Who'd have thought that trying to write 1000+ words per day everyday for 4 years straight would burn a guy out? Man, that was something... At least some good stuff is happening around here. The Twins are back, by favorite movie theater is open as a drive in, my college football team really wants to play... Just trying to stay positive before everything crumbles to dust again... like the XCOM 2 Alternative Mod Launcher suddenly refusing to launch... So many characters broken and needing to be remade/replaced...

Ruby looked over the weapon schematics one more time before nodding. These mass produced magnetic and laser weapons wouldn't be nearly as effective as her custom-built ones, but they would do the trick. At the same time, they certainly were better than the ballistics XCOM currently used. The Rider prepped the schematic for a remote transfer to Shen and sent the email… only to receive a message saying that the files were too big. "Of course, why wouldn't they be." In the back of her head, she knew that the internal network was saved primarily for critical tasks, but it was still annoying. "To engineering I guess." She stood up from her bed.

The Avenger's intercom chirped to life. "Attention all hands," Bradford's voice echoed through the ship, "prepare for ascent. After we reach cruising altitude, the Commander has something to say."

Ruby groaned and fell back onto her bed. "You couldn't have said that before I stood up?" As she hoped, her roommate said nothing. Either Mox had gotten used to Ruby's constant exclamations or chose to ignore them. The Rider curled herself up in her blankets and prepared for liftoff. It technically wasn't the best way to secure herself, in fact, Ruby could have sworn something related to using blankets as seatbelts was on "The List," it was the most comfortable way to do things.

A few minutes later, the Avenger shook as the engines kicked into gear. After that, Ruby was pressed into her bed as the massive ship lifted into the air. Considering it took a fair amount of time to reach cruising altitude, this wasn't a time sensitive mission. She waited until she felt the ship level out before she straightened up in her bed.

The intercom clicked on again a couple minutes into the flight. "I'm sure you all know that we're not the only ones fighting against ADVENT," the Commander said. "We have members of the Reapers and Skirmishers with us right now. I'm sure you've heard the rumors of a group called the Templars, or even the remnants of several militaries across the planet. While we would like to confirm several of these rumors and join up with them, that is simply not possible.

"However, we have recently received confirmed reports of a different group. They call themselves The Liberated. I know many of you would wish this group would be a state or other significant part of a country, but that is not the case. The Liberated are comprised solely of aliens and the hybrids that compose the ranks of ADVENT Troopers." Ruby raised her eyebrows. That was an interesting development.

"According to our intel and our limited communication with The Liberated, all the aliens they field are the only the kind that we fight. They're either civilians from their own worlds that fought back, or former ADVENT soldiers that broke free of their programing. We are on our way to their base of operations to pick up one such operative.

"I know we have crew members and soldiers not from Earth onboard right now, so I know you can work with them. I've seen you fight alongside Sergeant Rayla and Corporal Ven. You've seen the miracles that Scientist Romero and Doctor Invidia have performed. All of them are vital members of XCOM and we would be in a worse place without them.

"Now let me make myself clear." The Commander's voice hardened. "The Sectoid we are bringing on is one of us. He is to be treated like any other member of the crew. Any hostile actions taken against him will be treated as if they have harmed a human soldier. The same goes for all aliens we currently have onboard and any we bring on in the future. We are all XCOM. I know most of you have very real grievances against the Elders and those who fight for them. Save it for ADVENT." A long pause followed that last statement.

"ETA to Liberated base; eight hours," Central took over. "Keep all sensitive equipment locked down until touchdown."

Ruby nodded and stood up. She faced her roommate who laid prone on top of the covers on his own bed. "Mox, you know anything about these guys?"

"Before I joined XCOM," Mox began, "I scouted their base of operations for the Skirmishers. My squad made initial contact. There was little trust between us. When we returned, I was tasked with planning how to attack their fortress."

"Are they hostile? Figure out if they can be trusted?"

"Unknown to both. I was tasked with being the Skirmishers liaison to the Reapers and XCOM not long after I finished the initial plan."

