Chapter Text
The Fireclaw charged at the two of them, and they scattered. Aloy ran left, and the stranger ran right to avoid the charge. The Fireclaw seemed to think the stranger's orange laser sword was the more interesting target, as once it recovered from the charge, it rose up to its hind legs and lunged at him.
The stranger leapt over the first swing from the Fireclaw and twisted his body backwards to avoid the second. He swung his sword, and the blade successfully severed several metal claws from the machine's right paw.
The Fireclaw backed him into a corner against one of the old, rusted buildings. The stranger looked to one of the thinner support columns beside him that held up part of a half collapsed balcony above them. He gripped his sword tightly and swung it at the column. The superheated blade cleanly sliced through it at an angle, and immediately, the metal groaned; the rusted and eroded balcony gave way and fell onto the Fireclaw with a loud crunch of metal.
The Fireclaw roared and Aloy watched the stranger scramble around the momentarily trapped machine to get free, eyes wide. One of his pants legs was lit up with flames. He frantically batted them out once a reasonable distance away. "Why does it spit fire?!" He yelled at Aloy frantically.
"It just does!" She yelled back as she frantically searched her quiver, recovering a shock arrow and aiming for the power cells on the back of the machine. She fired right as the machine broke free of the rubble. Her arrow missed the cell by a few inches and she cursed.
Aloy whistled loudly to call her Sunwing, drawing the Fireclaw's attention.
She notched a Chillwater arrow and sprinted towards the machine. She skidded beneath the first swipe and the jets of fire blasted at her to shoot her arrow into the gaps of the armour plating. Frost spread over the machine's chest for a moment, but it was already starting to melt. Freezing this thing entirely wasn't gonna be easy.
She scrambled out from under the machine quickly, slicing her spear at its back legs. As she did so, she sent off a few more plates of armour . The extra damage cost her, however. The Fireclaw turned and smacked her with the back of its front paw, sending her sprawling to the ground a few feet away with a cry. Her body ached. That was gonna leave a mark.
The Fireclaw faced her as she pushed herself back up. It stood up on its hind legs again to strike down and crush her.
The attack was halted when a blast of purple from above struck the Fireclaw's shoulder, sending metal plating flying off the machine and causing it to stumble back with a loud crunching noise.
Aloy's Sunwing flew overhead, and the fin on its head glowed with purple energy. Another blast of plasma shot down from its fin, striking the Fireclaw again as it passed. Aloy breathed a sigh of relief for a moment. She was glad to have her Sunwing on standby. She'd have overridden another machine to help in the fight, but there weren't any nearby to allow for that.
She felt hands help her up and turned to see the stranger next to her again, his weapons momentarily sheathed to help her stand.
She pulled away once up but nodded in thanks.
The Fireclaw made a sound like metal tearing, and its claws dug into the earth. Flames jetted out from its forearms as it did so, setting the debris it unearthed alight as it hurled it upwards towards the Sunwing. The flying machine avoided the first two molten boulders, but the third hit it directly in the chest. The attack sent it careening to the Earth with a loud crash. Sparks exploded from where it landed, and the machine didn't get up.
Aloy scowled. So much for the extra aid.
More shots from the stranger's gun drew the Fireclaw's attention away from the Sunwing and to the stranger next to her. It seemed to scan the two for a moment and dug its paws onto the ground again, unearthing a large chunk of broken concrete before throwing the huge slab at them both. As it flew at them, the concrete broke into multiple chunks of molten rock.
She rolled out of the trajectory of the rubble, but it never came. She felt a strange ripple in the air next to her. Not the wind. She couldn't explain what it was. But she felt something. The largest chunk of concrete stopped midair and fell to the ground ahead of her with a slam as if it hit an invisible wall. She took advantage of the sudden new cover to scramble behind it, avoiding more falling debris. The adrenaline of the fight kept her from dwelling on that for now, but it left her with more questions. What the hell was that?
The stranger scrambled next to her behind t he concrete, redrawing his two weapons and narrowly avoiding more flaming rock. He looked at Aloy.
