RP XCOM2: Liberation of Earth

[Taxor_the_First]

Operation Rebel Prophecy, Part 1

11:45 PM, July 29th
Above the Grand Salt Flats, Argentine Republic

“Alright, you lot,” Bonnie barked, standing up from her seat and grasping onto one of the hooks on the roof of the Skyranger. “We’re breakin’ into another ADVENT facility. The eggheads finally figured out where Samara found her Blacksite, so we’re going in to investigate, and if possible, loot the place. If we can clear the place of hostile forces, then all the better.”

Lester lifted an eyebrow, seated with his arms folded. “No reinforcements to worry about?” he asked. “Interesting. I suppose this is rather remote…”

“No one’s going to know nothing if they don’t get a signal out,” Bonnie answered, “And we don’t intend to let ‘em do that.”

Samara, sitting in a seat that had been empty on their previous mission, shifted. “So how are we getting past the constant ‘all clear’ signal?” she asked. “It’s not so much the signal ADVENT would be looking for, but the lack of one. Just jamming it wouldn’t work.”

The Grenadier shrugged. “It’s a bit techy for me, but the Avenger’s going to take that all clear signal, reproduce it, and then send it in the place of the facility while the Skyranger jams ‘em. According to Firebrand, we should have about forty five minutes of safe service, maybe another 15 if we’re lucky. She’ll need to turn it off to conserve power eventually, though, so we’ll need to be out or at least leavin’ when that happens.”

“You said we’re investigating,” Samuel stated. “What are we looking for?”

“Anything,” was the reply. “Evidence that ADVENT’s up to no good, military intel, research data, equipment.” She tapped her new helmet on the side. “Your helmets have cameras in them that will be recording footage, so make sure you get some good looks if you find anything worth checking out. And if any of you perverts are starin’ at my ass, I’ll find out.”

“Do we know much about the layout?” Arthur asked, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his legs.

“Only what I could tell you,” Samara answered. “There was a frontal gate – the only entrance, far as I could tell – and a railway inside. Railway’s blocked off unless a train’s coming, which shouldn’t happen anytime tonight. Once in the front door, there’s two buildings on the left we could look through, but most of the interesting stuff is over by the rail platform at the far end. That was where I was caught, so I can’t give you much more than that.”

“Any idea where the juicy stuff will be?” Holly asked, her posture relaxed.

“If I had to guess, any secrets ADVENT is hiding there will be in the complex below the landing pad. As far as I could tell, the only way in there is through the train platform,” the Juggernaut answered.

“And who do we expect to be greeting us?” Alan asked, fidgeting with his fingers.

Samara hesitated. “There’ll be a group at the entry gate, for sure,” she said. “Most will probably be in the main complex. Combination of alien and ADVENT units, with a few patrolling guards if I had to guess. Aside from that, I… can’t really say.”

“There’ll be a lot,” Bonnie finished. “It’s a secure facility. I’m expecting a lot of security.”

“So we have to wipe them all within forty-five minutes?” Holly asked. “That’s doable.”

“Alright, alright, calm your murder-boner,” Alan said, a grin on his face.

“Children,” Lester muttered.

“We all ready to get moving?” Bonnie asked, glancing at each of the squadmembers in turn.

“Ah, no,” the Sharpshooter said, shaking her head. “There’s something we still need to work out.”

The Specialist groaned. “What now?” he demanded.

“There is still the outstanding issue of our squad name. We can’t just go out there without that.”

Samara shrugged. “You did last time didn’t you?”

“That was when the Mavericks didn’t exist,” Holly contested. “We’re not the only squad on the ship anymore. We need to differentiate ourselves somehow.”

Lester scoffed. “Well, unless you have any ideas-“

“I was thinking ‘Judgement Squad’.” She glanced around. “What… what do you guys think?”

The Specialist growled. “Could you have picked a more pretentious-“

“I like it,” Samuel butted in.

“It is… acceptable,” Arthur admitted. The rest of the squad seemed to agree, leaving Lester alone in the ‘nay’ camp.

He waved a hand. “Fine. Just ignore me then. I won’t mind. Not at all.”

The squad touched boots to salt a few short minutes later, allowing Firebrand to leave them alone on the ground. They all quickly checked around to ensure they were alone, and collectively relaxed when they realized this was indeed the case. “Alright, everyone calm down,” Bonnie instructed. “We’ve got a short walk. No one fire until I give the word, alright? We’re still waiting on the Avenger to reproduce that code for us.”

“Got it,” Samuel acknowledged, taking the quiet to examine his new laser shotgun. He’d tested it before coming, of course – it would be suicide to not try out all the new weapons the scientists were coming up with – but it still felt a little too light to him. Like one of those prewar toy guns, made of plastic and firing nothing but sound. “This is going to take some getting used to,” he muttered.

“Tell me about it,” Alan murmured. “I’m still not so sure how this new SMG works.”

The Russian glanced at the weapon attached to his friend’s armor, currently glowing a dull orange from the ports on the side of the main body. “Is that hot at all?” he asked. “I mean, the vents.”

The Ambusher pulled the SMG off his chest for a moment so that Samuel could see the ports ran only on one side of the weapon, coincidentally the side that was facing away from him. “They’re only on the right side,” he said, shrugging. “No idea why, but that’s the way it is.”

“It’s to stop it blasting excess heat into your face when your aim down the sights,” Lester interjected. “Or setting your armor alight when you holster it after use. Neither of which are usually desirable.”

“How the hell did you know that?”

“I work in Engineering, remember?” The Specialist shook his head. “With an attention span like that, it’s a wonder you’re still alive.”

“Quiet,” Samara hissed. “You want ADVENT to hear you?”

The rest of the walk was conducted in silence. The squad kept relatively low to the ground, despite there not being much cover at all – they were called ‘salt flats’ for a reason. That salt crunched underneath their boots, leaving footprints in a long path behind them. When they finally reached the facility, they began sneaking around the chain fence blocking off the main complex.

“That’s electrified,” Samara murmured. “Should go without saying, but please don’t touch it.”

At regular intervals in the fence were concrete-metal towers, though they seemed there more to keep the fence upright rather than provide a vantage point for watchers. Coming around to the south side of the facility, the squad spotted the main entrance. Bonnie, who was leading the group, held an arm out behind her at the corner tower, a silent instruction to stop.

“How many?” Samara asked.

“Looks like… two groups. A Muton and two Vipers, and an Officer and two Lancers. Looking pretty lax.” The side of the Grenadier’s mouth turned upwards into a grin. “They’ve got no idea we’re here.”

“How’re we taking this?” Alan whispered.

Bonnie practically licked her lips. “They’re all clustered together,” she noted, rather joyfully. “I’m not usually a fan of blowing early on, but this is a perfect opportunity. An AP grenade in the middle of that…”

“Even if that Muton sits on the damn thing, they won’t be killed by it,” Lester objected. “We’ll need follow-up.”

The squad leader scanned the gate for a few more moments before retreating back behind the corner tower. “Ok,” she said. “Here’s what we’ll do. I’m going to launch my AP grenade right in the middle of them. Should injure all of them at worst, might remove the Lancers completely if we’re lucky. The Vipers will be wounded, but not dead – Sam, I’ll need you to kill them both.”

Samara blinked. “Excuse me?”

Samuel bumped her shoulder. “She meant me,” he said.

“The Officer will also be wounded but not dead,” Bonnie continued, either oblivious or ignoring them. “Samara, Lester, he’ll be yours. Everyone else aside from Arthur will focus the Muton.”

“So even if mine and Holly’s combined efforts don’t kill him, he’ll be stunned from my shots,” Alan finished, nodding. “Good, I like it.”

“Are we all agreed?”

The squad gave their affirmatives, and settled back into waiting. Bonnie drew her launcher and loaded the grenade, but held onto it for now, awaiting the green light to engage. It took a few more minutes of waiting (during which time the enemy thankfully did not shift position), but eventually they got it.

“Menace 1-5, this is Firebrand, Avenger just confirmed they’ve reproduced the signal and are ready to send. Standing by to activate jammer on your go, Lass.”

After a quick head-check to ensure everyone else was in position to go, Bonnie nodded. “Lass here,” she responded, aiming her launcher. “Ready to engage. Turn on the jammer.”

There was a brief pause before she got the response she’d been waiting for. “Firebrand here. Jammer is active and the fake signal is being sent, you have forty-five minutes of guaranteed airtime and the green light to engage. Repeat, green light to engage.”

 

[Taxor_the_First]

Part 2

With a satisfied expression on her face, Bonnie launched the grenade. It punched into the salt directly beneath the ADVENT Officer’s feet. They had time to glance down at the object before it exploded, the shrapnel killing the two Lancers flanking him and clearly wounding the three aliens nearby. The Vipers recoiled, hissing, and quickly slithered around behind the entrance booths. The cover was not enough to protect them, however, as each was summarily executed by a beam to the snout, Samuel’s aim direct and true. The Officer attempted to follow the direction of the beam, but was too slow to react to the combined pistol fire from both Samara and Lester, resulting in his death. The Muton bellowed at his fallen teammates before the combined fire of Holly’s sniper rifle and Alan’s Electrolaser struck him down too, a death rattle marking the end of the engagement.

“Everybody in!” Bonnie cried gleefully, beginning a charge inside just as alarm klaxons began sounding within the main complex. “Chariot, you lead. See if you can’t spot anyone up-” It was then she’d noticed he had already disappeared.

“Already there,” Arthur’s soft voice said over comms. “The first building on our left appears to be a maintenance garage of some kind. Lots of vehicles and tools. Also a MEC and some drones, possibly some ADVENT.”

“Then that’s our first stop,” Lester stated. “We can’t leave a MEC behind us just so it can come in at a bad time.”

“Agreed,” Samara said, keeping up with the squad surprisingly well for someone carrying a large alloy shield. “Is there a back entrance?”

“There is,” the Ranger acknowledged. “I can make out the corner of a door from where I am, but not much else. Again, I think I saw movement back there, so be careful.”

The squad approached the building a little more cautiously, Alan spotting Arthur watching the inside from the corner of the garage door. Attempting to keep the enemy within unaware of their presence outside, Bonnie pointed at Samuel, Alan and Samara, indicating the back. The three each nodded wordlessly and disappeared around the corner, the rest of the squad lining up alongside the garage door.

“The MEC is standing between a prison truck and a patrol car,” Arthur murmured. “There are several drones flying around it. I count… three. Three drones.”

“An EMP grenade would likely fix that,” Lester noted, patting the device hanging from his hip. “Should destroy the drones right away, and probably disable that MEC.”

“Sounds like a big weakness,” Samara noted over comms. “I’ve learned to be suspicious of big weaknesses. Chariot, you said you saw movement over in the back?”

“Something human, or close to it at least,” the Ranger confirmed. “Unsure how many, though.”

“We’ll deal with that as we get to them,” Bonnie said. “Lester, get ready to throw that thing. Back entrance, you three ready to barge in?”

“Ready,” Samuel confirmed,

Bonnie counted them all down. Three, two, one, and she went in, the back door opening at the same time. The MEC, previously on alert but mostly inactive, went into combat mode at the sight of the Grenadier. The drones around it bristled at the sight, but did not leave the MEC’s side, evidently intent on repairing any damage the squad could do. “Lester!”

The Specialist followed her in, taking position behind a car with the EMP in his hand, ready. He cursed when the MEC fired reactively at him, but its shots went wide. “Stay back, Lucifer,” the Specialist warned his drone, before throwing the grenade directly at the feet of the MEC. It seemed to register the device before it pulsed, the nearby drones all sparking one final protest before dropping to the ground like three heavy raindrops. The MEC itself recoiled, then slumped, critical processes interrupted by a system overload.

The back entrance was not nearly so accommodating to those wishing to enter. Kicking open the door, Samara came face to face with four ADVENT Troopers, all snapping their heads sideways to bark gibberish at her before each seeking a place of retreat. As they ran further back into the garage, one noticed a fifth individual running with them. Samuel grinned as he caught the Trooper, blasting the flanked peacekeeper with his new shotgun. “Alright, yeah, this thing’s alright,” he said.

Rather than attempt to barge in like the Russian had done, Samara held her ground at the doorway, deploying her shield to protect herself and her remaining teammate. Alan was able to poke over her shield, clipping one of the enemy Troopers with his Electrolaser. The Trooper convulsed and fell to their knees, stunned. “Still two active and one alive but out of it,” he reported, falling back behind the doorway. “Might need a bit of help.”

Back at the front, Bonnie glanced at the comatose MEC. “Ah, we can leave him for a few.” She grinned as an ADVENT Trooper, running from the back group, ran into her field of view. She stopped grinning when her attempt to take advantage of their being out of position failed, her Microgun missing. “Are you people sure these things are actually firin’?” she asked, crouching behind cover as the Trooper barked something in alarm. “I mean, I can’t see my shots.”

Holly, who had taken position at the lip of the garage door, fired her sniper rifle at the Trooper, exposed from her position. The beam arced through the gap between two vehicles and struck the Trooper directly in the head, killing them instantly. “Maybe stick with your grenade launcher,” she commented dryly.

The fourth and final Trooper had disappeared from view, something that made Alan nervous. “Samuel, might want to move? I can’t see that last guy.”

Samuel scoffed. “Ah, come on. It’s not like he can see me from wherever he-“ A burst of magnetic fire clipped the vehicle he was taking cover against, startling him. “Bloody hell!”

“What was that? Sounded like I was right.”

“Fuck you.” Unfortunately for the ADVENT Trooper, firing had been a crucial mistake – not only had they missed, but now Samuel knew where they were. The Russian peeked around the corner of the truck, spotting his foe and firing twice. As the first shot was a miss, the ADVENT peacekeeper sprung out, looking to capitalize on Samuel’s exposure. They weren’t expecting him to shoot twice. They howled in pain as a beam impacted their skull, heavily injured but not quite dead. “Well, I hit him.”

A beep drew Bonnie’s attention. To her horror, the MEC had begun to boot up again, right next to her position. “They restart quick,” she remarked, before spraying it with her Microgun. The MEC partially exploded before toppling, landing amongst its former drone bodyguards. “Holy shit,” Bonnie said, examining the Microgun. “I take it all back. This thing is great.”

“Can someone help me with this guy?” Samuel asked, sounding a little irritated.

Lester sighed, crouching down and flipping up his wristpad. “How many times is this now?” he wondered aloud as he directed Lucifer to locate and shock the remaining ADVENT Trooper. Obediently, the Gremlin hovered further into the garage, spotting the target hiding behind a vehicle. As the drone floated over, however, Lester spotted something else. “That stunned one looks like he’s waking up,” the Specialist warned as Lucifer shocked the active Trooper into death. “Anyone have a clear shot on that bench?”

The answer was Arthur’s Scatterlaser, eliminating the Trooper. With the superior quality suppressor, the shotgun made almost no noise, allowing him to remain concealed. “Trooper removed,” the Ranger whispered, almost reverently. “Any by my counting, that’s all of them.”

“Alright, someone needs to chill the bloodlust,” Holly stated, relaxing her stance and reloading her rifle. “Samara, there was a building up the road. Looked pretty big. You remember what that is?”

“The barracks,” the Juggernaut replied grimly, de-extending her shield and beginning to make her way back to the front. “Plus a checkpoint to make sure the front gate didn’t miss anything.”

Alan frowned, though his expression was masked by his helmet. “A barracks? That’s new. Don’t usually have those in ADVENT facilities.”

“They are out in the middle of nowhere,” Samuel noted. “And maybe guard rotation isn’t exactly possible given whatever they see here. Don’t want anyone having second thoughts and blabbing to the world, do they?”

“We need to clear it out regardless,” Bonnie stated, hefting her Microgun. “We’re still on a timer, so we don’t really have time to scout it out. We’ll deal with whatever’s there as it comes. All clear?”

“Then use the checkpoint as cover on the outside,” Samara advised. “There’s nothing else there, so if we get caught out…”

“We’ll be fine,” the Grenadier assured her.

“They have at least one unit patrolling at all times,” the Juggernaut persisted. “That’s what got me last time. I’m not letting it happen again.”

 

[Taxor_the_First]

Part 3

Once everyone had reloaded the squad left the garage, moving up the road to the facility towards the second and final checkpoint. “I suppose it makes sense they’d put the barracks here,” Alan muttered. “Someone gets this far, they can just swarm us with troops.”

