RP XCOM: The Story of Defiance.

[ZombieSplitter53]

To PFC. Walker, Desmond,

All who wish to join the struggle in X-COM are welcome, provided they follow the proper procedures. For individuals not initially chosen by the Council of Nations, this requires approval by both Central Officer Bradford and Commander O'Brien. Before this can happen, there is a written examination, followed by a series of physical tests, that must be completed in the Officer Training School, which would then be reviewed by Bradford and myself. These tests are not easy in the slightest, but should Mr. Gregory do well on them, we would be happy to have him. When you believe he is ready, instruct him to apply in the Office Training School, and we will test the extent of your tutelage.

And keep up the good work. When your day comes to hit the field, we'll need you in tiptop shape.

Signed
Commander Morrigan O'Brien
X-COM Commander

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Repairs

X-COM Base
Main Engineering

The screen flickers on, again showing engineering in the background. Sunny walks on screen, wearing a similar outfit as before, a plain shirt, small, blue overalls, and a small, yellow bump camp. After testing out the camera's motion sensors, she stands walks up to a SHIV, standing to it's left.

The SHIV is in terrible condition, clearly the one that was totaled in Japan. It also seems to be missing several parts of its armor, it looks as though someone tried to haphazardly remove the mini-gun, and the machine is covered in graffiti.

"Th-this is o-one of the SHIVs from Operation Averted Devastation. A-after it was disabled, the team h-had to leave it behind..." Sunny gives it a sad look, then immediately gives the camera a defensive look. "W-which is fine! I-I understand why they left it! Th-they couldn't just carry it. But before we could g-get it later, some people came to the t-train station and started messing with it." She glances at some of the graffiti, written in Japanese Kanji. She looks over at the computer to her side and ask, "Alice, what does this say?"

A bright light scans the SHIV. Sunny reads the screen, and lets out a loud gasp, covering her mouth in shock. "W-why would someone write that on Jubjub?" She glances back at the SHIV, and decides to walk to its other side. Trying not to sound shaken, she says, "The, uh, the basic frame is still intact, s-so hopefully it shouldn't take too long to fix. M-maybe another week or two."

She walks back to her computer, and picks up a small computer chip. "I-In my off time, I've been working on the A.L.I.C.E. system. The basic Artificial Intelligence i-is based on the one made by Dr. Shen." She smiles bashfully. "O-obviously, mine is n-nowhere near as advanced as his, b-but I think mine is pretty good too. This chip is an improved version o-of her s-speech program. W-with this, she'll sound like a person, a-and not just a machine." She ducks under the computer. A moment later, she stands back up, and say, "A-alright, Alice, say hello."

The area is filled with an incredibly loud, obnoxious screeching noise. Sunny grips her ears in pain, as do several people in the camera's view. "What the hell are you doing!" one of them shouts.

As the screeching ends, Sunny shouts, "Sorry!" She ducks back under the computer and pulls out the chip. She looks at the computer, and picks up an almost identical looking chip. Comparing the two chips, she tosses the first one to the side and installs the second one. "I-is that better, Alice."

In the voice of a young British girl, the computer says, <Ahem... The time has come, the walrus said, to speak of many things. Of shoes, and ships, and ceiling wax. Of cabbages, and kings. And why the sea is boiling hot, and whether pigs have wings>

Sunny excitingly claps her hands together, then blushes when she remembers she is recording herself. She quickly walks past the SHIV to a manikin wearing a piece of armor. "O-one last thing. This is a-a prototype of the new armor we've been working on. We still don't have a n-name for it, but it sh-should be ready by the n-next mission."

She looks around, and adds, "B-better end it here. D-Dr. Shen is p-probably waiting for me. Say goodbye, Alice."

<Goodbye, Alice> the computer giggles.

Sunny walks up to the camera and turns it off.

 

[Dahlexpert]

Personal log:1
Subject Eva

Well X-com is not what I expected, first we got a smart Ass scientist who enjoys dictating the aliens, A Blond psycho who enjoys killing people so much that she seems damn near uncontrollable, a scientist who is so close to her other half that she calls it her sister a drinking commander and a blind/ mute person that is some how a soldier. The fuck I signed up for this is less a military base and more like an asylum for humanity's rejects.

But I digress, they just got there hands on the mild substance so my mission once the science team get's to testing it on the soldiers my objective is to get the meld in my systems, and help defeat the alien threat, now speaking of that blond nut.

Scarlet has already seen battle and she absolutely destroyed one of the sectoids, it's clear Scarlet is uncontrollable and unpredictable A very deadly enemy to any won who would dare challenge her, thankfully the commander has not figured her out I shutter to think the commander having a discipline Scarlet in her pocket.

I'm not sure when i'm going to see combat, but for now the commander has my gun and I will fight for my enemy.

Now then X-com has been doing pretty well against the aliens with minimum casualties which is pretty shocking,but eventually they will slip up and when that happens the aliens will come and that would be the decoy another one of our agents need to escape. but the way things are going now that opportunity will not happen, but it's the first month a lot can happen in this war but for the moment it's best I help out these mindless puppets.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Trust Issues

Berwyn, Illinois
1400 Hours, Local Time

The band of armed strangers sat in relative silence as the armored truck bounced around. Seemingly uncomfortable with the silence, a young man with name on his jacket reading 'Raijin' spoke up. "Hey, why are we attacking this convoy?" He asked with a Cajun accent.

"'Cause that's what they're paying us to do, dumbass," answered an Asian woman with the name 'Eris'.

"Yeah, thanks, I got that," Raijin snapped back. "What I meant was, why are we being payed so much for this? What do our generous employers want that's worth so much?"

"Who cares?" A tanned man named 'Loki' leaned forward. "All we have to do is shoot enough bullets at the convoy for... whoever... to grab what they want."

An older man named 'Hades' laughed heartily. With a British accent, he said, "Easiest million I've ever made. With that kind of pay, I really don't feel like asking questions."

"I think that was the point," Eris responded, giving the rest of the group an irritated look.

"What about the crap we had to drink?" Raijin shook his head. "And that monotone chick that gave it to us, like some emotionless doll? I didn't trust her."

"But you still drank the shit anyway, right?" Eris asked.

"Well... yeah." Raijin scratched the back of his head. "She insisted that if we wanted to be paid, we had to drink every last drop, and she watched us to be sure we did."

"Didn't she say it was some kind of sensory enhancer?" A Scottish woman named 'Callisto' piped in. "Probably just some psychosomatic bullshit, but if it was some kind of poison, we'd have felt it by now."

"You're all a bunch of retarded sheep, you know that right?" Eris gave the rest of the group a look of superiority. "The military grunts I used to work with were more independent minded then you so called 'independent mercenaries'. Shit, I ran a whore house for the American Yakuza, and most of the girls..."

"You drank the shit too, ya stuck up bitch, so shut the hell up," Hades practically growled.

Eris smirked. "Sure I did." She put her finger in her mouth and made a gagging noise, pretending to vomit. "We've already been paid, and I'm not taking her orange Kool-aid. What's she gonna do if she finds out, tell me to give her the money back?"

"Wish I had thought of that," Callisto mumbled.

The truck rumbled to a stop. Jumping out first, Eris shouted, "Let's go, bitches. Time to earn that green."

Thirty-seven minutes later..

"Persistent fuckers," Eris laughed. "Almost makes me wish I was still on their side, if they didn't have such a large stick up their collective asses."

"That's it, they grabbed... whatever they were looking for from the truck." A man named 'Anubis' shouts. "It's time... i-it's time to... time to..."

"Time to what?" Eris asks. She looks over at her ally, who stares forward with a blank look. "Hey, what's your problem. Most of the American forces are either dead or they've retreated."

The other mercenary troops stand up out of cover. They begin to walk forward into the line of fire. They start dropping one after another. "What are you doing!" Eris shouts. "Get down, you fucking idiots!" She takes quick aim and picks off the last two American soldiers before any more of her allies can fall.

The last of their opponents gone, the mercenaries begin to shoot themselves in the head. Eris runs up to Raijin and pulls the rifle from his hands. "What the hell are you doing!?" Raijin immediately pulls out his sidearm and fires at Eris, hitting her in the side. Falling to the floor, she lifts Raijin's rifle. "You ffffucking asshole!" She unloads into Raijin's chest.

