Mordenna, naturally, found himself walking back towards the Workshop.

Truth be told, there wasn't many other places he conceivably lurk that interested him. He'd had his time to introduce himself to the soldiers over the past week or so, and hell, he was playing nice for now. Which meant that said soldiers were no fun at all if he couldn't get a little rough with them. So it stood to reason that there were only two people on this ship that caught his interest in this sort of scenario—Eliza, who had been busy, and Lily Shen, who he was going to go see.

Wasn't like the trip took him long at all, anyway. Being ridiculously tall lent to his strides. He opened the door to the Workshop and ducked under the low doorframe. "Shen, dearest of all the Avenger goons," he called out as soon as he came in, "Like a plague upon your house, I descend upon you once again."

"You've got one thing right there, at least," Lily replied, looking up from her work. Said work was SYN's new leg—a quick glance over at the deactivated SYN himself told the Hunter that this was the last part in the process before the robot was fixed entirely. Satisfied with the damage he'd done, Mordenna sauntered more forwards.

"A new blunt weapon for the sword-slingers, Lily? My, my, you always continue to impress."

She scoffed, continuing at her task. "Y'know, it's thanks to you that I have to fix this in the first place. The caliber of the bullets you use is, quite frankly, ridiculous."

"I take pride in my work, thank you." Mordenna grinned. "Hell, you'd be surprised how necessary it is, sometimes. No greater intimidation tactic than seeing your buddy's head disappear into a fine red mist right next to you. Maybe not the most subtle approach, but when you don't know where I'm firing from? Hardly have to be."

Lily's face barely twitched at the description, but she seemed to latch on to a part of that sentence. "I'm honestly surprised you got the thing so quiet. I checked out the barrel and the built-in suppressor you're using is... something else."

A part of Mordenna's brain perked up, one that hardly saw any fun. His engineer side was happy with these accommodations, at least. "I know, right? Took a lot of balancing to get that to work without sacrificing more firepower than I was willing to. Of course, also without making the barrel any longer than it already is. It'd be a little ridiculous if it was taller than me."

"Dude. That thing is already taller than most humans. Heavy to boot." The Hunter knew that. Apparently, they had to attach the thing to two of the Skyranger's cables just to lug it up when they went back for his weapons. "What kills me is that you are a stick. I'm surprised you can carry it at all."

"Hey." Mordenna jabbed a finger at her. "I'm strong enough to lift that tin can over there. The Elders didn't make a slacker. In some aspects, anyway." God knows he'd proven to be one to them several times over. Good, he thought.

Lily rolled her eyes, setting her tools aside and leaning against the table, giving him her full attention. "So, Hunter. How have you been behaving?"

Mordenna slapped a hand to his chest, pretending to be scandalized. "Why, Lily! I have been on my best behavior, thank you! The Avenger loves me. Who wouldn't want a murderous alien on their side, Shen?" Past his joking, he really had been keeping it together so far. He longed for being able to mess with his siblings, however. Ah, but if the Commander ever put him into the field... a thought struck him and his smile somewhat faltered. "I know Sammy did."

Lily deflated a little at that, looking to the side. "Yeah... that was some news to break for the two of them. Probably feeling like shit that they had to admit that Sammy got captured on their watch."

Mordenna shrugged, but some part of him... mourned? Sammy had been one of the ones to accept him with open arms readily. It was weird not meeting such instant hostility, and that part of him seemed to linger on it and his most likely fate. "God knows what's happening to him. Sister never takes lightly to Skirmishers. He'll be lucky if he makes it to next week."

Lily grimaced. "Not the most pleasant subject... Something tells me Sammy will make it, though. He's survived a while."

At that, the Hunter decided to not bring up the fact that he was probably being interrogated for information at this very moment. Sammy was a viable target, too—knowledge of XCOM and the Skirmishers? He was a high-value prize. Mordenna went for something more tangential. "Heard one of the bastards got pulled aside. Vlad, was it?" He knew the soldier's name. Eliza had been rather thorough in using it in the talk she had with him. It was funny how nobody really considered the maintenance vents, but that just meant that Mordenna could use them to move about and keep up to date on what was happening in the ship. "'Parrently the capture had largely him to blame. Something about going for his human buddy first when Sammy could've been saved if he went for him." The bias of humans never failed to amuse him, especially when the victim of it was Sammy of all people.

