Keys, Suits, and Swords

Chapters

Beginning (Revised)
Tampered
Implications
Clipped
First Day (Revised)
Imperium
Greeting
Dwelling

Beginning (Revised)

~~~>><<~~~

Twilight stood on the balcony of her castle, the crystal walls and gold railing of the castle sparkling softly in the bright moonlight. The balcony offering an impressive view of Ponyville, Fluttershy’s house off in the distance and the Everfree Forest that loomed close by and went over the horizon.

Twilight’s eye was pressed to the eyepiece of the tripod-mounted telescope. The magically levitated quill wrote furiously on the floating scroll, drawing stars and the constellations they made.

With her eye still pressed to the eyepiece, Twilight rotated the telescope towards the moon, the magnification allowing her to view the landscapes of the asteroid-battered surface in great clarity. “Oh wow….” She whispered, her magic levitating the parchment inside, setting it down on the desk and grabbed another from a neat pile. “This will make for some excellent lunar charts.” she said, the quill beginning to draw out the landscape.

Twilight slowly shifted towards another part of the lunar surface, her focus interrupted as a bright flash streaked past her view. “Huh?” she said, perplexed, removing her eye from the eyepiece and scanned the night sky for the bright streak of light. With a confused expression on her brow, she returned to peering through the eyepiece, the halted quill resuming its drawing.

Another streak of light flashed past, Twilight following it with her telescope as it travelled through the sky before fizzling out. Smaller pieces followed suit, more and more zooming through the atmosphere and disintegrating.

“What the…?” Twilight said, walking over to the railing as the streaks of light increased in number and size. Focusing her telescope of the meteors, she tracked them as they flew across the sky towards the Frozen North. “Wait….” She pondered, “These….these aren’t….”

As she followed the meteorites through the sky, she felt something. A presence. It felt magical. And powerful, very powerful. Twilight knew that all beings and objects generate a magic field, but this was nothing she had ever felt before, this felt more powerful than all the princesses’ magic combined, and yet it felt contained, handled. Twilight followed the objects as they trailed through the sky, crashing to the surface past the horizon with a bright flash.

Twilight stared at the mountains, perplexed as to what those objects were. She trotted inside, levitating another parchment from the pile and dipping the quill in a small vial of ink, and started to write “Princess Celestia, I have news….”

Author's Note

Ships of factions fall
The stars see the story
Keep the Origin System safe
In the name of profit
They commend and are commended the Void...

This chapter has been revised due to conflicting with certain events that are canon in MLP lore. To be more specific, the story now takes about a year (or two, even I'm not sure) from the show's current timeline, luckily I don't really have to change much. Either way, enjoy!

Tampered

~~~>><<~~~

“Well, that’s not entirely true, I’m pretty sure Jas got the larger crate of rubidium and you’re just covering for him.”

“Uh-huh, yes, ok you caught me,” Said the Volt on the holographic screen, “I’m covering for Jas. You caught me Ilik, better lock me up.”

“Hmm…perhaps I will spare you .” She said jokingly, crossing her arms. Her name is Ilik, controller of a Zephyr Warframe. Her armor splotched, yet neatly organized with colors of white, green and a small amount of red, a black and gold Noru Syandana trailed down her back and onto the floor as she sat kneeling.

“Alright, alright,” said the Volt, “listen Ilik, I gotta leave. I just got a message from the Lotus.”

“What about?”

“Ah, just something about another raiding mission.”

Ilik nodding, “The Lotus must want really want you to work, you just got out of that cryopod 14 rotations ago.”

The Volt shrugging at this, “Ah, it’s nothing, I like doing these raiding missions.”

“Well, alright, I’ll talk to you later.”

Volt giving a wave, the holographic screen closing a second later, the quiet sound of the engines as the Liset flew through space at warp was the only thing that could be heard. Ilik standing up, placing her hands on her lower back and bending backwards, a small crack sounded out, Ilik letting out a sigh of relief.

“Stressed, Operator?” Ordis asked, the lights flickering as they followed his vocal patterns.

“I guess you could say that, Ordis.”

“I – FRANKLY DON’T CARE - wish there was something I could do.”

Ilik looking towards a spot on the control panel in front of her and sighing, “Ok, that’s getting annoying,” placing a hand on top of her helmet, “I gotta fix your circuitry sooner or later.”

“That sounds wonderful, Operator, it’s very nice that you’re trying to help me get better.”

“Oh yeah, soon.” She said, placing a hand on her hip and towards the rear, the black walkway opening downwards into the lower compartment. A small snoring noise coming from a large black blob in the corner of the compartment could be heard over the engines.

“Lazy girl.” Ilik said quietly, walking towards the black blob and kneeling beside it, scratching its fur just above the small plate of metal.
The snoring stopping and a head appearing out of the blackness, standing up, the dog-like creature known as a Kubrow stood at three-fourths Ilik’s height , stretching her long yet powerful legs, her ears twitching around rapidly, looking at her master with happiness. “How ya doin’ today, Gemini?” Ilik said, kneeling in front of Gemini and scratching her behind the ear, Gemini giving a happy bark in response, “I thought so.”

The Kubrow yawning, her head escaping between Ilik’s hands, sitting down and curling back into a ball, a small snore sounded over the engines a second later.

“By the Void, this is what happens when you spend all night chasing bugs. Let’s stop around Saturn and perform repairs, what say you Ordis?”

“That sounds like a – TERRIBLE IDEA – great idea!” Ordis replied.

“Alright then.” Ilik shrugging at the answer, tending to ignore the cynical malfunctions, looking over to her Wyrm, with its Para sentinel wings , colored green, white and black, a spot of violet shining from its ‘eye’.

Walking back up the ramp, standing behind one of the consoles, looking at the item she found during the last mission: a gold Void key, tampered with. The golden skin on parts of the key scratched off, a small silver device on the back of it glowed with blue energy, a series of wires stretching out from the device and onto different parts of the key. “Hmm…” she said quietly, “The Corpus went through a lot of trouble to get this.”

“Maybe they thought they could use it to their advantage.” Ordis chimed in.

Ilik shivered at the thought, “Maybe ‘donate’ more Warframe parts to the Zanuka project.”

“It’s a possibility, Operator.”

Ilik sighed out of relief, “Well, at least we were able to find it before they were able to use it.” Ilike placing the key down, walking towards the helm and kneeling down, “I’m going to bed Ordis, could you tint the window a bit?”

“Certainly Operator.” Ordis said calmly, the window beginning to tint, the compartment darkening a bit. Ilik sighed a final time before lowering her head and falling into a deep sleep.

Bang

BANG!

“Operator…”

BANG!

“Operator…”

BANG!

“Operator! – Wake up, you can sleep when you’re dead!-.“

Ilik waking to a cacophony of thruster, engine roars, and muffled explosions. “Ordis!” She yelled, “What in the name of the Void is going on?!”

“Operator, we are under attack by Corpus ships. I suspect they want the key back.”

“Where are we at least? Raise the window.” The tint disappeared, the window transparent, revealing a large asteroid field below the Liset, a stream of red cannon fire overtaking them from behind.

“We are between Mars and Jupiter, Operator.” Ordis replied nonchalantly.

Ilik slightly annoyed at Ordis’s nonchalant tone, “You could at least care about this situation a little more Ordis. Give me the helm, Ordis. We were supposed to stop around Saturn anyways...”

“What do you plan to do –Get us killed?!-, Operator?”

“You’ll see.” Ilik said mischievously, kneeling down on the white plating. A pair of dual holographic rings appearing on each side, placing her hand on top of the rings, their glow intensifying as they felt the pressure of Ilik’s hands on them and the Liset’s engines letting out a massive roar, the ship flying downwards into the field. Weaving between the asteroids, providing cover for the ship as the cannon fire continued mercilessly.

“Are – You trying to kill us?! – you sure this is safe, Operator?” Ordis questioned as his alter-ego cut in.

“If there’s anything I remember before being put into cryostasis, it’s how to fly a ship.”

“But are you sure this is safe?”

“No, I’m not. But it’s better than being out there.” A large explosion echoed out, the Liset violently jerking to a side and Ilik thrown into the side of the deck. The key falling off the console table and the Corpus attachment beginning to glow brighter as it hit the floor.

“Operator, are you alright? I have taken over control of the ship’s flight systems.” Ordis said, the engines still in overdrive. Ordis successfully piloting through the field of moving, clashing asteroids and incoming fire, partially protected by the floating rocks.
Ilik clumsily standing back up, the sound of barking striking her ears from the lower deck.

“Gemini!” she gasped, running down the ramp and oblivious to the fallen glowing key. She stood in the doorway, Gemini hysterically barking at a flickering white cloud of energy in the center of the room, a familiar, canine shape. The weapons vault on the other side of the room.

“Operator, I’m detecting high levels of electromagnetic energy.”

“It’s Zanuka, Ordis.”

“…Oh dear.” The AI responded with a slight hint of horror in his voice.

“…Ehehehehehe…Ah Tenno, did you really think…I wouldn’t come for my donation?” An eerie voice echoed throughout the ship.

“…Shit, should’ve known he was behind this.” Ilik muttered under her breath.

“Operator, Alad V has hacked – “

“Into the transmitter node, yes thank you.”

Gemini slowly creeping out of her spot, quickly sprinting over to Ilik’s side while maintaining eye contact with the swirling energy.
“Come on, let’s go back up. Ordis seal off the lower deck!” Ilik yelled as she reached the upper deck, the sound of multiple hydraulics clamping tightly as the ramp closed shut.

Alad’s voice rang out through the deck, “Why delay the inevitable, Tenno? I thought you were charitable, why not help out a worthy cause? The Lotus is jus-“

“Ordis, cut the transmission.” Ilik said angrily, the wavelength on the transmission node disappearing.

The key glowing brighter, Gemini leaning in close to it and sniffed it cautiously. A spark arcing from the metal to Gemini’s nose. Gemini jumping back and yelped in pain, running over to Ilik and hid behind her, barking furiously.

“Hey, hey easy Gemini!” she yelled, looking towards the gleaming key. “What the hell?” walking slowly towards the key, cautiously picking it up.

The metal pulsing, as if it were alive. The metal warm to the touch and the light blinding, cosmic energy surged through it, the raw power of an Orokin key.

“Tenno, that was quite rude of you, of course, it’s expected of savages like you.” Alad’s voice screeched throughout the deck.

“Argh!” Ilik yelled as Alad’s voice roared, Gemini folding her ears and holding them in her front paws.

“Operator, Alad’s hacked into our transmission node.” Ordis said worriedly.

BANG!

A large explosion rang out, the sound of metal creaking and twisting eerily echoed.

The Corpus ships overhead, their cannons and turrets pointed downwards into the field. The cannon fire tearing apart the asteroids, the larger ones splitting into pieces, a few rounds of cannon fire hitting the Liset’s shields.

The key’s light pulsing, slowly at first and increasing in frequency and intensity with each second. The key suddenly ejecting itself out of Ilik’s hand and magnetizing itself onto the closest wall, intense electrical energy surged throughout the ship.

“AAGH!! Op-op-operator, the key…it’s…tapping into…comm…nav, an…arp syst…” Ordis’s voice breaking down into fragments.

