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etherealvoidechoes · 11 days

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Hollowed Defiance - Chapter 11(NEW) - Retrival

With Mox's location found, it was time to rescue him before the opportunity was lost.

Hi y'all. The "extra treat" chapter I mentioned in "A Little Crossed Pt. 1". Something I initially skipped over as I just had a solid block on how I wanted to approach it.

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While Commander Reeves was restricted to her Quarters, Bradford went ahead and began assembling a team for the operation to rescue Mox. They had received a priority call from Volk late in the evening. The man supplied coordinates to the prison Mox was currently being held and any additional details needed.

Volk also shared he received the information from some “wayward” Reapers not too dissimilar to the Silent Striders — and he was refusing to divulge more information. The name of the Reaper was Marrow. He would be waiting for them at the second set of coordinates to help them break in.

They had a limited time window to infiltrate and extract Mox during a shift change and before another convoy arrived. There was a faint chance that he would be moved again once it arrived.

Looking at the coordinates, the prison facility was just on the edge of the Assassin’s territory bordering the Hunter’s. Not great. The latter rarely cared for the borders of his siblings if it meant the hunt would be interesting. So there was a risk either or both could show up if a single alarm was raised.

It took around an hour to assemble the squad that would be up for the task. To Bradford’s surprise, Elena found him and in a way politely demanded to be put on the team. Not exactly having time to ask questions, he let her join. He had a feeling she wasn’t sneaking on just to put a bullet in Mox’s brain. Too risky.

Before she left, he asked if she knew the name Marrow. The name sounded familiar but couldn’t recall crossing paths with Reaper, especially if they were one of the “wayward ones”. She liked to keep her distance but trusted whoever this Marrow was would be a boon to their infiltration.

Once the team was assembled, the Skyranger was blazed out in the dead of night. It would be a few hours before Gargoyle and the squad arrived at the coordinates.

—————

The ADVENT Prison Facility. All roads leading to it were light for the early morning hours. It was still twilight.

The main courtyard of the facility was nearly bare. Only a few cars and prison vans populated it, as well as some patrols.

“Patrols are looking light, just like the reports said.” Iris said as he peered through his binoculars and double-checked his tablet. “Wish we were a little closer so I could sample their system to pre-prepare my cracking tools for those cells. That will take the longest.”

The squad had arrived at the second set of coordinates. A hill not too far from the prison. It had some decent tree cover which would keep them obscured from any air patrols. So far, the Reaper wasn’t there.

“Outrider.” Sol called to her as she was double-checking her medical supplies. “When’s that Reaper supposed to arrive?”

She was sitting, scope trained on the prison. She was counting the patrols, memorizing their routes. Especially those MECs. “He’ll be here soon. A Reaper is never late.”

“‘A Reaper is never late’.” Count repeated in a mocking tone as she fiddled with her revolver and its armor. “Are you guys always so pompous? 2… 3… 4… 5…”

Outrider didn’t even acknowledge her.

“The Reaper will be there. Just be patient.” Central spoke over the comms. On his side, he was monitoring all motion trackers though it would be near useless against a Reaper’s stealth.

A few minutes passed.

There was a rustle from the leaves above before a branch cracked and something hit the ground with a firm thud. All turned with this weapon raised before quickly lowering them.

“You all arrived right on time.” A muffled male voice spoke. “The name’s Marrow.”

The tree-dropping surprise was a Reaper. Had to be the Reaper as he had a uniquely dark red cloak. And at a glance, one could see why Volk had some disdain for them. Alien tech was evident on their gear. His mask bore some resemblance to a Stun Lancers helmet, though fully encased with additional filters attached to the side. And his sniper rifle was wholly magnetic though the blend looked to blend between ADVENT and Alien tech.

“You guys love making your entrances.” Count commented.

“For the love of… Volk.” Outrider suddenly hissed under her breath before cursing her leader. Abruptly, she got up before heading over to them. “You’re one of his men.” She jabbed at his chest.

“Well ‘ello to you too, Elena.” He pulled away from the jabs, but his voice sounded unfazed.

“That’s Outrider to you and he can choke on it.”

That made everyone curious.

“The hell is you two’s problem?’ Blackout asked just what everyone wanted to know.

“Outrider, cool it!” Central was already getting ticked by the sudden bad blood. “Iris, patch him in.”

Outrider huffed. “Fine. We do fight for the same cause.”

“Exactly. And I won’t bother you.” Marrow said.

Once, Marrow was patched into their comm-link, he gave them details on everything he was able to discover from his scouting. Including a sample of the security network for the prison cells that made Iris all too happy to get Daedalus to prepare the cracking keys.

“We maybe have an hour or less before security picks back up. But this job should be in and out. 30 or less.” Marrow said after showing the layout of the facility.

“Everyone got that?” Central asked. “He’ll be taking point.”

“Affirmative.” All responded.

“Let’s get to business, then.” Marrow tapped his helmet a few times before double-checking his riffle. “Follow close and avoid taking any out. We don’t want any alarms raised.”

—————

The squad swept down and to the prison, using the rising sun to their ADVENT to get past the guard towers.

Once inside, they carefully navigated the main courtyard and past a side building to avoid the patrols. Marrow and Iris used their combined hacking skills to set off innocuous sounds or alerts to redirect the positions of the more infuriatingly stationed guards so they could slip past them.

In about 10 minutes, they were inside the main building, and within a few more minutes, they were in the holding area.

They quickly spread out to check out who was in what cell. Most were empty. A few continued some unlucky people — civilian, refuge, etc.— who had to be quickly hushed. With their crunched time limit, they were sure they could rescue all of them but recorded what data they could.

But one contained someone in a stasis suit that looked fair to similar to the one the Commander was found in.

“Who the hell is that?” Blackout asked as she peered as far as that hardlight security door would let her.

Iris was over there in a heartbeat checking the door’s terminal for details.

“That’s most likely our target.” Marrow said as he came over. “Special prisoners get that suit.” He hissed.

“Yeah, it’s him.” Iris confirmed. Has all of Mox’s information. Creation date and designation details. Desertion date. Capture date.” He rattled off the information. He was already firing up his hacking tool.

“Let me assist. Sometimes the security on these doors can be finicky.” Marrow lent a hand.

It was taking some time, but the hacking was going well.

Then several loud bangs echoed from the distance. At least four ADVENT guards cried out in pain. A car exploded. And then there was another smaller explosion that rocked the building, causing the lights to go out for just a moment. Gunshots.

The alarms to the Prison went off as soon as those lights came back on.

“What the hell was that?” Just about everyone asked.

“Some other resistance group trying to spring someone?” Count rushed over to the door leading back to the main hall to see if anyone was coming.

“Stay sharp Menace, ADVENT is on high alert now and is scrambling for that source. dropships will be inbound before you know it.” Central said. “We’re scanning the surrounding area for the source. Not seeing anyone in the surrounding are—”

“Hello, XCOM.” An all too familiar deep voice graced their ears. “Mind if I ruin the reunion?”

“Kon-Ris.” Outrider hissed.

It took a moment for their scanners to find him. He was where the squad had initially arrived. That same hill. He was now moving towards their location.

“Dammit.” Marrow cursed under his breath.

“Tipped him off when doing your scouting?” Outrider couldn’t help but throw a jab.

“Really? There was always the risk he or any of them would show!” He snapped back. “Fuck it.” Refocusing his attention, he brought out a small pronged alien device before ramming it into the terminal. A second later, the terminal, as well as the other ones, screen malfunctioned before every hardlight door shut off. The other prisoners leaped at the chance to escape.

“That��s… useful.” Outrider said. She was impressed despite how alien the device looked.

“Someone get Mox. Sending the coordinates to your new LZ. You have 10 minutes and counting.” Central said. “And get those civvies to follow orders.

Sol pushed her way past Marrow and Iris to get into the cell. With a quick once over, even popping the helmet off for a split second to ID him, she picked him up.

With him secured, and most of the civilians wrangled, they made their leave. Except two of them didn’t care to listen and made a break for it on their own. Forcing their way past Count, and somehow getting past the Guards entering the building, who were now fully focused on XCOM seeing where the two prisoners came from, they didn’t make it far.

Two more gunshots rang out. Two faint thuds could be heard.

“Soft targets. No fun.” Kon-Ris remarked. “But they mean a great deal to you, don’t they, XCOM. Commander Gresham?”

“Ignore him and find a way out.” Central said.

The squad was pinned in the holding area. More Guards were pouring through the main entrance.

“Our exit’s blocked!” Count said as she and Blackout were trading firing with the Guards. “2… 1… Cover me! Reloading!”

“Not for long.” Outrider pulled out Claymore. Her eyes looked for just the right place in that horde of enemies to throw it.

“I see we’re on the same wavelength.” Marrow too had pulled out a satchel. But he was moving towards the back of the holding area. “I suggest everyone stay back about, hm, one cell length.” He said as he went to a cell adjacent to the back wall and planted it.

