"Menace One-Five, I want one last weapons check."
Bradford's voice filtered in through the ship, broadcast to the six occupants, plus Firebrand currently flying the Skyranger. The squad lifted up their weapons, inspecting them.
Banel, near the end of the ship, gently turned the barrel of his Beam Cannon with a gloved hand. He was huge—tall, muscled, and a bit stocky—easily dwarfing everyone else. His face was currently obscured by a helmet fashioned in the image of a demon's head, complete with metal horns. His WAR Suit's servos gently whirred as he took the Advanced Grenade Launcher off of his back, opening the chamber to make sure it was empty and ready to go. "Baal, reporting all green."
Kalight was right across from him. His head was also covered by something that looked like a knight's helmet, with glowing nodes on the front and a bundle of cords on the top that extended quite a ways down. His Templar armor was a polished white, sleeves covering his arms and a fur collar around his neck, framing the thin tubes. He unclipped the mag to his Beam Autopistol, clicking it back into place after a quick inspection. "Vanguard, optimal shape!"
Next to Kalight was Leo. He took the Alien Psi Amp off of his back, gently running his power through it to confirm that it worked. His dyed-black, short mullet reflected the purple light of his powers, and his equally purple eyes caught it well. The correctional lens on his left eye shone in the low light of the Skyranger. His Plasma Rifle was next, checking it out, finding it adequate. "Tomahawk, all clear."
William leaned back in his chair, already in the middle of adjusting the scope on his Plasma Lance. The three dark brown, thick braids on his head framed his face, falling around the light blue scarf that hid his chin. He unclipped the Powered Shadowkeeper from his Wraith Suit, making sure the safety was on before he checked the barrel. He holstered it, satisfied. "Davy Jones, looking good, feeling better."
March was in the second-to-last seat. Her black, but greying hair was twisted up into two buns on the sides of her head, kept in place by lace nets. She popped out the mag of her Storm Gun, putting it back before pulling the Fusion Blade off of her back, glancing over the blade. She returned it to its spot in its sleeve. "Dullahan, ready to go."
Sherry was in the last seat, watching her wife across from her check her firearm before she did with hers. Her Plasma Rifle remained ready and her GREMLIN hovered near her head, softly humming as it floated. "Cherry, fully operational."
"Squad's green to deploy, Central!" Firebrand tilted the Skyranger a bit as she leaned into the destination. "We're coming up on the drop and everyone's ready to go."
"Loud and clear, Firebrand. Menace One-Five, you're cleared for drop."
The aircraft stabilized, and Firebrand pulled a switch in the cockpit. The interior of the back lit up red, the gate opening while cords unraveled. "Everything looks quiet on the ground for now, guys. Keep it that way for me, alright?"
Will unhooked his seatbelt, giving a short laugh. "Certainly! I'm sure we can put a suppressor on those explosives, eh, Baal?"
The rest of the squad followed suit, but Banel gave him a friendly whack with the back of his hand. "You know what she means, 'sailor.' Let's move."
With that out of the way, Banel was the first to slide down the cords, out of the Skyranger, making a heavy landing on the ground. Leo was after him, and soon everyone had their feet on the ground as the Skyranger retracted the cords and flew away.
They found themselves in a lightly forested area, right outside of the facility. The trees were skeletal and the ground was an unnatural hue of purple and cyan. Unfamiliar flora grew at their feet. In front of them was the looming facility, definitely belonging to ADVENT, but had no discernable features otherwise.
William made an immediate point of scrabbling up a tree, forgoing his grappling hook in favor of natural dexterity. Once he found a stable branch, he looked down his scope, scouting a bit further. There still seemed to be nothing distinct about the facility. It wasn't a forge, indeed. Maybe it was just another Avatar research grounds? "Nothing up here, loves." He swept his scope while the squad gingerly moved forwards.