There was a sound of a deep humming, a sound of something charging up. Electricity arced from the key into the surrounding wall, its light dimming to a small glimmer. The Corpus ships closing in, now only a few meters on either side of the Liset, matching its speed and using their cannons to destroy incoming asteroids and to weaken the ship’s shielding.

“Ordis? ORDIS?!” Ilik yelled, kneeling at the center front console. Looking back over to the key, she ran to it, grabbing it tightly and pulled with all her strength, the key not budging even a single centimeter from the wall. “Stay with me Ordis, STAY WITH ME ORDI-“

The humming reaching a maximum, the area shined in an explosion of brilliant radiance, engulfing the Liset, the Corpus ships, and anything else within a 500 yard area. The shockwave causing the large chunks of rock not caught in the orb of radiance to be pushed away violently into others, the radiance dying down and left behind the scattered remains of broken asteroids and small pieces of twisted hulls.

Her memory faded, spotted, pieces forgotten. The memory of waking in the middle of metal and circuitry, sparks flying and consoles damaged.

The memory of the ramp lowering into the broken lower deck, carrying the hurt kubrow in her arms, activating cryostasis, the white hatch closed with a almost dead kubrow and opened to reveal nothing.

Running to the center console, the look of blue and green through the glass, twisted metal and rocks on either side, engulfed in flames as they hit atmosphere, the glass is cracking.

The ground closing in fast, aim for the mountains.

Quickly, run back….

Close your eyes…

Brace for impact…

Author's Note

It's just the beginning...

If there are any spelling errors or anything that seems unclear, please comment and i'll fix it as soon as I can.

Implications

Note: Translations in yellow

~~~>><<~~~

"RAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Ragnarok yelled as he furiously grabbed his chair, hurling it into the wall of the finely decorated conference room, the chair breaking into pieces.

"King Ragnarok, you must stop, this incessant ranting is bad for your heal-"

"HOW CAN I CALM DOWN WHEN THE PLAN WON'T WORK?!" He screeched, his eyes bloodshot with anger, slamming his claws into the table .

Minutes passed as the room remained silent, the sound of Ragnarok's heavy panting broke the relative silence. He turned angrily towards the arced windows peering through the stained glass windows, a layer of frost accumulating on the outside as the sun was setting over the horizon.

He was a Griffon of impressive stature, the feathers on his head and neck sterling white, the dark brown feathers that covered his body were hidden by an assortment of silver battle armor and a long satin red cape. Claws razor sharp, protected by a pair of silver gauntlets, its metal claws sharpened to a fine point.

“Read it again.” Ragnarok said, his deep voice echoing throughout the war room.

“…Y-your majesty?”

“I said,” his voice boomed, “read it again Gershwin.”

Gershwin, the king’s yeoman, was a much smaller Griffon compared to king Ragnarok, he was a young griffon, wearing no armor except for a bronze chest plate. His body feathers a dark grey, the feathers on his head gave the impression of a cowlick, his wings average sized and hidden under a white cape that was attached to the chest plate.

The generals, all in their own versions of decorated armor, looked to the king’s yeoman. “Oh, umm…” Gershwin remarked, fiddling through the papers in front of him before finding the worn parchment paper. “The letter says…”

King Ragnarok,

It is with much thought that we have come to the conclusion of declining your offer of forming a military alliance. We have no conflicts with the Equine nation and as such do not wish to participate in a military conflict with an otherwise peaceful nation.

Signed,

High Imperial Ideo

“That’s all it says, your majesty” he said, speaking in a quiet tone.

King Ragnarok gave a loud sigh before turning to face the table of generals and his yeoman. “Fair enough, we will have to do it ourselves. We will have to train our soldiers harder to compensate for the military disadvantage, can it be done?”

A group of “yes” and “it’s possible” sounded out quietly, each of the generals looking at each other and nodding.

“Good, this meeting is adjourned. My orders go into effect in the morning.”

The Griffon generals got off from their seats, all of them unfurling one of their wings and performing a military salute to the king, Ragnarok waving it off. The generals left the room, leaving the king and his yeoman in relative silence as Gershwin collected all his papers, placing all of them under his wing and walked towards the door.

“Gershwin.”

“Your majesty?” Gershwin stopped in his tracks as he grabbed the door’s gold handle, looking back at the king who had moved back to the stained glass window.

“Do you believe in our cause? Be truthful.” Ragnarok spoke quietly but loud enough for his voice to echo about the room.

A look of confusion on Gershwin’s face appeared, “…Yes, of course your majesty.”

“You hesitated.” He said, eyes fixated past the frosted window.

Gershwin didn’t know what to say, raising a claw only to stop with mouth agape. He lowered his claw and shut his mouth, reaching for the door handle, opening and closing with a quiet click, leaving Ragnarok alone in the war room.

Jupiter
Sector 11
Atmospheric Gas Reclamation Station #1568

“So,” Alad V said, looking out the window of the station, hands grabbing onto the metal railing, “You’re saying…that both ships…simply…disappeared?”

“I po top k’toj, yit.”
“I do not know, sir.” The Corpus soldier responded.

Alad threw his hands off the railing and faced the soldier, a look of neutrality on his face before exploding ,“HOW?!”

The sudden outburst made the Corpus soldier flinch slightly, but was barely noticeable.

“I po top k’toj, yit, I as yotty atout p’kat. J’ket p’ke atea jay yutteyep, p’kete jay pipp’pe pett’tiy.”
“I do not know, sir, I am sorry about that. When the area was surveyed, there was little debris.”

Alad’s face still red with anger, returning back to the railing and grabbing onto it as he stared intently at Jupiter’s cloudy atmosphere. “What about the Tenno’s ship?”

“Jote , yit.”
“Gone, sir.”

“Any Tenno corpses?”

“Tote tout’p.”
“None found.”

“Tempered rubidium hull plating?”

“Ot’py t’tos out y’kik, yit, ot j’kap iy pe’tp ot p’kes ”
“Only from our ships, sir, or what is left of them.”

“What about the key?” Alad said, diverting his gaze to a curled up Zanuka.

“Je youpp top tit’p ip, tup je pip pep’eyp say’yite asout’py ot Toip etet’jy. Je youpp top jep a’ty ypoyet po p’ke a’tea p’kat 17,000 sepety pue po p’ke it’petye j’tatiseptiy t’puypuapioty.”
“We could not find it, but we did detect massive amounts of Void energy. We could not get any closer to the area than 17,000 meters due to the intense gravimetric fluctuations.”

“Any possibility to move closer?”

“Top utip p’ke puypuapiot yut’yipe.”
“Not until the fluctuations subside.”

The room grew quiet as Alad pondered. He turned away from the window, walking towards the stairway and stopped behind the Corpus soldier, “Inform command that I’ll be leaving in my ship, we’re going to the area. I want as many scans as possible to be done.”

“Yit?”
“Sir?” The Corpus soldier slightly turned, maintaining a straight posture.

“You heard me, soldier,” he said sternly. “Ready my ship and set coordinates for the Tenno’s last position.”

“Yey yit.”
“Yes sir.”

Void Space
Sector Void Space 001
Tenno HQ

"What do you mean 'We lost contact with her'?" The Lotus questioned.

"I do not understand it as well, m'am, we simply lost her ID radio signature."

The Lotus sat on an elevated gold and violet throne, a series of violet wires were connected to her helmet and rose into the ceiling, a long violet dress draped down to the floor, violet armor fastened onto the fabric. The room dimly lit with blue lighting, consoles on the lower floor chirped and beeped, accompanied by personnel who were focused on their screens. A series of holograms floated above the room, monitoring Tenno operations, Grineer movements, and the Corpus economy.

A Tenno personnel stood before the throne, holding a holographic pad close to her chest. “I’m sorry, m’am, but we simply lost her.”

The Lotus meditated on the thought before refusing, “No, I cannot accept that. What was her last known position?”

The female personnel turned, swiping her hand across the air, a holographic screen appeared with an image of a system map, focusing in on an asteroid field. “Right there,” she pointed, a reticle forming on the location, “ sector 1275-C, that was the last time we heard from her Nav beacon.”

“Is there anything in the area now?”

“We are detecting extremely high levels of Void energy within the region, spanning a radius of 17,000 meters in all directions. We've also detected small amounts of tempered rubidium, but they appear to be of Corpus manufacture."

The Lotus was deep in thought, analyzing the situation. “Mobilize a fireteam of four, I want data on what is happening, their main priority is to gather data, stay cloaked as much as possible.”

The female personnel turned to face the Lotus, “Yes, m’am.” She said as she genuflected, walking down the steps and minimizing the holographic screen with a swipe of her hand and walked down the center walkway.

Author's Note

So sorry about not updating, I had a unfortunate encounter where I accidentally dropped my laptop into a puddle of water and it short-circuited. After waiting for four months, i finally recieved a new one and uploaded everything from my backup drive, just in time for NaNoWriMo, too.

It was a bit difficult trying to set up the scene with the Lotus given we have never actually seen her walk or pretty much do anything except talk to us through the comm, so I pretty much just winged it all the way.

Either way, enjoy this filler for the time being, hope you enjoy it!

Clipped

~~~>><<~~~

A quiet and serene night, the moon’s glow shone brightly on the black and grey mountains with their white peaks. A dark storm on the horizon, its fury can be seen arcing from cloud to cloud, a flurry of white particles being carried by the strong winds drift up and down the slopes.

The black, twisted metal standing out from the freshly fallen snow like the collapsed spires of some ancient, demolished castle. The Liset lay in the center of the wreckage inside an impact crater, relatively intact. The window cracked open, a few plasma jet flaps torn from the jets and in pieces, one of the large radio transceivers torn clean off and resting outside the impact crater, electricity arcing from circuit to circuit.

The center console of the Liset was collapsed on its side, the display flickering and displaying nothing but gibberish. The right hand console torn from its foundation and was now lying in pieces on the floor, its wires still connected but damaged, the little electricity it had hopping from the wiring to the floor.

The ramp was lowered, slightly bent, the lower deck in pitch black darkness except for the small bit of moonlight that shone into the entrance, snow particles slowly streamed down into the lower deck, a patch of snow forming around the entrance. The Zephyr warframe laid face-down next to the Matter Reconstruction Table, bleeding profusely. Deep gashes could be seen on the helmet and down the Zephyr's right forearm, the blood forming a puddle underneath the table..

The warframe’s finger twitched. Another twitch. Its hand slowly clenched. A small surge of energy flowed through the armor, its power cells re-energizing. Dots of white lit up around the armor. The gashes mended themselves, the openings in the armor reconnected and began to heal the wound. “Ug…” a voice quietly said, Ilik slowly waking up. She slowly moved her head, looking at the at the incubation station, the glass dome that was over it now in tiny pieces, a heating coil arm torn from its hinges and on the floor next to the destroyed armory center.

Ilik turned her head again, looking back towards the upper deck. She tried raising her arm, pain cascading throughout her arm, letting it fall limply back down.

Trying her other arm, the armor not at full power, the armor showed resistance for a few seconds before fully complying.
She stood up, holding onto the MRT for support, her armor still slow to responding. A light jerk pulled at her neck, the syandana trapped under the MRT. Raising her good arm, she pulled at the base of her neck, the syandana reluctant but eventually broke off with a crack.

