Hurts

Magda woke, suddenly aware that everything was wrong. She was warm, dry and clean but everything was wrong. She lay on a bed in a virtual world and someone, no, something hovered beside her! She stared at the small orange Sentient form and slumped as it seemed to scrutinize her. She was not in her warframe and she was tired. So tired. She could not move. She could not fight. She could not even muster the energy to be angry about her weakness.

"I think I am Narmer." Magda said very quietly. There was no response and Magda heaved a sigh. "Don't let me hurt Ollie. I bet I did."

"Like I could stop him from trying to help you? I know better. Your companion is brave." That had to be coming from the Sentient, but it sounded so normal. "So are you."

"Why won't anyone just tell me?" Magda asked, not daring to move. Even a small Sentient form such as this was incredibly dangerous. Odd. It looked a lot like the one Janna had occupied. But the voice was nothing like Janna's. Older, more in control. Powerful, but sad. So sad. The bed felt familiar, but she had never been here. Had she?

"To be perfectly honest? No one is sure what to do. Not healers, not warriors, no one. My name is..." The Sentient paused and then heaved an all too human sigh. "I better not say my real name. It will cause problems. You can call me 'Falcon'. I don't use that name anymore, but I earned it."

"What do you want?" Magda asked sadly. "If I am Narmer, I am a threat to everyone I hold dear. They are a threat to the Code and to the Law. And… If I am Narmer, then so am I."

"You are not Narmer. You are Tenno, a Tenno cop." Falcon said reasonably. "You do not want to be a threat. You want to serve and protect as you always have." Falcon was quiet, but intense. She would be listened to. "What Narmer did to you and your compatriots was unforgivably evil." Hate sounded in her tone, but it was not directed at Magda. "And coming from me? That is saying something."

"My energy is off." Magda continued as if Falcon had not spoken. "It isn't right. Ollie is…" She slumped in the bed. "I hurt him. I know I did."

"Not you." Falcon said firmly enough that Magda stared at the small Sentient form. "It wasn't you. Your energy, yes, but not your will directing said energy. You and your cohorts were victims of a crime. A crime that gives anyone with any shred of sanity or empathy pause. Even my people were horrified when we found out what happened to you. That is why so many people are working so hard to help you. You are a victim, Officer. Not a criminal. Stop that line of thought right now."

That was not 'quite' a command, but it was close and Magda stared at the thing that hovered nearby. Then the officer relaxed, just a little. Still wary and worried, but less tense.

"Obviously, I am not in my mind at the moment." Magda retreated to her calling. Observation followed by analysis. "Am I in yours?"

"No." Falcon said quietly. "This is an external mental framework that was built to try to aid you and your compatriots when you were recovered from Narmer. You did not escape. You were rescued with the aid of your companions."

"So, the memories I have of fighting are false?" Magda inquired carefully. They had not felt false, but if such as Sentients were playing around in her head... Would she know?

"Some are." Falcon admitted. "We had no guidelines. There were and are no precedent for what Narmer did to you. No one really has a clue what Narmer did to you or how. The effects, we understand." She said with another of her odd sighs. "But the reasons or the methods? We do not know."

"Rachel and Tiana." Magda said in sudden realization. "They acted as if they were grieving!"

"They were." Falcon replied, still angry but not with Magda. "They are. You perished, Officer. You and your compatriots all perished. Your energy was taken and remade into horrible forms. Your minds were destroyed in the process." She was quick to continue when Magda tensed. "And then, the energy that was stolen from you was recovered!" Magda stared at the Sentient in shock but before she could find her tongue, Falcon continued again. "And before you ask- Yes, the Grandmaster of the Dead has been notified about all of this. He is quite a bit upset and no one blames him any more than we blame you. We hoped you would come back as who you were, but you did not. Not entirely, anyway. None of you are who you were before your energy was recovered. We were trying all kinds of methods to help, but nothing seemed to work. Then? We discovered a crime and it was thought that giving you a job, an actual crime to solve might aid your minds in reforming. We cannot solve this crime. We have tried. That said? We are not cops."

"This crime…" Magda paused and then heaved a sigh. "The one that I was investigating." It was not really a question.

"Yes, but I don't know if all of the facts we have are related to what you have been investigating." Falcon heaved a sigh of her own. Such a familiar human and Tenno expression seemed so odd coming form a Sentient form, but also right as strange as that seemed to Magda. "All I know for sure is that the bodies you have been investigating started appearing after a sibling of mine vanished. We think she was taken, 'kidnapped' in your terminology, but how and by who, we have no idea. She left no messages and she would not have simply vanished without letting someone know. She knew we would worry. I do not know if she is involved in these horrific deaths. I cannot see her doing such a thing, but then again… I have been blindsided a lot recently." The last was rueful, odd from a Sentient, but Falcon was working hard to be kind so Magda relaxed a bit more.

Magda stared at the Sentient form and then she slowly shook her head. "If I am Narmer, I am a threat to everything, even your kind."

