They gathered in the control room, standing together facing Aloy who stood a little back from Gaia. Heph had sent in his autonomous robot body to be a part of the meeting, his white mask staring as starkly as it always did. Tomas and Beta were off to one side with Zo who had to sit in a chair she was becoming so round. Aloy glanced at her briefly, feeling a sense of sorrow that it wasn’t likely she’d get to see Varl and Zo’s baby.
She pushed aside that emotion and all others, turning to address all who had assembled.
“Before we begin…I just want to say thank you,” Aloy cleared her throat, “I’m…not the best at being social and honestly, if I could have done this on my own…I would have. I grew up outside of my tribe and believed I didn’t need anyone…at all.” She swallowed. “It was Varl who refused to let me shoulder this alone…and I’m so glad he was as stubborn as I was.” She smiled at Zo who nodded at her encouragingly. “He brought Zo and Erend into the fold then Kotallo,” she looked at them as she said their names, “and Alva…and all of you came because of their words and witness, giving up so much in the process for something you couldn’t even comprehend in the beginning. We’ve dealt with ancient death machines and a maniacal AI, not you,” she said looking at Heph, “then egomaniacs from the stars and their selfishness and greed. Now we face all their evils poured into one entity…and we know what’s at stake to preserve this world and all the beauty it holds.”
“Here, here.” Erend nodded.
“Gaia’s compiled a list of primary and secondary sites that Zenith personalities are most likely to separate from the Nemesis core at.” Aloy brought up the display on the wall and looked at them. “I’m going to pair you up and give you a primary and secondary target. If a separated Zenith consciousness is not present at your primary site, move on to the second, slightly less likely, site which has been arranged to be as close as possible to the first, to cut down on travelling time. If you strike out on both, Gaia has other possibilities or another team might have a secondary site you can take on.” Aloy looked at Heph. “Heph has several Stormbirds ready for us to use to fly to these locations as well as his Gorilla mechs already enroute. On your journey to the sites, read up on the bios of your Zeniths. Do not engage the consciousness until all teams are in place and have confirmed individual consciousness present.” She paced up and down before them as she spoke. “Silga is our communications operator.” She nodded at the rotund and brilliant Oseram. “Let her know when you’re in place and wait for the signal to engage. Once you receive the signal, remove your FOCUSES and only once the consciousness is destroyed should you reactivate them.”
She tapped her FOCUS and scrolled through the list. “Your pairings might be a little unusual but I tried to line up experienced fighters with less experienced ones. Ikrie and Naltuk,” she turned to the Banuk, “your primary target is Akim Basheer who had an extremely profitable face lift empire based in Seattle and your secondary is Louise Shelton, a solar power advocate who cornered the market in Canada, making it the leading country in the world for solar power useage and making her the wealthiest legitimate business woman on the Zenith manifest.” She flicked them the details. “Soka, I’m pairing you with Eamon,” the Sky Clan Tenakth and former Carja sun priest looked at each other warily, “and your primary is Bai Huang, an extremely exclusive adult services operator, secondary Alex Faraguay who used Huang’s business dealings to blackmail and was based in China because he couldn’t be extradited. Both are based in what was once Shanghai. You’ve probably got the furthest to travel.”
She went through their names, pairing fighters with less experienced ones.
Then she reached the warriors she knew could handle themselves. “Erend, Kotallo and Nil, you’ll be heading out alone to your primary locations,” Aloy explained, “but they’re places where we have tribal help. Make sure they understand that Heph is on our side and to target the consciousness in whatever shape or form its infested.”
Aloy looked at Alva. “I need you to help coordinate the attack.”
“Me?” Alva gasped. “But…I’m not military!”
“You have the capacity to see all the teams together. You’re our best facilitator.” Aloy insisted.
Alva wrung her hands together as Zo raised her arm.
“And me, Aloy?”
“I need you to stay with Beta and Tomas.”
“I’m not an invalid, Aloy.” Zo groused.
“And you’ve been advised that if you’re in a battle situation, you could lose the baby.” Erend barked sharply.
“Please, Zo,” Aloy begged, “stay out of the fighting.”
Zo muttered something incoherent and nodded.
“From here I’m going to the Zenith base on the island off the Lowland Clan coast,” Aloy explained, “I will take the rocket and dock at the Odyssey where I will plant mines to destroy the ship. All attacks will begin at the same time and will hopefully do enough damage to send Nemesis scurrying back to the one place it thinks is safe. I will already be on my way back to earth in a pod when I detonate the mines or, in worst case scenario, using the self destruct to destroy the Odyssey.” She paused to breathe. “If all goes according to best case scenario…by this time tomorrow, earth will no longer be under threat and we can reclaim what we’ve lost.”
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“How will Nemesis get up to the Odyssey?”
“Nemesis has possessed a MINERVA spire and can use it to transmit itself.” Gaia explained to Nakoa. “Once it did so, I was able to keep it out of the other spires by only making them active when needing to be in use. Nemesis took control of cauldrons instead but the one spire it infested remains within its control. It will use that to transmit itself to the Odyssey. Once it is confirmed to have possessed the Odyssey, Heph is going to destroy the spire it controlled to prevent it from returning in that way.”
“And I’ll make sure the rocket is destroyed with the Odyssey and use a transport pod to return to earth.” Aloy finished.
“And Nemesis won’t be able to get into that pod with you?” Nil asked.
