This chapter takes place after Chapter 45 in SFTD.

Wiki would have to admit, both personally and mandated by her code, she had some biases.

Mostly they were towards Specters. After all, every Specter she'd dealt with felt like... what was that human expression? "Pulling teeth?" Considering how much pain a human would be in and the effort required to pry loose adult teeth, she considered it fitting to use that in relation to her experiences. They had an infuriating amount of smugness because of the twins they were made by and they were keenly aware that they were made to supplant Codices. Honestly, the thought of them made her frustrated.

But... Mordenna had a fair point. She hadn't really talked to Schro for any extended period of time, had she? The most they had was when they had first joined up with the team, and they hadn't really shown that typical Specter behavior then, either. Of course, Wiki had been able to chalk that up to them trying to be humble in order to get on XCOM's side. Not that she thought that they were going to betray the Commander—at least, they didn't have the orders to infiltrate and do so. She just figured that it would be a better look for them to not go being all high and mighty to the "inferior lifeforms."

So, maybe it was best to see if they really were like that. Which was why Wiki was currently stepping through her favorite dimension, passing through walls at just the right angle to let her through. Schro had to be around here somewhere—and even if she wasn't on their exact plane of existence, she'd be able to see them well enough.

Ah, there they were. Same dimension as her, sitting in the Commons and watching the hazy, flickering outlines of the soldiers. She quickly zipped in, fiddling with her hands before speaking. "Uh. Hey, Schro."

Schro jumped a bit, "looked" at her, and then looked away. "Hello, Wiki. Do you need something...?"

Schro looked more nervous than condescending. A promising start, even if she felt a little bad that she might be intimidating them. "I..." Well, how would she start this? After a few cycles of thinking, she sighed. "I don't think I've given you a fair time thanks to my personal biases."

That got Schro to look back at her. "... in all honesty, I don't blame you. My fellow Specters haven't exactly made it easy to be friends, I'd imagine."

"Yeah, well." She crossed her arms. "I've recently been told that maybe I should probably give people a chance if they've made their way on the Avenger. Really isn't fair of me to peg you as an asshole if I haven't even talked with you much." Wiki then plopped down next to them. "So, I want to start over, if you'd be willing. Someone who's willing to help out Fal-Mai by reprogramming one of their own dead people has gotta be good, right?"

Though Schro didn't laugh, she watched as their body language eased up. "I'd be happy to give things another go around if you are. And besides..." They rubbed their thumbs against each other. "I feel it is only right that I assist with giving Fal-Mai control back, considering the one who took it away from her."

"Yeah." Wiki leaned back. "I... kinda feel the same way about Mordenna. You know Codices record meetings that happen in the Meeting Hall regardless of what happens, right?" Though they shook her head, she continued on anyway, looking to the side. "Well, they do. And... there's a lot of logs of just Odin calling in Mordenna to punish him. A lot. A lot of which I have." She got quiet. "Some of which I recorded. And I just... I feel terrible having to just stand there and watch him suffer like that."

The silence afterwards made Wiki question if she really should've revealed something like that. Eventually, Schro leaned back with her. "It's natural to feel terrible about that, I think. But you have to realize there was nothing you could do without getting yourself killed, yes?"

"I know. But." She pressed a hand to her forehead. "I still feel terrible about it. I feel terrible having to approach Mordenna at all, knowing what I do. I just hope he never asks if those meetings ever got recorded..."

"He seems determined to move on, if I know anything about him." Schro laced their fingers together. "I don't think you'll ever have to provide that info to him. But, if I may be truthful..." They also looked away. "Knowing how Specters regularly talk down to Codices and hearing of your personal experiences? Well... I had originally meant to talk to you first about starting over and perhaps trying to become friends. But I put it off because I didn't want to make you have to suffer me or dread the thought of talking to me."

Oh. That kind of hurt. Hearing it come from someone else really put her feelings towards Mordenna in perspective and she looked down. "I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize. In your position, I feel like I would act the same."

She nodded, sitting back up. This was a fairly enlightening experience. It was... strange, to interact with a Specter like this, but she supposed the Avenger tended to bring out the best in people. Hell, one of the Chosen was the one to bring her back to life, which she was still in mild disbelief over.

Still, she felt like apologizing wasn't enough. Wiki leaned over and pulled Schro into a hug. "I'll say it again—I'm sorry. If I made you feel that way, you deserve my apology."

Schro seemed moderately stunned for a moment, but eventually she could feel their arms around her back. "... then I accept your apology, Wiki. Thank you."

Wiki rested her head on their shoulder. This was nice. She really should've given Schro the chance to prove themselves sooner. After all, if people on the Avenger could forgive the Chosen...