As he exited it, Outrider threw the claymore in the middle of the swarm barreling down the hall. As soon as she landed and had it in her sights she pulled the trigger.

The explosion rocked the building and collapsed the hallway.

As that happened, Marrow set off his satchel, taking out a chunk of the back wall.

“We need to move, now!” Marrow was on the move.

“Iris, throw this smoke!” Sol quickly tossed the grenade to him, doing her best not to drop.

He caught it, pulled the pin, and threw it just ahead of Marrow. As soon as it popped, the rest of them followed the Reaper.

“Oh, that’s clever.” Kon-Ris commented watching the carnage. “Real clever. I like that.” Then he noticed the white smoke clouds billowing through at the grey smoke. He was already changing the vision of his scope. With a few adjustments, that smoke was nothing to him. “But that’s not enough.”

It was a mad dash avoiding gunfire from both ADVENT and the Hunter and the missile spray from any MECs as they used what few buildings they had as cover as they headed for the LZ was more open than they would have liked. Iris quickly went to work to subvert any MEC he could to take the heat off even if the Hunter cratered its chest moments later. Outrider used a few more of her Claymores to keep their backs mostly cleared of followers.

In the chaos, most likely breaking from fear, they lost two more prisoners from arrant gunfire.

“Shit!” Blackout yelled as a burning pain erupted through her right calf. Shotgun clattering to the ground, her body followed, crashing into the pavement. “No, no, no.” Blindly throwing her hands forward, her fingers dug into the pavement, tearing the tips of her gloves, as she barely pulled herself into cover just as another shot rang out and a small crater formed where her head once was.

“Nearly nailed ya. But the leg will do, for now.” Kon-Ris darkly chuckled. “Thought you Rangers were supposed to be speedy type? As slow as paranoid Secto—.”

A hail of bullets shut him up.

“Put a sock in it.” Outrider was the culprit.

“Elena.~” He said her name in a singsong voice. “Wondered when you would give me some attention. Your really risking your neck for this forming Captain? Has, as you humans say, ‘hell frozen over?’”

Iris was by Blackout sides within seconds. “How you doing? I may not have Sol’s touch but spray does the work.”

“It’s a through and through. Just get me back up.” Blackout hissed.

In a minute, he got her patched up and moving again.

“Menace, your time’s nearly up. dropships are nearly there and there’s a convoy heading your way.” Central updated them. “Gargoyle’s at the LZ.”

Seeing the Skyranger arrive made them double their haste the best they could. Marrow used a claymore in-combination of one of the fuel storage tanks near the last set of barricades they were passing to give them a wide berth. As soon as the last person was way from it, he set it off. The ensuing explosions destroyed that corner of the facility and forced ADVENT to back off.

One of the prisoners let out a cry of pain as they tumbled over that last barricade.

“Shit.” Count cursed. She quickly doubled back and worked to get them back to their feet, but one of their legs was injured. “Come on, come on. We’re nearly— FUCK!”

Another gunshot. This one was accompanied by the sickening sounds of bone cracking and flesh splattering. Blood covered Count’s face.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” She dropped the dead prisoner and ran.

“Oops. Missed.” The Hunter quipped. “That was supposed to be for the one that likes counting her bullets. Tsk, tsk, humans are so clumsy aren’t the— Shit!”

A hail of bullet fire shut him up.

“Silence, Skinner.” Marrow sneered. He was at the LZ, gun trained on the building the Hunter was once perched on. He watched the tall bastard, slink off the roof and behind one of the armored escort vehicles.

“Ah!” Kon-Ris hissed, pressing his hand against his lower stomach. As he pulled back, he noticed orange blood. “You actually hit me…” A grimace turned into a grin. “Maybe you Reapers can shoot after all. Unless that alien tech is assisting you, Marrow? You’re one of his men aren’t you?”

With time bought, the rest of the squad made it to the LZ.

Sol with Mox was the first to hook and ascend, followed by a still frazzled Count who shoved the prisoner Blackout was helping out of the way. Once she was up, Blackout and Iris helped the surviving two prisoners aboard.

“He seems to know you.” Outrider said as she was hooking herself in. For once, there was no judgment in her voice.

“You know the bastard, he knows everyone that causes enough trouble for the Elders.” Marrow said.

Hooked in, the two ascended. Just as they reached that ramp and were stepping aboard. Marrow went down. He let out a cry of pain as a shot pierced his leg. And before anyone knew, it another shot severed his cable, causing him to plummet.

“Bingo.” The Hunter grinned.

“No!” Time felt like it slowed down for Outrider. Not again! In vain, she reached out, fingers grasping at the sleeve of his coat, but his arm slipped right through her grasp.

Marrow bounced off the ground, body flipping once, before rolling to a halt. “Hells…” He groaned. He was still conscious.

“Someone cover me!” Outrider was already working to reverse the mechanism so she could repel.

“Menace, you’re out of time! Reinforcements have arrived!” Central yelled. “Gargoyle, get moving!”

“On it.” Gargoyle acknowledged.

“No!” Outrider yelled. “We can’t leave him!”

“Leave me!” Marrow yelled. “He’s coming. There’s no time.” He could hear that distinctive metallic zing of the Hunter’s grappling hook, followed by that ping of a teleport. “I knew the risks. You’ve got your man. Go!”

Another psionic ping and the Hunter was mere feet away from Marrow. He looked up and waved.

Outrider let out a howl of anger as she drew her Vektor rifle and fired at the Hunter as the Skyranger pulled out. Someone had to pull her in as they closed the ramp.

“Tck, if she wasn’t so icy towards you earlier, I would have thought you two were lovers with that roar of anger.” Kon-Ris said as he finally made it to Marrow. “You humans and emotions are just fascinating. Especially her. I see why the Elders despise the human condition so much.”

“Go to hell.” Marrow spat.

Placing a foot on the leg he shot, Kon-Ris gradually applied pressure causing Marrow to squirm until he began to yell.

“I'd be lying if I said I didn't like your style. Marrow? Was it?” He grinned knowing he wouldn’t get an answer. “The Elders want me to kill you right now, but I want to pick that brain of yours. Maybe your capture will get the attention of that bone-wearing freak boss of yours. Wouldn’t that be a fair compromise, my Masters?” He gestured to Marrow as he looked up at the sky like They were there. “And I’m just dying to face him again. How’s his legs?”

“Pi’ker’tut!”Marrow cursed.

Kon-Ris dramatically gasped as he clutched his chest. “Oooh, a Mamba clan curse? Fraternizing with the local Skirmsher clan, are we?”

Just as he was kneeling to pick up his prize, he paused. His eyes darted around as a familiar wave of energy radiated in his skull. The next second a psionic screech ripped through the area as a pillar of that immense energy crashed down mere feet from him.

As it dissipated, he saw all too familiar form rising to their feet. And a sword was being drawn.

“Brother.” Jax-Rai said with a low growl. “My men.”

“Hey, sis.” He just grinned. “What took you so long?”

—————

The Skyranger’s flight back was mostly uneventful, minus dodging an ADVENT Intercepter or two.

Outrider was still boiling with rage. Count questioned why she even cared about him with how sour she was as soon as she laid eyes on Marrow.

Outrider tersely explained despite their differences in technology philosophy. He was Reaper through and through. And then it was Kon-Ris who did the deed, twisting that sadistic knife of his once more when victory was assured. She wanted that Chosen dead more than anyone.

Nearly home, they did get one surprise. A broadcast from the Assassin.

“XCOM. You finally deciphered my patterned movement of that loathsome traitor. I congratulate you.” She sent. “Your show of loyalty will be your downfall, but I cannot fault you for mounting a rescue for an ally in need. It would dishonor us both to deny your success.”

Once back at the Avenger and landed, the medical team was already there to whisk Mox off to the Infirmary to pry him out of the suit and see what his current condition was as well as check on the surviving prisoners. As soon as they were cleared, Central wanted to know why they were there so he could figure out how to best handle their relocations.

The squad eventually debriefed. Central had a little heart-to-yelling talk with Outrider. He had several questions for her he quickly realized would only be answered with his next walk with Volk. Hopefully, the loss of Marrow wouldn’t sour the man’s mood.

Yet, with Mox saved and a few prisoners liberated, Central saw the whole operation as a success. There was good news to deliver to Betos and the Commander.

Commander Reeves. Thinking of her dour mood nearly soured his. He hoped the positive news would help lighten her mood.

#writings #Xcom #Xcom 2 #Xcom wotc #Fic: Hollowed Defiance

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etherealvoidechoes · 11 days

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Hollowed Defiance - Chapter 27 - A Little Crossed Pt. 1

Back-to-back operations just like the old days. XCOM heads in hot to provide the Silent Striders some assistance with evacing the Haven under siege. But they're in for a surprise.

Hey all. Thanks for your patience. Life has been busy as always besides some /other things/occurring. So a fresh new chapter, working on more for this and the other fics still. And other fandom-related fics.

Also, a minor spoiler, this chapter is pretty self-contained with everything happening at the haven, I just felt like the next one is closely connected and the title would fit it too.

