Chapter Text
Ok so, I'm just gonna start this off by saying that no, the summary isn't referring to the Sentients. It was poor word choice on my part, but I'm hoping it'll make sense down the line. That aside, this was started after I realized that Stormfront is the start of what is basically the second story to this universe and that it lacked basically all the foundations that I needed to tell the story I wanted to. As mentioned there, this has some serious headcanons in it, so if you're not a huge fan of those, this might not be the story for you. However, should this catch your interest, there's a lot more to come, and though it might be slow, rest assured, it will come. I've spent a lot of time fleshing out the universe and planning out the story, so I'm really confident on how to move forward. This has been a long time coming and I'm eager to share with you all. I hope you enjoy.
Azalea let out a heavy sigh as she leaned back in her somatic link, now rendered useless after her experience with the Grineer Queens had reminded her of her void abilities and left her able to link with her frame without its assistance. Still, it was just about the only place on the ship built with human comfort in mind, and as such, she found herself resting her head against the soft material that covered the inside of the seat.
She frowned. There had been little time between her emancipation from the Orokin Moon and her trials with the Queens, and she hadn’t had time to outfit her orbiter with more appropriate furnishings for her occupancy. She supposed she’d have to scrounge around for more appropriate furniture when she had the change, sitting in the same spot for hours at a time got old real fast. Perhaps another visit to Cetus was in order. She was sure that Gara wouldn’t mind, it was the closest thing they had to a home, after all.
Or at least as much of a home as a Warframe and Operator could have. Azalea wasn’t sure if Gara really remembered much of her life before Azalea had bonded with her. She had heard the legends of Cetus describing how a warrior of glass was the town’s defender and that a climactic battle had shattered her, but whether or not her Gara and the one of legend were the same frame was a train of thought better left unexplored. Regardless of whether or not she remembered anything, she hadn’t ever brought it up, and Azalea thought it best to leave it at that.
Azalea stood up, pressing her hands to the small of her back and leaning backward, grunting as a chorus of cracks answered her reluctant stretching. She rolled her shoulders as she headed for the door of the back room, heading to the left as she exited. The door to her personal quarters hissed open as she approached, and she felt herself relax as the soothing sound of bubbling water flowed out to meet her. A small garden, complete with a small fountain was flourishing on the counter directly across from the door, an addition that Azalea much preferred to the pre-made vignettes that were advertised on her market console. Easier on the pocketbook too.
Gara stood like a statue in the alcove between the two windows of the horseshoe-shaped aquarium, her form motionless as Azalea entered, but loosening and animating as Azalea approached.
“Is something wrong, Operator? We’re already through for the day, are we not?” The voice of Azalea’s frame echoed in her head, a melodic, regal voice that Azalea secretly envied. It didn’t matter that she was the only one who could hear it, it still sent shivers down her spine every time she heard it.
“Done with missions, yes,” Azalea replied, crossing to the garden and dipping a finger in the small pool as she eyed the space. She wouldn’t be able to fit much in the cramped space, but at the very least she could cram a bed, a dresser, a table, and a chair if she maneuvered them properly, assuming those were still things that were made. All she needed, really. “I’m getting rather sick of my somatic link being the only place I can relax comfortably, though. I need some more padding in this place now that I’m up and about.
Azalea heard a chuckle as Gara stepped out of the alcove and moved to stand beside and a little behind her. “Shall I assume that we’re now on a mission of our own, then? A mission to acquire these amenities?”
“Something like that,” Azalea responded, drawing back and flicking the water off her fingertip. “I figure we’d head to Cetus first, they seem like they’d have things far more comfortable than Fortuna’s racks.” She shuddered at the thought. “Kit up, I’m going to go tell Xyrea where we’re headed.”
She moved back towards the door, Gara behind her, and turned towards the upper part of the ship. Gara headed towards the arsenal, the twin panels splitting apart as she stepped into the circle and began to call up her weapons. Azalea entered the cockpit of her orbiter, kneeling on the small platform in the center and tapping the small screen in front of her. This simultaneously called up a hologram of the entire system and alerted her ship’s Cephalon that there were places to be.
“Heading back out so soon, Operator?” In the periphery of the hologram, a small visualization of Xyrea appeared, flickering in time with her words. “You haven’t slept yet dearest, you shouldn’t go straining yourself.”
Rolling her eyes good-naturedly, Azalea called up the slowly spinning sphere that represented Earth, searching for the small mote of light that indicated Cetus. “There shouldn’t be any combat or anything strenuous like that, we’re headed out to see if we can’t find some furniture for my personal quarters. That should help me get a better nights sleep, don’t you think?”
