Chapter Text
No logs this time. Oh, Kaiathas. Lotus operative that doesn't operate. Mildly disappointing, but very nice. I mean, fun stories, yet? But I don't want him to die. He is only human.
I guess Lotus didn't have work for him. And then... yeah, you know. Most people don't know she's gone. Keep it to yourselves. Gotta keep people united.
Small curiosity on the last log. Explosive decompression? Yeah, it was weird. How many times did we break those windows? You know, Corpus ships? Reinforced for optimum fragility? Never sucked us out. Just stagger and annoy. Mostly annoy.
So, what happened? Well, Meridian won the mission tapes. Called in my favors, got a copy. After action report included.
Sentient artefacts, weird stuff. Void-disruptors. Heard of a couple on Venus. Not like this, though. Jury-rigged for FTL comm disruption. Very advanced stuff. Especially for Grineer. However, required a high-pressure environment. Kai didn't notice the detail in the rush. Suit was fully sealed the entire time.
Higher pressure meant higher differential, meant bigger boom, meant bigger embarrassment. Helmet cams didn't pick up embarrassment, though.
The universe really likes to play with Kai, doesn't it? He was quite angry when he found out the details. Something about "odds".
So, about me.
All comes down to the tower. Keep seeing it in dreams. Clearer, nowadays. Clear enough for a... plan. But first, backstory. It all started with... Wally. Wally is a good name. You know what it is. The Void abomination.
One day, it showed up, different. It was still like me. Two of me.
One was bulky, tall. Confident, too confident. I would never dare wear what it wore.
The other, shorter. Bit like Selva, out of armour. Very... female? Not much experience there. In a long, flowery, dress. I would never suffer wearing that.
I don't recall what they said. Couldn't be too important. Different thing scared me.
Wally was giving me special treatment. Why would any Tenno get special treatment?
Couldn't have that. Needed a solution. It's a Void thing... needed something human. Something I can't mix my powers into. Music came to mind. And with music, an old Cordylon article.
I recalled an instrument called a violin. I could learn it. No amount of Naramon mastery would help me. It seemed perfect.
A trip to Larunda later... I didn't find it. Had to go to Kronia for one. Getting better at civilian disguise. Can talk for longer before creeping out others. Long enough to buy stuff. The Lotus would be pissed if she knew. Or was in a state she could care.
Picked out an electric violin. Nice, small, learner's aid programs. Perfect. Didn't need any of that.
I knew how to play it all along. When I started playing, memories rushed back. Uncountable years of cryosleep, melted away. I remembered a lot of things.
Unfortunately, I remembered why Wally was two instead of one. It's... actually, no. Not yet. Won't tell. Can't tell. Something with do with old friends. Not really important now.
I'm afraid it knew what I would do when I saw them, though. Some subconscious memory, guiding me towards an ultimate goal. I don't know what's the goal, though. And it scares me. Can't do anything about it right now, though. Can't let it bother me.
Nevermind. I also remembered the Tower better. The Tower of music, to be specific. Still not sure why the music is important. I must learn regardless. Octavia, violin, disconnected memories of battle... there is something. I remembered well enough to sketch the Tower, and look for it.
Took me a lot of contacts to even begin. I traded in lots of favors. Some of them for nothing. I didn't mind. My sketch was crap, anyway. After a few months, found a lead. Then more. Then, some spy missions. Then, yet more.
And now, here I am. Many great revelations. So much better than I started. I used to know jack shit. Now, I know squat. Subtle difference, people.
All I can tell? Lost Orokin tower. Legendary, believed to have links with what would be Suda. Or is it Irmis? Some say Ballas made it himself. Ancient-armed, filth-skinned bastard. Either way, it is important. And someone has the coordinates.
He's leader of a Corpus mercenary outfit. Pretty, big, apparently. Heavy on robotics, only take the best for their human roles. Name of Relis. Just Relis.
Both the outfit and the man. Bit of an ego like that. I would know.
The data I want is in the main facility. A station near Outer Terminus. Impressive security. Electronics core completely covered in nullifier fields. Data vaults are even safer. Complete Void detection, Transference included, with automated defences.
Fighting in there would be... no, not impossible. What's the expression? Oh, right.
