RP XCOM: The Story of Defiance.

[DarkGemini24601]

DarkGemini24601 and BMPixy: “The Power to do Something, Part 1”

XCOM Headquarters, Somewhere in Siberia
1445 Hours, November 21st, 2018
Main Gymnasium

A good portion of the gym was cleared out, aside from spectators, curious as to what the metallic gray-haired young woman was planning on doing. Emma Exalt stood on one end of this makeshift ring, her arms crossed expectantly, while on the other end was an odd menagerie. She had four ‘opponents’:Jamie, Buniq, Inderpal, and Sarah.

“You may go first, Miss Stewart,” Emma intoned, going into a defensive stance with her hands ready to spring forward.

“Glad I know that you know what you’re doing,” Jamie muttered, before lifting two ten-pound weights into the air with a faint red glow around the metallic objects. The assault send them flying at Emma with a telekinetic nudge.

The shadow operative was quick to lift her hands, a faint purple hue emanating from them and her forehead, and the red glow around the weights was tainted by blue, turning Emma’s own purple. The weights were suspended, countered by neural feedback, and then send back at Jamie. The assault narrowly caught them. “Not bad,” Jamie offered.

Emma nodded slightly. “I have had practice… Viktor’s last attack certainly progressed my ability to counter that ability quite nicely,” she said, slightly amused by how the last actions of that hated foe had the opposite effect intended. “Though I would prefer to not test if I can stop a tank from being hurled at me.”

“I doubt I could do that,” Jamie responded, rubbing the back of her head. “You’re up, Buniq.”

The chryssalid hybrid hesitantly stepped forward, a faint glow around her amber-tinted eyes. “A-Are you s-sure a-about th-this?”

“It will not harm me if I fail to counter it. And when I do so I shall ensure that the effects upon you will not be drastic,” Emma replied, undaunted.

Seeming to accept that, Buniq send a few twisted lines of orange Emma’s way, conjuring up an image of a Muton towering over Emma in the other clone’s mind. The neural feedback countered the hesitant psi panic, however, and Emma sent it straight back at Buniq. The hybrid wasn’t very affected by the returned ability though, having enough resistance to dispel it from her head.

“And if all else fails the genetic neural feedback can take over with a simple defensive jolt,” Emma mused. “Continue.”

Inderpal was up next, conjuring a mass of flame around Emma. The purple ‘anti’-psion managed to keep the flames away from her directly, but quickly found she was fighting a losing battle trying to get rid of more than what she could handle. “Enough, enough!” she said with a bit of a panic, and Inderpal let the flames die down. “I can only block so much with only a weak ability to use those abilities on my own.” The shadow operative demonstrated her point by creating a small flame in her hand, the size of a large candle at best.

“Technical knowledge up to you,” Inderpal defended.

Emma raised an eyebrow. “Perhaps. But… be a little more careful with the psi lance, please.” Inderpal nodded in agreement, creating a weaker version of his typical psionic bolt, and send it at Emma. Countering it, she let it disperse rather than hurling the attack back at her opponent. “And finally, Miss Wong.”

Sarah stretched out a hand, sending a regular blue mindfray at Emma, and as usual, it was countered, sending the Chinese sniper back a few steps as she recovered. “You said… the next thing might be worse…” Sarah warned.

“I did,” Emma replied nonchalantly. “If you do not put much effort into it, though, the effects will probably be less noticeable.”

With a sigh, Sarah closed her eyes, trying to get a picture of Emma in her head with ESP. Focusing the ability on Emma, though, the blue psion felt a sudden headache, and called it off.

“So it does offer some protection against mental spying… interesting.” Emma clapped her hands together. “Thank you all for your aid. If I require further practice or testing, I will know who to ask for.”

The four psions opposite Emma gave their assent, and then dispersed, as did the crowd. The gray-haired clone shifted her gaze to the side, noting a familiar face that had joined the crowd at some point. “Hello, Mr. Foulke.”

Albert nodded, and replied. “Greetings to you as well.” He made his way over to the edge of the ring, adding, “Interesting use of neural feedback there, I must say. Almost makes me wish I were a psion.”

Emma shrugged. “I do my best. Though while I have basic control over the offensive abilities I can gain access to, that is merely to allow the psionic side of my neural feedback to be used to throw the attacks back at my enemy. What happened with Sarah’s ESP was simply a passive defensive from the genetic half.”

“True, but hey, we need more defences against psionic attacks, and if you can teach what you did to any of the other psions on base, we’ll be that much safer, especially from more physical abilities,” Albert said, rolling his shoulders slightly. “After all, gene mods protect from manipulation, but don’t do all that much when taking a psi lance to the face.”

“Indeed. It is helpful to be able to throw it back,” Emma replied, stretching her arms behind her back for a moment. “How have you been since last we spoke? I know you were at the infirmary for a good while.”

“A good number of weeks, I’d say,” the infantry answered, mentally running over the date. “Been out of the sickbay for a couple weeks now, so it has definitely been a while. So how have you been holding up, by the way?”

“I have been training these abilities, and generally working alongside engineering projects whenever I can,” Emma stated. “Progress with the clone of Lily, Poinsettia, has been good. With the operation that removed her implanted memories, it is seeming more and more likely that she will be safe to discharge.”

Albert raised his eyebrow uncertainly. “Really? I dunno, still not sure I can trust another enemy turned ally, even if they were acting due to tampering with their brain. Some things are inherent to a personality, y’know, and she may decide that she was happier with her other memories rather than reality.”

“Is that why she went to speak with Elene, and I detected forgiveness in their conversation?” Emma shook her head. “Caution is not unwarranted, but neither is unnecessary suspicion.” Hypocritical coming from me, isn’t it?

Albert gave a half-hearted shrug in response. “Eh, to be honest, I’m only being paranoid out of habit. After all, pretty much everybody I mistrusted, aside from those two xenos, has turned out to actually want to help us, so I figure if I keep being suspicious of every defector, we won’t have any betrayals, if that makes sense.”

“Understandable. Though… I did want to ask how you were doing on a more personal level. I know that you’ve had to deal with numerous battlefield losses, and I wanted to make sure they were not breaking you down,” Emma asked.

Albert was silent for a moment, thinking over how to answer the question. “It’s something I accepted a long time ago, that I’d lose soldiers,” he said. “After all, they signed up for this. Or, well, at least that’s what I keep telling myself. But then I’m holding in my XO’s guts as I desperately call for a medic, and he keeps crying that he doesn’t want to die, not here, not so far from home.” Albert turned to the side and stared out into space, letting out a small sigh. “I like to think that I honor their memory, and I try to do my best in protecting all the others under my command by leading close to the front, so I take the bullets with their names on it. Still doesn’t stop it from hurting when one gets through to them.”

“I cannot attest to having suffered as much as you, but I know the feeling. The sinking feeling when you turn to see the throat of one of those under your command crushed by a seeker you shouldn’t have missed… that’s the reason I got bioelectric skin not long after,” Emma explained, looking at her arms for a moment.

“Aye, and a similar reason is why I got neural dampening,” Albert replied. “Especially when those damn aliens try to use us as their puppets. It’s bad enough when a soldier gets mind controlled, but it’d be disastrous if a section leader got brain-jacked. Not only do you have a friend shooting at you, but the chain of command is shot to hell.” The Amero-Anglican thought back to the first alien base assault, all those months ago, and involuntarily clenched his fists. “Got damn lucky then.”

I suppose it’s a good thing Sunny made that headset to aid him in resisting manipulation. “Luck is a part of life, it would seem. Or rather, the blunders of the enemy. We would likely not have made it this far if they hadn’t underestimated humanity for so long, correct? So the same applies for that particular situation.”

“I dunno, it seems less and less like they’re underestimating us,” Albert said, “and more so that they’re guiding us. After all, you’ve heard how much they mention ‘the Path’, who knows if we’re just following along it just as they expect? After all, you’ve probably heard the saying ‘losing the battle but winning the war’. Could be that we’re winning the war, but they’re going to win whatever comes after..”

Emma frowned. “I wouldn’t be so pessimistic about it. The individual views about this ‘Path’ of theirs are very unclear and disparate. It certainly doesn’t have the makings of a master plan with no flaws. And losing their entire council of Overseers is most assuredly not what they would have intended. The fact that Ethereals are not as zealous as their followers proves that they care more about self-preservation than some abstract vision.”

 

[BMPixy]

The infantry shrugged dismissively. “Regardless, the closer we get to the seeming end of this war, the more I get this sense of impending doom. After all, if we’re moving according to their Path, then they have a way of winning this war for sure. If not, then our valiant resistance will eventually grow intolerable to them, and they lash out with a kind of force we haven’t seen before. I mean, we might get lucky and never draw their full ire, but I don’t like to rely on plans that solely work on luck.”

“Let me counter with an adage of my own. Someone who goes into battle expecting to lose probably will. You are assuming that the Ethereals are superior beings with a plan beyond our comprehension. They are not.” Emma crossed her arms. “Atka’s description of their leader sounded like an unstable despot who appears wise in public but has a fiery temper in truth. Not exactly someone who is going to make expert tactical decisions. They may have significant military might, but there is no reason for them to throw everything they have at us and leave their homeworld vulnerable. And if they intended to destroy us or enslave us entirely, they would have done so if they could succeed. Any plans they had in the past have failed at this point.”

“Aye, I can see your logic there. Still, while listening to my gut has cost me soldiers, it hasn’t cost me that many battles.” Albert scratched the back of his neck uncertainly. “Though, to be honest, this is the first time I’ve wanted my gut instinct to be wrong.”

Emma sighed. “While one’s intuition is certainly useful in battle, I wouldn’t count on it being right in terms of warfare. We know much about the Ethereal empire at this point. Their capabilities, some of the worst they have to offer, among other things. Yes, we are outmatched, but we have always been outmatched.” Emma clasped her hands together. “We now have plasma weaponry for our ground troops, and the skies are dominated by firestorms with fusion weapons the aliens only appear to have on their largest ships. We may be facing fearsome giants like their battleships at this stage, but we have the power to deal with them. Uncertainty and worry will not win this war. Determination, adaptation, and continued cleverness will.”

“I can get behind that,” Albert replied. “But all I can hope is that we don’t overestimate how much over our weight-class we can punch. After all, discretion is the better part of valor, and the most important part of winning a war like the one we’re in is to pick the right battles.”

“I’m not suggesting we fly the Skyranger straight at a battleship and try to board it mid-flight because we think we’re untouchable, though,” Emma responded. “Just that we know our strengths and don’t believe we can’t win or are being lead along like sheep. Humanity isn’t that easily fooled by outsiders.”

“Indeed. Hope shall never die, and all that jazz,” Albert said. “Anyways, enough about the realities of the war, and the uncertainty surrounding our own fates. How’s your tachypsychia training been going?”

Emma scratched her head. “I may have… neglected it a bit, but progress is good, if a little slow.”

“Try to find some time to work on it, alright? Quite the useful tool in the battlefield.” Albert replied. “Also, if you’re into getting more gene mods, try grabbing some Reaction Time Overclockers, it synergizes quite well with tachypsychia, allowing your body to match your brain’s pace.”

Emma tapped her head. “Already has something that serves that purpose,” she expounded. “Perhaps better, since I can have an uplink to Avanix if I need extra processing power.”

“Jeez, you make my set of skills sound like the outdated prototype,” Albert said jokingly. “Though I suppose that’s a bit of a trend with me. No nifty mind powers, enough mods to protect me and improve my skills, but otherwise I’m just a guy with a gun and a pair of fists.”

“If you feel that way, why have you avoided augmenting yourself further?” Emma inquired.

“Thinking about after the war,” Albert replied. “After all, I’ve got a wife back home waiting for me, and after this war I plan on dropping out of the military entirely. No need to go completely fucking up my genome if I’m not gonna be using it all that much later in life.”

Emma resisted every urge to tense when Albert mentioned his wife, knowing doing so would be a grave mistake indeed. “I see. Though I am fairly certain that the Tz6 augmentations have no bearing on children. It is a separate entity attached to your DNA, if you want to think about it like that.”

“Aye, but I’m thinking more so in the sense that pretty much every mod we have is geared towards fighting a war, aside from something like Adaptive Bone Marrow or the one with the biceps,” Albert said. “But, since I’m not gonna be fighting any more wars, I doubt I’m gonna need anything more than the pair of mods I already have.”

“That depends on how you look at it,” Emma countered. “Bioelectric skin could save you from being ‘mugged’, iron skin from an accident, perhaps something involving broken glass. Many of the muscular and vital enhancements would be ideal for a stronger worker.” Emma pointed at her odd eyes. “And the eye modifications obviously help with anything from data entry, to reading, to avoiding being hit by an oncoming car.”

“Then just call it personal preference.” Albert shrugged nonchalantly. “I’m a fine enough soldier as I am, and I’ll be a fine enough civilian as I am. Might mark me as a bit conservative, but that’s just the way I view things.”

Emma smiled slightly. “Why did you not say so in the first place, then?”

