As Isara walked with Jack, Central, Doctor Vahlen and Chief Engineer Shen down the corridors of their organization's Headquarters, the weight of the situation she was in weighed more and more on her. She had just been killed not too long ago, by a sniper in her own war to save her home. Killed. She was no longer home or anywhere even remotely resembling it, instead finding herself deep in a base that was embedded into a mountain she had no idea of. She felt queasy and sleepy... She just wanted this to be a nightmare, a very nasty nightmare one that she'd wake up from any minute now. One after which she'd find Welkin would be home from University with Martha, cooking her something tasty and talking about bugs and nature... Or, at the very least, one she would wake up from in the Sevens' barracks, home, safe and sound and waiting the next deployment with them...
But the further the young Darcsen walked into the base of operations to the organization known as XCOM, the further she delved into thoughts and worries of her current predicament, the more she knew... That this was no simple dream. No simple nightmare, either... This was her reality, her life now. She was stuck alone, in a world unknown to her or anyone but the people living on it and with what looked like a war brewing here too... She wouldn't despair just yet though... There may be a way home... Perhaps with XCOM helping her?
Two soldiers, clad in dark-blue uniforms and what looked like flak armor, as well as with caps with the same insignia as on the Pilot's shoulders and rifles similar to Jack's, walked toward them in a row. They stopped and stepped aside, to the right of the narrow, round corridor, saluting as Bradford and they went past. Bradford gave them a quick salute and nod, allowing them to walk off to wherever their post was. Security personnel, perhaps military police.
Isara stopped with the others as Bradford walked to a door on the left, took out an identity card of sorts and slid it into a strange slit. From red, a light went to bright green and the door hissed open. They all walked inside, into what Isara soon found to be a comfortable seating room, with a half-couch going around an oval metal table on the right, whilst on the left were comfortable-looking one-leg chairs that spun. She took a seat with Jack on the couch. Sitting opposite of them were Vahlen, Bradford and Shen.
"So... Miss Gunther..." Bradford started "Can we have anything brought in? Some food... Water, perhaps?"
"I... Guess I could do with some water for now... Thank you." Isara said, still contemplating her situation. She arranged her shoal on her person, not noticing Bradford waving a base personnel member out to get some refreshments. She looked down at her hands, fingers interlaced and sitting on her lap. Bradford took pause for a moment, looking with almost fatherly worry at the girl.
"Until they bring refreshments... Mind if we begin with the questionaire we had for you?" The man offered.
"... Sure..." Isara shrugged, turning her gaze up to meet Central's. She wanted to seem calm, but ever-so-subtle motions of her eyes and a slightly quivering lip gave away the troubles the girl had. He sighed, arranging the collar of the shirt worn under his sweater. He then took a tablet that rested on the table and unlocked it by entering an XCOM-only PIN code. He then looked to Isara.
"First of all, miss Gunther..." Bradford started.
"Isara..." The girl interrupted him. Bradford raised a brow questioningly. She said calmly "Call me Isara... Miss Gunther was my stepmother..." and she then gave a small smile...
"Right..." Bradford noted. "Isara. Where'd you come from? That uniform underneath your shoal tells me you're part of some kind of military force... And the soldiers said you mentioned it, but they forgot the exact name of the country." The Officer asked with as calm a demeanor as he had so far shown. The Darcsen girl took pause for a moment. Of course that'd be one of the first questions... And an easy answer that'd also answer her question...
"I come from the Principality of Gallia... I'm a Militia soldier serving in it... Or was." She said, frowning as she looked at the edge of the table. "It's... A really long story, so please, don't delve too much into it..." She then asked politely. Bradford hummed, then looked to Vahlen and shrugged. She took a note in her tablet, then looked to Isara, her deep blue eyes calm.
"We... Don't have a nation named Gallia. Not here, on Earth, at least." Bradford explained "What can you tell us of it?"
Isara looked up, then explained "The Principality of Gallia is a Neutral nation situated between two major empires... In my world, should I say?" She sighed, clearly annoyed by what she just told them "Anyways... We're a small, but proud nation. We've held our own against the Eastern Empire before, having had a war over our independence from it. It's a really long story that I'd be glad to share, but... I'm thinking you're in a crisis for time? From the creature I've seen, you guys are at war..."
"An astute assumption..." Vahlen noted, her Austrian accent thick.
"Indeed. We are at war, Isara. A war for our very world." Bradford said with an even more serious demeanor. "It's hard to explain where we're standing with the war, since we don't know much about it ourselves. All we know is we've encountered two Alien species so far and we're-"
"Alien as in Extra-Terrestrial?" Isara's eyes widened. Bradford nodded silently... And to that, Isara felt her heart in her throat. She swallowed empty, then looked to Jack, who seemed calm. So that's what they were all fighting... Damn... And Isara thought her war was a big deal. She then looked to Bradford and nodded, seemingly a hint more calm... Jack was kind of contagious.
