I just noticed that it doesn't seem to save my Enters to new lines. I'll go back and fix that. Sorry. I'll just change it to: One of the line things, and the first 2 words in bold.
"It's really quite simple once you figure out how it works" Maxim explained. He was back in the psionic training area. But he wasn't training himself anymore. He was trying to help out the new batch. Keith, Ryo, and Eva were the new 3 in there, and Maxim was currently trying to help Eva with using any powers she had (Even after doing some tests on Maxim, they had yet to find a way to test people, short of getting them to try and use them) "I'm really not good at explaining things"
"Could've fooled me" Eva replied, she had her eyes screwed shut in focus, he hair was tied back in a pony-tail, and she was wearing an outfit of army fatigues.
"No. You're trying to hard. You're goanna pop a blood vessel" Maxim had been in the area with them for 4 days now. It was easy trying to help Keith and Eva, they were friends, or, at least Maxim saw Eva as his friend, he wasn't sure if she thought of him as a friend, or as a creep who could be looking at her any time he wanted. Helping Ryo was more difficult. They had almost come to blows several time as Maxim tried to explain it, and Ryo just refused to accept that it worked like a game.
"But you said you need to focus" Eva replied, opening her eyes again, and looking at the Sectoid they had chained on the other side of the room. It had been struggling to escape for the first few days, but had given up after they hadn't hurt it, and it couldn't escape anyway.
"Yes, it needs focus, but it shouldn't take that much effort. It's difficult to start with, and get's easier as you do it. The first time is difficult. Just a second. Let me think. It's really difficult to explain it"
"I'm not going anywhere"
Maxim chuckled a little bit. They'd started a bit of a running joke with that, as Maxim kept having to stop to think during their 'lessons'
"How'd you figure it out?"
"I didn't. Not really. It was Karl"
"Karl figured it out. But he doesn't have Psionics"
"No, he can't do it, but he figured out how it works. Basically, it just works exactly it does in a game we played"
"No way"
"Yeah, I didn't believe it either, but, that's why i'm good at them"
"What?"
"Uh, before joining X-COM, I was a, uh, professional gamer"
"What?"
"Yeah, no idea how- Anyway, I need to think about a way to explain this shit. We can talk about my joining after you're done training"
"Deal"
Maxim smiled "Uh, I, I, think I've got a way. No idea if this will make sense. Basically, just imagine that you can turn your emotions and thoughts into some mist, or something like that. And then, try throwing that"
"I'm going to look like an idiot" Eva smiled. But seemed to do as he suggested, she held her arm back behind her, like she was going to throw a ball overarm, focused for a few seconds, then threw it like a pitcher at a baseball game.
Maxim half-expected the alien to shriek and fall over, but nothing happened. The alien merely looked at them, and blinked it's massive eyes.
Eva grunted in frustration.
"Hey. Don't worry. It took me until day 6 to get it" Maxim reassured her "You might still have them"
"Thanks. But I doubt it. None of this is making sense to me. You said when you heard Karl say that, it all seemed to click, and it made sense"
"Yes, but, it could work different for you. We have no idea how this shit works. They've scanned my brain so many times, but they can't find anything that would show how it works. Maybe yours will work differently to mine"
"Maybe" Eva sighed
Maxim walked out of the area in frustration. He was 'this close' to Mindfraying Ryo. He'd had to do this almost every time he attempted to train Ryo. He really hoped Ryo didn't have Psionic potential. If he did, Maxim would have to spend a lot more time with him, teaching how to use the powers properly. "Difficult?" the voice of Dr. Vahlen asked from beside him. Maxim turned to see Vahlen looking at a monitor on the screen.
"You have no idea. Can I not Mindfray him a little bit?" Maxim asked. Joking. But kind of hoping she'd say yes.
"Unfortunately not" Vahlen replied. Maxim could hear the smile in her voice "We don't know how it works. Hitting him with a Psionic power could disrupt any potential he has for the powers"
"Or it could increase it" Maxim suggested
Vahlen laughed "You just want to get him to stop being a dick don't you"
"Well, duh. Come on. No-one likes him. Maybe giving him a Mindfray will remove the dickishness from him"
"I think it would take more than that" Vahlen laughed
Maxim looked through the glass. Ryo was currently beating the snot out of the alien. But he was using his fists.
"He does know he's supposed to be training his mind. Not his fists,right?"