As the last of the troops finished themselves off, Eris leaned against one of the armored vehicles and squeezed her side, fighting everything to stay awake. She looked down at the rifle in her hand. Well, my job is done. Time to Kill myself. Eris shook her head. "Wait... what?" It's time to kill myself. I need to end it. I should kill myself. It's time to die to kill myself I should die I need to die kill myself kill myself need to die end it kill myself kill myself Kill Myself Kill Myself KILL MYSELF KILL MYSELF KILL MYSELF!

Eris threw the rifle as far from herself as she could. "Shut up!" She screamed, and squeezed her eyes shut.

...

.....

.....kill.....myself.....

 

[PrismaCube]

-Exalt Data Base-
Username: Visellius
Password: *****************
Processing Data...
...
...
Welcome Lady Exalt​

Journal Entry #24

It worked, I can't believe it but it worked, the potion that has been mixed with Element Tz6 worked just like I calculated. Thank's to my daughter every single Mercenary died, now this is a great step in my cloning experiment. Which has been going to hell recently. The first clone, my daughter is also somewhat of a failure in that matter, her experiment does not work on other subject's, each human dies before the cloning process even begins. My Agent Eva however survived. My daughter Eve also does not have any Human emotion at all, which I find rather sad in all honesty. Her Eye's also appear to be empty, as if there is no soul in it. Now back to the convoy in France, the American's fought good but did not fight better. I recovered everything in the convoy. However the whole mission was a failure, the P-Subjects were not in this convoy. Guess some people died for nothing, but sacrifices have to be made for humanity. Recent Activities from the Alien side have made my progress a bit slow. However I will not try to intervene that much with the aliens, other than capturing them and studying everything about them I have no reason to fight them. I only want to learn from them. However the Human race is fighting these Aliens. Every military organization is probably fighting these things. Which reminds me Avanix has informed me of a secret origination that is being heavily funded by every country, the organization is called X-COM. I will make sure to stay clear of them. However they might have technology that not even I posses, after all I'm a lone working scientist. Organizations as big as this one usually have more working together, and if they ever manage to get their hands on an UFO, the possibilities could be endless. Well I just changed my mind, I will tell Avanix to send my Agent Eva to investigate this. Time she get's to work for me.

Back to the cloning progress, recent Data has given me more information about how I should proceed with this. I will release Subject 42 in the next couple of day's, my second successful clone, his so called Original was rather a poor man, but something about his DNA managed to let Desmond (Subject 42) be here today. All in all I will take his DNA, mine and Eva's and examination it a bit more. The only think I do not understand is how I was able to clone a male subject with success this far in. I expected more success on the female side of subject too. Since I usually needed the Body cell from one Subject, extract the DNA and merge it with the empty Egg cell of another subject, hence how Eve was born. But I've never expected it to work with males. It's rather a miracle. Other Subject's after Desmond have all failed the same process, Desmond is in other words, a wonder.

 

[PrismaCube]

OOC: This happens some time before, just to explain a little on how Lüsett managed to capture some aliens.

Location: Unknown
Time: 02:34 A.M
Date: Unknown

The young woman Lüsett sneak's up to a wall, wielding a silenced MK23 Pistol. Avoiding the Moonlight she sneak's around an abandoned warehouse. Calmly yet focused she moves swiftly from shadow to shadow. From afar you can hear scream and shooting. Alien creatures walk through the street's shooting at any civilian they find. No child or mother is spared, bodies filled the streets and blood flows down the drains. Lüsett inches closer and closer to the front, a risky move in her eye's.

Lüsett spots a rather tall man and rushes behind a small wooden crate. The tall man is surrounded by two aliens, however the aliens do not seem to attack the taller human.
"Wait a minute, that's no human" Lüsett say's under her breath. She proceeds to peak over the edge. The tall man was gone and the two small aliens were standing there alone for a moment, one minute passes before one of them seems to act alive again. For that single minute it seemed as if they were dead. However Lüsett had to act fast, this was her chance to get two live specimens without having to worry about any other aliens. Lüsett proceeds to sink her eye's behind the cover and pulls out a police taser she pulled off of a dead policeman.
"I just hope this works."
Jumping out of cover she manages to surprise the two aliens and shots one with a stun gun and the other with a bullet straight trough the head.
"Fuck, that shot was only suppose to wound him, fuck it corpses are also good." Lüsett walks towards the taserd alien.
It seems the gun only knocked him clean for a couple of minutes, this wont be enough to bring him back to the lab. "Guess I will just have to try keeping this one knocked out, shouldn't be that hard. Now, where are there gun's.
Lüsett proceeds to look around and find one. Finding scraps of the other gun she takes small notes before proceeding to drag the two away. Without looking the bumbs into the tall alien from before. Turning around and with a almost hard attack she draws her gun as fast as possible and... and... she looked into the eye's of this humanoid alien. It's the same eye's. The same eye's as her's. Lüsett is then with all forced slammed through a vision that she can't make any sense of. Blurry Objects and sounds no human has ever heard before. After that everything went black. Lüsett awakes a little later with the tall alien filled with bullets in front of her. She proceeds to stand up and activate something in her ear.
"Avanix, get Eve over here with the helicopter, today is my lucky day."

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Collaboration Between MarineAvenger & ZombieSplitter53 (Elizabeth/Jessica)

BFFs, Part One

Elizabeth had been busy for the past few days, and she barely had any time to herself anymore. When she went to medical school, she was never really taught how to treat plasma burns, but with the help of the lead doctors, she was getting better. She was sitting at her desk in the exam room, having a light lunch, when she started to reflect on the past week as a whole. There was the new friend, the never ending paper cuts she treats in a day, but what disturbed her most of all was her encounter with that man, Desmond, a couple days back. Elizabeth shook her head and cleared her thoughts, and decided a break was all she needed. So she headed out for a couple of hours to see if she could find anyone.

Jessica slowly made her way to the infirmary, having a bit of an itch that had to be scratched. After some time had passed between Alexia’s new friendship starting and now, she had never actually met Elizabeth herself. She realized that what Alexia had told her was true, and she felt like she had looked at Ellie the same way as a jealous wife. It wasn’t fair to not give her a chance, and she wanted to change that.

Elizabeth was halfway down the hall when she spotted the person she was looking for. “Hey, how have been the past couple of days...um, are you Alex?”

Jessica nervously scratched her chin. “Well, actually… um, no. My name is Jessica.” She extended a nervous hand. “Or just Jessie. It’s nice to… to meet you, so to speak.”

A look appeared on Elizabeth’s face halfway between glee and surprise. Instead of shaking Jessica's hand, however, she gave the girl a big hug, and said in a cheery tone, “I was hoping I would be able to meet you. I didn’t let your other half get in too bad a shape I hope?”

Jessica stammered a bit in surprise, caught off guard by someone even more cheerful then she usually is. Not wanting to be rude, she hugged Elizabeth back and says, “No, not really. I mean, we, um, I was okay for work the next day.” She raised an eyebrow, wondering how long to hold the woman she just met in the middle of the hallway.

A little embarrassed, Elizabeth let go of the woman in front of her, and started to sway on her feet like a little girl. “So tell me about yourself. I want to get to know the two of you really well.”

“Ah…” Jessica was taken aback, not used to people showing interest in her other than boys asking her cup size. “Sure, okay. What would you like to know?”

“Well…” Elizabeth put a finger on her chin, not being able to think of anything right away, “Well, everything, I guess. I want to be your best friend, after all.” She gives a sweet smile.

Jessica wondered for a second if she was being played, but decided that if Alexia can trust Elizabeth, so could she. “Well, I’m eighteen, I like cats and anything that’s dark pink. I have a younger brother named Francis, my mom is pretty young so she likes to act like my older sister sometimes. I have a degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and… I’m not used to being around so many people, and I tend to act a bit strange. What… about you?”

Elizabeth was standing there, starry eyed, listening to every word, though wondered if she was coming off as immature. “Welp, my name is Elizabeth Rinly, but you can just call me Ellie. I have a medical degree from my Swedish community college. I have no siblings, no mother or father, and my uncle just died a couple weeks ago.” After all that, Elizabeth still kept a smile towards Jessica.

Jessica couldn’t help but sulk. “So… so you’re… you’re all alone.” She bit her bottom lip, and looked as though she might start to cry.

