Mission Statement

a oneshot

Not spoilerific- seriously, as long as you know who Tatsu is you're good

Mira was huge.

Elma had never walked so much in her life. She was certain she'd walked every inch of Primordia. Sometimes she thought that she knew more about the region than the probes did. They didn't know where the scarily strong Grexes lounged. They couldn't tell where the most likely place to find multi-speckled ladybugs is. But Elma could.

It was getting to the point that she was recognizing rocks. She really needed to take more missions on Oblivia. She could deal with dust and electrical storms if it meant some variation. However, if she was needed in Primordia she'd stay in Primordia. Even though, technically, she really could have stayed in NLA this time.

Cross had picked up a few missions and Elma never could say no to the amnesiac. Even if Cross was just looking for company to find someone's lost item Elma would find herself joining the quest. She just felt oddly responsible for her teammate. She needed to look out for Cross, especially given the amnesiac's perchance for trouble.

Would Cross never learn that running right in front of a hostile indigen was dangerous?

As usual, Cross ran ahead with Lin, Tatsu, and herself trailing behind. Cross rarely slowed. Even when they reached a lake they needed to cross, Cross wouldn't even pause but would jump straight in and swim across. Luckily, today they hadn't come across any water feature or annoying cliffs. In fact, it had been mostly a nice jog. Elma relaxed a little when they arrived at a field with mostly peaceful indigens.

She turned her head to check on Lin. She didn't see her. Elma took a deep breath to quell her panic and looked back. Oh, there she was. The girl was even behind Tatsu. It wasn't like her to fall behind like that.

"Cross!" Elma called, "How about we stop for a moment?"

Cross obediently turned around and walked to meet her with a nod. There was a hint of question in her teammate's eyes but Elma ignored it. Like she suspected, Cross didn't say a word as they waited for Lin to catch up. Except in battles Cross tended not to talk a lot.

Lin approached at a snail's pace. The thirteen year old genius had her communicator in her hand. She concentrated on typing something out on the holographic screen. Elma hid a wince when it Lin nearly tripped on a rock. Finally, the girl looked up.

"How come we stopped?" Lin raised her eyebrows.

"I thought we could all use a break." Elma gave a fond smile to mask her worry. She really tried to treat Lin like an adult. She really did. She knew that many people treated Lin like a middle schooler and that Lin found everyone's worry entirely frustrating. Elma continually stuck up for her teammate. She trusted Lin's skills. But, no matter how smart the girl was, or that she was one of the most capable people Elma knew, Elma couldn't stop her concern. That being said, as protective as Elma was with Cross it wasn't actually Lin's age.

"A lunch break?" Tatsu said hopefully, "Tatsu very hungry. Linly should cook so Tatsu and Linly can eat. Then Linly not fall behind."

Elma was slightly surprised that the Nopon had even noticed. She should have seen it earlier.

"I didn't fall behind, you annoying potato. But I suppose that lunch could be nice… You have fattened up quite nicely." Lin smirked. She still hadn't put her device down.

"Meh! Meh-meh-meh! Tatsu not food! Why Linly so mean? Tatsu is here to serve not be served. Tatsu wish Linly respected Tatsu, not wanted to eat Tatsu." The Nopon bounced unhappily and Cross reassured Tatsu that he wasn't actually going to be eaten. Lin had turned her attention back to her technology.

"What's going on?" Elma kept her voice even, "You haven't put that thing down all day."

That got Lin's attention. She blushed and looked down as she slipped the device back in her pocket. She shrugged.

"I'm just working on something. It's nothing important."

"You need to be careful, Lin." Elma chided. She did her best to merely come off as a reasonable team leader rather than a stern teacher. "You can't afford not to remain alert out here. Just because there isn't a tyrant in this area doesn't mean that there aren't other dangers. We're still very new on Mira and there's a lot we don't know. It's not safe for you not to pay attention."

