Journey Into The Forbidden West (Part 3) by EE Nalley

September 24th, 3040

I hope they can repay the killers who ambushed a peaceful gathering soon. Commander Lawan seems like a nice guy under a lot of pressure. Seesh, how often due storms like this happen in that area? Aloy is uneasy at being the center of attention; never seen her shy before. Aloy tells of what she knows about Unyielding Fashav, what he had lived through being in the army of the Mad Sun King Jiran, and of what he went through to survive. Nakoa doesn't know what the Kulrut is.

A fight of many against machines, yikes.

“The victors,” Aloy continued. “The Survivors, were not competing for boons, but for a place among the Marshals of Cheif Hekarro. Men and women who renounce their tie to their clan within the Tenakth and serve it as a whole; roving Law Givers, part Magistrate, part Judge, part Executioner.

Oh boy, that is some misunderstanding of what it entailed. So this is how he became a diplomat. Dream of peace with their fellows, something humanity has strived for ages and failed at. Ah, they got Aloy to blush red as her hair.

Now that is a wake, all remembering of people gone should last at least that long. Travis catches up to Aloy to have a chat, but she is stubborn about not having asked for help.

“No one else can do what I can,” she countered, punctuated by another loud peal of thunder. “My...because I have Elisabet Sobek's gene print I can access the Zero Dawn facilities...”

Good grief, you need to learn to stop going it alone, Aloy.

“Because it's my task!” she snapped. “GAIA chose me. Elisabet...This is on me!”

Oh brother, she needs a reality check on the chosen one's burden she has going on.

Nakoa, thank you for telling Aloy what so many of us have wanted to. She finally relents, says tomorrow they will, but is cut off. Commander Lawan and Resolved Furahni wish to have a word with all of them. Finally, who was behind the ambush is revealed.

Aloy nodded. “Their leader is a woman named Regalla,” she told him. “Fashav told me that she was once a Marshall, but evidently was cast out. Fashav felt that Chief Hekarro should have killed her. It looks like she's begun a rebellion against him.”

Fashav was right.

“This is not a time for distractions! HADES is a threat to the entire world!” she hissed, but both Nakoa and Travis urged caution with soft gestures.

“What good is saving the world if everyone you might care about in it is dead?” Nakoa asked softly.

Nakoa is right, to save the world, but lose yours is a fate you don't wish on anyone. A single day of scouting to find out if Barren Light and Chainscape need to be abandoned while Aloy goes on ahead; now they are going to be playing catch-up with Aloy once again. Good reasons for Resolved Furahni to part ways with them.

September 25th, 3040

Rain all day again, great, that makes the scouting much harder with tracks washed away even more. Travis, Nakoa, Buck, Tracy, and Olara, I hope a five-person scouting party can cover enough in a day to make a difference. Regalla, I hope you like the reckoning you have brought yourself. Dang, even that worn by rain and Nakoa can read the tracks to get that much detail, I thought there would be nothing left to read. Nora and Olara scout ahead on foot; the others stay behind to come to their aid if needed. They must be skilled in this type of terrain to get over the ridge, even with a path.

An hour of just traveling before Travis' focus chirped, Nakoa and Olara are just a quarter mile up the ridge, and there is something marked Danger just beyond the next fold of the ridge. Don't tell them have found Regalla and her army already? Travis and Doc head up, armed and ready. A small ravine, that encampment and fortifications, this has to be their base, if not at least a major point of operation. No skill with wood or stone, huh? Is this the same group that did the ambush?

A staging area for the attack they launched on the Embassy. 3 men, two women, and 3 Striders. So where is their main encampment? No Man's Land, and Nakoa is right, they attacked your allies in a cowardly ambush. Listen to Nakoa and Olara on this; if you don't kill them now, they will kill you or more of your allies in the future. The Carja sued for peace, and this rebel group did this. Buck is right, they showed no mercy for your allies; why even give them the dignity of an up-close fight?

Travis, your plan would see you and Buck dead or severely injured. Listen to Nakoa. Yes, listen to your wives on this. You don't face trained and ruthless killers up close when you can avoid it. Five minutes to sneak down; ruined by Travis and Buck trying the "Stop! Don't move!" bit on trained killers. If not for Nakoa and Olara, they would have shot you, Travis. The two women charged with drawn knives, were shot by Travis and Buck, but still tried to charge again before Travis and Buck shot them again.

One guy left, an arrow in his left thigh, and Olara has the blade of her spear at his neck. Tied up by Nakoa and Olara, his wound treated, and finally, Travis gets a good look at the man. Brutal group to wear face paint in a design like that.

“Rakkar,” he spat as if a curse. “My name is Rakkar, Red Hawk Squad, Desert Clan.”