Also some bonus treats and this is more related to Ao3. It will be awhile before I have everything updated on Tumblr and Ao3. I have done a lot of revisions and cleaned up the older chapters. Probably still missing some grammar mistakes but hope I found all of the worst offenders and made my writing style more consistent. AND a bonus new chapter to slot in with the old ones. "Chapter 11: Retrieval"(posted on Ao3 so far). The rescue of Mox and a more "proper" introduction for the Hunter.

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Like an ordered flock of migrating birds, ADVENT dropships zipped across the night sky. Moonlight was snuffed out by rising columns of smoke.

The chatter of ADVENT soldiers and the rhythmic fire of magnetic guns filled the area as they invaded the Terelj-based haven. Strategically ordered pods of Stun Lancers accompanied by Trooper support worked to cut off fleeing civilians and their Silent Striders guardians.

The Silent Striders had grown used to the more frequent attacks in their territory, but this was different again. Their previous harasser was more animalistic, barely held in check by the accompanying Officer, Captain, or General, as he did his own thing to collect heads and occasionally used his own men as sharpening stones if they got in his way. The platoon of accompanying ADVENT soldiers did their best to stay clear of his path and do their basic search and destroy as they cleared the Haven. It was predictable, and the Silent Striders — with adequate forces — could hold them off as they evacuated most of the people.

But with this one. There was a sound mind behind this assault. One the Silent Striders hadn’t seen in months. Rapid adaptation. Ever since XCOM did whatever — as the finer details were still sparse — to free their Commander from the alien’s clutches and damage that Psionic Network, though ADVENT’s military tactics were still fearsome, in many ways they had become predictable and slower to adapt. But not tonight. This new leader was quickly picking up the tricks the Silent Striders liked to use and finding ways to subvert them to tighten that noose.

Near the front lines of the ADVENT forces was the newest dealer of death, fiercely pointing to the next location a pod of Stun Lancers was gleefully swarming towards. With a quick glance, one could tell this leader was different from their peers. He was a least two heads taller than the standard ADVENT soldier, besides the more customized onyx-colored armor with red highlights and dark blue underarmor. Streamlined, but heavily reinforced, would best describe his gear. It carried the hallmarks of the blocky motifs of ADVENT, yet there looked to be the smoother, organic alien armor similar to the Muton’s incorporated into his fatigues. And his right arm stood out. It was armored revealing the skin tone to be a stark silver and gunmetal gray, it didn’t exactly look like skin as portions of it looked chitinous and others looked fragmented like tree bark.

“››THERE.‹‹“ A distorted bark echoed from his fully enclosed-helmet, as he pointed in another direction. ”››Escape route of the irritants located. Khra! Khra! Cut them off. Remember the ratios 80/20 and 60/40. The Elders need subjects alive and barely mangled.‹‹” His voice was hoarse and gravelly. “››Including the Striders. Especially, them. Their brains need to be dissected.‹‹”

With the order given, he continued his march forward with his surrounding entourage. “››Who has sights on their leader? The Elders want her.‹‹“

With another escape route for the civilians cut off, the Striders were scrambling to redirect and keep the others hidden.

“Shit, Fayruz!” A Silent Strider scrambled through a hatch into a crumbling perch, knocking over some ammo crates. “Another route’s been cut! Time to cut and run if those XCOM c—”

“Bite that trap shut and get your gun back on the lines. ADVENT won’t kill themselves.” Barely raising her voice, Fayruz snapped back at her subordinate. Her eyes barely shifted from her scope as she pulled on the trigger to let loose a bolt of plasma at their unwelcome invaders. “You know how we operate. You know the orders I gave. We retreat when that point has been reached.”

There were grumbles and a faint “yes, ma’am” before they resigned themselves to restocking their reserves and getting back to the fight.

She raised two fingers to her headpiece. “Longeyes, Fives, Foil.” As she spoke, she scoped the landscape to find that ADVENT leader. “Do you have a clear shot on the snake?”

“Yes.”

“Window closing for me, rifle overheating, but yes.”

“Ready to take that head off.”

All three responded.

“Good.” Fayruz tapped her teeth as she watched the leader pause in his march and bark out more orders. “Perfect. Remember, fire at the same time. See if that will overload that AI and his senses.”

“In five, Fayruz.” Longeyes said.

“Good. Move once done. Immediately. I’ll be listening.” She instructed before partially cutting her transmission. As she did so, a loud hiss made her pull away from her rifle. Lips curling into a frown, she watched the slates to the vents slide wider to allow the visible jets of white smoke out. Across the energy cells of the jury-rigged rifle was crackling with yellow-green energy.

“Tch. Reaching your limit.” She cast a glance around the room at the rest of her subordinates. Several busted jury-rigged plasma rifles were scatted on the floor, several in the perch had switched back to their old magnetic rifles. “Just like everyone else.”

She glanced around the room once again, this time to take in the current stakes. Several walls were close to crumbling away into nothing, their ammo stores were nearly empty, and a few more of her men were wounded and were being carried out.

They better be here before ADVENT reaches the mark. Fayruz flared her nose. Despite how stubborn she could be on holding onto her territory, she had a faint feeling she would have to make the call to fully soon if she wanted her faction to survive.

“Everyone, we need to leave this perch before it’s fully compromised. Head to points, M, V, Z. If those are cut off, then you must—”

“Fire!” Longeyes voice caught her attention. Eyes back to her scope, she immediately focused on the ADVENT leader.

Those familiar hums of charging plasma weaponry filled Fayruz comms before three distinctive discharges rang out. Three bolts of plasma flashed through the air from three different angles all quickly homing onto the leader’s head.

The leader almost seemed obvious to his incoming death as those bolts inched closer and closer.

Until he suddenly thrust his off-colored right arm out and then up.

“››On me!‹‹“ He barked.

As the words left his mouth, a couple of Stun Lancers rushed to his position. As they moved, the flesh on that arm before to splinter and break before layers and layers of “bark” formed and spread out into a shield-like shape. As he raised the shelf to cover the front portion of his face, the Stun Lancers leaped behind and to the side of him, intercepting the plasma fire.

The bolts struck; energy surged and crackled. There was a cry of pain, a grunt, and the sounds of metal and bark snapping and reshaping.

His reaction time was nearly perfect. Just a partial bolt snuck through and struck the left side of his helmet. A loud hiss could be heard as spiderweb cracks splinted across the impact site.

The impact of the one hitting his arm and the other hitting his helmet threw him off balance for a moment before he quickly regained his footing.

“››General Cross!‹‹“ A Trooper was at his side immediately to help him.

“›› Cotalo.‹‹“ He pushed the Trooper away. Shifting his plasma rifle to one hand, his other went to the side of his helm to check the damage. “››Structural integrity of helmet: 73%. Shift yoke to the left side as added security. Depressurizing as added security.‹‹” As he muttered his thoughts, he adjusted the high-collar-like shielding to the left. “››A Lancer dead insured my survivability. Striders adapting again. Counter. Sending out rough coordinates of the trajectories. Find and kill those snipers. Burn them out.‹‹”

“You can’t be…” Longeyes muttered.

“Are you serious?” Foil said.

“You have to be shitting me!” Fives couldn’t believe their eyes.

“No time to gawk.” That stern voice of Fayruz made them snap too. “You three start moving now.” She could already see the ADVENT pods breaking away from the main forces to where each was located. “If you can, set up again. Looks like we cracked that helmet.”

“My plasma’s done. I’ll see if I can find another.” Fives said.

All three quickly worked to relocate before they were cornered and killed.

“How many working plasmas do we still got that haven’t burned up or exploded?” Uro, her second-in-command, couldn’t help but voice her thoughts on their comms.

“Uro.” Fayruz didn’t sound pleased.

“Thinkn’ we ought to take Bones up on his of’er for them weapons like his weeks ago.” She continued to speak her thoughts. There was a faint hiss from her before a more aggressive venting hiss and crackle came over the comes. “Dam thing is melting in my hands. His crew’s gear is—”

“Silence.” Fayruz sneered. “Do. No. Bring. That man up.” Partially, the cold aggression was from the stress of a situation and her natural dislike towards Bones. She barely tolerated the odd man despite his questionable, yet good intentions to be the liaison between her and Volk and some nearby Skirmisher clans. And part of her didn’t want to acknowledge Bones’ questionable higher-quality weaponry. All signs pointed to him having some people on the inside and she questioned how.

“Good news, boss!” A stressed, but more happy voice hoped on the comes.

“What is it, Yukon?” Fayruz said. There were only a handful of events that could qualify as good right now.

“XCOM’s ship is coming in hot!”

That was good news.

Fayruz didn’t have to look far before that Skyranger graced her eyes. Engines burning bright, moonlight that slipped through the smoke glimmered off that metal exterior.

“Finally.” Feyruz said. A few binds unraveled themselves from around her heart, but she knew things were far from saved. If she noticed them, so did ADVENT. She barked out a new set of orders. “Those that can, provide XCOM covering fire so they can get on the ground!”