"So..." Bradford continued "A second question would be how old you are, Isara... But I can estimate around 16? 17?"
"16, sir." Isara nodded...
"... Were you fighting a war before coming here?" Bradford asked, now noticing the uniform's patches just as a tray of glasses of water. Isara took one in both hands, then nodded and took out some documents she had with her for identification, as well as some old photos with dates on them. Bradford wearily took them in his hand and saw it... A photo of a squadron of 20+ people, a tank and... A Pig with wings? He'd have to ask about that later... The tank, meanwhile, seemed manned by Isara and a tall, lanky boy with platinum-blonde hair.
He sighed deeply, then looked to Isara after seeing all the people here in a similar uniform and said "Gallian Militia?"
"Squad 7... My squad." Isara warmly noted with half a smile. It then turned into a frown as she realized how she must've left them... By the Valkyrur, she wished she were home now, to hug her brother. Bradford hummed as he saw her, then realized... She looked to Vahlen and the two whispered something to each-other, then to Shen... The old man seemed surprised as he looked to his fellow staff members, then to Isara.
"Do you recall anything... Sudden... happening before your arrival here, Isara?" Bradford asked with reluctance... And at that he saw Isara's skin go bone-white, her mouth agape as she tried to articulate something, but failed to. She slowly bowed her head, trying to hide her face going red, her eyes bloodshot and the tears forming at the corner of her eye. Jack turned to her and checked over her with a worry the boy hadn't exhibited before.
"I'm sorry if it's something you don't wish to remember, Isara." Bradford said sadly "We can skip over this... And you can tell us when you feel more prepared to."
Isara nodded, wiping her eyes. She sniffled and breathed in, then out, to calm herself. She swallowed, then looked to Bradford and said "I'm sorry. It's tough to remember right now... But I promise I'll tell you more... I do have a question for you, mister Bradford." then saw John and Jack both raise a brow. The Central Officer showed her to continue... And Isara asked, more like silently begged as she stared at Bradford "Do... Do you think... There might be a way for you to... I know I may be asking too much, but... Perhaps... Could you get me home?"
Bradford paused, surprised by Isara's request. He looked to Vahlen, then shrugged.
"... If my calculations are correct, miss Isara... And if my brain is still functioning after ten days and ten nights of near-continuous activity under a caffeine high, I believe you may have suffered a dimensional translocation." Vahlen noted... Isara was awed at two things:The woman's vocabulary and THE FACT SHE HADN'T SLEPT FOR TEN BLOODY DAYS!? HOW WAS THIS WOMAN STILL ALIVE?! The Doctor chuckled, seeing Isara's reaction, then said "Let me explain that to you... Something the Aliens were doing in the town of Raleigh must have somehow affected you in your world... Now, this is also very theoretical, but it also excites me as a prospect. Unless your world is an alien planet somewhere far away from Earth... You may very well be the very first person to have crossed to an alternate universe, proving the String Theory correct."
Isara's eyes widened... "And can that be helped...?"
"With further study into what the Aliens were doing to have caused this... And more of their technology, perhaps I can replicate the effect within our Lab. Mind you, this is theoretical, but..." She saw Isara's eyes widen and a smile form on her face. A look of pure joy... Vahlen continued "It is more than likely very possible. Provided Central Officer Bradford agrees with my efforts into the matter, I will do my best."
"Keep it as a side project you will work on during spare time, doctor. We still have a war to fight and our men aren't quite cut out for combat yet..." Bradford noted, then looked to Isara... Who seemed to have gotten an idea, from the way she stared at Bradford. Oh, no...
"Central Officer... I wish to offer something in return for the help." Isara noted. Jack raised a brow and Bradford stared at her with worry... Shen and Vahlen with surprise. The girl continued calmly "I... I have held a weapon before. I wish to help you. To join your organization's ranks as a soldier, if you have place for a Combat Engineer within the teams..."
Bradford looked at her, a sadness in his eyes Isara would only see from Captain Varrot as he told her "We do have plenty of space on our teams, Isara... It's just that XCOM's casualty rates are... High... Currently. I don't know how to and frankly I won't say it nicely, but I have to tell you what you're asking to do is dangerous. You may not see your home again if you do decide to join. And with our current ratio of soldiers lost, you can't expect any guarantees that you'll survive based on sole combat experience alone. Trust us, some of our boys and girls learned that the hard way."
Isara looked to him, Vahlen and Shen, then leaned onto the table with both hands and told them "I fully assume all risks, mister Bradford." with a look so serious on her face, it was almost surprising. Bradford looked to the girl, then to the Jack. He saw the boy shrug, then nod wordlessly and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. He looked to Isara...