Ruby shook her head then picked up her tablet from her bed. She walked out of the room without another word. Out in the common room, despite it being occupied by a fair few number of people, the air stood still. Only humans stood and sat in the room. The non-native felt quite a few eyes on her as she walked toward the exit on the other side of the room. Some of them bored into her head. She was human, but she didn't look like it. In that moment, she thought she felt how Blake, Velvet, and Violet felt their whole lives.

Still, Ruby wasn't stopped as she walked through the ship. She walked into Engineering to see Shen strapping down what looked like a crate of grenades. "Lily," she called, "I've got something for you to see." She held up the tablet.

Lily turned around and her eyes focused on the tablet. "That what I think it is?"

"If you think it's new weapons, yes." Ruby pulled up the schematics and handed the tablet to Lily.

The Chief Engineer took the tablet and her eyes lit up. It didn't take long for that light to reach her lips in a smile. "Oh yeah. This'll do." Lily walked toward her computer terminal. "Armor and weapons in the same day? What's next? The Proving Ground finishes a couple days early?"

"I can get a working prototype together within a few hours of when we land. I've built so many similar things in the past. These things have many of the same parts. The hardest thing will be charging the laser cells."

"Makes sense. I'll pass it onto the Commander." Lily plugged the tablet into her computer. "After that, well, we'll see about the supplies. That's always the hard part around here."

"Got it." Ruby turned to leave but stopped short of walking away. "How long have you known about The Liberated?"

Lily shrugged. "Shortly after you came aboard. Something you said pushed them above contacting the Templars."

"Any chance they might know about what's going on with me."

"Oh…" Lily sighed and faced Ruby. "I've got no clue. If the Commander knows, he hasn't filled us in. We don't know how big The Liberated is. Could be a few hundred, thousands, or somewhere in between. For obvious reasons, they wouldn't disclose their numbers. Someone there could know but considering how little all of our contacts know about the Avatar project, the odds of one of them knowing anything about what's going on is pretty slim."

Ruby slumped her shoulders. "Got it." She walked out of Engineering, only vaguely aware of the black hole in her head. The Avenger shook a little as she walked through the ship. One particularly rough rock threw her against the wall on her good arm. She winced and contemplated falling to the floor. That would be comfortable, and it didn't need any work.

Once again, she had nothing to do. She wasn't used to being bored. Back on Remnant, or even Alagaësia, she could play games on her Scroll, watch movies, build weapons, try creating something with magic, or a whole host of other things. Then again, she didn't have a lot of free time with Angel and Crey to take care of.

Ruby grit her teeth and shook her head. She couldn't go on with that kind of attitude. Just suck it up or end it. Those were her options. She knew which one Cerise would pick so that's the one her Rider picked. Ruby pushed herself off the wall and continued to her room. She laid down on her bed and decided to sleep until the Avenger touched down. She tried to imagine dozing off on Cerise' back and that knocked her out right away.

Ruby woke up when she heard a knock on the door. She groaned and turned her head in that direction. "It's safe," she groaned.

The door opened revealing Mox… and a pink skinned alien. By human standards, the Sectoid was absolutely emaciated. Only his head looked like it had any extra meat, though if what she'd heard about them was true, his big head was probably from its species' oversized brain.

Mox inclined his head. "Ruby Rose, this Sectoid has been designated to share this space with us."

"You could have just said roommate." Ruby faced the wall opposite the door. She didn't think that this room was on the exterior of the ship. Other rooms and the common area rested on three sides. "Maybe this really is the problem room." The Sectoid made what Ruby thought was a confused sounding noise.

"She believes that Central and the Commander want to keep everyone who is potentially hostile in one place," Mox explained.

Ruby turned her head around to face Mox. "You understand him?"

"I have worked with Sectoids before." Mox nodded. "They can speak verbally but most of ADVENT's communication was psionic in nature and in the False Gods' language. As such, Verge may understand English and maybe a few other human languages, but he cannot speak any." 'Verge' dipped his head forward and his upper torso follower."

"Was… that supposed to be a nod?" Ruby asked. Verge blinked then repeated the same gesture. Ruby looked at Mox.

"He says yes," the soldier said.