“It’s too small for it to inhabit properly.” Tomas shook his head. “Nemesis needs a larger space to occupy to survive for any length of time.”
“If it’s that small, will you make it back to earth in one piece?” Erend frowned.
“Of course.” Aloy insisted.
“Will you really?” Erend asked then held up his hand when Aloy went to answer. “Not you. Gaia.”
“Don’t trust me?” Aloy was surprised and a touch hurt.
“I want to hear it from Gaia.”
Aloy put her lips together and nodded. She waited, hoping Gaia would honour her Alpha authority. She suspected Gaia could override it if she wanted to but perhaps, by using her Alpha authority, Gaia had realised how serious Aloy was about it.
“Aloy has a fifty three percent chance of making it back to earth alive in the transport pod.”
Aloy glared daggers at Gaia, her back to the others. Gaia gazed at her calmly, having obeyed Aloy’s command to increasing the odds of her survival…but at the absolute minimum.
“Hold on,” Abadund held up his hand, “she’s got the same odds of surviving as she has of dying? I wouldn’t bet on those odds!”
“Yeah, that’s not what you said, Gaia,” Erend accused, “you said we had nearly seventy percent chance of success.”
“In the defeat of Nemesis, it is now a seventy five percent chance of success,” Gaia reiterated, “however, there are individual elements upon which that chance of success is based.”
“You’re saying Aloy’s got half a chance of surviving?”
“It’s over fifty percent!” Aloy argued.
“Three percent is not something to brag about!”
“We’ll find another way…”
“There is no other way!” Aloy shouted and they fell silent. “We’ve got days until the extinction of humanity!” She caught sight of their expressions and paused. Beta looked stricken as did Alva and Zo, Erend looked angry, Kotallo was sombre and the rest of the volunteers were divided between fear and concern. “Look,” Aloy softened her voice, “it might only be a fifty three percent chance of making it back alive but it’s a hundred percent chance of being killed by Nemesis if we don’t.” She looked around at them. “I will not let that happen.”
She could see they were doubting, wrestling with the worry that they were sending her to her death. Beta was so pale all of her freckles were stark against her skin and Aloy could see her eyes were rimmed with red.
“I have no intention of dying up there,” Aloy insisted, “if there’s a chance, and the odds are slightly more in my favour than not, I’m coming back to earth.” She looked at Beta. “I promise.”
The atmosphere in the room felt like it was made of lead. Aloy didn’t know if she had convinced all of them or any of them. She couldn’t imagine the outrage had Gaia told the truth and said Aloy’s chances were slim at best. She didn’t know if they would let her go with her exaggerated odds.
Kotallo lifted his head and gazed at her, his pale blue eyes looking deep into her soul. “We’re with you, Aloy,” he said firmly in his quiet way, his tone filled with authority and resolution, “to the end, whatever that may be.”
Aloy licked her lips and nodded. “Thank you. You all have your assignments. Load up, grab your supply packs and get to your Stormbirds.” As everyone began to leave, Aloy turned to Heph. “You’ll take care of them?”
“I will…”
Aloy wished Heph had given her more than a two word answer but she reminded herself that it had said no more or less than what she needed.
She headed to her room and removed her soft tunic and base wear. Underneath she wore the Zenith bodysuit. It was like a second skin now. She wondered if she would ever be able to take it off. Despite it providing adequate protection, Aloy opted to wear her best armour over the top. She didn’t like going out in public looking like her clothing was painted on. Her tunic was light but the machine armour over the top was strong. She had boots reinforced with machine panels, strapped tightly around her legs. There were armbraces with beaded details and blue cords holding them on. Around her wait she buckled her quiver which was tightly packed with arrows and slipped her bow over her head, feeling it hug her chest. The last thing was her spear made from Heph’s arm.
She looked at her reflection and felt her lips tweak into an ironic smile.
“I doubt I’ll need all or any of it,” she remarked to herself, studying her weapons, “but it just feels wrong to go out without them.”
She opened her swag and packed the mines in, checking each one as she went and made sure to include several healing potions. It wasn’t entirely clear if the Odyssey’s automated systems would try to stop her on her advance to the bridge from the docking port but Aloy wanted to be ready just in case.
As she was about to leave she caught sight of the pendant she had taken from the enviro suit Elisabet Sobeck had been wearing when she’d died. It was of the earth, pretty blue and green with a chain so that it could be worn around the neck.
Aloy hooked it on her belt and picked up the carved tooth like emblem Rost had given her as a token when he’d said goodbye before the Proving.
“He told me he was going where I couldn’t follow,” she said softly, recalling the conversation like it was yesterday, “and I suppose, in a way, he was right. He died as he saved me so that I couldn’t follow him.” She held it up, the token warm in her hand. “But I also told him I’d be wearing this when I saw him again…so if there’s any kind of afterlife or justice in the ever after…I’m going to be wearing it…just in case.” She tied it around her wrist and nodded. “Now I’m ready.”
She stepped into the common room and found a small crowd waiting for her made of Erend, Zo, Kotallo, Alva, Tomas and Beta.
“What’s going on?” Aloy asked. “Why aren’t you heading to your locations?”
“We’re going with you.” Erend explained and Aloy huffed. “No, not to the Odyssey. We’re going to the Zenith base with you.”
Aloy shook her head. “There’s no time!”
“There’s time.” Zo insisted. “Unless we stand around arguing about it.”
Aloy wanted to protest but knew she had to get going.
“Fine. Let’s go.”