Chapter Text
“And Beta? How is she?”
“She’s fine. She’s working with GAIA—running diagnostics on the subordinate functions while they reintegrate.”
“Great!” Alva’s voice over the Focus call went quiet for a moment. This time, her usual optimism was subdued, and her voice was quieter, as though she didn’t want anyone in the vicinity to hear her. “Have you found any new data on Nemesis?”
Aloy tried to hide the disappointment in her own voice. Londra’s musings about the 2050s and 2060s corporations possibly having something they could use had been a much-needed lead, but it was the only one they had. Sylens had departed the Base weeks ago to scour the old FAS headquarters in Maker’s End for any ideas or prototypes intended to stop the Faro Plague that they might use against Nemesis. Aloy had barely heard from him since, aside from a few minor updates. “Nothing yet, but Sylens is looking into it. We’ll find something, Alva.”
“I know we will. What?” Alva seemed to be speaking to one of the other Quen. “No, leave them by the dock. We’ll take care of it later. Sorry, Aloy,” she said. “Still sorting through a lot after we finally got the fleet back together.”
“It’s okay. How is that going? How is…everyone?” What Aloy really wanted to ask was how Seyka was doing but she wasn’t quite ready to talk about that with Alva yet.
“We’re all doing well! It’s been so amazing having everyone back together again.” As Alva went on about the progress the Quen had made reuniting the fleets Aloy couldn’t stop her mind from wandering back to Seyka. She knew Alva and Admiral Gerrit wouldn’t let anything happen to her, but also recalled how harsh and unforgiving many of the Quen could be to anyone who went outside their nonsensically draconian tribal laws, even if Seyka had saved their lives. But Seyka wasn’t one to flinch when someone called her names, and Aloy knew she was as tough as a Thunderjaw. So why am I even worried?
“…and it won’t take us very long—maybe a few days. It’ll be like old times! What do you think?”
Aloy blinked. “I’m sorry, I didn’t get the first part of what you said. A few days to what?”
“To get to the Base!” Alva laughed. “I was saying that the fleet is trying to make a lot of repairs to the remaining ships that we don’t really have the equipment or means to make right now. I was wondering if I could have a look at the data and work with GAIA to see if maybe there’s something there that could help. You need the Quen—at least the ones here—at their full strength and we’re getting there but our ships need to be in better shape for that to happen.”
“Yeah, of course.” It would be nice having Alva around again. The Base had been quiet what with it only being herself, Beta, and GAIA since Sylens had left. She never thought she would feel this way, but Aloy found herself missing the company of her friends—the study sessions, the training, even the loud mealtimes where Erend and Zo would get into arguments over basically nothing while Kotallo taught Beta Machine Strike only to be rendered speechless when Beta defeated him in a few moves not long after. “Your old room is the same as you left it.”
“Glad to hear it. And I imagine there’s space for Seyka near my bunk as well?”
What? “What?”
“Oh, unless you and Beta have discovered even more rooms since I left. The Base is huge though—I’m sure we’ll have a place for her.”
“I’m…sure it’ll be fine.” Here. She’s coming here? “There’s um, plenty of space.” She scolded herself for stumbling over her words like an idiot, but Alva must have either not noticed or didn’t make any connection. Why would she? Unless Seyka told her about…us. Seyka didn’t seem like the type to share every detail of her personal life with others, though.
And really, was it even a big deal if Alva knew? Or Beta? She wanted to tell her sister everything when she returned from the Burning Shores, and she nearly did. Everything except the part where Seyka kissed her after they’d admitted their feelings for each other on the beach. I’ll tell her when I’m ready. In any case, it had been months—what if Seyka had forgotten about it? Or worse, moved on.
“…we’ll see you soon then!” Alva finished, and Aloy pinched the bridge of her nose when she realized that she had blanked again. “Right. See you soon,” she said before ending the call. With a heavy sigh, she leaned back against the desk in the converted office that was now her private quarters.
The hard, deteriorating plastic and metal furniture wasn’t exactly comfortable, particularly as she wasn’t wearing her armor today, but it was nothing she wasn’t used to. She’d spent more than a couple nights in some of the ruins she’d discovered during her excursions out west. The subtle scent of burning wax was also familiar and in some ways, it reminded her of the cabin she grew up in. On the shelf hung Elisabet’s pendant, the tiny blue globe a constant reminder of what she was trying to save. Nearby was the spear Rost had given her, a symbol of the harsh life she came from. Varl’s focus sat on another shelf, a memory of what she’d lost.
