RP XCOM2: Liberation of Earth

[DarkGemini24601]

Dahlexpert, DarkGemini24601, MarineAvenger, and ZombieSplitter53: “Operation Rust Citadel, Part 4”

Morrigan’s fingers flew across her computer, trying to reduce the time for the relay tap to get as much of it done as possible, wishing they could stay to finish it but agreeing with the need to flee. As they were nigh on completion, a dropship finally arrived.

Miriam glanced at Leon, pulling out her missile launcher. “Can I?”

“Give them hell…” Leon ordered her with a nod.

Miriam grinned. “Boom.” She fired off the HEAT rocket into one of the engines of the dropship as it tried to slow to a holding position, and it tumbled a bit lazily into the ground, a few of the power sources exploding. From the smoldering wreck, however, a MEC surrounded by a telekinetic shield climbed out, followed by a badly-injured Shieldbearer. Both opened fire, the Shieldbearer trying to distract the troops moving out into the street while the MEC Trooper kept the two on the roof in place.

Damien dove into cover, looking up at the roof. “They won’t be able to evac if we don’t help them!” He tossed his flashbang at the Shieldbearer and started hitting the MEC with everything he had. “Look over here, you metal freak!”

“Dammit we don’t have much time, i’m sure ADVENT knows if we're not dead yet.” Lilith eyes widened almost knowing what enemy will come next to finish them off. “We don’t have much time, let’s hurry up!” Lilith yelled. She fired at the shieldbearer not wanting the MEC to get more shielding. Lilith fired at the shieldbearer with everything she had almost out of fear. Lilith finally shot the heavily armored trooper in the throat killing him off.” Anyone that's able take out that MEC quickly, we been here too long.”

Olivia shot it with her arc rifle, but even an uninhibited shot wasn’t enough to take it down single handedly. It did draw the MEC’s attention onto her as it realized it couldn’t waylay them if it was dead. That would have bought Leon and Miriam time to escape in any other situation. Instead, the aircraft that Lilith had been afraid of arrived.

Coming in on pulse engines assisted by vertical rotors spinning like deadly blades was a sleek gray helicopter-jet hybrid. Its powerful engines were on either side of wings raised above the main body, the middle being characterized by an orange ‘cockpit’ that was more than likely a mechanical eye. Below its chassis were two dropdown payloads full of missiles.

“I can’t extract you when that thing’s in the air! Someone shoot it the hell down!” Firebrand’s voice crackled over comms.

Miriam loaded and lined up her AA Missile Launcher with her spare rocket, but her hands shook from fright and the HEAT Missile went wide, spiraling just to the side of one of the vehicle’s engines. “Oh… oh shit,” she breathed as the enemy’s far more numerous missiles prepared to fire.

Leon acted quickly to try and save the woman, running up behind her as he reached out and grabbed her, spinning her while using his body as a counterweight to toss her away to the side, her launcher falling to the ground as the woman rolled across the ground and down the whole that Lilith had fallen down previously. Wasting no time he lifted his grenade launcher and fired the AP grenade he had loaded inside, hoping to do something.

He didn’t have time to fire as the ADVENT Hellstorm’s missiles were let loose. While none hit him directly, they didn’t need to. The blasts battered him from all sides, and disintegrated the side of the building he was on, dropping him two stories to the sidewalk below.

“Leon!” Morrigan cursed over and over again at her slowness, steadying her own AA rocket. As the target steadied itself after unleashing its payload, Morrigan held her breath, fired, and continued to hold her breath, all the way up to it colliding with the machine’s right propeller, sending it spinning to the ground.

The Hellstorm didn’t quite detonate as it collided with the ground, but it was rendered absolutely immobile. A machine gun turret popped up from the top of its chassis, but was blown out of comission by a shot from Olivia. “Someone recover Sinclair!” she called out, wisely not adding, ‘if he’s still alive.’

Winslow stepped up to the plate, using what was left of his shield to cover his advance from the still-operation MEC as he ran forward. He reached Leon, surrounded by rubble that made for passable cover, and sprayed the fallen Grenadier with his medkit before pulling his body over the shoulder and starting to carry him. Miriam was too horrified by what had happened to do anything but shamble towards EVAC as the Cruz siblings laid down covering fire on the MEC.

Damien looked over at the fallen feline aliens with disappointment. “Think we have time to run and grab a body for…” He yelped and ducked down, a blast from the MEC singing the top of his helmet.

Cornelia quickly grabbed Damien, getting him lower. “What am I ever going to do about you my hopeless little brother…” She smirked under her helmet and tossed him one of her AP grenades. “On the count of three… One… two… three!” she yelled, throwing the explosive with her brother at the MEC/Shieldbearer combo.

The MEC was thrown off by the grenades, but it wasn’t quite down for the count. One more was able to finish it off, however, Morrigan lowering Leon’s formerly loaded launcher. “You better be alive,” she mumbled. She glanced down at her computer, the distraction of the MEC and the Hellstorm giving both hacks time to finish. “It looks like we have a minute before the next wave gets here.” She looked at Lilith, realizing she was in command with Leon out. “Think we should grab the MEC and shieldbearer, AD… Van Dam?”

“Yeah, we need every advantage in this way, plus I’m scavenger and I’m stronger than you guys. I Can take the MEC, Morrigan give us cover and for the love of god Winslow carry Leon’s ass out of here.We need to go right now.” Lilith grabbed the shieldbearer. The others helped haul the MEC to a point where the Skyranger could load it into its cargo bay as they climbed inside. Right as the two corpses were loaded up, another dropships started to come in, and Firebrand wisely began to take off. The hatch began to close as the hatches on the other ship began to open.

Staring across at the XCOM forces was a uniquely armored officer, having a full-helmet visor like that of a Stun Lancer but extended across the entire top of the helm. The rest of the armor was similarly streamlined, and colored in the reds and blacks of the ADVENT Coalition. The Stun Officer raised a hand, a blue glow starting to surround it, but lowered their gauntlet when the Skyranger kicked into gear and accelerated to a speed beyond what the ADVENT dropship was capable of.

“Close,” Major Blukersey muttered as the Skyranger faded out of view both from distance and cloaking tech.

 

[Dahlexpert]

The fallowing is a colabe between Dhalexpers & Zombiesplitter53

Welcome to the family

On board the Avenger
The Barracks
June 19
Luke made his way to Alexis and Jennifer's room. "Yo, baby, it's Luke. You in there?"

The door opened a minute later, but it wasn't one of the girls he was greeted with. "Who are you calling baby?" Joe asked, crossing his arms.
Oh, this must be daddy. Well, here we go."Well, you must be Alexis' dad. Um... hi. I'm Luke, her boyfriend." Luke said while sticking out his hand.

Joe gave him a serious expression, one that would unnerve anyone that knew it was unusual for him. He reached forward, and tightly grasped his hand. "Joseph Chambers. Head of the Information Department."

"Oh, that's a nice grip you have there. Nice to meet you, Um, is Alexis here, or is she working?"

"She's in engineering right now. Very... busy..." Joe narrowed his eyes, still not having let go of Luke's hand.

Luke noticed their hands are still locked. "Um... you mind letting me go of my hand. I kind of need it."

Joseph almost looked like he wasn't going to for a minute, but finally did. He pushed the door open a bit more and said, "Step inside, young man."

Luke gave a sly smile, almost knowing what was going to happen. "Sure thing, sir." Luke steped inside the room. "So, this is what their room looks like. Well, at least I can tell who's sides who's. Figure Alex is the messy one."

Joseph closed the door, but stayed with his back to Luke. "Did you know... you are my daughter's first real boyfriend? Kinda hard to hook up with anyone while always on the run."

"Yeah, well, I understand that. Can't really meet guys while being hunted. That's not really surprising."

"On the other hand, I've heard you're quite the ladies man. Flirting with every thing human and female you come across."

"Well, it's not like I hide that. If it means anything to you, I haven't flirted with anyone other then Alexis since we became a couple."

Joseph turned to him, eyeing him up and down. "How old are you, son?"

"Me? I'm 23."

"Are you a trouble maker?"

"Depends on what you mean by trouble. If you mean a spray painting gang member, I used to be, but I'm starting to be a good person now. Though I still keep some of my bad tendencies."

Joe narrowed his eyes and leaned forward. "And what if I told you to stay away from my daughter?"

"Heh. You know, Jennifer asked me the same thing, and I'll tell you the same thing I told her. Alexis is a big girl, and it's her choice. And me? Well, if she didn't want me to date her, then I wouldn't.

Joe stared for a moment, then slowly smiled. "I can see why my daughter likes you, Luke."

"Huh? Wait a minute, you're not angry? I expected a punch in the face."

Joseph raised an eyebrow. "You did? Damn... I guess I took the protective dad thing too far. You have experience being punch in the face by angry fathers?"

"More of them try to shoot me with a any weapon they can find. But you're not going to kill me? So why doyoulike me?"

"I said my daughter likes you. I'm still undecided myself." Joe walked over to him. "Tell me exactly what your interest in my daughter is."

"What interest do I have in Alexis... well, she's fun. She has a great personality. Overall, I like Alexis for who she is."

Joe leaned close. "I noticed you didn't mention anything about her... physically. Come on. Be honest."

"You want honesty? I was being nice and respectful because you're her dad. But her body is amazing! I only saw her once with no clothes, but that was in the hospital after our first mission. Her chest is very tempting. She's sexy, beautiful, and a little arrogant. She's every thing I like in a woman. There's your honesty."

Joseph laughed, shaking his head. "Guess I deserved that. But there is such a thing as too much honesty, my boy."

"Yeah, well, I like being honest, or better yet, my mouth moves faster then my brain sometimes. I'm still working on that." Luke grabbed a chair and sat down. "Um, Joseph... sir? Can I ask you something? How old were you when you had Alexis?"

"An interesting question." Joe sat on the bed across from him. "I was actually just a little older then Alex. Twenty-four, starting my third year of law school, when she was born."

"So about the same age my parents were when they had me. Hmm... you know, a while ago, Alexis said she was jealous of me. Said she was jealous about the freedom I had. That I had a choice in joining XCOM."

Joe's heart sank a little. "She... said that, huh? I guess it doesn't surprise me, though. I did cost my daughter's most of their childhoods, huh?"

"Don't get me wrong. She likes XCOM/ She just wishes she had some freedom, although I have to say, I'm jealous of her."

Joe chuckled. "Oh? And why is that?"

 

[Dahlexpert]

part 2

"Because unlike me, she had a mom, and a dad for most of her life. You and Jennifer, you're here safe and sound away from the battle. My aunt is a soldier, which means she could die any moment, and unlike Alexis, my aunt is all I have. I don't have a mom, dad, grand parents, aunts, uncles, a brother or sister. Hell, I don't even have kids. My aunt dies, and I have no one. So I'm jealous that she has family, and I never truly had one."

Joe nodded. "Well... her mother died when she was only three. But I get what you're saying." He took a deep breath. "Well... this is strange for me. I never got to be the overprotective father defending his teenage daughter. On the other hand, Alexis is an adult, and she is free to do what she wants, right?"

"Look, I'm not an all too terrible guy. Well... I'm nether good or bad really. If I'm being truthful, I didn't do anything inappropriate to her. Well... nothing over the line, I mean."

Joe nodded. "I know. And you make her happy." He shrugged. "I guess, in that case... welcome to the family, Luke."

"Whoa, thanks and all that, but me and Alexis have been dating for a few days. We're just goofing around, just puppy love stuff. You make it sound like we got married."

The information officer chuckled. "I just... want you to know you're welcome. I have an idea about what you feel. My girls grew up without a mother. I grew up without a father. The... the kindness of family is an important thing."

"Yeah. Thanks for the words. They're very... well they're nice to hear . And don't worry. I'll take care of Alexis, and the aliens will never get their hands on her. I couldn't do anything as a kid, but as an adult I have a lot more power and can actually protect someone now."

Joe nodded. "Good. I'll hold you to that." He pointed an accusing finger. "If you hurt her..."

Alexis opened the door, and looked between the two of them. "Oh, God..."

"You know, this seems to happen a lot, to doesn't it, darling?" Luke said to Alexis, then turned his attention to Joe. "And don't worry. I wont hurt her, unless we're training of course."

Joe gave a satisfied grunt. "Don't worry, Alex. I wasn't giving him a hard time. And I wasn't embarrassing you either. At least I hope not."

Alex let out a relieved sighed. "Good. I already have one of our guardians trying to get us laid."

Joe turned his attention back to Luke. "What does she mean by that?"

"You could say my aunt played a factor in us being a couple, to which I still have no idea what she said to her." Luke turned to Alexis. "Wow darling, barely recognize you, with the goggles and the lab coat and all that stuff."

"Yeah. Could almost pass for a lab tech, huh? But dirty engineering is where I'm at." To accentuate her point, she pulled of the coat the reveal greasy overalls, and pulled off the goggles to show there was so much grime on her face, the area around her eyes was a shape lighter then the rest of her face. "Tygan was in engineering. Had to wear these because he was anal about cleanliness around the fruits of his research. Such a tight ass. He seems to forget the Lily is in charge of Engineering, and he doesn't outrank her."

"Ha ha. Man, you're filthy, baby. Mind if I take you to the shower and wash you up?" Luke asked jokingly.

An evil glint appeared in Alex's eye as she avoided eye contact with her father. "Yes, actually. That would be nice."

"Oh? Daring, are we... alright, let's get you aaaaall cleaned up." Luke made his way towards Alexis, standing right in front of her "Would you like me carry you too, since you've been on your feet aaaaall day and dealing with pain in the ass coworkers."

"Now wait one damn minute!" Joe jumped up, grabbing Luke and turning him. "You didn't mention being at that point in your relationship!"

Alex tried to hide her smile. "Like? Did you not mention ev-ry-thang?"

Luke also tried to hide his smile, and tried to say something with a straight face. "What do you want me to tell your dad? I washed your body, played around with you, and you and I overall enjoyed one another's company."

 

[Dahlexpert]

Part 3

Joe grit his teeth and raised his fist right as Alexis started cracking up. "Wha?"

"We're messing with you, dad!" Alex answered between laughs. "Were you really going to hit him?"

Her father quickly released Luke's shoulder and dropped his arm. "N... No! I was just... stretching."

"It's fine, sir. Like I said, I've been through worst." Luke wrapped his arms around Alexis. "That's another reason why I like her. She can take some of my more dirty jokes, and go with making a whole thing about it. That's why I'm glad to be dating her."

Alexis kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you. But seriously, I'm a mess. Meet me at the bar later, okay babe?"

"Yeah, yeah, go on take your shower, darling. I'll meet you in the bar later." Luke went back to his seat, and looked at Joe. "Did you really think I would do those things to Alexis? Like I said, we've only been dating for a few days."