The HUD inside her helmet was dim and flickering, but she could just make out that her shields were at only twenty-three units, and were slowly falling. Her energy reserves were at only five percent, radar showing only static. She sighed. Her rejuvenation circuitry was only partially working, and her right forearm marked crimson red on the medical readout. The bone appeared to be broken, but it was too inconclusive as to what was exactly wrong with it, but it hurt like hell. Her upper left thigh also had a hairline fracture. She could feel the circuitry mending the hairline fracture, a warm feeling spreading through her limb, but the pain on her forearm remained.

“Or…di-“ she hoarsely whispered before being overcome with a coughing fit, a metallic taste in her mouth as the warm feeling of blood slid down her throat. “Or…dis…” she whispered again, walking forward and up the broken ramp and holding onto the walls for balance. A momentary lapse in energy caused the rejuvenation circuitry to shut down, the pain flooding back and causing her to kneel in pain. The circuitry reactivating a few seconds later, numb relief filled her body and continued to climb upward to the bridge.

The toppled center console flickered to life, showing a diagram of the antimatter engine. The antimatter rods were depleted, a mark showed a crack in one of the feed tubes. The hologram flickered again, disappearing and reappeared with a screen of static, a garbled voice spoke out through the black and white.

“Ordis…Ord- “said Ilik, before being interrupted by another hideous coughing fit, “-dis…wake up.” Ilik roughly spoke, feeling the blood running down her skin from multiple wounds around her body. “Ordis…Ordis…” she said, attempting to grab the flickering hologram of the center console before it faded out, the low hum of the last few running systems was replaced by the eerie whistling silence.

She looked out past the broken window out into the frozen land, the storm quickly closing in and the wind picking up speed. Ilik could feel the temperature dropping, if there was any way to restore the Liset’s power it had to be somewhere out in the pieces of wreckage. “There’s got…to be some antimatter rods…that survived.” she said, “need…to heal though…” slowly standing up and walking back down into the lower compartment, careful not to trip. “Please let there be one… there!” A small shimmer of gold in the far corner catching her eyes and limped over slowly, moving a piece of the arsenal module to the side and picking up the Orokin reactor.

“Come on…” Ilik whispered as she tapped the cell, glowing slightly. Holding it close to the oval shaped energy cell on her armor, a stream of blue energy coursed from the cell to the armor, the energy pathways energizing.

Ilik could feel the rejuvenation circuitry beginning operate on her injuries, the HUD feeding her information on various systems, power levelling off at 27 units. “It'll have to do,” she grumbled. The circuitry healed her minor injuries, but was still unable to fix her right arm. The HUD's reenergized software was able to deliver a more complete diagnosis of her right arm, showing the fracture to be oblique, the bone nearly puncturing the skin. Ilik sighed, “Rough few hours”, she supposed.

She carefully climbed over the frame, being cautious with her injured arm. The snow crunched under her feet as she looked around, the wreckage of the two Corpus ships lay scattered several thousand meters away, only one massive ship hull managing to survive reentry more or less intact, and now lay inside the end of a crater, a trail of slowly burning plasma in its wake.

Ilik started the long trek to the wreckage, feeling the cold enter into her warframe armor and doing her best to ignore it. Walking closer, she stood amazed that a hull piece as big as this could survive reentry. She reached the mouth of the crater, the wall almost vertical in its slant. Ilik knelt down, sitting on the edge for a second before nudging herself over the edge, sliding down to the bottom of the crater.

The near-vertical wall curved at the bottom, allowing a smooth stop at the bottom. Several spots of the crater still burned, the snow reclaim the soil it once covered, slowly but steadily. Carrying on at a slow pace, Ilik scoured the wreckage for an entrance, the glint of bright metal caught her eye, revealing a damaged exhaust vent that provided her an entrance. The hull was several feet off the ground, but debris strewn about provided a makeshift set of stairs, saving Ilik some of her already depleted strength.

The inside fared worse than the outside, the hallways were crumpled like paper, it’s hard to believe anyone could survive this. The crumpled hallways were filled with the clutter of broken off pieces of support beams, wiring, and circuitry.

A grate fell from the overhead vent with a noticeable clang, Ilik landing on her feet with the silence the Tenno are known for. Standing up, she looked down the hallway, several sections looking intact between crumpled pockets and jagged metal, emergency lights still illuminated in those areas.

“Alright, let’s see…” she said, cautiously walking forward, and attempting to maneuver through the wreckage, keeping an eye out to avoid holes in the floor and live wires. “There’s gotta be some--” her head whipped around immediately, the sound of mechanized footsteps echoed quietly through the halls…or was it just nothing…?

“Ok…calm…I’m just overreacting, it’s just the adrenaline.” She reassured herself, walking further into the flickering hallways, the resounding noise ringing out on occasion.

The hallways were a complete mess of paneling, wiring and torn metal. Live wires still arced with electricity, the snow around them melting to form puddles. Ilik avoided the puddles, searching through crevices of the wrecked walls and floor for any source of power, minding her injured arm where the bone had pierced the skin and held it tenderly. “C’mon….there has to be one that survived….UGH!” Ilik grunted as she slammed a wall hatch shut, the uranium filament rods inside completely destroyed and useless.

She walked forward, looking into the crevices to find any rods that might have survived. “Hmm…nothing, that’s expected.” She muttered sarcastically, closing a toppled locker and walked forward. “There’s got to be one around here…” she spoke quietly, making a left at an illuminated and intact hallway intersection, “ugh…how hard is it to find a single fuc-WHOA WHOA WHOA-AAAAAAH!!” her screams echoed as the floor gave way, sending her falling alongside some paneling into a dark crevice in the rock.

“AAAAAH-OOF!” the air punched out of her lungs as she landed on the snow covered rock on her back, her body rebounding several inches into the air before landing again. “ah….oww….fuuck…” she cursed under her breath as she rolled into a ball, the dull pain quickly fading as her rejuvenation circuitry kicked in and healed the damage, the warm feeling spreading through her back and limbs. Within minutes she felt better, standing up and ran her hand across the crevice walls, looking upward at the mouth of the crevice several meters up.

Her HUD furiously flashed crimson as the suit's systems began to fail one by one. With a single thought, she ordered power to be diverted from her reserves to the failing systems. This power appeared to placate the systems, aside from the rejuvenation system. A bright-orange warning appeared shouting the words “CRITICAL FAILURE!” and pointed to her spine. A surge of electricity arched along Ilik's back.

“Ah!” she yelped, arching backwards and falling to her knees and extended her arms, catching herself as she fell forward into the snow-covered pit floor. “…Shit,” she hissed under her breath, “now? Seriously…?” lifting her head, a flash of green caught her eye.

Looking in that direction, her HUD showed higher radiation levels and a familiar energy signature.

Allowing her systems to slowly recover, she slowly crawled towards the hole in the rock, she peered into it to see what the flash was. “Jackpot.” She said in a low voice, reaching into the hole and pulling out three antimatter rods, all in excellent condition. Placing them on the magnetic holster on her hip, she stood slowly, making sure all her systems worked, and looked upwards towards the mouth of the crevice.

“Ok, that’s one problem more or less solved.” Her HUD showed her reserves to be at 17 units, good enough for one use. Her systems showed to be working, aside from the now non- functional rejuvenation circuitry. “Well, here goes nothing.” She said, getting into a ready stance, the energy pathways of her armor glowing as a burst of energy propelled her upward.

Barely reaching the mouth of the crevice, she grabbed onto the wall with her left hand as she started to fall, minding the injury on her right arm. Looking up, she wasn’t more than a few feet from the top, beginning to climb in careful steps, digging the talons on her feet into the rock for better grip.

The sound of metallic feet echoed around her.

She stopped suddenly, looking towards the mouth of the crevice for signs of anyone up there. The flickering lights created shadows of imaginary things, the HUD showing her adrenaline levels rising. Ilik slowly climbed as she looked towards the edge, cautious as to what might be up there.

“CREEOOOOOOO!”

An anti-MOA appearing at the edge, its disgusting squawk piercing the silence and looked at the warframe with hostile intent. The alarms began to sound, the sound echoing throughout the broken hallways, the sound of more MOAs resounded throughout.

“One problem after another!” She yelled. In a dash of speed, Ilik vaulted up towards the edge of the crevice, sprinting towards the anti-moa, attempting to land a solid left-hook on it.

The anti-moa moved away from the direction of her punch and fired a plasma bolt, narrowly avoiding the warframe. The plasma bolt hit the ground behind Ilik, a bubble of plasma quickly expanding behind her and threw her several feet down the corridor.

“Oof!” she gasped as the breath was knocked out of her, once again. She rolled onto her back, jumping upright. She noticed a small whining noise. Looking towards the three rods, she groaned as she saw that one had cracked and was leaking fluid. Its teal haze grew even brighter and the high-pitched whine growing louder. She looked toward the anti-MOA, who was preparing to fire again. Looking down at the rod, an insane idea came to mind. Throwing the rod, it rolled to a stop under the anti-MOA, still focused on Ilik. She sprinted down the hallway with a speed that would’ve impressed Volt, narrowly avoiding an incoming plasma round.

The anti-moa fired its round, the warframe narrowly avoiding the plasma bubble. The intense light and high-pitched whine was disrupting its electronics. “CREEE- BANG!”In a split second, the air ruptured in a furious cloud of fire, disintegrating the anti-moa and the surrounding area atomized.

The ground shook and the air ignited as the antimatter rod ruptured, the explosion wreaking havoc on the already fragile hull structure, a barrage of paneling and steel girders falling to the floor in front and around Ilik, vaulting under the falling debris and rolled to a stop curling into a ball and held her injured arm as pain surged through it.

She could hear the sound of robotics approaching, her HUD showed her power at 17 units and shields at 23 units, hardly enough to withstand an assault. Taking a few deep breaths, she tried to ignore the pain and stood up, grabbing the two rods that had come off, checking for any damage to the containers. Noticing they were intact, she placed them back on the magnetic holster and sprinted down the dark hallway, the emergency lights flickering.

The moonlit sky was a relief to see as she exited the Corpus ship, the sound of mechanical footsteps and horrendous screeching not too far behind. Ilik sprinted up the crater’s edge, bolts of plasma streamed up from behind, the MOAs luckily trapped at the bottom of the crater. She lost the momentum from her run near the top of the crater, her left arm just barely able to grab onto a handhold before her footing was lost. She hefted herself up, swinging a leg over the top of the crater, rolling onto her back and panting heavily.

“No time to rest.” She thought to herself, rolling over and standing up, the snow crunched under her feet as she ran.

The storm clouds had engulfed the starry sky and moon, leaving the landscape a dark grey. The snow fell faster as the wind picked up speed, the swirling flakes making it difficult to see more than a few meters in front of herself.

Slowing down, Ilik half-stumbled, half-shuffled as the snow approached her knees. Looking at the rods attached to the magnetic holster, the soft teal glow began to slowly fade, the power of the antimatter rods beginning to wane in the freezing cold. “Just a few more…meters…ugh,” she said as she dragged herself through the white, freezing powder. “Just hang in there Ordis, I’m coming.” Taking another step, her foot sank into the snow and Ilik stumbled, faceplanting into the snow.

