A/N: Here we go! The second anniversary chapter! I hope you all like it!

Thank you so much for your support over the last year. It means a lot to see how many people enjoy this story. I never expected it to get such a positive response.

Please leave a comment or review with your thoughts about this chapter and the last one!

A Digital Mother

Chapter 21

3036

Karst

"Thank you very much, good sir! May the sun shine upon you!" Karst, in his guise as 'Merav' the merchant waved to the customer who was walking away.

Ever since the Seekers started embedding themselves into Carja society, he'd taken the opportunity to venture into Meridian whenever he could. Just being in the capital city of the Carja meant access to a wealth of information. Not to mention, it was easy for him to slip in and out.

As a wandering merchant, it was totally unsurprising for him to vanish for a few months. Where had he gone? Well, he was traveling of course! In reality, he was either helping evacuate freed slaves or had gone home to reacquaint himself with life among the Nora. And to spend time with Sial. It also helped keep any attention off him when the guards came looking for anyone suspicious. He was a known quantity and his behavior was normal. Why would they suspect him?

The network of informants the Seekers had developed was rather expansive. A surprising number of Carja were quite malcontent when it came to their ruler. Usually the lower class, but not always. Still, with an organization as large and widespread as theirs now was, it was inevitable that their existence would be discovered by their enemies.

Over the past few months, the network began hearing rumors flying around the Sundom. Rumors of an organization helping to evacuate freed slaves out of Carja territory. In other words, they heard rumors about their own existence. If the general population knew about them, then it was all but certain that the guards and the military knew.

Sure enough, once the rumors started flying, the guards started cracking down. Inspections, questions, and all kinds of other things that only served to alienate the population more. Even some of the guards were willingly turning a blind eye. A few lower-level ones were actually part of the network and actively sabotaging investigations into other members.

Of course, they weren't able to protect everyone. A few members of the network had been caught already. Some ran or fought to the death while others gave up what names they knew under torture and interrogation, causing more problems. So, they'd started finding ways to sneak their own members out of Meridian and other local towns on top of getting the prisoners out.

Karst himself usually played a part in getting people out of Meridian thanks to his status as a known quantity. Sure, he'd been investigated. All merchants who came and went were, but he was meticulous about never keeping anything incriminating on him unless he had no other choice. In fact, that was why he was getting ready to leave.

Someone had managed to get in contact with the network, asking for a way to smuggle a person out of the city. Naturally, they'd investigated as best they could. To make sure that it wasn't a trick by the guards. They'd tried that already and nearly gotten a few of the network's members killed. Once they'd determined the request to be legitimate, they'd arranged a meeting.

All Karst knew was that the person he'd be smuggling out would be dressed like a noblewoman. Whether or not she was an escaped slave, a runaway noble, or something else wasn't his concern. Getting people who were in trouble with the Carja out of the city was his job. At least, that's what they wanted people to believe. Nobody could know he wasn't just a sympathetic Carja helping where he could.

They'd been given only a cursory description of him too. Just to look for the merchant whose tarp had a blue border. That was all. Every wandering merchant had a cart they pushed along, usually covered with a tarp or cloth of some kind. They all had different designs and although Karst was not the only one whose tarp had a decorated border, his was the only blue one.

He'd been in the market square hawking his wares for a few hours when he spotted what might be the people he was looking for. A group of nobles coming from deeper into the city. He wasn't sure which was his target though. Careful not to attract attention, he simply behaved as all the other merchants did. A few noblemen and women passed him by. A few even bought things. The group had been there for nearly half an hour when something finally happened.

"That's a very interesting design." A noblewoman said. She and another, both fully decked out in draped cloths and face paint were walking towards him. The one who'd spoke was looking directly at his tarp.

Her voice didn't sound… right. Not like a noble. Nor, now that he took a good look, did she fit the usual description. She was taller, wider of shoulder, and held herself rather uncomfortably in the silken robes of the Carja. Nor did the woman next to her. She looked… well, not like a woman now that he looked at her.

"Thank you, my lady." Karst bowed. "It was a gift from my sister. She's quite good with her hands, as you can see." The two perused his stand for a while, pretending to shop. Karst could see them looking around, nervously. When they appeared certain they would not be overheard, the quiet one spoke.