"You just need to use your neck for that, like this." Ruby nodded in demonstration. "What you originally did was more akin to a bow, another sign of respect, but not the right use in that circumstance." Verge cocked his head but stayed silent.

"So," Ruby crossed her arms and stepped forward, "what brings you to XCOM?"

Verge took a step back and shook his head. "He prefers not to say," Mox translated.

"Fought for ADVENT?" Ruby waited for an answer but none came. She shrugged. "Ah well. A lot of people won't explain their pasts here. Me included. If it makes you feel better, I'm not from Earth. Anything you've done here I have a certain detachment from." While that was true, it wasn't the only reason for her detachment from reality.

Another thought came to her head. "You're psionic, right?" Verge nodded. "How much of the ship has the Commander cleared you to roam?"

"All except vital functions," Mox spoke for Verge.

Ruby narrowed her eyes. "Including the brig?"

Mox straightened. "The Viper." Verge turned his head to Mox then back to Ruby, more confused noises coming from him.

"We have a Viper prisoner," Ruby explained. "No one here speaks Viper. The few psionics onboard would rather not touch their minds to a potentially hostile alien. If it wasn't for whatever psionic suppressant the Elders put in place that wouldn't be a problem. I'm guessing since you used to be one of theirs, its effect on you wouldn't be as extreme."

Verge straightened and nodded. Mox glanced at Verge then faced Ruby. "He will attempt this. However, I don't know how well the Viper will respond to this. She is hostile to all attempts to contact her psionically. I do not know how she will react to a Sectoid."

"She's responded negatively to all attempts from Invidia… with what looks light regret right after, but she's still done some damage to an elf's mind. That's no easy task. A Sectoid, a species we know she's dealt with before, might have more success." Ruby gestured toward the door. "Let's get going."

After a second's hesitation, Mox and Verge walked out of the bunkroom and back into the common area. Ruby followed right behind them. She caught quite a few glares pointed in Verge's direction. A one of them reached for a knife on his hip. Rex was in the area and caught that movement as well. He walked over to the woman and placed a hand on her shoulder. The woman glared at Rex then drew her hand away from the knife. Ruby gave the friendly soldier an almost imperceptible nod and left the barracks with the other two.

Besides a few more unrestrained glares, the three made it to the brig without being stopped. When they reached the bottom floor, Ruby felt her shoulders relax. Her stride was much less rigid. It was nowhere near where she was on Remnant, but it still felt better than the upper floors. She didn't know whether to let the smallest smile grace her lips or to grimace. As good as it felt, there was no reason for that.

As usual, two armed guards stood outside the door to the brig. The one on the far side looked at the newcomers and stiffened. "Gray!" He raised his rifle and aimed it at Verge. The other one whipped around and readied her shotgun. Both had their fingers on the trigger.

"Stop!" Mox raised a hand. "This Sectoid is an ally. He will not hurt you."

The woman scoffed. "That doesn't mean anything coming from you, ADVENT." She dipped her head to her collar and the transmitter inside. "Brig to bridge. We've got three Grays trying to gain access to the prisoner. Orders?"

Ruby crossed her arms and looked straight into the camera behind her. This was a first for her, but considering the Avenger now had a member of a species that had always been hostile now working for them, people might start suspecting all crew members not from Earth. Humans always found reasons to hate each other.

When she faced forward again, both guards stood stiff. "Uh, sir, I…" The woman guard nodded. "Of course, sir. We'll let them through." Both guards lowered their weapons and the man of the two opened the door. Neither of them looked at the three visitors as they passed.

To Ruby's surprise, Invidia was already in the room. The elf stood right by the bulletproof glass with her arms crossed while staring into the cell. She had an odd look on her face that Ruby couldn't place. "Any changes here?" Ruby asked as she approached.

"I believe she has lost weight since we brought her here." Invidia nodded into the cell. Ruby stood by the elf's side and faced where Invidia indicated. She couldn't help but grimace. The Viper sure had lost weight around her midsection. Not to the point of seeing ribs, but enough to be concerning.

"She's being fed, right?"

Invidia nodded. "As effective Chief Medical Officer on this ship, it's my job to ensure everyone onboard stays healthy, including the prisoners." She opened her mouth so say more but she froze in place. After a second she relaxed and turned around. "You must be Verge." Ruby looked over her shoulder. Mox and Verge stood behind her and Invidia.