Banel led the group. Even if he wasn't wearing the WAR Suit, he could probably lug around his Beam Cannon with little issue. As it stood, he carried it as if it weighed nothing. Still, there was something off about the area that even he could sense. He looked back to Leo, who seemed deep in thought. "Tomahawk?"
Leo looked to him, and then to the facility. "There's a heavy concentration of psionic power here. Very heavy."
"How heavy?"
Leo looked grave as he stared at the facility. "ADVENT either has a lot of psionic units at this area or he's here."
Everybody outside of Banel shifted at the implications. Banel himself looked back to the building, seemingly unfazed. "It wouldn't take the Commander to say that we should stay in range of you, then."
"Rightfully so." Leo straightened, gun at the ready. "Still, we mustn't clump up."
"Point acknowledged." He started to move forward, then paused. "Davy Jones? Stop checking out my ass." Banel said, without so much as turning.
"Hey!" William lowered his rifle, pouting. "I reserve my right to 'scout!'"
Most of the squad groaned, then moved in step with Banel and Leo. William himself gave a dramatic sigh, pulling up his scope again. What he saw made him jump, then lower his voice and speak on the comms. "Lads, I'm being serious now, there is some heavy firepower coming your way!"
The group immediately dropped into cover amongst the trees and rocks, with Banel being the only one to peek his head out to confirm what was approaching. A pair of Priests and a pair of Sectoids rounded the corner, and behind them floated a Gatekeeper, the eye-like apparatus on its front sweeping over the area. Banel calmly sized up the pod before ducking back into cover. "Commander, this is Baal. We've got a patrol up ahead. Three aliens, two ADVENT. My plan is to let them get a bit closer before I try to get the Gatekeeper's armor down while having the rest of the squad fire as they scatter."
"Good plan, Baal. Keep the Gatekeeper at a distance, however."
"Roger that." He hoisted up his gun, casting a glance back. Everyone was getting into their positions, spaced enough that grenades or whatever the Gatekeeper could pull wouldn't hit all of them. As the aliens got closer, he took the launcher off of his back, loading an Acid Grenade into it. "Wait until I fire."
"Right on, love." William smirked, eyeing one of the Sectoids as it drew more and more upon their positions.
When the patrol was just a bit closer, Banel primed his launcher, stepping out of cover far enough to fire it. The pod had little time to react before it landed in their midst, right at the Gatekeeper's metaphorical feet. The grenade exploded with a hissing bang, and a green compound flew out in controlled bursts, coating the ground and all of the enemy units. It burned the skin of the Sectoids, who desperately tried to brush it off as they pointed out Banel's position. For the Gatekeeper and Priests, it clung to their armor, quickly eating through it and leaving them more exposed. "Fire, now!"
William wasted no time in firing off a shot at one of the weakened Sectoids, the burst of plasma ripping through it and ending it. He sucked in a breath, already steadying himself for another, but waited for the rest of his teammates to take their shots.
Even as the pod started to scatter, Sherry calmly took aim, capitalizing on one of the open spots the acid had created on the Priests, striking one down with a good shot. Kalight took advantage of the mostly-cleared field, running with confident grace, psi-blades out. Leaping over a rock, his blades found their home in the other Sectoid. As he plunged them in, they reached out for the psionic energy that was plentiful in the alien, adding it to his own, giving a shuddering breath as his body glowed purple.
March took her chance while the noisy din of combat took over, whipping out her Storm Gun and pulling the trigger. The barrage of plasma struck the other Priest head-on, but before one shard of the buckshot could connect and make a killing blow, the Priest wrapped itself in a protective shell of psionics, falling to the ground. March grimaced. "Got one Sustained, over here!"
In the midst of the combat, the battered Gatekeeper slid its gaze over to Kalight, and with an intimidating hum, its burned plates shifted a bit. Kalight turned and raised a shield tempered with the psionic energy he just reaped, just in time for the alien to fire upon him with massive power. The force of the blast was enough to push him to his knees. "S-support requested!"