"He was a member of a gang. They would have done things with their fists and guns rather than think it through"
"Oh yeah. I tend to forget that. He's always so business-like. He doesn't seem like a ganger"
"People rarely seem like what they do. You should know that more than anyone. A professional gamer, turned soldier, turned Psionic master"
"I wouldn't call myself a master. I barely understand how it work-Owch" Ryo seemed to be systematically ripping the aliens limbs off and organs out now that he had killed it "How can he be so brutal. I get he's frustrated. I was so frustrated for my first 6 days in there. But I got though that by working on trying the power, or working out. And even before this soldier stuff, I would just go and do something I was familiar with. Shuffle a pack of cards, read a book"
"Wait a minute. You worked out?" Maxim could again hear the smile in her voice, as he watched Ryo taking the poor alien apart (Maxim never thought he'd feel sorry for an alien)
"I had nothing else to do in there" Maxim moaned "I was so bored"
"I'd imagine" Vahlen replied "Anyway. Different people work through frustration in different ways. You work it out through routine. He works his out through violence. I work through it by simply burying myself in my work"
"I suppose" Maxim said, turning back to Vahlen "Anyway. Keith's next in, right?"
Vahlen turned to another screen "Yes. He'll be in, in about half an hour. But I think we can take Ryo out early. We'll need to hose it down"
"Well, good luck with that. I need to sit down for a bit. All these deep conversations are making me think differently about the world. And tha't making me uncomfortable"
"Yes of course, go and get a drink or something. I'll send over the coms when Keith's ready"
"Thanks" Maxim headed out the door, making his way to the bar
"Hi Vampire" Aya called as Maxim walked in. She grabbed a glass, and began filling it "Anyone making any progress?"
"Not really" Maxim sat down "Ryo took a Sectoid apart"
"That's impressive" She placed his drink down, and sat down on her side (She'd gotten a chair back there at some point) with her own drink
"It would have been. Unfortunately, he used his fists to do it"
"It doesn't sound like he's going to have Psionic potential then" Aya replied
Maxim had been coming to the bar fairly frequently. He was spending most of his day's in the Psionics training area. Either trying to help them use any power's they might have, helping Vahlen run some tests, being tested by Vahlen, or doing some training of his own powers. He didn't get much chance to get out, so when he did, he would head to the bar. Since he didn't get enough time to do any gaming properly, and he was emotionally drained from everything he's been doing, so didn't feel like doing any working out.
"I really hope not"
"Any of the others showing promise?"
"Eva and Keith are doing better than Ryo. I've tried a bunch of ways to explain it, the only one Eva really understands is trying to focus it into a mist ball and throw it at them. Keith is doing a bit better. He's found a way to explain it. Something along the lines of, he knows how the human body works, so is just kind of trying to put the way his body works into the aliens head, to make it try and function like ours does, which would confuse the fuck out of it's head. So that'd be his version of the Mindfray"
"Sounds like a strange way of doing it. But whatever works for him"
"Did you ever find a way to explain it to yourself?"
"Not really. I'm not good at understanding things I can't see with my own eyes"
"You're a cement thinker then" Maxim said, thinking about one of his talks with Masambe. Maxim could swear Masambe missed his calling as a Philosopher.
"I have no idea what that means"
"Just something Masambe mentioned"
"Well. Whatever the reason is. I'm not really bothered. I kill aliens for a living"
"That's a cheery outlook on life"
"It's easier than trying to think about things too deeply, and just confusing myself. Anyway. Want another drink?"
"Sure I'll-"
"Maxim Popov. Please report to the Psionics Training Facility" said the voice over the intercom of the base.
"Guess I'll get that to go" Maxim said
Aya reached behind the bar, and brought out a cup, one of the paper ones from a fast food place
"Where'd you get that"
Aya smiled at him, and filled the take-out cup.
"Thanks" Maxim replied, taking the cup, and heading for the elevator.
"Hi Max" Keith said, as Maxim walked into the training room.
"Hey Keith. How'd your focus coming?" Maxim asked, sipping from his cup, walking around the chained up Sectoid, this one was newly put there, and was struggling around.
"Pretty good. I've also got a good grip on how it works. If I have potentially, hopefully, this'll start working in a couple days. Wait. Did you go to Mc. Donald's?"