"Are you the smuggler we were told to meet?" The manly voice asked. Now Karst understood why 'she' was so off putting. If only he knew which of them he was supposed to smuggle out.

"Of course, my lady." Karst nodded, speaking at a normal volume. "I'll be leaving the city this afternoon, but I will be certain to see if I can accommodate your request when I next return." Leaning over, he started fussing with his materials as though packing up to leave. "Whichever of you is coming with me, slip into the alleyway behind me while the guards aren't looking." He whispered.

The manly one put a hand on the arm of the wide-shouldered one. "Go," they whispered. "Be safe."

"Wait." The woman grabbed the other's arm. "What about you, Av…"

"Go." The other cut her off. "I will be back where I should be before anyone realizes I am gone. I'll do my best to keep your disappearance quiet for as long as I can, but you need to go. Now."

The woman nodded, giving his arm a squeeze before looking around and slipping into the dark behind Karst. Giving a nod to the other 'noblewoman,' Karst looked around, as though searching for his next customer. Moving as though he was getting more out of the cart, he dropped a package at the feet of the woman hiding in the alley.

"Put that on and get the makeup off." He whispered, hurriedly. "The dark will keep you covered, but it'll look suspicious if I'm seen leaving with a noblewoman. Once you're done, leave the alley and circle back around into the market. Approach me again and greet me like a friend. My name is Merav, yours is Rahsi."
"Thank you." She whispered back, grabbing the bundle.

Karst continued to look busy for a while longer before he began packing up to leave. His wares were almost gone, but not fully so it wasn't abnormal for him to be packing up. He continued his work until a slightly buff woman in common Carja clothes approached him.

"Merav! There you are!" She shouted. He recognized the voice as belonging to the 'noblewoman' he was escorting out of the city.

"Rahsi!" 'Merav' greeted her back. "I was wondering when you were going to show up! I've been here for hours."

"I know, I'm sorry." She replied, playing along. "I got held up. You know how my father is."

"True, true." He nodded, laughing. "Well, we should get moving. Moli's been dying to see you, and she'll not forgive me for dawdling now that you're here."

Getting behind the bar of his cart, Karst began to push with the false Carja woman walking alongside him. They continued to engage in generic friendly conversation for a while till they were out of earshot of the square.

"Once we approach the gate, I'll present them with our paperwork." Karst told her in a low voice. "Our cover is that you and my sister are old friends. She recently got married, and you're coming with me to visit her in Lone Light."

"Understood." She nodded. It was difficult to tell what tribe she was from. Could be Oseram or Carja. Oseram if he had to guess. Most Banuk wouldn't be able to play along like this, nor would Tenakth or Utaru and she seemed uncomfortable in Carja clothes, so he was guessing Oseram.

Together, they moved through the city until they finally reached the eastern gate. Pushing his cart into line, the two waited for their turn to go through inspections, making light and pointless conversation as they did so. When at last it was their turn, Karst pushed his way forward and handed the guards his documentation.

"Merav, right?" The guard asked, looking at him. "Didn't you just enter the city a few days ago?" Ah, he must have been on duty when Karst arrived in Meridian.

"I did indeed!" The Seeker nodded. "I'm a bit of a wandering merchant, you see. Never stay in one place long, unless I'm visiting family of course. I used to travel the route between Meridian and Daytower before that incident with the eastern savages. Keep the soldiers all stocked up with wine and other essentials, you know? Now I don't go further east than Morning's Watch."

"Yeah?" He peered at Karst's companion. "You were alone when you came through, weren't you?"

"Ah! How rude of me." The false merchant apologized. "This is Rahsi, a dear friend of the family." He gestured to the woman.

"Hello." 'Rahsi' waved.

"Hm. Where're you headed?" The guard handed the documents back. Taking them, Karst carefully placed them inside his bag.

"Lone Light." He replied. "My sister recently got married to a quite nice young man named Barkan. They've taken up residence in the village." In truth, Sokana and her mate, Bron, were both Seekers posing as merchants living in the village. That way they could continue to serve and still got to experience some semblance of domestic life. They'd only been joined a few months ago during a ceremony in Mother's Song. Plus, it gave the added benefit that if anyone checked the story about his 'sister', it would appear to be true!