It was sometimes too much—the weight of everything she had seen and done, and what was to come next. Seyka had been the first person she had met who made her feel like she might be able to put those burdens down someday, even if that feeling was brief and appeared at the most random times.
She pushed it all away with another deep sigh. She was brooding and she knew it. I’ve spent too much time around Kotallo.
Enough. Nothing I can do until they get here. She needed a change of scenery. Something to get all of…this, off her mind. “Hey, Beta? Are you still working on upgrading the Base’s processing unit or can you take a break?”
Her Focus crackled with static initially before Beta’s voice came through. “I’m nearly done. GAIA said the upgrade should increase the radius of her scans! I can take a break though, what did you need?”
Hearing Beta’s hopeful and perhaps even borderline-excited tone brought a smile to her face and served as a stronger, more personal reminder of why they needed to defeat Nemesis. “It’s still early. I was thinking we could go for a ride. Are you interested?”
The hurried impacts of shoes against metal steps was all the response she needed.
They sat by Varl’s grave, gazing out at the view of a green Plainsong as the light crept away with the sun’s westward movement. The gold flowers Zo had planted were thriving, emphasizing the bare cliff turned garden.
The Charger they had ridden together across the Utaru lands stood somewhere below them, its humming barely audible as it grazed on the long grass poking out of the snow. Aloy appreciated the familiar sounds and the quiet comfort that sitting up there with Beta brought her. She reached for a stray stick and twirled it in the water.
It was Beta who broke the silence, though even sitting next to her Aloy had to lean in a bit to hear her. “Earth looks so different from the holos I was shown on the Odyssey…or in the data channel. It’s a good kind of different, I think.” She turned to Aloy—a small, rare smile on her face. “I might want to try my own Charger next time.”
Aloy withdrew the stick from the water. “You do? They can be a little unwieldy if you don’t control them right, but I can show you how.” She gave Beta a playful nudge. “We could always try a Sunwing next.”
Beta’s already pale face somehow lost even more color. “I-I think I’ll leave the flying to you. For the immediate future at least. And your Quen friend, too, I suppose.”
The call with Alva surfaced in Aloy’s mind. Maybe I should tell her. “About the Quen—Alva is going to be coming here soon to look for data so the Quen can repair the rest of the ships that arrived with the southern fleet.”
Beta shifted her weight on the rock, probably to get more comfortable. “Sounds good. I can help her query for the data if she likes.”
“I’m sure she’ll appreciate whatever help you can give her. Seyka will be with her, too.” Maybe Beta will understand this…whatever this is more than I do.
“Isn’t she one of their soldiers? I thought they weren’t allowed to access data. Not that it’s ever stopped any of your friends before.”
“Alva’s been giving the other Quen Focuses of their own and showing them how to use them. And…I think she’s coming along because she wants to visit me, Beta. And um, it would be good for you to meet her, too.” She swallowed. Taking down a Horus was somehow easier than this. “She helped me take down Londra and, well, we became close.”
Beta’s expression didn’t change for a moment…until her eyes lit up with understanding. “Oh! I see.”
“Yeah.” Great. Hopefully this doesn’t make things awkward between us…again. A hand on her shoulder pulled her from her thoughts, however.
“It’ll be good to meet her then,” Beta said, her mouth curving into another rare smile.
The days flew by, despite Aloy’s nervousness around Seyka’s impending arrival. To her surprise, Sylens reported in via Focus to let her know he still had not found anything and that he would continue his search. Beta continued her research with GAIA to formulate additional ways to keep the biosphere stable until they had a solid plan to recapture HEPHAESTUS. Aloy knew it was only a matter of time before Nemesis arrived and there were so many things to do to prepare, but for now she just had to wait.
She was in her room, sitting on the floor and leaning back against the desk while flipping through records in her Focus, searching for anything relevant, when she heard a familiar, muffled voice on the other side of the door.
“And right over here is where Erend would usually sit! He’s super nice, though he is also quite loud. I could hear him from the archive room over there during the day and—”
Aloy turned off the Focus interface and climbed to her feet, her breath catching in her chest as an uncomfortable, tight sensation decided to take over. She remembered this feeling—she had experienced it before meeting Seyka at their spot near Fleet’s End. It was annoying and unnecessary. “It’s fine…definitely fine. She’ll probably want to meet GAIA and Beta and learn about everything we’ve been doing.” Taking a deep breath, she activated the door, which opened with a short beep and a brief hiss as the metal panels slid apart.
Alva and Seyka stood in front of her.