 

[BMPixy]

“Because I like to wrap simple beliefs within complex ones,” Albert replied. “After all, most people expect somebody’s reason for doing anything to be deep rooted, psychological stuff, why not give them what they want?”

Emma shrugged. “Perhaps I can only say this because I am less used to societal constraints, but I find living according to other’s expectations boring. When it is necessary, sure. But otherwise I am true to my own desires and behavioral patterns.”

“Well, you’ll probably find that when you head out into the world, especially the big cities, there’s a certain societal trend of scratching each other’s backs. If you follow at least some of the norms, you get rewarded with friends and companions, perhaps even something more,” Albert explained. “And, on the other side of the coin, playing along with the trends allows you to manipulate others more effectively.”

Emma shrugged. “Perhaps. But with the technology we have to offer, society is going to have to put up with some of our quirks if they want to benefit from what we’ll be offering.”

“And that’s why I only said some of the norms,” Albert pointed out. “After all, if we all observe the norms absolutely, there’s no variety in life.”

“We shall see, I suppose,” Emma responded. “But either way, the Exalt family will have an easy way of making a living once this is all over.”

“Aye, the organ industry will never be the same,” the infantry mused. “And if certain laws get lifted, neither will death.”

Emma raised an eyebrow. “I meant all the new technology we have gained in general. And what do you mean by that?”

“Well, you guys are pretty much the best cloners on Earth, barring the aliens,” Albert explained. “And once you get that whole personality- and memory-transfer thing down, you can take anybody who doesn’t die from cranial detonation and bring them back, healthy as can be.”

“The only way the transfer of Luxuria was possible was through an organic shell without a consciousness of its own, and the transfer of the brain itself,” Emma furthered. “Immortality might be possible with the Tz6, but I think most would prefer not ending up like the Ethereals. As for memories, those can be copied down, but personality… not without psionics. Ultimately, a brain transfer to a fresh body would be a temporary solution, but the human brain has its own lifespan. Once that runs out, or it starts experiencing troubles like Alzheimers, I’m not so sure even Tz6 can save it.”

“True, but that’s just one more obstacle to conquering death. And, to be honest, I’d like to see a world where my children don’t have to worry about dying without seeing a long life before them,” Albert said. “Even if it makes us like the Ethereals, I’d say we’re fundamentally different enough on a species-wide scale to avoid their fate.”

“Was it not incredibly long lifespans that lead to the Ethereals being led along this ‘Path’ for so long? And psionics that gave them the power to enslave other species, a power we have.” Emma crossed her arms. “I believe we can handle that power, but relying simply on concepts of morality while becoming exactly like them isn’t good enough. And I would prefer immortality only if I could stay in my original body. What Luxuria did is not an experience I would wish to undertake, lest I start comparing myself to Invidia.”

“True, but imagine all the lives such a thing could preserve. For so long, when the body failed, that meant the end. But with that, we could nearly stop children from growing up without parents, lovers from being separated by tragic accidents, and all sorts of other things,” Albert said, excitement contained deep in his voice.

“Perhaps at the cost of abandoning our humanity. Without death as a factor, eventually we reach the end of our progression. And if everyone lives forever, then no one new is born, and thus the cycle of life reaches its end,” Emma replied, unconvinced. “Ascension is the Ethereal’s aim. It shouldn’t be ours.”

The infantry’s brow furrowed. “Why do people always assume that people will stop having kids just because they’re immortal? I mean, the kids of the previous generation will always want to show their devotion to their lovers somehow, and it isn’t like that particular biological drive is going anywhere soon. And besides, I never said anything about wanting Ascension, I just want to see a world where nobody dies, where nobody has to suffer like I or countless others have.”

“If we continue to have children then overpopulation would destroy us.” Emma frowned. “There are lengths to which I am willing to go. I have no real qualms about cloning, except for the risk of their end in battle. But… a perfect world sounds like one most distasteful. Wasn’t it fear of death that spurred our ancestors to improve themselves? Wasn’t it our desire to stop hostile invaders that want to force their mindset on us that caused us to adapt? If you were to force immortality -because not everyone would want that- then the evolution of the human races reaches its end. Progress stops, and that is never what our research was intended to do.”

“Eh, suppose that we’ll just have to agree to disagree, then,” Albert said, realizing the fruitlessness of this argument and giving a slight shrug. “I certainly hope this little argument hasn’t soured our relationship.”

Emma shrugged. “Just don’t expect me to use my research towards a goal I don’t agree with.”

“I can hope, but I won’t force you,” the infantry replied. Albert glanced up at a nearby clock, and added, “Regardless, I best be going. Have to check with the docs on how my arm’s strength is recovering.” Emma nodded slightly, and the infantry departed.

 

[MarineAvenger]

“Ace of Cups”
XCOM Headquarters, Somewhere in Siberia
1156 Hours, November 21st, 2018
The Bar

Chopper shook his head disappointedly, laying down his cards in defeat. “Alright, whatever, you get the pot,” he said dismissively. Fay nodded, scooping the collection of chips towards her own sizeable pile. “How’d you even get such a good poker face, anyways?” the interceptor pilot added.

“Necessity,” Fay replied. “Regardless, seems you are out of chips. Tomorrow, then?”

“Yeah, I suppose,” Davenport responded. “I’ll see if I can grab Grimm and Nagase for the game as well, just so I’m not the one losing all my money. Anyways, I’ll see you then, Fay.” With that, the interceptor pilot stood from his chair, gave a brief wave, and made his way out of the bar. As Chopper left, Fay began putting the collection of chips back into their carrying case, cleaning up the corner table until the only thing left on it was the case and Fay’s drink, of which the sniper took a final sip.

A few moments later, one of the chairs to the table Fay was sitting at was pulled back and Minato sat down, cracking a slight smile after he greeted the sniper. “How are you today?”

“Very well,” Fay replied, turning to face Minato. “Made a tidy sum off of a friend of mine. End of the world chip values add up quite quickly.”

“I didn’t think anyone had any actual money on base. Not really much need when we get all our meals and stuff for free.” He stated, sitting back and interlocking his fingers.

“Payouts dealt after war,” Fay explained. “Chip values at ten thousand, twenty-five thousand, and fifty thousand dollars a piece. If two or more of the parties involved survive the war, chip values of ten cents, twenty-five, and fifty cents respectively.”

“Crude, maybe a bit borderline morbid but at least it passes time.” The bartender brought over a strange looking bottle and a small cup.

“You guys like sake, right?” The bartender asked.

“Yes, thank you.” Minato looked back to Fay and grinned. “Care to try one of the world’s strongest drinks?”

“I shall have one,” Fay replied, motioning for a glass. “Though I shall admit, not proficient at holding drink.”

“Who is?” The shinobi asked, pouring her a very small amount and taking a little more than her. “To the end of the war.”

“And to the peace after,” Fay added, before taking her glass and swallowing a gulp. To give her credit, Fay did manage to get the entire gulp down before having to sputter for air, the strength of the drink catching her off guard and causing her eyes to water slightly. “Certainly… lives up to the boast,” Fay added, coughing slightly.

Minato chuckled to himself, taking his own with slightly less after effects. “That is what *cough* what makes it such a good celebration drink.”

Fay rubbed her eyes, wiping away the tears that had formed, and replied, “Perhaps, though personally enjoy being able to survive the next morning as well.”

“Part of the fun of sake.” The shinobi adjust himself in his seat and looked at Fay with a curious look. “So last time we were together we had a nice talk and lunch, I had fun spending time with you last time and coming from me, that is quite the compliment.”

“Now you attempt to liquor me up and pay me compliments,” Fay analyzed. “Though the conversation and meal was enjoyable, I begin to wonder what motives you hide, shinobi.”

Minato just shrugged his shoulder and poured another round of sake. “I would be lying if I didn’t say you interest me Fay Henderson. You are definitely...an intriguing woman.”

Fay nodded uncertainly, biting her lip as she thought over what to say. “Interesting observation then,” she said as a placeholder to keep the conversation going. “Assume because I’m the one person on base who doesn’t annoy you with pointless questions and needless conversation?”

“That factors into it.” The shinobi confirmed, holding the sake close to his mouth but just staring at it. “Plus I have heard of your exploits on the battlefield, which is quite impressive...and you are a good looking woman.” He told the sniper, looking at her and drinking the alcohol.

Fay blushed slightly, the small amount of alcohol she had beginning to work through her brain. “Compliments noted,” she replied, before glancing over Minato and adding, “Not unattractive yourself, either.”

Minato smirked. “Glad to know I left an impression. I had worried a little that I annoyed you the first we met, but I am happy you enjoyed it.”

“No cause for annoyance,” Fay said, shaking her head. “Merely struck upon a couple of nerves, nothing intentional, thus nothing to deteriorate relationship.” Fay paused for a moment, in thought, before saying, “Pour another.”

He did as she asked, and slid her the small cup, putting the bottle down and picking away at the small amount of nuts in a bowl. Upon receiving the drink, Fay stopped for a brief second, thinking over what she was about to do, before shaking her head and downing the drink in a pair of gulps. Again, the strength of the drink left her gasping for air, but the sniper merely shook it off, letting the alcohol have its way with her mind.

“So, we both have an eye for each other. What should we do about it?” The shinobi asked nonchalantly.

Fay tensed slightly, her mind struggling between the inhibition-loosening of the alcohol and the worries of a repeat of the past. After a short pause, she replied, “More conversation, perhaps? Best get to know more… intimately, before acting on base impulses.”

“What sorts of things do you like to do? No one spends all their time shooting, so there must be some interests or hobbies you have.”

“Penchant for mathematics, as you likely intuited from my choice of degree,” Fay said. “Also write some poetry, when free time can be found.”

“I never figured you a writer. Are they private works or stuff you would be one day willing to share with another?”

“Some works are more private, though I do have a body of work meant more for public perception, if you are so inclined.”

“I may be interested at some point in the near future, but you will need to get me a little more drunk before I can go back to your room with you.” Minato smirked and chuckled, wanting to make Fay smile.

The corners of Fay’s mouth lifted slightly, and she shook her head with a small degree of mirth. “A shame, consider it one of my better works. Though the two objectives are slightly contradictory, as if you are drunk, you’ll find it rather difficult to enjoy the poetry.”

“If it came from you, I would imagine I would enjoy it regardless.” He poured himself and Fay a third drink, Minato brave enough to try a third. He took it down and had to squeeze his eyes shut, shaking his head as it swam.

 

[BMPixy]

Fay contemplate the drink in front of her, before giving in to the drink and swallowing it down, the after-effects lessening as her body adjusted to the alcohol. “Cer… cert… certainly intent on finding your way to my room then, it seems,” she said, struggling to pull the words together as the drink worked its magic in her brain.

‘It isn’t...that important. Though I will let the records show I...I am just as smashed as you are.” Minato tried to consider some ideas but his head was too messed up to think clearly so he opted to just stand up and move into a seat that was closer to Fay. “Though I should ask before doing anything more to embarrass myself but...is a relationship with you too far out of the question?”

Fay grabbed her left shoulder uncertainly, rubbing the spot as she stared down at the table embarrassedly. “... do not know,” she said uncertainly. “You are pleasant company, a brave warrior from all accounts, and attractive. But… afraid of falling again, only to lose again.”

“What...are you talking about?” He asked, his tone actually curious and worried.

“Four years ago, met a man, a fellow Marine, named James Bekowski. We… grew to care for one another over the months, taking care to avoid charges of frat...” Fay paused for a moment, trying to think of the word, before shaking her head and continuing. “Of an illicit relationship. We courted over the next two years, even contemplated retiring and taking up a life together, but… it was not to be. September 3rd, 2016, I had to make a decision. The man I cared for, or the mission I had to perform.” Fay stopped there, letting the implications set in as she turned away from Minato slightly.

Minato looked at Fay for a moment and finally he put a hand on her shoulder and turned her back towards him. “You don’t worry me Fay and whatever happened…” He shook his head. “Whatever happened...happened. It is not place for me to judge you for the choices you have made.”

“Per… perhaps,” Fay replied, avoiding Minato’s gaze. She chuckled bitterly, shaking her head, before leaning into Minato’s chest and wrapping her arms around him. “Suppose I shall have to avoid repeating the past, then…”

“I have some faith in you. If there is ever a problem,” Minato put his hand under Fay’s chin and tilted her head up to look at him. “Then we should deal with it together. I imagine me and you could make quite the team.”

Fay met eyes with Minato, and gave a small smile. “A… a sniper always needs her spotter, and unless the alcohol is having that much of an effect…” Fay paused, and continued, “Perhaps you could be mine.” With that, Fay leaned up towards Minato and kissed him, briefly and chastely.

Minato’s mind took a moment to process the action and a slow smile crept up on his face. “Then it is settled.” Minato leaned down and kissed her again, letting her decide when to stop.

After a long moment, Fay broke off the kiss, her face flushed with a mixture of the alcohol and excitement. “Never learned of your hobbies, did I?” she said jokingly, leaning into Minato’s chest. “Suppose there shall be plenty of time later, then.”

