A/N: Right, so now I finally get to have some fun integrating some of the crazy ideas you guys gave me a month ago for tech upgrades. Hopefully you all enjoy what I've done with them. Just a reminder, there's plenty more that I haven't included yet. It'd be pretty insane (and probably terrible) if I attempted to cram every single idea into one chapter. So there's more to look forward to in the future.

"Contacts. Mixed pack of Mutons and Berserkers."

Blake's teammates remained in cover while the Scout relayed data from her Battlescanner's readout to Ruby. Several new faces stood with the core of Strike Eight against the Mutons: Colonel Zhang as Eight-Six; 'Combo,' a Medic, as Eight-Seven; 'Vulcan,' the first MEC under Ruby's command, as Eight-Eight; and 'Desperado,' an Infantryman, rounded out the squad as Eight-Nine. Ruby felt a little nervous leading a squad with so many people, especially since they all outranked her, but the suggestion came from Van Doorn himself. Ruby couldn't think of a justifiable reason for turning down the Field Commander.

"Numbers?" Ruby responded.

"Twelve, five of them are 'Zerkers."

By Van Doorn's reasoning, Ruby provided crucial assistance for Dr. Shen's to efforts get the new weapon designs finalized, manufactured, and implemented. Because the new hardware was a product of her efforts as much as the Chief Engineer's, Van Doorn felt it only fair that Ruby's squad got the honor of leading the field test as they assaulted a recently downed UFO. If Ruby wasn't already flattered by that point, Colonel Zhang then volunteered himself to join Strike Eight's field test under Ruby's command.

"Understood. Vahlen asked us to bag a Berserker, so we need to leave one of them alive. Nine, use your new gene mod to set up in a nice flanking position, but hold your fire. Four, lead off with a shredder rocket. Load up an HE after and keep it hot as a Plan B. Two, you hang back with the squad and take down the Berserkers when they come charging. Three, I want prioritized Holo Targetting up on the shooters: you mark one so that Five and I can kill it. Six, I want you to get the attention of the Berserkers so that Two can take care of the first four. You've got a new toy, so use it to bat your last friend over to Two. Seven, be ready for anything. You can join us in taking out the target Three has tagged, but keep an eye out if someone needs help. Eight, the moment Four's rocket hits, I want you to bring the number of Mutons down from seven to six. Nine, use your flank to join the firefight once the mayhem starts, but leave the Berserkers alone. Everyone clear?"

"Crystal."

"Yes."

"Yep!"

"Absolutely."

"Understood."

"Aye aye."

"Ready to engage."

"Hell yeah."

The squad silently moved into cover while Desperado faded from view and the Jaeger MEC prepared to field test her new gun. Ruby watched the battlesuit deploy its stability anchors into the ground and Vulcan flipped a switch on her Railgun. The standard MEC firearm hummed to life, its components shifting and extending until Vulcan had to rest it on the heavy-duty bipod that extended from the barrel's underside. Then, the MEC trooper locked the weapon's stock to her shoulder, and Ruby heard the sound of power flowing from the latter into the former. In five short seconds, the stocky Railgun had transformed into a long Mass Accelerator Cannon.

"Remember, Eight: you get one shot before that thing needs to vent. Don't miss."

"Understood," Vulcan replied, "Ready to fire main weapon."

"Four? You're up."

"Almost set, Boss, just have to perform these last rites that the guys taught me a few days ago." Ruby saw that Yang already deployed the new defensive shielding plates on her launcher, so she wasn't exactly sure what her sister meant. That is, until Yang began to speak in a low whisper.

"This is my BFG. There are many like it, but this one is mine."

"… Yang?"

"My BFG is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life."

"This is Conor's work, isn't it?"

"My BFG, without me, is useless. Without my BFG, I am useless. I must fire my BFG true. I must shoot straighter than my enemy who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will."

Ruby was about to ask Yang one more time what she was going on about, but she finished with… whatever that was and pulled the trigger before Ruby could say anything. Her Shredder Rocket streaked towards the pod of Mutons, and the familiar orange and yellow plume rose from the point of contact. Shrapnel shot out from the tightly-packed warhead, ripping off sections of the armor worn by the aliens and embedding chunks of alloyed metal into their exposed flesh.

