The last few days of training with Eliza had gone well, and Jax was happy for that.

It had been rather explorative at first, but Jax hadn't been lying to Eliza when he said that he had a few training methods in mind for her. Projecting a Solace turned out to be rather easy for Eliza—focusing on what she loved sounded stereotypical in order to make her powers work, but for a Solace? A Solace was projected feelings. Other powers could work regardless of what you felt, with some exceptions, but that was the heart of a good Solace. Though, once it was established that she could pull off one well... he'd quickly wanted to move on. Being that close to her while swamped with his feelings for her? Well, it wasn't going to be pretty eventually, was his guess.

They'd moved onto the other aspect of her psionics next—that enhancement he'd guessed at. Some trial and error led to him confirming they were of the strength-enhancing sort. Until they were trained further, he wasn't going to let her attempt to apply them to other people. Best she didn't try to channel against his psionics and hamper the process... or not have a guiding hand in someone else and potentially injure herself. So self-enhancement it was for the moment.

Which was a rather long-winded explanation as for why Eliza and Jax were sat at a table in the Studio, across from each other, with their arms on the table like they were going to arm wrestle. Because they were.

"Most importantly," he went on, "do not overly strain yourself. The purpose of this is to set a benchmark."

Eliza chuckled. "Oh, what, it's not to kick my ass in front of my PsiOps?"

No, it wasn't for that, but he could see where she got that conclusion. Along with their typical mediators—Maria and Marlene—members of his congregation and some of the PsiOps had also began attending these training exercises of theirs. Said audience had pulled up chairs around them, but were still maintaining a respectable distance. He somewhat lamented having so much company—he thought some things best said to Eliza in private—but so long as they weren't being disruptive, he supposed it was fine.

Still, he rolled his eyes. "I assure you, Commander, I seek not to humiliate you."

"If you say so, big guy." She threw her hair behind her shoulders. "Ready for me?"

"Only if you are." Their hands came together and he gripped hers tightly, but hopefully not to the point of pain. He had his left gauntlet off—apparently Eliza was left-handed and preferred to use that arm. Jax was right-handed, but would allow using his left... mostly to give Eliza more of a fighting chance. He didn't expect her to be able to match his strength, but he was always open to being surprised. "Now, channel your powers to your left arm."

She nodded, knitting her eyebrows together. Her now-completely white hair began to shine a light blue, and the braid it was in began to mildly float. Jax watched as first her arteries and veins lit up blue, then the rest of her arm glowed a lighter shade. "Think I've got it," she said, and he could spot a bit of light coming from her mouth.

"Very well. Maria?"

Maria smiled. "On your marks in three... two..."

He locked eyes with Eliza. He wasn't going to bench her immediately—just use more and more of his strength to see how much it augmented hers.

"—one... go!"

To her credit, Eliza caught him off guard. His arm lurched to his left, close to the table. Her soldiers gave a raucous cheer as she came close to victory. His pride reared and he chuckled, starting to put his back into it. With her powers active, Eliza was putting up a decent fight—but slowly, surely, he struggled their arms back to the starting position. The point where they gained no ground against each other, where they were equal in strength, it surpassed any human limitations he'd grappled with. Now, to see if it surged more struggling against the tide.

He started to tilt her arm towards the table and she bit her lip. There was another push against his hand and he could see her braid rise further. With that confirmed, it was best that Eliza didn't break her own arm trying to beat him. "Don't strain yourself too much," he managed, not wanting to taunt her but also not wanting her to overwork herself.

"—you just want me to lose!" She eked out, though he could see her hair lower a little. She seemed to know her limits, as when he kept going and he could hear his congregation cheering him on, Eliza didn't channel her powers further. Eventually, her knuckles touched the table and she let out the breath she was holding, giving up. Her powers dismissed, she patted the back of Jax's hand with her free one. "I give, I give."

He'd stopped pushing the moment she'd relaxed, so all that was left to do now was to withdraw. As he did and among the cheers of his followers, he searched her hand. "I did not cause you undue pain, did I?"

"Nah." Eliza, worryingly, massaged her hand. "No more than I probably deserved. Shouldn't have gone that hard trying to win."

His mouth settled into a line and he leaned forward. "Truly, are you alright?"

"Hey, nothing some rest and not trying to wrestle the alien equivalent of the Terminator won't help." She smiled at him. "Get what you needed to know out of that, at least?"

Realizing the kind of concern he was showing in front of her troops, he cleared his throat and sat back. "Yes. It seems that your powers offer you a considerable amount of strength, perhaps building off of your already existing reserves."

Her gentle smile turned into a confident grin. "All those years of keeping in shape had to be good for something. How much are we talking, if you can quantify that?"

"Far more than an average human, that is certain." He put his left gauntlet back on. "It took me not an insignificant effort to equalize us—and more to win the duel. It is, however, hard to quantify without some method of official measurement."

"Well, we've got weights in the GTS." She looked like she was about to get up, but then stopped, focusing on something around Jax's head. "... say, you wouldn't think I'd be able to beat you if I nicked your horns, would you?"

Ah, those. He chuckled. "It would be worth a shot, but I do not believe they are sized for you." Something Mordenna brought up a while back came to his mind, and he stroked his chin. "My brother expressed an interest in making a similar set of psionic amplifiers for you, along with a set of gauntlets—for channeling, I would presume, and perhaps to offer you the same safety mine do to me. If you are interested in such a prospect, I would imagine he would be more than happy to accommodate you."

"Sure thing, if only so I get a good shot at a rematch."

He laughed again. Eliza certainly was stubborn if she put her mind to something—he knew that from experience. "And you will get one, worry not."

"Good! I'd like to even the—"

Suddenly, Eliza stopped where she was at. Her joking face fell and she grew silent. The confusion and concern in the room was palpable. Jax rested his arms on the table. "Commander—?"

She held up a finger, interrupting him. She then pressed it to her ear. "Got it. I'll be at the Bridge shortly." Oh. She must've gotten interrupted by Bradford or the like. Eliza stood up. "Sorry to stop this here, but we got word from Volk and a distress call that a nearby haven's getting raided."

A raided haven? That would be Jax's first spot of conflict since the aliens' cave—if Eliza brought him along of course. He stood up with her. "Shall I accompany you?"

"Might as well." She nodded to her soldiers and his own. "Be ready for if I call on you." With that, she made her way to the room's exit, where Jax followed her.

When they were out of the Studio, Jax decided he could start asking some questions. "What is the situation?"

"Don't know much as of right now," she began, "but it seems standard procedure. ADVENT's flushing out a haven and it's up to us to stop it." She rolled her hand. "Funny thing is, this time we could've gotten backup—but it seems like we won't get it. Bradford said that Volk also put in a call, but he was 'busy.' Can only imagine ADVENT found the Reapers as well."