Her face twisted into quiet anger and she crossed her arms. "I could've accepted it if it had just been bad luck or them getting outmaneuvered, but Vlad throwing Samhien to the wolves? Bastard should get court martialed, or whatever Eliza can pull."

Well, that had happened to an extent, the Hunter knew. Vlad had been suspended from combat missions until further notice, and Eliza was still figuring out what to do with him, judging from how the talk went. Vlad also owed an apology to Sammy, if he ever made it back. Emphasis on if. "Yeah." Onto the next topic. Mordenna was getting kinda bored regarding this way this one was going. "Honestly, you let me have my guns and set me off into the wilderness, I'd have him back here in three days, tops."

Lily resolutely shook her head. "Not until the Commander says you can have them back. Even if you could track him down with them, I'm not about to go behind her back."

Mordenna sighed dramatically. "Of course I can't have any fun around here."

As if to fly in the face of that, the intercom on Lily's terminal pinged right before it spoke. "Lily." Eliza's voice filtered through it. "Is Mordenna with you?"

Lily looked mildly surprised by the development, but shot the Hunter a glance before she spoke. "Yeah, he is. What's up?"

"Send him to the Armory." A pause. "And give him his guns. He's going to need them."

Mordenna grinned widely. "Oh, Commander, have I been a good boy? Giving me my toys back... you really are the best, you know?"

Eliza scoffed in good humor. "You have, and if you continue being a good boy, you can head out on this mission I'm about to debrief. Get up here quickly." With that, the terminal went silent.

Lily looked to the Hunter, exasperated. "Alright! Alright. You can have your guns back, just let me get the key to the locker." Once she was done talking, she rummaged in one of the drawers of her work table, coming up with a key that she tossed to Mordenna. "Here. Try not to kill any of us."

Mordenna caught it smoothly, still grinning. "Oh, I will try my best, Lily."

With his Darklance slung over his back and his Darkclaw on his hip, the Hunter felt like he was in for some fun, today. The sheer coincidence of the situation wasn't lost on him, but he didn't dwell on it much as he made his way to the Armory. There were other things to think on, after all, such as what exactly Eliza had in store for him with his first mission for XCOM.

He got his answer when he entered the room and the gathered people were Eliza, Bradford, and then two soldiers he hadn't really bothered to remember the names of. One of them was a Templar in white, the other a female Ranger. Figuring he was going to be working closely with the Ranger, he gave her a split-second once-over.

Long brown hair, a green eye with the other one covered by an eyepatch, and a military beret decorated her. She had dark skin and what the Hunter recognized as a plasma burn covered the quarter of her face with an eyepatch. Already she wasn't very interesting. Just another one of Eliza's soldiers.

Eliza nodded to him as he entered, and he walked further in. "Hunter," she began. "Now that you're all here, Bradford and I can begin debriefing." When he took to standing next the the Templar in the lineup, she continued. "Menace One-Five, members Kalight, Rozen, and Mordenna. The three of you are gathered here for an important mission. It wasn't long ago that one of our two Skirmishers, Samhien, was captured while out on a Covert Action. But thanks to a tip from a trusted informant of a nearby Haven, we have reason to believe we've found where the Assassin is keeping him."

A 'trusted informant,' hm? That vaguely earned the Hunter's attention. He wondered what would classify them as 'trusted' and why they would be distinguished from the Haven itself. But miraculously he kept silent, and Bradford continued where Eliza left off. "The three of you have been chosen for your abilities at infiltration and protecting high-priority targets. Needless to say, we're expecting all three of you to do well on this mission." Mordenna couldn't help but feel that latter statement was especially pointed at him, but he just gave a lazy grin in response to it.

Eliza nodded to Bradford, then looked to the squad. "As always, I will be backing the three of you. Your mission is simple, but not easy. Infiltrate the compound, find Samhien, and then exfiltrate. Don't try to attract too much attention and keep the body count to a minimum. We attract enough attention as is."