"Huh? Oh, no. Aya had this behind the bar, so I brought a to-go cup"
"Aw. You didn't bring me one" Keith smiled
"I don't think a take-out cup is a suitable home for a Scotch"
"Hah. I guess not"
"Well, we might as well get started. I'll keep an eye on you, see if I see any psionic build up"
Keith began trying to use Mindfray on the Sectoid, he closed his eyes, but didn't screw them up in concentration like Eva had been doing. Maxim began doing his Psionic Vision, Vahlen told him to call it that rather than X-Ray, she'd explained how she thought it worked, something about being able to just look at people's psionic networks or something, but Maxim had gotten lost in her technobabble, but he knew he could see Psionic abilities easier when he used it. He looked at the Sectoid, and saw it's brain had a small purple glow to it, showing it had some unlocked Psionic Potential. He looked away from the struggling alien, over to Keith, who was still trying to Mindfray the alien. For a second, he thought he saw something, but it disappeared too quickly, so he didn't know if Keith did something, or he just imagined it.
"Keep going. I think I just saw something"
"You think?"
"It disappeared, so I might have been imagining it"
"Well, it's something" Keith said, going back to focusing.
"Woah" Maxim quickly covered his head with his arm as the Sectoid's head exploded "The fuck just happened?"
"Did I?" Keith stammered
"Holy crap"
"Guess I did it too strong?"
"You think?"
Keith kept staring at the aliens shoulders. One second, it had been siting there, absently pulling on it's chains, then it stiffened, and it's head exploded. The room was covered in yellow blood, and bits of grey flesh. "Uh Vahlen?"
"I saw Maxim. Our scanners did detect a flair in Keith's brain activity, similar to how yours does when you use powers"
"Well. Bring in another one. Let's make sure that wasn't some kind of fluke"
Keith was still looking at the aliens shoulders. Maxim wasn't sure it was shock, or curiosity.
"Keith. Any special powers showing up?" Maxim asked, as he joined Keith in the training area. Keith had made great progress with his Psionics. He didn't explode the alien's heads anymore.
"What do you mean?" Keith asked, he'd been training the Mindfray for a few days, and this was around the time that Maxim had developed his Psionic vision, and just a day and a half before he left the training area.
"Like my Psionic vision. This was around the time I got mine. So I wanted to know if you'd found anything you could do"
"Well there is one thing" Keith said, his voice sounded strangely echoy.
"What is it?"
"This" Keith replied
"What are you- Oh crap" It suddenly clicked, as Maxim realised Keith's mouth wasn't moving
"You learned telepathy?"
"Apparently"
"Can you like, read my mind"
"Not in depth. I think I can only hear what you are thinking at that time"
"How'd you notice it?"
"When I replied to a question Vahlen hadn't asked yet"
"This is awesome"
"Damn right. This is going to come in handy"
"I'd mess with so many people with that"
"What do you mean?"
"I'd just speak in their head while their alone in their room. Tell them to burn things"
"I think it's a good thing you didn't get it then"
"Yeah, probably. Anyway. Psionic battle?"
"Seriously?"
"Yeah. I can take it"
"Alright then. If your sure. I'll try not to blow up your head"
"You better not. Vahlen will be pissed if she has to clean this place again"
Yay. Another Psionic friend. Sorry if you wanted a battle. Nothing interesting happened. Next part will be something similar. Just some more Psionic training with the next batch. But Keith can help now. Yay. Fortunately, the part after that will have a nice battle, we had a fun mission. I realized I'd never described Eva, so I put that in. I've probably not described the others in any great detail, but I think it's too late to do it now. You've probably got your own imagination of how they look, and I don't want to ruin it, with things like facts. Anyway, thank you for staying with this story. I'll also be getting XCOM 2 as soon as it comes on sale on Steam. So I could end up starting a second one pretty soon after finishing this one. So I may decide that someone will make a comeback in XCOM 2 if they survive 1. As far as any potential relationship stuff could come along. I'm not going to force anything, just, if something seems to be happening, I'll go with it. Just a potential warning. I have decided a couple of characters to be gay, so if you don't like that stuff, then sorry. But don't worry. I won't be describing any R-rated scenes. Partly to avoid any offensive things, and partly because I'm not good at, or comfortable with it. Once again, sorry for rambling through this bit, but I felt I needed to add that bit in, just as a warning. (I do honestly have no idea if relationships will develop. I let the characters lead the story, and rarely plan more than about 10 minutes ahead... Aside from what happens in the game of course)