Warframe – Chapter 3 - The Lotus Eaters
Decades
have passed since the attack on Outer Terminus, and Vadjura and Dahaka set
aside their differences to form a new council and lead the surviving Tenno.
Reduced to mere thousands, the Tenno now operate from the shadows and only
build settlements hidden by void keys. Agni, now unable to resume her role as a
warrior on the front line due to her blindness, becomes the information
gatherer for the Tenno and also serves as a neutral party in the council.
Ridden
with guilt at having failed in protecting his twin sister, Vadjura delves into
continuing the research that his father left. A master of energy manipulation
like his father, Vadjura develops an energy system that feeds off electricity
to manipulate vectors of force without the use of magnetism. This system
hastens the process by which Tenno construct their Void Towers and was used to
further reinforce the Orokin Vaults within them. Thinking ahead, Vadjura
successfully incorporates the system into a frame now called Vauban.
Still
unsatisfied with the results of his energy research, Vadjura instead refocused
his study unto the energies that the Tenno themselves emit. Thinking of ways on
how to have Agni see again, he experiments on the healing and shielding
energies that permeate the bodies Tenno commonly. Vadjura finally found a way
to boost this regenerative energy and channel it within a focal point. After,
getting Agni's permission to test his new technology on her, Vadjura then
proceeds with obsessing with safety measures for an experiment. After thorough
adjustments and numerous repeat experiments, Vadjura fails to heal Agni's eyes.
Agnis consoles his brother and explains that it was not his fault, and that she
was content with the way things are. She then suggests that these new energies
can be used as support for Dahaka on the front lines and that she herself would
research a way to make it combat viable. Further on, she succeeds in
integrating the technology into a frame now called Trinity.
Vadjura
though could not be swayed. Finally understanding that her eyes were damaged by
Void energies and therefore could not be restored, Vadjura found other ways for
Agni to be back to her warrior self. His intensive research then landed him on
an article about Sonar technology and Human Echolocation dating back to the
time of the First Tenno's youth. Relishing this discovery, he immediately began
experiments on Wave Energies and how to effective generate, focus and receive
them. Although unusable outside atmospheric areas, the new sonic technology
allowed for detection and mapping of spacial forms and movement within
allowable mediums such as solids and air in the atmosphere. Unusable for
in-space flight, he directly integrated the technology in a frame that later
became known as Banshee. The older twin brother came to Agni with great news,
only to be met with rejection. Agni was now settled as being blind and was now
feeling removed from the fighting. He kissed his brother's cheek and went on
her way guided only by Psyche by her side. Vadjura just stared at her go and
was at a total loss for words.
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Dahaka on
the other hand was on the front lines, assassinating dignitaries, reclaiming
territories and defending from sieges, but he was always pressed and often lost
to the sheer number of enemies before him. It seemed to him that he was
fighting the Infested like before, only this time they had armaments. Pressed
for results, he rescinded from the battlefield to find his brother Vadjura.
After
finally tracking down his brother, he finds him slumped in his laboratory
staring blankly at his research data. Dahaka, angered by what he saw, he throws
away his ranged weapons and takes up his battle scythe, furiously activates his
Rhino Prime frame and destroys the laboratory outright. He then clutches
Vadjura and reminds him of his promise to reclaim and rebuild the Solar Rails
on Terminus. Not getting a response from his brother, Dahaka slams his brother
around the wreckage until he finally comes to. Vadjura, dishearteningly, agrees
to help Dahaka in any way he can, but in exchange, Dahaka was to leave him
alone to his fate. Dahaka angrily relents, gives his brother a punch on the
face, picks up his heavy kunai and composite bow then orders the other guards
to pick his brother up.
Having
regained some of his senses, Vadjura experiments directly on Dahaka's body. He
has always found it odd that Dahaka had several other traits that he and sister
never had. Oddities such as having darker energy colors, exuding smoke and the
ability to teleport. He found out that Vadjura's body is actually permeated by
two types of energies and the mixing of these two energies gave him more energy
reserves and allowed him to materialize himself in two other places for a
nanosecond and then switch places thus explaining the teleportation skill. The
smoke was simply from an organic exhaust system to vent the excess heat the
body would generate due to the surplus of energy.
