Repayment
Nigeria, Vyandar EXALT Headquarters
It was good to be in her childhood home, even if was just for a few hours.
Saudia strode through the gardens she and Hasina had run through as a child, marveling at how little it had changed. Eight square patches for growing various flowers and medicinal herbs made up the area, with stone walkways between each of them. Within the patches, the plants were allowed to grow freely, not placed into neat rows like most would expect.
It was the way Mother had always done it, and there would be some things that would never change. Although had events turned out differently and she'd become head of the family, that would admittedly have been one of the first improvements. She understood Mother wanting things to be wild and free, but there was an argument to be had for efficiency and practicality.
Hasina would probably keep the tradition, as was her right, and since it was almost the same, she assumed Hasina already made that choice. Looking at it, Saudia wondered how Mother would cope once Father died. They'd been married forty years, and she was concerned that Mother wouldn't hold up once he was gone. For that matter, she wondered how Hasina would fare. She and Father were much closer than Saudia, and while she would mourn his death like everyone else, it would be less than what Hasina would feel.
In the center of the garden was a fountain with four benches in front of its sides. Father was sitting peacefully in front of it, while several guards stood behind him. Ah, that was one thing that was different about this place. There'd never been guards before.
They knew who she was though, and stepped aside as she approached. "[Leave us,]" she ordered quietly, glad to revert to her native tongue. They nodded and walked out of the garden. Once they were gone, she slowly walked up beside her father.
Well into his mid-sixties, few would guess Evelor Vyandar was any older than fifty, much less suffering from a genetic disease. Slight wrinkles only just now forming on his kind face, his eyes still held the same energy and determination she'd seen so often growing up. His short wiry black hair was beginning to turn silver, but he was just as immaculate as ever.
"[Saudia,]" he greeted, looking up to her, a warm smile gracing his lips. "[I'm so glad to see you again.]" He stood and they tightly embraced. Saudia would have found it amusing how much taller she was than him, but the situation was too solemn to focus on that.
After a few seconds they separated and sat down together on the bench. "[You're still as beautiful as ever, Director,]" he complemented. "[And haven't changed a bit since our last talk.]"
She sighed. "[Thank you, Father. But I'm not here as Director for the moment, I'm here as your daughter,]"
"[I know, I know,]" he chuckled. "[But EXALT business comes first, yes?]"
"[Yes,]" Saudia commented, looking at the fountain. "[You taught me that. Though there isn't much today.]"
They were silent for a minute. "[I assume Hasina has told you about my condition?]" He asked, mostly as a confirmation.
"[During the last meeting,]" Saudia confirmed. "[I was preparing for it…]" she paused. "[Though I thought there would be more time before we had to worry about it.]"
"[That's what we all wish,]" he nodded. "[But some things can't be changed.]"
"[Not necessarily,]" Saudia protested, looking at him. "[Hasina says she's hopeful Darian will come up with something-]"
The elder Vyandar held up his hand. "[Child, you know as well as I that will not happen.]"
Saudia's shoulder sank. "[No, probably not,]" she admitted sadly.
"[I only have months to live,]" he said calmly. "[I've come to terms with it. And I'm glad we're getting to visit one last time, since I know how busy you've been.]"
She closed her eyes, knowing that soon tears would come. "[I'll try to have it not be the last time.]"
"[If I die, knowing EXALT will be in your hands, I will be content,]" he said firmly. "[I've always been proud of what you've done for EXALT and our family. I just want to make sure you know it.]"
"[I know,]" she whispered. "[But I mostly used what you taught me.]"
"[Oh, you most certainly did,]" he agreed, his lips curling up. "[But you've forged your own path without relying on me. I didn't pass the Gauntlet or Rex Fecit did I? That was all you, all without my help or intervention.]"
"[I suppose I can take some of the credit,]" Saudia admitted, knowing he wouldn't have it any other way. "[I will do my best to ensure our final goal is fulfilled.]"
"[You didn't promise,] he noted. "[Good. Promises are hard to keep these days.]"
"[Yes,]" Saudia agreed. "[I assume Hasina has briefed you on recent events?]"
"[Of course,]" he confirmed, his voice turning serious as he looked her in the eyes. "[If I may offer some advice, don't underestimate these aliens. They will not take kindly to being played.]"
"[They won't be,]" Saudia assured him. "[Once the aliens have served their purpose, we will dispose of them.]"
He gave her a sad smile. "[Saudia, you are strong, charismatic and brilliant. Yet no great leader is without one fatal flaw, and you should be aware of yours.]" He paused. "[You are arrogant, child. And I hope that your belief in our superiority does not lead to your downfall.]"
She could very easily see how that was true of her, yet there was a fine line between arrogance and truth. "[But we are superior, Father,]" she insisted calmly. "[The best of humanity. These aliens can't comprehend even the bond regular humans share with each other, let alone those who are EXALT. It might be arrogance, yes, but one backed up by centuries of work.]"
He shook his head. "[Child, the world has changed much since you were born. Even more so since I was. But I can assure you that there has never been an enemy like these aliens. By their very nature, you cannot assume them to act like us, or even treat them as inferior.]"
He laced his fingers together and continued solemnly. "[You will be the one to decide the future of humanity, Saudia. The aliens are a catalyst for us and we will either emerge and guide humanity to a bright future, or EXALT will wither and die in the shadows. There will be no backup plan like the two World Wars. There will be no opportunities afterward like the War on Terror. EXALT will survive, or it will die.]"
He faced her, his gaze seeming to pierce directly to her soul. "[What happens will depend on you, Director.]"
She swallowed, the enormous weight of that responsibility again resting itself on her shoulders. Because that truth was becoming more and more evident with each passing day. It was growing time for EXALT to either fulfill its final objective, or die forever. If the aliens won, there would be no second chance.
"[What should I do to ensure our victory?]" She asked softly.
He was quiet for a minute before answering. "[Never forget who our enemy is,]" he said. "[Humans can be used and controlled. Aliens cannot. Do not turn away help if the opportunity presents itself…]" his voice faltered, then finally spoke. "[Even if they are not one of us.]"
