(Content Warning: This chapter contains brief descriptions of gun violence and gore)
The quiet of the forest was broken by hurried footsteps, and the frantic crunch of leaves and twigs. One figure darted through the brush, alone, naked and afraid. Silence followed them, followed by several more that tore through the brush and vegetation with the heavy clumping of their boots.
A flock of birds burst from the treetops, scattering in the commotion. The figures did not stop, and the bare one, tall and lanky, panted as they leapt a log and nearly tripped, glancing over their shoulder as they did.
*"V5R93!"* The troops called out in that distorted, mechanical voice. *"Stop!"*
V5R93 straightened up, squared his shoulders, and took off running as fast as his long legs would carry him, all the while chastising himself. Berating himself. He had become sloppy.
He slid to a stop at the foot of a towering gray cliff extending on either side. It took only a moment for him to survey the area and realize there was no way around this thing, only up. As V5R93 dove for the cliff, intending to begin his climb, he felt the sharp pinch of the bullets of a gun striking him in the back.
At first, he felt nothing, his limbs simply stopped working as he lost all control of his body and fell to the ground. Then the pain began to erupt like blossoms from the wounds in his chest and his back, and the two guards approached him, their guns still drawn. He gazed up at them, black eyes pleading for some kind of mercy.
*"Damned Sectoids"* They said, cocked their guns, and fired again.
.
.
Kon-Mai smiled as she looked over the clothes she had dressed her brothers in that day. Clothes she had made herself; good enough to rival any ADVENT clothing store, that was sure. They had to make a good impression, and she was certain they would.
Her own outfit was one that distinctly outlined her feminine features, while still maintaining her authoritative (and terrifying) air. Her waist-high pants were made out of a strong, denim mix of deep magenta cloth and made it so she could bend her knees easily, lest she need to pick up her sword and fight. Her shirt, while a turtleneck, hugged her figure, the part of her Abyzou had always told her to be proud of. And right now, she has to admit, she was proud, although no thanks to her 'mother'. With her hair braided into several cornrows down her neck and a bit of purple lip tint, she felt very beautiful.
The Avenger had landed just outside of Kanab, Utah. Along the dusty ground, almost untouched by time, bones and tracks of ancient creatures lay scattered like a circle of protection. Tygan had shown her pictures of these beasts, and they rivaled some of the creatures the Elders possessed. These "Dinosaurs" were great scaled monsters, larger than the Avenger itself. Some swam in the water, devouring anything in their path, some ruled the land and reigned terror on those who crossed them. And some, though large, were peaceful, even cute. She liked those beasts.
From the distance, she could see the groups of soldiers beginning to arrive. Some had vehicles with them, but most were traveling on foot, carrying only what they had on their backs. Most were human, but from the sunlight across the sand, she could see a familiar face.
Kon-Mai's eyes widened upon recognizing him. "Savitr?"
"Hm?" Gur-Rai looked up from the stick he was using to draw in the sand. His outfit was one she had taken care to make much more durable, and she had good reason: he had already gotten it dirty. The polo shirt was slightly big around his scrawny middle, but his leather pants hugged his bony hips perfectly and accented what little features he did scarf he wore around his head to cover his baldness was also made of very durable Polyester. Kon-Mai prided herself on this endeavor.
"That Skirmisher." She nodded towards the group of them. "I know him."
"Which one?" Gur-Rai asked. "He looks like every other bitch."
"We cannot all be blue, Brother." Dhar-Mon sighed, once again smoothing down the jacket Kon-Mai made for him. It was light pink, matching the color of his eyes, and had some synthetic fur around the collar, making it look a bit like a Skirmishers cloak. The design on the back had taken hours to embroider, but the intricate wheel symbol had come out stunningly, and made it so Dhar-Mon adored that coat most of all. Of course, it was also made for cold weather, so the poor man was sweating in it out here, but he refused to take it off, citing the fact that he wanted to show off his sister's hard work.
Gur-Rai squinted against the sun, actually trying to get a look at the man. He didn't need to, however, as when Savitr saw Kon-Mai as well, he waved to her.