“Damn…” she whispered as if someone would hear, trying to bend her leg and finding resistance. Her ankle was trapped on something below the powdery snow, which looked to be a twisted piece of metal. Ilik writhed around, attempting to free herself. A sudden crack sent a wave of sharp pain up her leg, making her double over as it overwhelmed her.

A sonic boom ripped through the air. Ilik grew down as she looked for the source. Looking directly upward, a bright twinkling object fell from the sky, leaving behind a gaping hole in the clouds. The object screamed through the air. Ilik frantically pulled at her leg, desperate to free it from the hidden debris. She pulled one final time, freeing her leg as pain ripped through the area. No time to focus on the pain, she scrambled away on all fours, digging herself into the snow as the object made contact with the ground, sending a mixture of rock and snow high into the air. The debris fell back down around the impact crater, the silver object lying in the center.

Ilik stuck her head out from the mound of snow, shaking the powder off her helmet and climbed out. She stumbled as pain erupted from her ankle, a warm, numb feeling followed as the armor injected an anesthetic to the area.

The object had a brushed nickel texture, its exterior cooling to a silver-grey as it cooled from its red-hot atmospheric entry, its geometric surface plating created a vertically stretched hexagon. The small pane of glass on the hatch of the pod was frozen over, showing a dark silhouette of a head illuminated by the interior lights.

Ilik slowly approached the pod, running her hand over the frozen glass and removing the thin layer of ice, revealing a Corpus crewmember. Possibly unconscious from the reentry, its helmet lightly cracked down the middle. An external display on the pod showed a faint pulse from the crewmember.

Ilik stepped back cautiously, her attention towards the sky as the air exploded with more sonic booms. A large number of twinkling objects raced towards the ground. Thinking quickly, she scuttled forward, her broken ankle making it hard to walk, let alone run. Ignoring the pain, she ran as best she could through the knee-deep snow, the blizzard slightly letting up, allowing Ilik to spot a dark object in the distance, partially covered in snow.

The pods hit the ground with intense force and knocked massive plumes of rock, snow, and dirt high into the air, and slowly fell back down to reveal each pod in an impact crater of their own several meters deep into the rock. The combined force of the impacts shifted the loose particles of snow, an avalanche caused by the impacts careened down the edge of a nearby mountain.

The Tenno vaulted forward as a falling pod impacted on the snow. The pod sent a plume of gray material into the air and violently threw Ilik into the air, knocking her limp body against the ground like a ragdoll. Her limp body flew over the mouth of the crater, her back hitting the large antennae of Liset , a large dent formed at the area of impact as the metal reverberated, the lax body bouncing off the metal and fell to the snow-covered floor.

A still of silence washed over, aside from the whistle of the blizzard. The pods stood unmoving in their craters, a number thirty or more beacons flashed through the thick blanket of flying ice particles. The pods hissed as their hatches opened, the still crewmembers inside reanimated and took up their arms. They all met roughly in the center of where all their pods landed, a squadron consisting of five Techs, eight elite and regular crewmen, two sniper crewmen, and seven prods.

Their chatter assessed the damage of their ships, the Techs leading the operation, sending few crewmembers in the general direction of their downed ship with a simple point. The remaining crew looked towards the Liset. Deras, Lankas, Provas, and Supras at the ready, their hunt for the Zephyr warframe still on.

“Yuttout’p p’ke Petto’y y’kik, Ekpetsitape koy’pipey (Surround the Tenno’s ship, exterminate hostiles.)” The Tech leading the operation yelled through his helmet, running his hand over the crack before he wound up his Supra, gesturing to advance forward slowly.

Ilik slowly awoke, her body weak. She sat herself up against the dark metal of the antennae, seeing through tired eyes the squadron of Corpus soldiers that neared her. She didn’t want to die and have her body used to build another Zanuka prototype. Her attempts to move felt sluggish and heavy as the HUD in her helmet showed her armor was losing power. Her mind raced at the thought of her armor losing power…she questioned whether her revival system even continued to function, or whether she would even continue to live.

“O’te pey’y Petto po jot’ty a’toup (One less Tenno to worry about,)” The Corpus Tech said as he planted a metal boot on the Tenno’s shoulder and pressed down, “Alad V jip’p te k’peayed (Alad V will be pleased).” He could see the Tenno flinch in pain as he pressed down harder. Removing his foot, he stepped back and waved his hand to the group behind him, the Corpus soldiers forming a semi-circle around the Liset, weapons pointed and armed at the nearly dead Tenno.

Ilik looked around at the formation of Corpus soldiers, their weapons all pointed at her. Her mind raced as she thought of a last attempt to escape. Ilik looked at the ground, the two rods had disconnected from her magnetic holster, a crack ran down the length of one of the rods.
“Yit (Sir),” said a Corpus soldier, followed by two others, “Je tou’tp p’ke pete’piyp y’kik, ut’totputapepy ap’p y’tej ses’tety atoat’p a’te pe’ap ek’yekp tot yetetap MOAs. P’ke ptaty’yeitet iy pasa’jep teyot’p ay jepp ay p’ke yo’te (We found the derelict ship, unfortunately all crew members aboard are dead except for several MOAs. The transceiver is damaged beyond repair as well as the core).”

“je jipp u’ye p’ke Petto’s y’kik tot kat’ps ot’ye je ka’te ip teyp’taitep (We will use the Tenno’s ship for parts once we have it restrained),” The Tech said, his eyes trained on the Tenno, “Tij’kp, kat’p se p’ke pit’ky (Right now, hand me the links).” The Corpus soldier handed a pair of small metallic devices to the Tech.

Restrictor devices, meant to detain Tenno when Zanuka is not around by placing them in a deep sleep, allowing for transport to Alad V. The Tech took the devices in his hand and waved his hand to the soldiers behind him, the three moving to join the formation and pointed their weapons at the Tenno. The Tech placed down his Supra and walked towards the Tenno, devices in hand.

It was a last attempt, but she didn’t want to become another Zanuka prototype, if she was going to die…

“…I’m gonna die fighting.” With a single thought, she ordered the last of her main and reserve power to her warframe, the synthetic muscles supercharged. In a burst of speed, time slowed down as she leapt upward, antimatter rods in hand. With all her strength, Ilik threw the rod at a random crewmember, the glass of the rod shattered upon impact.

The Tech recoiled back in shock as the Tenno sprang up several feet into the air, a teal glowing object flew towards a Corpus soldier in the formation and smashed into their helmet, releasing a teal-blue vapor cloud as the crewmember fell backwards. The Tech looked back towards the Tenno as it fell towards the ground, in its hand another rod aimed for him. The tech darted towards the Tenno as it landed on the ground, slamming his forearm into its throat.

Ilik was slammed into the Liset’s antennae as she landed, everything still moved in slow motion, the Tech’s forearm at her throat. Her vision started to blacken as the Tech held her to the metal with his forearm. Ilik heard the Tech snicker under his helmet as she started to lose consciousness, her grip on the rod still in her hand loosened.

“Ip’y ot’et (It’s over).” The Tech said as he placed the device on the Tenno’s neck, the device’s needles burrowing into the warframe.

Ilik felt the needles of the device burrow through her armor and into the skin of her neck, the HUD registered a foreign body was releasing a deadly neurotoxin into her bloodstream, a large warning sign flashed on the screen, “REJUVENATION CIRCUITRY OFFLINE”. Her vision continued to blacken as the fast-acting neurotoxin worked its way through her bloodstream, her body felt weak. Her grip on the antimatter rod loosened even further.

“…No…” she whimpered, refusing to give up on her attempt to escape. She tightened her grip as the rod almost slipped out of her fingers. She lifted her arm to the Tech’s amusement, her strength failing as the neurotoxin sapped her life.

“Burn…” her last remaining strength broke the glass of the rod and released a cloud of teal-blue vapor.

Time had resumed its normal speed, the vapor cloud’s teal-blue color suddenly turned a bright orange.

The area was scorched, the ground clear of its powdery blanket and replaced with ragged and burning rock. The freezing wind howled silently as the world stood still. A mixture of ash and snow fell to the ground, a grey veil of particles lined the carcass of the Liset and the crater where several destroyed statues stood motionless.

“Over there…I see something….” Yelled a muffled voice, a golden light shined through the dust and snow that hung in the air, “Over here….right here, it’s right here….” The muffled voice grew clearer as it approached.

The storm eager to finish its mission, particles of snow and ash continued to heavily fall upon the wreckage, a mixture of grey and white particles littered the scorched ground.

“…What Is it…?” said the voice, “It’s still breathing…” the pale body surrounded by the statues was still alive, but barely. It heard the muffled voices, but faintly, the four-legged creature looked it over with curiosity as it held the orb of golden light, “…The blizzard’s getting stronger….we must take it back…”

“..You’re majesty, we found this…”

“…to the infirmary…”

“…s, your Majesty…”

First Day (Revised)

~~~>><<~~~

"...I can't....this ship around...too late, we're entering...” The decks shuddered as the ship entered the fold. The lights of the halls flickered, vague shadows scurried about, thrown into the walls as the ship lurched to the side. The energy surged through the hallways and chased after the shadows. Their bodies fell to the ground as the energy inhabited their bodies...changing them...

"...this one is promising....the new model...energy matches...." The bright overhead lights blinded, the sounds of torture echoed throughout the dark hallways. Two figures walked besides the gurney and passed glances to each other, then to the person on the gurney. There was chatter all around, but while deafening it did nothing to block out the sounds of death. A scream pierced the hallway, becoming gurgled as blood spurted out of a room, followed by a dull thump of a head.

"Get her on the operating table, we must work quick...." They threw the body on the clean, white table, the doors closing and muffled the sound of horrors from outside. "Anesthesia...not working...conscious....void energy is becoming unstable...infested skin not accepting...." they bound the hands and feet of the person on the operating table, latex glove-covered hands and mechanical arms appeared from the darkness with various instruments and began slicing into flesh, large pieces taken and blood spilled. The sounds of shrieking echoed like a chorus, resonating louder and louder until it became deafening.

...It's okay...

...I'm here now...

...It was all a dream...

...Open your eyes, little sister...

...It's just a dream...

“T'Mir!” She jumped, awaking from her nightmares. The voices in her mind subsided in a matter of seconds, leaving her in the relative silence of the room, save for the intermittent beep of an unknown machine.

Looking around, the room was extremely well lit, the walls of the room a pale ivory color. Wooden furniture adorned the room with a pair of chairs and small table in the far corner of the room, the vase on the table held an assortment of brightly colored flowered. A wooden nightstand stood next to the metal bed she sat upon, legs covered by a thin white blanket. A small table lamp stood on the nightstand along with a metal tray with an assortment of metal instruments, precariously perched on its edge.

the window next to the chairs showed the snow-capped mountains in the far distance, the tips covered by dark and swirling clouds. Looking towards the opposite side of the room, two more chairs lined the wall. The intermittent tone came from an EKG monitor, its design ancient compared to traditional Orokin devices.

Placing a hand to her temple, she flinched as her head throbbed suddenly. A sudden realization came to her, the tips of her fingers felt warm instead of the usual metallic coldness. Bringing the hand into her line of sight, she gasped as she looked at her pale arm.

She stared in quiet astonishment at her arm and hand, balling it into a fist and splaying out her fingers as far as she could repeatedly. Countless years locked away inside the Zephyr armor left her skin a ghastly pale.

“I’m….I’m out…” Ilik whispered, tears beginning to form. “I’m….out….” She said, her excitement growing. Throwing off the blanket, her legs were the same color as her arms, her body covered by a small medical gown. She looked at her hands, her excitement increasing. taking the metal tray and carefully removing the needles and other instruments.

Using the tray as a makeshift mirror, the polished surface of the tray revealed a equally pale face, round with no signs of malnutrition, her short brown hair unkempt. The tray revealed a striking green left eye, the right eye black with a sky blue iris. An ivory colored implant with gold trim encircled the digital iris, fiber optic cabling ran from the implant and down her cheek, down the side of her neck and down her spine, pulsing a sky blue.

Running a hand down her spine, the metallic object that lay grafted into her skin affirmed her suspicions, assuring her of the spinal implant, also colored ivory and adorned with gold trim if she remembered correctly.

She chuckled as she placed the tray down, looking at her arms again with curiosity. Balling her hands into a fist, she flexed the muscles in her arms and forearms. Leaf shaped platelets began to rise from her forearm, wires peaked out from the spaces between the platelets, moving in a manner that seemed sentient.
She relaxed the muscles in her arms, the wires retreating back into her forearms are the platelets relaxed, overlapping one another. “Still got it….” She whispered, the sound of her voice still surprising to her. Throwing her bare legs over the side of the bed, the feeling of the cold floor came as a surprise, but was quickly forgotten.

Her knees shakily held her up, unaccustomed to walking with her own legs without the assistance of her armor. Using the wall for support, she attempted to walk only to stumble and fall face-first. She groaned as she attempted to get back up, looking over at the door as it opened, a pair of strange creatures looking right back and the prone Tenno.