A Jordas-sized pain in the ass.
Not that I have to fight in. I have a plan. But... soon. Need to wait for a certain moment.
Honourable Tenno, once again, a document for your eyes only. This is a piece different from my team's usual fare; Lab Zero has asked us to compile a report on the aspects of Warframe construction common to (almost) every known model, from Ash to Zephyr. It is intended as a supplement to the eventual declassification of data relating to Helminth and its Technocyte strain.
First of all, I would like to personally apologise for my previous behaviour in these reports. While I have attempted to avoid outright deceiving you, you might find a few lies by omission. This was by necessity, as the Lotus has been exceptionally clear on her intent to keep the details on the biological aspects a secret until further notice.
I am in my rights to doubt the necessity of this course of action, and it is safe to say the majority of the team agrees with me. Still, questioning the motives of someone that can almost single-handedly control the entire machine we are part of is probably beyond our entire combined mental capacity.
With this introduction out of the way, the best way to properly start this document would be with the biological core of any Warframe. Yes, it is a being infested by a specialised strain of the Technocyte virus. Calling it human, though, would be a stretch for most Warframe models.
While utilising enemies captured by Tenno forces as fodder for the transformation would make sense at first glance, there are numerous factors preventing this from occurring. Beyond the obvious ethical quandaries relating to the tortuous process of infestation, the fact of the matter is that a lot of captured personnel are far more useful to the Tenno cause not in the form of a glorified fleshmetal-golem (yours truly being a somewhat unwilling prime example). Ignoring that, even uncooperative prisoners that cannot be ransomed in some matter can still yield useful data through the process of Synthesis. Ignoring that, an actual human is simply not required.
The building process of a production model Warframe, or even a Prime, begins with the chassis, neuroptics, and systems, as I am sure you are well aware by now. After the foundry systems recreate these Warframe's more mundane components, the Helminth creates a clone based on genetic data housed inside the model's blueprints proper. This clone is fitted with the components in what is generally a slow and delicate process, and the reliance on Helminth has kept Warframes from being recreated by the Sentients (or, in more modern times, Corpus and Grineer).
The clones are human in theory. In practice, though, they barely have any neural activity beyond those imposed by their pilots. Furthermore, the Orokin have gone to great pains to restrict any accidental independence in production models. More astute among you may have noticed that it rarely takes over three Orokin Cells to create a Prime Warframe, while Prime weapons require ten or even fifteen. This is the prime (if you'll excuse the pun) Orokin failsafe: most Warframes are not designed to function without Transference energy provided by a Tenno. The Orokin Cells can only sustain life and activity, not much else.
Even then, there have been numerous recorded cases of limited Warframe independence, and all Tenno can notice the characteristic tics of an idle model. By all accounts, reasons for these events were poorly understood even in the Orokin era, much less so today. In conclusion, I wouldn't treat your Ash Prime as a person, but I certainly wouldn't abuse it like a tool either... unless it's an Umbra.
Umbra models account for practically all the times I wrote "most" in the preceding paragraphs. They are the exception, or rather, they are the reason all these rules are in place to begin with. The Umbra models are worthy of their own document, but there are still a few things that need to be said about them. One, they are human, even if only for a given value of the word, and they are probably not pleased about their current situation. Two, they are the subject of the only outright lie I have made in my reports, although it was really borne out of an insufficient security clearance. The Stalker is, in all likelihood, not an Umbra. However, it is certainly a Warframe, and it exhibits Umbra-like behaviour. More on Umbra and prototype Warframes whenever Lab Zero decides the information is needed.
Compared to a baseline human, a Warframe is stronger, tougher, faster, and more durable even without the help of its various systems. This comes at the cost of an exceptionally fast metabolism powered by Void energy and truly staggering amounts of oxygen. Any given model will consume what is an hour's worth of air to an average Corpus Crewman in a matter of seconds. The clone nature of this biological core also makes repair exceptionally easy, allowing highly specialised biomechanical repair treatments. In severe cases, replacement body parts can be created within mere hours and attached without any fear of rejection. The only damage that can completely destroy a production Warframe is catastrophic trauma to the head or severe neglect. Even this isn't a limitation for designs like Nidus (and, yes, Umbra models fall into that category).