Now the Hunter couldn't help but speak up. "Eliza, are you sending me on a mission and telling me to not kill things? You are a very curious Commander, and I must say—"

"Do well on this mission," she said, holding up a hand, "and I'll authorize you to be a part of our engineering team, with all the resources that comes with that."

Mordenna didn't like being interrupted, but an offer like that wasn't one he'd refuse. His grin settled into something more catlike. "Alright, Lizzie. Consider me on my best behavior."

Bradford, as always, seemed unsettled by the nicknames, but he didn't comment on it. He straightened. "Menace One-Five, you are clear to leave. Check your gear, then move out."

Out of the corners of his eyes, he spotted Kalight and Rozen doing once-overs. Mordenna, himself, didn't bother. He knew he had everything on him. Why wouldn't he? Now that he was allowed his guns, they weren't exactly going to leave his side for a while. Besides, with that lucrative offer from Eliza on the table, he supposed he could do a few tune-ups while he was here.

The other two members of Menace One-Five finished their checks and turned around, stepping onto the platform. Mordenna was soon to follow, and once he was on, it started to lift. The ceiling opened, and the dropped hatch of the Skyranger was waiting for him.

The walk-up to the mission area gave the Hunter ample time to his thoughts.

The Skyranger had dropped them a fair distance away, in the interest of not raising attention to Menace. Which meant that they had a long walk through the woods to do, but personally, the Hunter relished in it. It reminded him of the many long treks he'd do to track targets and take them down.

The other two members of his squad walked ahead of him, more focused on the mission than any idle chit-chat. Occasionally, Mordenna would watch them walk and scrutinize their gaits, how exactly they stepped around and climbed over the occasional log in the path. But they didn't hold his interest for long before he went back to his thoughts.

Chiefly, he was wondering if his sister would show up if they aroused enough attention. After all, this was a prison in her territory, containing a captive that she had just recently gotten her hands on, from a high-risk mission. A fight with his sister while he was on his last life would be exhilarating. After all, there was no fun in the hunt if there either wasn't effort or risk involved. Plus, the chance to show his sister that he had all the excuses he wanted nowadays to kill her? Good by him. Death was just a slap on the wrist for her, after all...

He narrowed his eyes as his mind jumped to the next avenue of conversation. If Eliza had her way, apparently there'd be a time where the Assassin, too, would be operating on her last life exclusively. The Warlock as well. Working on XCOM's side too, god forbid if that was going to happen, but if it did... Where was the fun in all of it? He wouldn't be allowed to kill them anymore, and if there was one thing he was going to miss, it'd be that. God knows they'd have to learn to work with each other, and he almost wanted to laugh at that. Him and the other Chosen, co-operating? Acting like a family?

Some part of him reminded the statistical chances shot up if they weren't under the eyes of the Elders and it soured the whole joke for him. But yet...

Thankfully, his train of thought was interrupted when his eyes rested on something... unusual. A raven was perched high up in a tree, observing the gathered party. In itself, not usual. But what interested the Hunter was what his god-given sight could perceive. Bleeding off the bird was a distinct psionic aura, enough to indicate it was probably Elerium-irradiated. That happened occasionally when unsecured or broken containers of Elerium got lost to the wild and wildlife set up near them.

His eyes scanned the surrounding area, and they picked up more ravens. A practical omen of them, all irradiated. Some were observing him, the others were focused on the sight of the compound ahead. Mordenna focused ahead and, through the gaps in leaves, caught the sight of one of them perched on a turret, tapping it with its beak. A whole gathering of the things... must've been all nesting around the same cache. But for there to be such a large group? A normally-useless tidbit of knowledge in Mordenna's brain informed him that ravens most often came in pairs, or were solitary. For there to be such group around here... and were those iron talons on some of them?

Surely he couldn't be the only one seeing this. The Hunter moved up to Kalight and tapped him on the back. "Templar. You're not blind, right? You see all these ravens?"

