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Ghost of the Ten Horizon: Forbidden West Hekarro x Fem!OldOne OC Action/Adventure/Romance/Hurt/Comfort Chapter 18

Part 3: Ghost of the Ten

"It’s like he’s picking up parts of the world and showing them to me, saying, 'See? It’s beautiful.'." - Cath Crowley, Words in Deep Blue.

Victoria found herself missing coffee.

Like a lot.

It sat like an ache in her bones and left her craving the familiar ritual and comfort it provided. Memories flooded her mind of Saturday mornings at the ranch, where Mama Maria would wake before sunrise to prepare the first pot of the day. The aroma would drift up to Victoria's bedroom and rouse her from sleep, so she could stumble down to the kitchen with her cousins and savor a cup before starting the day's work. She also missed that first cup after returning from a deployment, waking up in her own bed to the automatic brew set for 6:30 AM—a habit ingrained in her blood now.

A habit she was paying for as the sun began to break through the broken ceiling of her bedroom, shafts of light streaming across the walls and floor. Victoria couldn't help but lament the loss of that morning ritual. The loss of that familiar comfort even as birds sang their cheerful morning songs and the soft murmur of conversation began to echo through the halls of the museum—or The Grove, as the Tenakth liked to call it.

Victoria threw back the thin blanket with a grumble and ran a hand through the tangled mess of her hair as she sat up. The sun was barely up, and it was beyond humid as hell—a heat that clung to her skin and left her covered in sticky sweat. No matter where she went, it seemed to follow her, and more than once now she lamented the loss of precious, precious air conditioning. With another heavy sigh, she stood, her eyes flickering to the door just as the soft scuffle of footsteps stopped in front of her curtain.

Right on time. As usual.

“Victoria, can I come in?”

She huffed, annoyed but impressed that Beta seemed to have memorized when Victoria woke up now. “Yeah.” She grumbled back, standing to stretch, “Whatever.”

Beta entered the room with a warm smile and handed Victoria a tray of food—the same seared meat and broth that she had been eating every morning for weeks now. Victoria blinked at the thought, trying to remember exactly how long it had been since she woke up. She frowned when she was unable to count the exact days, like her memory was fogged with nothing but flashes of grief cutting through it. The same ache that still sat in her heart even now.

Pushing those thoughts aside, she reached for the tray and settled back on the bed to eat. Beta plopped down next to her, placing something heavy between them. Victoria looked curiously at the leather-bound journal and took a bite of her food before picking it up to examine it. The craftsmanship was impressive, with a strong and sturdy leather cover and clean parchment pages inside. The front cover even had intricate geometric designs etched into it.

"It's a journal!" Beta exclaimed happily at Victoria's curious expression, and Victoria had to bite her tongue to keep from making a sarcastic remark. "I asked Petra if she could make something similar to her big book she always carries around."

Victoria took another bite of her food before flipping through the pages of the journal “So, what? I’m just supposed to write in it now, like some kind of ‘Dear Diary’ bullshit?”

Beta nodded, “Exactly!” She chewed on the inside of her cheek as she looked to the closed curtain across the room. “I was just thinking that maybe having something to write down and organize your thoughts with might be helpful.”

Victoria bit down on her tongue again, holding back the bitterness that lingered there. Tried to remind herself that Beta was a fucking kid who just wanted to help. It didn’t ease the anger and hurt, however. So she just set aside the journal and finished her food. She offered Beta quick glance as they sat side by side in silence until Victoria couldn’t take it anymore and shattered it.

“We never finished our talk last time.”

Beta looked thoughtful for a moment before she nodded, “I didn't want to push you too much, especially since you were upset. I figured if you wanted to know more, you’d bring it up again.”

"I'm feeling talkative today," Victoria grumbled as she finished her food and placed the empty tray aside. “So… Zero Dawn isn’t a superweapon, it’s a terraforming system?”

“Yup. Controlled by a fully functioning AI called GAIA. She was built by Elisabet Sobek and team of the worlds leading scientists at the time. Each scientist had responsibility for one aspect of GAIA's functions to keep the system running after…after everyone else was gone."

“And it took a thousand years for us to get to this point?” Victoria gestured to the ruins around them.