William cursed, lining up his next shot with the Gatekeeper. "Off of him!" With a kick, his Plasma Lance fired, burrowing into the alien. A bit of its armor still remained, but it was enough to deter it from its current assault.
But, the barrage wasn't enough to stop it completely. Moving closer to Kalight, its ruined shell opened, revealing the pink innards underneath. Kalight could only watch as the tentacles of its body curled towards him as he recovered from deflecting its first shot.
The whirring of a minigun behind it was enough to give it a moment's pause, enough of a moment to buy Banel the time his gun needed to start firing, the plasma shredding what remained of the Gatekeeper's armor. The hail of energy sent orange blood flying.
Beside him, Sherry panicked. "Baal! That Gatekeeper's too close to—!"
But it was too late. Enough plasma hit home on it, and the Gatekeeper shook violently, psionic energy coalescing around it. With a mighty roar, it exploded, the back ranks of the squad getting a shockwave thrown over them.
The smoke cleared, and most of the squad looked to Banel. Even with his expressionless helmet, he seemed at ease. Sherry was about to start verbally assaulting him before she looked back to the site of the detonation.
Kalight was enshrouded in psionics, arms raised defensively, and it took him a moment to lower them when he realized he was in the clear. He clutched at his neck, and then the psionics dissipated.
Banel nodded to Leo, who the psionic energy flew to after it came off of Kalight. "Tomahawk, excellent at receiving cues as always."
March stood up, looking baffled. "You planned that?"
"Baal says quite a bit, if you listen." Leo straightened, but then his eyes settled on the retreating form of the weakened Priest. "Davy Jones!"
William jumped, having watched the whole exchange. "Son of a—!" He hastily took aim, but the shot went wide, allowing the Priest to escape into the facility. He scowled, sliding down from the tree. "It's gone into the Blacksite proper."
"Well..." Banel rolled his shoulders. "We were going in there anyway. Commander, we clear to advance?"
"As far as I can see it, yes. Though, try not to give the squad heart attacks next time. I had a few people panic up here thanks to that."
Banel's shoulders rose and fell in quiet laughter. "Sorry about that, Commander. I'll be more vocal about my calls."
"I'd hope so." William hopped over a natural barrier, catching up with the group. "I mean, I was watching that whole thing and I still got jumpy."
Banel shook his head, motioning forwards. Seems the commentary was done for now. The group moved forward, keeping to cover more strictly now that their cover was blown.
Eventually, they got within the grounds of the Blacksite. Sherry's GREMLIN flew over to a crate and made a chirping noise. The Specialist bent down, inspecting it. "Commander? Are you seeing this clearly?"
Up in the Avenger, the Commander was getting a clear visual of the crate through the GREMLIN. It seemed to be a standard ADVENT crate, save for the symbol on it. The Chosen's emblem was emblazoned over it. The pit in her stomach that she felt when the mission was being organized just came back. "... I'm seeing it clearly. Keep moving, Menace."
Sherry stood back up, face twisted in concern. A Chosen facility? Couldn't be a Stronghold. Even then, those crates could probably belong anywhere. The possibilities went through her mind as she followed her squad further into the compound.
They came up to one of the backdoors of the facility, Banel taking his place right beside the door. Everyone else took positions in cover right in sight of it as he leaned over, tapping the access pad. He immediately shifted out of the doorway, trusting his squad to spot anything inside. There was a moment of everyone staring at the door. Sherry was the first to slightly lower her gun, but not by much. "Nothing from here, Baal."
He nodded, daring to stick his head in. From this angle, there wasn't much to see, but the inside of the building was slightly different to the usual fare. There seemed to be a few monitors around the place, but they were all turned off. Some machines that he couldn't discern the purpose of were also around the place. What caught his eye was a trail of orange blood that led into and then out of sight. "That Priest is in here, and probably ran to friends. Guns up, move slow."