The checkpoint itself was empty, a few booths flanking the road with a movable gate across it. The squad managed to secure that area relatively easily. Which was lucky, considering the veritable firing squad set up on the rooftop of the barracks. On each of the two frontal corners of the building sat a Turret, flanked by a standard ADVENT Trooper. In the center of the rooftop’s front edge sat three Gunners, all set up, and a single Assassin. To top it off, emerging from the doors of the barracks was a Mogul and Retainer, both of which snarled at the XCOM forces as they took position.

“Remind me never to say the phrase ‘swarm us with troops’ again,” Alan shouted, ducking behind a wall just before the Assassin attempted to snipe his head off.

“Give me a moment to set up and I can remove that Mogul,” Holly barked, toying with her rifle.

Lester shook his head, breathing heavily. “Your rifle is unlikely to kill that thing unless you headshot it, which in this environment-“ He cursed as a torrent of magnetic fire spat past his window, courtesy of one of the Turrets. “Not damn likely!” he finished.

“That’s what you think,” the Sharpshooter said, smiling. “I’ve got that souped-up friction dampener, remember? Even if it’s just for one shot, I can double this thing’s destructive power. I don’t care what kind of armor it’s wearing, or where I hit it, that Mogul is going down. I just need a clear shot.”

“So we need those Gunners down,” Samuel surmised. “They are all grouped up. Bonnie, now might be a good time to-“ He stopped as the soft thunk of a grenade launcher being fired echoed from her position, a HE grenade sailing up and onto the roof of the barracks, directly between the Gunners (and somewhat accidentally, the Assassin too). One managed to bark a warning before the grenade exploded, both injuring them and destroying part of the roof. The four ADVENT peacekeepers fell to the ground floor, sustaining further damage as a result.

“Don’t try and tell me what to do,” Bonnie snarked over comms, causing Samuel to chuckle.

Taking advantage of the sudden lack of fire, Holly glanced above her cover, locating the Mogul. She bit her lip, pressing the button on the side of her weapon that would force the friction dampener to overclock, and placed the rifle on her cover. Taking careful aim, she squeezed the trigger.

And howled in protest when the Mogul she’d been aiming at fizzled into nothingness. “What?!” she cried. “Bullshit!”

“Moguls can create illusionary copies of themselves,” Arthur murmured over comms. “I will distract it. Keep the Retainer off me.”

“You are not about to challenge it to a swordfight, are you?” Alan deadpanned. “If you are, remember you’re basically carrying a hook, not a sword. Think of it like fighting with a bonesaw that’s missing the ‘saw’ part.”

“I am aware,” the Ranger said simply, emerging next to one of the vehicles parked next to the barracks and brandishing his Las-Blade at something behind it.

In the meantime Samuel had shot and killed two of the recovering Gunners, and Samara had also managed to eliminate the Assassin with a well-aimed Rotator shot. Lester finished another with his own pistol, and glanced at Alan when the last Gunner limped away. “Not going to kill him?” the Specialist asked.

Alan, his eyes down the length of his gun, almost imperceptibly shook his head. “Waiting for that Retainer to show,” he mumbled. And show it did. Arthur, already locked in a duel with the Mogul, drew the alien out into the open. The Retainer followed somewhat blindly, stalking out to follow before realizing its error. The Ambusher fired with his Electrolaser, the bolt both disabling the creature’s weapon and causing it to fall to the ground, stunned. “There you go,” Alan said, satisfied. “It’s just you and the Mogul now, Arthur.”

The group was forced to return their heads and errant limbs behind cover once again as the Troopers and Turrets, all still up and very functional, attempted to catch them out. Their efforts were futile, however – the squad had chosen an ADVENT built checkpoint to hide in, after all. They were built to withstand exactly the sort of punishment the Turrets were dishing out, and more besides. Even though no shots connected, the torrent of mag fire did prevent any of the XCOM soldiers from firing back (with the exception of Holly, who clipped the shoulder of a Trooper with her Rotator). The remaining Gunner, having gotten over its brush with death, set up on the inside of the barracks, the barrel of their Gauss LMG poking through the door.

Outside, the duel between Arthur and the Mogul raged, each seemingly relatively evenly matched in terms of blade skill. Both being psions, neither was able to read the other’s mind without significant distraction, a challenge Arthur seemed to be relishing. Neither seemed concerned about being shot, despite being out of cover – after all, that would carry with it the risk of shooting an ally. The Mogul knew that XCOM valued individual lives too much to risk that, and Arthur knew the ADVENT Troopers would be fearful of shooting a superior for the retribution it would surely bring. So the two continued, locked in a dance of alien alloy and light.

“We need to make a move soon, or these walls are going to be chewed up, and then they’ll give us about as much protection as a broken condom,” Bonnie barked. “And we’ve still got that big timer ticking down. Anyone got any ideas?”

Samuel glanced at the rest of the squad, mind attempting to formulate an actual plan. “Holly, did you hit whatever you fired at?”

The Sharpshooter raised an eyebrow. “Of course. Hit a Trooper. Weren’t you looking?”

“I’m not sticking my head out there,” the Russian growled. “Alright, here’s what we’ll do. I want you to throw your flashbang right outside the window. That should blind the Troopers, and Arthur, if you could angle your fight so that the Mogul is blinded too, that should help you. Once you’ve done that, try and finish off that wounded Trooper, and if you can that Gunner too. Bonnie, your Microgun can shred armor, right?”

“Standard-issue for Grenadiers,” the Scotswoman affirmed.

“Shred that Turret on the left then. I’ll finish it off. That should leave the one on the right and a Trooper. Alan, Turret’s yours. Your Electrolaser should remove it from play entirely. Lester can clean up anything we miss.” Samuel lay his gaze on Samara, the only one without orders yet. “And we’ll both kill the last Trooper, alright?”

The Juggernaut nodded, raising her Rotator. “Understood,” she stated. “Ready.”

After a countdown, Holly pulled the pin from her Flashbang and pushed it over the edge of the window, the cylinder falling to a rest on the salt. It detonated, and immediately two of the streams of magnetic fire ceased, the sound of protesting ADVENT soldiers reaching the recovering ears of the XCOM soldiers. Immediately, with a speed that could only be described as lightning fast, Holly fired her Rotator at the wounded Trooper, striking them in the head and killing them. Her aim switched to the half-hidden Gunner, then, and again she fired. Again, her shot connected and the Gunner’s whining was silenced. Bonnie took advantage of the lessened suppression and stepped out, Microgun already spinning up. She shredded the leftmost Turret’s armor and charred some of the metal beneath, but Samuel’s assistance was necessary to finish it off. The remaining Trooper began to recover, only for the combined fire of both the Sams to prevent such a recovery permanently. The last Turret switched its aim to take advantage of the Juggernaut’s more exposed position, but was prevented from firing when Alan’s Electrolaser overloaded its systems.

Lester sighed. “And again, I am proven mostly useless.”

 

[Taxor_the_First]

Part 4

The squad rose from cover to check on their Ranger, just in time to see the Mogul land a strike on his back. Arthur made a pained grunt and faltered slightly, but not enough to allow the alien space to finish him. “You think that will fell me?” he asked his opponent, who seemed surprised that the blade hadn’t just clove him in two. The Mogul scowled and renewed its attack, forcing Arthur to defend himself once again.

And off to the side, the Retainer shook its head, standing once again and roaring a challenge at the XCOM forces. “Shit, forgot about him!” Samuel yelled, retreating back behind cover just as it fired a burst at where he’d been. Lester reflexively fired his pistol, but the Retainer dodged the shot, snarling as if to taunt him.

“I cannot hold this one back much longer!” Arthur snapped, the Mogul now pushing him back behind the same patrol vehicle it had been hiding behind at the beginning of the firefight.

Samuel immediately knew why. “That Mogul’s trying to get out of our sight so it can disengage for the Retainer to kill Arthur,” he guessed. “Samara, go for the Mogul.”

“I can’t guarantee I won’t hit Chariot,” Samara protested.

“I meant with your shield,” Samuel stated. “The rest of us will focus the Retainer. Keep him off you.”

“You’d better. I’m not losing anything else here,” the Juggernaut said, planting her feet into the ground and springing forward, running directly towards the dueling swordsmen.

The Retainer, spotting the runner, aimed to take advantage. That aim was spoiled, however, when Holly landed a hit on it, causing the alien to fire upwards. It managed to dodge the shots from Bonnie, Alan and Lester, using the half-destroyed wall it hid behind to full advantage. Holly’s attempt to double-tap the alien failed too, but in impacting the wall, it was the final bit of destructive force needed to destroy it. The concrete fell away, exposing the alien to Samuel’s own shots. It howled as it fell, dead at last.

The Mogul swatted Arthur’s sword to the side, opening him to a final strike. With a triumphant snarl, it stabbed forward, only for the blade to skitter off the alloyed shield that had slammed down between them. Off balance, the alien stumbled slightly, and Arthur chose to capitalize by discarding his own melee weapon for his ranged, cocking the Scatterlaser directly at the Mogul’s head. Unable to escape, the Mogul screeched something at him before he fired. The beam, combined with the various glancing blows Arthur had inflicted on it prior, was enough to end the alien’s life.

The Ranger crouched over, his expression pained. “Thank you,” he said to Samara, a hand clutching at the gash in his armor. “I would almost certainly have died there were it not for you.”

“Don’t thank me, I thought it was crazy.” Samara beckoned Lester, and the Specialist walked over, Gremlin ready to administer medicine.

“You trust me more than I thought,” Samuel commented, also walking over. “I’m surprised you just went with it to be honest. Arthur, you alright?”

“Just a flesh wound. I’ll live.”

“Not if you do that again,” Lester admonished. “You’ll be fine. Not worth using my medkit on you just yet – I can’t repair your armor, after all. Just try not to stand in the way of enemy fire.”

Once Bonnie and Holly had checked the inside of the barracks and confirmed it was clear, they pressed on, moving towards the main building at last. As they approached, however, Samara held up a hand. “Wait,” she said. “We should have encountered guards by now.” She pulled out her Battlescanner, and looked enquiringly at Bonnie, who nodded.

The orb rolled inside, coming to a rest near a set of train tracks. The room appeared to be something of a loading bay, or maybe the opposite. The main door led into a large hangar-style room, with the train tracks they’d seen coming to an end on the right. The rest of the area was sparsely decorated with crates and pillars holding up the ceiling, with two prisoner trucks parked in the main entrance. There were catwalks running above the concrete floor, upon which two Turrets rested, scanning the room for unauthorized movement.

But they were just the start of the defenses within. A Cleric and two Troopers oversaw the operation of the Turrets, watching for anything they’d miss. At the edge of the Battlescanner’s vision, a group of three Stun Lancers followed by a Shieldbearer, patrolling the hangar floor. As if to suggest that this was not enough, behind them scuttled two Mecroaches, an Assassin striding in the middle of them.

“They’re patrolling,” Samara noted. “Looking for us. We could use that to our advantage, limit our exposure.”

“We should go soon,” Bonnie said, glancing at her wrist. “Time’s ticking. We’ve got about half an hour left.”

The squad filed in next to one of the parked prisoner transport trucks, blocking vision of them from the grounded groups. But as they moved into position at the back of the dock, a shout drew their attention – one of the Troopers had spotted them. The barrels of the Turrets swiveled to acquire their targets, but one was quickly eliminated by Alan’s Electrolaser. “This thing’s really useful,” he remarked.

Samuel landed one of his shots on the side of one of the Troopers, but missed the follow-up. “Dammit,” he cursed. He groaned when the Cleric began healing the Trooper’s wounds, undoing even the shot that did hit. “Oh, come on.”

Holly moved her aim to the Cleric, shooting it in the side. She swore when it remained moving. “Leave it for now!” Bonnie commanded, unloading her Microgun at the Turret and shredding its armor. “Remove that Turret!”

Complying, the Sharpshooter used her second shot to destroy the Turret. “Now what about those three?”

Alan, using his ability to remain concealed from the enemy to full advantage, moved beneath the catwalk the ADVENT soldiers were holed up on and placed an IED. “Arthur, HE! Destroy the catwalk, and hurry up about it, those other bastards are coming!” The Ranger threw his HE grenade upwards, allowing himself an appreciative smile as it blew out the metal beneath their enemy. The ADVENT Troopers fell, a second explosion occurring as the Cleric landed on the pressure plate Alan had planted and wiping the three out completely.

This meant that when the first Stun Lancer poked their head around the truck, the rest of the squad was ready for them. The first fell to the combined fire of both Lester and Samuel, which one would have expected to send a message to the others regarding the viability of charging in there. The other Stun Lancers did not appear to heed this message, however, both dashing around to wreak havoc on the squad. Arthur’s Scatterlaser ended the life of one, while the other was gunned down by Bonnie’s Microlaser. Unsurprisingly, the Shieldbearer chose not to follow his comrades into death.

Instead, they joined the Mecroaches and Assassin, determined to dislodge the XCOM forces from their niche. The Assassin faded away into the shadows at the far end of the hangar as the Mecroaches screeched, skittering forward on mechanical legs. “Bonnie, shred one and we can brute force it,” Samuel instructed.

“Who died and put you in charge?” the Grenadier huffed, obediently peppering one of the cybernetic bugs with her Microgun. “Certainly not me.” As she retreated back behind cover, however, she noticed something rippling in front of her target. “Wait, what?”

“The Shieldbearer,” Holly guessed, sniping the ADVENT protector. It gargled something, but remained standing behind the crates it had chosen as cover. “Might’ve put up a field in front of the bugs. I can’t get him unless he steps out again, though.” Her rifle made a ‘ding’ noise as she said this, and she inspected it. “Of course, now the stupid attachment recharges.”

“It’s fine, I’ve got him,” Alan’s voice came over comms. As if on cue, the Shieldbearer flinched, the Electrolaser shot instead hitting the crate. The ADVENT peacekeeper bolted away, unwilling to remain in that position for any longer, only for metal jaws to clamp around their leg. They fell to the ground, weakly clutching their leg, bleeding out. “See?”

The Mecroaches slowed briefly, registering that their protection had failed, and chose to go aggressive rather than defensive. They both raised themselves into an upright position, pistols ready, and spread their fire around all of their visible enemies. An errant shot hit Bonnie in the side, though her armor protected her from much of the shot. In fact, she actually laughed. “That the best you can do?” she taunted.

“I really hope they don’t get upgraded armaments,” Samuel noted, taking advantage of the exposed underbelly of the as yet uninjured one and killing it. “Otherwise they might be more threatening than just mobile cover.”

Holly finished the last one off with her Rotator. “Don’t give them ideas,” she said playfully. “That all? We done here?”

 

[Taxor_the_First]

Part 5

She was answered when Samara screamed in pain, a magnetic shot penetrating her armor and burying itself somewhere in her shoulder. The ADVENT Assassin, having crept behind them, fell back behind its cover, the sniper rifle in its hand smoking from the recent discharge. Samara hunkered to the ground, jaw clenched to prevent herself from further outbursts.

Without waiting for instruction, Arthur bolted towards the Assassin. It looked up just as he rounded the corner, Las-Blade drawn and tearing downwards. There was no way to escape in time, and the Assassin likely knew that. It did not resist or try to run as the laser burned a path through its flesh, releasing the life formerly trapped within.

Satisfied that the Ranger had not been killed for his bravery/stupidity, Lester investigated Samara’s wound. “You were lucky to survive that,” he noted. “Painkillers should last you until we’re done here, but I wouldn’t expect Chandra to release you from the medbay for a while. Lucifer, medical protocol.” The Gremlin obediently sprayed the affected area, and Samara cried out again.

“What the hell was that?!” she demanded. “Did your Gremlin just spray some of the salt outside in there?”

“I never said it wouldn’t sting,” Lester stated patiently. “Some people find it soothing, some find it painful. It’ll pass in a moment. You’ll be ready to fight again in a minute.”

Samuel grimaced at the display. A reminder not to get shot, he thought. In an attempt to steer the conversation elsewhere, he indicated the crates strewn around the hangar. “Looks like shipping is a big part of this facility’s operation,” he noted.

“Yeah,” Samara grunted, attempting to stand. With a roll of his eyes, Lester extended a hand to help her up. “I watched this place for a while before going in. Trains and trucks coming in around the clock. Never saw whether they were loading or unloading though. All of it happened in here. Hard to see from the outside, so I tried to get in.” She looked around. “This… is actually as far as I got last time. I’d tripped some alarm on the way in, so they had people looking for me. I was set upon by some weird looking Stun Lancers and a-“

The door at the far end of the room burst open, revealing three ADVENT peacekeepers flanked by a Techound. The ADVENT soldiers were garbed in unfamiliar apparel, a white, pristine looking armor topped by a rippling blue helmet, in the style of a Stun Lancer. They barked in the ADVENT language when they spotted the XCOM forces, and the Techound snarled at them, brandishing its tail.

