"About a week has gone by. The repetition of the shifts has actually been kind of relaxing. Lycao's been in better spirits, too. I think for the first time since we started this endeavor, just about everyone is feeling better."
Bayla rocked back against the dune she sat on, and smiled tiredly at the pinking horizon.
"It seems almost all the Al Bhed are catching their second wind at once. Myself included. It felt so good to go all out, to give it all I had. Heh, I had no idea how tired that would make me later. I hope this doesn't make me sore come tomorrow. That would just hold me back. And I want to make all I can out of this while it lasts."
She sat up, pocketing the sphere, and shuffled tiredly into the tent for a well-earned rest.
About late afternoon, she was rudely awakened by conversation. Grumbling audibly, she blearily opened an eye to see Badan, talking to someone else, who stood just outside the tent flap. Bayla waited for her eyes to adjust. It was Pelin. Pelin was their supply manager, and the wiry man had a concerned look on his face.
"...she's an alchemist, she knows plenty about materials for construction. Could you run it by her later?"
"Sure, Pelin."
"Thanks a lot, Badan."
And with that, Pelin left.
By now, Bayla was sitting up.
"Run what by me?" She asked.
"Oh, you're awake. Pelin needs your help. Well, the help of all the alchemists on the rounds, actually. We're running out of construction supplies. We won't be able to keep this pace for long."
Bayla nodded in understanding. In truth, she had only been waiting for this to happen. Their grand plot was surely more than the surface ruins could handle.
"Pelin is going to talk to Allo about sending machina out with us. Our secondary goal is to be scouting for supplies. You guys with training in alchemy will have better luck finding what we need."
Bayla nodded again, and then smiled a sibling's smirk. "Without someone like me, what would you do, shoot it?"
Badan raised an eyebrow at his sister, and shoved her head back, causing her to flop back down on her own bedroll.
Bayla got back up, gathering her gear.
"Bay, it isn't even sundown yet." Badan remarked.
"I know, but I'm feeling antsy. No harm in an early start." She said brightly, slipping her protective goggles over her head to shield her eyes from the sun.
"Oui'mm pinh." Badan said mockingly. "...eh macc dryh veja sehidac."
Bayla huffed in response to the brotherly provocation. Sunburn and heatstroke were the reasons most work went on at night. But that's what the protective clothing was for.
She wouldn't be outtalked. She ran her fingers over the material that would shield her skin from the harsh sun. Her mother had been an alchemist, and had traveled much of Spira in search of items. This had been her suit.
"Sudran fud'h mad sa pinh." She said a little sharply, and left the tent.
Badan's silence was all she needed as a sign of victory. Though, as she walked toward the construction site, she felt a little bad deep down for dragging their mother's memory into their little verbal sparring match. She didn't remember her parents that well, but Badan did.
Bayla found Pelin at the site.
"Ah, Bayla. You're up early." Pelin greeted.
Bayla shrugged. "Badan told me that you need some help."
Pelin's level façade visibly cracked. "Everyone's working so hard. It's wonderful, but it's eating up our supplies. There should be more scrap under the sand, if only you alchemists could dig up a cache for us to use."
Bayla smiled helpfully. "Well, that's what I'm here for, Pelin. Just give me some supplies, and I'm off."
"Are you sure? The sun's still fairly high." Pelin reminded her, a touch of concern in his features and tone.
Bayla patted the long sleeve covering her arm. "I have the best suit ever made keeping me safe."
Pelin nodded slowly. He was a little older than Badan, so he remembered their parents well. "Come on, then. Even if you bring back only a little, it will still be an improvement."
He led Bayla into the storage shelter, which was basically a large tarp on poles. It wasn't quite a tent, but it protected the tools, parts, and food from the sun and very occasional rain.
"Pelin, the idea just hit me..." Bayla said aloud. "Has anyone considered dredging the water near here for materials? Sunken ruins, ships destroyed by Sin, things like that?"
Pelin turned to face her. His expression was hard to read as he contemplated the idea. Suddenly, he laughed.
"What a brilliant idea! And no one else thought of it!" he said. "All this time we focused on the sand, when there's water all around us!"
He chuckled for a little while longer. "You're a genius, Bayla." He said with a smile. He continued gathering things up for her; drinking water, healing supplies, and machina. He activated two roving type units as he walked past them. They rolled after him quietly, and he loaded their flat tops with what he could find.
"It's too bad we haven't spotted any chocobos around here." Pelin said offhandedly. "They'd be a lot of help."
"Yeah." Bayla agreed. It was wishful thinking. There wasn't any likelihood that chocobos would be here. They were known to frequent the calm lands and the highroad, but a desert island?
"Well, there you go. Don't get yourself hurt or lost, okay? Badan will kill me if you do." Pelin added, with only a hint of humor.
"I'll be fine." Bayla assured. "I won't go too far."
"Alright." Pelin said finally, and keyed a code into the two machina. They turned around, ready to follow Bayla. "Good luck."
"Thanks." Bayla replied, and walked out of the supply tent and the encampment, into the dunes. The late afternoon sun was hot, but survivable, thanks to the suit. Almost all Al Bhed had a similar outfit. They had planned pretty well for desert life, and were adapting more and more as time went by.
As she walked through the silent, empty sand, she looked around, clueless as to where to go first. If she had a chocobo, the bird could sniff out things for her. But she had no such luck.
"Well, any ideas?" she asked the machina wryly. One of the Yevonites' claims was that such self-sufficient mechanisms could pose a threat to civilization. The Al Bhed knew better. The machina functioned by a simple list of commands and that was it. The worst that could happen would be a fried circuit causing it to either repeat past activities or randomly execute a recorded command. It had happened before in isolated cases, but was easily dealt with.
Adjusting her shaded goggles, Bayla looked as far as she could. Ruins of old structures had been spotted in groups. If she followed the pattern of the older sites, surely she could locate another one.
She estimated the distance from a few known sites, then whistled to her small convoy and walked on into the desert expanse, beneath the unrelenting sun.
Translations:
"You'll burn." Badan said mockingly. "...in less than five minutes."
"Mother won't let me burn." She said a little sharply, and left the tent.