Living Antiquity

~14~

I was fine. A bit bruised, but unable to reach the outside, "I'm fine. Blowing up its cannon left a cavity, and I'm stuck in it. Able to stand and move around though.... How are these things able to fly?" I huff, kicking some of the metal, and yelping when it shocks me, "Damn, hasn't discharged everything yet..."
"You're sure you're okay?..." Drakka says, voice raspy and ragged as I hear scraping and straining, "Damnit, come on!"
A thudding sound and a groan of pain, followed by...
A familiar roar.
"Is the a bloody Thunderjaw?!" I scream, pushing against the metal around me.
"Yes! Shit!"
Scampering footsteps as he no doubt has to run and hide.
"Stanley, keep the kiddo hidden. Things just got so much worse," I frown.
"Understood."
"Y/n, this is Kotallo. We have ELEUTHIA and are returning ti base. How is your progress?"
"I'm stuck under a hollowed out Stormbird while Drakka and Jetakka dodge a Thinderjaw and Stanley comforts a kid that we had to track down cause he wandered too far from the village..." I groan, rubbing my face.
"Adventurous. No doubt he required a favor of you?" Kotallo asks.
"I can hear you, Marshall!" Drakka snaps through the comms line.
"We used finding the kid as an excuse to teach them how the focuses work. You forgot ti tell us Tenakth can already read English." I say pointedly.
"Apologies," Kotallo says, grunting, "We are still on the climb back down, and Erend and Varl both have their hands full, which is why I am the one contacting you," he huffs.
I nod, then screech as the Stormbird is kicked off of me and I have to think very fast to dodge the Thunderjaw foot coming straight for me.
"Oh hell no I am not becoming Thunderjaw toe jam today!!!" I scream, running full tilt for the nearezt grass patch, until it was lit on fire from the Thunderjaw's guns, "Shit! Alright, fucker you know what? I'm not hiding this time, come on!" I whirl, pulling out the spike thrower Aloy had given me a couple days ago. An explosive prototype from some of her friends in Chainscrape...
I stand there, ignoring the yelling from Drakka and Jetakka, ignoring Kotallo's questioning in my ear, and just take aim, "Burn and die."
I launch, seeing the spike burrow in at the joint of one of its legs. A second of cursed silence as the Thunderjaw stomps toward me... And its entire leg gets blown off, the force of the blast shattering its central circuits and dropping it like a sack of bricks.
I pant, gripping my knees as I stand there, shaking from adrenaline as Jetakka rushes to check on Stanley and the child, and suddenly my feet are no longer on the ground, and I'm spinning.
"Drakka if you don't stop that I might throw up, I'm still in fight or flight mode..." I groan, feeling my stomach churn as he grins up at me.
"That's two! And a Stormbird! We could do both your arms and your stomach with those feats!" He grins.
I groan, "I'd really rather not... I don't trust myself to sit still for tattoos," I relax as my feet touch earth again, feeling my spinning head start to cool off.
"How did you know where to hit it?" Drakka raised an eyebrow.
"I didn't. I was aiming for its head, but... yeah..." I sigh, rubbing my face, coming away with my hand dripping with sweat as the child runs up to us.
"Give us a minute, kiddo, and I'll take you home. You've earned a mark, yourself," he grins at the kid, whose face lights up.
"Commander, no. He is still a child," Jetakka shakes his head.
"So everyone is alright, then?" Kotallo asks over the comms.
"Yes. I'm alive... Short version is the Thunderjaw kicked the Stormbird off me so I killed it," I sit on a rock, taking a deep breath.
"Ah. Good." Kotallo deadpans.
I huff, "Just lemme know when you guys get back ti Base, ok?"
"We will. Varl is carrying Beta, as she is still physically weak. Zo and Varl are working on training her body enough ti be in the wilds safely," Kotallo says, "I will call later."
A beep, and that connection was gone.
I sigh, stretching, and look over, seeing Drakka staring at me, turning a rock over in his hand," "What's up?" I raise an eyebrow.