Samara merely grinned. “There you are,” she muttered.

Samuel glanced at her, but did not pry. “Those must be Recon Units,” he said as the ADVENT soldiers moved to cover. “Couple of references to peacekeepers looking like that have popped up in some of the reports I monitor. By themselves, not too threatening, but they’ll know exactly where we are at all times.”

“How so?” Holly asked.

The Russian shrugged. “Buggered if I know. I’m just spouting what I’ve read, they could be able to breathe fire for all I know.”

“Banter later, Techound now!” Bonnie ordered, spraying her Microgun at the metal canine. She scowled as it effortlessly bounded sideways, completely avoiding the shot. “Ach, shite.”

“Leave the shooting to an expert,” Holly recommended, firing and missing.

“So not you. Got it.”

Moving back up, Arthur pulled the pin on an oddly shaped grenade and threw it, directly in the path of the Techound. It did not notice the object until it was too late, and was covered in goo for its lack of attention. It howled, unable to move for the trapping substance now cloaking it. “Better?” the Ranger snarked.

“Much, thank you,” Alan answered, firing his Electrolaser from the same position he’d been concealed in since the Shieldbearer. The bolt struck the Techound in one of its hind legs, short-circuiting its inner systems and stopping it in its tracks a little more permanently. “Now if I could get some cover here, that would be great.”

Samara muttered something ending with ‘my kill’, but complied, using her shield as cover to move out into the open. The Recon Units, having identified Alan as a single target, were not watching her at first. Their reaction shots were panicked, and only one burst actually hit the target. She grimaced as her shield rattled, but held strong.

“Thank you,” Samuel whispered to her before standing up from behind the shield, taking the opportunity to shoot one of the Recon Units before it returned to cover. “One down.” He glanced up as Lucifer hovered over, deploying a column of twisted light over the Trooper. “Lester, you shouldn’t have.”

“I can’t bloody do anything else right now, can I?” the Specialist snapped, shaking his head. “Not at this range.”

The good news was, the range seemed to be negatively affecting the enemy too. The ADVENT peacekeepers both attempted to shoot the mobile cover that was Samara’s shield, but with Lucifer’s Aid Protocol, the knowledge that they were steadily being picked off, and the range meant that all shots missed. Holly ended one soon after, and the last found themselves staring down Arthur and his laser sword before death claimed them too.

Samara walked up to the Techound, fallen over after the goo from Arthur’s Slurry grenade had dried up and lost its tension. She gazed at it for a moment, finally nodding. “Yeah, it was this one,” she said. “There’s a pockmark just under its eye from when I shot it. Which means that tail…” The Juggernaut walked over to the bladed appendage, firing her Rotator at the join and severing it completely. She flipped it over in her hands a few times like a knife, before nodding and placing it in one of her armor pouches.

“We can take souvenirs?” Alan asked disbelievingly. “Why wasn’t I told?”

“I don’t think its standard practice,” Arthur stated, his tone disapproving. “Although I have been eying one of those Officer capes for a while.”

“Says the guy who has said before he doesn’t like the idea of taking anything off the corpses,” taunted Holly.

“A cape is very different to Sectoid finger bones,” the Ranger huffed.

“Eh, I don’t blame you,” Alan said. “I mean, have you seen Ipiktok with hers? Shit, I want one now too.”

“I’m only taking something because it took something from me,” Samara cut in, walking through them and continuing towards the far door. “Come on. We’ve come this far. I have to see what’s further.”

Through the door, the squad was faced with a corridor, with two doors on the left and right. Electing to go right first, they breached into what looked like a security checkpoint, with two glassed-off rooms. Within one was terminal of some kind, within the other a circular platform underneath a similarly shaped hole in the ceiling. Within the hole there was a glass cylinder, kept aloft by some unknown means.

“What the hell is this?” Bonnie wondered aloud, making sure to look at everything for a significant amount of time. “Looks like one of those screening areas in the pre-war airports. You know, where they’d scan you and your luggage?”

“Except there’s no scanner,” Alan noted. “And we can just walk right through the middle.” He noted the seemingly token fence crossing the space between the two glass rooms. “Well, climb through. Not as much resistance as you’d expect.”

“Doors in the glass,” Samara noted, pushing the one into the platform room inwards slightly. “On this side for this room, on the other for the control room. I’d say only authorized personnel into the control room there.”

“Looks like it,” Samuel said. He vaulted over the small barrier. “Well, come on. Next room might have answers.”

Have answers, yes. Also more questions. Upon entering, the squad stopped in their tracks completely. The next room was not something they’d expected to see.

 

[Taxor_the_First]

Part 6

The room was as high as two storeys, evidently an attempt to increase the storage capacity. Stacked on top of each other like so much baggage were tens – possibly hundreds – of storage capsules, the same shape as the object above the platform in the previous room. Drones (which seemed to ignore the XCOM forces entirely) flitted between the pods, checking the screens located both on the screens around the room and on the pods themselves. Each canister glowed a sickly green, and within the silhouettes of…

“Humans,” Samara breathed. “No wonder this place is out in the middle of nowhere, no wonder the security, no wonder the subterfuge with keeping the trains indoors when loading and offloading. How would ADVENT explain this to humanity?”

Holly, oddly silent, walked up to one of the pods sitting on a conveyor belt that filled half the room and disappeared into the wall. She wiped the glass in an attempt to clear her vision, but shook her head. “I guess they don’t really need to see what’s beneath, do they,” she said, her voice halting. She waved a hand at the screen attached to the pod. “Just whether they’re healthy or not.”

“Where does this belt go?” Samuel asked, turning away from his own inspection of a pod.

Samara scoffed. “You ask me that as if I know the answer,” she said. “I don’t.”

A hand was placed on Bonnie’s shoulder. “I think we’ve seen enough,” Lester muttered to her. “We’ll get no answers here.”

The Grenadier nodded slowly. “Right,” she said. “This is just one wing. We’ve still got others to explore, and we’re still on a timer. We need to get moving.”

Wordlessly, the squad moved back through the door, back through the first room, and back into the corridor. As they made ready to breach the door on the left this time, Lester frowned. “As bad as that was, we can’t let it affect us. I’d be surprised if there weren’t any ADVENT left. We need to keep on our toes. Understood?”

“Fuck off, Lester,” Samuel muttered.

“What was that?”

“… nothing.”

“No, you definitely said something that sounded rather insulting.”

“Maybe some of us aren’t able to just see humans being treated like frozen meat and get over it like that,” the Russian responded, snapping his fingers. “Maybe consider that some of us aren’t robots?”

The Specialist’s mouth turned downwards into a frown. “Maybe consider that we have a job to do,” he retorted. “And we can’t let it distract us. We can’t let anything distract us, or we risk losing someone, or worse, losing everyone. If you can’t deal with what we find, then don’t bother coming with us.”

“Lester!” Bonnie barked. “Enough. Drop it. Both of you.” The two soldiers glanced at each other, then looked away, clearly not dropping it but not continuing it either. “Good enough. Now, come on. On my mark.”

The squad broke through the door, weapons zipping every which-way to search for foes. Rather bizarrely, they only found one, a single ADVENT Trooper with teal decals on its armor. It barked a command before being eliminated by Samuel, who examined it to ensure the shots had been fatal.

The rest of the squad was entranced by the rest of the room. Screens lit up nearly every surface, all displaying documents and reports in the ADVENT Coalition jargon. A few databanks rimmed the room, and Lester made a beeline for them, plugging in his drone and examining the results on his wristpad.

Alan frowned. “Well, unless you can read Jabberwockey-“

“I can’t,” Lester interrupted. “But Lucifer can translate it. Watch the doors for a bit while I skim through.”

So they did, dividing themselves around to watch the two doors while Lester worked. Samuel ended up with Samara. “You upset with Alan for stealing your moment of revenge?” he asked, glancing at her.

She shrugged. “Eh, it’s just a dumb robo-dog. Plenty more where he came from.”

“But you had history with that one.”

The Juggernaut chuckled. “Yeah. You could say that.” She brought out the severed tail spike and ran it through her fingers. “But you know what they say. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.”

The Russian hesitated. “Yeah,” he said at last. “They do say that.”

“Is that why you’re here? All for revenge?”

“I guess so.”

Cobra nodded slowly. “I respect it as a motivation, but little more than that. Revenge doesn’t drive people to do things – it just fuels that drive. The drive itself is the honorable component to any personal quest.”

“You say that like I give much of a shit about honor.”

“If you didn’t, would you be supporting your team here? Would you have thanked us for supporting you?”

Samuel thought for a moment. “That’s common courtesy. Nothing to do with honor.”

“It’s what separates you from the regular ADVENT grunt more than genetic modification or a hatred of the Elders,” Samara said simply. “So it’s the same in my book. It’s a quality, just like revenge is a motivation.”

Further discussion was cut off as Lester cleared his throat. “Alright, I’m done,” he said. “Avenger will like all of this I think. Plenty of juicy data.”

Bonnie nodded. “Right then. On the door, everyone. Three, two, one-“

The squad burst through into another, large room that looked akin to some sort of laboratory. To Alan’s eyes, it seemed reminiscent of a Resistance hospital ward – beds lined up in rows down the room. Only these ‘beds’ were near-vertical, made of metal, and had straps on them. It was about the same size too, with room only for eight of these beds on either side of the room. The last two slots on either side were instead taken up by pods similar in design to the stasis pods found in the storage room (of which there were more lined up on the sides), but glowing purple instead of green. Further, they seemed unoccupied.

And they weren’t alone. A Sectoid Domineer screeched at them from across the room, it’s Psi Drone flipping around to stare at the new entrants. Over to the right, a group of ADVENT scientists cowered as two normal Sectoids joined in their more powerful brethren’s chorus. Three Combat Medics barked orders at them, and the civilians obediently ran for cover. The squad ignored them, taking cover to protect against the six enemies also seeking cover.

“Watch your fire,” Bonnie commanded. “We can’t analyze shit if we burn everything to the ground.”

The enemy Medics all popped their smoke grenades, covering themselves, the two normal Sectoids and the Domineer in a blanket of smoke. Holly smiled. “Two can play at that game,” she said, deploying her own smoke canister in the middle of everyone.

“Great, now no one can see anything,” Bonnie muttered. “Thanks.”

“Actually, that’s great for me,” Alan said, slipping away. “Watch this, ladies. Please refrain from stripping until they’re all dead, though.”

“What the hell is he doing?” Lester demanded. He turned to his drone. “Lucifer, could you-“ He stopped speaking, realizing that it wasn’t his drone he was looking at. He grunted in pain as it shocked him, the drone spinning away again before he could attempt to retaliate. “Guess now I know how it feels,” he muttered darkly.

“Where’s a Battlescanner when we need one?” Samuel asked.

“Yeah yeah, hold on, I’m working on it,” Holly snapped, fumbling with the spherical device.

“Which idiot gave you the smoke grenade and a Battlescanner?” the Russian demanded. “I hope someone’s getting fired for that blunder.”

“Got it!” the Sharpshooter cried triumphantly, tossing it out into the middle of the room. The scanner revealed that the enemy had shifted position, with the Medics and Sectoids separating into pairs of each. “Aw, they have a buddy system now? Cute.”

“Wait, Alan, what are you doing back there?” Samuel asked. “And how the hell did you get there in the first place?”

“Trade secret,” the Ambusher answered, hopping away from something he’d placed on the ground. “And before you start yelling at me, that’s a Wavepit, not an IED. All the tech shit is safe.”

Samuel decided that now was probably a good time to use his own superior-grade weapon attachment. Flicking on the switch, his Supercooler went into overclocking mode, completely nullifying the recharge time on his Beam Rifle for the first shot. So shoot he did, hitting an unsuspecting Sectoid twice and his companion Medic once, killing the first and heavily injuring the second.

While the Medic busied themselves with healing the damage done, Bonnie laid fire down on the Domineer. A few shots glanced it, but a defiant shriek signified that it was not yet dead. “Someone finish that bastard off!”

“Mine!” Alan cried, firing at the Domineer with his Microwave SMG. The shot grazed the alien Specialist’s shoulder, causing it to cry out in confusion and attempt to reposition. In its haste, it neglected to look where it was going and stepped right into the Ambusher’s waiting Wavepit, frying the alien almost immediately. “Well, I did say there was a mine. Not my fault you didn’t listen.”

The Domineer’s Medic suddenly found themselves without a patient, and so attempted to move between the smokes to find another. “No,” Arthur said, ambushing them and blasting them in the face with his Scatterlaser. They did not survive a direct headshot.

 

[Taxor_the_First]

Part 7

The rest of the squad contented themselves with repositioning – Samara ran to the back to assist Arthur and Alan, shield at the ready, while Lester moved sideways in an attempt to find a flanking position. As the smoke cleared, the remaining Sectoid cackled something, flanked by the two remaining Combat Medics. While the Medics tried to lock down the area, the alien pointed a lanky finger over at the corpse of the other Medic, which rose in response.

“Waste of perfectly good time,” Alan chided, zapping the Sectoid with his Electrolaser and causing the newly risen zombie to fall over dead again. He blinked when the Sectoid remained standing, if stunned. “Huh. Must’ve grazed him.”

“I’ll clean up then,” Lester said tiredly, firing his pistol at the alien and ending its life. “Now remove those Medics so we can actually examine the room please, thank you.”

“Remove Medics from the premises. Got it.” Samuel double tapped one of the Medics, killing them. “Holly?”

“Got it,” the Sharpshooter answered, firing at and killing the other. “Watch all you want. Can’t shoot at us if we don’t move, pricks.”

The squad rose then, the enemy defeated. The ADVENT scientists were ignored, and left to cower in the corner as they were. “So what’s all this then?” Bonnie asked, looking around. “Lester?”

The Specialist was examining one of the large purple pods. “I believe this is what they mean when they go to ‘awaken’ someone,” he said. “These pods are stasis pods like the ones back there, but with a bit of extra equipment. Equipment that brings ones latent psionic prowess to life.”

Alan glanced nervously at the beds, noting the human-shaped indents. “What about these then? Doubt they were just used for mattresses.”

“The testing beds,” Lester stated. “Used to determine spectrum suitability. Should still have the records of the last occupants…” He motioned forward with his hand, and Lucifer floated to one of the beds, seeking a connection port with the adjacent screen. “Ah, here we are.”

“Work out what the deal is with those pods?” Holly asked.

“I did. I can, in fact, tell you exactly who each pod belongs to, where they came from, and their psionic aptitude.” That brought silence. “These reports are very detailed. Whoever compiled them has made no effort to hide anything at all. These were never meant to be seen by anyone outside of ADVENT or the Protectorate. And there’s a weird symbol attached to each report, in the style of the ADVENT logo but different,” he said.

“So they keep records on who they steal,” Samuel stated.

“It would seem so,” Lester murmured. “There’s a big focus on psionic potential in each of these documents. To the point where I would suggest that is the entire point of abducting these people. They even have a categorization system. V4 – the most common, weak potential, requires amplifiers. V3, uncommon, requires… ‘artificial awakening’. V2, rare, could be naturally awakened if ‘enlightened’, and V1 – the rarest of all categories, kept for a subjects that have already naturally awakened. I can only find two individuals here fitting that last one.”

“So from highest to lowest is from least psionic potential to most?” Holly asked. “So, V5 would be ‘no potential’ then?”

Lester flicked his wristpad. “I… can’t say,” he admitted. “There is no V5 category.”

“So they only abduct people with psionic potential, then,” Bonnie said. “That confirms it.”

“You are right,” the Specialist murmured. “This is… astonishing. These categories do not just apply to the subjects here. They are broad. They apply to every subject. Even…” He stopped. “No, that can’t be right. Impossible. We’d have noticed by now if that was the case…”

“Spit it out,” Bonnie commanded. “We haven’t got all night.”

“These categories… They apply to everyone. And I mean everyone. All human life.” He looked up. “Every single one of us is, to some degree, psionic. At least that’s what their tests have shown.”

There was stunned silence following that declaration. “E-everyone?” Holly whispered.

“That is what these documents seem to suggest. Not a single person has been found to be without any potential.”

Samuel placed a hand on the top of his helmet. “Bloody hell…”

The Specialist unplugged his Gremlin, shaking his head. “We… in the end, that’s irrelevant,” he said, looking up. “Right now, we have a job to do. We can discuss this after the facility is clear. This data can be examined back at the Avenger. They’ll probably find more than I have.”