The deep maroon of Xyrea’s projection flushed a light pink, evidently pleased. “You’re making the space your own, dear, how lovely. I was starting to worry about you, all cooped up in that miserably stuffy chair of yours. Hardly a place to be sleeping, you’re starting to get bags under your eyes. Shall I set course for Cetus, then?”
“That would be great, Xyrea, thank you.” Azalea had found the mote and tapped it while her Cephalon had been talking, and at her confirmation, she felt the deck plates begin to thrum as the engines kicked in. She stood up and turned, intending to head back down and check on how Gara was doing, but Xyrea caught her before she could exit the cockpit.
“Oh, Operator? You have a message in your inbox, I believe it’s from that Teshin character.” She made no attempt to hide the contempt in her voice. She partly blamed Teshin for the temporary lapse in Azalea’s void abilities, and even with her doting personality, her programming had forced her to abandon Azalea on the high mountain pass. Azalea suspected that Xyrea hadn’t quite forgiven herself for the incident, despite the many times that Azalea had assured her that it hadn’t been her fault.
“Oh? That’s odd, we just parted ways, and I don’t have any intention of stepping foot in that infernal Conclave if I can help it.” Azalea turned towards her Codex console, tapping through a few screens to get to her inbox. Sure enough, a message from Teshin awaited her, and she opened it with a raised eyebrow.
Tenno,
You have shown beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are capable of great things. You broke the Queen’s hold upon you, and though my voice guided you through those trials, it was not I who saw them through. You carry yourself with a wisdom beyond your years, never leaning too far to either side. We could use a Tenno like you to pave the way forward, through the uncertain times ahead.
If this piques your interest, know that you will likely be required to eschew your typical Tenno duties in service to the greater good. Contact with your Lotus will be minimized, and no longer shall you be bogged down by the petty hurts of the Origin System. Your calling will be of a higher one, though it is no more or less important than the roles your fellow Tenno fill.
You shall be given power, should you earn it, but with that power will come responsibility. A responsibility to your fellow Tenno, to those you protect, and even to those you fight. There may come a time when the entirety of the Origin System looks to you, and you must be able to withstand their gaze and unflinching, look back.
Should you wish to shoulder this burden, return to where your journey began. For all our sakes, I hope you consider it.
-Teshin Dax
Azalea finished the message, mulling it over in her mind as she closed the console. That… was not what she had been expecting. She supposed she shouldn’t be surprised, though, Teshin was proving to be chock-full of surprises, but this one had still managed to catch her somewhat off-guard.
It was true that she had killed the Elder Queen, after breaking her mental hold upon her. Teshin had offered, and while she had briefly considered either letting him do it or simply letting the Elder Worm squirm away, she had had little doubt in her course of action. No, she would do it. To let others finish her battles for her was not her way, and so she had gathered her newly-rediscovered power in her hand and sent it coursing straight through the Worm’s rotten heart.
Xyrea’s voice broke her out of her musings. “Shall I erase this message, Operator dear? Teshin can be such a bad influence, you know? Sending you off on silly adventures to serve some ‘higher power.’ Sounds like a bunch of old Orokin phooey to me.”
Despite herself, Azalea found herself smiling at the old Cephalon’s concerned nattering. “No no, keep it around, at least for now. Teshin might sound like an old fool, but he’s proven himself a cunning warrior with a good deal of sage advice. But I’ll deal with his riddles later. I want to get a good night’s sleep before considering anything of this magnitude.”
“Very well, as you wish,” there was a note of resigned acceptance in Xyrea’s voice. “It’s going to be a little while before we get to Cetus, dear. You should have time to go check up on Gara before you need to head down to your link.”
“Thanks. Let me know if anything comes up.” With that, Azalea turned and headed back down the ramp, lost in thought. She’d never really thought of her deeds as anything other than that which was expected of her as a Tenno, but clearly, she had been mistaken. She supposed she had been rather busy since the Lotus had first called to her, but she generally worked alone, and as a result, didn’t have a frame of reference for how much other Tenno really did. Lotus had told her that they were the final line between the tattered remnants of humanity and the horrors of the hostile system, and Azalea had taken that to heart. Any time she had caught wind of a particularly nasty individual, she had been the first to respond. She’d had assistance for a few of the missions, but for the most part, she’d handled them alone. There was typically only one such entity per planet, and once they were removed, the threat to the fragile balance of the system subsided.