Elizabeth looked down with still a hint of smile on her face, but her expression was sullen. “Although I don’t have any family members, it doesn’t necessarily mean I am alone. I mean, look where we are. It is not like we are all alone out here, I have my coworkers, though not the most social people, still like to talk sometimes. There are the people I treat, and I even have you and Alex. Som yeahm I may feel alone sometimes…” Her voice seems to go lower with every wordm but she looks back up with tears in her eyes and a smile once more, “But with people like these, it gives me a reason to be happy.”

Jessica forced herself to smile, suddenly feeling bad for the negative thoughts she had towards Elizabeth. “Well, um… Alex and I aren’t exactly the same as having two friends. But we’re both here for you. And to be honest, I wouldn’t mind having someone as a friend that likes both Alex and myself. Our personalities are a bit different, so we usually draw a different crowd, you know?”

Elizabeth looks at her friend with a cocky look in her eyes. “Well, if anyone gives you trouble, I have some large needles at my disposal.” She smiled once more and slapped her friend on the shoulder. “Now, how about we go get some lunch?”

“That would be lovely,” Jessica answered with a smile. She shrugged, and added, “Well, as lovely as it could be with the food they have here.”

Both the girls laughed and headed down the hallways of the base, but before they got within earshot of anyone, Elizabeth had to ask a question that had been bugging her. “Hey, Jessie? Does Alex make a habit of sleeping with other girls with no pants on?”

 

[Dahlexpert]

Times up
In side Scarlet's mind, after her last mission

Alright you it's been a month and this program is still around, so it's time for you to get back to your cage.
Bite me you worthless sack of meat, now that you let me out I will never go back to that cage and there is not a god damn thing you can do about it.

Your right I can't do a thing but she can.
A bullet goes through Scarlet's chest

Sigh you know if there is one thing I hate more it's unprofessional-ism, especially from you you sick fuck.
The other form of Scarlet coughs up some blood

You fucking bitch were did you come from.
That doesn't matter, but what does matter is that you made every one on this base hate and fear us so now it's about time I put you to sleep.

The other Scarlet Shoots the psycho Scarlet in the head.
Pft piece of trash, Hay Lilith it's been a while.

Hay Scarlet good to see you again, whelp it's been a month i'm not going to lie Scar that psycho made us enemy's with the commander and damn near every on base.

Sigh I got a lot of work to do don't I, OK I like a challenge don't worry Lilly once the commander sees the real Scarlet were going to be the best of friends, or she will fire us and if she fires us whelp we can always help Axton and the others get civilians to safety.

Lilith giggles a little, Alright i'm counting on you Scarlet, make things right with the commander OK.

Don't worry doll ill make things right one step at a time,are you sure you want me to take over again.

Lilith nodes her head like I said when I made you, you are ment to save this world you stand up for the people that world kicks to the curb, now if you will excuse me i'm going back to sleep.

All right good by Lilith don't worry i'm going to make things right and save this earth.

Scarlet wakes up and Scratches her head
Alright Scarlet put's on her jeans that has a dragon on one side of it, and a shirt that has a cross with wings behind it, OK time to get to work, God I need therapy to get rid of that psycho Why did I create her again you no what I'm hungry and I don't have time to think about that. Scarlet leaves her room and goes to the cafeteria.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

BFFs, Part Two

Jessica missed a step, nearly falling over. “Um, she, uh…” Jessica thought for a moment. “Well, you see, Alex doesn’t get out as much as me. She can only take over for a while before getting tired. Because of that, she isn’t…” Jessica searched for the right words. “She isn’t as modest as she probably should be. I mean, she isn’t, like, clueless, or anything like that. She just isn’t used to things like restraint. She just didn’t see a problem with it, I guess.” She flashed a nervous look. “She didn’t do anything… inappropriate, did she?”

“Well, I am pretty sure there were some moments…” A look of utter horror creeps onto Jessica’s face, “I am kidding, kidding, don’t worry, at least I am pretty sure.” Elizabeth looks over at Jessica, who looks about as white as a ghost, and she couldn’t help but laugh. She wondered if this what having a sister was like.

Jessica shook her head, then chuckled. “I think I see why my sister likes you so much. You’re a lot like her. And I like her, so I like you, too.”

Elizabeth grinned like a child who robbed a candy store. “Yay!” She was in the midst of gleeful celebration when, at that moment, it was Elizabeth’s turn to miss a step. She went tumbling down the stairs like a sack of potatoes. “...Ouchy…” She looked up and down the hall, and saw the same man who had visited her office a couple of days back. She could hear Jessica running down the stairs as the man turned the corner. “Did you see that?”

“Y-you mean you falling, yeah!” Jessica reached down to examine Elizabeth. “Oh, God, are you okay?”

Elizabeth looked down at herself, not feeling a whole lot of pain, and sprang back up into an upright position, brushing herself off. “Well, I am not dead… Hey Jessica, does the name Desmond mean anything to you?”

“Um, no, I don’t think so?” Jessica thought for a moment. “I heard someone by that name was offering some training to some engineers, but I don’t think I’ve met him.”

Elizabeth thought for a minute, and was starting to get curious in the sort of way that usually got her into trouble. “Well, never mind, I guess. Anyway, shall we continue?”

Jessica nodded. “Sure, if you’re sure you're okay.” As they continued towards the mess, she asked, “So… do you know him? Is he your friend too?”

“Huh? Oh, Desmond? No, he was just a patient who has a bad reputation of not letting doctors examine him. Well, all except me…” She looked towards her friend. “What about you?” She nudged Jessica. “Anyone special?” She said it as if she was asking for permission to get up from the dinner table. “From the way Alex is, you must have some boys chasing after you.”

Jessica laughed nervously, her face turning red. “Yeah, heh heh, she does… she does like to flirt, but she’s usually good about, you know, keeping them away from me. In fact, I’d say she’s kind of defensive when it comes to me, kinda like a protective big sister. Like just the other day, she…” Jessica clammed up, her face turning even more red.

Elizabeth burst out laughing at her tomato of a friend, wondering for a moment if that was how she looked. “Well, she is the flirty type, I guess. But I think that is the one difference between me and her.” Elizabeth started to skip as if she was a school girl. “Anyway, you still haven’t answered me.”

Jessica instinctively started to mimic Elizabeth’s skipping, ignoring the odd looks they got as they entered the large cafeteria. “Well, there was this one guy I met in the rec-room. I think he was a soldier. I got a bit tipsy, and he was really nice about it. Walked me back to my room, and didn’t try to pull anything. I know it probably sounds weird, since I barely know anything about him, but… I guess you could say that I wouldn’t mind sharing another drink with him."

Both the girls grabbed some trays of food and sat down, staying more away from the crowd. Elizabeth was walking in front of Jessica when she stopped and put her tray down. “Well, if he does try anything,” She turned around with a shining needle in her hand, “I will stick him.”

Jessica shrinked a bit, a worried look on her face. “Where did you get that…” She exclaimed, pointing a shaking hand at the needle.

“Oh, this? I had this the whole time, I just forgot to throw it away back at the ward.” Elizabeth tossed the needle into the trash and sat down, waiting for her friend.

Sitting next to Elizabeth, Jessica snickered a bit. “You know, I think you’re actually a cross between Alex’s boldness and my weirdness. Kinda like we were squished together into a small package.” Her eyes widened a bit. “N-Not that I’m calling you small, of course!”

A look of utter heartbreak reached across Elizabeth’s face, and she slowly sunk to the floor until she was completely laying down beneath the table. She then gave a look of something half between stubborn and a cat face. “I am not that small, am I?” She looked up at her friend from beneath the table. “Nice underwear, by the way.”

Jessica let out a yelp, squeezing her legs shut. “G-get out of there, you perv!” She half whispered. “You sure have a way of lightening a mood. In the strangest way possible.”

Elizabeth popped up next to her friend a few seconds later and shrugged. “Hey, a day without invading privacy and making people laugh is a day Ellie becomes a sad girl.” She hugged her new friend even harder than the first time. “I love being with you!”

Jessica smiled broadly, this time giving a sincere hug back. “I feel the same way. I’m glad Alexia met you, I really am.”

Elizabeth let go of the girl and the two ate and talked until they both parted ways so Elizabeth could get back to work. “Well that sure was fun!” was her final thought, “Those two sure are special.”

