In a desert, all may seem lifeless. Sand, harsh temperatures and the odd patch of plants. But life still stirs. You just need to know where and when to see it.

In one of many buildings scattered in Hertown, four dogs and a human lay still, all appearing to be asleep. It had been a long night prior and it will be a long day. Waking up was never fun to begin with. With Jen, it's even worse.

A habit forcibly made, her eyes snapped open at 4 in the morning. She stared at the corner where a man stood. He wasn't doing anything, just staring back. Why wasn't he doing anything? 'Do something. Do something or leave! I can't breath!' Then, just like a wisp of smoke, he faded away. Mouth opening and closing, it took Jen a few moments before air rushed back into her lungs.

Shoving herself off the cot, she crawled over to the dresser, 'Gah, I'm so stiff.' "Tony, report." TV blinking on, a map of the land came on screen, splattered with spots of different colors all over. "Good morning. For once, no one decided to trespass the boundaries or get lost in them. All foreign objects have been located. Using the games for reference, I have marked blue for the power cells, orange for the gate, purple for the dark makers, red for the KG bots and yellow for the metal heads."

'Fitting blue jeans, pink t-shirt, blue jacket, brown boots, where's my bandana?' "Video game characters come to life. Why wouldn't the enemies come along?" Snagging her hearing aids and glasses, "Have all big guns on the ready and mark down all spots of their carcasses when you're finished. Double down on boarder watch. It wouldn't do for anyone to see what's going on." Slipping the belt on, "How are the guests?" "All sound asleep."

Belt and gun holstered, "Open the lift for the dogs. I'll feed them down there after we do our run." Clipping an add on speaker to her hearing aid to keep the connection with her AI, "Just need to feed the cats first." Said cats nearly got stepped on for being right at the doorway.

Goliath, the ever-faithful horse and early riser, was waiting patiently outside. A quick trip to the feeding station left the cats satisfied and quickly trotting back to the stables. On the way back, Tony spoke up, "Due to the size of, Daxter, that room had a smaller dosage of sleeping gas, as to not overdose him. He and Jak will be up before anyone else."

Getting down and sending Goliath back, Jen slapped her hands on the scanner and started the climb down. "That's fine. Let me know when they're up."
Seeing the time was 4:30, Jen spent the next half hour warming up before doing her hour long run on the obstacle course. This is the routine Jen has kept for multiple years. She was strong and fast enough to put up a decent fight. The dogs also have their own obstacle course. They, and all other animals, were bred to be faster, stronger and smarter than any other in their own species.

The clock struck six when Jen clambered back up to the surface and started jogging over to the stables. Relishing the first winds, she welcomes the start of a new day.

For whatever size a stable need to be adequate for an average horse, the ones here have four times the amount. Alongside climate control, there are chutes that will automatically drop a proper amount of grass, hay and alfafa into the feeding bags at designated times. It didn't take long to fill the food buckets with the usual pellets, grain and oats. Apple was the treat of the day.

'I may not truly care for myself. But for my animals, only the best will do.'

Grabbing the hose hanging from the ceiling, Jen filled up the dog bowls before proceeding to rinse out and refill the large water buckets.
Her speaker gave a click before Tony's voice came through. "It is now 6:30. Today's weather forecast is a bright and sunny day. No clouds in sight. It will be high in the 90s. Tonight will be in the low 30s. Winds will be at 40 miles per hour. Proceed with caution. The boy and his animal are up now."

Rolling her neck and staring at the ceiling, Jen started bracing her mental defenses. She was still weary of being called their mother. 'Ha! Maybe because there was some time and space travel where I met them when they were a touch younger. I would definitely do what I can to support them.'

There was some hoof clopping up from behind and something large pressed up into her back. Turning around and hugging her horse's head, "They called me mom Goliath. Their mom! I'm not supposed to be a mother. I couldn't keep my first one alive for even a WEEK! Why would they call me their mother?!"

Pressing into Goliath's mane, "How the fuck am I supposed to attend to 12 people for God knows how long?! Yes, I had heck of a lot more than that before but that lasted for what? A few days." The massive Shire huffed and pressed forward a bit.

"Yeah, that was a bad time. A full flight from an airbus A320. Still a bloody miracle everyone survived that." Pulling back, she used a large rock to launch herself onto Goliath's back. "Gimme a lift to the Town Hall big guy. Need to get back before the Demolition Duo try to go exploring."

TT

Cursing under her breath, Jen kept wiping blood dribbling down her neck in a poor attempt to keep it from staining her shirt. Goliath was bred to be stronger, faster and smarter than the average equine, just like his stall mates. But a horse is still a horse and that meant getting spooked. Getting spooked means rearing back and a rider can get thrown off. She wasn't using a saddle at the time, so there was no resistance.

The reason was that a very lizard came lumbering from around the corner. The blue skin was mottled with dark looking like it grew from the skin. A glowing spot filled the forehead with large wires running from it down the spine. When it sensed their presence, the beast's head snapped over to their direction, bright yellow eyes staring dead ahead.

The worst part wasn't the claws or never-ending needle teeth. It was when it stood up on its hind legs and started running forward, like a human.

A tightness bloomed in her chest, her vision brightened and the world turned over. A cloud of dust was evidence of Goliath running off. Jen doesn't blame him. Tasting blood and dirt, she rolled away from the large claws only a hairs width away from her head. The beast let out a guttural sound and snapped its jaws at her arm, tearing into the jacket.

Three loud bangs had the metalhead rearing back, showing several holes in the neck. One more shot did the job and it fell limp.

Seeing something from the corner of her eye, Jen threw herself down as another metalhead lunged at her. Despite its large and bulky shape, the beast proved to be flexible enough to twist and lash out within a split second. White pain exploded on the left side of her jaw. Before the metalhead could do more damage, a white object crashed into the lizard.

Tony made a project a year ago. He was name after Tony Stark. So why not have a suit? It was an experience learning how to operate a body. Just like his screen face, his color scheme is white and silver. He stood at eight feet high. It was good at intimidation.

A minute later, there were two dead lizards on the side, four dogs nuzzling and a horse nosing the hair of a very ruffled woman. "Yes, yes. I'm fine. Don't feel guilty for running off or being late. I'm still alive and well. Just going to have another scar. Speaking of it, what's the diagnostic Tony?"

"Nothing too serious. You won't need stitches. It just needs to stay covered and cleaned for a while."

Pushing the animals off, Jen accepted the metal hand offered and allowed herself to be placed on Goliath's back. "Tony, go turn off the lampposts and water the crops and plants. Make sure the food and med bags are stocked for Quick Stitch and Chompy. Beacon's signal should be fully charged by now, so he should have it attached to his harness."

With that, Jen patted Goliath on the neck, and he started off to the Town Hall, all four dogs following closely.

When the building came into view, she could see Jak stumbling out the door, Daxter slung over a shoulder.

'I haven't been awake for more than four hours and it feels like an entire chapter has been written out, and another is about to start.'

Author's note

I have finally gotten up and did a chapter. A reminder for all, please check out loveangel15 on Deviantart. Jen's main look is a cross between I Stand Alone and Familiar Face New Places.

I have a map of Hertown in my gallery if visual references are needed./span/p