She raised a hand in return. "That one."
"Oh…" Gur-Rai bared his teeth a bit. "You let me know if he gets too close."
"If he does, I can handle myself." Kon-Mai insisted with a scoff.
"Yeah, I said the same thing once…" Gur-Rai seemed to freeze, falling very quiet, and Dhar-Mon put a hand on his brother's back.
"I am sure this man means our sister no harm." He said. "And in any case, it appears he will be joining us on the Avenger. He will be our teammate."
As the group began to congregate outside the doors, the Chosen heard footsteps behind them, and turned to allow Senuna herself to pass by. She beamed like the sun, stepping off the dock to greet the oncoming soldiers on ground level.
"Welcome, soldiers of XCOM." She clapped, and the others followed her in a cheer that echoed through the mountains. "I see many familiar faces in the crowd, as well as many new ones! Some of you have been on board the Avenger, seen her in her glory, but for many of you this will be your first time seeing the real war." Her smile faded. "And I warn you, this task shall not be easy. We will ask much of you here, and expect you to perform accordingly. We cannot afford to falter, not now." Her smile returned. "But to those of you who take on this challenge, you will receive the greatest of all rewards: your home, safely returned to you."
Another cheer went up, and Kon-Mai met Savitr's golden eyes. He smiled slightly when he saw her, and she nodded in return.
"As you can see, the war is going well!" Senuna giggled. "I'm sure you didn't miss the three blue giants standing behind me, some of you may even recognize them!" She gestured to the three Chosen. "These three are not here as our prisoners, but as our friends. For you see, soldiers, like the Skirmishers you fight beside, the Chosen have also cast off the yoke of the Elders, and now fight for freedom, justice, and humanity!"
Gur-Rai let out a whoop, which stirred the crowd into another cheer. At this point, the human soldiers seemed to be over the shock of seeing the Chosen. Those who were not looked at them in awe, like the humans in the city centers had…
Kon-Mai straightened her back and clasped her hands, trying to look as majestic as she could. Her eyes danced to Savitr once again, and she saw he had not looked away.
"With this incredible advantage, I'd hasten to say that by the end of this year, if not the next, this war will be OVER!" Senuna raised her arms. "The Elders will fall to us! We will regain our home!"
Home...Kon-Mai's mind lingered on that word.
.
.
After the speech came the extremely tedious task of checking everyone in, unloading cargo, reloading cargo, discharging soldiers that were getting off here, etc etc. And of course, the Chosen had been voluntold to help with that.
Kon-Mai was at the check in station, assigning each soldier their rank and place on the Avenger and handing them little makeshift name tags as she checked their names off of colorful boxes on a piece of paper. Gur-Rai and Dhar-Mon were helping the burlier soldiers load the resupply onto the Avenger's cargo deck, Dhar-Mon having taken off his jacket so as to not tear the fabric.
In the hullabaloo, Kon-Mai nearly missed him, but as a shadow fell over her, she looked up to those familiar eyes.
"Savitr Vallinor." She said, smiling almost against her will.
"Sergeant Mordenna." He bowed. "It will be an honor to serve under you."
"Under me?" She chuckled, writing down his name.
"I mean...if we do get assigned to any missions together. Hypothetically, it will be an honor." Savitr's peachy skin turned orange as he blushed.
She chuckled and handed him his tag. "Go inside, Vallinor."
"Yes, Mordenna." He bowed deeply to her and passed the table, towards the Avenger and where his sisters waited for him. Kon-Mai followed him with her eyes for a moment, until she heard a snicker beside her.
She looked at where Princess sat beside her, the purple-haired girl giggling like a child. "What is the matter with you?"
"You were getting flirted with~" Princess cooed.
Kon-Mai scoffed. "Can I not acknowledge another warrior's presence?"
"You couldn't tell? Damn you're clueless." Princess scoffed. "He's got eyes for you."
"You are simply imagining things." Kon-Mai shook her head. Still, the words lingered on her mind. WAS he interested in her romantically? What did it mean if he was?
