Welcome to my story! This will, hopefully, be telling the story of the ADVENT viper Lazarus! Being one of the only males, he is faced with an interesting issue: loyalty to his masters or to his kind. Enjoy!
"The others are failing. Their weak spirit being crushed by the heretics, doomed to fall. But you- will execute our will. Given the strength of a monster, yet the agility of a serpent. Rise, our child, and serve us. Go forth, my Son."
The rough bouncing of an ADVENT APC keeps the occupants from being able to rest their minds. Two vipers, three troopers, and an Officer. Nobody talks, as they have been taught not to. Their implants are the main cause of such anti-social interaction, but also the setting of which they are in. Are soldiers, trained from birth, truly able to interact normally? Any conversations that happen always relate to battles, missions or fallen comrades. The bleak insides of the black APC do not give the soldiers much to think about, if they even can truly think. X-com sees the forces as little more than biological robots, having no will nor thought. At least, from what they've seen, that is true. Perhaps they can think but do not truly know what to think about as their entire lives regard this war they have to fight.
With the tires screeching softly to a halt, the back doors of the APC swing open and all of the occupants disembark from the vehicle. The vipers slid out while the hybrid soldiers had to step down. The Officer spoke over the radio to his soldiers:
"You all know what to do. Protect the relay- Elders protect us."
All of the soldiers responded with the same phrase, as they looked about their surroundings. An old-world town. Not one of the gleaming city centers, but a classic small town. The town has several other garrisons set here, including two pods consisting of a sectoid and two troopers. Fairly standard defense forces. The vipers are the best soldiers here, but what is there to worry about? The Elders will protect them.
One of the vipers slithered down the road, moving towards a two-story building, so that they may get a better look at the town. The second viper followed her sister and said in a raspy, hushed voice: "Do you think that resistance forces will show up? How will they know of the relay, Jensa?" The speaking viper has scales of orange and yellow, with a pair of emerald eyes, blazing brightly. She is slightly shorter than her sister, but she is also younger.
The other viper, Jensa, was grey with a black front side. The eyes of the viper are a blood red, giving her a very menacing appearance. Her voice was deeper than the other viper's, hinting at maturity. "They would be foolish to come here, the Elders sent us here for a reason, Yenta." The older viper Jensa clearly has more faith than her younger sister, or is just trying to avoid the issue. It is a hard thing to tell with ADVENT soldiers. Motive is not something taken into account with them, as there is little to motive aside from obedience. Pushing the white, wooden door, Jensa slithered inside with Yenta behind her. They are meant to spread out, but Yenta finds comfort in talking to her older sister.
"I'm just worried, sister." Yenta spoke, feeling nervous about this mission. Yenta has only been on a few missions, but she has rarely fought. Being sent to guard a facility or something, and then being called back when nothing happened. Her first real combat deployment would be this one, as she's only ever killed one resistance soldier, not even X-com. Jensa is much more experienced than Yenta, having been used exclusively for fighting X-com, and getting some kills here and there.
"What are you worried about? The Elders will protect us- just have faith, sister."
Time passed by uneventfully, with hardly even the Officer said anything. They have been stationed for three hours and have only seen some civilians moving about within their few homes. The most action that the serpent sisters saw was seeing some lightning flash in the distance, foretelling of a storm to come. Just when the sisters thought that this mission would be uneventful and a break from their usual duties, came a peculiar sound. To anybody that stood outside of a building or vehicle, came a screeching of engines. The sound of jet engines hovering close by. With Jensa looking out the window she saw something familiar hoving close to the ground with ropes hanging out of the hind end of it. Sky Ranger; the troop transport of X-com. With the brightly colored yellow nose of the craft showing proudly with the X-com logo strewn upon it, the ADVENT soldiers started to scramble, not expecting X-com to show up. X-com is pressed for time to destroy that relay, so they did not waste any time to give a stealth insertion. 5 ropes were hanging from the back of the craft, human soldiers sliding down the black, nylon ropes. The incredible eyesight of the serpents, they were able to see the heretics exiting the craft, before it soon flew away. One grenadier with a mag-cannon, a specialist with an upgraded Gremlin, a ranger with a shard-gun, a sharpshooter with a gauss rifle, and a psi-operative with a magnetic rifle. The operatives quickly dashed to cover, and prepared to move. ADVENT is a little unprepared for an attack here, but the serpents were their ace up the sleeve. Jensa looked down to her smaller sister and said, "You stay here and fire upon them. I will move closer. Elders guide you." Jensa hardly gave the time for a response before she was quickly slithering away to try to flank the human operatives.