Fueled by
scientific curiosity and Dahaka's incessant demands, Vadjura's vigor is
restored and is now focused on developing new energies for the Tenno. Using the
energy materialization concept he found in Dahaka's body, he engineered a frame
that could physically project light energy constructs and light bending
coatings that could serve as illusions or distractions. Integrating the switch
teleportation coupled with illusionary skills and tactics, Vadjura created the
first Loki frame.
Although Loki
was impressive for a support and tactical warframe, Dahaka demanded something
more lethal. Vadjura, challenged with this demand, started then to focus on
using materialized energy as weapons as well as further extending the teleportation
abilities. Along the way, Vadjura found a way to use the smoke exhaust as a
smoke screen for stealthy infiltrations. Again integrating his research into
one frame, he made a frame that could make use of thrown energy constructs that
resemble their Hikou weaponry. These shuriken, made from pure energy, can
pierce through dense armor and would dissipate after some time, allowing for
more stealth.
The frame
was also able to teleport towards a specified target and could attack from
behind or by surprise. The ability was capable of being used repeatedly to
storm multiple enemies with close quarter blade attacks. Dahaka was well
pleased with the resulting frame and named it himself using Ash, from the ash
in the smoke exhaust of the frame. With the new reinforcements, Dahaka went
back to the front lines content and kept in constant contact with his brother.
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From
afar, Agni was happy hearing that the two brothers were getting along. She was
on a trip to negotiate with a Corpus executive named Derald Vesper. The corpus
has recently contacted the Tenno to barter and trade with them. Agni, hearing
about the report on the Corpus' tactic during the attack the Solar Rails, was
very suspicious of the Corpus. In her opinion, the Corpus could have sold the
information to the Tenno and they would have profited twofold, but they did
otherwise.
Her ship
was finally docking into a neutral space station when she recovered from her
thoughts. Psyche assisted her off the ship, but afterwards Agni told her to
stay. Agni argued that the Corpus are distrusting as they are not trustworthy
themselves. The presence of a Nyx in the meeting would only interrupt in the
proceedings. Psyche relents to the wisdom of her charge but insists she bring
some of the Royal Guards with her. After bickering about the number of guards
to bring, Agni finally resigns to bringing ten guards and jokes to Psyche that
if the Corpus were to betray her, she would burn them on the spot. Agni then
proceeds with her escorts to the meeting area.
In the
meeting room, Agni is greeted surprisingly by a man by approaching her
immediately after she entered. Her guards react negatively from this and were
to draw weapons when Agni suddenly signals them to stand down. The man
apologizes for his excitement and that he comments on Agni's beauty. Agni is
unfazed by the compliment but deduces that man is quite young for a Corpus
executive. The young man introduces himself as Derald Vidar, but corrects
himself and reintroduces his name as Derald Vida. He explains that it is Corpus
tradition to shorten one's name when recognized for his contributions to the
wealth of the Body. He simply explains that the shorter your Corpus name, the
higher your rank is and that he still has a long way to go. Finally recognizing
that they have been standing for a long time, Derald invites Agni and her
entourage to sit down and he orders some refreshments. Agni accepts politely
and signals his guards.
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After
months of negotiations, Agni finally resigns and is now willing to trade with
the Corpus executive. She demands that instead of trading them the current
technology that the Tenno hold, the Tenno will research a new field of
technology with the Corpus. This is to preserve most of the secrets the Tenno
hold currently and to secure a stable partnership with another faction in the
Origin System.
As Psyche
attends to her charge by brushing her hair, she suddenly gives advice about
normal humans having shorter lives than the Tenno. Agni is at first confused by
this advice, but then blushingly stands up and retorts that she does not have
any interest in Derald. Agni then demands that she stop using her powers to
read her mind and mind her own business. Psyche explains that as a second
mother to them siblings, Agni is her business, and that she knows she has
started to be fond of Derald just by looking at her interact with him these
past few months. Agni literally burns up and storms out the room, stumbling
down right outside the door as she is blind. She shouts for assistance from the
Royal Guards, but the the Royal Guards are repelled by her flames. Psyche
contacts maintenance for damage control and proceeds to calm Agni down. Agni
relents, but proceeded down the hall with pouted lips. Psyche just laughed
beside her along the way and reports that her brothers are arriving as she
requested. With her spirits lifted again, her body ignites again she runs
literally blindly in the corridors.
