Author's note 1:

Usually people never click on stories which contain only one chapter. That and the fact that people couldn't and will not see my first easter egg unless I add another, lmao.

So, I'll update this just to show that I'll continue it, for those still reading XCOM fanfictions.

The first easter egg was the title itself of the chapter. Considering Vigilo Confido's extraction of the Commander happens in Paris.

Enjoy!

Slowly but surely, he regained most of his senses and soon after the ability to see. He groaned loudly and blinked a few times, the first thing his eyes landed on was the brown ceiling of a room. Lowering his gaze, he discovered a white blanket secured on his body, he was most likely resting on a bed.

W-Where am I?

A shift from his right. "Glad to see you're finally coming out it." The voice, so familiar and yet tainted, chuckled. "Don't envy the headache you must have though."

"Bradford?" He wheezed out. "Is that you?"

"In the flesh, sir." When Andrew tried to sit up in a more comfortable position, John placed a hand on his chest. "Easy!" He exclaimed and seemed to be analyzing him in search of injures. "We're still not entirely sure what they did to you… that chip was buried halfway into your skull. Doctor Tygan did what he could with our limited resources but… I don't wanna risk side effects."

"John…" The Commander seemed to be struggling for words. He felt numb, just how much painkillers did they inject into him? "…why are you so old?"

XCOM's second in command laughed, although Harrison could have sworn his eyes twitched with a murderous intent for a moment. "First you address me by my surname just as you wake up and now you ask about my age? Not a bright start, Commander."

"Fuck you, you fucking bastard." He waved a hand and pinched his eyes with the other. "Still, you did not answer my question."

Bradford hesitated. "Sir, many years have passed." At Harrison's deadpanned expression, he sighed. "Twenty years."

Harrison nodded, as if expecting that answer. "Goes side by side with your appearance." He licked his dry lips. "I have scrambled memories inside my head. It's clear that XCOM's official HQ was assaulted, I remember being knocked down by a Muton." He narrowed his eyes. "Did anyone else make it? Of our old guard, I mean."

"Only Doctor Shen to my knowledge, Andrew. Lost contact with the rest of our connections, did the best I could over the last twenty years." Bradford rose and paced around the room, arms behind his back. "It's been… very difficult to operate without you."

"We underestimated their strength and technological advantage, John. No matter how many we killed and how much further we invested in the researches, it wasn't enough." Harrison sniffed and scanned his surroundings. "Still, you must have sacrificed much to rescue me, correct? You look like shit." He shifted his attention to a few glass cases on display and blinked. "Are those some kind of action figures about our birds and the Skyranger? John, what the hell did you do in my absence?"

"I look no better than you do, sir. As for those, I figured a 'comedic relief'…" He quoted the words. "…was needed for your personal quarters. Your previous ones were lifeless and basically jumped out of a horror movie."

"I'm simple in tastes, especially when it comes to furnitures." Harrison offered in return. He touched his chest and cleared his throat. "So, who dressed me?"

He did not like the shitty grin on his second in command's face.

You son of a bitch.

"I did. However I didn't linger too much on your measures, sir. I still lean towards the other side."

Deciding a change of subject was needed, he vaguely gestured at the room. "Provide a quick update over our situation with the aliens, Central. On the double." He added that at the last moment.

"Sir." Bradford snapped to attention and saluted. He then began speaking. "After our HQ fell things escalated. There was a pact, if you'd like to call it that. ADVENT was formed: a one-world-government. I find it easier to just call it a Regime or tyranny, with the Elders as head honcho. Although over the years their public appearances diminished and they now communicate with their citizens via a Speaker. Their control extends primarily on cities."

"So the nations surrendered?" Harrison blinked. "Just like that?"

"Just like that."

He hummed. "And I suppose you acted as soon as you got the intel on my position, right?" The glint in his old friend's eyes spoke enough. "Didn't waste time, eh?"

"Lost a lot of good soldiers looking for you. Almost gave up hope you were still out there." Sadness transformed in determination, he could see it in Bradford's face. "But now that you're here, we may finally uncover their secrets and roll out the right cards."