He looked like he was thinking about something painful for a minute, but eventually just tossed the rock off into the distance, shaking his head, "Nag, its nothing. I guess ypu want me and Jetakka to play catch-up while you run around delivering tiny machines?" He asks.
"Stanley is going to stay and help so he can also work on developing possible solutions ti your water problem," I explain, "But yeah, my next stop is The Grove."
He nods, "Alright then. Maybe next time you come through, we'll have enough water for everyone..." he smirks.
I laugh, and nod, "Hopefully," I smile, before turning and calling Piglet, riding away within a minute.
--
"Y/n, you will soon be within sight of the Grove. I am unsure what their reaction to you will be..." Gaia said gently.
"Well, let's hope Aloy and Zo kept their end of the bargain and let them know I'd be here..." I sigh, slowing Piglet down, seeing people with teal face paint aiming at me, "At ease! I am Y/n, here ti Parley with Chief Hekarro and Dekka!"
"Prove it!" One of them yelled, before faltering as I took my helmet off, "F/c hair, f/c marked steed... Lower your weapons!"
I hop down from Piglet, and let him roam and root around, "He won't attack you. His name's Piglet. Feel free to help yourselves to anything he digs up, he roots around for resources whenever I let him be," I say, walking past them and being greeted byan older woman with the most glorious white mohawk I have ever seen, "Hello, Ma'am. Dekka, I take it?" I ask, nodding to her.
"Aloy told you of me?" She chuckles, "Yes. The Chief and Marshalls are waiting. He also had the Commanders and Chaplains come to us," she says, leading the way, "What is it that your group wishes to gift us?" She asks.
"Communication ability, and a way to make your jobs easier," I explain, following her, "The devices we wear on our heads allow for communication, analysis of the environment, lays hiding places bare..." I say, following her i to a truly massive room. The old JTF10 museum... reduced to ruin and rubble.
I look around, recognizing faces all lined up in salute, until I see the massive headpiece, and Chief Hekarro's face for the first time.
"Welcome to the Grove," he nods to me, "I believe Aloy said your name to be Y/n Tate?"
"Yes, sir." I catch myself saying, barely managing a smile, because fuck he was scary, "I'm here to drop off enough Focuses to give to you, the Commanders, Chaplains and Marshalls. Since I passed through Desert Clan territory on the way here, they already have their's. I also brought extras in case there are people you trust with this level of technology..." I explain.
"I see. Aloy explained they would allow us to reach each other and you at any moment..." he says, stepping toward me.
Shit.
"Yes," I say, digging one out of the pouch and holding it out to him, palm up so I would 't slip up and drop it, "If you place it on the temple on the same side of your head as your dominant hand, it will be easier for you to use... It'll also activate a quick learning module we loaded and set to activate as soon as the Focus is in use by someone new," I say, "It'll be followed by a set of modules to catch you up to speed on the situation of... Everything," I say, watching him eye the ti y metal triangle before allowing it to suction to his temple and watching him breeze through the startup screens.
"I see. It is like living in the Visions at all times..." He looks around, "Very well. Will you be able to stay while we go through this... Learning module?"
"I do need to rush ahead to meet up with Zo and Aloy, but I can stay for a few hours if you need me to. I understand that the true scope of the situation is a lot to take in," I say.
"Very well. Distribute them, and we will all begin at once," Hekarro nods.
I walk around, setting a Focus in hand after hand.
Gerrah, love her. Sassy and understanding of her people's needs.
Dekka, obviously.
Atekka is a bit of an unknown, but no matter.
Tekotteh.
I glare at him, holding the focus back, and giving a cold stare, "I've seen your cowardice and sour personality through the records Aloy's focus keeps. If you abuse the power of knowledge that comes with having this Focus, I will hunt you myself, and it will not matter how much more experience you have than me when I light the very cells in your body on fire. If you thought Aloy's power at the Bulwark was scary, wait until you see what happens when you truly piss me off." I drop the Focus unceremoniously in his hand, grinding my teeth, but move on, feeling my mood instantly improve as I greet newly christened Marshalls by the names they gave Aloy and give them their Focuses, ignoring the wary stares I now got.