Lin bit her lip and looked ashamed. Elma's gaze remained steady. The message seemed to have made it. She didn't even have to pull out the big guns like mentioning the fate of humanity or that Lin being occupied could get her teammates hurt as well. It'd be hypocritical to give a proper speech on why it was important to keep aware when Elma herself hadn't noticed Lin.

"Tatsu watch for Linly. Tatsu protect Linly while she play with device." The Nopon declared proudly. Elma couldn't help an amused grin. It took a second to straighten her face to something serious.

"That's a nice offer Tatsu, but it's important that Lin keep focused as well. She might see something that none of us do. She's also working, and it's a BLADE's job to…" Elma trailed off when she realized that Tatsu's dance probably meant he wasn't paying attention. Unlike with Lin, the Nopon's age really showed sometimes.

Elma took a deep breath and tried to think of a way to not make Lin feel attacked. Yes, it was important that Lin understand that whatever she was working on wasn't worth risking her life. But there wasn't actually any harm done. Elma wanted to keep it that way. That meant making sure that Lin's feelings weren't hurt either.

"So what were you writing, Lin? Are you working on a new design for something? Has some idea caught your interest?"

"Well, um…" Lin smiled awkwardly, "I wouldn't say that; to the first one that is. It is actually an idea that I had. I just couldn't let it go." The usual creative fire behind the girl's eyes began to burn again. "I just really didn't want to forget it."

"And what is that idea?"

Lin strangely shot a glance at Cross, who looked just as clueless as Elma. It didn't make sense until Lin's manic grin was turned back to Elma.

"It's about this Skell which can fly and it come across these Prone, right? But the Skell is huge so it can literally just stop on them. That's not actually the interesting part. I mean it is, but it's not the main plot. Duh. It's not like you can write a good fic about just squishing Prone. You see the Skell's pilot-"

Elma's eyes widened as Lin's words got faster and faster. Tatsu stopped dancing to listen in amazement. Cross looked entirely spellbound and seemed to bounce with excitement.

"-and it's part of my Monodomobile Chronicle that is actually pretty good, if I do say so myself. Seriously, it's awesome. You should totally read it! I don't mind pulling it up."

Cross nodded without a moment of hesitation and this time Lin actually pulled out her communicator and handed it to Cross. Tatsu tried to hop over but he was too short to even hope to see the screen. Elma couldn't look at them as she tried not to say anything. She focused on watching for indigens.

After all, it really wouldn't do for her reputation if she admitted she'd already read it.

Of course she had, Lin had written it.

It's not like she could have not checked it out. And it was very well written.

Skells were cool, ok?

Elma snuck a glance at her team and let them have that moment. They needed something more than survival. It was important that they get to have fun every once in a while too. It was important that they stay human. Or Nopon. Whichever was biologically appropriate.

Mira was huge, and they still had a lot to search. There was so much to do that it was easy to forget about happiness. Elma was fine doing her duty until she died, but Cross, Lin, and Tatsu deserved better than that. Maybe out in the middle of Primordia wasn't the best place to be reading fanfiction, but maybe there wouldn't be a better time. Elma knew this field now, she'd walked every inch, and as long as she kept vigilant she could afford them this one moment of safety.

Plus, then Lin and Cross would have something to talk about. It might keep Cross from running ahead and Lin from trying to write in the middle of indigens. If it would keep her little group safer than it was more than worth the lost time.

After all, it may be their mission right now to collect a few things and test out some weapons, but it was Elma's mission to protect humanity. It was her mission to protect her team. If that happened to be running out on random quests then so be it. If it meant letting her team take a fanfiction break then she'd do it. She was responsible for them.

She had to smile as she listened to the chatter.

Maybe one day she'd even admit that she wrote fic too.

A/N: Welp, I wanted to write a fic about Lin's Skell fic. Somehow it got in the pov of Elma and this happened. It's not as humorous as I thought it'd be, but Elma's just kinda like that. Anyways... XENOBLADE! I AM SO HAPPY THIS GAME IS FINALLY OUT AND I LOVE IT SO MUCH! I'M REALLY EXCITED TO KEEP PLAYING THROUGH.