Before the flames vanished, Ruby felt a whump deep within her chest and watched as two of the Mutons exploded from the gut.

"Targets eliminated."

Zhang's Autoblaster spun to life and he swept his stream of laser fire across the five Berserkers while the rest of the squad advanced to better firing positions. The heavy armor worn by the muscled Berserkers stopped most of Zhang's shots, but a few started to burn through and strike at the enemies within. The aliens roared in pain and lumbered towards Zhang's position, even as his sustained fire continued to scorch their armor.

Keeping their heads ducked low to avoid further casualties, the surviving Mutons dashed for cover behind a rock formation and did their best to stay out of harm's way. The moment one peeked out from cover to gauge the opposition, Blake tagged it with her pulse rifle. Immediately, the other operatives locked onto one of the alien as Blake's Holo Targeting tracked its position for her squad. Ruby, safely out of the enemy squad's visual range, took time to line up a perfect shot. She wanted to get a clean kill with one pull of the trigger, so precision was paramount. Ordinarily, she would ask for one of her squadmates to call out the target location for her, but Blake's mod did the job just fine. She felt the cool steel of the trigger against her finger as she gently pulled back and let the recoil push the rifle's stock into her shoulder. A bright orange beam shot out from the muzzle and slammed into the Muton's forehead just as it stepped out to fire off a volley of plasma. With a pained roar, it crumpled to the earth, lifeless and bloody.

The remaining four let out an enraged cry, beating their chests and glaring at the squad of XCOM operatives. Even though they weren't much of a threat, the call still sent chills down Ruby's spine.

"Stay cool, everyone," Combo assured, "It's just grandstanding. We've got 'em on the ropes."

"Here comes the football team," Vance called out. Ruby looked over to see the squad of Berserkers racing towards Strike Eight's position.

"Three, switch priorities to the melee targets. Six, try to suppress the Mutons to keep them off our backs while we deal with the Berserkers." She keyed her commlink to contact Desperado. "Nine, if the Mutons try anything funny while we're handling the Berserkers, make them regret it.

The two soldiers gave Ruby an 'Aye aye, sir' before Combo readied his rifle and spit out a stream of pulse fire at the hiding Mutons. "Four, it's time for that second rocket. I think our guests can handle it."

Yang took aim with her launcher. "This is my BFG-"

"Yang."

"Right. Sorry, boss." The launcher discharged its payload with a whoosh, and the ground erupted beneath the Berserkers' feet. The explosive force flung the aliens into the air, but Ruby watched them tuck into a roll upon impact. As agile as any Hunter, the Berserkers continued their charge with almost no loss in momentum. Still, Ruby could see Yang's handiwork in the form of burned plating and ripped flesh flapping uselessly against their arms as the Berserkers blitzed the entrenched operatives.

Weiss's Scatter Blaster tore through the first Berserker's already weakened body armor and plastered its burning blood and intestines on a nearby tree. The other Berserkers paid no mind to Weiss as they continued to charge down Zhang, their blood rage giving them an extreme case of tunnel vision. With a sharp yank on her shotgun's pump action, Ruby's partner lined up a shot at the retreating back of the last Berserker and fired. The blast connected, but the alien only stumbled for a few steps before it continued charging with its three brothers.

"Second target is still up." Weiss warned Ruby.

"Zhang, get ready for Hammertime. We'll handle the leftovers."

Ruby yelped when her cover was struck by plasma, and burning wood splintered inches from her face. One of the shots managed to hit her armor, and the heated projectile left a scored mark where the protective plating did it's job. She looked over at the Mutons just in time to see her attacker duck back into safety. She looked over at the team's Medic, who she assigned to suppression duty, to see him in the process of reloading his gun.

"Combo, you had one job…"

"There's four of them and only one of me, boss," he retorted, "You should try suppressing four of these assholes at once and let me know how that goes for you."

"Nine, would you mind lending Seven a hand?"