Just what kind of training do they go through? Experiences do this 20-something have that it took the threat ot Nakao to answer this simple question? And seems loyal to Regalla to not answer where she and the rest of her band are. No Focus, asked how they are controlling those machines, and Rakkar gave name, squad, and clan as an answer, great.

Even the threat of being turned over to Nakoa and Olara to get information out of him doesn't work. Olara finds a chest, which has Oseram documents inside.

Nestled in the box was something taken off an Ancient device, but parts of it were obviously of recent manufacture to repair it.

So help me, if Regalla and her band are working that psycho AI that is a threat to the world, they deserve whatever fate they get. ENID gets a scan; it is very bad.

The Scarab was a scorpion like machine on four legs with a whip like tail behind it. “Corruptor,” breathed Olara.

Crap, not those.

“We call these Devils Corruptors,” Olara informed the men. “They take control of the machines and drive them mad, making even docile machines deadly.”

“This is how the Tenakth rebels have machine mounts,” Buck said to himself. “It's got to be.”

We wanted an answer on how they control the machines; I didn't think the answer would be this terrifying. Good, ENID has slaved the new Striders to Travis' Focus.

“This document is addressed to the Commander of Red Hawk Squad at a location named The Deadfalls. It informs him his request for repair of his 'Pacifier' has been received and that a smith will be dispatched to preform this repair. It is signed 'The Sons of Prometheus'.”

That means our team needs to find Regalla's army fast, or more trouble will be waiting. Well, finding where the Bristlebacks came from is good. But I must have missed something for this to solve their Ulvund problem.

Ulvund, I would keep your mouth shut for now. Javad, Commander Lawan, and Travis and his crew are all waiting for the idiot. And he starts to make a demand, yes, just keep digging that hole deeper for yourself. Javad starts to spell out how the Bristlebacks got in, Ulvund tries to blame the Carja, but Javad stops him.

“The sinkhole only formed due to your unauthorized blasting in the Crimson Deeps Mine, Ulvund. You are responsible for the machine rampage, the workers we lost, the destruction the Bristlebacks caused. All of it.”

The big Oseram chuckled to himself and shared a knowing glance with the two 'bodyguards' he'd brought with him. “My dear Magistrate, has your precious Sun baked your senses? I would never give such an order without first consulting you!”

Now you lie right to Javad's face, you will be lucky if you get out of this alive. The shipping manifests from the mines have Ulvund going on the defensive.

“Certainly!” Javad agreed. “We'll conduct a through investigation into everything. The Bristlebacks, your mining operations in every stake you hold shares. In fact, we'll investigate every business deal you've ever put your name to!”

Boy, when they say don't give others enough rope to hang you, they don't mean enough to bungee jump off a cliff with the noose around your neck, Ulvund. He suggests to leave back to the Claim, but only after finishing up some dealings.

“Nope,” Nakoa taunted him. “You're leaving right now. Chainscrape will be just fine without you.”

“Who do you think you are?” Ulvund demanded, then Javad stepped into his personal space and, despite having to look up into his face, towered over the big Oseram.

Boy, I've seen people up their foot in their mouth before, but never cram both legs straight down their throat.

Finally! Ulvund is gone; that manipulating sleazeball deserves to lose all he invested and more. Fresh supplies for the journey west, never pass down restocking supplies.

“And I'm grateful you were able to let us know those Rebels seemed to have moved off. I already have a request for reinforcements riding back to the Sundom with Resolved Furahni. We should be able to hold out until they arrive, even if the Rebels decide to turn back.”

Good news all around, I hope they have enough time to recover before another attack. Moving west, away from Barren Light, what is in that direction? Held until the next Embassy in a year, if Rakkar doesn't start talking by then, he has a will of iron.

No, conversation is good, fighting is bad amongst couples.

Her brown eyes met his, clear and openly. “I overstepped myself on the ridge. I was...angry, and I was afraid for you. That doesn't excuse what I did.”

“Nakoa, I am in command of this mission, that means I will sometimes make decisions you don't like...”

Commanding a mission can suck; Travis still hasn't adapted to the new world and how savage some can be. Aww, so used to being alone, Travis is adjusting to married life. Travis, you should know a mission never goes as planned once you encounter enemy forces or allies in need. No way can Travis stay angry at Nakoa; it would be staying angry at someone who only cares for your safety and loves you.

September 28th, 3040

Three days riding through No Man's Land, and near what was once the Virgin River, nature has thrived under the care of the machines. Still haven't caught up to Aloy, and at Overton Arm of Lake Mead, a Horus Siege Weapon stands over it. At least it isn't moving; that thing would be a nightmare to fight. The scholar they seek lives in a crude building under it. Are we sure this individual is safe to be near? No Sylens, no Aloy, where did everybody go?

