tennohno | Jordas Precept

[They had been wrong this whole time. Deceived into thinking that somehow the infestation could be cleared with these so called pherliac pods but all it did was bring stronger and more resilient infested to him. The damn things attracted them until everything became a swarming mess of flesh, teeth and claws. His frame was slick with blood and gore when the juggernaut behemoth showed itself.

Then there was Jordas.

The cephalon sounded...wrong. It wasn't even in the sense of Ordis with the glitching but rather as if something else was taking control for the sake of using his voice. This was a trap made by the infestation. It had to be. The ship had been wrenched apart, hull failure forced onto the derelict until he was forced to take up his archwing. No more suffocating spaces and writhing flesh coating the walls.

But the golem. It was larger than any infestation that he had encountered and it threw him around like a piece of debris. Trying to get him to assimilate as if he would ever allow for his frame to become a part of that thing.

What was said to him... It was right. He feared this thing. Yet Jordas told him to keep fighting and in the end the monstrosity was silenced after destroying the engines, what kept the golem alive as much as they did with Jordas.

There was no possibilities of saving the cephalon. Not on that level of assimilation and so annihilation had been the only answer.

So he sits in the middle of the ship after decontamination, mulling over what he had done. It felt as though every muscle had been stretched then crammed back into shape. The fear lingered but it was ignored in favor of the aches of the frame.

Still alive. Still breathing. Threat neutralized. They made it out.

...however he didn't know how Ordis was handling all of this. Another cephalon that turned out to not be as expected.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

cephalon

[Trap. It had been a trap. That reality has taken more time to process than he'd like to admit.

He'd had hope, been so sure that rescuing his fellow cephalon would be possible, and what had it all been for? His Operator had been willing to assist in the endevour, and in the end it had put him in such mortal danger.

The liset is quiet, nothing more than the occasional whirr and hum from the engines and a slight crackling from the foundry, and it's almost eerie in the aftermath of everything. There's no infestation here though, he's run diagnostics again and again, even after decontamination. It gives him something to do, something to focus on besides Jordas' words and pleas.

Jordas, who would have been such a pleasure to talk to, who would have been able to tell him so much, who would have shattered the silence just the smallest bit.

No. No he can't dwell on that. Diagnostics again, he has to make sure every last bit of the infestation is gone. He has to make sure that his tenno is safe. That's the difficult part. After every mission, there's always a sense of success; a threat has been eliminated, data stolen, lives protected. This though...this there's so little to be excited over. He could have lost his Operator, all for his own willful oversight. It's a sobering thought.]

Operator?

From:

tennohno

[He had closed his eyes for a brief moment but all he could see was that hideous creature charging him through space and the sound of his Odonata smacking into disintegrated hulls. Meditation was not for the best after this afterall. So he studies the floor instead.

His head snaps up at the inquiry, half expecting for there to be a new threat to go after or a transmission from a relay. Anything.

No it's simply Ordis gathering his attention. The cephalon sounded so defeated and quiet compared to his usual self. He sounded as bad as he felt.]

I'm here.

From:

cephalon

[He hadn't meant to startle, and there's momentary hesitation at his Operator's reaction. But it doesn't last long, it wouldn't do any good to continue on with the oppressive silence that's fallen over the both of them.]

I am sorry.

[Short, simple, but what else can he say? There are far too many words, and none of them can ever express his grief, and his worry.]

From:

tennohno

[For moment, he lets that apology echo in his thoughts before he pushes back up onto his feet. The added weight of the chroma's pelt is shed, letting it rest beside the arsenal lifeless.

It gave his muscles less cumbersome weight to account for while they rested. However it also made him less protected and smaller in a way.]

You were doing your duty as a cephalon and I as a Tenno. Jordas and that infestation were at fault.

[There's an edge to his voice at the mentioning of the other AI.]

They paid for it.

From:

cephalon

I was unaware that the infestation could operate in such a manner.

[But he cannot comment, nor agree, with the declaration. Purging the infestated was the duty of those sworn to the Lotus, but the question would remain: did Jordas deserve his fate?

No, he cannot believe the other cephalon did. Trickery and traps were the fault of the infestation, Jordas had been an unwilling voice to that. There's revulsion at the thought, and for perhaps the first time since his recovery, he was glad that it had only been grineer tearing him apart.]

I will file away the data in case it is required for future encounters.

From:

tennohno

[His hands tighten themselves into fists, wanting to strike something down and be rid of this extra energy that plagued him. He stares down at the pelt with slight repulsion.

The infestation had...no Jordas had said him and the infestation--]

Ordis. Am I infested?

From:

cephalon

[That's a question that he'd never expected to hear, but given the circumstances it does not seem out of place. It's so difficult to think of the right words though, beyond a simple no.]

All scans indicate no, you have not carried aboard any signs of the infestation.

From:

tennohno

Jordas said that the infestation and I were like flesh. As if I was some rebellious piece of Infested.

[It didn't make any sense. He fought against Infested and never had been infected nor did he think that he ever could be from what the Lotus has said.

But this shouldn't be about him. It never is or will be. He'll manage as much as he has done already with everything thrown his way.]

I wish there had been a way to save him though. You deserved to have met him rather than be betrayed and watch him die. Better than being alone.

From:

cephalon

Jordas did not say that.

[If he's ever been more sure of something, he cannot remember.]

Jordas is, was, a cephalon. Jordas seved the Lotus, served an Operator. The- vile disgusting - infestation did.

[Being forced into servitude like that...it's horrific to think about. Degraded so far, supressed...it isn't a fate he'd wish upon anyone.]

