Earlier today, Isara had gotten issued her own on-site casual uniform. The same khaki pants, shirt and boots as the rest of XCOM. The only difference was, she was still wearing her Shoal. The only item of clothing from home left for her to wear as her uniform and gear were taken in for studying. She'd heard the Chief Engineer had discarded her handgun, as it was inoperable. Funny, she recalled cleaning that thing back... Back at Amaranthine. She sighed, then shook her head and started looking around. Other than that, her Ragnaid cans were taken by the Chief Engineer to check them.

Her tour guide, an older officer, perhaps 35 or 40 years old, a man with black hair and brown eyes, as well as a darker skin tone, had walked in to guide her to a tour of the XCOM Headquarters. He was buff, more well-built than the others and sported a Horseshoe-shaped 'stache. He also spoke very softly to her and the other soldiers of Strike-3... She'd heard Armin and several others give her the nickname 'Rookie'. Or that's what they called all new arrivals.

The duo walked down the corridor Isara had come into the Barracks through and the man turned to her and said "I don't think I introduced myself. I'm Staff Sergeant Aiden McMillan. They nicknamed me 'Papa Bear'." then gave the girl a warm smile. Isara smiled back, then nodded and answered "A pleasure, Staff Sergeant. I'm Isara." and walked to join him... She seemed to be feeling better, strangely enough. The thoughts of her death and sudden appearance here, not to mention her desire to get home, were still present within her mind, but seemed to be less important to her current state of mind. It could've been due to Jack's, Aya's and the others' welcoming, calm behavior that made her feel more at ease.

She knew she had to get home, tell her brother she was fine... But it didn't seem like such a pressing concern at the moment. She needed to get to know her new home, the people she was going to be working with and the precarious situation of the Earth as a whole before even considering going home. And now, she started noticing some of the cool tech omnipresent within XCOM. Automatic sliding doors, scanners, what looked like highly-advanced cameras meant for security at every corner... Isara had just now begun to feel awed by the technological marvels ahead of her, remembering the ship she came aboard... An honest-to-god flying vehicle! These people were amazing!

As they stepped into the Geoscape, Papa Bear turned to Isara and said "This is where we begin our tour. You already know the Barracks, or at least the Bunks. This is the big one. The Heart of XCOM. I think you and Jack passed through here and he told you a short bit about it, but let me put it into perspective for you, kiddo. This place is an always-up-to-date Combat Information Center, linked to an espionage and reconnaissance satellite network so advanced, it can track a fly at over 3,000 Kilometers away from XCOM HQ."

Isara stared on with awe as she saw the 3-dimensional Terran globe spinning slowly, each satellite positioned above a country of strategic importance to XCOM. One of the countries was surrounded by a scarlet whirlwind on one of the continents... She raised a brow and asked "What happened there?" to which McMillan returned calmly "That's India... Went dark about three weeks into the War. Haven't been able to get answers as to why, but we figure the Aliens had something to do with it."

"I see..." Isara took pause, staring at the blotted country with worry. If it took the aliens only 3 weeks to deal with a country of what looked like a massive size that quickly, she dreaded what they could do to smaller nations. To Gallia, even. She looked upon Central as he walked onto the deck, then stood at attention and saluted. Central smiled warmly and saluted back.

"At ease, Private." Central said "You two doing the tour?"

"Yessir." Papa Bear noted, walking beside Central. The Officer regarded the Staff Sergeant with a curt nod, then said "Well, don't let me keep you. I've got to go to the Sit-Room... Councilor's calling about you-know-what..." tilting his head to Isara ever so slightly. Papa Bear grinned, then nodded and gave a mock salute too, before showing Isara to follow. Central walked off, a tablet Isara had just now noticed in hand...

"Uhh, Staff Sergeant?" Isara asked, looking to Papa Bear, who raised a brow toward Isara, then tilted his head forward to allow her to continue... Isara nodded, then asked "Will... I be issued one of those odd tablets? They look really cool. And I wanna figure out their technology before going anywhere." with quite a weary face and a healthy flush. Papa Bear chuckled.