"Same shit, different day." Harrison shook his head. "I'm not going to back out from this, but I'm still stuck in 2015. My strategic knowledge might not be enough for the task."

"That's why you're going to adapt. You always did back in the day."

He opened his mouth to retort but found nothing to counter John's logic.

His second in command smirked. "You feel like properly catching up, Shen has the archive up and running on your terminal."

Wait… Raymond is here?

He did not have time to ask since Bradford continued his monologue. "Otherwise, I'd go see Doctor Tygan when you're ready. There's some things you should know. He'll be better at explaining them than me."

John marched for the exit, but he stopped in front of the door and turned around. "It's damn good to have you back, Commander."

Silence followed the closing motion of the door.

Andrew rose from the bed and hmmpf-ed. He spent a few minutes trying to stay balanced on his feet before searching for the door leading to the bathroom. He entered inside and immediately bolted for the sink, basking in the sensation the water left on his face after each splash.

He looked in the mirror and stared at the man in front of him.

He was surprised: while Bradford carried all twenty years on his back and on the outside it showed, he didn't. Sure, some white beard was slowly growing on his face and some white spots in the hair were in plain sight.

But instead of twenty years… it looked like he demonstrated the loss of ten.

I was born on October the 21th, 1980. It means that in this year I'm going to be 55 years old while Bradford will be 56. Strange. He hummed. I'll have this 'Doctor Tygan' look on it when we have the chance. Wonder if I still have the speed.

God apparently heard him.

Harrison clutched his mouth and practically changed his colour from light pink to green. He rushed for the toilet in less than two seconds and emptied his already stressed stomach in it.

There was only one logical explanation.

Fucking painkillers.

Bradford had graciously left a datapad with a map of the entire base and an earpiece to act as radio. After vomiting again and wiping his mouth with the available toilet paper, Harrison followed the guide to Tygan's lab.

It was unexpected though… how he did not encounter other personnel during his trip. He did however praised the artistic side of the base, especially the graffiti sprayed around like some gangs went to work. He wouldn't want this to be continuous though, their home had to be operational and not turned in a kindergarten.

Did John request them to stay low and let me roam around freely without them drooling over the Commander being back? I've gotta raise his paycheck. He snorted. If we still give paychecks.

Harrison held the datapad in his left hand while he used the other to touch the panel on the door. It opened and he stepped inside the lab. Now, where's Doctor Tygan?

The same black man he saw in his delirious state was currently observing an alien machinery, hands behind his back. "Impressive isn't it?" Harrison raised an eyebrow, apparently the scientist was also wise to never lower his guard. "Capable of generating impressive power, yet completely harmless to human life." The doctor paused. "If only the same could be said for the rest of the aliens' technology, Commander."

"Ain't that the truth." Andrew offered his free hand for a professional handshake, out of habit. "Andrew Harrison. You must be Doctor Tygan, correct?"

"Indeed." Tygan accepted the gesture and politely smiled. "Richard Tygan, at your service, Commander. It is certainly an honour to meet you."

"I'm flattered." Harrison glanced at the perfectly organized table and at all the instruments aligned on it.

"Ah yes." Tygan gestured to said furniture. "As you can see, I like to work in peace and keep everything organized. It helps concentrating on important and laborious tasks."

"I agree on that." He internally shuddered at the memory of paper work. Hopefully it wouldn't be the same from there on. He cleared his throat. "Would you mind describing your job here in detail?"

Tygan bowed. "Not at all, Commander. I am the Chief Science Officer. I am responsible for the entirety of our research here, as well as the procedure you so recently underwent."

"Central told me you couldn't have done better giving our limited supplies. Do you confirm it?"

"Indeed, sir. I'm sorry for any unnecessary pain caused but the painkillers should have helped." The scientist scrutinized him. "Although I was preoccupied with side effects. I am not a medic in the very sense of the word, but any patient is under my absolute responsibility. How do you feel, Commander?"

"I probably threw up the entire USA, but other than that I'm fine."

If Tygan reacted to his sudden sarcasm, he did not show it on the outside. "I'm pleased to hear your recovery is proceeding without encountering unexpected obstacles." He walked to one of his monitors and tapped a finger on it. The familiar image of a chip appeared. "I'm not sure what Central may have told you but we found something while removing you from the alien stasis suit."

