"Ow!"

Aloy eased off the pressure she was putting on Beta's arm, but not by much. "Sorry. GAIA said it's pretty deep, so I have to make sure it'll heal right." She resumed rolling the bandage in tight loops around the arm.

"It's just a cut, Aloy. Back on the Odyssey the servitors would have just thrown some gel on it and printed some stitches until it healed." She wouldn't have called Beta's tone "annoyed", exactly, but "gently exasperated" wouldn't have been an exaggeration.

Feeling guilty about the entire situation didn't help either. If she'd just been closer to Beta on the edge of that ravine, she could have taken down both of those Burrowers before they would have had a chance to get near her. "Well, we're not on the Odyssey and this is what we've got."

"Yeah." Beta closed her eyes a moment and nodded, the edge in her voice softened. "I know. It's probably better this way. I-I don't think I could ever go back on that ship."

They were in GAIA's command center, with GAIA observing the two of them while processing the data recorded on Beta's focus. Beta sat on the large metal table at the edge of the platform, struggling to hold still while Aloy attended to her wound. They had done a quick wrap of it after the attack, but the Base had more medical supplies to properly patch it up.

"Beta," GAIA said, her voice soothing but still lined with concern. "The portable EMP charges you created are indeed a well-executed tool. I would be remiss, however, if I did not ask you to exercise more caution when dealing with HEPHAESTUS' machines in combat."

Beta sighed. "I know, GAIA. I wasn't exactly planning on fighting a Burrower when we left." She gave a nervous laugh. "I think…that's more Aloy's thing anyway."

"One machine kill and she thinks she's funny now." Aloy finished wrapping the bandage and tied the end of the cloth tightly before cutting the extra material. "All right. Eat the berries at the times I told you to and no more heroics until it's healed. Got it?"

"Got it." Beta hopped off the table. "Did you find anything in the recordings, GAIA?"

The gold and white light from GAIA's projection shifted around the room when GAIA lifted her hand. A detailed hologram of the machine lure appeared before them. "A moment while I complete my analysis. Done." She directed her attention back to the two of them. "Based on the data you collected, I can conclude two things. One, that the machine lure you discovered appears to be a failed prototype recreation of a machine override from a Faro Corruptor. I can only speculate, but it appears someone was attempting to override machines in mass quantities. For what purpose, I cannot say, but given how their actions have already resulted in the death of one Tenakth, I do not imagine their intentions are altruistic."

Aloy rested her hands on her hips. "Well, that's not good. Can you tell where it came from or who made it?"

"The lure is of Oseram make. I cannot determine more than that, unfortunately," GAIA said. "However, based on the data on your Focus and my own observations of the local tribes, it is common for Oseram inventors to include a unique marker on the devices they create—a signature of sorts. If you can discover what this device's signature is, you may be able to find its inventor."

"Lots of Oseram in Hidden Ember. One of them might know what it is…and who it belongs to." Aloy grabbed the physical lure from the table where she had set it down earlier. "Thanks, GAIA. What was the other thing?"

The hologram was replaced with one of the dead Tenakth. "The man whose body you discovered had wounds on him which appeared familiar. I ran a search on the combat tactics of Regalla's rebels based on your encounters with them and found that the wounds correlate with the fighting style of the Desert Tenakth. Based on the evidence you discovered, I can speculate that Sokorra's brother, Korreh, might have killed this man in self-defense."

"Another civil war? Or maybe these are the last remnants of Regalla's rebels and the Sons of Prometheus?" Beta suggested.

But Aloy wasn't so sure. The dead Tenakth had not worn the green, red, and black that the rebels typically had. I was sure I had taken care of them all. Asera is dead—who else is left?

Apparently, GAIA could sense her stress. "Aloy, while I understand the urgency to find and rescue Korreh, I believe it would be beneficial for the both of you to get some rest before leaving for Hidden Ember." She gestured at Beta. "If Beta wishes to accompany you again, her arm should have some more time to heal."

The urge to declare that Beta wasn't leaving the Base ever again was strong, but Aloy held it back. I can't keep her here forever. I'd be no better than the Zeniths. "Right. Thanks, GAIA. We'll…take a couple days."

They stepped out of the chamber and headed to the common area, where Seyka sat on one of the couches next to Alva. The two seemed deep in conversation but went silent when they saw Aloy and Beta approach.

"How did it go?" Alva asked, standing. "Were you able to find the source of the lure?" Seyka remained quiet but seemed just as intrigued.

Aloy set the lure on the table in front of the couch. "GAIA thinks whoever made it might have left their signature on it. An Oseram thing, I guess."

"You think your friends in Hidden Ember might know who made it?" Seyka asked.

"That's the hope." The news about Korreh killing the other Tenakth was more disturbing, as it meant that there was still some rift in the tribe that no one knew about yet. "That Tenakth we found—GAIA thinks Korreh killed him out of self-defense."