"Don't suppose you know how to kill this thing, do you?" The stranger asked.
She nodded. "I know its weak points. How good of a shot are you with that gun?"
"Decent enough. Just tell me where to aim. BD can-" he paused and looked to his shoulder. He seemed to have realised now that the droid wasn't with him. His focused expression turned frantic "BD-1?!"
A loud, frantic trill from the other side of the debris made them both turn to look around it. BD was by some overturned metal brought down from the collapsed balcony. The little machine's leg was caught under some twisted metal, trapping it.
Fireclaw also turned its head to the sound, its red eyes flickering down at BD. BD's antenna flicked back, and it shrank down against the rubble.
The stranger blanched. " BD! " He shouted and shot out from around their cover. He drew his gun again and fired several shots at the Fireclaw. One shot struck through one of the machine's eyes while the other blasts left singed holes in the metal. The struck eye sparked and dimmed out, half blinding the machine. The Fireclaw roared, diverting its attention from the smaller target and onto the stranger again.
He waved his hands. "That's right! Over here you oversized bucket of bolts! " He fired two more shots at it. The machine roared and fire jetted from its back, going for the charge.
Damnit! She hadn't even had time to make a proper plan! She quickly rounded the other side of the rock and sprinted for the small machine. Better to get it free now so as to not worry later.
The stranger shot at the charging machine several times and raised his sword defensively. He rolled under the first swipe that came at him and struck backwards, the heated blade severing more metal claws from the left paw this time.
While the stranger kept the Fireclaw busy, Aloy sprinted to BD. She skidded to a stop in front of the droid and grabbed the old metal pinning it down. With a grunt, she lifted it just high enough for BD to crawl free.
The small machine chirped and scuttled to her, looking up at her and bobbing its head. Was it trying to thank her?
"Uh.. you're welcome? " She said hesitantly, "Just don't get separated again."
A crash next to her interrupted her, and she turned to see the stranger landing next to her on the ground with a pained groan. The leather of his blue vest was singed black in several areas. Frankly, a lot of the man's clothes were singed. Nice to know he was about as fireproof as the rest of mankind.
The Fireclaw was a short distance away and was turning to face the two. It struggled a bit now due to its mangled front paws. The left one was just a stub leaking blaze onto the ground, and the right was an amalgamated mess of metal and sparking electricity. Evidently, the stranger's sword had done a number on them.
The stranger pushed himself back up and accepted Aloy's hand when she extended it to help him up again. " Thanks. " He winced, holding his side. BD trilled and raced past Aloy to climb back onto its owner's back.
A small greenish-blue vial ejected from the machine's head all of a sudden. The stranger caught it out of the air and stabbed it into his injured side without hesitation. He seemed to breathe easier afterwards and tossed the empty canister away. She'd file that away as one of the many things to question him about later.
"So you said you know it's weak spots? " He asked her as if that entire ordeal didn't happen.
She shook her head in disbelief and pointed to the Fireclaw. Her Sunwing's attacks had thankfully dislodged the metal plates around the shoulder joints, exposing the orange blaze sacks beneath.
"You see those sacks of blaze on its shoulders?! "
The stranger looked back at her. " Sacks of what?!"
Ugh, this jargon barrier was gonna get frustrating fast. "The orange liquid! "
The stranger looked back and nodded. " Yeah?"
Aloy notched two more arrows. " Shoot the left one! " She yelled while she took aim and shot at the right.
The stranger mercifully decided not to object to that and took aim as the Fireclaw charged again at them.
Her two arrows hit the mark and cracked the blaze sack open, sending the volatile liquid over the machine. The stranger's shots also cracked the opposite blaze sack and ignited it. Flames lit up over the Fireclaw's back as it stumbled to the side and roared.
The stranger stumbled back and glanced at Aloy, bewildered. " Was lighting the fire droid on fire really the best move?! " He demanded.
