Hello everyone, my name is flameboy915 and i've decided to take the plunge into writing my very own first fanfiction. I am always looking to improve myself so any C&C is taken seriously and I'm always open to opinions. As for the content, I wanted to explore how the resistance cells interacted with Reclamation and City 31.

Chapter 1: Pilgrimage

The gentle hum of the repurposed transport ship permeated the air. The interior was loaded with a multitude of crates, barrels, and supply equipment destined for the branch of XCOM known as the Reclamation Agency, which has now established itself in the new Utopia-city City 31. Nestled between two crates I sat, meditating, and focusing my inner mind on my task.

"Hey templar!" A voice cuts into the cargo bay, taking me out of my mantras.

"I hear you pilot, is there something wrong?" I respond curtly, I remember that the flight should only take three hours and we have been flying for around two.

"Oh no, nothing wrong, we caught a strong tailwind, and I can see the city in the distance. Lucky you huh?"

A small shutter opens, and I stand, stretching out my arms and legs from sitting between crates, noisily popping my joints. I gaze out the small shutter window and gaze upon my future assignment. A bustling metropolis that promises fairness and second chances for all the peoples and aliens of the old world. Here anyone that wishes for a better life can enter and start over, if you are willing to tolerate the presence of the same aliens that were used by the deceitful and manipulative Elders to conquer and subjugate our world. That is all it really took.

I sigh as I prepare myself for the city. Although the Templars were instrumental in the fight against the Elders, many were divided on the aftermath with what to do for the aliens. Of course, any ADVENT or aliens that could not accept the Elders lies and could not adapt were hunted down mercilessly. However, some Templars, especially those that worked with the Reapers on joint ops, felt that the aliens themselves should also be removed from mother earth, their very presence tainting the energies within the planet.

Of course, some aliens were seen in a more favorable light than others. The mutons, andromedon, and archons were generally viewed as slave labor that had no choice in servitude and granted leniency. Vipers and the hybrid were viewed with suspicion and caution as they were very individualistic, and many had not left the elders' service or could not adapt to the new world order. Finally, the sectoids were viewed with almost outright hostility by many Templars, the only major reason being that they used the same psionics that the Elders abused.

I chuckled slightly at the notion, many members of the resistance, most notably the Skirmishers, had decried the alliance of XCOM and the Templars in the fight against the Elders, citing the same argument of wielding the enemy's own power as a source of untrustworthiness. However, the Commander had approved of us and we led our forces to victory and disproved the naysayers.

I only hope that the Sectoids will be able to prove themselves as well. If anything, so my fellow Templars realize their own hypocrisy.

"Coming in for approach Templar! Make sure all your gears in place because if you leave anything here, you'll have a mountain of paperwork to fill out to get it back from XCOM's repo squad."

I do not know what this 'repo' is, but nevertheless I take my tempest gauntlets out of my duffel bag and affix them to my arms, then I pull out the elerium crystal-lined helmet out of the same bag and slide it over my head. I feel my own psionics corral itself inside the helmet, entering my head and forcing itself throughout my senses and flowing down to my gauntlets. I flex my hand and channel the psionics down into the gauntlets and helm, which begins to glow a subtle purple.

The ADVENT transport comes down to the landing pad and gently touches down, barely making a bump. As much as I despised the Elders and their ADVENT puppets, I must appreciate their engineering on the quality of their machines.

The doors open and I am immediately greeted by many workmen and workmutons that begin unloading the cargo into lifts, no doubt heading towards whatever high rise building houses the Reclamation Agency. I drop off the transport with my duffel bag swung over my shoulder and I notice a familiar woman walk up to me, her features have aged slightly since we last met but she still retained that streak of white in her hair.

"Colonel Kelly Sir!" I give a Templar salute as she smiles slightly.

"Please Siegfried, I am not a Colonel anymore, I am a director now, and you're not a soldier of XCOM anymore. However, I am curious as to why Geist sent own of his own requesting you join Reclamation."

I freeze slightly, I knew that she would want some kind of explanation and I was told explicitly by Geist that any information given should only be given when asked about it. However, I do not feel it necessary to deceive Colon- no, Director Kelly.

"I am more than happy to share with you why I am here and why Lord Geist wanted a Templar in Reclamation. I simply ask that we discuss the Templars involvement in a more… private space."

Kelly nods, "Fair enough Siegfried, come with me and we'll be on our way". She motions for me to follow and I nod.

Travelling down the lift I see why many people would be filled with a sense of hope and accomplishment for reaching the city. The towering skylines and distant sounds of construction makes me think of what my father described of places like New York and Orlando. The city almost exudes an energy to new arrivals. Of course, I know that there is no such thing as a utopia, there were far too much tension between people, let alone aliens, for there to be a true peaceful coexistence. I know that eventually this city will become a battleground for supremacy, and I only hope that I can fulfill my objectives here and go back to the sanctuary before that happens.

"Siegfried." I har Kelly call my name and I immediately and brought out of my thoughts.

"My apologies Director Kelly, I was just thinking about the City and what the future holds in store for it."

Kelly sighs, "You always were a deep thinker, weren't you? Well, the City definitely has a way to go before we can claim it as a 'new bastion of peace', but the groundwork is there, and we all need to do our part to preserve what people have tried building here."

We arrive at the base of the lift and find an armored APC waiting for us, emblazoned on the side is a variation of the XCOM insignia that I am unfamiliar with, a sword with three beast heads on the flanks and under the point. Over the top the words 'Chimera' is bolded with the words 'Diversis Viribus' under the snake-like head.