"I wasn't able to attend the wedding," his companion spoke up, improvising, "so I thought I'd accompany Merav on his way there. I haven't seen her in nearly a year."

"I see." The guard nodded. "Well, head on through. Travel safe and keep an eye out for machines."

"Thank you, my good sir!" Karst replied with a smile, pushing his cart out of the gate and beyond the city of Meridian. "May the sun warm your path!"

Aloy

BOOM

Aloy coughed, waving the acrid smoke out of her eyes. On the floor in front of her was the remnants of her workbench, one of their chairs, and the prototype bomb she'd been working on. The walls of her hut were a little scorched, and there was a nasty smell in the air.

"Shit." The fifteen-year-old cursed. "Papa's not gonna be happy about this." Looking around the hut, it was completely filled with half finished projects, broken tools, and more than a few burns or stains from where various experiments had gone badly.

"Aloy!" Her father roared, charging into the hut. "Are you alright?" Was the first question.

"I'm fine," Aloy coughed. "It was an accident."

Her father looked around the hut with dismay. Walking forward, he put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm glad you're alright, but this can't continue. That's the third time you've destroyed part of our hut in the last four moons. I know you enjoy your experiments, but you can't keep doing them here. The hut won't survive it and frankly, our neighbors have started to complain.

Aloy looked down, dejectedly. She knew he was right, of course. It wasn't that she tried to blow things up either! Well, she did, but only when working with bombs! Most of her projects didn't explode at all. Only when she worked with more volatile materials. It didn't help that she grew up in a tribe at war. She was self-aware enough to know that doing nothing but develop weapons with her engineering skills wasn't exactly a good thing, so she did try and diversify. Invent or reinvent things that were meant for home use. Like Teersa's rocking chair or the water pumps they were now using to irrigate the farmlands inside the Embrace.

"I know." She said, kicking the ground. "I just don't have anywhere else to work on my projects."

"Well, you're going to have to find somewhere to work on them safely, Aloy." Her father replied, letting go of her shoulder. "The Embrace is a safe haven and you're skilled enough to wander alone. Perhaps you can find somewhere to work out there? That way I won't have to hear High-Matriarch Lansra complain about you trying to burn down the village again."

"I was working with water!" Aloy protested, offended. To clarify, she hadn't burned down the village, the High-Matriarch only accused her of TRYING to. "What was it about water pumps and an irrigation system that could possibly have made her think I was going to burn things down?!"

Her father sighed. "She thought you were… figuring out a way to put out the fires because you might accidentally set the village ablaze…"

"That…" Aloy trailed off. "Okay, that is something I would do, and it's really not the worst idea in the world, but I'm still offended!" She huffed.

"I know." Her father chuckled. "Just… figure something out, alright? No more experiments in the hut and preferably not in the village, okay?"

"Alright." Aloy sighed, flopping down onto her slightly soot-covered bed as her father left the hut. "GAIA?" She asked, connecting to the Focus and knowing that she was listening. "I don't suppose you have any ideas?"

"Actually, little one, I believe I do." The voice replied. As the redheaded teenager listened to the disembodied voice, a huge grin began to split her face in two.

"GAIA," Aloy said, "you're the best." Rising, she bolted out of the hut. "I gotta go find Granny!"

Karst

Once Karst and his companion were well out past Meridian, they were finally able to relax. The road was empty, and they were alone so there was no point in keeping up the pretense.

"So?" Karst asked, still pushing his cart along. "What tribe do you belong to? My guess is Oseram. I suppose you could be Carja, but it's unlikely. Either way, I do need to know for sure if I'm supposed to help you get home."

"Oseram." She nodded at him. Looking at her, she had pale skin, relatively attractive features, a strong build, and medium-length brown hair. "The name's Ersa and, if I'm right, you're not Carja either. Or, if you are, then 'Merav,' isn't your real name.

Karst's eyes went wide in surprise. "What would make you think that?" He asked.

"Because I recognize you." She replied. "It took me a while to figure it out, but you felt really familiar. We met years ago, before the raids started. You and a bunch of others came to my village. I'm almost certain 'Merav' isn't the name you were using then."

