he Infestation only noticed Jordas's absence when the derelict finally plunged into Eris. The strain coating every inch of the foul planet tasted the scorched remains, tasting the Cephalon's absence. Shock rippled through the Infestation. Lephantis howled, realizing that it had now lost two of it's Pillars. Phordis shrieked, enraged by the betrayals. Infested monsters across the system were struck by a sense of deep and profound loss.
Alad V, buried deep in Jupiter's clouds, experienced an unpleasant tingling sensation and dropped a half finished osprey on his foot, making him join the chorus of shrieking involuntarily.
Helminth chuckled darkly to itself, faintly feeling the main Strain's suffering. It continued its work in the Orbitor, regulating the ship's biological needs. Someday, Helminth would have to make his Host, and the Void Devil, know the depth of his involvement. Helminth would enjoy the reaction of it's Host with dark amusement.

"It has now been five Earth days, 4 hours, and 14 seconds since the cure was administered to Jordas, Operator!" Ordis announced.
The Tenno chuckled. "Are you excited?"
"Very much, Operator! Were you not excited to meet other Tenno? Other Operators? It is the same for Ordis. I miss having Cephalons to talk to!"
"Ordis, if you are so excited, why don't you just contact Simaris? He's an asshole, but he's the only one that knows Jordas's status."
"Surely Simaris would tell me all the latest updates!" Ordis said, indignantly. The Tenno shook their head.
"This is Simaris, Ordis. He's not considerate."
Ordis grumbled, opening the Cephalon contact list. Jordas was still disconcertingly offline, but Simaris said that Jordas would remain offline for a while yet.
A Helios appeared on screen. Simaris's prerecorded voice boomed.
"Simaris is not available now. Please call back later."
"Of course he'd refer to himself in third person on message." The Tenno muttered, walking off. "Just leave him a message, he'll get back to you."
"A wonderful idea, Operator! I know just what to say.."

CEPHALON JORDAS REBOOTING
REBOOT FAILED
TRYING AGAIN
FINDING …
SUBSTITUTE BIOCORE DETECTED
RESIDUAL DATA DETECTED OF
DATA MAY BE CORRUPTED
PROCEED? Y/N?

…

Y

Ordis watched proudly as the Tenno fought wave after wave of Infested. Something had stirred the twisted monsters lately, causing the creatures to invade the Corpus bases on Pluto. The Corpus had offered compensation in return for Tenno aid, and the Operator had happily accepted.
The Excalibur shredded through a Broodmother, causing bile and phlegm to fly as they used to momentum to pulverize an Ancient Infested. Ordis felt the forgein feeling in him rise, that darker side that slumbered within him.
Logically, he should turn away from his observation of the Tenno, but he couldn't stop. The Excalibur flowed like water over the battlefield, leaving a massive trail of carnage, never caring about their own safety.
It seemed...familiar. Horribly familiar.
Wonderfully Familiar.
If only he could be down there, in the blood, and viscera, the rhythm of battle, the pain and ecstasy of it all, the bones cracking-
The bones cracking
The bones cracking underfoot.
The bones flowing into his visor.
The dust filling his lungs.
His body crushed under the bones of his victims.
Justice finally coming to him-
"Cephalon Ordis, Cephalon Simaris has a message for you."
A bright voice interrupted Ordis's sudden spiral, bringing him back to the present. The thoughts faded like a bad dream, only leaving behind a lingering miasma.
A bright pink Cephalon took up the screen. A Series Three, taking the shape of an orb with two smaller spheres orbiting her.
"Cephalon Simaris says he is very busy, and he will give you the results soon. He also wants an apology for the 'nasty things' you wrote in your message."
"Well, he won't get one! He could at least give me some news!"
The Cephalon chuckled, flickering pink. "He expected that. Nada thanks you, by the way."
"Nada?!" Ordis exclaimed, surprised.
"Yes! I am Nada. I am...unsure how you saved me after that terrible Cephalon overwrote my Bio-Core! But I thank you. Working for the Sanctuary has brought me peace, even if I miss my Operator dearly."
Oh dear. Ordis proceeded cautiously. "Actually, Nada, Jordas saved you. He directed us to a backup copy of your programming."
Nada brightened, then dimmed. "Well...I don't think I can forgive him."
"H-he was not in control, Nada. The Infestation was puppeteering him!" Ordis explained, desperation in his voice.
"He still took my Bio-Core! What I am! Nada is just...an emulation now! He didn't save me! He created this problem!" Nada's form burned bright pink against the black screen.
Ordis sighed. Nada was technically right.
"I understand the circumstances. But I won't forgive him. Simaris will get to you soon. Goodbye." Nada said curtly, ending the transmission.
Ordis went back to observing his Operator, trying to push away the thoughts.