“He’s right,” Samara stated. “We can consider the implications when we don’t have a timer. Bonnie, how long do we have?”

The Grenadier checked her wrist. “Fifteen minutes of guaranteed jamming, maybe half an hour if we’re lucky.”

“So no time to dawdle,” Lester said, making to move out. He turned around when only Samara followed. “Well, come on then. There might still be enemies here.”

That got them moving. Putting the revelation behind them for now, the squad moved back into the corridor and this time followed it to the end. Here it branched again, and again the squad went right first. The room they entered was almost completely empty – a large cubic arena with a single glass viewing box visible over near the roof. A staircase was visible at the far end, going upwards.

Alan scratched his head. “What’s this room for?”

He was about to get his answer. Once the entire squad was well within the chamber, the doors behind them and in front of them both slid shut, and a protective layer slid over them to prevent damage.

“How did I know that would happen,” Holly muttered darkly, raising her rifle into a ready position.

In alcoves set along the left wall, a number hatches slid upwards, revealing small ‘lockers’. Within four of these alcoves were what appeared to be modified Shieldbearers, all wearing armor decorated differently to their vanilla counterparts. Their loadouts seemed different also – only two of the peacekeepers actually held rifles, the other two holding sonic derringers, and in one case an actual shield. One from each team – team rifle and team derringer – also carried on their back an odd claw-shaped object, which to Arthur’s eyes pulsed with energy.

The news wasn’t all bad, though. From indents in the floor rose blocks of metal, evidently serving as some kind of mock battlefield. “Thank fuck for that,” Bonnie said, taking position behind one of the blocks. “Here was me thinking we’d be needing to have a coverless firefight.”

The rest of the squad also took cover, taking care to spread out somewhat, but keep each other in sight range. Samuel took position off near the staircase door, to Bonnie’s right. “Keep an eye out,” he warned, pulling out his Scatterlaser. “We won’t be able to see them until they get close.”

His warning was proven correct mere moments later as Lester was forced to dive sideways to avoid a flanking shot from one of the Shieldbearers. “What is this?!” he demanded. “How did he get behind us?”

Unable to actually get a clear shot off on the ADVENT soldier, Bonnie resorted to suppressing them to prevent it getting a clear shot at them. “Could use a hand here!”

Arthur made to assist, but spotted the other member of team rifle watching the intervening space. “No one else move through here!” he instructed, vaulting over his cover himself and relocating to a position that would allow him a flanking shot. “Found the other two,” he said, spotting team derringer moving slowly up the right.

Samuel turned away from the Shieldbearer behind them and poked out of cover, catching the two less-equipped Shieldbearers off-guard. “Do svidanya!” he cried, firing his Scatterlaser twice. The Shieldbearer in front, however, was the one bearing the shield. They deployed it, essentially nullifying Samuel’s onslaught entirely. “Ah, cyka blyat.”

It hadn’t been without cost, however. Not only was the shield almost entirely melted, but it kept the two still long enough for Lester to throw his AP grenade at them while they were distracted. The two ADVENT soldiers garbled something in pain, the proximity of the explosive to them resulting in a near-death experience for both of them.

Behind the squad, Holly set up across the back, her line of sight allowing her to see the flanking Shieldbearer’s armor, but only just. Not enough to take a shot. So instead, she waited. If the Shieldbearer was smart, they’d leg it back here – that way they’d avoid taking any of Bonnie’s suppressive fire, and then they’d still be in position to flank. “One step ahead…” the Sharpshooter murmured, gaze intent.

 

[Taxor_the_First]

Part 8

Which is why she was surprised when the Shieldbearer completely outsmarted her by disappearing and reappearing behind her. “You fucking what?!” she cried, wrapping around her cover to avoid its fire. “D-did it just teleport?! What the hell are these guys?”

“Wait what?” Bonnie blinked, suddenly registering that the enemy she’d been suppressing was no longer there. “Shit. I’m comin’, just gimme a sec!” She ran across the gap in the middle before remembering that there was an enemy watching it. She glanced across, only to see it recovering from Arthur’s shotgun blast. “Thanks Arthur!”

“Never do that again,” the Ranger chastised as Samara vaulted over one of the cover blocks, also flanking his Shieldbearer and shooting her Rotator at them.

“Durable bastard, aren’t you,” she muttered as it retreated towards the middle. “Watch your flanks, he got away from us.”

When Bonnie arrived on the right side, Samuel waved her towards the two Shieldbearers in front of him. “You take those two, I’ve got Holly,” he said, sprinting away with Scatterlaser in hand. Shrugging, the Grenadier loaded her HE grenade and fired it, removing the entrenched Shieldbearers from play entirely. Or so she thought. The one that had held the shield survived the blast, though it was clear they were not going to survive another attack. They retreated before Bonnie could rectify this, eliciting a curse from her.

Samuel’s arrival did not seem to be part of the teleporting Shieldbearer’s plan, as it was startled when he blasted it in the side. It was even more startled and considerably more dead when Holly fired her Rotator at it, the first shot missing but the second impacting its skull. “Thanks Sam,” she said, exhaling. “I owe you a drink or something.”

“I thought the drinks were free,” the Russian said, confused.

“It’s the thought that counts.”

Behind them, the sound of a Uranium Blunderbuss discharging forced them to turned around. Lester was standing over the corpse of the remaining team rifle Shieldbearer, nodding. “Yes,” he said. “About time this thing proved useful.”

Which only left one. Samara found it hiding in a corner, waiting for someone to attack it. So attack it she did, charging at it with her shield. The Shieldbearer seemed to have exactly the same idea, both shields clanging into each other. But the Juggernaut’s close-quarters combat sense proved superior, as she flicked her arm sideways, exposing her enemy to a shot from the Rotator clutched in her free hand. The Shieldbearer gargled something before sliding down to the floor, quite dead.

With whatever system determining the fight had come to a close, the blocks of cover descended into the floor once again, and the protective plating covering the doors slid back up. The squad regrouped then, ensuring their ammo was full and that no one had been hurt. When this had been determined to be the case, the squad pressed forward moving up the stairs and into the second level, above the arena.

The second level was split into two rooms. The first seemed rather mundane – a few tables and chairs adorned it, with food dispensers built into the walls. “First they copy our Juggernauts,” Holly said. “And now they’re trying to copy our mess hall. What next, bathrooms?”

The second room was far more interesting. Secured via a locked door that Lester easily cracked, the room contained several stasis pods, numbering five in total. The first four had recently been opened, while the other remained active. Strewn around also were beds with similar aesthetic and restraints to the psionic testing beds in the analysis room, but without most of the equipment. Instead, surgical tools were placed on them, and a few oddly colored bloodstains were visible on the metal.

“Trying to make new Shieldbearers?” Bonnie guessed. “I guess we really are making an impact.”

Lester was already examining the pods, having plugged his drone into the active one. “These first four were used by our friends downstairs,” he reported. “And this one…” He blinked. “This one is still occupied. Marked as ‘defective’, tagged for destruction.”

“Defective?” Holly asked, folding her arms. “The hell does that mean?”

“No idea,” the Specialist said. “Doesn’t say anything else, just ‘defective’.” He looked up at the pod, within which a humanoid shape was silhouetted. “Avenger might want to look at this, if we get the chance.”

“We can decide what souvenirs to take later,” Bonnie stated. “Come on. Surely there can’t be much left.”

After retracing their steps, the squad found themselves back in the main corridor, following to its last exit – a rather secure looking door. “Probably the command center,” Lester surmised, bringing up his wristpad. “I’ll get it, don’t worry.”

“So what’s the plan when we get in?” Samuel asked. “Do we have any idea what the room looks like?” He looked at Samara for this last part.

The Juggernaut shook her head. “I got to the train station and no further. They didn’t even keep me in the facility – they just threw me onto one of the prisoner transports and carted me out.”

“So no intel,” Bonnie said. She shrugged. “Oh well. We usually make it up as we go along anyway.”

“If it helps, I think there’s no more room in the facility for any other rooms. Not unless it goes down underground or something.” Samara exhaled. “This should be it.”

“So blow our loads. Got it,” the Grenadier said.

“Phrasing,” Alan muttered.

“I know what I said.”

The door emitted a beep before Lester stepped back. “Door’s unlocked,” he said quietly. “Are we ready?”

The squad charged in guns at the ready, analyzing the room and taking in all potential hazards and cover. The room was cubic at the entrance, but gave way to a semi-circular shape towards the back, multiple large screens on the walls (all showing nothing but static) curved around a raised command platform in the center. Terminals rimmed the platform at its base, and the far walls too.

Standing on the platform were the last bastion for the ADVENT Blacksite. An Assassin, a Medic, four Troopers, a Codex that was still forming and an Officer leading them all, though the armor was slightly more decorative on this last.

The Officer held up a hand. “XCOM, I presume,” she stated, lowering the hand to a rifle held across her chest. She tilted her head. “And Samara Vermaak. I am… surprised to see our paths cross again.”

Everyone turned their heads to the Juggernaut. “You’ve met?” Bonnie asked.

“When she threw me in the back of a truck,” Samara spat. “Your dog took my eye.”

The Officer frowned. “The wound was treatable.”

“Don’t try to pretend you care what happens to someone that tried to sneak into your base, Lieutenant Gallino,” the Juggernaut snarled. “Your superiors certainly didn’t. Their idea of ‘treatment’ was a bandaid, shock therapy, and sleep deprivation.” She stopped, blinking her eye rapidly as if trying to understand something.

The Officer paused. “How did you know my name?” she asked, though her tone was calm.

“Yeah, how?” Samuel asked, his gaze becoming suspicious. “And you knew her rank…”

“I…” Samara shook her head. “Maybe she told me when she shipped me off, my memory’s a bit fuzzy…”

“Fuzzy, or are you just refusing to answer?”

“Enough,” Lester snapped. “We have bigger problems-“

“I don’t think so,” Holly interjected. “We need to be able to trust each other completely if we’re going into battle together.”

Samara looked at all the other members in turn. “Are you saying you don’t trust me?” she asked, taking a step backwards. On the platform, one of the Troopers glanced at their Officer, who waved them away.

“Right now I’m having trouble reconciling how you’d be familiar with a ranking ADVENT officer,” Samuel said hotly. “You both know each others names. Like you’ve talked before, in a relaxed setting. Maybe over a briefing? While she told you what to do to gain our trust?”

Lester stepped between the two. “I’m going to stop you right there,” he said, “before you go saying things you’ll regret.”

“You have to admit it seems a little suspicious,” the Russian contested. “I don’t want to start a witch hunt here-“

“That’s exactly what you’re doing!”

Samuel switched his glare to Lester. “Are you trying to defend someone who may be a traitor?”

“I’m trying to inject some reason into this!” the Specialist cried. “At this rate they won’t even need to gun us down, we’ll do it all for them!”

“You haven’t given me a good argument for her innocence.” A narrowing of the Trooper’s eyes. “Or yours, for that matter.”

Lester looked around, appealing for help. Bonnie looked away. Holly stared him down. Arthur seemed interested in something buzzing around his head. Alan folded his arms. The Specialist looked like he was about to punch someone. “Are you all serious?” he demanded. “Can we all at least agree that now is not the time-“

“You’ve been saying that all mission,” Holly noted. “Hurrying us this entire time. Why? Didn’t want us to think too hard about anything we found?” Both she and Samuel drew their weapons up and aimed them at him. “Maybe leading us into a trap?”

 

[Taxor_the_First]

Part 9

Lucifer beeped in alarm. “This is insanity!” Lester cried. “Surely you do not believe that I would betray any of you to ADVENT? After what they’ve done to everyone? Have I not made my hatred of them clear enough? Is my year of service not enough to prove my loyalty to the old world?”

Something stuck in Samuel’s mind. He’s right, he realized. Lester isn’t the sort of person I’d pick for a traitor. He has more reason to hate ADVENT than most of us. But… even then, I still want to lynch him. More than usual. What’s going on?

Surprising him, Arthur suddenly darted in, grabbing Samuel’s Flashbang from his hip and tossing it at the group on the platform. Most of the squad was too busy looking at Arthur to notice exactly what he’d done, so the worst of the flash was avoided. The group on the platform, however, took it full bore. Lieutenant Gallino cried out, shielding her eyes too late. And the murderous intent in the squad’s mind was suddenly gone, as if it had never been there.

“Suggestion!” Arthur cried triumphantly. “I could barely see it, but it was there – a purple thread of psionic energy. I just needed to see where it went.”

Samuel understood then. “We were being manipulated,” he scowled. “She tried to turn us against each other!” And it nearly worked. Shit.

Samara had already regained control of her emotions. “Don’t just stand there! Get to cover!”

That pushed Judgement Squad back into gear. They moved to take cover behind terminals as the enemy too scrambled. Samara and Alan managed to double-team one of the Troopers as they stumbled off the platform, but the rest managed to jump off the platform and find cover among the terminals behind it before they could be shot in the back.

“If you insist on making this difficult, then I will indulge you!” Gallino shouted. She barked some orders to her subordinates in Jabberwockey, and the Troopers and Medic moved forward, firing as they went.

“Mor ba-fuckin’-laten to you too,” Holly muttered, having by now set up her rifle. She sniped one of the Troopers just when they thought they were safe behind cover, the dying Trooper coughing several times through the new hole in their throat before finally going limp.

“Haven’t got a good enough shot,” Samuel complained. “Bonnie, you’ve got a Viper grenade, right?”

The Scotswoman loaded the grenade into her launcher. “Smoking them out,” she said with a grin, launching the poison-carrying grenade over to the entrenched Troopers. There was a slight delay as the grenade clanked onto the floor, then rapidly expelled poison. The Troopers began coughing, and were forced to leave their cover as a result. One of them was far too distracted to watch where they were going, running directly over a tripwire Alan had placed via RC drone mere moments before. As the Medic rushed over to assist their fallen comrade, Samuel finished him off.

“No amount of modern medicine can heal that,” the Russian said with satisfaction as the Medic reconsidered.

“Someone distract them, I need to get closer,” Arthur instructed.

Samara pulled out an oddly geometric sphere and tossed it close to the enemy position, a holographic projection of her appearing where it landed. “Good enough?”

The ADVENT forces, the Lieutenant included, panicked at the sight of an enemy suddenly appearing so close, most of them directing their fire at the mimic. The Codex, however, completely ignored it, instead choosing to blink behind the squad.

Lester was typing into his wristpad. “Lucifer, if you would please go over and zap one of –“ He was cut off as the drone engaged it’s combat protocol… on him. He cried out, electrocuted for the second time this mission. He glared at his drone, noted its threatening floating. “Wait… who is doing this?!” he demanded, backing away slightly. “WHO?!”

Alan turned his head at the sound, and spotted the Codex sitting behind them. “Holy shit!” he yelled, firing his Electrolaser at the synthetic being. The Codex convulsed from the shot, falling to her knees. Lucifer shook itself as if waking up, and blinked its optical sensors. “Is it not going to clone?” the Ambusher asked, watching the Codex. “Huh. Filing that away for later.”

Samuel finished it off, making sure not to miss the shot on a static target. “Codex out,” he said, crouching back behind his cover.

Lieutenant Gallino had evidently had enough of this. Stepping out behind cover, her hands glowing a blue only Arthur could see, she pointed at Samuel. He yelped as the air around him dropped sharply in temperature, and then froze completely. Testing the strength of the ice, he found himself completely immobilized. “Of course the guy carrying an incendiary gets frozen,” he remarked bitterly. While his armor protected him from any of the negative effects of the temperature, it did mean he was a sitting duck for the ADVENT forces, which the Assassin that had been hiding on the central platform attempted to take advantage of.

Arthur spotted them before they could fire, however. As the Assassin lined up the shot, he vaulted above the railing, directly in front of their scope, surprising them long enough for him to cleave them in two with his Las-Blade. “And they say close range is too risky,” the Ranger muttered.

The remaining Troopers barked angrily, having discovered the Mimic beacon to be a ruse. Her supply of allies dwindling fast, the Lieutenant resorted to the strange weapon slung across her back. Drawing her Magnetic Bolt Caster, she aimed at the only target visible to her, drew in a breath, and fired. The bolt flew through the air, punching directly into Bonnie’s chest. The force of the blow knocked her backwards, all the air pushed out of her lungs.

“Bonnie!” Holly cried, worry in her eyes.

The Grenadier groaned. “Fuck that hurt,” she breathed. “Lester… I might need some help here.”