Saudia blinked in shock. A statement like that was borderline blasphemous. EXALT never accepted or solicited help from outside. They used governments and various groups, sure, but the word help implied that EXALT would not be the ones in charge. If Father was saying this, even offhandedly, he must really be worried. Far more so than he let on.
"[Outsiders cannot be trusted,]" Saudia said, shaking her head. "[They are too fallible, too prone to corruption.]"
He looked at her with a small smile. "[I didn't say what form that help would take, did I. The point, Saudia, is that just because something is generally not done, it doesn't mean it shouldn't be done. You understand this better than most. Sometimes, tradition is not worth preserving.]"
That was most certainly true, but she currently didn't see a reason to break an unspoken rule that had existed within EXALT for centuries. Still, she inclined her head, grateful he'd offered it anyway. "[Thank you, Father.]"
"[Just remember it,]" he insisted. "[I'd make that my last request.]"
"[I will,]" she promised softly.
"[One more thing,]" he added. "[Be there for your sister. She's just as capable as you, but just needs to realize she can move on without me.]"
"[I promise to do what I can,]" Saudia answered hesitantly. "[But as Director…]"
"[I know,]" he reassured her. "[You're supposed to be neutral. I'm just asking to be there as a sister. As family.]"
Family. Because that's what families did, support and encourage each other. Or at least that was how it should be. Hasina might not treat her the way she should, but that wasn't a reason for Saudia to return the favor. "[I will,]" she promised, taking his hand.
He gave her a wry smile. "[I know you will, Saudia. I'll let you get to your business with Hasina.]"
They both stood and embraced each other. Saudia now finally felt the tears beginning to form at the corners of her eyes. She rarely cried anymore, since it wasn't right or proper for the Director of EXALT. But she felt now could be an exception. "[Goodbye, Father,]" she whispered into his shoulder. "[I'll make you proud.]"
They stood that way for a few minutes, father and daughter embracing for what might be the last time.
Hasina was in the small room that constituted her office. A desktop computer was at the far left corner, with bookshelves and filing cabinets opposite it. In the center of the room was a small holotable, using green lighting as opposed to the traditional blue. Hasina also kept several native plants along the walls and remaining corners.
The one thing that Saudia could safely say she didn't like about the room was the green carpet on the floor. She'd never liked it as a child, and still didn't like it now. She always felt she was going to ruin it just by stepping on it.
Hasina stood in front of the holotable, wearing the same dress uniform as the last time they'd spoken. Though Saudia did note that her gloves were discarded and laid on the table over her computer. Upon opening the door, Hasina looked up as Saudia approached.
"[I'm glad you spoke,]" she greeted quietly as they gave each other a quick embrace. "[He really wanted to see you one last time.]"
"[So did I,]" Saudia agreed sadly, looking over her sister. "[How are you doing?]" She asked, after a few moments of silence.
Hasina shrugged. "[Well enough, I suppose. Everything is being managed fine.]"
"[I know that,]" Saudia said. "[I was asking how you were doing?]"
Hasina leaned against the wall. "[I almost wish it would be over with,]" she admitted after a minute. "[I hate watching him die so slowly and not being able to do anything.]"
"[I know,]" Saudia empathized. "[But there isn't anything we can do except make him comfortable.]"
"[Yes,]" Hasina reluctantly agreed, resignation on her face. "[But it's difficult to watch.]" She shook her head. "[Thanks, Saudia, for coming to see him. But you came for more than just a sad family reunion. We have things to discuss.]"
Saudia cleared her throat. "[Yes. That we do.]"
Hasina tapped a few buttons on the holotable which flashed and formed to the country of Russia. "[Has anything new been discovered about the attack?]"
"[Some,]" Saudia shook her head. "[Well, Diguon reported that one of the bodies was missing, so it's possible he was taken captive.]"
Hasina pursed her lip. "[Not good.]"
"[Diguon assures me that if one has been captured, he wouldn't talk,]" Saudi informed her.
"[That's what Elizabeth said too, if I recall.]" Hasina pointed out grimly.
"[Diguon is more careful about his soldiers than Elizabeth,]" Saudia said. "[And since this was one of our more important bases, I'd imagine he'd have placed some of his best soldiers on guard.]"
"[Let's hope you are right,]" Hasina muttered, crossing her arms. "[It's concerning that the Russians were able to shut us down without any warning.]"
"[It wasn't just the Russians,]" Saudia told her walking beside her and handing her a sheet of paper. "[Diguon believes they were just the instrument used against us. This was the memo sent to the Kremlin that sent them towards our smuggling plant.]"
Hasina took the paper and bit her lip as she looked it over. "[An anonymous source,] she noted. "[This is terrible regardless. Anyone even slightly intelligent will note the large sums transferred from Solaris Industries.]"
"[I doubt it's anonymous,]" Saudia muttered leaning down on the table as she looked over the country. "[XCOM now has a vested interest in us. Somehow, they managed to find out where our plant was and set the Russians on us. Not bad.]"
Hasina pursed her lips. "[I thought XCOM didn't have this capability. Strictly military only.]"
"[We were either misinformed,]" Saudia answered neutrally. "[Or this increase in intelligence work is new.]"
"[In response to us, no doubt,]" Hasina agreed with a nod, setting the paper on the table.
Saudia hesitated. "[Perhaps, perhaps not. It takes time to set up a useful intelligence force, and the fluidity of which it was executed suggests it was at least weeks in the planning. Not to mention XCOM has had some kind of Intelligence force for a while, going off Germany.]"
"[Still, I am surprised the Russians were able to take out our base so quickly,]" Hasina commented. "[They must have used overwhelming force.]"
Saudia cocked her head. "[I don't believe the Russians actually carried out the attack, they just showed up afterward. Diguon believes the same thing. You haven't seen the updated report, I assume?]"
Hasina shook her head. "[No, there's been some local disputes that have taken my attention this morning.]"
Saudia handed her a file. "[Take a look at this.]"
Hasina took the file and her eyes widened as she flipped through the photos and autopsy reports. "[The Russians tend to be brutal with their foes,]" Saudia said as Hasina read. "[But rarely do they slice them into pieces or let them burn to a slow death.]"
