15 Gara of the Plains

Here on Pluto, I'm stalking the last few Sentients I was able to detect here, with my newly acquired radar. I have thirteen specimens so far and though I haven't scanned every planet I think this is enough for now. Using my Ivara's Prowl, I creep up behind it, place the trap, and begin transmating the suspended Sentient. Finally satisfied with the number of Sentient specimens, I decide to head towards Cetus to scope out the plains just west of it. 

     After flying around in my Arch-Frame for a bit, I spot a Grineer drilling outpost. Making a note of its location, I spread my search out to make sure it's the only one in the area. About an hour and a half later I'm satisfied that I've located the correct drilling outpost. I then get back to the Orbiter and head for The Tau-er. 

     Back aboard The Tau-er, I realize that Ordis is not here and the place is crawling with Specters. It's good to know that Ordis can properly defend The Tau-er, even when he's not here. I head over to the Sentau-er (Sentry's tower) and check up on Sentry while waiting for Ordis and Helminth to return. I noticed a couple of miniature towers that looked suspiciously like the Orokin Archive we had hacked the last time I was here. I ask Sentry about them and she informs me that every tower has an archive of some variety. Whilst every archive will have some of the same basic information as the others they should all hold some measure of information unique to that tower's functions and activities. Well he might not like it but that's something else for Ordis to do before he starts on the Limbo Theorem. Who knows, he might actually find something that aids him in his study of the theorem. 

     Once Ordis and Helminth return to The Tau-er, they inform me and I return as well. I'm excited to see what those two are capable of with their new upgrades. As I approach the Primary Interface and witness Ordis's new form I'm absolutely dumbstruck. His spherical center is now, aside from being much more massive, a transparent orb constructed of thousands of tiny points of light blue light with rainbow colored curves and swirls moving across the surface. His previous cubicle has been replaced by six blooms with conical protrusions in the center. The blooms are constructed of various stunning geometric expressions. The blooms are separated from his spherical core by a small gap and hover around his exterior. They move from forming one ring around him, then to equidistant positions at his theoretical poles, and then back into a ring around him at another angle. 'I never thought that I'd say this but Ordis is...beautiful! Gorgeous!...he's just...Magnificent! What a drastic transformation. I never expected such a thing.'

     "Ummm...is the Operator alright?"

     I realize I've been staring while standing frozen in the doorway. "Ahhh, yes, Ordis, of course. Everything is fine. I was simply a bit taken aback by your new form, I wasn't expecting it. It looks really amazing. So do you think you and Helminth are at the same level as Samaris and Suda now?"

     "I'm quite pleased to have the Operator's praise. Also you can rest assured that, as per usual, your plan was a huge success. Helminth and I both have reached the desired level. Although I hope the Operator will not mind that we took some liberties in our mission in the name of proactive thinking. We went ahead and progressed passed the desired levels and also offered a few upgrades to Nyx as well. I theorized that you would have ever increasing demands for both Helminth, myself, and even Nyx. With this in mind, we upgraded ourselves  a bit further than the Operator requested and upgraded Nyx to a level moderately beyond where we were before the Operation. I hope this will not upset the Operator."

     "That is anything but upsetting, Ordis. Not only was your theory spot on but the results are absolutely fantastic! I applaud your cleverness, Ordis! Excellent job!"

     "Your enthusiasm is most reassuring, Operator. I was quite worried that you might have been upset about us going beyond the scope of mission."

     "Not at all, Ordis. Having unquestioning minions who follow orders to the smallest detail is certainly beneficial to a certain degree. However, even more useful than that are loyal followers who are capable of thinking for themselves, are able to adjust to quickly changing circumstances on the fly, and successfully reengineer plans that have gone wrong. You've, at the very least, demonstrated the first ability and I'm looking forward to seeing you demonstrate the others in the future. That being said, what about Helminth? I presume he's in The Flesh Tau-er and has had a similar transformation?"

     "Indeed he has, Operator. Although, you needn't go to The Flesh Tau-er. If you'd like I can open up a display right here that will allow us to communicate with him?"

     "An excellent addition to our communication capabilities, Ordis. Let's see this new communication display."