~~~>> <<~~~

“It’s quite an interesting creature. A mixture of metal and flesh...why, I have no words for it.” Dr. Grinclaw exclaimed, regaining his composure as he passed another Griffon and nodded.

Doctor Arden Grinclaw,head doctor of the Griffonian Imperial Hospital in Ira Province and well known for numerous advancements in medical science. The white lab coat he covered the greying light brown feathers of his body, his tips of his neatly folded wings a more noticeable tinge of grey. A small pair of glasses hung of the bridge of his beak, their small size looking more to be reading glasses than prescription.

“I’m just excited to be here.” Nurse Redquill responded. A young Griffon, recently graduated from medical school and chosen to be Grinclaw’s protege. A small nurse’s cap upon her head, the long white plumage that covered the crest of her head was tied into a ponytail, her coat a light hazel brown with eyes to match. “But...Dr. Grinclaw….why me?” She asked, wings fluttering. “I’m honored, but...me, your protege….why?”

The doctor contemplated the question, raising his glasses into the light and cleaning them on his lab coat. “I have my reasons.” He said, fixing the glasses in place. “I’m not getting any younger, either. I might as well begin teaching what I know to someone who is eager to learn.”

“I see….” Teles responded, accepting the answer half-heartedly. He was a reserved old man, anyways. “So,” she said, changing the topic. “What’s this creature look like? Does it have big teeth? Does it smell?”

The Griffon doctor chuckled, gesturing a talon to his beak. “You will have to wait and see. But,” he leaned in, his voice lowering to a whisper, “you mustn't talk about this in public. If word were to get out…”

“Oh, right…” She whispered as they rounded a corner, cautiously looking at the medical personnel that passed.

“Just….contain your excitement.” He said normally, stopping in front of a double door with an imperial guard in front. “This is a serious matter, after all.” He warned Teles before handing a badge to the guard.

The guard inspected the badge carefully before handing it back. “What about her?” He questioned.

“Oh,” Grinclaw realized, pulling out a sheet of parchment from inside his lab coat, “she’s with me. King’s orders.”

The guard unfolded and scanned the parchment carefully, noticing the mark of the king in wax at the bottom. “Very well.” he said, handing the parchment back. Stepping aside, he held the door open for the doctor and his assistant, returning to his position once they passed, spear in claw.

The hallway on the other side of the double doors contained an eerie quiet, fluorescent lights illuminating the white tile floors and sky blue walls. Medical carts with various instruments and gurneys with white cloth neatly folded on top stood by the walls.

“It’s pretty quiet in here,” Teles whispered, feeling it was appropriate,”Is the entire wing sealed?”

“Not the entire wing,” Grinclaw answered, “just this level.”

Teles looked around. “Shouldn’t there be more guards?”

“There was, the creature’s been in a comatose state for over two weeks.” He said, cleaning his glasses again. “The king saw it as less of a threat after the first week and removed, well, all except one.”

“Hmm...bit of a narrow-minded decision, isn’t it?”

Dr. Grinclaw shrugged. “King’s orders. I’m just glad he chose me to study this creature.” He said, “And so should you.”

Teles chuckled. “I suppose I should.”

Grinclaw nodded, stopping in front a of door markes 2214. “The creature is right in here.”

A deep thump resounded from inside the room, followed by a quiet groaning.

“What was that?” Teles questioned.

Dr. Grinclaw shrugged. “I’m not sure.” He said, turning the doorknob. His gaze turned to the creature, lying prone on the floor.
The creature’s gaze met the doctor’s, both remaining motionless for several seconds. This creature was nothing like it was described in the reports. The creature was completely hairless except on the top of its head. It had digits like a minotaur’s, only smaller, and oddly shaped flesh talons on its legs. There was barely any metal on its skin, except for a piece of curved metal that encircled one of its eyes and a long piece of segmented metal that ran down its back, the teal medical it wore slightly covering it.

Dr. Grinclaw cleared his throat. “...Well….” he said, unsure of what to say. “H-hello?”

Teles peaked from the doorway, mouth agape at the creature. “It’s awake…” She whispered, “It’s really awake.”

The creature shakily stood up, carefully walking into the corner of the room. “Wh-what is this? Where am I?” It said, struggling to stand up.

“Calm down, we only want to help.” The doctor calmly said. “You’re in the Griffonian Imperial Hospital. You were found on Mt. ferun and were sen-”

“Wait-oh nonono-where’s my armor?” It interrupted, muttering something under its breath. “Where’s my armor-nonono...how could I’ve forgotten...WHERE IS IT?”

A confused look struck the doctor and his assistant. “Umm...what….armor?” he said, looking towards his assistant, the same confused look on her face.

“How long was I out?!” It said, panicking.

“...Out?”

“No...no NO, I can’t out stay out for too long-WHERE IS MY ARMOR?!” it screamed, placing its hand on its head. “If I stay out too long, I might-URGH!!” The creature groaned as it fell to its knees, its hands digging into its head as it screamed.

Grinclaw and his assistant ran over to the creature, unsure what to do. “What’s wrong?”

The creature, as soon as it started, stopped screaming and fell to the floor. Teles remained still, unsure what to do as Dr. Grinclaw grabbed the creature.

“Teles,” He grunted, attempting to lift the creature, “thing’s heavier than it looks…Teles, help me lift it onto the bed.”

“Huh?” she said, coming out of her immobility. “Oh.” she said, grabbing the creature’s legs and hoisting it onto the bed.

The creature arched it's back before curling into a fetal position, head between its knees before falling silent. The diagrams on the EEG began to flatline, the steady beeping now monotone.

“It’s going into cardiac arrest.” Grinclaw watched as the creature flatlined. “Get me the charged runes, there might be some in the hall.”

His assistant threw open the door, checking each gurney and cabinet. “Ah!” she exclaimed, finding a silver case on top of a pile of folded linen and ran back. The creature lying flat on its back now, she opened the case to reveal a pair of smooth rocks with arcane runes etched into their surface, a small thimble in its own little space.

Removing the medical gown from the creature’s body, Grinclaw motioned Teles to hand over the stones. Placing the metal thimble over his right index claw, he placed a stone on the creature’s side and another above its right teat.

“Is….is it pregnant?” Teles questioned, noticing the creature’s chest.

“Didn’t you read the report?” Grinclaw mused, rubbing the flat undersides of the two stones together, the markings glowing a faint blue. “Clear!” Quickly placing the stones back in their spots, a hard tap on the stone sent the body to arch upward before falling back.

“No pulse.” Teles informed.

Grinclaw breathed. “One more.” Charging the stones again, he gave another hard tap that sent the creature’s back arching upward.

“Still no pulse.”

Grinclaw growled, angrily charging the stones for another try. “C’mon…” he grunted, giving the stones another tap.

The creature violently arched upwards, a steady beeping interrupted monotone hum of the EEG.

“We got a heartbeat.” Teles commented.

The doctor sighed heavily, handing the stones back to his assistant. “It’s...or rather, she is breathing normally, probably unconscious.”

Teles sighed lightly. “What happened, anyways?”

Grinclaw nodded, “I’m not sure. Could have been shock.” He suggested, “It’s difficult to tell, especially with a creature that I’ve never seen before.”

“Well...what do we do?” She questioned, placing a blanking over the unconscious creature.

“Hmm….” The doctor hummed, thinking intensely. “....We wait. See if there was any neurological damage.”

Teles nodded. “How long before she wakes up?”

“Hours, maybe. Someone needs to be here when it wakes up, though.”

“I’ll stay.” Teles declared. “You can run your tests and someone will be here to watch in case she wakes up.” She said, taking a seat by the window.

The Griffon chuckled. “Fair enough, but this is coming out of your break.”

Teles scoffed jokingly, watching as the doctor exited the room with vials of blood samples. Looking out the window, dark clouds loomed even closer to the city edge. The clouds visibly churning and wind howling.

“Gonna be a bad one…”

Author's Note

Life has a way of providing obstacles, I should honestly try to write more often.

I hoped you enjoyed this chapter!

