Human

It was very quiet. She liked quiet. Quiet was her ally. It was not her place to run into danger, guns blazing. No. Her job was to be very calm, very precise and very quiet. The alarm sounded in the distance and she nodded to herself as she watched the guards pound away from where they had been congregated. She eased her way from her hiding place, ready to run or fight if needed. But it wasn't. None of the guards had even looked back. After all, if the sophisticated sensors arrayed all around the area hadn't picked up any life signs, there couldn't be anything there, yes?

Or something clad in some of the most scanner resistant armor known to man or Tenno. When she had asked, she had been told that an old Earth cockroach would have more of a signature on the sensors than she would. Which was good, since she couldn't move very fast in the armor. It was not heavy, just cumbersome. It masked her life signs from any scans and masked her visually as well. She was a ghost. She was never there. She was a Tenno Operative and she was very good at her job. A rumble sounded in the distance and she focused on her objectives. The supplies that her handler had requested she search for were here... somewhere.

The problem wasn't going to be looking for stuff. There was stuff here in this huge storage space. Stuff was everywhere. Boxes, crates, containers of all sizes and shapes. The huge storage facility defined full. But... Whoever had stored items here hadn't been a good organizer.

Or sane She thought with a small mental smirk, careful to keep most of her awareness on her surroundings.

The last thing she needed was to get blindsided by a guard now. More rumbles in the distance told her that the guards had found the diversion team. Not that finding them would do the guards much good. Tenno were not lightweight enemies. They tended to leave swaths of destruction in their wake. But at the same time, they did not usually go for subtle. If Tenno had been tasked to search the warehouse that the agent was slowly making her way through, in the end, a bunch of boxes would be broken, the guards would come swooping down and the team would have to flee with little to show for their efforts. No, she was the better choice for this. She was fast, scanning each box as she crouched beside it. Every so often, she would tag one and a faint hum of energy would be felt more than heard. Each tag allowed her handlers to transport small quantities of whatever she found out of the boxes. The tags degraded quickly, leaving no trace of her passage except several empty boxes in a storage area filled with boxes.

The team is withdrawing. The voice of her commander came and the agent paused, then nodded. They could only stay in the area a short period of time. Eventually, the enemy would get tired of their presence and do something nasty to dislodge them. Cutting off life support on a ship, dispersing toxic spores across the entirety of a planet side habitat or filling the area with poison gas, it made no difference. Any of the potential responses could and would kill even Tenno if left long enough. Messy but very effective. Get out of there.

Yes Lotus. She replied, not expecting an answer. But then her scanner vibrated for her attention. She stared at it, then at the box which was... slightly different from the others. Something. What the...? Lotus! I have found something! She called and her handler was back, concerned.

You need to get out of there! The team has withdrawn! The Lotus said sharply, but then the agent uploaded the scanner data and the Lotus... paused. Oh my god...

The box held a small human form encased in some kind of protective field. She couldn't tell gender, but she could read life signs. The child was alive!

I will tag this box. The agent said firmly as she did just that. Then she was ghosting back to where she had entered the warehouse. With a hum, the whole box vanished. Lotus? She asked as an alarm started blaring. She hurried her steps.

The box was trapped with multiple alarms! Run! The Lotus commanded. Your ride standing by. Get out of there!

The Operative needed no further urging. She darted for the air vent that had allowed her access to the storage unit. Behind her, she heard started and angry voices shouting, all in the Corpus language. Stood to reason, they had been robbing a Corpus facility. Luckily, she spoke Corpus. As well as Grineer, Tenno, a couple of dozen human languages...

[What was that?] The harsh voice had to be a commander of some kind. [Why did the alarm trigger in here! None of the Betrayers got this far!]

Light shone across the area and she froze in place, praying her stealth systems would hold. She wasn't out in the open, but she was slightly visible. If her stealth failed, if they managed a solid sensor sweep... She would not leave this unit. Not alive anyway. She was privy to far too many secrets to allow the enemies of the Tenno to take her. She could not feel the needles that had sunk into her carotid arties. She had been promised that the mixture they contained would be swift, painless and impossible to counter. But she didn't want to die. She had too much left to do.

Half a dozen Corpus Crewmen strode into view, their Dera rifles held ready. A pair of Techs stood nearby, their Supra rifles also ready. Behind them the form of an Blitz Eximus Commander stood, his posture angry.

[Well?] The commander snapped.

{Container 475-S is missing.] One of the crewmen reported. [Other boxes report losses. We have been robbed!] An angry mutter swept the room.

[Aw nuts!] The commander snarled. [Lousy stinking Tenno! It is not enough that they come in here and kill a battalion's worth of people, they have to rob us too? What was in 475-S?] He asked one of the Techs, his tone turning resigned. The Tech slung his Supra and pulled out a datapad.

{It is marked 'Classified', Sir.] The Tech replied uneasily. The Operative did not move as a light swept over her. It kept going. [We better report this.]