Despite himself, Jax hoped that the Reapers would make it out alright. Wouldn't do XCOM good to lose one of its biggest pillars of support—even if they made it a habit to ostracise his brother. "Does it seem like a coordinated attack?"

"With our luck, probably. Hold on a second." She fiddled with her communicator a few times, likely tuning into someone's channel specifically. That was made clear when she started speaking. "Mordenna, I want you at the Bridge. We've got a distress call to respond to." A pause. "See you there." She let her arm drop. "I'm a little iffy about sending you two to help a haven—not that you guys wouldn't be the best for the job, of course. You probably know this, but haven raids are when ADVENT field their more brutal forces. Berserkers, Chryssalids, Sectopods, the like. We need you and Mordenna for heavy firepower. But..."

He could understand Eliza's implication, and gently patted her shoulder. "I will do what I can to avoid agitating them, at least. At the end of the day, they are in their hour of need and we will be their saviors. For them to be ungrateful in the face of your assistance perhaps shines a light on their viability as an ally."

"A good sentiment..." She blew a breath out of her nose. "Shame what would happen if I applied that to every haven I helped. Thought I was done working with councils when First Contact inevitably failed—turns out they just rebranded."

A chance here seemed to present itself, and Jax withdrew his hand. "Would you like to talk about it? Later, of course, when we are not imminently about to foil ADVENT."

"I..." Eliza was quiet for a moment, and she slowed down, rubbing the back of her neck. "... I really should, shouldn't I? I don't want to shove my problems off onto you, but..."

"Please, Eliza. I am asking to be informed. I am requesting for you to bother me—of course, that latter statement is falsehood. I could never be bothered by supporting you. After this mission, presuming I am not laid up with injuries—and even then, I might speak with you in the Infirmary—we shall speak on the topic and let you air out your grievances."

Eliza sighed, but sped back up. "Alright. I'll meet with you then. Suppose I should give you guys the chance to pay me back for everything, yeah?"

"It is the least I can do."

Though he could not see her face, he could feel her smile in the shift of her signature—and how it gently expanded in the beginnings of a Solace. She truly could do that on command, couldn't she?

The two of them entered the Bridge, and Jax could feel the ship gently lurch as it took off. Seemed they were already en route. Bradford was over at the Hologlobe, and he looked up as the two of them approached. "Commander. Warlock. Situation is as bad as it usually is."

Eliza was quick to come over and lean on the railings. "How far in progress is it?"

"Just started, give or take a few minutes. Haven called Gilligan's Ridge. ADVENT dropships seem to have deployed all the force they intend to use, and the haven's getting chewed up."

"What about Volk? He busy because ADVENT's after him, too?"

"Sounds like it. Apparently his scouts had spotted ADVENT in the area—and they seemed to have a vague idea of where they should be looking. They were packing up and moving camp when he sent me the message."

The Commander nodded. "Then we need to be quick. There's going to be a lot of wounded on the ground and plenty of more difficult units to tend to. Sherry, Rosa, and SYN are absolute musts."

Bradford was the one to take out a datapad this time, and the globe changed to a roster. "Got it. The other three?"

"Far be it from me to send the Chosen to a haven, Bradford, but..." She looked to Jax. "Jax has his new weaponry and is good for turning the forces against themselves, and Mordenna can take out key targets from relative safety." Of course, Fal-Mai was left out of her explanation for obvious reasons. "If you have a reason not to send them that isn't the obvious one, I'd love to hear it."

Bradford shook his head, sighing. "No, but you know how the haven will get."

"I don't mean to be cruel," she replied, kneading the bridge of her nose, "but it's us or get wiped by ADVENT. Hope they understand that, even if it won't dampen the eventual complaining much."

That was when one of the doors to the Bridge opened and in stepped Mordenna—followed closely by Fal-Mai. Hm. One must've found the other on the way. "I'm here, Liz," Mordenna began, "what's the sitch?"

"Haven raid." She nodded to his sister. "Hey, Fal-Mai."

"Greetings, Commander." Fal-Mai joined the rest of them. "I do not mean to suggest myself to be on the mission—I was simply with Mordenna."

"We're on the final stages of the prosthetic." Mordenna smiled despite the situation. "The neural link is reading her with perfect accuracy and at this point it's a matter of me programming the Specter core and 'bonding' it with her. If you gave me an hour or two I might be able to slap together a base version with no bells and whistles for this mission... but I highly suspect this is very time-sensitive."

"Sadly, yes. Don't have that kind of time." Eliza gestured to him. "While you're here, you wouldn't mind accompanying your brother?"

"Not at all, Commander. I'll hang back so they can just attribute the highly unique sniper shots and precision accuracy to one of the other Sharpshooters."

"Glad to have you on board," Bradford mumbled. "And the last?"

"Roland, probably. Need ourselves a close range expert and Roland is a little too... twitchy for covert, so he's been benched for a bit."

"Hopefully he's not rusty." The roster was summarily filled, and the display went back to the globe, their destination displayed. "I'll get who we need down to the Armory and ready to deploy. Anything else, Commander?"

"Other than to get ready for another episode of me getting yelled at for daring to help? I think we're ready to go."

Mordenna chuckled, though Jax gently sighed. That woman really did have too much to deal with.


The scene on the ground was troublesome, to be sure.

Jax descended from the Skyranger in his usual fashion to have the distant roar of fire and gunshots fill his ears. The sky had grown a reddish gray from the smoke already kicked up and embers blew in the direction of the mild wind like wisps. Underneath the din of fire and flame he could hear screaming—and he had a pang of sympathy for Fal-Mai for a brief second. He wouldn't imagine being able to pick out every distressed cry.

At least the grass under him wasn't really burnt yet. The rest of his squad landed just outside of the border of the cleared haven—close enough that he could spy some mag fire flying the Skyranger's way. Firebrand already took off before any of it could hit her, of course. Jax focused his attention back ahead, taking his cannon into his hands. "I trust everyone knows their roles?"

"Don't gotta ask me twice." Mordenna was behind him, though he watched as his vision snapped to a nearby tower. "That a watchtower? Hello, my new perch." Just like that, Mordenna was off, scrambling up the tower without even bothering to use the ladder, setting himself up. Good to know they would have sniper support early, at least.

Nevertheless, Jax advanced. "SYN, Fortuna, to me. We march."

"Understood. Advancing." Jax let Rosa and SYN overtake him as they rushed ahead, keeping an eye out for potential threats. He almost stopped in his tracks when a crack of the Darklance rang out, fearing a threat close by, but he glanced at the trail. It streaked farther into the haven than they were—he must be already taking out priority targets.

An unearthly, but familiar screech sounded out, and SYN gunned down one of the approaching Chryssalids. "Contact!" Rosa confirmed, sending another one packing with a kick of her own gun.

