Discovery

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attention to the feeling as I do."

Hermione gets a really queer feeling in her brain as the ability activates, then her chest starts to feel less painful. Also she sees some words flash up in her peripheral vision.

"Yes, Titania has a tap from her void reservoir to her maintenance nanite factory, when you activate an ability it provides additional power and allows it to replenish the nanites running through your frame. Stop here."

Hermione stops and looks around, "Look down to your left. This a Grineer design storage locker. It's got an electronic lock that makes it secure against the average human, however you're somewhat stronger than average. I want you to grab your quarter staff and give it a good whack, no need to waste ammo. I'm also going to turn off your automated digitiser so you can see what's inside.

Giving it a half-hearted whack does nothing so she gives it a full swing and caves the lid in causing some of those cartoony shapes to fly out.

"Grab one of those items and I'll turn off your overlay while I explain what you're seeing and why."

Reaching down she picks up a red ball off the floor which floats comically in her hand, then it disappears and she's holding a small black stick with a couple of numbers and letters engraved on it.

"That, is a nanite reservoir. Specifically it contains the same sort of nanites that Warframes use to keep themselves working. In essence it's a first aid kit. Everyone in the solar system has those nanites, and I mean everyone. They're passed on during pregnancy and they self maintain. The thing that Harry tried to use on you just after he shot you, that's basically a remote energy beacon that provides energy in exactly the right way to power these nanites and allow them to deal with just about any injury that's left the person alive. Also in that locker is a journal, of some description, an instruction manual, a change of clothes. Some programmable matter for rifles, and a little bit of money. As we don't generally care about the clothes or written material, your overlay won't highlight them, and the digitiser won't pick them up. But as you can see, at a glance the first aid kit looks very much like the other two items. Which isn't a problem when you just need something from the locker, but when you're in a firefight and you need that bit of additional healing, it makes a big difference. I'm going to reactivate your interface as our free time has just run out. A small patrol is about to come round the corner behind you."

Spinning round she heads for the doorway she'd just come through and fumbles for her gun, dropping her quarter staff in the process. She's just got into cover when the first Grineer comes into view and sees the staff on the floor. Shaking in terror, Hermione raises her gun and squeezes the trigger briefly, and only hitting the doorframe above the trooper.

"Breathe Hermione, take your time."

Taking a deep breath she pulls the trigger again and sends some shots walking his torso, the resulting spurt of blood as he falls over makes her wish she could vomit. The second and third go down with only one reload. Then she's left in silence with some cartoon ammo and money lying on the floor. She starts to laugh at the absurdity of the sight and staggers over to see what's there.

"You're doing well. Laughter is good, but could you sound a little less unhinged in future please? Where were we? Oh yes, Grineer and coming back. Back just after the end of the war, Grineer used to live for around 20 years. A short but workable life. However, because the Orokin were gone, so was the knowledge of how to restore the genetic templates. Over hundreds of years their lifespans became shorter as the templates became corrupted due to constant usage. When they realised this, their scientists designed a computer that they implanted in their brains, this is like the reverse of the process that we used to teach you to speak. It reduces the expected lifespan of the clone by a couple of years, but they can then use the same personality on new clones. Of course, only promising clones get restored like this. Most of them just get the basic skills and personality implanted. That's what these guys are, I doubt any of them were more than a few months old at most. Their scientists on the other hand, some of them have been around for hundreds of years.

"How are you feeling moving around now?"

"It's easier."

"You're close to a milestone, so your system is going to release some of the resources it's been holding back. When that happens it will feel a bit like you've gone backwards, but" A spray of gunfire interrupts whatever she was about to say as Hermione screams and dies, her Warframe falling to the floor. One of the troopers that ambushed her comes forward to nudge her with his foot, that's when the recovery systems kick in and she explodes off the floor in a burst of energy, knocking the trooper to the floor. With a gasp, Hermione scrambles backwards while firing her gun at everything that looks vaguely person shaped. Suddenly she feels like her balance is off as the system releases some of the limits on her frame. She can feel Titania more clearly. The sound of an alarm going off deeper in the factory brings her back to the present, as she sees a few troopers running towards her. Over the next few minutes she fights her way from cover to cover until Luna shouts.

"Hermione! Thank merlin you're listening to me again. Use that console to turn off the alarm. It's a rhythm based lock so just press the big button in the centre."

It takes her a few moments to see the console that Luna was talking about which is long enough for a few more troopers to come from deeper in the factory. When her gun clicks empty, she grabs blindly for her staff and stops thinking about things and letting the instincts built into the frame guide her steps. Smoothly vaulting over a stream of gunfire she lands in the middle of the most recent group of Grineer and swings her staff wildly breaking armour and bones with every strike, while taking a few shots on her shields. When the last of them is down she vaults back to the console and the moment is passed. Looking dumbly at the console she presses the centre button and sees digital trumpets appear around the button with a spinning thing around the outside. When she pushes the button again, the thing bounces in slightly. A couple more experimental presses and she's worked out what she's supposed to do, and proceeds to put the lids on the trumpets. When the alarms stop and no more Grineer come to attack her she leans against a wall.

"What was that Luna?"

"That, was perfect synchronisation."

"It was amazing."

"It is. Hermione," Lunas voice turns sombre, "I want you to head down the corridor to your right and through the door on the left. It should lead out to a balcony."

Following the directions she finds herself looking out at a blasted landscape, where there was lush forest on the side of the factory she came in from, on this side there's only stumps and pools of noxious liquids steaming in the air. The sound of heavy machinery can be heard faintly off in the distance. A feeling of anger wells up from inside her, how dare they do this to her forest. It's worse than they're doing to the Amazon or the Canadian forests on her own earth. At least there the land is still alive and can be restored. Here they're not only taking the trees, they're also poisoning the land. Her hand tightens on the grip of her staff as something inside her breaks and for the first time in her life she moves with the intent to hurt someone. As she stalks through the factory her archwing thrusters buzz a song of vengeance and anger and she metes it out at the end of her quarter staff. Titania and Hermione both in agreement that this cannot stand. She pulls on the ability that Luna showed her how to use until she runs out of energy. Then she pulls on the power that answered her call as a child to do the same thing. She's vaguely aware of Luna saying that she's done enough and she can exfiltrate, but she chases down each and every Grineer in the parts of the factory she can reach. Once she reaches the exit location she is covered in blood from head to toe. Leaping up into the quick access form she doesn't even react when the blood is cleaned off her. As soon as the panel opens up she leaps out into the lander.

"Luna, find another factory."

Equinox shakes her head, "No, not today. You need to decompress."

"No, I don't. Not while they're destroying my forest."

"Ordis take us back to Lua."

"Yes mistress."

Hermione/Titania grabs Equinox by the throat, "Take me back."

"No. Not like this."


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