Living Antiquity

~29~

Over the course if two or three days, Ghost sent in several reports of successful overrides, while I tried to help Aloy keep herself from killing Silens when he tried to enter the base.
It wasn't pretty... Everyone that was familiar with him and what he'd done weren't amused with him, especially not the Tenakth, until he managed to- more than a little insultingly- explain what he was trying to achieve by assisting the rebels.
Because the Carja and Nora delegations were still present- having chosen to stay and learn more about the history they missed out on, while Sona tested Varl to make sure he wasn't forgetting his physical training- we were able ti establish a collection of Focuses to be sent back with them, sending dozen with Teersa so that she could outfit the Matriarchs and the hunters and village leaders.
Beta and I, while we worked to create the rig that would let them transport Gaia, also began working on the side to create an override to Cradle facility doors, agreeing that the Nora, being the closest, should be allowed to get in and retrieve the Focuses that had been locked away for centuries.
The plan was currently to wait to go get Aloy's Banuk friends and CYAN's aid until the more imminent threat had been dealt with. We also still had to show everything ti the Utaru... but Zo had recommended that we wait until the Zeniths were gone, so that the tribe wouldn't feel as burdened. They'd be able ti just focus on helping us prepare for NEMESIS.
The immediate issue was for me to retrieve my hovobike, and start making a nuisance of myself around the Zenith base, having Ghost and his growing squadron help me defeat as many as possible to at least pick them off, while Aloy and the others work to merge Gaia and HEPHAESTUS.
Beta actually stopped Aloy and I and asked us to kill her if the Zeniths managed ti get to GEMINI in time to hurt anyone or take her...
While I hope to hell that we don't have to do that... I won't say no. I don't want her to have to suffer again...
Stanley and the others were in agreement as well, but from expressions, we weren't the only ones reluctant to follow through on the promise...
Even as I sit pouring over data, listening to music in the background as I piece together the microserver that would be big enough to house Gaia and HEPHAESTUS together... Its hard not to feel a sense if impending doom.
I thought I wouldn't be retrieving my hovobike until things were better and I could ride it for pleasure again, but I was going to have to bust it out for the war.
I wasn't looking forward to the fight... Getting to see Nisha's face smashed in, sure, but seeing her and the other Zeniths in person?...
And one of them was Liz's ex.
And judging from how she treated Beta... She would be a problem if she met Aloy. My personal pattern recognition could see that Tilda was still obsessed with Liz... Aloy was just like Liz, hell, Aloy was almost Liz distilled, while Beta was everything Liz likely would have been if she hadn't been allowed to emotionally mature... I can see how and why Tilda rejected Beta... I'm honestly glad she did. It was disgusting- she expected a child to help her act out her fantasies of Liz...
I grit my teeth and keep working, ignoring the piercing pain as my tongue gets trapped between said gritted teeth, bolting necessary pieces together and down, fixing pieces that had gone undone and been unworked by the addition of new pieces. The rig was complicated and heavy... I'm glad the others would be the ones lifting it, but that didn't make it any easier...
Eventually, the scheduled time came, when Beta was confident that enough had been done that she could finish it herself with Olin's help to hold pieces in place until they could be secured, and I had to get ready to head for the Colorado border.
The plan was for me to accompany Teersa and some of the other Nora warriors back to their lands and then keep going across the mountains and down toward where the house was... Hopefully the bunker was still there. With my hovobike intact...
If not... Well, I guess I'd be screwed. I could always try riding a Glinthawk, but their back was so small and uncomfortable...
I took a breath, grabbing my packs, checking rations, making sure I'd packed the right number of Focuses as Teersa says goodbye to Teb, who was staying to learn how to make other styles of armor, and Sona, who wanted to learn more about Utaru and Tenakth fighting to better defend the Nora.
Drakka had to stay behind and help his clan get up to speed... He was already gone, down the west side of the mountain...
It'd taken an hour to assure him that I'd be okay by myself. I was taking Piglet with me, and Piglet was a damn good climber, and I had a map of old tunnel roads through the mountains...
It took everything to tell him to go to his people, knowing damn well there's a risk that we might not see each other again... Because as soon as I confirmed whether or not I had the hovobike, the plan would shift into the next phase...
Retrieval, distraction, culling.
My purpose with the Ghost squadron was to lure and kill as many Zeniths as I could, so that we could thin their numbers.
Silens was still perfecting his weapon against them, trying to make something that would shut their shields down permanently so we could just shoot them and be done with it...
Making my way to the east doors, I see the Carja and Nora delegates who would be returning the way they came, nervously eying the large pack on my shoulders as I whistle, Piglet charging up the path from where he'd been waiting on standby, "Good boy..."
"I see. And these will allow us to attain our own mounts?" Avad asks, looking at the override module strapped to his arm.
"Yes, and it's automatically brought onto our network, so we can keep track of whether a machine is available or destroyed," I point out.