Ruby watched her eighth squadmate appear out of nowhere behind a tree, ready his rifle, and spit out a volley of pulse fire at the unsuspecting Mutons. She saw some blood go flying and heard the familiar sound of a Muton screaming before green bolts of plasma peppered Desperado's position.

"Seven, some smoke for our friend please…"

The Muton situation well in hand, She returned her attention to the Berserkers. With a loud crack of his rifle, Vance brought down one of the four runners, while another fell to Weiss's third attack. Two left, and Ruby knew they'd reached Zhang before another could be brought down by gunfire.

"Three…"

Blake understood without needing Ruby to finish her order. With a flick of her wrist, a bayonet flipped out and extended from beneath the barrel of Blake's gun. It locked into place with a click, and began to glow an incandescent red as the rifle's venting re-routed to diffuse its stored heat through the blade. She dashed towards the Berserker lagging behind and swiped its leg with her new melee weapon. It bit into the alien's armored hamstring; the Berserker roared in pain at the surprise attack. Before it could impale Blake with a clawed gauntlet, she ripped her bayonet free and danced away to a safe distance. She could take her time with her foe: the Berserker gave Blake, not Zhang, its full attention, and that's what mattered.

Colonel Zhang readied himself to deal with the final charging Berserker. The moment Ruby gave him the order, Eight-Six started the weapon shift of his Light Machine Gun with practiced skill. Most of the weapon's mass shifted forward towards the end of the barrel while the section of the gun he held slimmed down significantly. Seconds after he initiated the change, Zhang held a large hammer in his hands. Before the Berserker reached its target, Ruby took aim and shot its knee. When the alien turned in surprise at the new threat, the Colonel leapt forward and swung his new armament in a wide arc. The servos in his Titan Armor whined in protest as Zhang's high-velocity strike connected with the Berserker squarely in the ribs.

Weiss watched the mass of flesh, bone, and rage sail through the air like a sack of bricks before slamming back down into the earth several feet away from her position. With the flip of a switch, she felt the internals of her Scatter Blaster disconnect from the usual power source and while the attached drum magazine rotated ninety degrees. The typical red glow of her shotgun faded while a dynamic white light replaced it once the internal circuits reconnected with the drum's new ammunition. She pointed her shotgun at the now-standing Berserker and fired. Electric tendrils snaked out from the end of her weapon and struck the alien square in the chest. With the impressive increase in voltage capacity of Dr. Shen's new shotgun-based Arc Thrower, the Berserker's nervous system overloaded from the shock and the brute dropped unceremoniously to the dirt.

A loud cry marked the end of the final Muton, punctuated with an exuberant "Fuck yeah!" from Desperado. Only Blake's Berserker remained to be dealt with, and that problem would soon-

The whole squad, save for Blake, looked up when they heard the sound of twisted metal emanating from the UFO. A pair of Mechtoids burst through the aircraft's wall and came skidding to a stop once they cleared the smoke and debris. Ruby saw the tell-tale strands of psionic energy indicating active Psi Shields present on both walkers. The beady eyes of the Sectoid pilots swept the battlefield, and they locked onto the one soldier who couldn't afford to pay attention to them.

Ruby's blood turned to ice when the Mechtoids lined up their Plasma Cannons and the sound of charging capacitors reached her ears. A snarl from her right drew Ruby's attention to a dashing Zhang. The force of Zhang's hammer strike threw the dueling Berserker like a ragdoll, and the Colonel reached Blake in a few swift bounds. He swung around to place himself between the new contacts and Blake before interlocking plates of alloyed steel sprang open from the arm of his Titan armor. He pulled Blake into a crouch and slammed his new shield into the dirt just as the Mechtoids discharged their scorching volley of plasma.

Zhang's shield glowed red-hot as it took the brunt of the assault. Blake watched him clench his teeth, evidently feeling some of the heat bleed through the armor and to his outstretched arm. The cannon volley lasted only a few scant seconds, but it lasted an eternity for Blake. Every ball of plasma that struck Zhang was a reminder to the faunus that her inattentiveness was the cause of his suffering. As the assault continued, Blake could see the underside of the shield start to blacken at several points where the burning energy began to slowly bleed through.