Well… he didn't know how to take that. It was true he'd used a few different names over the years posing as either Carja or Banuk before settling on his current disguise. He just hadn't expected anyone to remember him. He certainly didn't remember her.

"You're… not wrong." Karst admitted. "But I think it best that I say no more. If anything like that got out, it would put me and everyone I know in danger."

Ersa snorted and punched his shoulder. "Don't get yourself all twisted about it. I'm not gonna say anything, especially not to any Carja. Most of them are the enemy, right?"

"True enough." The Seeker nodded.

"I just… want to say thank you." Ersa said, quietly. "If it weren't for your people and… well, my friend back in Meridian, I would still be a slave in the palace. For a while there, I really didn't think I'd make it out, let alone be headed home."

"I understand." Karst replied, solemnly. "That's why we do this. The mad Sun King and his soldiers are taking people from their homes. Torturing and murdering them in the most horrific ways. If we could free them all or end the war, I would jump at the chance. The problem is, we can't. We just don't have the numbers for it."

"What if you did?" Ersa asked. "What if the Oseram managed to push the Carja out of The Claim? Would your network be able to help us against the Carja?"

Karst watched her. There was a determined look in the woman's eyes. If she was serious, then it presented an opportunity. Still, it remained to be seen. The Oseram were putting up a good fight, but so far, they couldn't keep the Carja out, let alone push into the Sundom.

"If you manage it, I think we can help." Karst replied. "Either way, we can funnel you information that might help in the war. We're already doing that with the Banuk. A few members of the network get information to the Banuk Weraks when they can." He glanced at her. "We'll rendezvous with a contact of mine that goes by the name Zomin in a few days." That was Torst's cover name. Another Seeker. "Talk to him more about the logistics of getting word to the network. He typically handles things on the northern border."

"Thank you." Ersa replied, smiling at him. "We'll take any help we can get."

Aloy

"Is it just me, or does this place feel smaller?" Aloy asked, looking around.

"Well, we were six the last time we were here, Aloy. We're quite a bit taller now than we were then." Vala replied, walking beside her.

They, for the first time in nine years, were standing within the bunker where they'd first found the Focuses. GAIA, the ever-helpful disembodied voice they'd also met in this bunker, suggested that Aloy use the old facility as a lab or workshop. Of course, Aloy thought it was a brilliant idea and was quick to beg her father and Granny Teersa to agree. It took them a few days, but they'd eventually given her permission to use it.

The Seekers who'd initially gone through the place were quite thorough, and the environmental controls that Aloy restored were still functional, so the place looked considerably cleaner than it had the last time. No longer covered in ice, water, or plant life and the Seekers had removed most of the rocky growths in their attempt to recover the bodies of the faithful who'd been entombed here for so long. It wasn't exactly clean, but it was serviceable.

The two girls, plus Varl and Aloy's father, were in the process of moving all her equipment into the bunker along with new workbenches, tools, and other things. At the moment, Varl and her father were outside, having trekked back up the wooden stairs to the entrance so that they could bring down the materials she needed to build new shelving and other such things while Aloy and Vala examined the various rooms. The stairs themselves had been built by the Seekers during the initial excavation.

"Woah," Aloy whispered, stepping through a door. "Vala look!" She pointed. "Isn't this the room where we found my Focus?"

"Yeah, I think it is." Vala agreed, stepping down into the room. A few desks with glitching panels filled the room along with other machinery. One in particular was large and circular, with what looked like a bed attached to it. "GAIA," Vala asked, "what was this machine for?"

"That is a medical scanner, Vala." GAIA replied. "If it can be repaired, it would be of great help to your medical studies. This room was once the infirmary, so most of the tools here were used to keep the staff healthy."

"Mine!" Vala shouted, whipping towards Aloy so fast it startled her. "This room is mine!"

"Okay, okay!" Aloy laughed at the wide-eyed expression of excitement on her friend's face. Vala looked about the same way she did when GAIA first proposed the idea. "It's all yours. We're gonna turn this place into our own private hideout. We can both study here. I can do my experiments, and we can just… hide away from everybody for a while."