Handprint holo-projector, and a message for Aloy from Sylens.

“Using explosives, I've detached the Processing Orb from the Titan overhead. A perfect cage for our mutual friend, HADES. In order to render it...cooperative.”

Why do I feel this is going to backfire horribly? The mysterious signal that gave the Horus life.

“Only meant...for me,” it rasped. “Signal...was received...for one seven point two two years...then ceased. Cannot compromise...GAIA reboot...But...entities...will still fail.”

That made Sylens cross and he scolded the orb. “Back to that, are you? Perhaps you need a reminder that you have failed.” He shrugged and made a gesture of dismissal. “So, you see, Aloy, GAIA can be safely rebooted. As to where find a backup... Well, you'll need to trot along after me to find out.”

Arrggh! Always chasing after someone, when will it end!?! Time to hunt down the Orb, while Aloy is already a couple of hours ahead of them. He dragged in into a bunker inside the mountain. This has to be an old-world bunker.

Olara poked around and found a memory card.

“These appear to be notes Sylens kept as he tortured HADES.”

“How do you torture an AI?” Tracy demanded, somewhat incredulously.

“You're not going to believe this,” Murray warned her. “And I quote, 'Success. The irony is delicious. Various forms of data produce discomfort in the 'subject', but non more so than natural imagery. Holographic representations of plants and animals work best, the more vivid the better. The effect appears to be excruciating. One loop in particular, of rabbits hopping though a field of flowers produced paroxysms of agony...!'”

He tortured an already insane AI, Sylens is nuts to drive HADES further into madness.

A revelation that astonishes and terrifies Sylens, but he doesn't say what it was! What kind of traps could Sylens have left behind? It polled Travis' Focus for his ID, what was this facility? Further in, and they stumble upon a machine in the form similar to a Triceratops, lying on its side and permanently off.

Down another hallway, in front of a massive GeneLock vault door that was stuck half open, was the Horus Processing Orb. “HADES, I presume,” Travis declared.

[ Can they finally contain or end HADES threat once and for all? No Aloy or Sylens, scan of the Orb shows no HADES inside, it seems it is finally gone.

Aloy went through the GeneLock door, so did 4 others, and a print they don't recognize. Ferragamo shoes, oh no, am I forgetting a detail, or could Ted Faro have possibly survived into the future?

“Yes,” he drawled. “Trust. As in since I did what you could never do and extracted all of HADE's priceless knowledge, you can trust that I was willing to actually let you destroy it this time.”

Sylens! You are a fool; any of that data could have hidden in its code a means for HADES to come back. Sylens is only talking to her through holograms and using the same old spyware; this man never learns. Spying on her and never answering when he could, what a coward.

Ugh, says he is trying to save the Earth and has produced results, condescending asshole. A backup of GAIA, a means to make the world better. Whoever came up with the HADES Extinction Protocol was a monster. He is the one who taught the Tenakth rebels how to override machines and ride them. Sylens needs to die, putting scientific progress above lives. And doesn't even deny what he did. Not able to be accessed by remote signal, they knew what Ted Faro was planning.

The mysterious signal happened once, forcing GAIA to destroy itself, and Sylens doesn't think it could happen again; this man is foolishly reckless. Yet Sylens won't share the source of it with Aloy. I want to strangle him. Such a simple solution to a complex problem, Sylens; it probably won't be that simple. Sylens, Aloy may be the only one who can open Gene Locked doors, but there might be another way inside that you haven't revealed, where you could set a trap. The arrogance of this man!

Aloy opens the door, heads inside, and the video skips to hours later when Aloy is leaving with 4 new people with her.

The man in front was bald, wearing a double breasted silk suit in an interesting shade of green and yellow like a stone ground mustard with muted yellow pin striping with a gold ascot in place of a tie. Next to him was a taller man in a look that suggested 5.11 Tactical Chic, khaki bush shirt, matching thigh pocket pants that were even bloused into combat boots. His white hair was in a high and tight, though he didn't look old enough to have white hair naturally. Then came a dark haired woman in a pure white jump suit that showed off her figure and was accentuated with a high wing collar that reached the back of her head in the rear giving an almost regency period look to the skin tight garment. Around all of them was a shimmer of some kind as if the light was catching on something just above their skin.

Crap, those are Ancients and not good ones, I bet. What are those machines with them?

And behind them, was a young girl of no more than sixteen. She wore a white and gray shirt and pants that resembled nurses scrubs, save for their color. Her bright red hair was cut quite short, almost a boyish style with a pronounced wing to her right.

Another genetic clone based on Elisabeth, what the heck? What is going on?