Home was built nine years ago as a sanctuary for the Al-Bheds who used to live in secluded hamlets, moving from one place to another whenever their settlements were discovered and ambushed by the Yevonites. They built dwellings below the sea surface, in dense forests and abandoned ruins of old cities demolished by Sin, as well as tunnels they dug on their own. If they were not slaughtered in droves by Yevonites and Sin, they would die from the dangers of residing in perilous surroundings. Premature mortality seemed to be an inevitable part of their lifecycle.
Cid was fifteen years old when former leader Kappa recruited him and several others to train in building Machinas that would reduce disaster risks. Three years later, the young Al-Bhed engineer managed to convince Kappa to let him design a thoroughly guarded and mechanically advanced mobile structure that they could all use as their new Home.
He worked tirelessly with his peers to create Machina walls, ceilings and floors that could withstand not just the five elements but also bullets and explosives. As an added security measure, a young prodigy named Shin was also hired to create the system that enabled Home to be undetectable in standard radars. Complex piping systems were then engineered to equip Home with the means to cool down and reserve water collected from the oasis for drinking and washing. After its trial run at Bikanel Island, the new Home was declared a success and Al-Bheds under Kappa relocated to their new residential site.
Other Al-Bheds dispersed all over Spira started living with them too after Cid, who was appointed as leader after Kappa, invited them. Living in the new Home gave the Al-Bheds the peace, security and normalcy that they never had since the first major Yevonite onset against them. But the apparatuses needed for Home to function efficiently required frequent maintenance, especially to endure the brutal weather at Bikanel Island. Years of tear and rust though meant that even the smallest blunder like a one-day delay in routine maintenance could pose significant problems.
Such was the case with Home on the hottest day of the year, during one of Braska's weekly visits. The propeller fans had stopped working and the habitable Machina was shutting down. Yahna, who was called to appraise the situation, had already spent more than half an hour tinkering with the control panels of the engine room.
"E drehg drana'c cusadrehk fnuhk fedr dra bebac [I think there's something wrong with the pipes]," she deduced, her face drenched in sweat. "Dra nyteydunc yna hud fungehk. Drao'na ujanraydehk dra ahdena piemtehk [The radiators are not working. They're overheating the entire building]."
"Ruf lyh dryd pa? [How can that be?]" Cid wondered, chin cupped in his hand. "Fa zicd tet dra nuidehe syehdahyhla dfu tyoc yku [We just did the routine maintenance two days ago]."
Yahna shrugged. "Sekrd ryja seccat y pmulgyka un cusadrehk. Rybbahat pavuna [Might have missed a blockage or something. Happened before]." On the control panels, she pushed several buttons which generated a digitized image of Home's entire pipe network on one of the screens. She pointed to specific pipelines and said, "E cicbald dra cunlac yna cusafrana rana. Fa'ja nalaejat lusbmyehdc ypuid baubma raynehk huecac vnus dra laemehk [I suspect the sources are somewhere here. We've received complaints about people hearing noises from the ceiling]."
"Veht uid ev fryd cra cyet ec nekrd yht nabund pylg du sa [Find out if what she said is right and report back to me]," Cid instructed to the line of mechanics assembled in the room. "Sayhfrema, E'mm pa lralgehk dra dransucdydc [Meanwhile, I'll be checking the thermostats]."
Yahna left the engine room and was striding towards her next stop when she found Braska among a crowd in one of the corridors, helping to distribute flasks of water to those thirsty from the heat. Their eyes met and the Yevonite priest quickly excused himself to go after her.
"It seems like we're going to be out here for quite some time," she sighed, anxiously eyeing the restless crowd.
"Why? Did something happen?"
"The cooling system's broken. Though we don't know the cause yet…"
Braska nodded with comprehension. "Is there… anything that I can lend a hand on?"
Yahna's eyes casually drifted away as she mulled over his question. In circumstances where there is a Machina breakdown, a non Al-Bhed who was ill-equipped to be involved in the repairing efforts could only do so much… but it would not hurt to involve him somehow.
"Well… I'm going to the workshop now to see if we have some spare pipes and valves. You can come with me and see how we do things around here."
Braska smiled. "Of course."
His readiness to go along with her suggestion pleased her. There would be no hands-on task for him to perform but she considered his observation to be important if he wanted to learn more about her people.
"This pipe is rusty," Yahna remarked, examining every inch of the steel cylinder she was holding in her hands. She caught a glimpse of Braska frowning and figured that she had to explain, "You probably can't see the corroded parts if you're just skimming through. You need to look closely."
She aimed her finger towards sections of the steel that seemed discoloured. "This is how you know that they should no longer be used."
Braska seemed dubious, as if something she said was bothering him. "But… it's just a small part of the entire steel."
Yahna shook her head. "The quality of our materials determine the outcome of our Machina. The wear might appear inconsequential but it can easily cause a mishap."
