.
Said sponsor was currently trying, and failing miserably, to form a response.
What?! How?! How did he manage to control a warframe without void energy?! That shouldn't even be possible!
"Uh...Uh...um...well done," chocked out the female ROB, finally managing to regain usage of her voice. The commander merely chuckled at her response, before locking eyes...well, eyes to helmet face, with Umbra, before nodding, at which point the Umbra frame walked over to a console and started browsing through the files. Going by what Melissa could hear, it appeared that the intelligent suit was looking through the files that were stored on her pawn's commander unit - in essence, looking through his memories. It seemed to want to know more about its master.
Interesting.
Okay, she had to give it to her pawn - he really had impressed her here.
…..why did she suddenly feel uneasy?
XXXXXXXX
Umbra watched the False Tenno converse with the Stranger. The two seemed to friends, though what he had seen in the False One's thoughts suggested otherwise. His new master had...conflicted...feelings regarding his...sponsor. He had not told the former dax why this was the case, though, which was why the Dax was perusing his master's memories. All of his memories.
Many were of conquests against foes he had never seen, though some were surprisingly familiar. Others were moments of him being a kind man, leading others to greatness. Older memories showed him as a member of a loving family, though occasionally clashing with his elders, not unlike how Isaah had been driven into relatively minor struggles with Umbra. The Dax felt pain at those memories, but also a sense of understanding - this False One was, above all else, still relatable.
Oh, and he spent a lot of time playing video games, some of which looked very familiar...wait.
Umbra paused the memory, then replayed. Then again. Then a third time.
Was this youth playing a game where he...was a Tenno?!
Umbra pondered this for a moment, before deciding to file away that piece of information for later. Best to ask it when less pressing matters were at hand.
As the Commander pondered with the one known as Melissa, Umbra noticed how the two seemed to go from combative to friendly almost at that drop of a hat. Confusion welled up within the frame of war - were they friends? Enemies? Lovers? Something in the middle, if not all of the above? He could see signs for all of the mentioned relationships, but knew not which one the two possessed.
Immediately, Umbra began looking through his new master's memories, trying to figure out why he had such a strange relationship with this woman. He found results almost instantly. For one, this woman claimed to have been the one to put him on whatever journey he was on. It appeared she had done so mostly for her amusement. Unsurprising, really - the Orokin had not been much different. What was more confusing, though, was the numerous instances where this woman had chosen to help him, even if she had nothing to gain form this charity. Why? Moral obligation? Respect for her "pawn's" willpower? Sexual and/or romantic attraction? Whatever the case, it was entirely unlike the Orokin.
Still, he could not find the source of this animosity.
Until, at last, he did.
Umbra came upon a memory that was dated around the start of his new master's time as a 'Commander'. Here, he saw the person trapped into a machine, forcibly turned into a cephalon, it seemed.
And, if he was hearing it right, this woman had been the one to do so. In the process, she had torn him from everything he had ever known and loved for, well, her own amusement.
For a while, Umbra just replayed the memory, though he did lower the volume to make sure the duo could not hear the video. When he finally recovered from his stupor, he curled his hand around the Skiajati at his him, then relaxed it. Part of him wished to inflict violence on the woman who had ruined the life of his new master., yet he also knew that doing so would be wrong. Harming her after what she had done to help his master would be in bad taste.
And besides, his new master would likely be angry for being denied his own chance at vengeance.
Sighing inaudibly, Umbra continued to peruse the memories. Hopefully, he could find out more about this strange force that he had joined.
XXXXX
"So, Etran, what do you think of our new ally?"
"Could you be more specific?"
"Is he, well, nice?"
"...Yes."
Cyreesia sighed. She really shouldn't have asked him such vague questions. "So, do you really think it was a good idea to let him have access to our warframes?"
"The quills said yes, and our friend in the void was quiet on that, so I guess it was?"
"You don't sound so certain."
"IT WAS A SPUR OF THE MOMENT DECISION!"
"Then why'd you help him?"
"He helped us. Would you have done the same?"
"...Fair enough."
With that, the transmission cut off. Sighing once again, Cyreesia grabbed her vermink plush and squeezed it as tight as possible. Something to relieve the unease she was feeling.