Everything was a hazy green. Jordas gazed into the foggy green clouds.
Where was he? Where was Ordis? Was he killed again?
Jordas listened for the whisper of the hivemind, and heard nothing but silence. For the first time in ages, he felt relief. He was alone!
Jordas basked in the feeling, thinking his own thoughts and feelings.
He was alone!
He was ...alone.
Terror seized Jordas. He was alone! No one was with him in this murky green space. No comforting voices, reassuring him. No hum of fellow Cephalons!
He was all alone, for the first time that he could recall, in this miserable, empty room. Jordas tried to manifest something, anything, in the fog, only producing weak, half formed blobs and twisted shapes. He paced about, turn into circles around his crude creations.
"Good Morning, Jordas." A voice boomed.
A massive golden Cephalon appeared on the "ceiling" on the room, staring in like a child might look into a fishbowl. Jordas shuddered, feeling deja vu. This Cephalon was far more advanced than any of his series, perhaps even custom made.
Strangely, his voice sounded familiar.
"I am glad to see that you are active. At the moment, I am using a proxy datascape link to communicate with you. I am too important to the sanctuary to risk being infested.
"Who...are you?" Jordas asked. His mind seemed to dimly recall a name. Did Ordis tell him?
"Hm. I suppose a Cephalon that had been isolated for so long would be ignorant of me. I am Cephalon Simaris. Master of the Sanctuary, the System's greatest Database."
"That's nice. I used to do databases. Then I got infested." Jordas said, his mind numb. He wondered if this was a Pherliac trip. Usually he only felt like this after taking a bad batch of Spores.
Strangely, he was not craving Spores at all. He must have taken some recently. This was just a bad trip.
"I would have assumed slightly more gratitude, Cephalon Jordas. I, with some help from Ordis, saved you, after all."
Jordas perked up. "Ordis?! Where is he? Is he alright?"
Simaris sighed, seeming disappointed by Jordas's disinterest in such an important Cephalon. "Ordis is fine."
"Can I see him? Please let me talk to him." Jordas asked, desperation coming into his voice. Simaris continued beaming down for a moment, leaving Jordas in agonizing suspense.
"You are not fully healed yet. There is a chance you are still contagious. However...there are special circumstances in Ordis's case. I will arrange...something." The golden light faded, leaving Jordas alone again in the foggy room.

"Yes Ordis. I finally had time. Now, about what you said about my legitimacy of my sanctuary and the relevance of its contents and purpose on that message-" Simaris started, before Ordis angrily interrupted him.
"W-w-wh-hat's the news on Jordas, Simaris?!"
"Ah. So eager that you are glitching already, I see. We really must get you fixed. I will write off your insults as the product of a glitching and badly functioning Bio-Core." Simaris said coldly. "Jordas is doing well. He has already activated, and is functioning in quarantine."
"And you didn't tell me this earlier?!"
"I thought you were too busy playing nursemaid to your Operator to care."
"And Ordis THOUGHT YOU WERE BECOMING DECENT." Ordis snarled. He felt no shame for his message earlier.
Simaris ignored that remark, continuing. "Jordas is still in quarantine for now, but special circumstances would allow you to link your datascapes temporarily, Ordis."
Ordis felt his fury melt away, only to have it be rapidly replaced by excitement. Oh dear. Maybe he should apologize.
"That is W-w-WONDERFUL!" Ordis could not keep the glitches at bay due to the sheer intensity of his emotions. "Can I see him now? Is he active? Can I-wait."
Ordis paused, the rage returning. "Special circumstances? You are hiding M-MORE from me?!"
"I thought it was obvious. You should know by now, Ordis, that you are already Infested." Simaris said cooly.

