RP XCOM: The Story of Defiance.

[Adrammalech]

Amelia "Emily" Fischer
Kuklinski Memorial Hospital
Fort Pointe, Utah, USA
4:37 PM

As they pulled in, she pulled the pill bottle out of Thomas' hand and put it in her pocket. She helped him out of the car carefully and guided him towards the emergency room. Tom limped forwards, still clutching Amelia's shirt to his wound. The woman at the counter immediately called some kind of code and rushed over to help.

“God, what happened?” the nurse said.

“My friend here, he's been shot by some kind of weapon. It punctured normally but it looks like it burned him too.”

Two nurses rushed out with a stretcher that they helped Thomas onto. They bustled to get everything set up, but Amelia didn't really know what they could do or what they were going to do. She just had to have faith in the hospital, which was somewhat uncomfortable, but natural all the same. Emily remembered the pills that she gave to him.

“Here, he's had two of these, I thought they'd help,” Emily said, handing the woman the pill bottle.

“And you, ma'am?”

The nurse pointed towards Emily's arm, which had at least two cuts that bled mildly. Fucking glass.

“Uh...I'll be fine. I need to get to the base. Do you have some bandages?”

“Of course, ma'am,” she said, gathering a first aid kit from behind the counter. “The bathroom is just over there. You also, um, have one on your face.”

“Thanks.”

“Emily,” a drowsy Thomas said from the stretcher.

“Hey,” she replied, placing a hand on his good shoulder. “You'll be fine. These people are the best doctors you can ask for.”

“Thankyousomuch...for getting me...out of there,” he said slowly, almost falling asleep in the stretcher.

“You really shouldn't be that tired from a couple painkillers, Thomas.”

Thomas grinned dopily. “I took four.”

Emily looked over at the nurse. “He took four.”

“It'll be fine, we can pump it out if necessary,” the woman said awkwardly.

“You're my hero,” Thomas said, “what-what's your whole name?”

“Amelia Fischer, 44th Division. And really, it was just my job.”

“That's what all the heroes say.”

The nurses carted Thomas away, back to surgery or care or whatever it was he needed. Just before he vanished through the doors, he yelled out again, garnering the attention of most of the waiting room.

“Thank yooooou! Heeeeero!”

Emily shrugged nervously when the nurse looked at her. She excused herself to the bathroom and cleaned her cuts, bandaging whatever looked like it could still bleed. She returned the kit and walked back to the car, which luckily wasn't stolen from outside the hospital while she tended to Tom. With her cell phone currently occupying the underside of an alien trap-box, she had to get to the base and warn everyone.[/FONT]

 

[Adrammalech]

Amelia "Emily" Fischer
Fort Pointe Military Base
Fort Pointe, Utah, USA
4:45 PM

She drove to the base, which was only two turns from the hospital. She was luckily on the base enough to get past the guards at the gate, who let her through despite not having the ID. She parked quickly and ran inside as soon as she could. She got to the reception desk and slapped her hands on the counter.

“Listen—”

“Welcome back, Sergeant Fischer. Colonel Williams is expecting you.”

“W-what?”

“The colonel. Floor 3, office 92. He said it’s urgent.”

“Is it about–”

“Go see the colonel, Sergeant Fischer,” the girl said in an unsettlingly rigid tone.

She took an elevator up to the third floor of the massive base, walking down a long hallway filled with non-descript doors. The parts Emily liked – the fun parts – tended to be outside or filled with cots. This part she did not like, lots of men in suits and lots of locked doors. It was kind of like seeing how your hamburger is made, if the cow had a pressed three-piece and a shit-ton of medals. Even worse was that she was in an uncomfortably thin undershirt and jeans, blood splatter on her legs, cuts on her arms and bandages from head to toe.

As she opened the door, three figures stood inside. The colonel was a familiar face, not to her specifically but to the base members in general. He was one of those guys that loved to have those old founding father style portraits of him plastered everywhere. She’d say she hated it, but they were well done, and the colonel probably deserved them. Two men stood beside his desk, standing up, in neat black suits. One of them looked fairly normal, while the other one had the sunglasses and earpiece routine all set up. She saluted the colonel briefly.

“Afternoon, Sergeant Fischer. Please, take a seat.”

“Permission to stand, sir?”

“No need for formalities. In fact, this conversation will be quite informal. Off the record informal, if you know what I mean.”

“What’s going on?”

“We know what happened at the plaza. These men should introduce themselves.”

“Agent Stockard, X-COM Recruitment,” the normal one said.

“Agent Smith,” the sunglasses one said.

Emily looked over at the Smith.

“Seriously?”

“Yes, Agent Smith,” he replied robotically.

“We’ve asked you here for a very important reason, Miss Fischer,” Stockard said. “As you now know, America – and indeed, the world – is under attack by extraterrestrial beings. They have incredible survivability and weapons an order of magnitude beyond ours.”

“And they have weird boxes that shoot out green-people-encapsulating-goo-things,” she said.

“Yes. We have reason to believe they use these to abduct civilians and experiment on them. This attack cannot go unanswered, and that’s where X-COM comes in. We’ve been scouring military bases and attack sites all over the world the past two weeks, making our case to the best of the best.”

“What exactly is this ‘X-COM’,” she said, complete with air quotes.

“That’s classified,” Smith said.

“It’s a secret joint paramilitary organization run by the Council of Nations,” Stockard said, ignoring his colleague, “we have bigger guns, bigger bullets, bigger planes, and a bigger budget. All we need now is the bigger soldiers.”

“Listen, I’m honored you’re considering me, but I’m just a boring foot soldier, not a paradropping, river-fording marine. I kinda like it that way, to be honest.”

“We know who you are, ma’am. You have a record for doing the impossible when it crosses your plate, and your recent conduct in the shopping plaza increases your stock even further. The pay will be exceptional for a soldier, and should the project succeed, we would have many honors to grant.”

“Where are you based at?”

Stockard opened his mouth to reply, but he was suddenly talked over.

“That’s classified,” Smith said.

“What kind of equipment do you use?”

“That’s classified,” Smith said.

“Who is your commanding officer?”

“That’s classified,” Smith said.

Emily crossed her arms and looked at the colonel.

“If this new threat is true, we’ll do everything we can to take it,” Colonel Williams said to her, “but we need heroes. People who can free the captured and take down their ships. You’d be limited here, and if the project fails, humanity might as well.”

Tom's voice echoed in her head. She didn't exactly feel like a hero for abandoning all of the people in the mall to save herself and some random guy, but maybe she could grow to become one. She turned to Agent Stockard again.

“I accept,” she said with a sigh.

“We’re honored to have you aboard, Miss Fischer.”

“Where do I go now?”

“That’s classified,” Smith said.

Emily glared at him.

 

[PrismaCube]

Video Log #1

The Camera flicker on with life and in front of it appears a rather young and slim looking girl. Some of her brunette hair has been tied loosely into a ponytail, she is wearing a red formal blouse with a black skirt. Smiling into the camera she starts to talk.

"Entry Log...no wait... Video Log number one. My name is Lüsett Exalt and I'm going to record from now til the end on the new experiment called "Terran Clone". In this "Project" we are going to test my cloning experiment on humans. The goal of this Project is to be able to clone a fully grown human in a matter of short time, the human has to be able to live like any other normal human being, no exceptions! In this experiment there will be no humans harmed and any test subjects that have volunteered freely will be treated with utmost respect."

Lüsett turns away from the camera for a second and grabs something off-screen. She returns with a somewhat Touch Tablet looking thing that looks heavily modified.

"With me will be my own personal AI that I have been working on called "A.V.A.N.I.X" Which stands for Advanced Virtual and Artificial Nano Intellectual Xenounit. Well, she ain't a Xenounit yet, but I will work on her on the side during this project."

Lüsett puts the Tablet down.

"Now to be planned is that this project should take up to 8-10 years. If we are lucky that is. However I have managed the impossible before in only a couple of years so I can do it again. Now then let me show you around my workplace."

Lüsett gets up and grabs the camera. From the cameras point of view you could see that Lüsett was in a rather small Lab with nothing special in it.

"So yeah here is where I will be working and sleeping for the next couple of years. I'm quite excited." I big smiles appears on her face.
"The first test subjects will appear tomorrow, that's when the official experiment launch day will start. I plan to sta-"

A small beeping can be heard in the background which distracts Lüsett immediately. She looks off-screen when all of the sudden her eye's turn big. From under her breath you can hear Lüsett say "Can it be?" She proceeds to stand up and walk off camera. The camera turns of two minutes later.

 

[PrismaCube]

Video Log #2

Again the camera flickers on with life. In front of it you can see Lüsett sitting there with a big grin on her face.

"Today is the day, I'm so excited, sorry about the cut off of of yesterdays recording, a test subject has shown up a day earlier than expected so I had to put recording on hold. Anyway today's plan is to check the medical and physical condition of each subject that might I mention have been given to me through Cross Technologies. Thank you guys, you are the best. Once again I should mention each test subject is here at there own will, each one has signed a contract stating this fact. At this moment there are five test subjects. Avanix can you list them?"

A robotic voice off-screen says several names

"Thank you Avanix. See she is turning out fine, I've worked on her some more yesterday. On other note's I have a test subject that I "found" named Eva, she shows great potential for Human cloning and has even agreed to be my first test subject, which makes six all together. I have know this Eva person for a couple of weeks now. Testing has already begun on her, but it does not account to the official launch date, which might I say in a excitement again is today. Anyway I will tune in later today to tell you about the other five subjects."

Classified Entry Log #12

Subject Eva's clone has been growing at a great rate, it seems as though I have struck gold and will not have to continue my experiment on other subjects. None the less I will contact Cross Technologies to send me five, just to make sure this isn't just my lucky day. With this new element I have recently discovered my cloning should be a lot more easier. Subject Eva has been also tested on and infused with some of the Tz6 Element (Meld). Several things that I still have to found out about this Element, one thing is for sure it just recently appeared on planet earth, which means it came from outer space. Anyway I will record more on that later. I have dubbed the first clone to be called Eve. She will be my personal servant once she is done, she will almost be like a daughter to be, after all I couldn't resist and had to add my own DNA. You could almost say she will be the first girl that has been born out of the DNA of two women.

 

[BMPixy]

<February 25, 2018>
<Syrian-Lebanese Border>
<1632 Local Time>
[Sergeant Richard Foulke]

Sheißescheißescheiße! Deity-dammit, where’d these fucking guys get so much heavy support? Oh once I get out of this mess, I’ll be having stern words with Al, sending us out here wit-Shit! Alright, less inner monologue, more shooting at the people trying to kill me.

Pop out of cover, locate hostiles, fire a few bursts in their direction - hey I got one! -, hide as the dude who’s shoulder-firing the 12.7mm turns his attention my way. Rock splinters from where his bullets nick my cover, and I scramble forwards, trying to keep out of his line of fire. Thankfully he’s got all the accuracy of a drunken Irishman trying to make 3-pointers without any hands, but he only needs to hit me once.

“Hey, need some help here!” I frantically shout, glancing over to where the rest of the command section is pinned by a technical. Nope, no help from them, Freddy’s trying to stabilize the El-tee. Then, as if sent by the grace of your chosen deity, a hail of response fire came from my seven o’clock, taking down the 12.7mm guy and a couple of his buddies, and forcing the rest into cover. A quick glance IDs them as Section 2, Fireteam Cyan. I decide to take the chance, signal for a pause in the cover fire to allow for movement, and then sprint towards the rest of the command section, taking up my position behind a well-entrenched rock.