"Shut up and get your sword ready. " She huffed and took aim with two chillwater arrows. The flames over the machine were already dying out, but hopefully, it would have softened the metal. She fired, and the arrows exploded in frost over the machine's face, causing it to roar again.
"I need you to expose its body, so get close to that thing and start cutting off the armour on its back. " She ordered
The stranger stared. " Oh sure, why do I have to be the one getting up close?!"
" Because I'm not the gymnast with a laser sword! "
The stranger looked offended by that comment. He likely would have kept arguing, but another whirring snarl from the Fireclaw distracted him. He grunted in frustration. " I better not regret this. " He muttered and charged forward with his sword at the ready.
The Fireclaw saw the stranger getting close and raised its mangled paws to try and crush him.
Right before impact, however, the stranger leapt up impossibly high onto the machine. The same way he'd lept onto his ship. He somehow managed to balance on the back just long enough to stab his sword down into the Fireclaws's back. The machine roared and flailed about. The stranger gritted his teeth and dragged the saber back, the heated blade severing metal plating from the machine.
The machine tried to roll on the ground to crush its attacker. The stranger took the hint and withdrew the blade, leaping off and slicing off more metal plates as he did so. His attack seemed to only make it mad, but it did the needed damage. Now the back was vulnerable.
"Is this normal around here?! " The stranger yelled as he rolled to avoid another crushing blow from the Fireclaw and the molten rubble each attack sent up. " Fighting for your life against giant killer droids?! "
" More or less! " Aloy yelled back as she notched three chillwater arrows and aimed at the exposed machinery. Two of the arrows struck the upper leg joints dead on, while the third lodged in the plating just above. All three detonated and sent a blast of chillwater over the machine. Frost spread over the affected areas. Just a little more.
She unhooked her sling and readied a bomb of chillwater. She took aim as the machine still tried to eat the stranger and fired. The bomb exploded over the back of the Fireclaw, and the chillwater was finally activated fully. Ice spread all through the machine, momentarily freezing it in place aside from the occasional jolted movements.
The Fireclaw made a loud whirring sound as fire jetted from its back, trying to melt the ice quickly. Their attacks had done a lot of damage, but as typical for a Fireclaw, that didn't stop its ferocity. Why couldn't these damn machines die faster?!
" I have no idea what you just did, but it's still not down yet! " The stranger grimaced as he appeared back next to Aloy, still holding his laser sword, now without the cross guard lights on the hilt.
"Oh gee! You think?! " Aloy replied sarcastically as she notched another three regular arrows. She aimed at the exposed frozen machine and fired. Sparks exploded from the back, and another chunk of machinery came free. Still not enough to kill it, though. She knew of one more weak point.
"It's weaker now from the ice. If we can crack the blaze sack on the stomach, then one big impact should kill it. You got any more fancy tech that'll expose its stomach without torching us? " She asked her ally.
The stranger looked at her, then at the Fireclaw that was almost free of the ice. He made a face.
"Yeah, I have one. Just make it count. " He ordered. The laser blade of his sword unlit, and he sheathed the hilt, running straight at the Fireclaw. What kind of plan was that?!
"What's he doing?! " Beta exclaimed over the feed.
"He's just as crazy as you are it seems. " Sylens seemed to sigh in disappointment.
She watched the stranger brace his position and hold out his hands to the machine, palms splayed. She couldn't tell if he was trying (and failing) to make himself look more intimidating. Or just trying to get its attention.
If it was the second, it worked. The Fireclaw snarled at the stranger as it got free of the ice and charged at him… only to stop.
No. Not stop… it was still trying to lunge at him, swiping its mangled paws and snapping its mangled jaws at him, but it wasn't moving forward. As if some invisible force was holding it in place.
Aloy watched with wide eyes as the stranger grunted and threw his hands up . The Fireclaw shook briefly, then lifted with his movement, floating in the air. She could hear whirring from the machine as it also seemed to be trying to process what was happening. She certainly was. So was Beta and Sylens. How the hell had he done that? Some anti-gravity tech? She had no idea. But now wasn't the time for that.