She looked back at Savitr. This time, his attention was turned to his sister Nitocris, who seemed to be looking around in clueless excitement at the sight of the Avenger.
They were alike, she acknowledged. He cared for his sisters like she did her brothers. But she had never seen him in the field besides the brief, very boring patrol they'd been on together. She did not know him. How could she love someone she did not know?
Kon-Mai turned back to her task at hand. She decided to shelve the thought until further notice.
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.
Gur-Rai straightened up, stretching his back, which was growing sore from the constant heavy lifting. He looked around at the people working around him, his brother still loading cargo the size of trucks like it was literally nothing. The Avenger would be well stocked after this, with soldiers and supplies.
He put his hands on his hips and kicked the dirt, looking to where the medical tent was. As one of the soldiers exited and another entered, Gur-Rai could see Malinalli inside the tent, giving physicals to oncoming soldiers and checking off those who were going on shore leave. She stopped for a moment, her pen hovering above her clipboard, and then began writing again, slowly.
Gur-Rai furrowed his brow, a smirk growing on his lips. He dusted off his hands and traipsed over to her, pushing aside the tent flap and poking his head in. "Hello, Molly."
"Darkstrider, I'm with a patient." Malinalli hissed pointing to a Skirmisher woman who was sitting on the table, her hands resting over the very noticeable bump in her stomach.
Gur-Rai nodded to her and looked over the medic again. "Need help?"
Malinalli looked annoyed. "Um...not really."
"Well, Commander said to help you, so you have to give me something to do." He smiled as that lie passed right over his teeth, and straightened up...slamming his head into the top of the tent pole. Okay, he deserved that one.
Malinalli looked skeptical, but she sighed and looked around for something to give him. Her hand grabbed a plastic bag full of clear fluid and she handed it to him. "Go out into the woods and dump that somewhere."
"What is it?"
"Saline, I didn't mix it right, so it's basically useless. It needs to be disposed of, a tree or bush should do the trick."
"Molly, are you trying to get rid of me?" Gur-Rai smirked.
Malinalli smiled like she was about to crack. "Oh no, Gur-Rai, of course not. Now please, go."
Gur-Rai bowed and exited the tent, hearing Malinalli telling the woman inside "Okay, I'm gonna send you up to Tygan for an ultrasound, but from the test results…"
Her voice trailed off, and Gur-Rai passed the ever shortening line of people waiting to be checked into the Avenger database. He waved at his sister, who was still in charge of making name tags, and walked off into the deep green darkness of the woods.
The noise and chatter began to fade away as he slipped into the quiet green, and Gur-Rai took a deep breath. All of his senses were sharpened out here. He could see through the darkness as clear as a crystal. His skin prickled with the slight dampness of the air, and he inhaled deeply, tasting the faint electricity on the air. No doubt his own psionic ability was tainting it slightly. Damn the Elders for giving him the Big Think…
He traveled deeper into the woods, the trees growing in size and the sky growing dim behind their massive leaves. His skin tingled with the feeling that something was in here with him, his hunter's instinct on full alert. It was exhilarating.
The forest finally gave way to a clearing, bordered by a silver cliff with jagged rocks that looked quite menacing in the dim light. Supposing that this was as good a place as any, Gur-Rai poked a hole in the bag with his sharp nail and let the water drain out by a nearby tree. As the bag emptied slowly, he looked around the dark clearing, his eyes drinking in the surrounding green and purple and pink vegetation…
Wait, pink?
Gur-Rai dropped the bag and made his way over to the brush at the base of the cliff, the prickling of psionic energy dancing on his bare arms and face. He hesitated, drawing Darkclaw and clutching it tightly as he pulled back the brush...
"Well, well, well." He mused. "Look at you."
A Sectoid lay in the brush, bare and exposed, with its back to Gur-Rai and it's face in the dirt. At the sound of his voice, the Sectoid seemed to startle, and grabbed at the mud to drag itself away.