“Opal, get me patched through to XCOM and get the others set up on similar lines.”

—————————————————————

“Central. This is Stellar Echo. At the AO. The squad is being deployed as we speak.” The pilot spoke as she kept the craft steady. “Looks like the Striders are providing covering fire for me.”

“Reading you loud and clear, Stellar Echo.” Central replied. His eyes glanced from screen to screen, taking everything in. “Once all boots are on the ground, head to the coordinates that are being sent over first. You’ll be running civvies and injured Striders to another secure haven. Watch for any followers. Assume you don’t have the luxury of what Bones’ man did to City 22.”

“Affirmative, Central. Will keep my eyes peeled for any tails.”

“This Haven strike is more ordered, like a Chosen is running the show.” Commander Reeves was already taking in all the information she could see. “Though none have been reported since the Striders called.”

Central couldn’t help but nod. “It is the Hunter’s territory, but we knew he’s out of commission right now.”

“For how long?” They didn’t know how long it took a Chosen to recover. Reports for each constantly varied.

“True.” He nodded again. “We should be patched in with the Striders momentarily.

Seconds after the words left his mouth, they had established their connection with the Silent Striders.

“Finally, your men have arrived Central. About time.” Fayruz spoke, barely a hint of happiness in her voice.

A faint chuckle left Commander Reeves’ mouth as she shook her head and silenced her mic. So many memories flashed through her mind. “Displeasure. Impatient. Grumpiness. Just like old times indeed.”

“You’re welcome, Frost Owl.” Central replied, barely phased by her tone. She wasn’t the first and wouldn’t be the last. “The squad designation is Shatter. Six soldiers. We all should be connected by now.”

“Let’s see what they can accomplish. I believe you can see how dire the situation is?” Fayruz asked.

“It’s a massacre.” Commander Reeves jumped in. “This strike looks to be more organized than the norm.”

“Exactly. They have their newest leader to thank.”

“Fill us in on that in a moment. What do you need my men to do…?” Commander Reeves’ voice trailed off as she was watching the action on the screens. Driving ADVENT off would not be an option here. “If you don’t mind me voicing my opinion, this Haven is lost. The best we can do is rescue and escort the civilians and any of your injured men out of here.”

Only a series of grumbles came from Feyruz. An astute observation that she didn’t want to acknowledge, but this was a losing battle. A sigh of defeat finally slipped from her lips. “Yes, that would be best. We’re running low on supplies and our plasma weaponry is overheating. We need to find any way we can to stall ADVENT. I can’t lose any more people.”

“Who’s the newest leader? I’m seeing several Officers that could be killed to disrupt some flow of information.” Central said as he had them marked for the soldiers to keep an eye out for.

“You can’t miss them. The tall one. Different armor.”

“Tall?” That both had the Commander and Central concerned for a moment before one of the Communication Officers and the ship’s AI found and isolated the leader.

“Okay, not a Chosen.” Central was relieved.

“They look interesting.” Commander Reeves muttered. “Orion, see if you can tap into the Psionic Network and isolate all commands given by this leader.”

“On it, Commander.” He responded.

As he did that, and she gave a few basic commanders to their soldiers to stay vigilant and keep close as they moved, she couldn’t help but find herself engrossed by the appearance of the ADVENT unit. She was getting that faint, yet deep feeling there was something about this leader that was familiar.

She tightly closed her eyes before pinching the bridge of her nose. “I would kill to have clear memories again.”

“Commander?” Central raised a brow.

She rolled her hand in a way of telling him “Don’t get too concerned”. “Having that feeling this one feels familiar.”

“Vestigial memories from when you were… connected?” He spoke the last bit in a whisper.

She closed her eyes tighter as a rumble in her throat slipped out. I’ll never be free of that. Opening her eyes, she glanced at him before looking back at the screen. “Yes and no. I don’t know how to put it. Feels almost closer.”

“Tapped in Commander, sending the information over to you.” Orion said.

A mix of feelings washed through the Commander’s body as the information came onto her screen. Her eyes focused on the leader’s credentials.

“Field General Cross Murdoc. Designation: ADVENT PROXY(PXY) - M - C1(II) - 01.” She read off the information.

“Proxy? That sounds new.” Central said. The term didn’t ring a bell.

“Whatever he is, he’s looking to be one of a kind with his designation and high ranking.” Reeves noticed a golden motif of the Elders on one of his shoulder pads. Then she noticed something more troubling. Something that made a shiver go down her spine and the back of her throat ache.

“And he’s processing a vast amount of information. Greater than the standard Captain processing and delivering commands to their subordinates. He’s taken note of our arrival, gathering information on what they have and where they are moving, but has yet to issue focused attack orders on us. Just continue forward and around. Find and cut off all escape routes.”

“Wait, what?” Central took his eyes off the main action and looked at what she was looking at. Though he was still learning the finer details of the ADVENT language forced upon the Earth and the variations used specifically for more classified projects, the information that was being processed and released by this general was parsing too fast for him to read. “How are you getting all of that?” The harshest of glares made him want to take back that question. “Pretend I never asked that.”

“I will.” She rolled her eyes. “I see he wasn’t disturbed by what happened in City 22. Or they’ve managed to section off that part of the Network until it’s fixed for the region.” She soon began to mutter as she went back to deciphering the incoming and outgoing information from this Cross to see how they could counter him.

“Would you like to give orders for our soldiers to attempt to take out this General?” Central asked. “Cut the head, cause a communication breakdown to take the heat off of us and the Striders. Though that’s some heavy armor…”

“No, if the Silent Striders haven’t taken him out—” She paused. A thought crossed her mind. “Frost Owl,” she called out to her, “why is this General still standing?”

“General? Tch, looks different from the standard lot. More bloody annoying.” Fayruz grumbled. “We have tried. I can only assume inhuman reflexes with assisted AI like the Hunter, allows him to predict our shots. We finally, but barely, scratched his helmet before you lot arrived. That off-colored arm of his can form a shield that can block our plasma, and he ordered his troops to take several shots for him.”

“Hm, perhaps some pre-cognition like the Hunter?” The Commander mumbled her thoughts.

“Just don’t waste your bullets.”

“Noted. Limited engagement with the General, buuuut…” She noticed a pattern in the information flow. “Those Officers and Captains, each a head of some pods, are handling more information than what they are built for. It is possible we can cause some minor disruptions by taking them out. It may even cause some negative feedback for the General”

“One of my people noted that they become less organized if one of them is killed, but another quickly replaces the fallen, making the point moot.” Feyruz wasn’t convinced.

“Then we just need to keep the pressure on. Officers and Captains are more valuable than the standard units, it may cause this General to recall them to stay with the central strike force.”

“Hm, I’ll relay the information. If it doesn’t work, we’ll go back to our current tactics.”

“Understood. Every second counts.”

“Central, give the same orders to our soldiers, but reiterate the main focus is excavation.” Commander Reeves said. She took a moment to sink into her chair as her brain was beginning to struggle to process all the information. “Reiterate that strongly.”

“On it, Commander.” He nodded.

“Shatter 1, additional orders. When you can, eliminate any Officers and Captains you come across. The goal is to cause information disruption. But keep your main focus on evacuating the civilians and assisting the Silent Striders.” He gave the orders.

“What for? We’ve got enough of the regulars and those Lan— FUCKING DIE ALREADY!” Raven had to pause as she body slammed a stubborn Stun Lancer into a wall before unloading on it with her Shard Gun into its chest. “Lancers, breathing…” Again, she paused to catch her breath, “breathing down our necks and you want us to bother with the red ones?” Raven said.

“There’s a small chance it’ll take some heat off of everyone as ADVENT loses some information with each death.”

“If it’s information disruption the Commander wants…” She looked down at her forearm. Skulljack. Another joint idea from Dr. Tygan and Shen and their Foundry crew created after taking some of the alien’s hardlight technology to build the gauntlet and its blades. Supposedly, if used right, they would be able to tap right into the brain and the chip of the unlucky ADVENT Officer to get a glimpse into the network.

“Negative, negative.” Commander Reeves quickly interjected. “Unless you can isolate either. Right now, it would be too risky.” But she was silently sending orders for Tygan and his crew and their other data processing crews to be on standby if the chance came about.

“Understood. But if the opportunity arises…” Raven wasn’t exactly looking forward to trying out this untested device, but her blood was boiling to plunge it into a skull.

“Eliminating some of the reds?” Razor cocked his head to side a few sides as he was fiddling with the bandoleers on his chest, counting how many grenades and satchels he had left. “Should be easy like so. Yukon, you guys managed to plant those satchels I gave you guys and clear out?” He was speaking to one of the Silent Striders.

“Yes, but this better be worth the lives cost. 7 seconds out.” Yukon responded.

“Oh, it will be.” He darkly chuckled. “6…5…4…3…2…1…0.”

Several explosions went off across the haven, rocking the ground underneath them.

“Hot damn! Did you steal from Errol again?” Raven asked.