Kalight and Rozen's heads inclined upwards, studying the gathered birds. Kalight remained silent while Rozen shrugged. "Yeah, that's a lot of them. But what's your point?"

The Templar, on the other hand, kept studying them. "... I see that. The trails leading off of all of them..."

"Exactly." Mordenna glanced at them again, then pulled out his pistol, aiming it at one of the birds. "Well! Might as well take one back for study."

As he did, he watched as the bird focused on him... and ruffled its feathers, hopping back in panic, as if it knew what Mordenna intended. Its eyes glowed a shining purple.

"Halt!"

Before the other two could even look at the source of the voice, Mordenna already had his pistol aimed at the source, just a hair's breadth away from firing. He took his time to analyze the figure he ended up pointing his gun at.

The guy couldn't have been more than 5'7". He had white, curly hair, and something in the back of the Hunter's mind tipped him off to the fact that, by the looks of it, he cut it himself when it got too long. Most of it was pulled back into a ponytail, exposing his ears. A black blindfold covered his eyes, but through the sheer fabric, Mordenna could spot milky white eyes, tinged with purple, currently glowing. He wore a heavy, cotton coat, feathers sticking out of it here and there, custom stitch jobs and patches visible on parts of it. Well-maintained, but noticeable. The Hunter's sight could pick out the aura of his psionics, and how it vaguely pointed towards every bird in the area... including the one on his shoulder.

Mordenna had seen Elerium-irradiated animals, but rarely nothing quite so mutated as the raven that sat on the man's shoulder. The thing was about as big as a Steller's eagle, and it was a wonder how this dude was keeping it up on his shoulder. The beak on it was much too sharp for any natural occurrence. Its plumage shone purple wherever the light hit it, and several feathers were elongated and glowing the particular purplish-pink of psionics. Speaking of, psionics bled off of it just as much as they did the bloke it was perched on.

Once the man had been spotted by the whole squad, he gingerly stepped forward, a hand up to show he wasn't going to try anything. The Hunter kept his gun trained on him still, watching him as he approached. Eventually, he came to a stop. He cocked his head. "... now," he croaked, sounding every bit like the ravens in the area, "what's the Chosen Hunter doing with XCOM?"

"Oh, you know," Mordenna easily rattled back, "killing ADVENT, taking revenge on the Elders, hunting... the usual. What about yourself? The hell are you doing here?"

The man smiled gently. Mordenna's gun didn't waver. "I'm the man who sent the tip about where your friend lies. After all, I've quite the quarrel with ADVENT myself. Please, let me introduce myself. My name is Edgar."

Mordenna looked to Edgar, then the gathered ravens, and then back to Edgar. A smirk worked its way onto his face. "Oh, that's rich. Edgar! The fucking ravens! Next thing you'll be telling me is that the bird on your shoulder's name is Nevermore!"

Edgar, tellingly, chuckled. "I'm well aware of how cheesy it all is. But this sort of life chose me when I stumbled upon Nevermore here and his flock. Isn't that right, my friend?"

Nevermore readjusted, cocking his head at Mordenna. "... Edgar. It's a Chosen. Do we trust this?" Mordenna knew that ravens could mimic speech, but for one to ask questions and cast doubt? That Elerium certainly did him favors.

Edgar's smile faded, and he turned to the Hunter again. "If the legendary Commander of XCOM has captured and turned a Chosen to her cause, and trusted him enough to send him on a rescue mission, I believe we can. Now, what're your names? We introduced ourselves, after all."

Finally, Mordenna lowered his gun, shrugging. "Well, you know me. Chosen Hunter, but everybody calls me Mordenna nowadays."

"Vanguard to you," Kalight said, and the Hunter got the feeling he was still eyeing the birds behind that helmet.

"Thorn," Rozen replied, easing up a bit. "Are you going to be joining us for this mission, then?"

"If you will accept my help, of course," Edgar nodded, then swept his hand out, gesturing to the omen of ravens. "My court are my eyes, as well as my ears. ADVENT do not suspect their presence to be suspect, foolish as they are, and I am well used to sticking to shadows. Not as well as a Reaper, but better than most that are trained to do so."