With that in mind, neutralisation is a far easier proposition, and I am sure you have all experienced this is action. Some models are tougher than others, but, ultimately, your pain tolerance and the model's being-hit-by-dangerous-projectiles tolerance will give out. All Warframes possess a revival subsystem to help with this, providing a cloud of stabilising nanobots to fallen allies, or surging the Warframe itself with a precise mix of Void power and regenerative technology. Eventually, though, the subsystem will give out, and there are ways to jam the remote activation a revival surge requires. Even when that happens, damage will often be repairable by standard Orbiter systems, but forcing a retrieval mission for the fallen unit is not a good idea to say the least.
Needless to say, it is not desirable for the Warframe to take damage. In aid of this pursuit, armour plating is a common feature in all models, and shield subsystems only slightly less so. The basic armour of any given design is the outer biometallic layer of the biological core, but most Warframes add varying degrees of Ferrite plating. As for shields, one might be surprised to learn that they are, in essence, a more compact and reliable version of the humble, basic shield generator design used across the entire Origin System.
In fact, the average Warframe compares quite poorly in terms of fragility to many of the grunts you eliminate on a day-to-day basis. The unfortunate truth is that no amount of ingenuity can result in an adequate level of protection without sacrificing an unacceptable level of mobility or reliability.
This mobility is enabled by a complex network of interwoven subsystems in the Warframe: limb-based microthrusters, stutterhover cores, and magnetic tetherholds to name but a few. All of these are linked on a separate power network, and, historically, they have been utilised in a variety of different ways. As far as the team and I could tell, the contemporary Bullet Jump did not exist during the Old War, and the "coptering" used for a while after the Awakening may not been a mere stopgap.
Explaining these systems in great detail would require a lot of text that I imagine would be quite dull to the average reader, so I will focus on the basics. Beyond basic sprinting augmented by a small portion of the mobility system's power, advanced traversal techniques rely in large part on the antigrav core. In layman's terms, it requires grounding to be recharged, although the actual mechanisms are far more complex. While this does limit a Warframe's aerial mobility, it also significantly reduces the power requirements linked to these maneuvers. Beyond the flashy mid-air jumps, this antigrav core also assists with more mundane motion.The Warframe's personal gravity is also normalised to make it more Earth-like. This might seem like an undesirable effect, but data shows that any benefits gained from lower/higher gravity are outweighed by performance disruption due to Tenno muscle memory. Besides, this effect can (and will) be turned off when needed.
The other aspect of the design calculus, reliability, has already been elaborated on. However, one significant system related to it has not been mentioned thus far: combat scavenging and computing. Warframes can automatically identify and acquire useful resources, ammo, and objects that can easily be converted into biogel or Void energy, but this identification requires significant processing power. In theory, this system allows a Tenno to operate without need to return to base indefinitely, so its functionality was seen as paramount to Orokin Archimedians. It is for this reason the combat scavenging and computing are a closely intertwined system, and also run on separate power. Besides scavenging identification, the computing subsystem works with the IFF module, represents the hardware backbone for HUD and hacking systems, and generally provides calculation services specific to a design's needs.
The combat scavenging subsystem itself contains several minor modules and direct connections for implementation of some of the aforementioned functionality, but its core is formed by a teleporter, generally safely embedded in the Warframe's stomach. It is hard-linked to a personal storage location, the kind all of you have on your Orbiters, and teleports all the various valuables picked up over the course of a mission. It is a small component by necessity, and has difficulties teleporting anything larger than an average Crewman boot in standard operation. With additional power, it can teleport an adult human, but I can tell you the process is quite unpleasant and should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. Several unfortunate Void energy interactions prevent the teleporter from self-teleporting, which, by extension, prevents Warframe self-teleportation.
This teleporter also functions as a "vacuum", an aspect of combat operation I understand to be somewhat infamous among your number. Teleportation is a complex effect to achieve, and some of its aspects are focused with the appropriately-named Sentinel Vacuum module to create targeted Void energy corridors. These corridors then attract desired items towards the teleporter. The Warframe implementation of this mechanism is comparatively underpowered, and seems to be an ongoing development problem; allowing extra tactical flexibility by removing reliance on this module has been stated as desirable even in select Orokin-era documents. The fact that this is still an issue to this day leads to a conclusion you probably did not want to hear.