     A holographic screen materializes out of thin air and displays a room not too dissimilar to the one we're in. The major exception being that the receptacle in which a Cephalon would manifest itself held another impressive figure, not quite as impressive as Ordis but still quite something to behold. Helminth's design was one of a single celled organism whose cell wall was not only transparent but also tinted red, blue, pink, and purple in no particular pattern. On the other side of the cell wall one could see all of the organelles that are typical of most cells and quite a few others. Everything inside the cell was quite hectic and each part could be seen performing its function. I could only assume that this is a life size scale model of the Technocyte virus. 

     "Greetings, Master, It is good to see you.

     "And you as well, Helminth. That's quite the manifestation you have there. Is that a representation of the Technocyte virus?"

     "It is, Master. I suspected that you would appreciate having a fully functioning model available for viewing. As you can see, in the same way that when an organism is infected with the Technocyte it retains a semblance of its old self, the virus itself is very similar in shape and function to non viral cells. It is very likely that it evolved from a non viral precursor. I believe much of its potential for endless proliferation is due to this structure."

     "That is truly amazing, Helminth, and I believe that this will provide many benefits in the future. Speaking of which, I know you only just returned but what is the progress on the intermediate strain you've been working on?"

     "It still needs some work, Master, but I should be able to finish it within the week thanks to my new upgrade."

     "Excellent news! Now that you two have...wait a minute where's Nyx. She received upgrades as well, didn't she?"

     "I'm right here, Operator." Nyx spoke up from the corner of the room behind me. I had been so preoccupied with my newly upgraded Cephalons I didn't even notice her there.

     "Ahhhh, Nyx, good to see you. I know we didn't get a chance to speak much, before you went off on your first mission but welcome to the team and congratulations on your upgrades."

     "Thank you, Operator. The upgrades were certainly a surprise but they've already increased my effectiveness drastically. I'm really excited to find out what our next mission might be."

     "Well I may have to disappoint you on that, because we have accomplished quite a lot and so most of our attention is going to shift to research until we are at a place where I feel comfortable moving forward with our Traveler project. We will be running some small missions in the Plains of Eidolon and a few other places but nothing as big as what you just pulled off.

     "That's quite alright, Operator, Helminth and Ordis have already spoken to me at length regarding your seemingly prescient knowledge of future events. I'm certain even a smaller scale mission with you will prove a worthy endeavor."

     "That's right I just noticed something. All three of you seemed to have stop referring to yourselves in the third person. Is that a personal decision or a result of your upgrades?"

     "It would seem, Operator, that we Cephalons not only progress in capabilities, with the addition of more True Data, but we also deepen our sense of self. Our previous selves had only a rudimentary self-awareness a poor imitation of the true sentience possessed by humans. Despite being a poor imitation, it apparently has the capacity to grow into something far more similar to human sentience with each additional upgrade." Ordis explains. 

     "Wow, that's pretty impressive! I'm glad that you guys have progressed so much. Not only will your increased capabilities come in handy, just the act of you obtaining your upgrades has been quite the informative process. That being said, I believe it might be time to get back to work. Ordis, I have two more tasks for you before you can devote yourself to the Limbo Theorem. I'm going to take Nyx and my Specter Force to the plains. There we will acquire an Ostron coffer. This coffer will be locked and require a glass key to extract the contents safely. The glass key was shattered into pieces and its various parts are lying around the plains somewhere. The special type of glass this key is made from resonates with a specific harmonic that can be used to locate these pieces. So I need you to build a mobile drilling drone in the event that we can't use the Grineer equipment or their equipment is inadequate. I'll also require a device that can thoroughly scan the coffer to determine the exact shape of the key needed to remove the Shatter-Lock and provide a blueprint for a device that can locate at least one of these pieces. Once we have at least one shard, I'll need a device capable of discerning the specific harmonic that the shards resonate with and thus simplifying the process of finding the others. Once you've completed those constructions you can start constructing a device that is optimized in retrieving data from Orokin Archives. There's an archive in the Sentau-er and I want everything that's on it by the time I've returned. Ordis, your thoughts?"

     "Well, Operator, I'll start by saying that I'm quite excited to find out what your journey to the plains will reveal. As for the devices you requested, I believe I can do better. The drill I understand may be necessary but all of the other tasks you require, I believe, with my long range connection to the Orbiter and Liset, I can accomplish these tasks with an appropriate upgrade to both. This way you'll have these capabilities at your fingertips should you require them in the future. As for the archive device, consider it done."