Alva gave a solemn nod. "That's unfortunate. If the Tenakth have another civil war on their hands, it's going to make preparing for Nemesis even more difficult."

"Let's hope it's not that bad. In any case, I think we should rest a couple days here and then start making our way south." She looked around. "Where's Sokorra?"

"Oh, she was getting her bunk set up and then said she'd be right back," Alva said. "I think she might have gone to speak with those Tenakth outside the Base. The one who tells you all those rumors she hears kind of scares me a little to be honest." She turned to Seyka. "I started a download for the new mast schematics, so I'd better go check on it. I'll see you guys later?" she finished, now looking at Aloy and Beta. "We should really try to have dinner as a group again…maybe when you get back?"

Aloy smiled. It had been months since the last time she and her friends had eaten all together. Her most memorable one had been right before GEMINI. Erend and Zo were getting along, with Erend launching sliced vegetables across the table for Zo to attempt to catch in her mouth. Varl had cheered them on while Alva kept score. Kotallo had opted to sit the game out but had made a point of describing the tactics he would have used to Beta, who sat quietly but nodded with interest. "That sounds great, Alva." She watched the Quen walk back to the archives before turning to Beta. "What are you going to do?"

Beta rubbed her bandaged arm. "I think I'll be in my room. My arm kind of hurts and I wouldn't mind catching up on a few holos I haven't rewatched."

Seyka seemed confused. "'Rewatched?'"

"Well, I've only seen them twice."

"Go ahead," Aloy said, placing her hand on Beta's shoulder. "Let me know if you—"

"I have the berries, Aloy. I'll be fine."

Finally relenting, she watched Beta descend to the server room before collapsing on the couch next to Seyka, who put a comforting arm around her.

"She's tough. She'll be okay," Seyka assured her and pulled her closer.

Aloy rested her head on Seyka's shoulder. "I should have been more careful. If Sokorra hadn't been there…" She sighed. "But I can't control everything about her. She was held captive by the Zeniths for years, Seyka. I won't do the same."

"I don't think you're quite the same as them but it's good that you know that, too."

Aloy rolled her eyes. "Everyone has jokes today." She was about to reply with a comeback of her own when Seyka moved in and kissed her, the suddenness of it making Aloy forget they were out in the open. As usual it was wonderful—the stress of all that had happened over the last few days lifting from her shoulders was freeing—and ended far too soon.

"Yeah," Seyka said, her hand coming to rest on the side of Aloy's face as she met her gaze. "But it's true. And…" She shifted a bit and for the first time in a while, Aloy noticed she actually seemed nervous. "I think it's okay for you to take a break from saving and protecting everyone, Aloy. Even if it's a small one."

"Maybe," Aloy said, pushing away her remaining reluctance. "I'll try."

Seyka grinned. "Good. Come here." She leaned in again and this time, Aloy was more than prepared.

A familiar voice behind them pulled them apart in an instant. "Sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt." Sokorra stood behind them, the look on her face slightly less intense than it typically was, which still hovered somewhere between annoyed and "ready to destroy the first person who got in her way". A small pouch sat in her hand. "Do you know where your sister is? I…wanted to talk to her. If that's okay with you."

She probably just wants to make sure she's all right after everything. It was rather surprising considering how many times Sokorra threatened Aloy with death before she would accept any help. "Yeah. She's in her room. It's down those stairs," she said, pointing at the stairwell leading to the server room in the basement.

Sokorra hesitated. "Uh, thanks. Let me know when it's time to leave." Before Aloy could say anything about what GAIA had discovered about the dead Tenakth, Sokorra had left.

"Right." She returned her attention to Seyka. "What were we talking about?"

Seyka laughed. "Well, I was going to kiss you some more, but I have a feeling we might get interrupted again if Diviner Alva finishes her downloads early." She brushed Aloy's cheek with her thumb.

"Well," Aloy said slowly, hoping her idea wasn't too forward, "we could go to my room. If you like, that is."

"I would like that."

Grasping her hand while trying to appear less nervous than she felt, Aloy led Seyka the few feet across the common area and pressed the blue-lighted button on the door to her bedroom. The panels slid open, and they stepped through.

Seyka wasted no time. She pulled Aloy to her and resumed their kiss where they left off, the doors shutting seconds later. Overwhelmed by the sensation of being so close to Seyka at first, instinct finally kicked in and Aloy wrapped her arms around Seyka's waist and returned the kiss with equal force. Her heart raced as the kiss deepened—her hands moving up Seyka's back, where she discovered just how inconvenient she found Quen armor. The thought of Seyka without armor was an alluring one, even if Aloy wasn't quite sure what she wanted to try were that the case.