"[Eh,]" Hasina shrugged. "[It's Russia, I wouldn't be surprised. But you have a point. All non-fire fatalities were caused by clean, cauterized wounds. Only XCOM has access to such weapons.]"
"[Yes,]" Saudia confirmed. "[This was intended to be retribution for our own attack, I assume.]"
"[I'm surprised the UN would allow them to go so far,]" Hasina commented as she looked at a picture of a corpse burnt to a crisp. "[This seems oddly brutal.]"
That it did, which was why Saudia had been skeptical when Diguon had insisted it was XCOM who was behind it. The tactics seemed…off. Not what she'd expect from a government controlled military, let alone one under the control of the United Nations. This whole attack was a show of strength at the very least, demonstrated in the most basic and violent way possible.
Highly uncivilized. It quite honestly reminded her of the War on Terror and how the Commander conducted that war. But it would take a lot more than one attack to really cause her uneasiness. She was not prone to the fear that had gripped those in the Caliphate, shortsighted fools they'd admittedly been.
"[It doesn't really matter,]" Saudia finally said, shrugging. "[As unfortunate as it is, we have only lost one facility.]"
"[And our main way of getting weapons into Asia,]" Hasina reminded her.
"[Which is why contingencies exist,]" Saudia stated. "[This is an inconvenience, but not much more.]"
Hasina's lips twitched. "[At the very least, we probably know where they're going to go next.]"
Saudia nodded. "[Yes. I've appraised Matthew of the developments. Elizabeth will have some of her people keeping an eye out.]"
"[Good,]" Hasina noted. "[Speaking of which, what exactly has Elizabeth been doing with her time? Now would be ideal to start up her campaign.]"
"[She promised to have something soon,]" Saudia assured her. "[It will be "testing the waters" as she puts it. Now that we know they have some kind of intelligence force, they might have a propaganda arm as well.]"
"[I hate these unknowns,]" Hasina muttered, glaring at the holotable. "[I hope your source can clear most of this up.]"
"[He will,]" Saudia nodded. "[Patience, sister. We've waited this long, a month or two more won't be the end. By then he'll probably have a wealth of information to share.]"
Hasina snorted. "[Assuming of course that we don't figure everything out on our own.]"
"[I highly doubt we'll run into that issue,]" Saudia chuckled. "[I'll remove him from all operations if that's the case.]"
A smile grew on Hasina's face. "[I can just imagine the call now,]" she smirked, as she imitated his voice. "[Hello Director. You might be interested to know that XCOM has an Intelligence division and may use it against you. They also have a base of operations and they are fans of the Commander. Also they hate the aliens. See you next year.]"
Saudia laughed, though mostly because it was the first time in a long time Hasina had attempted to crack a joke. "[That will not happen.]"
"[But if it does I'll just say I told you so,]" Hasina chuckled. Her face grew serious a few seconds later. "[I didn't ask you, how are things at the Bastion?]"
"[Quiet,]" Saudia shrugged. "[Nothing really happens, though we're making good progress on the psionic subjects. I think we're getting close to repeating the procedure safely with our own operatives.]"
"[Anything interesting?]" Hasina asked, leaning against the holotable as she cocked her head curiously.
"[Maybe not interesting, but psionics seems to react to each individual differently,]" Saudia explained. "[Each subject has been observed to have a completely different set of abilities from the other. It's one of the things that's giving the scientists so much trouble, it's difficult to make the procedure safe when some react far more violently than others.]"
"[Is there no link between them?]" Hasina asked.
"[There are some similar genetic markers,]" Saudia answered. "[But there aren't enough to establish an indisputable link between them.]"
"[Any of them in danger of escaping?]" Hasina wondered. "[Especially if they're as powerful as you say.]"
"[As long as they have the chips in their head, they have no escape,]" Saudia dismissed. "[Subject Four is the most powerful, but she would not be able to escape, even with her substantial abilities.]"
Hasina cocked her head. "[And why is that?]"
Saudia looked up, contemplating. "[She lacks…finesse. She's too driven by emotion, almost the perfect antithesis of what we strive to be. She has no control over her emotions; close to a dog let loose.]" Saudia smiled suddenly. "[That reminds me, the scientists have a rather cute name for the subjects.]"
Hasina sighed as she waited. "[Well, go ahead.]"
"[The Furies,]" Saudia answered. "[Which was almost a perfect fit.]"
"[What the hell is a Fury?]" Hasina wondered, almost in disbelief. "[And what prompted that discussion?]"
"[It was Ethan's idea, I think,]" Saudia answered. "[He has a thing for mythology. Short version was that the three Furies were demons essentially, destructive beasts that only answered to Hades.]"
"[How symbolic,]" Hasina muttered. "[Though I do see one flaw, three Furies but four subjects. Which one pulled the short straw?"
"[Subject Four,]" Saudia answered. "[And for a while the scientists were very sad, and just kept calling her by her designation. Then one of them came up with a compromise. Subject Four is now referred to as Stheno.]"
"[That doesn't exactly explain anything,]" Hasina sighed. "[Another Greek monster?]"
"[Pretty much,]" Saudia confirmed. "[Stheno was a gorgon, another demon of sorts. Like Medusa, only without the turning-to-stone ability. She was supposedly the most ferocious, rather fitting for our ill-controlled woman.]"
[Kind throws off the ring,]" Hasina commented. "[Calling them the "Furies and Gorgon" doesn't exactly have the same ring.]"
"[They just kind of pretend Stheno was an honorary Fury,]" Saudia dismissed with a hand wave. "[I'm not that strict about dead mythologies.]"
"[As it should be,]" Hasina agreed. "[So once they've served their purpose, will you turn them over to the aliens?]"
"[At least a couple,]" Saudia answered. "[Not all of them, several could meet unfortunate deaths before then.]"
Hasina blew out a sigh. "[Let's hope we reverse-engineer their tech quickly, this entire alliance makes me uneasy.]"
"[It should,]" Saudia agreed with a nod. "[But it's a necessary step. I'll be heading to the Eridan Headquarters to meet the geneticist Matthew recommended.]"
"[Tygan,]" Hasina recalled. "[I'd normally have an issue with that, but if it helps us end this alliance earlier, the better.]"
"[Don't worry about that,]" Saudia shrugged. "[He's contained; should he have a change of heart, we'll just remove him.]"