Verge made a few noises and Invidia shook her head. "We don't have any of that here. The Commander won't burden our recovery teams or the resistance for that kind of nutrient for one crewman, not to mention a prisoner." Another few noises from the Sectoid and Invidia sighed. "ADVENT Burger. Of course. I can inform the Commander, but knowing Tygan's tendencies, I'm not sure it will be approved."

Ruby looked back into the cell. The Viper stayed coiled up in the far corner, her head lolled against the wall. Her eyes were never red before. Another thing that made that alien more human than it looked. The part of Ruby that said that the Viper wasn't hostile was now screaming it. She flicked her eyes to Invidia. "You still getting the feeling from her?"

"I am." Invidia stared into the cell again. "Every time I come here, I get that feeling. She is never hostile when anyone goes into her cell for any reason, but the moment I touch her mind, she flies into a rage." She rubbed the side of her head. "After last week, I would prefer to not attempt the contact again."

"We may have a solution for that." Ruby nodded at Verge. "Invidia and I feel what we think is some kind of psychic soothe when we're around this Viper. The thing is, neither of us can feel it with our minds, me likely for multiple reasons. As far as we can tell, it's only us. Up until now, we were the only psionics onboard. You feeling anything?"

Verge stared through the glass for a few seconds before shaking his head. Invidia nodded. "We've got a psionic suppresser active. That's why you can't feel her."

Ruby took the hint and walked over to the machine and pulled the lever down. Inside the cell, the Viper straightened up then appeared to sigh. "What about now?"

Almost immediately, the Viper shrieked. She uncoiled itself as she shot up. Her mouth opened and a green and blue gas shot out. It hit the glass right in front of Verge. Everyone took a step back and Ruby upped the power of the psionic suppressor to the level it was before. The Viper appeared through the smoke and rammed into the glass. She pounded it with her fists and glared lasers at where Verge stood.

Alarms sounded in the brig. The guards from outside rushed in with rifles raised. They looked into the cell and the guy swore. "Central, the Viper's filled its cell with poison. We can't get in." A few seconds later a fan somewhere spun to life. Over the course of a minute, the green and blue cloud dispersed.

As soon as the fan stopped, the guards charged into the cell. They pulled the Viper away from the window. She didn't struggle but she still hissed, growled, and yelled bloody murder at the window. One of the guards raised his rifle and brought its butt down on top of the Viper's head. The giant snake crumpled to the ground.

Ruby clenched her fists and snarled. By the time she took a single step, Invidia was already in the cell. The elf smashed the attacking guard away and kicked the other in the stomach. Both dropped their weapons from the attacks. Invidia snatched them up and glared at the guards. She glanced at Ruby. "It is not every day when I am faster than you, Shadeslayer."

"I'm guessing you were in their heads for a second or two before then." Ruby entered the cell and walked to the Viper's side. The alien rubbed her head while still glaring at the cell wall, a low growl burning from her throat. The Huntress stepped in between them. "I've never seen that before from you." The growl stopped and the Viper froze. "That Sectoid is with XCOM, as we all are." Ruby glared at the guards that were just getting up off the floor. She returned her attention to the alien.

The Viper stared up at Ruby with her pupils filling her entire eyes. The sides of her head drooped. Instead of a growl, a soft whimper flitted through her mouth. Ruby couldn't help but feel a little sad at the sight. It was the face of a sorry dog or a scorned…

Ruby clenched her eyes and shook her head. "Get out of my head." She snapped her head to the cell entrance. "Verge, is this Viper giving off anything?" The Sectoid appeared in the cell door. The Viper growled again but a sharp look from Ruby cut her off. Verge stared at the prisoner for a few seconds before shaking his head. "Not good enough," Ruby whispered under her breath. She left the cell and stood on the other side of the one-way glass.

Invidia said something to the two guards before leaving the cell as well. "Shadeslayer, are you well?"

"No." Ruby shook her head. "That thing is affecting us in some way and no one knows how." She paused. "Maybe it's not mental? Pheromones? Hormones? I don't know. I'm no biologist."