“Hey Freddy, is B-tol gonna make it!?” I shout over the sounds of gunfire - and where’d that explosion come from? - wincing backwards a bit as a round from the technical comes a bit too close for comfort.

“Not in these conditions! Need to finish this fight and fast!” The medic shouts back.

“Right then! I’m assuming command! Koko and Airhead there?!” I ask, unwilling to peek out further to check on the radioman and mortar man.

“Koko’s next to me, Airhead went down a few meters up ahead, trying to get a mortar off!”

“Right! Have Koko get on the horn with Section Two, have them move to our location and help us clear out here, then figure out where those fucking helis are! Once the techy pauses, I’m moving for the mortar!”

Alright deep breaths. One. Two. Three. And there’s the pause in the fire! I scramble forward, rushing to Airhead’s fallen form. A quick glance reveals that the technical is still reloading, but the guy on the side- shit shit shit, faster! He’s got a gu- He’s dead! I quickly slide into cover by the Corp’s body- the Corp-se, I should say - dammit, now is not the time for puns! I drag the mortar over to me, and quickly run over half-remembered lessons on how to use the damn thing. Ah, there’s more fire from Section Two, nice! Now, line it up, and we’re good!

“Firing mortar!” I shout, before dropping the shell into the device, turning away from the blast. The signature thump of the shell being launched echoes out, and a second later the round explodes beside the technical, shredding it and all aboard. A cheer went out from the surviving men, and I hear orders being barked from Two’s Lance Corporal to clean up the rest of the hostiles. The destruction of that technical, a near-APC now that I get a good look at it, shook them up a bit, and I see a handful of the wise guys falling back to other positions.

“Right guys!” I shout back to the remnants of the command section, who were now forming up near Freddy and Koko, “Freddy, take a few guys and tend to the wounded. Koko and I will take the rest will support Two!”

“Roger! I’ll take Miller, Haber, and Don! Good luck sir!” The medic replies, as the handful of men he hadn’t chosen - about three fire-teams - converge on my position. Alright, we got Biggie, Smalls, Emmie, a few guys who’s names I can’t remember for the life of me - and it looks like their names got covered in a bit of blood too, so no help there - as well as Koko.

“Biggs, Stewart, Emm, you three are Fireteam Green; Koko, the Private over there, and I will be Fireteam Brick; the rest of you are Fireteam Mauve,” I quickly order, getting some semblance of control over the rag-tag remnants of the command squad. “Koko, get Two to advance North-North-East towards the objective, we’ll cover their flank as we move deeper into the town. Also, find out where Three and Four are.” A nod from the radioman, and he began chattering over the radio, directing my impromptu orders to the rest of the platoon. “For the rest of us, let’s get moving!”

[Twelve minutes later...]

Quiet. Too damn quiet. Look around, check windows for hostiles, signal for Green to hop forward. Pause, keep cover as Mauve moves up from the back, there they are. There’s Green’s signal, send Mauve on their way. Our impromptu cover-hopping keeps us moving through the strangely abandoned town. I guess it vaguely makes sense that everybody’s booked it, but even the buildings were empty when we’ve had to clear them.

Suddenly Koko shakes taps my shoulder and says, “Hey, Two says that they spotted some contacts heading our way. About five of them too, fast movers as well.”

I nod and reply, “Right, we’ll hook up with Green and Mauve and hole up in some of these buildings.” I flip on the section radio and repeat what Koko said to me, as well as my orders, and get acknowledgments from the fireteam leaders. A quick peek out of my cover spots Mauve moving back to link up with Green, and I motion for the rest of Brick to follow me ahead. A few tense moments pass as we hole up and get into overwatch positions over the area, keeping an eye out. The Private, Marc his name was, nudges me gently and points at a trio of men, dressed in the local style, and carrying AK-47s, come bolting down the street. Wait, I thought there were fi-What the hell they’re on the buildings!? I momentarily panic as I spot the other pair of men keeping up with their buddies on the ground by almost unnaturally hopping between the roofs of the buildings.

I quickly shout into the comms, “Fire! Fire now!” With that word, a hail of bullets projects itself down the road towards the trio, with a few bursts arcing up towards the ones of the roof. My gun races up as well, locking on the one on the same side of the street from us, and I hammer down on the trigger, sending a short burst down range to hit the guy, right in the chest. The impact catches him mid-leap, and he fails in his recovery, plummeting into the alley below. Alright, he’s dead. I move to open up on the remaining men- holy shit! They’re all still alive!?

The group of strange men had scattered into cover, and while Biggie and one of the Mauve guys was keeping them suppressed, all four were still there!

“Right, new plan!” I say into the radio. “Mauve and Green, keep ‘em pinned. Brick and I will move to flank!” I motion for the team to file out of the back entrance, Koko taking point naturally.

As we file through the back-alleys, the sound of gunfire still present, I hear over comms a series of sickening coughs, along with assorted cries, “What the hell was that?” and “I’m gonna be sick...”

“Report,” I mutter, keeping my gun trained on the rooftops in case of ambush.

“Some kinda pois-” I hear Biggie reply, followed by a series of hacking coughs. A brief pause in the gunfire, and then it resumes. Only instead of the familiar sound of our weapons, it’s the signature cracks of the Kalashnikov.

“Sheiße. Get a move on!” I order, and we hurry forwards.

“Oh shi-” I hear Koko shout, before a blast of gunfire comes from up front, and I hear the radioman cry out as I snap my view down to his position. Wait, that’s-!

Standing tall, but oozing a sickening green blood was the man I had shot, his rifle turning towards us. I instinctively dive to the side, and the abomination’s gun spits a barrage of rounds, catching Marc, who was still turning around from covering out rear, in the head, splattering brains across the sand.

My gun peeks out from around the corner, and barks out a few more rounds towards whatever-the-hell-that-thing is, only for the damn thing to side-step the bullets! I quickly duck back into cover as his bullets ricochet off the building, and I quietly curse. A pause in the bullets, lean out to fire, oh deity he’s still ai-

~Four Hours Later~
~Captain Albert Foulke~

“Dammit, where’s 3rd Platoon? They were supposed to link up with us half an hour ago for extract!” I shout to the radioman, “Get them on the line, see where they are!”

“I’ve been trying sir, but all I’m getting is dead air!” The man said as he fuddled with his equipment, trying the platoon frequency once more. Then, as he repeated the request once more, a reply came back. I quickly stood next to the radioman, listening in to what was being said.

“This is Corporal Shakur, Third Platoon Section Two. We’re fifteen minutes out, hit a particularly tough batch of resistance.”

“Second Squad?” I mutter, my gut beginning to gnaw. “Ask them about Section One,” I say.

The radioman repeats my query, and Shakur replies, “Mostly KIA or MIA. They were hit hard. Three survivors, Lance Corporal Marley, Corporals Haber and Miller, and Private Donnel.”

No. Nonono. I quickly pull the headphones off the radioman, and ask desperately, “And what of Sergeant Foulke?”

“KIA as well.”

Everything goes white, and I collapse. No. Not him. Anybody but him.

~Four Days Later~


“Captain Foulke?” I hear the voice speak from behind me. Standing from the hedge to face the voice, I see a well-dressed man in a business suit that just yelled ‘government agent’.

“Not Captain anymore. Just Mister.” I reply, offering a hand, then asking, “Who are you, and why are you here?”

The man shakes the offered hand, and responds, “You can call me Mr. Cash.”

“And why you're here?” I cross my arms in front of me inquisitively.

“Well, how would you like to avenge your brother?” He smiles, the kind of smile only seen from people who know they’ve got you. And he was damn right.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Welcome to X-COM, Part One

X-COM Main Headquarters
Primary Mess
March 1st, 2018
1158 Hours, Local Time (Exact Time Zone Classified)

Morrigan slowly walked through the large cafeteria, making her way through the large gathering of people from all corners of the Earth. She gave a disappointed grunt at the obvious separation of soldiers, scientists, engineers, and security, but understood it would take time for people of such different walks of life to start mingling more. She smiled at the overheard conversations around her, many of them about the Commander.

"When do you think we'll see him?" "You think he's older, like some kind of super soldier that's seen a thousand battles?" "I think a soldier like that would be a recruit, don't you?" "I don't care as long as he knows what he's doing." "Or she knows." "I hope he's from America at least." "Why? We'd be better off with a Russian Commander." "Again, who cares as long as he know what he's doing."

Morrigan cracked her knuckles and made her way to the small podium set up near the head of the room. "Aye, I guess it's time to get this started before they start acting the maggot." She walked behind the podium and took a seat, prompting Bradford to walk up to the podium and fold his hands. As more and more people noticed him there, the room eventually fell silent. Morrigan smiled, and Bradford said, "Welcome, friends, to Project X-COM. I am Central Officer Bradford. Naturally, I doubt there is a single person on this base that doesn't know why we are here, but I'll say it anyway."

Bradford pulled a small controller from his pocket and pushed a button. A large screen to his left displayed a picture of a shriveled grey alien, the image several decades old. "First, a quick bit of history. About fifty years ago, our little visitor here crash landed in the Gobi desert. Caused quite an incident. It made a bit of a mess, and until our grey friend was found, the Chinese were ready to start World War III under the belief that someone had launched a nuke at them. And when he was found, the super powers of the world had another possible war to worry about."

Bradford switched the display to a picture in the same location, only featuring a pile of grey ash in the shape of the alien. "You see, these was nothing left of the ship but scraps of metal, having either been destroyed in the crash or by some self-destruct system, and while the various nations were arguing over who would get to make the first cut, the alien disintegrated into this. Whether something happened during the crash, the alien made sure this would happen, he had a bad reaction to something on our planet, or this was just what happened when his species died, the point was we had nothing to tell us anything about them. All we knew was that they existed, and if they had been here once, they could come here again."

The display switched to a group of men of various nationalities in a board room, shaking hands. "While it was always possible the aliens were here by accident, or they were a peaceful race, we couldn't take the chance that they'd be hostile. President Ronald Reagan once told the United Nations, in regards to the notion of world peace, that perhaps we need some outside, universal threat to make us recognize our common bond. He said, 'I occasionally think how quickly our differences worldwide would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside this world.' X-Com was able to form based on this, as a contingency plan was necessary in case they ever came back, and only by working together could we have any hope of combating them. And thus, since that day, the Counsel of Nations has been keeping an eye on the best, brightest, and strongest this world has to offer, in case they even needed to be called in. The base we're in right now has been here for decades, constantly being maintained and upgraded for the day it would be needed. And now that day has arrived."

Bradford turned off the screen and stepped aside, and the Commander rose to her feet. Taking her place behind the podium, she put on her American accent and said, "Now I'm sure most of you figured this out when you saw me up here, but for those of you who aren't sure about the skinny little red-head in front of you, yes, I am in charge around here. X-COM Base Commander, Lieutenant General Morrigan O'Brien, at your service. Now look around the room, because I'm not the one you should be the most concerned about. Around you are the staff and crew who will be responsible for keeping you safe. Someone in this room will save your life someday, whether its a soldier sniping an alien before he snipes you, a scientist who designs a new piece of armor that stops a bullet, or an engineer that builds you a nice, new weapon that blows your opponent away. Me...I'm just here to make sure you all play nice, and to point you in the right direction on missions. I am the boss, after all."