[Who the hell puts classified materials in a storage unit here of all places? This unit is a disaster! Who organized this?] The Commander snapped. Then he groaned. [The Board is not going to be happy. There went my profits.]

[Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.] One of the Crewmen who was searching near the agent muttered softly.

[I heard that, Jackson K-67!] The Crewman went stiff as the Commander snapped. [You are on camera repair duty.]

[Yes sir.] The errant Crewman saluted and barked the Corpus mantra. There really wasn't anything else he could do. [Profit numbs the feeling.]

[Everyone out.] The Commander said after a moment. [The Board is sending forensic bots to determine what was taken.] In her concealment, the Operative quailed a little. Forensic bots would detect her quickly. If they arrived while the Corpus were still inside the room... [Out!] The Commander nearly screamed. [We are contaminating the crime scene. That means you too, Richard W-47. Stop gawking at the boxes and move. Now!]

[Commander?"] The Crewman sounded young. [What the heck is an 'Ark of the Holy Grail'? And what is it doing in here?] The Operative was actually happy when the Commander rounded on his laggard.

[What part of 'Out' do you not understand?] The Commander actually grabbed the offending crewman by the arm and bodily yanked him from the room. The door hissed shut and the Operative started moving again, slowly and carefully. But with dedicated scanners coming, she had to be gone. Sooner rather than later.

She made it to the vent. The cover had been laid in place to allow her access and she moved it easily. Then she started replacing the connections that held it in place. She didn't want to leave any traces. She heard the door hiss again and the sounds of robotics, but she focused on her task. She had it. She was sliding back in the vent when a light streamed into it. She froze as an Osprey appeared at the vent, it's sensors peering in. It beeped and moved on, it's sensors apparently not detecting her.

Operative... The Lotus' voice was worried. Status?

Apparently, that child was some kind of classified material. No idea why it was in here. The operative said softly inside her mind. She didn't have to whisper in her mind. It was purely a psychological quibble that had no impact on the mission, so she ignored it. They sent for forensic bots. They will detect my passage but apparently have not yet.

That won't last. Get out of there. The Lotus commanded and the operative was happy to oblige. Backup is standing by in case you need hard extraction.

Roger that. She could guess who. Tenno had a reputation as soulless killing machines and some were in her experience. But not all. And one in particular was really beginning to annoy her. Tell me he isn't hovering at the exit? She begged.

He worries about you. The Lotus sounded... amused?

He needn't. The Operative said sharply as she made her way through the innards of the Corpus facility. I have a job to do and... She screamed as pain erupted across her side and back. Her body wasn't working right, but she managed to turn her head to see a Corpus Sniper aiming at her as she crumpled slowly to her knees. She had been shot with a Lanka. Silent weapon... A perfect ambush... She couldn't...

The roar of gunfire was loud in the small enclosure as a dark form from nightmares strode out of the shaft ahead, a pistol in each hand. Both Magnus pistols were barking at the sniper and the other Corpus who had been closing in to try and take her alive. Not that they could, but they would try. And... they had no chance at all against him. No one did at even close to similar odds.

Nikis... don't... She pleaded silently as consciousness fled.

It was no surprise that she woke in a Tenno medical ward. It was also no surprise that the doc was annoyed.

"Get out, Nikis." No, Iriana wasn't annoyed. That word was too mild. She was fuming. "Now." Very few people could talk to the ancient Tenno gunfighter in such a tone of voice and get away with it. But Healer Iriana had his respect, not an easy thing to earn. Part of the Operative was sure that Nikis was amused by the Healer's ire. Iriana did not like the gunfighter scaring her staff, which he did even when he didn't want to. It was just what he was.

"Doc." Nikis sounded... unsure. A first in her experience. "Is she gonna be okay?"

"If you let me do my job, yes."The Healer said with acid tinged politeness. "Get out. Go...scare some Grineer or something." She said with all the gentleness of a mama bear protecting a cub.

"Gets old." Nikis was calm again. It seemed he was only ever calm these days in battle or... The operative paused. Around her. She stiffened in place. It couldn't be... Not that ancient scary, crazy Tenno...

"I am all right, Nikis." The Operative managed to croak out. "I will be all right." Something grated inside her. It didn't hurt, but she got the feeling it should have.

"Janet, shut up." Iriana snapped, her anger fanned. Janet opened her mouth again, but a finger laid on it and she closed it. "Me doctor, you patient. Shut up and let me work. Nikis. Out! Now." Something touched Janet's hand. Something cold, but... It felt...comforting. Then a door hissed and Iriana sighed. "I swear... That guy..."

"Iriana...?" Janet said, then gasped as something hurt.