When the cacophonous sounds of the Plasma Cannons ceased, a deep-seated blast reverberated through the earth as Vulcan's Mass Accelerator Cannon hurled its solid projectile at one of the Mechtoids. The round slammed into its target's leg, shearing the limb cleanly in half and sending the robotic alien tumbling to the ground. Ruby pulled out her laser pistol and beamed the newly incapacitated Berserker's head several times to make sure it stayed dead before giving the new aliens her undivided attention.

"I want everyone focusing on the crippled Mechtoid! Four, think you can send a rocket through the hole they came out of? The merged Sectoids are probably hiding in there, and we need those psi shields down."

"Don't mind if I do!"

So long as Yang skipped the stupid BFG chant, Ruby could forgive her for the terrible pun. Blake and Zhang, already recovered from the Mechtoid barrage, took up positions with the rest of the squad. Blake chucked a Battlescanner through the smoking hull of the UFO and brought up her information readout.

"Two Sectoids are taking cover just on the other side of that hole," she informed Yang, "So don't aim too far into the room."

Yang's rocket shot out of the tube, streaked past the two Mechtoids, and exploded with a muted crump inside the ship. Almost instantly, the Sectoid pilots recoiled from the psychic whiplash, and their purple shielding vanished.

"Hit it!"

Blake shot first, painting a target on the crippled Mech for the rest of the squad. The HEAT ammo from Zhang's Autoblaster (now returned to its LMG state) burned holes through the alien's metal skin as he hosed it down with pulse fire. Vance lined up a shot with the still-standing Mechtoid's Plasma Cannon and fired a shot that struck the armament's cooling core. It would be a while longer before the pilot could retaliate, and its friend was flailing rather helplessly as it tried to cope with the loss of its leg.

"Two." Just like Blake, Weiss only needed that one word to know what Ruby wanted.

"Going in for the kill."

Weiss dashed forward, completely ignoring cover as she advanced on the alien threats. She waited for Strike Eight's flood of pulse fire to cease before sprinting the last few yards separating her from the fumbling pilot. Weiss toggled her shotgun, and the drum magazine rotated again until it linked to her reserve of Breaching Ammo. A quick pull of the pump action secured the connection. With a step, she vaulted off of a rock and began to sail over the alien's body. At the apex of her leap, Weiss aimed the business end of her weapon at the Mechtoid's chest and fired.

With no Psi Shield to protect the construct, Weiss's special ammunition tore through the metallic skin and obliterated the robot's critical functions. The Sectoid screamed in pain, likely due to biofeedback built into the mech's systems. The pilot could do nothing but watch in terror as its executioner gracefully landed next to its exposed face, casually cocked her shotgun one more time, and fired point-blank. With practiced ease, Weiss danced away from the machinery as it engaged its self-destruct protocol, safely dodging the resultant explosion. Her job done, the Assault slid behind cover to avoid retaliation from the second Mechtoid.

"Eight, how long until you can take another shot?"

"Fifteen seconds, Actual." Vulcan replied.

Ruby quickly formed a plan in her mind. "Seven, I want acid on the mech. Six, lock it down with suppression. Eight, if it's not dead by the time your MAC is ready to fire, finish the job. Everybody else: fire at will."

Ruby briefly heard Yang ask, "What, we're giving the aliens names now?" before the torrent of pulse fire drowned her out. The cloud of acid from Combo's chem grenade momentarily made it difficult to see the target, but Blake reminded everyone once again just how invaluable her Holo Targetting could be. High-powered shots from the two Snipers bit into the Mechtoid's armor while the alien cowered from Zhang's withering assault. Yang's last rocket streaked past the pulse fire and hit the robot square in the chest, causing the mech to stagger back from the explosive force. In a matter of seconds, the combined firepower of Strike Eight reduced the dangerous robot into a swaying hunk of metal on the verge of death. Once more, a powerful hum manifested in Ruby's ears before her chest shuddered from the shockwaves caused by Vulcan firing his gun. The heavy duty slug punched a gaping hole clean through the Mechtoid, leaving empty space where the pilot's head used to be.