Joe sighed, watching Alexis grab her clothes and step out. "I'm going to blame that one on me being out of the dating game for twenty years. I have no idea what you kids do nowadays."

Truth be told, that's only what me and Alexis do. We just like messing with each other."

"As long as you keep it to messing with each other and save messing around with each other until you know each other better," Joe commented.

"Relax, for all the teasing we give each other, Alexis is still a girl not used to seeing guys without clothes. Hell, I was half naked in front of her and she was flustered. And to explain why I was half naked, I took a shower before hand, and didn't know Alexis was in my room with my aunt."

Joe chuckled. "It's fine. I have a proposition for you, son."

"Oh, these are always fun. Alright, I'm listening."

"You promise to treat my daughter right, and show her the respect she deserves... and I promise to stay out of your hair... for the most part, anyway." Joe extended his hand. "Deal?"

Luke shook his hand. "Hey, I'm trying to be good, and believe me, I'm nowhere near the bad person I used to be. But I will keep my word and treat Alexis with respect, alright? So quit your worrying."

"Alright, alright." Joe nudged his head towards the door. "Go on, get out of here. You have a date to prepare for. Have fun."

"Yeah, I do. I better get ready. Thanks... Dad." Luke whispered.

 

[Frostlich1228]

Frostlich1228 & MarineAvenger
"Opposites Attract"

Onboard the Avenger
1630 Hours, June 19th, 2038


Catherine walked towards her room, carrying two large buckets of paint. The buckets were internally separated by four walls, allowing it to hold more than one color each. Catherine had made sure to pick up every color in the rainbow, along with an extra color of white, just in case she needed it. As she walked she spotted a man coming towards her, and she gave him her normal, bright smile, as he approached.

However, when Catherine saw the man, his hood covering his face, she saw his frowning face, the eight spider like optical receptors of his implant glowing their usual dark red menacingly.

"Hey Buddy!" She replied, "What's the matter?

Artyom merely continued walking past Cathy, not uttering a word in response.

"Uh... Excuse me!" She said, following him a few feet, "Are you okay?"

"Go." He said with a wave of his hand dismissively, continuing to walk away from her.

Listen buddy, why're you being so rude to me? I just want to help you feel better!"

Artyom finally stopped and turned his red gaze towards Catherine. "Is it not rude and presumptious to think people want your help?" He noted calmly but with an icy chill that made him all the more scary with the implant attached to his face.

"Calm down guy, I think you need some sort of soothing activity, you know, to calm you down and cheer you up..." She quickly perked up, "Wanna help me paint my room!?"

Artyom's gaze was not one to be figured out, staring at the woman in eight different ways, but it was clear by his clenched jaw that he was not happy. "No. Painting is monotonous." The Russian man said in his heavy accent in a not too savory way. "What are you painting anyways?"

"My room..." She reiterated, "Come on, don't be such a downer, painting is fun!"

"No it isn't. Besides... did you even acquire permission from the Commander and your roommates?" Artyom asked, crossing his arms.

"They Engineer I got the paint from said it was okay, and my roommates will love it! Who doesn't like rainbows?"

A lot of people." Artyom said pessimistically. He continued scanning the woman, scoffing. "How can you smile and act so when we are in the middle of a shadow war?"

"What, just because we are fighting for our freedom I should be sad? We're doing great! If anything, you should be happy! We're getting closer to bringing the old world back!" She replied excitedly.

"Yes. Each time a friend of yours falls remember it is merely a step closer to a the old world. A world most of the population doesn't even wish." He chuckled grimly, shaking his head. "There are no reasons to be happy. All you people do is hope and pray that you are not the next to feel the cold fingers of reality."

"If someone falls, we'll remember what they did for us, sure it'll be sad, but they helped us get this far." She replied, "And if you feel that way, well... Why are you here? If you think most people don't want it, why try to bring it back by helping us?"

Artyom pulled down his hood, giving her more of a look at the implant fused to his face rather then just the eight red eyes. "Because of what Advent does." The hacker shook his head, laughing dryly as if there was no humor in it. "Remember friends. You remember for a day... a week... a month, maybe even a year. But eventually they will be forgotten. All lost souls are always forgotten. It is better to have no friends. To spare yourself as little pain as possible, and not expect life to be good to you. All it will do will ruin your life and extinguish your light."

"If you don't make friends then there's no point to life pal... If you don't try to meet anyone, yeah, you won't get hurt if they pass, but you also won't enjoy all the good times you would've had with them, you have to accept the good with the bad. The way you're doing it, you'd rather just sit a sulk your entire life, you have to keep moving forward or you'll never ever reach the good, you'll just be stuck in a sad limbo." Catherine tried to explain.

"You seem to think there is good in the world." He shook his head. "Happiness is fleeting. It never lasts. That is because the world is inherently against happiness. You are happier by not letting yourself get vulnerable to the pain of losing that fleeting, useless feeling." Artyom took a few deep breaths, his jaw clenching at the fact that there would be many people working at their stations in the information room, mess and likely bar. "How many will be in your room?"

"Uh... Zero, actually... They're all at work right now!" She replied.

I could return to my room but then I will likely have someone disturb me. At least if I do this no one will annoy me next time to come out... 'Rasputin thought. "Fine... I will help you paint."

"See? That's the spirit!" She smiled, leading him to her room.

"Not doing this to have fun. I am doing this so I do not have to go back to my room and get scolded for it." The man said gruffly, looking away from her, feeling like he was going to be sick.

"Well... Good enough I guess..." She shrugged.

"How can you possibly be so nonchalant?" Artyom asked with annoyance. "You are a grown woman yet act like a baby."

"Well, you're a grown man that acts like some sort of... Sad potato..." She turned around, "I'm just trying to cheer you up! Don't need to be a jerk."

The Russian man remained speechless a good few moments. "Has nothing in my last few sentences not enlightened you to the fact everything about being in your presence makes me wish for some form of escape..." Raputin complained.

"Listen, I think that once we're done with a little painting, you'll be nice and... Less sad... If not, I'll get you a cake from the mess hall, or make you a custom to order one!"

"We're not friends." He told the woman, crossing his arms. "We will never be friends, so stop trying. I am only helping to perform a task, that is it."

"Well, guess that means I have two challenges... First the grumpy Russian, then the sad potato man... That's you..." She responded, smirking.

“Where do you get potatoes out of this?" He asked, clearly not amused.

"I dunno... I wanted to pick a veggie I thought looked sad and potatoes were the first thing that came to mind..." She shrugged, "But even potatoes can be sweet."

"That is retarded..." Artyom spoke simply, shaking his head as they neared Cathy's room.

"Well geez... This is going to be my greatest challenge yet!"

"Do not set the goal to try and be my friend. The one I have now suffices and even one is stretching things." The Russian man scratched his arm, stepping into the woman's room.

"Well, who is it?" She smiled, "Come on... Tell me..."

"Lily Shen. She is the only one I need as a friend right now, and afterwards when XCOM is over I will leave her behind and live without any friends." He said analytically. "Friends are useless. Cause nothing but pain. No friend truly cares for you."

"So, This Lily doesn't care about you then?" She turned and looked at him.

"I'm sure she doesn't. She has some reason of wanting to help me, and because she did XCOM gained an asset. I barely even see her out of courtesy of her job and my lack of interest wanting to be out an about."

"Well... While you may not end up friends with me... Which is okay, boo, I think I've learned that not everyone is going to like me here... You might enjoy talking to my roommate." Cathy said, pointing to the bunk below hers, "While personally, I think he's kinda of a buzzkill, not only is he Russian, but he's also more down to earth than me, you might relate to him better..."

"No." He said sternly. "Why should I bother with any friends?"

 

[Frostlich1228]

Part 2

"Because there's no point to living without friends, and sure, you may lose them, but you've got to experience the down if you ever want to have the ups." Catherine explained.

Rasputin chuckled grimly. "So naive..."

"Hey, pal, whatever you say, believe me or not, point is, by not even trying, you're just stuck in a rut of sadness that you'll never get out of." She replied, taking the paint and painting huge streaks of each color on the wall behind her bed.

"I did have friends..." Artyom told the woman. "I killed them all."

Startled, Catherine almost dropped her paintbrush and quickly turned around to face him, "O-Oh... Uh... W-why?"

Artyom's lowered head slowly picked up, eight eyes of crimson red staring back at her. "Because they were unfortunate enough to be called my friend." The Russian said menacingly serious, taking a step forward. "They were weak individuals. Selfish, greedy... they did not care for me or their peers. Only themselves. People are horrible creatures. Take everything from someone and they become beasts." He continued walking towards Catherine, clenching one of his fists. "So I did what men do to rabid beasts. I put them down... all of them. Only I was left. I caved in their faces with my fists, cracked their heads under my foot... watched as the light fled from their eyes as my hands squeezed their throats harder and harder until they suffocated or their necks snapped. Each... and every... one of them I called friend." He looked at Catherine for a while, a silence falling over them that was almost crushing from its weight. "I put the beasts down because I became a beast as well. Unfortunate for them that this beast had a stronger will then them... a will that was quickly broken by the ones who contained me and fused this... thing to my face. You asked why I am here... I am here only to see the destruction of ADVENT. Of the aliens as a whole. This world has become a dark place. However... I can not die until I help make a light shine upon it once more. Then and only end when the enemy has been crushed... may I finally rest in piece."

Catherine only stared at him, prolonging the heavy silence.

Artyom closed his eyes, shaking his head as he turned. "This was a mistake.'

"Wait..." Catherine spoke up, "I... You're heart is in the right place mister... but how're you going to get rid of the darkness in the world... If you keep letting it consume your heart? This is what they want: Advent... To break our wills... To make sure we're never happy again... We can't let them..."

She took a few steps forwards, "We can't let them win..."

"I am merely here to help the others kill ADVENT." Artyom told her, turning his head back. "When that is done I will fade away into obscurity." The Russian man tapped his teeth together a bit while his mouth was closed and added, "Besides... Not everyone here can be like you. We need people with darkness in their hearts. Keeps us grounded. Your commander knows that... I know that. We are here to keep idealists like you in line and focused on what needs to be done. Not what we want to be done."

"But we need idealists to push this organization to be the absolute greatest it can be, to help it to fulfill it's full potential." Catherine added in protest.

"And help fill the graves. Idealists are more prone to make mistakes."

"Really huh? I don't exactly see why..." She responded.

"Because you will not accept change. The world must fit your mold and if it does not then you either get discouraged or angry. Which will happen to you when you find out nothing goes to plan?"

"I'd try again... No point in getting angry."

"I don't understand the reason for your persistance." Artyom admitted, grabbing a brush as he finally began helping.

"Because we're the last line, the best hope to see the world again... We have to..."

"Well not everyone can be like you. I have my purpose. I wish to ADVENT to be destroyed. No more. No less. After what I have seen, the things I've done, that once that is achieved I may finally end this horrid life of mine." Artyom told the woman plainly.

"You don't want to try to... Repent?" She asked.

"Repent?" He asked curiously. "To whom? A family that is dead? To me? A walking science experiment? A mystical sky spirit I was taught loved all his creations and when I needed him most stayed mute? There is no repenting. Only my revenge, and then death's cold embrace."

“To yourself…” Catherine responded.

Artyom chuckled dryly. “Why would a man content with how things are try to repent? Next I would have you say you wish to make a rock have a beating pulse?”

“I don’t think you are… You just said your life was horrid…” She asked, not seeming to understand.

“I used an adjective to describe my life, yes. But even if it is horrid I am content in the fact that there will be no happy end to this. I have come to terms with that fact.” He responded analytically.

“If you expect things to go badly, your mind makes it come true, that’s what my mom told me.”

“My mind is more machine than man now. I make hundreds of calculations at any given time. I rarely have a moment's rest because my dreams are only jumbled nightmares that my mind tries to make sense of with these… contraptions. Tell me, if you were stripped of the things you hold dear, and had others forced upon you, would you care very much about your well being? Do you honestly think after all I have told you that this life of mine is still worth saving?”

“I do… You’re life more than anyone else… I think you deserve to be happy…” She replied honestly.

He shook his head. “And who would try and accomplish that, you?”

“Well… Not just me…”

“And what makes you think people will even care?” Rasputin asked the woman, putting his brush down.

“Because we’re all in this together?” She replied slowly.

He shuddered. “I will keep myself more contained than that.” Artyom let out a sigh, holding up the back of his hand to Cathy.

“Uh… What’re you doing?”

“You are not blind. Look.” He told her, and when she did Cathy would see the silver band around his ring finger, though in reality there were still flecks of gold on it, but it looked horrible scratched up and faded.

“Is that a… Wedding ring?” The cook hesitated.

“It was an engagement ring actually.” He corrected, dropping his hand.

 

[Frostlich1228]

Part 3

“I’m really sorry… Is that from before the invasion?”

“No. Afterwards. I was set to marry a woman but was taken away shortly after I had proposed. From what I know when hacking into ADVENT networks before I was rescued she was happily married with four children.” The Russian man explain.

“So… She’s still out there somewhere?” Cathy asked.

“Living her life with another man. Seems I was not so important to her. She used to swear up and down she was mine and mine alone but as soon as I was taken she had already moved on. I only keep the ring because it used to belong to my grandfather. She had gotten it from a family member and used it when I proposed.”

“You couldn’t expect her to just sulk forever… Love keeps moving, I doubt she forgot about you.” She replied comfortingly.

“What woman would want this?” He asked not having to point at his face implant, though he meant himself in general. “I am no longer who i used to be. Everything about me is different. No woman will love this again.”

“What you look like isn’t important, what you are inside is…”

“Once again… what has any of what I have said since we have met has showed you I am a good man? Inside or out?”

“You’re still here, that’s something…” She pointed out.

He grumbled, taking a step back. “I suck at painting. You think having eight eyes would change that.”

“I think it looks good! ... What is it?” She said, turning her head.

“Who knows? You were distracting me…” Artyom mumbled. “Besides… as I was saying, I will not find love again. People’s words and people’s natures are two different things.” Rasputin said with a sigh.

“I think you should at least give it a shot; you never know what could happen!” Catherine exclaimed.

“With who? You?” Rasputin asked incredulously.

“Well, I didn’t specifically mean me, but hey, you never know what the future holds.” She replied, nodding her head, “Although, probably unlikely…”

“Hmph… and here I was thinking you were an optimist.” Artyom grumbled with a shake of his head. “No women on this ship interest me. You are likely the one that interests me most asides from Lily.” He said without explaining what he meant by that

“Really? I’m surprised to hear you say that, here I thought you didn’t like me.” Said Catherine with a hand on her hip.