The second Banel laid a foot in the grounds of the facility, a voice came on comms that made Leo jump. "I see the foolishness of XCOM knows no bounds. First to oppose the Elders, then to take one of Their children, and now you trespass here?"
Banel calmly hoists his gun, looking forward. "No time for you, wizard. We've got a few things to take care of around here."
"Hmph. It is typical for the Commander's soldiers to not know where they tread. To stumble unknowingly upon a birthplace of the children of Gods... and to defile it with their presence."
"What the hell is he on about," March mused aloud, keeping close to Sherry as they swept the area.
"Commander, the vulgarity of your soldiers knows no bounds. Perhaps if they knew where they were, they would not be so callous—and you would not be so eager to destroy a cradle."
The rest of the squad looked either confused or disinterested. A few connections fired off in Sherry's head, concerning old documents she read and of what the Warlock was saying. She eyed the place before she spoke. "Warlock... was this were you were created?"
The Warlock's sneer could practically be heard in audio. "To imply that this was my birthplace would be a disservice to the Elders. My own grounds of creation are much more... suited, to me. This is the grounds of the Hunter. Even if it would be fitting for his cradle to fall, I will take it upon myself to purge you from holy ground!"
The Commander sucked in a breath. There were memories she could just about pick out from her time in the Network. Some she'd rather forget, but considering that's largely what happened with a lot of them, she held onto what she could. A few certain details about this place was one of them. "Cherry, first of all, excellent deduction. Second of all, you have a mission now. Find a terminal or access point, somewhere you can draw files from. I want everything you can take from this place. Menace One-Five, that includes loose datapads. We're going to destroy this facility once we're done with it."
She turned to Bradford, silently asking for any thoughts. He nodded. "You heard the Commander, clear the place out."
The squad nodded. The feed showed them walking around one of the corners... straight into a pod. An Officer, an Andromedon, and a few Priests, including the injured one from earlier, looking like its wounds had been partially tended to. Menace One-Five prepared to engage, while the Warlock continued to speak over comms. "Eliza O'Leary. A name the Elders treat with reverence. Do you not know that They are pained by your continued struggling?"
Eliza hummed in thought. Talking with the Warlock wasn't nearly as fun as banter with the Hunter... but she wasn't one to blow him off. "They probably are, but I don't imagine they care for my well-being outside of me just being alive, in their grasp."
The Warlock's irritated grunt came over comms, and as he spoke, she couldn't help but feel he was... envious? "The Elders do care, more than even you could imagine. Their sorrow at losing you is immense. Their greatest tactical mind, stolen from Them."
She scoffed. "Thought Mordenna was supposed to be that. But, considering we took him too..."
"Ah, yes. My sibling. An interesting avenue of thought—I half wonder what sort of horrors you are inflicting upon him." His voice was passive, more amused than anything else.
"Oh, more pain than you could possibly imagine. Terror of the fourth kind. I'm pretty sure he's screaming as we speak." The Commander couldn't restrain a grin. "We're making him watch ADVENT's daytime comedies."
There was a moment of heavy silence over the radio on the Warlock's part. Not on the ground—between gunfire and the occasional curse, there was laughing. But, someone's radio on the ground did pick up something interesting. If the Commander strained her ears, she could hear the sound of distant, stifled, gruff laughter. It stopped quickly, and the Warlock came back on shortly after. "If that's your humor, then perhaps he's enjoying himself, much like I thought."
Bradford heaved a sigh next to her, and the Commander could just barely stop herself from grinning. Barely. "Enjoying himself watching that slag? Please."
"I suppose if it makes Ref-Il scream in terror, it is good enough for the likes of XCOM—though I doubt any information you will extract will be of use." He scoffs. "I would praise your ingenuity in rendering him able to be captured if your methods weren't so barbaric."
The Commander took a moment to gauge the situation on the ground a bit more. They were dealing with the last of the pod, which was just the shell of the Andromedon, a little too close for comfort to March. She appeared to have the situation handled, however, and a blast from her Storm Gun was enough to shut it down. Leo had taken a hit or two, but was still soldiering on. Everyone else was fine.