"Ah ah ah, not so fast." Gur-Rai twirled his gun on his finger. "Goodness, I should tell the Commander that the soldiers need more practice. That many bullet holes? You should be de-" He broke off, his eyes moving to the Sectoid's finger as it scratched something into the dirt. Curious, Gur-Rai knelt down.
H-E-L-P
His eyebrows shot up. Sectoids, at least the ones he knew, didn't know how to speak any human languages, and they CERTAINLY didn't know how to write in any. And yet, he watched as this Sectoid used it's clawed finger to slowly spell out "Help Me" in the dirt.
Gur-Rai took the Sectoid's face in his hand and tilted it towards him. "Hey you. Can you understand me? Can you understand the words I'm saying right now?"
The Sectoid nodded, softly, then their face twisted up in pain and they clutched the dirt again, groaning in agony.
"...Who did this?" Gur-Rai asked. "Who hurt you? Was it XCOM?"
The grasping hand, shaking from pain, drew one long line, then two short ones on either side, the symbol for the Elders. For ADVENT.
Gur-Rai stood. "Stay right here. Well, I guess you're not gonna go anywhere. I should say, don't die before I get back." He took off into a sprint, disappearing into the trees once again.
.
.
Gur-Rai poked his head back into Malinalli's tent, where this time Lothar was helping her hold down a patient as she worked to pull a piece of shrapnel from a very old-looking wound in a man's shoulder. "Hey. Molly." Gur-Rai snapped. "I need your help."
"I'm a little busy." Malinalli grunted. "What do you need?"
"There's a Sectoid in the woods."
The two medics froze, and Malinalli turned to Gur-Rai with a look of horror. "Is this an ambush?!"
"Probably not, it's just the one and it's injured pretty bad."
"So…" She looked at him funny. "You...want me to come see a dying Sectoid?"
"Yep. You're a doctor, you'll know what to do."
"Technically I'm a nurse…" She muttered with a sigh. "And I have human patients. They take priority."
"Human patients? Molly, that's pretty racist~" Gur-Rai grinned, his sharp teeth flashing.
"I didn't mean that!" She cried. "I'm not-!"
"Well if that's true, you'll come help the poor wounded Sectoid, won't you?" Gur-Rai batted his nonexistent eyelashes.
Malinalli sighed long and hard, looking very tired. "Um...Lothar can you-"
"I got it, Molly. Go see the Sectoid." He took the pliers from her, and she followed Gur-Rai out of the forest and into the woods.
.
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Senuna wiped at a smudge on the Avenger's window. From her quarters, she could see around the back on the ship, where cargo was diligently being loaded. There was the Hieromonk, his long white hair pulled back in a ponytail to keep it out of his eyes as he worked. So dutifully he obeyed commands, so eagerly did he complete any task assigned him.
It made her old heart hurt, and she sighed, leaning against the window.
Her door opened, and she looked over expecting to see Bradford or Jane. But it was Zhang she saw instead, walking slowly with a cane. She smiled at the sight of him: she'd already been chastised for calling him "Old Man," but the idea was so funny to her. He'd never seemed old to her before.
"I should be the one walking with a cane, Colonel~" She giggled as she stood up. "What's wrong? You look nauseous."
Zhang refrained from speaking for a moment until she gestured for him to sit. Only when he did, he finally opened his mouth. "The soldiers outside are…"
"Oh." She chuckled. "Right. You weren't here for that. They're called Skirmishers."
"They look like ADVENT." He said quietly.
"Yes, they do." She nodded. "Your point?"
His hand went to his chest, where the staples were still embedded in his skin from the wounds he'd sustained. Senuna saw this, and sighed.
"They didn't torture you, Chilong."
"They look like the ones who did." He protested, albeit calmly. "I know I am being unreasonable, Senuna. But I doubt how effective I'll be in combat alongside these...hybrids."
Senuna blinked slowly. "...Technically I'm a hybrid."
"That's different." He said. "You're different."
"How am I different?" She asked. "More powerful? Are you afraid of me, Chilong?"
"You look human, Sunny." He finally admitted.