Lacking a significant range to the vacuum effect, visual identification of resources becomes more important. The HUD system creates enlarged AR representations of objects of interest, as well as providing biometric tracking, power status, weapon diagnostics, and other functionality expected from any such system. The bulk of its hardware is a part of Warframe neuroptics, and it has few special features compared to an off-the-shelf HUD module for a civilian exosuit. It is not even resistant to magnetic disruption, presumably due to the fact that such a modification would disrupt Transference. Indeed, most of a Warframe's Somatics are also housed in the neuroptics for easier access to its nervous system.
On that note, neuroptics are also made up of numerous minor subsystems which augment and control the biological core's basic functionality, as well as the hacking system: an ever-shifting collection of security bypasses good enough to disrupt low-level electronic defenses. Hacking multitools can be found in black market shops across the entire Origin system, but I highly doubt any of them are on this level; not only are the hacks constantly updated with data pulled from various missions, but the hacking process itself is heavily abstracted by the HUD, requiring only the bare minimum of human interaction. Finally, there is the small, yet vitally important IFF module, a component that directly interfaces with ability and weapon systems to prevent friendly fire accidents. They are not foolproof, though, as they rely on the existence of other IFF modules and are readily disrupted by ionising radiation.
While basic Warframe functionality depends on Transference energy, this is not enough for creating the destructive abilities they are known for. This is the reason all models possess a separate Void energy battery, and it is the only power source exposed to a Tenno operative. Its sheer capacity makes magnetic disruption an inevitability, although a software-based redistribution algorithm was recently appropriated as a result of a high-profile raid and now prevents total energy loss.
Continuing the theme of systems you directly interact with during your use of a Warframe, the module system is quite different to what one might find on a mundane exosuit. The most obvious difference is that several important components, such as the energy conduits, are partially infested. The small scale of these components allows limited self-repair resulting in unparalleled reliability, but make operator calibration to the module system a comparatively long and arduous process. Furthermore, the system was built with modification in mind, and has dedicated mechanisms that allow easy application of Forma and Orokin Reactors. The difficulty of acquiring those components as a non-Tenno makes such a design blatant over engineering for every exosuit that costs less than a few million credits.
The only major Warframe component that remains is also the most visible. Most models have several different chassis designs, the "skins", as you call them. Because of that, it is almost always a completely cosmetic part of the construction (a few models integrate limited armour plating into it), and can be freely swapped and modified with the whims of the Warframe's operator. Attachment hardpoints enable further customisation, and, as mentioned in the report on Volt, this variance in chassis configuration makes visual identification difficult for enemy forces. However, I have been later informed that the personalisation of a Warframe arsenal is also an important aspect of the Tenno culture, so, in truth, I hardly believe the team and I can add anything you don't already know.
A Warframe represents the best and the worst of Orokin ingenuity. It is a deeply intertwined network of biotech, electronics, and applied Void energy manipulation which happens to be ludicrously easy to repair and maintain. Yet, this miracle came at a cost, and it's too late to wonder if it was a cost worth paying. I often wonder if "repair" is even the right word, as the lines between repair and surgery blur with the heavy damage my laboratory encounters.
In conclusion, treat them well, Tenno. We don't get paid a commission for our maintenance work.
Kaiathas Kahn, Tenno archivist and maintenance overseer
...
...Gotta talk about Lotus, don't we?
Not sure what she is. Not that I was ever sure. But didn't think I could end up more confused.
Lotus, Margulis, Natah. One and the same, or separate? And if separate, how separate? How many of them betrayed us? And which one called to us? Which one is the important one?
I have my ideas. But can't be sure. Might be Mimics involved. Probably hopeful thinking.
One thing I know, though. Somewhere out there is the Lotus we had known. If I have to go to Tau, so be it. Long overdue, anyway. The Zariman will make its jump in spirit.
Oh. And one more thing. I asked around. Bit of a Lotus-shaped hole in our ops. There were contingencies, of course. Cephalons picking up the slack. But the civvies don't know. Even Kai. Gotta keep morale up.
Hope the truth will never have to come out.