"More or less," Beta replied. "After Zero Day, when GAIA Prime's facility was sealed off, it took almost sixty years to completely shut down the swarm. It took another forty or so to successfully start a functioning biosphere. And it wasn't until almost a hundred and fifty years later that humans were reintroduced back to earth."

Victoria let out a sharp breath, tears welling up in her eyes once again. She didn't understand why she kept torturing herself like this. Listening to the demise of everything she loved, as if reliving it would somehow free her from the nightmare. By the time the Swarm had reached the US, most of humanity had already been wiped out. She remembered the suffocating feeling of being trapped in a protective suit just to step outside. It was foolish and futile to think that mankind could have survived. They hadn't even lasted two years, let alone sixty needed to even start.

And that knowledge, that painful truth, was enough to break Victoria in all new ways.

She eventually raised a brow and gestured towards Beta, "What about you? Don’t get me wrong, the grungy scrubs are a vibe but they don't exactly fit the tribal aesthetic."

“Do you remember the Odyssey?”

"The luxury colony ship that exploded while leaving Earth's orbit?" Beta looked away anxiously, and Victoria felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. "Oh, you can't be serious."

"Surprise…" Beta tried to joke weakly.

Victoria jumped to her feet and paced back and forth in anger, running a hand through her hair as hysterical laughter escaped her lips. "This is like something out of a science fiction nightmare!" She turned to face Beta, "So you grew up in the Sirius System?"

“I was technically cloned on a ship that returned to Earth from the Sirius System.”

There was a long, awkward silence, then —“What?”

Beta cleared her throat, but still nodded “I’m a clone. Of Doctor Elisabet Sobek. I was created During the return voyage from Sirius.”

Victoria didn’t have any real answer for that except another —”What?!”

“Look, it’s a long story, and I don’t think we need to really overwhelm you with all the details yet—”

“Victoria?” Beta paused and both of them turned to the curtained doorway, “May I come in?”

Hekarro's impeccable timing saved Beta from having to continue the conversation. She looked visibly relieved as Victoria scowled at her and muttered under her breath, "We are not finished talking about this." With a scowl, she replied loudly, "Yeah, whatever!"

Hekarro ducked into the room right as a mischievous glint crossed Beta's face. She jumped off the bed, holding out the empty journal for Victoria with a grin. "Tell you what: start writing in this and I'll tell you more! Bye, Victoria!

As Beta dashed out of the room, Hekarro couldn't help but smile while Victoria just scowled after her.

With a tired sigh, Victoria plopped back down on the bed and gave Hekarro a cold stare. "Chief," she greeted stiffly, to which he responded with a slight dip of his head and hand over his heart. "What do you want?"

He hesitated briefly, a movement too quick for her to catch if she hadn’t already been paying close attention. "Several squads are out patrolling today, so the Grove will be less crowded than usual. I wanted to know if you would like to accompany me on my rounds. Explore more of the Grove. That is, of course, if you feel up to it."

The memory of their last walk flashed through her mind – lying in the meadow, watching the stars and just… talking to each other. In this new world, it the only moment of happiness she really had. And that terrified her, even if she couldn’t explain why. Victoria eventually shrugged and sighed, rubbing the tension from her neck.

"Why not," she muttered under her breath. "I could use a distraction."

A rush of warmth spread across her face at the pleased expression on his handsome features, and she couldn't help but fight back a smile that tugged at her own lips. In one graceful motion, she stood and made her way towards the door, Hekarro following closely behind. Instead of turning towards the main hall, he veered left this time, leading her towards the back of the museum. The morning sun had risen above the horizon, casting its harsh light over the bustling crater filled with workers scurrying about like busy ants. As they reached a wooden overlook, the pair stood in silence and watched the scene from a distance. It was a surreal sight. The last she’d seen of this exhibit had been during the height of Operation: Enduring Victory, and before that when the museum had been filled with tourists. Now it was almost a shell of its former self, repurposed to fit the needs of the Tenakth.

“An arena?” She asked, unprompted. Hekarro nodded,

“I needed a proving ground for Marshal’s of my own.”