"Standard Issue XCOM touch-screen Tablet. I think Jack and his team will be more than happy to explain the concepts of our technology to you, Isara. Them, Vahlen or Shen." The burly man said, smiling warmly at the kid and ruffling her hair a bit. Isara giggled, then smiled. Yeah, XCOM was a warm place, so far. Even with Armin being a bit of a pain. Isara paused as she saw a man with ginger hair that was trimmed, a goatee beard and a mustache similar to McMillan's stepping forward. Aiden looked to the man and smirked, then greeted "Hey, Beags! Where're you off to?"

"Oh, hey, Bear." The man said, his accent weird, then shook Bear's hand with a joyful demeanor "Off to the Barracks, actually. Central wanted me to pep-talk Strike-3 before a new recruit arri-"He paused, noticing Isara, then raised a brow and said "Well, hi there, little lady. Nice shoal. I like the patterns on it." with a calm smile. "You look new around here. What's your name, kiddo?"

"Isara Gunther. I'm the new PFC. And thanks." The girl smiled, then saluted.

The ginger main saluted back, smiling still, then said "I'm Lieutenant John Teasdale, but most of XCOM knows me as the Beagle. Or Beags, as Papa Bear just called me. Welcome to XCOM there, Gunther."

"You're going to talk to Jack and Strike-3?" Isara asked calmly. Beags nodded.

"Yep. Central asked me to talk to them about a new recruit coming in..." He told the girl, before rubbing his chin and asking "Say, you wouldn't happen to be that new arrival, right? Brad did mention that the arrival was a girl with dark-blue hair and eyes. And you fit the description..." with a smirk. Isara nodded, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly and giving a half-mouthed smile. Beags sighed, then said "Well, welcome aboard, kiddo." before looking to Bear and shrugging, a look of worry in his eyes. Papa shook his head, then waved Beags off. The man sighed deeply, annoyed by something Isara couldn't put her finger on, then waved goodbye to them as he walked off to the Barracks.

"Ignore Beags... He's a bit old-school." McMillan said, then urged her forward. The two walked further out, toward an Elevator. Joining them were a man wearing a foreman's yellow hat and engineering fatigues and a woman clad in an XCOM labcoat. The woman had scarlet hair and a pair of half-rimmed glasses on her nose, as well as what looked like a simple clipboard. The Engineer, meanwhile, had dirty soles, probably from working down in the hangar. The Elevator dinged as it went to a floor below... Isara walked out with Bear and the Scientist, entering the most advanced laboratory she'd ever seen.

Several consoles with operators resided near by the front of the entryway as Isara walked down the stairwell... She saw Doctor Vahlen, seemingly more fresh as she looked over gathered data on her own highly-advanced tablet... Isara walked to one of the consoles and watched as if in a trance as it worked, its OS beeping and running diagnostics and data, little of which she could make out. She smiled, moving a hand toward the console slowly... Then she heard "Miss Gunther, if you'd please not..." in Vahlen's thick accent. Isara turned to see the woman, calmly looking at her, seemingly more well-rested.

"Oh, sorry, doctor." Isara said, stepping away and smiling "Your technology is incredible... How? How does XCOM posses this stuff?"

"Miss Gunther, I will answer that question with a question... What year were you in on your world? Because, as I looked over my theory, you must've come from a long time ago..." Vahlen told her. Isara raised a brow, then said "1935... Early August 1935." watching as Vahlen sighed deeply. She heard the doctor mutter something to herself in a language she didn't understand, then she turned to her.

"As I figured... Miss Gunther, we're in early 2015. 14th of May, to be quite precise." Vahlen said... And she saw Isara's expression of shock, before continuing "But I assure you, everything is fine." showing the girl to calm down "I have made very basic research into the matter, but it's just enough to know what I am facing. A fluctuation of Psionic energy in the area of Raleigh you appeared in seems to have something to do with what happened to you, whatever that may be, that caused your transfer. I believe, with enough time and resources dedicated to that, I can determine... And perhaps reverse-engineer the effect to open a way to home. In the meantime, I'd like to ask you to come for a physical checkup whenever you feel like it."