"That's only because I got lucky." She stood up. "Do I, yet again, need to tell you where this body came from?"
"Are you implying you found out?" It was Zhang's turn to chuckle, at Senuna's discomfort.
She looked away. "Exactly, Chilong. Don't act like I'm better than them just because I look 'right'. In a lot of ways, I am much worse."
There was an awkward silence between the two for a moment.
"I'm sorry." Zhang relented. "This is not a subject I should joke about. I know how much it hurts you."
"No." Senuna insisted. "I'm sorry ADVENT did this to you. I'm sorry they took you. It was my decision that cost us this war, and it was my decision to send you into enemy territory."
"No it wasn't, Sunny. I made the choice to go behind enemy lines. I was determined to save you."
"Yes, but if I hadn't gone after Dante, in fact if I hadn't let them take him in the first place..." She stopped, her voice cracking, and shook her head. "Do you...want to leave the Avenger?"
The silence in response made her nerves go into a panic, and Senuna looked up just as Zhang sighed.
"How much use am I to you like this?" He muttered. "An old, broken man, a shadow of who I was. To let me go would only bring good things."
"Oh, don't you dare!" Senuna circled her desk and plopped down on the couch beside him, pulling him into a tight hug and only loosening her grip when he winced out in pain.
"Sunny." He wrapped his arms around her as well. "Please don't be upset. I don't like to see you cry."
"Chilong, I've lost so much." She whispered. "Please don't go. I don't want to lose you, too."
He hesitated. "If I want to go, Sunny, will you stop me?"
She was eerily quiet, then finally, "How could I? If that's...what you want." She pulled away. "You're my friend. I just want you to be happy…"
He smiled, and ran a hand through her silver hair. "I will stay, Sunny. If that is what makes you happy."
.
.
Malinalli jogged alongside Gur-Rai, her little legs struggling to keep up with what, to him, was a slow pace. "Slow down!" She cried. "I'm out of shape."
"So is my brother, and I wouldn't wait for him~" Gur-Rai chuckled.
"That's a lie." Malinalli smirked. "You'd absolutely wait for him. Right?"
Gur-Rai fell silent.
"I think it's sweet." She added. "You love your siblings so much. You put on this asshole persona but you're really just-"
"Over here." Gur-Rai cut in. "In this clearing."
Malinalli bent down and picked up the empty saline bag. "Over here?"
"No, over here." Gur-Rai parted the brush. "Hello there. Still alive? ...Good! I brought help!" He waved her over.
Malinalli came over and braced herself. At first she thought the Sectoid was dead, until she noticed the very slight movement of its body with each breath. There were bullet holes all throughout its back, and the ants had already begun swarming its body.
"Oh…" She said, her heart sinking. She got down on her knees beside the Sectoid. "He...she...um...they…" She looked it over. "What do you want me to call you?"
The Sectoid made a motion with it's mouth.
"Hm? He?"
The Sectoid nodded.
Malinalli began to pull her tools from her belt. "Gur-Rai, can you turn him over?"
"Yeah." He knelt down beside the Sectoid and began to slide his hands under him. It was then the Sectoid let out a cry of pain, startling both XCOM agents and sending Malinalli scampering back.
"Sorry! Sorry." Gur-Rai stopped, his hands still under the Sectoid. "I'm gonna go slow, okay? Let me know when you're ready…"
The Sectoid remained still for a moment. Then with the tiniest movement of his head, he nodded. Slowly, Gur-Rai slid his arms the rest of the way under him and pulled him towards his chest, and the Sectoid gasped as he rolled over in Gur-Rai's arms. The Chosen adjusted his grip and began to lay him down, but the Sectoid caught his arm, as if pleading him not to move.
"You wanna stay here?" Gur-Rai nodded. "Okay. Molly, can you work like this?"
"It's better" She picked up her tiny scanner and began to wave it over the holes in the Sectoid's chest. "...These were ADVENT guns…"
Gur-Rai nodded silently. The Sectoid in his arms whimpered uncomfortably.