“Yes, it seems we will be spending a lot more time together now, doesn’t it?” The shinobi smiled. “This might be a little premature but…” Minato looked to the bar door. “I wouldn’t be adverse to leave with you today, even if this may well just be the alcohol talking right now.”

Fay ran an errant finger up and down Minato’s chest, and replied. “Yes, neither would I… perhaps have you sample a bit more than my writings…” With that, Fay broke from the embrace, and stood from her chair, an expectant smile splayed on her face.

As the shinobi got up from his chair, Minato took Fay’s hand in his and followed her out of the bar, his expressionless face replaced by a happy smile of his own.

 

[Taxor_the_First]

My Innermost Apocalypse, Part 1

Siberia, X-COM HQ, Civilian Quarters
7:02 AM, November 21st

It was the same dream as always. Behind her, the sounds of laughing, chatting. In front of her stood a large wooden door, horribly familiar. In fact, the whole room was familiar. Penny had spent the first twelve years of her life here, after all.

It was dark outside. Raining, too. Miserable weather. At least it was warm and dry in here. It had to be, for the guests.

As she always had, Penny pondered why she was back here, in the house in which she had seen something she had never wanted to see. Where the first and last shreds of her innocence had been forcefully ripped away.

The thought made her want to run out, leave the house again, find somewhere else to stay the night. But the rain made her reconsider. That, and the fact that she’d be running out on her guests. No, she had to stay. Make sure everything was fine. She could leave after at any time. There was no rush.

As soon as she thought that, the scientist felt a wave of dread sweep over her, as it always did at this point. Slowly, she got up from the stair she’d been sitting on, and approached the door. Looking through the eye-hole, she saw a familiar silhouette trudging towards the house, the rain seemingly not factoring into his movements. He walked slowly, deliberately, purpose clear in his stride. It was that purpose that scared Penny.

She considered locking the door. Indeed, as she thought this one of the guests called out to her, his voice sounding oddly familiar too. “Penny, could you lock the door? We don’t want to be disturbed, we’re having far too much fun!” There was a cheer of assent from the other guests, and they went back to their carousing.

The request carried with it a certain compulsion. Now she had to lock the door. There couldn’t be any gate-crashers, not here, not tonight. But there was another push, this time from within her, to not lock the door. Not strong enough to completely eliminate the other, but enough to make her hesitate. Enough for the silhouette to reach the door and turn the handle.

And that was when Penny awoke, as she always did. She started upwards, eyes wide open, clamping down on her heavy breathing for the benefit of her roommate. Then she remembered she didn’t have one any longer, and proceeded to breathe heavily again.

When she’d calmed down again, she placed a hand on her forehead. She was sweating, though not from heat. She pulled up her blanket and wiped the liquid from her brow, and glanced over at the clock. Just after seven. She still had plenty of time to sleep before she had to start work.

But as always, try as she might, sleep wouldn’t come. Every time she was close, the silhouette reappeared in her mind, and chased away the fog of rest attempting to cloud her mind. Protecting her, as he always had, from what she wanted.

 

[Adrammalech]

// ALMOST THERE //
Emily Fischer
XCOM Headquarters – Alien Containment Unit
Siberia, Russian Federation
November 19th, 2018 - 4:25 PM

Luxuria ran from wall to wall quickly, until she recognized Emily as she walked into the room. Her cell was flavored with wooden furniture including a bed, armchair, armoire, and a vanity, which was interspersed between the alien fixtures she had requested before. She wiped her forehead and looked into her mirror, making sure to make herself up before walking to the part of glass between her and Emily.

“Working out?” Emily asked.

“Yeah, now that my body can actually retain fat, I have to flex it,” Luxuria sighed. “I don’t mind, though. Everything strains and glides so smoothly. I believe your men like it when a woman sweats, too.”

“Just as long as they can see your chest, they like anything,” Emily smirked.

“Such a derisive viewpoint, but refrained so often. In our society, it is nothing but genes and health viability that matters to our breeding. For a species that believes so often in romance and love, you all take a very cynical view of opposite sexes.”

“Contradiction’s important to us, remember?”

“So it seems,” Luxuria sighed, stepping away and dropping into a chair, breathing awkwardly as she tried to pant. “You are a little late…did you bring my dress?”

“Ah, shit...I’ll bring it back in a couple days,” Emily said.

“That works for me,” Luxuria smirked, not about to deny another visit. “How are your psionics coming along? I feel as though we haven’t talked about them in a while.”

“Good. I learned how to do Psi Lance from Desmond, and I’ve been working on perfecting it so I can use it in rift.”

“Really? I suppose that shouldn’t surprise me, with your resourcefulness. Avaritia uses…” a pained expression flashed across her face, and she shook her head, “used…his red abilities in the same fashion, although he didn’t like it. He likened it to biological weapons once, horrible to use but sometimes necessary.”

“I don’t see how biological would be necessary when we have nuclear,” Emily retorted.

“If it was the only way to survive, you’d use either or,” Luxuria replied. “As I’m sure he did.”

“Speaking of which, I had a memory…as you. I saw Avaritia, and Ira, before you ever came to Earth.”

“I suppose that’s not surprising, you’ve been exposed to me for a few months. Did you enjoy seeing me as a good little soldier?”

“I more liked seeing you with Avaritia…and I didn’t know your father abused you. I saw him raise his hand to you…”

“He did, in my 10th cycle. I told him…something rude, and he hit me in the face with a Psi Lance. It split my first mask in half and hurt like a plasma burn. I was a pathetic, sniveling pile for several hours, then he threatened to do it again if I didn’t obey him. That’s all I really needed to listen…or at least, pretend to listen.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through that…” Emily frowned.

“I learned to be myself instead of someone’s daughter,” Luxuria replied coldly.

“I suppose that’s a positive outlook.”

“I do not excuse him, nor do I miss him,” she got up from her chair, “but I overcame it, and that is what I choose to fixate on. There were many obstacles between my childhood and my rise to Overseer, and I ran them over without thought or analysis.”

“Sounds kind of cold when you say it like that.”

“In human sentiment, maybe…but it was my nature.”

Luxuria pulled open the doors to her wardrobe, the wood panels long and wide enough to barely obscure her from view as she stepped up to them. A few moments more and the thin, practical garments of the fatigues she was lent fell to her feet. The sound of hangers and rods clinked and swished beyond view as she looked through the dresses she had.

“We’re moving on Superbia soon,” Emily said out of the blue, leaning against the glass.

The clinking stopped for a moment. “Are…are you being sent there?”

“Probably not, but situations could always change, why?”

“I don’t want you going,” Luxuria replied, resuming flipping through her outfits.

“Again, why?”

“You humans are almost there. Superbia may have been equal in title to me, but he is just as powerful as many of the elder members of our hierachy. His namesake is well suited, and he has reason to be proud. He is the only amongst our rank that can handle five psionic schools with any semblance of efficiency.” A thin red sash flung out from the doors and then back around.

“Pride comes before a fall, as they say. History’s full of people underestimating their enemies, including most of the Ethereals we’ve seen.”

“This is not a fairy tale, Emily. He will not underestimate you just because he is confident. Your soldiers should treat this battle as though they were fighting the Honored Overseer himself. His Mind Control will be able to dominate even talented psions, his Psi Lances will hit harder than bullets, and you already know how powerful a combination of two colors can be. Imagine a combination of five colors.”

Emily considered the possibilities, looking nervously forwards. Luxuria stepped away from the armoire, clad in a medieval-style flowing dress of gold silk with a little fur and some crimson accents and laces, accentuating her bust and meshing with her hair. The long out-of-date style hugged her enviously well.

“Like it?” Luxuria showed off.

“A little old, but nice,” Emily nodded. “So if it’s not pride, what’s his weakness?”

Luxuria stared forwards, then shrugged. “I don’t know. He can’t use green, other than that, nothing.”

“What about troops? They’ve been a pretty consistent weak point.”

“Superbia is a shrewd commander, he knows when to employ violence, and he does so like a scalpel instead of Invidia’s hammer. Furthermore, he’s the last Overseer, so anyone capable of reason underneath him knows they have no other option.”

“He doesn’t like violence? Maybe we could reason with him or capture him,” Emily suggested.

Luxuria shook her head. “He respects you as a threat, as students and as potential vessels, but that’s as far as it goes. His goal is Ethereal dominance, and he follows the Path as clear as the ones above him. Maybe if you threw yourselves at his feet, he would show mercy…but I have doubts as to the opposite.”

“Well, come on, there has to be something.”

“Now you see why I didn’t want you to go…”

Emily looked down at her feet, then back up. “It’s still good to know what he can do. There’s still approach, firepower, and the environment. We’ll find a way.”

“I believe you,” Luxuria nodded. “Just don’t underestimate him. He won’t underestimate you.”

“Thanks for the help, as always. I’ll be back soon to give you your dress back.”

Luxuria watched Emily walk away, cupping her hands in front of her and bearing a face of worry. Emily quickly gathered a paper and pen to write a report right away, wanting to deliver the uncharacteristically dire news sooner rather than later.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Frostlich1228 & ZombieSplitter53
Mind in the Machine

X-COM Headquarters, Somewhere in Siberia
Office of Morrigan O'Brien
November 19th, 1400 Hours

Morrigan raised an eyebrow as she looked at the very, very odd looking portrait of herself, Brigid looking at her with eager eyes. "Well, mommy. Do you... like it?"

Morrigan laughed nervously. "It, uh... i-it is... creative..." She was doing so well! Why is my nose on my...

"Is... that good," Brigid asked, looking a bit worried. "I never tried Cubism... but I was told I should try Pic... um, Picas... um..."

"Picasso?" Oh, thank God. Morrigan smiled. "It is very lovely, Brigid. Keep on trying different things." Brigid smiled, and rushed back to her canvas, apparently trying her hand at abstract art.

Ammelia walked up to the commander's assistant's desk, smiling at her. The young, friendly girl remind her of... The sniper shook her head for a second, trying to get the thought of out her mind before talking to her, "I'll like to speak to the Commander, I believe she's expecting me."

"Of course." The Secretary buzzed the door open, smiling back. "She's ready and waiting."

Ammelia knocked on the door a few times before entering, "Commander?"

"Ms. Cross, please, come in." Morrigan waved towards the seat in front of her desk. "You said you wanted..."

"Look!" Brigid rushed up to Ammelia as she sat down, holding up a modest picture of a blond women with a sniper rifle. "It's you! Do you like it..." Brigid shoulders slowly sank as she remembered Ammelia's condition. "Oh... I'm... I'm sorry, Ms. Ammy..."

Ammelia patted the girl on the head, "It's okay Brigid, I'm sure it's lovely, I'll be able to see how pretty it is when my eyes are better."

Brigid cheered up, illiciting a smile from her mother. "You wanted to talk to me about something involving your father? Is he alright?"

Ammelia looked up at Morrigan, sighing a little, "He's... Upset, but he doesn't show it, we both lost people that meant a lot to us during that attack."

"I understand... all too well..." Morrigan watched Brigid continue her work with a sad look. "Shall I call him down here? I can have someone escort him within a few minutes."

"Yes... Please do..." Ammelia replied, "But that's not what I came here to speak to you about..."

"Oh?" Morrigan reached for the intercom, and said, "Can you have someone escort David Cross down here?" Giving Ammy a curious look, she asked, "Please, speak freely, Ammelia. What's on your mind?"

"Something happened at Cross Tower." She answered, "I found a hidden panel in the wall on the first floor after we completed the mission; I never knew it even existed. Behind it was a elevator that only led down, when I reached the bottom, I found what looked like some sort of secret office with a wooden door at the end. When I opened it... I found... Hundreds on computer servers, stretching for almost two football fields underneath New York..."

"Hmm..." Morrigan leaned back in her chair. "Well... your father's business is quite expansive, and would require... a lot..." Morrigan raised an eyebrow. "Hundreds, you say? What... could you... did you access any of them?"

"I asked Alice scan the central computer... What she found were memories, synaptic patterns and emotions... All logged..." Ammelia took a breath, "Alice played the audio of one over my comms... It was the moment when my father activated my SAaIDA for the first time... They were my memories..."

Morrigan tapped her fingers together, seemingly composed, though in truth not sure how to respond. "What do... why... would he..." Morrigan scratched her head, her red hair spiking a bit, but she didn't seem to notice. "Seems a bit to expansive for simple home videos. I... I'm not sure what to say, Ammelia."

"From what I gathered... My theory is that he... wants to make another me using the technology used to make Alice and Avanix..." Ammy spoke, "But a few things don't make sense... Alice said he had enough memories to do it a while ago... Doesn't make sense that he'd wait..." The sniper paused, "Whatever my father planned to do with this... I don't think that it's malicious... Or maybe... I just don't want to think it's malicious..."

"Well, he should be here any minute now." The Commander leaned forward. "We're going to need to be upfront with him. I know he is your father, but you deserve answers."

After a about a minute, David stepped into the room, his hair slightly grayer now than during his video chats with Morrigan. He looked at Ammy and immediately noticed the troubled look on her face, then noticed the same on the Commander's, "Hello, Morrigan... Is something the matter?"