Harrison breathed and crossed his arms behind his back, assuming the same professional stance from the original war while he walked in his previous base. "He did mention a chip. You extracted it from my head?"

"Yes, a device implanted directly in your occipital lobe. Had I access to the equipment available to me during my tenure at ADVENT I would already know the precise nature of its function."

He narrowed his eyes. The expression on his face did not go unnoticed by the doctor. "I take it you have many questions about my relationship with ADVENT. We'll surely have time to discuss it later."

"It's not that simple, doctor. When it comes to my responsabilities, there are many similarities between our jobs." He raised one finger for each word. "We both: discover, analyze and act upon our informations. And right now I discovered you were an ex ADVENT employee. Judging by the scar on the back of your head, I have confirmation you had one of these same chips and removed them surgically. I just need to analyze this information and decide whether to trust you or order Central to shoot you on sight."

Tygan simply nodded at his words, not appearing frightened at all. "I heard you were a great strategist and this only demonstrates your abilities. It is logical. What are you going to do, Commander?"

"You saved my life and you must have known John for quite some time to earn his trust." Harrison broke eye contact and swallowed. "I'll allow you to work for XCOM for now. Know that your work shall be monitored."

"I thank you for this, sir." Tygan coughed and pointed to the image. "But given time, and your approval of course Commander, I assure you I will find out."

Harrison looked between Tygan and the chip on display. "Back in 2015, I had a multitude of researches to concentrate on and I needed to choose one at a time. I don't suppose you have more available at the moment?"

"Me and Shen had already some ideas for the weapons and armours department." Harrison visibly shifted on his feet at the name, but Tygan either ignored it or didn't notice it. "Unfortunately, as I already pointed out, our scarce supplies do not allow such progress."

"Gonna have to kill some aliens and retrieve their gear, uh?" He shrugged. "Concentrate your efforts on the chip then, doctor. Report your results to me as soon as possible."

Tygan bowed yet again. "It will be done, Commander. But that also brings up another problem…"

Harrison patiently waited for the scientist to continue.

"…though aspects of this facility are indeed impressive, I am but one man. Were you to direct additional support personnel and resources to me, I could substantially improve the speed of all our research."

"That can be arranged." Harrison looked at the door before sighing, he gestured with his shoulder to a nearby chair. "Do you mind if I sit down?"

Tygan blinked and tilted his head. "Not at all, Commander. But would you mind me asking the reason behind your continuous presence here? I'm sure there are more tasks to take care of."

Harrison sat with a huff. "I think I have a way for me to start trusting you a bit more."

Richard leaned in to listen, intrigued by this claim.

"I was 35 years old in 2015, I should be 54 now, close to 55. And yet, unless I'm lucky, I feel like I have been aging only half of what I'm supposed to be. Is there a scientific explanation? Is it alien tinkering or did my organism do the trick?"

Tygan smiled. "I believe I do have some form of knowledge over this particular development." He approached a microscope and closed an eye, looking into it. "I have secured a few samples of the alien fluid you were immersed in: they were stuck in small portions to the stasis suit."

He rubbed his chin. "Now, this is merely a theory since I do not have either test subjects or time available at my disposal, but judging by the properties of said fluid, I have reason to believe that it was used by the aliens not only as sustenance to keep you alive but as a genetic fail-safe to delay your cells' decaying."

Harrison widened his eyes. "Hold on! You're saying that the aliens have… found a way to slow down my aging with that crap I was swimming in?"

"That would be my assumption, sir. They clearly wanted to preserve your well being for whatever objective they seek to achieve. It is fascinating how their genetic research is beyond our current comprehension." He sounded rather intrigued.

"I'll take your word for it." Harrison rose and reached the door. He glanced behind him one last time. "Farewell, doc."

"Farewell, Commander."

Harrison brought a finger to his ear. "John? John, do you copy?"

Static for a few seconds. "Commander? I hear you loud and clear."

"I visited Tygan and even assigned him a research to focus on." He chuckled. "As I said: 'Same shit, different day'" He coughed. "Is there anything else you'd advise me to do before I reach you on the bridge?"