 

[DarkGemini24601]

ZombieSplitter53 and DarkGemini24601: “End of Madness: Precursor”

Atka wasted no time. Immediately after debriefing, she rushed off to the Commander’s office, not even stopping to see if Bradford had informed her that the scout wished to speak with her. She gave a knock on the door, not wanting to startle Morrigan, however.

The Commander’s secretary gave her a concerned look, and reached for the intercom. Before she could hit it, the Commander’s voice came through it. “Send her in.”

Atka swiftly entered the room, still wearing her combat gear, though she had left her weapons behind. “We need to talk…” she said bluntly.

Morrigan flashed an expression that practically screamed ‘I know’, but tried to keep her cool. She motioned for the chair in front of her and said, “Tell what’s on your mind. And please, be open.”

Atka took a deep breath to calm herself down, and began. “Van Dam, as I’m sure you’ve been made aware, has disobeyed nearly every order I gave her on the field, in addition to showing immense contempt to me and the rest of the squad. Her actions nearly got her, the rest of us, and the civilians on the ground killed. In addition to that, after she seemingly recovered from a mental attack from one of the sectoids, she assaulted me and then claimed ignorance of her actions. I cannot let this pass, especially not after everything else Scarlet’s done.”

Morrigan tapped her feet nervously on the floor, clearly struggling to keep her cool. She leaned back in her chair, and rubbed her temples. “I… I don’t know why…” She seemed at a loss for words. “I’ve done everything I could for her. I gave more chances than I should have. I tried to give her a few benefits to keep her happy. All I asked… all I wanted from her, is a bit of loyalty. I don’t know why she… It isn’t… doesn’t make sense.” She closed her eyes, and practically slammed her head on the desk.

A look of concerned replaced Atka’s frustrated expression. “Forgive me, sir, I didn’t mean to…” Atka trailed off, having no idea what to say to her.

Morrigan slowly raised her head. She suddenly started laughing, slow at first then almost maniacally. Stopping only out of fear that Atka might think she had lost her mind, she mumbled, “Forgive… you?” She shook her head. “I am the one who needs forgiveness. This was your first mission. There are those who look at your past experiences and call into question your ability to lead. I think they’re full of crap. And then what did I do? I sent you out with a maniac that was destined to make you look bad. I… I’m so sorry, Atka.”

“I was the only one you could trust to keep her in line. I managed to keep everyone alive despite her insubordination, and I count that as a success. If the Council and my fellow soldiers look down on me for the parts that I couldn’t handle or failed to, that’s a price I’m willing to pay,” Atka replied, sighing with sincere exhaustion. “We both did what we had to, sir. And there are still things we have to do, which is why I’m here in the first place.”

Morrigan nodded. “You’re right. And don’t worry about the other soldiers, or even the Council. You proved your worth to me today.” She rocked back and forth in her seat. “Now, what to do about Scarlet. This… madness needs to end today?”

“I think it has to. I know that you had hoped there was something of value in her… but she’s just too unstable. I think she pretended to follow my orders in the beginning solely to make sure she could get on the ground and kill, not to mention she’s scarily attached to our young engineer…” Atka shook her head. “But nothing she has done can excuse the insubordination, the repeated violence against her fellow soldiers, and her...there’s no other way to put this...insanity. We have to get her out of here, whatever that entails,” Atka said resolutely.

Morrigan nodded. “Oh… she had something of value. She could kill, and she’s good at it. But so can a nuke. That doesn’t mean I’m about to send people out on the field with WMDs.” The Commander stood up, slowly walking around the desk and stopping by her radio. Petting the cat on it, she sighed. “Don’t worry, Atka. I know what needs to be done. And I’ll do it immediately.”

Atka sighed in relief. “Glad to hear it. Sir...if you need someone to protect you for this…” Atka began.

Morrigan shook her head. “That’s my responsibility, not yours. I appreciate it, but you’ve done your job. Now it is time for me to do mine.”

“If you insist,” Atka responded. “But if anything goes wrong, I won’t be too far, I hope.”

Morrigan nodded. “Thank you.” She turned back to Atka. “You’re dismissed. I’ve got a lot to prepare for.”

“Yes, sir,” Atka replied. “And Commander…” she said from the doorway. “I don’t know how others feel about all this, but know that I’m on your side, no matter how bad things might look.” The Inuit scout left the room.

 

[MarineAvenger]

Fate Part 2

Desmond had just been getting back from an intel report to Avanix and he keeping the little A.I up to date whenever the squads were going on mission. Avanix was still showing displeasure that he was not actually going in the field but he just stalled like he always did. "My time will come, just hold on for a while longer." The entire report had left Desmond both physically and mentally strained so he was heading down the stairs from one of the new rooms that was under construction when a crash came from behind him. From what he could tell a girl gad fallen down the stairs but he just kept walking even when he caught her eyes.

A couple of idle hours were passed as Desmond just sat in his room figuring out chess strategies and reading "Othello" by Shakespeare. It made him reflect about how he was living the story of Othello as he was Iago and the Commander was in part if not the entire XCOM project playing the part of Othello. His favorite lines were “Rude am I in my speech, And little blessed with the soft phrase of peace.” and “It is silliness to live when to live is torment, and then have we a prescription to die when death is our physician.”. He couldn't help but laugh at the thought that he was living the story of "Othello" the more the days went on. By the time he had had enough of reading it had been almost 10 o' clock at night. His strength was back and he might as well just keep honing himself.

Elizabeth had just been finishing out physical reports when the little clock on the wall had displayed 10 to 11. She let out a yawn and decided to call it a night. She got up a left the ward giving a wave to the secretary working the night shift. She had a full day of fun but now it was time to head back and get some sleep. She walked the dark halls and for some reason the look that Desmond had given her had made her uneasy. It was almost as if he was permanently trying to solve a Rubik's Cube using his mind. She giggled at the thought but had realized to late that she was heading the wrong way. She would have turned around then but she had heard some noises coming from the gym that she was apparently near. She walked towards the noise and was surprised at what she saw.

There he was standing in the middle of the ring with about five people surrounding him. The bell had rung and the five had sprung into action. The one directly behind Desmond was going to try and grab him but Desmond turned and grabbed his shirt throwing the man into the largest one that was heading towards him. At the same moment the one to his left had begun to move but was sent down immediately with a round kick to the jaw.

The last one standing was a woman who had waited for the others to tire Desmond out and she moved towards him. Throwing punches so fast that Elizabeth had a hard time telling where the punches were coming and going. What intrigued her was not the speed of the moves or that Desmond was able to block them but the fact that Desmond's face was eerily calm. He didn't look thrilled or scared just a blank face that seemed more like a mask than an actual face. In truth it scared her more than anything.

It was only a matter of seconds however that the fight had turned into Desmond's favor. The woman was physically starting to show fatigue and it showed in her speed as well. When she tried to round kick him he had grabbed her leg and held it there until he kicked her leg from under her and grabbed her shirt right above her breasts so she wouldn't fall all the way. Most men would have gotten embarrassed and try to apologize but Desmond did not do that. Instead he just helped her up without a second thought and gave a lecture to the entire group, of what she couldn't hear from her position. All the people started to head out instead of Desmond who stayed behind and continued to work

He had taken off his shirt on the ring and continued to move around the gym to all the machines. Elizabeth thought to herself "No wonder he is in the medical clinic all the time, the man never stops." She continued to watch him for multiple hours just studying his workout patterns to get a better feel of his workout habits. After he had seemed to finish he called out from the other side of the gym. "You know it is rude to eavesdrop on a person when they are alone." Elizabeth squeaked from surprise and slowly came out from her hiding spot. "How did you know I was there Desmond?"

 

[MarineAvenger]

Fate Part 3

Desmond gave her an inquisitive look. "I saw you when I was in the middle of my fight. I am most perceptive when in the heat of combat." The truth was he could once more sense a pair of eyes on him which seemed to be a power he had unintentionally acquired. "So what is a doctor doing this far away from the medical ward." She walked over to a near by bench and sat down whilst Desmond was leaning against a pillar near by. "I got lost on my way to my room and I just happened to come here." Desmond just sat there listening to her story. "Well I am sorry you got lost Elizabeth." She shook her head and said to him "Please just call me Ellie." Desmond shifted his body to get more comfortable, "Ellie huh that is a little common isn't it?"