"There may be, David. Please have a seat." Morrigan folded her hands. "There's something you daughter needs to ask you. A question I'd like an answer to myself."

"Alright..." David replied as he sat down, looking over at his daughter, "What is it sweetie?"

"Dad..." The sniper said, her face becoming serious, "I... Found that project yours... In the basement... I want an explanation..."

His eyes widened a little, then looked away from her a little, "Of course you weren't checking the bodies for your report... Ammy, I can explain..."

"Then Explain... I want to know everything you've been keeping from me... Why you've been logging my memories... How long you've been doing this, and how..." She said, waiting for his answer.

He lowered his head. "Oh Honey... I knew you'd have this reaction if you every saw it... But I promise everything I'm doing is for you."

"We both want to believe that," Morrigan assured him. "But it begs an explanation. If we didn't know better, we might think you were planning to... replace Ammelia..."

David looked over at Morrigan, "Replace her? With who? Herself? I already have the perfect daughter... Why would I need another one? No, the reason I created Project Renascentia was to... Bring her back to me if she ever died..."

Ammelia eyes widened as well, "You want to... Bring me back to life?"

A few tears started to well up in his eyes, "Sweetie... I could never imagine living in a world without you... You mean everything to me..."

Morrigan gave David a sad look. "Were you... planning on cloning her if she... died?"

He nodded slowly, "Not... Clone her exactly... But bring her back as an AI..."

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Morrigan sighed, sitting back. "David... surely a man of your intelligence would realize... it wouldn't have been you daughter. Even... even if it thought like her, looked like her, acted like her... the original Ammelia would be gone, and... and focusing on a new Ammelia would result in you... not mourning the original. I understand why you did it, I really do. If I lost my Brigid, I don't know what I'd do. But I'd... I wouldn't... want..." She sighed again, not sure how to put it in words.

"But it would be her! That's why logged all her memories... After I turned it on, it'd be like she just... Woke up..." He responded quickly, " I... Wouldn't be able to bear living without her..."

Ammelia sat there, wide eyed and trying to process what she was hearing, "You would... I..."

"To the copy, it would! And I'm sure you would have loved it like your own!" Morrigan pointed at Ammelia. "But your daughter, your real daughter, is right... here. There is no replacing her. No matter how close she was, even if this copy was exactly the same, it would be no more Ammelia then Mary or Ammelia's other sisters are her." She shook her head. "I... know what you did was out of love... and out of fear. But you can... not... replace her. If... i-if I lost Brigid, and someone offered to make an exact copy of her, I don't... I don't know if I'd be able to resist the urge to say yes, but... it just wouldn't be her..."

David sighed, but said nothing. Ammelia looked at her father with a hint of sadness in her eyes, "How... Do you even transfer these memories without being near me? Alice said the most recent one was from the day before the mission..."

"The... The SAaIDA has been constantly feeding new information back to my computers... There it... Sorts them out and then logs all of them into the system at the end of the day..." He answered without lifting his head.

"So... You've been using my SAaIDA to-"

"Help you!" David cut her off with a rare outburst of emotion before pulling it back, "It might not be the same you... But it'd still be everything that you are right now... That's not simply replacing you... I'd never replace you..."

Morrigan folded her arms. "David... you say it is for her. You might... even believe that yourself. But it was for you. You said it yourself, it wouldn't be her. It was to protect against your fear of losing Ammelia, and having to go on without her."

"She's right, Dad..." Ammy agreed, "You of all people should know that the last thing I'd want is to be trapped inside of a computer forever... I want to be free, to live life... And death is part of that... I'd never want to become an unaging machine... Destined to outlive everyone I love..."

David stopped to consider what the two of them had said, tears falling down his face, "I really am... That selfish... Aren't I..."

"No, David," Morrigan said slowly and sincerely. "Like I said, in your position, I might be tempted to do the same thing. But if you did this, you'd be left with two mournful Ammelias. One destined to fill in the shoes of another in a artificial body, and another who goes unmourned because you look at another as being her. But... but I look at you as being misguided, not selfish. Or at least, no more then anyone else."

David stood up slowly, then looked over at his daughter. Ammelia stood up as well, wanting to look her father in the eye for what she was going to say next, "Dad... No matter how of many of my memories she would have... She still wouldn't be me... She'd only act like me... And I know that If I knew that I wasn't your real daughter, I'd be extremely depressed... You have to think about what I would want dad..."

"B-But... I don't want to lose you..." He said slowly, shaking a little as the tears flowed.

Ammy brought her father in for a hug, "I know Dad... But that's part of life... Please... Shut the servers down... For me..."

He stayed quiet, glancing over to Morrigan as his eyes filled with tears.

Morrigan nodded. "I know it's hard, but it is for the best. She is your one and only daughter. And shutting them down would give her all the more reason to comeback to you alive."'

David nodded slowly, resting his head on his daughter's shoulder, "I... Understand..."

Ammelia smiled comforting her father, "I love you dad..."

Morrigan smiled, leaning back. "And this is how it should be," she said. "And since you're shutting them down, I won't even charge you with breach of security," she added with a grin.

David didn't want to let go of her, so they embraced eachother for a few more minutes before Ammelia finally pulled away. David stood there in silence, wiping the tears from his eyes before sitting back down and looking over at Morrigan, "How... How is Brigid doing? Is she still having trouble with her powers?"

Morrigan glanced over at the young blond girl, a pair of brushes floating in front of her as she painted, oblivious to way the grown ups went from talking to shouting to hugging, but having learned not to ask questions. "She's good," Morrigan answered. "No incidents since her psionic sniffles. Dear, come say hello to mommy's friend." Brigid quickly walked over, the brushes still hovering around her. "Brigid, this is Ammelia's father, David Cross."

"Hey there. Your Mom's told me alot about you." David smiled, the girl reminding him of a young Ammelia.

"Lots a good things, Mr. Cross?" Brigid asked with a hopeful look in her eyes.

"I know you've really taken a liking to art. I'd really like to see something you drew." David answered.

A big smile spread across Brigid's face, and she grabbed the painting she had showed Ammelia, handing it to David. "This is a matte painting of Ms. Ammy."

"I love it! You've really got a talent for this sort of thing, don't you? I might not be the most familiar with judging art, but I can tell you've put a lot of time into this." He replied, looking at the picture closely.

"Thank you, Mr. Cross." Brigid pointed up at Ammelia. "Can you fix Ms. Ammy's eyes so she can see it too?"

"With the help of Ms. Exalt I can. Then she'll be able to see everything just... Just like you can." He replied, handing her back the picture.

Brigid nodded in understanding. Morrigan stood up, and said, "Well, I believe I offered to have a drink with David when we finally met face to face, I'd like to here some fun stories from Ammelia about you, and I'm sure Brigid would enjoy a nice milk shake. You all for the rec room?"

Ammelia nodded, "Mmhm, I think we all could use sometime to think about other things."

David looked over at Ammy then back at Morrigan, "I Agree..."

"Alright then." Morrigan lifted Brigid up, and led the others out. With a smile to her secretary, she said, "I'll be back in a while. If the Council calls... eh, put 'em on hold."

 

[Frostlich1228]

Frostlich1228, Zombiesplitter53, And DarkGemini24601: "Inspired Diligence."

X-COM Headquarters, Somewhere in Siberia
Main Laboratory, Alien Containment Facility
November 21st, 1030 Hours

Hmm… so… slow… Acedia slowly shook her head as she waited for her files to load on the modest laptop she had been given. She considered asking for something a bit faster, and a bit newer, but she didn’t want to be pushy with her new ‘hosts’. She was surprised as it was with how well she’d been treated, considering her modest position. So she was content with her old, slow labtop, her small chair and bed, and the books Ammelia had sent to her. Still… why were human computers so… slow…

Ammelia stepped into the room, Mary walking in close behind her. After a few seconds, Ammy turned around and looked back through the door, motioning for another person to come through. Buniq stepped through cautiously, looking up at the Ethereal with a mixture of trepidation and curiosity.

Acedia blinked rapidly as the trio approached her, carefully placing her laptop to the side and floating over to the front of the cell. A-Ammelia, I… I did not think you would visit me so soon. And you brought guests! Hello, Mary. Still… sore? That is the word for displeasure, yes? Sore?

“ Ye’ mean sore ‘bout ye’ make’in me rub yer’ feet? Eh’m o’er ‘et, et’ took eh’ ‘ong shower ‘ough.” (You mean sore about you making me rub your feet? I’m over it, it took a long shower though.) Mary said, giving her the usual slight smirk.

Yeah… sorry about that. The Ethereal’s gaze turned to the third guest, and she crouched down a bit. And who is this young one? You… are young, right? I find some humans are upset if implied to be younger than they are.

“E-Eighteen,” Buniq said in a small voice.

I see. If my conversions are correct, that would put you only halfway through your second cycle amongst my people, and that is quite young for me. The Ethereal smiled gently, an action she hoped she was doing correctly. Though, to be fair, most human are young by our terms. What is your name, if I might ask.

“B-Buniq,” the chryssalid hybrid replied nervously, wondering if the Honored Overseer had ever spoken of her among the others.

Well, I find that to be a lovely name. My name is Acedia, or at least, this is what the humans have come to call me. I would shake your hand, but I am afraid my confinement makes that difficult. Acedia glanced at Ammelia. She is your… friend?

“She’s my… What do you Ethereals call it? Laʒier?” Ammelia replied, smiling at Buniq.

So she is your partner. That is nice to hear. She tilted her head towards Buniq again. As long as you treat each other… you are female, are you not?

Buniq blinked in surprise. “Y-Yes… w-why do y-you ask?”

I… I just did not realize your people bonded with those of the same sex. Yours seemed one focused on procreation. Perhaps… the fault is in my lack of research. I will admit, there was a file of two from Luxuria’s notes I skipped over, files that made me… uncomfortable.

“Most people want to be with someone they love, it doesn’t matter if they’re the same sex or not.” Ammy replied, “Do your people limit themselves to only the opposite gender?”

Acedia stood up, thinking. Well, it… is an odd question to answer. I suppose the answer would be no, we don’t. However, such things a rarely of concern. Our bodies are so… well… She motioned down at herself as an example. Acts of physical… conception aren’t practiced very much, and when they are, they very rarely result in a pregnancy, and even then, a child usually can’t be brought to term. One in ten thousand, I’d say. So, since procreation requires a lab, and a process not unlike cloning… I suppose it does not matter the sex of the parents. She smiled at the trio. Though your people value each other’s love more then mine… for the better, I think.

“So it’s almost entirely done with cloning? How do you pass on genes then?” Ammelia asked curiously.

We use genetic modification to create a child with a combination of the donor parent’s genes. It can be done with only one parent, but for the sake of not stagnating our genetic pool, we usually insist on two. Acedia looked between Ammelia and Buniq. Were the two of you interested in having a child? I could provide the needed research. Cloning was my specialty until I was… dragged into this war.

Buniq shook her head. “I-I d-don’t…”

Acedia frowned. Oh dear… I did not mean to embarrass you. I should be more careful about that. Perhaps a change of subject would help… Acedia looked around, realizing how bad she was at conversing with others. Um… the things on your neck are… attractive. They remind me of chryssalid plating.

“T-that’s because i-it is,” Buniq responded. “I-I’m a h-hybrid.”

A hybrid? Acedia rubbed her head. I was not aware the humans did such a thing. I really was behind on things… not that I was told anything…

“I-I w-was created b-by one of t-the S-Sectoids…” Buniq continued.

Acedia’s eyes widened a bit, and she seemed to shudder a bit. So, you… you were… this was done to you… against your… will?

“C-created,” Buniq emphasized. “I was c-cloned f-from s-someone w-who s-shares m-my name, who w-was k-killed b-because s-she didn’t h-have the g-gift.”

I… I see… Acedia’s shoulders slumped, and she slowly lowered from her float to a standing position, as though she had lost the energy to hover. Then this is… my fault. This is what they have decided to… do with my…

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

“W-Wasn’t A-Asia L-Luxuria’s domain, t-though?” Buniq questioned.

Acedia slowly shook her head. You… you do not understand. Whether… this is connected to her… simply by being the Overseer there, or by her own hand, it… I… this is my research. If… if it wasn’t for me… The Ethereal squeezed her eyes shut. This… this isn’t what it was for! I… I didn’t want… I couldn’t…

“W-Well, I w-wouldn’t e-exist without y-you… s-so I’m g-grateful f-for that,” Buniq said quietly.

You… you are very kind, child… but that does not absolve me of my crime. Acedia looked down at where her missing hand had been. I… I had so many aspirations for my research. It was rare for me to find something worth working on that I cared about, but this was one of them. But then they came and told me what my research would be used for, and I… I did nothing. Acedia gave Ammelia a sad look. This is what I was talking about before. I am happy you could find Buniq, I truly am. But it is because of my cowardice that she has to live like this, why she is not fully human. If I hadn’t been so weak, if I had spoke out… they might not have used my work to twist and mutilate other species for their own desires.