Isara's shock turned into a smile... She wanted to hug the doctor, but figured that'd be against the rules... Vahlen turned to Papa Bear and said "Staff Sergeant. I presume you were taking the tour with our new recruit?"

"Yes, ma'am..." Papa Bear said quickly, his voice cracking, gripping the railing and trembling, whilst also sweating profusely, all signs of absolute fear. Vahlen stared in a deadpan, then planted a palm on her forehead, excused herself from Isara and walked away, muttering something angrily about something Isara didn't understand due to the language barrier... She turned instead to Papa Bear, raising a brow as the man walked toward her.

"Doc Vahlen has... A reputation here, Is." Papa Bear tried to explain himself. "Just... Don't ask too much about it and read the List. And don't ever push doc Vahlen's buttons... Trust me." he warned, before inhaling and calming himself. "Anyways. This is XCOM's brain. The XCOM Research Labs. They're the area where all the cool stuff we have gets pegged as an idea and given time to be cracked."

"Huh." Isara noted. "That's pretty cool."

"Wait 'till you see Engineering and the Armory." Papa noted with a grin. "C'mon, kiddo." and with that, the two walked out of the Research Labs, up into the elevator and out the other side... Isara gasped as they moved down a catwalk and stairwell into a cavernous room, with what looked like an office set onto the main catwalk that went around it. The roof was made of stone reinforced by metal railings and several security cameras panned around. In the center of it all were 4 automated conveyor belts with what looked like machine hydraulic arms working on constructing different devices. Engineers resided across from them on consoles, on the catwalks and on the railings, doing their thing... And Isara saw Chief Shen sitting by a conveyor, looking over what seemed to be a rifle.

"Wow..." Isara's eyes went wide at the magnificence of the technology around her...

Doctor Shen turned toward her and Papa Bear, then smiled and walked toward them, before greeting "Good day, Isara, Aiden."

"Hey, Doc Shen." Aiden nodded.

"Hello." Isara waved.

"I take it you're on the Tour? How is XCOM so far?" Shen asked in a fatherly tone, looking to Isara.

"Oh, it's incredible." Isara smiled "The technology here is so advanced... Which is a given for it being somewhere around 80 years past my and my people's." She then noted. "How is that look into the Ragnaid cans you received from my rather short equipment list?" and the question made Shen nod, before taking out one of the canisters, which was now disassembled and missing the Ragnite crystal inside.

"I sent the mineral to Doctor Vahlen to study. It was an intriguing chemical item, but I lack the expertise to verify its exact composition." Doctor Shen answered, words to which Isara nodded, then looked around. The Doctor then smiled and said to her "This is XCOM Engineering. Where all of the items XCOM operatives use during missions off-base. And where most come back to get repaired."

"The more I see of XCOM, the more astounded I am." Isara smiled "The production line efficiency here seems incredible... But what are those mechanical arms working on the Conveyors?" She then asked, pointing at one of the Welder Bot arms. Shen looked to it, then turned to Isara and responded "Well, Isara, these are Simple Artificial Intelligence-based Robots that work on the conveyor system, each with a purpose. Say welding, bolting into place or disassembly."

"Wow... Amazing." Isara said "Wait... Artificial Intelligence? Doctor, wha...?"

"Very advanced tech, Isara." Aiden smirked "Computer Data and such. Stuff that Jack and co. are gonna have to teach you about. Them, or Doc Vahlen." And he shuddered. Shen frowned, then rolled his eyes and said "Staff Sergeant, I thought being a member of Strike-1 meant you'd listen to the List and not spread rumors. I hope you haven't told anything to Isara about my colleague. As much as I and her disagree on certain things, her reputation should not be one such as the one spread around by Operatives and random base staff."