The grenadier, who is wearing a beanie along with his predator armor, pushed up to a stone wall, and began to suppress the ADVENT forces, hitting one of the troopers directly in the chest, causing him to fall backwards, lifeless. The ranger dashed forward, trying to round the distance for his shard-gun to be effective. The tall, white male is wearing a boonie hat, and has grey armor. He moved so fast that he was able to take a shot at the officer, who was behind a small ADVENT defensive wall. The round hit the officer through the wall, but did not inflict enough damage to kill him, only prompting a loud yell from the officer. The sharpshooter was in position to fire, but every enemy was behind cover, thus making him go on overwatch instead of wasting ammo on a low-chance shot. He wore a large hood over his face, paired with aviators. He has green armor, and oddly colorful boots which have random colors sprayed upon them. The psi-operative is a brown female, who jumped between her teammates. She did not move as far as the ranger, who moved too far for everybody else to properly follow. The psi-operative is a soldier who relies on mind over matter; the true power of the operative comes from within. She may not be as skilled in tactics or battle prowess, but her gift is what made the Elders desire humans in the first place.
The officer moved away from his position to a nearby, broad tree, and fired at the Psi-operative, hitting her in the side prompting a loud yell from the female. The grenadier shouted "Alex!" Immediately turning his mag-cannon onto the officer and spraying dozens of rounds into his cover, decisively destroying it. With his cannon steaming from the quick outburst, he crouched down and allowed the weapon to cool off. With the tree reduced to a smoldering pile of ash, the sharpshooter fired, tearing a bullet straight through the Officer's red helmet, painting the ground behind him in a thick, caked layer of orange blood. The specialist immediately sent his little drone to administer a medkit to the wounded ally. She groaned as the medical aid came upon her. The ranger proclaimed: "Nice shot, Trav!" The squad as a whole praised the sharpshooter for that incredible shot, which swiftly ended the officer's life. But there are still scattered ADVENT soldiers to be dealt with.
The troopers were moving to assault the X-com force, but the grenadier was ready to push them back again. The sectoid leading the squad took a full blast of the cannon to his lower chest and legs, killing him- but the other troopers got into proper positions. The ranger rushed ahead to the side of a vehicle after being shot at several times, narrowly avoiding their aim. The troopers were about to move when he fired his shard-gun into the group of them, killing one instantly and injuring the other. With the last trooper leaving his cover, the wounded Psi-operative was able to fire her mag-rifle and hit him in the side causing him to fall to his knees, wheezing for breath. The sharpshooter soon put an end to the suffering.
With all of the troopers gone, only the three aliens remained. The lone sectoid and the sneaking viper. Jensa moved along the edge of the village trying to remain hidden. She left the building when Xcom showed up, but Yenta stayed in her place, watching her comrades fall. Her hands shook with fear, unsure of what to do. ADVENT is different from Xcom in one main way- the Commander. With him giving orders at every moment, they always have the edge on the moment. Perhaps he knew that the Psi-operative needed to get hit, in order to kill the officer? The limits of the Commander are something in question by ADVENT.
Jensa got behind the small force of humans, to where she could fire upon the enemy sniper. Lifting her rifle, she aimed at his back. Seeing the twisted engineering of their alloy, she frowned. The heretics are stealing their tech! Moving her finger to the trigger, she was ready to fire. Knowing that when she shoots, the other ones will attack her, she pulls. The chamber on her plasma rifle glowed green brightly for a moment, and the line of energy fired out. The guided beam of energy struck the sniper in the back, knocking him to fall off of his elevated position, landing roughly.