“Borrowed.”

“Well, if we barely had their attention before, we have it now.” Central muttered as he looked at the other screens, seeing the aftermath of the explosions. He couldn’t quite tell it put a dent in ADVENT’s forces as there looked to be more debris than bodies but could see the more fringe group of Troopers recalling themselves to the main horde with their chase route seeing cut off. Slowly, moving back. Maybe some Captains and Officers had been killed.

“Let’s get back on the clock!” Count shouted as she reloaded her Mag Revolver. “…3…4…5. Loaded. Strider and Owl and those Striders will be to the next area before we’re even there.”

“You all split?” Central had finally noticed the slightly smaller group.

“Yes’m. Strider’s been itching for a good perch. Owl’s old, but has some speed. And his faint ‘psi’ powers are picking up where the pods are going to move to so, he’ll dodge ‘em.” She explained.

“Hm.” Central’s eyes shifted to the two that split. The Silent Striders’ escort was decent, but it was still dangerous they didn’t have the varied firepower of the rest of the squad. “Get moving and keep these split-ups to the minimum.”

“Oh, shit.” The near-silent exclamation left the Commander’s lips.

“What now?” Central looked at her.

She simply pointed at the screen. “‘Voss. Voss. Voss. The Silent Striders spent their explosives ammunition hours ago. Where is XCOM? Where are they now? Where is their Grenadier? Where are those medics? I want them. 70/30. Alive or dead. At least one must be captured alive. I’ll do it myself, if I must.’”

“Shit.” He understood. “Team, keep on moving. You’re about to become priority targets!”

—————————————————————

Shatter 1-4 and their Silent Strider cohorts started moving again to catch up with the compatriots. It didn’t take long for them to notice the increased heat focusing on them. It seemed nearly any pod they crossed that was capturing or executing unlucky or engaging the Silent Striders, would immediately switch targets and focus on them. Especially, those pesky Stun Lancers.

“Fuckin’ heeeeeeell rrrrrrgh.” Raven growled as that medspray from Sol’s Gremlin, Paprika, burned through her lungs as she sputtered back to conciseness. It took her a few seconds to get back on her feet and get her gun. She readjusted her singed armor before repeatedly kicking a dead Lancer at her feet. It had been a “mutual kill”. “I am going to hate red and blue with a passion after this.”

“Not sure I have enough another to handle another volley of those guys.” Sol muttered as she was getting the only surviving Strider back on their feet. “Trying to keep the best saved for any of us that go down, but… had to tap into some of it with the hit you took.”

“Yeah, I know. Thanks. Let’s keep mov—”

“››XCOM there!‹‹“ Looked like more had found them. A hail of magnetic fire came down their way. So far, there were no crackles of energy from hot lancers.

“Oh, for FUCK’S sake.” Raven was hastily reloading her Shard Gun as she rushed for cover.

“Don’t need you going down again!” Sol, was dragging the barely alive Strider into cover.

“Razor!” Count shouted as she laid out covering fire.

“Give me a second!” He was scrambling for cover as he was searching for just the right grenade. “Maybe this one? Which way’s the wind? Which way’s the wind?”

“Just throw the damn thing!” Count and Raven yelled.

“HOLD YOUR BREATHS!”

Razor had pulled two of his Gas grenades and threw them. The grenades bounced a few times and rolled in the midst of the Trooper pod before they exploded, erupting into a thick, sickly yellow cloud of gas.

There were several choked gasps. Three Troopers hit the ground. Lifeless. The others retreated and looked for another route around.

“That’s… some… breathing… room.” Raven let out a sigh of relief.

“We need to keep moving. Hopefully, Owl and Strider are still there and are off to the other area.” They all started to get moving once more.

“They’re at the location, safely. One you guys are a few klicks from. Marionette Owl is getting people stabilized before the Striders move them to evac for Stellar Echo. Frost Owl and her surviving crew are moving to the location as we speak to meet up.” Central said. “Update, you may only have one more location to rescue civilians. The other two have been lost.”

A few curses came from the squad but was to be expected.

“Shit, meant for that to be a regular and a gas.” Razor grimaced as he caught up with the others. “Still have some regulars, two incendiaries, a few proxy mines, and satchels.”

“Don’t matter. It’s giving us cover. Hope that gas spreads further and keeps them stalled.” Raven said. “Wonder if you can get your hands on that more potent stuff I’ve heard has been showing up on the Markets.”

“No.” Razor’s tone immediately became serious.

“Fine with overpowered explosions, but not gas?”

“I heard that stuff melts bodies. Not messing with it. Nor the people that make it. Lunatics.”

“Coward.” She joked.

“Do you guys always banter during combat? The Silent Strider, still hobbling despite Sol’s treatments, questioned.

“No.” Raven said.

“Yes.” Razor said.

Count rolled her eyes. “I’m scouting ahead.” She picked up her pace.

“It helps with the stress. Even in… moments like these.” Sol sighed.

“Sounds like my mates, to a point.” The Silent Strider chuckled.

“Heads up team, you have more closing in on your area.” Central said. “Triple-time it.”

“We’re moving, have a lot of debris and fire to get through, Centy.” Raven talked back, somewhat playfully.

“Less excuse—”

“Move now!” Commander Reeves cut him off. “General Cross is rapidly closing in on your position! We’ve lost sight of him on the screens.”

“Oh, you have to be shitting me.” Raven grumbled as hastened her steps.

Razor moved over to Sol to give her a hand with the injured Strider.

As they were closing in on their location, passing through a partially collapsed corridor(mainly using it for cover), there were a series of faint green lights shimmered through the smoke-filled window of another burning building.

“The end is clear. Hurry up.” Count said as she kept a lookout. “See the point. Last bastion of freedom. Commander and Central. Any eyes on that General?”

“Negative.” Central said. “Still looking.”

“He’s somewhere and still active. The flow of orders has barely stopped.” The Commander said.

The three-story ramshackle house was still standing despite part of it being on fire and a horde of ADVENT soldiers being mere minutes from bearing down on it.

“Hey SS, some of your people still have plasmas?” Raven noticed the green lights in up ahead. She was already at the exit and keeping an eye out for more ADVENT like Count.

“Huh?” The Silent Strider looked around. The green lights grew in brightness for a moment. “Huh, maybe some do. We should all be spent now and back to the magnetics.”

“Any superior firepower is better than nothing.” Raven mumbled. “Plasma cracks through armor better than our stuff.”

As Sol, Razor, and the Silent Strider continued down the corridor, the Silent Strider couldn’t help but feel something was off.

“With all the action, those lights shouldn’t be so bright… or should be near critical… constantly flickering a cracking.” They mumbled under their breath as they watched the lights. As they continued to mumble, the lights started to glow brighter and brighter suddenly. There was no hint of flickering or visible energy crackling around.

“Wait…” Something just wasn’t right. “Shit!” It clicked.

“You need to move!” The Silent Strider managed to get out of Razor’s grip, knocking him into and through a weakened wall, before shoving Sol to the ground. Just as he did so, the sound of plasma weaponry discharge rang through the air.

Count nearly shrieked as hot plasma zoomed past her face. The Silent Strider wasn’t so lucky. The bolt of plasma hit them square in the face. They didn’t even get a chance to yell, as the mere impact knocked them off their feet as the heat seared their flesh. The smells of burning flesh, fabric, and metal filled the air.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Razor yelped as he had just the luck to land in some fire and was desperately trying to put himself out.

“Oh, oh, go-, oh go-, oh go-—” Sol eyes were fixed on the fallen Silent Strider. Her mind had seen many things over the decades, but it had been forever since she had seen the damage plasma could do to human flesh in the heat of battle. What wasn’t burned to the bone was melted. And the smell. The contents of her stomach were screaming to meet the ground. Through a series of concerned beeping, Paprika was urging her to get up and move.

“What the hell!?

“Who the hell was that!?”

Both Raven and Count had their weapons trained on the window the plasma bolt had come through while moving to nearby cover. There we no more green lights.

“There’s no Mutons or Vipers here, right?” Raven asked.

“None, none. Purely ADVENT in this Haven please.” Central said but he was double checking to make sure they didn’t miss a call for reinforcements.

“Well then wh—”

Two glints whipped out from the smoke in that window. Two glints bounced off the ground and ticked off some fallen metal roofing.

“Oh, you have got to be—” Raven was done.

“Less yap! MOVE!” Count thought her complaints could wait.

The two moved from their respective cover as fast as they could before the grenades went off. Before either had a chance to double back, the familiar crackle of lancers caught their ears. Both cursed.

“You two run, now!” Central barked the orders. They didn’t hesitate to listen. “Sol, you need to get on your feet now!” He ordered her next. She was still panicking.

“Shit, who could this be?” Central mumbled as he was digging through all the information they had. No alien units were there. Just ADVENT. He then heard the Commander muttered. He glanced at her. Those eyes were fixed on the information stream from the General Cross.