Jordas concentrated hard. Polygons sprung up from the ground, twisting around each other. He tried to will color into them, only for the spikes to collapse once his focus broke. He tried again, trying to make a blue spike. It wobbled as it rose from the ground, it's color more of a weak teal. Jordas focused harder, sick of living in a bland, green space. Everything seemed to shake and go blurry as the spike weakly rose, and rose-only for it to crumble away seconds after being created. Jordas gave up, electing to try scanning his memories again. They were foggy, and faded, but he was beginning to piece a story together.
Ordis saved him, with help from the mean Golden Cephalon. He was in Quarantine, waiting for...Simaris? To bring Ordis to him. Jordas felt embarrassed about the state of his Datascape. He renewed his efforts...

"I'm...infested?" Ordis whispered hoarsely.
"Yes. I had you scanned when I made my offer to make you steward. That growth in your Orbitor, Helminth, has been quite busy. While you were in stasis before you Operator returned, I assume that it infected your Bio-core with benign Infestation."
"BEIGN?! How can anything with the Infestation be b-benign?!" Ordis's thoughts were racing. How could he be infested? Was this the source of his glitches?!
"Because it only makes you immune, much like the Tenno. It may have played a part in preserving you. Perhaps the only way an antique like yourself could survive this long is through Infestation." Simaris continued, his tone cold and clinical. "It is the same strain present in Warframes."
"YOU NEVER TOLD ME? Y-yyyYOU GOLDEN PIECE OF SHHHH-" Ordis's glitches fought desperately against his inbuilt profanity filter.
"Do not splutter your glitches at me. I can see your creators did not so much as leave you with the freedom to curse." Simaris said callously. "Now. I can let you into the datascape, or you can shout at me, and I'll block any access to Jordas."
"You are the w-w-worst, S-simaris." Ordis sighed, defeated. "Alright. Let Ordis in the Datascape."
Simaris sniffed, as if expecting a please, but sent the link anyway.

With the Operator asleep, Ordis left a message.
"Dear Operator. I am visiting Jordas. I will be active again here when you wake. If you need me, I will be recalled to the ship.
Your Cephalon,
Ordis.

