Challenges

Stephen fought past the paralysis that held him and moved even as the guards all around them started to react. The man in the hair was bringing his weapon down from the recoil when Stephen swept in, his blade part of himself. The man screamed as his hand and his pistol went flying. Then he froze as he edge of Stephen's blade caressed his neck. There was no blood from the stump of his hand. Some kind of prosthetic?

"Get away from me, you monster!" The man in the chair snapped. "Guards!" But Stephen could see the guards around he chair were being disarmed roughly by the armored humans and a couple of other Tenno who had recovered. Hayden in particular was rather annoyed.

"You call me a monster." Stephen said slowly. "That is funny. Hilarious even. If you have killed the Empress, your death may take weeks."

"He didn't." Talia's voice was subdued but Stephen did not take his eyes from the man in the chair. "He didn't hit me."

"Thank god." Stephen said softly. Guards moved close and he retreated a step, still with his eyes on the human in the chair. They started searching him, ignoring his cries and Stephen turned back to the Empress, only to freeze as he saw her kneeling beside a still form on the ground. Almira's face was frozen in a rictus of agony and blood coated the front of her jumpsuit. "Almira?" Stephen said weakly. "No."

"She shoved me aside." Talia was just as shocked. "You were all stunned. She wasn't. She took the bullet. I heard her scream in my mind and now? Nothing. I cannot sense her now."

"She wasn't in a warframe." Hayden said softly. "She wasn't affected the same. Brave kid."

Stephen went to his knees beside the Empress, taking Almira's still hands in his own, but like the Empress said, there was nothing. He looked up at Trinity beseeching, but she shook her head.

"Whatever bullet he used was designed to kill someone someone like us. Someone who was hard to kill. If it had hit Talia, it would have killed her." Trinity slumped. "Almira's energy was disrupted beyond the point of recovery." Mag went to her knees beside Stephen and took his hands in her own.

"She will be remembered." Mag promised. "She succeeded, Stephen. She did. Talia is alive." Stephen felt his world suddenly go cold and hard. He heard Mag gasp as he rose to his feet, his sword coming to his hands as he spun to face the man who killed his friend and teacher. The old human glared at him from his chair even surrounded by guards aiming weapons at him. "Stephen! No!"

"No, Tenno." Talia was suddenly in front of him, her hands up in a warding gesture. "Not like this. He doesn't deserve a clean death by Tenno steel." She slowly and carefully pushed his hands down until the point of his sword was aimed at the floor. "He will be punished, Tenno."

"Part of me burns to strike him down." Stephen felt strange. Detached. "It won't bring Almira or the kids he has killed back."

"No." Talia admitted. "No, it won't."

"None of you have the guts!" The man in the chair snapped. "None of you have the strength-"

The guards dove out of the way as Stephen stepped around Talia and his blade lashed out. But instead of striking with the edge or point, the flat of the blade slapped the man on the cheek!

"You speak of strength, you who have slaughtered so many non-combatants on whim. You who torture children in your need to survive." Stephen said mildly as the flat of his blade slapped the man's other cheek. The human stared at him, shocked. "You wouldn't know true strength if it hit you upside the head." He slapped the top of the man's head with same flat of the blade, not enough to hurt, just enough to sting. Everyone was staring at him in shock as he recovered his blade and holstered it.

He turned his back on the man. He strode to Almira's still form, scooped her up and started for the door. Some of the humans babbled. He ignored them. He felt rather than saw Mag and Frost move to flank him. Neither of them spoke.

"McCain." Stephen said as he traced his steps back towards where he had come into the building. "That was McCain?"

"I don't know." Mag admitted. She sounded subdued. "Maybe. Or maybe someone who revered the nutcase for some crazy reason. It certainly wasn't Trump since he is dead. It will take some time and a great deal of DNA scan to determine the truth, if he hasn't scrambled his DNA. Frost?"

"The diary was McCain's." Frost was just as subdued. "I don't know. We know McCain was sneaky enough for three men. We may never know if this was him or not. If he was truly prepared to do the level of horror we saw in the White House, then he could do anything, even alter his own DNA. The President for Life doesn't look anything like Senator McCain, but cosmetic surgery is nothing new. I just skimmed the book, I didn't have time to peruse it closely."

"Yeah." Stephen said sadly as he looked at Almira's still form. "We won, Almira. Talia is alive. We did it." He shook his head. "This doesn't feel like a victory."

"No." Mag agreed. "It doesn't."

Then it happened. Between one step and another, the body in Stephen's arms vanished. He stopped in mid-stride, staring at his empty hands. Then he was running. He felt Mag and Frost keeping up with him, but he ignored them. He ran out of the building, ignoring the calls from the guards behind him. He passed a sign marked 'Rotary' and then up onto another road. This one was damaged from war and neglect and he had to dodge craters and potholes as he kept running. He wasn't winded at all. He felt like he could run forever. He took a left, then a right, then a left. He had no idea where he was going, but suddenly, he was surrounded by silence. He jerked to a halt, aware of Frost and Mag pacing him. But he felt odd as he stared out across a large expanse filled with small white stone markers. A cemetery. A huge cemetery.