“Aloy!” Alva threw her arms around Aloy and pulled her in for a hug. “It’s so good to see you again.” Over Alva’s shoulder, Aloy could see Seyka and for a moment, she couldn’t speak. She’s actually here. Seyka said nothing, nor did her expression give away anything Aloy could gauge.
One thing at a time. She returned the hug, albeit awkwardly and with a few pats on the back. “Um, it’s great to see you too, Alva. How was the trip here?”
The conversation didn’t last long. Not that Aloy wasn’t excited to see her friend, but she was relieved when Alva excused herself to put her things away so that she could start on her research “immediately”, leaving Aloy and Seyka standing outside of the bedroom in silence.
Not sure what exactly she should say, Aloy decided to speak first. “Beta, my sister, should be done with GAIA soon. I’m guessing Alva told you about…everything?” She immediately wished she could start over, maybe even say “hello” first.
“She told me about a lot of stuff that to be honest, I’m still trying to wrap my brain around,” Seyka said. “But I’m looking forward to meeting your sister.” She nodded at the door behind them. “In the meantime, do you think we could talk for a minute?”
“Of course.” She stepped aside to let Seyka enter the room first before making sure the door shut behind them.
With her hands on her hips, Seyka took in her surroundings, her gaze migrating from shelf to shelf. “So,” she said, “this is where you live? Nice place. Alva gave me a partial tour. Lots of metal.”
“Thanks. It works for now.” Awkward. The air between them was thick, as though Seyka was waiting for her to say something. But what was she supposed to say? It had been a while—she didn’t even know if Seyka still felt the same way. Was this how it always was when people were in a relationship? Varl and Zo always seemed so confident together.
Thinking of Varl grounded her a bit—he would always say what he was thinking but was respectful about it, something Aloy always admired about him. She could almost hear his words of encouragement, and it gave her the strength she needed.
“I’m…really glad you’re here,” she finally said, meeting Seyka’s dark eyes. “I’ve missed you.” There. It was out.
Apparently, that was all Seyka needed to hear. Her armored shoulders visibly relaxed before she closed the distance between the two of them to take Aloy’s wrists. A relieved grin had taken the place of the unreadable expression she’d worn earlier. “I missed you, too. I didn’t know if you—well, it’s been a while and I know Diviner Alva and you talk over the Focus sometimes, but I wasn’t sure if it was okay to call you, too. And with the fleet back together it seems like someone always needs something fixed and—”
Aloy meant to hear her out—she really did. But just knowing that Seyka’s feelings hadn’t changed gave her the extra boost of courage she needed to pull Seyka closer for a kiss.
The kiss was soft—she remembered that from their first—and longer than the one they’d shared on the beach. She tensed when Seyka released her wrists, but leaned more into their embrace when Seyka’s arms went around her waist.
Taking in the warmth of Seyka’s breath, the safety of their hold on each other, Aloy still had a hard time believing that this was something she could have—something they could share together.
She forgot about Nemesis for a moment.
Unfortunately, air was important and eventually they had to pull away from each other. Her head spun a bit and from the distant gaze on Seyka’s face, she was happy to see the experience was mutual.
“Again, wow,” she joked, and then regretted making such a dumb comment after such an important moment.
But Seyka just laughed, a sound Aloy was certain she’d never tire of, and took her hands in hers. “We can agree on that.” Her eyes darted away, as though she was trying to make a decision. “Aloy…I don’t want you to feel rushed or pushed into anything you’re not ready for.” She shook her head. “And now that I’ve said that, I probably just put a ton of pressure on you. Sorry.”
“No.” Aloy gave her hands a brief squeeze. “It’s thoughtful of you to say. And like I said, I’ve missed you.” She sighed, recalling the last few months. “A lot.”
Before Seyka could respond, both their Focuses lit up as Beta’s voice came through. “Aloy. Sorry to interrupt. GAIA’s patched Seyka into our network so…hello, Seyka.”
Seyka’s left eyebrow went up in amusement. “Hi. Guess we’ll meet in person soon?”
“Yes. Aloy, you guys should come to the western entrance. There’s a Tenakth named Sokorra here to see you, and an Utaru named Jaxx. They said Zo told them how to find you.”
Guess the Base isn’t so secret anymore, but Zo probably had her reasons. “Thanks, Beta. We’ll be right there.” She met Seyka’s eyes once more, knowing that they still had much to catch up on but at least they were together for now. “Shall we?”
Seyka made an exaggerated sweeping gesture with her arm toward the door. “Lead the way.”