"[That isn't like you,]" Hasina frowned. "[Insinuations like that I'd expect from Zara.]"
"[We don't have a choice,]" Saudia sighed. "[Too much rests on maintaining our secrecy, more so than my personal beliefs.]"
"[I suppose so,]" Hasina muttered sadly. "[But hopefully it won't come to that.]"
"[Hopefully not,]" Saudia agreed as they looked down on the holotable. "[There's enough death in the world without us adding to it.]"
Brazil, Eridan EXALT Research Facility
"The substance that the aliens have provided us allow us an unprecedented amount of genetic modification," Darian explained as they walked away from her jet in the Eridan hangar. She didn't plan to stay long, which Darian knew and thus got immediately down to business. "With Dr. Tygan working on it, we might be able to move to human testing in a matter of weeks."
"Can we synthesize it?" Saudia asked as the door hissed closed behind her. "I'd imagine the aliens won't be so willing to share after we break out alliance."
"I haven't begun to work on synthesizing it," Darian admitted, shaking his head. "Understanding will come through working with it. Though looking at it through a microscope, it appears to be a kind of nanotechnology. If we get to the stage of synthesizing, it will be difficult."
"But not impossible," Saudia noted as they walked through an automated glass door. "So when you say genetic modification, how extensive are you talking about?"
Darian smiled. "Should my hypothesis prove correct, we can modify the human body to be whatever we want. Increased strength, intelligence, dexterity…we could create the perfect human."
Interesting. She wondered if XCOM had also worked on this substance at all. Even if they were, it didn't seem that they were making enough progress on it otherwise they'd have likely encountered genetically modified soldiers. She also doubted that XCOM would really extensively modify the body that much, the UN would probably see it as 'unnatural.'
Well, she wouldn't be nearly as shortsighted. In a way, this was a goal that EXALT had always worked towards. They could educate and train themselves to be the best that humanity had to offer, yet there were always limits imposed by genetics. Should those be removed, EXALT could finally embody the pinnacle of humanity.
"We have a chance to get ahead of XCOM," Saudia muttered. "Excellent work, Darian."
"Appreciated, Director," he answered modestly, motioning towards a glass door. "After you." She opened the door and stepped inside the research labs.
A rush of cold air blasted her the moment she stepped over the threshold. Not a surprise since most scientists preferred working in chilled environments. Nearly thirty men and women in lab attire were throughout the room, all conduct various tasks with vials, monitors and other kinds of lab equipment.
The white walls and tile added a bright whiteness to the room, unconsciously emphasizing the immaculate state of the room, even on the tables where alien equipment was being meticulously disassembled.
"Big project," she commented. "You have all of them working on this?"
"About half," Darian answered, as he clasped his hands behind his back as he surveyed his scientists. "Many more and they just end up repeating the same tasks. No, I have several working in close conjunction with the Diguon's team over in China. We find stuff he may have overlooked and vice-versa. With the weaponry we recovered from those XCOM operatives, I believe we'll be developing laser weaponry within a week."
Saudia's lips curled into a smile. Excellent, on an even playing field, XCOM stood no chance. In the unlikely event that they somehow managed to gain a different edge, all EXALT would need to do is win one engagement and collect their tech for reverse-engineers. A couple weeks later and XCOM would have lost any advantage.
"Is Tygan here?" She asked, glancing down at him.
Darian nodded towards the center of the room. "Yes. Right there."
Saudia peered forward and saw a moderately tall, black-skinned man looking through a microscope wearing an EXALT lab coat. "How much does he know?" She asked, appraising him.
"I've told him that EXALT is an international coalition dedicated to reverse-engineering the alien's technology to utilize against them," Darian answered. "Showing him some videos and photos were enough to convince him I was genuine. I'm evaluating him currently to see if he'd be a good fit permanently."
"Good," she nodded. "Time to say hello." With Darian at her side, she strode forward, taking care not to disturb the scientists in her path.
She cleared her throat. "Dr. Tygan?"
Tygan straightened up at her voice and straightened his glasses as he caught a glimpse of her. Just as collected as in his profile, he barely reacted or showed any surprise to seeing her. "Apologies," he said in a deeper voice than she was expecting, while inclining his head in greeting. "I was distracted."
She waved a hand dismissively. "No need, doctor. That is why you're here, after all," she extended a hand. "Saudia Vyandar, Director of EXALT."
He took her hand with a firm grip. "A pleasure to meet you, Director."
"I'm pleased you've taken an interest," Saudia continued. "We can use as many people with your expertise as possible."
"I admit, I was skeptical at first," Tygan admitted. "But I was quickly proven wrong, and I would be remiss if I didn't do everything possible to defeat these…aliens." His tone was borderline…annoyed with the last word. Almost as if an invasion was a mere inconvenience for him.
"Can I assume that you've decided to accept our offer?" Saudia asked, clasping her hands behind her back.
"Yes, yes, of course," Tygan assured her. "In fact, I've already began my own work on this…substance…the aliens apparently use. Highly intriguing, if I do say so myself."
Intriguing. Yes, that would be a word she'd use to describe technology literally from aliens. Tygan struck her as very dispassionate, not the least bit excited about working with such technology. She didn't exactly want him throwing parties, but a little passion wasn't bad. "Any theories so far?" She asked.
"I have not had sufficient time to begin forming a comprehensive, and reasonably sound theory," Tygan answered, shaking his head. "Yet I can say that this substance appears to be an excellent bonding agent, though for what, I cannot say yet."
A "no", would have sufficed, but she just chalked it up to his personality. "Well, I hope your research is productive," she told him. "I shouldn't have to tell you that time is somewhat of the essence."
"Of course, Director," Tygan agreed in his oddly calm voice. "I will personally ensure that tangible results are delivered as soon as possible."
That was good enough for her, and Darian would be sure to make it happen. "I look forward to seeing your work," she said, inclining her head. "I'll let you return to work now."
"Thank you, Director," Tygan responded as he turned back to his microscope. "You will not be disappointed.
She turned around and walked out of the labs, Darian close behind her. With that order of business out of the way, it was time to return to the Bastion. Well, after discussing a few more things with Darian, namely Brazil.