The squad began to gun down the encroaching beasts—save Jax, but he had a reason. If there were Chryssalids here, there might be cocoons. Or survivors, if they were lucky. His vigilance paid off; there was a man scampering away from the center of the haven, blood streaming from a clutched arm. He laid his eyes on Menace and stopped—an unwise move, as one of the Chryssalids menacing them turned and skittered towards him.

Not on Jax's watch. He freed a hand from his gun to throw out his psionics, which lanced forward towards the Chryssalid. They took shape and a wicked claw formed, grasping the Chryssalid and stopping it in its tracks. Then, taking a cue from one of the Vipers he'd watched at the cave, he whipped the tether back and flung the beast against the ground with heavy force. It must've died on impact, because there was a mildly sickening crunch and there was no movement from there.

Fair by Jax. Sherry gunned down the last Chryssalid and looked to him. "I'm going to establish triage in front of Mordenna's sniper tower! Direct anyone you get to here."

He nodded, moving forwards with the rest of the squad. The man must've heard them, as he limped towards Sherry as she stayed behind, taking him and setting him down. There were hopefully more to be saved in the depths of this warzone.

"Menace One-Five," Eliza came in, "we're getting reports of a Sectopod on site. Jax, if you can do more tricks like that, I want you to pull out anyone close to it when you start demolishing it. Can you guys keep collateral damage to a minimum?"

"Collateral damage is kind of our thing," Rosa fired back—then she also fired upon a nearby Trooper. "But point taken."

"Hey, goons, visual confirmation of that bastard." Another shot from Mordenna screamed past, and this time Jax watched as it downed a Muton. "I'd take it out myself but it is right in the middle of this whole damn mess. You're going to have to lure it and evacuate some people."

"Acknowledged. After sufficient clearing of the current combat arena," SYN replied, "I will see what I can do in regards to provoking the ire of the beast."

"Well said, honey." Rosa reloaded her gun. "Let's light 'em up!"

That, Jax could do. They were getting closer to the center of the haven, and Jax was starting to put the minigun to work. It was a morbid treat to watch Mordenna's creation in action as his formed his own cover, thinking of the pillars that Templars would often make. From there it was a spin of the barrels and a shower of modified lead that destroyed most cover and the enemies he aimed it at. He had his fair share of sharpshooting at the cave, but this? This was a different beast entirely.

Speaking of beasts, it was clear that ADVENT had, indeed, let the Berserkers out to rampage. People were scattering in Menace's direction, and SYN's BIT was now looping a loud announcement to retreat to the south of the area. Perhaps it would give them away, but no more than the gunfire thrown towards ADVENT would. Jax could see that the majority of the exodus was driven by the Berserkers still standing as Mordenna's aim picked them off one by one. As he took a moment to let his gun spin down, ammo low at the moment, he watched as a woman came sprinting out from behind a building, stumbling over herself and falling as a Berserker charged at her.

Jax was playing hero today, wasn't he? At the same time he clipped his gun back to his belt, he lept through the Void in a teleport, coming to stand over the woman as the Berserker raised its arms in a downwards swing. It was just a moment later that Jax raised his own to intercept the strike. The very limits of his strength were tested as he nearly buckled under the force of the blow—but he held, and he forced himself not to thank the Elders for the overwhelming strength in his design. He didn't know if the woman beneath him had gotten up, so best to be sure. "Go! Run!"

It was then that he heard her scrambling away—and saw the Berserker withdraw a fist to sock him in the chest. He wasn't exactly prepared to block that, and his hand was in the middle of shifting direction—

—when the Berserker's head exploded in a mass of orange gore. Jax barely shielded his face in time but he could still feel some get in his hair, and that was almost worse than getting his rib cage caved in. He quickly backed up and into cover. As he did his best to wipe the chunks out of his hair, Mordenna came in on comms. "Bro. You alright? Didn't nick you?"

"I'm fine," he strained. "As fine as getting blood and gray matter in my hair gets."

"Oh, boo hoo. Glad I didn't take some off the top, at least."

Jax sighed. Yes, he really shouldn't be caring about his hygiene too much at the moment, but it still distressed him. Mindful he was still in a live fire zone, he took his rifle off of his back and readied it. "Menace, I am unharmed. We are clear to proceed."

"Good to hear, even if it looks like you're bleeding from the scalp." Roland took one of the Fusion Axes he'd chucked out of the corpse of a Stun Lancer. "Lotta this haven just ran past us I think. Onto the Sectopod?"

The earth rumbled, step by step, and the sounds of mechanical servos working filled the air. "Seems we don't have much of a choice," Rosa replied. "SYN?"

If they had some sort of plan between the two of them, it went unsaid. SYN stood his ground as the Sectopod audibly approached. A few more haven members ran past—this time they were the ones wielding conventional rifles and a mag gun or two, attempting to pepper the mechanical nightmare with shots as they retreated. Jax called out to one as he passed. "Do you have any more civilians in the haven?"

The man, wielding one of the mag rifles, dove into cover. "Nobody who isn't dead! Just got this thing and a few of those skittering bastards!"

Jax turned his sight back to the Sectopod, now visible. "Finish your retreat to triage! XCOM will handle this." Jax didn't bother to look if the man had complied. He fired off a few shots at the hull of the Sectopod and looked to SYN. "Where are we diverting it to?"

"The building density is far lesser towards the east. I suggest we—"

SYN was interrupted by the Sectopod completely ignoring Menace, seemingly being directed towards the south. It smashed over a tower before Jax quickly holstered his gun, using both hands and his psionic strength to practically lasso it, causing it to lurch backwards a bit as he halted its advance. He dug in his feet as he was dragged forward, clenching his fists around his psionics as it strained against his hold. "We may not have a choice in the matter! Mordenna!"

A blast of green shards shredded through the Sectopod's armor from the back as SYN fired upon it with his gauntlet, but it was the thundering shot from the Darklance that ripped through its hull. Unfortunately, with the destruction of vital components came the lack of orders directing it to stand—as Jax quickly released his grip on it, the influence of his pull still caused it to fall back, right between him and Menace. The holes the gunfire made began to glow from the inside with dangerous luminance, and he knew he wouldn't get to the rest of the squad in time to shield them and him. Not both parties—but Jax knew which one was more hardy.

Bracing himself the best he could, he projected the shield over the rest of his squad, covering his face with his gauntlets as he did. That, of course, didn't prepare him adequately for being near ground zero of an exploding Sectopod. A wave of force crashed into him and he was flung far back—only stopping when he hit one of the ramshackle buildings, and he could feel it cave under his velocity. Pain wracked his body but it was greater and stabbing in a few places; those were likely shrapnel wounds. He slid down from the wall he'd impacted and sucked in a breath through his teeth as he doubled over, coughing.