"Now you are all here for your own reasons, but as long as you do your job, it doesn't matter why you're here. I'm sure some of you have your doubts. Maybe you don't think you're good enough, or that we aren't good enough as a whole. I'm not going to lie to you, you aren't stupid. You're not all here because everyone wanted you here. Some of you are here because everyone recommended you..." The Commander's eyes momentarily stopped to look at Fischer. "...but some of you are here because Bradford pushed for you..." She glanced over at Van Dam. "...some because I pushed for you..." She noted Cross standing near the front of the room. "...and there are even a few of you that are only here because the Counsel itself insisted." Her eyes focused on the small figure with silver-grey hair timidly watching in the back.

"Even I wasn't the first choice of the Counsel. But I was the first to say yes. Whatever the reason, you're here, and that's what's important, and do you know why? Because X-COM is volunteer only." The Commander scanned the room for a moment before pointing to a young woman in a lab coat. "You, what's your experience?" When the woman didn't say anything, the Commander flashed a reassuring smile. "Come on, we're all friends here."

The woman scratched the back of her head. "Well Ma'am...I-I mean Sir, I-I mean...I have a degree, a triple major, and I've written some popular papers. Had a couple important job. But.." The woman lowered her gaze. "B-but I haven't...done anything...big..."

The Commander nodded. "Is that so? Well, that doesn't compare to Dr. Richard Sullivan. PhD, papers on over a dozen subjects, groundbreaking work in the field of both cybernetics and genetics. Sorry, Miss, but I think he has you beat. Right, Dr. Sullivan?" She scanned the room. "Dr. Sullivan? Where are you...oh right, he declined. Said he had his own problems to worry about. That he had no faith in our chances." She smiled at the young scientist. "To people like that, too afraid to do their part when folks like you are willing to give it your all, I say 'Go ndéana an diabhal dréimire de cnámh do dhroma ag piocadh úll i ngairdín Ifrinn'. Do you know what that means?"

The woman thought for a moment. "Um...May the devil make a ladder of your back bones...while picking apples...in the garden of hell?"

The Commander glanced at Bradford. "Smart bunch we have here." Addressing the whole room, she said, "More then all the weapons in the armory, more then every high powered jet in the hanger, I believe you all are the real reason way I have no doubt we'll win this war. And trust me, that's saying something, 'cause we have a lot of guns, and those are some nice planes. Now, I've got quite the stack of paperwork, but I encourage you all to get to know each other. We might be here for a while, and there is no telling when the alarm will ring."

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Welcome to X-COM, Part Two

Morrigan quickly took her leave, not wanting her presence to distract the other staff. Entering her office with a smile, her mood uplifted, she sat in her chair and put her feet up on the desk. She closed her eyes, but was almost immediately startled by an "ahem". She opened her eyes to look at Bradford, standing in the center of the room.

"Bloody hell, did ye follow me all the way here?" Morrigan asked, letting her Irish accent out freely. Bradford nodded, and she added, "You're like a ghost, man. Don't make me force ya to wear bells."

Ignoring her comments, Bradford said, "That was an impressive speech, Sir. The staff looked pleased." He lifted a sheet of paper. "I thought you'd want to know that those requests you made have been answered." Morrigan dropped her feet off the desk and leaned forward in her chair. Bradford scanned the note and continued. "The extra med-kits were approved. By this time tomorrow, we should have more on base then we'll ever need...but..."

"Oh, great, here we go." Morrigan leaned back in her chair and put on a sour expression.

Bradford cautiously said, "The counsel said a base psychiatrist wouldn't be necessary with the morale office we have."

"I dinit notice his walls exactly lined with degrees, did you?" Morrigan grumbled.

"They stated that the absence of combat knives was not an accident, and that with the firearms provided, they would be superfluous."

"I guess we're assumin' our soldiers will never get within five feet of a live one, eh?" Morrigan rubbed her temples.

"And the request for specially tailored Scopes was denied. They said we'll be expected to build them ourselves as needed."

Morrigan shook her head. "Yeah, because that couldn't be done anywhere but here."

Morrigan looked at Bradford, expecting him to continue. Instead he said, "You look tired, Commander. I'll work on your paperwork for a while. You should rest for an hour."

As he turned to leave, Morrigan shot him an irritated look. Raising her voice slightly, she asked, "Is that all, Bradford? Because I distinctly remember sending one more request." Bradford stopped, but said nothing. Rising to her feet and leaning over the desk, Morrigan demanded, "Out withit. I will not ask ya again."

Bradford sighed, turned to the Commander, and solemnly shook his head. Morrigan's expression filled with rage. She grabbed a glass from her desk and flung it across the room, shattering it into pieces against the wall. As she cursed loudly in Gaelic, Shalquoir quickly got up from her corner bed and dashed under the desk. The desk's intercom buzzed loudly, making Morrigan jump. "Is everything okay, Commander?" The receptionist asked.

Morrigan practically slammed her fist on the intercom and shouted, "No, ye bloody git! Get someone to turn this damn thing down before it gives me a fuckin' heart attack!"

"Control yourself!" Bradford said respectfully but sternly. "What would the soldiers think if they saw you like this?"

"The soldiers?" Morrigan placed her hands on her hips and scoffed. "Why do ye think I'm so angry? You know as well as I do that the majority of the people here are only here to 'do their duty', with no compensation, especially the soldiers. I thought it was the least we could do for them, but..." Morrigan reached into her desk and pulled out a bottle of whiskey. She reached for her glass, but remembering it now lay in pieces on the other side of the room, she simply took a swig from the bottle. "Why?" She asked, wiping her mouth.

Bradford quickly scanned over the paper again. "They said it would be an unnecessary diversion of funds and resources that would be better spent here for the war effort."

Morrigan watched Bradford, expecting more. When he was silent, she started laughing loudly, almost maniacally. She took another swig, and grabbed a controller from her desk. Revealing an array of security monitors behind the large world map on the wall, she hit a few buttons, and the screens displayed the various angles of the base's armories. "Have you seen this? They've been stockpiling these fer years, now. There are enough HE grenades alone on this base too blow us and half of Siberia to Kingdom-Come if ye pulled all the pins at once. I don't need as much of the budget goin' to weaponry as it is. I need to worry more about my people's mental health." She switched to display the mess, where most of the staff were still mingling. "I need them to be able to trust me and do their job right, but...him..." She pointed to one of the soldiers. "How can I expect to get the most out of him when he finds out his wife has died? Or her if she loses her father? Or her and her brother? All I ask for is that someone keeps an eye on them, whisk 'em somewhere safe if need be. Because I'm sure it kills them knowing they're safe here while their families are out there." Morrigan lowered the map, and dropped her head. "I know it kills me." She walked over to her desk and picked up a picture of herself and a young, blond girl.

Bradford took a step forward and softly said, "It's not too late. It'll never be too late. You can still asks the Counsel to..."

Morrigan rapidly shook her head. Wiping her eyes, she turned to Bradford, and with a twisted smile said, "And what would I tell all the lads and lasses out there? 'This is my daughter, Brigid. Please give her a warm welcome. She'll be staying here on base while yer families are out there, actin' as bait for us'. I can't do that, no matter how I feel. I won't put myself above them like that." Morrigan gently placed the picture back on the desk, then sat back in her chair. She looked blankly at Bradford. "You're dismissed. Please have my paperwork ready in twenty minutes."

Bradford nodded, and took his leave without another word. Shalquoir jumped on the desk, and Morrigan spent several minutes stroking her back before taking another drink and getting up to clean the broken glass.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Dahlexpert & ZombieSplitter53 (Interview with Commander: Scarlet Van Dam)

The Commander sat back in her chair, taking a quick drink of her Irish coffee. Not looking forward to the day ahead, she jumped, as usual, to the intercom buzz. Before the receptionist could say anything, the Commander pushed the switch, and said, “If Van Dam is here, please send her in.” Taking her finger away from the switch, she muttered, “Damn loud box.”

Scarlet walked in holding a bottle of rum in her left hand, and a pistol in her right . Oh, dear Lord, she is a ginger. “So you’re the one that sent these M.I.B. agents to come and get me. If you wanted me that badly, all you had to do was ask.”

The Commander folded her hands together, cautiously looking at the weapon in Scarlet’s hand. “Actually, no,” She said in her American accent. “I was brought in by similar individuals. I didn’t have a say in who was contacted, only who got in. And to be honest, I didn’t get a say for everyone in even that. That’s why I called you here. Have a seat, won’t you?” She motions towards the chair in front of her desk.

Scarlet sat in the chair. “Okay, first off, what is with the fake American accent. If you expect me to work for you, you need to be honest with me, the same way you expect me to be honest with you.”

The Commander narrowed her gaze. Switching to own Irish accent, she said, “Ye don’t have much respect for authority, do ya lass?”

Scarlet got a slight grin on her face. “There now, don’t you feel better, being your true self, and not something else. And to answer your question, describe authority to me?”

“Authority. As in, respect for those you serve under.” The Commander lifted a sheet of paper. “Though I suppose, bein’ a mercenary ‘n all, yer not used to working under someone else, huh?”

Scarlet laughed like she had just heard the best joke in the world. “Oh, look here ginger, I serve no one. No one will command me. My cousin Axton who saved my life, and I don’t even serve him. So if you think an Irish ginger who I have not shed blood with will order me, you better keep dreaming.”

The Commander clenched her fists, but kept her cool. “Is...that a fact.” She raised to her feet and slowly walked around her desk. “Well, fact of the matter is, this Irish ginger is in charge around here, whether ye like it or not. ‘Course, ye can leave anytime ye wish, but ya won’t be paid, and you won’t get yer chance to use our weapons.” She leaned against her desk, a few inches from Scarlet, and folded her arms. “Tell me honestly. Are you only here to have an excuse to kill as many livin’ things as possible and get away with it?”

Scarlet started to smile, the smile she got when she tortured people. Scarlet stood up and leaned against the Commander’s desk, having her head meet the Commander’s. “You fucking nailed it ginger. You see I don’t care about money or this bull shit about saving the human race. I want into this program so I can kill, maim, execute, and torture these alien slime. And you’re right this is all a sham so I can do what I love doing, and that’s kill everything in my path.

The Commander smiled, her expression twisted. “Aye, and you’ll get your chance. But I want to make somethin’ clear. I don’t care much for mercenaries, and I don’t trust you as far as I can throw you. I look at you, and do ye want to know what I see?”

“Let me guess a monster, or a bandit, right?”

The Commander shook her head. “Good guess, but no.” She slowly circled back around her desk. “I see a tart. I see a mad, self-centered, angry woman out to prove somethin’. I see a bleedin’ thick, gobshite, geebag that, as the kids say, thinks she’s all that. Aye, you’ll get your chance to fight out there, because as I’m told, we need people like you who can stomach it.” The Commander sat in her chair and leaned forward. “But if I think for a second that yer a threat to me other soldiers or staff, then you’ll spend your time on base in the brig. ‘Kay?”

Scarlet started to chuckle. “Self-centered arrogant garbage. Oh that’s funny. See I earned my arrogance, but at least I know what I am, but do you know what I see when I look at you, ginger?”

“I’m sure this’ll be good.” The Commander smiled. “Tell me.”

“I see a scared woman. A woman who is not confident in her own leadership, a woman who would rather be on the battlefield then leading an army. Someone who knows if she makes the slightest mistake, the world is possibly doomed. I see doubt.”