“Do not misunderstand me. You pique a bit of interest about what could possibly compel you to act this way, not in a relationship.” Artyom noted, crossing his arms. “I don’t even know if kissing anyone would do anything from the lack of emotion I feel for people other than annoyance.”

“I think it could work! Maybe this is like a Princess and The Frog scenario here! My mom used to tell me that story all the time! Someone kisses you, you relearn what love is, you get married and have bunches of children, then you live happily ever after!”

“So what, do you wish to kiss me or something?” He asked with a defensive tone.

“Do you… Want me to?” Her eyes shifted.

“Chambers has been going on and on about his daughter and her boyfriend… not like it hasn’t been done aboard the ship or isn’t permitted. I just could not think for the life of me why you would want to…”

“I have literally no experience with it… Zero… But I have watched old sitcoms, so uh… That’s something I guess.” She stated.

”It is not anything too special. Just an experiment. Who cares whether you know or not? Not like anyone is here to judge you, else this conversation would never had come about.”

“So… We’re really doing this? Boy this is not how I saw today playing out…”

Artyom shook his head. “It is nothing too special at the moment.”

“Yeah… So... Uh… I guess I’ll do it now?”

Artyom nodded to her silently.

Catherine approached him slowly, leaning forwards and meeting her mouth with his lips. After a few seconds she pulled back, a strange expression on her face. “Well… How do you feel?”

“It was nice I suppose. It has been a while.” Artyom noted plainly.


“That’s good! Maybe I should add making out to my list of mood improving techniques!” She replied lightheartedly.

“With other people? Isn’t that greatly frowned on? Woman who do that?” Artyom asked the woman.

Catherine shrugged, “I dunno know… Do you care?”

“Of you going around kissing other men?” He thought of his answer, surprised by his own hesitation. “Yes, I would be bothered if you just went around kissing whoever you wanted. Especially when you wanted to make a big deal out of it with me.”

“What! I… I… Mean… I didn’t say that… uh… Wow this is going fast…” She responded, stepping back.

Rasputin’s jaw shifted to the side, something he did because he could not raise an eyebrow. “Knew it.” He noted. “Really was nothing, as I thought it would be.”

“Wha… No! I… Just… We just met… Aren’t we supposed to like… Go out to eat and… Write poetry... or something?”

“No…” Artyom said with a shake of his head. “Anyways, I shall be going. I have wasted enough of your time and you should go give your kisses to other men.”

“I’m sorry! Uh… Now I feel bad…” She spoke, lowering her head a little.

“No reason to be sorry. You are not the one who does not deserve my love… it is me who does not deserve yours. I will only make you miserable.” He pointed out.

“You’ve met me right? That’s pretty hard to do…”

“Then what is it you want from me? Just say it…” He grumbled.

“I’m just nervous… heh… Well… I guess we can do it… Try to make this thing work… Should be… Interesting!” She smiled.

“So… you actually wish to be in a relationship?” He asked, his tone saying he didn’t believe her.

“Uh… Yeah! Yeah, let’s do it! You only live once, right?”

“I suppose…” He said evasively, looking to the door. “I should get back to my room. Feel free to paint over what I did.”

“You know what…” She looked back at the painting, “I think it’s growing on me now…”

“If that is what you prefer.” He said with a shrug, beginning to walk to the door. “Goodbye Catherine.”

“Yeah! Seeya soon!” She waved, her smiling face brightening even more.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

“Codename: Cardinal” - Lily Shen

1546 Hours, June 21st, 2038
Somewhere in Greenland
Onboard the Avenger
Level 1, Rear Block
The Cargo Bay

“Alright…” XCOM’s Chief Engineer turned on a a busted-up old camera, and cross-checked with a screen outside of its range to make sure the recording device was angled correctly. The German-Chinese woman cleared her throat. “Chief Engineer An-Yi Shen, ETMUD Log Number Three. As a refresher, since it’s been awhile, that stands for ‘extraterrestrial tech mechanized unit disassembly’, even if it sounds like ‘E.T. mud.” Lily smirked. “Fitting though, considering the more of these we take apart the more mud will be on the alien’s faces.”

Lily cleared her throat, clearly reminding herself that this was a professional feed. “In just a minute now today’s subject of analysis is going to be rolled in. The ADVENT MEC Trooper as we call it is a heavy infantry robot that the aliens use primarily in urban pacification efforts. While I’ll have to confirm in the breakdown, I’ve long suspected that ADVENT copied designs my father had begun in 2018. We’ll find out in a few minutes if the aliens indeed scavenged some of X-COM’s research data for their own use.”

Lily went over to a monitor that was in view of the camera to make sure her power tools were charged or otherwise plugged in. Her Gremlin, Rover, followed dutifully behind. Both turned their heads when the door opened, and a battered, faceless cybernetic soldier was rolled in on a sturdy wheeled table. “Thanks, Miriam,” Lily told the Mexican woman that had brought her the robot. “Mind helping me get this onto my table?”

Sanchez nodded, but asked, “Uh… how? This thing is kind of heavy.”

Lily pointed to the Gremlin above the Latino’s right shoulder. “Have Sparks help Rover stablilize it, and we’ll shove it over.”

“Alright then,” Miriam replied. The two directed their robotic assistants to latch onto the MEC Trooper with small magnetic clamps. The two held it steady as the women pushed with all their might, and moved the bruised machine onto the disassembly table.

“Thank you,” Lily said, exhaling and moving around the table. “Oh, and take this as a word to the wise. While it just chose to wreck the roof Leon was standing on, I’ve heard rumors that these things can actually just jump up a full two stories. Gotta confirm it for myself though.”

The Mexican Specialist shuddered. “Jesus…”

“Not to scare you of course,” Lily apologized. “Sorry.”

“It’s… fine. I’ll leave you to it.”

Lily rubbed the back of her neck as Miriam disappeared off to the side with a seemingly concerned Sparks following, and then turned back to the camera. “Uh… anyway, let’s get to work on this thing. First of all, let’s remove some of the armor plating. How about we start at the legs to get a look at their articulation mechanisms.”

The Chief grabbed a power saw, and lowered a welding mask over her eyes. “Rover, dim the feed.” The Gremlin flew over in front of the camera and interfaced with it as the Specialist robots did, dimming the brightness so the flurry of sparks from Lily’s incisions weren’t blinding. She cut out a square panel of the leg armor, deftly avoiding damage to the internal systems, and held up the white panel to the screen.

“I’d say this is about… 175 millimeters. Not the thickest part of the armor, but nothing easily breached either.” Lily went over to her desk momentarily, and returned with a paint remover. She washed away the immaculate alabaster color of the armor, expanding gray cracks in it from shrapnel damage until it was a dark gray color. “As you can see, it’s made out of the typical hybrid alloys ADVENT uses. Though I swear they must have the biggest white paint bill in human history,” Lily scoffed.

She exchanged glances with ROV-R, who seemed to question, ‘would they even pay for it?’

“Yeah, you’re probably right… but I’m still holding them to the price tag. Though I suppose the plan isn’t to leave them with any power left to pay reparations. And no don’t call me a hypocrite, I’m only half… forget it.” Lily refocused on her task, looking over the parts that made up the MEC’s leg servos.

“Definitely more advanced than dad’s designs, I cannot lie,” Lily stated. “If you look here you can see a water-pressure system combined with a piston system. My guess is they work in tandem with each other to build up a ton of resistance and then release it all in one go to make those rumored leaps. Combo that with how strong these things are, and those jumps don’t seem as impossible.”

Lily tugged on one of the pistons as she talked, and as it moved the plating shifted as well. “Seems like even the plating adapts to the leap to decreased air resistance… but that makes them more vulnerable in the middle of a leap, doesn’t it? Something for the troops to keep in mind, even if they only have half a second of parted armor.”

Cutting towards the hips, she found something else. “What’s this? Electrical power nodes to supplement the servos? I wonder… Rover, cross-examine these with our man-portable minigun batteries.” As the drone got to work Lily confirmed that similar power sources were buried under thick shoulder armor. “Three centimeters,” Lily spoke to the camera. “50mm shy of the body armor of an Abrams tank. And those aren’t made of hybrid alien alloys. She found a similar thickness as she began to cut into the chest.

Before she got through, she paused to check ROV-R’s assessment. “Bastards… so they did copy us. While ADVENT has improved on the prototype designs and removed the need for a human operator, they still used my family’s designs to jumpstart their own MEC Trooper project.” Lily opened up the chest. “Instead of a heart like ours would have had, they’ve got an elerium core as you can see her, interfaced with some processing modules, very much wrecked, and…” Lily’s yes narrowed. “What the hell? Rover, zoom in on this.”

The Gremlin disappeared from view again and the camera tightened. Lily pointed out what looked like an IV filled with crimson blood. “The cord… goes up. Why in the world does a machine need this?” Taking a deep breath, Lily moved around to the two-plated helmet of the robot to find out. She made her incision down the middle as the camera was tilted up to focus on her properly, and split open the thick hybrid alloys.

Immediately the Chief stepped back, her skin blanching and her expression appearing all at sea. For within the head of the ADVENT MEC was a brain. Encased in a liquid suspension to keep it hydrated that had been slowly drying out over the past few days, it looked disturbingly human in shape. What was left of it anyway. In many places computerized parts were either attached or outright replaced the gray matter. And a regulation chip was visible to the naked eye, jammed into the back.

Lily held her hands over her mouth, taking deep breaths. “R...Rover, assay the composition… is it… human? Alive?” The Gremlin went over with a tool clamped to its underbelly and slowly lowered a tube into the gray matter, taking a sample. The bot brought it over to a desk and assayed it. The displayed results confirmed that while the subject was now deceased, it had been the brain of a human.

“I… I shouldn’t be surprised, really,” Lily said grimly. “It shouldn't come as a shock that ADVENT would do something this cruel. Was this one of their own civilians? A military volunteer? A freedom fighter? They respect no human life either way, and this is one of the forms their savagery takes. They made Bradford a living computer, but this - ripping out someone’s brain to serve as an unwitting soldier - is another degree of wrong.”

With a pale look, she waved Rover back over to have the flying robot interface with the cyborg below it. She went over to a computer. “Alright, show me the programming…” A lot of the data was broken up by feedback from the decay of the connected organic tissue, but valuable information could still be found. “Suppression subroutines… Olivia dealt with those. Combat techniques and priority, and… a lot of code and files related to identification. Seems like the MECs can access the ADVENT network and sift through profiles in second. If it doesn’t recognize them, it’s supposed to give them two seconds to stand down. If they’re a suspected ‘terrorist, it… automatically opens fire.”

Lily walked back over to the robot, glancing at the camera. “I suspect ADVENT’s citizenry wouldn’t adore these things so much if they knew what was inside… and that if they aren’t registered that they’re liable to be blown up by this thing’s minature warheads. Speaking of which…” Lily got to cutting again, and detached the disguised launcher system on its back. “These missiles appeared more like excited electron thunderclaps than conventional warheads.”

Cutting the container open, she verified that to be true. “Bingo. I recognize the red charge integrated into these…” Lily lifted out one of the narrow missiles. Eagerly but gingerly she disassembled it, isolating several distinct parts. “The charge pack is designed to be highly explosive, but the mechanism looks like that of a HEAT warhead that our Specialists use in their missile launchers. These are smaller, but I’d hazard a guess these ‘impulse rockets’ would be more effective. They’ve got perhaps superior penetrating power with these hybrid alloy tipped warheads.”

Lily smiled. “And as long as we keep killing these guys we’ll rarely need to build our own micro missiles, though I’ll reverse-engineer them regardless just in case. Ammo consumption will still be the same, but these will fire in bursts rather than as long agents.” The engineer nodded intensely, and looked to Rover. “Chief Shen signing off for now. I’ve got work to do.”

 

[Dahlexpert]

The fallowing is a collabe between Dhaexpert & Zombiespliter 53
Settling things

Onboard the Avenger
Gymnasium

Morrigan breathed heavily as she pushed the leg weights, sweat dripping down her face. Brigid stood next to her, Morrigan's personal cheering squad. "Do you have to do such heavy weights, mom?"

Morrigan grunted in affirmation. "Need... strong legs... dear. Need to... be able to... outrun all... the bad guys. Need to... push myself. How many... left?"

"Um... four more," Brigid answered, and Morrigan let out a frustrated sigh. Brigid smiled, and pulled her fists. "You can do it, mommy. Just a few more and you're done. Push! Push!"

"Yeah, red, push! Leg strength is very useful. Good for running, but upper body strength is also needed." Lilith said, standing next to Brigid. "Well, hello there little pup. You have a name?"

Brigid looked up at Lilith, her eyes widening in fear at the sight of the woman's skin. "Uh... U-uh... I, uh... uh..."

"Oh, by the gods, kid. I'm not going to hurt you. I know my skin is terrifying, especially to those that don't know me, which is most of the ship, but I'm not an alien." Lilith looks down at Morrgan "Or an ADVENT spy. Seriously, didn't the commander say no witch hunts when we first got here."

"I-I... uh, I... I-I..."

Morrigan placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Go run to our room and get our clothes ready. I'll meet you in the showers in ten minutes." Brigid nodded, running off, and Morrigan gave Lillith an irritated look.

Lilith watched as Brigid ran off. "Aw, she's adorable, though I am getting sick of people getting scared of me because of my skin. I mean, come on people, it's not like I chose to have gray skin."

Morrigan sat up, wiping herself off. "What do you want, ADVENT?"

"Would you stop calling me fucking ADVENT!? I'm not with them anymore. Jesus Christ, will you quit it with that? I hate ADVENT more then anyone on this ship."

"Pft... I doubt that." Morrigan folded her arms. "Fine. What do you want,Van Dam?"

"First, the names is Lilith, you little pup. Second, if I'm going to be here, I better straighten out people that are scared of me, or hate me because of who I worked for and instantly think I'm a spy. So... want to get a drink? Or do you want to train?"

Morrigan gave her a fake smile. "Oh, I wouldlove to enjoy a play date with you,Lilith.But my daughter is expecting me at the showers in a few minutes. So unless you need a bath..."

"Drop the sarcasm, pup. And why not? I could use a bath. I have nothing better to do."

Morrigan gave her an annoyed look, and stood up. "You're free to join me. It's a free ship." She walked towards the exit, not bothering to see if Lilith was following.

Lilith ran up to walk right next to Morrigan. "Tell me, pup. What makes you think, even for a second, that I'm with ADVENT besides my skin color?"

"Why de feck chucker yer keep callin' me wee pup?!" Morrigan asked angrily, ignoring Lilith's question.

"You keep calling me ADVENT. I'm going to call you pup. Now answer the question."

Morrigan rolled her eyes. "Besides you, how many ADVENT soldiers do you think figure out that their actions are evil and quit?"