"So you're blind," Mordenna said simply.

Edgar nodded again. "A gradual condition. I believe my powers brought it on. But I am able to see through my court's eyes and see what they see, so it isn't so bad. They are also more than intelligent enough to be excellent scouts, and some are armed in case of a fight. But, with luck, it won't come to that."

"With luck." Kalight turned back towards the path. "We should get going, and not rely on something as ever-changing as luck. Commander?"

"He seems like a fine recruit to me. Let him come."

Kalight's expression was unreadable, but he looked to Edgar and gestured forward.

Seems Edgar didn't need to be told twice. Nevermore's eyes began to glow and he strode forwards, joining Menace. The ravens all around started to move, as well—a few took flight from the trees and settled in various spots in the compound, a few buddying up in an uncannily human way as if to not appear suspicious. Some of them even staggered their approach, as if to not look organized. The last parts of the omen stayed with the group, hopping along on the ground as they moved forwards. All of them were the ones with talons on their feet, Mordenna noted. Whoever this Edgar guy was, he must've been at this for quite a while to have them all so organized.

As they came up to the facility, Edgar took the lead, keeping well to cover. Mordenna knew the man was blind, but to see him swivel his head so little as he went was a bit interesting. Granted, he did move it at times, but only ever in response to sounds he could hear.

Mordenna took his own time to scope the place out. A few guards were patrolling, some alone, some in pairs, but largely the security detail was minimal. A shame—he'd been hoping for more of a challenge. He offered a glance or two Edgar's way as he went, but largely, the Hunter wanted to rely on his own pathfinding to get through.

But even if there had been more bodies around to dodge, it seemed being blind was no challenge for Edgar. Soon the rest of the squad was following his lead, running along behind him as he confidently darted from cover to cover. Occasionally, he'd stop in his tracks, holding up a hand and backing up as a patrol came up right where he was going to be. All the while, his eyes were aglow. No doubt, getting a constant feed from his ravens regarding what was going on.

With the kind of breakneck pace he was setting, it wasn't long before they were on the building, all staged outside one of the doors. Closed, naturally. Before anyone could say anything, the Hunter snuck up, parking himself right at the pad to open it. But, like a wise predator, didn't yet. His eyes shifted to Edgar, concocting a plan in a snap. "They're gonna get suspicious if this door opens on its own. Seemingly, anyway. I'm gonna open it, but mind having one of your birds crash into the pad at about the same time? It'd at least drop most of the suspicion, and unless you've been here before, they'll come to investigate with their guard down."

Edgar was silent, seemingly considering the plan. This time, Mordenna could pick out the aura around his head growing stronger, and a mote of power being sent out, tracing it to one of the ravens on the ground with them. It paced on the spot for a second, and a mote was sent back. Then, another from Edgar. Seems they were having a conversation, as absurd as it was to watch.

Whatever Edgar last said, it did the trick. The bird hopped back, and then took off. Mordenna watched as it did a slow loop in the air, keeping its speed slow as it came in, aiming for the pad.

Just before it hit home, Mordenna tapped the access button, and jerked his hand back in time for it to brace itself for impact, hitting the pad on the mark and tumbling to the ground, in vision of the opening door. It even offered a convincing squawk of disgruntlement. Other than a few ruffled feathers—which it went at work correcting right in view of whoever was in the building—it was no worse for wear. Too smart for their own good, Mordenna thought, and waited.

He caught a bit of ADVENT speak in the building; generally amounting to "what was that?" The Hunter bided his time. Soon, there was a single set of footsteps approaching. He looked to Edgar, and Edgar held up his index finger, using the other to point inside. One guard. Mordenna almost chuckled. The Assassin must've not thought they'd be coming this early. Her loss.

Mordenna held himself until, in the dim reflection of the doorway, he saw a Trooper nearly on the door. With speed he'd imagine would look terrifying for someone of his size, he lunged forwards, grabbing the Trooper and pulling them close, his arm tight across their throat. Before they could choke out a scream, his other arm went to work, grabbing their head and jerking it far to the side. With some snapping, the guard went limp. Another kill to the pile. The Hunter kept holding the guard, and motioned to move inside, already moving in.