"Damn it!" The viper could hear the human protest, as he fell to the ground. He was safe from her line of sight, but the damage had been done. The green plasma bolt had melted his armor down to the skin on his back, barely missing his spinal cord. His skin boiling from the intense heat from the shot. He tried to yell out but could only manage a garbled exclamation. Xcom reacted just as Jensa thought. They shifted backwards, all getting on the serpent's flanks. The Gremlin flew over to the injured human and sprayed the medical goop onto his body. With the darker skinned man rushing over to the wounded sniper, Yenta peeked from her window. She was watching them protect the human, something ADVENT would never do for another soldier. The specialist grabbed the sniper and lifted him onto his shoulders, causing a loud groan.
"Agh! Watch it!" The sniper yelled in pain, with the painkillers still working on him.
"I could leave you to die, fat-ass!" The specialist groaned from the weight of the armor, gun, and soldier that he now bears upon his shoulders. Quickly moving back away from the position, hidden from Jensa.
The serpent felt a bit happy on her shot hitting true, which they always do. But, in her pride she got flanked. The ranger on her left, and the grenadier on her right. She was at a loss for options so she reared back and bore her fangs at the ranger. With a breath, she spat. The clump of purple and black goop flying at him. It landed on his chest and splashed on his face, causing him to fall down into his cover, yelling while trying to wipe it off. She was not fast enough for both of them though. The grenadier launched a grenade at her, causing her armor plates to be completely shredded. With the puff of black clearing, she felt the shrapnel in her body. Having gone through her armor and her scales, she gasped, sensing the blood leaving her body. Jensa fell against the last bit of the tree that was left and wheezed. Rasping over their communications. 'Help…'
Jensa had not heard from the sectoid or from her sister. The sectoid laid dead on the cold ground, killed by the Psi-operative after she finally received the painkillers dosage.
Yenta was terrified. Even her elder sister was falling to the humans. Peeking back again, she saw the Specialist carrying the sniper towards a small building. His movement is clearly slowed, with the heavy human on his shoulders. Yenta raised her rifle and aimed it at the human. Looking through her sight, she saw his side and the grimacing human upon him. Her finger shook over the trigger, not knowing what to do. Her emerald green eyes traced them all the way to the building, before he passed the threshold and vanished behind the door. She gasped softly, knowing that she just failed.
Jensa held her hand to her stomach, with her blood oozing out of her wound. Grasping the shard of metal, she took a breath, and ripped it out. She hissed loudly, sounding much like a scream. Yenta nearly fell out of her scales at the outburst, quickly slithering to the other window, looking out. There was Jensa, surrounded by two humans, both with their guns pointed at her.
'I'll make this right.' She whispered, aiming her rifle at the ranger. Just when she found the courage to fight, somebody beat her to the trigger. The end of the shard-gum glowed and the flash was seen. The thousands of shards propelled at Jensa, killed her. The rounds went clean through the armorless serpent, finishing the tree off behind her. The yellow blood pooled on the ground, causing the remaining serpent to fall into her cover, gasping and covering her mouth. Holding back a vomit, she stayed there.
With the aliens nearly defeated the operatives moved with ease towards the objective. Yenta coiled herself together in fear, having a righteous fear for death. Is her chip malfunctioning? The other soldiers showed no fear, yet- she cannot find the courage to fight at all?
The operatives regrouped, reloaded and pressed on. The specialist stayed with the critically injured sniper, with the other three units pressing on. The relay is set within a large red warehouse, which is hard to miss. The Psi-operative Alex Caluso, Grenadier Michael Ferdinand, and Ranger Todd Jackson all moved towards the warehouse. Moving through the open gate that leads to the compound, the group remained alert. Just when Alex stepped over a small pipe, a wall of blue energy appeared in front of the warehouse door. It remained for but a few seconds, revealing a figure on the ground. With the purple flames and smoke clearing, a voice could be heard over every radio and communication device.
"I am the son of the gods. Their will- I enforce." A deep and raspy voice, inhuman in quality. With the smoke cleared, it revealed something strange. A viper?