The Commander shrugged. “Ye know what? Yer right. I am worried. I’d be a fool not to be. But I have something to help me along. When I’m lacking confidence in myself, I look at my soldiers, and I know they can do it. But what scares me more then anything else is the thought that a few of me soldiers might be a little too out of it to do anything but hinder us. I worry that they could ruin everything.” She leaned back in her chair. “Like I said, I don’t trust ya. But I’m not yer enemy, and regardless of anything, I would like to trust you. But that takes work on your part as well.” She stretched her arms. “How about somethin’ simple. If I need to call you here again, you can show I can trust ya by not coming in here armed, and maybe call me Commander, not ginger.” She smiled again. “Hell, I’d even settle for Morrigan. Truth be told, I’ve been told I’m too informal, so why change that now?”

Scarlet sat in her chair and laughed. “See, honestly, that’s what I like more than anything. Okay, gin.. no, Morrigan. The next time you call me, I can’t promise not having a gun on me, but I can say; this as long as you're honest with me, you have my gun.” Scarlet grabbed one of the Commander’s glasses and poured her a drink, then she grabbed the Commander’s other glass and her whiskey and poured it for herself. “But if you want me, I have one demand. When I go on a mission, I bring my grenade launcher with me, along with the standard weapons.”

The Commander nodded. “As long as you stay in line, we’ll set ya up however you’d like.” She emptied her glass, and said, “Have a good night, Ms. Van Dam. I look forward to seeing you blowin’ those little shits sky high.”

Scarlet downed her drink. “ I can’t promise that I won’t be a pain, but I’ll try my best not to be. And I look forward serving under you.” She chuckled. “Commander.” She got out of the chair and left the room.

The Commander poured herself another drink. “I need a stronger drink,” she mumbled to herself, and downed the glass.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

MarineAvenger and ZombieSplitter53 (Interview with the Commander: Desmond Walker)

The Commander slowly shuffles through the papers on her desk. She jumps at the buzz of the intercom on her desk. “Bloody hell, What?”

“One of the soldiers you requested is here to see you.”

“Right, right, send him in.” As Desmond enters, the Commander puts on her American accent and says, “Hello, welcome. take a seat. Do you mind if I call you Desmond?”

Desmond took a seat on the soft office chair taking in and analyzing the Commander. “No that is fine.”

“Good to hear. I’ve been told I’m too informal, but no need to make new recruits nervous off the bat. I just had a few questions for you, if you don’t mind.”

Desmond looked at her with a blank expression taking care not to show emotion,”If you wanted to ask a few questions then why go through the trouble of calling me here, this feels more like an interrogation.”

The Commander nods. “Yes, um...I can see why you’d feel that way, and the answer is because I have a few...concerns. Concerns that I wouldn’t feel right asking you about unless it was in person. For example…” The Commander skims over a sheet of paper in front of her. “There seems to be a note of some trauma in your file, but I can’t for the life of me figure out where it came from. I’d imagine it has something to do with the scars...but I can’t find in the file where those came from either. Do you...have anything to say that might shed light on this?”

Desmond continues looking at the Commander taking care not to look into her eyes but more in between them. He gives a smile and puts his hand on the back of his neck saying, “Well now this definitely feels like an interrogation…” His look then turns back to the serious one he had entered in with from the start, “All joking aside the answer to your question is that I had been born prematurely and not all of my body systems were working right so surgeons need to do extensive surgery to make sure that all was in order throughout my maturity. As for the reason it was not on file is that the surgeries took place from the time I was born to the time I was sixteen, the hospital had soon after closed down due to bankruptcy and most patient files from the hospital were either missing or lost in the system.”

The Commander raises an eyebrow. “Well, I’m sorry to hear that. It is quite unfortunate...for the both of us.” The Commander combs through the papers on her desk. “I was sure there was something else…” Suddenly, Shalquoir jumps onto the desk and paws at one of the sheets. “Oh thank you,” she says, then looks at Desmond. “These reports say you were quite the bright child, maybe even a prodigy, but you gave it all up for a military career. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good thing or else we wouldn’t have gotten you, but it does seem a bit odd to me.” She leans back, and the cat takes a seat on the corner of the desk, staring intently at Desmond. Desmond stares at the cat for a moment, a sense of dread came over him as now not only having to deal with the woman in front of him but a cat now as well.

Taking his gaze off the cat he stares at the Commander once more, this time with an intensity that his reds eyes may as well be glowing. “There is a simple answer to your question Commander, and it comes in the form of another question.” He squints at the Commander continuing, “Have you ever felt bored Commander, because that was what I felt. You realize that you spend all this time focusing on one thing and everything seems to go past you. What I lacked in physically i made up for mentally and it was time for a sense of balance. So I ask you Commander, what would you have done?”

The Commander looks back into Desmond’s eyes, and mumbles, “Truth be told, lad, I think I may have done what I did for similar reasons.” Not realizing she had let her accent slip out, she continues, “But I focused a little too much of me time pummeling so many daft idgits, I felt it was time to work on the brain. And when that happened, I found a military career could help me work on both.” Shalquoir looks at her and meows softly. The Commander shakes her head as if coming out of a trance. Returning to her American accent, she says, “Ahem, sorry, I didn’t mean to slip away like that. Unprofessional.”

Desmond now knew he had carefully avoided blowing his cover now, the Commander had fell for it just like everyone else he had met in the base. “It’s not unprofessional at all really, I knew from the start you weren’t using your real accent, other people trying to sound American just sounds wrong.” He smirks at the smart-ass remark but decides to get back on topic, “Look Commander, I know that there is a question you have been wanting to ask so just ask it, you read my file so I know that you are well aware that I can figure this stuff out.”

The Commander shakes her head. “Now son, as I said, this is just meant to answer a few concerns. I’m not trying to interrogate you, regardless of how you might feel. Though...for curiosities sake…” She leans forward and smiles. In her Irish accent she asks, “How did ye find all them bugs in ye room?”

Now Desmond knew this would come up eventually. He leans forward placing his chin on his hands. “Now that was quite simple actually, I never trust government agencies so I knew something would happen, and I rigged a little system to know who has entered my room. Would you like to hear it?”

“That I would,” the Commander answered.

"I put a slip of paper in the door, when it changed places I knew someone had entered.” Though it was true the paper was there, the real reason was he could sense the presence in his room a mile away but there was no need to let that slip.” I have a saying Commander… A smart man has knowledge…” He points a finger towards the Commander, “but a wise man knows when to use that knowledge.” He didn’t need to point to show who he was referring to.

The Commander leans back in her seat. “Well, to be honest, I’ve never really approved of those bugs anyway. Shows a lack of trust on our part. However, Bradford is a bit of a stick in the mud, I believe that’s how the expression goes, and he thinks maybe we need some other means of watching certain individuals. I know you’re kind of a loner, and I’m sure you’d love to have a bunk to yourself, but to appease him and anyone else that might be watching you, and me, I’m gonna have but give you a bunk-mate, at least for now.” She looks through her papers again, muttering, “bloody mess,” under her breath. Finally giving up, she says, “Eva...I believe was her name. She’s kind of a loner too. I think the two of you will get along nicely.” The Commander rises from her seat, and asks, “Do you have any objections?”

Desmond gave a look of annoyance but inside he knew that things could not have gone better for him, but now he was sure that the Commander didn’t trust him or the other person EXALT had sent. “Nicely played Commander, nicely played” he thought to himself. “Now I think you have got me all wrong Commander, I am not so much a loner, but more of a man who likes his privacy.” Now he knew that would spike the Commander’s interest but he was getting tired faster than usual. “I have no objections, is that all Commander?”

The Commander nods, and gives Desmond a salute. “I look forward to seeing your performance on the battlefield. As you are as smooth a fighter as you are a talker, I know we are in good hands. Dismissed.”

Desmond got up and headed out towards the door, knowing full well that after this both Desmond and the Commander were going to be keeping closer eyes on one another. He made his way down the halls of the base until he came upon his temporary single room. Making sure no one had entered he shut the door and locked it almost collapsing on the floor as he did. Panting he put two fingers on his right temple and spoke in his head,” Did you get all of that?” The person on the other end of the link responded, “Yes, good work Patient 42 I hope to hear a report from you soon.” Like that, the link was cut and Desmond’s thoughts were his own. Now, the real fun begins.

The Commander sat back in her chair, suddenly feeling unusually winded. Shalquoir walks halfway to the door, looks back, and meows softly under her throat. “Ta tu glan as do mheabhair,” Morrigan says, shooting her a dirty look. “You think that about everyone.” She picks up Desmond’s file and says, “Still, couldn’t hurt to keep one eye open.” She pulls out a bottle of whiskey and pours a glass. “Probably should have offered a drink.” She takes a quick gulp, closing her eyes.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

DarkGemini24601 and ZombieSplitter53 (Interview with the Commander: Atka Ipiktok)

Morrigan sat solemnly in her office, staring angrily at her buzzer. Despite her best efforts, she still jump when it buzzed. “Commander, your appointment is here to see you.”

“Did she bring her little roommate?” Morrigan tried to hide the aggravation in her voice.

“She did.”

“Alright, send her in.” Morrigan folded her hands and smiled at the door.

Atka walked in, Taqukaq following loyally beside her. She seemed fairly calm, if a little embarrassed that she had been asked to bring the dog with her, fairly certain that it wasn’t a good thing. “You asked for me, Commander?” the Inuit woman asked politely.

“I did,” The Commander answered, hiding her accent as usual. “How have you been adjusting to life here on base?”

“Fairly well. It is a lot to take in, but it’s not too different from what I’m used to in the military. I was told by…” Atka paused, realizing she hadn’t even asked the messenger his name. “...the man who recruited me that I would have a roommate soon.”

The Commander shifted through her papers. “Um...yes, we were going to bunk you with...a Miss Wheeler. I’m sorry we couldn’t take requests but I’m afraid we don’t have as many female soldiers as you might think…” Under her breath she muttered, “Or I might have hoped.” Speaking up, she said, “Of course, I couldn’t help but notice you already had a roommate of sorts.”

Atka seemed to consider her response for a moment. “Yes...I brought him along because he would worry if I were gone for a long amount of time...and who knows how long this war may last. I didn’t really have time to arrange for someone to take care of him, anyway,” she said finally.

The Commander raised from her seat. Slowly walking up to Atka, she said, “You might be surprised to know that no one else has tried to bring an animal on base. And probably with good reason.” Crouching down in front of Atka’s companion, she asked, “How well trained is he?”

Taqukaq returned her gaze curiously, while Atka responded to her question. “I’ve trained him considerably well, especially considering…” She stopped again, wondering if X-COM was aware of her...abilities.

The Commander raised an eyebrow. Standing up and looking at Atka, she asked, “Considering what? Nothing I should be worried about, I hope?”

Atka shook her head quickly. “Of course not, though I’m not quite sure you’ll believe me.” Taking a deep breath, she composed herself, and then continued, “I have the ability to speak to animals, in a way. I can communicate with them on a mental level, from what I’ve gathered, sort of like telepathy, I guess.” There’s no way she’s going to believe me… Atka thought to herself with a bit of frustration.

The Commander studied Atka’s expression for several seconds. She smiled, and chuckled under her breath. “That’s pretty far-fetched...but considering I’m in charge of an elite organization that’s tasked with stopping an alien threat, maybe it isn’t so far-fetched after all.” She walked back to her desk and leaned over it, calling from over her shoulder, “Would you like anything to drink?”