Vadjura
arrives first and embraces her little sister as she physically tears away the
ship doors. Vadjura rubs his face at the childishness of her sister and looks at
Psyche shrugging. They exchange stories and make their way to the meeting room
with the Corpus. Upon entering the room, Agni introduces Derald to her brother.
Vadjura then motions to Psyche outside the meeting room asking if this person
is the human that Agni is fond of. She nods a yes and Agni takes notice. Before
she can burst into flames, Vadjura shakes Derald's hand suddenly engages in
conversation regarding energy compaction. Agni is confounded but is again embarrassed
when a Royal Guard tells her of Psyche's personal massage of encouragement.
After a
few hours of technical conversation, Agni, having slept through the tiresome
technical talk, is awakened by the arrival of Dahaka, still in his Rhino Prime
form. Vadjura coughs up to signal Dahaka of the formalities and Dahaka rescinds
his frame. Derald springs up from his seat to approach the newcomer. Before
Vadjura could stop the man, Dahaka catches Derald by the throat through reflex.
Agni stands up and orders her little brother to put her friend down. Dahaka
laughs at hearing the word friend from her sister and puts down Derald and
straightens his clothing. Dahaka apologizes for being late and his misconduct,
and explains that he has just come back from a week straight battle to defend a
Tenno settlement. Afterwards, Dahaka too motions to Psyche asking if this was
the friend that Agni was fond of. Psyche laughingly nods from outside and
senses Agni's embarrassment from afar. After further introductions, the four
start negotiations right away.
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After a
few years, Vadjura starts closing the reports on his latest research. His
research, in which Derald was his partner in experimentation and formulation,
has yielded satisfying results for both parties. He and Derald were able to
siphon and compress energy into portable containers small enough to power
superheated machinery and equipment. He closed his office for the day and
walked towards the testing center where his siblings and Derald were waiting to
commemorate their success.
As he
approached the large testing area, he made sure to lock down the facility
equipments, since its energy siphoning equipment could prove to be debilitating
to Tenno if used maliciously. He then proceeded to join the merriment in the
testing hall, and he smiled as he can hear from afar his sister laughing
heartily with what seems to be Derald's voice. Derald had, unconsciously and
unwittingly, become part of the family, though he always wondered why Derald
was so aversive of Psyche. He shrugged off the thought and went through the
blast doors.
Upon his
arrival, Derald beckoned him to join his siblings inside the chamber and take
part in a photoshoot that he setup. Arguing that Derald should be in the photos
too, Derald in turn rebuffed that there's nobody else here to take your
pictures. Immediately, Agni took Vadjura's hand and huddled him together with
Dahaka, who had the same sighing face, and Psyche, who was somehow absorbed in
thought. Vadjura was actually smiling already with his siblings when he
approached to question Psyche for her behavior. Before Vadjura could ask
further, Psyche's eyes widen with horror and she looks at Derald.
Vadjura
in turn tries to look at Derald's direction, but before he can try to speak, he
suddenly slams to the ground and is rendered immobile. The installed equipment
he locked down earlier had been turned on with them in the middle of it. For a
human like Derald, it would be harmless, but for energy bearing beings like
Tenno, this would debilitate them. In his mind, he knows that the only people
with access to the lockdown procedures are his siblings and one other person.
Feeling all of his energy draining, he painfully turns his head to see Derald
signal several men to finally enter the room. Dahaka, seeing Rasputin enter the
room, screams from the tops of his lungs and stands up. Derald pushes a button
on the panel and the energy drain doubles, forcing Dahaka on his knees.
Derald
comes forward with smiling face and comments that Dahaka had energy surplus in
his body. Derald offers Dahaka the explanation for this phenomenon as he tells
all the people present in the room that he is always informed of everything
that happens in the Origin System. He tells the Tenno that it was him that had
the information about the attack on Outer Terminus and that it was that
information that led to his promotion and shortening of his name. He planned to
not sell the information to the Tenno since he also planned to sell the
surviving Tenno to the Empire. He laughs at the advent of having his name
shortened again from this accomplishment.