"You really did just take everything you could and make it your own, didn't you?" The words came out sharper than Victoria intended, but Hekarro didn't seem bothered as she glanced at him. There was a contemplative look on his face as he observed the activity below before speaking,

"We must seem like children to you," He sounded almost amused, "We grasp at any remnant of our lost history and repurpose it to fit our present needs, even if it strays from its intended purpose." He gestured towards the crater-turned-arena and chuckled. Victoria shrugged

“I just find it funny is all.”

Hekarro backed away from the edge of the overlook and began a leisurely stroll along the wall of the arena while she easily matched his stride. They passed by banners hanging in the makeshift stands, bringing splashes of color and life to the desolate landscape that had been destroyed by the Swarm.

"Why do you find this idea amusing?"

Victoria hesitated before responding, trying to have a little tact despite usually hammer-fisting her way through every social interaction. "I guess it's just interesting how some things never change for humans. Your tribe finds significance in ruins from my time, much like my people found meaning in ruins that were already thousands of years old. It's almost like how a Marshal is to you like how Rome was to my people."

“Different, yet strangely familiar.” Hekarro observed, “It must be unsettling to witness your own past being utilized in such new and unfamiliar ways. And to see the impact it has had on the world around it.” He turned to face her with a concerned expression, “If it brings any comfort, our intentions were never to offend, but rather to pay homage. We simply didn't fully comprehend the truth before us.”

“Was it willful ignorance on your part?” He blinked at her question, furrowed his brow, and shook his head.

“No, the truth was kept from us, and… I grieve for the future that was denied to us because of it.”

Victoria shrugged once more as they arrived at the next doorway, both of them turning to a passageway that led further into the Tenakth's architectural blend of past ruins. She let out a small huff at the sight and Hekarro's sentiment. "It's not entirely your fault," she pointed out, taking the lead this time and strolling down the ramp away from the arena and into the heart of the intricately crafted wooden platforms and walkways. She observed everything the Tenakth had built in the ruins of the museum. A few Tenakth were scattered about, talking and laughing in sheltered shadows from the morning heat. They glanced curiously at her as she passed by, quickly averting their gazes when they noticed their chief close behind. Victoria paused in the shadows of a particularly tall walkway that opened up to a second level above, sighing softly. “The only thing that matters, I guess, is what you plan on doing with the truth now that you know it.”

“And therein lies the issue at hand.” Hekarro said as he joined her. He too gazed up at all that his people had built before he turned that piercing gazed of his to her. “You’ve changed everything by simply surviving the impossible. Are my people even ready for that truth? Will they ever be? If they refuse it, where does that leave you?”

“Ignorance is bliss, sometimes.” Victoria grunted, "I wouldn't blame them for choosing it."

God knows she had tried, but unlike the Tenakth, Victoria didn’t have a choice but to accept the truth for what it was. With them? Everything could be twisted and warped to make sense.

“And if they choose denial? They already worship Anne as a deity, finding strength and solace in her. If they were to view you in a similar light…"

“I was never much for godhood.” She shook her head, “I don’t have that much of an ego.”

“What of a guide then?” Hekarro asked. Victoria hesitated, furrowing her brow as she crossed her arms. He raised his hands in a calming gesture, remaining composed even as he sensed her irritation. "If not to my tribe, then at least to me. Teach me everything, so that I may guide them."

It was an odd proposition for Victoria, as she had woken up without any purpose or direction. Before, all she cared about was survival - her own and that of her family - even as the Swarm continued to consume everything around them. But now, being asked to guide others felt like a slap in the face. Why her? What wisdom did she have that could be beneficial to Hekarro and his people? She felt like a ghost haunting her past life, a useless relic that didn't belong in this new world. In her darkest moments, she contemplated ending it all by jumping from the roof of this ruined monument of death and war, just to escape the guilt eating away at her from within. Why was she chosen to live and guide when it could have been Anne?

Anne, the peacekeeper. Anne, the devoted colonel. Anne, who gave her all to the people but not to her own daughter.

Anne, who had condemned Victoria to this hell.

Anne, who would have been more suited for this role.

Victoria dismissed her spiraling thoughts and shook her head. "I'm not sure what I could possibly offer your tribe that would be of value," she said.