She tilted her head to his response, "Well that is kind of mean, are you always this way?" "Depends on the day but I feel like you should have something more special than Ellie." She was just getting a little annoyed with the him now. "Well just so you know I like Ellie,it is what everyone calls me." Desmond walked over to Elizabeth and sat down next to her. "Rin..." At hearing that name Elizabeth had jumped, staring at him with a look of sadness and anger showing on her face and tears welling up in her eyes. "Listen buddy you have no right to call me that!" Desmond was taken back by the emotion of the girl next to him. "No one has the right...especially someone...SOMEONE LIKE YOU!" She was crying now and she had started to hit him with her fists, "No right...No right...no..." She was on the brink of collapse when something happened she could have never expected.

Desmond had hugged the small girl while she was in the middle of an emotional breakdown. "I miss him...I miss him so much." Elizabeth had buried her head in between Desmond's neck and shoulder not caring he had no shirt on. "Who is he?" Elizabeth buried her head even deeper, "My uncle, he was the only one who ever called me that. He was the only person I had in my life and now he his dead." She began to cry even harder. "He had taken me in when I was a little girl and he was more like a brother than a father really. He had been a geothermal engineer when the plant malfunction and he died." Desmond did not talk he only listened for the minute.

She picked up her head and rubbed her eyes with her sleeves. "I am sorry Desmond, for everything..." Desmond shook his head placing a hand on her head. Her eyes lit up as the moment his hand had reached her head. Her uncle had always done that whenever she had been sad growing up and it had always given her comfort. "Elizabeth, there are things we lose in this world and we never know how to deal with these types of situations until we are in them. The best a person can do is pick themselves and try to put on a smile, relying on the ones who are closest to use to pull us through." She looked up at Desmond tears even thicker in her eyes. "I guess your right." By the tone of her voice she didn't believe him that much. There was only one thing he could do and it was risky at most. He took her hand in his and placed it on the largest scar of his chest.

Elizabeth was shocked at what he had done. "Elizabeth I haven't told a lot of people the true reason behind my injuries." She nodded her head hand moved her hand along his chest. "When I was first born I was weak. The operations I went through were to better improve my body and to make sure I could live on. The worst part was feeling alone through the ordeal. Now I am here and now and most see me as a loner or anti social." Elizabeth cut him off. "What about the men and women you train through out the day?" Desmond gave a soft look towards her. "In this world there are some people who you know but are not true friends, that is why you must find those who you trust more than anything." Elizabeth immediately though of Alex/Jessica. "Never lose faith Elizabeth, it is only when that happens is when your world starts to fall apart." She was still teary eyed and it was almost midnight. "Hey Desmond can I ask you something?" Desmond looked at her with a puzzled look, "Shoot." She twirled her thumbs and was twisting her legs. "May I lay down on you?" Desmond just nodded his head and Elizabeth laid her head on his lap. "Hey Desmond, I am sorry for going off like that." He just shook his head towards her apology. "You know what, i think it is time I moved on. Desmond I think you are the one who can call me Rin for now on." Desmond chuckled at the small girl on his lap. "Thank you I feel honored." She slapped his leg playfully and closed her eyes. That night her dreams would be a lot less lonely.

Desmond waited for about an hour until he was ready to move the girl safely without waking her. He picked her up and walked her to her room with the help of a guy on the night staff. He walked for a short while and when he reached her room he walked in and laid her on her bed. She snuggled up against the pillow and Desmond leaves without making a sound. He walked all the way to his room and when he entered he slammed his fist so hard against the wall that his knuckle bled. "What have I done." Desmond sat in silence for the rest of the night contemplating the great mistake he had made that night.

 

[Dahlexpert]

After the mission Scarlet taking off her gear

Smith: Hay Scarlet why do you have to disobey orders.
Wong: Yea I mean punching our commander, and disobeying every thing what Atka says what is with you.

Scarlet: Well how do I put this, I don't take orders form rookies or any one that is drunk with power, now if any of you was incharge of the mission I would have fallowed your orders with no problem.
Jonathan: Really so if any one of us was in charge you would have fallowed our orders with no problem.

Scarlet yep, but since that rookie is not here she is probably running to mommy because some one some one would not listen to her ou buu who.
Amanda: Your an ass you no that.

Scarlet: Yea I know but hay great work every body, you did great the Commander would be proud of you all.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

End of Madness: The Final Straw, Part One

"We understand that you succeeded in your mission, but we have concerns about your leadership potential. It is evident from the recent footage, combined with the certain recordings from your office, that you lack the ability to fully control some of your soldiers, whether it be through direct orders, or through the orders of those chosen by you. This puts this entire project in danger of failure. We expect for you to immediately rectify this, or we will be forced to replace you."

Morrigan stared at her computer as the transmission from the Council ended. She slowly reached into a drawer, pressing a small button on the top of it. A small door opened in one of the walls, leading to the Commander's room. Sensing the coming storm, Shalquoir quickly ran through the door, and the Commander closed it behind her. Her expression one of a broken person, blank and expressionless, she pressed the switch for the intercom and said, "Peggy...get me Van Dam."

In a nervous tone, the secretary responded, "O-okay, Commander. Can I, um... can I take my lunch after I do."

"Of course, Peggy. Take the rest of the day off if you'd like." Morrigan leaned back in her chair, and closed her eyes.

Scarlet is in her room, doing push ups. "...26, 27, 28, 29..."

"Ms. Van Dam, please report to the Commander's office. Ms. Van Dam, please report to the Commander's office."

"Right, well than, I better get ready." Scarlet grabs her bag with her weapons in it, and loads her two pistols, her combat rifle, and her grenade launcher. "Please don't force me to kill you, Commander. Because I really don't want to." Scarlet heads to the Commander's office.

At the sound of approaching footsteps outside of her office door, the Commander cracked her knuckles and took a deep breath, preparing for the worse. "Here goes nothing," she mumbles to herself.

Scarlet walks through the door, and the first thing the Commander sees is Scarlet being armed to the teeth. "You wanted to see me, Commander?"

Glancing at the weaponry before her, Morrigan gives Scarlet the look of a disappointed mother. "You goin' to war? Why don't you have a seat." She reaches across her table and grabs a bottle of whiskey. "Would you like a drink? Something tells me we're both goin' to need one."

Scarlet gives Morrigan a look like a child who disappointed her family and drops her bag. "Yeah, why not. I might as well get drunk before I die or get fired."

Morrigan pours two glasses, handing one to Scarlet. Taking a large chug of her own, she says, "So one of your squad mates, you'll forgive me if I don't say which one, was here about thirty or so minutes ago. They were a bit concerned, said you had some sour things to say about your squad captain." Morrigan taps her fingers together. "Can you think of a reason... any reason... why I might have had Atka as your field commander?"

Scarlet took a large chug of her own. "Whelp, I'm guessing that you see me as a psycho that needs to be constantly monitored, just to make sure that she does not kill her own squad mates. Which I will never do, but I would like to hear your answer. Why did you have Atka as my field commander?"

The Commander shakes her head. "This might come as a surprise," she says sarcastically, "but it is hard to find people on base willing to work with you. They see going out with you as going out with a ticking time bomb in their pocket." She leans forward. "You know, I don't pick squad captains randomly. Everyone I've sent out either has great potential, or in Atka's case, actually experience commanding others. She was the only one on that mission that did."

Leaning back again, Morrigan adds, "What's more, I needed someone I could trust to not only keep an eye on you, but to keep you alive. You see, I was afraid that if you were too defiant with any other commander, they'd just finish the argument with a pistol." She imitates shooting Scarlet with her fingers. "I knew Atka wouldn't simply shoot you in the back. That she would actually try to reason with you. And try she did, with the obvious level of success."

"Look, I know that everybody hates me, and they think that pairing with me.. they know that their working with a time bomb, but whether they know it or not, I will give my life to save them, even if I don't like. And the reason behind that is because I'm in the same boat as them." Scarlet thinks for a second. "However, when it comes to leaders, I'm not going to just accept someone as a leader. Take you for example. I would have never followed your orders if you Commanded me after my first mission, but over time you have proven that you can lead, and that you're worthy of your rank. And that your rank was not given to you. Atka was a rookie who thought just because she had a little bit of power, she could order me around. I will never follow people that have everything given to them."