Silence fell upon the battleground until Yang decided to break it. "Well, uh… that was… yeah… that was pretty much a slaughter." She kicked the paralyzed Berserker at her feet. "Almost makes you feel bad for these guys."

Ruby shrugged. "Bradford specifically picked a lighter operation for the field test. It would be pretty bad if we faced a heavier force and none of the new tech worked. Let's finish off with a sweep of the UFO and then head back to base with the good news."

The ruckus coming from the lounge aptly conveyed the high spirits of everyone within. Word of Strike Eight's successful field test traveled quickly around the base, and it seemed like all of XCOM wanted to stop by the bar to offer their congratulations. For many, 'congratulations' translated into 'free round of alcohol for the heroes of Strike Eight,' something both Yang and Vance happily accepted on behalf of the team. Weiss, surprisingly, decided to join them, and she looked determined to keep up with Yang no matter what. To almost everyone's amazement, RWBY's resident Ice Queen actually had an impressive tolerance for hard liquor. Yang, however, was more amused by the fact that her friend became extremely loud and moderately obnoxious when drunk.

"I SWEAR TO WHATEVER GOD IS LISTENING, THE NEXT PERSON WHO CALLS ME ICE QUEEN WILL BE GETTING THEIR FACE SMASHED." Weiss leapt up onto her seat and firmly planted one foot on the table. One hand on her hip and the other forming a fist over her heart completed the drunk huntress's image of a stoic and courageous figure. "I AM NOT THE ICE QUEEN. I AM ELSA, GRACEFUL AND BENEVOLENT RULER OF ARENDELLE." She took the fist on her chest and used it to make a sweeping gesture across the room. "AND YOU ARE ALL MY ADORING PEASANTS."

"In the absence of our fearless leader's capacity to do so, I am hereby banning you from further 'Frozen nights with Dr. Vahlen' on Ruby's behalf."

Weiss looked down in horror at the serene figure of Blake. With nobody else willing to do so, the Scout had appointed herself as the 'designated sober friend' and contented herself with nothing more than a single pint of beer for the entire evening. She didn't even look up from the book in her hand before giving Weiss a firm nudge to the leg. That was all it took to throw her friend off balance and force her to drop back down to her seat.

Ruby herself sat across from Colonel Zhang a few tables over. While her friends (except for Blake) were busy getting hammered under the 'watchful' eye of Major Vance, Ruby wanted to thank Zhang for protecting Blake during the field test. The enigmatic officer agreed, and Ruby decided she wanted to learn more about the Colonel. He was frustratingly evasive in his answers to her questions, but Ruby saw a hint of enjoyment twinkling in his eye. Perhaps he simply decided to make a game out of it, but that only made Ruby all the more determined to learn something interesting about him beyond the definition of his nickname 'Chilong.' Ten minutes later, and the young leader of RWBY found herself downing her fifth (or fifteenth?) shot of… she didn't know what, but Zhang assured her that it was 'superior to whatever swill Vance ordered for Ruby's friends.' An amused Colonel Zhang watched as the young Sniper struggle to form coherent words, her original objective of questioning him all but abandoned.

"Y'know… hic… you'd make a fffffffanTASTIC Hunter, mister co-low-nole… ker-lo-neal…?"

"Colonel," Zhang corrected.

"Rrrright. Mister Colonel… hic… Zhang. I watched… I watched 'chu with that 'zerker, 'n how you h'whacked it with that… big ol' hammer you got. BOOM," Ruby giggled as she used her arms to mime an explosion, "You ran sssssssoooooo fast to save lil' Blakey… hic… th'way you just pulled out your Tac… Tacticul Ablaaaaaytive Armor… heh, that sounds funny… the Tacticul… you just… hic… dropped it into the dirt and shielded Blake from that… that MEAN Mechtoid." She paused to swirl the liquor in her glass and stare at it pensively. "Y'were so faaaaaaast."

The Colonel cracked a small smile. Unfortunately for Ruby, she she missed the monumental event in her drunken haze, "You do realize, Sergeant Rose, that I'm one of Vahlen's test subjects for her new brand of Remnant Physiology genetic modifications. That speed likely came from your DNA."