“‘XCOM and Silent Striders are thorns. Haven cleansing is only at 77.48% efficiency. Vaoss. Vaoss. Vaoss. Black mark on my reinstatement. Tsk. Tsk. Their ship has been evading our trackers. Will order scouting parties to sweep the surrounding region.’” Commander Reeves said and only seemed to be more taken in by this information trance. “‘Targets located. Separating. Strider was alert, ‘saved’ two of their comrades, but was not alert to save themselves. Demolition specialist separated, but currently a fire hazard. Cautioned approach. Separating the other two. Stun Lancers sweep them away. Medic isolated. Frightened. Has one of those drones XCOM uses. Unit designation Specialist. They could be useful. Capturing.’”

“Oh, shit.” He realized who was. Then he noticed the video feed. That onyx-armored figure jumped out of the building and landed. “Sol! Get on your damn feet and run! It’s the General!” Still no response from her besides that stammering.

Cross landed on the ground with a solid thud. He let his plasma rifle fall to his side before he pulled a baton from his side. With a simple flick, he extended it to its full length “An XCOM Specialist. You look like you know something.”

“Laney!” Central barked again. He started calling out to the others nearby, but Count and Raven were still dealing with their chasers, with Count getting cornered and pulling out a Flashbang followed by a Needle grenade and letting both go off too close to her. Razor had finally put himself out and was having a standoff with some Troopers. He was pulling several pins in such a way that if they downed him, they would die too. Looked like they understood his gestures and warnings well.

“I wonder how long it will take you to break?” Cross’ grip tightened on the baton, causing arcs of white electricity to appear before he sprinted towards her.

Cross was mere feet from crossing the threshold of the corridor before he suddenly stopped, throwing up his shield arm to protect his head.

A hail of magnetic fire rained down on him, causing him to stumble back. Just as it felt like there was a brief window to move, two plasma bolts cracked through the air. One hit his shield, causing part of it to splinter and shatter. The other him square in the chest before he could shift his arm, knocking him off his feet. Just as he was about to recover, one more shot rang out. Magnetic fire this time. It found its target.

Black shards from his helmet flew around. Cross cursed as his head was thrown back. He was off-balance for a few seconds before quickly rightening himself and moving to cover before the next hail of bullets could strike him.

“Heh, he, he he! Loving this new scope!” Strider’s giddy little giggle was almost a relief to Central’s ears. “Nice shot. Frosty.”

“Huh, the sensory overload worked. He’s not invincible.” Fayruz added. “Keep track of him!” She barked at her people. “He does not catch wind where we are evacing the last groups!”

“’Vaoss. Snipers. Nest of insects. Clever. Tsk. Tsk. Sloppy me. Black marks are sure. New orders: TEAR IT DOWN.’” Commander Reeves continued to read his transmissions. “‘Structural integrity of helmet: 52.089% and dropping. Otherwise, minimal injury. Backing off. Searching for another opportunity. The Grenadier… Orders: Back off from him. Too close. His payload would affect me and the Specialist. The other two… Sniper support one? Predictable. The other with the revolver? Self-damage with two grenades and purposefully set off the self-destruct system on the Lancers weapons? Intriguing. Her status? Alive, but heavily injured. Good. Press their medical supplies. Isolate if you can. That one deserves capture too. Choice DNA for that strong ill’isha in the face of death.’”

“Nice shot Strider and… Striders.” Central did his best to hold back a chuckle finally noticing that. “Laney—Sol, you back with the living yet!?”

Sol was still stammering. Her eyes were transfixed on the dead Silent Strider.

“Have her Gremlin zap her if she’s still out!” Owl joined in. Override code: Zeta 10-10. Small little shock, bring her back to senses.”

“Did not know that. Giving it a shot.” Central found a way to send the orders to Sol’s Gremlin. The next second, Paprika let out a little buzz before pulling itself close to her chest and letting out a small burst of electricity.

She let out a shriek before batting it away. Her churning stomach finally won she vomited for a few seconds. Clutching her chest, she looked around. “Oh, god. Sorry, buddy.” Her Gremlin let out a few beeps. It wasn’t offended.

“Back to your senses?” Central asked.

“Sorry, Central.” She apologized to him as she got back on her shakes legs. ”It’s been… ages since I saw plasma do that damage. It was just so—”

“Sudden. I know, but keep your wits.” He understood all too well. “You all need to regroup. Head to where the others are before Cross gets the jump on you again. And looks like Count will need some patching up Sol. Hope she can still hear.” He was already submitting an updated brief to the medical team on the potential injuries that needed to be treated if all made it back alive.

A series of explosions and a building coming down nearly had everyone on edge again until Razor came back on the comms. Just him tossing the grenades he accidentally armed in his standoff. He was mostly fine minus the burns.

With that heat mostly cooled down, Central turned his to the Commander who was still engrossed by Cross’s transmissions.

He knew calling her name wouldn’t work. Instead, he stepped behind her chair, bringing his arms around and down on her shoulders, and gave her a hearty shake.

“‘—pod of Troopers lost, but the Officer survived with injuries? Acceptable. Find your way back, stick to the shado—’ Wha— What!?” Commander Reeves snapped too, bristling like a startled bird(and if she had hair, it would be as puffy as their plumage). She looked around until she noticed Central step back into view. “Not again.” She sighed as she rubbed her temples.

“Lost you to the information, but if you weren’t talking, we would have lost Sol.”

“Mhm.” She didn’t like that. “There’s an oddly… pleasant familiarity with his thought process.” She wished it were the opposite. There was a shakiness to her voice. “The whole process really. It’s like I’m—”

He silenced both their mics for the moment. He offered his hand to her. She gladly took it. “Back in the system? Your old prison.”

“Yes. Like my brain is wired to want this information streaming in and through me again.”

He gave her a reassuring squeeze. “That’s not gonna happen.”

“I can only pray and hope so.” She sighed. That fear would always linger at the back of her mind.

“Weeeeeell aren’t you alone.” Raven nearly sang as a red armored treat crossed her path. An Officer. And one that was injured. “Central, get the teams ready!”

That caught the attention of Central and the Commander.

“Oh, no. That could be a trap. Raven, do not engage! I repeat do not engage!” Commander Reeves yelled.

“Crap, out mics.” He scrambled to get them back on.

“Show me that lovely skull of yours.” Priming the Skulljack, she rushed the Officer.

“Raven, do not engage! That could a tra—” Central was too late.

The dazed state of the Officer made it easy for Laney to disarm them before ramming the hard light blade into the back of the chin and right into the brain.

“Shit!” He quickly shot off a message to Tygan, but was more than relieved to see someone on his team was keeping close tabs on the operation.

“We have complete access to the ADVENT Psionic Network.” Tygan said. “I have dedicated our systems to processing the new data, but we will need to work fast. It’s only a matter of time before they detect our intrusion.”

“Make it quick, this guy’s heavy and the Jack is heating up!” Raven said. She selected the large intel cache and was waiting for when it was okay to let the deadweight drop.

“They better not be able to trace this hack back to us.” Commander Reeves said.

“We implemented a safety cutoff if they—” He suddenly stopped.

“What is it?” She asked, but saw the red screen appear on Raven’s gauntlet and words in all caps. INTRUDER DETECTED.

“Shit!” Raven’s Skulljack gave out and the Officer dropped to the ground. She jerked her hand back, shaking it as smoke rose from the now sparking gauntlet. “That’s hot.”

“Commander, ADVENT cut the data transfer, but we blocked them from tracing the connection back to the ship, but not the solder. Something is coming their way.” Tygan said with utmost haste. “Scanners are detecting incoming psionic activity.”

“Ah, dammit.” Central was already looking for what headache they would have to deal with next.

“Raven, you need to move—”

Before Commander Reeves could finish her sentence, a strong psionic ping rang out mere feet from Raven, followed by several other high-pitched sounds. The bright purple light washed out the screen for a few seconds before they saw what came through.

“What the hell is that?” Both Raven and Central said.

Just mere feet from Raven was this semi-transparent golden-yellow female figure, featureless face save for a pair of glowing, white eyes, and a plume of a black, smoke-like substance flowing out of its head resembling hair. Its body seemed to be in constant flux; like parts of its body were glitching to sustain its existence from where ever it came from.

“Move, it has a Beam rifle!” Commander Reeves noticed the more dangerous item it held.

“Shit, shit, shit!” Raven finally noticed and moved before a beam of energy struck her. As she dove behind cover, took a moment to get her Shard Gun, and looked back. The being had disappeared. “What the… anyone catch—”

A psionic ping rang out and in a flash, that being was next to her again.

“Shit! No, no, NO— AAA—!”

Raven was barely back on her feet, but as she turned, that beam struck her in the back. All air escaped her as she crashed to the ground. Her vitals crashed.

“Shit! The rest of you stay sharp. This threat can teleport! Have your Gremlins scanning for any sudden psionic activity.” Central gave the rest of the squad more information on the new threat as that psionic ping rang out once more and it was gone.