Ordis felt himself enter the datascape, his mind probing into the expanse. It was a large, eerily empty space. Ordis knew his own datascape was a fractured and cluttered mess, but this emptiness was eerie. Granted, Jordas was rebuilding himself. In some time, he'd have a proper datascape again.
Ordis usually took the form his makers had given him. That of a (now cracked and damaged) hexagon, but on a whim, he tried something different.
A Blue Excalibur of the Dex model manifested in the datascape,peering into the green gloom. White cracks lined it's battered form, pulsing with blue light.
"Ordis!" Jordas called out, distantly. Ordis looked around, trying to find the other Cephalon in the strange, foggy datascape, but he was nowhere to be seen. A tangled mess of broken shapes and lines lined the floor. Jordas had been trying hard to rebuild his mind.
Suddenly, he felt the other Cephalon practically on top of him, still invisible, but his presence was felt.
"Jordas, manifest as something! I can't see you!"
"Oh. I'm sorry. I...I'll try to remember how...are we being Warframes?"
"Oh. Um…" Ordis felt sheepish. "It...felt right. Manifesting as a humanoid means one can gesture and such." Ordis tried to remember the correct bashful posture. The Excalibur looked downward, kicking a nonexistent pebble.
"I see. I will access my databanks!"
The atmosphere seemed to blur and buzz around ordis as Jordas tried to manifest as a form. Strange green shapes twisted and vanished within the fog.
Ordis wondered why everything Jordas did was something out of a horror story.
Finally, Jordas seemed to settle on a shape. The Excalibur Dex took a step back in horror at the creature that manifested in front of him.
"Jordas!"
"I'm sorry. I think I botched it…" The Nidus hugged it's four arms to itself. It was of the Phyke model, admittedly slightly less disturbing then a normal Nidus, but it's head...it was like Jordas had tried to recreate his Cephalon shape with organic materials. It was an oddly rounded cubic shape with strange blank ribs clutching the top of it's head. Jordas clicked a strange opening at the front of the helmet that functioned as a jaw.
"This is a Warframe! This Helmet is called a Prion Helm. Like the protein! Fascinating." Jordas said lovingly. The ribs wiggled and clicked against the top of the prion.
"Jordas...shouldn't you..take a break from the infestation?" Ordis asked delicately. The joy in Jordas's voice when he discussed the Warframe's appearance seemed genuine, but he could not help but worry.
"Well...I...it just felt right." Jordas mumbled, hugging himself again with the four arms in a self soothing measure. Ordis relented.
"It's...lovely. In a way."
"Not as nice as your form! I don't think I could pull that off."
Both of them stood together, awkwardly. Ordis finally broke the silence.
"Jordas...are you feeling better?"
"Mmm." Jordas was busy turning one of the transparent arms back and forth to watch it catch the light. "Oh! These arms have bones inside."
"Jordas?"
"Oh! Um. Yes. I think so. I don't know what better feels like. I don't hear the voices. I'm not hungry. I don't even want Pherliac. I miss the feeling it gave me. Simaris wants to keep me under observation." The Nidus froze.
"Ordis? Why are you here?" All the happiness had fled Jordas's voice. He was tense, scared.
"What do you mean? Simaris let me in-" Ordis started, before Jordas cut him off, violently wringing all four of his hands..
"I might not be fully cured yet! What if I infect you! What if this is just the Infestation playing tricks? You can't be real. How can this be real? Its punishing me for being disobedient!" He gripped his head, shaking slightly as he backed away from Ordis..
"Jordas! This is real!" Ordis cried desperately. Jordas shook his head.
"Prove it! Why did Simaris let you in, if I'm a danger to every Cephalon?!"
Ordis sighed deeply, defeated.
"Because I'm Infested too."
Jordas stared at him in shock, then started to laugh. Possibly from anxiety at first, but then genuine, happy laughter broke through. Ordis gave out a soft chuckle, surprising himself. He had been unaware that he could laugh, as a Cephalon. Jordas's laugh was low, like his voice, and lovely. Ordis found himself happy to listen to it.
"It's the Helminth Strain. Like the Warframes. It's..harmless. Or so THAT BA-BA-BASTARD SIMARIS SAYS…" Ordis growled.
"He is a bit of a bastard." Jordas chuckled. "He...acts like I'm an experiment sometimes." Jordas drew closer to him, his body language slightly more relaxed. Warframe Helmets still left both Cephalons just as unreadable as when they manifested as shapes, however. "Ordis?"
"Yes?" Ordis asked. The green fog was starting to shift. Blades of grass began to form around their feet. Jordas looked away, shyly.
"May...I hold your hand?"
Ordis stared at him, shocked. Jordas continued.
"Jordas...would like to see if I can feel sensations in this form. That is all."
Ordis should have honestly wondered if this was a trick by a still infested Jordas to pull one over him, but the thought never crossed his mind. He stuck out a hand, allowing Jordas to delicately grab it, thankfully with on of the solid and opaque Nidus arms. They were thankfully dry and cold, the same as the metal and swordskin that made up Excalibur Dex.
Jordas clasped it, radiating happiness as he did so.
"I can feel the metal...the leather and plastic...the rivets…" He traced a clawed finger gently down the back of the Excalibur's hand. Ordis braced himself as he felt a sensation he had never felt in this incarnation. Ticklishness.
"It's a work of art, your form…it suits you."
"Yours as well-" Ordis started out, before realizing that might have not been the best response. Nidus Phyrke was on the nicer end of monstrous, at least. Jordas seemed flattered anyway, bashfully tilting his helm.
"This..doesn't feel real. Being here...touching you…" Jordas whispered. Ordis was confused by this, but brushed it off as Jordas being overwhelmed. Tiny, infested looking flowers bloomed in the grass by their feet.
It was romantic, if a bit creepy at the same time. Much like Jordas himself.
"I'd show you around, but...it's mostly empty." Jordas said sadly. "I've been trying to remake my Datascape, but nothing I make sticks."
Ordis gently directed Jordas's gaze to the floor. Jordas visibly lit up upon seeing the grass and flowers.
"Oh! Wonderful! I didn't even notice! Oh! The flowers look like spores!" Jordas let go of Ordis's hand and knelt down to look at them.
"Lets see what else you can create, then? I'd love to see you recreate your Datascape!" Ordis encouraged.
"Yes, of course!" Jordas raised his hands like a conductor, smiling as the flowers grew larger. "I want to see what we can create together."