Adorned in black armor, with purple lights layered among every joint. Not a scale is shown of- his body? Normally with vipers they are more feminine in appearance, but this one- is clearly male. Being twice the size of a normal viper, he uncoiled, showing his true size, and not the coiled figure that he was. His rifle looks much like a plasma repeater, but it is purple. A long sword is sheathed upon his back, glowing through tiny slits in the sheath. A black necklace hangs on his neck, which is an Elder figure. The black ornament on his neck has a jewel in the middle, being of a black diamond. Clearly favored by the gods.
Todd decided to speak first. "Chosen? Central what is thi-"
"Chosen? No. I enforce the Elder's will. You may call me Lazarus. For I was once dead, but with the Elders I am made alive"
Alex sighed and lifted her rifle to fire. "Somebody shut this snake up." And pulled the trigger. The male serpent was not impressed. Merely moving to the side, with the bullets hitting the warehouse with loud thumps. He chuckled at the pathetic display.
"Would anybody else like to try?"
More orders were coming through by the Commander when the serpent took the initiative in this fight. He slithered with incredible speed, despite his armor. A gift from the Assassin. Getting in his position behind the concrete pipe, he fired his repeater at the grenadier who was hiding behind a crate. His accuracy lands true, shredding his armor and severely hurting him. Another gift from the Hunter.
'Fu*k! How did he even see me?'
The ranger was not going to allow himself to be taken out easily. He sprinted towards the serpent with his shard gun ready. When he rounded the corner on the pipe, the serpent was waiting. A familiar glow was within his right palm, and he reached out. A wave of psionic energy hit the ranger, blasting him backwards and slamming him against the pipe, causing a defeated grunt.
The Psi-operative pulled out her amp, and tried to put a stasis on the serpent, which proved successful, but she was audibly groaning from the strain of holding him. The ranger got up and sprinted over to the wounded grenadier and grabbed his back collar, and started to drag him. Fire-Brand was already waiting for evac, by commander's orders. Alex was left there, holding the serpent. The transport was quite far, being over by the Specialist and the sniper. She yelled softly as the stasis broke and she fell to her knee. The serpent did not waste a second of time before lunging at the operative. He closed the distance in incredible time, and coiled around her. His massive coils are much larger than any normal viper, and he is much longer. Despite his grip on the operative, he still has half of his coils laid upon the ground.
'AHH! He's got me!' She yelled, trying to get some help. The grip was tightening, with the serpent having his face get closer to hers.
Tighter and tighter, armor cracking and shattering.
Tighter, the plates failing.
Tighter, her body alone.
Tighter and tighter, bones cracking.
With one final scream from the operative- a horrifying 'crack!' was sent over the radio. The squad gasped as the Ranger was the last one holding the cable, with the grenadier on his shoulder now. He was pulled upwards and the craft soon departed.
The viper looked at his kill and saw her head at an odd angle and released his grip on her, causing her to fall over- lifeless. Seeing a soft flash from her neck, he noticed something. She has a necklace as well. It is a silver cross, simple yet beautiful. His armored tail pulled it off of her neck and he held it in front of himself, looking at it.
"Pure, yet simple." He admired the necklace for a few moments, enjoying the simplicity of it. Heresy, but lovely. Liking his prize, he slid the metal chain through a small hole on his rifle, and tied it there. The necklace now serves as a charm of sorts. He chuckled softly before sliding his rifle into place on his back.
On the small transport ship, Sky Ranger, the troopers were now thinking on the mission, save for the grenadier, who now lays unconscious in the ship.
Alex Caluso, KIA. A terrible three-lettered acronym. A soldier falling on the field of battle, and not being able to be brought home, is the one of the worst fates, save being a forgotten hero. The soldiers are silent in the ship, hearing little but the rattling of parts and items within the ship, with the engines screeching outside. The squad leader, Todd Jackson was tightly gripping the grip of his knife in his hand, feeling little more than wrath and disappointment.
"The Commander told me to leave her… To grab Fred and bail- but to leave her…"
Nearly everything about a battle is orchestrated by the Commander, thus making him the most likely to blame for anything. Every fall falls upon leadership, and X-com is no exception to this rule.
Sharpshooter Travis Lewis made it out with just that wound to his back, with the medicine still numbing his pain away.