Imperium

~~~>><<~~~

King Ragnarok strode through the silent hall of his castle. The white marble floors of the castle shone with multicolored light from the large stained glass windows. Red carpet ran down the center of the hallway, and large oil paintings hung on the walls. Small tables with various assortments of china sat underneath the regal portraits .

“Your majesty!”

Ragnarok turned to face the voice. “Ah, Gershwin.”

“Did you call for me, your majesty?” Gershwin asked. His voice was small, but still echoed throughout the large halls.

The king nodded, “I did.“ he said, gesturing to a large door ahead. “Come. Follow me.”

Gershwin followed a few paces behind the king, stopping in front of a large door that rose sixteen feet. The paneling of each door covered in intricate gold decorations, elite guardsmen stood on either side of the doors, adorned with gold and silver armor and ornate spears, wings covered by crimson capes. The guards saluted the king, approaching the center and pulling on the ornate rings that opened the door with a low creak. Ragnarok simply looked forward as he walked past the guards with his servant following suit.

The doors shut with a great thump. The floors of the throne room a sterling white marble tile, red and gold carpet ran down the central length of the hall. A large tree stump was placed on top of the carpet in the center of the room. Large marble pillars decorated with long red banners lined the walls between the stained glass windows. Standing on a double dais, the ornate throne gleamed in the multi-colored light.

"Gershwin." King Ragnarok started, running his claw over the top of the tree stump as he circled it. "Just a stump now..."

"Your majesty...?

"How about the troops?"

"Uhh…” Gershwin searched through the scroll under his wing, “Well, troop number has increased by two hundred over the past-"

"It's not enough."

"And...your majesty?"

The king snapped, toppling the stump with an impressive feat of strength. The king’s yeoman could only watch as the large tree stump made the ground shake as it hit.

Ragnarok loosened his fist, turning away from the stump and directed his view past the stained glass. Large storm clouds made their way towards the horizon, having dropped their cargo of fresh snow. The setting sun peeking out from behind the clouds as they passed, illuminating a snow covered valley between two mountains.

"The Idol of Boreas was the key to keeping the regions united, and then.... that demon took it for his own purposes. Now it lies at the bottom of an impossible abyss."

Gershwin kept silent as the king rendered his thoughts. He knew the story. They all knew the story.

"Now our empire is in shambles, a former shadow of what it used to be."

“We are on the road to recovery, my king..”

“It’s not enough.” King Ragnarok muttered, “We need to show that we can still fight, that we are still powerful as we were before.”

With a throw of his cape, he turned and motioned towards his throne. Climbing up the stairs, he took his seat and continued pondering, tapping his claw on the gold armrest.

“Your generals and advisors are doing all they can to amass an army and train them, my king.” The young yeoman assured, scrolls under his wing.

The king sighed deeply. “What of the neighboring countries?”

“Right here, my king.” Gershwin removed two scrolls and handed them over.

Quickly looking over the scrolls, Ragnarok scoffed. Handing the scrolls back, he placed his claws to his temples and groaned angrily.

“You musn’t stress yourself too much, my king.” Gershwin advised.

He sighed deeply once again, saying,“It comes with the profession, Gershwin.”

The large door dramatically opened once more. A lone griffon soldier approached the dais, clad in in copper armor with a short silver cape, no spear on his person. “My king, I have news.” he kneeled, removing the copper helmet.

“Yes lieutenant, what is it?” The king responded, sitting upright in his seat.

The soldier stood and stood straight. “I’ve received news from Dr. Grinclaw. It’s about the creature we recovered from Mt. Ferun.You instructed the guard to tell you when it was awake, correct?”

besides a raised eyebrow, his expression remained a trained poker face. “Yes?”

“...It’s awake, my king.”

Seconds of silence passed before Ragnarok nodded. “Thank you, lieutenant. Have a chariot prepared, I want it ready in ten minutes.” He calmly ordered.

“...Yes, my king.” The lieutenant kneeled again before turning and exiting.

Gershwin looked at the king, deep in thought with a claw against his neck.

“This is a godsend, Gershwin. I can feel it.” He finally said. “This is what shall bring the Griffon Empire to its golden age once more.” His voice low, he stepped off his throne. “I must meet it.”

Gershwin looked surprised. “...Sire? Are….are you sure that’s necessary?” He hastily collected his scrolls and followed suit. “We’ve not yet known what this creature is capable of. I’ve heard from the doctors this creature is made of flesh AND metal.”

“It has been in slumber for two weeks, Gershwin.” He replied calmly. “I wish to know what it knows. Perhaps this is the key to proving our might.”

“And what if it does not wish to cooperate?”

Ragnarok chuckled, stopping to face the yeoman. “Oh, my young scribe… enough with your negativity, it’s fouling the room.” He patted the yeoman’s shoulder. “This will be the harbinger of our glory.” He laughed, throwing open the large doors and walked with noble confidence.

The ivory balcony overlooked the city below, three large ornate chariots stood idle at the center of a large procession of soldiers. The soldiers stood straight as the doors opens, spears pointing to the sky and armor gleaming in the sunset as capes waved in the chilling breeze.

The king and his yeoman proceeded forward through the procession, nodding at the general who waited by the center chariot. The king and his scribe boarded their chariots, the generals and few soldiers boarding the other two. The griffons attached to the chariots unfurled their wings, letting their wings grab the wind as they ran off the side of the balcony and soared through the sky.

Ragnarok looked at the orange sunset that peaked from behind the clouds, still covering the tips of the mountains in the distance. He looked at the city below, snow still fresh on the ground. Breathing in deeply, the cold air stung his nostrils but paid no mind.

“Our herald of fate...”

~~~>> <<~~~

A trio of lisets lay in wait behind a large asteroid, like small predators stalking their prey. The prey being one-ship fleets of Corpus and Grineer design, waging war amongst each other as the spherical anomaly raged behind them with ungodly energy. Flashes of light sparkled on their hulls as they suffered brutal amounts of kinetic and plasmic damage, unyielding in their attacks.

“Your mission is to raid the ships for necessary information while a fellow tenno operative performs scans of the anomaly.” The Lotus’ voice informed the three lisets. “Happy hunting.”

“Uhh…” The saryn expressed her concerns. “Ok, so we do this alone?”

The Volt sighed, placing a hand over his helmet. “Jas, I keep telling you, you’re going to be fine. Just cause some noise enough to keep the Grineer occupied on you.” He explained, “Same goes for the Corpus, Va’Lin.”

The Rhino on the transmission screen scoffed. “I got it, Rookie.” He sneered.

“What does the intel show, Jas?”

“Hold on.” She responded, moving to another console on her liset. “Intel shows both factions are using class 4-X armor, Corpus also using proto-shielding on most of their infantry.”

“What about the anomaly?”

“The anomaly has stopped expanding, but I am reading heavy cannon fire from both factions.” Jas reported. “Seriously, I would feel a lot better if I had some backup on this one, Kiv.”

“Rookies…” Va’Lin muttered.

“Sorry Jas, you gotta go in alone. Just stay in the ventilation and you’ll be fine.”

Jas sighed, silent for a few seconds. “...Fine.” She responded.

“Wait.” Va’Lin ordered over the transmission. “I’m picking up something on long range scanners.”

“Is it a ship?” Kiv questioned.
“More like a fleet.” The Rhino informed, “They’re coming in first, the energy of the trailing object is familiar, it...we’ve got trouble.”

The fleet of twenty-odd Grineer ships dropped out of warp behind the lone dreadnought still in conflict with the Corpus capital ship. A massive subspace shockwave resonated throughout the area as an even larger threat dropped out of warp: a balor fomorian. The capital ship was but half the size of the black and bleeding monstrosity, the crimson eye of the malformed ship staring at its next prey.

“I’m reading a charge in its primary weapon.” Va’Lin informed.

The deafening roar of its rage sounded, making it known its attempt to strike once and only once.The hydraulic core of the beast charged with energy, and let forth a beam of pure destruction from its eye that the gods of old would be amazed by. The beam of pure red energy ran the length of the capital ship’s hull, almost blinding to stare at.

The hull was but paper to this Grineer beast, bathing the facing side of the ship with destructive radiation and gruesomely ripped through its innards. A final implosion of the Corpus ship signaled its demise, becoming nothing but derelict debris in seconds under the beast’s rage.

“Tenno.” The voice of The Lotus echoed throughout Kiv’s liset. “Tenno, are you alright?”

“We’re fine, ma’am.” Kiv responded, “Just a little shaken up.”

“I suggest you leave the area immediately.” She warned. “I’m detecting two more fomorians guarded by more dreadnoughts en route to the anomaly’s location.”

“Two?!” Va’Lin said, bewildered.

The image of The Lotus nodded. “There is high probability the Grineer have found valuable information on this anomaly.” She informed, “Information valuable to force the sending of valuable assets to safeguard this location.”

“What do we do, ma’am?” Jas asked.

“Report back to Orcus relay.” She ordered. “You shall be briefed on this new change of circumstances by Simaris.”

The trio looked at each other in silence before nodding.

“Yes ma’am, heading back to Orcus relay.” Kiv informed.

The rear thrusters of the lisets ignited in succession, speeding out of the asteroid field at immense speed. The light of the anomaly glinted off the polished surfaces of the stingray-like vessels. Three trails of lights signaled their departure from the area.

The beasts watched with their unblinking eyes and disposable bodyguards. Their gaze suddenly turned to multiple flashes ahead as Corpus capital ships warped in at point-blank range and let forth a barrage of plasma upon the dreadnoughts.

The howls of the fomorians echoed in the light of the anomaly, their eyes charged and ready.

The beasts are hungry.

Greeting

~~~>><<~~~

The warm embrace of memories engulfed Ilik. Margulis’ songs echoed all around her, songs she sang to her and her sister…

T’Mir…

It’s been too long…

...Only a dream, little one…

...Just a dream…

...Wake now, my child…

The two sisters stood in front of the gold-tinted window, the sounds of conversation between other Orokin and what seemed to be a small squabble by the airlock provided an ambient atmosphere to the gold and ivory interior of the Zariman Ten-Zero Cruiser.

The small child no more than eight years old held on to her older sister’s index finger. She could only marvel at Saturn’s beauty with its glorious rings that made the Jovian giant amazing to look at. She stepped forward, pressing onto the glass to get a better view, eyes darted every which way as she tried to take in everything.

The child’s older sister stood her ground, watching with silent amusement as her sister declared her amazement. She counted the stars, like a black sea with 1,205 tiny dots and counting. Each was merely a void jump away.

“T’Mir…” The little child faced her older sister, “Where are we going?”

With a deep sigh, she relaxed her shoulders. “I already told you, we’re going to the Outer Gates.” She answered for the 15th time.

“Why?”

She only shrugged, keeping the routine going. “Just a little trip.” She said, she wasn’t ready to know. The innocence of the young is to be kept for as long as possible, for it is pure.

“Attention passengers.” A voice came over the intercom system, “Pre-jump procedures have been completed. Prepare for void jump in two minutes.”

“C’mon,” The older sister motioned, “We have to get back.”

“Ok!” The child gleefully strode next to her sister, hand still gripping her sister’s finger.

With quiet grace, the two sisters walked in tandem. The squabble by the airlock seems to have escalated, with a pre-teen boy mouthing off at the much taller boy with a hand around another boy’s neck. There didn’t seem to be any security guards on their way, perhaps they didn’t care. No doubt this was to escalate to a fistfight.

“Will we ever go back home?”

The older sister watched the squabble, which had definitely turned into a fight . The boy that was held by his neck sat on his hands and knees, coughing profusely. The other two boys had settled on settling the problem with their fists. Hard to tell who was winning.

“Sis?” The child asked once more, looking up at her big sister.

“Hmm?” She said.

“Will we ever go home?”

The older sister turned her head forward. With a deep sigh she relaxed her shoulders once more. “We will.” She said, she wanted to keep this conversation short. It’s not that she didn’t enjoy conversations with her baby sister, there was just too much going on.

As they entered an ivory corridor, their footsteps echoed among the curved ceiling and polished floor. They found themselves among an intersection, the older sister making a decision and went left. The child followed suit, admiring the crystal tree at the intersection’s center that doubled as decoration and a data node.

“Attention passengers.” The intercom blared once more, “Void jump will commence in one minute.”

“What about the Sentients?” The child asked.

The older sister looked down at the child. She was surprised, but frankly every news feed was talking about it. There was no sense in trying to hide it from her. “I’m sure everything will be fine.” She said, keeping a calm composure.

‘Fine’ was not the appropriate word of choice. An antonym would better fit how the war was going. Mechanical creatures that have the ability to adapt to every weapon thrown at them. Soldiers were already being outfitted with the primitive weaponry of ancient times.

Like that would help.

The two sisters waited patiently in front of an ornate door. The gentle hum of the lift sounded beyond the golden doors, opening to reveal the lift partially crowded by other Orokin. The persons aboard looked at the two girls with a passing glance as they entered. The lift doors closed, and the platform lifted upwards.

“Attention passengers.” The intercom blared, “Void jump in thirty seconds. Please head to the nearest restraining area and prepare for jump.”

“T’Mir…” The child tugged at her sister’s arm.

“Hm?” She hummed, keeping her focus forward.

“I’m scared.”

“I know,” She said. “So am I.” Looking down at her sister, she flashed her a smile and caressed the tiny hand that still hung to her index finger. She never liked to speak much, but it was her actions that declared everything would be alright.

Hopefully.

The lift doors opened and the crowd immediately dispersed. The ornate room was filled with seat overlooking a massive and open center. The two sisters took their seats, the older sister first placing the harness on her little sister and testing to see if it was taught.

“We’re gonna be ok, Ilik.” She whispered, giving a small peck on the forehead.

“Void jump in ten seconds…” The intercom blared, and the room shook with small vibrations as the jump system wound up.

With quick haste, the older sister sat down and placed on her harness and tested it. With a gentle touch, she held on to her little sister’s shoulder for the inevitable jolt.

“Void jump in five…”

The vibrations began to intensify and a audible rumble resounded throughout the room. The others remained stoic in their demeanor, as if accustomed to the vibrations.

“Four….Three...Two...One. Void jump in progress.”

And then it all went wrong. In a ball flash of intense light, sound, and heat she could hear her sister.

“...We’re gonna be okay…”