“Commander, from the information I’ve been able to decipher, that appears to be the ‘Codex’ responsible for safeguarding the alien data stores.”

“Codex. We have a name.” Her eyes watched the screens and scanners, but there was no hint of the thing. At least the group was back together and heading to their final destination but had some Troopers hot on their tail.

“Hm?” She noticed a change in General Cross transmissions. She felt herself being drawn to it again. “Hey, hey.” She tapped Central a few times.

“Hm?”

“Shake me again if I get lost. Something’s different. He looks to be in pain since the arrival of that Codex.” She said before she began to read it. He was about to stop her, but it was too late. He just kept an eye on her, the screens, and the scanners.

“Incoming Priority Transmission… from an Elder.” That was a surprise.

“What does it say?” Now Central wanted to hear this.

[ELDER:] ” ››PROXY Cross. Effective immediately, you are to withdraw from the field. Your sortie is over. You have done well despite the arrival of outside factors.‹‹”

[CROSS:] ”’ ››With highest respect, Elder Ororos, this cleansing is not done. I have

[ELDER:] “‘››That is now irrelevant. Your lessers will take over. You, a valued asset to Us, cannot be lost. The data guardian will dispose of the insects.‹‹“‘

[CROSS:] “‘›› ‘Eadto… Data guardian…? Network intrusion. Explains the feedback I am receiving. Vata. Vata. Vata.‹‹“

[ELDER:] “‘›› A minor intrusion. The data will be recovered. Now, I repeat, withdraw immediately. There is a ship waiting for you—”

[CROSS:] “‘››Request denied. Partially illogical.‹‹‘“

Commander Reeves paused in her translation as she reread what she had just spoken.

“Did he just… ignore a direct order?” She said.

“It looks… it looks like it.” Central nodded.

There too was a pause in the transmission.

[ELDER:] “‘››How dare… WHAT. WHAT!? Are. You. Damaged?‹‹’”

The Elder was just as shocked.

[CROSS:] “’››Chip status: Sound. Your logic: Vind’eadto’ill. My logic: The arrival of the data guardian can be used as leverage and acquire more combat data. Receiving broken data from the guardian, it killed one of XCOM and is closing in on the others. Let’s see how they react. Leverage and wipe them out. Ish’no? Then the opportunity is lost. Combat data lost. I want to understand the enemy. I will not vo’ish now. Can fight through the feedback.‹‹‘”

[ELDER:] “‘›› That accursed language. Maker… CROSS. YOU ARE TO WITHDRAW IMMEDIATELY. I WILL ASSUME—‹‹‘“”

The Elder’s transmission was suddenly cut.

[CROSS:] “‘›› I will accept all punishments once done. Now, I must strike.‹‹‘“

“And looks like he just cut off that Elder. I can’t imagine he’ll live longer.” Central shook his head.

“Nor can I— wait…” The Commander finally noticed something. ”Cross has been using some Fragmenta language here and there. Explains that ‘accursed language’ remark. I wonder why that choice of language?”

Before she could dwell on that longer, the psionic scanner alarm went off. She looked back at the screen just as Sol’s Gremlin was marking the area.

On a smoldering roof, above the squad, that Codex reappeared with another ping. This time, its beam rifle was missing from its hands.

“Why is it unarmed now?” Commander Reeves didn’t like that.

“Doesn’t matter, team, shoot that thing!” Central said.

“Need a better angle and some cover from those Troopers!” Count said as she was moving to get a better shot.

“Can’t give another volley, our location is compromised. The Silent Striders are starting to pull out.” Strider said. “Finding a new perch and Owl’s on the way to you guys. His Gremlin has a charge it can set off on that thing.”

“We got you covered.“ Sol said as she pulled the pin from her Smoke Grenade and threw it near them.

“Last of my mines and satchels!” Razor said as he threw what he had left past the smoke and headed for cover to reload his Mag Cannon.

The Codex watched where the group was moving. Its attention focused on the two closest to each other. The Codex let out a few sounds as its form continued to glitch before it raised its hands.

The psionic scanner alarm went off again. Sol’s Gremlin let out panic beeps.

“What the hell is —” Commander Reeves scanned through all the transmissions from ADVENT to see what was going on. She saw the repeated message: “STAY AWAY FROM THE RIFT.”

“Guys! You need to—”

The next second, a roar of energy ripped through the air, as a mass of purple energy swirled all around Sol and Razor.

“What the hell?” Sol did not like the eery feeling that drowned her senses. “Paprika, come on!” Noticing her Gremlin was stunned, she quickly grabbed it and kept moving.

“Nice light show, now smile— huh?” As he pulled the trigger on his Mag Cannon, Razor found it empty. “What the hell? I just reloaded this thing?”

“That thing has psionics?” Central said. It barely looked organic.

Commander Reeves on the other hand nearly jumped out of her seat as she yelled. “Get out of that Rift now!” She hadn’t seen a psionic Rift in years and who knew those things had grown more dangerous.

It took Razor noticing the energies of the Rift growing more chaotic before he moved. Just as he dived out of the thing, it collapsed on itself before exploding throwing out some debris.

“How the hell is my cannon empty? I just reloaded?” Razor growled as he pulled himself to cover. He was getting dangerously low on ammunition.

“Knock, knock, knock.” Mag Revolver raised, Count pulled the trigger. “3, 2, 1.” Fan Fire.

Each shot rang out. One whizzed right through the Codex’s form as it merely shifted to avoid the fire, but the other two struck its head. It shrieked as it fell back for a mere second before it shifted a few more times to reappear standing up.

But as it did so, it let out several sounds as it rapidly shifted around, its form distorted and split in two before reforming into one. As it did so, that split shifted with a psionic ping on the ground and reappeared near Count and the others. This one had a Beam rifle in its hands. One actively charging and pointed at Count.

“Are you kidding me!?” Count whipped around as fast as she could to shoot at the thing, causing its shot to go wide before she got back into cover.

“That thing can split? Or did another one of those things come through? Tygan, any ideas?” Central did not like the idea of a self-replicating foe.

“That is outside my expertise as we have lost direct connection to the Psionic Network, but scans are showing this ‘clone’ is sporting similar damage to the ‘original.’”

“It ‘fragmented’.” Commander Reeves said.

“You sound a little too sure about that.” Central said.

She simply gestured at the communications transmission. “What the General said. Seems to be a defense mechanism in response to damage, but it can’t keep it up forever risking a critical error to the data it stores and protects. At least he’s telling his forces to keep distance since two are out right now.” That would take some pressure off their soldiers.

“How many more times before it’s done? Anything we can do to keep that from happening?”

She simply shrugged. No answer from the transmissions. “Taking a guess, needs to be a hard, lethal shot. Or if anyone has any of those Bluescreen rounds. ”

“Shit.” None of them did.

As Central was seeing if Fayruz could spare any of her men, which was slim as they themselves were pulling out and making sure the last of the wounded were out. Hearing that, he informed the squad the final location was scrapped. The new order was to survive as long as they could until Stellar Echo was back.

The squad did their best to deal with the two teleporting nuisances that seemed to dodge their shots with ease. As one would teleport away, the other would either fire their Beam Rifle before the squad could reposition, or set off another one of those Psionic Rift. Any chance one of them got caught in the roof would mean lost ammo and they were running near dry.

“Dammit!” Razor cursed as he caught just on the edge of a Rift and he finally managed to hit one of the Codices. Thankfully, it didn’t split, but the Rift cost him his potential to deal heavy damage. “I’m OUT!” Just as he got out of the Rift, Razor angrily threw his Mag Cannon at the Codex, which only teleported away before it could hit. “Of all days to not have my pistol.” His eyes darted around the battlefield searching for a weapon. Any kind of weapon.

“Razor!” Sol called out. “You can have mine!” She threw it to him.

“Thanks, shit!” He had to dive back down as a beam of energy headed his way, but quickly scrambled to get that Mag Pistol.

“Marionette Owl, ETA to the others?” Central asked.

“Nearly there.” Owl responded. “Crossed paths with Lancers, nasty buggers, but a Flashbang let me escape through some tight squeezes. Sending Nostrumo ahead of me. She’s programmed to zap one of those things plaguing the others once in range.”

“Nice thinking. Strider, your status?”

“Nearly all these roofs are compromised. I’m on foot, heading there, but there’s still a lot of forces on the ground.”

“Keep your eyes peeled, but move fast. The others are just about dry.”

As Central was contacting Fayruz again, Commander Reeves focused her attention back on that data transmission.

“Hm, things may cool down to a point as General Cross is giving orders to start securing bodies and not give chase to the fleeing forces. He’s not happy at the less-than-ideal success rate of his sortie.”

“Barely good.” Central said. Maybe that would allow Strider and Owl to move more freely. “I would say a dent is better than nothing, be we lost an operative and could potentially lose more if these things aren’t killed.”

“Wait…” She noticed something had changed. That odd thinking of Cross popping up again. And those words. “Target isolated. Capturing Specialist.”

“Specialist? SOL, YOU NEED TO MOVE NOW—”

“AAAARRRRRGHH!!”