Despite his pain, his first concern was to the others. Slowly, he raised his head. Sure enough, he witnessed his own psionics dissipating to reveal Menace, unharmed but clearly very concerned. His ears were still ringing from the blast and he couldn't quite hear was Rosa said—not that he could reply. That really had knocked the wind out of him. The alto of Eliza's voice came on in his ear, and he only caught something to the tune of asking if he was fine. He coughed a few more times, taking in shaky breaths. "I—I'm fine. J-just need medical attention. Mildly deaf."

SYN came over and offered his hand, which Jax took. He was a little unsteady on his feet but tried his best to not lean against the SPARK. His pride was already in pieces over the whole situation—best not to ruin it further. The ringing in his ears slowly subsided and he massaged his forehead. "—I believe I can hear now."

"Don't scare me like that." Mordenna, to his credit, sounded genuinely concerned. "I know you're a tank but that was pushing it, even for you. Look at you, you're a pincushion for shrapnel right now!"

Mordenna wasn't far off. The parts of him that were aching more, indeed, had shrapnel sticking out of them. His armor had stopped a few from being lethal, at least. Of course, his unprotected biceps had a few shards. He sighed, looking over them. Jax really needed that new set of armor as soon as Fal-Mai's arm was done. "I will be alright as long as I can make it to triage. I simply need these removed."

"Man's got at least five pieces of blown Sectopod sticking out of him," Roland grumbled, though without heat, "and he's less distressed than getting Berserker brains in his hair. Think you and Clint have more in common than you think."

After a few steps and nearly falling over, Jax conceded to SYN's support and leaned against him as they walked. "Pain is temporary. Gore in the hair will take ages to wash out."

"Glad to hear you're holding up, at least." Eliza herself sounded relieved. "Menace, keep your eyes peeled for any lingering forces, including Faceless. The fact that we haven't seen any worries me."

That was true, actually. Out of all the forces Menace had gunned down and were now littering the grass, there were no Faceless among them. That meant there was a very good chance someone at triage was not who they were.

Just as Jax happened upon that thought, the distinctive pop of the Darkclaw firing echoed through the area. Someone had engaged Mordenna at close range? Jax began to leave SYN and try to walk faster, but his aid was quick to catch up and hold him back. "Warlock Tessura, you are in no position to be running off ahead."

"That was Mordenna's pistol," he protested. "If someone has gotten close enough to mandate him using it over his rifle—"

"Hey, bro, I'm fine." They rounded the building that was blocking their sightline, which revealed the scene to them. The fighters were in front of the wounded, with Sherry in their midst. She had her gun out and pointed at a downed Faceless. Mordenna himself was leaning over the tower. Now that he was in earshot, he raised his voice. "Hadn't seen the Faceless 'til I did a check of the patients here. Honestly, that's a failing on my part."

"So long as you saw it before it cut off anyone's head." Sherry holstered her gun, letting out a breath. "Just about gave me a heart attack, firing off at it like that. Can we please get this body moved?"

"Normally I would say that Jax could handle that so there would be no risk of contamination, but..." Eliza trailed off, her concern clear.

Jax shook his head. "With luck, it will be the last use of my powers for today. I simply need to drag it farther away from the wounded." With that, he raised his arm. Psionic claws formed around the Faceless body and carted it away, though he could start to feel a minor pinch around his eyes. That shield for the explosion really took it out of him, especially considering he hadn't even used it on himself. When the body was far enough away, he let it drop, dismissing his powers and leaning a bit more against SYN.

Sherry nodded to him thankfully, then took in his wounds, grimacing. "I'll get to you soon, Warlock. We've got a few cases of Chryssalid venom here and I have to make sure antivenoms are properly administered."

"Fuck having him wait." Mordenna dropped down smoothly from the tower, navigating around the haven members to Sherry. "Tweezers, thread, bandages, liquid painkiller if you got it. I'll get my brother squared away."

"I'll need those back as soon as you're done." Sherry reached into her bags and gave Mordenna his requested supplies. "I didn't think you would know first aid, Hunter."

"Comes with the territory of memorizing human anatomy. On the surface, us Chosen are pretty much like humans." He took the materials. "Don't ask how I know so much about human anatomy. You'll sleep better at night."

Looking like she didn't even want to know that much, Sherry went back to work. Mordenna walked over and gestured to SYN. "SYN, lay my brother on the ground, would you?"

As the SPARK complied, Jax scoffed weakly. "First you smear guts into my hair and now dirt. What kind of brother are you...?"

"A Hunter, as far as I know." He took a knee beside him, waving the rest of Menace away. "You guys patrol the area or something, bound to be some Chryssalids lurking while I'm not watching. I gotta tend to my brother here."

Obligingly, the members of Menace dispersed, leaving Mordenna and Jax near the wounded. Mordenna prepared his suture needle. "Alright, bro, I'm no Sammy but we might as well get these surface ones removed. Painkillers or no painkillers?"

Jax let out a breath, managing his breathing to stave off the incoming minor headache. "If anything, I would like headache relief. Void willing, I shouldn't contract a migraine, but headaches annoy the most."

"Well, unless I can jam a needle right into your brain with no issue..." Mordenna sighed. "No painkiller, then. Leaves more for Sherry." He tapped Jax's chestplate. "Any of these shards go through?" When Jax shook his head, he nodded. "Alright. Really need to make you that new armor, now. Just the shards in the non-armored parts, right?"

"Right." As Mordenna began to extract the first piece of shrapnel from his arm, he sucked in a breath through his teeth. "Curse me and my vanity," he strained as Mordenna got out the metal and began to sew.

"Not really your vanity so much as it was Cronus's, innit?" Mordenna pressed his mouth into a line. "Not to talk shit about them right now—"

"Please, Mordenna, do it as you wish." Jax let his head thump back against the ground, staring into the hazy sky. "I should never have even defended them as I had. Cannot believe it took me witnessing Fal-Mai lose her arm to finally get it though my abhorrently thick skull..."

"Not like you weren't indoctrinated, bro," Mordenna softly replied, finishing up the suture and bandaging the wound. "I feel bad for holding it against you back then. Had my own head stuck so far up my ass regarding it all that I kinda forgot I was really the only one getting the belt all those years." He sighed. "Maybe some of it was frustration. That really childish mentality of 'he got beat, doesn't he know now?'"

"Call it childish if you want." Despite everything, Jax managed a timid smile. "Far be it from me to throw stones, being the younger of the two of us..."

Mordenna chuckled gently at that, moving onto the next piece of shrapnel. "Hey, nobody has to know. As far as they know, you're like a hundred years old and I'm maybe forty."

Jax groaned through another piece being removed. "I don't appear that old, do I?"

"Bro. Wrinkled face, long, white hair, vocabulary like your parents were thesauruses? You're not doing yourself any favors."

"As much as you complain, I believe you would be the first to tell me to 'shut up' if I began speaking remotely in your style."