I do not deserve anything. And I-Ordis is not alone. He has the Operator.

From:

tennohno

Maybe it was that thing or maybe it was Jordas. We'll never be certain now. That is a fact that can't be changed.

[With Jordas gone, that meant for certain that the other Tenno was dead as well. A thought that cut to his core. He couldn't save either of them from that wretched fate.]

You don't deserve silence or having things twisted into worse than what was believed. But I'll make sure to not leave again like I was forced to.

From:

cephalon

No. It was not Jordas.

[He can't let himself believe that. No cephalon could betray their tenno, could betray other tenno, like that. They just couldn't. The thought is there though, and it leaves him with an influx of anxious energy that he has no idea how to purge.]

Ordis has faith that the Operator will not leave.

[He falls quiet for a moment, but there's still far too much flitting about his processors.]

Operator. The frame that Jordas mentioned-

[Is this an inappropriate train of conversation? Perhaps it is.]

I have suspicions that that may have been Jordas' Operator.

From:

tennohno

You don't know that.

[There's a barely contained frustration within his tone and he almost all but snaps back at the cephalon. The pelt twitches at the surge of energy, burning with an angry crimson.

However he lets out a ragged sigh and forces himself to relax. The ominous red glow of energy fades away into nothing and the thrumming pale blue comes to dominate the interior once more. Ordis was not the one who he should direct his anger towards.

So a shaky calm prevails for now.]

I found no pieces or information to see if so. It most likely was though. It...doesn't matter anymore. Both are dead.

From:

cephalon

[Though there are words that he'd like to say, he holds his tongue and merely buzzes with agitation all throughout the liset's systems. Arguments with the Operator were unheard of, they simply weren't in his coding, but it's so hard to accept the tenno's logic.]

A Cephalon does not betray their Operator.

[Simple fact.]

The infestation is more powerful than we knew if it destroyed the both of them. Do you...think that the warframe may be salvageable?

From:

tennohno

[He was not going to argue with Ordis since there was no point. It was blatant that neither of them were going to budge on their points of view on the matter so he stifles the mean-spirited words away into the confines of his own mind.

Leaving behind the pelt, he heads up into the cockpit and sinks in the small space between the wall and the codex. He wanted to trust Ordis' word but the way the infestation had abused Jordas... It made his skin crawl and takes a bit of shifting around in order to settle back down.]

I'm not going back there.

[Frame or not, it was not worth the risk or the fear to slip into him again.]

From:

cephalon

I did not suggest that we do.

[But he wants to know, wants to know what Jordas saw and what had happened. He may have called for the golem's death, but what wonders had the other cephalon witnessed before the infestation had come?

It's disconcerting to think about.

Ah, but the Operator is moving, and he adjusts his sensors to follow the tenno's figure, making sure to adjust the temperature of the main compartment to be more comfortable now that the chroma's pelt is back in the foundry.]

I think the chroma suits you more than that other frame anyways.

From:

tennohno

You know we'll have to one day. That infestation needs to be gutted out.

[With one that size, it was best to get rid of that mess before it winds up spreading to any other ships that might've heard Jordas' distress call. The blight of the infested didn't need to be spread any further than it already has. Bad enough Eris belonged to them fully.

However his attention is piqued at what the cephalon said. A soft hum leaving him as he leans his head back to tap the wall.]

Prefer me as what is it...a dragon thing rather than a mobile rock?

From:

cephalon

It will be, in time. The Lotus has faith in you, and Ordis does as well.

[In more time than less, if he can help it. There's been something off with his Operator since they returned, and in part he feels somewhat guilty for that. What was done was done though, and while they couldn't abandon the fight, there was nothing wrong with taking a moment or two for themselves.]

The chroma suits you, Operator.

From:

tennohno

I know. Still having faith is different to having strength to do so which I don't have right now.

[The fight had been draining mentally and physically let aloe that he had to cut through the thick of an infested ship and go head to head with a prime juggernaut. That alone should have been all he had to deal with but no.

Then there's the comment.]

Your jokes could use some fine tuning.

From:

cephalon

That is why in time we will- exterminate every last- do our duty in time.

[But he can sense the weariness, and he slows their travel just a bit, turns up the heat so that the cockpit is a bit more pleasant. It's the small things that he can do to provide comfort.]

Ordis is not joking, Operator. The colour wavelength, I find it pleasing.

From:

tennohno

Good, we're on the same page then.

[The warmth is appreciated even if it promotes the feeling of weariness that begins to seep further into his being. Reaching up, he runs a hand over the board in order to wake the codex before pulling out his mission notes and scans to deposit them for safe keeping. He didn't plan on forgetting what had occurred anytime soon but better safe than sorry.]

So red is your thing?

From:

cephalon

[There's a slight hum as the codex springs to life, and the cephalon takes a moment to access it's files, making sure that everything is up to date and ready for new data transcription. He could understand the necessity for meticulous record keeping, even if he never chanced to speak of it. Better to let the Operator in peace.]

Red is -the colour of blood- the Operator's chosen colour and it is pleasing to Ordis' sensors.

From:

tennohno

Well at least someone enjoys seeing it.

[The data is synced up properly and it's one less thing to worry about in the long run. He wasn't too sure where they were heading now but that could wait for now.]

From:

cephalon

Does the Operator not enjoy it?

[Well why in the world would the tenno favor it then? That's certainly peculiar.]

From:

tennohno

Never said that. Other people don't so much. Only making an observation.

[Besides he would need to change the color in order to switch between damage types now that they had finished with the infested for now. Red was an easy default though.]