She shuddered when Seyka's hands found their way to her hair, and a chill ran through her when Seyka's fingers curled into the long, messy red strands. A passing thought of wishing she had washed it more recently came to mind, but it disappeared seconds later.

All her thoughts and worries of missing Tenakth, rogue Oseram, and even Nemesis vacated her mind as Seyka pressed her body against hers, pushing them into the edge of the desk and knocking over the sad plant Alva had given Aloy months earlier that was somehow still alive.

"Shit—sorry," Seyka mumbled and made a weak attempt to reach for the fallen flora.

Aloy grabbed her collar and pulled her back to her. "Leave it." She brought her arms back around Seyka, whispering her name and gripping what she could of her clothing when she felt soft lips meet her neck. She was on fire, and yet weak enough that she worried she might need to lie down before she lost the strength in her legs. She could lie down—they both could. But was it too soon? Were they—

"Aloy." Seyka's voice broke through her trance. "The floor."

Catching her breath, Aloy pulled away just enough to look down at the floor, where the sad plant had unfortunately begun leaking water from its pot onto the bedroom floor.

"Damn it. Stupid plant," she grumbled.

It didn't seem to bother Seyka too much. "I've got it. It's my fault, anyway." She gave Aloy a final, quick kiss. "We should probably eat anyway before your stomach starts up again." With a grin, she gave Aloy's stomach a small poke.

"You're not going to let me forget about that are you?"

"Probably not anytime soon," Seyka said. She suddenly grew serious and took Aloy's hands in hers. "Aloy, I'm…I'm not sure how to say this but I'll try."

Panic suddenly gripped Aloy. Had she pushed too far? "I-is something wrong?"

Seyka's dark eyes widened. "No! Not at all, it's just…" She swallowed. "I'm still new to this, Aloy, but I think, no, I know I'm falling for you. It's been on my mind ever since you came to talk to me on the beach about Nemesis in the Burning Shores." She bit her lip. "I don't want to scare you and you don't have to say anything, but it was important I was honest with you."

Sheer relief washed over Aloy as she embraced Seyka tightly. "I feel the same way, Seyka. Though…" She pulled away. "Given how we met, technically I fell for you first."

It took Seyka a moment to register the very bad joke. "How we met—oh." She glared at her. "Okay, that was bad and I'm going to clean up this mess and try to forget that one."

"I'm going to go see if Beta and Sokorra are hungry," Aloy said after laughing harder than perhaps she should have at her own joke.

Feeling a bit woozy and riding a bit of a high from the intensity of their…session, Aloy strode through the Base and toward the stairs to the server room. She stopped when she heard murmuring and saw that the door was opened halfway. She could see Beta and Sokorra sitting across from each other on the floor next to one of the massive processing units. Neither noticed her and she remained quiet. It wasn't her goal to eavesdrop, but Aloy didn't want to interrupt their conversation either, especially when it had taken Beta so long to open up to their other friends.

"…every machine?" Beta asked.

"The big ones. Depends on if you take it down yourself or if your squad helps." Sokorra pointed at her own arm. "These are from the last training mission with my squad. That's when I met Aloy and the old ma—Jaxx."

"That's when Korreh…?"

"Yeah. It was…really bad. I should have seen that Bristleback." Sokorra went quiet before picking up the pouch she had been holding earlier. "Here. We do this for our first machine kill. Don't worry." She chuckled. "It'll wash off if you don't like it." She dipped her fingers into the pouch and painted two strokes of red and black on Beta's cheeks under her eyes. Aloy watched as Beta held completely still for the process.

"There. I'm no Painter but I think it looks all right." Sokorra wiped her hand on the fabric of the pouch and set it back down. "Now when people see you, they'll know you have a kill."

"No yellow?" Beta asked.

"That's for your next machine. Maybe if we stop by Scalding Spear, we can take you to a Painter."

Beta wrung her hands. "I-I'm not sure."

"That's okay. If you change your mind, let me know."

Aloy wasn't sure what she was supposed to think about this…if she was supposed to think anything of it at all. But she could see that Sokorra was at least trying to be friendly, and Beta seemed to be receptive to it. Not many friendly Desert Tenakth in general. What happened to Korreh must have really affected her.

She gave a few soft knocks on the metal wall and called out to them. "Hey, Beta? Sokorra? We were going to start prepping food. Did you want some?"

Beta answered for the both of them, though Aloy couldn't tell if she sounded startled or not. "Thanks, Aloy. We'll be right up."

Great. She made her way back up the stairs. This is completely normal. Crazy Oseram. Missing Tenakth. Plants interrupting time with Seyka. She reached the top step, where she could see Seyka leaving her bedroom with a white cloth in her hand. At least Beta's making friends. She headed for the pantry, mentally preparing for the next challenge of trying to figure out what to make.