As expected, the second floor was as dilapidated and ruined as the rest of this abandoned base, water had managed to get in from somewhere, the smallest of cracks and holes and water could get in; but with the mountainside which this base was dwelling in, that water had slowly turned to ice. Stalactites had formed, roughly surfaced and ghostly looking because of the low lighting and sparks of energy which still shot out from random places in the wall; stalagmites were also present, the water which had got into the building had created rough but also slippery surfaces throughout. It was a bit of a paradox between what this base once was, and that was partially due to the flickering broken screens and semblance of the touches of humanity, but also the nature which had fully taken over the planet and the struggle of being in a mountainous region.
So far, no more machines had appeared, that didn't necessarily mean there wasn't more lurking in the bowels of the base. They had already proven to be quite tenacious to get into places which they didn't belong, just for the sake of harvesting whatever they could get. It was eerily silent other than their footsteps, their boots seemingly quite loud in their current surroundings. None of them spoke, concentrating on the fact that their mission might soon be coming to a close, there wasn't a whole lot to say.
The base didn't seem to pique Aloy's interest too much, this was just one place of many that she had seen from the Old World, they didn't hugely differ too much in design, all very grey and neutral in colours; unless she was going to take into consideration Thebes, but then Ted Faro and his ego explained and was most definitely the reason as to why that was so garish...Aloy knew when it came to the Old Ones that Nureka, and her fellow tribespeople had deep respect and their own understanding of these places, so it wasn't much shock when she would stop and look over something, only to notice how Kotallo and Aloy had continued on and she'd jog to catch up. Kotallo was more steadfast on the fact that they were here for a specific reason, and until that reason was achieved then exploring and looking over what was here, could wait, not that exploring this place was something that he wholly intended to do.
Wide staircases and darkened corridors seemed to wind around and deeper into the mountain in which this base was situated. It seemed to definitely take up a huge amount of space within the mountain, and the sparks of lighting that would appear every so often was really their only source of light. The broken flickering screens would emit a glow which didn't reach very far and darkened shadows would just greet their path. It was lucky really that their Focuses could pave a way for them, with it and its ability to highlight certain structures and things, it wasn't like they were all stumbling in the dark.
They did eventually split up though, Kotallo keeping watch and staying on guard in case anything else decided to crop up, and Aloy nodded onwards and had Nureka following after her. Though Aloy was most likely very capable and able to find the components they needed, Nureka had also expressed an interest in seeing if there was anything else around that could be taken back. Such resources were hard to find, most things from the Old World having long since broken, been destroyed or deteriorated to a point of being no longer functional.
It was also rather useful if more machines or even Spectres were further on that at least Aloy wouldn't be fighting them alone; although, she seemed more than fine with tackling everything on her own. If anything did appear back Kotallo's way, it wasn't like they were so far away they couldn't get to him when and if he patched through to contact them through the Focus. It was safe to say they were all still hoping nothing else would appear. How would the Zeniths know they were here to find parts for a mechanical arm? They wouldn't. If there was any other Spectres around, it would no doubt be presumed that the small group were sniffing around for answers, not parts.
"This is definitely a treasure hunt and then some," Nureka said while the pair of them walked around a corner and down a small corridor and into a room. Much like other rooms and corridors, lighting was flicker on and off, and broken consoles and screens lit up the space.
YOU ARE READING
Unintended
Fanfiction"I have not met a Banuk before. Only heard tales, I did not think to see one here." It was a polite way of Kotallo saying that what he had heard, were fanciful tales of hermits in snow covered hills who did not wish to socialise with the wider world...
