View source for Interludes and Examinations (Kushiko)

{{Cutscene Header
|Date of Scene=2016/12/11
|Location=Origin System
|Synopsis=Not long after events in Anor Londo and in the wake of the Multiverse's realignment, the Tenno and the Lotus must make a particular decision about where to go next...
|Thanks=MCM Plotstaff and beyond.
|Cast of Characters=964
}}
SOME TIME AGO, AFTER LEAVING ANOR LONDO
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"I'm surprised you didn't speak up more." 

Such words were given by the child who sat within the Orbiter's Somatic Link. Kushiko shifted slightly in the seat, the smooth curvature of the encapsulation breaking and sliding apart as Valkyr approached her.

"Should I have?" 

The Lotus appeared to the right, in that typical perspective of where she herself was hidden away to give Tenno their directives, guidance and more. "I trust you to do what you feel is right. I could do no more than that, my child." It was only the Lotus' tone that kept her from raising proverbial hackles at the notion of being labeled as such. Towards the Lotus, she felt that motherly kinship, though she could scarcely remember her own. 

The Lotus pressed on, her words gentle, breaking with the crispness they tended to hold. "... yet you must recognize that you, and she, were both children, yet much more than that. Like you." Kushiko's eyes narrowed slightly, the lilac and orchid light of her eyes pulsing in intensity before she answered, "Maybe, but that's just an excuse. It's why I don't ... like showing who I am to people who can't see me for who I am. Or only one part of me." She struggled with the words for a moment, the Warframe in front of her canting her head slightly. She shifted her perspective--no longer simply looking through her own eyes, but through Transference, through Valkyr. 

OOC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4iffXdVTYE

"What would any of them really say if they saw me, if they really knew what I am? Juno was one... and I... I want to think some of the others we've seen could see it, and not the child."

Valkyr reached, and in the same moment the Tenno mirrored the motion, placing her hand upon Valkyr's hand. She felt the righteous fury of the berserker within, tempered but never forgetting where they came from--even if the Tenno had lost those memories. Margulis had to sacrifice so much to ensure they could live, could control their powers. But at what cost?

"Let us move on. We have work to do. The system needs us. Our friends... Priscilla, Carna, and many more need us."

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MOMENTS AFTER THE EVENT

"It's... it's /gone/." The disbelief in the Lotus' words was palpable as she spoke, "Tenno, are you alright? Ordis, give me status reports, now!" 

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS NONSENSE--*glrkzzzhnk*--I am very sorry, Lotus, it appears as though /everything has gone to hellznnk--... Excuse me, I am having a great deal of trouble recalibrating. My sensors are *bleeding*--encountering profound differences between what the Multiverse outside our system was and what it is now. There is still a great deal of distance between the Outer Terminus and Sector Zero so the rail network and acceleration gates are still advised but..."

The Lotus, if her face could be seen--if she had a face--would be undoubtedly one of consternation, that much at least reflected as her lips whitened from the pressure as Ordis confirmed for her what her own network of intelligence agents and assets gave her. There was a profound upheaval, and the reams of data even now would take an incalcuably long time to fully analyze and process alone even with Cephalons like her own in Cordylon or Simaris and Suda.

"I... I'm fine, Lotus." Such words were given under great strain at first, eyes squeezed shut--the child of the Void had experienced... /something/, thanks in no small part to the Event. "... I think." She did not speak as she did--normally when she did, she felt and spoke for the segmented parts of her persona--Valkyr, Nova, Mag, Mesa and others--but now, they spoke as one with their Operator. "Something happened out there, felt it through the Void itself. Their Void... /emptied/ out of the superplanet, didn't it?" It was as much a question as it was a statement. She felt the /outpouring/, that would be better described as vomiting. 

The Lotus was relived, but they had no time to dawdle. "You are correct. Prepare a Warframe and an Archwing; we need to see precisely what happened. All superfactional frequencies went down but the comm network I have established to communicate beyond Origin is still functional. We're receiving reports. Chaos is spreading. Ready as many other frames as you can for deployment elsewhere. We're going to be busy." 

The girl drew in a steady breath, nodding, her consciousness reaching into her primary four frames, each of them arming themselves--though physically they could not /see/ they could look to the Tenno in their respective minds. "Let's go." 

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THE DAY AFTER

"Infested are being cordoned to their breeding grounds at Eris, with limited outbreaks at the usual spots like Jupiter. They have not been beyond Origin since that one time." the Lotus transmitted to her Tenno--not just Kushiko, but still. That much was a relief--Kushiko and the Lotus both expected the Infested to try and spread, now that the strange element of the Multiversal Void was no longer present. Space-time storms of before were not as present, but the distortions that remains reminded both of them of how the Moon, Lua, was affected.

"Yes Lotus. The Grineer and Corpus both seem to be in the same positions as they were before, but Cressa Tal of the Meridian mentioned that in this chaos, they've been hitting the Grineer a bit harder and the Grineer haven't been able to respond. She says she may have some work for us soon." The Lotus made a slight noise at this. "Noted. I'll verify the intelligence she's providing. Keep an eye out for the Arbiters, they haven't been pleased with your choices to associate with the Red Veil despite your friendship with the Meridian." 

Kushiko simply sighed at this. "Can't make them all happy. If they want to waste their time sending squads after me, then that's their choice, same as mine." The Lotus was silent on this, prompting Kushiko to wonder, "What else, Lotus?" 

"I'm being contacted by someone who claims to be representative of yet another new faction. We know of the League and the Paladins, and heard rumors of this 'Watch', but this one calls themselves the Concord. Based on what my intelligence agents have learned, these four seem to be the new groups that have taken the stage of Sector Zero." The glimmering eyes of the Tenno flickered as she stared at the reports on the screen."

"The Paladins as you and I both know do not suit our purposes, adhering to their laws will bind you and I. Nor is our charge solely for the uncovering of the mysteries of the Multiverse, though it would not surprise me if Baro Ki'Teer decided to work with them to some degree." The Lotus' looked aside, prompting the purplehaired Tenno to look up at the screen within the Somatic Link. "The Watch... is close, but not quite. They are more like the Red Veil, and that does not help us do what we need to do. The Concord is being led by Priscilla and Yuuki Kuran." 

That particular bit of info made Kushiko's eyes widen slightly. "... Let's talk to them a bit more then... the way they talk you could think they were like the Orokin, but they're not selfish or greedy. They reject what we did not like about either faction swallowing up these worlds and suppressing them like the Grineer did, just for a 'good cause'." She sighed once. "Either way, you're right that we need to work with one of these four... at least for a time."

"That's what I thought as well." the Lotus murmured. "I'll patch in the representative now..."