His brother laughed at that, then slowed down in his sewing, the horror of the notion slowly dawning on him. "... that just isn't right. Like, I'm imagining it now and why did you burden me with this knowledge?"

Jax just grinned back at him. "At any point in time, I could drop my eloquence and you would be wholly unprepared. Think the next time you dare to cross me, for you now know the consequences."

"Jesus fuck, Jax, I think this is the first time I've been legitimately afraid of you. Stop spooking me and let me sew you up."

He kept his laughter to a minimum, mindful of the fact that Mordenna needed precision. The rest of the time, his brother went about his work quietly, leaving Jax time to reflect. Hopefully the haven wouldn't mind too much that the Commander had sent two separate Chosen to defend it. In Jax's mind, it was the right choice, considering what ADVENT usually sent to these raided havens. Then again... Jax had conducted a haven raid of his own or two in the past. Mordenna, as well. He was also understanding of why they wouldn't exactly want the Chosen to come back.

Eventually, Mordenna finished up, even yanking out the shards in Jax's armor for good measure. "There we are. I'd still get scanned after all this in the Infirmary to make sure none snuck underneath—doesn't feel like it, does it?"

Well, it was hard to distinguish between all the different pain, so Jax just sat up and shrugged. "I'm unsure. I will be stopping by the Infirmary regardless."

"Good on you. You sure you can stand?"

Just to check, Jax accepted his brother's offered hand and stood up. His dizziness was gone by this point, so he nodded. "I should be fine in walking. I... appreciate your concern and support as always, brother." He sighed. "I'm the 'eldest' of us two, it should be me supporting you."

"Eh, chuck those notions out the window. 'Sides, this is one of the few chances I do get to help you out. Usually it's me losing my shit and you having to calm me down right alongside Fal-Mai."

Jax frowned. "But, with all my episodes...?"

"And all of mine? At the very least we'll call it even, alright?"

Conceding the point, Jax nodded. "Alright."

"Fantastic! Now, if you excuse me, I have some tools to pass back to Sherry. Don't go getting yourself in trouble, now."

He chuckled as his brother walked away, finding Sherry and handing her tools back. He would've listened into their conversation had something else interesting not happened. Out of the corner of his eye, Jax spotted a man coming up to the resistance fighters—a little bit shorter than average, buzzed, brown hair, somewhat pale complexion. He was going around them and telling them variations of "come with me." The two caught each other's eyes and it was the man who drew up his upper lip, pointedly moving on to the next fighter in line. Hm. Jax figured the man was probably someone of authority as he led the fighters away from the triage area.

"Don't let Tyler get to you, he's a salty asshole."

A voice behind him made Jax turn. A woman was behind him, leaning on a crutch. She was a few shades lighter than "Tyler," but more muscled and scarred. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and the pupil of her right eye was milky. A quick glance down explained the crutch—she was missing the lower half of her left leg.

Mindful not to stare, Jax focused on her face. "It would take more than a heated glare and scowl to shake myself, I would hope. At the same time, I do not begrudge him for his anger."

"More tolerant than I am, then." She offered her hand, which Jax took. "Name's May. Second in command to Tyler there. He won't say this, so I will; thank you for coming out here today. Know you Chosen haven't exactly been the best for the havens, but if the Commander trusts you enough to send you out here? Figures I should trust you, too. Plus, I saw the way you saved Isabelle." May grinned. "Takes more courage than I've got to get in the way of a Berserker like that."

Jax shook his head. "It was merely the right thing to do—perhaps spurred on by the fact that I did not wish to witness such a terrible act happen right in front of me when I could've prevented it."

"Damn, you've done a 180. We've got a working TV here at Gilligan's Ridge—I used to tune into all your outings. Half because I loved your outfits. A dress at a grand ballroom, huh?"

He merely shrugged. "It was fitting for the tone of the night and I especially favored the design my tailors had come up with. I find my taste in clothes fluid, so long as they do me justice."

May laughed at that. "You've got taste, I'll give you that. Still, back to my point—no offence to you, but you seemed pretty damn stuck up and haughty."

"That persists," he jokingly grumbled, "if you believe my brother."

"And the joking!" She gestured to him. "... XCOM really did work out better for you, huh?"

"In many ways. Even one as blinded by indoctrination as I eventually saw the Elders' folly for what it was."

"Gives me hope, that does. By the way..." She pointed to the gouges in his chestplate. "You gonna be alright? I saw your brother working on you, but."

Jax scoffed lightly. "I've had worse. Not much stacks up to actually perishing a few times."

She chuckled again and shook her head. "I hope you guys get a few more chances to visit when our place isn't on fire. Where's your sister, by the way?"

"She..." Jax cleared his throat. "She was laid up with an injury and currently is resting in the Avenger. I can only imagine she will be ready to appear once more in a while, all things permitting."

"Jeez. If standing next to one of those terrifying pieces of shit while it's exploding isn't enough to stop you, what the hell is?"

Jax was silent for a second. Then, "There are a few things our regeneration cannot cover. I shall leave it at that."

May nodded gravely, readjusting on her crutch. "Family matters, I got it. Well, Warlock, hope things get better for all of you. I'm going to figure out what the hell Tyler's doing, taking all our gunners away."

"Best of luck," he returned as May left. It was at that time he saw the members of Menace starting to return, guns holstered.

Rosa was the first to approach. "There were a few more Chryssalids on the perimeter, owing to a cocoon we missed, but we handed them. Area's clear."

Jax nodded, noting Mordenna joining them as well. "Commander?"

"Heard her loud and clear. Cherry, how goes the wounded?"

"A few more people to check," she responded, "but I don't see anyone bursting into those Chryssalid boils, so it's just seeing to injuries at this point."

"Understood. Menace One-Five, call the Skyranger. Firebrand can park her bird until you're all ready to go—need to have the corpse collectors out there, anyway."

"I've got the flare," Roland replied, "I'll handle that."

As Roland walked off, Jax could see Tyler approaching again with the fighters in tow, their weapons at rest. He seemed to be pointedly not looking at Jax. "When your squad leader gets back, I want to have a word with him."

"Squad leader—?" Rosa then rested a hand on her hip. "Acting squad leader right now is Jax, here. Not Rascal."

Tyler's gaze went stony. "So you're telling me XCOM would not only just let the Chosen walk onto their team, they'd let one of them lead a squad? Disgraceful."

Jax and Mordenna looked between each other, and Mordenna did a "you seeing this?" gesture to Tyler. Jax gave a single chuckle, which only seemed to infuriate Tyler. Before he could speak, though, SYN interrupted him. "Regardless of if Jax is our squad leader or not, if there is something you wish to say to one of us, it is best to say it to all of us. We may wait until Rascal returns."

Tyler just scoffed, crossing his hands. "Fine."