The inside of the building was quiet, with no guards in sight. Just the row of prison doors, and even from this distance, Mordenna could spot that one was occupied. Placing the body in a corner, he skulked up, to the panel with an indicator on it.

Right on time, he heard Eliza in his ear. "That's the cell with Samhien in it. I assume you know your way around the security, Hunter?"

"You're asking the former Network admin this, Liz? Oh, Commander, Commander..." He chuckled softly, tapping a button on the panel. Already his fingers were at work on it, entering passcodes. If his memory served correctly, and if he was lucky enough that some outposts hadn't stricken his access codes from the record, yet...

"Hey," he heard Rozen quietly interject behind him, "aren't you going to need the data—"

Before she could even finish speaking, the door slid open without any bells or whistles. There was a heavy silence for a second. Then, the sound of Kalight chuckling. "'Former Network admin,' Thorn."

"I'm glad one of you is listening." With that, Mordenna padded into the cell proper.

The inside was standard fare, and wasn't what Mordenna was looking at. No, what he was interested in was the crumpled form against the wall. Samhien was a shadow of how the Hunter saw him when they first met. He was fitted into the basic prisoner's outfit, some spots of it stained with orange. Judging by the bleed pattern, the spots were both from wounds underneath and splatters outside. Sammy himself was sporting a few new cuts and burns across his head—and there was a scarring wound on his hand, like something had been stabbed through it. Typical, really. Sister never takes kindly to Skirmishers.

Sammy's eyes were closed, but they sluggishly opened, probably in response to the door opening. His unfocused pupils rested on the form of the Hunter... and he broke out into a warm smile. "Hunter Mordenna..." Sammy's voice was hoarse and quiet. The Hunter could imagine why it was that way. "The Commander sent you on a mission? You must have been doing so well. I wish I had been there to see it..."

At that pride in him, something in the Hunter's heart throbbed. It hadn't happened before because he could buy into the fact that it was a gig Sammy did with everyone. Nobody could be that nice, constantly. But to see him so low like this, on the tail end of being tortured... and his first thought upon seeing the Chosen Hunter was how proud he was...?

Mordenna had been searching for a feeling like this for a long time. Something that penetrated the choking mist that had wrapped around him—and when confronted with it, he had no witty commentary. He simply nodded, stepping further into the cell.

"Hunter," he heard behind him. It was Kalight. "I can carry him if you need."

"Nah," he replied, crouching down and helping Sammy over his shoulders, "I've more than got him. I'm certainly strong enough to manage him and a gun." True to his point, the Hunter pulled out his Darkclaw, readying it. He backed out of the cell with Sammy in tow.

He spotted Nevermore's head angling towards the other door of the building. "... the Court sees company. Two soldiers, coming in through that door."

At that, a need drilled into the Hunter by his Ascension made his trigger finger itch. One body hadn't been enough, and as much of a rush as that earlier feeling had been... He was a Hunter. There was no denying his nature. Killing was a short, but satisfying pleasure. Satisfying in the moment, anyhow. He eyed the rest of the squad. "You goons, go clear out a space for our own bird to land. They're gonna be on alert as soon as they come in here and spot the body and open door, so I might as well eliminate them."

Edgar's brows furrowed. "There's a clear area back the way we just came. We could use that."

Kalight hesitated, but began to move out. "Fine by me. Follow behind us when you take them out."

"Ordering a Chosen around, Templar? You're braver than most." Still, he noted it, holding up his pistol to the door and sucking in a steadying breath as he heard the rest of the squad traipse out the door. He kept his aim steady, and he waited.

He didn't have to wait long. As soon as the patrol stepped in, before they had the chance to look to him and become alarmed, two gunshots rang out. Two perfect headshots, but unlike his sniper rifle, his pistol wasn't exactly silenced. He knew the jig was up now. Mordenna looked outside, spotting Rozen throwing a signal flare and the rest of the squad hunkering down in cover.