From
these words, Agni herself tries ignite herself but to no avail. Derald bends
down to touch Agni's chin but she turns away. Derald then proceeds to taunt
Dahaka again regarding the information about his body. Before he could start,
Psyche shouts at him to stop and that Dahaka is a rightful brother to his
siblings. Derald laughs aloud at this gesture and then proceeds with his story.
During
the Great War, while Mikado was on the front lines defending a tower while
civilians were being evacuated, Cain, now calling himself Baphomet, attacked
and sacked one of the Council Tower hideouts. Having killed all the Royal
Guards and Vanguards himself, he ordered the Infested to eat away at the
civilians while he dealt personally with the Council Members in the Orokin
Vault. After breaking down the great vault seal, Cain enters only to find out
that the Council has evacuated themselves in escape pods in the vault and it
was only Lotus who left herself behind to assist the civilians remotely. As
Lotus was running for the last escape pod, Merihem, Baphomet's mount suddenly
cuts her off. After fighting by herself for a long time, Baphomet eventually
wears her out and beats her down. In an act of revenge to Mikado his brother,
and in spite to Lotus for having abandoned him, Baphomet tears away her frame
and rescinds his own. Baphomet then proceeds to have his way with her. Finally,
the result of that horrific union was Dahaka himself.
Dahaka
screams to Derald about his lies, but Derald questions him why he was always
different from the twins. Dahaka always had a taint of darkness and had dark
colored energy. To further reinforce his argument, Derald, points out to
Psyche, who was put in place directly by the Council to monitor Dahaka since
she is a Nyx. Dahaka turns to Psyche, but Psyche in turn only sheds tears.
Dahaka cries in pain and manages to stand again in rage. Derald is taken aback
but Rasputin motions for his men to subdue Dahaka immediately.
Psyche
then tries to invade the soldiers' minds but she was suddenly shot directly in
the forehead by Derald. Derald, confessing his disdain for the Nyx since she
could always discover his plans, finally breathes a sigh of relief. He then
motions to Rasputin, mentioning Derald may have destroyed his merchandise.
Rasputin waves it off, saying that he only needs their wombs, nothing else.
Satisfied with that response, Derald orders the two men to be taken to the
Corpus and the women to the Empire. Vadjura swears at Derald, but before long
he loses consciousness from a stun baton.
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A year
passes, but for Vadjura, it felt like centuries in his cell. His daily regimen
consisted of torture, vivisection, or both. Having been stripped of his frame,
he has now given up hope on saving himself, and has focused only surviving long
enough to be saved by his fellow Tenno. He prays all the time for his siblings,
but is still saddened by the fact that Dahaka had such origins and that their
mother had to endure such things.
Today, as
the cell doors open, he gives out another sigh, but before he could finish his
thought, he heard a familiar voice. He lifted his his head to see Derald with
several attendants. He personally came to gloat to Vadjura about his
achievements. An attendant pulls out a chair for Derald, and Vadjura starts
pulling on his chains and swears on Derald's name.
Derald
corrects him, saying that his name is now shortened to Dera Ladv due to his
promotion. He came to visit his friend and associate Vadjura to announce that a
new weapon has been constructed using Vadjura's research. It was to be named
Dera after himself and that it has proven very effective in exterminating other
Tenno. By Dera's account, the new Council and the remaining Tenno should be
dwindling in numbers soon. This further infuriates Vadjura, but Dera cuts him off.
He taunted Vadjura with information about his siblings. With this sentiment,
Vadjura withheld himself. Dera smiles and laughs at Vadjura's situation. He
then continues narrating the recent events in the Origin System.
All of
the frame parts torn away from their bodies were put to good use. Vadjura's
Volt Parts were used to superheat gasses and contain them using the energy
compaction technology they both developed. Now, called Fieldron, it was what
was used to power the new weapon Dera. Although at some point some of the Volt
parts where eaten away in an Infested attack, enough data was intact and
recovered to mass produce the Dera prototype. The parts from Dahaka's Rhino
frame where used to research powering and shielding high mobility tanks. Dera
himself admits he copied the concept from an old war machine that the First
Tenno fought back then on Earth.