     "Excellent idea, Ordis! I'll be giving Nyx a tour of The Tau-er and explaining her new responsibilities here. Let me know when the upgrades are completed. Helminth, keep working on that intermediate strain and, when you've finished, focus your attention on any useful or creative applications of the Technocyte. Think primarily about The Traveler and The Flesh Tau-er and what kind of new growths might assist or improve the operation of these ships. Nyx, if you would follow me please?"

     ""Of course, Operator."" "Of course, Master." The three respond in unison. 

     I take Nyx with me on an extensive tour through both The Tau-er, The Flesh Tau-er, and The Sentau-er. I inform Sentry, that from now on she will most likely receive all of her orders through Nyx as she will be acting as my General and Chief of Security. I task Nyx with not only maintaining and organizing our current Specter Forces but also determining the best composition of squads, platoons, companies, and eventually battalions and brigades. I tasked her, with determining precisely what kinds of forces we're able to resist in the event of an invasion and what kinds of forces we're capable of defeating in an offensive. I tasked her, and the Specters with various patrols and expeditionary excursions. Lastly, I make sure she establishes a solid and reliable chain of command that can be easily transferred over to actual Tennos, for when they are eventually part of our ranks. 

     Once her orientation is complete, we head back to The Tau-er. Ordis notified me of the completion of the upgrades about two thirds of the way through Nyx's orientation. Nyx marches Specter Force One onto the Orbiter and we follow behind.

     We arrive on the plains, just before noon, and we deploy to an outcropping of rocks about five hundred meters from the drilling outpost I had marked previously. Deciding that I had done most of the murder an mayhem all by myself since arriving here, I give Nyx her first official orders. 

     "General Nyx, the presumed location, of the coffer we're looking for, is within the caves the Grineer are excavating at that outpost. Your mission is to scout the area, determine the best method of approach, infiltrate the outpost via stealth or extermination, and recover the coffer intact and undamaged. Do you have any questions about what is expected of you?"

     "None at all, Operator. Requesting permission to initiate Operation Gaara of the Plains?" Nyx asks, while offering a salute. 

     "Permission granted." My mental smile traces familiar lines across my mental face as I watch Nyx drop her salute and lead Specter Force One on their first mission together. Things are starting to come together quite nicely. 

     I decide that I'm going to be completely hands off with this one, in order to see how she performs. So I take my Arch-Frame and head to a nearby fishing spot. 'Ahhhh, it really is nice to have a little nature break every now and then. If I didn't feel so pressed for time, I'd probably do it more often. There's still so much to do, however, before the reservoir is revealed.' 

     About five hours later, Nyx contacts me with news of their success. I ask her how she managed it and she apparently just mind controlled the outpost Commander and the Grineer all went to work and found it for them. Once they acquired the coffer, she had the Commander order the Grineer into formation and then wiped them all out with ease. She even stripped all their guns, armor, and equipment and transmated it, along with much of their larger equipment such as Dargyns and the like, back to The Tau-er. The place was essentially stripped bare of any supplies, equipment, and personnel including the coffer. 'A damn fine execution, if I do say so myself. I guess I don't have to worry about Nyx not knowing what to do in these circumstances. She really is quite impressive.'

     We head back to the Liset and Ordis utilizes the new upgrades to determine the shape of the Shatter-lock key. He then scans the surrounding area, for anything that might be a possible key shard. We have a couple of misses at first but eventually we find what we are looking for. We return to the Liset, with the shard, and Ordis dials in on the harmonic that resonates with the shard. With the resonant harmonic identified, tracking down the rest of the shards proved rather simple. 

     We took the coffer back to The Tau-er to open it within the Tenno laboratory. I instruct Ordis to run as many different scans as possible on the coffer before, during, and after the opening. I insert the key gently into the Shatter-lock and open the coffer to reveal the Iron Rose I already knew would be there. It would seem that Ordis has found something and he maneuvers a group of specialized mechanical arms, manipulating a number of specific tools, towards the rose. He begins lightly scraping off some unseen substance, into a petri dish type container. We all watch patiently as he places the dish into a machine and begins analyzing and processing the substance. About three minutes later, the analysis is complete and my mental smile returns as Ordis begins operating a machine I'm all too familiar with. It's the machine that produces Bio-cartridges. It takes approximately six more minutes, for the machine to spit out the finished Bio-cartridge. As soon as I see that it's done, I immediately inject it into the Founder and await the finished product.