Roland eventually came back to them, and as he walked around the wounded, Jax could see Sherry lifting her head to listen. "The hell's going on here?" He asked when he rejoined the squad.

"Just an address," Tyler responded. "Were this any other day and any other circumstance, I'd be thanking XCOM for getting ADVENT off our backs. However..."

He snapped his fingers, and suddenly all of the resistance fighters had their guns aimed at Menace. Jax almost wanted to laugh for a second—but he wasn't the only person here. Out of the corner of his eye, one of them was aiming at Sherry, as well. Menace One-Five raised their arms in surrender.

Mordenna was the first to respond. "What in the fresh hell are you doing?"

"Simple. Killing ADVENT." Tyler threw out his hands. "I know XCOM exists. They're on the side of the humans, I know that. So when I'm hearing these rumors about XCOM bringing in aliens, I just know they can't be true. Especially with you three 'leaving' ADVENT. Ain't no way they would've allowed that. This ain't XCOM here. This is just another damn branch of ADVENT."

A pause. Then, from Roland; "You're joking, right? We've been defending havens with the same people for months and you're about to pull the trigger on us because we've got two fresh faces in the mix?"

"Now that's fair. Maybe I've got everything all wrong." Tyler paced to the side. "Could just be XCOM here, doing their duty. But with the Chosen? I find that hard to believe. If you really are XCOM..." He fixed the Chosen with a deadly stare. "You'll let my boys here shoot these two bastards dead."

Well, this was a hell of a situation. SYN's BIT floated forwards, and the Commander's voice started streaming from it. "Tyler, this is absurd. Let my soldiers go. Do you think ADVENT would be fine with wiping out their own forces en masse?"

"They've got reserves," he shot back, "don't you dare try to defend them."

"Defend?! I'm trying to make sure you don't wipe out a squad full of good people."

"I'm sure the humans are good people, the robot too maybe. But these two?" He spit on the ground. "I know havens that have been wiped out by them personally. They've got a lot to answer for, 'Commander.' If you're XCOM, you know that."

"Tyler." That was May, coming forwards. "These people just came and saved our sorry asses. If they were ADVENT they could've just let us burn."

"All part of their plan," he replied, "of fooling us. Now, what's it gonna be, 'Commander?' Two inhumane maggots or the whole squad?"

Eliza went to reply again, but Jax was trying to formulate a plan and didn't quite catch the ensuing conversation. Forcing his hair to stay still behind him, he bumped fingers with Mordenna, opening a link with him. "Any ideas, brother?"

"You know how quick of a draw I am," he responded, eyes flitting about, "but some of these fucks are obscured by our own. Plus... how good of a look is it to walk out of here having killed like, eight of these people ourselves?"

Eight of them, hm? Jax knew where they all were. He knit his eyebrows together. "I may possess a plan, but you have to act quickly with me."

"All ears."

"I'm going to disarm all of them—I know where they are. At the same time, I want you to lunge forward and take the leader hostage in case I miss any of them. If he truly is unscrupulous, he won't hesitate to tell them to lay down their arms."

"Gotcha. Let me know."

For a second or so more, Jax confirmed where they were all at, holding his breath to do a minor search. He then mentally prepared himself as Tyler was getting more annoyed with Eliza's stalling. "Count of three. One. Two."

"Too late, 'Commander.'" He bared his teeth at them. "They're all dying—"

"Three!"

There was a flurry of motion. From Jax's back, eight claws emerged, and he could feel them successfully close around the fighter's weapons in just an instant. They twisted and yanked the guns out of their hands. At the same time, he watched as Mordenna leapt forward, tackling Tyler to the ground and rolling back into a sitting position, drawing his Darkclaw and holding it to the haven leader's head. Jax lifted the guns far out of reach, letting his hair billow out once more.

The sudden turnaround of the situation left all but the brothers baffled for a second. Tyler was the first to regain his wits, struggling in Mordenna's grip until he pressed the gun further against his head. "Stop struggling you pile of puke."

Nobody spoke. Jax let his hands fall, his thoughts brewing. "Commander? May I handle this?"

"So long as nobody dies..."

"Of course." Jax turned back to the crowd, trusting Mordenna to keep a handle on Tyler. "I shall make this very clear, as to not be misunderstood again—my siblings and I have willingly defected from ADVENT and the Elders. We have made the choice of our own accord, and this is indeed XCOM that has come to your aid today. Were we some spy branch of ADVENT, we would not need to guide to wounded to safety, to save those who we could, or even to kill the invading forces. Merely 'drive them back' with missed gunfire. Your wounded will be tended to before we depart. However..." He looked back to the BIT, staring the camera right in the eye, almost looking at Eliza herself. "Far be it from me to make presumptions, but it seems this haven leader does not wish for his haven to be supported by XCOM."

That was enough to make the crowd stir. He looked to Tyler, still fixing Jax with a venomous gaze. "G-good. We... we don't want the support of ADVENT."

"Shut the hell up you sack of garbage!"

"And let us die?!"

"We'd be dead without them!"

The cries of the people went up, and Jax crossed his arms. This seemed to be the kind of decision made without consulting the rest of the haven. Acting on that hunch, Jax raised his voice. "Am I to be led to believe that this miscreant made the decision to hold up XCOM without the support of his people?"

Affirmative responses came back to him. Grandly, Jax spread out his hands. "A leader who does not take into account the will of his supporters is no leader at all. A leader who acts against his follower's wishes should be usurped! Pray tell, are there any willing to step up to the plate to dethrone this tyrant?"

Movement to his right made him turn. May was walking up to Mordenna and Tyler, staring the latter in the eye. "I will. I've tolerated everything you've done for too damn long, Ty. I stood on the sidelines and watched as you got good people killed. It's about damn time I did something about it."

Jax turned back to the crowd. "All in favor of the old?" Nothing. A few jeers, and that was it. "All in favor of the new?" That got him the cheers. He looked back to May. "Gilligan's Ridge is summarily yours, I would declare. Any new decrees?"

"Definitely." She addressed SYN's BIT. "Gilligan's Ridge denounces the actions of its former leader and recognizes the Chosen as part of XCOM. We wish to continue to receive the support of XCOM and, in turn, support it however we can."

"The actions of Tyler Hayden are recognized as his own and do not, in XCOM's eyes, reflect the attitude of Gilligan's Ridge at large. Gilligan's Ridge will continue to be supported by XCOM—and personally, as a Commander? I wouldn't hold the innocent to the crimes of the guilty."

"Good to hear." May snapped her head back at Tyler. "As for you. Far as I see it, you've got two options—exile, or the 'brig.'"

Exile out in this area could only mean death. Tyler snarled, but deflated. "Lock me up. One day you all will see your mistakes, and I'll be there to laugh."