"None. I joined ADVENT to help my nephew. He was sick. I thought he was going to die. There's no good medicine out of the colonies, so I did what I had to do to save. Then I immediately realized my mistake, but once you join ADVENT, it's not like you can just quit."

"Oh, sure." Morrigan rolled her eyes. "I'm surehalfof ADVENT are poor, misunderstood people that just want out."

"You can believe me or not. I'm telling the truth. That's why I joined ADVENT, though you can take it or leave it. I'm not looking for forgiveness. I just want to burn ADVENT to the ground for all the shit they did to me and the people they made me kill."

"But youjustsaid no one else ever leaves, and it is almost impossible to leave. So how exactly did you get out?" Morrigan stopped outside of the showers.

"The resistance in Alaska helped me out. They attacked an ADVENT out post in Anchorage. I helped them take out the Network Tower in the area, and with my freedom, I continued to help take out ADVENT in the area. That's how I got out. With the network tower down, the chip in my neck was temporary down, then they took it out of me."

Morrigan slowly nodded, and stepped into the shower locker room. "So that's it? No more ADVENT? Just like that? I'm sure you did some pretty crappy legs while with them, huh?"

Lilith undressed and got into the shower. "Yeah, some very disgusting things. Killed people that would have been prisoners, murdered people that questioned the Elders, kidnapping, and so one. Over all, I want to forget about everything."

When she turned her head, Brigid was in the showers, her eyes wide in terror over what she had said.

Lilith scratched her head and frowned at the young girl "Oh, no."

Brigid took a step back, and slipped on the tiled floor, falling on her backside. She held up her hands. "No... ADVENT is... Please... I'm sorry. Don't... I'm a good girl! I'm not sick! Please!"

Lilith walked up to Brigid and put her hand on hers. "Shhh. It's okay, kid, I'm not going to do anything to you. I'm not that person anymore, I'm not going to do anything to you."

"B-but mommy says... all ADVENT are bad. And Yakone yelled it at me. Said I didn't know what I was talking about. Said there are no good ADVENT are bad. Even... even..."

 

[Dahlexpert]

Part 2

Morrigan sighed, turning on the showers, and even turning on the showers next to her for Lilith. "Van Dam... Lilith. Please come here."

Lilith went to the shower and turned to Morrigan. "What's up? Is something wrong with the kid?"

Morrigan sighed. "I don't suppose you ever met an ADVENT officer named Daniel Hunnigan, did you?"

"No, I haven't. But I heard of him. Not a very good person. Why?"

"He was my husband. And Brigid's adoptive father." Morrigan turned her head to Lilith. "I married a member of ADVENT. In fact, I was well on my way to becoming one myself. So... feel free to call me a hypocrite."

"You are thebiggesthypocrite, calling me ADVENT!" Lilith stopped herself from yelling more because Brigid was in the room, and she wasn't sure how the young one would take hearing that about her mother.

"Brigid... I know you just got in here, but can you give us a few minutes? Go into the locker room and put on your headphones." Morrigan watched as Brigid wrapped a towel around herself and walked out. "Alright... she's out. Go ahead."

"You have a lot of nerve calling me ADVENT when you nearly joined them and had a husband that was one. Does Brigid know you nearly joined them?"

Morrigan lowered her eyes. "No... and I don't want her to know."

"I figured she didn't know, or had a guess. That's why I stopped before I said anything else. Don't want the little one to think that both parent were monsters, not that I'm one to talk about monsters." Lilith looked at her skin.

I... amnota monster!" Morrigan snapped, taking a step forward. "Ididn'tknow what they were! Not until they did this to me!" She turned around, displaying the plethora of scars across her back.

"Hmm... yep. Looks like standard ADVENT torture. But do you think I knew what ADVENT was. The only thing I was thinking was I needed medicine, and look what they did to me when I became an officer. The messed with my DNA, and gave me sectoid and muton DNA on top of my own, making me a freak. At least you can hide your scars. I cant."

Morrigan turned to counter, but couldn't come up with anything short of calling Lilith a liar, and she had nothing to base that on. She turned back to the shower, her head hung low. "You... you're right. I... I'm nothing but a hypocritical bitch..."

"No... you are a hypocrite, yes. Very much. But like me, you joined XCOM to get pay back for what ADVENT did to you and to make sure no one goes through the same thing you did, though unlike me, you're fighting for your kids future." Lilith looked near the locker room were Brigid was.

Brigid peaked inside, afraid the strange ADVENT woman might hurt her mom. "Please... don't be mad at Brigid," Morrigan said softly. "Until a few days ago, she thought there were bad ADVENT and good ADVENT, and that her father was one of the good ones. Yakone convinced me I... I needed to finally tell her the truth. Then a couple days after I convince her all ADVENT is bad, she sees you. I hope you can understand the surprise."

"Oh, well that explains the freak out and her being scared of me. Umm... can you call her in here so I can make a proper introduction?"

Morrigan nodded, and waved Brigid over. The girl took off her headphones, but kept the towel on as she walked over and kept her head low.

Lilith keeled down to Brigids level. "Hey little one. How are you? Are you scared?"

Brigid's eyes darted about. "N... no! I just... I know ADVENT is all bad now. So... so you better not hurt my mom, or I... I'll get my friend Jack to beat you up!"

Lilith patted the child's head. "Don't worry, kid. I'm, not with ADVENT anymore, and I'm not going to hurt your mother. Tell me kid; why are you scared of me?"

Brigid rubbed her wrists nervously. "Because... because my mom said that... that all ADVENT are bad, and none of them can be good, and they all do evil stuff, and... and I... I thought, with the... the grey skin, you... might be..."

"Yes ADVENT is bad, but I'm not a bad person even with the gray skin. I'm not with them, I'm my own person there's no reason to be scared."

"But... but youwerein ADVENT... and quit to become a good person, right?" Brigid asked.

"I was never truly a bad person, but yeah, that's what I did. Are you still scared of me?"

Brigid quickly shook her head, and smiled at her mother, who cringed, knowing what was coming next. "Did you hear that, mom? She was ADVENT, but then she quit!"

"I heard it, Brigid, but..."

"That means other people could do it too!"

"Brigid, please..."

"That means daddy could have been a good person who was stuck! Right, Ms... um..."

"Lilith Van Dam, and young one, I'm a rare case. Not many people quit ADVENT. Some... most people in ADVENT are bad people, and don't change."

"But... but my dad was always good to me," Brigid insisted, suddenly reverting back to the talk she had with her mother days before. "He... he made sure none of the other ADVENT knew I was sick. And he always listened about my day. And... a-and he bought me the violin I love so much! He... he wasn't a bad man! If he was, ADVENT wouldn't have taken him away and killed him when they took my mom!"

 

[Dahlexpert]

Part 3

"Kid, I don't know your father. I don't know what kind of person he was to you. But people are different when they're with their family. But you can believe what you want. If you want to believe your dad is a good man, then he's a good man."

Brigid looked between Lilith and Morrigan. "Did... did you know my dad?"

"I don't know. What was his name?"

"H-his name was Daniel Hunnigan," Brigid answered.

"Hmm... possibly. Something about him being a spy."

Brigid's eyes lit up. "Like... like a spy for the good guys?!"

"I don't know. I heard those rumors years ago. I haven't heard much since."

Brigid clapped her hands together. "See, mommy! Dad was a good guy!"

Morrigan nodded, smiling softly. "Go... finish cleaning up dear." Brigid walked back to the shower head she was using, and Morrigan turned to Lilith. "Thank you, Lilith. That was a kind thing to do fro a woman who has... done nothing but treat you like crap."

"Like I said, I only heard rumors about that. I don't know if it's true or not. But sure, don't mention it."

Morrigan sighed. "It's fine. I'm not Brigid. But I appreciate you trying to make her feel better. It was very kind of you."

"No problem. I've seen kids her age outside the colonies do terrible things, things a kid shouldn't do at their age." Lilith remembered what Luke did at Brigid's age.

Morrigan looked over to Brigid. "Not her. She was raised to be a... a model Megacity citizen. I hate that I have that to thank for her being such a kind soul, but she is. I'd dare say she's perfect, but I'm a little biased. Plus it is a hard sell when she is so sickly..."

"Well, she is very kind girl. hstill has a lot to learn about the world though."

"Yeah..." Morrigan finished washing up, and said, "Later tomorrow, if you are still up for it... why don't we get that drink?"

"Oh, I would love to. Well, it would seem like I have made a friend. Even if you are very young."

Morrigan held up a finger. "We need to work our way up to friendship. But, for now at least, I don't hate you for bad reasons. It's a start, right?"

"Hmm... well, it's something. It's further then what most people are with me."

Brigid stepped up and took her mother's hand, grinning up at Lilith. "It was nice to meet you Ms. Van D..." She looked up at her mother, who nodded. "Ms. Van Dam." She held a hand over her mouth and giggled.

Lilith patted Brigid on the head "Aw, you're so cute, kid. my last name is not a curse word, but it's sweet that you stopped yourself from saying it."

Morrigan laughed, and led Lilith to the locker room. "See you tomorrow, Lilith."

"Yeah, I will see you tomorrow, Morrigan."

 

[DarkGemini24601]

MarineAvenger and Darkgemini24601: “Initiation, Part 1”

0947 Hours, June 22nd, 2038
Somewhere in Greenland
Onboard the Avenger
Floor 4, Starboard Wing
The Medical Ward

Leon Sinclair laid in a medical bed on the Avenger, hooked up to medical equipment that kept him stabilized for the past few days after his two story fall from the datacenter building. Luckily for him, his armor padded some of the fall but it still left him with a massive concussion, dislocated shoulder, and a broken leg and fingers. Cracked ribs and cuts and small burns from the missiles marked him as well but the armaments did less to him then they actual fall. However, miraculously, his eyes slowly opened, the world coming into a haze of fuzzy bright lights.

From the doorway of his room, a nurse rushed in, looking over Leon with a smirk and a shake of his head, going out into the nurse's station to give a call up to a woman who had wanted to know first when he had woken up. "It is David Sissio ma'am. He is waking up."

"I'll be down there shortly."

After a few minutes Atka arrived in the medical ward. The Commander sat down in a chair next to Leon, wearing her what was left of her uniform from years of being on the run and a borrowed coat that looked more formal than her leather jacket. "Welcome back."

"Mmm... Ya... Yakone?" Leon asked, his eyes barely opened as he leaned forward, trying to get a better look at the woman.

Atka raised an eyebrow. "Not quite, Sinclair."

"Oh, Commander." Leon leaned back in his bed, holding his face. "Sorry, just woke up."

"I'm not much of a morning person so I'll let it pass." The Commander folded her hands together, resting her chin on them. "You did well out there. That last stunt was... reckless, but then again if you hadn't taken the hit the Hellstorm might have just turned on O'Brien and dashed all our hopes." Atka chuckled. "I think you'll be glad to know that Shen was inspired to work on some sort of 'blast padding' for Grenadiers in light of what happened and the risks of toting around explosives."

"Glad to hear indeed... But that fall wasn't so pleasant either." Leon told the woman, dropping his hand. "How'd Miriam come out?"

"Shaken, but alright. More worried about you than anything," Atka explained.

"Worried?" That caused the man to chuckle. It's my own damn fault; as soon as Lilith fell I should have pulled her off the roof and stayed where I was..."

"You made the decision you thought was right at the time. If you hadn't been raining down fire from up there the others wouldn't have been able to reach the evac point in time. And your grenade launcher was actually used to take out a pair of enemies."

"Was it? Glad someone knew how to pull its trigger," he joked, shaking his head as he shifted, yelling out in pain as he held his side.

Atka leaned forward slightly. "I suggest you don't push yourself too hard. You need to recover, Corporal." She pulled out a slightly rusty metal insignia from her pocket.

"Oh please... Put that away." Leon told the Inuit woman, waving his hand. "Not taking a promotion because I gave a few orders and bumped my head."

"You displayed foresight, discipline, clarity, shrewdness, and valor on the battlefield. That is why I am promoting you."

"Can you at least wait to give it to me until I get out of here?" he asked with a small smile, his way of finding humor even in bad situations hitting a now distant memory in her. "Don't wanna lose it in the bed or something stupid like that."

Atka nodded slowly, placing the medallion back in her coat pocket. "Later, then."

"Later indeed..." Leon noted, settling back in. "So was there... something other than the promotion, Commander?"

"Do you have any idea what is going on with that sister of yours? I came to check up on you yesterday and she left as soon as I walked in," Atka told him flatly.

"I don't know, maybe she just thought you wanted some privacy? I was knocked out cold." Leon reminded the older woman, closing his eyes.

"You know her better than I do though."

"Doesn’t make me a mind reader." He responded plainly. "Why don't you go talk to her about it? And I mean actually talk, not grill her like a fish."

I have that sort of reputation, huh? Atka pushed herself up from the visitation chair. I'll do my best Sinc..." As she turned she sighted Yakone standing in the doorway.

Yakone met Atka's gaze for scarcely a moment before twisting her head to the side and starting to go the other way. "I'll come back another time."

"I'm finished speaking with him. Don't mind me," Atka replied. She headed towards the door, and the two exchanged glances again.

Yakone was surprised to note an unusual look in the Commander's eyes. A lack of anger directed at me. And... something else? Before the Ranger could figure it out Atka was already walking off to locate St. Pierre.

"Weird..." Yakone mumbled quietly, before approaching Leon. "Uh... hey... Leon..."

"Hey Yakone." He said, smiling widely. He wanted to sit up but figured it a bad idea with how the slightest movements before nearly killed him. "How uh... You doing since we last talked?"

"I, well, it's more that I could have done more," Yakone tried to explain, sighing. "I wanted to help heal you, but my stupid biokinesis only seems to work for me." The young woman sighed. "I should have just been on that op... I coulda taken a hit like that no problem."

He appeared a bit hurt, turning his gaze to her. "Do you… realize how pretentious that sounded?" Leon asked, not sure how to take the comment.

"I meant that I should have been there to protect you, dumbass," Yakone snapped, though her irritation didn't seem directed at anyone in particular. "Then maybe you wouldn't have nearly gotten blown to bits."

"Yeah, well you don't need to be on every op holding everyone's hand." Leon told the woman. "The team I had worked to great effect, and I was hurt due to a miscalculation based on my in the moment judgement. I protected a teammate of mine. That is it. It was my call and a bad draw of luck. You being there would have changed nothing. Don't impart blame where it is not needed. We all have our jobs Yakone."

Yakone sighed. "I just... have power that most of you don't have. I hate the feeling of not utilizing it to its fullest."

"That said, I would hate if a woman I cared about did something stupid like I did because of that power." Leon said, shaking his head subtly.

"I know I can't use it if I'm dead. You don't have to worry about that," Yakone responded firmly.