On the feed, Banel walked forward, and then turned his head towards something. "Commander, you might want to see this."
With a bit of dread in her gut, the Commander switched to Banel's personal feed. His body was turned towards a segment of the room. In that area was more monitors...
As well as an upright tube, with the Chosen logo on it.
Eliza's hands balled into fists. Already she was getting ghosts of memories, of being still for twenty years, only being vaguely awake, trapped in a nightmare. Guiding troops that were not her own to kill people that were her own.
Bradford must've seen her react, as he reached over and swapped back to the overhead camera. "Cherry, find that access point."
"Roger!"
Bradford's hand slipped from the controls to the Commander's shoulder. It was a wordless gesture of security. Eliza unwound a bit, taking a deep breath and nodding at him. Having him was one of the luckiest things that happened to her, and she didn't take it for granted for one second.
Back on the ground, Sherry was looking in the direction Banel was before. The monitors near the tube caught her eye, and all of them were on. One of the patrols must've been in the middle of doing something before they arrived. She glanced at her GREMLIN, then motioned for it to fly over. "Get in there, Pepper!"
The GREMLIN chirped, buzzing over to one of the monitors. Before it could get any progress into the terminal, a nearby window burst into fragments as somebody fired upon it. The ammunition was a deep magenta and rang out as it struck the wall around the robot. The GREMLIN beeped out in error and flew back over to Sherry, who knew by the look of the shots who was nearby. "Warlock, incoming!"
Through the broken window, the sight of the Warlock smoothly holstering his Disruption Rifle was clear. He calmly stepped forward, his eyes meeting that of the squad's. "Does XCOM's kleptomania know no end? Will your envy not be satisfied until everything that the Elders have endeavored to create lies bastardized in your hands?" He scowled as he started to step through a hole in the wall created by one of Banel's grenades. "Well then, come." He held out his gauntlet, and psionics coursed through it, pooling into his palm. "I shall 'grant' you all the power your feeble minds can handle."
Leo was the first to respond, returning the Warlock's scowl. "The only feeble mind on this battlefield is yours, Jax-Rai! Appearing here and thinking you or your kind can overturn humanity—it almost makes me want to laugh."
The Warlock's gaze focused on Leo, and a cruel grin twisted his mouth. "Leo Cerece. It seems that you require multiple lessons in order to learn your place." His eyes slid over to Kalight, and his sour face returned in force. "The Commander must have known I would be here to defend this place if she is willing to send one of your kind here as well. This disrespect will not go—"
The crack of a Plasma Lance interrupted the Warlock, and it was only by good fortune that he was able to dive into cover. When his face came back into view to glower at Moody, a plasma burn along his cheek where the beam grazed him was now adorning his face. William shrugged, starting to step behind better cover himself. "Keep flapping that jaw of yours and I'll shoot it off, simple."
Jax-Rai spat out a curse, eyes sweeping over the squad as they hunkered into cover. His eyes settled on March as she ducked where she was, on the fringe of the group from having moved up. His gauntlets glowed and his psionics lanced across his crown as he gathered psi energy into his hands. "Fine. I shall grant you no mercy!"
As he finished speaking, he threw it in a bold motion at March. Outside of the ring of Leo's energy, it hit home right on the mark, wrapping around her head. She convulsed, eyeballs rolling back into her skull. The Warlock was invading her mind, and everytime she tried to shut him out, he breached open another opening in her mental defences, and another, and another...
March hung limp for a moment in her standing position before straightening, looking upon her squadmates with horror. Her body moved unnaturally as she aimed at them, the Warlock's hold on her established. It was another moment before she practically threw herself over her cover, her limbs moving against her will as she ran from the squad, further from them and closer to the Warlock.