Two of the guards approached Mordenna and Tyler, the former releasing the latter into custody. Jax lowered the guns onto the ground, away from the three of them as they walked back into the haven. May sighed. "Finish up with the wounded and then you can certainly leave if you want. We've got the means to put out the fires ourselves."

"Loud and clear." Eliza's voice stopped filtering from the BIT, instead coming over comms. "Menace One-Five, admirable work. Firebrand's almost on the scene. Cherry?"

"Done." Sherry was rejoining the squad. "Guy pointing the gun at me didn't seem to mind me continuing to patch up their wounded so much." She scoffed at the retreating form of Tyler. "Dumbass."

"Damn right." May came up to Jax once again. "Hope you guys don't think too much lesser of us because of him. Promise he doesn't represent all of us. And..." She sighed. "Thank you. Again. Was half a second away from tackling Tyler my damn self to smack some sense into him."

"As always," he replied, "it was simply the right thing to do."

"Say any more cliches and the end credits music is gonna start," Mordenna muttered, walking to his brother. "You alright, bro? As far as my record goes, that was one use of psionics more than anticipated."

"I'll be fine," he said, feeling his eyebrows involuntarily twitch. The headache hadn't gotten much worse, but it was there.

"Oh, bullshit, bro." Mordenna looked over his shoulder, then addressed May. "You can say whatever else you'd like to say to the Commander and she'll get it relayed—I wanna get my brother home so something else doesn't jump us and make him have a hernia or something."

May chuckled and waved them off. "Go on, then. Hopefully we can see each other again on better terms."

Jax nodded, and a voice came in on comms. "Menace, this is Firebrand. I'm parked and ready for you. Sorry I missed whatever holdup was going on."

"Eh, the Chosen solved it." Rosa began to walk towards the Skyranger—which was indeed parked a walk away—with SYN in tow. "Just get us out of here once we're in there."

Very much agreed. Jax trailed after the rest of the squad with his brother beside him, taking calm breaths to manage his headache. He would be home and able to manage it in a bit.

When they got on the Skyranger, instead of sitting across from him, Mordenna came to sit down beside Jax in the seats. The reason for it was clear a moment later when he bumped his hand and pretty much requested a mind meld. When Jax complied, Mordenna was quick to talk. "Might as well do it like this so I can help you out."

Help him? What was—oh. Mordenna's signature had done what it did best and let him slip past Jax's usual defences to get to his pain, and he was already making off with a good portion of it. "You don't have to do that, brother. Have I not put you out enough?"

The ramp closed and the Skyranger gently tilted as it took off. "That would imply you're putting me out and that it wasn't entirely my choice to step into your brain and run off with some of your headache. Don't worry about it. I'd like to be there for you. Family, and all."

Jax was supposed to be the big brother, wasn't he? He knew they just went over this, but it felt improper for Mordenna to have to support him. "I should be stronger than to have to lean on you constantly."

Mordenna looked at him. "Hey there, Eliza, didn't see you on the Skyranger. Please, Jax, we all get on her about doing that, don't just turn around and cop her attitude. I love her to death but if I have to make two people unlearn that kind of thinking I'm going to scream." His mental "tone" implied that it still wouldn't be any major issue—only that he'd be mildly exasperated about it.

Jax looked to his feet, blowing a sigh out of his nose. "Apologies. I suppose I'm trying to lean into this 'big brother' attitude and finding myself lacking because of circumstances like this."

"Shit happens. So long as you'll be there for me when I need it—and you have been—I've got no problems with it."

"Of course, brother. I wouldn't dream of abandoning you."

"Good to hear. That said." He could feel Mordenna poke him mentally, and somehow he was able to "gesture" at a specific thought in Jax's mind. "Didn't mean to read your mind there while I was taking on a bit of your headache, but you wanna talk about shit we did in the past?"

Right. Mordenna must've caught onto his musings of the ways they really had wronged havens such as Gilligan's Ridge. "I would wish to speak of it eventually, I suppose, so this just speeds up the process. Yes, I... I was thinking that, indeed, even lowly fools can have points sometimes."

"All part of the redemption process, bro." Mordenna looked back ahead, his mental space growing quieter. "Did my fair share of war crimes back in the day, y'know. It actually spooked me a little there how one of my first inclinations was to shoot all of the haven members holding us up, because it took me right back to all of the times I did it without a thought, y'know? I think, at this point, I've just accepted that there will be people who have the right to not forgive me. Doesn't mean I won't try to make amends where I can, but... it doesn't seem selfish that it enables me to move on and worry about things I can help, does it?"

The mild insecurity there at the end was telling. Jax wound his fingers together. "I do not see it as selfish whatsoever—if anything, it may just be a mindset I adapt for my own sake. Perhaps it is a waste of energy to toil over things you could or could not have done in the past. Of course, there is still responsibility to be taken for your actions, but I would like to believe all three of us are not taking what we have done to innocent people lightly."

"Could say that again. And..." Mordenna's signature shifted to a kind of shy genuineness—and was that a bit of familial pride? "I'm glad that's starting to sink in for you. It really wasn't your fault what happened to the rest of us, you know? Just the Elders'. And since you said you were now completely fine with me shittalking them, I'm saying it: they were terrible as fuck parents and never saw us as kids to be raised—just as accessories or trophies. Or systems, in my case."

"... agreed. And I would like to think I am learning. This, of course, does not mean I will not be striving to protect the both of you the best I can in the future, of course."

"By all means! Happy to have someone watching my back."

"Happy to watch it, Mordenna." A small moment of mental silence lapsed between them. Jax's mind wandered back to the Elders, and he tried his hardest not to think of Cronus. No, there was another Elder outside of the Trio he was concerned about.

He was leaving his thoughts open by choice, so naturally Mordenna picked up on it. "Yeah, I don't know what to think of Argus either. I mean, fuck them for trying to turn Eliza into something against her will, but..." He could almost feel Mordenna's mind working away, leaping to ten different thoughts at once along the same subject. Just how did he have any coherent thoughts? "It shouldn't take twenty years to Ascend a Chosen. Like, her files are dated 2015. By all rights this second war shouldn't have even begun."

That was both right and very strange. Jax poured over it for a second. He hadn't witnessed the file himself, but Mordenna had given him a breakdown of the contents when he'd asked if the Elders had modified Eliza's psionics at all. A year for the changes Argus wanted to make would be generous—twenty was overkill of the highest degree. With the growth therapy and minor mental tweaking, it should've taken perhaps a month or two at most. "There was something else I was wondering about. The second time I was... punished, they appeared after Cronus had suddenly stopped." He closed his eyes, trying not to think of the pain beforehand. "I... I would think it would be Cronus to finish there, and what I had witnessed—the exchange between the two of them... I do not know what to make of it. The intensity of it, as well..."