"Sorry, sir..." Papa Bear rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged "It's just force of habit."

"... What even is this List?" Isara asked, curiosity having overtaken her best efforts to stay silent, looking to Shen "I have yet to read any of it."

Doctor Shen took pause for a moment, then said "When you get to your bunk, Isara, it would be best to read it... Trust me, it may help you here, in XCOM."

"Ooooouuu-kaaayyy?" Isara looked at both of them with slight discomfort "So... What's next, Staff Sergeant?"

"Next?" McMillan smirked "The Fun Spot. Good day, doc."

"A good day to you as well... And Isara." Shen said. The girl looked to him, to which the Doctor gave a warm smile and said "Feel free to drop by Engineering any time. I could use the company, provided you wish to join me and my staff. You were an engineer formerly, after all." and he waved goodbye. Isara nodded, waved back and walked with Isara. As they traced their steps back to the Barracks and somewhere past it down a waving corridor, Isara found herself in a room chock-full of weaponry of all kinds, as well as armor similar to that which Jack and his squad were wearing. Isara was awed as the chromed armor pieces appeared ahead of her, both for males and females and the weapons, lacking magazines, seemed to still shine ever so slightly... They were arranged in neat rows, on shelves, all lined up after Armor type, weapon type and miscellaneous equipment, as well as grenades. There was what looked like magazines in reinforced boxes below and Isara could hear faint hissing and chatter farther forward.

"This is XCOM's Armory..." McMillan's smirk transformed during the trip, into a boisterous grin. "The place where all the Magic of RnD finally rests." He then said, walking toward one of the weapon racks and drawing a weapon from its spot. He looked over it, a slim, black rifle with a flashlight attached to the right, a strange glowing scope atop it, a skeleton stock, foregrip and a magwell. He took out a mag from one of the boxes, slid it into the weapon and locked it with a click and a hiss... And the weapon seemed to activate. Red lines, resembling Heat Sinks, quickly lined the weapon's body and steam started to emanate from the two longest sinks at the front.

Isara was handed the weapon by the man, grip first. She took it, expecting it to be heavy with how it looked, but she found it to be incredibly light as she held it in one hand. Awed by the weapon's holographic scope, she looked to McMillan with a raised brow. His grin withstanding, he said jovially "That is XCOM's first energy weapon. The Laser Rifle. It fires a focused particle beam at the speed of light toward a target. Not much anything can do to dodge against it. And this thing cuts through armor and steel like it's paper. We have several variations, including a Scattershot Laser, which is basically a Shotgun, a Gatling Laser, an LMG and a Laser Sniper and Marksman Rifle set. Long-range power. They all use similar battery packs for charging."

Isara went from surprised, to intrigued, to downright shocked... She held an energy weapon in her hand... A rifle that could fire a beam of focused light similar to that of a Valkyria's at a target and probably tear it inside out. Mac told her "The shooting range is up ahead, if you wanna give this baby a go." and Isara's jaw threatened to dislocate... Was McMillan really asking this?

She smiled, then looked to him and said "Let's go." without hesitating. As they walked in, the girl found herself face-to-face with several other soldiers, Rookies and soldiers with some seniority training to fire their weapons at cutouts of the little grey men with big black eyes. She saw a row open and Mac offered to her. She nodded, walking up to it, then looking at the target... The little grey alien sat there, staring at her in a T-Pose... She took a firing position she knew good for rifles, took the angled foregrip of the weapon into her left hand and shouldered the rifle, then aimed down the holographic scope... And squeezed the trigger.

The rifle hissed, steam ejecting around Isara's hand and forming a small cloud below her. An angry beam of scarlet light lanced toward the cutout alien and struck with all the might of lightning, igniting the cardboard print-out on fire from the right hand of the alien, drilling a neat hole into it and the concrete wall behind. The rifle had no kick whatsoever, save for the coolant steam pushing it up ever so slightly. Ceasing fire, Isara, now with eyes wide, lowered the rifle, aiming it down at the steel floor, then turned to Mac, who gave her a thumbs up.