"Arlington National Cemetery." Mag said quietly as Stephen stared around, awed by the sheer size.

He would have asked her about that, but then his attention was pulled to a concrete expanse ahead by an odd clicking. He jerked as he saw a lone human striding across the expanse. The woman wore a full uniform that looked odd. Her heels were clicking on the pavement. Mag moved up closer to Stephen and spoke softly.

"She is a member of 'The Old Guard'. Third Infantry Regiment, US Army." Mag said quietly.

"What is she doing?" Stephen asked, confused. The woman was marching back and forth in front of a large stone something or other. He couldn't quite make it out. It was white, large and rectangular.

"Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier." Mag was quiet, reflective. "A duty which units of her service have done since 1937." Stephen stared at her and Mag nodded. "Yeah, over a hundred years." She shook her head. "Much as I denigrate the Army at times, most of them do understand tradition and honor. Rain or shine, they post. Even at the worst of times, the Old Guard has stood up here. They marched in gas masks at times, but they marched."

"I..." Stephen felt his world lurch and then he was kneeling as tears fell that no one would ever see inside his helmet.

"Go ahead and grieve for your friend, brother." Frost said quietly. "No one will see you but us. No one will judge you."

"I thought..." Stephen said through his tears. "She was strong! I am not!" Two very different hands found his shoulders. "Why did it have to be her?" He demanded, anger rising.

"I don't have an answer for you, Stephen." Mag said sadly. "I think she would be happy that she succeeded. She knew she wasn't going to survive if you succeeded. You know this."

"No, I don't know that, Mag." Stephen said sharper than he intended. He slumped a bit. "I am sorry. I just… She was special. And no one will ever know."

"We will." Frost promised. "We will never forget."

"You can't promise that, Frost." Stephen said with a grunt, only to pause as something changed in front of him. Two more figures in the same uniform walked out onto the concrete expanse. What were they doing? He looked at Mag who nodded.

"The Changing of the Guard." Mag actually sounded awed. "Every day since 1948 when they took over the duty from other units. Either every hour on the hour or every two hours. Rain or shine, snow or chemical attack, they march." Stephen stared, incredulous as the three humans did an intricate drill. Their weapons looked archaic, but functional.

"Wow." Stephen managed.

"I cannot say we will remember forever." Mag said softly. "But Talia has a long memory and all kinds of ways to hold information. She will not forget, nor her descendants."

"Tenno." All three of the Tenno jerked upright as a strong voice spoke to them. One of the guards was striding back on the path the previous guard had taken and the female guards stood by the other who looked to be in charge. The one with the most ribbons on his shoulder spoke again. "What do you seek here?"

His words might have been sharp, but they were not accusatory. More curious. Mag took a step forward, but Stephen spoke up.

"Solace." Stephen said quietly. Both of the guards stared a him. "I seek solace. My sister just died performing her duty and I was lost in grief." He shook his head. "I did not mean to disrupt your duty. I apologize if I have."

"Duty can be hard." The man said quietly. Stephen nodded. "We know that better than many."

"I honor your devotion to your own duty." Stephen bowed to the man who stared at him. "I will leave you to it."

"A question." The man said as Stephen turned away. "The Empress was here to negotiate. Are the talks still going?"

"They are." Mag said quietly. "I do not trust politicians, but the Empress is hopeful."

"Of course not." The man had a smile in his voice even if it didn't show on his face. "Even Marines are not that crazy."

He nodded to her as Mag sputtered a little, then he turned and walked away, the female guard at his side, their heels clicking in unison.

"I feel lost." Stephen said weakly. "I did what was needed. What do I do now?"

He had bare seconds to realize that something was amiss and that simply wasn't enough time for his shocked and shaken mind to react to the white hole that appeared in the pavement underneath him. Mag's cry of alarm faded as Stephen fell.

He saw flashes. Stars appeared, grew and then vanished as she fell by them. Worlds spun out of cosmic dust, life grew on them, flourished and then faded. He flew into a golden light and was suddenly falling slower.

"Idiot Grineer!" A sour male voice snapped from nearby. "The Orokin never screwed with that. They knew better. Why the hell do clones think they can?"

"Because they are better than any human, Nikis." A sad female voice sounded in reply. "They cannot grasp the concept of something that they cannot conquer. They think that if they throw enough bodies at anything, they can beat it. Time doesn't care though."

"True enough."The male voice sighed. "Ah, here he is."

Stephen landed on a hard surface, rolling instinctively to his feet to stand in front of… A black Nekros warframe and a woman in white? Her face was half hidden by a white veil. His warframe felt odd, but his blade was in hand as he stared around. The room was large and looked decrepit. The walls and floor were gilded in gold, but they were battered and broken. A tree was growing up through one wall and from the look of it? It had been growing for centuries. Maybe longer.

"Hello Stephen." The woman bowed to him. "My name is Janet and this is Nikis." The black Nekros nodded to him. "I know you are very confused. You are in no danger at the moment."

"I heard you talking. You speak of Grineer." Stephen said slowly. "This is where I started?"