The Bastion, Bedroom
"Sounds like Darian's making good progress," Ethan commented as they snuggled together on the couch. Ethan had his arm around her while she rested her head on his shoulder. It had been a long day and she figured she deserved a break, even a short one.
"At least he seems to be," Saudia half-muttered, her eyes closed as she rested. "He could be making all the stuff up. I'm not a scientist."
Ethan's chest vibrated as he chuckled. "Yeah, I really don't think he'd do that. Not if he wanted to live, at any rate."
"Good point," she agreed wearily. Neither of them talked for a few minutes.
"Your family visit go well?" Ethan finally asked, his voice deliberately neutral. She'd wondered how long it would take before he brought that up. Despite wanting to, and making some attempts, he hadn't exactly…assimilated…with the Vyandar family at large. Much as she'd tried to smooth things over, not many were receptive to allowing an American into their family.
Realizing he wasn't really helping anything, Ethan essentially avoided contact with any Vyandar outside the Bastion. She didn't blame him at all for the split, and some of her own relationships with her family had deteriorated as a result. She and Hasina had eventually managed to reach an understanding, but sadly, she and Mother had not.
It was one of the few times she'd actually disagreed with Father, who'd without a doubt been the most supportive of both of them. Saudia was sad that it had come to it, but didn't regret her decision one bit. Oddly enough, she'd probably taken more issue than Ethan would have. If faced with unwinnable arguments, he'd shrug and move on where she'd at least try and defend her position.
"Fine," she finally answered quietly. "Father is doing well, pretty much resigned since there's nothing the doctors can do."
"A shame," Ethan sighed. "He was a good man."
"He was," Saudia agreed. "He won't be replaced easily."
"Hasina taking it alright?"
Saudia shrugged into his chest. "More or less. I think she's still hoping Darian manages to create a cure. But deep down she knows it's not possible. I'm glad she's there though, makes it easier for both of them."
"Anything else you discuss?" Ethan asked.
"The Russian facility attack," Saudia answered. "She initially didn't think it was XCOM either. Too brutal, was her reasoning."
"Quite honestly, she has a point," Ethan muttered, shifting on the couch. "Had I also not seen the latest report, I'd have wondered the same thing. This was as close to a terror attack as I've ever seen from the UN. During the War on Terror, the Commander even referred to them as such, go in, kill everyone and leave nothing but devastation. All that was really missing were some of our soldiers propped up on crosses."
"Is it really that similar?" Saudia asked skeptically, opening her eyes.
"Maybe not," Ethan answered. "But it did get our attention, which is what I suspect was their goal all along."
"At least we can likely predict where their next target is," Saudia muttered, closing her eyes again. "Matthew is going to be thrilled."
"In all likelihood he will be," Ethan commented ruefully. "At the very least he'll be more amused than concerned."
"Especially since we'll be expecting them," Saudia added as an afterthought. "So," she asked after a few seconds. "Anything happen here?"
"Nothing major, obviously," Ethan answered easily. "No snowstorms either, so I took Martel on a short hunting trip. He seemed to like that."
She smiled at the thought. "Good. A break from routine never hurts."
"Yep, I think it's time to start some more physical training with him," Ethan suggested, pulling her closer. "It'll give him an edge when he's sent to the Gauntlet."
Saudia snorted. "Thinking way ahead, I see. I don't think we need to worry about sending him for another…what, nine years? I wasn't sent over until I was sixteen, and I don't want to send him earlier than that."
"Fair enough," Ethan conceded. "I guess I'm just concerned. The world isn't exactly stable right now. I'd feel better knowing he could defend himself competently at least."
Saudia pursed her lips. "Yes, so do I. But it's hard enough on him being the only child here, let alone that both of us are often busy. I don't want to put more stress on him than he already has."
"I'd do it with him," Ethan said. "That might help."
She smiled and they stayed that way for a few minutes. "I really want to go to sleep," Saudia murmured. "Don't let me."
"You could just go to bed a few hours early," Ethan suggested wryly. "No one would be hurt from that."
She groaned, because that sadly was very tempting at the moment. "Don't give any more ideas."
He gave a light laugh and leaned over to kiss the side of her head. "Wouldn't dream of it-" A shrill beep interrupted whatever he was going to say, coming from the wristband on his left arm. Saudia reluctantly pushed herself off him to give him space.
While his face clearly showed annoyance, his tone was as professional as always as he answered the call. "Chief Operative Vyandar, what's the situation?"
She couldn't hear what he was being told, but since his expression went from annoyed to concerned within seconds, it was enough to fully wake her up. "Understood," Ethan stated curtly, the tenseness in his voice concerning her. "I'll inform the Director at once." He clicked off his earpiece and focused immediately on her.
"What is it?" She demanded, instinctively straightening her hair.
"It seems our alien friends have decided to pay us a visit," Ethan stated coldly, though his tone was clearly not directed at her. "A UFO is set to land within minutes."
Her eyes widened as she pulled on her boots. "I didn't schedule this, before you ask."
"I figured as much," Ethan answered as he stood and began putting on his uniform. "This is not good."
An understatement if she'd ever heard one. There could be a number of reasons the aliens were deciding to pay a visit, and none of them were beneficial. Still, it was a massive breach in etiquette, and one she was going to hammer home to whatever spokes…man, the aliens decided to send down.
After getting herself into a decent state, she turned around to find Ethan in his full battle armor, much different from his dress uniform. Like all EXALT battle armor, this was based on the Venator armor, but Ethan also wore Kevlar helmet with a small visor that just reached over his eyes. His bandanna was still in plain view, but his helmet was much safer than wearing nothing.
"I've ordered the rest of the soldiers to prepare," Ethan stated as he adjusted his rifle. "You're getting a full detail until we know why they're here."
Under normal circumstances, that was something she would have refused. Full details were stifling and implied she couldn't defend herself, but in this case it might be warranted. At the moment, more soldiers on her side might give the aliens pause for whatever plans they had.
"Let's go," she said, striding towards the exit. Ethan nodded and fell into step beside her. Along the way to the hangar, Saudia saw several more EXALT soldiers moving around briskly as they prepared to defend the Bastion should things go horribly wrong. To date, this was actually the first time the security protocols were actually put into practice.