"Yeah, well I'm going to worry regardless. So suck it up and deal with my worry about you." Leon told Yakone with a smirk. "Though don't get in trouble again please. I fear letting you beat up on me would result in cardiac arrest from shock."

"Hey, if I don't get to do anything really stupid neither do you. No more stunts like that unless you're confident you can take the hit," Yakone countered.

"I'm still alive ain't I?" Leon retorted. "I say I took that hit pretty well."

Yakone rolled her eyes. “I’m gonna make sure Lily steps up work on that blast padding. I’ll just share that little comment with her.”

Leon chuckled, an action he likely shouldn’t have done but couldn’t hold back. “So now what is going to happen? Mission was a success in the end, so do we have a next step as of yet?”

“We’re currently en-route to Greenland, believe it or not. We’ve got some research to get down the pipeline now that we have that alloy shaping data and some new gear to study.” Yakone held up her hand, counting on her fingers. “Let’s see… Plated Armor, Shieldbearer autopsy and armor study, MEC Trooper breakdown… a lot of shit,” Yakone specified.

“Probably not my job to ask since I am no shrink but uh… how you holding up? With this research, training, and I know the last mission is still lingering in that noggin of yours, your stress must be through the roof. I saw it in your irritation earlier.” Leon point out, though his tone wasn’t condescending, more so holding actual worry.

Yakone tensed a bit, but waved her hand dismissively. “I’m fine… all the research and training is actually exciting, believe it or not.”

He narrowed his eyes. “I may have a concussion but it hasn’t made me stupid. That isn’t the whole truth. Now come on… we’re alone in here. Not like I have any right to judge you when you don’t judge me. Minus the later end of my mission.” Leon added as a lighthearted jab.

“Look, the rest of it isn’t important. Just some bad dreams, that’s it,” Yakone insisted.

“Hope you are going to elaborate there. After all can’t tell me that much and not explain it.”

“There’s nothing to talk about. And no, that’s not me dodging the issue,” Yakone clarified. “I just can’t remember what they’re about for the life of me.”

“Alright, I believe you.” Leon said, letting the issue go as he stared at the door. “You know I gotta ask. What exactly are me and you? Acquaintances, friends, good friends? It is hard to tell and I thought I would ask to sate my curiosity. Passes time seeing as you are visiting me and I love your company.”

Yakone shrugged. “Honestly? No clue. I don’t usually stop to think about semantics.”

“Guess that leaves it up to interpretation. Which means I don’t have to adhere to the rules of a friend. Might need to bolden up my attitude around you to see what happens.”

“Do whatever you want. When I’m not busy at least,” Yakone told him, turning to leave.

“Hey Yakone.” Leon called out, and when she turned to look at him he flashed her a charismatic smile. “Thanks for dropping by. Means a lot.”

“No problem. I owed you that much.”

 

[DarkGemini24601]

MarineAvenger and Darkgemini24601: “Initiation, Part 2”

Meanwhile, standing in front of a mirror in the shared women’s shower room, Gwen was looking over herself in the mirror, her eyebrows folded towards the center as she looked over her wet, short hair, doing it in a few mock styles. “Probably right Leon… should have put more thought into it when I was cutting this.” She noted out loud, letting out a defeated sigh. “Can’t look worse than Yakone’s though.”

“No comment on that,” Atka stated, leaning in the doorway. She was missing her coat from before but that was all she had changed out.

Just ignore her Gwen.. maybe she will go away. The nude woman thought, glancing over at the towel she had left off for now.

“Gwendoline. We need to talk,” Atka said after a pregnant pause, not having budged.

“Weather’s nice outside, hear the water is just right in the showers currently and an engineer got sick in the cafeteria. Satisfactory?” Gwen quipped, now grabbing the towel as she wrapped it around herself.

“Why were you avoiding me?” the Commander asked, seeming unfazed by the joke.

“Avoiding you?” Gwen asked, turning so she faced the Commander. “Didn’t think you one for paranoia.”

“Maybe it was paranoid… up until you tried to deflect me with jokes. I’m not dense… so what’s your problem?”

Not dense my ass… “What do you think the problem is? Maybe you should have sent in that team a little bit more prepared. After all, isn’t the man we rescued some sort of brilliant strategist and war hero or some stuff like that. Where was his helpful input when my brother was thrown two stories off a building?” Gwen asked, crossing her arms. There were times her stubbornness shown like a beacon. Now was one of those times.

“That was hardly a situation that Lieutenant Commander Bradford’s advice could have fixed. In fact, your brother was handling the situation admirably enough that he didn’t need to bother him,” Atka responded.

“Please…” She said with a roll of her eyes. “I already know Leon wasn’t the problem. So it must have been one of you. Though really a lot of the blame rests on that woman he risked his life to save. Bitch should be spit shining his boots.”

Atka rubbed her forehead. “Do I need to get a tape recorder so you can properly listen to yourself?”

“Please, are you here just to be condescending or do you have a reason? Or is avoiding someone against the rules or something?” Gwen asked, trying to suppress her frustration just a bit.

“I’d prefer if you weren’t being this hostile without a good reason,” Atka told the younger woman. “It’s tiresome and reflects badly on both of us.”

“Well… I didn’t exactly drag you here by the hair. You are here of your own will. Free to leave at anytime too.” Gwen told the woman, turning around with a shake of her head to look in the mirror. “If you are worried I am going to be insubordinate or something then just crush that right now. I’ll still do my job, I should just have the choice to avoid who I please. What do you care?”

“You’re one of my soldiers. If you think I don’t value your input or life whatsoever you’re sorely mistaken. The same goes for your brother. When you left the other day I was going to visit him to make sure he was alright.”

“Good. I was hoping you weren’t just a self-centered bitch.” Gwen told the woman, turning around. Her face was tough and stubborn, but her eyes were filled with worry and sadness. “But I warn you my brother is everything to me. If I were to lose him… there will be hell to pay.”

“I don’t plan on getting him killed,” Atka told her resolutely. “Not when he’s going to be my first non-veteran corporal once he’s recovered.”

The French girl raised an eyebrow, her skinny arms crossed tightly. “What, you plan on molding him into an officer or something?”

“If he continues to prove himself as capable as he did, yes,” Atka replied.

Gwen looked away to the wet tile floor, tapping her foot as she let out a deep, frustrated sigh. “I’m sorry Atka.”

“Apology accepted. I knew what it was like to care deeply for a sibling.”

“A topic I shouldn’t press I assume?” Gwendoline guessed. Atka nodded silently. “Well at least you know how it feels then.” She looked the woman up and down, then rubbed her head, thinking of something. “May I ask you something?”

“Depends on what you want to ask.”

“Despite my disrespect, I do think you are a woman worthy of your command. And a woman like you doesn’t get to be like that as a novice.” Gwen noted, stepping forward. “I want you to train me personally. Not only so I can keep myself alive, but my team as well, and most importantly Leon.”

Atka opened her mouth to retort she didn’t exactly have time, but sighed. Have to start earning their personal respect somewhere. “Very well. I’ll teach you what is pertinent to your role, at least.”

“Who knows… maybe some stuff to even make it my own.” Gwen suggested with a shrug, but deep down she breathed a sigh of relief.

“We’ll see… you use a revolver, right?”

“Um… no. I was just using a standard pistol up until this point.” The Juggernaut said.

Atka shook her head. “That won’t do you much good against just about anything. You need something that has punch, and our new rotators have that without the recoil.”

“Okay. Guess next time I go out I will adjust my loadout then. Would have been nice if the first time I could have experimented a bit, but I was a test run in itself so can’t really complain.”

“Your shield idea has saved more than just your life if you saw what happened with Winslow,” Atka noted.

“Huh… wonder if I can get him to spit shine my shoes.” Gwen noted with a shake of her head. “Lily’s the one to thank. She made it possible instead of just laughing it off.”

"Our Chief Engineer is very talented," Atka agreed. "I have some spare time now, so if you want me to instruct you I'll be just outside the ship. Naturally I'll let you get dressed first."

"Thanks. After all, I don't need any men staring me down." She said with some unknown tinge of irritation.

Atka raised an eyebrow but said nothing, turning and leaving her for now.

***​

It took around twenty minutes, but soon she went out, looking to meet the Commander.

Atka was leaning against a hill that the ship was next to, the grass being a rich green. The air was cold and crisp, and the Inuit woman has donned a traditional coat to ward off the weather. She offered Gwen a rotator revolver.

"Jumping straight into this huh?" The french woman said, taking the revolver, looking it over.

"This is a laser variant, so you won't have to worry about recoil. Train yourself to just point and shoot, and the basics will be easy," Atka told Gwendoline.

"Well... Duh. Isn't that how every gun works?" Gwen asked incredulously, holding out the weapon as she looked down the sights. "Feels good at least. Not much different than aiming a normal pistol."

"Be aware that you have to load it like a normal revolver, only with charge cartridges rather than bullets."

Gwen looked over the gun, pulling out the chamber and looked at the ammo loaded in it, then snapped it back in place. "Got it."

"Alright. Take a few practice shots." Atka crossed her arms to watch.

Gwen nodded, though looked over the weapon again before aiming it, firing,a few superheated shots into the air. "Feels good. Like playing a game."

"Good." Atka took the rotator and handed her a ballistic revolver. "Now do it with the recoil."

"With the recoil, huh?" Gwen asked, now a bit wary. "They say these things pack a hell of a punch."

"They do. But if you're going to truly be able to use the weapon you'll need to be able to compensate for that. Especially if we become able to make a mag version," Atka explained.

"I see. Okay." Gwen said, taking the gun. "Any tips?"

"First, a lot lower than you think you should. If you think you're compensating enough you're probably wrong," Atka preemptively corrected Gwen.

"Second, you want your arm to move backwards with the shot. Otherwise the .44 is bound to damage your arm over time. If you don't combine this with number one you'll miss," the Ambusher told the Juggernaut.

"Third, if you miss... keep shooting if there's no cause to conserve ammo. If only one hits it'll still do a lot of damage," the Commander told the soldier.

"Right. Thank you for that!" Gwen said, gulping audibly as she held out the gun, not locking up her arms as she knew that was bad, then closed her eyes, shakily pulling the trigger and when it shot she yelled, dropping that gun. "Motherfucker that stings!"

“I did warn you,” Atka responded with a shake of her head.

“Yeah but that doesn’t make it hurt less!” Gwen snapped at the woman, shaking her hand. “Ow…” However, she did reach down, picking up the gun again. “Does it always hurt like that?”

“It’s not going to feel pleasant. But you need to learn how to use the weapon with and without the recoil, otherwise you’re going to be ineffective every time we upgrade our arsenal,” the teacher cautioned the student.

Gwen grit her teeth, holding the revolver steady again as she shakily pulled the trigger again and when it fired she stomped on the ground, groaning loudly, as she rubbed her sore arm, rising it again, firing this time just smoothly, again and again, breathing heavily. “Ow…” However the gun was not dropped.

“Better… given practice, you’ll figure this out.”

“Thanks.” Gwen grumbled, rubbing her arm. “This is going to kill my arm for the foreseeable future…”

 

[MarineAvenger]

Chest Pains Part One (ZombieSplitter53 and MarineAvenger)

Leon Sinclair laid in his medical bed located in the medbay of the Avenger, the Grenadier still having somewhat serious wounds that were the result of a bad run in during a mission under his command. Currently, he was sleeping soundly, luckily not one for twisting and turning in his sleep as the resulting pain would be bad.

Morrigan stuck her head in the door for a moment, then stepped inside, looking Leon up and down. A little disappointed he was sleeping, she turned to leave.

"Is he not in here?" Brigid asked rather loudly, standing behind her.

Unfortunately, it was loud enough to stir the soldier, the numbing pain making him a light sleeper anyways more than he already was. "...Morrigan? You just... Get here?"

Morrigan chuckled nervously. "Uh... yeah. Just a second ago. Sorry. I'll let you rest."

"Well I'm awake now. No point in leaving." He said, his bed inclining a bit slowly as he raised it.

Morrigan stepped forward, not noticing Brigid linger at the door, and took a seat. "I just wanted to make sure you're okay. You kinda got the crap beat out of you."

"Kinda? I would say it fully happened." Leon said with a small smile and when he looked to the door his smile widened further. "Who is the cutie?"

Brigid took a step back, and Morrigan gave her a curious look. "Brigid? Come here, honey." Brigid quickly did so, but hid behind her mother. "Strange... she usually isn't this shy around people, even strangers..."

"Weird huh?" Leon asked, looking to the preteen girl, he waved a hand, flashing her one of his charismatic smiles. "I'm Leon Sinclair. Really nice to meet you."

Brigid peaked out from behind her mother. "M-my name is Brigid. Brigid Hunnigan. N-nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too. Hunnigan huh? Didn't take your last name Morrigan?" He asked the woman.

Morrigan shook her head. "No, she... she took her name from her adoptive father, Daniel Hunnigan. He is... no longer with us, I'm afraid."

"I see..." Leon sighed and looked to the cowering Brigid. "Come here, I wanna tell you something."

Brigid slowly stepped forward, putting a small case next to the nightstand and stepping next to Leon's side.

"You know... I lost both my parents... And my grandmother. I know how it feels to lose a family member close to you." He told her, rubbing the top of her head. "But you have an amazing mother who I am sure loves you with all her heart. Just like I had my grandfather. Just thought I should stroke you mother's ego a bit by telling you how cool she is with her little drone." He said, laughing. Leon looked directly at Brigid, everything about him glowing with such a presence that made ot clear why he was a natural leader.

Brigid slowly smiled. "My mom is the coolest person in the world, right?"

Leon nodded. "One of them anyways." He said, glancing at the woman coyly.

Morrigan blushed, looking away as a small smile formed on her face. "Do you have a girlfriend?" Brigid suddenly asked, causing her mother to suddenly look back.

"A girlfriend?" Leon asked, smirking to himself. "Nope. No girlfriend. I do have a sister though. You would absolutely love her. She loves clothes, hair, artsy stuff, and she is extremely protective so if anyone were to mess with you she would clobber them into pulp."

Brigid scratched her head, and pointed at Morrigan. "Mom said she's your girlfriend because you are always together and have different last names. Does one of you have your dad's last name on the other your mom's?"

Leon shot Morrigan a raised eyebrow and he shook his head. "She's my adoptive sister, not blood. I saved her from ADVENT execution after her entire family was killed and she became my family ever since. She might as well be my blood related sister, because I harbor absolutely zero romantic feelings for her."

"Um, Brigid... maybe we shouldn't... ask him so many personal questions," Morrigan said, biting her lip.

"Why?" Brigid asked.

"Well, uh... it is... rude..."

"Why?"

"Uh... um..."