Ruby felt the elf's eyes on her. "There is something else."

"This thing…" Ruby crossed her teeth. "I'm sure you've heard that Remmartian humans came from monkeys." She nodded at the Viper. "I don't know before or after, but this Viper is related to a dragon."

Invidia let out a small gasp. "Why would you say such a thing?"

"Think about it. You've spent a lot of time with Velvet in the hospital." Ruby gestured at the alien, now curled up in the far corner. "Tell me you haven't seen the same mannerisms in this Viper."

The elf narrowed her eyes at Ruby, then at the alien. She stayed like that for a few seconds before shaking her head. "I cannot in this language. The only difference is that this one appears to be more timid than most dragons."

"You and I can name a few that would act like that." Ruby crossed her arms. "There are people from many different worlds here. Times probably too. I wouldn't be too surprised to hear that a dragon ancestor or offspring would be here."

Invidia nodded then glanced at Ruby. "I believe you have developed a twitch since coming onboard."

"What?" Ruby fully faced Invidia, confused. Then she felt her head involuntarily jerk to the right. She sighed. "I guess I do." Footsteps thundered down the hall outside. "Something tells me both of us are about to be confined to quarters."

Two days into the effective house arrest, Ruby checked the List on her tablet to see if it had been updated yet. Sure enough, there were two new ones since the last time she checked.

71) No XCOM operative or crewmember is to physically assault the soldiers guarding the brig. There is a reason that they're there. We need them in case any of our 'guests' get uppity.

71a) Exceptions include if the guards themselves go rogue, if one or more of them is a Faceless, or if they violate Rule 52. List to be expanded if necessary. Please don't make it necessary.

72) If the prisoner is offering no resistance, the guards are not to assault them. We aren't the Elders people.

Ruby shook her head. The Riders' handbook was much more comprehensive in the organization's rules and regulations in its initial rollout. Most of the things in here wouldn't be even thought about back on Mor'ranar Vera. Then again, it appeared the general intelligence of the Riders was much higher than people here… but that was mostly due to the Alagaësians. The young Remmartians still found ways to get themselves and their dragons in trouble.

She set her tablet down and ran her natural hand over her head. Her hair had started to regrow since she came aboard. It was just shy of an inch and a half long at this point. As much as she wanted her full length back, she wasn't going to ask Invidia for help. There were far more important things than hair onboard.

Someone knocked on her door and it slid open. Ruby grimaced. She'd only seen Mox and Verge since the incident in the brig. It couldn't be them. They were out on mission. At least that probably meant Ruby's detention wouldn't last much longer. She tilted her head over her bed to see Rex standing in the doorway. This was new. "Something up?"

Rex straightened. "Doctor Tygan requests your presence on the bridge."

"Tygan?" Ruby screwed up her face. "What does he want with me there? I'm not exactly a scientist or anything."

"He wouldn't say, but I believe it has something to do with the current mission." Rex stepped back and gestured toward the bridge.

Ruby sighed as she stood up. "And you're my escort." She walked out of her room without another word. Rex fell into step behind her without saying anything. Nothing needed to be said, about this situation anyway. Ruby had no idea about what Rex thought of that little incident.

The two entered the bridge and a flurry of activity. Ruby had never been on the bridge when a mission was being run. At least it felt a little familiar. It had the air of urgency and energy like the command center in Mor'ranar Vera. The Commander, Tygan, and Shen stood in front of the main screen, but there was no sign of Bradford.

That is until the drone footage moved. Ruby raised her eyes at the sight of Central running at a white Viper with a sword. He jumped with his sword over his head and brought it down on the alien, nearly cutting it in half the long way. "Didn't know he had it in him."

Tygan pulled his gaze away from the screen, his face somehow more serious than before. "Sergeant Rose, all the aliens Menace 1-5 have encountered in this area have been Vipers. I would like you to examine the footage of this operation and determine if any more of these Vipers are like the one in the brig." He gestured at an open console then faced the main screen again. "Central, I'm patching through the next portion of Vahlen's transmission."