Kelly beckons me in as she climbs into the back. I toss my duffel bag in on the floor and climb up, fastening myself into one of the seats.

"I do not recognize the logo on the side of this vehicle Kelly, is it part of Reclamation?" I ask, wondering just how much has XCOM contributed to this endeavor and how much power is at Kelly's fingertips.

"Well, that's the logo of Chimera Squad, an enforcement branch of Reclamation Agency, they assist 31pd when they can and are here to help take down the terrorist cells that are trying to destabilize and break the fragile peace the leaders of City 31 established."

Now it all comes together, why Geist had sent different messages to me and Kelly, and why he put me on the need-to-explain basis.

I chuckle, "Now it makes sense to me Kelly, very well I will explain what Geist has planned here."

Kelly's friendly face immediately turn serious as she leans in, switching from Kelly the friend to Kelly the director.

"Approximately one year ago" I explain, "There was a huge debate amongst the Templars over whether or not we integrate ourselves with the greater new world society. Now, we have a general forum where we share ideas and policies, with our Lord Geist deciding on what policies are deemed necessary at the time."

My voice lowers as I remember the events of that night, "There was a minority group, led by a Templar named Selina, who wanted to enter society and share the gifts of the Templars with others. She advocated engaging is a mass recruitment and establishing of more Templar cells 'for the benefit of humanity' as she put it. Geist…did not approve of her plans and cited our tradition of slowly bringing initiates into our ranks, ensuring that they understand their power slowly and steadily. Selina's plan would, as he said, bring in far too many initiates than we could handle and train responsibly."

"So, I take it she didn't take the dismissal well?" Kelly asked, already I could se she knew what was coming.

"No, Selina and Lord Geist have had a confrontational past, it was commonplace for them to argue on many different matters, but this time was her breaking point. She proclaimed that Geist was a relic who only cared for tradition without thinking of the new changes the world had undergone, so she left with some of her followers. Normally, Templars cannot exit our sanctuary without explicit permission, so when Selina and her followers left, they had to fight their way past the guards and for the first time in Templar history, we had a schism that led to bloodshed."

My voice strains a bit as I remember the fire, the screams, the whooshing of the psiblades as Templar killed Templar that night. The confusion of not knowing who was with or against you, treating every member with hostility and suspicion until their motives could be ascertained. It was the perfect cover for Selina to steal parts of our research that night.

I feel a hand on my gauntlet as I look down and realize that Kelly put her hand on mine, clenched into a fist and trembling as I recalled that night.

"I'm sorry Siegfried" Kelly's tone is empathetic and understanding, a welcome gesture. "I know how close the Templars are with one another and how these splits can affect more than just the organization". She speaks as if from some long-ago recollection of events.

I clear my throat. "Thank you, Kelly, I should get to the point now while my mind is focused. Selina stole some of our research that night and fled into the wilderness. Most our scouts never could find her, although we discovered and reconnected with those that followed and became disillusioned with her ideals. Eventually we learned from one of her lieutenants that she had escaped to City 31 where she joined a group you may know as 'The Progeny'."

Kelly's face looks up and I can see her face set in a grim composition. "Reclamation knows of them, they're one of the three cells that Chimera Squad has been established to expose and wipe out. They're a group of psionically gifted individuals, both sectoid and human, who may be trying to enact their own plan within this city, although we don't know what yet."

The realization of what the Progeny's composition are chills my body. Knowing what data Selina stole from us and what group she is affiliating herself with only makes her an even more important figure to stop. The only question is whether I reveal to Kelly what she stole that night. I already divulged much to her and while I want to earn her trust, I believe at this point I have provided enough info that she will acquiesce to Geist and mine's proposal.

"My mission, assigned from our lord Geist himself, is to join Reclamation and assist you take down Selina, assess to what degree she has spread our teachings, and bring her body back to Templar HQ, warm or cold. As a secondary objective, any misled initiates that she has attempted to teach are to be taken alive and brought to HQ where they can become proper Templars. I understand that we are asking much of you Director Kelly, however the Templar would not reach out like this were it not vitally important."

Kelly rests her hand over her chin, and she looks deep in thought. I wait in anticipation, hoping that she agrees to our plan. If not, I must inform Lord Geist that we must go to the contingency plan, which is the systematic placement of 10 elite Templars and myself into City 31 and hunting Selina down ourselves. I do not wish for it to come to that as we would most assuredly come into conflict with 31PD and Reclamation.

Eventually Kelly sighs and moves to her wrist-mounted device. "Hey Whisper… yeah no it's not an emergency but a new development… uh-huh… well you'll need to make some space for one more recruit. Yes, I know that it is on short notice, but this is a special case where some old friend of XCOM have some vital intel and I think it's better to bring them along than try and solve it ourselves. If anything goes wrong then I will take responsibility, like with Torque and hopefully, this new agent will tip the scales in the Progeny case. Yeah… yeah ok. The new Agent will be at HQ starting tomorrow. Ok, that's all Whisper."

Kelly sighs and gives me a thin smile, "Well Siegfried you're in. Here is hoping you will be able to help with our investigation. I will go through the paperwork of getting you a housing assignment, hopefully there is an apartment close to HQ left. Finally, we'll need a callsign for you."

"A callsign? Hmmmm… I have not used one since I worked with XCOM in the field. How about Psion? That's my current rank in the Templars and I'm already used to being referred to that by some of my superiors."

Kelly nods, "Alright then 'Psion', welcome to Chimera Squad." She holds out her hand which I grab and shake handily.

So begins my new life in City 31.