~~~>><<~~~

“T’MIR!” Ilik threw herself upwards, face and body drenched in sweat that sent chills up her spine as it came in contact with the cold air. Almost immediately she scrunched her face, sobbing uncontrollably into her hands.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” A soothing voice asked the Tenno, placing a rough and sharp hand on their shoulder..

She couldn’t stop crying. This was bound to happen, she couldn’t hold back these feelings. They were so close and now...she had no idea what to do. These dreams...was it her mind’s way of coping with the pain. the bird-like creature and the primitive looking hospital, now visions of before…

“Wh...why...n-not-m….m-me-ee?” She said between breaths and gross sobbing.

“...I’m sorry?” The voice asked.

“WHY NOT ME?!” The Tenno screamed, grabbing the voice’s hand. Ilik looked through blurry eyes and noticed the rough hand was actually a large claw connected to a large bird-like creature.

With fearful panic, the Tenno released the creature’s claw from her grip and jumped from the bed. With a hard thump, her head made contact with the floor before the rest of her body. Waves of pain flooded her brain and held her skull tightly in her hands.

“Urgg…” She grunted. Through the waves of pain, vague memories flooded her mind, fragments of events. The window of the Liset on fire, the snow covered field, the anti-moa...and the key. Bits of memories reminded her of what occurred, but her mind could not process what was being showed.

“Oh stars!” The bird-like creature ran over to the Tenno’s side, “Are you alright?” The creature asked.

The pain began to subside, but the Tenno’s fear remained. She could not tell is she was dreaming or not, this seemed all too real yet there stood a creature of ancient legend before her. The Tenno shuffled backwards towards the corner of the room.

“It’s...this is a dream…” She muttered to herself, holding a hand over her eyes. and legs held close to her chest. “I don’t know…I don’t know anymore…”

“It’s okay,” The creature said, “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“...Why wasn’t it me?” The Tenno repeated. Tears still flowed down her face, her body visibly shaking with ragged breaths.

Teles wasn’t sure what to do at this point. The creature was in obvious distress. It was a long shot, but Teles had an idea. Wrapping her arms around the creature, she held it in a soft embrace against her feathered chest.

‘What’s going on?’ The Tenno looked through blurred eyes as the bird creature held the Tenno in its warm, feathery embrace. It seemed the creature meant no harm, and honestly, it was what the Tenno needed.

Ilik buried her head into the creature’s chest and wrapped her arms around its neck. She could feel the warmth radiating outward from its feather, so soft to the touch. For what felt like hours, Ilik held the creature in her embrace, the emotional trauma somewhat soothed.

Finally letting go, the creature backed away slowly and looked at the Tenno with caring eyes. Ilik could tell the creature genuinely cared and meant no hostility.

“T-thank you…” Ilik said through ragged breaths.

“You looked like you needed it.” The creature replied with a feminine voice, “Mother told me a few times growing up, ‘’Sometimes all one needs is a hug’.”

The Tenno chuckled. “Your mother was right.” She said, giving a shy smile.

“Always was...” The griffon reminisced on past memories

“So...this isn’t a dream.” The tenno rubbed the back of her head, “It’s getting harder to tell what’s real and what isn’t.” There was a tinge of pain on a certain area of her scalp, causing her to wince. ‘Most likely a bruise.’

“Uhh, pardon?” The griffon tilted her head to a side.

Ilik simply shook her head. “Nothing.” She said, “W-where am I though? W-what are you?”

“It’s okay, just breath. My name is Teles Redquill, and I’m a Griffon.” Teles answered, her voice soothing to the ear. “You’re at the Griffonian Imperial Hospital. You’ve been in a unconscious state for two weeks and-”

The tenno held up a hand. “Two weeks?!” She sounded surprised.

“Yes, two weeks since the last time you woke up,” The griffon nodded, “You were found on Mt. Ferun surrounded by strange looking statues and a very large object?” She scratched her head. “The report wasn’t very...specific on your arrival here. I’m assuming you’re not of Equus, are you? We’ve never seen another like you.”

It was the Tenno’s turn to be confused. “Equus?” With a wince, a surge of needle-like pain washed over her mind.

Teles noticed the creature wince in pain, placing a claw to its head. No, not a claw, it’s similar to a minotaur’s...hand, as they called it. Teles nudged forward before stopping herself, not wanting to provoke the creature.

As the wave of pain rolled past, memories began to fill what was blurry space in her mind. Ilik remembered the Liset, the atmospheric entry, the Corpus ships…

“Are...are you okay?” Teles asked. “Are you in pain?”

“No…” Ilik panted between clenched teeth, “No, I’m okay, just...getting some memories back. I remember a little bit….my Liset was entering the atmosphere along with some Corpus ships. What did you say this planet’s name was?”

“Equus.”

Ilik tried to recall her memory. Countless times of hacking into ancient data vaults has yielded a good amount of knowledge of astronomical maps. “...No, I’m sorry. I can’t say I’ve ever heard of Equus. Perhaps if I took a look at some star maps, I could figure out where I am.”

Teles nodded. So many questions were arising. how can they figure out where they are by looking at stars, have they been to those other stars? Teles wanted to ask, but stopped herself. Perhaps at a later time.

“Actually,” Ilik blurted out, “What about my warframe?”

Teles titled her head once more. “Your...warframe?”

The Tenno nodded. “Was there anything that looked...more or less like me at the crash site?”

The griffon shook her head, “I wasn’t at the crash site, Doctor Grinclaw could probably tell you more than me.” She replied, “But, when you arrived, you were draped in something. Hold on, just wait here.” The griffon nurse trotted towards the door, turning the knob and disappearing into the hallway. Returning quickly, a piece of white clothing neatly folded into a square was tucked under a wing.

The fabric was familiar to Ilik. Albeit it definitely wasn’t her Zephyr frame, but it was familiar.

Taking the clothing in claw, Teles unfolded and presented the jumpsuit to the Tenno. “This was found on you when you were admitted here.” The jumpsuit was much too big for the griffon to hold up, even standing on her hind legs left the jumpsuit touching the floor. “I’ve never seen this type of fabric before, is this what you mean by your…’warframe’?”

“My Zariman suit...” Ilik said, now noticing the green medical gown that was protecting her decency. “Uhh, no, not really no. But, can I at least have that back?”

Teles nodded. “It is yours, after all.” She said, handing the white and black suit to the creature. “We have to cut you out of the suit to make sure you were okay. Only problem was that it kept repairing itself when we tried to cut it. How does it do that?”

“Nanomachines.” Ilik answered simply.

“Huh…” Teles scratched the back of her head.

“Mm-hmm.” The Tenno rubbed her neck. “Would you...mind...turning around? I’d like to get into my Zariman suit, it’d make me more comfortable.”

“Sure.” Turning around, hesitant for only a second. “I’ll just...be over here…” She turned her neck, pointing to the closed door and walked over to it.

Standing up, Ilik walked over to the hospital bed and placed down the jumpsuit, quickly beginning to separate the elbow-length gloves and thigh-high boots from the main body.

“Why does your species wear clothes?” Teles started, “Is it because you don't have any fur?”

The Tenno didn’t respond immediately. “...I guess…” The Tenno managed to get the main body of the suit on her person, luckily the magnetic zipper was a convenience for suiting up. Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed the bird-like creature was trying to be sneaky and kept turning her head. “Getting a good peek?” She smirked.

The griffon immediately tensed up and looked forward. “Oh, you noticed.” she said, embarrassed. “...Can I ask a question...uhh, do you have a name, first of all?”

“My name is Ilik.” The Tenno responded as she attempted to place a leg into a boot. “Was that your question or…?”

“Ilik…” Teles tested the name, sounding unusual to her tongue. “Okay...uhh, no no it wasn’t. I just wanted to know. My question is...ar-are you pregnant?”

Ilik didnt seem to be taken aback by this question. “...Not, really, no, no I’m not pregnant.” she answered casually. “...What made you think I was pregnant?” She asked patting down the side of the thigh-high boot, with a quiet hum the magnetic zipper locked.

Teles was obviously flustered, but continued. “Well...your teats,” She blurted, “You're obviously female...and…” Teles’ words fell into a low whisper, obviously embarrassed to ask.

“Hey,” ilik said, placing on the other boot. “There’s no need to be embarrassed. You’ve obviously never seen anyone like me, you must be curious.” Ilik continued. “To answer your question, no I’m not pregnant….” Her smile quickly reversed, “...Nor could I ever be…”

“What do you mean?”

Ilik sighed deeply. “...it's nothing.” she said, her focus somewhere else. With a clearing of her throat, she proceeded to place on a glove.

~~~>><<~~~

“How do they feel, little one?” The sound of margulis’ voice was like a chorus of angels against the young one’s ears. “Try bending your arms.”

With the small whir of the motors, the prosthetics obeyed the Tenno’s mental commands and her outstretched arms bent upwards at the elbow. The golden light of the setting sun reflected over the white and black metal casing of her new prosthetic arms, one connected to her body at the shoulder and the other at the elbow

“Good, very good.” Margulis remarked. “What about your hands? Try your hands.”

The young Tenno lowered her arms and looked at her hands. She balled them into a fist and opened them widely, repeating the process several times.

“Okay, that’s very good.” Margulis looked at her datapad. “Just one more test and then we can move to your legs, I know you don't like these tests, young one, but these are for your own good.”

The young child nodded.

“Okay,” Margulis smiled, “Next the finger-thumb test. You can begin when ready, young one.”

With a nod, the child began touching the tip of her thumbs with each finger. First the pinky, ring finger, middle, and index. The child repeated the test once more and looked at her mentor.

“CPU-neural response time is normal.” Margulis typed on her holographic pad. “Coordination is unhindered, as the scans deemed it shouldn’t be.” Margulis compressed the two metallic sides of the pad, condensing it into a small stick and placed it into her bag.

“Come, little one.” She said with an outstretched hand. “We also need to test your new legs. These are not like the J2 models you had before.”

The young child took Margulis’ hand in hers and pulled. The black synthetic muscles contracted and relaxed behind the white plating that served more as decoration than function. The child stood uneasily on her newly-upgraded legs, which connected her flesh at the hip. Each mental command was better picked up by the leg’s CPU’s, which resulted in small twitches in the prosthetic legs.

Margulis held the Tenno by the shoulders, helping to keep her from falling. “It’s okay, my child, this is to happen the first several times. You will soon learn to better control your new legs.”

The door opened with a dull thud. “Margulis…” The voice said.

There was a deep silence before Margulis sighed deeply. “Yes, yes I know. I will be right there.” She said, “I’m afraid this is all for today little one. We shall continue tomorrow.”

The young child looked up at the Orokin woman, who looked back with a gentle smile. With a gentle kiss on the forehead and the slam of the ornate door, the young Tenno stood alone in the ornate room.