It had been when she’d gotten to Uranus that everything started to snowball. First she’d run across the remains of the Sentient Hunhow—who just so happened to be the Lotus’s father, go figure—while attempting to sabotage Tyl Regor’s efforts to create a better Grineer, then had come her reality-shaking experience with Stalker on Lua, and most recently, she had received a painful reminder of her past through the Grineer Queens.
Needless to say, it had been a very busy few months.
And at her side through all of it had been Gara. With the memories of her powers had come memories of her past, and so she now knew that Gara wasn’t her first Warframe. She had lost her somehow, during the Old War, but the memories of the times before were patchy. Given what she had discovered of her rather unpleasant past from the Queen, she wasn’t sure she wanted to go digging deep enough to find out more. Besides, that was another time, another era, and such thoughts didn’t bear suffering when she had a vastly different life, vastly different duties to a system she had barely recognized when she had first woken in Gara.
As Azalea made her way down the ramp, she caught sight of her partner magnetizing the last of her chosen weapons to her back. Azalea cast a practiced eye over the chosen equipment. Even though she didn’t foresee any reason to use them, it never hurt to be prepared. A Rubico, Pyrana, and a Zaw that Gara almost never put away, a long staff with a sharply curved blade atop it, its three points gleaming wickedly.
“You know, if I didn’t know better, I might have the suspicion that you expect trouble.” Gara’s gently teasing voice came to her. “Are we going to have to hunt a bed down, or perhaps defend some chairs against a platoon of Grineer?”
“Very funny, Gara,” Azalea retorted. “You know as well as I do that it never hurts to be prepared. ‘Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it’ comes to mind.”
“Of course, Operator. I do seem to recall a certain incident when you decided that fishing would be a great way to wind down, and then we ended up battling Grineer more than actually fishing.”
Azalea shuddered at the thought. It had seemed like every few seconds a new squad of clueless Lancers had charged them, convinced that they would be the ones to finally kill the Tenno that dared to try relaxing on the Plains.
“Something like that. Plus, I suppose we might need to head out and gather supplies to barter; many of those vendors aren’t particularly interested in credits.”
“Pragmatic as always, Operator.” Gara had finished checking the weapon locks, and now approached Azalea, one strong hang gently grasping her chin and tilting her face to allow Gara a better view of it. “I must say, you’re looking rather haggard, I think this idea of furnishings is a good one.”
Azalea rolled her eyes, prying her chin from Gara’s grip. “Xyrea just informed me of that, thank you. At this rate, I’m going to be stopped by every vendor in Cetus because they see me as an easy mark.”
“They wouldn’t be wrong, would they? Especially if their wares were of the kind you seek. If it’s easier, you could simply stay here, and I could pick up your purchases for you.”
Shaking her head, Azalea sighed as she and Gara headed back down towards the room that housed her somatic link. “No, I don’t want to risk getting something that ends up being too small or uncomfortable. Besides, you know as well as I do that the Cetus vendors have never let a Warframe’s poker face fool them, they always know what’s going on behind the mask. It’s rather unsettling sometimes.”
Gara hummed an absent understanding as Azalea stretched again before settling back against the headrest of her link. Azalea closed her eyes as the shell closed, and when she opened them against, she was looking at the outside of the link from Gara’s perspective.
Transference was always an interesting experience. Sharing space in another’s head, where thoughts, feelings, and emotions from each melded together was an experience that defied words. The best way Azalea could describe it was that there were sections that were clearly her, and some that were clearly Gara. However, the great majority of their thoughts occupied spaces where the borders of the individual blurred and they were no longer separate. Once again, Azalea thanked her lucky stars that she and her frame got on so well. It could get very uncomfortable very quickly if the mind she was mingling with was anything other than welcoming. She felt a wash of amusement from Gara’s end as this train of thought bridged the gap and made itself known in the communal space they shared.
She wasn’t going to be in that space for long, but it was a necessary step when her landing craft didn’t have the frailties of the human form in mind. She couldn’t magnetize herself to the holdfasts, nor could she drop twenty feet without risking serious injury. Once on the ground, she would be able to step out through Gara’s body, and then the shopping spree could begin.
She snorted at herself as the Orbiter approached Earth, the landing craft detaching shortly afterward and heading towards Cetus. She was not the kind of person to ever find enjoyment in shopping, like some Tenno she knew of. She shuddered. To think that people did find enjoyment in the act was beyond her, but she supposed that someone had to keep the vendors in business.