She ran forward and slid underneath the machine, nailing its belly with arrow after arrow as she did so to weaken the sack.
Her final arrow struck true and cracked its webbing just as she skidded out from under. Blaze was dripping from the belly to the ground. "Now! " She shouted.
The stranger twisted his hands and brought them down in a slam motion; the Fireclaw followed suit by slamming violently to the ground. The cracks and the impact did their job as the Fireclaw exploded in an eruption of blaze and fire. Aloy covered her face with her arm to protect herself from the heat.
When the inferno cleared, the machine didn't get up; its lights finally dimmed. There was a moment of silence, broken only by the sound of panting between the two survivors and the crackling of the surrounding flames.
Aloy breathed out a loud sigh of relief. Finally. She hooked her bow over her back and sat by the wreck, panting. She hated Fireclaws.
BD climbed over the Fireclaw wreck with excited bwoops, scanning the dead machine in detail. The stranger seemed too tired to object to that.
He came over and practically collapsed, sitting next to her. " I have fought armies, Inquisitors, a Gen Dai, even a Sith Lord, and I'd rather fight all of those things at once than fight 'that thing' again. " He grumbled between pants.
"I have no idea what any of those things are, but would you believe me if I told you that's not the worst machine on this planet? " Aloy asked.
The stranger turned his head to look at her. " I do… and I hate that I do. " He huffed and pushed his hair away from his face. " First, my ship is grounded by a droid bird, then I'm attacked by raiders, then that! All in less than an hour! Why can I never catch a break? " He grumbled to himself.
"Huh… " Damn. Aloy felt that complaint in her bones. Ever since she learnt her identity as Elisabet's clone, she'd been constantly moving forward, trying to save the planet. She never could rest. She couldn't afford to. She still didn't know if she could trust this stranger, but she felt kindred with them at that moment .
Speaking of which, she was getting really sick of calling him that.
"Got a name stranger?" Aloy asked him.
"Cal Kestis. " He gestured loosely to BD behind him on the wreck. "That's BD-1. I take it this means we're not gonna try to kill each other? "
"That remains to be seen, but for now? " She nodded. " I need a breather. " She gestured to herself, "I'm Aloy. " She introduced. It was nice to introduce herself to someone for once instead of everyone else knowing her by reputation or spying on her.
Cal nodded. " Good to meet you Aloy… so what in the karking sithhells was that? " He demanded, pointing behind him again. She had no idea what 'karking sithhells ' meant, but she figured it was some sort of curse. At least some things didn't change across star systems.
"We call it an Apex Firceclaw. "
"An Apex Fireclaw? Well, ain't that an accurate name. " Cal muttered sarcastically. " Hold on, does that mean there are also 'regular ' versions of those machines? "
"Unfortunately. Most machines have an apex version of them. "
Cal stared. " And I thought Dathomir was dangerous. " He muttered.
BD-1 trilled some binary as he climbed back over to land between them, looking up at Cal hopefully with dilated lenses.
" No, we're not gonna go find a regular one! " Cal replied to the machine, looking bewildered. " It almost ate you! "
Aloy eyed both Cal and the droid. "You can talk to machines? "
Cal and BD paused their discussion to look at her. "Yeah? " Cal spoke as if it were obvious: "I learnt binary as a kid. "
" You can 'learn ' binary? "
Cal nodded slowly. " I take it that's not a normal thing here? "
"Not at all… So you really just crashed here? You don't have any other reasons for being here? "
Cal shook his head. " My hyperdrive was damaged. I hoped a ship port here could help me fix it quietly. Didn't account for the giant bird though."
Aloy looked him up and down at that. The other was vastly overestimating the current advancements of Earth. She got up with a sigh and started her usual routine of scavenging the dead Fireclaw for parts. That fight had depleted a lot of her resources. " Hate to break it to you Cal, but you're not gonna find much help in any port here. They don't fix spaceships. They won't even know what a 'hyperdrive ' is. " She used quotation marks for the unknown term.