"Very well... PFC Gunther." He said sternly, then checked his tablet and switched to a set of files, sliding it toward her and saying "You need to sign these... It's a disclaimer I hate giving, but that the Council's kind of forcing me to hand out to all soldiers, new and old." and he flinched as he saw Isara not even hesitating to take the E-Pen and signing where she was supposed to sign, before handing the tablet back. She straightened her posture, then brought her hand up to her forehead and saluted. Bradford sighed deeply, knowing he may well regret this decision, then stood up and saluted too, then said "Welcome to XCOM, PFC Gunther. At ease. There will be more questions for you, but for now, go take a rest... You must've had a hell of a long day."
Isara smiled, lowering her hand after Bradford. The man looked to Jack, who stood up and said "Would you mind leading her to the Bunks, Sergeant? Oh, also, do give her a tablet for her bunk that contains the List... I'll send someone to give her a tour later." in a calm tone, to which Jack returned a nod and showed Isara to follow. She smiled to him as well, then fell in behind the boy. Bradford watched them leave the room, then sighed and rubbed his forehead. He looked to Vahlen and Shen and said "I think if the Council finds out about this, I'm going to get chewed the hell out..."
"For letting a child soldier into XCOM? Or for allowing a transdimensional being we know nothing about in XCOM?" Vahlen noted with a hint of snark. Bradford rolled his eyes and Shen chuckled. Vahlen looked at herself in a screen's darkened reflection, putting her hand up to one of her baggy eyes, then said "Goodness me, Perhaps I should get some sleep... I get irritated easily if I don't."
"Probably for the best that you go take a nap, Doc." Central said, trying to ignore her remarks. "Both of you are dismissed." He then nodded. The two walked out of the place, with Bradford allowing himself a deep sigh as he took a swig of cold water from a glass. Not long into the war and they were that desperate that they pulled a kid from some god-forsaken other dimension into the war...
Christ, what fresh Hell did he walk into now?
... Jack and Isara both marched down one of the main corridors of the base, out into a massive Hall that shook Isara... She looked up at what looked to be a massive globe made of blue, with outlines of continents present on it. She stared at it, dumbfound, then saw the massive hall was occupied by men and women working on several hundred consoles. The two were on a catwalk overlooking everything. They saw Techs rushing to and fro, security guards overlooking the place with rifles from catwalks higher above them and even more guards on the floor, nearby some back doors.
"This is the Geoscape... The heart of XCOM." Jack told Isara. "You'll learn more about it from the tour. C'mon..."
The girl nodded, then followed him onward, further into another doorway... There, she saw several soldiers clad in olive drab uniforms, with short-sleeved green shirts bearing the XCOM logo and baggy pants, as well as military standard boots... Jack took her further in, toward what looked like a door to a room, one of several in a row of five, with stairwells leading up to two more levels, one above, one below, of similar rows. He opened the door utilizing a card, then Isara saw them inside... Jack's squad.
"Ay, yo!" The redhead girl said cheerfully, standing up, wearing only a bra and her baggy pants. Her shirt was on the bed... She walked toward Jack and Isara and said "Welcome back, Chief!" To Jack, then looked to Isara and asked in the most friendly manner possible "What's up, girl? You look like you're about to give us some damn good news!"
"Actually..." Jack noted "Central approved her file. She's in XCOM, but she still has more answers to give." before both he and Isara saw the girl's smile widen. She let out a high-pitched 'YEEESSS!' as she jumped around. The other squadmates of Jack's regarded them with surprise... Then the sniper girl gave a simple thumbs up and the Gunner shrugged, then leaned back into his bed and listened to music, visibly pissed.
The redhead girl dragged Isara in with a joyful look in her eyes, then said "Welcome to the crew, girlie! I'm Ayane Goto, Strike-3's resident Boomstick Carrier! That's Shotgun for the less-knowledgeable in the arts of good films!" The girl said joyfully and full of energy "Do call me Aya, Ayaya, or 'Backbreaker'." words to which Isara could only respond with... A smile... A reeaaally awkward smile... Okay, this took away from her current predicament, but it was nice meeting someone friendly for a change... Aside from Jack that was. Someone genuinely happy to see her, she meant.
"A... Pleasure to meet you, Aya." Isara said awkwardly... Before being pulled into a bear hug by the girl who said "LIKEWISE!" in the most cheerful voice Isara had ever heard... For a soldier, this girl was something that surpassed all expectations... She saw the Gunner smirk and the Sniper silently laugh... Then heard the Gunner speak calmly to her...
"I'm Armin Voss. Call me Corporal, Voss, or Hammerhead. Never Armin." He said, nodding to Isara "And don't do stupid shit. Stupid shit gets you killed."
"... Okay." Isara nodded, worried.
"That back there's Joana Comescu... Call her Deadshot or Joana." Hammerhead smirked. "Now get in gear... Central'll pro'lly want to brief your ass on everything he left out during the questionaire." before he turned to his music and sat quietly. Isara smiled... She may well be right at home with this squad... What looked like a bunch'a'misfits from random parts of the world...
"What anime should I show you first...?" Aya wondered aloud...
Jack froze... Was this a good or a bad thing?