Relaxing a bit, Atka nodded. “That would be nice, thank you. Just water, though.”

“How boring,” The Commander mutters. She pulls a bottle of water from her desk, as well as a small flask. She tosses the water to Atka and takes a shot, noting Atka’s curious look. “You know, I have no psychic abilities, but there is one animal I can understand to a degree. Do you mind if I test how well trained you dog...I’m sorry, did I ever ask what his name was?”

Atka unscrewed the cap on the water battle. “Taqukaq. It means “‘Grizzly Bear’.” She then took a sip of the water.

“Interesting.” She knocks lightly on her desk, and from behind it, a cat jumps on it and looks at Atka. “Well, this is Shalquoir. It means...I-I’m not sure, my daughter named her. Anyway, would you mind a quick test?”

“Not at all, what did you have in mind?” Atka asked, regarding the cat as she spoke.

The Commander lightly tapped Shalquoir from behind. The cat jumped onto the floor and walked up to Taqukaq, sitting in front of him and looking him in the eyes.

The husky tensed, stood up, seeing Shalquoir’s look as something of a challenge, but Atka laid a hand on his back. Ignore the cat, my friend, Atka “said” to Taqukaq, a connection of empathy and images communicating the message between the human and the dog. Taqukaq relaxed, and sat back down, calm once more.

The Commander smiled, and made a soft ‘pst’ sound. Shalquoir stood up and ran to her bed in the corner, exchanging a look with the Commander as she walked. The Commander looked at Atka and said, “Very nice. However, I’m afraid no one stays on this base for free.” She taps her foot, thinking for a moment. “How’s his nose?”

“He’s got a pretty good sense of smell, took him on a hunting trip or two,” Atka replied, patting Taq. “If there’s any way I can persuade you to let me keep him, please tell me. I’d rather not have him thinking I’m dead because I’ve been gone for a year or more if that’s how long I end up being in the project.”

The Commander raised her hand to quite Atka. “I understand, trust me.” She glances at her partner in the corner, then looks back at Atka. “You don’t need to persuade me. I just need to persuade Bradford. And I think I’d have an easier time of it if the two of you agreed to walk around certain areas of the base every eight or so hours. You know, to see if he smells anything… suspicious, if you catch my meaning.”

“Of course,” Atka said with a bemused smile. “I’ll make sure he does his duty.”

The Commander nodded. “Good to hear. Because you have no idea how stubborn that man can be, believe me. After all, he didn’t…” She thought for a moment, and said, “Never mind, it isn’t important.”

Atka cocked her head to the side slightly, a bit curious, but thought it better not to pursue the issue with her C.O. “Is there anything else you need, ma’am?”

The Commander smiled. “I know it might sound strange, but I prefer ‘Sir’.”

“Very well, sir,” Atka replied, correcting herself.

“That’ll be all.” The Commander walked up to Atka and extended her hand. “I have high hopes for you. For everyone of course, but let’s just say there are some people that have caught the eyes of their superiors, for better or for worse. And expect you to do us proud, for both our sakes.”

This time, Atka wasn’t afraid to ask a question. “Is there anyone I should be concerned about, sir? Within what I can be told, of course...I like to know what kind of people I’ll be working with, makes things easier for everyone.”

The Commander frowns. “Let’s just say that we’re both working for people that don’t take kindly to mistakes, including past ones. People that don’t think they can afford to give certain people second chances. I’d like to think I’m not like them, and they’d like to make me pay for that if they turn out to be right.”

Atka stiffened a bit, but kept a calm look. “I won’t fail you, sir. Not when I’m involved with something so important,” Atka stated.

The Commander smiled broadly. “Good on ya, lass,” she said, momentarily letting her accent slip out. She patted Atka on the shoulder. Stepping back, she said, “You’re dismissed.” Glancing down, she added, “The both of you.”

Without a word from Atka, Taqukaq turned and started walking out of the room. Atka saluted and went with him. They both headed back to Atka’s room, her mind drifting back to what the Commander had said about her superiors. “Figures that even with a common enemy that threatens us all, there’s still politics to everything, huh…” Taq merely looked up at her curiously, not able to comprehend politics even if she was speaking to him in a way he could clearly understand.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Prodigy

Morrigan glances at her clock. Noticing the time, she quickly looks at her intercom and lifts her hand. The moment it buzzes, she taps the button and says, "Yes?"

"Your 1 o'clock is here, sir."

"Send her in." Releasing the button, she says to herself, "Not gonna startle me again, ye stupid piece of..."

The intercom buzzes again, and Morrigan jumps an inch in her seat. "Mr. Kent wanted to know if he should come in too."

Morrigan growls, and answers, "No, tell him to get a cup of coffee." She shakes her head. As her guest walks in, Morrigan says, "Come in. Please, have a seat."

Sunny cautiously approaches the Commander's desk and sits in the chair before it. Sitting down, she asks, "I'm sorry, Commander, d-did I do something wrong?"

The Commander shakes her head. "Not quite, child." She thinks for a moment for the best way to approach the situation. Finally deciding to be honest, she says, "Dear, this might come to a surprise for you, but I'm not quite sure the Counsel made the wisest decision in having me accept you. It has nothing to do with you specifically, but I just don't think a military base is the best place for a child. Do you know why?" Sunny nods her head, and the Commander raises an eyebrow. "You do, huh?"

Sunny nods again. "I-it's because someone so y-young and small could get hurt. B-because I'm too young to c-contribute anything. Because...this isn't a d-daycare...r-right?" The Commander gives a questioning look, and Sunny dips her head slightly, avoiding eye contact. "The people at the other b-bases I've been on, I've been told that a lot."

"So you understand the position I'm in." The Commander pulls a sheet of paper out from one of her shelves. "If you could just..."

"B-but they were wrong." Sunny says suddenly. "I think I..." She clams up, lowering her head again.

The Commander smiles. Putting the paper down, she says, "You're a member of my staff for now, and I always encourage my people to speak their minds. If you have something to say, please speak freely."

Sunny sits silently for a moment, seemingly unwilling to speak. However, without looking up, she says, "I'm a l-lot more mature then I-I look. And I'm much smarter then I look, too. If someone g-gave me a chance, I think I'd p-prove them...all.....wrong..."

The Commander thinks for moment, remembering her conversation with Atka earlier. She places the paper she had been holding back into the drawer. "All right. I still think you're a bit too young, but I'd hate to learn I underestimated someone. And your credentials do check out." She leans back in her chair. "How are you getting along with Mr. Kent?"

Sunny looks up, relaxing a bit for the first time since entering the room. "H-He's okay, but...I don't think he likes having to escort me everywhere."

The Commander shrugs. "He has his orders, and he'll follow them. If he has a problem with it, I'll tell him not to be so childish." She smiles at Sunny, and get's a smile back. "Good to see you can smile."

As the Commander looks in another drawer, Sunny glances at the picture on the desk. "That girl is really pretty."

The Commander looks up, her face beaming. "Thank you for saying so. Her name is Brigid."

"I-is she your little sister?"

The Commander scoffs, surprised by Sunny's attempt to charm her. Realizing by Sunny's expression that she's being serious, she turns her attention back to drawer. "Um, no, she's my daughter. You don't get out much, do you?" Finally finding what she's looking for, she places some schematics on the desk and looks them over for a minute. "You know, to be honest, I didn't put much stock in you, so I didn't look at these as thoroughly as I should have. But now that I do, I think you might have something. I'm no engineer, but these upgrades to the standard military Super Heavy Infantry Vehicle designs look interesting, and if they work, I want at least one being sent out on every mission. I think I'm going to have Shen look at them, and if he agrees, we'll start production right away. And you'll be in charge of supervision."

Sunny's face lights up. "Th-thank you Captain! I-I promise I won't d-disappoint you!"

The Commander extends her hand, and Sunny excitingly shakes it. "You're dismissed," the Commander says. Sunny nods, and quickly heads for the door. As she leaves, she pauses a moment to pet Shalquoir, who is sitting near the door, and exits. Shalquoir meows softly. "I think so too," Morrigan says, picking up the picture of her daughter and smiling.

 

[Zain Shah]

This is a collaboration between Zain Shah as Madison Wheeler and DarkGemini24601 as Atka Ipiktok

X-COM Soldier Barracks

1600 hours


Madison waits on her bunk, waiting for her bunkmate to arrive.

"What's taking him or her so long?" Madison sighs and starts humming a song.

"I wonder who I'll spend the rest of my X-COM days with? It'd better not be some lecherous idiot." Madison pulls a hair band out of her pocket and decides to the tie her hair to pass the time.

Atka enters the room and stops, noticing Madison. “Are you Miss Wheeler? The Commander told me we’d be bunking together,” she asks Madison. Following Atka loyally is a large husky.

"Who's this cute little fella?" Madison said in a babyish voice then adjust her voice and cleared her throat "Yeah, that's me. What's your name? They just shoved me here without telling me a thing."


“Atka Ipiktok,” the Inuit woman replied, regarding Madison with a raised eyebrow at what she assumed is an inaccurate imitation of her.

“That’s an unusual name, where are you from?” Madison curiously asked.

“I’m from Nunavut in Canada. I’m Inuit, so my name naturally is exotic to most people.”

“Oh, OK. Are they one of the tribes in Canada?” Madison started to open her suitcase and take the clothes out.

Atka nodded. “We’re the native peoples of the arctic circle in North America, to be more precise. Oh, and this is Taqukaq, by the way,” Atka pointed at the husky sitting calmly next to her.

“Why name him that? I would’ve went with a simpler name like Fluffy” Madison started to sort her clothes out in the various drawers.

Atka chuckled in amusement. “You haven’t seen him playing yet. His name means “Grizzly Bear,” and for good reason.” She started to put away her things as well, having not done that yet due to her recent arrival and the interview with the Commander.

“Have you seen some of the soldiers? Some of them look like they should be fighting with the aliens. I haven’t had the courage to talk one of the “scary” ones yet.”

“I’ve been sort of busy since getting here, but I think I understand what you mean. The one american that went into the commander’s office before me was carrying a pistol with her, for god’s sake. They aren’t all that bad, but we do seem to have a bit of a gloomy bunch,” Atka replied, leaning against the frame of the bed.

“So do you want top bunk or bottom bunk?” Madison started sifting through her various items that she brought with her: a bottle of whiskey, a swiss army knife and a small teddy bear with one of its eyes hanging by a thread.

“If you have no preference I suppose I’ll take top,” Atka answered, glancing over at the contents of the luggage, but just with genuine curiosity. “Unique combination you have there.”

“I wasn’t sure if they’d have much to drink here so I brought my one, the Swiss army knife is pretty self-explanatory and the teddy bear is just for when I get a little scared...I’m a woman of many phobias.” Madison subtly smelled herself and wretched “Boy, do I need a shower right about now.”

“...you know, I’m going to have to ask someone about where the showers are at some point...I didn’t think about that,” Atka said, while looking at the bottle with brief flash of distaste.

“We can crack it open right now; I’m sure the mission isn’t coming until a few hours so we could start X-COM with a nice swig of Scottish whiskey.” Madison started searching through her smaller bag for corkscrew.

“No thanks. I don’t drink.”

“That’s fine, I guess I’ll to have to drink it later.” Madison finished taking everything out of her bag and jumped onto the bottom bunk.

Atka followed suit by going to her part of the bunk, though she would consider whether to sleep now or wait until later. For now, a nap at least, it’s been a long day… Taqukaq laid down beside the bed.