The Bastion had never been threatened before, but there was a first time for everything.
But as it stood now, Saudia realized just how understaffed they were. Once this was over, she was going to make sure they were fully staffed for the remainder of this war. "The UFO has touched down," Ethan informed her as they approached the hangar entrance. "No sign of anything exiting."
They reached the hangar door where five other EXALT soldiers in battle armor stood waiting. All snapped to attention as she approached. "Open the hangar door," she ordered. "That's what they're waiting for."
Ethan gave the order as she turned to the soldiers. "Do not act unless I give the order or they attack first," she ordered, clasping her hands behind her back. "Do not be provoked, no matter how difficult it becomes. Understood."
"Yes, Director!" They answered with affirming nods.
"Fall in line," she snapped as she moved to open the door. With three soldiers on her left and three on her right, she opened the door and strode into the near-empty hangar. The massive door squealed open and Saudia was hit by a chilling wind that sapped all her body heat out.
Directly in front of the hangar was the UFO, what appeared to be the exact same one that had landed the first time. Interesting that even through the snow whipping around, she could still feel the faint pulse it emitted. The shimmering multi-colored shield around the opening vanished and out stepped the Speaker, who was flanked by four of the mutons and two more doppelgangers pushing a pod of some kind.
Good, not nearly enough soldiers to put up a fight, so this was probably intended to be a peaceful visit. As both parties walked closer, Saudia became very interested in the two doppelgangers, as each one was a marked improvement in the field of human mimicry.
One was a brown-haired man, wearing shades instead of spectacles and didn't have the neck spots that were on the Speaker. Still, they were exactly the same height, and their faces were almost completely identical. The other was a woman, who had clearly been designed with only beauty in mind.
Her pale skin was flawless and her raven hair fell just past her shoulders when the wind settled. The aliens still hadn't seemed to get the face right thought, because despite her beauty…there was something off about it. It was completely lacking emotion or empathy or any sort, almost as though it was nothing more than a mask. The spectacles she wore didn't exactly change that image either.
They finally stopped about halfway from the hangar and waited for the alien entourage to arrive. The Speaker was wearing a smile that she assumed was supposed to be friendly, but instead struck her as…eerie. It didn't look right at all. "Director," he greeted cordially, in his familiar oily voice. "I'm pleased to be welcomed so quickly."
Fine. She could be cordial. "The same to you, Speaker," she answered, standing firm. "Though I must say, I was not expecting your arrival."
"Neither was I, to be honest," the alien answered almost cheerfully. "But the Elders requested that I visit you. It would be irresponsible and disrespectful of us to ignore our allies in this war against XCOM."
"Of course," Saudia answered, trying to convey agreeableness. "Though in the future, we would request that you inform us before landing at our base of operations."
"Director," the alien tsked, shaking his head. "I get the impression that our arrival is inconvenient for you, and while I understand the apprehension, I can assure you that we mean you no harm."
"We have no fear of that," Saudia lied, fully aware of the very armed soldiers beside her. "I did not mean for my words to sound accusatory."
"Is that right?" The alien smiled knowingly, which actually appeared to be genuine. "You have quite a heavily armored escort for a woman who has no fear."
"I might ask you the same," she responded, nodding towards the hulking mutons wielding plasma rifles.
"A good point," the alien chucked, once more sounding forced. "Might we move somewhere not quite as windy?" He asked, spreading his hand out towards the hangar. "I promise we will not stay long."
Saudia stepped to the side, allowing him a clear path to the hangar. "After you." The alien nodded and stepped forward and the entourage moved to follow. Were this a normal meeting, Saudia might have allowed that. But as it stood now, the aliens needed a reminder that they wouldn't be pushed around.
She raised a fist and in unison, the EXALT soldiers raised their rifles at the encroaching mutons and doppelgangers. The aliens froze and the Speaker looked at her in surprise. "Your escort will remain outside," she stated, keeping her tone reasonable. "They will not be necessary for you to conduct whatever business is necessary."
The Speaker looked torn between surprise and annoyance. "I do not believe that is your call to make, Director."
The arrogance he had to actually say those words. Straightening to her full height, she looked the alien directly in the eye. "I have every right, Speaker. You are not within your own territory now, the Bastion is under control of EXALT and we have our own rules and standards. Had you informed us of this visit beforehand, we would be able to…" she eyed the green-armored brutes. "Accommodate your escort. As it stands right now, they pose a security risk."
The Speaker eyed her skeptically. "And there is no way to…accommodate them, as you put it."
"I'm afraid not," Saudia responded, putting a touch of sorrow in her voice. "As I'm sure you can understand, protocols have to be followed. I assume that your superiors would feel the same should we have made an…unexpected visit."
The Speaker's lips twitched. "You are clever, Director, and raise a…fair point." Saudia could see him processing how he wanted to handle this. After a few seconds, he visibly relaxed and gave her a toothless smile. "Very well, I will comply. Though I will require him to accompany me." He pointed toward the doppelganger behind the hovering pod.
"May I ask why?" Saudia demanded.
The alien opened his mouth, then paused. "Let us discuss this further inside, Director." Without waiting for her, he walked towards the hangar and she followed him. Once they were inside, the alien stopped and stood in place.
"I will be brief, Director," the Speaker stated, his tone much less cordial now. "We have provided you with an ample amount and will continue to do so," he paused. "Now…while we appreciate you help by means of intelligence and knowledge of the world as it is, we require some more…tangible compensation."
Saudia frowned. "What could you require from us? Money? Resources?"
The alien gave her a chilling, reptilian smile. "You are bold, Director, but you are not naïve. Think very hard about what could interest us."
It was pretty clear. "You would like one of our psionic subjects."
"Correct." The Speaker stated slowly and clearly, emphasizing the word. "A trifle, for what we give in return."
"A perfectly reasonable request," Saudia answered cordially. "However, we are still testing our subjects. Once-"
"Then make more," the alien hissed, his mask of civility dropping for a second as he spun sharply to face her. "Let me be completely clear, Director. This is not a request."