Mary stepped up, “Yer’ ‘ight, ye’ did ‘oyally fuck up by ‘oing nothin’ ‘bout ‘et” (You’re right, you did royally fuck up by doing nothing about it.)

Ammelia looked over at her sister, “Mary! She’s already-”

“Beh… ‘At’s in th’ ‘ast now. Yer’ still ‘live, so ye’ still ‘ave eh’ chance te’ fix what ye’ did, se’ get off yer’ ass an’ do it, ‘cause from where eh’m ‘anding, all ye’ ‘eem te’ ‘ant te’ do is sit in ‘at cell an’ white ‘bout it.” (But… That’s in the past now. You’re still alive, so you still have a chance to fix what you did, so get off your ass and do it, because from where I’m standing, all you seem to want to do is sit in that cell and whine about it.) Mary explained, crossing her arms.

Acedia lowered her head, thinking about it for a moment, before nodding. You… you are right. My apathy did nothing but make things worse, and I can not… I will not… She knelt down again, smiling at Buniq. So, you are a hybrid with a Chryssalid. This must mean you are quite a resilient one, yes?

Buniq nodded. “T-the c-chitin c-can c-cover me c-completely like a-armor, and I r-regenerate q-quickly. I h-have the b-blades t-too, h-hidden b-beneath my l-limbs.”

Good. Your enemy made the mistake of giving you the means to fight them. Now, Ammelia is special to you. She is… special to me, too, as is Mary. Ammelia gave me the chance no one else ever has, and Mary’s words ring true. I want you to promise me, if you can, that you will do what you can to keep them safe, just as they will fight to keep you safe. I… I know you owe me nothing, but…

“I-I w-would d-do t-that a-anyway…” Buniq replied. “I-if I-I’m needed a-again, I c-can fight… I-I was w-working on g-getting b-better w-with my p-powers.”

So you wield the gift as well? Excellent. They will learn to fear what they unleashed on themselves. What can you do, if I might ask?

“I c-can use p-psi panic, a-and… s-something e-else I’ve b-been working on. I w-was o-observing t-the w-way D-Desmond u-uses r-rift and h-how i-imbuing is u-used… a-and I c-came up with a w-way to use r-rift for myself.” Buniq stepped back, and with a quick swish exposed her arm blades. An orange glow surrounded her amber irises, and swirling, stormy energy of the same color formed around the blades. Although not quite strengthened to perfection yet, it swirled around the twin claws like miniature tornadoes.

Most impressive. Your species never fails to impress, always showing your creativeness. She looked at Ammelia. Please, support her. What has been done to her will not make her life easy, but with your support, she will likely surpass anyone’s expectations, including her own.

“I’ll alway be there for her… No matter what she wants to do, if she needs me, I’ll support her.” Ammy responded with a determined voice.

Acedia stood tall turning to Mary. And… and I will do what I can as well. I will make sure your words did not fall on deaf ears. My… my people have strayed from the Path, and it is up to me to correct the mistakes I have made to contribute to that. And it starts with taking down their… false prophets. I… I only need one thing from you, Mary.

Mary raised an eyebrow, “An’ ‘at would be?” (And that would be?)

I… I, um… Acedia rubbed the back of her neck. I have a habit of… laziness. I know, surprising, huh? I merely ask, if I ever slack in my duty, especially now that I have something worth fighting for, I ask that you be there to… um, I believe the human expression would be ‘give me a kick in the butt’.

Mary chuckled a little, “Iterally? Ye’ ‘or ‘et.” (Literally? You got it.)

Acedia nodded. Good. She smiled at Buniq. I am glad I was able to meet you again. I… would like a visit from you in the future, if you are not troubled by it. You… act as an inspiration of sorts.

Buniq seemed hesitant for a moment, but then nodded. “O-Okay… a-and m-maybe you c-could help m-me learn.”

I would like that. Acedia folded her arms behind her back. Anything I can do to help… I’ll do it from now on…

“Thank you Acedia…” Ammelia considered something in her mind for a second, “Acedia...You know… I’m not sure I like addressing you by that nickname anymore… I know you closely guard your real names, but would you mind telling us?”

My real name? Acedia thought for a moment. The… the thought of an Ethereal telling a lowly human their true name would be inconceivable for them. She smiled, bowing her head slightly. Aergian'hynopheus. You may… never needed to shorten my… you may call me Aergi.

Ammelia smiled brightly, looking up at her, “Aergi… I like it.”

 

[BMPixy]

ZombieSplitter53 and BMPixy
"Damage Control"
X-COM Headquarters
Primary Mess
November 21st, 1230 Hours

Slowly Albert worked away at his lunch, taking careful chunks out of the rations and feeding them into his gullet. Even with being out of the infirmary for so long, his right arm still felt slightly unresponsive, forcing him to use his less-trained left arm for the menial task of eating. The Amero-Anglican paused for a second, caught on a particular thought, before shaking his head and continuing. No… I doubt we could do that, the technology isn’t there, he thought, mentally reproaching himself.

“Hey, how’s it going,” a young man wearing a security guard’s uniform approached him with a smile on his face. “Mind if I sit with you?”

“Sure,” Albert replied with a slight shrug. “Nothing stopping you.”

“Great, thanks. I’m Jake, by the way. Jake Wiewiora.” Jake extended his hand as he sat down.

Albert took the hand and gave it a firm shake. “Nice meeting you. I’m Albert Foulke. You happen to be the same Jake those three Japanese girls hang out with? What were their names… Kei, Hikari, and… can’t remember the third one.”

Jake chuckled. “Rei, Hitomi, and Keiko. They’ve talked about you a bit, wondering how you were. You were largely responsible for them surviving the first base attack, after all.”

“Damn, now I kinda feel bad for forgetting their names,” Albert replied, scratching the back of his neck. “Anyways, suppose you could tell them that their ol’ jiisan has been doing alright so far.”

“If… that’s the case.” Jake smiled, and folded his hands. “Are you… doing okay, Albert?”

Albert cocked his eyebrow in slight confusion. “If I may ask, what’s the interest? After all, we’ve only just met, and you’re already trying to probe my mental state.”

“Well… to be honest, Albert, you seem a decent man, one who my girls care about. And one who looks out for others, to the point of nearly getting himself blown up.” Jake’s smile faded a bit. “That worries someone in… my profession.”

Albert ruminated on this, finishing off his meal. After a moment, he replied, “Alright, you caught me. I got a bit of a martyr complex. What’s a guy with my sort of past gonna do? But, a better question to ask is what kind of security guard worries about a soldier’s psychiatric issues?” Albert placed his elbows on the table, tenting his fingers under his nose as he looked at Jake.

Jake blinked a few times. Hmm… gonna be a tough nut to crack… a therapist probably shouldn’t use the word ‘nut’... hmm… “Well, I’m going to be upfront with you, as I usually am. It usually doesn’t do well to start on a lie. I’m… also a therapist. Part time, at least.”

Albert sighed, relaxing slightly. With a hint of resignation in his voice, he replied, “Well, I suppose this was inevitable. Higher-ups tend to not like keeping around commanders who lose too many troops, nor ones with a small vault of personal issues. When am I going to get the discharge paperwork?”

Jake laughed again. “No, no. Nothing like that. The Commander would probably want you to seek therapy, but forcing someone into it is usually a bad idea. I came to her, or my boss that is, when I started hearing about you. People are worried, and I wanted to talk to you before anything like discharge papers were needed.”

“Hmph, really?” Albert asked, disbelief evident in his voice. “Not exactly what happened last time, though I admit that the circumstances were a bit… different then. Regardless, at least you’re being upfront about it, even if I’m still a bit distrustful of your story.”

“Understandable.” Jake took a deep breath. “People put a lot of faith in you. And with that, comes a lot of pressure. Unfair pressure, in many ways. And considering your… um, history, it is only natural to be worried about how you handle that pressure. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.”

“Aye, and you don’t have to be worried. Only harmful way that pressure escapes is via my need to lead from the front,” Albert replied. “So you can go tell your boss that I’m still fit for duty, and shall remain so for the foreseeable future.”

“Well, what about what happened during the EXALT attack?” Jake asked carefully. “That was… quite the bold move there at the end. You’re lucky to be alive.”

“If I’d acted a little bit faster or the machine hadn’t rebooted so quickly, I’d have been out of there without a scratch,” Albert replied. “For once my luck failed me, something I’ve been expecting for quite a while. Just had a bit bigger consequences than I expected.”

“Right, but… but it was a risk. It paid off in the end, and I wasn’t there, so that might have been the only option. But… when one is in a poor state of mind, they might find themselves acting in ways that put them in more danger than normally, sometimes without even realizing it. They may even subconsciously seek it out, so to speak.”

“So you think I’m seeking out danger, just to go ahead and martyr myself?” Albert asked incredulously. “Jake, I may have a complex, but I’m not an idiot. If nothing, I’d like to stay as far away from danger as possible, but necessity dictates I confront it every time I step onto that Skyranger. I just happen to grab it a bit more by the horns when I do confront it, nothing wrong with that.”

“I see.” Jake nodded slowly. If he doubted Albert’s words, he wasn’t showing it outwardly. “Can I ask you, Albert, do you feel you’re depressed at all? And not the normal degree considering our dire situation, but… clinically so.”

The Amero-Anglican snorted dismissively and shook his head. “No, I’m not the type for such a thing as that. At first I never could, now I never need to. After all, we’ve got enough doom and gloom with this war that I can pump any feelings into.”

“Good point. Though, I wouldn’t blame you. No one would.” Jake looked down a bit. “I heard about the circumstances of your brother’s death.”

Albert tensed slightly, before forcing himself to relax. “Yeah, well, all of the people directly involved with are dead now. Dante, Samuel, and whatever the other ones were. Now it’s just a matter of taking out the bastards who ordered it.” Albert shrugged, and added, “I’ve managed to avenge him seven times over, and with luck I’ll only need to do so once or twice more.”

“Right… though one is often surprised by how an act of revenge does little to heal the wound from their loss.” Jake took another deep breath. “How are you really feeling? I feel like you’re not being completely open. Have you had any… mood swings? Nightmares? Anything?”

“I apologize for that, it’s habit. Usually when people start trying to probe that deep into someone’s psyche, it hasn’t been a good experience, though I choose to believe you’re doing this for the right reasons,” Albert said. “And as for your question, I’ve had quite a few nightmares over the months, mostly after the covert op to America. Nothing sticks out from the nightmares, only flashes of terror and a general feeling of… wrongness, with a small sprinkling of self-loathing.”

“And where does the self-loathing come from, do you think?” Jake asked. “Do you blame yourself at all for your brother’s death, regardless of how much or how little that might make sense?”

Albert shook his head. “No, at least not that I’m aware of. After all, it’s those Thin Men that came out of nowhere and killed him, if they hadn’t the mission would have still been a bit rocky, but he and the rest wouldn’t have died.”

“Good. Because, for a lot of people, when they lose someone like that, they tend to ask themselves a lot of self-deprivating questions. How could I let this happen? What could I have done differently? Why… wasn’t I there when they needed me…” Jakes eyes darted to the side a bit, and his expression seemed to imply he knew what he was talking about beyond being a therapist.

Albert snapped his fingers in an attempt to get Jake’s attention. “Hey, I’m the one supposed to be having flashbacks to a tragic past, not you. Anyways, I don’t ask myself those questions precisely because they’re so self-deprivating. I had my time to mourn his loss, then I got up and did something about it, and once this war is over I’m going to go back and live the life he and so many others died wanted me to.”

Jake nodded. “That is good to hear. It is a very healthy way to think. And I do apologize if it sounds like I am prying. Some people, hiding from their problems, lie to therapist, and to themselves. They insist that everything is alright so the therapist will leave them…” He waved his hands. “Not… not that I’m saying you… i-it is just something I have to be wary of.”

“Yeah, I understand, no need to be worried,” Albert replied. Damn, does he know? No, just stay calm Al, you’re doing fine. No need to burden another with your issues, especially after Modya, Albert thought. Shaking his head, the infantry continued, “Anyways, if there’s anything else you’d like to speak of?”

“Well, I just wanted to know how you’re doing physically.” Jake folded his hands. “You’ve been cleared for duty again?”

“Aye, though I’m still working on getting my right arm back up to full strength. Having it shattered, healed, and then immobilized for three weeks wasn’t all that good the musculature,” Albert deadpanned.

“I can imagine. Don’t push yourself.” Jake sat back. “Well, my… my job is to listen. If there was anything you wanted to talk about, or ask me…"

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Albert was silent for a long moment, thinking over whether to continue the conversation or let Jake go free. Finally, after a slow shake of his head, Foulke said, “You know, I’m surprised you didn’t question why the nightmares suddenly increased after the covert op. Seems like the kind of thing you’d pick up on, y’know?”

Jake sighed. “I… I did, though, I…” He swallowed hard. “After how you reacted when I mentioned your brother, I was… afraid I was pushing you too hard. I would like to know the reason, though, if you are willing to share.”