Harrison heard humming in the background.

"Well, sir, there is actually a soldier who participated in the raid to rescue you and she's awaiting promotion to squaddie along with informations on her class. It could be an opportunity to boost moral up and introduce yourself…" He heard tapping. "…I'm sending you all the data needed. She's in the armoury with the rest of the rookies, name's Jane Kelly."

"Thanks, Central. Harrison out."

He tried to muster courage and control the clusterfuck inside his head. First impressions were always the best thing to hope for, though he would need to prove his abilities on the field. He thanked God yet again for a peaceful walk without encountering anyone on his way to his destination.

But as in a cartoon, the moment he entered inside the armoury every single sound ceased. Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at the Commander. Harrison walked further inside and tapped his datapad, squinting his eyes at the name.

"Rookie Jane Kelly, please step forward."

At first there wasn't movement, and it was so until a woman wearing a baseball hat slowly made her way towards Harrison. He took the time to analyze his surroundings. Shooting range, weapons display… well, it mirrors the armoury we had back in the day. Wonder if we still use the name Skyranger.

Jane Kelly snapped to attention once he was in front of the Commander and saluted. "Sir!" So she was Irish. Harrison had some experience with that accent.

He scrolled down the page. "During Gatecrasher, you actively took down an ADVENT soldier by utilizing your gun as a melee weapon before finishing it off with your knife." His gaze met hers. "Had previous experience in close combat?"

"Well, I had some, sir."

"Good, you are officially promoted to squaddie and are assigned to the Ranger class." This time, it was he who saluted. "Gather a shotgun and your personal blade, I want to see how you approach them."

She was visibly confused. "Sir?"

"Isn't it obvious, soldier? I want to oversee your abilities in the shooting range."

"Oh!" Jane nodded and scrambled to do as asked. "Of course, sir!"

He glanced at the other rookies and raised an eyebrow. "Don't you have your own training to do? Am I that interesting to stare at?" His comment was enough for the rookies to return to whatever they were previously doing. However, when they got the chance they still watched them with new found interest.

Harrison crossed his arms and watched the new Ranger at work. Her gun echoed with that nice and vibrant sound each time it was fired, the target, while being of wood or extremely light material, lost one of its limbs in a single blow.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

He imagined the aliens would find it hard to rush towards a Ranger, unless they wanted to bleed out or being torn apart in a single devastating hit.

"That's enough." He ordered, satisfied. "Get used to your sword. It'll be useful when your magazine is empty."

"Sir…" Kelly's tone sounded unsure.

"Something on your mind, soldier? You have my permission to speak."

"Commander, it's just… we're fighting aliens, aliens with technological superiority. How exactly is a sword going to ease our encounters?"

He smiled. "It depends on the material. But as for the sword you'll be currently carrying, I'm sure it'll be useful against aliens not wearing any type of armour or against those wearing light armour. I think if we gather resources, we can fabricate blades with better materials to cut even through a whole wall. We have been fighting with swords for a long time. Remember that."

Jane Kelly saluted as Harrison turned around and headed for the exit. "Commander, it was an honour to meet you."

He stopped. "I still have to test my capabilities on the field. Don't lower your guard just because the Commander is back." He left without another word.

Jane could finally breath a sigh of relief, tension leaving her system.

"I'm surprised you didn't catch his hint." A voice with an English accent said from her right.

She read the name on the tag of the black man: Owen Brown. He wore a green bandana, wrapped around the lower part of his face. "And what is that, Brown?" She asked.

"He was basically saying: 'Don't get your hopes up because I might fuck up and any bloody mission could end up in a disaster'" Owen looked at the door. "I might be wrong but the Commander wants to see if he's up to the task. Any of us could die whether it may be you or me." Brown walked away, leaving her alone.

Jane Kelly followed his same motion and stared at where Commander had been entering from.

He has to be.

Author's note 2:

This is personally how I would interpret the tutorial and all its segments.

I also wanted to give my own two cents on the stasis pod. I feel like the Elders would try to preserve the Commander for as much as possible by using their genetic researches properly instead of the usual lies they tell to their citizens.