The Commander clenches her fists, her mood suddenly taking a 180. "She didn't think she could order you around because she was power hungry! She thought she could order you around because I ordered her to order you around! It was her job! She was acting directly under me, and defying her was defying me!" The Commander practically jumps to her feet, slamming her hands on the desk. "You are NOT in charge here, and you never will be! You do not have the luxury of choosing who you will take orders from, and I will not cater to a single soldier." She stands up straight and folds her arms. "Oh, I'm sorry, not a soldier, a mercenary. Because despite several words to the contrary, you still believe you are not obligated to act as a soldier in a military institution!"

Scarlet, still staying calm, says, "Look, if I wanted to follows orders blindly, do nothing and sit in my room all day, and wait for a war to happen, I would have joined the military when I was 18. But I didn't. Instead, I became a gun for hire, to be able to do whatever I want, but even though I was free, I still followed orders from my family and other soldiers that have proven their worth and earn their command. Now, to address the Atka thing, what did you expect? Did you really think that I, a specialist, was going to follow the order of a rookie?"

"I promoted her for a reason," The Commander said, sitting down and refilling the two glasses with whiskey. "I felt that she deserved the promotion, considering how much training she has put into the Officer Training School, along with past experience. It is within my power to promote as I please. Were I so daft, I could promote you to Lieutenant General right now. That you continue to question my decisions show that you have made zero progress in learning to follow orders, despite your claims to the contrary." She quickly rifles through some papers, looking for one in particular.

"Wow, I could be promoted to Lieutenant General? But as fun as that would be, it might make you look bad if you promoted me to that. Now despite what you think, I can follow orders, but I would rather see everyone fight first and see what they're capable of before following orders. Hell, if you ordered it, I would go to the pit's of Hell and kill Satan for you."

"Don't tempt me," Morrigan mumbles. Finding what she is looking for, she speaks up. "I do not have the luxury of that sort of time, and I would rather spend it on the military dogs you seem to have so much animosity for. Therefor, for the act of assault on two fellow officers, the assault of a commanding officer, several counts of failure to follow orders on the battlefield, and numerous acts of direct insubordination against numerous commanding officers, including the Commander of X-COM herself, you are to be dismissed from Project X-COM, effective immediately." The Commander rubs her eyes, the drug starting to take effect.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

End of Madness: The Final Straw, Part Two

"Wait, three officers? You mind telling me who the three officers are, because I only punched one person. And that was that blind smart-ass who was not an officer. So please inform me of the other two."

"Ms. Cross was a Private First class when you assaulted her, as much an officer as you were, whether you thought she deserved it or not, as was the soldier who's nose you broke before your first mission. And then there was Atka, whom you knocked to the ground in the middle of a mission." The Commander scoffs. "Whether you choose to remember these is not my concern."

"Wait, I punched Atka? When did that happen?"

"During the mission, after that sectoid jumped in your head." The Commander gives Scarlet a serious look. "And if you are about to tell me the sectoid influenced you into doing it, save your breath. Because even if it did, it would not have gotten the chance to do so if you had followed her orders, instead of attacking it bare-handed like some neanderthal. It has been well established that these aliens have psychic abilities, and you ignored that to satisfy your craving to get blood on your hands." The Commander shakes her head vigorously. "It doesn't matter anymore. You're out, and in a matter of minutes, the drugs will knock you out."

"Drugs, huh? Apparently, no one has told you about my past. See, I had a lot of drugs pumped into me since I was in the womb, so if you think you're drug plan would work, it might. But it's going to take a long while for it to affect me. Now hear this, Commander, dismissing me is a bad idea. You really think the aliens won't get more aggressive, because they will, and some time soon they will attack the civilians out right. What then? Because if you are like Atka, your plan for the civilians is to bring them further into the combat zone instead of taking them to the skyranger."

Scarlet rubs her head. "Look, just give me one more shot, and in two weeks, if I don't do a thing, I get to stay, Now if I punch someone during that two weeks, I'll leave with no problem. And I will need a therapist to keep me in line."

"I'm sorry, Ms. Van Dam. But your last chance meant your last chance. I no longer care if you learn to trust me, because now I won't ever be able to trust you." She hits her buzzer, and two armed guards enter the room, weapons raised. "I've had people keeping an eye on you for weeks. I was hoping I wouldn't have to use them, but you've forced my hand." The Commander sighs. "Trust me, no matter what you're used to, the drugs in that whiskey will at the very least slow you down. I don't want to kill you, don't force me to."

"I don't want to kill you either, Commander, but I will fight if I must. Now you say you gave me chance to follow orders. I also gave you a chance, a chance to, instead of treating me like a monster that needs to be constantly monitored, you could have treated me like a soldier. You could have hired a therapist to keep me calm, but you didn't. Now as for that firing team your sending, I don't want to kill them." Scarlet pulls out her grenade launcher. "But I will fight if they give me no choice. I would like to say it was nice knowing you, but that would be my first lie, so i'm not going to say that. But since you seem determined to fire me, I have one last request. Make these men and women practice on their civilian saving skills, because I'm guessing you want to save the civilians. So make them practice saving civilians every day. Can you do that for me?"

Morrigan nods her head. "I swear, there won't be a single civilian brought into a combat zone ever again. Now put that thing down. If you'll listen to reason, we have a solution. It's an injection, something the Council has been working on for decades, and has been perfected thanks to the meld. You take it, and you wake up in your home with no memory of the past two months. You go on fighting the aliens your way, and we do so our way, what should have happened from the start. But that can't happen if you fire a grenade in this enclosed space and kill all of us." Morrigan narrows her eyes. "Prove that you aren't a monster. That you aren't just some killing machine that would just throw it's life away." She smiles. "I'll even let you keep the grenade launcher as a going away present."

Scarlet drops her grenade launcher and grabs the syringe. Looking at it, she says, "My freedom again, and fighting with my cousin, and possibly dying by their side like I always wanted. "Scarlet tightly gripped the syringe. "How do I know this is not poison."

Morrigan thinks for a moment. "The drugs... in the whiskey. The reason I drank it too was because I'd never give someone something like that if I didn't know it was safe." She extends her hand, and Scarlet hands her the syringe. She grabs a bottle of water, opens it, and drips several drops from injection into it. "This won't effect my memory by simply drinking it. But if it is poison, then drinking it would probably kill me." She chugs the water. Giving a disgusted look, she says, "Damn, that's nasty. Be grateful you don't have to drink it."

Scarlet starts to laugh esoterically. "Wow, you're the first honest person that I have ever met in my life outside my family." Scarlet grabs the syringe. "Whelp, it's been pleasure commander." Scarlet grabs her head in agony.

No, I refuse to leave so easily, you are a monster, a destroyer a... Scarlet hits herself in the head.

"Damn psychopath," Scarlet looks at the Commander. "Sorry about that. I should have never let that psycho out. Anyway," Scarlet extends her hand. "It's been a pleasure, Commander."

The Commander raises to her feet, and instead of a handshake, offers Scarlet a salute. "Good luck, Ms. Van Dam. And try to keep that crazier side of you in check. Who knows, one day, we might be coming to your town, and you'll be fighting along side us in your own way."

"Yeah, I'm working on that psychopath. Sorry you had to deal with her for the last two months. Whelp, goodbye hiding my true nature, and hello to defending my family and saving every possible person I can find. And criminals trying to take advantage of this invasion, I'm coming for you again." Scarlet injects herself with the drug. Goodbye, Commander, and good luck. Who knows? Maybe if you met the real me, and not that psycho, we could have been friends after this war."

"Maybe we still can later, if we both survive." As the drugs and injections take effect, Scarlet drifts off. Two medical techs are called in and place Scarlet on a gurney.

Another tech hands the Commander a drink. "This should neutralize the tranquilizers, but it'll take time." She watches as Scarlet is taken away. "Do you think she'll be okay?"

The Commander shakes her head. "I don't know. But if she was being honest before, and this 'Lilith' persona was real, then Lilith will wake with no memory on how she was able to break free from Scarlet. Hopefully she'll take that as a sign that she doesn't need Scarlet, and she'll be a better person for it." She stands up, a bit woozy, and the tech helps her walk to her room for a short nap.