A frosty silence fell between them. At the moment, Saudia did feel like she could successfully prevent the aliens from taking one of their psionics. However, the way this meeting had gone so far, she had a feeling that the aliens would at the minimum break off their alliance or retaliate with more force.
As much as she hated it, it would be wiser to comply with the aliens demands at the moment. They could afford to lose one subject, and quite honestly, the Speaker did have a point. They could replicate the catalyst experiment. And it would very likely work on a few more subjects. Logistics-wise, it would be a nightmare, but if need be, it was possible.
But she would prefer to avoid it.
Unfortunately, it appeared they were going to lose one of their subjects. Well, if that was the case, she could at least choose which one she was going to lose. Subject Seven, or "Alecto" as he'd been dubbed, was probably the most expendable. There was no way she was giving up Subjects Eleven and Four, and there was enough they could still learn with Twelve to make him worth keeping.
"Very well," Saudia finally said. "We can afford to spare one subject. I hope your superiors will find this satisfactory."
"I can assure you, they will." The Speaker assured her, regaining his familiar calm.
Saudia turned on her heel. "Come. I will escort you to the subject myself, we will allow your subordinate to help load him into your pod."
"That will suffice," the Speaker agreed. "Please, lead the way."
The Bastion, Subject Cells
Annette took a deep breath and opened her eyes.
She was surprisingly calm, all things considered. The past few…what was it? Days? Weeks? It didn't matter. All had been focused on one goal: escape. She could now focus the information from the various minds she sensed to pick out specific words.
It was still information overload, and she had to struggle to pick out clear sentences, but what she had managed to learn from her two guards had been instrumental. She'd tried to mentally contact Fatima after that…experiment. But had been unable to find her mind, or for that matter, any of the others.
She was torn between trying to free them as well, or just escaping on her own. The thing was, she had no idea where they were being kept and only had the vaguest direction of where to go to escape, thanks to a brief image of a map she'd seen from one of the guards. Staying would just increase the chance of her being caught.
As to how she would escape…it essentially relied on her being able to successfully control one of the guards. Which she had managed to do, briefly. The downside was that it required all of her concentration, since taking full control essentially reduced them to automatons with no free will or thought.
Influencing might have worked better, but she was nowhere skilled enough to try that for an extended period of time and have it succeed. Now, as far as she could tell, there was only one reliable way out of this base: the supply planes, which came every Thursday. Those would be her escape.
She was either going to leave today or die. She'd been tempted to wait another week and hone her abilities more, but given how she'd picked up enough words recently describing how one of the psionic subjects had been "removed," she couldn't risk staying longer and then being "removed" as well.
She closed her fists and tapped into the power that was just waiting inside her. It was almost becoming second nature now. Her vision became a tinged purple and with waves of energy running up and down her arms, she stood, internally screaming as the psionic power tore open her skin again.
The first move was to disable the hidden cameras. Fortunately, she knew where they were, or at least the general area. When she had briefly taken control, she noticed a panel that displayed her from several different angles. That had been enough to pinpoint the general area of the cameras.
She raised her right hand, the swirling purple energy forming into a ball and directed it at the right corner. It hit the area and dispersed a sizzling shockwave a couple feet in diameter. Hopefully that had taken it out. Wasting no time, she repeated the attack on the opposite corner and finally, the ceiling area over her bed.
Task one done. Now to make sure it had succeeded. The two soldier's minds closest to her were practically blazing, as a side effect of using her power was that it amplified her ability to sense and control minds.
Everything was clearer in this state. She heard full sentences and thoughts, emotions and images washed over her and she wished she could retain this level of clarity when not high on power. Without bothering to influence, she targeted the closed guard and took full control.
She closed her eyes, otherwise his vision would superimpose itself over her own, which would only cause distraction. She experimented, moving her head side to side. It was strange, taking control like this. She felt nothing from the man, or sense any thoughts. She wasn't sure if her control stopped them, or she simply couldn't hear anymore.
It was almost like controlling a human robot. Actually, that's exactly what it was like. Except all she had to do was think a command and he'd do it. It was easy when she was standing still, but she had tried it once while moving on her own and it had been…difficult, to say the least.
She'd controlled both guards, and knew the arsenal they both carried, so she had a plan of how to attack. The rifles they both held would be effective, but would be loud and she needed stealth at the moment. Thus the knives strapped to their waists were the best way.
Time to act. She forced the man to raise his hand to the left, pointing at something. "You see that?"
The other guard looked over, frowning. "What-"
Annette had the man draw his knife and bury the blade deep in the man's throat. As the other guard started ahead in shock, blood leaking out the corner of his mouth, Annette had her controlled guard slam him to the ground, using the knife. Blood was now leaking from the wound, covering the hand that held the knife.
He was likely dead. But Annette wasn't feeling like taking chances today. She pulled the knife from the throat with an awful sucking sound and buried it in the guard's eye, then twisted. The body barely moved. Good, he was dead. She had the controlled guard pull the knife away and stand. His card should be….there.
With the access card, she had him use it to open the door which slid open. Elation burst through her. Stay. She ordered the guard, as she briefly relinquished control. The commander would work for a few minutes and she quickly dashed out of her cell and into the hallway. A smile grew on her face.
It wasn't freedom, not yet. But she was closer than she'd been in months.
The guard was standing over his friend, a vacant expression on his face and his hands hanging limply at his side, blood dripping from the one holding the knife. She appraised him, considering how best to remove him. In the end, there was only one way that seemed fitting.
"Follow my motions," she ordered, her voice amplified as the power coursed through her, giving her words the necessary persuasion to affect his frozen mind. He simply looked at her, waiting. Looking into his dead eyes, she raised her right hand and he mimicked her exactly.
She moved her hand up by her throat, adjusting slightly until he placed the knife he was holding on his own neck. One clean motion, that's all it would take. She ran her own hand slowly and firmly across her neck and he repeated, though only getting halfway before collapsing to the ground, clutching his throat.
But the damage had been done, and as his blood poured onto the ground, she knew he would bleed out within minutes. He gurgled, probably trying to shout or scream as he thrashed, terror in his eyes. She'd used to hate the sight of blood, now it barely affected her at all.