“You must have a fairly low threshold of ‘too hard’, if you considered my reaction to indicate such,” Albert replied. “And, well… the reason I think the nightmares suddenly shot up is-” At the point Albert instinctively clammed up, suddenly noting just how many people were in the mess at this time of day. Dammit Al, you could have gotten off scot free! he thought. And then you were just about to spill one of your biggest secrets in such a crowded place! Just shut up and think for a second, you could ruin yourself! A bead of sweat formed on Albert’s forehead as he mentally duelled with his desire to finally put an end to the issue and his fear of the consequences of doing so.

Jake gave him a worried look. He quickly stood up, circling the table and sitting next to Albert. “You… you’re familiar with patient-doctor confidentiality, right. Nothing you say, short of a direct threat on someone’s life, will go past me. I promise, anything that happened on that mission will stay between us.”

“Yeah, I’m aware of that, it’s just all the other people here.” Albert nervously jerked his head in the direction of a nearby group of people. “...Perhaps it is best we go for a walk,” he belatedly added, standing from his seat.

Jake stood up with him, and followed Albert out of the mess. He walked with him in silence, not wanting to push anything on him, lest he clam up again.

After a long minute of silence, Albert finally spoke. “To properly understand why I did what I did back there on that op, we need to step back in time a bit. 1997, the year my father died. I was sixteen at the time, and as we lowered him into the ground, I realized that it was now my duty to take care of my family. However, for a full-time student it was rather difficult to do that duty, even with working and receiving government assistance. I’m sure you can guess what I turned to when I realized I wouldn’t be able to keep up my family’s standard of living the way I was going.”

Jake frowned. “Crime?”

“Aye. Managed to find a motley little gang, only a few members, and joined up with them. Petty criminals at best, mostly holding up the odd convenience store or running goods for the bigger gangs in the area. Perfect little place to get some side income without having to dirty my hands too much, y’know? And my comrades were amicable as well. Made more money in one night with them then I normally got in two weeks.” Albert paused for a second, and then continued. “Zoe, Gerald, and Nate were their names. I tried my best to keep them from going too hard into the criminal underworld, but I neglected to check their influence on me, nor my influence on my family.”

Finally stopping, Albert leaned up against a wall, locking eyes with Jake. “Men in my family tend to have a bit of an addictive personality thing. Of course, I didn’t know about it at the time, so when one of them offered me a bit of a drink, I thought nothing of it. Then the next thing I know, I’m barely able to make it through the school day without craving some more.” He shook his head and looked down. “Three years I spent like that.”

“That must have been hard on your family,” Jake said. “After all, you did it for them, but it led to alcoholism. And I’m sure they questioned where the money came from.”

“Aye, they did at first, but luckily Gerald happened to have a well-connected family, and was able to pass it off as pay for services rendered to them,” Albert said. “Bastard was only into crime for the kicks. Regardless, another thing I failed to take into account was how much Richard looked up to me. After all, to him, I was the paragon of cool, even in my lowest moments. I was the one who helped push him out of his shell, and I was the one who ensured he didn’t end up in the poorhouse. Apparently he always respected me for that, enough to… emulate my actions.” Albert sighed. “Came home one day to find him passed out on the couch, a bottle of whiskey at his side. That’s when I swore off the drink, and swore revenge on those who first gave it to me. I made sure Richie wasn’t going to suffer the same consequences I did, and then I locked myself in my room for three weeks, cold turkey.”

The Amero-Anglican craned his neck, staring up at the flourescent lights. “When I came out, I was clean enough to do what I had to. Found out when our next big courier job was, then sent an anonymous tip to the cops on where and when the hand-off was to take place. After that, it was as simple as not showing up. They tried implicating me along with them in court, but they’d taught me how to lie well. Bit them in the ass at the end. Still can remember the look on Zoe’s face when she realize what I had done to her, supposedly the girl I loved. Still haunts me to this day.”

Jake’s expression sank a bit. “I can imagine. I understand why you did it. For the sake of your brother. But to turn your back on your friends, that… did… do you know what became of them? Have you seen them since?”

“Last I heard they’re still rotting in prison. Apparently in all those courier jobs we were running drugs. Serious shit, like crack, meth, and a few other things I don’t care to mention,” Albert said. “Interesting way of repaying the people who taught me everything I needed to know to make it through that covert op.”

Jake smiled a bit. “Don’t… take it the wrong way, Albert. It was a little harsh from a friendship perspective, maybe, but they were still criminals, and needed to pay for their crime. Though…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “You used it to give yourself a second chance, right? Did you consider trying to give them the same out? Or… would they not have responded the same way you did?”

“Gerald would probably have used that second chance the same way he used his first. Nate mighta been scared straight, but I didn’t want to take a chance. Zoe? Hell if I know, and I dated her.” Albert shrugged. “Anyways, so all these years I’m thinking I did the right thing. I turned my life around after a brief stint of darkness, joined the military, met and married the woman of my dreams. Richie died, but we already went over that. And then the Commander calls me up to her office, and gives me that mission. A couple of weeks in my nation of birth, taking out the bad guys, what’s not to enjoy? Happened to have the right skills, so I went ahead with it. Hawaii went fine, but Los Angeles is where this whole mess kicked into full force.”

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Albert paused, taking a deep breath and bracing himself. “You know, little known fact about EXALT is that not all of their agents were clones. Nah, sometimes they need a civvie to help them out here and there. The Council agent in the area happened to pin down their location, but we were a bit too slow, and they had just left. But, my luck came through, and I happened to capture a security guard working for them. His name was Zeke. The next day we interrogated him. Standard stuff, where’s his buddies, when are they going to start regrouping, etcetera, etcetera. He’s completely broken, and offers us the information in exchange for one thing: the safety of his family. So, not thinking much of it, I promise I’ll keep them safe. He gives us the info we need, and all that’s left is the question of what to do with Zeke. And do you know what my answer was?” Albert asked, closing his eyes and grimacing.

Jake’s eyes widened a bit. “You… ahem… you…”

“I… I told him I lied about protecting his family… and then I emptied the magazine of my pistol into his chest,” Albert said, struggling through the statement.

Jake’s stride slowed a bit. “I… I see. Do… you know why you did that?”

“Fuck if I know,” Albert replied. “All I know is that something deep within me compelled me to do it, that it was the only solution to the problem. And, when I think back onto that voice, I recognize it as... myself.”

“So, if you could go back to that point, knowing what you know now, you would do it again? Because… you feel that is who you are?”

Albert was silent for a long moment as the two continued down the hall. Finally, he replied, “The part of me that regrets what I did says no. The part of me that feels that it was the only solution says yes. And… I’d listen to the second voice all over again.”

“I see…” Jake slowly nodded. “Though it raises the question, if you feel that is who you are, why would it give you nightmares?”

“Because it’s a reminder that despite how squeaky clean I tried to present myself, I’m a much worse person than the people I consigned to rot in prison. And it’s a reminder that I’m not the brother Richie looked up to,” Albert replied, letting loose a long sigh.

“Oh…” Jake let out a sigh himself, though his was a sigh of relief. “Well, that’s… good to hear, actually.”

Albert stopped and turned towards Jake in confusion, caught severely off guard by the statement. “That… isn’t quite the response I was expecting to hear.”

Jake grinned sheepishly. “That’s guilt, if I ever heard any. I means that, deep down, you regret what you did. And that means you aren’t as far gone as you seem to think you are.”

“So… by recognizing the fact that I’m a goddamn murderer, and realizing I’m a terrible person because of it, that makes it so I’m not as terrible a person?” Albert asked, still trying to wrap his head around that notion. “Thaaat doesn’t make too much sense in my book.”

“Yeah, well… psychology isn’t an exact science.” Jake gave him a serious look. “But as you said, it might have been the only choice. There was no guarantee he was telling the truth. And we tend to dwell on negative thoughts, think less of ourselves in regards to the things we fear most about ourselves. If you were a murderer, as you say, I don’t think you’d feel bad about it… at least not to this degree…”

The infantry shook his head. “That’d be true if I kept saying that I’m just some slavering beast, waiting for the next time I can take an innocent life, but that isn’t the case. I killed a person in cold-blood, and according to the law, that’s murder, thus making me a murderer. Even when they feel guilt over what they did, one such as I still suffers the consequences. Simple as that.”

Jake frowned. “I suppose that would be true in most circumstances. But this is a war, and it was a covert op.” He shook his head. “I’m not going to pretend like I know what it is like, but… I feel like you have to make those decisions, and you need to be given the freedom to do them, and the trust in those who send you out there in the decisions you make. I’m… I’m not saying it was right, and I can honestly say I wouldn’t have done the same in your shoes… but then, I’m… kinda soft.”

Albert sighed, thinking over the whole conversation. “Aye, I suppose I should take that to heart, but… I dunno, something just seems wrong with pushing it away as ‘I did what I had to do’. Feels like a cop out, not the answer.”

“I understand.” Jake carefully placed a hand on Albert’s shoulder. “I’m here to talk to you about it, though. This kinda thing, the… the emotions it invokes. You shouldn’t have to go it alone. I know you barely know me, and have little reason to trust me. But… well, you can.”

“Well, I kinda have to. I mean, even with the whole confidentiality thing, you do know a good two-thirds of my deepest, darkest secrets. You’re a good kid, Jake, but I haven’t gotten where I am without knowing that even good people can spill things they don’t want to. But, not like I can really do anything about it, regardless. Nowhere to hide the body,”Albert deadpanned.

Jake smiled nervously. “I… I’m sure a man as resourceful as you could think of something, but I’m not going to give you any ideas. But I haven’t been able to earn the trust of quite a few people by opening my mouth. Being able to keep secrets comes with the job.”

Albert chuckled slightly, and replied, “True. Just call it the paranoid habit of a man cresting the hill of his life.”

“Alright. Just hit me up if you ever want to talk. About anything, alright?”

“Aye, I shall,” Albert replied. He paused for a minute, and added, “Suppose you’ll be able to tell the girls that ol’ jiisan is doing alright after all, eh?”

[NOTE: Jiisan literally translates ‘old man’, though more typically it is used to refer to a grandfather. However, Albert is using it in the former sense. Yes, that means he’s calling himself an ‘ol’ old man’.]

 

[BMPixy]

“Shock and Awe”
624 Hektor, Jovian L4 Lagrangian Point
System Command Center ADFX-01
November 23rd, 2018
0231 Hours Universal Coordinated Time

Jiokjiok looked over the assembled Balmadaar troopers, each diligently firing away at their targets. Overlapping cones of fire, coordinated targeting upon the simulated foes, taking out high priority targets, all these feats brought a feral grin to the Elite’s face, obscured by his helmet. If, perhaps even when, the New Ones came to take this base, they would find it a living hell. Each of these warriors, trained from before they were even born to take up their place at the side of an Ethereal One, was a testament to how far his race had come since they were forced to take the knee.

But, it would not be enough, the Balmadaar Elite mused. Rumors abounded of the Resistance’s strength in battle, backed up by hastily transmitted footage from frontline units as they were cut down. So, in turn, Jiokjiok upped the difficulty of the simulation by two points. An XCOM mechanized trooper burst forth from cover, particle beam cannon tearing apart cover and taking down his troops with equal ease. The sub-squad leaders faltered slightly, but rallied, calling fire upon the Resistance’s Xalthus-variant. Eventually, the anti-armor plasma took out a few key servomotors, and the trooper fell.

But that was not all. No, having used the distraction of the Xalthus’s blaze of glory, a pair of XCOM Psi Troopers had slipped around the flanks. Evidently they were of the Assault variant, as with a barrage of shotgun blasts and psi powers, they had each ‘terminated’ four Balmadaar troopers a piece. The sole remaining sub-squad leader did his best to rally the remaining handful of forces, but a pulsing green orb arched out from the enemy held building, bearing right towards the cluster of troopers. Those who were not consumed in the initial explosion were cut down by the Assault Psions. With that, the simulation faded, the fallen trooper’s armor unlocked, and Jiokjiok descended to the training room floor.

“What is the lesson to be learned here?” Jiokjiok asked.

“To keep aware of enemy flankers,” one trooper offered.

“Avoid clustering troops in one location,” the sub-squad leader who held to the last said.

“Incorrect!” Jiokjiok bellowed. “Such ‘lessons’ you proffer are things that should have been drilled into you while you were still within the birthing tanks! No, the lesson learned here is one that can only be learned in training, because if you learn it on the battlefield, your life is already forfeit! The lesson is that sometimes, even with the greatest of plans, the weight of numbers, and the advantage of technology at your side, it is possible to still lose! However, a loss does not always mean defeat!”

“So what would you have done, Jiokjiok-vernu?” the primary squad leader asked.

“Retreat,” the Balmadaar Elite replied. The other Balmadaar soldiers reacted with shock and anger, confused by Jiokjiok's answer. With a guttural roar, Jiokjiok silenced the troopers.

"Enemy was not all accounted for, strength unknown, and foe had disoriented forces with a shock assault. Those who rush, rush to their grave," the Elite continued. "Now, go and clean yourselves up, you lot smell of dead Kebberant.” With a wave of the hand, Jiokjiok sent the assembled mass of Balmadaar soldiers off to their barracks. However, before Jiokjiok himself could follow his troopers, a psionic message interrupted him.