"Almost done, hon. You're doing great." Malinalli said softly. "Okay…" She smiled. "Okay. Not as bad as I had thought…" She looked up at Gur-Rai. "Still bad though."
"How bad?"
"Punctured lung is the worst one…" She pressed a few buttons on the scanner picture. "This thing is so slow, sorry. One of his Psytocrean glands looks like it's ruptured, the one across from the Taux Filter."
Gur-Rai nodded, his blank stare conveying he had no idea what she was saying.
"My point is, if it's ruptured it's probably bleeding cytotoxins into his body, and that's bad." She pulled an emergency blanket from another pocket, the tin-foil texture crinkling as she shook it out. "Let's protect him from the hypothermia, at least." She said as she wrapped the blanket around the Sectoid. "You got a name, hon?"
The Sectoid moved his lips, but barely any sound came out. Seeing the two staring at him blankly, the Sectoid seemed to huff and reached out towards the ground again, his sharp fingernail began to carve the shapes into the loose dirt while Malinalli and Gur-Rai watched intently.
"V…" Malinalli squinted. "Is that a 5?"
"I think it's an E." Gur-Rai said. "V-E-R...9-E?"
"Why is there a random 9?" She asked.
"Maybe it's supposed to be a g." He nodded. "So, that spells Verge."
"Verge?" Malinalli furrowed her brow. "Are you sure it's not Virgil?"
"He wrote it, Molly." Gur-Rai shrugged, standing up with Verge wrapped up like a burrito in his arms. "In any case, let's worry about names when he's not-"
"-dying. Yeah." She stood up and pressed a button on her comm link. "Hey Tygan? I have another patient for you."
.
.
When they showed up at camp again, they attracted a lot of attention. People seemed to stop their conversations to look over at the two agents bringing a tin-foil wrapped Sectoid toward the Avenger. Gur-Rai kept his back straight and his eyes ahead, letting his posture speak for him. Malinalli, on the other hand, seemed to shrink inward under the scrutiny of the people.
Gur-Rai heard footsteps and saw his sister approaching him. He nodded to her. "Sister! I would wave but as you can see, my hands are full."
"Yes, I do see." She said worriedly. "Gur-Rai, what on Earth do you have?"
"A Sectoid." He said simply.
She walked alongside him briskly. "Is it dead?"
Verge raised a finger, and Kon-Mai jumped back.
"Nalla itzar!" She yelped. "How is it alive?!"
"He's a he, Sister, not an it. That's rude." Gur-Rai grinned. "And his name is Verge."
Kon-Mai stared at him in disbelief. "You have NAMED it?!"
"Him, Sister, HIM!"
"Fine! Him! You-"
"Of course not. He told me that was his name." Gur-Rai nodded, looking very proud of himself.
"Well...why did you bring him here?!"
"We're gonna see if Tygan can fix him up." He said. "Malinalli did what she could, but she is only a nurse and-" He broke off as his foot hit the metal dock of the Avenger, and he looked up with a smile. "Hello, Commander."
Senuna, for once, did not greet the Chosen with a smile, but a look of deep discomfort as she saw the Sectoid in Gur-Rai's arms. Behind her, Zhang leaned forward on his cane, his eyes glistening with barely concealed anger and panic.
"As you can see, I have a wounded soldier here." Gur-Rai said. "I need to get him to Tygan ASAP."
Zhang turned to the Commander. "I know what we just discussed, Senuna, but you cannot allow this." He insisted. "That is a Sectoid."
Gur-Rai raised his brow. "Now now, Zhang, let's not be hasty. He's in dire need of care, and he's hardly a threat to you."
"I do not care." Zhang's voice trembled with barely disguised fear. "Those hings...that thing…" His hand went to his stomach, and the stitches that held it together. "Senuna, I am begging you. Don't bring it on board."
"Look, I get it, you're dealing with a lot right now, Zhang, and I am very sorry for that." Gur-Rai snapped. "But Verge here was attacked by ADVENT soldiers. He must have pissed them off. And if he annoyed ADVENT enough to get shot at, he's a friend in my book." Gur-Rai adjusted Verge, the Sectoid's limp head lying in the crook of his neck. "Now, let me on the ship."