"I don't mind the personal questions, really. If either of you have stuff to ask, fire away. I would enjoy the company." Leon told both the girls sincerely, adjusting himself with a grunt of pain.

"How did you get hurt?" Brigid asked. "Mom doesn't like me watching the fights."

Morrigan nodded. "Too violent for you, precious."

"Well... me and a teammate were on top of a roof supporting our teammates when the enemy sent a ship after us. I managed to save my teammate but the ship's missiles blew me off the building and I fell. Your Mom was the one who shot it down I am told."

Morrigan waved a dismissive hand. "I just wish I could have moved a little faster. Would have saved you all this pain. When you took that hit, I was terrified that you were... that... th-that I had let you... let the team down."

"You did your job Morrigan and you did it well. That is all I ever ask of you." He assured her, giving her a nod. "I care for the people under my command. I would have rather been the one to take that hit then Miriam."

"So..." Brigid placed her hands on the edge of the bed, her eyes lighting up. "So you took an attack to save your teammate and survived being blown up and survived falling off a building?!"

Leon let out a sigh with a smirk. "It was less glamorous than the way you put it but yes."

Brigid ducked down a little. "So, you're as cool as my mom, huh? A you like... one of those super soldiers from the old comics they gave me?"

Leon shook his head, smiling widely. "I'm... just some guy Brigid. Nothing special."

"Are there any girls you like on this ship?" Brigid blurted out, then quickly held her hands over her mouth, blushing.

"Brigid!" Morrigan blushed a bit herself. "What kind of nosey question is that!"

"Hm... certainly a few." Leon answered, rubbing his chin and nodding. "There is Yakone, Lilith... Olivia and Miriam once I get to know them a bit more. Even you and your mother." He finished truthfully, though in reality hadn't answered what she really had asked.

Brigid kept her hands over her mouth, her eyes widening. "You... you like me?"

"Well of course I do." Leon said with a nod, rubbing her head again. "What isn't there to like?"

The young blonde rubbed her wrist. "Um... uh... I... I-I get sick a lot... a-and I'm small... and I don't know a lot of things... a-and... uh..."

"You seen like a nice and caring little girl, and if our health is bad and it isn't in your control much then you should not feel ashamed. As for you being small... it adds to the cuteness factor you have down pat."

Brigid turned around and placed her hands on her warm cheeks. "And I... I think you are a very handsome man, Mr. Leon."

"Thank you Brigid. That means a lot." Leon told her with a short laugh.

Brigid looked down at the case she had brought in. "Guess what..." She stammered. "I can... I mean... n-never mind... n-never mind..."

"Come on, you can be honest with me." Leon told the girl, poking her back.

Brigid knelt down, picking up the case. "I... I know how to play the violin! Do... you know what a violin is?"

"I do. Go ahead, let me hear." Leon encouraged her.

"Yeah?" Brigid knelt down and take the instrument out. "Did you have any requests, or should I just play anything?"

"Just play what you are best at Brigid. I am sure it will be amazing either way."

"Um... okay. I'll play something slow since... it is a hospital... um, sick bay, and I don't want them to get mad." Brigid took a deep breath, and start. She played a haunting melody that seem to reverberate throughout the room. Her eyes closed, she swayed back and forth as she played perfectly, having benefited from years of practice. She only played for three minutes, but time seemed to stand still while she did until finally she ended her song, and opened her eyes.

When Brigid's eyes opened, she saw Leon's approving eyes, his hands slowly clapping together. "Without a doubt you would love Gwen. She used to play the flute when she was your age, and was apart of a chorus for many years."

Brigid's eyes darted about. "But... but did you like it?"

"Did I like it?" Leon repeated, shaking his head. "No, of course I didn't. Liking it wouldn't do your performance justice. It was spectacular, amazing! You truly are going to be quite the musician one day Brigid. I hope I will be the first to get the tickets."

Brigid grinned widely. "Of course! Everyone gets free tickets. My mom. My friends. My... my b-boyfriend... everyone!"

 

[MarineAvenger]

Chest Pains Part Two (ZombieSplitter53 and MarineAvenger)

"You have a boyfriend?" Leon asked with a raised eyebrow, looking to Morrigan.

Morrigan opened and closed her mouth slowly. "I... no, she... who would she..."

Brigid nodded quickly. "My boyfriend is brave, and strong, and selfless, and he thinks I'm cute, and talented, and likes me a lot. Sounds like the perfect boyfriend, right?"

"Well... good luck with him. You are a bit young but I am sure he cares about you. If you ever get hurt because of him though, you have people by your side I'm sure."
"Do you think it is bad that he is older then me?" Brigid asked.

"If not too much older. If he isn't that much older then you then I see nothing wrong, just as long as he respects you. Though this is stuff you talk to with your mom. Not me." Leon told the girl with a chuckle.

"Well... shouldn't I talk about it with him and my mom?"

Morrigan quickly stood up. "M-maybe we should... let Leon rest. He looks like he's in a lot of pain."

He glanced at Morrigan, which said she wasn't getting away. "Morrigaaaan..."

The Irish woman cleared her throat. "Mind if you and I have a quick word, Leon?"

Leon looked over himself and crossed his arms. "I hope you don't expect me to move to the side of the room..."

"Brigid, go ask someone for some water."

Brigid frowned. "But mom, I... I'm talking to my..."

"Brigid, please." Morrigan gave her a stern I and Brigid complied, walking out. Morrigan sat back down and let out a long sigh. "Seems she 'as taken a fancy ter yer, me mucker."

"Little less IRA supporter and more third grade english teacher please." Leon told the woman snarkily.

Morrigan cleared her throat. "I said it seems Brigid has taken a fancy to you, my friend."

"You think? I didn't want to say anything and hurt her feelings and to be honest... I don't really mind. No harm in a childhood crush."

Morrigan blinked several times. "So you... realize she was talking about you when she said her... boyfriend?"

"I suffered a concussion. That doesn't make me an idiot." Leon noted.

Morrigan looked away. "I-I... I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to call you one."

"I was teasing you Morrigan." Leon told her, rolling his eyes. "Anyways, about Brigid... I don't mind if she thinks I am her boyfriend. I will play along, keep her good company... No harm in that. After all, she is twelve. Nothing bad can happen. She doesn't know enough."

Morrigan look back and smiled. "You... you really are a good guy, aren't you? Gwen is really lucky to have you. I bet she adores you."

"Saved her life and kept her alive ever since I was around Brigid's age. It wasn't always easy but nothing could split us apart. Me and Gwen are siblings for life." Leon said with a nod, then narrowed his eyes. "And nothing else."

Morrigan held up her hands and laughed. "Okay, okay, I get it. I'll take down all those posters proclaiming you undying romantic love for her... tomorrow. I'm tired today."

Leon rolled his eyes, letting out a deep sigh. "She ain't interested in romance. She just got her heart sort of... Hurt."

"I-I... I was just teasing you, Leon." Morrigan bit her lip. "Someone broke her heart, I take it?"

"Yes and no... Was this guy she began liking but he started dating another woman he cared about more. It isn't exactly for her to fall in love so unlike other women... She took it really hard." Leon explained to the Irish woman.

"Oh... I see." Morrigan rubbed the back of her neck. "Well... probably not a good time to fall in love anyway. Nor is this a good place. I mean... image, for example, I became smitten with you. I would end up getting hurt if you died or something, right?" She laughed nervously.

"Sure, but these are unsure times... Stressful ones. And relationships remind us what we fight for. I say, no better place." Leon stated, shrugging his shoulders. "Those are my thoughts at least."

Morrigan grinned. "You actually have your eyes on someone?"

"What's it to you?" He shot back with a playful grin. "To be honest... no one at the moment. Will I find love by the end of this, who knows? Hasn't happened in my life yet, so if it doesn't here no big deal. Got a whole life ahead of me."

"Can I come in yet?" Brigid asked shyly at the door way, asking the question generally but looking at Leon.

"Yeah, you can in." Leon called out to the girl, settling back in his bed.

Brigid stepped in, placing a bottle of water next to the bed and handing another to her mother. "Um... uh... I, uh... when I get a chance, I, uh... I'm gonna ask the Commander of I can play my violin for the crew. I-If she says yes, will you... come watch me?"

"Hopefully I am better by that time. If I am, of course. If not, you can always come here and give me a private show. I am sure you would like that, huh?" Leon asked.

"U-uh... uh..." Brigid reached into her pocket and handed him a card. "Th-this is a... a get well soon present." The card read 'One free private violin concert for Leon with guest'.

Leon took it and looked over it with a smirk. "You made this just now, didn't you?"

Brigid slowly nodded. "It... it's stupid, huh? I'm sorry!" She tried to snatch it back.

As she tried to snatch it back, he pulled it away, causing her to fall on Leon, who let out a yell in pain, but he grit his teeth, saying with much strain, "I... l-love... it... Brigid..."

Brigid quickly pushed off of him, holding her hands over her mouth. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Leon held his abdomen, letting out a pained breath. "I-It's... okay... sweetie..."

"No, it isn't!" Brigid reached out and grabbed his hand, stroking the top of it lightly. "Can I do anything to make it up to you?"

"I think just letting me accept your gift is enough. Thank you..." He told Brigid, laying back. "Sure have one heck of a daughter..."

Morrigan laughed, and stood up. "We better head out." Brigid whined, and Morrigan said, "Brigid... you have studying to do. You can see Leon later."

"Yeah, study real hard, then you can come back. Who knows, if you get a perfect score on your papers, maybe you can snuggle in the bed with me. This time preferably without caving in my chest."

Brigid blushed fiercely, and walked out without another word. Morrigan paused at the doorway and said, "Heal up. I look forward to our next mission together."

"Speaking of which, I was promoted to Corporal. If I get the option... I will gladly accept you on my team again." Leon told the woman, flashing her a large smile.

Morrigan returned it, nodding to the Corporal and following after her daughter.

 

[Dahlexpert]

The falowing is a colabe between MarineAvenger & Dhalexpert
On board the avenger
June 21 2038
Somewhere in Greenland
Port wing levele 3
Gym A


Luke in in the guy doing pull ups keeping up his strength and blowing off stress. “Man meeting Alexis dad he’s a very interesting guy at least, he seems like a good man. I wonder if my dad was like that or was he more gretty, damn I wish I could remember them fully.”

“Really? I wish I could forget mine.” A familiar voice said behind Luke, and when he looked back saw the now short haired French girl, Gwen.

Ou dear lord, this should be, ou who am I kidding this is not good. “Um Gwen that’s a, what happened to your hair?”

“Well when I was younger Leon cut my hair because it was a rat’s nest when he found me, and told me new beginnings meant new looks. XCOM is new to me so I thought why not start fresh?” She answered with a shrug, reachin up. “Does it look bad? No one has said it looks bad yet, just weird when they met me with my drapes that was hair.”

“No no you look good, infact both your long and short hair kinda suit you. So new beginnings huh, so you're not mad at me or anything right. Please tell me you didn't cut your hair because of me.

“Well in all honesty you were one on a long list of reasons. Some being the beginning, some being it was a pain to brush, didn’t really suit helmets… yadda yadda, the list goes on.” Gwen shook her head. “Anyways, why would I be mad with you?”

“I figured after our last….meeting, you would be a little jealous or accurately pissed at me. Since we had a very tender moment last time.”

“I have no reason to be jealous. Wasn’t like I actually liked you or anything.” Gwen told him with a cross of her arms. “And I opened up to you to show trust. That was the reason for the tender moment. Like I said, the French kiss for many reasons.”

Luke smiled at Gwen “Well as long as we're on good terms then that’s great. Luke looks at the bench press. “Um can you do me a favor I need a support, mind spotting me?”

“I suppose not.” Gwen answered plainly, walking over to the machine.

“Great I appreciate it.” Luke went to the machine and started to add weights to the bar. “Alright 80 pounds is a good start, don’t want to go completely nuts.” Luke got on his back and lifted the bar.”So how have thing been with you since we last talked?”

“Well my brother almost died, so as well as to be expected.” Gwen answered back, standing with her hip slightly to the side, tapping her thigh. “This is the first time I have been out of the medbay except for food, shower and sleep.”

“I understand that, sorry about your brother by the way.” Luke said while continuing to lift the weight “Man that mission was nuts, looks like we got ADVENTS attention and they're pretty mad at us huh.”

“Yeah, well I hope they are quaking in their boots, because we're only getting stronger.” Gwen noted with a nod.

“Yea we're getting better every day, not to mention we're still rookies. So imagine how we will be if were promoted, man the rain of ADVENT will be over very soon.”

“I hope so. I wanna go back to my home country very badly.” Gwen said with a nod. “Wonder how France is looking nowadays.” She thought outloud.

“That’s a good question, i’m sure it’s fine. Me on the other hand.” Luke puts the back on it’s rest “I’m not sure what i’m going to do after the war, I know it’s still early in our campaign but i’m going to have to think about this. I Don’t exactly have a home to go back to.”

“You got a girlfriend. What better future is there?” Gwen asked.

“There is so many things I have to think about after the war, that is if I live long enough to see the end of ADVENT. Hell this war can last when i’m 40, heh well I did sign up for the long haul for this war.”

“The only time I would consider leaving is if Leon died. And that would never happen.” Gwen pointed out, leaning against of th machine.

“Yea I don’t see your brother dying anytime soon, I don’t see Alexis dying either.”

“What would you do if I died?” Gwen teased with a smirk.

“That’s a good question, probably kill a crap to of ADVENT soldiers and start drinking more. Though if I died you probably won’t do much, hell you probably won’t even miss me.”


“That’s a bit presumptuous you ass.” Gwen said, throwing a towel on him.


“Ou yea then what would you do if I died huh?” Luke said while taking the towel off his head


“Keep your girlfriend some very nice company.” Gwen said with a giggle. “Think I could pull it off?” She asked, giving him a teasing pose.


“Ou my god, the french hard ass can actually joke around. Truth be told Alexis doesn't seem like that kind of girl, but this talk of dying is depressing. What will you do after we win?”


“Wasn’t it you just saying that talking about the future is kind of pointless?” Gwen noted. “And what is this talk of hard ass? I will have you know it is firm but soft. Definitely not hard.”


“Do I need to remind you of our first meeting, and how you judged me before I said two words to you.” Luke said smiling at Gwen.


“Key word our first meeting.” She pointed out, rolling her eyes.


“True but I will admit you are very tender and soft like a teddy bear. “ Luke said jokingly


“Yeah. Too bad you can’t ever snuggle with this bear.” She shot back.


“Ou really.” Luke got up and hugged Gwen lifting her to his level. “It may not be snuggling but a hug works.”


“True but uh… Luke?” Gwen asked.


“Yees, is there something wrong here?”