"Eyes up people," the Commander said. "Don't walk into another of those ambushes."

Ruby stared at the command staff. That was it? That's all the instruction she got? To be fair, they all had different priorities, but couldn't they at least have someone explain the situation? She shook her head and took her seat at the console.

Her screen had seven video feeds active, presumably from the squad members and the stealth drone. Bradford, Mox, Verge, Rayla, and two others Ruby wasn't familiar with were on the mission. It was a lot of information to take in all at once but she'd watched more screens before. In fact, while Menace 1-5 moved to their next position, she pulled up the drone footage from the beginning of the mission.

It looked like XCOM had stumbled into some kind of cult in the desert somewhere. Human skulls were mounted on wooden spikes with torches all around as well. As they got closer to the cliff, some kind of advanced facility came into view, along with more of those white Vipers. Remnant, and it sounded like Earth, had stories of humans turning into complete barbarians after the apocalypse. This was the first time she'd heard of any soldiers in ADVENT doing the same.

Shouting came from the speakers on the bridge. Ruby diverted her attention to the live views. The squad walked into an ambush. At least fifteen Vipers of various colorations surrounded Menace. Ruby grimaced but returned to her task. They had a chain of command. It wouldn't do to mess it up.

As she examined the past and live footage, some things grew apparent. These aliens weren't very organized. They slithered around without any particular tactics except to flank XCOM. A pair of Vipers actually ran into each other before two bursts from Mox laid them flat. Still, none of the Vipers gave the impression of being anything other than hostile aliens.

This lack of tactics allowed Menace to smash through the aliens and buildings with only taking a couple grazing hits from the aliens' projectile weapons. They proceeded through the cavern to a large broken glass wall. Inside of that there was… ice. A lot of it. Ruby cocked her head. It looked like what she accidentally did to the area around her after Kialandí was killed, but not quite. It was too smooth. Too planned.

Something tugged at the back of her head. She didn't take time to examine the first room in the facility. Ruby rolled back the footage until she saw what she wanted. The three holograms. One of them was a Viper. This thing looked like it had a natural crown. Over a dozen spikes surrounded its head. This thing didn't have the… venom sacks of other Vipers so this one was probably a male. A Viper King by the look of it… She was about to call it out when the actual Viper slithered into the view of the drone cam.

"I believe this is subject Gamma," Tygan said. As Menace scrambled for cover, the Viper moved faster. It took a shot at one of the soldiers Ruby didn't know sending her down screaming. The other unknown soldier took a shot with her sniper rifle, landing a bullet between the Viper's eyes. It didn't even flinch. In response, the alien shot something from its mouth and hit the unknown, freezing him and the area around him.

Ruby shot up from her chair. That threw out her Maiden idea completely. But that didn't mean that thing wasn't dangerous. More Vipers slithered in from all sides. Mox and Rayla focused on fighting the incoming Vipers while Bradford and Verge fired everything they had at the Viper. Verge took a hit to the shoulder and went down.

A second later Central sprinted out from behind cover and ran toward the Viper King. He held down the trigger of his rifle as he ran, most of the shots hitting home. When it clicked, Bradford chucked his weapon away and drew his sword. The Viper fired but the human slid under the attack. Central rolled once, sprang to his feet, and sliced the alien across the chest. For the first time, Ruby saw blood on the alien.

The Viper King stumbled back with an arm over the new cut on its chest. It roared at the ceiling and a purple and black swirling portal appeared. Ruby dropped her jaw. That was... just like how she traveled from Remnant to Alagaësia. Different execution, exact same look. The Viper slithered into the portal and both vanished from sight.

Other conversations spread throughout the bridge, none of them involved Ruby. She couldn't help but stare at the spot she last saw that apparent Viper King. None of the normal Vipers gave the impression that they were anything but. The King was just an overpowered version. One thing flew through her mind. We need that Viper. I need that Viper.

I realized several plot points while writing this thing that I didn't know about when I started writing. Stuff like that just happens all the time.

Apparently RT is going to be posting a RWBY based tabletop RPG on either their site or youtube fairly soon. Not sure if it's a completely new RWBY game or a RWBY based D&D hack, but that's got my attention.