"Ah. That being said, this Bristleback is quite well patched..." a Carja guard says, pacing around Piglet, "Are those... bags? On its back?"
"Yep. I use those for cargo. There's ones for his shoulders and ones fir his haunches. His name's Piglet- I've managed to keep him intact for almost a month now," I grin, climbing on and patting Piglet's carapace, keeping pace with the rest if the group as we walk, slowly accumulating Chargers, until we were able to successfully make it toward the salvage camps.
"Bumpy, but manageable... And wuite pleasant once you're used to it..." Teersa says, leaning into her Charger's movements, "I look forward to seeing what else is capable of being used as a mount..." she smiles, "We'll be back to the Nora lands within what, four days?" She asks.
"And then I only have another day or so's hard ride through the mountains," I take a breath.
The guards surround Avad's Charger, keeping him protected as we travel.
It was difficult to bring the mounts up from the Daunt, but eventually I managed to override a Stormbird, and have the mounts carried up to the top one by one before sending the now named Zeus to guard the Mountain.
Blistering cold winds greeted us on the ride through the mountain, feeling like they were ripping straight through my armor as we rode, walking in places where the snow had buried the visible walking path, the machines following us close behind.
When we finally exited the pass, we overlooked the desert, the lake, and the cliffs of Meridian...
Carja land...
It was so pretty in person... great stretches of sand and stone, carved by the elements, shaped into shapes that the old society could only see in projections.
Liz would love how well her work turned out after the end...
And to the south, lush jungles, canopied high overhead and extending toward the south limits if the city... The Jewel, I believe it was called.
With Meridian to mark the border of the Jewel and the desert...
Avad and his Guards split off as we gallop past the city gates, allowing us to rest overnight and say our goodbyes as he promises Teersa to send resources soon, an acknowledgement of prior trade they'd no doubt formed without Aloy's notice. Not that she'd be anything other than excited to see the Nora getting along with the Carja.
I know the rough history, but I'll have to learn more once there were no more looming threats.
Teersa chattered happily to me on the way through the remaining stretch of desert, she and the Nora hunters eagerly asking me questions about the past, now able to satiate questions that had rotted in their minds due to their beliefs.
I explained as much as I could, gently reminding them if the uplink to APOLLO whenever I didn't personally know the answer.
By the time we pass through Daytower, I'm used to the comoany, but they have ti split off after we reach the base of the peaks, the Nora heading south while I continue ever east, now drowning in silence. I haven't travelled alone since...
Before Vegas? Or when I went ballistic? When...
I took a breath, continuing east, following the path.
They need me to di this.
If ai can be a distraction, I can let them unite Gaia and Hephaestus... we'll be set.
Everything will kick up a notch.
No more Zeniths.
Just preparation for war with an out of control wicked AI.
GAIA versus NEMESIS.
Life versus Destruction.
Finally, I reach a tunnel near where I knew the house would be, but realized I hadn't slept since Meridian.
Best to do this fully conscious, right?
I stop Piglet, patting his side and climbing off, setting up my sleeping furs and getting a quick meal together, taking a breath as I sat there.
Drakka would be excitedly babbling about getting to fight the machines out here in the East. Or even trying to just cuddle into my furs with me, whining about being cold from the mountain air...
At least if he were here it wouldn't be so damn quiet.
And I wouldn't have to miss him...
I sigh, finishing my food and curling into the furs, exhausted.
--
"Lookit you, sis, all the way out here, and close to home, too! Don't mind the noise- Liz's having some one on one time with Ted. Bastard came out swearing, can you believe it?"
"... Hey, Trav?... What if I let him down..."
"Huh? Aw, sis... Don't you go worrying. Look at what you've done. A big ass network between tribes that'd have each other's heads otherwise. The Specters... which I'm proud of you for by the way! Hacking them like your big bro, using that ti override them and slave them to your team's network!!" He does an excited chef's kiss, "Perfection, li'l sis! Now, I know, you miss your boyfriend. Hell, I know damn well how much he missed you back. And you're both a Focus call away, but you ain't called each ither- cause you know each other. He knows you can take care if yourself, sis. And you know he's doing good by his clan for you. You focus on gettin that bike. Its faster in the air than any machine you can override right now. You're gonna have to fix a couple of your mods, but I promise you, it's in working order. You di out there and I hope you smash Nisha's bitch face in with the front hovopad." He ruffles my hair, "You and your boyfriend can be all up on each other once everythin's done."
"TRAV!"
I bolt upright, a feeling of deep embarrassment overtaking me as I stare at a tunnel wall, Piglet looking at me and chuffing.
Another frustrating dream I can't remember, but something made me feel deeply smug...
For some reason, I felt myself smile at the idea that maybe Ted found the other Alphas in the afterlife... I kinda wish I could be a fly on the wall if he did... I'd need popcorn, though.

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Let me know if anything about the progression is unclear! I feel like something is getting lost when I type... I just can't place what it is.