Quick as a whip, the Hunter broke free of his own cover in the building, sprinting out into the open. He hopped over one of the barriers defining the end of the facility grounds and took cover behind a large container. Judging by the company outside, they'd heard the gunshots and weren't exactly fond of it.

"This is Firebrand," filtered in their ears, "I see the flare. Coming in for evac!"

Kalight held up a tower shield made of psionic energy, deflecting shots from a turret. "Gonna need to take out that turret so it doesn't eat her up!"

Mordenna waited to hear another volley of shots, to confirm its position. Then, keeping Sammy in cover as he leaned, he calmly took aim. He knew every nook and cranny of those turrets. If this shot hit home...

With another crack from the Darkclaw, it certainly did. Right through the aiming system. Technically, the turret was still active, but it whirred uselessly, unable to get a bead on any of them. "The thing's useless," he confirmed, then smirked. "More than usual, anyhow."

Kalight nodded, getting his Autopistol out and providing covering fire as the security detail of the compound advanced on them. "Alright, Firebrand's going to be a while. Hold them off!"

Edgar and Nevermore looked to each other, and Nevermore nodded. He hopped off Edgar and spread out his wings, taking to the sky. A few shots flew his way but Mordenna watched as they missed the mutated bird. Psionic energy coalesced around Nevermore's head, and with a terrifying cry, wicked lances of psionic energy rained from above. Two Troopers and a Shieldbearer couldn't handle the onslaught and crumpled, reeking of the aftermath of the psionic energy. The rest of the security detail on site—an Officer, a Priest, and a MEC—were buffeted and worn down.

Mordenna figured such a trick was taxing though, and he figured right; Nevermore sailed back with a lot less grace, ending up in Edgar's arms rather than on his shoulder. "Nevermore's spent," he said, "but that should've done the trick."

Rozen fired off a shot, glancing the MEC. "They'll have more reinforcements soon, but for now? Congratulate your bird for me."

Edgar chuckled. "You hear that, Nevermore? You did well."

Nevermore didn't reply, and remained somewhat slumped in Edgar's arms. The rest of the omen were converging around them, gathering at their position. The rest of the security would be a joke with a few more shots from his guns, Mordenna figured. Everything would be grand. Boring, but grand.

Until Sammy tensed around his shoulders. It was quiet for a second until he heard the Skirmisher's low murmur. "The Assassin is here."

Oh, lovely. Perhaps that was the reason for the low security. Well, if Fal-Mai wanted to dance with him, he'd gladly show her up. He edged over to Kalight between gunfire, laying Samhien at his feet. He could hear the roar of the Skyranger on approach behind them. "Here, you can have him now." Then, his eyes flickered upwards, just long enough to catch a deadly detail.

He pulled his pistol. He could register, out of the corners of his eyes, the squad tensing. After all, he was in close proximity to Kalight. He took aim...

... and fired, just above Kalight's head.

His sister dodged to the side, dropping her cloak as she rolled into cover. "Assassin spotted," he deadpanned. "The rest of you jokers get on the ship. I think I'm going to spend some quality time with the family."

He heard footsteps as Menace got the idea and backed off, Sammy in tow. The rest of the security detail had been taken down in the time it took for Fal-Mai to show up. It was just him and his sister. He glared at her, and she returned the stare, though he could tell there was... hesitance, behind it. He barely wanted to think on what it meant—but he knew why. She was still immortal and he was not, after all.

He spread out his arms. "Surprised to see me, sister? It's a lovely gig, working for XCOM. No Elders breathing down my neck, and I get to kill you and Jax anytime you show up!"

Fal-Mai snarled. "Is this your idea of a game, Mordenna? To turn your back on Them and wound Them so?"

"Yes, actually. God, I'd like to see the looks on their faces, come to think of it. Bet they're smarting just seeing this, after all."

The Assassin's hand, planted on her cover, tensed up. "You left Jax and I behind. Do you not spare a single thought as to what happened to us when the Elders found out you had been captured?"

He did, in that moment, spare a single thought to it. His grin dropped. "... if they punished you guys because I got captured, I think that's their fault. Not like you could've done anything—not like I would've let you goons do anything. Don't go blaming me for them being fuckin' terrible parents."