"You are not Narmer now, officer." Falcon said firmly. "What was done to you by Narmer was horrific, but it was undone in ways that I find just as repugnant. It was bad, what was done to recover you, but the facts speak for themselves. Your energy was recovered from the evil form Narmer made out of it. It was…" Falcon paused and then made a noise of disgust. "The bio-tech form they made was destroyed and your energy recovered. The being who did it is not one to trust. Ever. It's current actions are totally atypical for its normal methods, so this must be a long laid plan, but none of us can see it. Mental aside, you are almost exactly as you were before Narmer took you. Before they hurt you so badly. No one knows what will happen now, not even the Oracles from what I understand. We rejoice that you exist again, but we fear as well."

"Who did it?" Magda asked slowly. "If it wasn't Sentient or Tenno… No human could. Ballas might have been able to but he would not have."

"It wasn't Ballas. He is dead." Falcon was not faking the hate that swarmed into her tone now. Magda stared at the hovering orange form, stunned at the sheer level of human style hate the other could project. The only good thing? It wasn't aimed at Magda. "Mom made absolutely sure of that. I thought 'I' had, but that Orokin asshole had tricks within tricks." Again a sigh of regret. So human, this bio-mechanical form acted.

"So who does that leave?" Magda asked, concern rising, only to fade as Falcon pulsed slightly and she felt comforted. "You are a Sentient."

"Were you briefed about Natah and her mother?" Falcon asked carefully and Magda felt her breath leave her. Natah was the name of the being who had become the Lotus, the one time guide of Tenno in the Origin system. Before she had been the Lotus, she had been a Sentient, and Magda did not know much more than that. "I am affiliated with them."

"Oh… um…" Magda swallowed hard. "I was briefed, but it made little sense."

"Yeah, I know." Falcon made a noise of commiseration. "I have hung around humans and Tenno long enough to act as you do. Things rubbed off on me, as humans used to say." Magda nodded slowly, still unsure and Falcon continued. "Trust is unlikely to happen. I mean…" She made a soft noise of dismay now. "...your job, officer, is to ferret out truth from lies. To catch the guilty and send them to punishment. You do not know me. You cannot trust me. There is simply no way."

"So… what?" Magda inquired, worry rising, but no fear. Falcon was clearly not going to hurt her.

"So, we need to have trust. I am going to call someone into this mental framework who you do know and trust." Falcon acted very human. She was clearly psyching herself up for something. Something bad? Magda tensed. "And I am going to get in a whole lot of trouble for it." Magda opened her mouth to protest, but Falcon beat her to speech. "I give you my word as a warrior and an avenger of wrongs done to those who cannot fight that what I about to do does not violate any Tenno laws." Then the Sentient scoffed. "It doesn't even violate the Tenno Code. Mainly because all of you know better than to do ot." Now, she was sinking down to the bed beside Magda. "Hell, 'I' know better, but I am left with few options and none of them good. No one will harm you. I give you my word about that. I am in danger for what I am doing. Not you."

"What are you going to do?" Magda asked, fear rising. Then she gave a totally un-Tenno-like 'eep' as space seemed to warp beside her bed and a form stepped out of nowhere to glare at Falcon. A warframe and yes, one she knew! She had met this Tenno during a big mess that had involve Sun just like this one did, but that one had seen him in a courtroom of all places! Magda and her peers had been in the wrong, so the cop had worked hard to befriend this being. Not for any manipulation, but because Cathi Gata had needed the help! Magda had heard many odd things since then, but she still counted Cathi a friend. So relief flared when the Gersemi Valcyr warframe appeared, but it faded just as fast! Cathi Gata was not happy!

"Falcon! Do you have any idea the mess you just made? I was in the middle of a delicate negotiation and I need to-" She broke off as her gaze took in Magda's condition and clearly saw more than most could ever dream on one glance. The warframe went utterly still. Dangerous still. Then it was as if a thunderstorm formed right in the room! Loud as thunder and just as deadly as lightning. "Magda? What in the name of Ashla is going on here?"

Magda had seen Cathi Gata angry, but this… This was way beyond any Tenno rage. Not even Nikis or Sun would have been able to match the sheer power that rang the entire mental framework they inhabited like a bell. Magda could not help it after everything. Her friend like this was terrifying! The cop cringed away from Cathi Gata, just a little, but the warframe seemed to wilt and then, she was kneeling by Magda's bedside without seeming to move!

"It is okay, Magda. Don't be afraid of me." Cathi Gata said heavily as she took the bedridden Tenno's hand in a careful grip. "I won't hurt you. You helped me through one of the worst times in my life. I wasn't…" Was she crying? "I can't…"

"You cannot interfere here, Cathi Gata." Falcon said quietly as Magda tried to make sense of this sudden madness. "There is still too much that is too fragile after all the messes that Lorinos and Elizabeth made. Let alone what Ric did." That was sour and the warframe clad Tenno made a soft noise of agreement mixed with despair. "No matter how hard and rapidly your people and the wardens work, the damage was done and will take a long time by anyone's standards to repair. I swear to you, sister, I am helping Magda. I will find a way to help her no matter the cost. I will help her." Steel would have bent under the Sentient's tone.

"Who did this?" Cathi Gata's tone was barely audible, but she would be answered!