It took all of Sherry's will to not launch herself forward and try to stop March—and all of her will to not sprint out and go for the Warlock's throat. But she couldn't hold back a cry of despair when she caught her wife's face, wet with tears, eyes wide with fear. March looked like she was feverishly muttering something, but no sound escaped her mouth.
Jax-Rai grinned with open cruelty, further gathering psionic energy onto himself. With a ghastly roar of psionics, he pulled three Priests from his stronghold, all of them immediately moving to cover—though, one of them spotted Leo and practically hissed, grabbing its psi-amp and starting to channel through it.
Leo saw the action and his hand flew to his own but he was far too slow on the draw, and a surge of psionic energy flew at him, encasing him in an airtight shell. The shell was strong enough to prevent anything from harming him, but the psionics were thick enough to stop his movement. There was also the quickly encroaching issue of suffocation. He squeezed his eyes shut and flexed his own mental strength, surging his own psionics against the coffin he was in.
"Oh, how your soldiers succumb, Commander." Warlock kept to his cover behind the blasted wall, occasionally peeking to check the field. His active psionics were animating his hair, making it flow behind him, twisting as if it had a will of its own. "The crude psionics of your soldiers stand no chance against my own."
The Commander's voice came over comms, steady and strong. "Psionic soldiers aren't all of my arsenal, Jax-Rai. You've already got a wound to prove it."
His confident smirk turned into a scowl, making the plasma burn on his face shift. His psionics were already at work mending it. "I am aware; their abilities simply escape my notice—when they are not performing underhanded tricks."
"Call it underhanded all you like," Will retorted, firing off a shot with his sidearm that landed squarely in the gut of one of the Priests. After the shot, he moved up a ladder, going for what little higher ground the facility offered. "I marred that face of yours!"
Banel revved up his Beam Cannon, the ensuing hail of plasma forcing the Priest to Sustain itself, reloading his gun afterwards. He was in front, and gave the Warlock a passive look; that was all the helmet allowed, anyway. "He'll do it again if you give him the chance."
Instead of answering, the Warlock turned his gaze towards March, brow knitting as he sent a command. The captive Ranger shakily held up her Storm Gun and fired at Banel. He was still standing, so he took the brunt of the shot, but he only grunted as his armor absorbed most of the blow. "... gonna have to try harder than that to kill me, Dullahan."
More tears streamed down her face and she managed to shake her head, mouthing "I'm sorry." The Warlock was keeping her far enough away from Leo for his Solace to save her, and the Priests stood in the way of Sherry running over to her. Sherry's grip on her gun got shaky and she turned her head towards the Priest that had put Leo in Stasis. She knew she didn't have a good shot on the Warlock from here but she could see this one clearly.
She hopped over her cover, dodging gunfire, and got into a better position behind a machine. The ensuing cracks of her Plasma Gun firing matched the noise in her head as she started running through her clip on the Priest. Her first few shots weren't too accurate but the rest started to line up, and one good beam hit home and killed it.
Warlock cried out in rage as he watched his Priest fall, gathering energy into his gauntlets. "I will not idly sit by and let you slaughter my disciples!" He threw the storm of power forwards towards Sherry...
... and it deflected cleanly off of her head. Leo was closer to her now, the psionics of his Solace having washed over her. The remaining psionics of the now-dead Priest bled off of his form, and he levelled a gaze of tranquil fury at Jax-Rai. "They will continue to die, so long as they stay under you."
Almost offhandedly, Leo gathered his psionics in his clutched psi-amp, throwing the resulting shell over to March. The thick psionics of the Stasis cut off the Warlock's link to her and she slumped to the ground, holding her breath.
The force of the Warlock's glare was enough to keep his hair still flowing, electric energy coursing across the horns of his crown. His gaze was locked on Leo, and he wordlessly pulled out his Disruption Rifle via his psionics. Before the PsiOp could dive back into cover, Jax-Rai pulled the trigger, sending a volley of well-aimed shots towards him.