"Considering all that was stolen from us?" His gaze locked onto hers, piercing through to the very depths of her being. It stole her breath away, leaving her lost in the intense warmth of his honey-brown eyes. "Everything."

It was terrifying how she believed him. Even more scary as she wordlessly nodded her head and sighed, “Well, alright then.” She almost scoffed in amusement, “Lesson one, I guess.”

Victoria gestured to the ruins around her as she started to walk again, following the path outside the cramped ante-chamber before the arena and outside the museum proper to the road overlooking the jungle, “Do you know why this place was built.”

“From my limited understanding, this is a memorial to the Ten. A place where their deeds and stories are preserved.”

Hekarro matched her slow pace as they walked slowly down that path back towards the museum entrance. He kept his gaze level to the tree line, observant and stern. Victoria didn’t notice anything when she looked, but he was more suited to the environment that she was anyway. She gave him a curt nod at his answer.

"That's the general idea. These 'Ten' were actually members of Joint Task Force 10, a branch of the US Air Force that still utilized human pilots. Their presence in this museum is just one small part of a much larger history. Have you listened to many of the exhibits?"

Hekarro nodded as they climbed back up the stairs into the main part of the museum, passing by flickering holograms in the shadows. "Recently, yes. But until a few months ago, most of them were broken or damaged. That's why our understanding of what's preserved here is limited."

“Then you must have heard about “The Hot Zone Crisis” mentioned several times?” Again, Hekarro nodded as they made their way through the hallways and back into the main antechamber before Hekarro's throne. Victoria paused in front of Anne's exhibit, standing still and silent with a frown on her face. “Anne grew up during that time. Our family home isn't far from here, just a few days' walk at best. She met my father while she was serving in the military, and witnessed firsthand how terrible the crisis was. Climate change was spiraling out of control, with nearly all areas in this region becoming uninhabitable due to extreme heat and droughts that were unforgivable. In 2036, our federal government issued an extremely controversial executive order. On paper, it was an attempt to limit the impact of the Hot Zone. They wanted to use their power to force people off their land and into temporary housing until a better solution could be found.”

“Forced?” Hekarro asked, his brow furrowed in concern.

“The federal government had the right of Eminent Domain, which allowed them to take control of certain land under certain circumstances. But at the time, many people in the Hot Zone saw it as a way for the government to seize their land and resources while forcing them to live in fenced-in camps. People refused to leave, and who could blame them? This was their home, no matter how difficult it was to live there. And the loudest voice against Order 73-H was Roberto Medina. He defied the federal government and used all his wealth and profits to provide proper housing for those who chose to stay on their land.”

“I can’t imagine your government was pleased about that.”

“They weren’t” Victoria shook her head, “And in response, the federal government cut off the Hot Zone from all water sources.”

“They’d rather let their own people die from the heat than allow them to stay?!”

“To prove a point and force obedience? Absolutely. And it only gave credence to the claims that the government didn’t care about the people. They just wanted the land. And that really lit a fire under people, and Medina reached out to outside sources to secure water for the Hot Zone. He signed a huge multiyear deal with a water cartel and he asked the Colonel of JTF 10, Edward De La Hoya, to not only protect the mining claims but to protect the water resources. It turned into the first armed conflict on American Soil since the Civil War some 200 years before that. US Robot command sent out drones force Medina and his allies into submission, and when JTF 10 proved just as capable of keeping up with the worlds most sophisticated AI, it turned deadly.”

"I wish I could say I was surprised that it escalated so quickly." Hekarro muttered, his gaze shifting towards Anne's exhibit.

"Some tried to prevent it from getting this far," Victoria commented, gesturing towards the exhibit. "Anne was one of them, and so was my father. They didn't believe that fighting would solve anything. When their call for peaceful resolution went unheard they instead focused on helping refugees - relocating those who wanted to leave the conflict zone or providing aid for those staying behind."

“An honorable cause.”