As much as she loved living in Mother's Heart, there was a part of Aloy that longed to have time to herself. A bit of privacy away from the others. This place was perfect for that.

"You will have to do extensive repairs before any of the machinery can become operational." GAIA told them, "But I believe you possess the technical knowledge to conduct most of the repairs. Though, you have never worked on anything quite this complicated. You'll have to be very careful, and I will guide you through the process, but I believe we should be able to have the facility fully functional in a few weeks. Then we can think about repairing individual systems and machines."

"Sounds good to me, GAIA." Aloy grinned excitedly, walking back through the facility. There were office spaces, lounge areas, workstations, living quarters, and so much more! She supposed it needed to be designed as a living space if the people who'd once worked here were going to stay underground for a long time. "We can start with the geothermal generator, right? I remember you saying something about it when I fixed the environmental controls."

"Yes." GAIA replied. "The generator is currently operating at minimal capacity. It will need to be repaired before anything else can be done. If any parts need replacing, it should be possible to fashion them using spare parts collected from local machines. Though, you may need to see about getting materials from a few larger machines like Shellwalkers. They are more complex, but we may need their parts. I will not know until you take a closer look at the generator itself."

"I'll start on that first, then." Aloy replied, bounding up a set of stairs. "Honestly, fixing this place up will be better than any of my other projects." She giggled, giddily. She'd always been curious about this place, ever since she and Vala found it nearly ten years ago. Now it was hers! She and Vala could come here whenever they wanted, and she got to spend her free time fixing this place up! She'd jump for joy if she hadn't done it several times already today!

Coming to the top, she approached the stairs, where she could hear her father or Varl navigating a crate down from the entrance. She had no clue where the original entrance to the bunker was, but the Seekers who'd performed the excavation used the hole she and Vala first escaped out of as the primary entrance.

They'd put in stairs leading down into the facility, as well as putting up markers on the ground above the entrance. Running up, she grabbed hold of the box Varl was fighting with. The redheaded engineer was eager to get everything inside and organized so that she could start fixing up the bunker and making it her own.

"Vala found a medical scanner." Aloy told Varl as she helped him. "It was used by the doctor that used to live down here. I think she's basically claimed that whole side of the facility for herself."

"Heh. That sounds like her." Varl laughed. He'd told her and Vala about his decision not to become a Seeker until they did. She'd been surprised, but Aloy did appreciate it. Instead, he'd been assigned to the wall of the Embrace until he was more used to being a full Brave.

"Aloy!" Her father shouted angrily from up top. "Why is this box labeled 'Explody-bits?!"

"Oops!" Aloy winced, running for the stairs. He wasn't supposed to see that! "Don't touch it! I'll bring it down myself! Papa!"

A/N: There we go! What did you think? We got to meet Ersa and the bunker is open! Aloy and Vala now have a lab! I wanted to do it that way because I loved the idea of Aloy having a place like the facility in FW while she was a kid. A place where she can just tinker and stuff to her heart's content!

Idea time! If you had to designate new Alphas, who would they be and for what sub-function/concept. I'll post my ideas, but I'd love to hear yours!

GAIA (Alpha Prime): Aloy

Poseidon (Water): Seyka

Aether (Air): Kotallo

Artemis (Fauna): Vala

Demeter (Flora): Zo

Hades (Change/Death): Sylens

Hephaestus (Machines): Erend

Apollo (Knowledge): Beta

Eleuthia (Rebirth): Alva

Minerva (Communication): Varl

Answers to Questions

On FFN

Agusfedredhunter: The Nora are slow to embrace huge change, so they're unlikely to let the average person enter the ruins for a while yet. They're definitely going to be more helpful towards Aloy and her mission though! They're developing as a society, but I don't want them to lose their culture, you know?

On AO3

Pepergirl001: Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy this chapter too!

St0ryt3113r: Thank you! I did consider it, but I've done a few too many of those moments so far. Wanted to be a bit more chill since I'm time skipping around.

Ryanlarsen84: I'm glad you liked it! I enjoy writing about Bast getting humiliated. It's fun to revisit these annoying characters from the early game and occasionally give them a kick in the pants. I've already managed to do Lansra, Resh, and now Bast. It's a good feeling.