"Maybe he didn't know what that thing was either?" Travis was a bit of an older guy. Being born in 2003, he is now 32 years old. With red hair and blue eyes, he typically is the clown of the squad, or at least the most light-hearted. "Surely ain't even the C'mmander knew what that thing t'was."
The specialist Richard Cunningham, was a darker skinned male, who lived in California before the war. He was in medical training when the invasion began, making him a great candidate for the resistance. Much more of a medic than a doctor, as he trained to be a paramedic.
"Hard t' say. I'm certain the Doc will have some explanation for what that was an' all."
The squad leader remarked again, but with much more anger and passion:
"I'm telling you it was wrong! To leave her there to die!" With the man standing up and throwing his hat down in anger. Everybody exclaimed at his outburst, but were careful in their words.
Travis spoke up first.
"C'mon man… we all are gonna hurt from this- but don't let that break you, man. Fred is gonna hurt the worst.."
Michael Ferdinand, 'Fred', was very close to Alex Caluso. The squad all said that they were dating, but they denied it. Fred was knocked out soon after getting hit, so he doesn't even know that she's gone. The transport ship soon landed upon their HQ and the weary soldiers all disembarked with some hesitation. Travis because of his wound, while Richard had to help the medical personnel lift Fred out of there. Todd picked up his hat and proceeded to leave the ship, biting his tongue so he won't say something stupid.
Back at the mission site, Lazarus is scouring over the battlefield. Seeing how many of his troops that he lost during all of this. With him kneeling over one of the fallen troopers and saying small prayers for them. If there is a caring leader in ADVENT's ranks, it would be Lazarus. He still lacks a lot of empathy and care for them, but in relation to his own masters, they only see them as fodder. Lazarus believed that they at least deserve a prayer, if nothing more. With him finishing up a small prayer for one of the last troopers, he postured up, holding the small Elder's necklace over them. Looking towards the two storey building, he saw a viper slithering out, Yenta. With a small tap on the side of his helmet, his nano-fiber helmet faded away, much like a Spectre would. Revealing his scales, having a black back, and a crimson front. His emerald green eyes match those of Yenta, but he holds much more life than those of the terrified Yenta. Putting his necklace over his neck, the viper blinked, noting her untouched armor. Most soldiers get hit at least once when facing X-com. With his eyes glaring about and his massive body moving closer to the smaller serpent, he inquired.
"How did you not fall like the others, Sister?"
Her emerald eyes were shot with fear and lifelessness. Her superior is here, let alone asking why she did not fight.
"I.. uh."
"Is something wrong, Sister? Your speech appears impaired."
His words cut deep like knives. He instantly found an issue with her. No ADVENT soldier has any issue responding or talking.
"It's nothing! Just flustered, Superior.."
The much larger viper was hardly impressed with her excuse, with him quickly replying:
"Is that… fear, I sense? We have nothing to fear, Sister. Do you trust the Elders?" The armor-clad serpent looked at his smaller kin with curiosity and wonder. All of his soldiers are always sure about their faith, but not this one.
"Yes, Superior… I was frightened by the loss of our sister."
He put a clawed finger on his chin, thinking deeply.
"Ah. You grieve then? What was her name, Sister?"
Yenta found it strange for a superior to care about such details. Never once has she been asked for a name. For her own, or for another. All other superiors just go by their numbers. Yenta knew better than to ask why he cared.
"Jensa, Superior."
"Do not be laden with this loss, Sister. She died protecting our values- our peace."
His words moved beautifully, but were filled with a poison more powerful than the venom in her fangs- deceit. Words meant to trick her feelings into fighting even more, to have even more kin fall to the heretics.
"Yes, Superior.."
"Good, Elders guide you."
Yenta has heard that phrase a myriad amount of times in her life. Endlessly playing back in her head, everything about the Elders and the humans. Her mind spins when she sleeps, trying to find which way is up. Looking at the male viper, his helmet reformed over his head, and the exact same wall of purple energy appeared and ripped him away from the scene. With her eyes looking up at the sky, she sees several ADVENT transports flying towards her. At least she can return to base without fear of more loss.