"A cause that got my father killed," she muttered, her eyes cast down to the sand before she turned and walked up the nearby stairs towards Hekarro's throne. She passed through the holograms into the backrooms, with the sound of her boots echoing off the walls until she finally reached the wooden overlook above the arena. "At some point, US Robot Command decided to launch a strike against Medina and his allies at their headquarters in an attempt to end the conflict once and for all. No one knows exactly what happened, but it's theorized that a JTF-10 munition struck a powering casing of a General Synthetic drone and caused a fission explosion." She pointed down into the crater. "That is all that remains of the base, of Medina, De La Hoya and his unit, and the nine hundred innocent people sheltered at the nearby refugee camp. Nine hundred lives lost, including my father's."

There was a long silence as Hekarro stood by her side. She fought back tears and looked at him. He met her gaze with steady empathy. She wanted to hate him, but couldn't find it in her heart.

"Do you see why I despise this place?" she asked, shaking her head in frustration. "It took everything from me before I was even born. It killed a man I never had the chance to meet - only heard about in stories that my Anne refused to tell me. It changed the woman who gave birth to me, who pushed me away in favor of her duty and pursuit of peace because it's what my father stood for. And even worse, it continued to take until it became my prison for a thousand years. This is not just a place of honor, Hekarro, but a monument to death and loss. Because war does not leave a lasting record of whether it was fought for noble purpose or if it was justified. All that remains in history are the innocent lives taken by war."

Victoria could feel the weight of her anger hanging between them, thick and heavy. She noticed a distant and far-away look in his eyes, as if he was lost in a painful memory. But then his focus shifted back to her, meeting her intense gaze with a softness that caught her off guard. "Thank you," he said, dipping his head slightly and sending his long hair cascading over his shoulder. His hand rested over his heart as he spoke. "For sharing this with me. I understand that it cannot be easy to live here. Constantly reliving these painful memories each day. I am sorry if my desires have caused you more pain."

She couldn't stand how genuine he was being. She wiped at her tears furiously, "A trade then?” She said, almost chuckling as she asked of him the very same thing he’d asked of her not that long ago. A question for a question. Does that sound fair?”

Hekarro's chuckled at that, it’s warmth setting alit a nervous flutter in Victoria’s gut. She turned away from him, hoping to hide the tell-tale blush on her cheeks. "A fair trade," he chimed in, following her as she walked back to her quarters. They were down the hall when she saw Beta emerge from Victoria’s room, clutching a few tools to her chest while another woman, who bore a striking resemblance to Beta, followed shortly after. The pair of them froze when they noticed Victoria and Hekarro, but turned to exchange knowing smirks.

“It’s all set!” Called Beta.

She turned to Hekarro, confused and irritated, but found him gazing warmly at her, a wicked smirk on his face that quirked a corner of his mouth. With an elegant gesture, he held open the curtain to her door and motioned for her to enter first. As they stepped inside, Victoria's breath caught in wonder. Orchid vines cascaded from the ceiling, their delicate petals caressed by sun rays peeking through the damaged roof. The vibrant colors of orange, pink, red and purple danced in the light. Hekarro stood behind her, still smiling when she turned to face him.

"You planned this," she said, shocked. "You asked me to go for a walk just to get me out of my room."

"I admit my deceit," he said with a hint of mischief in his gaze. Victoria wanted nothing more than to wipe that smug grin off his handsome face. Instead, she scowled at him, hoping her face wasn't as red as it felt. "I wasn't sure if we could plant orchids in the trees above your room, but once Aloy and Beta assured me it was possible, I agreed to distract you so we could surprise you."

“Why?”

He bent down and picked up an orchid that had fallen to the floor. He held it out to her. "I gave them to you because I noticed how much you liked them," he explained, his voice gentle and sincere. "and because I wanted to give you something that brings joy instead of sorrow." She accepted the flower, it’s petals soft beneath her fingertips "There is still beauty in this world, Victoria, even amidst all the pain," he whispered, his hand tenderly resting on her wrist as he gazed at her with warmth in his eyes that took her breath away. "And I want to show you every bit of it."

With a final smile, Hekarro excused himself and left the room, leaving Victoria speechless and awestruck. She returned to her bed and laid down, looking up at the swaying orchids above her as she held onto the stray bud in wonder.

And in that moment, the world seemed a little more colorful than it did before.

#I'm crying #I cry and admire her strength #Victoria deserves all the orchids in this world #and coffee

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