The Specialist did not argue with her tone, sending Lucifer over to her. “Ok, Medical Protocol enga-“ He stopped. “Uh… hmm. That won’t do much for you. I’m coming over, you need stabilization.”

Samuel had by now broken free of his icy bonds. “Got you covered,” he said, watching for enemy movement as the Specialist ran across and took up position next to the immobile Bonnie.

“She’s unconscious,” Lester stated, bringing out his medkit. “Losing blood quickly, but nothing I can’t fix provided I’m not shot in the back.” He began selectively spraying the medkit into his patient’s wound, ensuring to plug the areas leaking blood the most first.

Samara positioned herself between him and the enemy, planting her shield firmly on the ground. “I’ve got them. The rest of you, get the enemy!”

One of the enemy Troopers, still obviously affected by the Viper poison they’d inhaled, stumbled into a forward position, preparing a grenade for throwing. Samuel spotted the offensive action and whipped his rifle sideways, blasting the Trooper before they could deliver their explosive gift. Already internally damaged by the poison, the Trooper fell, the primed grenade dropping to their feet and exploding. The one remaining Trooper was at the edge of the blast and recoiled.

“Medic is next to that last one,” Holly analyzed. “I’d say he chose to cure that one. May as well be healthy.”

Arthur poked his head above the command platforms railing, Scatterlaser at the ready. Tucked in behind a terminal next to the base of the platform were the two ADVENT grunts, who both seemed startled by the appearance of the Ranger. He fired, the shot immediately killing the Medic before they could react. “Just two more,” he said, crouching down again to avoid retributionary fire from the Trooper.

Holly bit her lip. This would be a tricky shot at best, considering how careful the Trooper was being. Taking a breath, she pulled the trigger and kept her aim as true as she could as the rifle charged its shot. When it was done, the beam lanced out, seeking the flesh it had been born to strike. It found it, the shot hitting the Trooper’s back shoulder, slightly upraised over the terminal they were using as cover. The Sharpshooter smiled. “And then there was one.”

 

[Taxor_the_First]

Part 10

Lieutenant Gallino scowled. “I am no stock Trooper!” she yelled, likely in an attempt to intimidate her foes. “For one, I can do this!” Locating Arthur, she pushed her palm towards him, a blue glow writhing through the air towards his skull.

He exclaimed as the Mindfray wrapped into his head, though the impact was notably less than would be expected had the Officer not attacked a psion. His vision swam, and his sense of balance began to teeter. “Uh… give me – give me a sec,” he muttered, raising a hand to his head. “She just Mindfrayed me… I think? I don’t know, everything’s… hazy.”

“Sounds like a Mindfray to me,” Lester confirmed. “Stay where you are. You’ll get yourself killed if you try to attack her like that, and I don’t have any more medkits.”

“Understood,” the Ranger acknowledged, choosing to stay low for now.

Samuel fired, attempting to get a shot on the Lieutenant. He cursed when he missed, his target dodging sideways just before he fired. Determined now, he fired again, and again the Officer dodged before the shot actually fired. “What the hell? She’s moving like she knows when I’m going to shoot!”

“Honestly that wouldn’t surprise me,” Alan stated, his voice crackling over the communicator. “I’ve got a plan, though. Lester, Bonnie should still have a Slurry grenade. Can you confirm?”

The Specialist carefully rolled Bonnie sideways a little, revealing the canister hanging from her hip. “Yes,” he said, allowing her to roll back. “What of it?”

“I’m gonna plant an IED over on your left,” he said, “and I want you to goo her when she steps in it. Got it? Even assuming she survives the IED, she can’t dodge our fire if she can’t move.”

Holly resisted the urge to make a dirty joke. “Sounds good to me. Lester, can you actually operate that thing?”

“I have a missile launcher on my back,” the Specialist responded, loading the grenade in Bonnie’s launcher and readying himself to fire. “The basic principle is the same, just more drop.”

Lieutenant Gallino was startled by the Electrolaser shot zapping the terminal next to her, shorting out the screens entirely. “How did you get behind me?!” she demanded, attempting to relocate before the Ambusher corrected his mistake. Too focused on this, she did not spot the pressure plate as she moved. The IED exploded next to her, throwing her sideways from the force.

The squad was surprised when she rose, seemingly almost completely uninjured save for a segment of her armor cracking and falling away like a broken shell. Before she could escape, however, Lester fired the Slurry grenade, which on detonating covered the nearby area in goo. Gallino struggled in the slime, attempting to both free herself from the substance on the floor, and from the same substance covering her body.

Holly took aim, flipping the switch for her friction dampener to overcharge. “This time, I won’t miss,” she assured herself. Just before she fired, Gallino ceased struggling, turning her head to the Sharpshooter with dawning expression of fear on her face. Holly didn’t see it, with only the mouth of the Officer visible. Even if she had, she would have ignored it. The beam sliced through the air, piercing the Lieutenant’s chest and eliciting a scream of pain. Resisted by the slurry, she fell backwards, knocking her head on the shell of the terminal behind her.

Arthur poked his head above the railing of the command platform, running his eyes around the room. “I do believe that is it,” he said, standing. When he wasn’t immediately shot at, he nodded. “Yes. That was all of them.”

The squad breathed a collective sigh of relief, over half an hour’s worth of adrenaline venting from their systems. “That was a long one,” Samuel remarked.

“Don’t hear that often, do you?” Holly teased.

“Fuck you.”

“It was not without cost,” Lester noted, glancing at the comatose Grenadier beside him. “Who’s going to radio in?” When no one volunteered, he rolled his eyes. “Fine, I’ll do it. Firebrand, this is Advocate. Are you receiving?”

There was a brief delay before the pilot responded. “Advocate, this is Firebrand, receiving you. Where’s Lass?”

“Currently incapacitated,” the Specialist responded. “She’ll live, but you may want to get Chandra ready. The Blacksite is clear of all ADVENT combat personnel. How long do we have on the jammer?”

“Optimism paid off. If I drag it out, about fifteen minutes at a stretch,” Firebrand responded. “I’ll land so you can bring Lass and any acquired objects in. Can you get to the landing pad from where you are?”

As the two continued conversing, Samuel walked over to the Lieutenant, realizing with a start that she was still alive, if barely. She raised her head as he approached, her breathing ragged. Arthur followed behind the Trooper, drawing his shotgun again as a precaution. “You’ve done nothing,” Gallino rasped. “As soon as you leave ADVENT will regain control of this site, and work will continue. Our deaths will be no hindrance. Avatar -”

“No hindrance to systematic abduction and torture? What a thing to be proud of,” Samuel said darkly. “How do you justify that? What possible reason do you have for all of this?”

The Lieutenant barked a laugh that turned into a bloody cough. “The Elders know best,” she said. “I work under their direction. Any sacrifice that must be made to achieve their goals is necessary.”

“And what are their goals?” the Russian asked.

“No idea,” Gallino giggled. “Even if I knew, I wouldn’t tell you terrorists. You’d just try and stop them.”

Samuel scowled. “I don’t care how noble their goals are. What I’ve seen today in this facility condemns them, and ADVENT for enabling them. The end can’t justify these means.”

The Officer shrugged. “That’s not for me to judge,” she said, weakly placing her fist on her chest. “I, Lieutenant Tulia Gallino, enforce the will of ADVENT, and the will of the Elders. I pass judgement on you and your little band of renegades. And there are thousands more like me willing to lay down their lives to stop you.” She grinned, her gray mouth garish. “You can’t possibly hope to win this war.”

“You’re a fanatic,” Samuel spat. “You may as well be a robot, carrying out the instructions you’re given without question. I’ve heard enough.” He stalked away, leaving the Lieutenant with Arthur.

The Ranger sighed, bringing up his shotgun. “I should let you bleed out,” he murmured. “Count yourself lucky you are a psion and thus not worth the risk of leaving alive behind us.” He fired, ending Gallino’s life at last.

When they returned to the group, Lester had finished his checking in. “Alan, Holly, you two carry Bonnie up to the landing pad. That door over there should lead there.” He grimaced when the two made to pick their leader up. “Carefully! If that bolt shattered in her, there could be shrapnel, which could cause more internal bleeding.”

“So what are we doing?” Samuel asked, folding his arms.

Lester sighed. “Making a choice,” he answered quietly.

 

[Taxor_the_First]

Epilogue

“You want us to choose who to save?” Samuel asked, bewildered.

“Not just you,” Lester snapped. “I have to make this decision too.”

Samuel, Lester, Arthur and Samara gazed at the storage room, filled to the brim with stasis pods, each pod containing a single human. So many lives that would need to be consigned back to ADVENT control.

“The Skyranger… can only fit about eleven of these,” Lester said quietly. “One of those places is taken by that defective Shieldbearer we found. We’ll secure them in Bonnie’s seat, since she’ll be in the front with Chandra. The rest will need to go into the hold, still in the pods.”

“Ten?” Samara asked. “We can only save ten?”

“I’m afraid so.”

Samuel placed a hand on the back of his helmet. “No. Surely there’s some way we can-“

“There is no other way,” Lester interrupted. “Believe me, I’ve been thinking about it.”

“There’s always another way,” the Trooper insisted. “Can’t we just let them out of the pods, at least?”

“Where would they go?” Samara asked. “We’re literally in the middle of nowhere. It was a journey for me to even get out here in the first place, and that was at the top of my health.” She glanced at the pods. “We don’t know how healthy these people may or may not be. They won’t make it out.”

“And once ADVENT realizes something’s up, they’ll send people here,” Lester continued. “Any civilians running around will have seen too much. They’ll probably be executed.”

The squad was quiet. “Who, then?” Samuel asked quietly. “Which ten do we save?”

Advocate frowned. “We need to look at the bigger picture,” he said at last. “There are naturally awakened psions here, ones that could help us if we save them, or could be used against us if we don’t. Logically, we should take them.”

“Logically?”

The Specialist hesitated, as if wondering whether to divulge the next bit of information. “There are… children here as well,” he said. “Emotion, ethics, dictate we take them.”

“Then we take them,” Samuel stated. “Damn the help to the war effort the psions could be, we can’t just leave children here.”

“There are over twenty children in these pods,” Lester said patiently. “Even if we just took them, we would be taking half at best. We… we have to look at the bigger picture. More children and more ordinary civilians will be taken to places like this the longer this war goes on, the longer ADVENT is in power. If we do not take the psions –“

“So what, we just leave them to their fate?” Samuel demanded. “Let ADVENT get their hands on them again?”

“So that others may not be later!” the Specialist snapped.

“What good will ten psions do either way?”

“That could make all the difference!”

The Russian snarled. “If we don’t take those children we are no better than the ADVENT assholes that took them in the first place,” he argued. “I’ve already pulled a gun on you once today, don’t make it twice.”

Lester merely glared at him. The gaze of his drone too seemed hostile.

Samuel sighed. “I’m sorry. That was…”

“It’s fine,” the Specialist said quietly, lowering his gaze. “You were not yourself then. None of us were. And this is a heated issue.” He swallowed. “I understand where you’re coming from, I do. I know how you feel. But I have to look at this logically. This is war, and in war, people die.”

“I know,” the Trooper said. “Doesn’t mean we have to like it.”

“No.” Lester turned his gaze back to the room. “No, it doesn’t.”

Arthur took a step forward. “We can only do what we can do,” he said. “Perhaps this is a time we should compromise. Take half children, and half psions. Five of each.”

Samuel’s shoulders sagged noticeably. “That’s probably the best option we have,” he conceded. He looked at the piles of pods. “But what about the rest? Do we just leave them here for ADVENT to toy with?”

The group remained silent. “I…” Lester swallowed. “I can shut down the life support systems of all the pods connected to the network. After I disconnect the ones we want… a simple hack would allow me to do so.”

“Kill them in their sleep,” Samara murmured. “It… would be better than leaving them alive, considering what would probably happen to them.”

“Could you actually do that?” Samuel asked.

“Easily,” Lester said. “Just hack into the systems, issue a system-wide shutdown order. Without anyone to counter it, the life support will fail, and they will eventually run out of oxygen. They’ll feel nothing – the stasis will keep them asleep right up until death.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

The Specialist was silent. “It’s necessary,” he said finally, tapping a few commands into his wristpad. “Come on. We’ll grab the pods we need, and then… then we can leave this place behind.”

Samuel nodded and followed, feeling a pang of guilt whenever they walked past a pod. “Next time,” he said, “we’re bringing X4 charges.”

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Dahlexpert & ZombieSplitter53
Truth Hurts
Part One

On bored the Avenger
Guerrilla Tactics School

Luke was going over the training he would receive over the course of the war."Man there are so many good ones. I might lean more towards the gunner but both of those look nice for demolition and gunner. Man, I can't wait to use my gun again. It's been a while."

A few individuals walked in, walking over to a computer and chatting. One in particular stopped when they saw Luke. "Guys, we'll talk more later. I have something I need to do." The others nodded and walked out" while the man in the business suit approached Luke.

Like didn't notice until he placed a hand on Luke's shoulder." Oh, Mr. Chambers. Is there something I can do for you?"

"We need to talk," Joe said flatly. "About you and Alexis."

"Um, alright. Mind if we did this in your or my quarters? Don't want anyone to hear us."

Joe sighed a bit in impatience, but nodded, leading Luke back to the room he shared with his daughters.

Luke entered the room and grabbed a chair. "Alright, Chambers, what's this about?"

Joe slowly closed the door behind him, but didn't turn around, keeping his back to Luke and hiding his expression. "I... talked to your mother recently. She informed me that you might not have been... completely honest about your past."

Luke's eyes widened, knowing were this was going "Sigh, did she now? So how much did she tell you?"

"Everything... at least, I hope there wasn't more beyond what she told me." Joe finally turned back, his expression a combination of anger and disappointment. "I commend her for her honesty. If it was me, I wouldn't have been willing to admit half the things about my family that she did."

"Of course she did. My people don't lie. So she told you I was a murderer, a rapist, and so on. Figured this would happen at some point. Now what's this about me and Alexis?"

"Don't you hear yourself!?" Joe shouted angrily. "How can you talk about those things so casually!? Your talk as if you're a reformed shoplifter!"

Luke kept his calm and breathed. "There's a reason I'm being so calm about it, and I will answer that later. Now what's this about me and Alexis?"

Joseph folded her arms. "I... I don't want you seeing her any more. Use someone else to get your redemption. But not my angel. She's pure. She hasn't..."

The door opened behind him, and Joe's younger daughter stepped in. "Dad, you would not believe..." Jennifer looked between Luke and Joe, particularly her father's expression. "What's going on?"

"Your dad knows my past, every bit of it, because my aunt told him everything. And because of that he wants me to dump Alexis."

"Dad, come on. Alexis was already told everything, and she..."

"She hasn't been told everything." Joe interrupted. "Nor have you. Let's leave it at that. Luke, their are plenty of women here for you to have your fun with. I am asking you nicely. Break up with my daughter... please."

Luke stood up and put the chair back. "You know, I had so many people tell me what to do in my life. So to answer your question, I'm not breaking up with Alexis. She is the only person on this ship that can handle me, my teasing, my joking around, my everything. She is very important to me, I never felt this feeling for anyone besides her, so no, that's not happening."

Joe folded his arms. "She doesn't know, you know? She might know about the killings, but not the other things. And she deserves to. If you insist on staying with her, then she deserves to know."

"Fine, get her. I'll tell every single one of you what I did. And I will tell you the real reason why I did what I did, because guess what. What you heard was my aunt's and the rest of those fucking maggots' side of things. So get her so I can tell you the real reason I did what I did!" Luke shouted, his anger starting to boil over.

Jennifer took a nervous step back, and Joe motioned for her to go find her sister. Once she was gone, Joe coldly said, "I suggest you relax right now. Adults or not, I don't like people scaring my daughters."

"Oh, I suggest you get used to my screaming, because there's going to be more of it!" Luke took a few breaths and tried to calm himself down.

Joe rubbed his brow. "Is this the anger that led to you mercilessly killing people just for pissing you off? Tell me; what are you thinking of doing to me right now?"

"Not a damn thing, and no, this small thing is not what made me a killer. You're going to find out soon enough why I became a killer. And trust me, what my aunt told you is what she saw me do. She has no idea why I did it."

Joe scoffed. "I don't know what reason you think you could possibly..."

The door flew open, and an angry Alexis pushed past her father and grabbed Luke's arm. "Come on. We're getting out of here. Now."

Joe stepped forward. "Alex, listen, I..."

"No, YOU listen!" Alexis snapped at him. "I love Luke. He makes me happy, and he owes you no explanation." She pulled on Luke. "Come on. If you're not wanted here, I'm not."