 

[Zain Shah]

This is a collaboration between Zain Shah as Leon Wolfe and ZombieSplitter53 as Jessica Lockheart

X-COM Scientist Barracks
1600 hours
Leon quickly walks over to the room with the writing "Leon Wolfe & Jessica Lockheart." Leon scoffs and mumbles to himself "This better not be one of those airhead blondes they call scientists over here." Leon grabs his key from his pocket and opens the door.

Jessica, already setting up in the room, turns to her roommate and smiles. "Hello, you must be Leon. Nice to meet you. I'm Jessica Lockheart, but you can call me Jessie." She extends her hand.

Leon stares at her hand for a while then half-heartedly shakes it. "I will call you Jessica, we're not in highschool anymore." Leon observes the room then looks at Jessica "So, what kind of credentials do you have?"

Jessica lowers her hand, but keeps the smile on her face. "Well I have a BA in Medical Science, Micro-Biology, and Genetics. I was just about to turn them into Masters when I was recruited here. Um...I have a really good memory, and I know several languages. They're kinda easy to learn when you can remember things easily and you recognize the patterns. What about you, Leon?"

"Ah, an eidetic memory, this will make you at least be able to remember my orders. I simply consider credentials to be a waste of time. Why do I need to prove to the world that I'm smart when I already know I am?" Leon seemed to like Jessica to a certain degree, which is odd because Leon isn't exactly known to have lots of friends."I will make you my assistant scientist after they tell me that I'm the head scientist." Leon looked very smug by his facial expression.

Jessica laughed. She looked into Leon's eyes, and realizing he was being serious, she said, "When you become...w-what about Dr. Vahlen? She might have something to say about that."

"Who's she? I assumed I would be head scientist. After all, I am the best scientist here, aren't I? " Leon started getting flustered "I need to have a word with the commander about this."

Jessica places a comforting hand on Leon's shoulder. "No need to be upset. We're all important here, right. We just need on person to be on the top. Maybe the Commander knows Vahlen, or the Counsel appointed her. That doesn't mean your...um...not the best." Jessica hesitates, not usually one to encourage someone's ego, but doesn't want him to get anymore upset.

Leon once again looks at Jessica's arm, the time on his shoulder and is the truly surprised; by now people really start to hate him. "You're not like other people I have met...you're... You're..." Leon struggling for a word "understanding. "
After a moment, Leon takes a deep breath and resumes to his original mood "I still need to talk to the commander about this ordeal."

Jessica nods. Pulling her hand away, she says, "If it'll make you feel better. But try to be nice. I've heard she's been talking to some eccentric people, so she might be in a sour mood."

And she'll have to speak to one more. This guy's a kook.

We just met him, don't jump to conclusions.

He's obviously all about his own hype. Probably thinks he could run the labs by himself.

Well, maybe he has a reason for being so arrogant. For all you know, he has the cure to cancer in his pocket. Don't be so critical., he could be a nice guy.

Jessica smiles nervously. "Just be careful is all I'm asking."

"I will speak what is necessary, that is the only promise I can keep." Leon then tries to change the topic "So, what's your special story? Seems like everyone on this base has some crazy story about joining X-COM."

Jessica takes a step back. She chuckles nervously, "Special story...n-nothing special. I'm just...smart is all. I got through school really quick, thanks to my sister Alexia. She was always there to help me when I needed her." She turns to her bunk, nervously taking her clothes out of her suitcase. "B-besides, I'm sure you don't have a crazy story, do you?"

"Please save me the trouble. I'm no expert in psychology but even I know when someone's lying." Leon thinks for a while before saying "Since this thing you call trust is so important to you, how about I tell you my story and you tell me yours?"


Don't do it. He'll probably just make something up.

What if he doesn't?

Do you want to be the laughing stock of the base. Remember High School? How they treated us like freaks. I don't want you to go through that again.

Jessica nervously rubs the bracelets on her wrists. After a few seconds, she finally says, "O-okay, I guess. We're roommates after all, right?"

"Yes we are roommates however I do not know how this affects us telling each other about our past." After a short break of Leon gathering his thoughts, Leon finally quickly rushes it out of his mouth " I was born to a rich family and was smart at a very young age. My mother got cancer when I was a teenager and I tried to cure it. It resulted in my mother dying once I injected the serum but no one found out about that bit. I moved away from my father and continued my experiments on other diseases. I killed about 100 people through my experiments." Leon paused to catch his breath then continued "I'd do it all again if I could because the progress I made was far more worth it than the lives of those penny-less people." Leon starts to pace around the room "It had to be me, someone less might have gotten it wrong." Leon signals the end of his soliloquy by a deep breath "So, how about you?"

Jessica stares at Leon in shock. She takes a step backwards and trips on some cloths on the floor. Landing on the floor, she quickly rises to a sitting position and looks up at Leon, trying and failing to hide the fear in her eyes. "I-I...I have a m-multiple personality d-disorder...i-it helped me through school, b-because we treat each other like...like sisters..."

I told you he was a kook. And by the way he just came out and told you that, I bet X-COM know sand doesn't care.

What do I do? Should I run?

No, we wouldn't have anywhere to go. Just stay calm. It's not like he could just off his roommate without anyone finding out.

"You seem alarmed by that. You are the one who asked me." Leon looks at Jessica, confused by her reaction but remembers that she is so far the only one he has told that to. Leon ignores her reaction and asks "Your multiple personality disorder is fascinating. If you ever die, send me your corpse; I might be able to figure out what causes it." Leon then simply starts talking to himself out loud "Could have separation in brain, resulting in different personalities...no, no must be advanced form of schizophrenia...or could be abuse of substances...do you know what caused it?"

SUBSTANCE ABUSE! You motherf...that's it, I've heard enough.

But you're not strong enough...

Jessica jumps to he feet, her expression angry and irritable. "Now you listen to me, nut job, you should learn some manners. How dare you accuse me of being born of substance abuse without even knowing me." She takes an angry step forward. "And how dare you say all those things so nonchalantly. Slaughtering people for what ever stupid research you might be working on might not phase you, but to all the normals, it's a little crazy." She takes another step forward. "And for your information, we grew up as one of those penny-less people you use as guinea pigs."

Alexia, please, you'll just make it worse.

Worse? It couldn't be worse if he showed us some kind of twisted photo-book!

 

[Zain Shah]

This is a collaboration between Zain Shah as Leon Wolfe and ZombieSplitter53 as Jessica Lockheart
PART 2

"You can call me a murderer, unethical, cold and ruthless but you can't say I'm a bad scientist. All my experimental subjects saw what happened to the rest of them and yet they chose to stay for the that piece of food I would give them so I was helping them survive." Leon stares down Jessica "If you think we can beat these invaders while keeping in touch with our morals...well, at least we know who'll die first."

Alexia scoffs loudly. "I might not have your superior intellect, which I'm sure is just having the hardest of times fitting in your head with that inflated ego, but I'm not stupid. I know that there might be a time or two when we'll have to violate our morals for the greater good. By the end of this, I run the risk of losing my kind-hearted sister to her guilt." She stands in front of Leon, her face inches from his. "But at least...we have morals...in the first place." As Alexia stares daggers at Leon, beads of sweat from on her brow, and she starts panting lightly.

I told you, you were out for hours just a little while ago, and you're too weak right now. You know you need more rest.

I know, Jessie, I'm sorry, but it needed to be said, and I knew you wouldn't have said it.

"One of the flaws of human kind I guess." Leon returns an arrogant look. "Hold onto your morals while you can even though they are what plague the human race and stop it from developing." Leon walks away from Jessica, dragging his suitcase with him to a corner of the room.

"I'm...sorry, Leon." Jessica says, her softer expression having returned. "My sister can't be out nearly as often as me, so she isn't as experienced with talking to others as I am." She scratches the back of her head. "I'm sure your...sacrifices have made great leaps in all the fields you've studied." Jessica smiles meekly, feeling physically pained by the words she just spoke.

"Oh, so that was your sister; I think I prefer you over her." Leon sits down on the one chair in the room "Do you really think that those deaths were worth it? I have yet to find a scientist who shares my views."

Jessica bites her lip. "Um...honestly, I don't know. For me, no. But I understand that you think it was worth it." She turns back to her bed and puts away the last of her clothes. "I don't agree with your methods...at all. But I'm hoping you at least had hopes for something good to come out of it, something beneficial to make those deaths worth it, make the death of your m..."

Say it! Ask him if his research was worth sacrificing his mother!

I won't. No one deserves that, not even him.

He's not some decent person that's lost his way, and this is no fairytale. You're too good for him, he doesn't deserve your sympathy.

Jessica falls silent and simply puts a few items on the small night stand by her bed.

No one is beyond understanding. And the world isn't as black and white as you might think.

But...okay. I'm sorry.

It's okay. And thanks for defending us earlier. I know it took a lot out of you.

"If you want to ask about my mother, it's fine...If I didn't believe her death was worth it, or that any of those deaths weren't worth it, I would've confessed my crimes but instead I chose to continue my research."

Jessica gives Leon another shocked look. "You...you said earlier that, if possible to change things, you'd do it all again, because it had to be you." She looks him in the eyes. "Does that...include your mother. If you could change things, would you have injected your mother, knowing it would set you on the path you're on now in exchange for her life?"

"If I'm the only one willing to do it then I have to do it, besides, my mother has cancer so she was going to anyway but instead she died for a good cause."


"I see," Jessica says, her expression sad and sympathetic. "I can't think of anything sadder then someone who thinks that their research is more important then the life of their mother. I hope she at least left you with some good memories. I'm not sure how it was worth it, since I haven't heard about that cure for cancer yet, but I'm sure you could think of a reason." She stands up and walks over to the door. As she starts to open it, she looks over her shoulder and says. "I know you probably don't understand why, but I feel sorry for you. Somewhere along the way, you lost sight of what's right and wrong, and theirs probably no turning back for you. You'll either continue forward until those of us weaker humans find out and punish you for your actions, or you realize the error of your way, and you're crushed by your guilt. Either way, you have my sympathy."

"Sympathy means nothing to me. Why should I care that others feel sorry for me?" Leon shrugs and starts to unpack his bag finally.

Jessica sighs. She exits without another word. As she makes her way down the hallway to the mess, she gets a cold chill down her spine, and wonders if she'll be able to stomach anything.

 

[PrismaCube]

Video Log #3

Lüsett appears in front of the camera.

"Testing is done, the test subjects seem to be in good condition, now it's time to take their DNA and try to clone them using the same method I used cloning organs with the element Tz6 is should work according to my mathematical calculation, on the other note Clone #0 code named Eve has been growing rapidly and at a successful rate. Tomorrow should be her fourteenth and fifteenth birthday, of course after she is released from the tank the aging will slow down to a normal growing human, it's all the tank and Tz6 that increases the progress, on another note, I have started working on designing a shell for Avanix, for now she will stay in my Tablet, but I have big plans for her...big plans."

A small grin appears on her face.

"Now then, I have also set up my network from home that monitors the skies above, I have given up all hopes on Alien life long ago, but ever since I found the element Tz6 in a strange half broken canister I've started to believe again, this thing is definitely alien origin, however the program is a bit outdated, but never mind that I have, let's say borrowed some technology things from some kind of secret organization that seems to monitor the skies 24/7. And it's all thanks to the help of Avanix I was able to go undetected. The network should be up by tomorrow, and even with some of my own upgrades. Might you say this is illegal? Well yes it is, but I can afford it. No one knows I really exist. Why? Because I deleted myself out of every security Network there ever was long time ago. Only Cross Technologies know of me, but they care little about me. I'm just there little money making machine. No one even know of my current location. With the new network I will also be able to cloak myself so finding me will take a ton of information and even then you would have to be really sure I'm there. I tell you it's good to be so smart, sometimes I scare myself with how smart I'm."