Jiokjiok, the mental voice of the Honored Overseer spoke, is the training facility occupied?

Negative, Honored Overseer, it is empty save I, the Elite replied.

Very well. Remain there Jiokjiok. This one has something this one wishes to test, and you shall be useful in such an endeavor.

Jiokjiok gave a mental affirmative, and took up a ready position in the center of the room, awaiting the appearance of his master. Several minutes passed before the door to the training facility dilated open. Leading the way was the scrambling form of G-36, followed by a tall and broad human, nearly Jiokjiok’s height, with deep tanned skin. Afterwards came the Honored Overseer, with a pair of humans trailing behind them, the two identical in appearance save the secondary sexual characteristics.

“Honored Overseer,” Jiokjiok said, nodding respectfully. “What is it you wish to use your servant for?”

The Honored Overseer motioned at the tanned human, and replied, What stands before you is the future of the New Ones, should they prove unable to Ascend. No longer shall the Balmadaar have to take up the mantle of shock trooper, a role they are unfit for. Rather, this human will take up the role they were meant for: pursuing their prey until they are left exhausted and begging for death. And you, Jiokjiok, shall test its skill in hand-to-hand combat.

Jiokjiok bowed gracefully. “Great honor you bestow upon me, Honored Overseer. I shall test this New One’s mettle, and determine its worthiness to see battle at our side.” With that, the Balmadaar stepped further into the training area, the human shock trooper following close behind.

The New One, whose name is Bardiel, named for the Humiliated Son of God, is a red psion, and will act to the fullest extent of their abilities. This one expects the same from Jiokjiok.

The Balmadaar nodded in response, hearing the unsaid implication that it would be okay if he was a little rough with the psion. Jiokjiok and Bardiel settled into their respective fighting stances, and began slowly circling each other. After a moment, Jiokjiok rushed forward, his speed augmented by his armor servos. The Muton rotated for a shoulder check, but Bardiel slid around behind the charging behemoth, slamming an elbow into Jiokjiok’s skull.

The Elite skidded to a stop, the elbow blow doing little through his thick helmet and skull. Turning to where Jiokjiok last saw Bardiel, the Muton noted that the psion had apparently vanished. Another blow struck Jiokjiok’s helmet, infuriatingly light. The Balmadaar snorted and swatted his arm behind him, swinging it around as an improvised arm bar, but the New One merely ducked under it, and threw a short rising uppercut, striking Jiokjiok in the helmet once more.

Almost as soon as the Muton registered the blow, Bardiel was gone, rolling between Jiokjiok’s legs and repositioning for the next blow. However, Jiokjiok saw through the maneuver and twisted, throwing his torso forward and pivoting to the right as his left leg shot back, catching the psion in the head. The force of the blow was enough to knock Bardiel off of his feet, and the shock trooper impacted the alloy floor.

Jiokjiok waited for a moment, expecting the human to rise and continue the fight. However, seconds passed, and Bardiel did not get up. Slowly Jiokjiok approached the bleeding human, keeping his guard up as he did so. The Elite leaned over the seemingly unconscious human, blood pooling from a shattered nose, and examined him for signs of life.

 

[BMPixy]

And then Jiokjiok felt the floor flying away from him, as Bardiel flashed open his eyes and swung his arm across, a wave of telekinetic force shooting forth from the psion. With a crash, Jiokjiok impacted the ceiling of the training room, denting it, before the artificial gravity generators took over and pulled the Balmadaar back to the floor, another crash signifying the final impact.

With a groan, Jiokjiok slowly rose from the floor, glancing quickly at Bardiel who himself was straining to get up. After a moment, Jiokjiok grumbled, “Tie.” The shock trooper nodded in reply, and Jiokjiok relaxed.

Interesting display, the Honored Overseer projected. Bardiel, explain the reasoning for your tactics in that fight.

Foe was physically stronger. Sought to slowly wear down and annoy foe via repeated light attacks, while avoiding heavier attacks. Once that plan failed, focused on single alpha strike to end fight, though was not quite powerful enough, Bardiel replied.

“Clever,” Jiokjiok said. “Fine sense of tactics. Would prefer six of him rather than the buffoons in the Rapid Response Squad.”

That shall have to wait, Jiokjiok. This was merely an initial test run. Final product will likely be finished by the end of the current Cycle, with the assistance of additional data from infiltration teams on planet below.

It is time, milord, the two other humans in the room chimed in, their twin mental voices speaking seemingly as one.

“Who are those two?” Jiokjiok asked, gazing at the humans.

They are an… experiment by this one, named Israfel, after the Twin Angels of Song, Dance, and Poetry. A test of spreading one consciousness over multiple forms. A failure, as can be told by the fact that their voices can be discerned ever so slightly from the other, but approaching closer to success. For now, they merely act as an assistant when G-36 is unavailable and psionic assistance is necessary. However, this one must be excused, there are matters to be taken care of. The assembled are dismissed.

Jiokjiok nodded, and watched as the Honored Overseer departed the training room. The Balmadaar turned to Israfel, and asked, “What was meant by, ‘it is time’?”

These ones were not given such information, only told to alert the Honored Overseer to when the time came, the two replied, their gestures in perfect mirror as they explained their answer. Jiokjiok shook his head and stalked off, heading towards the primary barracks. The Honored Overseer’s business was not his, he reminded himself.

624 Hektor, Jovian L4 Lagrangian Point
System Command Center ADFX-01
November 23rd, 2018
0253 Hours Universal Coordinated Time

The Honored Overseer floated gently into their quarters, settling down in front of the familiar purple ball of psionic energy with practiced ease as the door sealed behind them. Reaching forward with a tendril of psionic energy, Desperatio connected with the device, the psionic energy spiking as its surface quaked. After a moment, Desperatio felt a tug upon their mind, and embraced it, their consciousness fleeing into the device.

After a long moment of darkness, the Honored Overseer regained awareness in a small room, likely aboard a ship of some sort. They quickly glanced around, noting the four other Ethereals that stood around the device, two as wispy projections similar to Desperatio.

Excellent that you could arrive, Eyo’logus, one of the physically present Ethereals said. Was worried that your campaign would not allow you to meet as per usual.

I always make it a point to attend when possible, Ufn’talii, Eyo’logus replied. Though, if current trends continue, this may be the last such time I can arrive.

What do you mean, blessed cousin? One of the holographic Ethereals, Nar’rise, asked.

Campaign is going poorly. Six Overseers either dead or captured, leaving I and one other as the last guides along the Path within system. Though, with the arrival of the Temple Ship, perhaps even these inevitable tides may be turned.

May the Path guide you to the victory you deserve, Eye’logus, Zali’Torah added, crossing her arms in front of her.

The other physically present Ethereal cleared their mental throat, and said, Regardless, all living members are accounted for. I, Bat’leth, open this meeting of the Children of Doubter. May we find enlightenment in our ancestor’s mistakes.

 

[Taxor_the_First]

Serenity

X-COM HQ, Siberia, Forward Labs
11:23 PM, 23rd November

“Surely you have some good memories,” Charles insisted. “Doesn’t matter how much you hate your family now, surely there was a time you enjoyed their presence?”

Penny smiled, leaning back onto her desk. “Well there was one time I remember clearly. Me, my parents, my godmother, and my uncle.” She hesitated. “Well, he wasn’t my uncle. I just called him that. ‘Uncle Sam’.”

Charles raised an eyebrow. “Uncle Sam. He a patriotic American or something?”

Penny giggled. “Nah, Russian. That’s why he thought it was so funny. It was my pet name for him. Anyway, the story…”



Beijing, China
10:43 AM, 9th September, 1996

I wasn’t a very problematic child, if I say so myself. Too busy being curious about everything to bother with acting up or anything like that. I think my parents knew that, and they doted on me. Usually we’d go out for lunch on my birthday, get something special. They’d let me have all the ice-cream I wanted, which thankfully wasn’t much. We’d get home and set about opening the presents.

But for my seventh birthday, there was something on. I don’t quite remember what it was, but I’d say it was some performance or other that my mother wanted to see. She was always going to those. She loved music. Taught me how to play the piano, actually. And sing. Said I had the sweetest voice she’d ever heard, though I’m pretty sure she was a little biased.

Uh… where was I…

Oh, right. Seventh birthday.

Since we had plans for the tenth, they decided to have it a day earlier. On the ninth. And for once, both my godmother and uncle Sam came too. Now, I’m not sure whether they were down for business with my father, or if they were legitimately there for me. At the time, though, I believed the latter.

I remember opening the door after unwrapping my presents and seeing Maria and Samuel there, looking down at me with that look. … what do you mean, ‘what look’, you know the one. Where the cute child does something and everyone goes ‘awwww’. You see it all the time with people and the Commander’s daughter.

Anyway, that’s the face they gave me. Father laughed when he saw them, said they were going soft. Maria nearly slapped him. Sam nearly did too. I didn’t quite know what he meant by it, and now I think it’s good that I didn’t.

They came in, and we had afternoon tea together. My mother, Helen, had made some cakes in preparation. I remember loving them. Had lemon on them or something. Delicious. Still got a soft spot for lemon cupcakes.

They stayed for the rest of the day, too. Call me self-centered if you want, but I enjoyed being the center of attention.

When they were leaving, I remember Maria saying she’d watch over me for the rest of my life, and make sure no harm came to me. I only realized a few years ago how serious she was about that…

Penny shook her head. “Ugh. Sorry. Maybe you’re right, I can’t be positive. I keep thinking of something to spoil it.”

Charles sighed. “We’re getting nowhere. This negativity is going to bite you in the ass one day, Pen.” She noted he didn’t make the obvious sexual joke, and frowned. He was being serious then.

“… yeah, alright,” she said at last. “I might go see someone about it.”

“Well if you ever need to vent, I’m here.” He shrugged. “That’s what a friend is for, right?”

“Half of my wanting to vent is your fault anyway.”

Charles waved a hand dismissively. “All the better to release your anger with.”

She stared at him for a moment, then laughed. “Beaten by a nursery rhyme. How low can I sink?” she wondered.

 

[MarineAvenger]

Dark Confessions

XCOM Headquarters, Somewhere in Siberia
Med Bay
November 24th, 2018
2000 Hours

As the psionic soldier laid in his hospital bed, sore and numb, he used the silence to go over some thoughts in his head about the mission. It was a successful operation but a lot had happened that left Desmond feeling as if he was going to throw up, and not because of his nausea. What had happened with Elizabeth’s uncle affected him pretty bad, guilt racking him as he could have done nothing to change his fate.

His thoughts then shifted to his fight with Superbia and how he had acted. He may have been a strong soldier but when it came to keeping it cool, he seemed like he had failed. He had let the taunting of the Ethereal get to him and acted rashly with a temper. Admittedly, he knew it was one of his weaknesses and perhaps greatest downfall but he didn’t want to dwell on it. He had killed Superbia, even if he did go overboard. It was worth it, Desmond just wished he could have suffered worse.

The main thing on his mind and what really surprised him the most was the realization that he was going to be a dad. He was worried, angry, scared, confused; not knowing what to do or where to go from there. However it wasn’t all bad, Desmond also feeling joy and happiness he never had like this before, excited to the point that he was speechless but the elephant in the room was his wife’s behavior.

When she visited him when he first returned, she said nothing. Apparently Aya had told Ellie that Desmond already knew about the kid but for some reason Desmond knew that wasn’t what she was upset about. She tried to put on a brave face but deep down he could see that she was scared and hurt, and he had been the cause of it all.

His train of thought came to a halt when the door to his room opened and when he looked over, he saw his wife with a sad look and tray in her hands. food from the cafeteria on it. She placed it down on the bedside table and walked over and took her seat, just looking at the ground and not saying a word. There weren’t a lot of things that made Desmond scared but hearing Ellie be silent was one of the worst of them.

As much as he had dreaded this moment, Desmond had to know the truth, even if it was not the best of times. “Elizabeth...I...I need to ask you something.”

The doctor inclined her head towards him and nodded.

“The...w-what was the name of your uncle?” He asked, his voice a little coarse from being a little parched.

“Desmond, I don’t see what it matters…”

“Please...I need to know…” He persisted.

Ellie looked at him up and down with concern on her face and she began cautiously. “His name was Lyle...why are you asking this?”

Desmond’s eyes dropped and he closed them, the answer he didn’t want to hear leaving the lips of Ellie. “There is something I need to tell you...and you aren’t going to like it…”

Ellie looked at Desmond with a confused look. “D-Desmond...what is it?”

He looked down, not knowing how to break the news to her.

“Desmond...please, you’re scaring me…what is it?”

“Ellie...there was...a...survivor on the ship…” He began slowly.

Her eyes slowly widened as she began to put the pieces together and she put her hands over her mouth, shaking her head ever so slightly.

“Ellie...I’m sorry...I tried to save him-”

“Did he suffer?” She asked bluntly, staring at Desmond with an accusing glare.