Luke planted his foot onto the ground and yanked his arm from Alexis. Aunti, I know what you're doing. Fine. You want to test me? So be it.

"Alexis, your father is being a father. My aunt told him my past. All of it. I know you know parts of it. I need you to take a seat and hear my side of things, and for the love of god, calm down darling."

"No, Luke, I will not calm down." Alexis glared at her father. "This is a witch hunt. My father is just trying to control me like he always does. You don't owe any of us an explanation."

"Alex, you're being unreasonable." Joe stepped in front of her and waved a hand to Luke. "You said you saw a memory where he killed some people then drove away with some woman. What happened then?"

Alexis shrugged her shoulders. "He saved he. He probably took her home or somewhere safe. What is your point? Of you are trying to say he probably slept with her..."

"Slept with her?" Joe shook his head. "There is a chance that he took he somewhere and assaulted her whether she wanted him to or..."

Alexis' hand flew across her father's cheek, hard enough to make it hurt. Joe and Jenn were shocked, but no more then Alexis herself. She got over it quicker, tears forming as she whispered, "You have no right to make that kind of accusation. How... dare you?"

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Dahlexpert & ZombieSplitter53
Truth Hurts
Part Two

Lukes eyes widened at what Alexis did. He then slapped his hand into his fist, causing a mini explosion to get ever ones attention.

"Enough! Darling, I appreciate you defending me. I really do. But god damnit, that gives you no reason to slap your father! Apologize to him!" Luke then turned to Joe "And are you finally going to hear my side of things now, instead of going off what my aunt said?"

Joe nodded, to surprised to say much. Alexis sighed and sat down on the bed. "Alright. Let's hear what is so bad my father is trying to force us apart."

Luke finally took a seat, and tried to gather his thoughts on how to tell Alexis about his entirety past."Alright. Before I explain why I did what I did." Luke looked at Alexis, thinking to himself that this might be the end of his relationship. "First darling, I... I... Sigh god damnit, Luke say it." Luke took a deep breath since this will be the first time he would say the L word.

"Sigh darling I lo...loov... Sigh, I love you too. Might as well say it since you said it first, though I wish it was under better circumstances."

"It doesn't matter." Alexis ran her hand across his cheek. "The point is you said it, and it makes me so happy."

"Yeah, well, you're about to hate me, as much as your father does right now." Luke held Alexis' hand for a few seconds, then put her hand to her side. Luke started to shake out of fear of what woyld happen. "Darling, the reason your dad is angry at me is because.... you know that I was murderer, and killed a lot of people, but that's not all. I was also... a rapist that sexually assaulted girls." Luke perpared himself for Alexis' reaction.

Alexis stared at him blankly for several moments before slowly shaking her head. "No, you... you're not. I-I mean... you weren't. You didn't. You... you couldn't. My Luke would... never..."

"Your current Luke wouldn't, but the person I was did. That's who I used to be." Luke kept his head down, not wanting to look at Alexis.

"No..." Tears ran down Alex's cheeks as her mind raced, dark thoughts running to and fro. "The other day... in the med room, when you..."

"When he what?" Joe raised his voice. "What did you do?"

Like sighed. "Alexis, what I did to you, that was a moment of weakness. That has nothing to do with the person I was. That was my fear of death taking over. I would never ever do anything horrible to you."

"But you would, and have, done it to other women!" Alexis covered her eyes, and started to weep. "How could you do that kind of thing? How... how many?"

"It was a few. A very small number. God damn it. I can try to explain why I did what I did. Can I explain why I became a monster?"

Alexis shook her head. "I... I don't..."

"Yes." Jennifer said, surprising the others. "Luke... Luke deserves a chance to explain himself. To tell us why he might deserve redemption for his actions."

Luke looked at Jennifer, actually surprised. "Umm... thanks Jenn. Alright, first and foremost, Alexis, that blue haired woman that you saw in my memories, you were right. I did nothing to her. I rescued her, took her to a nearby settlement, and left her to her fate. I did nothing to her at all." Luke tried to show some good qualities of himself before he told the truth about himself.

Alexis slowly nodded, but didn't look up from her plams. "And the others," Joe said in a unusually calm tone.

"Before I get to that, let me ask you Jenn a question. What was your reaction when Alexis got her powers? And there is a reason why I'm asking."

Jenn was caught a bit off guard. "Um... I-I don't know. I was only eleven at the time. Um... I guess I was a little scared. I mean, Yakone had already started using her powers, but it was different having my sister do it. It took a while for me to adjust."

Jenn was caught a bit off guard. "Um... I-I don't know. I was only eleven at the time. Um... I guess I was a little scared. I mean, Yakone had already started using her powers, but it was different having my sister do it. It took a while for me to adjust."

"Alright, that's good. Now imagine if she was a red psionic with zero control over her powers at the time. How would you feel then?"

"Um... terrified, I guess," Jennifer answered.

"What is your point?" Alexis asked. "That your ability to make explosions scared you into talking advantage of people?"

"No. Let me... tell you a story. I was around 15 years old when I got my powers, and by that time, I made a bit of a name for myself with the gangs. And add on top of that my aunt joining ADVENT around this time too. So my reputation was pretty shit with me being in a gang, a family member with ADVENT, and me with the same powers as the aliens. So at this point, everyone wants me dead except the gang I was with."

Luke took a deep breath. "So my mind started to wonder, and then I came with up with this great idea. I'm stronger then the people I'm with now. Why do I need them? So at this point, I decided to play hero and destroy the gang I was with. As well as every other gang in the area."

Joe let out a grim laugh. "You decided you would kill your own gang, your friends, to be a hero? That doesn't sound off to you?"

"Friends?" Luke said with some laughter in his voice. "Oh, no, they were not my friends. I used them because they gave me food and water and I had back up whenever I went raider hunting and scavenging. They were a means to an end. I used them and they used me. The moment I got my powers that was when I became strong enough to betray them, and at least try and do some good."

"Had you raped any women before you got your powers?"Alexis asked bluntly.

"No, at this point, I'm still a virgin. Now this is the 'fun' part happens. At this point, the majority of the settlement thinks I'm with the aliens, because my aunt was with them and I'm psionic. Now, let me say this part my aunt was not around at this point since she was with ADVENT, so she has no idea what happen three months later."

"After I cleared the settlement of gangs and got rid of the raiders, guess how they decided to thank me for the good I did. They burned down my house in a pitiful attempt to kill me. They thought to themselves, if this kid has the power to clear the area of gangs and bandits, what's stopping him from attacking us. Thankfully, I was not there. After that, my guard was up constantly. After many moths of this I decided, you know, what fuck you people? I never used my powers on you people at all. Hell, even when I was with a gang I never killed you. I beat you down, but never killed. At this point I decided fuck it. If you're putting this much effort into killing me, might as well fight back by doing what you feared that I would do."

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Dahlexpert & ZombieSplitter53
Truth Hurts
Part Three

"They were wrong, Luke, but treating you like a monster didn't give you the right to become one." Alexis shook her head. "It didn't give you the right to murder and rape innocent people."

"I understand that, and admit what I did was wrong. I have no trouble admitting that. I was wrong. I'm not looking for some forgiveness or pity for what I did. It was in my train of thought at that time. I was thinking an eye for eye. So that's my story. After that, I went to the city, saw the bullshit of ADVENT, and you know what happens after that."

Alexis turned her head away. "What even made you stop? ADVENT is bad. Yeah, that's a given. But people still tried to kill you. What happened? Did you kill your entire town and decide you were even? Did you murder the women you violated too? Did you target women who you know for a fact tried to kill you, or did you just target the ones you figured would be the most fun to destroy the lives of?"

"The town is still there. The people that tried to kill me are dead. Mostly because they shot at me. The woman I violated are alive. I did not take pleasure in killing them. Now as for what stopped me, I stopped myself. I came to the conclusion of fuck this town, let the raiders have it. I left and went deeper into raider territory. I knew without me, the gangs would come back, the raiders would come back, and they would have themselves to blame because the only person that kept them out, they drove him out. And that's exactly what happen, a year later, I was about 17 at this point, and I went back to the town. And sure enough, the gangs were back and the raiders were back. Only this time I did nothing but watch and went back to an old outpost I found and called home, leaving the town to fate."

Luke sat up in his chair. "So there you go. My whole childhood, a life of me being used, betrayed, saving those who I could save and being an overall person who had no trouble wanting to die." Luke clapped his hands "So now you know everything. You see why I kept this to myself. I did that so I could find some bit of happiness in my life and I did." Luke looked at Alexis. "But now, the one person that I cared for is gone."

Luke got out of his chair and turned to the door. "Congratufuckinglations, Mr. Chambers, you got what you wanted. I'm sure Alexis doesn't want to see me again." Luke rubbed Alexis' shoulder. "And darling, I'm sorry for keeping this from you. I'll be going."

"Do you even truly regret any of it? Truly?" Alexis looked into Luke's eyes. "You say you want to redeem yourself. Well, redemption is being saved from error or sin. But to get redemption, you need to admit you even did anything that needs to be redeemed. So... do you even regret what you did? You just said you didn't stop because it was wrong. You stopped because you just decided to turn your back on the town. Well, if you killed everyone that tried to kill you, that means that town you abandoned, that town that you came back to and found filled with the people you put yourself above, were all innocents. So do you have any regrets? Do you regret murdering people who were scared? Do you regret raping women that did... not... deserve it, no matter what they did to you. Do you regret leaving that town to rot? Or would you do it all again given the chance? Because it sounds to me you think those people deserved to die. Those women deserved to have you violate them like objects."

"Do I regret what I did to those people? Yes. Did they deserve what I did to them? No. Would I have gone back to the town to save it? Part of me yes, I would have, and another part of me said why do the same thing for the same result? I did kill a lot of those bandits that were there and returned what they stole." Luke patted Alexis head. "But it doesn't matter now. You're done with me. Why even bother with it now?"

"Damn it, Luke!" Alex swatted his hand away. "Don't fucking patronize me! Don't treat me like a child! And don't tell me what to do or what to feel! My father is already doing that, and now you want to as well, huh? Is it some macho male thing to control your women? I'll make my own choices, damn it!"

Luke couldn't help but laugh ."You're right, darling. I've given you the freedom of choice since I met you. So why stop now? Alright. Ball is in Your court Alexis. What are you going to do?"

Alexis lowered her eyes. She looked at her father and sister, but got no answer from them. She slowly turned back to Luke and said, "I-I... I don't know." The tears came again, harder then before as she broke down. "I don't know what to do!"

Luke looked at Alexis, and held her tightly, not saying anything to her at first. "You've been through a lot today, huh? I tell you what. Take some time to think about it. And know whatever you choose, I will still love you."

Alex's slowly nodded. "You would never hurt me... or any other woman... ever again... right?"

"Of course not. The person I was is gone. I would never hurt you or anyone again."

Jennifer came over and pulled Alexis into her arms. In a surprisingly gentle voice, she said, "Give her time to process, Luke. Give us... all time. If you truly care about her, you'll be patient."

Luke just nodded and kissed Alexis' head. "Alright, I can wait. Whatever she chooses, I'm sure it will be the right choice."

As Luke left, the door closed behind him. However, after a few steps forward, and hand grasped his shoulder, the firm hold telling him it was Joseph. "Luke."

"What do you want? Haven't I been through enough today? I already had to reveal my past that I never wanted to talk about, and now I have to visit a silver haired woman for a little talk."

Joe sighed. "I just... wanted to thank you for being honest. You could have denied everything, but you didn't. Whatever Alexis decides... I'll stand by it."

Luke turned around and faced Joseph "A little late to be playing nice with me, don't you think? The only thing good that came from this is Alexis saying she loved me, and that might even be ruined."

"I'm not 'playing nice'. I was being sincere. But if you want to blame me for pushing you to tell the truth, I guess that says something about your character."

"There is a reason I never wanted to mention any of this. I figured this would happen. It would have been better if no one knew about my past. Oh, and Alexis is still a virgin by the way, I did nothing to her. So she's still your pure little angel."

Joe nodded. "I know. You're trying. I can see that. I know you probably have nothing but anger for me, but trust me, this would have come out eventually. Better she learn it from you then someone else like... like I did."

"And that someone is going to be getting a tribal ass whooping, but you're right. I guess it's better this happened now. What angers me is that my aunt planed this, every single bi tof it, and is just waiting to see what happens."

Joe folded his arms. "That... is a good point. I still find it odd she would be so blunt about you. Why do you think she said what she said?"

"She's testing me and Alexis. She is a very traditional woman. She wants to see if Alexis would stay with me no matter what, and to see if you and your family will accept me for all the things I did. Because she wants me to have strong children, And she wants to see if Alexis can truly accept me."

The older man gave him a serious look. "Just one last question; were you just garnering sympathy, or did you really mean it when you said you loved Alexis." He leaned forward a bit. "The complete and honest truth."

"You think I would joke about saying that? That was the first time in my life I ever said I love you to any woman other then my family. It felt weird, as do most things when i'm with Alexis. But it didn't feel a bad, just weird. It's just... I never said those two words before. But yes, I meant it."

Joe nodded. "Okay. Then good luck, Luke. It is in Alex's hands now."

"Yeah, I just hope she gives me me another chance, as well as you. I hope I can get you to trust me again."

Joe patted him on the shoulder, and returned to his daughters, Luke catching a glimpse of Alex's gaze before the door shut.

Luke just looked at the door and shook his head. "Keep calm Luke, keep calm. Just give her time to think. And be prepared if she dumps you."

 

[Dahlexpert]

Lukes feelings boiling over

On board the avenger

Gym

Lilith is training in the gym, after telling Joe about Lukes past she is has been expecting Luke response.

“Lilith!” Luke shouted entering the gym, his eyes glowing red and him having a look most haven’t seen from him especially Lilith. It was an almost evil look that terrified Lilith.

Lilith put her hands up and tried to reason with Luke. “No…now Luke calm down, I did what I thought was necessary.”

Luke punched Lilith dropping her to the ground, he then put his hands on her throat and started choking her. “The greater good! They had no reason to know about this, and you had no reason to spout something you know nothing about!”

Lilith being choked by Luke punches him off her and rubbed her neck. “N…not here boy, we will do this on top of the avenger. That way no one else has to figure out what you were.”

Luke looked around, and saw that the people were seeping away from him out of fear. Luke calmed down, and gathered his thoughts. He looked down at Lilith his eyes still glowing red. “Fine, we will settle this on top the avenger.”

Luke left the gym, and Lilith had a dire look on her face he’s actually mad, I never seen him like this before. This may have backed fired horribly

Lulith heads to the top of the avenger, and looks around for Luke. But she doesn’t see him, she turned around and sees Luke coming at her with a right swing. Lilith dodged the attack and threw a few punches at Luke. “Damnit Luke I did this for you.” Lilith elbowed Luke’s nose and kicked him away from her. “What you did was wrong, it’s better that Alexis and her family no about this now then later down the Line.”

Luke looks at his nose and sees blood coming out of it, Luke yells and charges at Lilith. Lilith through a swing at Luke. Luke catches Lithiths arm “All I did, I did to defend myself” Luke kicked Lilith away from him and through a few punches at Lilith.


Lilitth grabs Luks arm and through him across from her. “Self-defense!” Lilith punches Luke face and says in between punches “You call killing innocent people self-defense, raping woman self-defense. Burning most of the colony to kill innocents. You call all that defending yourself!” Lilith went for another punch, only this time Luke blocks the punch and head buts Lilith staggering her.

Luke grabbed Lilith her shirt and yelled at Lilith “You know nothing of what I did.” Luke punches Lilith to the floor were she’s on her knees. “You left me in that pit when I was fifteen.” Luke kicked Lilith to the ground and started to puncher her face over and over again while still yelling at her. “You left me, to find for myself. You left me with the gangs and the raiders, you left me in an environment where I had no choice but to do what I did.” Luke lifted Lilith above his head “You made me what I was!” Luke slams Lilith to the ground, and Lilith looked up at Luke while Luke looked down at her and finally said what he’s been felling for years. “You should have never left me, you brought me into raider territory. You brought me in an environment where I had no choice but to join a gang, in order to live. And then you left me to deal with the people that wanted me dead before I became what I was.” Tears started to fall off Lukes cheeks. “I needed a mother, a guardian to teach me right from wrong. Not a person who saw me join a gang at twelve, and already decide that he’s not worth helping and then leave me the first chance she got.”