"Janet, stop moving." Iriana commanded. "You were hit bad. If he had been a few seconds later in digitizing you, I wouldn't have been be able to save you." Janet forced herself to stillness and Iriana clucked. "Better." Soothing numbness flowed over Janet, her body relaxing from the pain. The doc sighed. "This is... beyond my capabilities, Janet. The bolt tore through you and did a lot of damage." Iriana said after a moment. "I will have to put you out for transport to better equipped facilities."

"Iriana?" Janet said through the haze of numbness that suffused her now.

"Yes, Janet?" The doctor said as the clicking sound of controls being manipulated came.

"Is Nikis... in love with me?" Janet begged. The clicking stopped. "Tell me he isn't...? I didn't... All I saw was him being overprotective. Yes, I lost my family. I didn't lose my kid like he originally thought, but I won't ever see them again." She was crying a little now as her control faltered.

"Oh Janet..." Iriana said sadly. Something soft wiped her face. "I don't know. He... has lived and breathed paranoia for so long... I really don't know for sure. But... I would say 'Yes'. He is acting that way."

"Oh crap..." Janet said with feeling. Then she was falling into soft darkness.

"You said it."

"Nikis." Iriana was not angry now as she finished prepping Janet for transport. As expected the Nekros gunfighter had come back in. He... She shook her head. He was acting more like a teenager in love than a Tenno at the moment.

"I apologize, Healer." Nikis said quietly. "I... ain't myself these days."

"And is that a bad thing?" Iriana asked softly. Nikis just looked at her. "You worry me, Nikis." She said with a sigh. "I know you worry Lisa. I bet you worry Jasmina as well."

"He does." The voice was familiar. Iriana smiled widely as Lisa entered the room behind the Nekros, her face a mix of worried and... something else. The girl was a far cry from the mass of feral instinct that Iriana had seen first. She simply inhaled information, and she was so gentle and kind that even the smallest and most frightened children instinctively trusted her. Nikis slumped, acting hurt, but she just shook her head. "It's who you are, Nikis. But it does worry us."

"Who I have been for a long, long time." Nikis agreed. "Since I had to kill Dust's mom." Iriana glanced at Lisa who shook her head.

"We have been over this, Nikis." Lisa said sternly, stepping up to lay a hand on the Nekros' arm. He wouldn't let just anyone touch him, but Lisa was a special case. Especially since she was acting as a surrogate mother for his grandchild. No one sane threatened Lisa in any way around Nikis. "What else could you do? Richard needed your help. You know what she wanted. You gave it to her."

"Yeah." Nikis agreed sadly. "But doesn't make me feel very good about myself."

"Nikis..." Lisa said gently. "Janet is alive, thanks to you. Hold to that."

"I do, darling." Nikis said with a sigh. "I just feel... so off these days. Janet makes me feel better. I don't think I am in love with her, but I don't know. Doesn't feel the same. But... it does make me feel good."

"You have been alone a long time, Nikis." Lisa said sadly. "But now you are not. You have a family who are worried about you. Come on. You need to meditate." She gave his arm a gentle tug and he shook his head.

"If I argue, you will stand there all day, won't you?" Nikis asked sourly. Lisa just smiled and he groaned. "Fine, fine..." He groused. "Doc? I need to know." He didn't -quite- beg.

"The bolt hit her spine, Nikis." Iriana said with a nod. "Center mass. It missed her heart by millimeters. But it did miss. She is alive, and she is going to stay that way. Our databanks on regenerating human nerves are not as complete as... elsewhere." She said with a frown. "I could do it, but they can do it far faster and with less chance of complications."

Nikis and Lisa nodded. Even here in the middle of a secure Tenno sanctuary, none would speak of the last remaining bastion of the Orokin monarchy. Avalon had been virtually unknown even during the height of Orokin power and virtually undetectable in it's hiding place in the stellar corona, but it was hardly invulnerable. If enemies knew it existed, they would stop at nothing to find and either take or destroy the last known free refuge of the Orokin.

"Well, they don't want me going back." Nikis said with self deprecating mirth. "I made a bit of a mess when I went."

"I'll say." Lisa said with a snort. "Did you really make the guards soil themselves?"

"Hey." Nikis said with a matching snort. "Warframes won't let you do that. But yeah... They uh... respect me."

"They are terrified of you." Iriana corrected him." As is anyone sane." Nikis faked hurt again and she shook her head. "Nikis, I wouldn't change you for anything. We need you. But you are scary even when you do not want to be."

"Fear is my main weapon." Nikis agreed. "And I am good with it." He shook his head. "Keep me informed, please?"

"Nikis..." Iriana's voice gentled. "You... know..." Lisa looked worried, but Nikis just nodded.

"I don't know what I am feeling, doc." The ancient gunfighter said with a sigh. "But I ain't gonna hurt her. She has been hurt enough. I will back off." He promised.

"I am not asking that!" Iriana protested, but Nikis shook his head again.

"Better for both of us if I back off." Nikis said with a grunt as he turned to go. "I am Tenno. She is human."

"She deserves better."