Ruby waved a hand dismissively. "Stop… stop… those big words hurt m'head. B'sides… hic… Dun matter how y'did it. Th'important bit is why."

The young Huntress reached over the table and made an effort to poke Zhang in the chest. She missed and stabbed the air next to him. She tried again, and missed again. She managed to poke his stomach on the third attempt, which she decided was good enough. "Y've got heart, Colonel… Some people're prolly in XCOM just to… to get their murder on, y'know? You can act… hic… silent 'n tough all you want, talk about how… how killin' an alien is 'not s'different from killin' a man.'… But… that was… hic… a noble thing you did. Whatever else y'say about it… that right there's… hic… that's th' truth." Ruby looked up, smiled, and waved at the figure approaching from behind Zhang.

"Oh, HI Mister Bradfuuuuurd. Howsitgoin?"

"Good evening, Sergeant Rose…" Bradford looked down at Zhang. "How much alcohol did you let her have, Colonel?"

Zhang shrugged. "As much as she wanted. The young woman responsible for giving us such an incredible technological advantage in this war deserves to enjoy her first experience with getting black-out-drunk. I am simply here to keep her company and ensure her safety."

"Ah…" Bradford responded, casting a glance over at the other table where everyone was cheering on Vulcan as she played a game of Five-Finger Fillet. "Well, I was hoping to speak with the Sergeant, but maybe I should try again tomorrow." He looked down to see Ruby's head buried in her arms on the table, her shoulders slowly rising and falling. "Wow, that didn't take long at all." He gave Zhang one last glance before turning to leave. "See to it that she gets to the barracks safely with the rest of her squad, Colonel."

Zhang nodded respectfully at the Central Officer. "Of course, sir."

Ruby and her friends slowly made their way to Mission Control, each step still carrying small waves of pain as they hit her eardrums. Ruby had no idea how she made it to her bed last night, but whoever left a glass of water, some pills, and a note saying 'swallow these' definitely had personal experience with getting wasted. She decided that she would leave excessive drinking to Yang the next time they all went out: the infamous 'morning after' sucked. Eventually, Blake came into the barracks (how she managed to be up and doing things at 3 pm confounded Ruby) and informed the other three that Bradford wanted all four of them to report ASAP. Despite the moans and complains from the other three, their extra hours of rest made the process of waking up and looking presentable not terribly difficult.

The team of four entered XCOM's information hub and found Bradford standing on his usual podium while staring at the hologlobe. Ruby noticed long ago that Bradford did this a lot. She didn't know if it was sort of a zen thing for him, or if he actually needed to be spending that much time examining the strategic layer of XCOM's mission, but Ruby decided it was something better left alone. The Central Officer noticed Ruby's team and stepped off his podium to greet them.

"Thank you for coming, there are a few things I would like to discuss with you."

Even through the lingering vestiges of Ruby's alcoholic haze, Bradford's statement made her curious. "Sir?"

"First thing's first, the field test. Major Vance already submitted a report detailing the events of the UFO assault, so I have a pretty clear idea on just how effective your little projects are, Sergeant Rose. You and I agreed to only bring a small fraction of the new tech on the test run, and all of it worked perfectly."

A hint of a blush crossed Ruby's cheeks in response to Bradford's high praise. "Well, Dr. Shen is amazing to work with. I know a lot of the theory behind Remnant's technology, but it would have been impossible to make anything without his skill and intuition. Besides, there was some tech we brought along that didn't have an opportunity to see use during the op."

Bradford chuckled. "Don't sell yourself short, Ruby. I didn't want to admit it out loud, but we were starting to fall behind the aliens in the ever-present arms race that defines this war. Your efforts have given us a significant boost, likely pushing us well beyond what the invaders themselves posses. Sure, they still outmatch us in terms of raw firepower, but versatility has always been our strong suit." He gave Ruby a warm smile. "And you just made it a hell of a lot stronger. I would say that our field test can be marked off as a resounding success. Effective immediately, I am authorizing Dr. Shen to commence production of the new tech you two cooked up. At oh-eight-hundred tomorrow, I'm having a meeting with all the Strike leaders, which of course includes you. There, we will discuss all the designs and prototypes you have developed, and then agree upon which hardware has priority in getting rolled out sooner."