“I-I don’t…”

Elizabeth just held up her hand. “Did...he...suffer?”

Desmond stared at her for a long while, unable to say it but the gaze he gave her was all the answer she needed. “I got over his death Desmond...I don’t need to go through that again. Just...let me have the one luxury in thinking he died without pain...please…”

He nodded, not knowing what to say. A few minutes later, it was Ellie who ended the silence. “You were going to leave...without even saying goodbye…”

“Ellie I didn’t…”

“What if you had died...huh? Did you honestly think I would want to wake up...and hear that the love of my life died in battle and he didn’t wake me up to say goodbye?”

He was silent once again, just looking at her, unable to gather his words together. Elizabeth draped her arm over her stomach and she looked down. “Desmond, I want this to work...I want to be happy with you but I can’t...I can’t keep thinking I am going to lose you. I don’t need it...and our baby doesn’t need it…”

“Rin, I…”

“Don’t….!” Elizabeth let out a sigh. “Don’t you Rin me. You said you would come back okay and low and behold I find out you lost an arm and nearly die…”

“Elizabeth, I am not going to die!” He pleaded with her.

“And how am I supposed to know that!” She yelled, a tear rolling down her cheek and sitting back in her seat. “I love you Desmond...I really do but I...I just can’t…”

Desmond looked at her a little scared. “You aren’t actually suggesting that we…”

Ellie scoffed. “Of course not! But I can’t keep living in the fear that one day I am going to wake up and know that I will never be able to hold you again!” Elizabeth stood up from her chair and walked to the door, opening it up and turning her head to look back at Desmond. “I have lost enough people in my life Desmond...I don’t want to lose you too.” She walked out and closed the door behind her.

Desmond leaned back down onto the pillows and he sat in the silence of the room, looking over to the food she had brought him and just turned around, closing his eyes, not having much of an appetite any longer.

 

[MarineAvenger]

MarineAvenger and DarkGemini24601: “This Game of Life” Part One

XCOM Headquarters, Somewhere in Siberia
1930 Hours, November 25th, 2018
Legion Sector

Vee flipped the alloy broadsword in her hands with a wide grin. “Perfect… and I even have a selection,” the destroyer remarked, glancing at a gladius and knife of the same super-hardened material.

“Do not be swinging it around in here,” Elene warned. “You’ll destroy something, or the sword, and Emma wouldn’t be pleased by either result.”

Vee rolled her eyes. “Fine, fine… I’ll go test this thing out against… ah, shit. Why’d he have to get himself injured and all?” the black-haired clone complained.

“Another opportunity will arise, I’m sure. Emma and Sunny are working to construct a new arm, perhaps with an additional feature or two this time,” Elene intoned calmly as a knock came on the door. Getting up from her swivel chair, the heiress opened it. “Hello, Markus.”

The Australian smiled and he put his hands in his pockets with. “Hey Elene, I wanted to come by and see how my favorite group of girls were holding up and all.”

“As you can see, Vee is pleased with her new choice of modernized archaic weaponry,” Elene offered, to which the destroyer gave her a glare. “Emma is working on Desmond’s arm, Lily on a cure for Sickle Cell Anemia, and I am seeing about finalizing upgrades to the Legion Trooper armor and power cores.”

“That is great,” He stated, his smile getting wider. “Nice to see you guys are keeping busy. I’ve just been...you know, helping out down in the labs. I have been asked to review over some of the alien autopsies to see if anything was glossed over that we may have missed but so far nothing major has popped up, as well as some Meld studies. I guess you guys have been rubbing off on me.”

Elene shrugged. “I’m sure its a good thing that you are gaining expertise in an entirely revolutionary portion of science. Once the war is over we will mark the beginnings of new careers, I’m sure.”

“Just keep Vee off the payroll. I have a deep fear she is going to spill something and turn us all into mutants.” He stated, giving a cautious glare at the Destroyer.

Vee laughed. “You act like that’s a bad thing.”

Markus smirked. “Sorry but I would rather not grow a third eye or extra limb. Worse comes to worse we all become X-Men.” The scientist smirked. “Actually that would be pretty cool…”

“See?” the black-haired woman exclaimed. “I’m right after all.”

“Or perhaps you’re both insane,” Elene stated plainly.

“Entirely possible.” Markus gave a wink to Vee but he put his arm around Elene and said, “There was a reason I came here though, all tangents aside.”

Elene raised an eyebrow. “And that would be?”

“Well...I haven’t taken you out in a while so I thought a date would be in order. Let’s just say an old friend kicked me into action again. Besides, I think you deserve a proper break after working so hard.”

“Very well, I can do that.” Elene smiled softly. “Did you have anywhere in particular you wanted to go?”

“A few places, yes. I think it is time I got you out of the lab and finally on to the field.” The scientist smirked at his girlfriend and added, “And don’t worry, I promise you will have fun. Though a lab coat isn’t entirely proper for a friendly game. You look cute enough but changing into other clothes is more for practicality and comfortability.”

“I’m not quite sure I call a dress practical… it looks nice but it can be difficult to move around in,” Elene protested.

“I was talking about athletic attire silly. You don’t always need to dress up.”

“Ah.” Elene nodded. “I could change into such. I would just need a minute or two.”

“Yeah, go ahead. I need to change too so...I guess I will meet you in the holo rec room when you are ready.” He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss before turning around and heading to his room to get ready and hopefully let Elene have a good time with what he had planned.

The heiress retrieved a set of black shorts from the closet, as well as a white shirt that reached down to just above her stomach. Satisfied with those and some athletic underwear, she went into the side room to change, and then headed down to the holo-room.

As she entered the room, the simulation was already set up and running, Markus standing in the middle of the soccer field balancing a soccer ball on his foot and kicking it from one foot to the other as he waited. He had on just a black pair of athletic shorts and one of his various team shirts and when he saw Elene, he stopped playing with the ball and smiled. “You look good.”

Elene looked over the simulation for a moment. Avanix, run me through the rules of this particular sport quickly.

As you wish, Mistress, Avanix replied with a hint of amusement, providing Elene with the necessary data.

“So, just one on one?” Elene inquired.

“Well...it would be a little unfair so I added a little something.” From behind the nets, a simulation person wearing two different colors took their places in front of the goals. “We each have our own goalie so it isn’t completely unfair.”

“Very well. Shall we begin?”

He kicked the ball over to Elene with a smirk. “I will try to go easy on you.” The two of them went at it with everything they got over the next couple of hours. Markus indeed kept his word and went easy on the heiress though with Avanix’s help, he soon found himself outmatched. He tried to play his best but Elene had gotten so far ahead of him he ended up narrowly losing.

By the end of it, Markus was covered in sweat and panting, smirking as he sat down on the artificial turf. “I must admit...you are better...than I thought…”

Elene crossed her arms. “I cheated, I suppose. But it was either that or face someone with essential knowledge of the game without a fair chance.”

Markus chuckled. “Yeah...I guess it wouldn’t have been much of a win anyways.” He got up and brought over a couple of water bottles for both him and Elene, opening his and taking a large sip. “Have fun?”

The clone nodded. “I have never done something like that before.”

“I’m glad. I guess that is a win all in itself.” He sat back down and patted the ground next to him for her and he laid back, letting out a relaxed sigh.

Elene sat and laid down next to him, looking up at the artificial blue sky.

“I ordered us some lunch on the way down so that should be here in a little while. Hope you like grilled cheese…” Looking up at the sky, he reached over and put his hand on Elene’s and smiled wide. “We sure have come a long way...I can’t wait till we are able to do this anytime we want.”

Elene returned the smile. “Me as well. I do wonder where I’m going to set up my new HQ… I think I’ll lay the old one to rest, or at least have it be a secondary location or storage house.”

“Maybe somewhere warm? It seems all these bases are in such cold places. It would be nice to actually go outside and enjoy the day. Maybe Hawaii...or you could maybe even set up in Sydney. Not sure how much of a city girl you are but it can be a nice place to be.”

“Perhaps, though it is a bit decentralized in relation to the other continents,” Elene mused. “Personal headquarters, perhaps, but not a primary one for any corporate activity.”

He nodded. “Whatever you say boss lady.” As Markus looked up at the sky with Elene, his conversation with Shelly popped into his head. “Hey Elene...while we are talking about the future, can I ask you something?”

 

[DarkGemini24601]

MarineAvenger and DarkGemini24601: “This Game of Life, Part Two”

“What might that be?” she prompted.

“Do you have any plans...for us?” He asked a little nervously.

“I’m not quite sure what you mean by that,” Elene responded. “As we’ve been over, I have no intention of leaving you…”

“No,I know that I just mean…” He sighed and support his head on his hand, looking over at her. “I mean...I know you and your sisters have these big plans and all but...you know..do you think we will have a family...together?”

Elene looked him over for a moment. “I am… unsure. Perhaps at some stage, though most likely not immediately. I will need time to adapt to the outside world, after all. Though we will have time in abundance, considering the Tz6’s applications in slowly aging. The human lifespan could potentially be doubled with it.”

“I guess we have all the time in the world then.” His eyes dropped a moment and a small, light smile was on Markus’s face. “I find it so strange that a single decision changed my life entirely. I can help but keep thinking what would have happened if I had simply turned down the internship to continue my studies on campus...I got to meet some new people I would have otherwise never had met, saw things I never imagined I would see...and I met the woman of my dreams…” He put a hand on Elene’s cheek. “I don’t care if it is a year or a hundred, as long as me and you are together, we will always be a family. Nothing will ever change that.”

“Of course,” Elene replied. “I will consider your offer. I just need a while to think it over.”

“Course, wasn’t expecting you to make a choice right now, that would just be stupid on my part.” A little while later, a person had come down to the holo-room carrying a bag and handed it to Markus, thanking the person and quickly rejoining his girlfriend, he took out one of the sandwiches and held it out to her. “One grilled cheese, toasted golden and extra cheesy for you madam.”

Elene took it, taking a bite into it. “I am fairly certain I don’t taste Au in this.”

“Oh, ha ha...you get points for trying though. I swear, I don’t think that joke could have been any more cheesy.” He retorted, cracking a smug smile.

Elene sighed. “As you said, I tried. Perhaps you just have a poor sense of humor.”

“To be honest mine wasn’t much better.” He took a bite of his sandwich and looked over at Elene. “Well, we are alone and I am pretty sure your sisters aren’t the best for conversation, so any dark secrets you would like to spill or forever hold your peace?”

“I’m fairly certain you know most of my dark secrets,” Elene responded simply. There is that… one… but we don’t speak of that.

“Yes, secretly learning you experiment with wacky things in your free time was pretty dark…” He looked at her with a raised eyebrow, knowing the joke was stupid but couldn’t resist saying it anyways. “Though learning Vee was a man comes in as a close second...I swear she is filled with more testosterone than an 80’s action star.”

“H-Hilarious…” Elene said hesitantly. Does he know? But I specifically told Legion that meeting was confidential…

“You alright? You look like you have seen a ghost.” He commented, looking at her a little concerned.

“Ghosts are superstition, they don't’ exist…” Elene replied distractedly.

He narrowed his eyes slightly and laid back down. “If something is bothering you, you know you can tell me. I doubt anything you say would surprise me anymore.”

“I’m… not so sure about that,” Elene muttered.

He scratched his head and looked up at her, taking a bite of his sandwich, “Try me…”

“When I visited the original Ethereal captive… she may have used her special form of biokinesis on me.”

“Is...that supposed to mean something? I don’t exactly follow…”

Elene looked down. “It is designed to elicit orgasm,” she mumbled. “Though it was done against my will, I assure you!”

Markus coughed, nearly choking on a piece of his grilled cheese and when he looked at her, he didn’t know if he should laugh or what to do. “Uh...yeah...that is a bit surprising…” He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. “Jeez...how am I supposed to top that…” He muttered to himself, though probably not as low as he should have.

“Well, I have gained some knowledge on how to perform the technique… though I am not sure you are a psion yourself,” Elene added weakly.

“Well...sorry if I have...uh, not satisfied you like you probably deserve...I don’t think I could ever do something...like that…” He told her a little disappointed.

“That is not what I meant!” Elene sighed in frustration. “Besides, I have no interest in Luxuria. I never did, and especially not now that she’s in a similar body to that infuriating woman.”

“Wh-wait! I wasn’t suggesting you would leave me for that or...do that...I’m just saying…” Markus blushed a bit and rolled his eyes. “I am going to stop talking now…”

Avanix, wouldn’t it be unfortunate if the doors were broken for awhile?

I suppose so, though why… ah. I see. It would indeed.

Elene pushed herself up slightly and rolled ontop of Markus. “Perhaps I can take this opportunity to prove to you just how wrong you are, then,” the heiress purred seductively.

“Oh...uh…” Markus looked around a bit and shrugged his shoulders. “I think I have the rest of the day off.” He wrapped his arms around her and smiled, “Guess this date turned out better than expected.” He leaned up and gave her a quick kiss, enjoying the moment while he could.

“We haven’t even got to the good part, yet,” Elene replied, reaching back to pull her shirt over her head.