She screwed her eyes shut, shaking her head. "The Elders are without fault! They would not—They were justified—"

"They were just angry and wanted to take it out on someone, you gullible fuck!" He spat, gesturing wildly. "Y'think it'd be any different if you got taken instead of me? You think they would've been any less angry at the rest of us? It just fuckin' chaps me that you and Jax can't get your heads out of your asses and see how much they suck!"

"Then what do you suggest?! Question Them? Defy Them? Earn the same fate you did, countless times?" Fal-Mai shouted right back, but Mordenna could spot her shoulders beginning to shake. If they punished her like they did him, chances are, she hadn't gotten over it yet. "Surely your pride wouldn't dare let you suggest that we come to XCOM and work with you!"

In response to that, he quickly whipped his pistol up and shot her. She twisted and it landed in her shoulder, and she clutched the wound. It was always easier to fight than to talk. Always easier to just pull the trigger. Wasn't like she was going to get punished again, anyways. She was the youngest. She actually did right by the Elders. It wasn't like him, where nothing he ever did was right. They shouldn't have even bothered if he was going to be this much of a fuckup. Odin shouldn't have even bothered—

Ok, he hated being distracted by his emotions. The Assassin was on him now, tackling him to the ground and holding her Katana to his throat. If this had been one of their many physical quarrels, she would've swiped that across his throat and this would have been over. But no; he still saw that hesitance in her eyes, that conflict. She bared her teeth. "Why. Why work with them? Why join XCOM?"

Mordenna locked eyes with her. "You know how much it hurts, when they punish you. You think I didn't try, at least once, to avoid it? By then, they'd already marked me as the troublemaker. I was just a fucking pincushion to them. Faced with that, and a few people who actually give a fuck about what happens to me? Yeah. Yeah I'd work with XCOM any day of the week. Think about that when Eliza comes knocking on your door and I'm there with her."

The Assassin could only stare at him dumbly, her eyes flickering about as she considered surely a thousand retorts... or maybe, indeed, how much it hurt. Well, it was enough of a distraction for the Hunter, and she hadn't exactly pinned his arms. With a quick snap of his wrist and a pull of the trigger, he sent a shot sailing right into her head. The look of shock as she slumped off of him, and then disappeared... wasn't as satisfying for once. Taking little satisfaction in killing his siblings... well, maybe he would've had more if she hadn't gone and said the things she did. It was supposed to be cut and dry. So, why was he conflicted on so many topics?

The sound of the Skyranger hovering behind him brought him out of his thoughts, and he scrambled to his feet. He turned to look at the gathered squad. Kalight had Samhien now, and all of Edgar's ravens were gathered around him, still clutching Nevermore to his chest. They were all staring at him silently.

Desperate for something to fill the silence, he holstered his pistol and gestured to Edgar. "So! Obvious Poe! Are you going to join us officially or continue to be a cryptid in that godforsaken forest?"

Edgar regarded him through the eyes of one of the ravens for a bit, then cracked a grin as the cords from the Skyranger started to drop. "I think it's time I joined up with something greater. I'll be coming with."

"Perfect!" Mordenna clapped his hands together, running forward and grabbing onto a cord. "Another lunatic to the pile. Off we go, I suppose!"

The rest of Menace nodded, and grabbed onto their cords. Edgar's court either clung to him, clung to the cords, or simply flew up and into the Skyranger. Soon enough, they retracted, bringing Menace One-Five up into safety.

Mordenna was the first to swing into the ship, ducking his head as he walked through it and coming to his spot at the front, dropping into his chair. Things got muted for him after that, barely registering the others as they came on. His thoughts instead went to what his sister said, as much as he had wanted to dismiss what she brought up.

XCOM was a better environment for him, yes, and at least two people genuinely cared about him. Not because he was an asset, but because he was a person. There was no threat of scarring punishment... and Eliza seemed far more likely to talk things out rather than blindly use her power to shut him up. He could see himself... getting more relaxed. Improving? That was yet to be seen. But, sharing it with his siblings...

He scowled. "Suppose it's up to Eliza," he muttered to himself.