Gara lept down from the landing craft with easy grace, landing without any visible strain—as if she’d just stepped down a flight of stairs rather than dropping several stories. Once her feet were firmly planted, Azalea wasted no time in standing up…
…And through Gara’s body, stepping through the solid mass like it wasn’t there. She shivered, still not entirely used to the feeling, before inhaling deeply, taking in the scent of the sea. There really was no substitute for fresh air. The Orbiter, while far from stuffy, had a certain metallic tang that the air scrubbers could never seem to quite eradicate.
Feeling somewhat invigorated, Azalea bounced on the balls of her feet a few times, stretching muscles that didn’t see much use. She then strode towards the town, feeling Gara close behind, steeling herself for the press of Cetus’s market streets.
She had been half-joking when she had said that the Cetus merchants would see her as an easy target. She was sure if she had been anyone else she would have been swamped with “deals just for you, Tenno” and “rare products the likes of which you won’t see anywhere else in the system.” However, she and Gara had been part of the town for long enough that the Ostrons viewed her as one of their own, and as such most didn’t stoop to the level of trying to dupe her. Even so, she had to politely decline several offerings of exclusives or discounted prices. She stopped near the center of town, where the merchant who had sold furniture in the past had hawked his wares only to find an empty stall. Nakak regarding her inquisitively, her Trinity mask firmly in place, as usual.
“Good to see you again, surah! It’s been too long! You seem lost, though. Are you looking for someone, or maybe looking for something?” Azalea could just see the girl’s piercing green eyes through the slits in her mask, eerily perceptive for one so young. “You’re moving like someone who knows they want answers, but isn’t sure where to find them.”
Azalea offered an embarrassed smile to the girl. “Yeah, something like that.” She recalled Teshin’s message and added under her breath, “More than you could ever know.” Speaking again to Nakak, she asked, “What happened to Tarak? I find myself in need of his wares.” She smiled ruefully, rubbing her back for emphasis. “My body’s informing me that I need a proper sleeping arrangement. I do hope he’s in good health, though.”
Though she couldn’t see it, she could hear the smile in Nakak’s words. “Ah, surah, Tarak is in good health and in greater spirits. After forming a deal with the Solaran called ‘The Business” to acquire the shed fur of the many animals he cares for, he found his beds and cushions softer than ever and in ever greater demand. Tarak’s business is booming, though when making a deal with the Business, I suppose one shouldn’t be too surprised, eh? You can find his new shop near the Great Gate. He’s a busy man nowadays, but I’m sure he will have time for you.
“Thanks for the help, Nakak. It’s good to see you too.”
“For you, surah, anything. It’s the least I can do to repay all that you do for us. Sho-lah!” Nakak bowed deeply and stepped aside, letting Azalea and Gara past.
Azalea sighed as she leaned back, watching the sun set over the ocean. She and Gara sat on the small tower that rose out of the middle of the town, looking out over the awnings covering the market square. She and Gara had spent the better part of the afternoon perusing the wares offered by Tarak, who had been ecstatic to see her once again and had been delighted to offer her his best. In the end, she had found everything she had been looking for, and she had spent the better part of an hour trying to figure out how to get it all up into her Orbiter. Eventually, Gara had gotten fed up and decided it would be simplest for her to carry the objects straight to the ship with the Archwing, once Xyrea had brought the ship down from orbit.
With the furniture safely onboard, Azalea had decided to spend some time relaxing in town. It had been quite some time since she had given herself the chance to wind down, so she relished the opportunity. She hadn’t visited the town for a few months, so she spent time catching up with the townspeople, who were delighted to sit her down and talk with her at length. Azalea and Gara hadn’t really ever been outworlders to them, even though they were definitely Tenno.
The Lotus had woken them in a small cave out on the edge of the Plains just before a platoon of Grineer had breached the cavern, which had lain sealed for years. They had just managed to fend off the Tusk troopers with Gara’s glass, but not before they had damaged Gara’s comm relay. With communication with the Lotus cut off, a hasty evacuation of the cave was deemed in order. They had spent the next few days wandering the Plains, dodging Grineer and scavenging what they could. Eventually, the graceful shape of the Unum and its tall shield pylons came into view, and perhaps sensing civilization, they had headed towards them. The shields had warped around them, allowing them access, and they had steadily made their way towards the shape of the Unum on the horizon. However, at this point, encounters with the Grineer were all too unavoidable, and even with the protective measures of Gara’s glass and the makeshift machete they had bashed together, the seemingly overwhelming onslaught of Grineer had taken its toll.