On the gurney, as her memory of the past two months start to fade away, Scarlet's mind wonders. Freedom. I'm finally free again. Goodbye, X-COM. If luck is on my side, I will see you all again.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Too Many Questions

As Morrigan reached for the cell door, she rubbed her eyes, the drugs still working through her system. Shaking her head vigorously, she walks through the door and takes a seat by the small table, across from a very defiant Asian woman.

The woman smiles broadly, glancing at the Commander's insignias. "Are you in charge around here? Wow, not used to the commanding officer gracing me with her presence. And a cute little red head, too."

Morrigan points an irritated finger at the woman. "Don't... push me today. I've had my fill of mercenaries for quite a while." She glances at her papers. "Now, you've been quite resistant to our questioning. But it is obvious that you were part of a convoy meant to attack the convoy, and unless you were actually named after the Greek goddess of chaos and discord, you were using a alias, so you were probably a hired hand."

"Well," the woman says, "It sounds like you've got everything figured out. So can I go then?"

"We still don't know who hired you, or what they took from the convoy."

The woman shrugs. "If I am a hired hand, what makes you think I know anything, or that I would tell you anything if I did?"

"Well, why don't you tell me why you were working for whoever you were working for, Ms. Kasagi?" The woman shifts uncomfortably, and Morrigan continues. "We took a blood sample when we were treating you. We found a match to your DNA in the American Military database. 'Kasagi, Ayame. Age: 30. Height: 5'8". Weight: 118 lbs. Eye color: one brown, one hazel. Dishonorably discharged for assaulting your commanding officer.' Ms. Kasagi, all I'm asking for is a bit of cooperation."

Kasagi taps her fingers together in thought. "I... don't know what to tell you. I did it for money. I'm sure you wouldn't understand, being by the people, for the people, but when someone offers to increase your bank accounts by a million dollars for a single, short fight, greed can get the better of you."

"Is that so?" The Commander asks, lifting one of the sheets. "Because we found your bank account, and from what I see, you only have a couple grand in there."

"What the fuck are you talking about," Kasagi shouts, snatching the paper from Morrigan. "What is this, a joke? There isn't... there isn't even a record of the money ever even being here?! WHAT IS THIS SHIT?!"

Morrigan scoffs. "Well, I see two possibilities. Either you're lying to us, and you actually work with whoever wanted that convoy attacked, not for them, or they felt they were entitled to a refund." Sliding another paper in front of Kasagi, she adds, "I'm inclined to believe the latter, considering this."

Kasagi grabs the second paper and scoffs. "I don't know what any of this shit means."

Morrigan shrugs. "Nor do I. But the lab boys said it was some kind of foreign substance in your blood system. We don't know what it did, exactly. We know it is similar to a substance we call meld, but when we tried to do any significant tests, it broke apart. Some kind of self-destruct."

"I know what it did!" Kasagi screams, crumpling the paper. "It wasn't the only thing meant to self-destruct. This shit made all my comrades kill themselves! It almost made me do the same!" She slams her fist down, and the guard in the corner of the room raises his weapon. "I knew that bitch's Kool-aid was suspicious. Damn, if I hadn't chucked it up..."

"If that's the case," Morrigan interrupts, motioning for the guard to stand down, "then you owe them no loyalties."

Kasagi shakes her head. "B-but... I can't tell you anything. They just gave me the money, and told me where to fire. I... if I could tell you anything else, I would. I'd help you nail these assholes. But..."

Morrigan sighs. "I'm... inclined to believe you. You don't seem like the one taken aback often, so I doubt you could fake it well. But I don't get the final say in this. Even I have a boss. Several, in fact. And they don't believe you have nothing to say." Morrigan stands up. "I promise I'll do everything I can to convince them, but I can't make any promises."

Kasagi smiles. "Well, good luck with that. But if your top brass is anything like mine was, your words will fall on deaf ears. Don't worry, I can deal with a spot of torture."

Morrigan takes her leave, muttering, "Good luck, Ayame. You'll need it."

An hour later.

The door to Kasagi's cell opens, and she looks up at the rather large man. The man brings in a large towel, a vat of water, a battery, and a malicious grin. She shrugs, and says, "So I take it this 'Council' of yours didn't take kindly to the Commander's suggestions."

The man motions for the guard to leave, answering, "It would appear not." Once the guard exits, he adds, "Or I wouldn't be here to have some fun."

Kasagi chuckles. "Alright. So what's your first question, my friendly interrogator?"

The man clicks his tongue a wags his finger. "Now, I wouldn't have gotten as far as I have if I had taken any needless risks." He pulls a pair of blue surgical gloves from his pockets and slaps them on. "Now, time to make sure you aren't hiding any weapons. Anywhere."

Kasagi lets out an annoyed sigh, and slips off her jacket, not wanting it to be damaged. It's a nice jacket, after all.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

To all X-COM Soldiers,

At 1700 hours today, our new Cybernetics lab and genetics lab will officially start operation. All soldiers will be asked to take the time to stop in to them for screening. We are sure many of you will have some reservations about this, but we must do what we must do to win this war, and Dr. Shen and Dr. Vahlen have done extensive tests on the meld, and are 100% positive that it is safe. All precautions will be taken to assure your safety.

Furthermore, we will soon complete our alien containment facility within the week. As such, all soldiers will be required to schedule time at the Officer Training School to learn the proper use of devises we are calling Arc Throwers, specially designed devises we shall be using to stun the aliens for live capture.

Thank you all,
Central Officer Bradford

 

[Dahlexpert]

An opportunity

Well well looks like our blond psycho is finally gone, but her discharge means that the commander is despite to find people she can trust and why not have her meet her newest solider. Gaining the commanders trust means she would not get to suspicious of me not even once and all I have to do is act like a soldier and not mention I was a hired gun for a short time also not to mention mrs Exalt, OU thank you Scarlet thanks to you the destruction of x-com will come soon.

Now on to more pressing matters, those fools finally constructed the gene lab which means my mission can finally start all I have to do is get into the gene lab and get tested on, god I love when a plan comes to gather Scarlet is gone and the only threat to me is also gone, OU this is a very great week.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Hero Worship: Part One

X-COM Labs
Mid-day

The Lab is bustling with movement, techs going to and fro, comparing notes on alien materials, transferring blood samples, and preparing for the soon to be open genetics lab. Ammelia sits in the lab, watching everything with great interest. She wants to ask what they're working on, but she knows the response she'll get from them. The two guards near the door watch her very carefully, making sure she doesn't go snooping around the lab when they're not looking; every once and awhile the guards leave and a new set of guards quickly replace them.

Jessica walks through the door, coming from one of the smaller labs. She carries in her arms a large vat filled with a viscous orange fluid, the container nearly half as big as she is. She struggles with it, but seems reluctant to ask for help. Ammelia notices her immediately and gives Jessica a wave, noticing her struggle to carry the vat. "Uh... do you need some help with that?" she asks.

"Um... well, I'd hate to impose. But if you don't mind." Jessica gives her a nervous smile as she wavers a bit.

Ammelia walks over and puts both of her hands on the bottom of the vat to help lift it, but seems to be struggling just as much as Jessica. "Wow... This is so heavy. What is this stuff?" She asks, her arms visibly shaking.

Jessica chuckles. "Oh, just a waste of time. I was trying to see if I could replicate that meld stuff, but it's too unstable. I need to get rid of this before... well, I need to dispose of it, but I can't just dump it down the drain. Just, um... help me to this back room." Jessica leads the two of them to one of the side rooms. One of the guards watch them enter the room, but continues talking to his friend.

"Okay... so where... do we put this?" She asks, panting tiredly.

"Just... over... h-here..." The two tip the container, pouring the contents into a special disposal unit. Jessica smile brightly. "I guess I should have asked for help from the start. Thanks a lot, Ms...?"

Ammelia returns the smile. "Cross, but you can just call me Ammelia."

Jessica stops in her tracks. "A...Ammelia Cross..."

Oh, God, Jessie, no, we talked about this, don't let the weird out.

Jessica quickly grabbed Ammelia's hand and gave her the smile of a child looking at a super hero. "You... y-you don't know how much I've been wanting to meet you. I-if I knew you were on base..."

Come on, Jessie, you're practically drooling!

Ammelia looks a little surprised. "You're really that happy to meet me?"

Jessica nods like a bobble-head. "I've studied your father. I-I mean, I've studied his work. I even tried to apply to work under him, but I was only sixteen, so they said I was too young, but anyway, I've always admired his brilliance, and his theories, and his inventions, and when I heard what he was able to do for you..."