She kneeled down and took the knife from the blood-slicked floor, and wiped the blood off the blade using a rag on the first dead guard. Right, now here came the hard part. The chip that shocked her had to be removed else they would just use it to debilitate her once they discovered her escape.
It might be possible to get on the plane and leave before they noticed her gone, but she couldn't risk that happening. Fortunately, they'd done it enough times that she had a good idea of where the source was coming from. Unfortunately, it seemed to be in her neck and the only sure way to remove it was to cut it out.
She'd considered some way to neutralize it with her psionics, but had that been the case, she figured she would have fried it by now. She took a breath and gathered swirling energy in her palm and placed it on her neck. Should she mess up here, the best case was probably paralysis. Worst was death.
She'd run through her mind several times what she was going to do here. The chip would probably be able to be felt at a certain point, but she couldn't waste time trying to locate it. Better to…weaken the skin around her neck, acidify it slightly and have it melt and harden in a way, then form around the chip.
She'd tried it on her arm, and using the psionic mist that occasionally burst from her skin would have that effect. She gathered it up and quickly placed her palm on her neck, and fell to the floor as the mist ate away at her skin. It took every ounce of self-control not to scream, but screaming would draw attention.
A seconds later when the pain had receded, she began poking the skin around her neck, whimpering as each movement brought a new version of agony. There! It had to be that, a tiny metallic rectangle. Focusing on that, she brought the knife over the spot on her neck and placed the tip there and made a small incision.
The cool blade was almost a relief and she added a horizontal slash to make getting the chip out easier. That done, she dug in with her fingers to get a bloody and slippery hold on the chip.
One, two, three…
She pulled and couldn't suppressed a short scream as she ripped it off her skin. Breathing heavily, she looked at the chip briefly, noting the wires coming out of it, then tossed it away and stood up.
She was back to normal now, the pain had caused her to lose control of the power, and now she felt exhausted. But she had to go on, there was no choice, and someone had probably heard that scream. She tried recalling the map she'd seen from the now-deceased guard.
Left, straight ahead, then right would take her up a floor. Then….straight ahead then right. Follow the path and the hangar would be the sixth right. Hopefully they had signs if this was wrong. At least she could detect if they were close, since they couldn't hide their minds from her.
Grabbing the knife, she began quietly walking down the hallway. Struggling to keep moving and simultaneously remain conscious of EXALT guards heading her way. Fortunately, there was no one immediately close to her, and at the end of the hallway was an elevator. She scowled, knowing that would be her death should anyone be waiting at the top.
But she had no choice and stumbled into the elevator and managed to press the first floor button. Bleeding, exhausted and almost unconscious, she leaned against the walls of the elevator, trying to rest some. She was aware of a bunch of minds above her, but none seemed near to her destination.
With an annoyingly happy ding, the elevator opened and she stepped onto an ornate red carpet. No one so far, and she stumbled through the hallway and at the end noticed the best thing that could possibly happen.
A map!
She let out a broken laugh of disbelief, praying she wasn't hallucinating and went towards it. After staring at it a few minutes, she thanked the OCD person who'd marked every single part of the "Bastion" as it was apparently called. Now she knew exactly where to go.
She nodded and began moving to the left when she saw something that had completely slipped her mind. A security camera.
She'd been so focused on the ones in her cell that she hadn't even thought of the ones throughout the rest of this base. These ones appeared to be automated, sweeping back and forth, so she could time it so it wouldn't see her. But it was going to complicate things if she ran into soldiers.
She waited a few seconds and dashed directly under the camera, waited for it to move to scan the area she'd been and sprinted as fast as her screaming lungs would allow to the following hallway. The good news was that the hangar wasn't far….
She froze as she felt two people approaching, better yet, heard their voices. She was too exhausted to focus on what they were saying, and instead gathered all of her remaining energy into one, final, command that she prayed would penetrate their minds.
She stepped out in front of two EXALT guards, a man and a woman, who both immediately raised their rifles, eyes widening. "Who-"
"Stop!" She commanded, raising her hand, the briefest flicker of psionic energy gathering. She pressed that word against their minds as hard as she could, through their rush of words, images and feelings.
"Stop!" She repeated as she stumbled closer, their bodies frozen and shaking as their minds struggled against her will. Once she was almost inches away she thrust the knife in her hand into the throat of the woman, pulled it out and plunged it into the throat of the man. After keeping them in place a second longer, she waited until she was behind them and released them.
Both soldiers fell to the ground with loud thuds, and she glanced back in exhaustion, noting curiously that their blood faded into the carpet pretty well. She had to get out of here now. The hangar was just over there. Luckily it had a very helpful sign saying Hangar over it.
She reached it, resting her weight on the handle, and after taking a few seconds to recover, pushed it open and was greeted with what was arguably the most beautiful sight she'd ever seen.
A massive cargo plane, which had been heavily modified and streamlined to accommodate for the cold was being unpacked and loaded. Collapsing behind some boxes, she realized she had yet another problem.
How was she going to get on board without them noticing?
The hangar was extremely cold, judging from how bundled the men and woman unloading the cargo plane were, but she barely noticed. Rationally, that was a bad sign, but right now she didn't especially care that much, since it actually seemed a relief for the pain.
She watched them for a minute. Right. It looked like they were loading up the crates on the far left of the plane and placing the unloaded crates on the left. Excellent, since she was on the right. All she had to do was get into one of those crates and hope they didn't check them inside.
Reinvigorated from the cold, she quickly moved over to the crate area, keeping behind the empty crates and equipment that littered the hangar. At least these crates weren't wooden, nailed boxes. No, these were sealed, some even not requiring a lock at all. She spotted one that would probably fit her and quickly opened it, and looked around to make sure no one was looking and practically fell inside.
To make sure she didn't suffocate, she lodged a small piece of…what was she on, metal? She lodged it between the cover and crate to allow for some air. Hopefully the people loading wouldn't notice.
For what seemed like ages, she waited until she finally felt the package begin moving. The two workers were chatting about something, but she was almost unconscious and couldn't focus on what they were saying.
Annette felt the crate finally settle and heard the footsteps fade and a few minutes later, the beautiful sounds of an engine fired up and she felt the plane begin moving. She smiled to herself as she finally fell into unconsciousness.
She'd done it. She was free.