Lüsett stand up to turn off the camera. She then proceeds to step towards a working table. Picking up a syringe she tells herself that everything should work just fine and according to plan. She enters the syringe into her weak eye flesh and presses the paralyzing fluid into her eye. Not even half of the canister was empty when Lüsett started to scream out full burst with horror, letting go of the syringe that was stuck in her eye she leaned herself against the table to find hold and support, blood started dripping from her eye. She continued with all her strength and emptied the rest of the fluid into her eye. Picking up another syringed with a yellow fluid in it she replaces the empty one and jams the other one into the same eye. Another burst of scream fills the room. She continues to do the same with the other eye. After what seemed like ages of horror, blood and screaming Lüsett quiets down. She is kneeling on the floor covering her bloodied eye's. Raising her head out of her hands she begins to start a small and weak laugh, raising her head into the air she gets louder and harder. She proceeds to open her eyes that were filled with nothing but blood.

"IT WORKED! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT WORKED!"

She said with her last breath before collapsing to the ground hitting her head hard against the floor.

Video Log #4

The screen appears with Lüsett in front of it, Lüsett had a white bandage around her head.

"Yeah you must be wondering what happened to me, so did the test subjects yesterday when they saw me."

She let's out a jokingly laugh

"But let's just skip that, you will find out soon enough, I will have to work blind for a couple of day's while my eye's recover. On other notes I started with the cloning progress, thanks to Avanix it was quit easy to see what I was doing, it is quite useful to have an AI. However results of the first five minutes have all been different to each subject, and none come even close to Eva and her clone Eve, I hope that this is just something small for everybody and wont interfere with my testing. Although it could be that each human being has a different result when it comes to cloning, duo to their DNA, I might have just struck luck with the DNA of me and Eva, if that is the case then I might have to take drastic measures into my hands, even against my own will. Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

Lüsett turns to an off-screen monitor for a second.

"So the new network is up and running and Avanix is already working at it, she even reports that there are several UFO's that are flying around our planet. I won't believe it until I have seen it with my own two eye's but this could be big. In order to track each signal I have decided to use my 3D hologram technology to good use and create a huge globe of planet earth that will always stay up to date with air traffic of unidentified flying objects, which means no airplanes and such. Only thing hindering me so far are my eye's. Big plans for a single working girl like me, but what can I say, technologies is a drug to me, and I'm so hard addicted to it... ooh you cant even tell. Anyway I need to check on the clone subjects, one more thing, Eve will turn eighteen tomorrow that's when I will release her, I can hardly wait to see my own daughter. Even if I have to wait a couple of more day's after her birth. Well that's it for now I will keep record more tomorrow or so."

 

[MarineAvenger]

Pain Part One
XCOM Base, Siberia
2100 hours

Desmond was up again for what seemed like an eternity. Sleep was not a luxury that could came natural anymore, it was like a piece of Desmond's soul was missing and there was a void in his very humanity. It was late on base and most people were in bed by now so Desmond had plenty of privacy at the moment, so he took this time to try and do something to keep himself occupied. So he walked over to the small closet he had in his room, reached into his bag and took out a pebble, no larger than a penny. He sat on his bed and closed his eyes. He sat there meditating so that he could store up enough energy to start a current. He focused his mind to create the flowing current of psionic energy within his body, and when the circulation was complete he then shifted his focus onto converting the energy into a physical form outside of his body. The psionic waves he created enveloped the tiny pebble and swirled around it like the shell of a walnut. Desmond was starting to wear out his reserves of psionic energy so he had a sense of urgency to complete his task. Using the shell of energy he converted what was left of his power to generate a slow but steady flow of kinetic energy, like a magnet pulling or pushing another magnet. It was getting to the point were the power usage started to take a physical toll on his body and Desmond was tiring quickly. He pushed whatever energy he had into this final act and after a few seconds... there it was. The pebble, completely surrounded by psionic energy fields was levitating about one inch from his palm. The shell gave off a dim purple glow but it was enough to illuminate the room. However as quickly it had appeared the pebble began to shake and a few seconds later fell to the floor with a disappointing clang. Gathering his composure he began to store up energy once more but this time however manifested it into a form of radio waves and was sending a message back to the EXALT hideout detailing his reports for the week and his accomplishment that night. Even though he had exhausted most of his energy, sleep would still not come that night.

 

[MarineAvenger]

Pain Part Two
XCOM Base, Siberia
0100 Hours

More hours went by and the aching in his body had still lingered. Desmond had trained his whole life and has only known pain, sorrow, and obedience. There were times when he had been younger that Desmond would ask himself why he listened to the people who harmed him. Nights would go by where he would just sit and contemplate, he thought about how he was born and what his purpose was, he thought about his humanity and at even times when he was older, even contemplated about love. Love... the very thought made Desmond ache. He was a monster, a science experiment that came from a test tube, he had no mother, no father, no siblings, and most horrifying to Desmond, no love for the world. The world was a dark place and even he was an outcast. The pain he had endured had made him tough though, years of agonizing pain had taught him he was incapable of love anymore, and he didn't know why... but that thought terrifies him to this day. He had enough wallowing for one night however and had decided some training was needed to remind him what he was.

So he opened his door and stepped out into the cold, dark hallway. When he was younger he was terrified of the dark but now it had become the veil that hid him from the world. He walked slowly taking extra care as he made his way to the gym. Most of the lights were off in the base so he had to rely on his special eyes to guide him through the darkness. Another perk of being a freak. Other than a few staff here and there the base was still. Desmond wondered to himself how easy it would be to escape, just kill the guards and go, he would wander for miles in the Russian tundra and die a slow death, who would care anyways. He pushed such thoughts out of his mind as he made his way to his destination. Finally arriving it was no surprise that the place was deserted. He flipped on the lights and began to work out. A couple of hours passed of intense conditioning as he made his way to various pieces of equipment and it was only towards the end of the workout that he found a mirror in the corner. Desmond, in his haste to get out of his room had left without putting on a shirt or shoes and was standing there in only a pair of olive green cargo shorts. It was then at that moment that he took in the full damage of his body, of all the surgeries that had been preformed on EXALT's little science experiment.

Touching one of the larger scars on his chest he was met with a sudden flashback that caused him to fall backwards clutching at his chest and gasping for air. After a minute to calm himself he went over to the punching bag and began to start to hit it, slowly at first disregarding the need for gloves though. That was the moment Desmond was in his deepest thought. Jab. Desmond begins to hit it at a slow pace. A vision of a grueling surgery flashes in his mind. Jab Jab. Desmond begins to hit the bag more times. A flashback of a severe beating surfaces. Jab Jab Jab. Desmond begins to wail on the bag. A memory of sitting in a dark room alone and hungry. JAB JAB. Desmond hits the bag harder and harder with each blow. A memory of an EXALT trainer spitting on him saying he was worthless. JAB JAB JAB JAB. He starts hammering on the bag with such an intensity that his knuckles start to bleed. A flashback of a EXALT scientist laughing saying that he was nothing more than a tool to be used, a worthless clone. Desmond screams, a fire in his eyes as a surge of psionic energy pulses through him and he lands a psionically enhanced blow on the bag. SLAM! The bag's chains end up snapping and the bag flies backwards and Desmond starts to collapse as sleep was finally coming to him.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

Thomas Burrick walked down the dark halls of the base, a flashlight on his watch illuminating his path for him. He yawned slightly, despite a halfhearted effort to suppress it. “No matter how many nights you work, it still is tiring…” he said quietly to himself. Turning the corner, he noticed the lights in the gymnasium were on. “What’s this…?” the messenger muttered, and went in.

He looked over the unconscious Desmond, then to the bag, and sighed, pulling out his phone. “Uh, yeah, I’m going to need a replacement punching bag. No, it wasn’t me….no, I’m not too weak to damage one…just…don’t ask, and keep this between us.” He dragged the broken equipment to the side of the room, and waited for another staff member to come in and help him take Desmond to the med=bay. He took note of Desmond’s scars, wondering what had caused extensive damage like that, but was otherwise focused on carrying him with some help.

Once he laid Desmond down on one of the beds and explained to the nurse to keep this between them and that the soldier had probably just overworked himself, he grabbed a piece of paper. He quickly wrote down, “Found you passed out in the gym. Is something bothering you? I would like to speak with you; I think I’m owed at least some explanation for having to haul you across the base. –Thomas Burrick, XCOM records keeper and recruiter, night shift."

Thomas laid the paper and the pencil down on the table next to Desmond’s bed. “Well, at least this night was interesting,” he said with a bit of a chuckle, and walked away, interested to talk to Desmond but also a bit perturbed about the mental state of some of the recruits. “And they didn’t give us a damned psychiatrist why, again?” he lamented, heading back to his office to get some work done.

 

[MarineAvenger]

DarkGemini24601 and MarineAvenger (Genuine Concern - Thomas Burrick [Staff] and Desmond Walker)


That night was the only one in about thirteen years that Desmond did not have a dream. The last thing he remembered was that he was in the gym… A memory of last night flashes. Now he remembered, how could he be so reckless as to show his power to where someone could have saw? He sat up in bed, a wave of nausea setting over him as he did so. While reaching for the glass of water on the table next to him he saw that next to the small glass was a note. Lightly skimming through it Desmond knew he had to find out where this man was and how much he knew already.


Thomas was in the bar, which was empty at such an early point in the morning. He was having a cup of coffee, which was a godsend for keeping him awake. His paperwork was finished, though knowing how these things worked he would probably have more in another hour or two. With a sigh, he took another sip, and looked at his watch. 2:34 A.M. “Only another five or six hours, huh.” He rubbed his temples, and placed the cup back down.


Desmond just sat there in the medical bed thinking to himself how he had gotten so aggravated over a trivial matter such as whether he was worth something. He looked up at the clock hanging on the wall. “2:35 eh, I wonder why someone would be up this early anyway?” So with no other leads than a name Desmond clambered out of the bed with the grace of a half drunk sloth. “Well so this is what having a hangover feels like I guess.” Desmond grabbed the wires leading to the electrodes on his chest and pulled them off promptly setting off a long beep that didn't seem to end. Just then a nurse crashed through the door to see what was going on. Upon seeing Desmond she averted her gaze, as for why Desmond had no idea. Looking down at himself he saw that he was wearing patient scrubs, and only them. “Well this has started off as one hell of a morning.”


“Mr. Walker, you really shouldn't be up right now...you only passed out a few hours ago…” the nurse started in protest. Desmond had never seen this woman before but for her sake he climbed back on to the medical bed. He stared at the nurse with his red tinted eyes and said, “Well how much do you know?”The nurse sighed, muttering something. “Mr. Burrick told me you passed out from exhaustion...damn that man, this goes against procedure, but he didn't want anyone to worry about you. He said that he’d be in the bar once you woke up, and that he wanted to talk to you. He’s the one that found you, anyway.”He never took his eyes off the woman until she finished. His only priority now was to find out what this Thomas guy knew and if he had to dispose of him or not. “Alright then give me an hour and I am leaving, and also…” The nurse looked puzzled for a moment, “get me some pants.”


