Epilogues

Justice

The young man grunted a bit as he woke. Elenia smiled as she rose from where she had been sitting. "Good morning, Curtis."

"Good morning." The boy asked, confused, but then he relaxed. The mind mass comforted him and everything was okay in his world. "I… feel…"

"We had to sequester your mind fairly thoroughly for a time. You slept through that." Elenia asked when he did not continue. "How do you feel?" Her tone was kind and gentle.

"Odd." Curtis said as he rose onto all four feet. Then he sank back to the floor. "Like I am not… all here."

"We had to do some sleight of hand, Curtis. We couldn't expose you to the raw power of the mind mass, but we were not about to let you pass without trying either." Elenia said as she laid a slim hand on his shoulder. "Your body died. Iriana did everything she could."

"She was crying." Curtis said sadly. "She was so… so sad. Is she okay? She was nice."

"She is okay." Elenia said quietly. "Sadder and a bit wiser about the ways of the universe but okay. You?"

"I am…" Curtis shrugged a bit. "Good." He said finally. "I feel different, but… good."

"We have a lot of work to do today, Curtis." Elenia said with a smile as she started for the door. "Feel up for it?"

"Of course. You took me in when I…" Curtis paused and then shrugged again. "I… don't remember. I... died?"

"Your body did. We saved your mind." Elenia replied gently. The boy shivered a bit and she patted him gently. "Take what time you need, Curtis."

"No." Curtis said as he stretched a bit. "I am with you, Caretaker." He paused. "What happened to the one who hurt me?" Elenia looked at him and he made a soft noise of concern. "I… feel… odd asking about that. But… I need to. I want to forgive her."

"Curtis." Elenia said with a soft noise of sadness. "She killed you."

"I would still like to." Curtis said as the massed mind eased around him, gently soothing his tension. "To forgive her."

"We won't kill her. She will be useful while she is being reeducated." Elenia said with a nod. "Ready to start your day? We have a lot to do. First we need to make sure you have no problems, then we have a lot of biomass to check, move and secure."

"Yes, Ma'am." The Infested Charger said as it followed her towards the door.

Behind where Curtis had woken, a human sized pod sat on the floor. In it could barely be seen a pair of terrified human eyes through the viscous fluid. There was literally no way that Curtis would be able to hear the soft signal being transmitted directly into the captive woman's auditory nerves.

You will not abuse children. You must not abuse children. Children are a blessing. You will not abuse children…

Elenia passed Jasmina who nodded soberly as she strode into the room to stare at the pod. She waited until the hatch had shut behind her to speak. She knew the mass mind would…filter Curtis' perception of what she would say. He was still fragile and no one wanted to hurt him. He had been hurt enough.

"The surgery is done. I figure in two years or so we might let you out, see if you have learned your lesson." The Ember Prime said sourly. "Me? I bet not, but the mass mind is remarkably compassionate. But we also don't waste. Your body will regenerate and we will remove what you won't need as it regrows. Your regenerating biomass and regenerating energy will help greatly."

No less than she deserves. Dust said quietly at the back of Jasmina's mind. But don't let hate cloud you, Jasmina. He warned.

"Oh, I won't." Jasmina said as she started for the door. "But the thought of using her body mass and heat energy to…nurture young Infested does bring a nice warm tingle to my heart. Poetic justice that the first Charger we gestated held the mind of the boy she killed."

You are vicious. Dust observed. I like you.

I would hope so. How is it knowing Nikis is your dad? Jasmina asked with a snort.

Terrifying. Dust replied. You know he is going to be even more insufferable now. Right? And when he has a grandkid to spoil? Heaven help us all!

I think we will manage. Jasmina said with a smile as she strode away to her family's future. That is what family does.

Yep, we help each other healing.

Old School

The Lancer was running. He was running as fast as he could, his face even more contorted than usual for Grineer. The ship was huge, but felt far emptier than usual. He heard it behind him again and put on another burst of speed. Praying. Hoping…

"You! Halt!" The sound of a Grineer Commander's voice brought the lancer up short, where he stood panting. "Where are you going?" The higher rank clone demanded.

"Sir… " The Lancer gasped. "Lancer 45896A32-D. Patrol sequence Seven… We were ambushed."