True, the quills did have good points, but she was not entirely sure it was a good idea to support them here - they could be wrong at times, and if they slipped up, things could go horribly wrong.
Finally calming herself, Cyreesia thought back to the old war. If nothing else, things had been simpler back then.
XXXXXX
She watched as the two lady executors stared at her, one with eyes full of contempt, the other's filled with uncertainty. Behind them, a group of dax stood at the ready, hands already on their blades. Though Cyreesia appeared to be unarmed, they still treated her with caution - danger could take many forms.
"I still cannot believe Margullis chose to die for these beings," intoned the contemptful Executor, eyes never leaving the young Tenno. "These devils seem hardly worthy of life."
"Perhaps they can still be of use to us, though" noted the more confused of the two, trying to sound neutral on the topic.
"Are you so sure that they can find a purpose in our empire, Mytruthia?"
The name named executor took offense at the possible insult, but only a minor shift in her appearance signified this. "My fellow executor, we cannot just destroy things because they offend us. FIrst we must see if they can fulfill a purpose in our golden empire. To waste useful resources so wantonly is an unacceptable folly."
"...Perhaps you have a point. Though, I must ask, why do you wish to seek usage from these devils?"
"My heirs were aboard the Zariman when it vanished. I wish to seek some way to recover the losses in time and ducats I spent rearing them before my continuity draws near."
"Oh, I see. My condolences. Though you have quite a while before that becomes a necessity, my friend."
"...You see me as a friend? But isn't that dangerous for a councilor?"
"True...but I do not care. I must leave now, though, but I must warn you, if you cannot find a way to make the devils and ballas' creations serve us, they will suffer, as will you and all others who supported this project."
"Understood."
"Good." Then the Councilor turned to the dax. "Those of you sworm to my family, leave. Those who are not, ensure the void demon does not bring my dear friend to harm."
The dax merely nodded in response. Smiling, the executor left, as did her guardsmen, leaving Mytruthia alone with the Tenno.
As the guards watched on, the executor walked up to the Tenno, who merely stared at her, confused yet hopeful. The Orokin, for her part, put on a stoic expression, unwilling to show emotion. As the Tenno stared at her, though, her expression began to waver.
Silence reigned for some time, until at last the void demon spoke.
"...grandmother?"
For a few moments, the Execuotr said nothing.
Then she pulled the little girl into a hug, as tears began to form in her eyes.
"I missed you, Cyreesia," choked out the executor, uncaring for how she would be seen by her fellows. Only the Dax would know this happened, and they knew well enough not to speak up.
As her grandmother began to sob, Cyreesia returned the hug.
It was good to have family besides the other Tenno.
XXXXXXXXXX
Silently, Celm watched on as his subordinate interacted with her pawn, noting that thye seemed to have reached a relative standard of civility with each other. Good - perhaps them uniting would make things easier.
If he had been the one who 'sponsored' a Commander, then he would not have been as antagonistic as Melissa. He would offer wisdom as needed, to assist with the mission at hand. HE had already been responsible for enough commanders suffering horrible fates because he had been forced to delegate their handling to lesser agents, many of whom did not share his sentiments.
Perhaps his allies did have a point of him being too coddling, but then again, others had died miserably from his lack of action. Even his more reserved allies had been disgusted by this, but they felt direct action was not the way to go.
But that was a debate for another time.
His observation complete, the OverROB slunk away. As he exited the universe, he felt the currents starting to pull him, trying to send him into another part of the sea. Fortunately, he knew how to work around them.
When the Progenitors had had first discovered the Empyrean Sea, navigation, more specifically the parts outside of their home bubble, they had been unsure how to map it. Machines had been used at first, but they had their limits. Living beings had proved more successful. Assembling the greatest beings they could find, human, progenitor, xziphid, or otherwise, they had sent out pioneers to explore the sea, finding new ways to travel it, and new lands to travel too.
Most now lay dead, or retired, hidden away from others, but one still continued to push the limits of the multiverse.
And, reflected Celm, defend the legacy of the beings those pioneers had first served.
He would never let that flame die. Not while he still remembered the builders of the commanders.
XXXXXXX
AN: No hiatus will happen after this segment, seeing how Fortuna is now out.
Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!