Dera
shifts his position on the chair upon changing subjects, noticeably uneasy
about the next items to discuss. Psyche's parts where then used for researching
mind control, especially against the infested. He briefly stopped, and resumed
his story. The Ember parts torn from Agni was in turn researched into obtaining
explosive energy and it was compacted in another version of Vadjura's Fieldron.
Dera coined the term Detonite from the volatile nature of the contained energy
and it was being used to power high explosive weapons and demolition devices.
Dera motioned for a drink, and a servant came to give him a container of fluid.
Upon emptying the container, he pauses and gives the container back to the
servant to continue his story with a sigh. Vadjura was already held fast with
fear.
Agni and
Psyche's corpse was given to the Empire. By now, the empire is almost
completely habituated by clones, and that Rasputin needed a more potent source
of genetics and needed more research materials for removing the Hayflick Limit
on cloning. For this, he needed Tenno females and their wombs for research.
Dera himself stopped at this point and Vadjura widened his eyes in horror.
There was
a moment of silence in the room before his tears flowed. Before he could regain
himself, Dera approached him with good news instead. Dahaka was alive. Dahaka
was vivisected and brainwashed more than Vadjura was, but was more resilient.
After enduring more than ten times the amount of torture and vivisection
Vadjura experienced, Dahaka's mind was broken, and he set himself free. His
Rhino Prime Variant frame has been torn off, but due to his secondary energy
source in his body, he was able to manifest an Excalibur like frame that
emitted smoke.
It had a
reddish black hue, a twisted face and was able to massacre the guards by
randomly teleporting and using the slash dash skill. After disposing of all the
personnel in the facilty, he kept on murmuring that he needed to help in
repairing the Solar Rails and keep the order of things. He turned to face a
security camera murmuring only "I am your reckoning..." before
vanishing into smoke.
Dumbfounded
with tears still running down his cheeks, Dera motions to his men. Dera tells
Vadjura that he is to be put into the newly developed Corpus Indoctrination
program that they created using salvaged Nyx parts. Dera will then give him a
normal Corpus name and be given a low rank title in the system. This is his
only bit of mercy that he can give to one he once called friend. Vadjura swears
at his name again while he is being restrained off his chains, but Dera stands
up and turns away, saying only that he is slated for another promotion and that
the next time they meet, he shall be entitled Alad V.
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Time
passes on, and a rogue Corpus merchant named Darvo La Jutus, ventures near
Mercury for one of his client trips to Terminus. Upon his descent, he
encounters an anomalous turbulence. Looking at the readouts from the cockpit,
Darvo deduces that a void key has been activated within the atmosphere. Darvo
deems this unusual due to the volatile nature of void keys, thus prompting
their use to be limited to off atmosphere locations.
Consigning
to his curiosity as a merchant, Darvo changes course to a cliff that overlooks
the source of the anomaly. Having landed safely and covertly, Darvo engages the
ship's cloaking mechanism and hurriedly ventures to the edge of the cliff to
spy on some new and potentially valuable information. He pulls out his ocular
gear and starts observing the anomaly.
Darvo
smiles as he is proven right. A void key exit port has materialized and it
begins pouring out several dozens of Tenno. At first he was unimpressed, but
seeing a multitude of Prime Tenno in one location is significant information.
He is more astounded when the Tenno Prime he spotted consisted of mostly the
Royal Guards of old. He surveys the the faces of the Tenno materialized and his
breath stops upon stumbling upon a Tenno Council member long thought to be lost
to the void. Her beauty and aura was undoubtedly identifiable as Lotus herself.
Lotus at first is disoriented but then slumps crying down after some point. The
Royal Guards approach her for instructions.
Darvo
suddenly ducks before he is found out. He suddenly cries tears of joy and stops
himself from laughing. Moments later Darvo regains his composure then he starts
making plans.
He spies
on the Tenno again and whispers, "Mothers make the best customers."
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