They were fleeing from another squad when they had first caught sight of the Great Gates, and even after a Tusk Ballista’s shot had lodged itself in Gara’s leg, making walking difficult, they had pressed on. They had made it to the door without much more trouble, and to their surprise, it had opened as they drew closer. They had given the Ostrons quite a shock when Gara had staggered out of the tunnel, though they had quickly overcome their shock at seeing the guardian of legend upon seeing their condition. Luckily, the miners of Cetus had had plenty of materials stockpiled and Gara’s body had been quickly patched. However, they didn’t have the means to repair Gara’s comms, so their disconnection from the Lotus had persisted.
They had stayed in the town for some time, and though the Ostrons were initially cautious of the newcomers, they had quickly overgrown that trepidation as Azalea and Gara, still one and the same at the time, had begun to run regular sorties against the Tusk Grineer. They had sabotaged countless attempts to breach the town’s defenses, assassinated dozens of high ranking commanders, and made off with their supplies left and right. Cetus grew safer in their presence, and they had been happy to do it.
However, that all ended when the first offworlders appeared and Azalea had discovered that she wasn’t the only Tenno out there. At the time, her memories of the past had still been repressed and the realization had rocked her world. With the sudden influx of other Tenno, she hadn’t felt as obligated to provide protection to the Ostrons as she once had, so it hadn’t taken her long to secure a ride on one of her fellow Tenno’s orbiters and head out into the stars.
She’d only visited the town a few times since then, and each time had been fleeting. She hadn’t had the time to sit down and catch up as she had today, and she had realized how much missed the place.
She lifted the small gourd of Chimurr that Tarak had given her to her mouth, savoring the rich flavor as it played across her tongue, and closed her eyes as the last rays of sunlight slipped over the horizon. She supposed she’d need to leave soon, and for once, she was looking forward to getting back to the ship and giving her new bed a try. She’d tackle Teshin’s message tomorrow, she wasn’t in the mood for riddles at the moment. She spared it a bit of thought as she climbed to her feet, intent on finding Gara, whom she had left with Hok.
“Return to where your journey began.”
Great, very helpful. Perhaps he meant the cave where she and Gara had first woken, there might be some insight there. She supposed she didn’t have much better to go off at the moment. As she wandered towards the ramp leading to the town proper, she contemplated why nothing could ever have an easy answer. There always had to be some sort of puzzle to solve or mystery to unwind first…
“Ah, there you are, Surah!”
Nakak’s voice shook her out of her thoughts, and she looked up to see the girl hurrying towards her, Gara at her side.
“Ah, hello Nakak. I’m sorry I can’t stick around and chat, I was just leaving. Got something to figure out tomorrow, and I won’t be doing any sort of figuring if I’m tired.”
Nakak caught hold of her arm as Azalea tried to maneuver around the girl. “About that. I don’t think you’re going to have to be doing much ‘figuring’ tomorrow, surah. I’d think that instead, you’ll be off on another adventure.”
Azalea stopped and looked down at Nakak, raising an eyebrow. “Oh? What makes you think that?”
Nakak released her arm and beckoned her to follow. Azalea rolled her eyes good-naturedly and followed, she could bear to humor the girl for the time being. “I was asked to ‘lead you to the next stage of your journey.’ Not my words, I assure you!”
“Riiiiiight,” Azalea responded, her skepticism increasing with every step. “Anything else you were told to tell me?”
“As a matter of fact, yes,” Azalea could just hear the smugness in Nakak’s voice as she answered, “I was told to tell you that it wasn’t the cave. You didn’t start there. You truly started here.”
Azalea had to fight to keep her jaw from scraping the floor as Nakak skipped away, humming innocently. She had to shake off her shock and jog to catch up as Nakak disappeared around a large rock, heading up a path that Azalea hadn’t noticed before. “Hold on, who said that? Nakak!”
She caught up to the girl as she stopped in front of an ornate door with a waist-high carved stone next to it. Nakak turned to her and bowed again. “Here is where I leave you, Surah. Simply press your hand to that stone and the door will open for you.”
“Wait just a second here,” Azalea complained, “Who’s behind that door? Who told you about my message?”
The corners of Nakak’s eyes wrinkled as she smiled. “Someone you have heard of before. Don’t worry, it’ll all make sense soon.” She began to head back down the path, calling over her shoulder, “Don’t forget to come visit again sometime!”
Azalea sighed. She clearly wasn’t getting any answers out of the girl, so she turned and eyed the door. She cast a glance behind her to ensure that Gara was there, then pressed her hand to the carved stone Nakak had indicated. Immediately, the doors whooshed open, and Azalea stepped forward, into the small cave beyond and into the unknown.
It would come to her later that it was at that fateful moment she had accepted Teshin’s proposition.