Cal looked back at her and stood up. His eyes flickered back and forth as he ran her words back before he paused and stared at her with a look of dread. "I'm not the first person to land on your planet from space, am I? "
Aloy cringed at him and nodded " First one not from Earth, yeah. "
Cal stared at her for a long moment. " Huh… " His brows furrowed, and he started pacing. BD chirped at him from his shoulder.
" Yeah, I know. That does complicate things… I guess we're fixing this ourselves. " He rubbed his face. "I should've expected this by now with my luck."
Aloy looked Cal up and down. "You're handling this a lot more calmly than I expected. "
"It's not the first time I've crashed my ship. "
She glanced to where smoke could still be seen on the treeline from Cal's ship. "Clearly. What damaged your ship in the first place? Before the Stormbird did that is. "
Cal stopped pacing. He looked at her like he wanted to comment on the 'Stormbird' name but decided to glaze over it for now. " Long story. The Galaxy isn't exactly a friendly place right now. "
"So you were being hunted? " Don't tell her this guy was a fugitive or something.
"I'm always being hunted. But we were ambushed, yeah. Hopefully, we weren't tracked."
Aloy made a face at that. She hated when people were vague, and the comment about being tracked was something she liked even less. "For your sake, I hope so. I didn't save your life for you to bring more problems here. " She warned, pulling free a power cell to store away.
Cal looked up at her and huffed, "Hey, I didn't ask to get stuck here on your deathtrap of a planet! Why is it covered in death machines anyway?! Who in their right mind would build things that?! " He gestured again to the Fireclaw.
Aloy removed more machine muscle from the dead machine, storing it in one of her bags. " Also a 'long story.' " She muttered, throwing the term back in the other's face. " The machines are a part of this planet; you're just gonna have to get used to them like the rest of us. "
Cal scoffed and shook his head. " Look, I appreciate the help saving me, but I'm sure BD and I can manage from here. Just tell me where a good place to find machine parts is, and we'll be out of here before you know it. "
Aloy stood up at that as she removed a circulator from the Fireclaw corpse. "Not so fast. I still have far too many questions for you, and I need to know if your arrival spells trouble for this planet. I have enough to worry about and don't need more surprises. So you're not going anywhere. "
Cal folded his arms at her. " And what? Are you gonna stop me?"
Aloy held her glare at him. " I will if I have to."
They remained in a tense stand off for a moment.
Beta's voice cut in on her focus. " Aloy, I don't know what parts he needs, but maybe one of the cauldrons could make them. We could activate the one under the mountain base again. " She offered
"Or you can bring him to the Far Zenith base. The Zenith printing technology would be faster. " Sylens interrupted, "And I would like to meet him."
Cal's eyes darted to her focus again, and he raised an eyebrow, waiting expectantly to hear how she'd respond. If she'd respond. He could definitely hear her focus somehow. She didn't know how to feel about that.
Both options didn't sound like bad ideas. No, that wasn't true. Both ideally end with the ship being fixed. The only difference was that one would mean Sylens could meet Cal and potentially get his hands on his technology. Shockingly, the idea of Sylens with a laser gun or sword was less than appealing.
She sighed and faced Cal. " Look, I don't trust you, and you have no reason to trust me. But it's gonna get dark soon, and we're sitting ducks out here for more machines or rebels if we stay here. I have a base in the mountains to the east where you can get parts that could be used for your ship. I can get us there. But in return, I want answers about who you really are. Sound fair?"
Cal remained quiet for a moment. He then gestured to his ear. " That arrangement good with your 'friends? '"
" I trust them… most of them. " She ignored how Sylens sighed in annoyance at the intended jab.
"How reassuring… " Cal looked at her for a long moment and then glanced at BD. The droid chirped at him, and he finally nodded with a sigh. He looked at her again. " Alright, fine. But I want answers about this planet too. " He held out his hand to her "Truce? "
At least handshakes were still a thing for aliens. She shook his hand with a nod "Truce. Now follow me."