"Not quite." Janet said with a shake of her head. "The lab you were in was destroyed by the surge of energy that catapulted you through time and space. We are on a derelict Orokin ship that crashed into the asteroid millennia ago. The Grineer built their base on that asteroid both to plunder the ship and to hide from many peoples' sight."

"I..." Stephen shook his head. "I have traveled in time again?" He asked a little plaintively.

"Yes." Compassion sounded in Janet's tone. "This should be the last time. All of what was done has been undone. You are very brave, do you know that?"

"I am very scared." Stephen scoffed.

"Join the club." The Nekros replied. "Fear does not make us lesser. It is a survival instinct, nothing more. You did what you set out to do. You repaired the timeline."

"I what?" Stephen demanded, sheathing his blade. He had the feeling that he had no chance against either of these beings. He knelt into seiza as Almira had taught him. His hands shook as he placed them properly.

"The Grineer tried to toy with time." Janet said quietly. "They failed, but only because their chosen tool turned in their hand." Stephen stared at her, even more confused and she nodded. "They tried to warp you into a tool to alter the timeline. What they didn't realize was that doing so would create a loop of energy that had the potential to wipe out everything."

"Everything in this solar system?" Stephen asked, fear rising.

"Everything in existence." Janet correct him grimly. Stephen slumped a bit, but Janet smiled. "You undid what they tried to do."

"What did they do?" Stephen asked. "Oh, wait. That cloning tech!"

"Yeah." Nikis nodded. "No one knew where it came from. It just appeared one day in that madman's lair and he decided to use it." Stephen looked at him and Nikis chuckled. There was precious little mirth in it. "Did you really think we would forget?"

"I thought I was in an alternate reality." Stephen said weakly.

"An alternate timeline." Janet corrected him gently this time. "A timeline created when the Grineer tried to stop Orokin from rising." She shook her head. "Not that they could have predicted what would happen from their meddling. Hayden Tenno as Emperor?" She shuddered dramatically and Nikis shared it.

"You saw." Stephen stared from her to Nikis and back. Both nodded. "Then… Is it over?"

"Yes. Orokin rose, although it took a couple hundred more years to finally end the violence. The Grineer know better than to try that again." Nikis growled. "The wardens are not happy with them at the moment." Stephen looked at the floor. "Yeah." Nikis sounded old and tired now. "That leaves you as the only loose end."

"Do what you must, Tenno." Stephen said sadly. "I am so tired. I did what was needed."

"Do you have any idea what Mag would do to me if I hurt you?" Nikis asked sourly. "Let alone Frost?" Stephen's head jerked up and Nikis nodded. "We ain't got a lot of leeway in such situations, but we do have some."

"I am tired, Tenno." Stephen said weakly. "So very tired."

"I know." Janet sounded close to tears as she reached for him. Her hands were glowing green as they took hold of him and warm energy swept him up and held him gently.

"But you are needed."

Stephen was jolted into awareness as he landed on a hard surface. His memory was there, but oddly patchy. He heard guttural voices. Sounds he understood somehow. He couldn't move! Gunfire erupted around him and he slammed his fist into the ground, trying to get his equilibrium back. It was coming, but slow as he herd shouts, screams and more gunfire. He looked up to see a horde of armored forms engaging three dark blurs. The Ash was moving and striking as only a stealth oriented assassin could. The Nyx was holding her own, her bow singing a dirge of death and the Frost…

Stephen jerked to his feet in time to catch the sword that the Frost had thrown him. Instinct took over and he spun in time to shatter the two glowing golden balls that had been flying towards him. The being in front of him was an abomination of twisted flesh and metal. It wasn't alone, at least a dozen similar forms flanked it. Too many for a straight fight. But Stephen had power now that his warframe had absorbed from the fallen forms. His sword went to the floor, point down and golden swords lanced out from him tot strike every misshapen form. The large one in the middle shielded itself somehow.

The abomination raised a golden key that Stephen sort of recognized and a beam of energy lanced from it. Again, instinct saved him. His sword shed the beam like water and while he held the enemy's attention, the other Tenno acted. In moments, Stephen and the other three were the only standing things in the area and the abomination had been cut in half.

"Come, brother." The Frost said quietly. "We must quit this place."

"What is going on?" Stephen asked as he sheathed his blade. It felt both right and wrong to his senses. He would figure out why later. Right now? He started off with the others.

"We didn't expect to find a brother in cryo here." The Nyx sounded concerned. "Let alone one being attacked by Vor. Are you all right?"

"You did not answer my question." Stephen said sourly.

"Humanity is in grave danger." The Ash said softly. "Degenerate clones and Technocyte Infestation threaten everything in the solar system. The Tenno are needed once more."

"A challenge then?" Stephen asked. The other three nodded. "Good. I like challenges."

"Wouldn't be much of a Tenno if you didn't." The Nyx said with a laugh that the others shared.

Stephen ran with his kin towards his future.

None of the four noticed a nondescript human and a woman in white that hid in a shadow by one wall of the ancient crypt. The two mismatched beings shared a smile and vanished.