Thomas remained in the bar for the next hour, having nothing better to do, though he was reading a book. He had tried reading the news, but all that was on there was information about the abductions, and that was nothing new to him. By the time Desmond had arrived it had almost been 4 o’clock so some of the soldiers were bound to be getting up soon. He looked over and scanned the room until he came upon the lone figure sitting at the bar and went to go sit next to him.


When Desmond arrived Thomas closed the book smoothly and laid it to the side on the table. “Desmond Walker, I presume? I’m glad you could come,” he said calmly. From this Desmond inferences this wouldn't be much of a challenge. “Yeah and I am assuming that you are Thomas, wish the circumstances were better.” he said as he took a seat a couple of stools away. The man in the business suit nodded. “Not a problem, I was more curious than anything, as to why you were up so late, and how you managed to snap a chain on a punching bag. The metal wasn't really that weak, I don’t think…” Desmond got up and walked to the other side of the bar to the pot of coffee that had just got done brewing. While pouring himself a cup he responded, “Well I am an insomniac of sorts though I am not proud of it and don’t let appearances fool you, this place has some high tech stuff but the equipment is less than revolutionary.” He went back to his seat with a large Styrofoam cup of black coffee and began to drink it.


“True, but usually when someone knocks the bag off it typically just flies off the hook, the metal itself doesn't rend. It would take exceptional strength to do that,” Thomas replied, his expression not hinting at what he was thinking at all, the picture of a business poker face. Desmond was getting closer and closer to suspecting that this guy could pose a real threat to his operation as an agent. “Well some of us are just trained that way.”

He took a spoon from behind the counter and began to twirl it in his fingers. “Metal breaks as easy as anything else if it is built poorly enough and lets just say that bag was in less than perfect condition.” He stated, bending the spoon with relative ease. “Cast iron and that spoon are two different things, I did take a look at the bag and it wasn’t in that bad of shape...I can accept that you could be that strong but its surprising, especially considering the condition your body is in. If you don’t mind me asking, how did you get those scars? I don’t mean to pry, but seeing that we don’t have a psychiatrist on base due to bureaucracy, I think someone needs to step up to making sure everyone stays healthy,” Thomas explained, showing a bit of a concerned expression.

Desmond bent the spoon back into place and put it where he had been before. “Looks can be deceiving Mr. Burrick, and in this day and age nothing is truly as how you perceive it. Look as much as I know you want to help and all but some things are best left buried.” Desmond drank the last bit of coffee in his cup and proceeded to walk away. Desmond looked back towards Thomas one last time, “A person has many faces, do you really want to see them all, if you want answers look at the medical history I submitted to the Commander.” As he left however Thomas interjected, “That might be more true about burying things if we weren’t in the situation we are in, Desmond. Your fellow soldiers need to trust you, and so do I to an extent. Secrets are only going to harm us in the long run; I understand that there are certain things that should remain private but I’d rather not be kept in the dark about nearly everything. I don’t mean to offend, but you haven’t exactly answered my questions directly, you’ve been working around them a bit,” Thomas said measuredly, seeming to be attempting to strike a balance between warning caution and genuine concern.


Desmond stopped in his tracks, “This man is really digging too deep.” he thought to himself. “Thomas, you say we have to trust each other and that secrets do more harm than good, but ask yourself this… What if those secrets are the only thing protecting you right now. As for your answer lets just say that you can’t try to fix a broken man.” With that Desmond departed still debating whether or not he could allow this man to continue.


Thomas sighed, looking at his coffee for a moment. “Well, that was mostly fruitless. What the hell did he mean by “those secrets are the only thing protecting me....” The recruiter got up, sighing in frustration. “Great, now I have to ask the Commander for permission to view those files or my curiosity is going to kill me,” He stretched for a moment, and then started walking out of the bar. As he did he noticed a familiar face coming out of the sleeping quarters. “Good morning, Modya.”



The russian returned his greeting. “You look troubled, Burrick…”

“Well I-” He sighed, shaking his head. “Don’t worry about it. Just politics, I guess you could say.” Thomas walked off with more questions than answers.

 

[Dahlexpert]

The fallowing collaboration was between Dhalexpert as scarlet and Frostlich1228 as Ammelia Cross

Ammelia walks into the room with a bit of a bounce in her step, she sets her things on the desk next to her designated bunk and turns around to examine the room. She sees a large bulky object jutting out from the table on the other side of the room and examines it a little before noticing the woman standing in the corner.

Hay, who the bloody hell are you. Scarlet slowly put's her hand behind her back well talk.

Ammelia steps back a bit, " Whoah, don't be so hostile, I'm your new roommate, My name's Ammelia. "

Roommate? Scarlet takes a irritated sigh. Great a roommate, very well. My name is scarlet Van dam I guess we should ask each other some questions about one another. So, tell me about your self.

Ammelia sits on her bed and looks at Scarlet, " Well... I'm 23 years old, I like Cats, and I'm Blind and Mute. " Ammelia Smiles at her.

Scarlet raises her eyebrow. Wait blind and a mute, Scarlet walks up to Ammelia and looks at her face. Well I see pupils in you eyes, and you can clearly talk so how do you have both.

" Well, let me explain. " Ammelia gently takes her contact lens out to reveal her white eyes, " My Father is the CEO of Cross Technologies, He gave me an artificial voice box and he also invented a way for me to see my surroundings using Infrawaves to detect subtle vibrations emanating from moving matter in my environment, and these. " She puts her contact lens in their case, " Fake. "

Well that is interesting I would ask how is that possible, but to be honest I really don't care. What's more important to me is can you fight, or a better question have you ever killed any thing.

Ammelia's smile fades a bit, " No actually... I haven't... But that doesn't mean I don't know how to fight! "

Scarlet slams her hand into her face. OU dear lord your fucking green, GOD DAMN YOU COMMANDER, you make me bunk with some one who hasn't killed a day in her life why?

Ammelia jumps back and slams her head against the wall, " Ouch... " She rubs the back of her head to try and ease some of the pain, " I was trained for years in combat by a very respected soldier, just because I have no M-military experience, doesn't mean I can't pull my weight around here... A-Also, what do you mean by Green? "


Scarlet point's her finger near Ammelia face. There is a difference between training and real combat, any one and I mean any one ,even a damn monkey can shoot a gun. And by green I mean you never fealty the recoil of a gun, You never killed a man, that's some thing that could mess with people's mind, killing something weather it's man or alien you took a life and that is something no amount of training will prepare you for.

Ammelia straightens her posture, " I know I've never taken someone's life, My trainer told me that it changes you, I'm prepared for that, I don't care how little Experience I may have, I want to defend my planet from these monsters! " She Sighs, " What's the worst that could happen? I die defending my planet? "

Scarlet punches Ammelia in the face and drops her to the ground. You are clearly a maroon. Scarlet picks up Ammelia by her shirt you listen to me runt, you think any one cares that you die, Let me tell you what you really are. You are a gear a cog a littlie nothing in the war machine, and when you die guess what the world will keep on turning and we will still be fighting the aliens, you will be morn for a few days, and after that you will be nothing but a distance memory. Even your parents once they get the news that your dead, you will get a funeral the will cry, and guess what in a couple of years they will forget you to.

A steady stream of blood leaks out of Ammelia's nose, "Y-you... Do you... Think anyone will care if You die? Your crazy! You've never had anyone have you? You're just a psychopath that wants to throw their life away because you've never had anyone that ever loved you? It is that it?! "

Scarlet has a sick smile on her face. OU runt if I was not with x-com I would be beating you with I an inch of your life right now, But I'm trying to gain the commanders trust so I'm force to let you live. But let me tell you something about me, My family treated me like property a puppet for them to use for what ever they see fit, see when I was 15 I became a prostitute because my family said they needed money. I was forced to sell my body for money and when I refused to do it, My own mother and father drugged me and sould my unconscious body to strangers. And you no what I did.


Ammelia start to sweat, " What did you do? "

A bought a Scar carbine rifle, and I went to my mothers place of business because she was also a prostitute, I walked up to the building and murdered every single person that was in there. And all I did was laugh and laugh at the people that I killed, And the reason I laugh was because I loved it. I loved killing ever single person that was there, OU but I was just getting started I also killed all the people that violated me, and I killed and killed until I was fully satisfied with it all. But then my cousin And his family found me and took me in. It was the first time I felt love and compassion, they trained me to be a mercenary to be a professional killer. But I keep my attitude from that night I love the smell of blood the rush I get from killing people, weather it's me shooting the beating them or torturing them to death.
So you see the difference between me and you is, you have been pampered and keep safe through all your life. And me I have seen the world for what it is, field with selfish people that don't care weather you live or die. And you asked will my family miss me, My family still morn the loss of people that died 900 years ago, And try to honor them every day, So I will be missed. But you sure your daddy will miss you but every one else you will only bee seen as some one that was doing there job, a soldier who was doing what humanity expected of you, you will be known as a cog and like a tool you will be forgotten, like millions before you.

Ammelia's eyes widen and she begins to shake, " So!? Do you think I care if no one remembers me? The only people that even notice me are my father, my bodyguard and my two friends! I Don't want to sit in my room all my life, being pampered day in and day out! I don't want to be nothing but David Cross's Blind Daughter! I want to do something! I'm not doing this because I want people to remember me! I'm doing this because I want to help people, I'm doing this because I want to give back to the world! " Ammelia swallows hard.
"But you... You're just a killer, You let the life your were born into turn you into a monster! I may die as a Cog in the military machine, but at least I'll die knowing that I did everything in my power to help people. You'll probably die in some dark alley somewhere, thinking about your life, you took the pain the world threw at you and you spent your entire life dealing that pain back out to other people! I'm Here cause I want to protect the people I love, I bet you're here cause you love killing things, you don't care about anyone else, all you want is an outlet for your anger! "
" That's what Separates the two of us, I came here to protect people, You came here to hurt people... So how about you step aside and let me do what I came here to do! "
Ammelia clenches her body, expecting a blow to come from somewhere.

Heh Heh heh ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
OU this one here, see if any one else had said that to me, I be beating them with in an inch of there life and the I will stomp on there head un till there brain is all over my boot, But you ha ha I see passion in your eyes you actually want to prove your self to no longer be in any no's shadow, You remind me when I killed those basterds that abused me, I was sick of being a ragdoll and a puppet, and I did something about it, I love it.
Scarlet let's go of Ammelia walks over to her bag and grabs a cloth, Scarlet wipes the blood from Ammelia's nose, and pats her on the head. heh heh I like you kid alright I'm going to train you in the art of combat weather you like it or not, ou and one more thing, Scarlet picks up Ammelia and punch's her in the gut. If you ever say ill die in a back ally again I don't care what the commander says I will kill you do you under stand.

Ammelia crumples to the floor, coughing and gasping for air, she tries to get up but she is in too much pain.

Wow, you said you were trained by a very respectable soldier, looks like this soldier was weak or was holding back on you. Because I only hit you with 10% of my strength.
Scarlet picks up Ammelia, and put's her on the bed. Wow we have a lot of work to do before you even think about fighting aliens. Scarlet lifts Ammelia upper bode and gently put's her on the edge so she can catch her breath. Breath slowly kid.
Scarlet leaves the room and close the door, Sigh I just punch a blind and mute girl, yep this a new personal low for me. Scarlet's stomach starts to rumble. getting hungry well she's not going any wear I better grab her something to eat to.