~~~>><<~~~

“....Ilik…” Teles tugged at the Tenno suit. “Are you okay?”

The Tenno slipped out of her thousand-yard stare and looked down at the griffon. “...I’m sorry...sometimes memories re-emerge at the most random of times.” She cleared her throat. “The Tenno are sterile, we can never have young.” She said, not sounding too defeated.

“I see…” Teles pondered the question.

Ilik nodded. with a pull of the glove to make it was attached she sighed deeply, “Much better.” She said, walking over to the window.

The sun had long since set, and the valley was now coated in the silver-blue light of the moon. Ominous clouds loomed over the top of the mountain range, still dropping their snowy cargo.

‘It looks so much like Earth… ‘ The Tenno thought. ‘Could it be…?’

“We griffons are able to survive the cold up here because of our feathers.” The griffon stood next to the Tenno, who measured close to Ilik’s torso. “How do you think you’ll fare?”

Ilik shrugged. “I’m sure my Zariman suit will have enough insulation.” She smiled, “This was built to withstand the cold and heat of space.”

“It sounds like your species was fairly advanced.” Teles chuckled. “You never did say what your species was, come to think of it.”

Ilik remained transfixed on the outside world beyond the glass. “My species is human.” She said, providing a simple answer. “Some would say that I am better known as ‘Tenno’.”

“Tenno?” The griffon tilted her head.

“Some would call us gods,” Ilik said, following a snowflake on its descent toward the ground. “Others would call us demons...protectors to some, banes to another...” She sighed, “It depends on who you ask.” She looked down at the griffon and flashed a smile.

“I see…” Teles nodded. “Well, what do you consider yourself.”

Ilik looked through the window again. The moon had disappeared behind the clouds, leaving the city below to fight the darkness with its golden lights.

“...I don’t know.” She shrugged her shoulders.

The Tenno and the griffon looked at each other in relative silence before the door opened with a click. In the doorway stood a out of breath Dr. grincalaw.

“Oh my stars!” The griffon nurse rushed over to the doctor’s side. “Doctor, are you okay?”

He waved a claw at her and leaned on the door frame, chest rising and falling. “Yes….yes I’m fine, just a little out breath is all.” He said between breaths. “I’m not as young as I used to be.” He joked.

“Well, why were you running?” Teles questioned, placing a claw on his shoulder.

“I just got a message through the rune in my office.” Reaching into his lab coat, he pulled out a small rolled up parchment and held it up. “ The king’s on his way.”

“What?” the griffon nurse exclaimed, confused. “The king?”

Grinclaw nodded. “I sent him a message about the creature.” He said, fixing the messed up feathers on his head. “A report of sorts. He wants to see the creature for himself.” With an outstretched arm, he presented the parchment to Teles. “Here’s the letter, if you wish to read it.”

Teles took the parchment in claw and undid the red ribbon holding the parchment. In the calligraphy of the king’s yeoman, the parchment said:

Doctor Arden Grinclaw,

King Ragnarok has received your message regarding the current state of the creature found on Mt. Ferun and your researching regarding said creature. It is to be known the king has formally decided to view the creature himself. Your research notes notes are requested to be present and any findings that have been recently found are to be made known. Any precautions in order to view the creature are also requested upon arrival.

signed,

Gershwin

“Sounds like this was hastily made. “ Teles said, handing the parchment back. “Did Gershwin happen to mention when the king will arrive?”

“It would be safe to presume he has already arrived.” Grinclaw responded. “I’ve only noticed the letter on my desk some minutes ago.” He said, only now noticing the Tenno that stood by the window. ”Oh…” He exclaimed,taking a step back. “H-hello.”

The Tenno smiled and waved a hand at the creature.

“Hmm?” Teles hummed, looking back. “Oh yes. Doctor, this is Ilik. Ilik, this is Dr. Grinclaw.” she pointed, “Ilik here is known as a Tenno-er well, a human.”

“I see…” The doctor nodded, cautiously approaching the Tenno. “It's’ a pleasure to meet you, Ilik.” He said, extending a claw which the Tenno shook contently. “We’ve never seen a species like you. Do you remember where you came from?”

The Tenno merely shook her head. “This place seems very...familiar.” she said, “But it’s not the planet I come from.”

“Do you know where you come from?” He asked.

Ilik only shook her head at this.

“Do you remember how you got here?”

“It’s quite simple, Dr. Grinclaw.” A voice boomed. “It came from the heavens. As all miracles do.” King Ragnarok stood with a straight and regal demeanor, piercing eyes focused on the creature that towered over every griffon in the room.

“My King.” Dr. Grinclaw kneeled.

“My King.” Teles kneeled as well, but not as low as Dr. Grinclaw.

“Rise doctor,” the king said, “your formality is appreciated, but not required. I've only come to make first contact.“ He said, approaching the Tenno with the ornate guards that flanked his sides following suit. With a graceful extension he showed his claw. “It is a pleasure to meet you, fair creature.”

The Tenno nodded. “Likewise.” She said, shaking the griffon’s claw.

“I understand your...vessel landed on Mt. Ferun.” He said, pointing to the window. “From where in the heavens do you hail from?”

“Wait.” Ilik held up a hand, “My ship...Ordis...how is he?”

“...Ordis?” King Ragnarok’s brows furrowed.

“Nevermind.” Ilik sighed, the technology of these griffons were fairly archaic. “Is there any chance I could see my ship?”

“Of course!” The king smiled.

The Tenno nodded. “Would it also be possible to have Teles and Dr. Grinclaw accompany me?” She asked.

King Ragnarok looked at the griffon nurse who stood besides the doctor. “I don’t see why not.” He responded. “What do you say doctor?”

The doctor rubbed his neck. “Uhh...Ok, I’ll go.”

“Then it is settled.” The king nodded, “Doctor. Nurse, you may take the second chariot. Our...guest will reside in mine.” He said, looking at the Tenno with curious eyes.

“Second chariot?” The doctor questioned.

“I’m always prepared, doctor.” Ragnarok smiled, “As a good ruler should be.”

Grinclaw merely raised an eyebrow at this. “I see…” He said, noticing the pair of guards approaching them.

“If you will just follow us, we can lead you to your chariot.” One of the griffon guards spoke, gesturing to the door.

“Lead the way.” Grinclaw motioned.

King Ragnarok watched as the doctor and his assistant followed the guards out of the room. “Come.” He motioned to the tenno, “We shall ride in my chariot.”

Ilik slowly followed after the king. The soft padding of her suit’s boots masked the sound of her footsteps on the polished tile. She stayed several feet behind the king griffon, something was...off about him.

“I had a vision about this.” The king spared a glance behind him. “About you.”

The Tenno cocked an eyebrow. “Oh?” She said, crossing her arms behind her back.

“Yes…” Ragnarok spared another glance, “In my vision, I saw the dark skies part. And from the heavens, a being of heavenly light descended, sword in hand.” He clenched his fist as if there were a sword.

“What happens then?”

The king’s words caught in his throat, “...I don’t know.” He said, “The dream stopped suddenly. But, it’s a sign...a very good sign…” He pointed to the Tenno, a low chuckle emanating from his throat.

The duo continued down the hallway in silence. Rising several flights of stairs, they arrived at the roof, where the doctor and Teles waited in their chariot under the light of the moon and several golden torches. Two more chariots stood idle, of which the second was taken by the king’s royal guards.

“Do they have vehicles like these where you come from?” the king asked as he boarded the last ornate vehicle.

The Tenno nodded. “In ancient times.” she said, gripping onto the metal rail.

“I see…” The king replied, “Ready to depart.” He signalled the griffons that stood attached to the chariots.
With the unfurling of their wings, the griffons broke into a sprint off the side of the building. Their wings caught the cold night air and ascended upwards with their passengers in tow. Their ascent soon levelled out and their direction was towards a higher point of the mountain. There, carved into the mountain, was the king’s castle that shimmered in the silver moonlight.

Ilik remained focused on the glistening castle. From the chariot, a presence of void energy could be felt emanating from the castle. Faint, very faint...but familiar.

Many things were familiar.

Author's Note

I feel like it must be said that Ilik is about 23 years old in this story.

I'm planning more chapters for this story, it's collected enough dust on the shelf. And as always, comments and criticism are always appreciated.

Hope you enjoyed it!

Dwelling

The mountainous waves of Neptune’s moon, Triton, raged in all directions under the black and swirling clouds that kept the surface in infinite overcast. The wind howled like a soul being tortured. screaming for eternity under the acidic rain that dropped in large globs and stung like hot needles to unprotected skin.

Somewhere in the raging sea, there stood a single derelict tower. The black and light-less exterior caused it to blend in almost perfectly with its dark scenery. Carefully constructed pieces of organic materials colored red and bone white resided among the jagged rocks.

In the deep recesses of the tower, the idle roar of the acidic rain, thrashing of waves along the hull, and the shrieks and calls of the aquatic life below the waves brought ambience to the dark and red-lit halls.

From crevices in the rocks and walls, small blue lights floated above the ground. The orbs made their way towards their unknown destination. At the heart of this derelict tower was an immense cavern, pillars of reflective rock accentuated the raised platform surrounded by water at the center of the room. Red light filled the cavern, creating strange shadows that would play with the mind.

At the center of the platform, a lanky figure lay kneeling with its head down. Its body was colored in shades of red, black, and white, mimicking muscle and bone almost to a ghastly realism of actual bone, muscle, and petrified skin. The open wounds that marked its chest and forearms glowed a deep read, pulsing with energy.

“....Acolyte…”

Behind the kneeling acolyte stood another, darker figure. The red lights had dimmed to nothing, leaving a cone of light that kept the platform illuminated from overhead.

The Nekros acolyte raised it’s head. “Stalker…” The acolyte said in a hushed and demonic tone, “What is thy will?”

“...Anomaly…”

“Yes.” The acolyte replied, “I felt it as well…”

“Tenno...escape…”

“Yes,” The nekros turned its head slightly. “I know this one…”

“Not...time…”

“Then I shall wait, if it be your will.”

The acolyte found itself alone once more, among the red-lit rocks of the cavern. The blue lights rose from the watery abyss below, now with their suits of red and bone white. They stood around the acolyte, awaiting an order which was soon to come.