Jax could feel Mordenna's signature come in and support his, and he took the measure of comfort gladly. "Honestly, bro, what I was getting around that time? That was too extreme even for Cronus. Plus, combined with these breathing problems you're seeming to have... I. I think Cronus was trying to kill you. If you say Argus came in and it stopped suddenly..."

The implication Mordenna was putting down... it unnerved Jax. To think of any Elder in a positive light? He'd just gotten away from it, largely, even as some parts of him still wanted to make excuses for them. What was Argus...?

"... I wouldn't think too hard about it, Jax. In the end they're an Elder and still just as guilty as the rest for drastically thinning out the human race, capturing the Commander, and, y'know, invading the planet." Mordenna physically reached over and patted his shoulder. "Their time will come—my only regret is that Eliza won't be there in person to cap them."

Jax nodded at that, relaxing. They could be sure of that much, at least.


Stressful mission, that one. Mordenna was glad it was over.

As was tradition at this point, Mordenna made sure Jax made it to his followers alright before hugging him and regretfully withdrawing from the mind meld. On one hand, he was glad to not have a considerable headache—Jax really did a good job of hiding his pain on those, it seemed. On the other? Well, Maria was with him now. He didn't have to worry that much. In any case, he was unofficial co-commander to Eliza and work partner of Bradford. He had business in the Bridge.

With long strides and a quick pace, it wasn't too long before he was ducking under the doorway and entering the room. The screen in the corner had May's face on it, and her and Eliza were talking. Well, he could always just hang around and see if he was needed at some point.

He watched as Bradford approached Eliza, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Commander? It's Volk. He wants to know if the defense went alright."

Eliza looked back to May. "I really don't want to interrupt this," she began. "Getting a new haven leader acquainted in the aftermath of an attack is important procedure."

"I know. Maybe I'll—"

"I'll go talk to him."

Both of them turned to Mordenna, and he gave a lazy wave. "I have some mildly unfinished business with the bastard anyway, and might as well let Lizzie give her undivided attention to the new leader of Gilligan's. If you trust me to do it, of course."

Eliza's "of course" and Bradford's "well..." came at the same time and he almost wanted to laugh. Bradford looked at Eliza and shrugged, shaking his head. "I suppose if the Commander clears it, fine by me. But you tell me if Volk gives you a hard time, alright? I'll kick the bastard's ass myself if I have to."

"Bradford, language." Even as she said that, Eliza was grinning. "Go ahead, Mordenna. Thank you."

Mordenna gave a peace sign and walked right back out of the Bridge, his destination in mind. Volk was kind of a different beast to Elena. Mordenna would like to think they could still have a mildly civil conversation. Only mildly, of course. There could still be plenty of shit-slinging to be had.

He entered the Resistance Ring just to see Volk already on screen, who looked incredulously at Mordenna. "She sent you down here?"

"I know, right?" Mordenna shrugged, his hands out. "Woman's mad. Good kind of mad, mind. Anyway, I'm here to tell you the defence went fine. Saved some civilians, they got the fires put out, and we only got held at gunpoint once!"

That made Volk stare at him a bit. "What."

"Yeah, they did that. Granted, the situation got resolved pretty quickly and peacefully—by my standards, at least—and suffice to say it won't be a problem at that haven again. They're under new leadership, by the way."

Volk massaged his forehead, sighing. "One of the saviors of the human race and they hold them up. I'm gonna have to go to some of the havens under our protection and tell them that if they pull shit like that against XCOM again they can kiss their assistance from us goodbye."

"Eh, don't hold it against Gilligan's, at least not this time." Mordenna leaned over on the table. "It was mostly the leader being somewhat justifiably angry at me and Jax. He still accused the rest of XCOM of being ADVENT in disguise, though, so the validity of his complaints is ehhh."

"Can only imagine the kind of heart attack O'Leary was having."

"Oh, tell me about it. I was at risk of getting shot and all I could think of was 'jesus fuck this can't be good for the Commander's blood pressure.'"

Volk looked like he almost wanted to laugh at that, but didn't. He looked Mordenna in the eye. "... everything fine outside of that?"

"Absolutely. New leader established and she's on the line with Liz right now. It's why I'm down here instead of her."

He crossed his arms, sitting back. "And she sent you knowing...?"

Mordenna casually waved it off. "It was Elena who sent me into an emotional breakdown for a solid hour and made it so we can pretty much never speak to each other again, not you. You're just captain of holding me to Tomko's memory and justifiably being angry about the things I've done to the Reapers."

Slam dunk. Volk looked pretty uncomfortable with what Mordenna just said. As much as he loved banter with his former leader... sometimes it was nice to lash out a bit. He scratched at his beard, looking away. "... look. I really don't stand by what Elena did at all. If she stayed... well, she would've gotten an earful from me, too. I don't really think it's right to hold you to something you were before."

"Maybe it's time you stop too, then," Mordenna replied, voice quiet. "I've been letting it all slide, considering I've done some not-so-nice things to you guys in the past, but... if you guys are capable of forgiving and working with the Skirmishers, of whom you had a feud with for ages until Eliza got you to cut it out, then you're capable of recognizing I'm not Tomko anymore. Won't be and don't intend to be, either. I'm Mordenna now."

Volk went back to looking at Mordenna, and the expression he was wearing... it was one of familiarity. "—I can do that. Just, sometimes, like right then... I can see Tomko again. Telling me you're not who you were and wanting to move on. Because... well, I guess it's alright if I tell you, but you were—"

"Trans. I know. One of the few things I do know." Mordenna crossed his arms, the corner of his mouth turning up. "Only gotta read about the Elder in charge of you removing your top surgery scars and slapping a dick on you once to get that picture. But, still, you knew Tomko before...?"

"Yeah. When all your folks called you 'Rachel.'"

Oof. Just hearing that name sent some disgust into Mordenna—and it made a strange amount of sense for something else he didn't want to be called. "—always wondered why I eventually had a guttural reaction to getting called Ref-Il. Too phonetically similar. Still, I've got a point to get to." Mordenna gestured at the screen. "... we can catch up in person sometime, I think. I just want to be clear that I want to learn not because I want to be who I was, but so I can move on and become someone now. I'd like to think I am someone now. Just, changing a bit. Reclaiming what Odin took from me."

Volk nodded, the creases of his face showing up even in the video feed. "We can do that. And... I suppose now would be the time to bury the hatchet, too. If I can forgive Betos for what she's done? You're right on the list next to her—and from the sounds of it, you had less of a choice in the matter than she did. I'd be happy to move on if you are. Because, quite frankly? I've been a bit of a dick."

Mordenna chuckled, shaking his head. "Never thought I'd hear the day. Sure, old wolf. Next time Liz is in the area, I'll catch you and talk your ear off."

"I'd be interested in seeing how that goes. We all good?"

"All good, Volk. Catch you later."

The video feed went dark, in the darkness of the Resistance Ring.