"Commander." Zhang spat. "You cannot agree to let that Sectoid in. If you do, I…" He didn't seem willing to finish his sentence.
Malinalli hung back beside Kon-Mai, the two women staring at the conflict before them helplessly. Malinalli desperately wanted to interject, but she had already spoken out of turn once before. She couldn't win such a fight again so soon. Kon-Mai put a calming hand on her shoulder, her own cool magenta eyes watching the fight with intent.
Senuna looked back and forth between the Chosen and her dear friend. She looked lost. Her hands trembled and she clasped them in front of her, maintaining a stiff, militant posture. She opened her mouth to Zhang, but then looked at Gur-Rai, and ultimately said nothing.
"Commander." A strong, soothing voice said behind her. Dr. Tygan stepped up, pulling a stretcher behind him. "According to the Medical Neutrality Protection Act, it is my duty as a physician to treat those in need as I see fit, regardless of political affiliation. Therefore, on medical authority, I am taking this Sectoid on board." He didn't even wait for her response as he nodded to Gur-Rai to follow him.
Zhang and Senuna stared at the two in disbelief as Gur-Rai walked right past them, laying Verge's limp body gently onto the stretcher and following behind as Tygan pulled it toward the infirmary. As it shuddered over the patchy floor, Verge opened his eyes slightly and reached out, searching for Gur-Rai's hand. The Chosen took it and gave it a soft pat.
"You're on your way, friend." Gur-Rai chuckled. "Don't you worry; you're safe now."
Zhang sighed and shook his head, making his way back into the ship. "I suppose you couldn't stop that, could you?"
"Of course not." Senuna mused. "Medical authority...I rarely hear him pull that card." Her eyes lingered on the disappearing stretcher, and a slight smile crossed her lips. "Chilong, will you be alright?"
"Define alright." He grumbled. "I'll be...resting if you need me." Turning away from her, he hobbled back down the hall.
Kon-Mai touched Malinalli's shoulder. "Come."
"What about the Commander?" Malinalli whispered. "And Verge-"
"Trust me." Kon-Mai smiled. "If the Commander had wanted to stop this, she could have."
Malinalli fell silent. "...So she-"
She nodded. "Now, I must return to my work. And so must you, Molly."
.
.
"I owe you one, big time." Gur-Rai said as he transferred Verge from the stretcher to one of the beds.
"You don't owe me anything." Tygan insisted as he began to start up the larger scanner. "I would have helped either way. Sectoid or not, he is still a living being."
"Right you are, Doc." He let go of Verge's hand, the Sectoid's arm falling limp. "Will he be ok?"
"Only time will tell. But he's survived this long…" Tygan bobbed his head from side to side. "With luck, and a bit of skill, he will live to tell the tale." Tygan touched a button on his comm. "Victoria Immanuel and Chinonso Chikere, come to the Infirmary please."
"Well in that case, I leave you to your work." Gur-Rai said with a bow. "Unless you need help."
"I think you leaving would be the best help." Tygan muttered.
Gur-Rai backed out of the room, glancing back at Verge one last time as Tygan began shoving that god-awful breathing tube down his throat. He winced a bit, and almost turned around and insisted he remain.
Tearing his eyes away, he exited into the hall, where the Skirmisher woman from before was waiting, her legs crossed and looking lost in thought. One hand rested absently over her stomach.
Gur-Rai nodded to her, and she looked up, staring at him for a moment.
"Will I be seeing you around the Avenger?" He asked.
She hesitated for a moment, then she nodded. "Someday. This war is a long one after all. And I have a while to go."
He smiled and saluted her. "Well then; keep fighting the good fight, soldier." With a wink, he traipsed off into the darkness.
(Yes I love Verge too much. Sue me. I had to. :3
I needed an explanation as to why his name is Verge, I know others have an explanation for it, but I like to think it's because Malinalli and Gur-Rai had to share the brain cell that day~)