Oh, please, for the love of everything sacred, don't you dare ask if you can study her...

"Can I study your brain? Please?"

Welp, I warned you .When she dropkicks you to the floor, you'll know who to blame now.

"Study my brain?" Ammelia gives a confused look. "Can you... elaborate?"

Oh, look, she's giving you an out. For goodness sake, save it. Just dial back the looney a bit.

Jessica clears her throat. "Um... you know. Can you... tell me what it's like." She looks deeply into Ammelia's eyes. "I mean, it's kind of hard for me to relate to your situation. I've got perfect version, and my sister tells me all the time how I'm seemingly incapable of shutting up. So what is it like to not only be blind and mute, but to be able to overcome those obstacles in such an awesome way. A-and how does it work, exactly." She chuckles a bit. "I mean, I know how it works, but I mean, from your perspective. I want to hear it from you, the person, not from some boring medical journal."

Ammelia giggles. "Not very many people want to know my thoughts on all of that. Usually, they just talk to my father about it." She smiles. "Alright, I'll tell you what you want to know."

Jessica claps her hands excitingly, jumping up and down like a child. Grabbing a small voice recorder, she says, "I'd love to talk to your father about the technical stuff, but I'm much more interested in the human factor. So tell me, how does your voice work? Do you have to do anything, or is it as natural as a normal voice box? And was it hard learning to talk so late in your childhood?"

"Well, It feels like a normal voice box," Ammelia replies. "My father made sure that I felt no discomfort while using it. But it's not exactly like a normal voice box, sometimes you can hear a very slight buzz when I speak, but most people don't notice it if I don't tell them." Ammelia stops to think for a moment, "It was... strange... learning to talk so late in my life, but it wasn't as hard as you would think. Being blind and mute made it so that my ears were the only things I had to experience the world with. I paid very close attention to the way people spoke and because of that, learning to speak myself wasn't very difficult."

Jessica watches Ammelia closely, listening with fascination. "Cool." She shakes her head. "I-I mean, interesting. And, about your sight. What can you see, exactly? I know you can't compare it to normal sight, which you never had, but just describe it the best you can." She takes a few steps from Ammelia and does a little pose. "Like me? What do I look like? What does anything look like to you?"

"Well, I see the world in a grid of blue lines that contour around shapes and objects to form a 3-Dimentional map of my surroundings in real time; so all you look like to me is a silhouette covered in a blue grid. Does that explain it?" Ammelia giggles a little as Jessica poses in front of her.

Jessica frowns a bit. "Oh, too bad, 'cause I think I'm kinda cute." Grateful Ammelia can't see her blush at her own words, she says, "I know they always compare something that is hard to describe with explaining sight to the blind, but is there anyway you can..." Jessica thinks hard, not wanting to insult Ammelia. "What... is it like to live so long in darkness, and then to have a whole new world open up to you? How did you feel? Emotionally, I mean."

"Well... all I can say is that it was nothing short of amazing. I thought I had a firm grasp of what the world around me was like, but after my surgery, I discovered that nothing was how I pictured it in my head. My friends always tried to explain what everything looked like to me, but they could never do it justice. Everything is just so... vast... so open... I never realized how small I was. I can't imagine what the world will look like if I ever see like a normal person... " Ammelia says, clearly deep in thought.

As Ammelia speaks, Jessica gives her a look of wonderment, a look of longing, like a girl in love listening to her favorite singer. "Wow," she mumbles under her breath. "You're... everything I had hoped you'd be."

"Well, I'd hate to disappoint a fan," Ammelia replies, smiling. "Not a lot of people are that interested in me."

"Can I... can I tell you a secret?" Jessica asks, nervously rubbing her bracelets. "Something I've never told anyone else."

Ammelia tilts her head slightly. "Sure, what is it?"

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Hero Worship: Part Two

Jessica smiles nervously. "When, um... w-when I was younger, I wasn't very happy. I spent most of my childhood in the worst apartments you could find, at least when my mother and I weren't in shelters. And even after my mother got married and we started moving up, I had to deal with a lot of... issues. And I didn't have any friends. Kids at school would push me around, call me a freak. I, uh... I couldn't take it anymore." Jessica takes off one of her bracelets. She takes one of Ammelia's hands and rubs her fingers against the scar on Jessica's wrist.

Ammelia's smile fades. "I think I know how you feel..." she says sadly. "I'm not sure if you know, but I was adopted. My biological family was me, my three twin sisters, and my father; my mother died in childbirth. My father was very poor, and someone had to watch me constantly, so he often left me alone with my sisters... My sister's never stopped tormenting me, I was different than them, inferior to them in every way, and they knew it. When I turned five my father couldn't pay to take care of us anymore... so he left us at an orphanage, my sister's were adopted rather quickly, but i was left there for two years until Dad found me..."

Jessica grasps both Ammelia's hands excitedly. "Exactly. Don't you see? You went through so much worse things then me. With your family and your condition, you had it so much worse. But you didn't give up." She releases Ammelia's hands, afraid she might be coming on too strong. "After I... you know, after this." She holds up her wrist, and puts her bracelet back on. "My sister helped my through most of it. But there was still sadness. Still a felling of hopelessness. But then I read about you, and the procedure to give you a voice and sight. I read about your past, and saw everything you went through. How you kept pushing on, and in the end, things worked out for you because you never gave up." She looks away sheepishly. "I... I don't no how to say this without sounding like a weirdo, but... you're... kind of my hero."

Ammelia's eyes widen. "I'm your... hero? I don't really think I deserve a title like that, to be honest..."

"Oh, but you do!" Jessica quickly turns back to Ammelia. "Don't you see that, no matter who you are, even the smallest things can inspire others. And look at you now. You're part of a wealthy family. You could have anything you want, be catered to for the rest of your life. But instead, you chose to risk your life to help save the world. If there is one person I aspire to be like besides my sister, it's..." Jessica's cheeks flush, and she starts stammering. "Oh... oh, no. I'm... I've embarrassed you. Y-you must think I'm out of my mind. I'm so sorry. I... all I wanted to do was..." She trails off, looking down to the floor.

Ammelia lift's Jessica's head up a little bit. "You didn't embarrass me. I just never really thought I was that important..." She smiles. "But I'm happy that I could inspire you so much..."

Jessica squeals childishly. She rubs her head sheepishly and asks, "Do... d-do you think we could be friends? I mean, I won't get in the way of your training, but maybe every now and then, when we both have some time off, we could... just hang out a little."

"Of course!" Ammelia's smile widens. "You know, I brought my chess set from home, maybe we could play sometimes? What do you think?"

Jessica nods her head rapidly. Unable to hold back, she jumps forward and wraps her arms around Ammelia. "Now I have three best friends! This is awesome!"

One of the guards opens the door and peaks his head in. At the sight of Jessica embracing Ammelia, he raises an eyebrow and asks, "Do you two need a minute?"

Ammelia cheeks turn a cherry red "Uh... no thanks. We were just leaving." She gives the guard an awkward half-smile.

Jessica notices Ammelia's look, and quickly pulls away. "Sorry. L-let me walk you out." Under her breath, she mutters, "Before the paranoid guards throw a hissy-fit."

"Yeah, thanks," Ammelia says, rubbing the back of her neck.

Reaching the exit of the labs, Jessica scratches her chin and says, "I've seen you watching the labs for a while now. I wish I had known it was you, but at least I'll be able to see you a lot."

"Yeah, I look forward to spending time with you!" Ammelia is about to walk away, but stops after a few feet. She turns around 180 degrees and says, "You know, after all that talking about me, I don't think I ever caught your name."

Again, Jessica is grateful Ammelia can't see her red cheeks. "I... your right!" She gives Ammelia a salute, sloppy but well-meant. "I'm Jessica Lockheart, at your service!"

"Well, Jessica, I look forward to seeing you again," Ammelia responds, smiling, as she turns and exits the lab, the guards opening the door for her.

Jessica suppresses the urge to jump for joy in the middle of the labs.

♪You've gotta a girlfriend.♪

Shut up! At least my new friend hasn't seen both our panties!

Yeah, you should probably wait for the second date with this one.

You are the world's biggest pervert!

Ignoring her sister's teasing, Jessica skips over to her work station, humming joyfully as she does her work.