XCOM was something else entirely... Weapons running on batteries, not requiring ammo that could make the weapon jam or malfunction. Their armors, made of an alloy light enough to be carried by man, but powerful enough to deny an enemy's own weapon for a short enough time as to allow the soldier to react in combat, should they get hit... XCOM was a military force. And one to be reckoned with... And if this is what they'd done in nearly 3 months of active combat against the Aliens, the Darcsen girl could only think of their advances... But she hoped they wouldn't come too late...

After a short talk with a few Rookies, Isara was taken to the Rec Room by Mac... There, she saw a wall of metal filled with pictures and below the pictures, a table full of shot glasses, covered by an XCOM flag and with a combat knife embedded within it. Aside from that, there were nameplates between the picture, placed onto the wall, each bearing a different name, nickname, Soldier Class and rank...

"SSgt. Fernando "Black Eye" Gutierez... Sniper... Sgt. Alia "Ghostmaker" Soledad..." Isara read out... Then realized...

"That's the Memorial..." Mac said solemnly "Dozens of men we've lost... Each picture and nameplate is one of them. Hell, some I knew before XCOM..."

"..." Isara counted about 30 names... 30 names in 3 months. Central wasn't lying when he said their job was dangerous. "30 people..."

"30 men and women who gave their lives for Earth, Isara..." Mac said "This is what you signed up for. A possible one-way ticket..."

The girl swallowed... She felt her heart sink for a moment as the realization of the implications she faced hit her...

... In the Situation Room, Central Officer Bradford sat, staring at the screen ahead, where the Panic Counters showed estimates of the current level or panic in each Member Nation of the XCOM council... He didn't like what he saw. The highest panic was right near their home base in the USA, with nearly all 5 bars filled out... The second worst was Germany. The third, Russia. Least worrying was fucking India, as it was taken out of the council by some Alien shenanigan... But that wasn't his worry now.

"Central Officer. Are the reports you sent to us... Accurate?" Asked the deep voice of the Councilor, a dark figure against an even darker background...

"Yes, sir. Every last word." Bradford sighed... Isara, that poor girl. She had no idea...

"This is... Disconcerting, to say the least. A girl this young... Serving with XCOM? What will the news outlets say if this ever gets... Revealed? What more, that she comes from... A different world?" The Councilman asked.

Bradford shrugged "I cannot answer you that, sir... All I know is we're lacking manpower and the Aliens are gaining more and more ground... Aside from having her as a soldier to bolster our ranks, it's the easiest way to keep our eyes on her. We still don't know what the aliens did to bring her here, but we're sure as hell not going to leave them a girl this young to be experimented on. Or used for whatever they wanted to use her for."

"You are suggesting she would be... Safer... With XCOM, than in a foster care?" The Councilman asked, more rhetorically than not. Bradford nodded. "Yes, especially with the two Terror attacks and dozens of abductions we faced not so long ago..." He then snapped back, but with a calm demeanor. He shook his head. He hated this as much as the Councilor, not for the PR but for the girl's own safety. XCOM wasn't a public organization. Not yet anyhow. And God forbid it ever needed or was forced to become one...

"... We see your point... Central Officer. Very well. For now, this situation will be... Observed. If it develops to our detriment we will... Relieve the girl from under your command... Be careful what you sow... For you will reap it. Remember... We will be watching." The Councilor said... And the transmission cut, the screen switching back to a map of all countries in XCOM. The red spot that was India irked Bradford... But his current predicament even more so... Something was working against them and he knew it... And the Councilor was right. If XCOM got revealed and with a Child Soldier in their care, shit would hit the fan... And hard...

God damn his job... Bradford knew it wouldn't be easy, but this... It was too much.

... Alas... Other matters needed his attention for now.

"CENTRAL TO THE RESEARCH LABS. CENTRAL TO THE RESEARCH LABS." The Base's robotic voice beckoned... He packed his bags and walked toward the elevator, ignoring the map...