The pinkish shots seemed to shred right through the light purple aura that Leo gave off, the wisp-like tendrils refusing to cross where the bullets flew. They hit home on his shoulder as he turned in an effort to get back into cover, puncturing his armor and bringing forth some blood—by all accounts, a decent, but not career-ending hit.
The real effect the rifle had was shown as Leo screamed out, threatening to ruin his throat with the volume of it. The psionics resting in his psi-amp fizzled out and he dropped it, clutching his head. For him, the bullets were striking everywhere, making him feel like he was being ripped apart. He tried to summon his psionics for a Sustain and that only made it worse, leaving him collapsing to the floor in agony, blood streaming from his nose.
The Stasis on March blinked out as it happened, leaving her taking in a deep breath and quickly righting herself as everyone recovered, doing a quick hop over her current cover to put herself in a better position against the Warlock and his two remaining Priests. She used her new freedom of mind to perform a gesture that the Commander might approve of in this situation only.
Sherry grinned at seeing her wife back, then got back in her cover. "Baal!"
Banel was visibly the closest anyone had ever seen to "angry." His hands were shaking and his posture was rigid; he didn't hesitate to flip a switch on his Beam Cannon, hoisting it up. The barrel spun with a menacing, new hum, and it began spitting out plasma at a high rate. The recoil would've bucked the gun out of any lesser human's hands but Banel kept it terrifyingly steady, guiding it over the standing Priest, eating its cover and gunning it down. He swiftly changed targets, guiding the muzzle of the gun over to the Warlock's position.
Banel kept the gun trained on him, destroying the wall he was behind and guiding him closer to the squad as Jax-Rai tried to evade. The Warlock—once Banel's gun ran dry—found himself in a terrible position against Menace One-Five, with little cover to his name.
By the time he gathered his wits and attempted to bring his psionics to bear, he was too late. The remaining members of Menace fired upon him with no mercy; Sherry, March, William, and even Banel after he finished reloading. Jax-Rai cried out under the assault, attempting to shield himself but the constant barrage overloaded his senses, staggering under the hail of plasma, orange blood pouring from his wounds.
When the firing stopped due to spent mags, the Warlock staggered on the spot, clutching his stomach. The gunfire had torn up his armor enough to expose his front, and what was behind his hand certainly wasn't pretty. His blood seeped at the edges of his mouth and he coughed, bringing more of it up. Jax-Rai opened his mouth to speak, to make some sort of rebuttal.
Sprinting at full tilt, down from one of the balconies, Kalight landed on the ground floor, rolling and using his momentum to launch himself into the air, easily knocking down the Warlock in his weakened state. He sat on his chest, pinning the Warlock's arms with his knees, and wrapped his hands around Jax's throat, squeezing.
The Warlock was in no state to fight him off, but he attempted, hands trying to pull at the legs currently keeping him down and feet scrabbling for purchase on the floor, slick with his own blood. He spat it at the Templar's helmet, to little effect.
The last Priest emerged from its Stasis, grabbing its gun, only to be shot down by Moody, who had an eye on it the whole time. He grimaced watching Kalight choke the life out of the Warlock. "For god's sake, Vanguard."
Sherry finished sending her GREMLIN over to Leo to provide what support she could to the downed PsiOp. Making sure the coast was clear, she make her way out of her cover and to her wife, squeezing her hands and wordlessly sharing a moment with March.
Banel lowered his gun. His own opinion on Kalight's current handling of the situation was... mixed. He glanced up to the balcony he had lept from. Up on one of the columns was an X4 charge. So that's why he was absent.
Leo, after getting a spray from the GREMLIN, shakily sat up, Banel coming over to assist with the action. He glared the Warlock's way, watching him getting strangled for a satisfying moment before rubbing his head, muttering about "the lord of all headaches." His psi-amp was still dark even as Banel returned it to his back.
The Commander, up the Avenger, had a stony face set on the scene before her. The anger at the Warlock was justified, but to have a reaction like this, while cathartic, was bound to send a bad message to anyone who was looking on. She pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers. "Vanguard. Stop. Just kill him and be done with it for god's sake."