“Yeah… your hands are instinctively round my waist, you look like you are about to kiss me and people are watching.” She whispered. “So you may wish to just give me a regular hug. Not one you would give Alex.”


“Hum, yea don’t want Alexis to be thinking anything.” Luke put Gwen down and just hugged her “See I’m still learning to be restrain, sigh I’m going to have to visit Alexis just to get all this pent up affection out.”


Something twitched on Gwen’s face and she nodded, stepping back. “Yeah, you should um… head out then. Hit the shower first though. Women like men. Not smelly men.”


“Well i’m not do with my workout yet, plus after this I have psi training then i’ll shower. Ou and Gwen it’s good that we're still friends, also I meant what I said back them I’m still here for you if you need me.”


“I know.” Gwen turned and waved a hand. “Good luck with um… Alex. You’ll need it.”


“I don’t need Luck, I need stamina and a lot of patient. I swear our teasing have gotten way beyond the typical flirting, she’s wearing me down.”


With her face away from Luke, this time she frowned, her jaw tensing. “Well I am sure no one can deny you two are perfect for one another. Maybe you shouldn’t just hold back. You should rock her world. Just stay safe… ‘kay?”


“Hay I can’t just sleep with someone...anymore, plus even though it’s been 5 years since I been with a woman and i’m struggling. I’m being strong and it will happen eventually, and when it happens I will be safe I don’t want any kids yet and i’m sure she doesn't either. Any way don’t you have a brother to check on , and tell Leon I said hey alright.”


“Yeah, alright.” Gwen said quickly, waving a hand goodbye as she started trotting off. “Keep safe!”

 

[DarkGemini24601]

This time, there was a voice.

“Thank you for your loyalty.”

Padded metal chair.

“As part of your promotion you will be granted an advanced cranial implant.”

Mechanical noises.

“Hold still, please.”

And she felt fear. But held onto courage. Remembered duty.

“Beginning insertion now.”

She wished - pain interrupted - wet squishy noise - wave of nausea.

Fear.

Memories Never Die - Yakone Ipiktok (Part One)

Yakone woke up curled on her bed, holding the back of her head from some ghost of pain. She realized she must have screamed because her throat felt hoarse. There came a knock on the door.

“Yakone? Are you alright?” the concerned voice of Qamut sounded. The noise transferred through the manual sliding door connecting the room to a narrow hallway that ran adjacent to all combat staff quarters.

“I’m fine,” Yakone lied.

She failed to convince Corporal Likuga, who replied, “You’d better be decent.” He used a key card to open the door.

Yakone ducked beneath her sheets. “No, I’m not! Ass!”

Qamut closed the door again. “Then get dressed. We need to talk, and you don’t need any excuses to try and worm out of it.”

“Fine.” Yakone rolled out of bed and put on boxers, a bra, and a shirt, before letting the Inuit Grenadier come in.

Likuga sat down on the empty bunk across from Yakone, facing the Ranger that shared his tribe’s blood. “This is the third night I’ve been woken up by you screaming like a banshee.” He gave her a wry smile, but when she did not return it that mask gave way to a visage of concern. “What’s going on?”

“Just nightmares,” Yakone insisted. “Maybe we should get the AC checked? I keep watching up sweating,” she said with a false smile.

“It feels cool to me in here.” Qamut leaned forward. “Just be honest with me. I want to help. Nothing more.”

Yakone sighed. “It’s… hard to explain, Qamut. The nightmares are sometimes different, sometimes the same. But they all feel connected. And I forget most of it when I wake up.”

Qamut closed his eyes for a moment, thinking. “It sounds like those are more than simple dreams. My father Siluk would speak of visions as a man’s spirit seeking wisdom by looking inward or beyond.”

“Siluk didn’t have experience with psionics, save for someone’s empathic abilities,” Yakone contested. “I’m almost sure it has something to do with my last Override. They feel like…” she trailed off.

“Memories,” Qamut finished. “You think you might have borrowed some from that officer?”

“Sort of. I’m scared she might have… I dunno, psychically imprinted on me or something,” Yakone revealed.

“Well, my father may have not understood psionics, but I know how to use them,” Qamut reassured his half-kinswoman. “Atka and I use the dreamscape to calm our minds in times of turmoil. And I’ve used it to access memories. You could do the same.”

The black-haired Ranger across from him frowned. “Yeah, great idea Qamut. If I could access mine in the first place.”

“Maybe not alone. That’s something we need to work on. But perhaps with assistance you could pull it off. Try using my dreamscape as a jumping-off point. Shut your eyes.” Yakone complied with Qamut’s request as he did likewise. The latter calmed his mind and constructed an oceanic dreamscape in his mind, allowing Yakone to join him there. A frigid wind and cold waves lapped at the edges of their little island floating in a reconstruction of the Arctic Ocean as it was in Nunavut.

Yakone slowly opened her eyes, the mental world being brought into physical existence as if being drawn with a carving knife. Colors washed in like gusts of wind and waves of water. The young woman rested her arms on the sides of the seaworthy canoe she shared with Qamut in this psychic sea. “Nice place,” she admitted, impressed. “So…”

Qamut’s eyes remained closed even in this projection of himself, but he still pointed precisely to Yakone’s six. “Find your own solace, and then access the great library that is your memories from there.”

The Inuit-Caucasian woman stared at the gently swaying water. “What am I supposed to be seeing exactly?”

“I don’t know. You need to find your own answer.”

“Thanks, mister cryptic.” Yakone closed her eyes again. This is stupid. How am I supposed to do this? As she drifted she remembered the terror she had felt after each nightmare. I’m tougher than that, she told herself. And as she opened her eyes, her courage took form. The spray from a blowhole rose next to her, and the black and white form of a killer whale surfaced. The orca’s false eye seemed to beckon her forth.

Taking a deep breath, Yakone accepted that invitation. She pushed herself up, and leapt off the canoe. The Ranger landed on the whale’s back; and after both took in a gulp of crisp northern air, they took the plunge. Down they went, sinking further and further into the icy, inky depths. Yakone’s lungs began to cry out increasingly for oxygen, even if this was not real in the conventional senses. But she kept struggling, and without warning the oceanic and land mammal both passed some sort of threshold.

The room they appeared in was at first shrouded in fog. Yakone was again dry, and pushed herself to her feet, concerned about the now-beached whale. As she went over to it however, it shifted to the form of an old man she instinctively recognized as Qamut’s father. “He had you guide me?” Yakone asked.

Siluk shook his head with a wizened smile, and pointed at Yakone.

“I had you guide me?”

Siluk nodded - confirming that the Ranger had gotten here of her own free will - as he faded from view. The fog dissipated, and Yakone reoriented herself in a room filled with familiar things.

The floor was a basketball court. The walls were that of a martial arts dojo, on which proudly hung XCOM banners. The roof had a map of planet Earth formed by points of light akin to stars. The young freedom fighter sat in the center of it all, looking around in awe. It was awhile before she got up and investigated further.

First, she went to the right wall, and recognized some people in statues. Of modest size were her friends, the old ones like Lily, Alexis, and Jennifer being the tallest and made of gold. The most impressive ones also included a grinning rendition of herself. Silver and medium sized was her tutors like Tygan, Chandra, Kevin, and Qamut. And in bronze were new friends that she was only beginning to connect with like Gwen. A painting of Nouja adorned the wal behind all of this.

A few were mysterious.For instance, there was one statue in particular that appeared tall but was covered in a cloth that Yakone found herself not wanting to remove. And there was a curtain masking a hallway she felt no desire to venture into. “Questions for another time,” Yakone told herself. She ventured to the left side of the room next.

There she could find an aquarium with miniaturized marine life swimming about. The young woman got the impression she could enter that area if she wanted, but now wasn’t the time. She noticed a pair of boxing gloves hung up, as well as other sports equipment to one side of the aquarium. Heading to the other she found a bench that looked a lot like her science workstation. There was a TV above it, but she couldn't get it to work for whatever reason.

That direction led her to the back wall. It was an armory, lined with weapons like her sword, PDW, and a few others she had trained with in the past. Also there were trophies. The fangs of the Viper she had slain, ADVENT helmets filled with bullet holes, and a red cape that gave her uncomfortable chills to look at. And standing in the middle of the rear wall was a door.

Yakone recalled Qamut’s words. “A library of memories, huh…” The young woman walked towards the door. She tried to open it, and found that hard to do. However, the Ranger put her back into it, and forced the portal open. She stepped into a chamber filled with bookshelves containing CDs instead of paperbacks. The floor, roof, and walls of this chamber all shimmered like a red aurora.

Stopping at one of the shelves, Yakone picked up a CD, and was able to recall in crisp detail a snowball fight she had with Lily in the Yukon. Smiling, she put it back, and kept walking. It was after a few rows that she noticed a section out of place. Unmarked. Blackened. Yakone cautiously approached the bookshelves in question, a CD in particular calling to her. As she picked it up she began to relive another memory. But this one felt different.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

Memories Never Die - Yakone Ipiktok (Part Two)

She immediately knew something was wrong when she felt an identity crisis. What was her name? One voice said Yakone Ipikok. The other said Margaret Thatcher. The two argued, and finally the second prevailed. Shaking her head and regaining her senses, Margaret stepped into the gene therapy clinic. She approached the desk, a too-cheerful receptionist bidding her hello.

“Hello, Ms. Thatcher,” the man said with a bright smile. “What’s the occasion? Aeternam Solution treatment?”

“My appointment isn’t for a month.” Margaret placed a card on the desk before withdrawing her shaking hand.

The man frowned in the span of a few milliseconds before smiling again. “Ah, of course. Follow me to the back.” He opened the security fence on the left side of the counter, and then opened a sealed door with an iris scan. Margaret behind him, the receptionist led her into an operating room with a propped-up chair. “Sit there please.”

“Understood.” Margaret sat down in the chair, but then grabbed the man’s arm when he reached for a wrist restraint. “What are you…”

“They don’t use anesthetic, Ms. Thatcher,” he responded, still having his unnerving grin.

“Wh-” Margaret shook her head, not willing to act in defiance at this critical juncture. “Understood.” She placed her hands down again, and shook like a leaf as the receptionist binded her limbs to the operating chair and then departed from the room.

“The operation will commence in five minutes,” the plastic man told Margaret as he closed the door, leaving her in alone in darkness, lost in her thoughts.

Why am I doing this?

Wh… are you do… this?

To keep the world safe. ADVENT needs officers to protect the Megacities from terrorism and unrest. They picked me. I cannot shy away from that duty. I can’t, the Advent soldier told herself. However, that didn’t stop her from being afraid, from wondering why they couldn’t just put her under for what they were about to do.

Then all too soon, a mechanical voice sounded over a speaker above her. The automated message hardly had a good bedside manner.

“Thank you for your loyalty and service, citizen.” The back of the padded metal chair she was in opened up, an assortment of surgical implements attached to mechanical arms. “As part of your promotion to Sergeant you will be granted access to tactical biocomputers via an advanced cranial implant.” Although Margaret couldn’t see them move closer, she could hear them. “Hold still, please.” She was sweating profusely.

Please don’t do this… I don’t want… I don’t want… An image of her brother being returned home in a casket - given a hero’s funeral for his service for repelling a western Canadian offensive - wormed itself into her brain. I have to be brave. Like he was.

“Beginning insertion process now.”Pain shot through the back of her head as an incision was made first through the skin, and then through the skull with a horrible cracking noise.

Her vision swam wildly, her eyes going wide. I h-have a d-duty… I just wish… they made this c-chair a little more -

Something was jammed into her brain with a wet squishy noise, and she nearly blacked out there. Then the mechanical arm that had done the insertion pulled back, and Margaret was overcome by a wave of nasuea.

“Attachment complete. Congratulations on your promotion, Sergeant Thatcher,” the receptionist said as he opened the door again as Margaret’s skull was sealed up again.

So… why do I feel so afraid still?

***​

Yakone snapped out of it, and found herself back in the memory room of her dreamscape. The red aurora refocused, and the young woman shook her head in surprise. “I was… her for that… Margaret really did… imprint.” The Inuit-Caucasian sighed. “And she was so… human. She… fought for the same reasons. Just on the wrong side.” The XCOM soldier sat down, thoughts buzzing in her head. All this time she had considered ADVENT’s peacekeeping ranks to be full of unsavory types, people that gave up their humanity for power or security. But Margaret is different.

The ADVENT soldier had taken a risk and subjected herself to fear and pain simply to protect others. She sincerely believed she was doing the right thing. And she was avenging family. Both struck familiar cords in Yakone. I need to see more.The Ranger pushed herself to her feet. Some of the memory discs proved either nonfunctional or too hard to delve into, but one in particular - one that felt fresh - allowed Yakone to step into the Advent Officer’s shoes again. I need to see more.

***​

This time the transition was less disorienting. Yakone was Margaret, and the environment she was in looked suspiciously familiar. Margaret-Yakone was in an ADVENT train, specifically the pilot car.

Margaret stood on one side of the door, her rifle attached to a magnetic clamp on her back. She glanced to her side. An adjutant-rank HHG woman stood there, armed with a plasma carbine. The Viper was fiddling with it enough to make the Officer nervous. We’re of equal rank, and yet the weaponry they’re armed with is far superior. And, technically, I’m the fourth rank up in the Coalition and she’s only the second in the Protectorate.

Doubts. You had…

The system isn’t perfect. Yet… what can I do about it now? Margaret stepped forward cautiously, tapping the Sectoid next to the pilot on the shoulder. “Refresh me on the timetable?”

It will still be several hours until we arrive. Patience, sir.

Margaret sighed, and stepped back. “Let’s go make sure everything is secure in the rest of the train then.”

The Viper huffed. “I shall do what I want, when I want. I already have my partner working on that.”

“If you insist,” Margaret said evenly, the Sectoid following after her. But it wasn’t the only one that came with the Sergeant, as a white cat with red eyes and strangely long ears hopped onto her shoulder.

Why so nervous, Sergeant Thatcher? The alien cat questioned, tilting its head to one side.

Margaret’s blood ran cold. “Merely didn’t get a lot of sleep. Not… thinking straight.” She tried not to think about her doubts, but to no avail, and the cat straightened its head.

Silly human… your kind can’t just be trusted with advanced laser weaponry. We already upgraded your primitive tools to someone with more of a… punch. Don’t be greedy. The Elders don’t want greed, the telepath warned Margaret.

Margaret had made it to the third car down when suddenly the world turned upside down. She slammed into the back wall, having barely the clarity of thought to protective clutch her superior as the front two cars were blown off the rest along with the tracks. The train veered off course, and came to a screeching halt with the connection in front of the two smoking. Shakily, Thatcher released the alien cat.

Who plopped down onto the ground indignantly. You didn’t have anything to do with that, did you? The mind reader asked even as it invaded her mental privacy. A pause. Good. Still, get up!