Lilith’s eyes widen, this is the first time she saw Luke cry in front of her. At that moment she did not see the twenty three year old, man that finally became what his parents wanted him to be. She saw the three year old child that was scared and confused about what was going on around him. Lilith stood up and hugged Luke. “I’m sorry Luke, I really did failed you didn’t I? I never knew that you felt this way.”

Luke didn’t hug Lilith back, instead he tells her “You know, when Alexis came in to defend me she admitted that she loved me.”

Lilith’s eyes widen and she smiles at Luke. “That’s great, I never expected that she would say that. So she really does care for you.” Lilith smile faded when she realized that Alexis now knows about Lukes past. “Ou, ou Luke I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry, I did not expect that to happen I..I.”

“It doesn’t matter, Alexis will make her choice and then we will see what happen.” Luke went back to the elevator and went down the to the ships barracks, leaving Lilith above the ship.

Lilith stood there pandering what she has done to Luke, not just with Alexis but with his whole life. “God damn it, I’m sorry sis I truly failed your son. The only person that made him who he now is himself, I’m so proud of your son Scarlet. Even though I failed him he fixed himself, he took himself out of that settlement. Even though he could have easily burned it all to the ground, heh he truly has the Van Dams iron will doesn’t he? You will truly be an amazing fighter Luke and I will make this right somehow.”

 

[MarineAvenger]

Attempting To Make a Robot Love (MarineAvenger and Frostlich)

Cathy slowly walked up to the door of Artyom’s ‘room’, looking rightly confused as she gave it a knock.

There was no response strangely and when she tried the door it was actually unlocked. When she stepped into the closet turned bedroom, she saw that Artyom was laying down on a small mat against the side wall underneath some shelves, the eight usual red eyes merely blacked out to likely show sleep. He was still dressed the same way as always, and as she looked around it seemed he had no other clothes other than an almost identical set to the ones he were wearing except for different stitches in different places.

Cathy smiled, “He’s like a little teddy bear…”

His red eyes flickered to life and his head tilted towards Catherine. “I take offense to that.” He grumbled, slowly sitting up, slower than would seem normal and he held his head. “What are you doing in here?”

“Oh, well, I wanted to see if you’d like to go out for some lunch? We are a couple after all!” She said happily.

“Oh right… I forgot all about that.” Artyom admitting, slowly shaking his head. “I wasn’t even sure if we were serious about that.”

“Oh… Well I mean… I know I’ve been working a lot lately, but I’ve been looking forwards to a nice lunch with you. I do want to try to make this work.” She replied honestly.

“I suppose…” Artyom stood up slowly and swayed a bit, letting out a slow breath. “Seeing Seshat can wait.”

“Who’s… Seshat?” Cathy asked, raising an eyebrow.

Artyom rubbed his back and looked over the girl. “Someone new to the ship I have been giving special attention to. She needs it after what she went through.”

“May I ask what happened to her?”

“She is much like me in a way. Was made for nothing other than to be a tool. The Commander captured her and brought her here. An-Yi asked me to help with getting through to the Codex and eventually we did. I did at least. The Commander wished to shoot her but I managed to calm the flow of data that was hurting Seshat.”

“So she’s a… Machine? I don’t know much about ADVENT and their troops, usually it’s just cook mode or doc mode with me now… Mostly cook…” Catherine rubbed her neck.

“Is there a problem? You seem off by what you just said.” Artyom noted

“What? Oh no no no! I just noticed you are talking about her like she used to be a person… But… She’s a machine so… I guess I’m just a little confused…” She returned.

“Because to me, Seshat is no different than you or the Commander whether made of organic tissue or not. I’ve been in her mind, and I have felt her pain. You tend to know someone best when you share in one another’s suffering.” He placed a hand against his facial implant. “Especially when you are a computer more than you are human.”

“Really now?” She asked curiously, “Well if that’s the case, how about we just sit in here and… Talk about ourselves… I know a little bit about you, but I don’t think I’ve told you much about me.”

“If that is rather what you would like.” The Russian man conceded as he sat back down on his mat. “You may have to just go with what comes to mind. I do not really know what I should ask you first.”

“Well… I come from London, me and my sisters… We were born twin Quintuplets, which is like, super duper rare, I guess you could say it gave us a strong connection with one another… But… It made also made it hard to handle being… split apart… You know?” She said, crossing her legs on the floor.

Artyom shook his head, pulling down his hood. “I am an only child. I suppose It would be like being directly ripped out of a server.” Something that is likely causing all my migraines. He thought to himself privately.

“Well, I’m sure your parents had a lot of time to spend on loving you then, my family fought a lot about that sort of thing.” She added.

“Well… to be honest I barely even remember my parents. I couldn’t tell you much about them other than names or general appearances.” Artyom admitted to the other woman, holding his head as it began to pound heavily.

“Are… You in pain?” Catherine spoke with a worrysome tone as she reached her arm out towards him.

Artyom let her hand touch him despite the tensing in his body that suggested he was going to slap it away last minute. “Just some headaches. They are no big deal. They are a side effect of what I am.”

“Would you like something to drink? I could run over to the mess hall and grab you some water or something.”

Artyom’s gaze was hard to track exactly where he was looking, though it appeared he was giving something thought, and he reached up, touching her hand and slowly pulled it off. “You wished to go together, did you not?” He asked finally.

“Yep! I wonder if the pie I made is still in the fridge… Well, if it isn’t, I’ll just throw together a new one!” Catherine exclaimed, her energetic tone returning quickly.

The fact her tone changed so quickly seemed to give Artyom whiplash and he was momentarily stunned and finally shook his head, standing once more. “I sometimes forget you are human.”

“Sorry I’m just excited! I think I might be getting you to open up to me a little!”

“I think you are getting ahead of yourself.” Artyom suggested, letting her pull him along but only moved at his own pace no matter how much she tugged. As they walked down the hallway they received stares from many different people and Artyom began grumbling to himself about how stupid they looked and how humiliating things were.

Cathy however was waving to the various people she knew in the halls while she walked, “Hey! How’re you? Hi Krys! See you later K?”

“Could you please not draw more attention then you already do?” Artyom asked with annoyance.

“It’s fine, a few stares aren’t going to hurt! Besides, I’m pretty popular around here, seeing you with me will raise your cool points by a factor of like, ten in their eyes!”

This time, Artyom stopped completely and pulled away from her. “What part of I don’t want to be noticed do you not get Catherine? I do not want to be seen in the eyes of others. I do not want to be acknowledged by them at all!” He snapped.

“Oh… Uh… Whoops…” She took a look around, “We’ll go around then, there aren’t that many people that way.”

“Honestly, I still do not understand what you gain from putting yourself out there. People provide nothing but annoyances to me.” The man said as they took the alternate route.

“I gain people I can confide in, people that are willing to help me if I’m in trouble, or just people I can hold a conversation with when I’m bored. Friends have a lot of uses you know.” The pig-tailed girl answered.

“Hmph. Keep your friends, but I will refuse to be with them.” He told her matter of factly, crossing his arms. “I hate people.”

“I think you just haven’t found a reason to like them yet, but when you do, you’ll love having friends!”

He looked over Cathy and shook his head. “Doesn’t seem to be working yet.”

“Give it time.” She said in a sing-songy voice.
“I almost forgot how happy you were all the time.” He said as if it put a bad taste in his mouth. “Most would be discouraged by now.”

“Why don’t you like happy exactly? I just want to make people feel good.” She stated.

“Think of it like having too much sugar at once. Eventually it becomes unsavory to have all the time.” Artyom tried to explain it the best he could.

“Well, the same can be said of sadness right? A little too much sour.” She replied.

“I like the taste of sour.” Artyom admitted, scratching his beard. “In fact I like lemons more than I do any other fruit.”

“But is all you eat sour? You need a balance of Sweet and Sour right? That’s why I think we can work, we’re the perfect balance of optimism and pessimism.” Catherine explained.

“Unless you get sick of me finally.” He pointed out. “You could leave me any time.”

“Don’t worry about it, my little potato man, I have a lot of patience.” She smirked, getting closer to him.

“Again with that?”

“What? You have to admit, it fits.” Catherine responded, teasing him.

“What will it take to shut you up?” He asked tiredly, seeming to want to change the subject, though he made it seem like a legitimate question.

“I dunno, maybe a kiss?”

“Keep dreaming.” Artyom said simply, but he looked over at Catherine and he hesitated, putting his arm around her and pulling her close. “Enjoy it while it lasts. It stops if anyone sees us.”

“Hmm… Deal…” Catherine spoke as she pressed her lips against his cheek. Even if it only lasted briefly, and after that Artyom remained silent, not saying a word to the girl.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

MarineAvenger & ZombieSplitter53
"The Other Side of the Coin"

Lieutenant Hunnigan slowly made his way through the halls of the administration building, in full armor aside from the helmet he held at his side. As he neared his destination, he took several deep breaths. Daniel was not weak by any stretch of the word, but the man he was going to talk to was known for being strict and difficult at times. But there were answers Daniel needed, and this was the place to get them. With a sigh of a man who could very well have been approaching an execution squad, he finally knocked on the door. "Sir? I would speak with you if you have the time."

"Come in." A voice said on the other side of the door and when Daniel entered in, he was staring at the man himself. Colonel Cain Verrater. He wore a black Advent coat open over a white shirt with his name attached on the left side and his ranking symbol on his left arm. His hair was cut down and his subtle stubble turned into a slightly trimmed beard. He hand a small ball of fire he stared at in his hand which he closed his fist over and he turned his chair to look at Daniel suspiciously. "Who are you?"

Daniel stood at attention and saluted. "Hunnigan, Daniel. Lieutenant, 16th division, currently assigned to... megacity patrol." He didn't look happy about that last part. "It is good to meet you, sir."

"A bit odd you would come to a colonel directly instead of your division CO." Cain noted and shrugged, crossing his arms.

"Yes, sir. I understand that. And normally, I would strictly follow the chain of command." Daniel took a moment to pick his words. "But... as I understand it, you are something of an expert in a rebellion group calling themselves XCOM. You even have a personal task force meant to take them down before they cause any trouble."

"You seem to have done your homework Hunnigan." Verrater said, shaking his head. "But what is the whole purpose to this?"

"I've heard that several of the members were identified. And... I was told one of them was a woman named Morrigan O'Brien. I was hoping you could confirm if this was true or not."

Cain raised an eyebrow and he grabbed a datapad off of his desk and he tapped in something, turning it over towards Daniel. "Morrigan O'Brien is indeed a confirmed member, but I don't see the relevancy. What's the whole meaning of this really other then just curiosity?"

Daniel shifted uncomfortably. "O'Brien is... my wife, sir. She was discovered to be a dissident by... well, by me, sir. I turned her in myself. Despite this, I had to go through a rigorous investigation to make sure I wasn't also a spy. By the time it was over, I had been demoted and been put under theclose eyes of my superiors. I've worked hard to get back in my feet after that. As far as I knew, she died during the interrogation, or she might have been sent off for the sake of the Elders' biddings. It would seem she somehow escaped, and I was left in the dark. I'm sure I can guess why."

"Well, would you mind enlightening me Hunnigan?" The colonel asked, seeming a bit put off by the beating around the bush.

Daniel took a deep breath. "Because after a year of investigation, and despite all the work I put into rising through the ranks, the previously spotless record, the body crippling modifications and enhancements, and nothing but love and adoration for ADVENT and what it stands for, I was, and likely still am, being watched to see if I somehow helped her escape and might contact her."

"Well if you are asking me to try and change this watching over you Lieutenant, I have no power in that regard." Cain explained, putting his hands together.

"No... no, of course not." Daniel sighed. "I need your help, sir. My daughter was kidnapped. She was held in an orphanage while I was being investigated. They said they didn't want her around a possible traitor. She disappeared a mere week before I was scheduled to get her back. ADVENT did it's best to find out who took her... but she has never been found. That was over a year ago. If my wife really is alive, and a part of XCOM or any terrorist group, well... it doesn't take one with the Elders' omniscience to see who took her and why."

Cain didn't tense but his face changed slightly. "I see. You believe your wife was the one to take her. But have you considered she might have done so willingly?"

Daniel was silent for a few moments before slowly answering, "I'm... sure she did, sir. But my daughter... is eleven. She would have been ten at the time. I don't think she was old enough to make that decision. All she knew it was either an orphange away from her parents, or leaving with her mother. She can't be held responsible for that."

"I'm not saying she should be, but you must understand, if your daughter went willingly and works for the rebellion willingly... that may look bad when you try and get her back." Cain said with sympathy in his voice, though his face was hard.

"We can't... I can't..." Daniel cleared his throat. "Permission to speak freely, sir?"

"I thought you were doing so already." Cain noted.

"I..." Daniel stood up straight again. "I am sorry, sir. If I was being disrespectful, it was not my intention."

Verrater raised an eyebrow, and waved a hand. "It's fine. Just say what you were going to say."

"I am aware that you do not have any children, but... when you're a father, even an adoptive one like me, you'd do anything for your daughter. I... would do anything for her. I raised her to know of the Elder's wisdom. To be loyal to ADVENT. If she is doing anything but, she is being tricked. And I would risk my life to prove this to ADVENT."

"Y-Yes, well... I will be sure to send out a report to our forces not to shoot a girl matching the description of your daughter if found. And what would you have your wife's fate be if you had the chance?"

Daniel's eyes turned cold. "That woman betrayed the Elder's, sided with terrorist, and risks Brigid's life by keeping her there. A swift execution would likely be too good for her."

"Harsh words for a woman you used to love." Cain noted, eyeing Daniel suspiciously. "If it were me... I would never be able to hold a gun to the woman I loved. May still love. Though I may not even have a choice either."

Daniel found the comment odd. "Sir? She... she betrayed us. I... is it not my duty to bring her to justice? I mean... I would be lying if I said there wasn't a part of me that still cares. That wishes this could all have been a mistake. But... that isn't going to happen."

Cain shrugged, sitting back. "So you have given up hope have you?"

"I, um..." Daniel shifted a bit. "Do you think... it is possible to make her see the error of her ways, sir?"

"If you just give up then the answer will always be no. However, nothing is impossible. Ever." The colonel told the man, shaking his head.

"I see..." Daniel took a cautious step forward. "Please, sir. I am wasted where I am now. I could be much more helpful working for you. Anything would be better then... then basic patrol for first year cadets."

"Are you a leader?" Verrater asked the man, raising an eyebrow.

"I was," Daniel said, a bit of pride in his tone. "He my own squad of loyal soldiers. Morality some of the highest in ADVENT. Only lost one man in five years. Even after my disgrace, there are still several of my former men that come to me for advice and council."

"You can lead your own squad once more then. I have no care as to whether you do or do not, and it seems to me that patrolling is a bit too low for you. I certainly couldn't handle the monotony."

Daniel blinked in surprise, then quickly smile. "I... thank you, sir! Thank you for this opportunity. I won't let you down, I will be at your command should you ever need me."

Cain only nodded, waving his hand dismissively. "Anything else on the matter?"

"No, sir." Daniel stood at attention once more. "Thank you, sir. I will leave you be."

"Good." The colonel said, waving his hand to tell the soldier he was free to go before he turned and made a flame in his hand once more, this one brighter and giving off more heat.

Daniel stepped out, a big smile on his face for the first time in over a year as he walked down the halls. I'm coming, Brigid. I'll prove myself to the Colonel, and maybe even join his personal force. We'll stop XCOM, and save you from them. Who knows? Maybe the Colonel is right. Maybe we will even be able to save your mother.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

DarkGemini24601, MarineAvenger, and ZombieSplitter53: “State of the Resistance, Part 1”

1200 Hours, August 2nd, 2038
Above lower South America
Onboard the Avenger
Floor 6, Central Block
The Situation Room

Commander Atka Ipiktok paced in front of the central table of the soundproofed conference room, awaiting the arrival of her two trusted aides. There was a lot of information to process these days - especially related to the findings Menace 1-5 had brought back from the ADVENT Blacksite . Although she had reviewed much of it already, the information needed to be disseminated and analyzed by people other than just her. It wasn’t long before the two would arrive, but managing the bigger picture nevertheless tended to agitate Atka and remove her patience.

Chambers arrived first, suited up as usual as if going to a business meeting. Also as usual, he looked as professional and unencumbered as could be, the only sign that things weren’t going perfect for him being the almost humorously large thermos of coffee he carried in with him.

The last to arrive as per usual was Bradford, who carried nothing other than his datapad was dressed in the only real attire he had of green sweater and beige pants. “Sorry for the lateness. You know how busy some things get.”