On the screen, Vanguard paused in his active choke. He then repositioned one of his hands on Jax-Rai's throat, his other hovering over the Chosen's head. With a flash, his psi-blade extended, stabbing the Warlock in the forehead. Kalight quickly rolled off the body, just in time for it to be whisked away in a column of purple light. The stain of orange blood on the floor remained.
Lily was at one of the other monitors in the Avenger. She glanced over her shoulder. "We're getting no other signatures down there, Commander. The coast's clear."
Eliza nodded. "X4 charges are already set... Sherry, get back to that access point."
"Roger." Sherry motioned her GREMLIN over back to the monitors, where it began the entry sequence again. With her pad, Sherry passed the hack with flying colors, and data began to stream to the Avenger.
Shen looked over it as they got it, knitting her brow in concern. "Commander... you might want to hear about this."
Bradford looked to Eliza. Her hands were on the bars again and she was looking down in an effort to not lay eyes on the tube. His mouth settled into a worried line. "Shen, I don't think now's the time—"
"It's alright." The Commander's voice was quiet, but firm. She looked to Bradford, then Shen. "Read off what's in there. I need to know. Everyone does."
Shen shifted in place, aware that she had just been put on the spot. She turned back to the monitor, tapping some keys to read through the documents they were getting. "... the data here spans about a year. The latter half looks like... field tests? Seems they put the Hunter to work for six months." She tapped open a particular set of files and worry grew. "A lot of work... apparently he was prone to straight up dying from the strain of how ragged they were working him, if not fainting."
The Commander's grip on the bars tightened, knuckles turning white. They were getting to the part that she could vaguely remember. "And the former half?"
Lily scrolled through, and when she pieced together enough info, she took in a soft breath. "Six months of war games with... the Commander. With you. Cramming in the data you had accumulated over nearly twenty years into six months..."
Bradford went to the Commander's side, putting a hand on one of hers. It did nothing to deter her grip and her face remained dark. He was starting to see why the Commander wanted to take a risk like she was going to—if that was just the Hunter, it wasn't hard to imagine what the Assassin or the Warlock had gone through.
An air of nervousness was shared by the staff on the Bridge. Eliza eventually worked her hands off of the bars, standing up fully. "The data we have just acquired is open to access, especially if you have some questions about what I've been doing recently." Her voice still retains a professional air but tiredness was evident. "Good work, Menace One-Five. Call in Firebrand."
She then turned to Bradford, the two exchanging a glance before he rubbed his mouth, nodding. The Commander walked out of the room, leaving the Bridge behind her.
There was no time offered in the loving embrace of the Elders for the Warlock.
He awoke on the floor in front of his sarcophagus, gasping for air as the psionics of his reincarnation bled off of him. He propped himself up with a hand, blearily looking around to confirm that he had been unceremoniously dumped out of the void.
Jax-Rai rose to his feet, wincing as the slight dizziness of living again hit him. He turned back to his sarcophagus. The Elders had not spoke to him whatsoever. Dread began to eat away at his gut.
Surely They were justified in not speaking to him. He did just fail to protect one of Their sacred grounds, so surely this was Their punishment. Silence.
As justified as it may have been, it ate away at him. He almost would have preferred Their anger being expressed directly. At least it could be resolved then... even if it involved...
The Warlock shuddered, the claws of his gauntlets digging into the sides of his armor. No, that was certainly worse. Justified as it may have been, the Elders' anger was terrifying and left such lasting pain that refused to leave his mind. He could not stand to feel that again—the memories were doing a good enough job of reminding him that he must not fail again.
But even as he acknowledged that, his gaze turned back up to the sarcophagus. What if all he had to do was reach out and apologize first? His willingness to make amends was something They were always pleased with.
"Father?"
There was no response. He bowed his head, turning away and giving a shaky sigh. "I'm sorry."