"Narmer did it." Magda gave Cathi's hand a careful squeeze. "I don't know what you have been told our recent history…" She trailed off as the Valcyr shook her head. "I um… I was lost. Taken and warped. Then I was found, but like this."

"This was a good reason to call me, Falcon. I do not have many I call 'friend' unreservedly." Cathi Gata bent her head over Magda's hand. "Oh, Magda. I wish I could act. I wish I could call my kin in, handle whoever did this properly." She wasn't talking about Tenno, was she? From how the Sentient of all people seemed to wince? Magda decided not to ask! "I… I am sorry I wasn't here, Magda."

"You cannot be everywhere any more than I can." Magda said softly, but then she paused. "Can you?"

"Omnipresence is not a skill I possess, no." Cathi Gata had a faint snicker in her tone now, but it was squelched when she looked at the Sentient. "Why call me?"

"She cannot trust me." Falcon was very quiet, but firm. "You may bend or break rules as it suits you to achieve your ends, and I know you of all people will not go too far doing so. But to her, I am a Sentient." The Valcyr eyed her and Falcon made a noise of dismay. Was she hemming and hawing? "I um… My own status hasn't come up yet."

"Tell her." Cathi Gata said with a growl as she stood up, but then sat on the bed beside Magda who was grateful for the support. "Magda is not stupid. She will understand. She won't like it, but she will understand."

"Okay." Falcon hovered away from the bed and spun so that the energy 'eye' of the Sentient form was facing Magda. "Officer Magda, my name was Falcon. I took another along with a very bad job. Now, I am a knight who serves my own faith and my own agendas. Right now, that agenda is helping you."

"A knight?" Magda dredged up snark from somewhere. "Like Ric?" She was not expected both Cathi Gata and Falcon to groan out laughter at the same time! In the same tone no less. "What?"

"Even as knights go, Ric is unique in my experience. Thank Ashla!" Cathi Gata all but threw those words out and Falcon made a noise of assent. "Falcon is a knight. She is sworn to a knightly code, but nothing like Ric." That was heartfelt.

"Thank god." Falcon muttered. Was that a giggle from Cathi Gata? "One of him is more than enough most of the time. I shudder to think what his Order was like at their height!"

"As bad as you can think of? They were worse. Best quote I have ever heard about the original Order of the Sword was 'Insanity made manifest, for good or for evil and you never knew which!'." Cathi Gata agreed but then looked own at Magda. "Magda? Falcon has a hard path. She is neutral in most disputes, but this? She knew how I would feel. I do still call you friend. If you want… I can take you away from this. See you healed, but the cost would be dear and you could never return." Falcon seemed to tense, but Cathi Gata shook her head. "Only if she wishes."

"There is a crime happening." Magda said quietly. "I… I am not sure all of what happening. I don't think anyone is. But there is a crime happening and a Tenno is likely doing it."

"Oh. Falcon?" Cathi Gata asked as she turned to Falcon who pulsed with energy and then Cathi Gata actually gagged! "Oh… shit! That… Oh…" Was she about to puke?

"Um… Cathi? What?" Magda clasped her hand onto Cathi Gata's but Falcon responded.

"I can communicate with her far faster than speech, Officer. I sent her all the data I have on the crime." Falcon said with a noise of regret. "I had and have no access to your official files, but I did have access to many others. It is not everything you had, but it is a lot."

"It is gross." Cathi Gata said with a growl. "If I wasn't embroiled in a three way mess of my own, I would be happy to come and put a firm Bladeborn boot to whoever is doing it. Whoever is copy catting Ariana Arachne." At that, Falcon since to wince again. "But no, I have to get back before the idiots on all sides get ideas again. Magda, my offer stands, now as always. And as for Falcon?" The warframe clad Tenno's tone turned kind. "She gave her word. That means something to her. As much as it meant to Karl, once upon a time. She can and will help you get to the bottom of this." Now, she heaved a sigh. "Try to keep the mess to a minimum this time, Falcon?"

"I won't call anyone else, sister." Falcon said firmly. "I will help her and I will stay out of sight."

"Good." Cathi Gata paused as Magda sat up on the bed. "Magda?"

"Am I allowed to know anything about what you are doing, Cathi Gata?" Magda asked slowly and carefully. "I heard a lot of things that do not make any sense about you."

"You would sleep better not knowing, but…" Then Cathi Gata actually giggled. "No and yes. I cannot tell you anything, but I can show you one thing and I know you will get the reference. I also know you can keep a secret."

Magda stared as Cathi Gata's warframe vanished and her friend stood there, clad in a uniform that was familiar, but not anything that that had graced the Origin system recently. The black boots, blue mini-skirt and blue blouse were sort of familiar, but the insignia that graced the right chest of the blouse had Magda hissing in shock even as Cathi Gata held up one hand and split her fingers.

"Live long and prosper." The Tenno in the female Starfleet medical uniform circa 2265, Prime Universe, said with a grin as she vanished right out of the reality!

"Uh…" Magda stammered even as Falcon groaned.

"At least she is not working with the Klingons."

"I do not want to know!"

"Smart."