Margaret pushed herself to her feet, pulling out her battle rifle. “Terrorists?”

Yes. Deal with them, secure the perimeter. I shall flee and psi for help… may be awhile out in the middle of nowhere though. Those clever savages. With that, the cat’s flesh rippled and tore, and it transformed into something akin to a skinned cat before bounding off into the rainforest.

Margaret gave a salute from her heart. Physically. Mentally, she wasn’t so confident anymore. Especially after her CO had just abandoned them. Glancing around, she noted her Sectoid companion was mostly unhurt. “You guard that way, I’ll watch the cliff area,” she told him.

As you wish. What of the other Adjutant, assuming the second survived? I’m certain the first did not.

“I… doubt I can control her. But that cargo is her purpose for being here, and I know she’ll be vengefully guarding it.” Margaret waved to two incoming Troopers, two Medics, and a Gunner with them. “You two,” she informed the soldiers in white. “Go with him.” She gestured to the Sectoid. “The rest of you are with me. Let’s ensure our cargo isn’t stolen by guerillas.”

***​

Yakone found herself pushed out from there, but she wasn’t done yet. “I… have to understand those final moments in context now. She… deserves that much. It’s weird… speaking so highly of an ADVENT goon of all people… but damn if you weren’t brave and driven. Wish you could have been on our side.” And so back in she went.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

Memories Never Die - Yakone Ipiktok / Margaret Thatcher (Part Three)

This scene was familiar, but from a different perspective.

Margaret turned back from the cliffside, a good deal of time having passed. “I’m starting to wonder if they got scared and ran off…” she thought aloud. “I would have thought if they were going to try to seize the cargo they’d attack from the high ground.” The Sergeant shrugged. “Maybe we’ll be fine.” Then, suddenly, she felt a pulse in her mind. The Officer’s eyes widened, as she felt control of her body slipping away. What’s going on?! Terror replaced coherent thought. All she could manage to discern was that the attack was of psionic origin, and then she felt as if she were watching herself, trapped in her own body.

The Troopers turned towards their commanding officer with concern as she suddenly seized up, holding her head. "́A̸r͏e ҉y҉oư alri̢g̴h̕t̡, Sȩrgea̡n͜t?̶" one of them asked.

No, I’m not! She mentally screamed to no avail.

The Officer paused, and did not respond for a moment, causing the Gunner to wave his hand past her face. "͞Um̸.̕.͡.͟"

Dammit, you fool. Run! I’ve been compromised! Margaret desperately tried to signal him over the psionic network, but she was cut off.

Stupid psionic network connection… kindly fuck off, Margaret heard another think and then felt herself involuntarily smile as control was wrested from her by her body’s invader. She unwittingly raised the sleek black magnetic battle rifle she felt in her hands, and shot the Gunner square in the face, dropping them lifelessly to the ground. The two Troopers panicked.

"̨H-He ͟me͟a͜nt ͢n͟o ̛off͠eņs̀e͝,͝ ͞si̢r!" One of them pleaded, thinking the Officer had acted in anger.

No, no, no, not my own men! Margaret pleaded herself, but she was so throughly trapped that the mind that had overriden hers couldn’t even hear her.

‘Officer’ Yakone merely swiveled her battle rifle, trying to use the officer’s psionic mark ability, but found it hard to hijack their psionic powers at the moment. Failing that, she shot the Trooper normally. However, the diversion did give the Sectoid group a chance to come running. A plasma pistol blast shot through the possessed Sergeant’s armor, burning her skin. Yakone felt the pain herself, and grimaced. That… isn’t good. Come on, can’t I sever my connection to their nerves? Margaret and Yakone both heard the click of a magnetic rifle behind her, and realized the surviving Trooper had made his choice. Shi-

Margaret knew no more.

***​

Yakone placed the disk back, nearly dropping it in her haste. She felt like she had psychically touched hot coals. The end of another’s life had been horrifically laid bare to her. And she realized why she had been having the nightmares. “I’m… so, so sorry Margaret…” the Ranger mumbled, tears flowing down her cheeks both within the dreamscape and without. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and swiveled. Her eyes widened as she came face to face with the deceased Margaret Thatcher. And got her first real look at the Advent soldier.

The ADVENT Captain was a woman with modest dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. Her features were of a humble beauty. She wore a black overcoat with a white undershirt complete with a red tie. Black pants and black shoes - plus white gloves - completed her formal attire. However, she quickly shifted those to a simple t-shirt and pants, and smiled at Yakone despite everything. There was a fire of vengeance in that gaze, but the specter knew there was nothing she could do.

And Yakone knew what she wanted. “I promise you… I’ll make your dreams true. The world will become a better place, our way.”

Margaret gave her a ‘will you really?’ look.

“I swear on my honor as a freedom fighter,” Yakone responded, wiping her eyes. “I’ll bring peace to the world like you want.”

That seemed good enough to Margaret, though as she began to fade away she spoke just once. “I’ll hold you too that,” she said, and then was gone.

***​

Several hours later.

“Yakone,” Tygan greeted the Ranger as she arrived in the engine room. The scientist was finishing up tinkering with a plate of alien alloys. “What are you doing here? It’s the middle of the night.”

“I need the keys to cold storage,” Yakone responded, a resolute look in her eye.

“For…?”

“Need to recover something from a cadaver. Something important.”

Robert’s eyebrow raised high enough that it might get stuck there if he kept it there for long. Still, he met her gaze and sighed, rummaging around for a key. “Bring it back as soon as you’re done,” he ordered when he found it and offered it forward.

Yakone took it. “Thank you, sir.” She quickly spun around and went the other way, eventually finding herself in one of the large storage compartments of the supply ship. The room itself was kept cold, but the storage containers neatly lined up along the walls were colder inside. They contained the frozen corpses of any enemies deemed of research value or - if worst came to worst - black market worth. Yakone found the one she was looking for, and opened it up.

Inside, her eyes closed as if in a gentle sleep, was Sergeant Margaret Thatcher. Delicately, her ‘successor’ leaned downwards, unclipping the cape on Yakone’s back. “I’ll wear this in memory of you, Margaret,” she told the fallen soldier. “Sleep comfortably.” She closed the cryogenic coffin back up, and unfurled the wrapped and durable piece of cloth. “I think blue would be a more fitting color, though.” And so Yakone departed in search of a paintbrush to recolor the memoir of a fallen ADVENT Officer that had taught her this war wasn’t so black and white after all.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

Echelon II - Robert Tygan

Doctor Robert Tygan looked over the assembled soldiers that had gathered outside to test out the new advancements he and Kai had made in the Personal Combat Simulators. To his right stood the Commander, and to his left the Chief Engineer, who had assisted in R&D in their own ways. “Alright. We don’t have time to waste-”

“We never do in this outfit,” Lily interrupted with a snicker.

“Point taken. So let’s get down to business. First, let’s review the new Sharpshooter training. First of all, I’d like to state for the cameras that each class will be able to have two distinct skill trees they can draw upon from. Obviously some will prefer one group of talents more than the other, but they can both be accessed by any operative,” Tygan explained for his video log. “Now, to demonstrate the first E2 ability of the ‘Sniper’ tree, Mr. Espina, if you would.”

The Mexican Sharpshooter stepped up to the plate. He took aim at a target in the distance that was attached to the top of Rov-R. “Make sure you hit the target not Rover,” Lily warned him. “Or your ass will become one with the grass beneath our feet.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t break your toy,” Carlos responded, taking aim. He went into overwatch, and Atka advanced to spot him. When the drone moved, Carlos shot the target as it was in motion.

“With the PCS focusing their reflexes to cooperate with pupil dilation and comm cues, the Sharpshooters can now utilize overwatch shots even from squadsight range,” Atka explained.

“Next up, we’ve got the Gunslinger side of things,” Tygan began.

Immediately, Carlos pulled out his pistol and fired in Stacie Belle’s direction. The Texan gunslinger’s eyes widened, and she fired back at him. Both were firing blanks, but Stacie didn’t seem pleased as she advanced on Carlos. “W-What?” he asked nervously.

“I didn’t even see you checking to make sure your gun wasn’t actually loaded, asshole,” she growled.

As Atka returned to step between them, Tygan sighed and kept on going. “In another application of reflexes, the Sharpshooters will be able to fire back upon the first enemy that shoots at them. It’s possible they could keep doing this, but it’d likely lead to rapid fatigue. For now, the safety will be a return shot once every twenty seconds,” Robert specified.

“Moving on to the Ranger class, we have two trees for them as well. The Scout, and the Assault. Espina, Belle, opposing sides.” The two complied, the latter going by a ranger by the name of Karen Driver. The two Sharpshooters blindfolded themselves, and when they begun again the group of two moved in concealment. Sighting Carlos, Stacie opened fire on him, but even then he didn’t see Karen until she had her shotgun at his side.

“As you can see,” Atka began, “The Phantom ability of the scout allows them to keep moving in concealment even after the squad is revealed, if they so chose. It relies on advanced training and minor reflexive tweaking to let them react so quickly. They can even pull off a retainment of concealment even if the squad is revealed accidentally because of this.”

“Secondly, the Assault…”

“Gladly!” Yakone responded, drawing her sword and beckoning a reluctant Karen over. The two delivered slashes at each other, their blades sliding to the side rather than meeting head on. Yakone kept going though with swift, arcing movements, and eventually had her blade to Karen’s throat. “Can I explain this one?”

“As you wish…” Tygan allowed with a shake of his head.

“Alright!” Yakone held out her sword in a combat stance. “This one is pure training. We don’t know from whom just yet, but some badass in the Resistance found out some of us were using swords and took it upon themselves to write down a basic guide to swordplay and communicate it over radio. Thanks to that, we can now use swords to better efficiency and to dish out more damage.”

“Alright, Miriam. Time for us techies to show what we’ve been working on,” Lily intoned, grinning cockily at Yakone.

“Right.” Miriam activated her Gremlin, raising it into the air. With a command key, she flew it over to Yakone, and clicked another button. A medkit spray fell down over the Ranger.

“We’ve now managed to fit Gremlins with a single medkit charge. This will allow Specialists to heal allies from a distance. And in addition to carrying this free charge within themselves, the Gremlins can also borrow medispray from any medkits the Specialist has on them. Never again will Battle Medics need to be in close proximity to heal their allies,” Lily proudly proclaimed. “And now it’s my turn.”

“And secondarily,” the Chief Engineer continued, “We’ve finally got their disruptor cannons working.” To demonstrate, she aimed Rover off in a safe direction. The robot - still with a broken target comically hanging off its head - fired off a burst of electricity. “While this electrical shock can’t exactly do a ton of damage, it does bypass armor and is doubly effective against mechanical units. It might even disorient or stun targets the Combat Hacker hits with this gun, organic or robotic.”

Robert nodded. “Now, we’ll transition over to our heavy weapons class, the Grenadier. They shall be both Demolition Experts and Heavy Gunners. For the former role, we’ve designed a new blast padding exclusively for them.”

Qamut tapped his slightly-thicker than before plating. “Not only will we be able to beef up the damage resistance of the blast padding over time, but it also negates a good percentage of the punishment explosives cause. After the incident with Corporal Sinclair, we figured it’d be best if the Grenadiers were a little more able to take hits, and be protected from any potential grenade launcher misfires.”

The Inuit soldier raised his minigun, and opened fire, tearing apart some of the thick plating. “Both to compensate for the spread-out damage the minigun does and deal with increasingly heavily armored enemy units, Grenadiers will now be equipped with munitions that are capable of shredding protective plating. The sheer opposite of the blast padding, this is an offensive measure in contrast to a defensive one.”

“Now, we’ll handle the Ambusher class,” the founder stated. Atka nodded to Olivia.

The woman of Alqonquian descent pulled out a small controller from her belt. Pulling a set of levers, she sent out a pair of small electric RC cars towards a pair of poles set up in advance. They opened up a panel on the top with a button press, and then began tying a tripwire at Olivia’s command.

“Ambushers will now be able to control RCs for the purposes of setting up tripwires and other traps. Within their chassis they can hold a spool of tripwire that they can set up by remote control, and they can carry traps on their back as well to lay down. In the future ideally the PCS will them to be controlled with mental commands, like I hope to do for the Gremlins,” Lily informed the recording software.

“In addition,” Atka stated while getting some distance. She called for the others to be silent, and raised her rifle towards a stationary target. With a crack, she puncture it with a laser shot. “Ambushers have received training that collaborates with their personal combat sims to let them focus better when at a distance from the group. This will allow them to capitalize on the fact that they will often be forward scouts with only another Ambusher or Ranger to back them up, and be more accurate and deadly in the frequent times they’re on their own.”

Tygan nodded. “Now, we shall demonstrate what the PCS has done for Troopers, both in a typical Infantry role and a Guardian role.”

The elder Cruz sibling nodded, and set up her rifle loaded with blanks at Yakone. The Ranger was pinned down by mock suppressing fire, and when she moved Cornelia’s shots would have hit Yakone dead on. “The Troopers have their eyesight honed by their implants to allow them to lay down more effective suppressing fire. While the bursts from a rifle may not be enough to keep a target completely pinned, it will mean that they will have a harder time returning fire. The PCS also allows them to take highly accurate reaction shots if the target moves while being suppressed,” Tygan elaborated.

Secondly, it was up to the younger sibling to demonstrate another technique. He went into overwatch, and when Yakone aimed her empty PDW to pretend to fire back at him, he shot blanks at her before she would have gotten her chance to fire. “The PCS also enables the Troopers to have a better overwatch. They’re able to lay down covering fire if the enemy takes offensive actions like shooting, tossing grenades, or using special abilities. While it’s not a guarantee that the enemy will be hit or killed by the enhanced reflexes of the Trooper, it turns overwatch into a more proactive measure,” Tygan clarified.

“And finally, the Juggernauts have a similar dichotomy of an offensive ‘Enforcer’ role and a defensive ‘Defender’ role,” Tygan continued. “Creative,” he muttered as an afterthought. "Since Pierre is camera-shy... Winslow..." The former police officer nodded, and threw down a grenade that sent up a thick cloud of spoke with small red chemicals sparkling in it. Tygan and Shen explained what had changed.

“For offensive purposes, the Juggernauts now have access to specialized smoke grenades that are filled with combat stimulants. Derived from the chemicals we often find floating around in the bloodstreams of Stun Lancers - but rarely in their actual injectors - the Combat Drugs strengthen the physical and mental endurance of our operatives and make them more aware,” Tygan pointed out.

“For defensive purposes, the Juggernauts’ specialized smoke grenades are filled with twice the volume as normal smoke grenades. Kept in sturdier containers, the denser smoke makes their allies in the cloud much less likely to be hit by enemy fire,” Lily concluded.