They had been in the workshop for several hours already, sifting through one piece of steel after another. It gave Yahna the opportunity to inspect the emergency stocks, while also teaching Braska how components were selected to build a Machina. Just a while ago, she received a report from the mechanics that proved her speculation to be accurate. A team was dispatched to carry the replacement pipes and assist the mechanics, while she decided to stay behind with Braska to wait for the repair work to be completed.
Night had fallen and the cloudless sky was drenched in indigo when the warning sirens were suddenly raised and rackets of people screaming and panicking could be heard echoing from elsewhere within Home.
"What's happening?" Braska whispered, his eyes round with alarm.
Yahna reached for a nearby handheld Machina transceiver and dialled the lead of the patrol team. "Ropp! Bmayca nacbuht ev oui'na drana [Please respond if you're there]."
Her call was met with a few seconds of static noises before someone spoke from the other end of the line, "Ropp rana [Here]."
"Fryd'c kuehk uh? Fro yna dra cenahc kuehk uvv? [What's going on? Why are the sirens going off?]"
"Sin'c lusehk, zicd uha druicyht veja rihtnat yht vevdo semac facd vnus ic yht tecdyhla ec ehlnaycehkmo lmucehk yc fa cbayg [Sin's coming, just one thousand five hundred and fifty miles west from us and the distance is increasingly closing as we speak]."
Cid, who must have heard them from the radio at the engine room, cut in the conversation, "Fa haat du tu cusadrehk! [We need to do something!]"
Yahna bit her bottom lip. Think! Think! Think!
"Dra Waverunners [The Waverunners]," she mentioned, a scheme finally crossing her mind. "Caht daysc uid du dra cay yd lyntehym buehdc yht fa'mm tecdnyld ed vnus drana [Send teams out to the sea at cardinal points and we'll distract it from there]."
"Veha [Fine]," Cid agreed. "E'mm gaab kiynt rana yd dra lahdnym fedr dra Fahrenheit [I'll keep guard here at the central with the Fahrenheit]."
Yahna shoved the transceiver into one of her trouser pockets and marched out of the workshop without backtracking. "Sin's heading this way. I'll be leading one of the teams that will be diverting its course," she told Braska who was trailing after her.
He sped forward, his feet almost stepping onto one another while trying to match her pace. "That's madness! You'll only provoke it!"
"We have no choice. It's the only way to prevent it from reaching Home."
"Don't do it," the Yevonite priest warned, grabbing her arm.
"Sin's nearing at each passing minute and you're wasting my time!" she snapped, fiercely pulling her arm away. "Either you join me or stay here."
Braska made his decision when he tagged along as she dashed her way to the indoor dock located at the lowest level of Home. The group of people who she would be leading were already on their watercrafts, their backs strapped with rifles and small explosive devices. She hopped onto hers and started up the engine; Braska took his place behind her.
"Nasaspan! Fa'mm haat du bimm ed yfyo yc vyn yc buccepma ihdem haynpo daysc dyga ujan! [Remember! We'll need to pull it away as far as possible until nearby teams take over!]" she shrieked, reminding her team what their roles were supposed to be.
A uniformed reply from her team resounded all over the dock, overlapping with the roar of the revving engines. "NUKAN! [ROGER!]"
Yahna rode full speed ahead first, exiting Home through unbolted plug doors and entering the desert with a map to her destination sketched consciously in her mind. She avoided areas rife with sandpits, accelerated her watercraft whenever wolves were pursuing and used the cacti trails as checkpoints to contact Ropp about Sin's exact coordinates. By the time she reached the sea, Sin was so close to her viewpoint that she could see details of the rough shell that was covering its body.
"What are you doing?" Braska probed, almost with disbelief as she cradled and reloaded her rifle.
She took aim at the beast that was towering above the earth. "What does it look like I'm doing?"
Yahna started shooting and her team followed suit. Bullet after bullet were fired, hitting Sin unceasingly at random spots on its body. She knew that these projectiles would not cause real damage to Sin but hoped that they would be enough to agitate the beast to come after them. Unsurprisingly, Sin began its counterattack by releasing its spawns – some of them she and her team managed to shoot while they were still in air, while others that fell onto her watercraft were shot point-blank by her or crushed by Braska's magic.
The moment Sin lowered itself back into water, Ropp was shouting from the transceiver. "Dynkad ryc dygah pyed! Ed'c sygehk edc fyo dufyntc oui, Yahna! [Target has taken bait! It's making its way towards you, Yahna!]"
She was about to spin her watercraft around to steer Sin further away. But it seemed as though the beast had other plans in mind… it resurfaced from the water, just a short distance away from her watercraft. With it surged swelling tidal waves that violently shook Yahna's vehicle until she lost her grip and plunged into the water.
She was sinking deeper into the sea when a bright light from above the surface blinded her, forcing her to close her eyes. As her consciousness was fading away, she thought she heard someone calling her name.
A/N: Small trivia: Shin is supposed to be related to Shinra in some way lmao