"Oh… wow. Uh…" Ruby rubbed the back of her head and let out a nervous laugh. "Do you need me to put together some sort of presentation…?"

"No need. I've already discussed this meeting with Dr. Shen, who will also be present, and he agreed to collate the data and information himself. All you need to do is show up and contribute to the discussion."

"Of course. Thank you, sir. This is… well, to be honest, I've never had my work congratulated like this before."

"Which I find surprising," Weiss cut in, "Considering how much time you spend with your toys. Sure, I've seen hunters with some pretty fancy weaponry, but nothing holds a candle to Crescent Rose." She casually checked her nails, as if to hide her appreciation for Ruby behind a mask of apathy. "Quite frankly, I blame it on Vale. If you lived in Atlas, you definitely would have been noticed by our weaponsmiths for your talent."

"Sergeant Schnee, while I agree that Rose's work is nothing short of genius, perhaps you should remind yourself that our mutual friend has a debilitating weakness to too much praise…" The two of them looked over at Ruby, her eyes glazed over and her body swaying gently as it tried to remain upright without the help of her mental functions. They watched her in silence before Yang poked the back of her head.

"C'mon Rubes, focus up here! The Boss is trying to say something important!"

"Wha…? Oh!" Ruby immediately snapped to attention. "Sorry sir!"

Bradford shook his head in amusement, "It's fine, Sergeant. On that note, I'd like to address the next issue. The alien raid on our base, while successfully repelled, cost us the lives of several good men and women."

Ruby knew this. When all the commotion immediately following the base defense died down, Van Doorn held another service at the Memorial Wall to honor the fallen. It wasn't quite as grand as the one for the members of Strike One, but it still remained a solemn affair. She waited for Bradford to continue.

"Among them were several officers, which leaves us with a small gap in XCOM's field command. Don't worry," he added, cutting off Ruby's concerns, "There are still more than enough officers to cover every Strike team. You've probably noticed, however, that XCOM relies on a lot of redundancy to avoid catastrophic failure. It could be tomorrow that Colonel Zhang or Commander Van Doorn falls in the line of combat, and so it's vital that we continue to keep newer officers trained up to prepare for such a possibility."

"That… makes sense."

"I've discussed it with some of the senior officers, and there's a near-unanimous motion to promote you to Lieutenant, Miss Rose."

Bradford smiled at the stunned silence that greeted him. If well-deserved praise from her partner was enough to make Ruby blush, Bradford could only guess at the effects of learning that Van Doorn and Zhang advocated for her promotion to an officer.

"I… uh… I… you… what." was all Ruby managed to stammer by way of reply.

"Usually, these things take time to carefully consider, but this case is pretty open-and-shut in my opinion. Lieutenant Rose…" Bradford reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box, handing it to Ruby. She carefully opened it and pulled out the small medal it held. Ruby looked up to see Bradford giving her a salute, followed by her three friends mimicking the action. "Wow…"

"Look at it this way, sis: you already order us around on the battlefield, it's just more official now." Yang put in brightly.

Bradford nodded. "Very few people were saying anything before about a rank-and-file soldier ordering around Major Vance, and now they'll have even less reason to do so. Besides, you've more than earned the title, Lieutenant. Congratulations."

Ruby carefully returned the medal to the box and stowed it in her pocket. She would ask Vance later about the finer details of wearing it ("where does it go?" being the primary question). For now, she didn't want to delay their meeting by continuing to talk about her promotion.

"Is there anything else, sir?"

"One more thing," Bradford admitted. "I hate to do this so soon after your promotion, but I also feel it will be a good way to help you get used to your role. A mission has come up. Nothing big, fortunately. It's just… strange. I want you to take your team, along with a few extras, and check it out. Exercise caution, of course, but this should be a good warm up. The plan is to leave in three hours, so gather your team and determine who else you'll be taking with you."

"Understood, sir. Where are we going?"

Bradford checked the datapad in his hand. "A little fishing town off the coast of Newfoundland."