Gerrah smirks, showing what could easily have been mistaken for fangs. Guess the genetics to randomly have longer canines didn't die out. Sweet. "You, I like you. Not afraid to show your colors."
Hekarro chuckles, and confirms that everyone now had one, before I begin the video-augmented crash course, seeing jaws drop and hang open as we get further and further down the rabbit hole.
Hekarro's jaw sets firmer and firmer as we go on, frowning, until we get to the part about Stanley, "Ah..." he listens, nodding, "One willing and capable to solve an impossible crisis... Good news indeed. And this Gaia.. is nearly half intact?" He asks.
"We have retrieved the fifth function, and where I am heading to meet Zo and Aloy is to be the sixth. We just can't reach Artemis... we suspect the Zeniths already have that one. But that does leave Gaia at a massive advantage against HEPHAESTUS. We can only hope it will go smoothly... A million things could go wrong, including but not limited to, them figuring out what we'll do when we get there and trying to capture Gaia and destroy us," I frown, "And even after that... We don't know how we will defeat NEMESIS." I pace, frowning.
"A war isn't won in a single battle, and the fight against these Zeniths will be more than a war of its own..." Hekarro walks over and places his hand on my shoulder, stopping me from moving, "You and your army will have our bows and spears at your backs for all of these battles. As for the water situation... I open our borders to those willing to help us build Stanley's great work for the Desert clan. So long as they respect our ways, they are welcome and can come and explore ss they please," he nods to the Marshalls, "I assume you were already broadcasting?" He eyes me knowingly.
"Yes. I've gotten in the nasty habit of doing that when we clue new people in," i say bluntly, "Because honestly we have a running bet as to who is going ti have the worst reactions ti this new knowledge."
"Y/n!" Zo snaps throught he comms, "That is just cruel."
"Yes, well, your boyfriend owes me eighty shards," I yawn, hearing Erend howling.
"If you're really willing to do this, sir, I've got three different delve and forge crews ready to make their way toward Tenakth lands," Petra offers, "As long as that's also okay with you, Drakka?"
"Yep. Stanley's already been zipping around the clan lands at the speed of a longleg making... topo... grefffee... maps..."
"Topography? He's trying to get a map of the heights and layout of the lands," I explain, "Comes in handy to know where you would need to dig and where you wouldn't."
"Drakka. Jetakka." Hekarro chuckles, "Well? This will make the seasonal report more bearable."
"Indeed, Chief." Jetakka replied, as I see Gerrah and Dekka talking to each other.
"Morlund, how's Nessie?" I say, leaning against a wall.
"Calm. Still under the influence of your override, thankfully. Doing a good job of keeping wild machines out of the underground, and making the children coming with the Delvers quite happy," Morlund grins, "But I'm working on a new project! The wondrous orb! Not unlike what the Old Ones called hot air balloons! And this will be the first in a thousand years!"
"Looking forward to seeing it. Make sure it's well tied down before doing a test flight. Desert winds ar pretty stiff." I chuckle, and stretch, tired from going over everything again, but enjoying watching the network grow as I watch the teenage Marshalls explore the uses of their new Focuses. "Just route any questions to anyone already in the contacts list. Marshall Kotallo is also in our ranks, if that is of help."
Hekarro nods, sitting on the throne and flicking through information at an impossible rate, "I see you were kind enough to give us extra information on the Ten."
I nod, "A bit of a 'Welcome to the Ranks' gift. Thought you would all enjoy seeing and hearing them in their reality. There's actual mission logs and interviews with them."
The younger Marshalls squeal and run about comparing information to the 'visions', or holo-displays.
"Fascinating..." Dekka says, "This will help us understand the will of the Ten all the better..." she smiles.