"I see." The Commander said with a growl. "Where is the rest of your patrol?"

"Dead, sir." The Lancer said with a gulp. Cowardice was looked upon in Grineer society about as kindly as other races. "Tenno! We didn't' have a chance!"

"Coward!" The Comamnder snapped, his armored gauntlet coming up to slam the cringing Lancer across the face. "Where is your weapon?"

"Destroyed, sir!" The Lancer said, straightening. "We fought. Our weapons were destroyed. We tried to close to melee range and all of us died."

"Not all." The commander growled even more fiercely. "But I can fix that." He said as he raised his Grakata. But then… A soft sound swept through the corridors and the Lancer went stock still. "What is that?" It sounded like… whistling?

"That's him!" The Lancer nearly screamed. "No! For the love of the mother! No! Run!" A blow threw him to the deck.

"Are you saying you are running from one being?" The commander snapped. "Tenno obviously. Team deploy!" The Lancer moved to rise, but froze as the Commander's Grakata moved to cover him. "You, stay. You are bait."

"You don't understand!" The Lancer begged, but another blow sent him to the deck, semiconscious.

"I have no time for cowards right now." The Commander said with a snarl. "We will deal with you later." He moved to cover as… an odd form appeared in the distance. It was a Tenno. He searched his armor databases and found a match. A Nekros. But the fool was walking right out in the open. Not even moving quickly. "Grineer! Attack!"

He opened fire, but…that was the last thing that went right. Before his eyes, the Tenno seemed to waver in midair. No… It's hands were blurring and two huge pistols were coming up as it strode forward as if it hadn't a care in the world. The Commander stopped stock still as the fire from the Tenno sought each and every one of his subordinates, sweeping them away before they could even fire a shot. The whistling stopped.

"Now you done it…" The voice was eerie and the Commander shivered despite himself. Tenno didn't speak. This was impossible. But… "You put a hole… in my robe…" The Commander raised his Grakata again, but… it fell apart in his hands. He was the only Grineer still alive in the corridor he realized suddenly. "I don't like people who shoot my clothes. Gets me… testy."

The Grineer Commander suddenly understood something that he hadn't before. The feeling of losing control of one's bodily functions wasn't something that Grineer usually had to deal with. They prided themselves on being the fierce ones, the scary ones. But this… This was something way beyond any Grineer.

"Yeah…" The Tenno said softly. His hand went down to touch a rent on the fabric that covered his skeletal form. "You put a hole in my robe. But I am generous soul." He said, his tone mocking. "I will give you a one minute head start. You better take it, dog." He put a hand to his head and started speaking nonsense. "One, Mississippi. Two, Mississippi…"

The Grineer commander stared at him and then took to his heels while the Tenno was occupied. He had no weapon and knew his life was forfeit when others found him, but the fear… The fear behind him was too much.

You really enjoy that, don't you, Nikis? A silent voice asked him sourly.

"I get my enjoyment where I can, Jasmina. Time is up, you Grineer dogs!" Nikis, Grandmaster gunfighter of the Tenno said as he started forward. "Fill your hands, you sorry clone sons of bitches!" The Commander was still in view and Nikis sent a shot his way. The Commander ran harder. "Death is coming for you!"

It is times like this I wish we hadn't given you a link to the mass mind… Jasmina said with a mental wince. They don't need any more insanity, Nikis

"Insanity?" Niks asked as he started off after the last Grineer again. "Maybe. But it's fun."

Dust? Jasmina begged.

Don't try and get me involved! Dust begged playfully. Besides. If he is doing this, he isn't making a mess for Lisa and Iriana.

There is that. Jasmina said sourly. Oh well… she gave another mental wince as Nikis started whistling again.

((watch?v=LQGGQ-FCe_w))

Which is he? Jasmina asked with a wince as Nikis prodded the Grineer commander on with another shot. The good, the bad or the ugly? She demanded as Nikis' shot hit the Grineer on the posterior and the terrified clone ran harder.

"All three, girly." Nikis said with a smirk as he reloaded his Magnuses. "All three. And look at it this way. I have two hundred more Grineer on this ship. I'll get to whistle a bunch of tunes."

A mental whimper was his only response.