Atka waved a hand dismissively, relaxing slightly now that the two were present. “Just glad you’re here now. Let’s get into this.” The Inuit woman picked up a clipboard off the table, looking over her notes. “First of all, some intelligence Chambers forwarded to me is of a great deal of importance. From multiple accounts from both skirmish reports and covert observation, ADVENT has stepped up their game.” Snapping, the Commander caused the lights to dim, and the holographic projectors of the central table lit up, twisting into a humanoid shape to display an Advent soldier.

The almost-unfamiliar trooper was dressed in white patrol armor, with a dark green chestplate and black leg and arm plating. Their helmet was a blueish-teal (an unusual palette choice for the Coalition), and displayed some sort of holo-HUD on the glass visor. “This is the new Reconnaissance Unit - or Recon for short - that we’ve heard of before and have finally encountered in the field during our raid of the Blacksite. I had Menace drag one of these along with a Mecroach onto the floor of the Skyranger to be brought back for analysis.”

The Commander changed the display to show Shen’s report. “Seems like they have detection equipment similar to our battlescanners, both as handheld devices and an armor functionality. Maintaining concealment is going to be hard with these around.” Atka held up a hand. “But that isn’t the only thing new. We saw that some of ADVENT’s troops had apparently improved their tactics and capabilities in our last operation, and it is now confirmed this isn’t isolated. The Peacekeepers have ramped up combat readiness, and are apparently on the verge of making up for the delay of their improved armor.”

“Seems they realize we are now a capable threat to them. Not a surprise they would mobilize their war machine.” Bradford noted as he looked over the display, looking to the Commander. “We should have Lily and Tygan see if there are any materials we may add to Ranger armor to make it harder for these signals to detect them. We are at a disadvantage if their effectiveness is hindered greatly.”

“Of course. I have faith that Lily can come up with some sort of countermeasure. If only we could do more about slowing their efforts. We simply don’t have the resources to be everywhere at once, and ADVENT’s research progress is handled on a global scale that is impossible for us to respond to,” Atka noted.

“If nothing else, their improvements equal our improvements.” Joe looked over the displays. “We still have the advantage of being hidden, and controlling when we get into a fight. If there is one thing we can count on, it is Tygan and Shen taking every stolen piece of equipment and adapting it for our use.”

Atka smirked slightly. “About that, I did hear one thing reassuring about ADVENT’s R&D. It sounds like we still have the edge in experience with pure alien alloys and fashioning them into protective garb. The aliens haven’t exactly been keen on giving the Coalition much that isn’t watered-down like the hybrid alloys. What they’re pushing out is going to be hybrid alloy armor, not something fully plated like our Predator Armor and accompanying variants.”

William nodded and leaned against the table with an amused expression. “It seems the alien’s own selfishness is going to be their own undoing. Though there is still the possibility they may take more of a central role in the fighting, which I don’t think I need to explain would be bad for us in our current state as much as we have progressed.”

“I don’t think they can afford to,” Atka disagreed. “Think about it this way: how can you justify your claims that you have the Resistance under control if you start feeling the need to deploy entire squads of your superior troops? I can’t imagine even the people in the city centers would react well to sharing the streets with Mechtoids, for example.”

“As long as they refuse to admit they’re not as perfect as they want everyone to believe, we are golden, but we shouldn’t assume that’ll last for ever. Especially if they are making task forces specifically for us.” Joe rubbed his chin. “Makes me wonder if Mr. Walker’s little proclamation was previously approved by his superiors. If we wanted, which we don’t… but if we wanted to, we could use that to proclaim they’re scared or something.”

“To whom is the problem.” The Commander sighed. “That’s something else I wanted to bring up. We have solid evidence now from ADVENT’s own records at the Blacksite and the footage taken by our forces on the ground. Proof that the Coalition abducts their own people. But getting the truth out there is an entirely different problem. Giving it to our allies is easy, but you all know how hard it is to do what we did in Caldera. The world can’t be woken up by dangerous and often costly isolated propaganda hacks.”

Joe shifted uncomfortably. “Do we… want to get it out there? At this time, I mean? Are the people ready for this kind of truth? We have to time it just right. There are too many factors to consider, from how the Coalition will react, to how the people will react, to the possibility that it might fall on deaf ears if we show it before the people trust us enough to not automatically think it is a lie no matter what proof we show.”

Atka crossed her arms. “And how would you recommend we get them to trust us? The way I see it, the only way to make fools listen is to shock them with the harsh truth. We aren’t going to have any trouble convincing Resistance cells or Shanty towns of this stuff - we are already in the process of letting the news get out. The dwellers of the Outskirts are going to be harder to get the footage and dossiers to, but I imagine they’ll listen better than the people in the Megacities. People we can’t even get the information to without doing something big.”

Joe slowly nodded. “Alright. I’ll have my team start coming up with a way.”

“There’s also the problem of what else we learned.” Brad intoned after listening to the two. “The fact that humans are naturally psionic. Then comes in the question of when that comes out. Does it give us legitimacy that we are trying to stop the aliens from exploiting us or give them ammunition to give their, we care for you bull routine?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure if the information is valuable to either side ideologically. It has serious ramifications regardless. I’m not sure everyone is going to be comfortable with the fact that they have a power they hardly understand locked with them. What it does give us, though, is the possibility of an edge.” Atka shook her head. “When Shen presented me with the idea of modifying the implants we’ve found in Sectoids for some sort of psionic amplifying device a month ago I turned it down. It seemed too niche, and we didn’t have the proper facilities to create psionic equipment. But the Psi Lab is being accelerated in its production now, and if there is a possibility that anyone could use such a device to unlock some level of psionic ability… that could be a game changer.”

Joseph let out a sad sigh. “Just imagine if we had this information twenty years ago. Things might have been so different. We might have stood more of a chance when they came knocking on our front door.”

 

[DarkGemini24601]

DarkGemini24601, MarineAvenger, and ZombieSplitter53: “State of the Resistance, Part 2”

“The circumstances were different,” Atka countered. “The aliens hadn’t started to ‘enlighten’ us about their space religion and how psionics work. A lot of the information we have comes directly from what ADVENT has made public. The new intel is the key to making use of it, but before we didn’t even know where the keyhole was.”

“Yeah…” Joe took a big gulp of coffee, and tried to put the thoughts of forlorn regrets aside.

“There is one thing we can take pride in, and it is that those who started showing psionics naturally must be quite filled with potential. As our dear Commander has shown us time and again, they can reach incredible heights. We should start looking for more of these naturals before either Advent gets to them, or within our international cells.”

“Not a bad idea. Just need to screen for them in a way that isn’t as barbaric as whatever Advent does.” Joe laughed grimly. “Not that it would stop some of our dedicated soldiers from volunteering anyway.”

“It’s not the screening process that is cruel or difficult. The scientists at the facility were able to figure out what category of aptitude their captives fit into fairly easily; the technology used is something we can replicate easily. We need a better way of awakening who we have, though,” Atka clarified. “That is the part that was messy. V3-class psions need to be artificially awakened in a way that’s not as… painful… as the reports suggested. The… ‘V2’ class psions… I’m not really sure how ‘enlightenment’ works,” Atka trailed off.

“In regards to us… only being able to be so many places at once, if we do figure out how to awaken psions, is it something we should spread to the other resistance cells? Do we want every and any group to have these powers to fight with? Because… that might get messy.”

The Commander crossed her arms. “Perhaps not. Some of our allies are more radical than I’d like - I’ve heard things about the cell in Jerusalem that gives me pause - but that doesn’t mean we should reserve it for ourselves alone. I’ve always planned to disseminate how to maintain and operate magnetic weaponry once we get to that point - and learn how to disarm the failsafes on ADVENT guns. This isn’t much different.”

“I could go over the groups we have contact with and make a list of recommendations,” Joe stated. “Some of them could really use the help. We might be able to handle Advent stepping up their game, but others aren’t so lucky.”

“That would be helpful, thank you.” Segueing into a related topic, Atka inquired, “I’d like to know the current state of the cells that we have contact with across the world. We’re an elite cadre that is leading this fight, but keeping track of the important groups out there and making sure they don’t get wiped out is important.”

Joe reached into his pocket and pulled out a notepad - still preferring pen and paper. “Well… that might be the definition of being easier said than done. We have reports across the globe of… well, everything. Being hit too hard. Compromised bases. Food shortages, med shortages, ammo shortages. And an interesting account… interesting in a bad way, from Japan. Seems a shanty town in the remains of what is left of Tokyo was hit hard by the Coalition to remove the Japanese resistance… except it turned out there weren’t any resistance members there, and in true ADVENT fashion, they mourned the loss of so many poor souls they were desperately trying to convince to move to the colonies, but the tyrannical Japanese terrorists destroyed them in a show of power. You know, that old story.”

Atka sighed irritably. “Not sure there’s much we can do about that. Again, there’s no real way to combat their narrative at the moment.”

“Good point.” Joe shrugged. “Maybe we can try and hack some information suggesting they weren’t involved and send it to them. Won’t prove anything, but at least it will raise doubts.”

“If you think that would work, go ahead. And Joseph… let me know when you have something concrete about how to deal with the distrust the city citizens have for us,” Atka noted. “Any advantage would be welcome before I put a plan I have in mind to action - one concerned with how we’ll get this information out to the public.”

“I wish the disturbing news ended there but coincidentally, one of our cells received a report from a spy who was inside the Antarctic Domes. More and more people were going missing, and distrust and resistance is building up. One of the domes even went into martial law until the perceived threat is dealt with, and it has been largely kept under wraps.” Bradford explained, tapping in a few things and then brought up an image of the globe with blue markers of where Resistance cells were and where they were in respect to themselves.

Several of the blue marks went red, particularly in Europe, and Bradford sighed. “A result of ADVENT’s recent increase in strength. Our weaker cells were knocked out, and several Outskirts camps have been reported to be migrating to the cities in fear. Not a good situation.”

“I wish we could confer aid to Europe, but for now they’re on their own.” Atka looked over Antarctica. “The Antarctic is a different can of worms. There is resentment there, sure, but Resistance is nigh-impossible when everything is self-contained. There are no Shantytowns up there, no hidden bases on our side. It’s just too damn cold… and for my plan to work we’ll have to deal with that problem ourselves. ADVENT uses advanced insulation gear that we’ll probably need to steal to operate there.”

“I can contact several of our stronger allies to get together teams for raids. When those are done, we should have the necessary stuff to move in and start our own operations directly.” William suggested to the Commander.

Atka shook her head. “The Resistance won’t be able to do it. The Coalition isn’t stupid.” The Commander zoomed in on Antarctica, designated a location that was several kilometers north of Dome Fuji. “They keep all of their winter gear in Antarctica itself. The only way we’ll have a chance of obtaining it for ourselves is dropping in with the Skyranger, and getting sheltered from the elements inside ASAP.”

“That’s going to be quite the different mission than what we are used to,” Joe noted. “Best the team that is going has plenty of time to prepare.”

“I don’t disagree,” the Inuit officer replied. “Besides… both the Science and Engineering departments are finishing up a lot of projects right now.”

 

[DarkGemini24601]

DarkGemini24601 and Taxor_the_First: “Nuremberg, Part 1”

1617 Hours, August 4th, 2038
Above lower South America
Onboard the Avenger

Samuel’s gait had changed from it’s usual confident stride to a more reserved walk recently, his mind occupied by what he’d seen at the Blacksite. Holly and Alan had done their best to keep spirits high, and to a degree it had worked. But every time he went to visit their wounded teammates, he was reminded. It’ll pass, he reasoned as he walked through the Avenger’s corridors. At least, that’s what Chloe said. Guess she’d know more than me about this sort of thing.

“They have the best medical care the Resistance has to offer,” Christine reassured the Trooper, noting the expression on his face and the slouching of his posture. “There’s nothing to worry about.” The Reflection-user offered a smile that made it hard to believe she could be as brooding as she was when people didn’t need an emotional boost.

The Russian allowed an acknowledging smile to appear on his face, if only for a few seconds. “I don’t doubt it,” he assured the Maverick. “Even so, Bonnie gave us a bit of a scare. Those crossbow guns… they pack a punch.”

“That one in particular is better than ours. Something… Olivia’s been kind of pissed about. She’s slowly degenerating into an archer instead of a riflewoman,” Heinrich noted with a shake of his head. “Won’t listen to me when I tell her magnetic weaponry is going to take awhile.”

“Not like we aren’t already cleaning house,” Samuel stated. “Our mission had a total of… I think Holly said around fifty enemies. And we got away with only a few scratches.”

“Well, it helps that the Skyranger has that souped-up jammer now,” Stacie commented, clenching a fist. “Makes it a lot easier to take them out when they can’t call each other for help.”

“Apparently we can’t use it in cities, something about giving away Firebrand’s position,” Yakone noted dourly. “At least it’s good for everything else, but it sucks that the most dangerous AOs don’t benefit from it.”

“I thought you liked a challenge?” Stacie jabbed.

“I also like living.”

“Fair enough.”

Samuel chuckled as they approached the medbay. “I appreciate you guys coming with,” he said. “I’m sure Bonnie at least could use some extra faces visiting.”

“Well, I’d like to think we’re friends, so it would be cold of us to not visit,” Christine pointed out.

“Oh, I see. This is just so we have to visit you guys when you get injured.” The Trooper shook his head. “Should have known there was some ulterior motive.”

Stacie held up her hands. “So sue us.”

“Hope you’ve got an army of lawyers behind you then,” Samuel quipped, grinning and opening the door to one of the recovery rooms. “Where’s the living donut?”

“Right here, you cheeky bastard,” Bonnie called. She was propped up in a hospital bed, monitors beside her showing various vital signs. Arthur was sitting beside her, and nodded at the newcomers in welcome. Over to the side Samara was playing with the Techound’s tail end she’d retrieved, seemingly not acknowledging anyone. “You’re lucky I’m stuck in here, otherwise I’d probably brain you for that.”

“Doctors said you stay in bed, and so you will,” Arthur muttered. “You are in no shape to be up and about, certainly not to be picking fights.”

“I’ll do what I damn well please.”

“Does it please you to feel a wave of pain every time you move your torso?”

“Trust me, with Chandra healing you, you’ll be up and around in no time. Don’t push it, or you’ll face her wrath too,” Yakone cautioned.

“She’s tried,” Arthur said, shaking his head in mock disappointment. “That wrath is probably the only thing I’ve seen shut her up for a long time.”

“Aye,” Bonnie said, agreeing. “Person with a temper like that shouldn’t be a healer. It makes no sense.”

“I agree, we should just find another expert biokinetic to triage our critically wounded,” Heinrich remarked.

“Theoretically, any one of us could be that,” Samara muttered, spinning the blade on the table before her.

“Can we not talk about that?” Samuel asked irritably. “Been trying not to think about any of that shit for days.”

“Just stating the facts.”

Yakone put her hands behind her head. “I don’t see what’s so bad about that. You could all secretly be as badass as me! Or at least… a fraction of that.”

“It is less that and more the extra baggage,” Arthur stated. “I suppose the knowledge that we are all to some degree psionic is a burden off the shoulders of people such as you and me. We are no longer alone in the world. We are the world.”

“Speaking of loners, where the hell is Lester?” Bonnie asked. “He still-”

“Taking trips up top, yeah,” Samuel answered. “I let him go. Can’t be easy for him. I say he needs the space.”

***​

For the first time in months, Lester was actually nervous.

Of course, most other people would probably mark that as incorrect. There’s a difference between nerves and caution, he thought bitterly. Add that to the list of subtleties no one picks up on.

The Specialist swallowed, his mind drifting back to the cause of his nerves. He was approaching the Commander’s office, having been summoned there for an as yet unknown reason. Despite having assessed his performance over the time period of his working with XCOM, he’d found nothing worthy of reprimand. Even so…

With an exhalation, he stopped. This was the door. Do I just knock? Scanning the large metal barrier, he noticed a button beside it. Figuring it to be some kind of doorbell, he pressed it. They wouldn’t place a ship self-destruct button there. Surely.

From inside there was a muffled curse in a language other than English, and then a few seconds later through the microphone the Commander told him, “Come in.”

He swallowed and entered, taking a quick glance around the Commander’s office. His eyes came to rest on the woman herself, and he hesitated, wondering whether he should be saluting. He decided to anyway. “You wanted to see me?” he asked, removing the hand from above his eyes.

“Yes. Sit down,” Atka replied evenly.

Obediently, Lester sat down. Despite wanting to ask about the purpose of his summons, he refrained for now. It would come in due course.

“About the decision you had to make in your last operation…” the Commander began.

The Specialist’s stomach dropped. She disagrees, he concluded.