Too late.

Sol felt a sharp stab to her back before electricity coursed through her body. It was a never-ending torrent of pain as she screamed until she no longer could. As the faintest of whimpers left her mouth, her vitals dropped as she hit the ground. Before her Gremlin could react, he stabbed that shock baton right between its eyes, and another high course voltage caused it to blow up in smoke. A smoldering wreck crashed to the ground.

“Target secured. Drone lost, but the shell can be studied.” Cross let out a proud chuckle. “This will please Ororos.”

“Shit, Sol!” Both Count and Razor were about to fire on Cross before the Codex reminded them to pay attention.

Cross dragged the unconscious Sol away from the ensuing chaos. As he raised himself back up, he grunted and stumbled. “This close to those guardians is causing more disruption. But there’s a chance to gain another subject. The risk may be worth it.”

He was studying the fight, watching to see how he could get Count as she had caught his attention earlier. Just as he saw an opinion as one of the Codices was about to open another Rift on top of Count, an angry buzz caught his attention.

“The other Specialist’s Gremlin.” He reached for his rifle.

Before he could draw it, Nostrumo whipped around the building, pausing for a moment to take in data, before swiftly flying over to the Codex with the growing psionic power. As soon as it was next to the thing, it let loose its last Capacitor Discharge.

The Codex let out a series of shrieks as its form distorted and it grabbed its head. With a final shriek, its form imploded and all that was left was a black brain-shaped case that clattered to the ground.

“Thank you, little buddy~!” Count sang as she focused her fire on the one still pestering

“Intriguing. Its form disappeared and left that.” Tygan commented.

“Tygan, save your science for later. Need to other one dead and the General gone before you can start dissecting.” Central said.

“Cross is retreating.” Commander Reeves said.

“What?” Central looked at her with his brows furrowed.

She just pointed at the transmissions. “He was seeking to capture Count, but Nostrumo killing that Codex caused feedback he can’t ignore. He’s grabbing Sol and retreating.”

“What!?” Count was already turning on her heels to stop him. “We need to get So—”

“Leave her. We have more pressing problems with that last Codex, and if it duplicates again…” Commander Reeves cut her off. She didn’t need to explain that further. “There’s a chance we’ll be able to rescue Sol another day.”

“Shit.” Count cursed under her breath and turned back to fight the Codex.

“If I had another grenade.” Razor too cursed as he took potshots at the Codex when he could.

The remaining Codex disappeared with another ping before reappearing on the rooftops again. Beam Rifle missing from its hands.

“It’s going to open another one of those Rifts!” Razor was already moving. “And with how angrily Nostrumo’s beeping, it’s a big one.”

“Always moving out of shot! Always!” Count was looking for just the right angle.

The air around Count began to distort.

“No, you don’t.” Strider said before a shot rang out. He finally found a perch.

The Codex shrieked as the shot struck its skull. Its form began to distort as it shifted through various stances as it struggled to keep its form together and keep the flow of energy to that forming Rift.

The distortion began to fade. But suddenly began to stabilize as its form looked splitting.

Another shot rang out, hitting it dead in the skull, again causing it to let out its death screams as it contorted once more and its form imploded, leaving behind another one of those cases. The energies of that forming Rift fully dissipated.

“Goodnight.” Feyruz said.

“Finally…” Razor let out a sigh of relief, but didn’t let his guard down.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Count mumbled as she rushed over to Razor to check on how he was doing. She gave a good kick to what remained of the Codex, only apologizing when Central scolded her, saying they needed what remained intact.

“I see I missed the party, but I have the meds.” Owl finally arrived and immediately with his two remaining allies.

“Thanks, Frost Owl, for the support.” Central said. He was surprised to hear her voice on the comms. “Thought you were long gone by now with how you were no longer answering my calls.”

“I was looking for a gun since my plasma blew up while I was talking to you.” Fayruz replied with a gruff snort. Central just rolled his eyes. “Besides, it wouldn’t be unfair for me to cut and run with you losing two of you men and the risk of the others being lost.”

“How kind of you.”

“Once we reestablished ourselves and licked out wounds, we’ll keep an ear out for any nearby prisons holding an XCOM operative.” Feyrez offered.

“Thank you, we can use all the help we can get.” A mild bonus to a pyrrhic operation.

“Shatter squad, regroup and head to the evac, ASAP. General Cross has pulled out, but ADVENT is still active.”

“We need to get Raven’s body.” Count said. “Can’t leave behind another.”

“Negative. It’s too dangerous. And from this partially corrupted transmission from Cross, it looks like they retrieved her body.”

Count only cursed.

The squad retrieved their gear and the remains of the Codices before regrouping and getting themselves to the Skyranger. They had a little trouble but were able to escape full-blow engagement with the remaining ADVENT troops sweeping the area.

“Tygan, have your teams ready to study those Codices on arrival, AND,” Commander Reeves didn’t mean to make such a dramatic pause but an important thought crossed her mind, “have psionic shielding constantly active. Already ordered Shen to have psionic containment ready for the handoff as soon as the Skyranger touches down.

“My team is already preparing for their arrival, Commander. Hopefully, studying these beings will provide some insight into the aliens’ ongoing plans.” He responded before cutting his transmission.

—————————————————————

Jynn took a few moments to go over any more after-operation information and issue a few more orders before slipping down her chain. She could feel a headache coming on.

“Oh, those pills are wearing off.” She could feel a palpating pain blossoming against her temples.

“You okay?” Bradford noticed her mutter.

“Medication wearing off. Headache, no, soon a migraine is coming on.” She grumbled.

“Want me to call the doctors?’

“Help me down to the Infirmary,” she extended her hand to him, “it’ll be faster.”

It took a few pulls to get her up, and once she was up, Jynn found herself leaning on Bradford.

“Oh, I am going to be bedridden for a few days.” She had a sinking feeling that would happen.

“Stay positive, maybe a few hours.” He said.

“No, days. I can feel it in my bones. My throat still freakn’ hurts. Manuke, manuke, manuke.”

“Rude.”

“I was calling myself a moron.”

The conversation grew silent as they made their way down to the Infirmary. Once Jynn was admitted and the doctors worked on her, their attention turned back to how the operation when.

“Now this is pointed at Jody…” Jynn warned Bradford before taking in a sharp breath. “I want to wring her neck and tan her hide, manuke!” As she cursed, her Cajun Southern accent fully came through. “Darn girl just had ta use that con’tra’tion on the Officer. Allons! Let me strike the lone Officer! Oh, no! A tataille emerges and much rracas for all!” She let out a slew of other curses before finally calming down. “Bless her damn heart… sincerely, but also, you idiot.”

Bradford, and any listening in, was doing his best to keep a straight face. He understood her frustrations and disappointments, but sometimes how strong that accent would come out would catch him off guard. “Yes, snrk, right, heh.” He turned to clear her throat before looking back at her. “A mild positive is that we know the Skulljack works, but needs more tweaking to avoid triggering more of those Codices.”

“Agreed.” She nodded.

“And see if we can use those upgrades Bones provided for future endeavors.”

“I wonder why…,” Jynn paused, “his gift was a surprise. Our teams are still looking at it, so of course, Tygan didn’t account for that.”

She noticed Dr. Chalsa come back around with her tablet in hand and Gremlin hovering over her shoulder.

“How am I looking, Chalsa?”

“Elevated adrenaline levels again and those neural pathways are active again. Picking up faint… faint psionic activity.” Dr. Chalsa said. Almost hesitant to mention the psionic activity.

“How long am I staying?” Jynn just wanted answers. She would moan and groan later.

“Overnight at the most.”

“Not… terrible. But may change once I explain why I suspect those pathways are active.”

“You… you know why they are active.” Chalsa raised a brow at her before looking at Bradford. He just raised his hands in defense.

“I was looking at communications data from an ADVENT General. There was something about the data, the way he spoke and processed the information that just… entranced me. That’s the best way to describe it.”

“Like your brain is still wired to want that information Network streaming in and through me again.” Bradford recalled what she said.

“Thank you… John.” She did not want to be reminded of her words.

“That is… intriguing. And concerning. I’ll fill Dr. Marin and the others about this.” Chalsa was already updating the others and Jynn’s health history. “You know exactly what that means, yes?”

“Tests? Yes. Better now than later when something in me snaps again.”

“Jynn.” Bradford shook his head when she said that.

“You know it’s true, John.”

Bradford stuck around for a few more hours until Skyranger was back and he had to make sure the handling of those Codex brains went properly.

Until sleep called her, Jynn wrote out a report to the best of her ability on what she could recall when she wasn’t so enthralled by the information coming from General Cross. She wondered if they would meet that specialized General again and any more of those under the designation PROXY.

“Need to put some feelers out with the other Factions if they’ve heard anything with the designation PROXY. Maybe those Void Walkers know. Knowledge is their business.”

#writings #Xcom #Xcom 2 #Xcom wotc #Fic: Hollowed Defiance

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